Project_Basement_Dating: DEMO
A downloadable game for Windows
L22 is a city where cats teleport, children get kicked out of home regularly, the moon talks, and you help maidens mix drinks, drugs, magick to keep them sane.
---------------------------------------------------------------
There Is A City Just Behind The Back Of God...
---------------------------------------------------------------
"It's Va11-hall-a on drugs mixed with monkey island" - quote from the sukeban games interview: https://sukeban.moe/index.php/2023/03/04/creative-blood-project-basement-dating/
---------------------------------------------------------------
...Where The Moon And Stars...
---------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------
...Are The Only Source Of Light.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Spend 2.5 nights with some creepy maids living in an underground orphanage called "The Basement" and listen to them whine and chatter about the daily attrocities of life in L22's slums while YOU -Fancy The Maid- are trying to make sense of your oddly poeticdreams.
Many_A_Dead_Mackerels:
Whew lads, this was quite the run. Now obviously this is version 1.0 so do expect some bugs, also please !!!!DO TAKE NOTE: that out of the 6 endings only 5 of them are achiveable as it is right now. We'll patch in the following features a bit later:
- The speach sound and the sound effects will have 2 different volume bars in options
- During special animation loops the characters should not posess a mouth (preferably scriptable when they do not have to have one, and when they do have to have one)
- The fast forward will have an option bar to set how fast it actually forwards
- Making the option for the game to read from a txt for translation
(я хотел бы извиниться перед моими российскими поклонниками за причиненные неудобства)
!!!!PLEASE DO WRITE A CRITIQUE!!!
Each and every one of your words will be massively appreciated, since i cannot personally and witouth bias decide what is good and what isn't. A critique especially a harsh one is a neccesary step to bring a quality game into fruition.
Bug report: https://discord.gg/xeWnTmYHeb
---------------------------------------------------------------
I love you.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Links For Social Media And Donation:
If you want someone to talk to, any time, for any reason. !!AND I MEAN THAT!!! There is no game witouth a community. i'm virtually always online:
If you'd like to buy a beer for me:
https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/DeadMackerelStudio
If you want to follow PBD's development from afar:
https://twitter.com/Many_A_Dead_XOX
If you like allright-ish edits and sensless videos:
https://www.youtube.com/@deadmackerelstudio1370
Bruh:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Project_Basement_Maid/
---------------------------------------------------------------
...GOOD NIGHT N' STAY HIGH!
---------------------------------------------------------------
Updated | 6 days ago |
Status | In development |
Platforms | Windows |
Rating | Rated 3.6 out of 5 stars (29 total ratings) |
Author | Many_A_Dead_Mackerels |
Genre | Visual Novel, Interactive Fiction |
Tags | bartending, Creepy, First-Person, Hand-drawn, Indie, Multiple Endings, Pixel Art, Story Rich |
Download
Development log
- Russian Translation Has Been Added!6 days ago
- Version 1.0 Bugs And Warnings33 days ago
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
I absolutely love the atmosphere of this game. Very original. Can't wait for further updates!
The next update will add russian translation and a lot of path fixes, hopefuly it will be as good as intended))
This game is super cool, I sadly got softlocked so I'll probably wait for an update and then start from the beginning again T_T (can't find anything new except for when entering the church the same dialogue gets played whenever I enter it).
You are probably aware of the bugs by now so I'll just skip those and mention some other thoughts I have on this:
To be able to see what you're meant to be brewing/mixing (kinda like in VA11-HallA, where they show the last drink that was mentioned on the mixing screen, so even if you didn't catch what they want you can still see it on screen), this is especially important I feel like cause you can't go back in the text. I luckily didn't get stuck but I could feel like you could easily miss that if you're not paying attention 100% of the time.
It would also be really cool for characters to have portraits or some other indicator on who is speaking, because honestly I kinda got lost on who is talking when I first played, especially after picking the game up again after a few days of not playing (maybe some sort of notebook would be nice, so you can keep track of the storylines easier? tho that might just be a me issue lol).
