Gave Grove a spin last night, and loved it to bits! Milking isn't my greatest kink, but I enjoyed the sex aspect of the game quite a bit - although right now it seems almost every gameover scene focuses on milking.
When I first saw the combat, admittedly at first I thought of Swords and Sandals because of the limited energy for moves thing, hah. It was simple enough once I understood, and I learned the value of Strip attacks speedrunning a bit on a second save.
My nitpitcks on combat are probably that 1) spending 3 turns building TP for a strong attack, then flubbing that attack to a RNG miss.. I feel like it should refund your TP when that happens, so you don't waste 4 turns trying to get a preliminary attack off. 2) some way of showing what stage of grappling you're at would make planning out grapple & wait turns less worrying. 3) options on the main battle menu that aren't selectable should be removed entirely, imo. Just.. so it's easier to select 'Wait' with one hand easier.
On the game overs - I quite enjoy the horny finality of Game Over scenarios in nsfw games, but I agree it'd be nice to see some scenes elaborated on, like losing at the fight to save Kuno or the blacksmith, or more bandit fun. (edit: Just saw the Bandit Chief one. woof that was spicy and good) Also - please, give me an option to just skip the sex and load my save after the first time losing to an enemy type. I LOVE the cursed effect sections (they're highlights of the game) but slipping up during an encounter during them and already seeing the sex with the variant pictures means closing the game and restarting to load your save lets you get back to the game way faster.
This is more a miscommunication in dialogue and my own mistake, but in the bandits' hideout I thought I was supposed to go to the eastern door already after escaping the cell and thought I HAD to battle and win while wearing the slave suit. I bested those bastards - lured two to the wall, fought the other two aggravatingly with heals and stuns, for nothin' lol
On the cursed sections... personally, I'd love to be able to carry on the game with the curses active like a horny hard mode (it's worth it), and am not sure why each area gates you off from leaving & showing off your poor horny corrupted lizard and stacking more curses, especially since two have dedicated places to removing them.
I love the cursed underwear scene and am excited for what corruption does - but it'd be nice if 1) you had more slots to equip it in 2) it reflected on Grove's face and naked body 3) a short cutscene plays putting it on and taking it off 4) with enough corruption Grove could even put it on in public~
Thanks a lot for playing our game. Glad to hear that you generally seemed to love your experience with it.
As for your nitpicks... we're still considering if we want to boost accuracy, as we've had mixed feedback from it. Grapple stages are something we want to keep ambiguous but learnable, in the hopes it's both sexually surprising on a first attempt but can be optimised around by learning. Removing options from the battle menu that aren't selectable is a limit of the engine, as best I understand. We'd also like to remove them, but don't think we can.
As for the Game Overs, we have some plans to explore 'extended Game Overs' that maybe let you enjoy a scenario for a bit longer. In the next update we'll be highlighting the command to skip the scene and return straight to the main menu too, so that will hopefully help with folks who don't want to sit through it.
The cursed sections... they are self-contained scenarios now for reasons that they can allow us to mess with mechanics in isolation without potentially having to balance the entire game around them. It would be a lot of work to have to make every single encounter in the game from here onwards synergise with the slimesuit, or the underwear, for example... and we'd rather put that energy towards making enjoyable, unique, kinky but limited encounters. Hopefully the cursed items you get from them and the wizard purifying them will give you a lingering flavour of the scenes at least.
As for your final points... I only ask that you stay tuned. I can't make any promises we'll do all of those things, or exactly in the way you've described here, but more or less every 'mechanic' in the game is something that we might expand on in some way now we have our foundations under us.
Hope that answers your questions or clears up some points and reasons behind why we did what we did. Thanks for your comment, and hope you'll give us a follow if you haven't already, since we plan for a new update to come out in approximately a month from now.
That or some other tweak would be wise. Missing makes the combat more interesting and encourages the more consistent sex combat, but it's painful to build all that TP up and whiff to RNG while the enemy keeps attacking you.
On the engine limitations, is it possible to simply start the selection option at Wait instead then?
And as for the curses, thinking on it more I definitely agree, stacking curses would especially be absurd hah. I am a little curious how differently the curses work right now, since I personally would love to see the curses last a little longer and made more mechanically unique.
It would be something to consider much in the future - but with how short the sections are, revisiting areas that have been completed and allowing curses to be reapplied similar to the slimesuit as of current, or temporarily recurse inert pieces players are wearing to complete short quests that explore the curses more would also be a cool way to do more with them!
I don't know that we could change the starting selection on a per-scenario basis like that. We can certainly look into it though.
As for returning to previously visited areas, enjoying revised scenarios and experiences similar to what was there in the past... we do have some ideas for such things. Hopefully you'll be able to get a taste of them in our next update, ideally coming somewhen in the month of November.
Thanks for your comments and thoughts. Always much appreciated.
It sounds like you're playing an unofficial android version of Grove. Currently the platform is not supported because of visual bugs like that, no current way around it. Windows is the most stable platform at the moment, but in the future we may try to bring in an official mobile port.
The only thing I can suggest is to either watch a guide for navigation, or run it on Windows.
No sir, not at this time. Appreciate that you seem to care enough about the game to ask, though. We'd welcome a one-time donation via itch.io here, and if we do launch a Patreon for the project we'll make an update here, so do give us a +Follow if you haven't already!
The Rubbery Slime strip will have proper functionality in the next update, but as of this moment you can only give it to the Blacksmith and await 0.2 to receive your reward.
If you're talking about a dynamic day and night cycle, that is currently not in the game. As for 'night time' scenes, stay tuned for 0.2.
Quite the chunky comment here. Seems you've plenty of thoughts and plenty of experience with these kinds of games. Well... I might not touch on everything, but here's my response as co-creator.
I definitely know about games with seduction mechanics. But, to be honest, a lot of them boil down to just coin-flips or a simple calculation of charisma/charm/whatever-seduction-state against an enemy's... desire or resistance or whatnot. They certainly work, and they can get the point across that you are playing some sort of seducer... but I don't think they're often all that mechanically interesting and tend to resolve into a seducer playstyle just being mindlessly repeating 'tease' over and over. They can largely invalidate a more involved and thoughtful combat system.
That's what we've gone for with the grapple system in Grove. You can chose to present yourself to an enemy, lure them in close, and... either carefully manage your TP and enemy grapple turns to try and defeat 'em, or y'know, just have fun laying back and letting them do their thing. I might be biased towards my own game, but I think the resource management and turn-monitoring of 'grapple combat' is an ideal SUPPLEMENT to a combat mechanic, vs. a seduction mechanic that serves as a complete alternative. No it's not QUITE a seduction mechanic in that you can't just charm an enemy into a dazed stupor and then have your way with them... but given these early enemies are either corrupt monsters or nefarious bandits, and what we're doing with the story, it just wouldn't make sense for them to give you up after some lovemaking... and definitely doesn't make sense for them to be overwhelmed by YOUR sexual output.
But hey, that isn't to say that there might be enemies in the future that react differently. Some more sentient enemies. Some more shy enemies. We have plans to spice up the formula a little bit... so don't worry, we're not entirely ignoring this.
Now then, your thoughts on Game Overs. I'll start by saying that you're not the first person who has expressed a desire to see expanded scenes that happen post-defeat. We have some thoughts on this matter too, about 'failing forward' as some people like to call it. I can't say too much without spoiling future content, but... we are considering some more scenarios where maybe you'll have a chance to continue despite a defeat, or maybe end up in some kind of 'extended game over' where the game continues a little and you can enjoy a little more time with a certain fail state.
Maybe you were just put off by the way the bandits handle it, but I feel like what happens in that scenario is already a simple showcase of this kind of thing. You can get captured or defeated in combat, you end up imprisoned... and you can either enjoy the situation, let it unfold and culminate... or you can shake off your bonds and fight through the humiliation, reclaim your gear and keep going. I recognise that it's not particularly deep at this stage, but I also ask you to recognise the game is still very much in it's infancy, little more than a demo right now, a 'foundational' build.
And just to wrap things up with your thoughts on Game Overs in general... I'll be honest and say that I disagree with you. Starting with your thoughts on them being a limitation of creativity... whilst they don't go too far right now, the Game Overs in GROVE actually allow us to serve up small story hints at the nature of enemies and the corruption and the story of the world. Fail to the green slimes and you'll get an early look at the Slime Dragons and how people are being converted. Fail to the Bandit Leader and you'll get a glimpse that he's playing with dark powers that might be a little beyond his comprehension if not his control. Fail to the wriggly orange invaders in cyberspace, and you'll get a look at the corruptive latex and the conditioning that a certain purple eye is trying to impose on Grove. Yes, we could go further with these scenarios, but to go too far would be to spoil the reason to keep playing normally... it's our desire for the Game Overs to not only be sexy, but also tempt you into seeing what else might come along when you try again and defeat your foe.
So... whilst you are not the first person who's wanted to see extended scenarios instead of immediate failure and restarts, and that's something we do want to explore a little bit as devs... Game Overs aren't going away, because I do honestly believe they still serve both a narrative and a gameplay purpose. They raise the skill floor and ask you to rise to the challenge, they help us tell the story we want to tell with GROVE instead of derailing it completely, and... whilst maybe not for you personally, there's PLENTY of folks out there who enjoy a 'bad ending' and get sexual gratification from such a thing.
