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- May 21, 2025
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Hi! I'm Era, a first-time game dev with ideas far too ambitious for their skillset looking for some help to bring their vision to life.
ABOUT CTHULHUMONCthulhumon: Descent is the demo and prologue for a future, full-length Cthulhumon game made in Essentials 21.1 for RPG Maker XP. As the name implies, Cthulhumon is a project that seeks to blend Pokemon gameplay with eldritch horror and Lovecraftian mythos. It is, at its core, a work of pure, autistic self-indulgence. My goal has always been to make the kind of game I would want to play - a challenging (but not overly unfair) experience highlighting my favorite parts of creature-capture games. It takes place in an original world based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft and other writers in that circle (with inspiration from more modern adaptations as well) and will tell a story that spits on old Howard's grave just as much as it embodies my love of cosmic horror stories and the various spooky entities therein.
Cthulhumon follows the player on a journey through a world that has already ended. Monsters of myth and superstition freely roam what was once called "Earth", and reality has all but collapsed in on itself. Still, humanity persists - at least for now. Some of the braver (or more occult-inclined) survivors have chosen to harness the powers unleashed upon this new world in order to defend themselves, or perhaps carve out their own places in this ruined land to control.
These powers have manifested as beings called Fractures - traces of magic and soul given solid form under the new rules of reality. Fractures can be bound to special Sealing Stones so their keeper can draw on their power, generally to navigate the environment or to engage in combat. Yet, one must be wary - the Sealing Stones do not guarantee safety. A Fracture will only lend its keeper power as long as it feels it has something to gain, and all power in this world has a cost.
OPEN POSITIONSI am Cthulhumon's sole developer and intend to do the majority of the project on my own. However, I am hoping to commission certain parts that I am less confident in my ability to pull off. To that end, I am looking for:
These will be PAID commissions to provide me with what I need to move forward with the game, not long-term team positions (though I may reach out for future opportunities/if I have questions, if you'd allow it). I am open to negotiate your rates as I want to compensate you fairly and don't have a strict budget, though I do have some limits for what is ultimately a not-for-profit passion project. If you're interested, you can send me a private message for more details or contact me on Discord @EnbyEra
AI-CREATED OR AI-ASSISTED CODE/DESIGNS ARE FORBIDDEN. I want to pay a human for human-made work, not a robot.
MAJOR CHANGES AND UNIQUE FEATURESThe Blood Points system will be the biggest mechanical alteration made in Cthulhumon, and the thing I most want to commission help for. In short, Blood is the trainer's own HP stat. If the trainer's Blood Points hit 0, they lose the battle. However, Blood will also be a spendable resource and will be required to use many moves, with more powerful moves costing more Blood Points to use. The idea is to create more pressure on the player through resource management and allowing for a secondary loss condition. Some bosses will even be able to target the trainer's Blood Points to attack them directly (like Life Points in Yu-Gi-Oh). This will also put the player on the back foot and discourages stall tactics, as opponents will not have Blood to worry about.
The second major change is the type overhaul. Taking inspiration from Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth, typing will now be split into two distinct parts - primary and secondary. The primary types will have a core type triangle and one neutral type, while the secondary types will be the recognizable type chart from Pokemon. Primary types will passively determine the base effectiveness of any Fracture into its opponent regardless of the moves being used, while secondary types will have somewhat less impact but will determine the effectiveness of individual moves. Pending balancing tests, STAB has also been removed as a feature. The anticipated effect is that battle pace will slow, but more moves will be viable for each Fracture.
The overall goal of these changes is to contribute to the Lovecraftian feel of the game and to make the gameplay experience unique. I don't want Cthulhumon to feel like a reskinned Pokemon game - I want it to be cohesive and stand on its own, for all that it will borrow from Essentials.
To end off, here's a short list of the game's key features:
As a reminder: if you have an interest in being hired for this project and want to learn more, either send me a message here on Eevee Expo or add me on Discord @EnbyEra
ABOUT CTHULHUMON
These powers have manifested as beings called Fractures - traces of magic and soul given solid form under the new rules of reality. Fractures can be bound to special Sealing Stones so their keeper can draw on their power, generally to navigate the environment or to engage in combat. Yet, one must be wary - the Sealing Stones do not guarantee safety. A Fracture will only lend its keeper power as long as it feels it has something to gain, and all power in this world has a cost.
OPEN POSITIONS
- A programmer to code a core mechanical change to the battle system and provide the framework to incorporate this mechanic into moves, abilities, and items. [PRIORITY]
- A UI designer to support the battle system change and develop Cthulhumon's visual identity across the game's menus, PC, and battle UI.
These will be PAID commissions to provide me with what I need to move forward with the game, not long-term team positions (though I may reach out for future opportunities/if I have questions, if you'd allow it). I am open to negotiate your rates as I want to compensate you fairly and don't have a strict budget, though I do have some limits for what is ultimately a not-for-profit passion project. If you're interested, you can send me a private message for more details or contact me on Discord @EnbyEra
AI-CREATED OR AI-ASSISTED CODE/DESIGNS ARE FORBIDDEN. I want to pay a human for human-made work, not a robot.
MAJOR CHANGES AND UNIQUE FEATURES
The second major change is the type overhaul. Taking inspiration from Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth, typing will now be split into two distinct parts - primary and secondary. The primary types will have a core type triangle and one neutral type, while the secondary types will be the recognizable type chart from Pokemon. Primary types will passively determine the base effectiveness of any Fracture into its opponent regardless of the moves being used, while secondary types will have somewhat less impact but will determine the effectiveness of individual moves. Pending balancing tests, STAB has also been removed as a feature. The anticipated effect is that battle pace will slow, but more moves will be viable for each Fracture.
The overall goal of these changes is to contribute to the Lovecraftian feel of the game and to make the gameplay experience unique. I don't want Cthulhumon to feel like a reskinned Pokemon game - I want it to be cohesive and stand on its own, for all that it will borrow from Essentials.
To end off, here's a short list of the game's key features:
- An original world based in Lovecraftian mythos
- A full fakedex of 164 Fractures (~30 planned for the demo)
- A full game balanced around double battles
- Level caps (enforced in the demo, potentially optional in the full game)
- Intense boss battles with unique gimmicks
- The Blood Points system, AKA trainer HP
- A complete overhaul of the type system
- Visual novel-style storytelling using Rainefall Portraits
The following images represent a Work in Progress in its very early stages and are NOT how things will look in the finished demo.
As a reminder: if you have an interest in being hired for this project and want to learn more, either send me a message here on Eevee Expo or add me on Discord @EnbyEra
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