Halloween and DLC

Happy Halloween! This isn’t a normal Yandere Sim update. This is a

 Yandere Sim Spooktacular!

In other words, this update is frivolous and superfluous. I’ll be posting a normal progress report tomorrow on November 1st, but today, I’m going to discuss some ideas I’ve had that carry the spirit of Halloween.

In recent years, the term “DLC” has become a dirty word that puts a foul taste into gamers’ mouths. When people hear “DLC”, they imagine developers who lock out 25% of their game’s content and then charge players money to access that content, even if it was already on the game disc.  A lot of people associate the idea of “DLC” with pointless skins, maps, and hats that only exist in order to milk as much money out of the consumer as possible. “DLC” has become synonymous with “greed”. It’s like something out of a horror story!

As a thought experiment, I asked myself whether or not Yandere Sim is a game that would benefit from DLC, and how I could possibly incorporate DLC into the game without spurning the collective hatred of the entire gaming community. This is what I came up with:

1. The DLC must be developed after the game is released, not prior to its release.
2. The DLC must be something of actual value, and not something pointless.
3. There must a good reason why the DLC couldn’t simply be included in the base game to begin with.

I came up with the idea of allowing the player to purchase a pack of additional “rivals” for Yandere-chan to take on. These rivals would be non-canon, and/or function differently from the other rivals, requiring a lot of brand-new programming to be done for them. Examples:

1. A cute rookie policewoman. She is investigating the murders occurring at Yandere-chan’s high school. She meets Senpai-kun, develops a crush on him, and sticks around at high school to protect him from the murderer. Unlike other rivals, she is actively searching for the murderer, and will attempt to link evidence to you.
2. A pair of twins. Both of them fall in love with Senpai-kun, and agree to “share” him. Having two rivals at once would change the dynamics of the gameplay and present the player with a new challenge.
3. A yandere girl. She would be able to do anything that the protagonist can, and would do everything in her power to eliminate Yandere-chan. She would run around the school collecting weapons before you get a chance to do so, murder NPCs and try to plant evidence in order to frame you, and spread rumors to damage your reputation.

While considering other potential “DLC Rivals” I came up with some ideas that involve supernatural and paranormal characters. I think of these characters as being “Halloween DLC”.

1. A succubus. A male student at Yandere-chan’s school is desperate to lose his virginity, so he summons a succubus. The succubus takes no interest in the student, and begins to prowl the school searching for better prey. She finds Senpai-kun, and instantly falls in love, an experience she has never known. She hides her wings and tail using her magic, and begins to attend the school as a “foreign exchange student”. Keeping up her disguise requires her to spend magical energy, and the only way for her to restore that energy is by sucking the life force out of male students. Unlike other rivals, she cannot be killed using normal weaponry. To defeat her, Yandere-chan must expose the succubus’ true colors, force her to run out of magical energy by preventing her from feeding on male students, or perhaps approach the occult club and devise an unconventional way of stopping the demon…
2. A ghost. Those of you familiar with Yandere Sim’s backstory may be aware of the ghost easter egg. Yandere-chan’s mother was also a yandere girl in high school, and killed a female student in one of the school’s bathrooms. The player can actually see the ghost of the girl that Yandere-chan’s mother killed by walking into the bathroom and taking a picture. But what if that ghost had a chance to take revenge on Yandere-chan’s mother, by thwarting her daughter? The ghost might decide to channel all of her energy into gaining a physical form, and romancing Senpai-kun before Yandere-chan can confess to him. Like the succubus, Yandere-chan would not be able to “kill” the ghost, and would have to expel her using unconventional methods. Once again, perhaps the occult club would hold the key to getting rid of her.
3. A shapeshifter. This character would be some kind of witch or supernatural being who could change her appearance at will. She might impersonate other students or pretend to be a harmless NPC in order to throw you off her trail. She might even impersonate Senpai-kun himself in order to get close to you and kill you before you have a chance to kill her!

Some of these ideas are, admittedly, more interesting than others. What do you think of the idea of adding DLC to Yandere Sim? Are you opposed to the principle of DLC altogether? Do you think that it would be possible to enhance the game through downloadable content? What would you like to see added to the game post-launch? And what kind of crazy, non-canon rivals or supernatural rivals would you like to take on? Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below!

BONUS

Yandere Sim’s development began after two events. First, I noticed that someone was selling a Japanese schoolgirl on the Unity Asset Store. Second, I asked a question: “What would a game about a Yandere girl be like?”

I saw this succubus character model in the Unity Asset Store, and wondered: “What would a game about a succubus be like?”

What kind of game would take advantage of the characteristics of a succubus? What kind of game mechanics would be most suitable for a succubus character? What is “succubus gameplay”? The only time I can recall playing as a succubus in a video game is Gunbird 2, which featured Morrigan was a secret character:

I started imagining a top-down shoot-em-up game starring a sexy succubus. As for her enemies, I suppose anything “holy” or “angelic” would be the antithesis of anything demonic, so I think she should be defending hell from the forces of heaven, or something like that. The idea stuck with me, so I made a simple prototype featuring the Succubus character from the Unity Asset Store:

What do you think? Would a top-down SHMUP featuring a succubus be cool? Or is there another genre that a succubus would be better suited for?