Tower of Gargalesis (Tickling RPG M/F, F/F, F/M)

[Chesterpacific]

May I just say for the record that this game is awesome.

 

[DeusExProcella1]

Hey everybody, here's a more substantial post in regards to the continuing wait for the next installment in "The Tower of Gargalesis". I just wanted to apologize for the extravagant periods of nothing only to be met with what seems to amount to thirty minutes of new gameplay, so sorry about that.

I played the Labyrinth of Laughter today, and just wanted to say wow, why are you guys playing my game lol? That one is way better, and seems to have a better production quality, what with custom sprites and animations. I don't know where the story is going with that one, but knowing my capacity to let down, I'll assume in a better direction than mine is.

Anyway, yeah, sorry again. I don't have a lot of time lately, but once I get into the groove of the "real world", I'll be able to make time to work on my thirty million projects. Beta-testers can expect to hear from me on Thursday. I may be getting in touch with a person or two to bounce ideas off for the story <_< it's really killing me to just keep this bottled up. Also if it's full of suck and fail, I want to have someone tell me before I release it lol.

I'm thinking the male and female stories will play out a bit differently. So that's something to look forward to. And the final boss of Chapter 9 is going to be a massive event. Get excited about that, depending on your choices, you get to fight a battle using Aello, Hathor, Kaliya, and your Pet/Slave against an army of Mamono. It should be pretty sweet.

So right, sorry for continued delays. I'm starting to feel like I work for Blizzard.

 

[Spiral_Bomb]

If I must suggest someone for you to boucne ideas off of, I do say choose carefully, and don't pick me. I'm sure a lot of us will just be inclined to nod and smile and say, "go for it." I myself know that I'm unreliable as I'm too easily entertained and such :B So I'll like it no matter what. Doesn't mean it won't be awesome, I'm just saying I'm no good for reviewing or criticizing or whatever.

 

[Xtreme09]

I play your game because it's much easier than having to translate the japanese LoL. It's difficult for the new version.
Which by the way i'm trying sort out. More translators would help me out alot. 🙂

 

[Kleptomaniac1]

I played the Labyrinth of Laughter today, and just wanted to say wow, why are you guys playing my game lol?

Cause we don't all speak japanese. =P

Though seriously, the styles between the English and Japanese tickling games is quite different.

The Japanese one has a lot more in terms of customization, but the tickling scenes are a lot more dependant on imagination. Lots of laughter and some comments, and ocassional details.

The English ones are still in betas (which means incomplete and some sections still need work) or were made by complete amateurs (*Raises hand sheepishly*). However, those tickling scenes are more like storiess, with precise details filling the images in your head..

I think they're both good, and in terms of tickling I would actually pick the English ones for the time being.

 

[Carnivore]

Gah! Deus, don't get all mopey on us now! Yea, LL is very well done, and has its own strength v. yours (to wit: its boulder puzzle puts yours to shame, sorry man. Also, the lengthy Alraune scenes are pretty sweet, as well as the between chapter 'cool down' ones. You don't have a comparable giant scene yet, nor anything comparable to the latter).

But in a way this is apples and oranges. ToG has replay value (all those classes! all those different choices! And now with customizable levels of ticklishness!). While you don't have a 'party' to form intricate scenes with (a strength of LL), your lone adventurer has its own niche. Your enemies look good (not really your doing, but still), and the interaction between the Outsider and others is pretty damn deep so far. The writing is often quite good as well (certain short GO/V are blah, but some are hot/good/cool. Hathor, bar scenes, Lady V? All awesome)

If you're desperate for critical feedback, hey, message me. I will turn my most critical of eyes on your story and ideas. I tend to be harsh anyway, I'd be happy to evaluate the 'suck' and maybe suggest tweaks to story and character directions. Hell, I've got critiques about the game thus far, but seriously: Overall this is an incredible effort, and I've been continually surprised at how good this game is. Deus, don't ever forget that, or how many lurkers you dragged out of hiding (myself included) just to comment/praise this game).

