The turn-based RPG Billy the Hero, developed by indie developer JOJOJOJOSoft, features a dark fantasy style filled with all sorts of crazy characters and monsters. However, when the developer recently shared on Reddit how he designed his wife’s sleeping face as a grotesque monster, the game immediately went viral among the player community. After sparking controversy, the developer also decided to “atone” in a rather amusing way.
However, this crude joke sparked controversy among some players, so in response, he also put himself and the male members of the development team into the game, turning them into a group of prisoners that players could beat up to their heart’s content.
In the original Reddit post, JOJOJOJOSoft shared the design process for a monster in *Billy the Hero*, showing how he color-graded a photo of his wife’s sleeping face, repeatedly layered the face and hands, then added eerie veins, tendons, and other details, and finally splattered blood effects throughout, ultimately resulting in a chillingly terrifying monster.
Although many players found the post quite amusing, JOJOJOJOSoft also admitted that he received a number of malicious comments afterward, criticizing him for designing his wife as a monster without her consent and even labeling him as “misogynistic,” even though he later posted a photo of himself being stepped on by his wife as a response, implying that it was indeed a joke between the two of them.
In a separate post recently made public on the IndieDev subreddit, the producer began by quoting a post that told him to include himself in the game, then confirmed that he not only did exactly that, but also dragged all the male developers along with him.
In his latest showcase, he stated that he had turned himself and three other developers of *Billy the Hero* into prisoner NPCs that players can beat up, even humorously noting in the image caption that they “all have wives.” Not only that, but the producer also hinted that, as of the time of his post, the three developers had no idea about any of this.
Once players finish building the dungeon in “Billy the Hero,” they can visit the NPCs chained to the walls, and JOJOJOJOSoft encourages players to come into the dungeon and beat them up however they please—whether it’s because they think the music design is too bad, the story is written too poorly, or simply because they hate how the developer looks. While it’s still unclear whether “Billy the Hero” actually has any of these issues.
Interestingly, even if players casually beat up the characters that represent the development team in the game, it doesn’t affect the main storyline at all, and is even a prerequisite for unlocking certain achievements. If they take too much damage, these developer characters will even die on the spot, and according to JOJOJOJOSoft himself, the sound effect they make when they die “sounds very satisfying.”
Besides the development team, the old king in the game who asks the protagonist Billy to save the world will also be locked in this dungeon. Additionally, JOJOJOJOSoft emphasized in the post that the cell still has plenty of empty spots and asked players for suggestions on other suitable inmates.
“Billy the Hero” is currently in development and is expected to be released on Steam.
Source: KOCPC Chinese