Now then, to address some of your smaller points. You talked about getting buffs or experience from having sex. I don't think we'll be doing anything different for enemies, as our grapple combat still serves as a means to defeat them. Buuuuuut... there might be some more scenarios where getting into sexual escapades gives you a reward, such as the corrupted underwear getting you early access to Fire Bolt, or perhaps nice little boons from NPCs you form sexual relationships with.
Corruption right now is very bare bones, I'll readily admit that. As for what we plan to do with it... you can consider it a metric that affects how Grove might react in scenarios and situations, instead of his more quiet and tame natural reaction. I can't say much more without spoiling it though.
And yes, we've already got a solution to making enemies disappear from the screen whilst they're grappling you, so it doesn't appear as though they're duplicating. We'll be implementing that in the next update.
Finally, to tackle your suggestions. Feral snakes? Uh... do you mean the orange 'invaders' in the cyberspace scene? If that's what you meant, I can say we'll be revisiting those guys and that whole digital scenario, don't worry.
You're not the first person who's wanted spider enemies, or more ferals in general. I can say that your suggestions are very much heard... and I ask you to look forward to what we're doing with v0.2 when it drops, in regards to this kind of stuff.
And yes, the monstrous tentacle enemy you fight in the first dream. Of course we'll be revisiting them and that whole scenario. I know it was 'barely used' but you gotta remember this is still VERY early on in the game.
And as for corrupting other NPCs and friends and partners... again, don't want to spoil things, but you're also not the first person to suggest such a thing, and it's something that we are looking at and considering. How exactly we'll implement it... you'll have to wait and see.
OK, I think that's everything. Thanks for taking the time to type up your big comment. I appreciate that our game could stir up such thoughts in you and you would chose to share such an impassioned response.
Hopefully my own can give some insight into the future of the game, and my stance as a creative.
Of course, I very much appreciate the fact that you seem to care enough about the game to give such a large and clearly passionate comment. And I'm happy to respond in kind.
Yes, there'll always be 'Game Overs' in this game, at some point after a fail state. It could be immediately, it could be after repeated failures, it could be after an extended playable scene. I know you referred to Skyrim's defeat mods, but that game has the benefit of being a wide-open sandbox, where a player can make their own end goal as much as the game provides one, and has systems in place that can support a near-endless play session. We have a more narrative-based game, a story we wanna tell and a rough path we wanna guide you down, so... we can't allow for too much divergence or that'll go totally out the window. Hopefully you understand what I mean by this and why I feel we NEED Game Overs.
It's a shame you don't seem to care for the grapple system because you find it difficult... but for what it's worth, may I just repeat from my previous comment that it's not intended to be a replacement for combat, but a supplement to it. Trying to 'main' grapple combat isn't really the design intent, and it'd be very difficult indeed. We think of it more as a 'back-up', a stance change, allowing you to switch gears and finish off a weakened enemy, at the risk of putting yourself in sexual danger.
But your suggestion of a quickload system, something to keep the game from going right back to the main menu, is something we've been thinking about. I don't know if it'll work within the framework of RPGMaker, but we're looking into it at least. Though... it's still a menu you have to navigate in order to get back to gameplay. Is being able to quickly resume from the Game Over screen as opposed to the title screen really that much better in your eyes? I know you want quick saves, save states, things like that... but unless you know of any other RPGMaker engine games that do such, we are limited by our software. This isn't something like Skyrim or an emulator engine, I'm afraid.
Yes, of course there's a way to succeed in the cyberspace! That wasn't meant to be an unwinnable state. Once you've activated all three memory cores, and the invaders and restrainer suit appear... you've just gotta escape back the way you came!
Regarding other party members, you may have guests briefly show up in your party to help, and we might even have periods where you briefly play as another character... Grove will remain the main character in a solo party most of the time, but we have some ideas to spice things up a little from time to time.
I appreciate you giving your suggestions on what an enhanced seduction mechanic might look like, and I am aware of games that give enemies certain tastes and kinks that can be used against them, or having lust systems that can confer buffs and bonuses and suchlike. I still don't know if we'll go down such a route, if that's something my dev partner wants to actually do with this game and Grove as a character, but... yeah, we do have ideas at least. Maybe something will come of it, but I really can't make any promises.
Same goes for all your suggestions about what to do with corruption based mechanics. They are very much appreciated, and we do consider most every idea people throw at us, buuuuut... we do have our own ideas about what we want to do with corruption, with seduction, with enhancing combat through different avenues and such. So there might be shades of what you and other folks have suggested, but ultimately we're going to follow our own ideas first. Again, I appreciate the well thought suggestions, but it's not like we don't have a clue what we wanna do ourselves.
Zombies and other such undead in sexual scenes... maybe. I wouldn't bet on it, at least in the sense of 'rotting undead corpses'. There might be zombies of another stripe in the game, something more magical maybe, but if you're specifically looking for something corpsy and grotesque, you'll probably be disappointed.
Once more, the suggestions are appreciated, but as long as you in turn can appreciate we do have our own ideas for the game and what we wanna do with it. To be honest... the more granular you or anyone gets with an idea, the less likely we are to adopt it. Not because we are spiting people's creativity, but more so that we want to put our own spins on mechanics and systems and other sexual games out there, rather than just copying things whole-hog. We'd rather look at what people want, or think is a good idea, in a general sense... and then apply our sensibilities and creativity to it and hopefully come up with something that surprises folks in a novel way.
Thanks again for the comment. Hopefully you can understand where I'm coming from with my various points and responses.
Ideally we'll be updating the game to version 0.2 within a month from now. We'll update the downloadable files here on itch.io, make an update post across our social media and accounts, make sure as many folks are in the know as possible.
So do give us a follow, if you haven't already. And hope you'll enjoy the update when it releases.
Not at the moment. For a passion project such as this, we kinda prefer not to set the kind of expectancy or obligation that comes with repeat Patreon payments / subscriptions. It can be... stressful.
We'd much rather folks drop a one-time donation here on itch.io if they really want to support the game. And if not, that's totally cool too.
Really well made and interesting. The only thing i would add is possibility to unlock cinematics even if its too late (like slime chest) or just unlocking them all in gallery.
Its better then starting the game from begginig to unlock something
We'll be taking another look at the gallery with the next update. We'll try and include more lewd cinematics and not just enemy fights, but I really don't know about an 'unlock all' feature. We want folks to have fun playing the game, and I personally believe the scenes are more enjoyable when done during gameplay, than just watching them...
We'll see how people's feedback goes, though. Hope you'll be willing to provide your thoughts when the next update drops, hopefully within a month from now. Do follow if you ain't already.
All I've got to say is damn! Great work fellas, excited to see where this goes. RPG elements are good and the world itself is interesting from the get go with the adult content being done super well. If this was a demo for a paid release instead of an early build I'd be sold.
I don't want to bother you with too many questions involving grove. All I wish to know is, do you plan to add any more kinks/fetishes later on as this game is further developed and updated? Like say for instance vore. Not the kind that involves any kind of death/digestion, or anything like that. But focuses on the lighter subject of the character being held in another individual's stomach, with no kind of harm done to them. Perhaps following the terms of endosoma, safekeeping, non-fatal, and full tour. Maybe even the possibility of Mpreg might be done in the way that everybody knows is a natural opposite to our reality as opposed to the RPGs reality if that can be allowed to be done in it at all of course.
Then again, maybe, the method mentioned before could be used in a completely unnatural way which could be done with a unique kind of combination between Mpreg and Vore following along with the fantasy kink/fetish described here https://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Unbirth that's just like this https://www.furaffinity.net/view/21963778/. If that is actually something which would be of interest to the creators, designers and the players of the RPG. Who have a taken a liking of the gameplay, design, and story of this RPG. In order to be able to see certain types of vore happening with the main character during his journey. Perhaps to hide, seek shelter, etc. while at the same time the MC could do the same with the other NPCs the MC interacts with. Although certain kinds of exceptions to that might be the enemies/foes/monsters/races he encounters along the way. That gives him all kinds of different options to choose from at that point. The decisions could all be based on either to choose to hold them prisoner in order to get a bounty, digest them, keep as a hostage within himself, tame monsters by becoming their predator instead of the other way around, gain companions from other races by doing a unique favor for them etc. On the other hand if the hostiles he meets under certain circumstances had managed to beat the MC with whatever kind of counter actions/measures they took before/afterhand to do so to ensure that he'd lose then no matter how it went between them depending on whether the MC made a pleasant impression on them or not the choices they give him afterwards might lead to a good partnership deal which leaves/keeps both sides satisfied or a blackmailing threat to his life which they will hang on his head as they travel along to keep an eye on him.
In any case if my rambling hasn't gotten on your nerves just yet...... One thing I want to say, out of everything else, is that I've appreciated all the work you all have done on this. I'm really curious about what comes next especially if it includes new fantasies.
If I'm coming across as demanding or controlling in any shape or form involving how you are developing this game that is not my intention. I apologize if I have come across that way at all. Let me know. I'm looking forward to playing the updates as they come out. I hope you can continue this without any kind of interruption or obstacles in your way.
