Today I wanted to talk about Monsty Corps characters and a little about the games DLC.

As a note, the games development is currently paused, Ive recently moved and will be on break soonish for my Birthday (Im currently finishing up work that I have missed with moving, however the work I need to do for Monsty Corp is so large I dont currently have the time)

[h2]The Silent Protagonist[/h2]
Name: Robin
Pronouns: they/them/theirs
Role: Silent Protagonist
Dimension: 3D

With a very original name, Robin is the silent protagonist of Monsty Corp.
Robin was originally going to be fully voiced by myself (hence the name), however I ended up realizing that they work better without being voiced. You the player are supposed to be able to insert yourself into the role of Robin, while Alexs story is much more linear, Robins story is meant to be entirely up to you, does Robin make it out? Thats up to you. Does Robin die? Well thats also up to you To an extent, you the player get to decide Robins ending.

Fun Fact!
Robin was originally a placeholder name where I had given them my name temporarily. However I ended up realizing that I couldnt think up of a better name, and as a gender-neutral name, it fits the role perfectly.

[h2]The worried boyfriend[/h2]
Name: Alex
Pronouns: he/him/his
Role: Vocal Protagonist
Dimension: 3D

Alex is our secondary protagonist. While Robins story is entirely your choice, Alex will take a very linear path. Starting off REDACTED, you will watch Alex go through absolute hell and back to save his partner Robin.

Fun Fact!
Alex was originally being written to be the main protagonist of the game, however I really thought this would make the final boss fight make zero sense so I rewrote it. Another version of the story had Alex as a fake antagonist, where Alex was Robins ex-boyfriend who Robin thinks for the longest time is behind everything, however I prefer love stories and thought Id rather make a love story.

[h2]The evil AI[/h2]
Name: SAIC
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Role: Antagonist
Dimension: 3D

SAIC will be someone you see a lot of. Starting off as REDACTED, we eventually find out that she is REDACTED. Her name stands for Sentient Artificial and Intelligent Consciousness. In a very old build of the game, back in 2018, shes voiced by a Text to Speech software, however will be voiced by yours truly in the actual game.

Fun Fact!
To get into voice for SAIC I have to say Unexpected Item in the Bagging Area 5 times, almost like Im trying to summon beetlejuice!

[h2]The friendly helper[/h2]
Name: Bit
Pronouns: he/him
Role: Helper
Dimension: 3D (and 2D)

Bit is a character Ive had in my pocket for a while. Hes a very friendly AI that will help Robin throughout the game. He will constantly talk to Robin through text messages, giving them ideas on what they should do next, and is always there!

Fun Fact!
Bit is the Lockyz Media mascot, if you look at our logo for example, hes there.

[h2]The obviously crazy one.[/h2]
Name: HSG
Pronouns: All of the above!
Role: The one that everyone thinks is crazy.
Dimension: what are those?

HSG was originally added as a placeholder to test the games old conversation system. His only lines that were in a game build (so far), were created by a friend for another character. I specifically remember the script saying insert incoherent rambling. And he delivered. HSG has gone from a random throwaway to so much more Do do you wanna hear a story about Haunted Sandwiches?

Fun Fact!
Every day you inch one day closer to your eventual death! Yet HE will remain. HE will always be here!

[h2]????[/h2]
Name: HIM
Pronouns: ????
Role: ????
Dimension: ????

????

Fun Fact!
????

Im sorry, I dont know whats happened there.

DLC Announcements
As part of making the Monsty Corp story as fleshed out as possible, Monsty Corp will launch with 2 DLC packs, the Prequels DLC and the Sequels DLC (Temporary Names).

[h2]The Prequels[/h2]
During the content of the Prequels DLC, you will play as Maria, a new member of the Practical AI Division. Within this DLC you will see the activation of SAIC and what SAIC does to all the employees. Whether Maria survives into Monsty Corp is up to you!

This DLC is designed to be playable before you play the base game, and in fact, playing through the DLC may unlock additional content within the base game (one could argue that the DLC should be part of the main game, but as its entirely optional and is designed moreso to give you more information about the story, I felt it necessary to make it a DLC instead of part of the main game).

This DLC is not for those who are less than 18 years of age. A big part of the DLC for me was that I can go much further with them, then I can the base game, which was always being designed to have an age rating of 16+.

[h2]The Sequels[/h2]
The idea of the Sequels is to allow the player to experience the consequences of their actions, youll get the option to play one of two different stories based on your choices in the main game (though youll be given the option to pick). While one ending is considered canon by myself, Ill never actually reveal which. Its important to me that you, the player, decide what you want to be canon.

Both stories exist simultaneously but on different timelines and will involve different characters.


----------------------------------
Thanks for reading this. I was originally going to insert screenshots of the games actual script and screenshots of changes Ive made in the game build. But unfortunately Ive recently moved so actual development has paused for the time being.

