Sexy environments, how and why

Author: Salireths

As I work more on environments, I realized that I need a better-fitted design language, as I wasn't happy with what I was getting with all the "crystallic" technology. It looks too industrial, doesn't suit a luxurious and comfort-loving species.

Taking a lot from the idea of tentacles and organic parts that I've shown in my previous posts, I decided to develop them further. I can make it match a new design goal, informed by the gameplay and the setting of the game, make it appear sexy, and also, I significantly toned down the "alien" part to save my own sanity (and nobody cares about it to be honest).

What does "sexy" mean? Smooth lines, soft things, sensual color schemes, and some erotic context in places.

Why would I want that? I simply want adult-ness of the game to be seamlessly integrated into the game world, even without player participating in any naughty content themselves. Since we're telling a story about our Dragon civilization, they are quite sexual creatures who love pleasures, riches, and comfort - and thus, their culture, technology and visual design needs to reinforce that.

The Living Exodimensional Vessel

(very WIP images, apologies, couldn't finish them in time for this post)

The hub world is something I've talked about a lot previously, and I'm afraid of mentioning it even more as everyone must be sick of me changing its design all the time... However, personally, I believe its always improving, and as it being the most central and important part of the game, I don't want to mess it up.

Gone is the idea of it being some mysterious place between Realities, screw it, my constant problems with it should have indicated already that it just does not work.

It is a space ship now, simple and relatable, much easier to grasp (and thus realize and design). The rest is pretty much unchanged, same functions, murals, etc. It is still a hub, a place to select levels from, to manage and craft things.

New design, new opportunities:

1. Because you will be spending a big portion of the game inside a Dragon ship, I want you to be immersed in their culture, find out more about it, and learn why you are here.
2. As the ship is alive, it can be a character of its own. It's a male ship, and he can be helping you on your journey.
3. Story makes sense, I have a neat narrative idea of why you hatch on that ship at the start of the game.
4. Recruiting NPCs into your crew makes much more sense than previously abducting them into some ethereal plane of existence where for some reason your home is located (I couldn't come up with said reason).

Sexy walls

(The colors aren't representative of the final version, full resolution is in downloads below)

After I combined crystallic and organic technologies, curated by the idea of making it luxurious and "sexy", I got an avalanche of great and fun ideas I had to sketch out. Most of it is drawn on the picture, but here are some additional notes:

1. Organic stuff is usually associated with meaty, bloody, gross infestation growths. This is not the case here at all!
2. Everything is clear, bright, parts of it are smooth pearl-like hard shells with beautiful ornamental rims.
3. Some under-shell areas are of soft and warm living tissue, and have suggestive shapes to them too. The ship can feel you touch him there, and he likes that a lot.
4. All tall structures feature perches for flying creatures to rest.
5. There are "nests" where creatures can gather and enjoy each other's company, eat delicious food (created with a built-in materializator) and just relax. Comes with egg-shaped pillows and cozy curtains.
6. There is a number of expansion slots to grow materializators, storage solutions, and research equipment to help you on your journey, making place more lived-in.
7. Materialization wings on each side of the main hallway allow spawning various environments for your pleasure, research, or training.
8. Protoliquid, or "Dragon Waters" is the driving force of this technology, its the "blood" of the ship that has many uses and functions, it can even construct objects. As you learn how it works, it can be part of your organism too.

Sexy computers

(full version is in downloads below)

Dragon technology is different from what we're used to seeing in sci-fi. There are no displays, no keyboards or buttons - the analog for those would be the process of connecting the operators's nervous system with one of the machine (though the word "machine" isn't really suitable here).

Dragons have developed special nervous endings to interface with their technology, and they are trained to use it from the moment they hatch. Other species not possessing required genetics might find this experience extremely difficult, however that can be used as a great "plot twist", something I'm not going to talk about for now.

Tasks like piloting the ship require full connection to the nervous system, and since the brain is off-limits, even internal organs need to be connected. What is the best and least invasive way to reach them? Well, it's illustrated above.

For people who feel especially picky about their tailhole when connecting to the piloting seat, I imagine they will be able to choose an oral path instead, after all, its part of the same flesh-tube, and tentacles can reach deep (we need a better name for tentacles).

Conclusion

(Level blockout in-game, just testing scale and placement of objects. Full video clip can be found on Imgur here: https://imgur.com/a/6df8QMm)

No matter if sexual or normal, fetishized or awkward, it's just how technology works there, its in our Dragon culture. Slit-like doors, smooth shapes, thick liquids, erotic statues - yes, it all looks suggestive on purpose!

I have a unique opportunity to explore design ideas that everyone is pretty much afraid to touch. I want to seamlessly integrate them into the world the game is set in, so the "adult theme" doesn't feel out of place.

There is no reason to mask the game as "normal". People who shop for an "adult" game expect it have "adult stuff" to be the main part of the experience, and if it was shyly tucked away into a corner, it wouldn't be good! I relentlessly worked on figuring out how to make "adult" part be something more than just "doing it" with NPCs for no particular gameplay reason, like in many "adult" games out there.

I'm going to continue this design direction, keep expanding game with content: research projects, items, minigames, species, lore, technologies, environments, martial art moves and weapons, all need to be "sexy" in some way, or tickle some other carnal desire, like... Pizza.

I still don't want to force players to do sexual interactions as an obligation, if you don't want to something - it's your call. The meaning of "adult" is so much more than just sex, hope that point is clear.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you are as excited as I am (no pun intended, it is really great to be working on this world)!

(Some extra thrown away sketches)