League of Maidens video game

[shevek]

I'm not at all a gamer, so I never posted in the Gamers Corner subforum before.
But I figured this was definitely worthy of an announcement on the forum.

As you might imagine, due to the drastic SJW clampdown on sexualization in video games (from Anita Sarkeesian onward) there is a backlash in which certain companies have arisen to specifically produce sexy fan-service video game content. One company which seems to really have its act together is Maiden Games, which I found out about from the mailing list of Mount Olympus Comics creator Ron Z. Ron's character Patriotika makes a substantial guest appearance in the company's debut offering, League of Maidens.

The League of Maidens game debuted in its "open alpha" form on Feb 25, and is now available to play for free if you have Steam
installed on your computer. Here is the link to playing the game:

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/557180

And here is the Youtube trailer for League of Maidens which was posted back in November. As you can see, Patriotika is one
of the characters. Have fun trying out the game, and post your experiences in this thread.



P.S. Just wanted to give credit where it's due: DaJinx posted about this game 2 years ago while it was still in its development
stages. Can't believe it takes two years to put out something like this - I wouldn't want to be in that kind of business, but more
power to them for sticking with it, especially in this climate of cancel culture.

[Dazzle1]

I'm not at all a gamer, so I never posted in the Gamers Corner subforum before.
But I figured this was definitely worthy of an announcement on the forum.

As you might imagine, due to the drastic SJW clampdown on sexualization in video games (from Anita Sarkeesian onward) there is a backlash in which certain companies have arisen to specifically produce sexy fan-service video game content. One company which seems to really have its act together is Maiden Games, which I found out about from the mailing list of Mount Olympus Comics creator Ron Z. Ron's character Patriotika makes a substantial guest appearance in the company's debut offering, League of Maidens.

The League of Maidens game debuted in its "open alpha" form on Feb 25, and is now available to play for free if you have Steam
installed on your computer. Here is the link to playing the game:

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/557180

And here is the Youtube trailer for League of Maidens which was posted back in November. As you can see, Patriotika is one
of the characters. Have fun trying out the game, and post your experiences in this thread.



P.S. Just wanted to give credit where it's due: DaJinx posted about this game 2 years ago while it was still in its development
stages. Can't believe it takes two years to put out something like this - I wouldn't want to be in that kind of business, but more
power to them for sticking with it, especially in this climate of cancel culture.

Look worth it if you are into gaming. Sarkeesian is another one of these fascists who should be shunned

[Damselbinder]

You're absolutely right. Modern games are never successful if they feature highly sexualised characters. They're certainly not almost universally embraced and hailed as classics, among the greatest games ever made.

Image unrelated.



(Note, the game from which this character comes features a function where you can shed the bottom half of her dress to see her ass better)

[Mr. X]

Look worth it if you are into gaming. Sarkeesian is another one of these fascists who should be shunned

I see no difference between Sarkeesian and Jack Thompson. Co-alpha is a co-alpha. No difference between banning something cause its depraved or cause it sexually exploits... its a ban. The SJWs today are just the church ladies from 1950.

[shevek]

You're absolutely right. Modern games are never successful if they feature highly sexualised characters.

"Success" is not a criterion for those with strident ideological agendas, Damselbinder.
If anything, it's the opposite - those who see the need to constantly censor, revel in the *destruction* of success.
After all, if your purpose is to get as much attention for your cause as possible, what would be the impact in
complaining about something which *isn't* popular and successful?

Anyhow, that wasn't my point in posting this - I just wanted to let everyone know that the game is available,
and people can check it out if they want.

[Damselbinder]

Well, thought you'd be glad to know that there's a fuckton of mainstream games which have loads of really sexy characters. Nier Automata, Resident Evil, Bayonetta (who even got into family-friendly Nintendo's Smash Bros. series), Fire Emblem (which is itself a Nintendo series), Final Fantasy VII; hell, even Shantae is about a sexy genie in a belly-dancer outfit. Oh, I know people are more squeamish about this sort of thing in the industry then they used to be, but as clampdowns go it's not a very successful one, thankfully. Your enemies appear to be failing.

[Mr. X]

Well, thought you'd be glad to know that there's a fuckton of mainstream games which have loads of really sexy characters. Nier Automata, Resident Evil, Bayonetta (who even got into family-friendly Nintendo's Smash Bros. series), Fire Emblem (which is itself a Nintendo series), Final Fantasy VII; hell, even Shantae is about a sexy genie in a belly-dancer outfit. Oh, I know people are more squeamish about this sort of thing in the industry then they used to be, but as clampdowns go it's not a very successful one, thankfully. Your enemies appear to be failing.

