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!