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Hello everyone!
So at long last, I have decided to return to a classic, a game that was played and enjoyed by many! It’s time to finally return to Urban Demons! I know there will be A LOT of questions and I will do my best to answer the most pressing & obvious ones here as well as give a summary on what you can expect on this remake project!
Is it really you?
Yep! Nergal here!
Why now? What’s changed?
As some of you know, recently my projects got the boot from Patreon and with that we have moved over here to Subscribestar. Unfortunately due to pressure from Patreon I had to take a zero tolerance policy on the mentioning of the former projects and once they were completed I had to leave them in what state they were in.
It seems like Patreon are continuing on with their increasingly crazy restrictions (guilt by association is now a thing), which means I no longer have to worry about mentioning the old projects for fear of being booted off. And with that, putting all my effort into Subscribestar now, it feels like a great time to return to one of these classic Nergal’s Nest projects: Urban Demons.
So what’s the goal / aim here?
Urban Demons is a classic, there’s no denying that. However it’s a game that hasn’t stood the test of time very well. I also believe with what I’ve learned in the past 8 years or so of game dev, I can really improve the game and make it a game that will truly last the ages.
Rpg Maker VX Ace (the game engine Urban Demons is built on) will eventually become unsupported by Rpg Maker, and getting hold of the files required to make it run will become increasingly harder.
Modern day Rpg Maker uses a web browser based game engine, which gives it a lot more potential of sticking around for a very long time and remaining supported. (Hence why you don’t need to download any game engine files for Rpg Maker MV and beyond.)
With that all said the plan is to bring Urban Demons onto a modern Rpg maker game engine with all the great features that entails!
But that is not all. The original game reuses a lot of the same scenes in different locations and the progressions were often unclear or felt a little disjointed. So the game’s dialogues and progressions will be updated and expanded. There is a lot that can be done here. Not only do I think my writing style has improved a lot since then, but I think the length and detail of the characters’ progressions can easily be expanded (which obviously means more scenes!)
There’s also a lot of stories that can still be told and explored in this game, with a lot of ideas that could be added. But first, the core must be strong!
How much / what is changing?
As is already clear, quite a bit will be different. Progressions won’t play out exactly as before, but be updated and made more interesting with additional scenes. Updating to a new engine means new maps and mechanics will be made as well.
But I want to be upfront about other changes so people will be clear what to expect from the start. I know not everyone will be happy about some of these changes, but I want people to know it comes from a place of where I am now and what things I’d like to explore that I think would be interesting.
These changes can be divided into two categories: “Definite” and “Possible.”
“Definite” Changes:
These are changes that are definitely happening, no amount of discussion or persuasion will change the following details. While I’m happy for people to discuss, please be civil in doing so and know that my mind has been set on these changes in one way or another for a while.
A New Artist:
Unfortunately we have to start with this one. A new artist will be joining us in the form of Marcos Crot. A fantastic artist whose style I adore and think will be a really great fit for the project! Check out his rendition of Mrs Jennings in the attached images!
I know we will all miss Glassfish working on this project, but we came to the joint decision it was best we moved on with our separate projects. This project continues with her blessing and she wishes us all the best in our endeavours. I know she will continue kicking ass with her own projects and artwork, so be sure to check her out!
Of course the game would not be Urban Demons without animations being at the forefront. Which is why we will be bringing on an animator too. We want to make sure each scene is given the love and care it deserves, so every major scene will be Animated upon its release.
Updated Game Engine:
As discussed already, a new game on a new engine! Not much more to say that wasn’t already mentioned.
Character height / age:
Probably the biggest change in terms of story and one I want to be open with from the get go since I know some people may be disappointed. Peter will be aged up as well as some of the other characters, and with that he will be taller than he was before. As before, of course, everyone in the game will be 18 years or older.
That said, one of the great things about UD was the short and thin protag getting it on with thicc busty milfs, and there is no plan to change that core philosophy. So expect all the women to be taller than Peter and WIDER too. You can see an example of what we are trying in the attached images!
Removal of Purity Route:
For me personally, the purity always felt a little out of place considering it was meant to be a Corruption game featuring darker powers and Peter manipulating his way to his goals. And of course the Otherworld is hardly a pure place either! On top of that a lot of the scenes artwork didn’t quite work for a purity version.
I currently only want to pursue the Corruption route (and the Blackmail subroute). Not only do I think it fits the game the best, but it is also where my interest generally lies in terms of what I like to work on. It also means we will save a tonne of time by not having to re-do each dialogue piece with the purity variant, which means builds should be quicker to produce. But with that said…
Additional Blackmail Routes:
Not every character had a Blackmail route in the original game, so the aim will be to expand upon the characters that don’t and give them a Blackmail route like the others. This route also fits nicely with the default Corruption route. I think it fits the general darker themes of the game.