*whew* rant off. (PS, just don't make is sign up for battle.net and we'll forgive you)

 

[DeusExProcella1]

Sorry chronic bipolar kicks in every now and then. Blame my mother for that wonderful trait.

I've not reached the Alraune scenes in question, though I've heard about it.

You don't have to sign up for battle.net, but in ten years when Diablo 3 comes out, that may be where I spend most of my time 😛

 

[mandevil]

So right, sorry for continued delays. I'm starting to feel like I work for Blizzard.

I laughed hard.

 

[Zerous]

Don't start puttin yourself down, man :B LoL has custom sprites and such... But, to be honest, lacks detail. Your scenes aremore entertaining :3

Could be worse, you could be working for 3D Realms.

 

[Michael2002]

Agreed

Though seriously, the styles between the English and Japanese tickling games is quite different.

The Japanese one has a lot more in terms of customization, but the tickling scenes are a lot more dependant on imagination. Lots of laughter and some comments, and occasional details.

The English ones are still in betas (which means incomplete and some sections still need work) or were made by complete amateurs (*Raises hand sheepishly*). However, those tickling scenes are more like stories, with precise details filling the images in your head..

I think they're both good, and in terms of tickling I would actually pick the English ones for the time being.

Gah! Deus, don't get all mopey on us now! Yea, LL is very well done, and has its own strength v. yours (to wit: its boulder puzzle puts yours to shame, sorry man. Also, the lengthy Alraune scenes are pretty sweet, as well as the between chapter 'cool down' ones. You don't have a comparable giant scene yet, nor anything comparable to the latter).

But in a way this is apples and oranges. ToG has replay value (all those classes! all those different choices! And now with customizable levels of ticklishness!). While you don't have a 'party' to form intricate scenes with (a strength of LL), your lone adventurer has its own niche. Your enemies look good (not really your doing, but still), and the interaction between the Outsider and others is pretty damn deep so far. The writing is often quite good as well (certain short GO/V are blah, but some are hot/good/cool. Hathor, bar scenes, Lady V? All awesome)

I agree wholeheartedly. The only reason that it seems like LoL is better quality is because it uses a different RPG maker. Unlike ToG, the Japanese game makes use of a third-person perspective ala Final Fantasy (so it needs more animations and such) whereas ToG uses a first-person perspective ala Dragon Warrior (simple, yet enjoyable all the same). They are two completely different-styled games, so there's really no point in comparing the two RPGs.

In my honest opinion, we need MORE tickling RPGs out there for the tickling community. Cackling Cave started it, Labyrinth of Laughter and Tower of Gargalesis are the new generation. Besides these three games, are there any actual RPGs out there that are made specifically for the common tickle fetishist? These games are milestones and a step-up for all things tickling. 🙂

A suggestion: an idea I've liked from LoL that could be transferred into ToG is the different facial expressions of the characters. If anything, being able to see the painful (yet delicious) expressions of our characters (or the bosses) as they're tortured would increase the experience significantly. After all, the reason we're ticklers/ticklees is because we love the reactions from tickling. It's too bad we can't commission an artist to do custom face sprites for the individual adventurers and input them into the game. I mean, it's not like we have a Tickling Art section or anything...:shifty:

 

[buttontickler05]

Don't start puttin yourself down, man :B LoL has custom sprites and such... But, to be honest, lacks detail. Your scenes aremore entertaining.

Couldn't have said it better. Nothing I've seen in Labrynth of Laughter comes anywhere close to the fight with Lady Venus. Not saying that it's not a good game, it just isn't as good as Tower of Gargalesis, not in my book anyway.

Keep on keeping on, Dues. I'm really jazzed about chapter 4 and that super bonus dungeon you talked about. I know that it won't ready until the end of the game, but it gives me something to look forward to.

 

[10 armed tkler]

A little competition is a good thing.

 

[Xtreme09]

LoL doesn't use a different RPG Maker. It's the same VX engine but it's using a script that makes it sideway battle style and this script isn't too uncommon either. And we got enough tickling RPGs atm. I got 4 projects on my plate for translation right now.

And yeah if we could get someone who can make different character expressions for ToG that would be awesome.

