Tickle Magnet tickling video game available on Steam!

[Oblesklk]

Tickle Magnet is available to purchase on the Steam platform:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2692860/Tickle_Magnet/

(NOTE: You must be logged into Steam and your account must be flagged to view adult content before you can see the page)


I wanted to start this thread to let folks know that we are starting a second tickling RPG game based on our existing comic universe.

Our first game is available for download for free here: https://www.ticklingforum.com/showt...yriaan-Chronicles-10-in-Development-as-an-RPG

One of my 2022 goals was to create a tickling based RPG the community could enjoy. The game took about a year of development and released on schedule. I decided to release it for free to the community as a thank you for your support over the years. After releasing The Cyriaan Chronicles #10 December 2022, we were heartened to see how much engagement we received from the community. It's received 1,500 downloads at the time of this posting, with more coming each day. It has a healthy series of discussions on our Discord Server https://discord.gg/bGX3MR2C55 and I am still receiving several messages from players enjoying it.

Not one to be satisfied with one project, I want to push the envelope a bit more with a follow up game. I love video games, I enjoy challenges, and of course I love tickling. So I guess it would make sense to have a follow up game underway.

Tickle Magnet is one of our more low-key tickling comic book series. Numbering 10 issues, the books are heavily inspired by my own peer group growing up in the 90s. Remembering the weird things we got into that summer before college, and riffing off and loving each other. The entire vibe is fun, whimsical, and silly. This game will contain a rather large amount of content, similar to The Cyriaan Chronicles #10, thus will be named Tickle Magnet #11. It will be considered canon for the series, much like The Cyriaan Chronicles #10 is for that particular comic line.

You can purchase the Tickle Magnet line of comic books here: https://oblesklk.gumroad.com/?tags=tickle+magnet



Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Will the game be free to play?
Tickle Magnet #11 will not be free. Production costs for our first game exceeded $2,000 in software costs, customized art, and voice acting. I want to increase the budget for this game, and will need financial support in doing so.

At this point, I don't know what the price point will be. One of the benefits of members to our Patreon is beta testing access to our video games, and that benefit will continue with Tickle Magnet #11.

I don't understand what this is exactly? Is it something you play like on an Xbox, Nintendo, or Playstation system or buy through Steam?
The logistics are still being determined, but I am aiming for another Windows release. I will look into playability for ios, mobile devices, and playability over a web browser, but I have nothing definitive at this point.

What tools are you using to develop it?
I am still using RPG Maker MZ to develop the game. I looked into other game engines, and don't have the resources to escape the "uncanny valley" effect with the character models in those engines, for the number of characters we've scoped to include.

You're calling this Tickle Magnet #11. Is this like a comic book release?
Kind of. It's not a comic book, though. It will be a computer game you either download to your local machine and play, or possibly through mobile device or a web browser. It will continue with many of the characters introduced earlier in the series, and continue with its own story. But is it a unique, interactive story much like a comic book.

Your previous game was like an older Japanese Role Playing Game (JRPG). Is this the same thing?
This game will play fundamentally differently than The Cyriaan Chronicles #10.

The Cyriaan Chronicles #10 heavily leveraged frequent combat and a unique skill system. Tickle Magnet #11 will not have random encounters. In fact, the combat is fairly limited to a handful of optional tickle fights that the player elects into. Defeating these gatekeeping encounters will uncover more optional content within the game.

Previously for The Cyriaan Chronicles #10, I took inspiration from older, turn based role playing games. This time around, I am taking heavy inspiration from Persona 4, one of my favorite RPGs of all time. In this game, time will a limiting factor. There will only be so many slots in the game where you as a character have to solve the mystery presented in the game, forge relationships with characters in the town, and build up your own abilities. The game will be intentionally developed so you cannot do everything in one run and I'm hoping players will find the choices presented in the game fun, and meaningful in the game.

What are some features of the game that are unique?
Everything in this section is subject to change, so please keep in mind it can change as we get through development.

Players loved the voice acting in The Cyriaan Chronicles #10. We got high marks for that feature. So why ruin a good thing? Tickle Magnet #11 will have expanded voice acting over what The Cyriaan Chronicles #10 contained.

Players will choose the gender and look of their character. When choosing gender, players can choose in presenting as a male, female, or gender non-conforming character. These choices will have no beneficial or detrimental impact on how a player enjoys the game. It just allows everyone to enjoy the game.