May you stay safe, well, and enjoy the rest of your days!
Honestly friend, I think that your gameplay ideas could make for an entire game unto itself. That's a fair amount of mechanics and a lot to layer on top of an RPG like we have so far. Keep note of your thoughts. I'm sure somebody out there could make a good Vore game like this, maybe even yourself... but that's not really aligned with our current goals for GROVE.
That being said, the kinks themselves might end up in the game in some way. We'll just be implementing them into the existing mechanics with combat and grapples instead.
I don't want to seem like I'm being a little too nosey and/or pushy by asking this, but would it be possible for other certain types of vore along with the ones I mentioned before to be added to your RPG sometime later down the road like say for instance the kinds that are all described on this site here https://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Vorarephilia?
One other question I hope to be able to ask you if it won't cause any kind of issue towards you or your other partners working on this RPG is how exactly would vore be implemented into the existing mechanics of the combat and grapples involved between the MC and the enemies he faces anyway I mean it would make sense for both sides to be able to do that kink/fetish to each other in some shape or form right?
Well, I can't completely confirm if those kinds of kinks would appear in the game or not. Apologies if my previous comment gave you the false impression, but I more so meant to say that those kinds of kinks aren't off the table, not that they'd be included for sure. As for how we would implement them if so... well, don't get your hopes up for 'vore mechanics'. It would probably just be vore scenes, as part of the enemy grapple sequence.
Wish I could somehow recommend some kind of vore game to you instead, since it seems you're really pining for one. Unfortunately, they're not really something I'm knowledgeable on. I apologise, but I wouldn't get your hopes too high for GROVE being a 'vore game'. At most, it'll be an RPG with a rare vore scene, rather than one that has mechanics around it or makes it a focus.
Well I was just wondering whether it would be possible for the kinks/fetishes to be added on later and/or bit by bit as the RPG is developed/updated by your team. I wasn't saying that it had to be a 100% 'vore game' by any stretch of the imagination. I would be fine with however it turned out especially if the mechanics/enemy grapple sequence was unique/varied similarly like this RPG and 1,2 or more VNs, I know which are called https://spedumon.itch.io/small-on-top,https://hyao.itch.io/lustful-desires, https://teamzorro.itch.io/sbarpg, etc., I would have also found it equally interesting if between the MC and all the other individuals he meets during his journey in the game which includes whether that might be mainly specific to any of the kind of friend(s)/foes/monster(s)/beast(s)/race(s) that are available so far in RPG. Which in that instance might be kind of like interacting with friendly NPC's in a community plus possibly a caravan on the road or enemy encounters that are deadly, but you are able to reason with them either by making a good impression or choosing carefully with how to specifically deal with them depending on whether they are sentient or feral, but I suppose that doesn't really have to be important in any case especially if certain categories and types of vore can happen between either towards both the MC/allies/hostiles he meets or just to one of them during a deal/partnership/quest that's arranged with all the parties involved in that kind of situation/instance. That's all just my two cents on this anyway, so you all probably have much better ideas on the way for this project that you're already working on, right?
Once again, I thank you for all the work you've put into this, so much so that I can't wait to see how it all turns out in the end. I hope you nor your partners involved in this project well face too many setbacks, obstacles, interference with your project in any kind of shape or form. May you all stay safe, well, and enjoy the days ahead of all of you.
Not at the moment, no. We might make one later down the line, but for now we kinda prefer donations via this website. We'll make an announcement if we ever do though.
I hate to ask too much from a free passion project but do you guys plan on add more to the voice work? I think that would be a great,for example, to have the enemies read out there lines in battle.
Personally, I would love to include a little more voice work to the game. But finding a bevy of different actors for the various enemies and NPCs would be quite the endeavour, and fairly costly unless we had a bunch of volunteers
The interest is certainly there, don't get me wrong. But I think it'd be something we do when the game is nearly complete, not at such an early stage.
If you’re talking about the slimy suit research cutscene, you’ll need to get suited by a slime dragon first, burn it off with the large fire in the room (which will give you an item), then go back and talk to the wizard
if you look at the galery, there's a cg chest that said something like "the memory in the chest is covered by a sticky slime, maybe you have to experience the same" something like that
ah unfortunately there is a known bug with 0.122a that if you’re trying to unlock the slime suit chest, you can only do it before you defeat the boss. Use an old save file and get suited, remove it then you will unlock the slime suit in the gallery. Hope it helps, and apologies for the bug. It will be fixed for 0.2
Unfortunately we don’t have many plans for an android version in the future, partly due to the incompatibility of some add ons. It’s not been completely written off, just that it’ll likely be done after 1.0 is released.
I played this on android using joiplay its for rpgmaker games for running them on android easy to use thanks to there help button located at the three ... Dots upper right corner to use it with dog a jet u will need "RPGM Joiplay Plug-in"-Joiplay,also if you use Ren'py they have a plugin for that too also runs html games you can find it on Google Play Store for android
All zones but one work with joiplay for this game. except they one where a person gets taken at beginning slime zone 2. i couldn't see it! pitch black but I managed to navigate out of the darkness I don't think joiplay can render that zone other then that everything works I played full game So far! it was really good!!!
Ps: if defeated gives you perm gameovers! In final game? maybe add if you beat it you are given a choice to unlock all lewd scenes.or if you get a like high score.the score can be used to some extent to unlock things like scenes or extra content .got the idea from Pandora's Forest.
You don't have to do it just thought I'd give a idea since some people don't like the game over permanently theme. I don't care really ether way
I had to tap up and down swiping,repeatly.till I encountered a boss then defeated it then then in upper right side is the entrance but its not visible......ps :this won't work if you have the regular arrow keys on so just tap till out of that zone. This is only on joiplay these tips
This game shows promise, but I think it makes the same mistake a lot of games like this make: the majority of the game's sex scenes lead to a game over. This means that a player is punished for finding the sex scenes in a porn game, a type of game that people mostly play specifically for those scenes.
An easy solution to this would be to implement a difficulty setting in the options menu that just makes it so that when you lose a fight, the game continues on as though you had won it, xp and everything. Call it Casual Mode (or Submissive Mode, if we're going with the theme of this being a porn game). Maybe also add another difficulty setting that makes it so a game over gives you the option to begin the fight from the beginning, since some players will want to submit to an enemy just to see what the game over for losing to that enemy is like and this just lets them see that without forcing them to reload their last save and get back to that enemy.
This being optional means that anyone who for some reason wants their porn to actively discourage them from seeing anyone have sex can still have that if they want.
Besides that, I think this game looks pretty good. Particularly the grapple and undressing system, which is an interesting way to incorporate sex into the combat mechanics.
The debate around the idea of porn games only having sex scenes in a game over or fail state is an interesting one. On the one hand, I totally understand how it can feel like a punishment when you consider it from a purely gameplay-first perspective... on the other hand, a lot of the thrill and enjoyment of the sex scenes is enhanced by the fact that you've lost, you're being punished, and we've had more than a few people in our Discord say that they much prefer losing in fights instead of the Gallery because of that aspect. For that reason, I don't think we'll go with the whole "that fight didn't count" idea.
...also, we're pretty liberal with save slots and the ability to save at any time. I may be biased as a co-developer, but is it really THAT much of a punishment to just go back a few minutes and try again?
But you still make a fair point that some people want to be rewarded with sexual content and scenes for winning, for doing things successfully and the like. And we are definitely considering that as we move forward, with things like the Relationship Score with the NPC dragons, some cheeky minigames that reward winning as well as losing, as well as some other avenues.
Pray tell, what exactly would you want to see in regards to 'victorious sex scenes'? The player dragon dominating his enemies instead?
I suppose that's a fair point even though it's a bit weird from a game design perspective. Honestly I think having to struggle against it might a big part of my enjoyment of the game as well, even if I hadn't really thought of it like that until you mentioned it. Still, I do think an optional easy mode couldn't hurt, since it would be optional, but I don't know how much work actually making something like that would be so it might be more effort than it's worth.
I don't really want any dominant sex scenes in this game, both because I prefer a submissive role (as, I imagine, do many of your game's other fans) and you've kind of won me over to the "sex scene as punishment" design. Adding dominant scenes for winning a fight might detract from the appeal of having to struggle against the enemy somewhat, making it feel less like you're desperately fighting against being taken advantage of and more like you and the enemy are both DTF and just can't agree on who should be the dom.
Sorry for the somewhat presumptuous comment, and thanks for taking the time to respond to me. I'm looking forward to seeing what future updates of this game have in store.
The problem isn't that it's difficult to try again, it's that we don't have any incentive to do so besides game progression. We're not unintentionally losing fights; the gameplay isn't even difficult. We want to lose fights and don't care about winning them at all. And not necessarily even just because there isn't a sexual content reward... but because we actually aren't interested in winning.
I think the game just really is not intended for bottoms despite all the sexual content (currently) being bottom-focused, which makes it even less intended for tops. And that creates a huge disconnect between what the game is supposed to be and how it can be enjoyed. No one actually wants to play it as an adult game; if they want to play it, it's as an RPG. Which is certainly plausible, but calling it an M/M adult game isn't going to attract that audience when the MC, quite honestly, reads as asexual.
