Introducing "I Live To Serve, Dungeon King!!"

Our next project here at Bad Kitty Games is a little something  called “I Live To Serve, Dungeon King!!” I’ve seen a lot of speculation  on what kind of game it is going to be, so today I’ll just give you the  basics. It’s going to be a very different project from Harem Collector,  but will share enough in common that I think fans of Harem Collector  will be able to connect with the new gameplay just fine.

The protagonist of our story is a Dungeon King, a rare breed of human  who possesses the ability to mix their essence with that of a monster,  and thus create a “minion”. These minions are not goofy yellow things in  coveralls that look like the container inside a Kinder Surprise, but  rather are a weaker version of the original monster. For example, a  Dungeon King would be able to mix essences with a Succubus to produce an  imp, or mix essences with a Vampire to produce vampire bats. As these  minions lack sentience and are infinitely replaceable, they make up the  majority of monsters within a dungeon. Thus why a Dungeon King is called  a Dungeon King, they hang out in the depths of a dungeon, helping the  local monsters fill it with random encounter fodder, and in exchange the  monsters treat their Dungeon King with respect and reverence, caring  for their needs.

ILTSDK is a dungeon building strategy and simulation game at it’s  core. You will need to guide the monsters under your control, excavating  new dungeon rooms, building traps, concealing secret doors, gathering  treasure and coordinating your dungeon’s defenses. Eventually, a band of  adventurers will be lured into your meticulously planned defenses,  attempting to fight their way to their objective and escape with their  lives. Defeat them, and your dungeon survives for another day. Fail, and  they will make off with your precious stuff and leave your minions in  tatters… but they’ll also spread the tale of how easy your dungeon was  to defeat, and maybe the next band of adventurers to wind up at your  door won’t quite be so cautious, well-prepared or skilled.

The idea of monster ecology is central to the gameplay of ILTSDK. The  monsters within your employ require Mana in order to live. Unlike  humans, however, they don’t simply absorb Mana just by existing.  Instead, they require humans to come to their dungeon, bringing Mana  with them. So you must collect treasure, kidnap maidens and earn fame in  order to lure adventurers into your dungeon so that your monsters can  survive on the Mana generated. Thus the game is a careful balancing act-  too few adventurers and your followers will starve, too many and they  will be overwhelmed and your resources exhausted. You also have to keep  an eye on your dungeon’s reputation as well, as having a reputation for  being a difficult dungeon will lure stronger and more capable  adventurers, while having a reputation for being easy will bring  adventurers who simply don’t have the treasure or Mana necessary for you  to keep your head above water.

The other core element of the game is adventurer psychology.  Adventurers have different goals and needs. A thief is in it for the  treasure, obviously, but a wizard is far more interested in magical  secrets and items, while a knight would prefer to chivalrously free  captured maidens. You can use these different goals in order in  manipulate that party, drawing them into ambushes or traps as they seek  to satisfy their needs. But even better… if you manage to damage the  party’s morale enough, with spells, traps and monster encounters, they  will fall victim to infighting and fear. Then, when they find themselves  at an intersection and need to decide which party member’s needs to  fill, they may fail to maintain cohesion, and split the party to pursue  separate goals. And as we all know, the worst thing adventurers can do  is split the party….

Well, that’s all for this month’s ILTSDK preview. Hopefully now you  have a better idea of what kind of game it will be, and what to expect  going forward! Thank you all for listening, and I hope to see some of  you at today’s devstream!