Mewgenics News

I've gone on record saying that Mewgenics is, in a lot of ways, a sequel to The Binding of Isaac, but not in any of the traditional ways. This confuses many. So, I'm going to attempt to break down why, in many ways, Mew is a successor to Isaac and the things I think I failed at with Isaac that I'm improving upon with Mewgenics!



As you can see, a majority of Mewgenics' core elements are quite similar to those in Isaac. It's these elements that make me feel like Mew is a continuation of a great number of ideas I explored in Isaac but explored even more in-depth this time.

But today, I want to focus on those 3 major differences between the two for a bit.

[h2]Genre: [/h2]
The most obvious change here is that Mewgenics is a turn-based strategy game. Coming off of the release of Meat Boy, my mind was very much still in that dexterity-focused mindset for games. But after the release of Wrath of the Lamb, a big part of me wondered if Isaac would have been better if it was less of a twitch reflex type of game and more focused on strategy. I even have a few designs for a more traditional turn-based roguelike remake, but once the game took off, those ideas fell to the wayside so I could focus on "MORE ISAAC".



The general design always kind of haunted me: What if Isaac was turn-based? What if it had all the same mechanics but was more of a "thinker's" game where you could relax a bit and take a breath? Mewgenics is very much this in so many ways. Turn-based strategy games are a pretty huge genre, but they are still a bit niche. If I post a pic or a gif of Mewgenics, someone will always say, "Oh, this reminds me of 'Into the Breach'" or whatever the last (or only) grid-based tactics game they played was... so excuse my explanation.

For those that have never played a turn-based strategy game, it's best described as "chess with more pieces." That is probably one of the most alienating ways to describe it. But if I had to use a similar analogy, I'd say Mewgenics is "chess with 1000s of pieces and each piece has a bunch of unique abilities that combo in very interesting ways. Oh, and also you get to draft your pieces!"

Now, you are probably thinking, "WTF, that sounds stupidly complex! In fact, every time I read one of these posts, all I'm thinking is... How the hell am I supposed to understand what is going on in this game and how things work?!!??"

Well, that brings me to the next big difference between Isaac and Mewgenics.

[h2]Information: [/h2]
If you were to ask me what I thought the biggest flaw with The Binding of Isaac is, I would 100% say it's not explaining what each item does on the HUD when you stand next to it. In fact, I believe this so much that once online multiplayer is totally finished, I have asked Nicalis if they could look into doing this as an optional HUD in the future. When I created Isaac, there were 100 items, and I had no idea how many more would be created in the future. To me, Isaac was mysterious, and the lack of info on items complemented that; you were forced to experiment and see what items did by using them... 700+ items later, this idea simply doesn't work at all. I remember after Wrath of the Lamb was released, people would always say, "You can't play Isaac without a browser open on your phone." I hated that that's how everyone played for so long... and still plays (unless they download that mod).



My #1 for Mewgenics was always, "We need as much simple and to-the-point info as possible." If I'm expanding on Isaac and adding more items than it, as well as more abilities than items, everything needs to be very clear-cut. That isn't to say that there won't be a few bits of hidden info here and there for you to discover, but the core idea of every element of a game like this needs to be there at the wave of your cursor at all times. And this is how we do that!

If you check out the game's HUD, you can see in the upper right the turn order of all your cats, enemies, and non-enemy elements.



In the top left is the current cat/enemy's HUD, showing the current and max HP as well as mana. In the bottom left, you can see your cat's basic attack, movement button, and a slew of abilities you acquire over the course of your adventure. Each ability has its damage number and mana cost shown, and if you mouse over the ability, you'll get a popover detailing exactly what your ability does, as well as its range on the playfield shown via a tile highlight pattern.





This mouse-over effect is applied to all elements of the game. Mousing over an enemy will show you its health and movement/attack range, mousing over a pickup will explain what you gain when you stand on it, and mousing over other tile elements will detail out what they are doing there and why you might not want to walk over them.





[h2]Legacy: [/h2]
Isaac, in all its vastness, is still a very contained game. The runs are unique, but your 100% save file is basically identical to the next person's. In Mewgenics, we really wanted to try to allow each person's game to not only feel unique but also wanted the choices you make and things you discover to make your experience even more your own.