Characters with romance options in the game, whether sexual or fetish, will not discriminate based on the player's chosen gender. In other words, there's not going to be homosexual women who will only be romanceable by female characters. Nor will there be hetersexual men who can only likewise only be romanceable by female characters. Everyone will be attracted to the choices you make.

I am developing a fairly complex calendaring system, similar to the Persona series. Players will generally have classes during the day, then have their afternoons free to pursue activities they like. Weekends are likewise free choice times where characters can study, pursue other self fulfilling activities, or develop relationships with people on campus or in town.

One of the things I'm most excited about is bringing on a very talented writing team to help me with the creative aspects of the game. I've signed contracts with three community writers, and will reveal their names and a bit more about them (obviously as much as they're comfortable sharing) as production continues. I am really excited to introduce some diversity into our creative process....in that it's not just coming from one person. I've already seen the results in bringing in others in the scoping/planning stages and it's been a huge help allowing me to see things I otherwise would've misssed.

I've contrracted with an artist to create both the art for the game, and to continue the Tickle Magnet comic series when the time comes. My intention is to create a unifying look for the series in both media that can carry forward.

How can I contribute?
If you've already played The Cyriaan Chronicles #10 and offered feedback, you've already contributed a lot!

When will it release?
I will post a roadmap in the following post.


Joining our Discord server gives you more up to date access to game development and is free to join! Join us at https://discord.gg/bGX3MR2C55

If you want to support the game's development financially, you can visit:
Gumroad where you can buy TickleTown videos and our tickling comics: https://oblesklk.gumroad.com
Our Patreon where you can access artwork of the game that's already been created: https://www.patreon.com/oblesklk

 

[Oblesklk]

Roadmap for Tickle Magnet #11

As we head into development, I wanted to share the tentative timeline for the develoment of this game. These steps can be moderately complex, with different parties responsible for different pieces. A delay in one can have ripple effects in other spaces, but I wanted to share the general timelines of what I'm thinking as of today.

[Added March 3, 2023]
The main storyline is now drafted. It's not in a final state, but it's close enough for what I want to do right now. There will still be some touch ups as I code the game and playtest it, but the pacing and primary plot points are in place.
The Caleb, Fiona, and Kelly story arcs are also drafted, so we have a huge jump on the March milestone. We're still working on Autumn and Derrick. I'm going to spend this month really fleshing out a lot of secondary character stories in town. I'd love for players to be able to explore in this game, and that will require a lot of writing still. So much of this is going to be the April milestone work that I'm starting early in March. So overall, still on schedule in production.

January
Define scope of the game [COMPLETED]
Procure art assets [COMPLETED]
Commission first set of inner circle characters [COMPLETED]
Test UI [COMPLETED]

February
Main storyline drafted [COMPLETED]

March
Inner circle character story arcs drafted

April
Secondary characters interactions drafted
Coding of the main storyline
Battle system created
Character sprites of characters in game
Finalize UI

May
Voice acting recorded for main storyline
Voice acting for inner circle story arcs

June
Optional content coded into game
Artwork (busts) finalized
Voice acting touch-ups
first playthrough on test server

July
Alpha version launch
Second playthrough on test server

August
Third playthrough on test server

September
No milestones

October
Beta version launch

November
No milestones

December
Game launch

 

[TKL_M28_LI_NY]

Looks promising.

 

[Oblesklk]

For anyone interested, I am hosting a workshop this Friday on my Discord server. Here is an invite link to the server: https://discord.gg/bGX3MR2C55

The workshop will be in the main voice channel called lobby and will start at 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern this Friday, March 24th. The primary focus will be talking about this game's combat system. I will share my thoughts on where I'm headed at a high level, and gather thoughts from those in attendance. If you ever wanted to catch a glimpse at the game production process, wanted to give some input on your personal thoughts, or were just curious how the game is coming along in general, feel free to stop by!

 

[Oblesklk]

Update #1

There are two things I wanted to cover in this update post: scope and inclusivity


Scope

I released my first tickling video game The Cyriaan Chronicles #10 December 2022. I got some great feedback from players overall. You can find it here and play it for free if you haven't already: https://oblesklk.itch.io/the-cyriaan-chronicles-10

I am now working on my follow up game called Tickle Magnet #11. Its scope is more complex than my first game. In the first game, you're kind of on rails through the story. You're allowed to explore each zone and there are optional side quests and such, but you explore each zone, in order, then move on to the next. There's no revisiting old zones, or going into the story out of order. Part of that is me wanting a simpler scope so I don't overwhelm myself with coding complexities.