Changing the font would also be a big one tbh, because it something is kinda hard to decypher it. An option to change it, or just an update to the font would be great.
Oh, and you can also barely read the credits, maybe I missed some keybind that stops them but they are way too fast to actually read them.
Other than that I really enjoy this game, honestly can't wait for a full release. The characters are super cool and I love the artstyle as well. I also wish you could interact with the environment or something more with your cursor tho :D Turning of the candles by hovering over them would be peak gameplay.Oh, AND I also hope you can smoke the little mossball guy in the full game.We are working hard on the update!)) And yes the bugs you have mentioned and the suggestions are also within consideration. I'd prefer a highly customizeable game over one that's hard to read or play or feel. Thanks for playin' See ya for the next update! <3
i hope i can understand the game text easier...but my english is too bad to get it QAQ
the art style impressed me so great.and i wanna know more about the game roles and story(✿◕‿◕✿)
but im a chinese with poor english >﹏<
can i ask :if the game will has chinese text?
我们会尽力把故事翻译成中文:) 但正如您所看到的,我能做的只有这些。我很高兴它给你留下了美好的印象,当然我也不会忘记我们的亚洲粉丝!(只是别指望是动画字型,我不能像这样画出整个中文字母表,哈哈)-With much love:
-MAD_M
I love your art style much too!This work really shock me!And I have translated some games into chinese,so if possible,I would like to help(though my english is not that good)(..>◡<..)<3
Join our discord man)) It's in the game's description! <3
I really love the music from the radio! So signed up account to post comment.
Can you list up all music you add in radio? I`ll listen it all.Looking forward to your development! :D
I'm glad you enjoyed it!! Thank you for taking the time and creating the account)) I really appreciate it!
Here's the song list:
Chikoi The Maid - Breather, Existing, Mental Warfare, My sweet little maid, Rose
Kaitai The Maid - But these trees can't talk, Far eastern magick nap society of summer, Leaves, Practice, Rewind this
Kichi - Everything will be allright, Running from myself, Sui**de by Starlight, Inside
Ozoi The Maid - Downfall, Dreams, post mortem, Untitled expression, Frontier
Sib The Maid - Afterlife, Another, Little maid trying to tuts-tuts, Loss of Future, Glass Half Empty
Yakui The Maid - As i lay ret***ed, Grendel, In the hills the cities, Clutter, She grows her lungs on daisies fields
Be sure to come back for the update!)) Love ya!
I've created account on this site just to say that this is my favorite game from now on
Aww thank you! We are still fixing things though!!! And i promise the full release will be a lot better
Bugs it's a usual thing. Can't wait for full release this game is so charming for me. I was looking for a game that I would like for a long time and I've finally found it. You spend a lot of time making this masterpiece huge respect
Before I state the issues i've had, I want to say this game's visuals are seriously one of the most unique and stunning visuals i've ever seen, it enhances the atmosphere by a million times, the maids having distinctive designs and personalities, although some character's head sizes seemed off compared to others but i can overlook that if that's the style you're going for, the music, just like maidcore is also amazing and soulful and its Va11-hall-a-esque storytelling and worldbuilding instantly captivated me into wanting more. I seriously think this game has potential and I know YOU the Dev, is working hard on delivering, even in it's buggy state, not many games captivated me as much as this. (dont really know the ToS, i skip ToS cuz frankly i get the gist and dont really care, so i tried being proper as possible otherwise id be praising this like a lunatic.)
Ok, for bugs, this game is seriously in rough shape (I know its in early development stages so its not a big deal and hope this helps)
. Radio doesn't seem to work
. Character's suddenly have a ??? whenever you load back in
. Many misspellings here and there
. The letter "Z" seems to not work at all and fuses with the entire word
.Characters will say "double it" and doing so will say that you "f***cked up"
.Characters disappearing is a little wonky and some animations would repeat multiple times or would just look out of place, like iya hitting marimo
. When theres multiple characters on screen, some of the characters will be behind others being almost completely hidden (perhaps moving characters who aren't providing much out of screen until they do or say their farewells or perhaps having a sprite at the bottom of the screen if no more characters can fit)
.Character's dialogue do not sync up with what you did.