Im working on whats called a Game Design document soon to make my job much easier, Im tempted to release it as part of some Early Access content.

Thanks
Robin

Another Month, Another Dev Log!

I unfortunately haven't been actively working on the game, at this current time I'm in the middle of moving so the amount of time I CAN spend working on the game has been heavily decreased.

[h2]Possible Increase in System Requirements[/h2]
I had intended to allow the game to be run on as many systems as possible. However, Unreal Engine and a lot of the Marketplace assets I'm using aren't really made for that. I'm working to optimize the game where possible, but I'm having performance issues on my PC itself (though granted I have a GTX 1060, so it sorta makes sense I can't really run games using a modern Game Engine and High-Quality assets).

So at this point I'll be figuring out new recommended system requirements and new minimum system requirements.

[h2]State of the Game[/h2]
Over the past month I've been working on updating the current level design to better fit my vision for the game. For example I now have some Unreal Marketplace assets that fit with the vibe of "Futuristic Science Facility". (The hope is to one day remove all Unreal Marketplace assets and have my own, but all my model making experience is in Maya and I can't afford that...) There has not been much work on the story, but as I mentioned I've been incredibly busy. Below are a few screenshots of the new level design!


A current look at the outside of the facility


The "offices" of Chapter One.


The Parkour of Testing Room 1, Part 1.


The top level of the Parkour Room


A redesigned Laser Room

[h3]Start of adding story[/h3]
I've started adding assets into Chapter One that will help with the future cutscenes in the game. While no cutscenes exist just yet, you can probably get a basic idea based on the assets in the scene.


"Life Support System Offline"


"Who just leaves a keycard on a desk?" (Yes IK it's a key, its an unfinished asset)

[h2]Closed PreAlpha Applications[/h2]
I'd like to announced that you can now apply for the Closed Pre-Alpha. Simply go to this page on our website: https://www.lockyzmedia.com/games/monsty-corp/ fill out the form and I will send you either an email or a direct message on Discord if you've been accepted. I would recommend joining our Discord Server as it will make it easier to get in touch if for example I need more information. At this current time, PreAlpha builds do NOT contain any actual story, the entire point is to get everyones thoughts and opinions on the games level design and game mechanics, I firmly believe that user feedback at all levels of the game design process is of upmost importance and gives me the ability to create the best game I can.


----------------------------------------------------------------------
I've you've made it this far, thanks for reading this post and I hope to see you all in the PreAlpha!
- Robin

Yeah... It's not even been a week and I already have heaps of news to share. I definitely should have waited to publish the March 2024 devlog. But you can't change the past... For now!


New Branding
Monsty Corp officially has new branding. It's very... derivative of the Lockyz Dev/Media branding and from my other game. But it does help with giving Monsty Corp a not ugly branding scheme while I work to establish a better identity for the game.

State of the Game
In the past week or so there's been a lot of work on getting various parts of the games level layout finished, quite a few features are still unfinished (And within the screenshots below you can see a bunch of cubes that go back to the main menu when walked into) the hope is to finish the layout of Chapter 1 and then start off with Chapter 2. I've also made the decision to nix Chapter 0, instead the parts of the game that were originally "Chapter 0" will simply take place before the Title screen, so there'll be a bunch of fluff before showing the games title (very reminiscent of JRPGs like FFVII Remake in that regard)

I've also gone ahead and updated the screenshots featured on the games store page, obviously they're showing unfinished content. But it's better then severely outdated screenshots from a completely different engine.


Monsty Corp Dev Main Menu


Robin/Alex's house interior layout


Basic layout of the Monsty Corp facilities ground level.


The "underground" of Monsty Corp in Chapter 0

Monsty Corp Dev Level
If you're part of the testing team, you'll already know, but I've been testing out a few additions to the game. Sure these are concepts an experienced unreal dev will already know, but as someone who's still new to it, getting these working was pretty exciting.

[h2]Laser Test complete[/h2]
I'm still not entirely sure why I felt the need to test it before implementing it, but the laser field for Chapter One (that was removed in the Unity version) has officially been re-added, there's still some changes I want to make, but it's in there.


Laser Field in Dev Level


Laser Field in Chapter 1

That's all folks
There's nothing else I feel the need to say without going into spoiler territory. Next months dev log will (hopefully) talk about the Alpha program and community translation.

Thank's for reading, hopefully you all enjoy what I'm working tirelessly to finish.
Robin

Hi all, it's been almost a month since announcing that I'm working on this game again, so you may be wondering, where am I with development right now? I plan to do one of these dev logs about once a month, but don't expect things to change too often, remember that the game is being completely rewritten and being completely remade in a completely different engine.

Story Rewrite
At this current time Monsty Corp is undergoing a complete story rewrite, I just was not happy with the old story and have decided to remake it in a way that I could enjoy working on it.