Do they sell because of the sexiness? I don't think sexiness sells games. The old days of getting tomb raider for Kroft's booty is long gone. Most games do well in spite of a sexy character. Maybe something like an occasional Rumble Roses comes up but I think that is more a niche market. Most games geared around sexy characters to sell sexiness simply cater to a small niche market.

What is absurd is SJWs go after some game for some skin or fun or boobies yet you don't see them attack Cardi B for WAP or most of the over sexed hip-hop and modern music videos.

[Damselbinder]

Well, thought you'd be glad to know that there's a fuckton of mainstream games which have loads of really sexy characters. Nier Automata, Resident Evil, Bayonetta (who even got into family-friendly Nintendo's Smash Bros. series), Fire Emblem (which is itself a Nintendo series), Final Fantasy VII; hell, even Shantae is about a sexy genie in a belly-dancer outfit. Oh, I know people are more squeamish about this sort of thing in the industry then they used to be, but as clampdowns go it's not a very successful one, thankfully. Your enemies appear to be failing.

Do they sell because of the sexiness? I don't think sexiness sells games. The old days of getting tomb raider for Kroft's booty is long gone. Most games do well in spite of a sexy character. Maybe something like an occasional Rumble Roses comes up but I think that is more a niche market. Most games geared around sexy characters to sell sexiness simply cater to a small niche market.

What is absurd is SJWs go after some game for some skin or fun or boobies yet you don't see them attack Cardi B for WAP or most of the over sexed hip-hop and modern music videos.

Omg yes, the sexiness definitely helps. Appealing, attractive character designs are always going to pull people in. None of the games I mentioned are niche. Bayonetta's main gimmick is that the character's skintight suit morphs into her weapons, tactically denuding herself. I think since it seems so universal that it does sell, if you're going to assert that it doesn't - in VIDEOGAMES no less! - you need some very, very hard data.

[ThePornCritic]

You're absolutely right. Modern games are never successful if they feature highly sexualised characters. They're certainly not almost universally embraced and hailed as classics, among the greatest games ever made.

Image unrelated.



(Note, the game from which this character comes features a function where you can shed the bottom half of her dress to see her ass better)

Most games with highly sexualized characters fail due to poor gameplay and horrible writing. Most of these games try to resemble anime with very bad stories. There has never been a game with sex appeal and depth.

The sexy games that get translation for an English release are not typically advertised. These games are pretty bad. They would get bad press for trying to sell sexiness in a poorly designed game.

Sexiness is not leaving mainstream games. Android 21and Towa are highly popular among Dragon Ball Z fans. Both characters are original characters for DBZ games.

Android 21.jpg (1.01 MiB) Viewed 4323 times

[Damselbinder]

You're absolutely right. Modern games are never successful if they feature highly sexualised characters. They're certainly not almost universally embraced and hailed as classics, among the greatest games ever made.

Image unrelated.



(Note, the game from which this character comes features a function where you can shed the bottom half of her dress to see her ass better)

Most games with highly sexualized characters fail due to poor gameplay and horrible writing. Most of these games try to resemble anime with very bad stories. There has never been a game with sex appeal and depth.

The sexy games that get translation for an English release are not typically advertised. These games are pretty bad. They would get bad press for trying to sell sexiness in a poorly designed game.

Sexiness is not leaving mainstream games. Android 21and Towa are highly popular among Dragon Ball Z fans. Both characters are original characters for DBZ games.
Android 21.jpg

...there has NEVER been a game with sex appeal and depth? Okay, deep breath here...

Metal Gear Solid
Soul Calibur
Street Fighter
Dead or Alive
Mortal Kombat
Nier Automata
Nier: Gestalt/Replicant
Final Fantasy VII
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Tales of Symphonia
F-Zero
Muscle March
Metroid

and I'm going to say this one loud, because it bears emphasising,

MASS EFFECT

[shevek]

Omg yes, the sexiness definitely helps. Appealing, attractive character designs are always going to pull people in. None of the games I mentioned are niche. Bayonetta's main gimmick is that the character's skintight suit morphs into her weapons, tactically denuding herself. I think since it seems so universal that it does sell, if you're going to assert that it doesn't - in VIDEOGAMES no less! - you need some very, very hard data.

Yeah Porn Critic- sorry but I don't think you have much of an argument there - Damsel makes his point.

No question sex sells. And most of the time, virtue signaling against it doesn't. That's why it's mystifying that any self-respecting capitalist would heed anything some extremist prude (whether from the far left, or the religious right) has to say. And yet they cave in quite often. Don't know if you've noticed lately, Damselbinder, but there are regular articles about various video game franchises being toned down in the past few years.