.Day 2 is extremely buggy and im not sure if you can even get passed it since i got softlocked multiple times
.In Day 2, talking to yakui first leads to a softlock and the cat scene bugs out where the cat splits in 2 and half it's body is missing
.In Day 2, talking to either Dorei or Shitai first will play out the cat scene, then either one will lead you to itai's argument, then talking to the other characters (Yakui, Shitai, or Dorei, based on who you chose first) will play the same scene up to 2 more times
.In Day 2, going to "above finished" softlocks you
.In Day 2, after talking to everyone, with the amount of bugs and avoiding softlocks, there's nothing to do and the game seamlessly just ends here, even found the bar trying to figure out what to do next
These are all the bugs i've stumbled upon but I think there should be more accessibility options like having a skip button or fastforward, having a backlog, being able to change the voice separate from sound (voices could use work, definitely love the banjo-kazooie sort of voiceacting but all the maids sound the same it gets repetitive), knowing what you cooked up, knowing what song is currently playing, or having a small character description of the various maids you've encountered, perhaps growing as you learn more about them.
Definitely looking forward to this game no matter how long till launch, maidcore has seriously opened me to more music genres and creators from russia and affected me in a personal level, whether in hobbies or feelings. I will continue to support it's artists and creators whether it stays niche or blows up in popularity, GOOD LUCK!
Thank you for your review i deeply appreciate it man! So before i even start explaining that most of what you encountered, (characters dippin', the question marks, etc. (most of which has been adressed in discord and we are working on solving it)) the demo is a standalone in it's story, it's the part that has to be written to the player instead of shown. The full release will feature 250k-360k words and 3 more different but similar types of minigames like the mixing. (Yada yada this is the copy paste part because i have to make 20 illustrations in 3 days for an exhibiton lol) Most of these bugs have been adressed and on the list of bugs that need fixing. EXCEPT: The radio. I'd love to get a recording or any other kinda visual stimuli for that, since that's a really new complaint (well... the radio's little arm, you know the channel changer isn't working but that's a rather minor visual bug). But yeah you should be able to pass trough to the endings with no problem: Anyway, THANK YOUUU!!! for the review and playing my game, it's in a messy state but the next update should make up for it![](https://img.itch.zone/aW1nLzE2OTQzMzg5LnBuZw==/original/s3RT94.png)
Awesome, looking forward to all the progress you make. The Radio "bug" i mentioned just seemed to be an issue on either discord or my part, where it would turn off my audio if I were streaming my full screen in a call but i doubt this is an issue with the game since it happened while playing other games aswell, mainly ninja gaiden. I only mentioned it because it just started happening but no worries.
Maidcore dating sim? awsm!!!
Btw rus localization in future?
Da)
Yooooo im so hyped for this game full release
Hello!
First, I loved the game's credits, to be honest, I hadn't known this game for a long time, but the credits tell your personal story and I thought it was incredible, all the support you received, your hardness in life and perseverance, congratulations on your work, it's incredible, but don't forget to take care of yourself too.
Project Basement Dating (PBD) is wonderful, the visuals are excellent, it gives off an energy that surrounds you and makes you disconnect from the rest of the world, I simply love this art style that has these “living scribbles”, I spent hours just trying read each of the graffiti too, this whole purple palette (I love this color) and how each character has a different trait without breaking the style of the game.
I also thought that the ambient sounds helped a lot to transport the player to the atmosphere of the game, and then I noticed the maid radio and I loved it! It's an experience like no other!