 

[DeusExProcella1]

And yeah if we could get someone who can make different character expressions for ToG that would be awesome.

I would commission it, but I fear what the price would run given just how many it would require...(12 alone for the main character).

 

[Michael2002]

LoL doesn't use a different RPG Maker. It's the same VX engine but it's using a script that makes it sideway battle style and this script isn't too uncommon either. And we got enough tickling RPGs atm. I got 4 projects on my plate for translation right now.

And yeah if we could get someone who can make different character expressions for ToG that would be awesome.

Oh. There's a lot about VX that I don't know about (only experienced RPG Maker 2000).

Yeah, you're right. It's best to get the RPGs that we have now their very best than to have numerous crappy ones. Quality over quantity.

Could we start a thread asking for commissions or requests? I'm sure that there's at least an artist within the community out there who's played this game, enjoyed it and is willing to contribute (for free) for the good of the project...or is that wishful thinking?

How many facial expressions would we need for each major character? The villagers don't really need any new ones since they're only there for info and such. The Outsider and any "boss fight" that leads into a major tickling scene would probably need at least four: Serious, Surprised, Laughter and Lustful. The Serious one is probably just the default expression we're using now. So 12 Outsiders times 3 new expressions would be 36 for the Outsider alone. Unless the bosses and the potential partners need to show their laughter (or in Hathor's case, her arousal), I don't think new ones for them would be nice, but aren't necessary.

Since these facial expressions are going to be small enough to fit, the commissioned ones don't necessarily have to be big. They could probably fit on a 4 x 6 grid or something. Almost wish we could ask the "other forum" for help on this project...

 

[DeusExProcella1]

I'm going to try a new method of updating that I just learned about. For now, everyone who would like to use this (which should be 100x easier), download this:

http://tortoisesvn.tigris.org/

I'll be back later once I'm ready to test it out and I'll explain in detail how it works. Basically, when I post saying there's an update, you'll just need to right click the folder and hit a new option tortoiseSVN adds called "svn update" and you'll get everything I've changed.

After some back and forth with a member on the board, I've decided to go through with something I've been planning for a while. Before I release Chapter 4, I'm going to go back through and add more content to the current release. The biggest thing is completely revamping Chapter 2, which was atrocious. I'm fond of Beelzebebe, so I at least owe it to my own character to give her some better characterization and such.

Edit

Doing my overhaul of Chapter 2, just have a class specific tickle scene to add, and a post-chapter scene to write and that'll be done. Then I'm going to go back and revamp the prologue, a bit of Chapter 1 (not a lot...I really like the simplicity there, I may add more though, I can't say), and add a post chapter-1 and post chapter-3 scene. Then I'll start my work on Chapter 4.

 

[TickleUniversus]

I'm going to try a new method of updating that I just learned about. For now, everyone who would like to use this (which should be 100x easier), download this:

http://tortoisesvn.tigris.org/

I'll be back later once I'm ready to test it out and I'll explain in detail how it works. Basically, when I post saying there's an update, you'll just need to right click the folder and hit a new option tortoiseSVN adds called "svn update" and you'll get everything I've changed.

After some back and forth with a member on the board, I've decided to go through with something I've been planning for a while. Before I release Chapter 4, I'm going to go back through and add more content to the current release. The biggest thing is completely revamping Chapter 2, which was atrocious. I'm fond of Beelzebebe, so I at least owe it to my own character to give her some better characterization and such.

Edit

Doing my overhaul of Chapter 2, just have a class specific tickle scene to add, and a post-chapter scene to write and that'll be done. Then I'm going to go back and revamp the prologue, a bit of Chapter 1 (not a lot...I really like the simplicity there, I may add more though, I can't say), and add a post chapter-1 and post chapter-3 scene. Then I'll start my work on Chapter 4.

will the revamp of the chaps affect the people who are already past those points, or are they only for the people playing and are before those points?

 

[DeusExProcella1]

will the revamp of the chaps affect the people who are already past those points, or are they only for the people playing and are before those points?