Bayonetta is hot, and the 2013 anime film was quite good. Maybe we're getting off topic here, but I'm quite surprised that it hasn't been adapted into a live-action movie by now...or licensed as an American comic book.

Hopefully Maiden Games will be savvy enough to get some licensing done for their series. I sent them a message about using our characters for game content - I figure why not, if they are using Patriotika? They actually have a form to fill out for content creators,
which is pretty cool. We'll see if they respond.

[Mr. X]

Omg yes, the sexiness definitely helps. Appealing, attractive character designs are always going to pull people in. None of the games I mentioned are niche. Bayonetta's main gimmick is that the character's skintight suit morphs into her weapons, tactically denuding herself. I think since it seems so universal that it does sell, if you're going to assert that it doesn't - in VIDEOGAMES no less! - you need some very, very hard data.

Help? Yes.
Main selling factor? No.

[ThePornCritic]

You're absolutely right. Modern games are never successful if they feature highly sexualised characters. They're certainly not almost universally embraced and hailed as classics, among the greatest games ever made.

Image unrelated.



(Note, the game from which this character comes features a function where you can shed the bottom half of her dress to see her ass better)

Most games with highly sexualized characters fail due to poor gameplay and horrible writing. Most of these games try to resemble anime with very bad stories. There has never been a game with sex appeal and depth.

The sexy games that get translation for an English release are not typically advertised. These games are pretty bad. They would get bad press for trying to sell sexiness in a poorly designed game.

Sexiness is not leaving mainstream games. Android 21and Towa are highly popular among Dragon Ball Z fans. Both characters are original characters for DBZ games.
Android 21.jpg

...there has NEVER been a game with sex appeal and depth? Okay, deep breath here...

Metal Gear Solid
Soul Calibur
Street Fighter
Dead or Alive
Mortal Kombat
Nier Automata
Nier: Gestalt/Replicant
Final Fantasy VII
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Tales of Symphonia
F-Zero
Muscle March
Metroid

and I'm going to say this one loud, because it bears emphasising,

MASS EFFECT

I'm not referring to those types of games. Those games have some sex appeal. Sex appeal isn't the main theme or selling point.

I'm referring to games that rely only on sex appeal. These games' main characters are "anime girls" or "waifus". Hyperdimension Neptunia is an example of the game that I am talking about.

[Femina]

For an open ALPHA. The game is pretty good. Key wording on ALPHA... and the fact that it's a 3-man band. It's like if a group of teenage game developers were making a game with one hand, then realized 'hey we are capable of making a GAME right?' and then started that.

Yeah it's got a lot of work needs to be done. The maps feel like placeholders, a LOT of balancing needs to happen... but it looks and plays SOLIDLY... and considering that the origin of this thing was probably a lot more disingenuous than it's execution has come out. It feels like an honest effort to give players a good time. As someone whose seen some pretty abhorrent p2win and p2look good content as well, even its pricing structure for that stuff feels ALARMINGLY fair. The devs appear really happy to talk to the player base and hear their opinions.

And I mean... aesthetically there's probably room to talk about all the potential sexism crap these things inevitably bring with them. The actual canon of their storyline however basically binds down to 'doomsday is approaching... and only superpowered WOMEN can save us' so there'll always be the plot to use as battle fodder on the frontlines of if games are allowed to be sexy.

I feel like the arguments of sexism in videogames are more commonly dragged in along the lines of how its presented? As DB above brought up, 2B is an incredibly sexy character, when asked 'why's she so sexy' her creator answered with a blatantly honest 'you know, I just like the ladies?' and there was no controversy at all. We're allowed to find things sexy and I think few but the crazed or hyper political will argue against that. Finding things sexy isn't sexism, sexism and what's dangerous is more defined by what you DO with and about what you find sexy.

I'm not referring to those types of games. Those games have some sex appeal. Sex appeal isn't the main theme or selling point.

I'm referring to games that rely only on sex appeal. These games' main characters are "anime girls" or "waifus". Hyperdimension Neptunia is an example of the game that I am talking about.

IDK if I'd call Hyperdimension Neptunia a FAILURE. There's like... 12 of those games on Steam alone... and while that certainly reads as quantity over quality, and it's probably not making the AAA bucks, you don't get to make 12 games if you're failing. Something tells me their doing alright.

[MightyHypnotic]

So I looked into this game and the reviews on Steam are not good...



I know it's early access. I'm going to play it as well and see what it's about. Not sure if it's my cup of doomsday but if anyone else tries it post your review here!

[Femina]

So I looked into this game and the reviews on Steam are not good...



I know it's early access. I'm going to play it as well and see what it's about. Not sure if it's my cup of doomsday but if anyone else tries it post your review here!