I must say that at first I was a little lost in the plot, but that's normal in this genre, over the time I assimilated this game world better. I was very happy with the result, I'm a big fan of works with a unique look and different plot, and PBD and all its themes and lore is something magnificent.
I've separated some small observations about some things in the game, you can see these as tips, or you can just ignore everything, the game is excellent and I just want to help in any way I can, even if it's with a small list like this:
- Radio UI (clicking on the radio advances dialogues and things
type), the radio indicator (green line) does not appear to be working and there appear to be 2 smiley face buttons on the radio that do not work either;
- UI indicating which locations available to move during the locomotion parts, maybe little arrows on the edge of screen;
- Names of characters disappears and appears as ??? making it hard to know who is speaking, and, as everyone has the same voice, it doesn't help much;
- Speech sounds, maybe adjust the tone slightly to distinguish between the characters and I think the MC should not have a voice sound (at least for when he is thinking and not speaking);
- Sentences of the locations can get confused with the font and background when choosing locations (maybe a textbox behind should help);
- Backlog and skip buttons (please, these are very welcome accessibility options in any game);
- Minor typing errors (like allright, enhancment)
- The letter z in the font is broken (comes out tangled with the next letter);
- Did Ilya disappear after the drink? on the beginning of day 2
- Maybe a simple art for drinks/combinations when you mix they, even to know if it worked;
- Did I break the plot at the beginning of the second day? I talked to Dorei first but Shitai said I started the day talking with her;
- A character glossary could help, even to promote the artists and the maid core genre, same idea of the radio in game;
- Maybe an option to leave a window with artist name, song name, album etc. of current music on the radio (to promote the artists and maid core genre);
- Hide UI button (to see art and sprites) is always fine and the art is sooo good!;
- Glossary for very specific terms (such as chort, alkanost) or not, well… Wikipedia exist for a reason after all!;
- Characters disappear very quickly (sometimes I think I broke the game or something), a farewell speech and/or a fade out sprite effect would be more interesting);
- I got a softlock at above finished (there was nowhere else to go) on day 2;
- After meeting Ilya in front of the church and the new char in the church, nothing else happens in the game, I can't find anyone else;
- Please, as a non-native English speaker and slow reader, I would love if the text between chapters are click to advance and not auto advance;
But I'm already very happy with the result of your work, congratulations! How much bigger will the final version of the game be? Do you have any idea of the price yet?
I wish you and all your projects every success and don't forget to take care of yourself too.
Yay! The second person who isn't just saying the game is good or bad but actually picking it apart bit by bit)) Thank you for your review i deeply appreciate it! So before i even start explaining that most of what you encountered, (characters dippin', the question marks, etc. (most of which has been adressed in discord and we are working on solving it)) is that the demo is a standalone in it's story, it's the part that has to be written to the player instead of shown. The full release will feature 250k-360k words and 3 more different but similar types of minigames like the mixing (never mind the crazy stuff i planned heheeh). We are working on fixing these bugs at the moment:
Plus like 25 more bugs, most of which are minor, but still this demo will be either the best or nothing at all.
Thank you for playing! I really do appreciate that you picked it up and also that you picked it apart! Warms my heart. Feel free to join discord if ya' want to, we don't bite (that hard) ))
Yay! I'm happy for such a quick response!
I was trying today to get one of the endings of the demo, but I got 3 different softlocks on day 2. I started the demo over a few times and I've already used the right click on my mouse so many times that I'm afraid of breaking it (a skip button would be welcome for bugtesting the game).
But that's okay, it's a demo and I and the entire community already love the game, the demo fulfilled its role masterfully, so I'll wait for the updates to continue.
I simply love different indie games, with original ideas, unique visuals, strong themes and heavy lore (exploring maidcore is such a cool idea that it makes the game a dream come true), your game has all these qualities and I live to find games like this. I'm happy for the support you received from everyone, I'll try to help in any way I can, I don't really use Discord but I can make an exception and follow the development of your game.