This game is going to to be more of an open world feel to it. While that sounds fun, it introduces a lot of complexity into the basic structure of the game. The good news is that I've figured most of the complexities and am now adding the content and meat of the game. The bad news is that it's taken awhile to get to this point.

But I am exciting about the scope. You play as a sophomore at Ravensworth University, the same school where The Ruthless grabbed students to help her build her neural mapper machine, then more students to help test it. There are some events that take place near the beginning of the story that shape your second school year considerably.

As you go through your second year as a student in a west coast American University, you will juggle relationships, having a job, needing to work to pay your rent, studying. All of these are subsystems that are somewhat intricate by themselves, but I'm hoping they result in a lot of cool choices for your character as you navigate your school year.

You will play the entire year. So you go to classes, take exams, get visits from your parents, explore the town, go shopping, attend sporting events, and forge long lasting relationships. All the fun aspects of attending a four-year university, without the $150,000 in student loans to pay afterwards.

And of course, there's tickling! This game is developed by a tickler (hey, that's me!) and written by a trio of ticklers: myself, Sinister Lurker, and Featherscape. I am excited about bringing in such amazing talent to make this gaming experience come alive!

There will be optional tickle battle mechanics, which will deviate from the random encounters prevalent through much of The Cyriaan Chronicles #10.

It's been a ton of work, but a little bit of fun to develop these sub-systems, and I will share more as I get more to share.



Inclusivity

For of all, Happy Pride month! Seems quite fitting to share this update during this month!

One of the things that has been important to me with this game is building an environment of inclusivity within the gaming world. This manifests in several key facets. One of which is I want to make sure we feature more than just foot tickling in every scene. We all have different tastes, and I am aiming to include more folks' interests in the community.

Another key piece to inclusivity is allowing the player more control over their gender expression and whom they can romance. Players will start the game choosing whether their character generally expresses as male, female, or gender non-binary, with accompanying images to match. While in game, romance options are not gender locked. In other words, every character will be a romance option for every player, regardless of the gender they choose.

I don't want a player to feel like they have to replay the game because the female character they really like is a lesbian, thus forcing them into playing a female character which they may or may not be comfortable with. Same goes to a gender non-conforming player being forced to play as a male or female character may be a bit of an off-putting experience I'd like to avoid. I'd like for people to have fun playing these games.

That's kind of the main difference in the two games I'm developing. If you've played The Cyriaan Chronicles #10, it's really Lucia's story. You play as Lucia, and you don't have a say in the matter. In Tickle Magnet #11, it's really your story, and I think that's an exciting vision to share with the community when it releases.

 

[Oblesklk]

Everyone is invited to attend my first presentation on Tickle Magnet #11, the tickling fetish game I've been developing since the start of 2023. It's been a very, very long road, and I'm about to head into pre-alpha status where I playtest the heck out of the game. So I thought it would be a good time to start talking about the game. There will be a series of presentations, and this is the first!


Where:

My Discord server in the lobby. discord.gg/UQmRjDKgj

When:

Sunday, August 20th, noon pacific time, 3pm eastern time.

 

[Oblesklk]

Update #2

There are two things I wanted to cover in this update post: the storytelling and progress on the game. If you want live updates to the game, either join our Patreon today as a financial supporter of the game, or join my Discord server for free (link in my signature).


Characters and storytelling

Having relateable, likeable, interesting characters is a must in everything we publish, this game being no different. I am leveraging the writing talents of other well known author in the community to help me bring these characters and their stories to life.

The storytelling is the #1 component of this game. There are other fun areas to explore, but it's the tightly woven personal relationships forged during those college years that I think make for an intriguing gaming experience. Each of the main characters went through an intense character workshop where we really pounded on them, challenged them, and poked holes in various personality traits, habits, insecurities, desires before finalizing their final version ready for the game. And I'm excited to eventually share the results of that initial investment.



Progress

As of today, I have completed my first playthrough of the game in pre-alpha testing. I am going to commit to one more playthrough before I open the game up for alpha testing phase.

Platinum level supporters of our Patreon will be invited to join the alpha testing phase, hopefully in October. I will log all bug reports, enchancement suggestions, and content requests from the alpha testers, add them to the road map, then decide how to prioritize their implementation.