I disagree wholeheartedly with your take on the game's problem, primarily on the bounds that what you suggest is completely and utterly subjective. Just as you may feel that you have no desire to win fights "besides the game progression", I personally feel there are several reasons to do so, such as to see additional enemies and encounters that have further sexual content, to play the game itself and slowly unravel the story, to see more of the characters that may interest you and establish relationships with them, and also to unlock the gallery where game's scenes can be viewed freely.
Your point of view is incredibly closed-minded. Assuming that just because one example of sexual content can be immediately achieved from intentionally losing fights, that people would have no desire to play the game further because they already got their fix is... almost absurdly reductive. By your reasoning, why would anyone have played more than the first level of Super Mario Bros.? You've already experienced the movement and jumping the game has to offer at that point, surely you're satisfied? You keep playing the game for the prospect of more, more fun to be had, more varied encounters to experience.
Moving on to your next paragraph... pray tell, what evidence or facts do you have to point towards the game not being intended for "bottoms"? That the game "isn't going to attract a M/M audience"? Because we have a swathe of comments, ratings, private messages, and even a Discord full of people who fit that description and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the game.
You state that the main character reads as asexual... and feel free to dispute me if you believe otherwise, but it appears to be because you believe the sexual acts they engage in only result from losing a fight or are otherwise non-consensual? Well, there's the fact there's a handful of scenes that show active sexual desire, such as wearing both the cursed and enhanced undergarments, willingly staying longer being milked by the bandits, an ashamed sexual desire in losing the tutorial fight... as well as the fact that the player can willingly strip down and present themselves to their enemies, and in the vast majority of cases can enjoy getting off and orgasming to their advances before defeating them and continuing on with their adventure.
Finally, you say that "nobody wants to play the game as an adult game, they play it as an RPG.". To that I ask, what even is your definition of an "adult game"? Judging by your above comments, you seem to be espousing that the sexual content of the game is set apart from the RPG nature of the game because you only get it from losing / failing / 'not playing the game', and to engage in one is to not engage in the other?
If you feel otherwise, please correct me, but again this stance seems so incredibly reductive. It ignores such things as the sexual imagery and enemies, the sexual intercourse you can engage in mid-battle, the sexual scenes you can stumble across, or engage in with items... or, as I mentioned to KiptheOtt above, how the sense of failure / punishment actually enhances the sexual pleasure of submission to a great many folks.
Ultimately all of what you've said can be considered subjective opinion of course, but you've put it across in a very certain and self-assured manner, so I trust you won't mind me retorting in kind. If you have a counter argument to what I've said above, by all means feel free to share it along. I'm almost always willing to engage in open debate.
The fact that you described several forms of progression as being reasons other than progression immediately tells me I have nothing to say to you ever. Blocked.
What an absolutely infantile response. Especially to make to a co-writer and developer on the game, somebody who is in the best possible stance to debate the content with you.
Why not take a few minutes to explain to me how exactly anyone desires to keep playing ANY game beyond what falls under your vast blanket of "gameplay progression".? Because I quite honestly don't understand how anyone can play or enjoy a game without somehow furthering it's progression unless the game literally has none.
There are a lot of games that do this? This is the first one I've seen in the RPG genre and one of very few I've seen at all in any genre, which is why I pointed it out a while ago.
You mean RPG porn games where losing results in a submissive sex scene? Yeah, there's several. Corruption of Champions, Corruption of Champions 2, Trials in Tainted Space, Lustful Desires, Tavern of Spear, Summoned By Accident, Lilith's Throne, Flexible Survival, and Love Monsters and Order are all the ones I know of. Most of them don't have that lead to a game-over (except in certain circumstances, like losing to a major villain or losing to the same enemy multiple times in a row), but they normally do punish you in other ways, such as you losing items or money or just not getting any of the rewards and xp you would get from winning the fight.
Not many that I'm aware of. I vaguely remember a really janky 2.5d platformer that did that, but I'm hardly an expert on porn games.
When I said that "a lot of these games make the same mistake," I was just referring to the fact that losing the fights is both how you access the sex scenes and is punished by the game's mechanics. Though I have come around to that design philosophy at this point, even though it does sound completely nonsensical if you examine it through the lens of traditional game design.
It definitely is completely nonsensical. Not something I can over come around to. Even if it were commonplace, I'd still say it's a common mistake, not a good design.
Not saying no one can enjoy the game, but I stand by my statement that the people who enjoy this game are enjoying it because it's an RPG and no other reason.
Man next update cant come soon Enough love it. if it's not too much maybe you could those pink symbols all over grove permanently depending on your corruption level the higher it is the more that is painted all over him
This game isn't bad. But after wearing the Slimy black underwear, it's impossible to remove it without being lusted from the slimes in the first cavern
It's possible. You'll need to either sprint by the final slimes, or bait them out and dodge. If you didn't know, you can enable auto-sprint in the options, or do it manually by holding Shift-key.
Hope that helps you rid yourself of your slimy predicament. Good luck.
This game has really good potential. Already at this early stage I love the battle system, you could go the usual sword, or the lustful way
The corruption theme and writing is amazing; I see you Kuno wanting Grove after he wore that cursed underwear that was meant for you ;)
Most games have slime enemies being quite boring or generic, but this one has multiple types and are each unique. The art style is lovely and brings out the retro RPG vibes. Thank you to the dev team!
And thank you for your kind comment. All the praise is much appreciated. Here's hoping that we can continue to surprise and delight you with what comes next. Do drop a Follow if you haven't already.
Hey, unfortunately you're not able to fight the bandit leader with the slave suit normally, but it can be tested in the gallery. This was mainly due to issues regarding balance and image variation requirements.
The purple chest in gallery room 3 is the slave suit, and it'll require you to get captured, then recover your armour in the same instance. The general rule for all cursed items is that you need to get it off first in order to unlock the memory. Hope this helps
hey I tried using the the file via methods shown to open and play Grove but I'm not getting anywhere it just says I don't have any apps that can play it I'm on tablet and I remember getting a palm tree green symbol emulator for it but I cannot find the paradise app emulator in Google store so do you know of any other way to play this game evern icther wasn't working :/
If you're on tablet, unfortunately Grove is not officially supported on Android. There have been some that have gotten the game to work via JoiPlay, but you will run into issues relating to black screens and the such. Go through the comments here, there have been some solutions proposed, but again it is not officially supported so run it at your own risk.
it's OK I found an app called Maldives player it works 100% after you told me joi player it popped up as the green symbol showing 2 palm trees I mentioned this is so easy to play any pixilated games on so if anyone asks show them the Maldives player app.
This Maldives player was the one I was originally searching for xx thank you be blessed xx
This game is AMAZING! I love it so much and there are so many cutscenes! I love the artstyle you guys truly blew it out of the park. Only thing you GOTTA let us bang the Blacksmith at some point, he's too hot not to smash <3
Not to worry, we’ll be getting relationship scenes and all in the not too distant future… Hope you’ll look forward to that! Thank you very much for the kind words regarding our game :)
![[RPG] GROVE: "Dark Places" (v0.308)](https://img.itch.zone/aW1nLzY5MjM5MzAucG5n/original/gVA7gq.png)
← Return to game
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
I reached the bridge and there is a fence there help me to do next
That's the end of 0.122a content. Congrats!
We're hard at work with 0.2, and hope to release it within a month from now. Hoping you'll look forward to that.
- RegalBuster
And we'll be waiting in really long line. ^^ It enjoyable and not something I mostly play but at the end... I love it. Take your time Grove Dev :P
Gave Grove a spin last night, and loved it to bits! Milking isn't my greatest kink, but I enjoyed the sex aspect of the game quite a bit - although right now it seems almost every gameover scene focuses on milking.
When I first saw the combat, admittedly at first I thought of Swords and Sandals because of the limited energy for moves thing, hah. It was simple enough once I understood, and I learned the value of Strip attacks speedrunning a bit on a second save.
My nitpitcks on combat are probably that 1) spending 3 turns building TP for a strong attack, then flubbing that attack to a RNG miss.. I feel like it should refund your TP when that happens, so you don't waste 4 turns trying to get a preliminary attack off. 2) some way of showing what stage of grappling you're at would make planning out grapple & wait turns less worrying. 3) options on the main battle menu that aren't selectable should be removed entirely, imo. Just.. so it's easier to select 'Wait' with one hand easier.
On the game overs - I quite enjoy the horny finality of Game Over scenarios in nsfw games, but I agree it'd be nice to see some scenes elaborated on, like losing at the fight to save Kuno or the blacksmith, or more bandit fun. (edit: Just saw the Bandit Chief one. woof that was spicy and good) Also - please, give me an option to just skip the sex and load my save after the first time losing to an enemy type. I LOVE the cursed effect sections (they're highlights of the game) but slipping up during an encounter during them and already seeing the sex with the variant pictures means closing the game and restarting to load your save lets you get back to the game way faster.
This is more a miscommunication in dialogue and my own mistake, but in the bandits' hideout I thought I was supposed to go to the eastern door already after escaping the cell and thought I HAD to battle and win while wearing the slave suit. I bested those bastards - lured two to the wall, fought the other two aggravatingly with heals and stuns, for nothin' lol
On the cursed sections... personally, I'd love to be able to carry on the game with the curses active like a horny hard mode (it's worth it), and am not sure why each area gates you off from leaving & showing off your poor horny corrupted lizard and stacking more curses, especially since two have dedicated places to removing them.
