[ RELEASED ] Menial - A Utopian Bagel Simulator

MIGGO · Thu 15/09/2022 17:23:16

Welcome!

I've been working on my latest game for a couple of months now and I feel it's time to post a little something here. Thus I proudly present: Menial - A Utopian Bagel Simulator!

A demo is available!
Here's a link for downloading the demo: https://wavey-games.itch.io/menial

This is a non-adventure game. I'd quickly describe Menial as a restaurant simulator and a visual novel, with some light point 'n' click puzzling in a comic pixel art style very much inspired by the NES.

More broadly Menial is a game about making bagels and living in the City State of Ineria, a fully automated utopia. You step into the shoes of Maria who's lifelong passion has been the (perhaps modest) art of making bagels. What does the following of your passion entail in a world of myriad possibilities? What pressures and attitudes must Maria endure from her surroundings? What is the utopian state of Ineria like and who lives there?

The gameplay is inspired by bartending simulators and visual novels like VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action and Coffee Talk. So you'll be making and serving bagels and meeting different characters with their own stories. After work you go home and you'll have a chance to spend money in a shop or go gambling! Currently I've made a robot race minigame where you can bet on three robots who race, but I'm hoping to make a blackjack simulator available too. The shop's been created but I need to put more items in it.

I'll also be adding into the mix some surreal minigames you can play by going to sleep while at home. I've made one dream thus far and it's quite horrific, but I don't want to spoil it.

Maria has to go through a morning routine each day, which involves light puzzling.

A shot from the Bagel Simulator 1.0 where you construct bagels for customers.

A guy talking about the world after having bagels.

A picture of Maria's recepy book.

I think a Status Report would be something along the lines of:

Graphics: 70% more or less
Story: 90% or less
Scripting: 70% more or less
Music and Sound: 33% or more

So the game is still in the very beginning of development and I'm going to take time with this project. My plan is to release a final version somewhere in early 2024. Do play the demo!

Rik_Vargard · Fri 16/09/2022 20:50:16

This looks pretty unique. Love the visuals.
I wish you the best continuation

Nahuel · Fri 16/09/2022 21:34:06

That is awesome! 👏 I would love to play the demo!

All the best to accomplish the game!

MIGGO · Sat 17/09/2022 09:45:24

Thanks Rik and Nahuel for the encouragement and good wishes!
I guess the blend of different genres puts the game in it's own division. Gets my weirdo juices flowing, at least.

MIGGO · Sat 01/10/2022 19:16:09

Hi! I wanna share this little gameplay demo here. It shows how Maria makes bagels for her customers using the Bagel Simulator 1.0. Check it!

The demo's coming along nicely. I've been sending it to awesome playtesters, making fixes and adjustments according to feedback.

Cheers!

MIGGO · Sat 08/10/2022 10:24:17

DEMO RELEASED:

https://wavey-games.itch.io/menial

Go ahead and download it, yes...

Nahuel · Sat 08/10/2022 13:12:09

Quote from: MIGGO on Sat 08/10/2022 10:24:17DEMO RELEASED:

https://wavey-games.itch.io/menial

Go ahead and download it, yes...

Excellent! Good stuff, all the best @MIGGO

heltenjon · Sat 15/10/2022 11:48:28

This is an experimental hybrid of several game genres. The player can't influence the story much, so the visual novel part mostly give you stuff to read. That said, it's written very well, and the world building is excellent, so I didn't mind.

In addition, there's a bagel construction simulator that's extremely well done, although that genre naturally has its limits. The voicing and effects on this part makes it quite cool.

And there is an additional element of what the character likes to do on their spare time. For now, it's gambling on a race. What it all adds up to, I'm not sure, but it feels like a well written casual game, made with AGS.

selmiak · Sun 16/10/2022 15:39:55

jfyi I longplayed the long demo

MIGGO · Thu 27/10/2022 18:22:24

@selmiak Lovely!

Thanks a lot for the longplay!

MIGGO · Wed 09/11/2022 20:12:30

Hello!

Here's a little presentation of the Shopping function from Menial.

You can buy things with the money you earn or win gambling. There are two types of items; the first type are puzzle items you'll have to use to access the next bagel stand, and the second type is various trophy items with which you can decorate Maria's room, such as the cigarettes that are bought in this gameplay snip. I'm happy that I managed to pull this off! and there are many items to add, for sure.

On top of that I've written a good deal of new dialog, drawn new environments and scripted the story forwards, but it's all a bit rough. I think I'll have to stop at some point to polish it a little, maybe once the item shop is order, before continuing to write and script the story.

Cheers and have nice day!

MIGGO · Tue 20/12/2022 19:32:43

Hiya!

I'm checking in before christmas 'cause, you know, gotta visit the folks and all. I'm happy to inform that the story is nearly complete! Like 90%. I couldn't hold back and so I continued writing after my last update and I've scripted days 1-7 (of which days 1 and 2 are playable in the demo) leaving only the last, day 8, undone. It'll be a kind of an epilogue. So progress has been swell. Location backgrounds are complete minus the last one. I think the full release will be ready well before 2024 contrary to what I first thought. But still I shouldn't haste 'cause there's much to do with the non-narrative sections, for example there's still no black jack! :p The game has two new songs on the soundtrack and I'm planning to make more music after the story is complete. And the dreams... oh the dreams. There's one I should showcase! But not in this post. In this post I'll share this nice piece of art with Maria sitting in the rain. The location is the Industrial Area that can be seen in the map of Ineria and which Maria will go to on day 6. Terrible events will take place there!

Peace.

heltenjon · Wed 21/12/2022 14:06:26

Looking good there in the rain. I'm eager to know how this story will unfold.

MIGGO · Thu 22/12/2022 15:35:08

I'm glad to hear that!

I think this game came to have a more traditional narrative arc than my previous games and it's been a challenge to try and structure a story in a classical way like that. Fool Around had a dream setting so I think a stream of consciousness was definitely the way to go there. Shape Village had the branching storyline so again it offered much freedom. Also due to the lesser amount of exploration and gameplay in general there's been a special focus on the story in Menial.

All in all I do hope it's an enticing story!

MIGGO · Sat 14/01/2023 16:40:37

https://youtu.be/3MNo3S4MvT0

Hi and happy 2023!

I'm further expanding the gambling options! Here's a peek to a vintage slot machine (with Shape Village characters!) you can blow cash on. The odds aren't exactly favorable but I once got a jackpot on it. I must sadly say that a Blackjack won't be making it to the game. It's not poker, sure, but it's still a complex enough game that it'd take too much work for a mere side-activity. So I don't think it would be smart to start wrestling with. I'll be sure to come up with a third option for reckless gambling, however!

FireFlower · Tue 07/02/2023 14:22:37

This looks pretty cool. Don't think I've seen a bagel sim before.

MIGGO · Sun 12/02/2023 16:15:15

Thanks FireFlower! The game's such a mash up of genres I don't always know what I should call it, it's a bagel simulator for one thing, it's a visual novel for another.

Anyway, I'm releasing the full game, so off to the completed games thread and downloading the full version!

https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/completed-game-announcements/menial-a-utopian-bagel-simulator-releasing-the-full-game!/