Until the next update then, I wish you success in developing your game!)
hai im very excited to get into this game as it looks right up my alley but im having some issues with getting the game 2 work
heres the error i get everytime i open the game
############################################################################################
ERROR in action number 1
of Step Event1 for object obj_game:
Variable <unknown_object>.input_move_left(102383, -2147483648) not set before reading it.
at gml_Script_scr_check_button_press
############################################################################################
gml_Script_scr_check_button_press (line -1)
gml_Object_obj_game_Step_1
----
if it helps, im on windows ten. hope you can figure this out as i would LOVE to play this game!!!
I'm going to telepathically imagine your room now... hmmm yes..hmmm. I'd wholeheartedly recommend to unplug your controller from the pc))) Have fun
I think it somehow bugged and got the shitai arguing scene two times the second day lol
Oh it absolutely is)) The yakui path is definetly f**d. The Shitai argument scenes has it's odd things too. We'll do our best to straighten these out with the coming update))
loving the game so far, Will donate as soon as I can because you deserve it!
Thank you i appreciate that a lot!!!
As someone who fucking loves the maids but barley sees much content on it, Thank you so much I love this. Its like some odd Christmas present.
The maids are too much on the russian and japanese side of the internet as of now, but we are working on changing this and bring a tiny bit of that culture to the western side)) Thank you for playing my game! I hope to see you guys again after the bug fixes!
WHAT, this is wayy better than i expected, and this is only the demo, i love this
I appreciate it man! We'll fix the bugs soon and it will be even better)
why do you end your comments with a ')'?
It's a habit i picked up with the russians)) It's how they do the "smiling" instead of :) it's )
epic
Thank you)
Let's goooooo! гооооол!
Spacyba brat)
THIS GAME IS LITTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! please support so we can make it more far < 3
Thank you and your continous support man!
I am a 27 year old woman from Hungary. I have spent most of my life playing the game Project_Basement_Dating, constantly at war. Two weeks ago it was an average day as I was fighting. Then the game developers played an absolute masterpiece of a game, upon which everyone put down their weapons and danced to the mesmerizing gameplay. Thank you very much, sir! This peace game changed my life. It made me see the world, in fact the entire universe, from a completely new perspective. I will never look at the things I know the same way again. This game expresses feelings that most people cannot understand. But I can. Thanks to this game I realized things that I previously considered unimaginable. Thank you for this wonderful game! This game is a perfect masterpiece, out of all the games I have ever heard of on this platform, this one made me realize I should fly, lose 90 pounds and even become the president of the United States. I will explain why it is so brilliant, as if I was hearing the creator's, no, the god of the universe's beautiful voice. I would like to express my gratitude. My appreciation for your help is almost infinite. Your efforts have not gone unnoticed. I really love your contribution to our society, you truly make a difference and help others, the world always needs more people like you. Oh, what a polite and humble fellow you are. It is an honor for me, as a lowly being, to be in contact with someone of your level. Thank you once again, my good friend. A world without you would be uninhabitable for me, and I believe most share this opinion with me. I can sleep soundly tonight knowing you helped. I value you and everything you stand for, and on behalf of all of Earth, thank you. Yes, I 100% agree, no lie, I am 10/10 with you on this statement, no question. You are completely, absolutely right and made no mistake in your sentence, and I applaud you for making a thought-provoking statement that many agree with, and those who disagree are in the minority because your statement has absolutely no flaws, and is therefore undoubtedly correct and deserves nothing but agreement.