After alpha testing is completed, all members of my Patroen are invited to participate in the game's beta testing phase, which I'm hoping to open up in December. Again, will take input from the beta testers and log into our Trello that I'm using to log the game's development. Beta testing will likely take a couple of months.

Then I'm hoping to release the game on the Steam platform February 2024. If Steam rejects the game, or there are other complications, I will release probably on itch.io like I did with my previous game.

 

[Oblesklk]

Quick update that this game is now on the Steam platform and moved into Alpha phase testing last night! Platinum members of my Patreon have access to the Alpha stage.

Pretty excited to keep it moving forward. More details are available on my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/oblesklk

 

[Oblesklk]

I just pushed a large alpha build update to the game, you can check it out on Steam right now:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2692860/view/3864715547810711588

The game is in its alpha testing phase. Testing is going well, and with this content upgrade, I plan on planing through it again, then the plan is to enter beta testing within the next couple of weeks. Members of my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/oblesklk) will be able to beta test the game on Steam.

 

[Oblesklk]

After a year in production, my second tickling video game Tickle Magnet, which will release on the Steam platform 2024, will enter its beta testing phase next week. It's completed its alpha testing phase over the last couple of months, and now I will open it up to a much broader audience.

If you want to take part in the beta test, it is open to members of my Patreon: www.patreon.com/oblesklk

This game's scope is rather large for a tickling game:
270,000+ words
3 experienced tickling authors (Sinisler Lurker, Featherscape, and Oblesklkwrote the script
A dozen voice actors/actresses lent their talent to the project.
Nearly 100 unique images created just for use with this game

 

[TickleMFG]

Oblesklk, any update on the release? I've been looking forward to it, and really enjoyed CC#10.

 

[Oblesklk]

Oblesklk, any update on the release? I've been looking forward to it, and really enjoyed CC#10.

I'm glad you enjoyed CC#10!

For Tickle Magnet, we're wrapping up the first month of the beta test. Along with bug squashing, there's some new features I'm adding in this phase. I would assume the launch will be in the next few months.

Edit: Oops, forgot to mention, join my Discord server if you haven't already! It's in my sig, free to join, and I have a channel dedicated to tickling games. I check it daily so it's a great way to get updates and see what we've been up to 🙂

 

[Oblesklk]

This is the second game trailer for "Tickle Magnet", which will release this month on the Steam platform! I'm excited about this trailer because it is full voice acted by the same actresses who voice Autumn and Kelly in the game, both main characters.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2692860/Tickle_Magnet/

<PLEASE NOTE: BECAUSE TICKLE MAGNET IS AN ADULT GAME, YOU NEED TO BE LOGGED INTO STEAM AND BE ABLE TO SEE ADULT GAMES FOR THE LINK TO WORK>

My first tickling video game release "The Cyriaan Chronicles #10," has found several fans across the tickling community as a free to play game with thousands of downloads.

Tickle Magnet is a huge game, and something I've been developing since late 2022. The script has 300k words, I've hired two tickling authors to bolster its content, it features dozens of hand drawn artwork to represents the main characters in game, a dozen voice actors/actresses to breathe life into the characters, all with a focus on tickling!

Alternative link:
https://oblesklk.vids.io/videos/7990d7b4171de9c7f0/ticklemagnet_trailer02

 

[Oblesklk]

The game has launched on the Stream platform!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2692860/Tickle_Magnet/

Thank you for everyone supporting its development over the last year and a half. This one is a beast in terms of scope, complexity, and development time. I really love that members of the tickling community weighed in on the planning stages of its development, I had two talented authors in Featherscape and Sinister Lurker to help draft the stories, had a dozen talented voice actors and actresses lend their skills to make the characters really come alive for a rather special game.

Enjoy 🙂

 

[Jessy_Jay]

The game has launched on the Stream platform!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2692860/Tickle_Magnet/

Thank you for everyone supporting its development over the last year and a half. This one is a beast in terms of scope, complexity, and development time. I really love that members of the tickling community weighed in on the planning stages of its development, I had two talented authors in Featherscape and Sinister Lurker to help draft the stories, had a dozen talented voice actors and actresses lend their skills to make the characters really come alive for a rather special game.