I love the cursed underwear scene and am excited for what corruption does - but it'd be nice if 1) you had more slots to equip it in 2) it reflected on Grove's face and naked body 3) a short cutscene plays putting it on and taking it off 4) with enough corruption Grove could even put it on in public~
Thanks a lot for playing our game. Glad to hear that you generally seemed to love your experience with it.
As for your nitpicks... we're still considering if we want to boost accuracy, as we've had mixed feedback from it. Grapple stages are something we want to keep ambiguous but learnable, in the hopes it's both sexually surprising on a first attempt but can be optimised around by learning. Removing options from the battle menu that aren't selectable is a limit of the engine, as best I understand. We'd also like to remove them, but don't think we can.
As for the Game Overs, we have some plans to explore 'extended Game Overs' that maybe let you enjoy a scenario for a bit longer. In the next update we'll be highlighting the command to skip the scene and return straight to the main menu too, so that will hopefully help with folks who don't want to sit through it.
The cursed sections... they are self-contained scenarios now for reasons that they can allow us to mess with mechanics in isolation without potentially having to balance the entire game around them. It would be a lot of work to have to make every single encounter in the game from here onwards synergise with the slimesuit, or the underwear, for example... and we'd rather put that energy towards making enjoyable, unique, kinky but limited encounters. Hopefully the cursed items you get from them and the wizard purifying them will give you a lingering flavour of the scenes at least.
As for your final points... I only ask that you stay tuned. I can't make any promises we'll do all of those things, or exactly in the way you've described here, but more or less every 'mechanic' in the game is something that we might expand on in some way now we have our foundations under us.
Hope that answers your questions or clears up some points and reasons behind why we did what we did. Thanks for your comment, and hope you'll give us a follow if you haven't already, since we plan for a new update to come out in approximately a month from now.
That or some other tweak would be wise. Missing makes the combat more interesting and encourages the more consistent sex combat, but it's painful to build all that TP up and whiff to RNG while the enemy keeps attacking you.
On the engine limitations, is it possible to simply start the selection option at Wait instead then?
And as for the curses, thinking on it more I definitely agree, stacking curses would especially be absurd hah. I am a little curious how differently the curses work right now, since I personally would love to see the curses last a little longer and made more mechanically unique.
It would be something to consider much in the future - but with how short the sections are, revisiting areas that have been completed and allowing curses to be reapplied similar to the slimesuit as of current, or temporarily recurse inert pieces players are wearing to complete short quests that explore the curses more would also be a cool way to do more with them!
I don't know that we could change the starting selection on a per-scenario basis like that. We can certainly look into it though.
As for returning to previously visited areas, enjoying revised scenarios and experiences similar to what was there in the past... we do have some ideas for such things. Hopefully you'll be able to get a taste of them in our next update, ideally coming somewhen in the month of November.
Thanks for your comments and thoughts. Always much appreciated.
How do you navigate the campsite forest? I can't see anything on my screen and blue slimes keep popping up for me to fight.
It sounds like you're playing an unofficial android version of Grove. Currently the platform is not supported because of visual bugs like that, no current way around it. Windows is the most stable platform at the moment, but in the future we may try to bring in an official mobile port.
The only thing I can suggest is to either watch a guide for navigation, or run it on Windows.
-RegalBuster
How based would it be if the update came out on halloween no pressure doe 😶
Enjoyed this one a lot, I have a particular fondness of sexy RPGs whose sexiness is actually included in the gameplay.
can anyone share their savegame with complete CGs T_T
do you guys have patreon for this?
No sir, not at this time. Appreciate that you seem to care enough about the game to ask, though. We'd welcome a one-time donation via itch.io here, and if we do launch a Patreon for the project we'll make an update here, so do give us a +Follow if you haven't already!
Okay... I have one more question :
How can I abandon Kuno? This is only tihng i didnt do yet D:
Can i do something else with Rubbery slime strip than giving it to purple lizard in inn
And is there a way to get a night in game?
The Rubbery Slime strip will have proper functionality in the next update, but as of this moment you can only give it to the Blacksmith and await 0.2 to receive your reward.
If you're talking about a dynamic day and night cycle, that is currently not in the game. As for 'night time' scenes, stay tuned for 0.2.
- Regalbuster
how do you remove the undergarments in the early stage of the game?
If you remember the first Groper Slime (green slime) fight, there is a particular purple sigil on the ground somewhere there. Try interacting with it.
Hope that helps.
- RegalBuster
im at the north bridge camp and i have no idea what to do now can someone help me
Search the buildings at the camp for a rope. You'll need it to descend into a nearby hole...
alright thanks
Quite the chunky comment here. Seems you've plenty of thoughts and plenty of experience with these kinds of games. Well... I might not touch on everything, but here's my response as co-creator.
I definitely know about games with seduction mechanics. But, to be honest, a lot of them boil down to just coin-flips or a simple calculation of charisma/charm/whatever-seduction-state against an enemy's... desire or resistance or whatnot. They certainly work, and they can get the point across that you are playing some sort of seducer... but I don't think they're often all that mechanically interesting and tend to resolve into a seducer playstyle just being mindlessly repeating 'tease' over and over. They can largely invalidate a more involved and thoughtful combat system.
That's what we've gone for with the grapple system in Grove. You can chose to present yourself to an enemy, lure them in close, and... either carefully manage your TP and enemy grapple turns to try and defeat 'em, or y'know, just have fun laying back and letting them do their thing. I might be biased towards my own game, but I think the resource management and turn-monitoring of 'grapple combat' is an ideal SUPPLEMENT to a combat mechanic, vs. a seduction mechanic that serves as a complete alternative. No it's not QUITE a seduction mechanic in that you can't just charm an enemy into a dazed stupor and then have your way with them... but given these early enemies are either corrupt monsters or nefarious bandits, and what we're doing with the story, it just wouldn't make sense for them to give you up after some lovemaking... and definitely doesn't make sense for them to be overwhelmed by YOUR sexual output.
But hey, that isn't to say that there might be enemies in the future that react differently. Some more sentient enemies. Some more shy enemies. We have plans to spice up the formula a little bit... so don't worry, we're not entirely ignoring this.
Now then, your thoughts on Game Overs. I'll start by saying that you're not the first person who has expressed a desire to see expanded scenes that happen post-defeat. We have some thoughts on this matter too, about 'failing forward' as some people like to call it. I can't say too much without spoiling future content, but... we are considering some more scenarios where maybe you'll have a chance to continue despite a defeat, or maybe end up in some kind of 'extended game over' where the game continues a little and you can enjoy a little more time with a certain fail state.
Maybe you were just put off by the way the bandits handle it, but I feel like what happens in that scenario is already a simple showcase of this kind of thing. You can get captured or defeated in combat, you end up imprisoned... and you can either enjoy the situation, let it unfold and culminate... or you can shake off your bonds and fight through the humiliation, reclaim your gear and keep going. I recognise that it's not particularly deep at this stage, but I also ask you to recognise the game is still very much in it's infancy, little more than a demo right now, a 'foundational' build.
And just to wrap things up with your thoughts on Game Overs in general... I'll be honest and say that I disagree with you. Starting with your thoughts on them being a limitation of creativity... whilst they don't go too far right now, the Game Overs in GROVE actually allow us to serve up small story hints at the nature of enemies and the corruption and the story of the world. Fail to the green slimes and you'll get an early look at the Slime Dragons and how people are being converted. Fail to the Bandit Leader and you'll get a glimpse that he's playing with dark powers that might be a little beyond his comprehension if not his control. Fail to the wriggly orange invaders in cyberspace, and you'll get a look at the corruptive latex and the conditioning that a certain purple eye is trying to impose on Grove. Yes, we could go further with these scenarios, but to go too far would be to spoil the reason to keep playing normally... it's our desire for the Game Overs to not only be sexy, but also tempt you into seeing what else might come along when you try again and defeat your foe.
So... whilst you are not the first person who's wanted to see extended scenarios instead of immediate failure and restarts, and that's something we do want to explore a little bit as devs... Game Overs aren't going away, because I do honestly believe they still serve both a narrative and a gameplay purpose. They raise the skill floor and ask you to rise to the challenge, they help us tell the story we want to tell with GROVE instead of derailing it completely, and... whilst maybe not for you personally, there's PLENTY of folks out there who enjoy a 'bad ending' and get sexual gratification from such a thing.
Now then, to address some of your smaller points. You talked about getting buffs or experience from having sex. I don't think we'll be doing anything different for enemies, as our grapple combat still serves as a means to defeat them. Buuuuuut... there might be some more scenarios where getting into sexual escapades gives you a reward, such as the corrupted underwear getting you early access to Fire Bolt, or perhaps nice little boons from NPCs you form sexual relationships with.
Corruption right now is very bare bones, I'll readily admit that. As for what we plan to do with it... you can consider it a metric that affects how Grove might react in scenarios and situations, instead of his more quiet and tame natural reaction. I can't say much more without spoiling it though.