They shouldn't affect anything. They're just quite a bit of new content (especially the prologue and Chapter 2 remakes). I'd say it's worth playing through again because it will feel very fresh and new.

But as far as continuing goes, no, it won't affect anyone.

 

[Kjiron]

I played the Labyrinth of Laughter today, and just wanted to say wow, why are you guys playing my game lol? That one is way better, and seems to have a better production quality, what with custom sprites and animations. I don't know where the story is going with that one, but knowing my capacity to let down, I'll assume in a better direction than mine is.

I've held off on saying anything for a while now, mostly because I was afraid I couldn't tactfully offer constructive criticism for your game Deus, but I really just need to stop being such a pussy about it. I'm perfectly capable of giving good, constructive criticism. So, here goes...

First, let me say that I have to agree with the sentiment that Labyrinth is better than Tower in terms of "as a video game." Which is the better fetish experience is far too subjective for anyone to declare for any breadth of certainty. But as a video game experience, Tower leaves a lot to be desired. Both games are made by a single game programmer, and both programmers have professional level coding skills, writing abilities, and endless amounts of inspiration and creativity. The playing field is completely level, so there's no reason they can't both be fantastic games.

The real difference comes in for me when I think about what each creator expresses as their motivation. Daabura is a passionate tickle fetishist (extremely passionate), and Labyrinth is a pure expression of that passion. That's all it is. Daabura happens to also be a giant nerd, like many of us, and decided one day that making a video game might be an excellent way to express that desire in a powerful, pure form for everyone to enjoy. Up until Labyrinth, Daabura had been making short stories accompanied by images created in a Japanese 3D character modeling game called 3D Custom Shoujo. Many of the stories and images are filled with the same passion, love, and care you see in Labyrinth. There's no ego to be found anywhere. Just passion.

Deus, you've got a lot of passion too, anyone can see that. But I'm afraid I feel you also have a lot of ego in your motivation, and I'd be willing to say that that's probably gotten in your way more than once. You love talking about how hard your game is. How difficult or neigh impossible the next big boss battle will be. And the only way to get more fetish content out of your game is to beat the bosses. You can see how that might be frustrating for someone who just wants to indulge in their fetish, rather than beat their heads against a wall for an hour. I get the sense that making this game for you isn't just about expressing your passion, but that you see it as a competition of some sort. Like it's you, the programmer, versus us, the players. And that's a bad mentality to have when making a video game. It only makes for a frustrating player experience. It's perfectly possible, I assure you, to create challenge without having it be frustrating.

Being so wrapped up in creating a challenge may be causing you to skimp on other important areas of the game as well. You mentioned yourself recently how much you'd like to go back and re-work the second floor of the tower. Is making these challenging encounters taking your attention away from things like story, puzzles, and game play?

Tower also sometimes feels less like an open world game, and more like a very linear maze. The quests are completed, for the most part, in a linear order. And that's fine, that's a perfectly good way to go about building an RPG. Trouble is that sometimes where to go or what to do next is completely obscure. In your most recent release, for example, there is absolutely nothing that implies it might be worth the player's time to go back to this one place in the game you've only been to one or two other times for any reason. Many of us have been playing our save games that we started way back with your first few releases. But starting a new game now, and trying to move forward without the aid of this forum is needlessly difficult. Your game should stand on its own, and not require that the community work together to build a virtual FAQ for the purpose of completing the game.

Daabura has a lot of discussion on Labyrinth too, but far more often it's about the extra secrets than the main story path. There are two points in Labyrinth (the most recent update included) that can be hard to figure out without aid, and those solutions were revealed in Daabura's blog. So, clearly, nothing is perfect here. But eight out of ten of those discussions on Daabura's blog aren't about how to progress the game, and instead are about where to find secrete passage ways or extra abilities. That's a great example of adding challenge (even obscure, absurd challenge) without making it frustrating. Finding all of Labyrinth's lost heroes isn't something you have to do to progress the game. It's just something you want to do.