At this current time I've finished the Epilogue and I'm partway through finishing Chapter One. I also know what I want the canon ending to be so I'm writing with that ending in mind. I'll be working on the other endings and what I want them to be once I finish Chapter One (Since Chapter Two onwards will start to affect the games ending).

Right now, I have until the introduction of SAIC which is now much further along then it was in the old game, which means we have officially passed the old version in terms of how much story we have.

Game Build Progress
With all that said, there's been little to no progress on an actual game build, I had hoped to get at least a demo out in October, but I don't see that happening, for a while.

I am working with my dev level to test out some features needed for Chapter One's story, but I can't get into too much detail about that.

Updates on a pre-alpha
I intend to open up a closed pre-alpha sometime within the next few years, the first few pre-alpha builds will simply include the dev level to allow proper feedback on the games future feature set, I'll have more information on that in the very far future, the first few of these pre-alphas will not include story content. I don't want to start adding story content to the game until I have the base feature set finished and the entire story finished (that way if I need to change things around, I can do so without affecting the game).

FAQ (but not really an FAQ)
[h2]When do you think the Early Access will start?[/h2]
It's too early to tell right now, I'm hoping to have the Early Access out sometime before 2026, but I just can't confirm right now.

[h2]How much will the game be on launch?[/h2]
It depends on the amount of content and how much people enjoy the game, just remember though that the price will NEVER be higher then 25 Australian Dollars, I am a firm believer that video games should never be more expensive then that.

[h2]Will the game still have DLC?[/h2]
I still plan to have 1 DLC pack at launch, Monsty Corps Sequels DLC will contain an expansion to the story and allow you to explore the aftermath of the canon ending, or the ending you end up with. This DLC is not expected to cost anything more then $15 Australian Dollars, as with the base game, DLC should not cost an arm and a leg, especially with the current cost of living crisis.

The only reason this content will be a DLC is due to age ratings, I want the base games content to stay at around an age rating of 16+, making this content a DLC allows me to go further with the content in the game. The Sequels DLC (and the eventual Prequels DLC) are predicted (cannot confirm just yet) to be 18+.

[h2]What's taking so long?[/h2]
Aside from the game being completely rewritten and being completely remade in a different game engine, I am still a full-time student, I work on Monsty Corp mostly in my spare time, which I seem to have so little of these days.

[h2]When are you going to make new art assets/update the Steam page's screenshots[/h2]
Once I have game content to warrant updating the games screenshots and when I can afford to hire an artist to create new art assets for the game.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for reading this long as heck post, working on this game again has been amazing. I'm hoping to have something to show you guys sometime within the next few months, whether it be a screenshot from the aforementioned dev level or a tiny snippet of the games script.

I'll see you all soon
- Robin

I'm very aware that I announced this game would be ceasing development, however things have greatly changed since then, and I did always intend on coming back to this game if I was motivated enough.

Monsty Corp will now be developed within Unreal Engine 5.3. I cannot confirm any estimated release date, nor can I share any screenshots as the "remake" is very, very early in development. (I plan to release the old Unity version sometime in the future, it'll be released as "Monsty Corp Legacy" on the itch store in the future, please remember that it was so early in development when it was abandoned that the most you'll find are dev levels and basic scene layouts)

Over the next few months I'll be working tirelessly to get the game into a state where I can show off screenshots and maybe video footage and keep ya'll updated. On launch I hope to make the game as cheap as possible (as little as $5usd, as high as $25usd, video games should NOT be any more expensive then that) but cannot guarantee a price just yet.

That's it, literally just telling ya'll this games actually being worked on and has no longer been completely abandoned.

It is with a heavy heart that I announce today that the development of Monsty Corp has ceased.

Unfortunately with a combination of feature creep, money and being bored/annoyed by the project we've been unable to continue working on it and have decided to cancel.

I will be contacting Steam Support later today to have the store page taken down and removed.

You're welcome to play some of our other games. We have some new stuff that we're working on that we hope will fill the void that the cancellation of Monsty Corp will bring.

And for the last time,
Thank you for reading,
Robin Painter
Owner/Lead Developer of Lockyz Dev

We've been working HARD to prepare for the Early Access release.
For example, we have quite a few things we want to show off to you guys.

Failure Detection
The game will now detect when you've failed at an activity too often and will now make it "easier" for you to complete it. For example, this area has a bit of parkour that you have to complete, if the game sees that you've failed from the first jump 5 times or more it will automatically enable some stairs to bring you to the top. It will also act condescending towards you a bit because this is supposed to be the first level YA NOOB.


Unity HDRP
We're using Unity's HDRP (High Definition Render Pipeline) in order to create stunning visuals, when we get to that ofc. This also means the game uses raytracing in order to make the lighting in the game look absolutely amazing.