The most obvious way this aspect plays out is through your cat's bloodline. The cats you find and the bloodline you try to breed will be 100% unique to your game. The web-toed, 4-eyed, extra-large, hairy DNA strand you've been passing down through the years in your game simply won't be the same as your buddy's. The furniture you acquire, how you configure your house, what upgrades you choose, and in what order all allow for your Mewgenics experience to feel that much more your own. There's a lot to unpack with this one, especially when it comes to your house, so I'll save that for another post, but trust me, your game will feel like it's YOUR game.

And that sums up my powerpoint presentation.

See ya,
-Edmund

[h2]IT'S TIME TO MEET THE WHOLE DAMN TEAM![/h2]

[h3]Tyler Glaiel:[/h3]
If you don't know Tyler by now, SHAME ON YOU! Tyler is an indie legend who published his first game on the Playstation network back in 2012. You may be more familiar with his work on The End is Nigh, Aether, and The Basement Collection. Tyler is handling ALL of the programming for Mewgenics. He also created the engine we are using and is the co-designer! What doesn't this man do? Some would say bathe.. but the cameras I've installed in his bathroom prove that to be false.


[h3]Marty:[/h3]
Marty is our lead animator and used to be our only one for a while. He's animated a bit of everything in the game but currently is primarily focused on bosses and large enemies. His animations are very detailed with superb movement, especially given the limited number of "character pieces" I give him to animate with. Some of you may know Marty for his cartoons Peck and Peck Goes to School, but eventually, you will know him from his butthole squelching animation clips!




[h3]Chase Suddarth:[/h3]
Chase is our enemy animator. He has done the bulk of the animation work for the basic enemies in Mew. Most of you have probably seen the work he's done for Cyanide & Happiness and Lowbrow Studios. As you might expect, he's quite skilled at making very funny animations that give the enemies a lot of character.




[h3]Wes Enns:[/h3]
Wes is a jack of all trades. He's done quite a few enemy animations but is primarily focused on cat animations. This means he's the one going through all the cat abilities and coming up with appropriate animations for each of them (there are 100s). He's also in charge of all the house cat animations and events, aka he's the guy who makes the cats hump.




[h3]Joey Kuras:[/h3]
Joey is an amazing sound designer and industry vet. He has worked on some of the biggest games ever (Gears of War, Fortnite, Earthworm Jim), but will forever be known as the true creator of "Oof" from Roblox! His work is always on point, and when he's not hating us for throwing 100s of cameo cat vocal sets at him, he's roaming free through the game, coming up with a giant range of fart sounds and screams!


[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]Matthias Bossi and John Evans (aka Ridiculon):[/h3]
If you know my games, you know the musical stylings of Ridiculon. Their work on The Binding of Isaac has been a game-changer. Their classic remixes on The End is Nigh were jaw-dropping. But their work on Mewgenics will go down in history. I'm not over-exaggerating when I say I personally think the Mewgenics OST is one of the greatest video game OSTs ever made, easily my favorite soundtrack of any game I've played. Beyond music, Matthias reprises his role as "narrator", this time the DJ for 99.9 WMEW, Boon County's last remaining radio station!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]


[h3]100+ vocal cameos![/h3]
As some of you know, months back, we did an open call for "iconic internet voices". Our goal was to have 25-50 cool voices to add as bonus vocal sets your cats could be born with. Within a few days, we had 50+, and at this point, we have well over 100. These vocal cameos range from Let's Players to internet icons, from indie musicians to huge rock stars, from voice actors to leading men in hit TV series, from my friends and family to my personal heroes. The vocal cameos in this game are flat out insane. I can't believe how out of control this "gag" has gotten, and I'm excited for you to realize how voiced your favorite cat is... or just see this list in the credits.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]


[h3]Sony-Shock:[/h3]
Sony is an amazing artist whom I was first introduced to when making Four Souls. His Isaac fan art always made my jaw drop, so I knew I had to have him do some promo cards for us. You may also know his work from one of the early Unboxing of Isaac T-shirts (and one of the most successful).

When I hired Sony to work on Mew, I knew I had to have someone with a very different style than my own. I put him on background and non-interactive objects because his painterly style against my thick, chunky cartoon outlines would clash in a way that would make it obvious what things you can and can't interact with. Also, that juxtaposition in style reminded me a lot of backgrounds in old cartoons from the 40s, where the backgrounds were painted or even sculpted to look more realistic so the cartoons would stand out even more on top of them.