Beating the bosses in Tower isn't something you just want to do, but you HAVE to do it. Moreover, it's also the only way to receive the fetish scenes sometimes. (Though, in my opinion, the bad end scenes are much hotter.) I know this is a stupid big wall of text, and if it gets a few TLDR's then I totally understand. I also don't really have any answers for how to make Tower a better game. I'm just trying to offer my observations. I hope they are of some worth to you Deus. You've put a lot of work into your game. Far to much to quit now, if you ask me. You're on your way to creating a masterpiece here. Don't stop until you get there. That's how Blizzard makes the games they do. They just don't stop until they get to masterpiece status, even if it means scrapping something and rebuilding it over and over. Change is the key to growth, in my humble opinion.

 

[buttontickler05]

I'm going to try a new method of updating that I just learned about. For now, everyone who would like to use this (which should be 100x easier), download this:

http://tortoisesvn.tigris.org/

I'll be back later once I'm ready to test it out and I'll explain in detail how it works. Basically, when I post saying there's an update, you'll just need to right click the folder and hit a new option tortoiseSVN adds called "svn update" and you'll get everything I've changed.

After some back and forth with a member on the board, I've decided to go through with something I've been planning for a while. Before I release Chapter 4, I'm going to go back through and add more content to the current release. The biggest thing is completely revamping Chapter 2, which was atrocious. I'm fond of Beelzebebe, so I at least owe it to my own character to give her some better characterization and such.

Edit

Doing my overhaul of Chapter 2, just have a class specific tickle scene to add, and a post-chapter scene to write and that'll be done. Then I'm going to go back and revamp the prologue, a bit of Chapter 1 (not a lot...I really like the simplicity there, I may add more though, I can't say), and add a post chapter-1 and post chapter-3 scene. Then I'll start my work on Chapter 4.

Cool, new content before the new content. I look forward to the revamps.

 

[TickleUniversus]

They shouldn't affect anything. They're just quite a bit of new content (especially the prologue and Chapter 2 remakes). I'd say it's worth playing through again because it will feel very fresh and new.

But as far as continuing goes, no, it won't affect anyone.

Oh alright. Also, because of the chapter remakes, do you think going foward in the game will be delayed or are the chapter remakes like a side project?

 

[DeusExProcella1]

Oh alright. Also, because of the chapter remakes, do you think going foward in the game will be delayed or are the chapter remakes like a side project?

I'm doing it all at once. Right now I'm reworking the arrival point to make it a more interactive experience. As I go, I'm adding smaller scenes here and there. I still need to do the game over scenes for the new mamono (about 7 I guess), and plan a victory scene or two. I'd say no, it won't take any longer than it would take anyway, I'm kind of bouncing around revamping while I work on chapter 4.

 

[TickleUniversus]

I'm doing it all at once. Right now I'm reworking the arrival point to make it a more interactive experience. As I go, I'm adding smaller scenes here and there. I still need to do the game over scenes for the new mamono (about 7 I guess), and plan a victory scene or two. I'd say no, it won't take any longer than it would take anyway, I'm kind of bouncing around revamping while I work on chapter 4.

Alright, sounds interesting. I can't wait for the next chapters

 

[DeusExProcella1]

Brief update on the scope of the changes I'm making:

Just spent an hour making graphics. I hope everyone enjoys the aesthetic change I made.

Working on the Prologue update. There are about 8 tickling scenes before you even leave the Arrival Point, all but 2 leading to a Game Over. You also can't fight at this point.

I went through and cut the Stamina growth of every enemy in the game by half. Basically...it's a lot easier now. For an extreme frame of reference, before the cut Paranoia had 4100 Stamina. Now she has 2300. So...yeah.

Once I get the Prologue redone, I'm going to add more scripted tickle scenes and hidden tickle scenes. More Insta-Game Overs hidden in treasure chests and the like.

Also the menu...I'm happy with the menu.

Included is a screenshot of the arrival point, the place where the Outsider wakes up, that I'm currently revamping. So...yeah...take from that what you will.

 

[buttontickler05]

Holy crap! That's a BIG difference from just a small area with 4 pillars and an entrance/exit. It'll be nice to see the scenes that will be going along with it.

Keep on keeping on, Deus!