As for the game Project_Basement_Dating, it is a mesmerizing, moving game that showcased the capabilities of human emotion. It used groundbreaking technology to create stunning gameplay that enchant the players. This game is suitable for all ages; whether you're 5 or 50, everyone should play it. It is inspiring and showcases the spectrum of human nature and how humans communicate with each other. This game revolutionized the gaming industry and set the bar high for other games. In the future, historians will look back on this game as the pinnacle of human achievement. It was a rollercoaster from start to finish, the intricate game will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. Players will find themselves absorbed by the heartwarming tale of a persistent, determined Hungarian tribe who didn't let society's expectations shape their life. I was amazed at how intense and gripping this game was. The plot is rich, unpredictable and moving. This is not your typical Hungarian war game, this is a battle with one's emotions. The Hungarian tales create a stirring masterpiece that is born once in a millennium. This breathtaking gameplay properly utilizes the medium's potential. I rate it 10 Hungarian tribes/10 Hungarian tribes, and I will never play it again as every time I get saddened by the fact that there will never be a game to match this masterpiece.
I am a 23 year old man from South Sudan, I have spent most of my life in a continuous war, it was a normal day 2 weeks ago as I was fighting. Then, the Sudanese fighters played this absolute masterpiece, we then began to all put down our guns and dance to this lyrical masterpiece. Thank you, sir. For Peace this song changed my life. My entire view of everything that exists in this world, in fact, even in the entire universe. I can never look at anything I know the same way again. This song represents emotions that most humans could never understand. But I can. Thanks to this song I was awakened to many things previously considered unimaginable. Thank you for this exquisite song. This video is an exquisite masterpiece, out of every single video I have ever even heard of on the entire platform, this by far has enlightened me to do fly, lose 90 pounds and even become the president of the United States, and I'm going to tell you why this is such a masterpiece as if hearing the creators, no, god of this universes luscious voice. I would like to express my thanks to you. My gratitude for your indisputably magnificent assistance is almost infinite. Your efforts have not gone unnoticed. I really like your contribution that you have in our society, you really make a difference and help others out, the world could always use more people like you. Gosh, what a polite and humble fellow. It is such a kind honour for someone as low as me to be in contact with someone of a level such as yours. I thank you once again my good friend. A world without you, would be a world I would not be able to live in, and I believe I share that opinion with most people. I can rest easy tonight knowing you helped. I appreciate you and everything you stand for and on behalf of everyone on planet earth, thanks. Yes I 100% agree no lie I am 10/10 with you in this statement no question. You are completely absolutely correct and have made no mistake in your sentence whatsoever and I applaud you for that as you have made a thoughtful statement that many agree with and those that disagree are in the minority because your statement has absolutely no faults and thus is completely without a question correct and deserves nothing but agreement. and by the way, mareux - the perfect girl is a very powerful, moving song that showcased the capabilities of human emotion. It used groundbreaking technology to create stunning sounds that would mesmerize the listeners. This song is suitable for all ages; whether you're 5 years old, or 50, you should listen to this song. It is inspiring and it showcases the spectrum of human nature and how humans communicate with each other. This song revolutionized the music industry and set the bar high for other songs. In the future historians will look back on this song and regard it as the pinnacle of human achievement. It was a roller-coaster from start to finish, the nail-biting song will leave you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Listeners will find themselves absorbed by the heartwarming tale of a relentless, determined african tribes who didn't let societies standards shape his/her/it's life. I was shocked by how intense and gripping this song was. The plot is rich, unpredictable and touching. This isn't your typical african war song, this song is a war with one's emotions. Tales of africa is a stirring masterpiece that only comes once in a millennium. This thrilling instruments makes it a jaw-dropping performance that properly utilizes the medium. I rate this song 10 african tribes/10 african tribes, and will never listen to it again as every time I get saddened by the the fact that there will never be a song to match this masterpiece.
THIS GAME IS SO FUCKING HOT WHO LET THE BRO COOK
GIVE THIS GUY A FUCKING KITCHEN THATS A 6 STAR RESTAURANT CLASS,SUPER GOOD,TRY IT CUZ THIS WAS SOMETHING ELSE
I'm glad you enjoyed it even with this really buggy version)))
the atmosphere, art and story are incredible. one of the best VN's out there. utterly and entirely, peak.
Thank you for the kind words!
Bought a beer to check out this game
Cheers!
this game is better then sex
this game is PEAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you)) <3