[h3]Vivian Voss:[/h3]
Vivian Voss (Aka HamBerry) was another prominent artist for Four Souls who did a ton of work for the latest expansion, Requiem.

Vivian has a very bold cartoon style that worked perfectly for establishing shots for game chapters as well as non-combat backgrounds. She really worked perfectly within that Flintstones/Jetsons atomic cartoon background style we had been referencing and has been churning out tons of art for the many, many chapters of this monster.




[h3]Tikara:[/h3]
Tikara is yet another very familiar face in the Isaac art community. She has worked with me on many projects and was the artist for The Binding of Isaac tarot cards and creator of nearly every loot card in Four Souls.




[h3]Sevenut:[/h3]
Seven was an editor on Four Souls who was so good at his job we said, "Hey, you're so good at your job, we want to give you more work!" Seven spends most of his days deciphering the seemingly random text we type into the game and turns it into basic English! He also playtests the game... a little too much if you ask me!


[h3]Edmund McMillen:[/h3]
I'm just here for the ride.




See you soon!
-Edmund

This is your starter house, a simple but effective single-room house with enough room for your little cat hoard. "But how does this house actually play into all this turn-based adventure stuff you've been selling us for the past year?" you ask. Well, that's what I'm here to explain, silly!

When you start Mewgenics, you will select your starter cat from Dr. Beanies and bring him/her back to your little shack to care for. Caring for a cat in Mewgenics starts simple; a cat needs food, shelter, companionship and a cat needs to be cleaned up after. Let's go over each of these real quick.

[h3]Food:[/h3]
Each time you pass the day in Mewgenics, each cat currently inside your house will consume one food from your supply. If it can't, it will start to starve and eventually die. There are many ways to gain food in Mewgenics but the most effective way to do it is to go on an adventure.



You can go on an adventure by placing 4 cats into the "adventure box" and departing. This will then allow you to class your cats, equip any weapons or armor you may have found around town or in previous adventures, and finally depart on your quest to find food, money, glory, and possibly even love!



The further you go in your quest, the more food you acquire. The harder the path you take, the more food you will find! Once you finish your quest, or find a shortcut home and decide your team has had enough, you'll return home with the food, money, and a few items you may have acquired. Everything you have will be placed in your house inventory.

[h3]Shelter:[/h3]
Not only does your house protect your cats from the elements, but it also protects your extremely valuable pieces of furniture you'll hoard as the game progresses. Having stuff for your cats to interact with, sleep on, and stare blankly at for hours not only raises the happiness of your cat family but also has magical effects on them and even the world! But I'll hold that info for another blog post.



[h3]Companionship:[/h3]
Each time you pass the day in Mewgenics, a stray cat will wander closer to your house and wait, crying outside for you to let them in. This will not only allow you to snatch up more heroes for your future adventures but will also allow you to offer companionship to your current cat family. Passing the day in the house hub will roll a few dice for you behind the scenes to figure out how well your current household gets along. It will also let you know if any of the cats "got busy" and if getting busy was successful enough to yield a kitten. Kittens are yet another way to make progress in Mewgenics, and we will talk in-depth about that in a future post.



[h3]Clean up:[/h3]
Cats poop, and cleaning up after them is important. You don't want your starving cats eating poop for dinner... or do you? Clean-up is simple; click the poop you want to remove and poof, it's gone! And hey, you may get lucky and discover something valuable your cat had eaten without you realizing it!

And those are the basics of the house hub in Mewgenics. The house is currently still very much a work in progress but even in its bare bones form, it's been a huge game changer.

Just for shits and giggles, here's a side-by-side comparison of the original flash prototype of Mewgenics from 2013 compared to now.



I love this game,
-Edmund

This week, we are gonna talk about pickups!

Pickups are collectable objects you can find scattered around combat maps. They can also spawn from specific objects as well, but let's go over the basic pickups real quick. Pickups are collected when you end movement on top of them.


[h3]Food:[/h3]
Regains you a number of hit points depending on the size of the food.


[h3]Scrap:[/h3] Gains a number of armor depending on the size of the scrap. (Armor acts like hp that is always removed first when hit; armor only lasts till the end of combat.)