And yes, we've already got a solution to making enemies disappear from the screen whilst they're grappling you, so it doesn't appear as though they're duplicating. We'll be implementing that in the next update.
Finally, to tackle your suggestions. Feral snakes? Uh... do you mean the orange 'invaders' in the cyberspace scene? If that's what you meant, I can say we'll be revisiting those guys and that whole digital scenario, don't worry.
You're not the first person who's wanted spider enemies, or more ferals in general. I can say that your suggestions are very much heard... and I ask you to look forward to what we're doing with v0.2 when it drops, in regards to this kind of stuff.
And yes, the monstrous tentacle enemy you fight in the first dream. Of course we'll be revisiting them and that whole scenario. I know it was 'barely used' but you gotta remember this is still VERY early on in the game.
And as for corrupting other NPCs and friends and partners... again, don't want to spoil things, but you're also not the first person to suggest such a thing, and it's something that we are looking at and considering. How exactly we'll implement it... you'll have to wait and see.
OK, I think that's everything. Thanks for taking the time to type up your big comment. I appreciate that our game could stir up such thoughts in you and you would chose to share such an impassioned response.
Hopefully my own can give some insight into the future of the game, and my stance as a creative.
Of course, I very much appreciate the fact that you seem to care enough about the game to give such a large and clearly passionate comment. And I'm happy to respond in kind.
Yes, there'll always be 'Game Overs' in this game, at some point after a fail state. It could be immediately, it could be after repeated failures, it could be after an extended playable scene. I know you referred to Skyrim's defeat mods, but that game has the benefit of being a wide-open sandbox, where a player can make their own end goal as much as the game provides one, and has systems in place that can support a near-endless play session. We have a more narrative-based game, a story we wanna tell and a rough path we wanna guide you down, so... we can't allow for too much divergence or that'll go totally out the window. Hopefully you understand what I mean by this and why I feel we NEED Game Overs.
It's a shame you don't seem to care for the grapple system because you find it difficult... but for what it's worth, may I just repeat from my previous comment that it's not intended to be a replacement for combat, but a supplement to it. Trying to 'main' grapple combat isn't really the design intent, and it'd be very difficult indeed. We think of it more as a 'back-up', a stance change, allowing you to switch gears and finish off a weakened enemy, at the risk of putting yourself in sexual danger.
But your suggestion of a quickload system, something to keep the game from going right back to the main menu, is something we've been thinking about. I don't know if it'll work within the framework of RPGMaker, but we're looking into it at least. Though... it's still a menu you have to navigate in order to get back to gameplay. Is being able to quickly resume from the Game Over screen as opposed to the title screen really that much better in your eyes? I know you want quick saves, save states, things like that... but unless you know of any other RPGMaker engine games that do such, we are limited by our software. This isn't something like Skyrim or an emulator engine, I'm afraid.
Yes, of course there's a way to succeed in the cyberspace! That wasn't meant to be an unwinnable state. Once you've activated all three memory cores, and the invaders and restrainer suit appear... you've just gotta escape back the way you came!
Regarding other party members, you may have guests briefly show up in your party to help, and we might even have periods where you briefly play as another character... Grove will remain the main character in a solo party most of the time, but we have some ideas to spice things up a little from time to time.
I appreciate you giving your suggestions on what an enhanced seduction mechanic might look like, and I am aware of games that give enemies certain tastes and kinks that can be used against them, or having lust systems that can confer buffs and bonuses and suchlike. I still don't know if we'll go down such a route, if that's something my dev partner wants to actually do with this game and Grove as a character, but... yeah, we do have ideas at least. Maybe something will come of it, but I really can't make any promises.
Same goes for all your suggestions about what to do with corruption based mechanics. They are very much appreciated, and we do consider most every idea people throw at us, buuuuut... we do have our own ideas about what we want to do with corruption, with seduction, with enhancing combat through different avenues and such. So there might be shades of what you and other folks have suggested, but ultimately we're going to follow our own ideas first. Again, I appreciate the well thought suggestions, but it's not like we don't have a clue what we wanna do ourselves.
Zombies and other such undead in sexual scenes... maybe. I wouldn't bet on it, at least in the sense of 'rotting undead corpses'. There might be zombies of another stripe in the game, something more magical maybe, but if you're specifically looking for something corpsy and grotesque, you'll probably be disappointed.
Once more, the suggestions are appreciated, but as long as you in turn can appreciate we do have our own ideas for the game and what we wanna do with it. To be honest... the more granular you or anyone gets with an idea, the less likely we are to adopt it. Not because we are spiting people's creativity, but more so that we want to put our own spins on mechanics and systems and other sexual games out there, rather than just copying things whole-hog. We'd rather look at what people want, or think is a good idea, in a general sense... and then apply our sensibilities and creativity to it and hopefully come up with something that surprises folks in a novel way.
Thanks again for the comment. Hopefully you can understand where I'm coming from with my various points and responses.
Ideally we'll be updating the game to version 0.2 within a month from now. We'll update the downloadable files here on itch.io, make an update post across our social media and accounts, make sure as many folks are in the know as possible.
So do give us a follow, if you haven't already. And hope you'll enjoy the update when it releases.
This is a very good game so far. Any plans to do a patreon page
Not at the moment. For a passion project such as this, we kinda prefer not to set the kind of expectancy or obligation that comes with repeat Patreon payments / subscriptions. It can be... stressful.
We'd much rather folks drop a one-time donation here on itch.io if they really want to support the game. And if not, that's totally cool too.
Not to mention the slew of content restrictions that would follow because of patreons silly ass rules.
That too.
Really well made and interesting. The only thing i would add is possibility to unlock cinematics even if its too late (like slime chest) or just unlocking them all in gallery.
Its better then starting the game from begginig to unlock something
We'll be taking another look at the gallery with the next update. We'll try and include more lewd cinematics and not just enemy fights, but I really don't know about an 'unlock all' feature. We want folks to have fun playing the game, and I personally believe the scenes are more enjoyable when done during gameplay, than just watching them...
We'll see how people's feedback goes, though. Hope you'll be willing to provide your thoughts when the next update drops, hopefully within a month from now. Do follow if you ain't already.
IT'S AMAZING!
All I've got to say is damn!
Great work fellas, excited to see where this goes. RPG elements are good and the world itself is interesting from the get go with the adult content being done super well. If this was a demo for a paid release instead of an early build I'd be sold.
I'm honestly astonished by the quality so far. It's quite impressive and It'll be interesting to see where you guys go from here.
I don't want to bother you with too many questions involving grove. All I wish to know is, do you plan to add any more kinks/fetishes later on as this game is further developed and updated? Like say for instance vore. Not the kind that involves any kind of death/digestion, or anything like that. But focuses on the lighter subject of the character being held in another individual's stomach, with no kind of harm done to them. Perhaps following the terms of endosoma, safekeeping, non-fatal, and full tour. Maybe even the possibility of Mpreg might be done in the way that everybody knows is a natural opposite to our reality as opposed to the RPGs reality if that can be allowed to be done in it at all of course.
Then again, maybe, the method mentioned before could be used in a completely unnatural way which could be done with a unique kind of combination between Mpreg and Vore following along with the fantasy kink/fetish described here https://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Unbirth that's just like this https://www.furaffinity.net/view/21963778/. If that is actually something which would be of interest to the creators, designers and the players of the RPG. Who have a taken a liking of the gameplay, design, and story of this RPG. In order to be able to see certain types of vore happening with the main character during his journey. Perhaps to hide, seek shelter, etc. while at the same time the MC could do the same with the other NPCs the MC interacts with. Although certain kinds of exceptions to that might be the enemies/foes/monsters/races he encounters along the way. That gives him all kinds of different options to choose from at that point. The decisions could all be based on either to choose to hold them prisoner in order to get a bounty, digest them, keep as a hostage within himself, tame monsters by becoming their predator instead of the other way around, gain companions from other races by doing a unique favor for them etc. On the other hand if the hostiles he meets under certain circumstances had managed to beat the MC with whatever kind of counter actions/measures they took before/afterhand to do so to ensure that he'd lose then no matter how it went between them depending on whether the MC made a pleasant impression on them or not the choices they give him afterwards might lead to a good partnership deal which leaves/keeps both sides satisfied or a blackmailing threat to his life which they will hang on his head as they travel along to keep an eye on him.
In any case if my rambling hasn't gotten on your nerves just yet...... One thing I want to say, out of everything else, is that I've appreciated all the work you all have done on this. I'm really curious about what comes next especially if it includes new fantasies.
If I'm coming across as demanding or controlling in any shape or form involving how you are developing this game that is not my intention. I apologize if I have come across that way at all. Let me know. I'm looking forward to playing the updates as they come out. I hope you can continue this without any kind of interruption or obstacles in your way.
May you stay safe, well, and enjoy the rest of your days!
Honestly friend, I think that your gameplay ideas could make for an entire game unto itself. That's a fair amount of mechanics and a lot to layer on top of an RPG like we have so far. Keep note of your thoughts. I'm sure somebody out there could make a good Vore game like this, maybe even yourself... but that's not really aligned with our current goals for GROVE.
That being said, the kinks themselves might end up in the game in some way. We'll just be implementing them into the existing mechanics with combat and grapples instead.
