From the very beginning we had a very strong idea of where the game’s narrative will ultimately take us. We also had a good feeling about what sort of characters would be in the game as well as the overall design aesthetic for the whole project. What we didn’t have was a location. Where was the game set, who inhabited it and what is the history behind it?
Before I go any further, I’ll say this now. It is almost impossible to develop a Cyberpunk styled futuristic game without that classic Bladerunner vibe. Massive skyscrapers adorned with huge neon screens advertising a popular soda, moody atmospheric fog enveloping every available corner and bustling rain filled streets occupied with eclectic Asian food outlets. Obviously, this was our starting point.
Build It And They Will Come:
During the planning and design phase of CyberpunkXXX we initially envisaged a vast sprawling city reminiscent of previous games such as Grand Theft Auto and Cyberpunk 2077. The thing is, the games were created by teams of up to 400 people with budgets a small country would be envious of, so we had to be realistic. We are after all, a tiny team with very limited resources.
If this was going to work we had to devise a way of making a world that would be big enough to give the player an interesting experience yet feasible enough to make at this stage of the development process. To achieve this we decided to start with just one district. The “Eros” district. This way we could add further districts as the development phase progresses. We could add missions and quests and lots of other interesting gameplay mechanics then upon completion a new district opens. The districts would be connected via a train system as well as bridges.
If you look at the picture below the small test district is surrounded by water. We did originally have a barren landscape but thought of long stretches of driving or running from area to area just seemed boring and pointless to us. We would rather have smaller areas with more activities and action than constant travelling. Another benefit of this add on approach is that there are no limits. We can ultimately make the world as large as we require and as varied as possible for the player. our only limit will be the investment and donations we can obtain from the public.
The “Eros” District :
It made sense when making an XXX adult orientated pc game that we start the first area as a red light district. Imagine the mid 90’s Amsterdam vibe with the scale and grandeur of Las Vegas and the seediness of a futuristic dystopian city. Mix in a variety of shops and industries along with some low quality residential public housing blocks and you have the “Eros” district. This is where is all starts!
The player begins their journey as a Bounty Droid at the Eros train station having just departed the train. In a homage to our favourite game of all time Half-Life we are still seriously considering opening the game with the main character on a small train journey that will enable the player to take in the sites of the city while educating them on their forthcoming mission with a little bit of narrative exposition thrown in. We will 100% look at that in a future update for sure.
With regards to next months development cycle we will be working on fleshing out the city. Adding elements that give it that truly lived in feel such as random litter, graffiti on the walls, parked up cars, vending machines, small independent stores and so much more.
- Added new player UI
- Added Eros train station
- Added Paradise Club strip club
- Added Proud bar
- Added flying car traffic
- Added custom billboards and signage throughout
- Added elevator mechanics
- Added AI turrets and drones
If you look at some of the screenshots below you can see some of the locations and realise how far we have come. We are working so hard on getting the FREE playable demo out as soon as we can. We want to create a small sandbox environment featuring the Eros district so you folks can explore yourself, fight a few Clone Patrol and get a feel of the city and game mechanic’s. Hell, we might even throw in a drivable vehicle or two.
As mentioned above we will be dropping the FREE playable demo towards the end of the year but in the meantime we will be making as many gameplay vids as we can plus the official CyberpunkXXX trailer. Don’t forget to click the links below and add the game to your Wishlist’s or support us on Patreon and Kickstarter. Thanks folks!
Help us on our journey…
Wishlist on Steam
