(devlog) Building A New World {SPOILERS!}

With v0.0.009a out in the open, I think I need to sit down and write out a bit as to where we’re off to. Gonna go ahead and bold it: SPOILERS AHEAD. If you’re somehow actually invested in what little story there is so far, don’t read any further.

Preface

Atlas started off as my attempt to try and recreate the Untitled Text Game demo by Fenoxo (which, if you’re not familiar with it, it was the predecessor to Corruption of Champions, another text-based adult game). I wanted to have something simple, replayable, and utterly pointless except to help me keep the creative juices flowing so I could keep working on Pox. Unfortunately, it seems that writing smut is much easier for me, and when I sit myself down to work on a project, I find myself wanting to work on Atlas rather than Pox. I should probably seek therapy for that. Anyways, the more I thought about Atlas, the more I realized just how far I could push it. I was caught off-guard by just how much content I foresaw and started outlining without even meaning to. I’ll get to some of that today. The point is, Atlas was never meant to be a big game at all but it probably will be, which means many years to come of updates on this title.

The Content Warning

Right off the bat, you’re greeted with a content warning for the pairings and fetishes you’ll encounter in the game. Honestly I considered being simplistic with it and just doing the basic m/f pairing, but this is my game and ultimately I’m making it for me, and I like a LOT of stuff. So yeah, all sexes/genders can “mingle freely”. That’s a-ok in my book. Also I’m not one to shy away from various fetishes; I plan on writing content for those that I’m not even all that passionate about (exhibitionism ain’t my thing, but I should at least make an effort to include scenes for it).

I still haven’t really decided how to approach sex scenes for NPC’s yet. I thought about giving them their own tastes in partners (and locking some scenes if you don’t match their tastes), but that honestly seems like a lot of work. It’d probably be easier just to say that the inhabitants of the parallel world are more open to encounters with all types and if you’ve charmed them or reduced their willpower (through combat, which we’ll get to later), then you’ve got the green light (as long as you have the hardware to support the scene). I also wanted every single NPC you come across to be able to be sexed (that sounds so wrong), but I feel like if I commit to something like that, I’ll eventually run into a snag where I have a character I either can’t give a scene to or would really rather not give one to. Most characters will have scenes for you to enjoy.

Atlas is going to feature a lot of different races besides human. Some of them are going to be generic fantasy tropes like goblins and elves and dwarves, but you’ll also encounter more… animalistic creatures. Dog-people, cat-people, lizard-people, bird-people, etcetera. Hell, the dog-people even have their own territory within a country (which they guard fiercely and don’t allow outsiders). There’ll be tons of different “morph” races that you’ll meet, each with their own history and culture. There’ll also be actual monsters, like spiders and ghosts and whatnot. I really want to fill the world to burst with life. So yeah, there’ll be a plethora of creatures for you to… interact with. Viva la vida sexual raro.

The Parallel World

First off, the planet is called Terra. Extremely unoriginal but it serves its purpose and it’s hard to mistake it for anything else. If I think of a cooler name, I’ll switch it to that. Anyways, yeah; you and Holly get sucked into Terra’s dimension through a portal opened up by two lower class demons who are trying to create the next Demon Queen. Demon Queens are made from converted humans, but they have to be of sufficiently high quality; only 1 in 500 million possess the necessary traits to become a “complete” Demon Queen (anyone else dies during the ritual). You and Holly both are dragged into this new dimension and the demons make the wrong choice by using Holly for the ritual. Turns out Holly survives it and (after a while) leaves to conquer this new world, and you decide you have to stop her. Maybe. If you feel like it.

The world of Terra is divided into 5 major nations that are aligned like a wheel.

	The Kingdom of Elanus is a human-centrist empire that is extremely xenophobic and is constantly threatening to wipe out its non-human neighbors.
	The Uvrun Coalition is a territory occupied by the remnants of the Corun Ork Tribal Band and the Turk Hobgoblin War Council that tried to wipe each other out over 300 years ago. A tentative peace exists between the two groups, but tensions still run high and the peace is not expected to last forever.
	The Dwarven Empire is an expansive region tucked into the Hyclean Mountain Range. Where others have found nothing but inhospitable terrain, the dwarves found a veritable paradise, and they’ve steadily expanded their kingdom into a sprawling country. Rumors abound that the mines of the Dwarven Empire run gleaming with endless gold and the blood of those who dare try to steal it.
	The Elven Territories mark the boundaries of the Forbidden Forest, aptly named because the Elves kill anyone who dares to enter it without their permission. Highly elusive and mysterious, the Elves choose to keep to themselves and only involve themselves in matters of worldwide importance.
	The Suscia Conglomerate is a massive country consisting of many different races of beastfolk. Despite it’s size, however, Suscia is one of the poorest countries and many of it’s citizens live in poverty, largely due to the ongoing conflict between the Suscia Conglomerate and the Kingdom of Elanus, who despise the beastfolk and seek to wipe them from existence.
	Atana is an enormous fortress-city located in the heart of the largest continent in Terra. Originally built as a safe haven for those wishing to escape the effects of the various conflicts happening around the world, Atana is now the central hub for all commercial trade and sees an influx of millions of people yearly from all races. Atana’s golden law is to respect all inhabitants equally.

The Demon Revolution

So if you’ve played the last version I pushed out a while ago, you know that there’s demons and they’re trying to bring about a new Demon Queen. Unfortunately (or fortunately, rather), you weren’t the one they cast the ritual on; Holly was. So now Holly’s the Demon Queen, or at least she’s going to be. But why do the demons want a new Demon Queen? Well…

The demons have been plotting for nearly 600 years for their time to conquer the surface. Biding their time and slowly amassing their forces, they’ve lain in wait for the perfect time to strike. But just before their plan was set to go into motion, the Demon Queen suddenly disappeared. This created a massive power vacuum and civil war ended up breaking out between three different factions within the demon army. Millions of demons were slaughtered and ultimately the plan to overthrow the surface world never came into fruition. This was seven years ago.

The two demons who summoned you and Holly are officers from the original demon army and realized early on that they would need to either find the old Demon Queen or create a new one. Despite their best efforts, the two demons were unable to find the old Demon Queen and reluctantly decided to try and summon a new candidate. You were the one chosen for such an “honor”, but Holly ended up in your place and now she’s off to ravage the world with her overly-developed body.

Where We Go From Here

The tower you’re on is located in the Suscia Conglomerate, just north of a town controlled by canine beastfolk. Your journey will take you through there first, where you’ll be accosted by the local militia who will most likely either capture you or kill you, depending on how you play it out. If you really play your cards right, you’ll be escorted down to Atana, where you will be left to decide what and how you wish to proceed. The game will really open up at this point, with Atana being your home city.

Anything Else?

Not yet, at least nothing I’d like to reveal. I’m still going over exactly how I want companions to work out, but yeah, you’re gonna have help on your journey. Hope you’ve enjoyed this little peek into the future! If you have any questions or just want to talk about it, you can leave a comment below or over on the main website.