Main Menu changes based on where you are
Depending on where you actually are in terms of the actual game, the main menu will change. For example, in Level 0, the game will show you a visual of the Hibernation Room. If you're in Level 1 the game will show you the parkour, and if you're in level 2 the game will show you a building in the city.



What else can you show us?
Well, we can show you a screenshot of a "dream sequence" we've been working on to introduce the player to an important character in the story. Once we finish said sequence we will post a video on our YouTube channel.

The 16th of September has come and gone so you may be wondering, why is the game not in Early Access yet?

The answer is simple, we're not finished. We wanted to finish the basic gameplay and story elements for levels 1, 2 and 3 (These are internal names we use for our save state system). We've only just started getting the basic level design down for Level 3 and we don't expect to be finished with that until November.

We've pushed the early access release date back until November the 16th so we can get the game to a state in which you can get a basic idea of what the final game will include.
We're sorry that we've pushed the release back, we're working hard and hope we'll be done by then.

New Beta
For the first time in a while we're allowing people to join the Beta test of Monsty Corp as we develop and work on new features. You're welcome to join our Discord Server and get the "Game Tests" role from the roleinfo channel https://discord.gg/NgpN3YYbMM

Game Changes
We're making various changes to the game from how it works all the way to how it looks.

[h2]UI Changes[/h2]
We're always working on the UI to Monsty Corp to better reflect our vision for the game. Soon we hope to show what these new UI changes look like and what we have planned for the future.

[h2]Feature Changes[/h2]
We're going to be changing the list of "game features" on the store page. There's many reasons for this, one being that we've decided to go in a slightly different direction in terms of story and some of these features wouldn't make sense for that. We're going to be working with more people in order to hopefully get this game out in a future that isn't the games setting.

[h2]Story Changes[/h2]
Yes, you saw that right. We're making many changes to the games story, from how it starts to the middle of it. It is important to note that Monsty Corp is still very early into it's development so massive story changes, feature changes and more should be expected.

[h2]Predicted Rating Changes[/h2]
Some of these new story changes make the game a bit more... mature... in light of that we're going to be getting the predicted rating changed in order to fit.

In Closing
We're making many changes to Monsty Corp from the basic look all the way to how we want it to function and play. We're going to try to do these devlogs more often in order to keep you guys updated and knowledgeable on everything.

Thanks for reading,
Robin Painter
Lead Developer
Lockyz Dev

We have a few things we gotta talk about today from some UI concepts to some announcements.

UI Concepts
We pride ourselves in making things look good while we work on them.
That being said the UI elements in Monsty Corp have been lackluster and ugly at best.
Youll notice that a lot of the menu elements are similar, but thats due to the fact that it scales well as opposed to other ways we could do it.
Weve slowly and surely been working on some updated concepts that actually work for the type of game were trying to make. You can see some of them below.
You can leave your thoughts and opinions on the game in our discord server


While its not the MOST beautiful thing the actual ingame UI will be functional and actually look good. We currently havent been focusing on making this asset look like its in use but this is a general idea of what it would look like and the layout of it.


This is close to an older concept of the Main Menu. It is also very similar to the Main Menu from a LOT of Unity Games but that just shows that its good and/or easy to do. Our main focus here is functionality.


The pause menu of Monsty Corp is something you might be looking at a lot so weve tried our best to make it not look like such an eye sore. Youll notice that the Tasks Menu and the Settings Menu comes from this menu.


The Settings menu is just an updated version of an older concept we had, nothing has really been changed other then the colors and the title is shown at the top-left instead of the top-center.


The current version of the tasks menu is unfinished, this being due to us not needing to test it at this current time, plus it isnt going to make our testers lives better as were focusing on the main tasks at this current time.

This is a menu that youre likely going to be looking at a lot as Monsty Corp will have various tasks or quests that youll have to do. And being based in a massive facility we wanted to make it possible for you to do optional tasks if you wanted too.

The optional tasks will come from various NPCs youll find either around the facility or around the city that the game is based. We also plan on using the optional tasks menu for post-game tasks thatll be done around all the various unlocked areas of the game that you can only access when the game is complete.

Special Announcement
Monsty Corp is going to be open world.

While itll mean development has to take longer and we will have to do lots of quality and performance tests we feel itll make Monsty Corp an all out better experience for you the player.
This also means that we dont have to go through and add the many different UI elements to the various different scenes thatll be needed without being open world.

In Closing
We thank you for your continued support to our game and hope that you wishlist Monsty Corp on steam.

Thanks,
Lochlan "Lockyz" Painter

Beta Tester Applications are now closed

You can view more information on our website

We're announcing today that you can officially apply to join the Monsty Corp Closed Beta.
Please note that this will give you an InDev version of the game so bugs/glitches/crashes are likely present.

Applications close in ~6 days.

You can apply at our website

Thanks,
Lochlan "Lockyz" Painter