More Consistent / Expanded & Linear Character Progressions:
This is just expanding and tidying up the character’s story progression. In some cases there will be larger changes that will properly flesh them out so their progression doesn’t feel as rushed. And the aim will be to give everyone the same amount of scenes and more! By the end of it, hopefully each character should feel like a unique character with their own specific story going on that players can really immerse themselves with as they aim for their very devious goal!
Expanded Otherworld:
There was a lot of potential that was never quite reached with the original Otherworld. The plan will be to expand, make the powers gained a little more clear on what they do. Remove the tedium and create some unique characters for Peter to “interact” with, like the fae queen in the original.
Altered Story:
The ticking clock in the teaser was no mere coincidence. The main story will play out a little differently than before. Instead of getting hit by that car, Neala actually saves him. She tells him “he was lucky her alarm didn’t go off and she was late for school. Otherwise she wouldn’t have been there to save him.” And because of that, Meridianna’s plans never came to fruition.
However she is not one to sit idly by and let her long thought out plans not be realised. The force working against her gets complacent and that’s when it is time to strike. She recruits Peter once more to her service, but things may not go exactly as she envisioned…
“Possible” Changes:
These are changes I want to bring to supporters of the project. They will be voted upon and decided by the community at large, since I am unsure of which path to follow.
Replacement characters:
Due to the changes in storyline (and replaying the game), I’ve identified characters who seem to be very weak in terms of their overall story. To the point it might be better to replace the character entirely with a new concept or an used concept (Arab Milf, Japanese AV Milf, School Principal etc).
So far the characters identified this way are Donna, Kaylee & perhaps Dizzy. That said there won’t be any quick decision on this and it is likely supporters get to pick what they would prefer to see.
So what does a roadmap look like? How long is this all going to take?
This unfortunately is a question that cannot be answered, as it depends entirely on the support we receive. The original game featured a lot of animations and that isn’t something we want to change. So the game will be focused on animations from the off, which of course requires greater funding.
You can check out our goals to see what we are looking to achieve.
I can however give a rough idea of a road map of sorts. The game will be broken down into phases with certain progressions that happen with each phase. Supporters will be able to decide the order of the events within each phase, however the phases themselves will not change.
(Core characters: Mom, Sydney, Mrs Jennings, Mrs Amos (yes, Mrs now), Sarah, Lisa, Kimberly, Dizzy (or replacement), Donna (or replacement), Kaylee (or replacement))
- Phase 1 – Main Progression for each core character. A Main Progression is from where the character is first met to the first time Peter has sex with them.
- Phase 2 – Main Story Progression (a big batch of story progression and some Otherworld events + Neala Main Progression)
- Phase 3 – Extended Progression for each core character. Picking up from the Main Progression to the character being fully corrupted by Peter.
- Phase 4 – Main Story progression (Ending, more Otherworld events + Neala Extended Progression)
- Phase 5 – Expansion content – things like threesomes, babysitting events (yes they will return), swimming pool events and more. Any new characters and such will fit into this phase too. Phase 5 will continue for as long people want there to be more content or until we run out of exciting ideas!
Support level 2 (see goals) is where things really kick off and we guarantee bimonthly (once every 2 months) updates. We can’t guarantee the amount of content (it will either be 1 or 2 progressions depending on Support level), but we can guarantee a build will be delivered. For any who would be doubtful of this, I’d ask you check out the two main projects of Naughty Underworld (Kingdom of Subversion & The Solarion Project) and see that these were updated bimonthly over 3 years without fail. Even when Patreon shut us down and we had to scramble to get onto Subscribestar, we still managed to complete the build for that month!
I know Urban Demons had a rocky development path years ago and people might be sceptical, but I hope people can realise circumstances are very different now. Both personal issues and the amount of time I have available are no longer a concern (before I was working a full time job while also working on projects, now I’m fortunate enough that game dev is my full time job.)
I have a question…
Great! And I’d love to hear it. You can drop a comment here or join our new Nergal’s Nest discord and I’ll be happy to respond. If enough people ask the same question, I’ll even add it here to this post.
Thank you!
Cannot express how excited I am to begin working on this project. There’s a lot of work to be done, but I’m really looking forward to putting in the effort and bringing this project back to life. And if people really enjoy it, perhaps there will be another remake on the horizon…
Thank you for reading this far, don’t forget to check out the proof of concept in the pinned post! It shows off Crot’s fantastic skills bringing one of the best scenes from the original back to life!
I hope you all eagerly await what we have to deliver and to see this vision come to life please consider supporting us here to unlock some great and unique rewards!
