Dev Diary #8: Why Showney Town?

Hello, this is What Zit Tooya. We've largely spent the last couple weeks focusing on the final beta, and without any major development (save Anna being back on the roster thanks to a new writer!), we're instead going to focus on our design philosophy.

To start, why Showney Town?

Specifically, why a medium-sized town located in some nebulous part of the Midwest? It certainly lacks the obesity-related stereotypes that are associated with materialistic city life or isolation in a very rural community. Part of it is simply "write what you know." MODOK (the main creator of the setting) and I both come from rural/suburban Midwestern backgrounds, so it's something we're able to flesh out with plenty of detail.

It also allows for a vibrant and diverse setting that is within our ability to achieve. For instance, if the game were set in a large city, we'd quickly run into the issue of representing the sheer number of choices available in a major city. We'd either have to a.) pour way too much work into designing an ungodly amount of different restaurants, venues, events, etc., or b.) have more reasonable, but limited interactions that reduce 95% of the city to irrelevant background details. On the other hand, setting it in the sticks means a lot more limits; namely, fewer girls, fewer differences in background and lifestyle, and fewer variations in gameplay.

In the end, we feel that a medium town allows for the best of both worlds. It allows for us to keep the area tight, but still make sure that it's full of varied experiences. It's small enough to evoke a sense of familiarity, but large enough you'll be able to spend plenty of time exploring all it has to offer. We hope you'll all get the chance to explore it soon, too.