Isaac vs Mewgenics

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

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

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

Genre:

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

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

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

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

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

Information:

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

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

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

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

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

Legacy:

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

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

And that sums up my powerpoint presentation.

See ya,
-Edmund