I don't want to seem like I'm being a little too nosey and/or pushy by asking this, but would it be possible for other certain types of vore along with the ones I mentioned before to be added to your RPG sometime later down the road like say for instance the kinds that are all described on this site here https://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Vorarephilia?
One other question I hope to be able to ask you if it won't cause any kind of issue towards you or your other partners working on this RPG is how exactly would vore be implemented into the existing mechanics of the combat and grapples involved between the MC and the enemies he faces anyway I mean it would make sense for both sides to be able to do that kink/fetish to each other in some shape or form right?
Well, I can't completely confirm if those kinds of kinks would appear in the game or not. Apologies if my previous comment gave you the false impression, but I more so meant to say that those kinds of kinks aren't off the table, not that they'd be included for sure. As for how we would implement them if so... well, don't get your hopes up for 'vore mechanics'. It would probably just be vore scenes, as part of the enemy grapple sequence.
Wish I could somehow recommend some kind of vore game to you instead, since it seems you're really pining for one. Unfortunately, they're not really something I'm knowledgeable on. I apologise, but I wouldn't get your hopes too high for GROVE being a 'vore game'. At most, it'll be an RPG with a rare vore scene, rather than one that has mechanics around it or makes it a focus.
Well I was just wondering whether it would be possible for the kinks/fetishes to be added on later and/or bit by bit as the RPG is developed/updated by your team. I wasn't saying that it had to be a 100% 'vore game' by any stretch of the imagination. I would be fine with however it turned out especially if the mechanics/enemy grapple sequence was unique/varied similarly like this RPG and 1,2 or more VNs, I know which are called https://spedumon.itch.io/small-on-top,https://hyao.itch.io/lustful-desires, https://teamzorro.itch.io/sbarpg, etc., I would have also found it equally interesting if between the MC and all the other individuals he meets during his journey in the game which includes whether that might be mainly specific to any of the kind of friend(s)/foes/monster(s)/beast(s)/race(s) that are available so far in RPG. Which in that instance might be kind of like interacting with friendly NPC's in a community plus possibly a caravan on the road or enemy encounters that are deadly, but you are able to reason with them either by making a good impression or choosing carefully with how to specifically deal with them depending on whether they are sentient or feral, but I suppose that doesn't really have to be important in any case especially if certain categories and types of vore can happen between either towards both the MC/allies/hostiles he meets or just to one of them during a deal/partnership/quest that's arranged with all the parties involved in that kind of situation/instance. That's all just my two cents on this anyway, so you all probably have much better ideas on the way for this project that you're already working on, right?
Once again, I thank you for all the work you've put into this, so much so that I can't wait to see how it all turns out in the end. I hope you nor your partners involved in this project well face too many setbacks, obstacles, interference with your project in any kind of shape or form. May you all stay safe, well, and enjoy the days ahead of all of you.
Great game. Really enjoyed it. Do you guys have a Patreon or something? Would 100% support!
Not at the moment, no. We might make one later down the line, but for now we kinda prefer donations via this website. We'll make an announcement if we ever do though.
This game have a lot of great combination between RPG and NFSW. I enjoyed a lot. Keep up the awesome game!
How long will the new version come？I can‘t wait anymore！！！！！
We're hoping for a late October, early November release!
anyone know how to get the slime black thong scene?
There's 3 scenes related to the slime black thong scene
1-Putting it : Follow the trail of clothing from the blue dragon drake
2-Getting rid of it : Enter that special place with the weird floor symbol after the first green slime
3- Trying to escape : try to exit the area without getting rid ot the slime black thong ( go right until you see the exit of the forest )
There's also a walkthrought pinned on the Grove NSFW-General chat on the discord server
I hate to ask too much from a free passion project but do you guys plan on add more to the voice work? I think that would be a great,for example, to have the enemies read out there lines in battle.
Personally, I would love to include a little more voice work to the game. But finding a bevy of different actors for the various enemies and NPCs would be quite the endeavour, and fairly costly unless we had a bunch of volunteers
The interest is certainly there, don't get me wrong. But I think it'd be something we do when the game is nearly complete, not at such an early stage.
Fair enough thanks!
Why can't I find the file about archive in the save, only undenfined.Do I need to unzip all the contents of the compressed package?
well,nothing.After unzipping,I found the archive.
god tier game
I cleared all the CGs. This is really my favorite game, none of them
have you gotten the green slime dragon secret cg?
Can you tell me how to get the green slime dragon secret cg? I didn't even know it existed
If you’re talking about the slimy suit research cutscene, you’ll need to get suited by a slime dragon first, burn it off with the large fire in the room (which will give you an item), then go back and talk to the wizard
- RegalBuster
Oh, I've already got that scene before. Thank you for replying though. :D
if you look at the galery, there's a cg chest that said something like "the memory in the chest is covered by a sticky slime, maybe you have to experience the same" something like that
ah unfortunately there is a known bug with 0.122a that if you’re trying to unlock the slime suit chest, you can only do it before you defeat the boss. Use an old save file and get suited, remove it then you will unlock the slime suit in the gallery. Hope it helps, and apologies for the bug. It will be fixed for 0.2
-RegalBuster
ah i see. Thanks
Of course, all cg's are unlocked。And no one can stop or defeat me
This game looks really good but I was wondering, is their any future plans for an android version of the game?
Unfortunately we don’t have many plans for an android version in the future, partly due to the incompatibility of some add ons. It’s not been completely written off, just that it’ll likely be done after 1.0 is released.
-RegalBuster
I played this on android using joiplay its for rpgmaker games for running them on android easy to use thanks to there help button located at the three ... Dots upper right corner to use it with dog a jet u will need "RPGM Joiplay Plug-in"-Joiplay,also if you use Ren'py they have a plugin for that too also runs html games you can find it on Google Play Store for android
All zones but one work with joiplay for this game. except they one where a person gets taken at beginning slime zone 2. i couldn't see it! pitch black but I managed to navigate out of the darkness I don't think joiplay can render that zone other then that everything works I played full game So far! it was really good!!!
Ps: if defeated gives you perm gameovers! In final game? maybe add if you beat it you are given a choice to unlock all lewd scenes.or if you get a like high score.the score can be used to some extent to unlock things like scenes or extra content .got the idea from Pandora's Forest.
You don't have to do it just thought I'd give a idea since some people don't like the game over permanently theme. I don't care really ether way
How did you managed to navigate out of the darkness in zone 2? i tried for hours xd
I have replied now sorry for the delay
How did you manage to navigate it, is there a map for that place or something
I had to tap up and down swiping,repeatly.till I encountered a boss then defeated it then then in upper right side is the entrance but its not visible......ps :this won't work if you have the regular arrow keys on so just tap till out of that zone. This is only on joiplay these tips
How do you teleport in the game? Is it still in development?
You can teleport by using the 'documents case' in your Key Items.
And yes, the game is still in development.
I can't help playing this game!!!
This game shows promise, but I think it makes the same mistake a lot of games like this make: the majority of the game's sex scenes lead to a game over. This means that a player is punished for finding the sex scenes in a porn game, a type of game that people mostly play specifically for those scenes.
An easy solution to this would be to implement a difficulty setting in the options menu that just makes it so that when you lose a fight, the game continues on as though you had won it, xp and everything. Call it Casual Mode (or Submissive Mode, if we're going with the theme of this being a porn game). Maybe also add another difficulty setting that makes it so a game over gives you the option to begin the fight from the beginning, since some players will want to submit to an enemy just to see what the game over for losing to that enemy is like and this just lets them see that without forcing them to reload their last save and get back to that enemy.
This being optional means that anyone who for some reason wants their porn to actively discourage them from seeing anyone have sex can still have that if they want.
Besides that, I think this game looks pretty good. Particularly the grapple and undressing system, which is an interesting way to incorporate sex into the combat mechanics.
The debate around the idea of porn games only having sex scenes in a game over or fail state is an interesting one. On the one hand, I totally understand how it can feel like a punishment when you consider it from a purely gameplay-first perspective... on the other hand, a lot of the thrill and enjoyment of the sex scenes is enhanced by the fact that you've lost, you're being punished, and we've had more than a few people in our Discord say that they much prefer losing in fights instead of the Gallery because of that aspect. For that reason, I don't think we'll go with the whole "that fight didn't count" idea.
...also, we're pretty liberal with save slots and the ability to save at any time. I may be biased as a co-developer, but is it really THAT much of a punishment to just go back a few minutes and try again?
But you still make a fair point that some people want to be rewarded with sexual content and scenes for winning, for doing things successfully and the like. And we are definitely considering that as we move forward, with things like the Relationship Score with the NPC dragons, some cheeky minigames that reward winning as well as losing, as well as some other avenues.
Pray tell, what exactly would you want to see in regards to 'victorious sex scenes'? The player dragon dominating his enemies instead?
I suppose that's a fair point even though it's a bit weird from a game design perspective. Honestly I think having to struggle against it might a big part of my enjoyment of the game as well, even if I hadn't really thought of it like that until you mentioned it. Still, I do think an optional easy mode couldn't hurt, since it would be optional, but I don't know how much work actually making something like that would be so it might be more effort than it's worth.