[h3]Catnip:[/h3]
Gains mana depending on its size.


[h3]Coins:[/h3] Gains you coins equal to the number of coins seen on the tile. (Coins are used as a resource during your adventure as well as when you are back home.)

[h3]Misc:[/h3] There are a few other rare pickups as well, but I won't spoil them now.

Pickups are usually randomly spawned when you start combat, but you can also find them inside trash bags, crates, and even dead bodies!



Pickups are a fun bonus to each combat, so fun in fact that a few classes can actually interact with them in very unique ways. Observe!

"Swift Looter" is a fun thief ability that allows the thief to gain a bonus movement when they pick up a coin!



But wait, there is more. This combos very well with many other thief abilities, a great example being "Coin Toss". Imagine the possibilities!



In another example, we see our cleric with a passive called "Sharing is Caring", an ability that gives whatever this cat picks up to ALL other allies!



And in my final example, I'll have my mage throw a fire blast onto a food pickup and... wait, what's this... COOKED FOOD!??



Till next time,
-Edmund


FAQ time!

Q: Is Mewgenics technically a musical?
A: Honestly, I've been asked this and told this often enough to consider it. Mewgenics might be considered a musical.

Q: Can we pet the cats?
A: We are working on it, currently you can scruff them.

Q: How long will a run take?
A: We are currently looking at 90-minute runs, but it really depends on how much you min-max and think obsessively about each choice. Runs each take 3 chapters, so you can divide them up into 30 minute chunks if you want more bite-sized play sessions.

Q: Will you release on console?
A: It won't launch on console but yes, I assume it will release on at least one console eventually.

Q: How much will it cost?
A: We don't have a nailed-down price yet, but it will likely be somewhere in the $20-$30 range.

Q: Is there going to be PVP?
A: This isn't something we have looked into at all yet. Not sure the game would complement itself well to that, but that doesn't mean we won't at least explore the idea later and see.

Q: How long of a game is it?
A: Mewgenics is a roguelike that is designed to be replayed for hundreds of hours. It's hard to say how long it will take to 100% right now, but it's looking like "Rebirth" size in terms of how much effort it will take to 100% it.

Q: Will there be dogs?
A: Yes, but they won't have heads.

Hey all, Tyler here! I'm the programmer and other designer of Mewgenics. And I'm here to talk about... BUGS!



not those kinds of bugs

One common question we get asked when talking about just how much stuff is in mewgenics, how do you make sure it all works? I mean, there's *thousands* of things in the game, and that means *millions* of ways those things can interact (and even more when counting 3 piece or 4 piece combos). It's pretty much impossible to test all possible interactions. Well, for humans to test them at least...

Enter the Fuzz Tester



The fuzz tester automatically plays the game, as fast as the computer can possibly run it. As you can see, its doing a couple of full fights per second. A human will normally take a couple of minutes to play through a combat encounter, so this means the computer can play about 500x faster than a human. It also doesn't need to sleep, so I can just run it overnight and come back the next morning to 100000 combat encounters played, each with a completely new set of cats with different abilities, afflictions, items, and mutations. That's a lot of interactions tested, for just one day!

In fact, I am running the fuzz tester while writing this post right now! And... oh no! It crashed!



After a bit of digging around in the debugger and log files, I found the culprit!



You see this little bird? Well its a rare spawn that can randomly show up in levels. They run away quickly, but if you kill it before it flies away you get some good rewards! Now this little bird here in particular... it was killed by a lightning strike from a rare weather effect, not a cat or an enemy! When it tried to grant its rewards to its killer... it didn't actually have a killer so the game crashed.

An easy enough thing to fix, and a quick double check that that same issue was not happening on a handful of other similar effects, and now... roast bird for everyone!



Lets take a moment to appreciate just how rare this particular interaction was. Birds are a rare spawn, lightning is a rare weather effect, and a lightning strike hitting and killing a bird before it runs away is... well... rare. You could play this game for 1000 hours and never see that happen. And yet the fuzz tester found it in a few minutes. It's an extremely powerful tool, and will be a large part of ensuring a stable launch. It can't find *everything*, but it covers a lot of space, and we're still doing traditional testing as well to cover the rest.

Until next time
- Tyler