I think the problem is it leaves a bad first impression. Like, you open up the character creator and of the five or six freebie hair options, they aren't sorted so that the ones you HAVE are at the top and thus you see nothing but locked options. There's a whole bunch of like... rookie 'presentational' mistakes I've seen already. The 'energy' system seems a lot more painful than it is until you realize you can just get it all back by sitting on a couch for a few minutes or swooshing by the showers in the fishing zone. There's a lot of 'if you don't know X... then it looks REAL BAD' in the pie.

That said, having played a LOT of games that are presented better but screw you over in the long run... I have a HARD time finding it in me to call this one a cheat. The presentation needs a lot of work, but there's a solid game nuggeted underneath that which comparatively speaking is a lot more generous than it first appears, and has a lot more TLC than it first seems.

On top of that it's ALPHA! And this isn't the kind of alpha where it just drops out of the blue and is a clear cash grab.... this things been in CLOSED alpha for a LONG TIME... there's only three people working on it. You don't wait three years to gently nudge yourself into open alpha if the goal is to screw the gamer over.

Edit: UNLESS you want nudity. There's like three options in the store that seem freakishly overpriced and thats nudity, 'ginormous bewbs' options, and then one 'cheat' that makes your ant-man style growth power let you become EVEN BIGGER!!!!! and all three are like.... 40 dollar upgrades... but outside of those three strangely EGREGEIOUS pricing 'features' it is abnormally generous. The costumes are 10 bucks a pop for the store bought ones... which like... if you've ever played Black Desert Online... means you can easily snatch three costumes for any 1 outfit you could get in BDO, the inventory problems were my actual MAIN complaint early on, but it was pretty cheap to resolve. you can drop 10 bucks to get an account 'stash' (diablo style) and in terms of locked 'inventory' slots, you can unlock more by dropping a real small amount of cash... or just using the ingame currencies you grind for to unlock more... think the patch notes indicated the next patch was going to unlock a couple more rows for f2p accounts as well... and upgrades unlock ACCOUNT wide not just 'per character'.

Just erm.... approach it as an honest ALPHA... and I think your expectations may resolve better

[ivandobsky]

I'll give this a bash when I have the time. Looking at the Steam reviews, most complaints are regarding the monetisation. The game may well still be good otherwise. If you're not into T&A there are probably much cheaper ways to get the kind of gameplay it offers, but if you have money and do like boobas, this might be the game for you. Or for me.

Not really a fan of Sarkeesian, Thompson and their ilk! I just wanted to play videogames! Mainstream gaming has become depressingly sanitised, but the silver lining is that this helps the market for alternatives, provided those with power don't gatekeep distribution, eg Steam. Long story.

[ThePornCritic]

IDK if I'd call Hyperdimension Neptunia a FAILURE. There's like... 12 of those games on Steam alone... and while that certainly reads as quantity over quality, and it's probably not making the AAA bucks, you don't get to make 12 games if you're failing. Something tells me their doing alright.

I know guys who are into Hyperdimension Neptunia. It's like softcore hentai for them. In a sense, it's a success for getting the attention of a certain audience. The games are not considered the best in the industry.

My friend has a play mat of a character from Hyperdimension Neptunia, and he uses it during our games on YouTube. People tend to comment on the mat due to the character's sex appeal.

[mhunt0]

I'm playing it, so far so good. They need evil Maidens if they wanted as a superheroine game, so far is a bit of a supergirl-soldier with only the invaders around.

[Mr. X]

The poly count on those figures seems way too low for this day and age. UI looks spiffy though.

[Femina]

The poly count on those figures seems way too low for this day and age. UI looks spiffy though.

It's made by like... 3 people... I figure it looks pretty good considering that.

[Mr. X]

The poly count on those figures seems way too low for this day and age. UI looks spiffy though.

It's made by like... 3 people... I figure it looks pretty good considering that.

True I'm making a huge guess they outsourced artwork. You can routinely find artists for cheap in china or south america. Now it could be they are just using an older asset they found somewhere. Places like Cubebrush sell premade assets.

[Femina]

The poly count on those figures seems way too low for this day and age. UI looks spiffy though.

It's made by like... 3 people... I figure it looks pretty good considering that.

True I'm making a huge guess they outsourced artwork. You can routinely find artists for cheap in china or south america. Now it could be they are just using an older asset they found somewhere. Places like Cubebrush sell premade assets.

Yeah very probably... I mean.. It's not the BEST game ever for sure. I've even seen better under tighter budget's and even more limited employment... but even so, I think considering what it is it's not bad and a fun time relative to the circumstances.

[ivandobsky]

Polygon count is overrated these days. It's what you do with it that counts.