I don't really want any dominant sex scenes in this game, both because I prefer a submissive role (as, I imagine, do many of your game's other fans) and you've kind of won me over to the "sex scene as punishment" design. Adding dominant scenes for winning a fight might detract from the appeal of having to struggle against the enemy somewhat, making it feel less like you're desperately fighting against being taken advantage of and more like you and the enemy are both DTF and just can't agree on who should be the dom.
Sorry for the somewhat presumptuous comment, and thanks for taking the time to respond to me. I'm looking forward to seeing what future updates of this game have in store.
The problem isn't that it's difficult to try again, it's that we don't have any incentive to do so besides game progression. We're not unintentionally losing fights; the gameplay isn't even difficult. We want to lose fights and don't care about winning them at all. And not necessarily even just because there isn't a sexual content reward... but because we actually aren't interested in winning.
I think the game just really is not intended for bottoms despite all the sexual content (currently) being bottom-focused, which makes it even less intended for tops. And that creates a huge disconnect between what the game is supposed to be and how it can be enjoyed. No one actually wants to play it as an adult game; if they want to play it, it's as an RPG. Which is certainly plausible, but calling it an M/M adult game isn't going to attract that audience when the MC, quite honestly, reads as asexual.
I disagree wholeheartedly with your take on the game's problem, primarily on the bounds that what you suggest is completely and utterly subjective. Just as you may feel that you have no desire to win fights "besides the game progression", I personally feel there are several reasons to do so, such as to see additional enemies and encounters that have further sexual content, to play the game itself and slowly unravel the story, to see more of the characters that may interest you and establish relationships with them, and also to unlock the gallery where game's scenes can be viewed freely.
Your point of view is incredibly closed-minded. Assuming that just because one example of sexual content can be immediately achieved from intentionally losing fights, that people would have no desire to play the game further because they already got their fix is... almost absurdly reductive. By your reasoning, why would anyone have played more than the first level of Super Mario Bros.? You've already experienced the movement and jumping the game has to offer at that point, surely you're satisfied? You keep playing the game for the prospect of more, more fun to be had, more varied encounters to experience.
Moving on to your next paragraph... pray tell, what evidence or facts do you have to point towards the game not being intended for "bottoms"? That the game "isn't going to attract a M/M audience"? Because we have a swathe of comments, ratings, private messages, and even a Discord full of people who fit that description and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the game.
You state that the main character reads as asexual... and feel free to dispute me if you believe otherwise, but it appears to be because you believe the sexual acts they engage in only result from losing a fight or are otherwise non-consensual? Well, there's the fact there's a handful of scenes that show active sexual desire, such as wearing both the cursed and enhanced undergarments, willingly staying longer being milked by the bandits, an ashamed sexual desire in losing the tutorial fight... as well as the fact that the player can willingly strip down and present themselves to their enemies, and in the vast majority of cases can enjoy getting off and orgasming to their advances before defeating them and continuing on with their adventure.
Finally, you say that "nobody wants to play the game as an adult game, they play it as an RPG.". To that I ask, what even is your definition of an "adult game"? Judging by your above comments, you seem to be espousing that the sexual content of the game is set apart from the RPG nature of the game because you only get it from losing / failing / 'not playing the game', and to engage in one is to not engage in the other?
If you feel otherwise, please correct me, but again this stance seems so incredibly reductive. It ignores such things as the sexual imagery and enemies, the sexual intercourse you can engage in mid-battle, the sexual scenes you can stumble across, or engage in with items... or, as I mentioned to KiptheOtt above, how the sense of failure / punishment actually enhances the sexual pleasure of submission to a great many folks.
Ultimately all of what you've said can be considered subjective opinion of course, but you've put it across in a very certain and self-assured manner, so I trust you won't mind me retorting in kind. If you have a counter argument to what I've said above, by all means feel free to share it along. I'm almost always willing to engage in open debate.
The fact that you described several forms of progression as being reasons other than progression immediately tells me I have nothing to say to you ever. Blocked.
What an absolutely infantile response. Especially to make to a co-writer and developer on the game, somebody who is in the best possible stance to debate the content with you.
Why not take a few minutes to explain to me how exactly anyone desires to keep playing ANY game beyond what falls under your vast blanket of "gameplay progression".? Because I quite honestly don't understand how anyone can play or enjoy a game without somehow furthering it's progression unless the game literally has none.
There are a lot of games that do this? This is the first one I've seen in the RPG genre and one of very few I've seen at all in any genre, which is why I pointed it out a while ago.
You mean RPG porn games where losing results in a submissive sex scene? Yeah, there's several. Corruption of Champions, Corruption of Champions 2, Trials in Tainted Space, Lustful Desires, Tavern of Spear, Summoned By Accident, Lilith's Throne, Flexible Survival, and Love Monsters and Order are all the ones I know of. Most of them don't have that lead to a game-over (except in certain circumstances, like losing to a major villain or losing to the same enemy multiple times in a row), but they normally do punish you in other ways, such as you losing items or money or just not getting any of the rewards and xp you would get from winning the fight.
No, I know *that* is common. I mean where sex scenes are entirely game overs.
yeahh minus events
sex is purely a game over loss
Not many that I'm aware of. I vaguely remember a really janky 2.5d platformer that did that, but I'm hardly an expert on porn games.
When I said that "a lot of these games make the same mistake," I was just referring to the fact that losing the fights is both how you access the sex scenes and is punished by the game's mechanics. Though I have come around to that design philosophy at this point, even though it does sound completely nonsensical if you examine it through the lens of traditional game design.
It definitely is completely nonsensical. Not something I can over come around to. Even if it were commonplace, I'd still say it's a common mistake, not a good design.
Not saying no one can enjoy the game, but I stand by my statement that the people who enjoy this game are enjoying it because it's an RPG and no other reason.
Man next update cant come soon Enough love it. if it's not too much maybe you could those pink symbols all over grove permanently depending on your corruption level the higher it is the more that is painted all over him
That's an interesting idea +1
It would help to know how corruption is going. It scare me to say the Corruption mark look good on Mc ;-;
this game is great!!!
This game isn't bad. But after wearing the Slimy black underwear, it's impossible to remove it without being lusted from the slimes in the first cavern
It's possible. You'll need to either sprint by the final slimes, or bait them out and dodge. If you didn't know, you can enable auto-sprint in the options, or do it manually by holding Shift-key.
Hope that helps you rid yourself of your slimy predicament. Good luck.
This game has really good potential. Already at this early stage I love the battle system, you could go the usual sword, or the lustful way
The corruption theme and writing is amazing; I see you Kuno wanting Grove after he wore that cursed underwear that was meant for you ;)
Most games have slime enemies being quite boring or generic, but this one has multiple types and are each unique. The art style is lovely and brings out the retro RPG vibes. Thank you to the dev team!
And thank you for your kind comment. All the praise is much appreciated. Here's hoping that we can continue to surprise and delight you with what comes next. Do drop a Follow if you haven't already.
Does anyone know what the carrots are for in the forest camp barrels?
Carrots give a minor boost to your maximum HP!
Hey guys, there is 2 things i wonder does it have in game or not
1- on Tweeter, i see we fight the boss with the BDSM suit ( I don't know the name), so can we actually do that
2- how to open the purple chest in gallery room 3.
Hey, unfortunately you're not able to fight the bandit leader with the slave suit normally, but it can be tested in the gallery. This was mainly due to issues regarding balance and image variation requirements.
The purple chest in gallery room 3 is the slave suit, and it'll require you to get captured, then recover your armour in the same instance. The general rule for all cursed items is that you need to get it off first in order to unlock the memory. Hope this helps
-Regalbuster
hey I tried using the the file via methods shown to open and play Grove but I'm not getting anywhere it just says I don't have any apps that can play it I'm on tablet and I remember getting a palm tree green symbol emulator for it but I cannot find the paradise app emulator in Google store so do you know of any other way to play this game evern icther wasn't working :/
If you're on tablet, unfortunately Grove is not officially supported on Android. There have been some that have gotten the game to work via JoiPlay, but you will run into issues relating to black screens and the such. Go through the comments here, there have been some solutions proposed, but again it is not officially supported so run it at your own risk.
- RegalBuster
it's OK I found an app called Maldives player it works 100% after you told me joi player it popped up as the green symbol showing 2 palm trees I mentioned this is so easy to play any pixilated games on so if anyone asks show them the Maldives player app.
This Maldives player was the one I was originally searching for xx thank you be blessed xx
Hello. I play android via JoiPlay. I have a black screen with a single beam of light on the Cliffside Forest location. Is this a bug?
The game was built to be played on PC, and the plugins we use aren't compatible with mobile devices or players like JoiPlay. Sorry about that.
Guys, how do you unlock the yellow chest/cutscene in the far right gallery room?
You may be referring to the tutorial battle game over. Since it’s a special ‘secret’ game over, you’ll have to lose it in order to unlock the scene
- RegalBuster
This game is AMAZING! I love it so much and there are so many cutscenes! I love the artstyle you guys truly blew it out of the park. Only thing you GOTTA let us bang the Blacksmith at some point, he's too hot not to smash <3
Not to worry, we’ll be getting relationship scenes and all in the not too distant future… Hope you’ll look forward to that! Thank you very much for the kind words regarding our game :)
-RegalBuster