Enjoy 🙂

Happy launch day! :-D

 

[Oblesklk]

Happy launch day! :-D

Hey, thank you! That's awesome 🙂

 

[Illaltemacc]

So, I bought this and was playing it. Now, I was enjoying it, but I think I ran into a bug.

As after class you can go to the bulletin board and do things that increase your cleverness, curiosity, craft and charisma.

But in my case it stopped giving those increases.

Now I understand bugs are to be expected in any game, let alone a relatively small scale one.

But this is pretty game breaking, and I'm wondering if you have plans to update the game after release, because I was really enjoying it up until then.

 

[Oblesklk]

So, I bought this and was playing it. Now, I was enjoying it, but I think I ran into a bug.

As after class you can go to the bulletin board and do things that increase your cleverness, curiosity, craft and charisma.

But in my case it stopped giving those increases.

Now I understand bugs are to be expected in any game, let alone a relatively small scale one.

But this is pretty game breaking, and I'm wondering if you have plans to update the game after release, because I was really enjoying it up until then.

I'm glad you're (mostly) enjoying the game so far 🙂

Raising your stats is easy to do in the beginning if your starting stats are bad (like a 2 for example). You'll see an increase after visiting the clubs just once. As your stats get higher, it can take 2, 3, or even 4 visits to raise the stat to the highest level.

If you visit the clubs and after 4 visits don't receive an increase, that is absolutely a bug. Also, your stats max out at 10, and hopefully the game is alerting you that you cannot raise it further.

If this isn't a bug and you're able to increase your stats, I would say I need to better document this in the game, as others will have similar confusion about visiting the clubs multiple times.

If you haven't already, feel free to join my Discord server (link below). I have a dedicated channel to tickling video games, where you can get help from others pretty quickly!

 

[Illaltemacc]

Oh, cool. I honestly thought that might have been the case, but wasn't sure.

In general, I do think that the game would probably benefit from some more explanation of how things work.

Specifically in a way that can be referred back to. Such as an element in the pause menu.

As, for instance, unless I'm missing it, which is possible, there is no explanation as to what Craft, Cleverness, Curiosity and Charisma do, beyond one fleeting explanation. The details of which I personally won't be able to remember for the duration of the game's playthrough.

 

[Oblesklk]

Oh, cool. I honestly thought that might have been the case, but wasn't sure.

In general, I do think that the game would probably benefit from some more explanation of how things work.

Specifically in a way that can be referred back to. Such as an element in the pause menu.

As, for instance, unless I'm missing it, which is possible, there is no explanation as to what Craft, Cleverness, Curiosity and Charisma do, beyond one fleeting explanation. The details of which I personally won't be able to remember for the duration of the game's playthrough.

I like it. Like having a glossary or wiki-ish series of entries inside the main menu that better explain some game elements.

Thank you for the suggestion! I will log this as a feature request on the roadmap.

 

[Illaltemacc]

Thanks, it would be helpful.

Oh, and just as an update, it was not a bug. As going back to the club's several times did result in the stats increasing.

I was just not understanding how it worked.

 

[Oblesklk]

Thanks, it would be helpful.

Oh, and just as an update, it was not a bug. As going back to the club's several times did result in the stats increasing.

I was just not understanding how it worked.

I'm glad it worked.

I'm taking your suggestion seriously, and have already started work on a tutorial system for the game to better explain the mechanics to players.

It's people like you who reach out and get engaged that will help improve the gaming experience for everyone! So thank you for that.

 

[Multit3]

Does the game have cutscene-like artwork like in Cyrian Chronicles or is it just avatars and text?

 

[Oblesklk]

Does the game have cutscene-like artwork like in Cyrian Chronicles or is it just avatars and text?

Great question!

It does not have the same pinup art that CC#10 had.

I made this decision for a couple reasons:
1. CC#10 had fewer scenes with more build-up, so it was easier to make a handful of pinups for those scenes. Tickle Magnet has several smaller scenes, and producing accompanying artwork would be prohibitively expensive.
2. I received feedback from several players that the pinups on CC#10 were sometimes distracting, hard to see, or otherwise interfered with carrying out the scene.

 

[Illaltemacc]

So, I finished the game. And I have some things I'd like to say about it.

However, these would contain spoilers. And I haven't been able to find out how to obscure said spoilers. Even though I have looked around the forum for any information to do so.

So, does anyone know if such a mechanism exists, or can suggest an alternative? So as to not spoil anything.