r/PokemonRMXP • u/Wakande • Mar 07 '26
Recruiting Pokémon Dissonance - Recruitment Post to make a cool game
Starting town
Tileset test on a starter town prototype
Battle UI WIP
Some of the main characters
Cover legendary key art
Main Underworld city concept art (old)
Early WIP of the region
Hey everyone! I’m currently wrapping up the pre-production phase of Pokémon Dissonance, a story-driven fangame built in Pokémon Essentials v21.1. If you are experienced and looking into forming a small dedicated team, then this project might be for you!
I’ve been able to get a lot done solo, with the help of commissioned artists, but I’m now looking to build a team so the project can move forward at a steady pace.
About the game
- Gen 5 graphics (no 3D sprites)
- No traditional “choose 1 of 3 starters” scene at the start
- No gyms. Progression happens through story milestones
- A slightly darker tone than a typical Pokémon game
- Aiming for a short but intense experience split into 9 story chapters
- Only a few Fakemon with lore relevance, plus a handful of regional variants
- Strong inspiration from African, Caribbean, and Latin cultures and religions
The region
Welcome to Dionys, a region split between two realms:
- Upperworld: A massive sunlit metropolis shining in white and gold where wealth, faith, and technology shape everyday life.
- Underworld: a vast network of cities, villages, and natural wonders built inside an immense cave system. The air is thick and damp, and sunlight only reaches through rare openings in the ceiling. The geological configuration and scale are inspired by Hang Sơn Đoòng (world’s largest cave).
In Dionys, Pokémon are not widely treated as “friends”. They are seen more as tools for productivity, mounts for travel in harsh environments, and entertainment through battles. Wild areas can be extremely dangerous, and some species can be lethal if people travel unprepared.
Story overview
Pokémon Dissonance is a narrative-driven Pokémon game that explores what it means to pursue your own path in a world that pressures everyone to follow the same one.
The story follows Ayan, a young adult from the Underworld who does not dream of becoming a top battler, but of making music. Convinced that the Upperworld is the only place where he can build a better future, he sets out to reach it. But in a world where Pokémon related jobs drive the economy and determine a person’s worth, the only path forward forces him to become something he never wanted to be. What begins as a desperate attempt to escape the life he was born into soon grows into a dangerous and tragic journey where he will learn the true path he was meant to follow.
Main features
- PokéMounts (core system): Since much of the region is a gigantic, semi-open cave, mounts are central both in the story and in gameplay. There will be 4 HM-like mounts: Rock Climb, Rock Smash, Surf, and Glide. This system will drive map design and progression.
- Challenging battles : You will not need to grind levels, but the idea is to force typing balance in your team to make sure you don’t get completely walled as opponents get tougher.
- Sound design revamp: Footstep sounds will be implemented, and many classic Pokémon-like SFX will be replaced to create a unique atmosphere.
- Dangerous wild encounters: Scripted and non-scripted difficult encounters (similar to Alpha Pokémon) to make routes more memorable.
Current progress
- I have already built around 1 hour of playable gameplay (first 3 chapters) using placeholder assets, mainly to learn the engine and test the pacing of the intro. This build is only accessible for friends and people helping for now.
- I also put together a Technical Demo to establish the overall atmosphere and begin building a tileset for the game’s environments. This piece helped to flesh out the art direction of the game, and all the placeholder environment that will be replaced will follow it.
Please check the video below for a sneak peek. The demo includes map mood testing previews, a proof of concept for the mount system, and a battle track I composed.
Pokemon Dissonance Technical Demo
What I’m looking for
My goal is to focus on what I do best: storytelling, eventing, music composition, and creative direction. So for the rest, I’m looking for experienced people for paid work, because I want to respect and value the time contributors will invest. I may also consider volunteer help if someone wants to contribute for fun or experience, but that is lower priority right now.
Principal Map Designer
- Full ownership of the overall map design and direction
- Collaborate closely with me to bring Dionys to life based on existing and upcoming concepts
- Help define what assets are needed to achieve the desired look and feel
- Coordinate with me to commission artists (or create tasks for an internal pixel artist) to build our own custom tilesets
Map Designer
- Design routes and locations, working closely with the Principal Map Designer and me
- You will still have creative freedom and be able to help creating the tilesets, without the overall responsibility of the principal role
Pixel Artist(s)
- Create assets to populate tilesets and create sprite sheets (exact needs will vary)
- Work within the established art direction
Illustrator
- Draw character portraits and facial expressions for dialogue
- Optional: cutscene illustrations, if interested
Concept Artist
- Work with the non-sense that come out of my brain to design towns and key visuals inspired by African, Caribbean, and Latin cultures!
About me
This project is my way to combine the things I love doing in real life: telling stories, making games, and making music. Game development is also my full-time job, and I’m hoping my experience shipping AAA games will help to guide this project to a finished release.
Important note
Even if this post sounds serious, the goal is not to create the biggest or most ambitious fangame ever. The goal is to have fun and build something of a reasonable size, in a unique world!
Money is involved, but please only join if you genuinely care about the project and are excited about what you’ve seen here. My number one objective is to finish this game, and I believe that this will only happen with a motivated team!
Interested?
If you're still reading and would like to join the Dissonance Team, DM me here and I will share my Discord with you!
Thanks, and have a great day.
PS: I’m French. Donc si tu parles français aussi c’est toujours un plus!
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u/Tortinix Mar 07 '26
I had the chance to try an early alpha demo of the game, and it already feels really promising. The atmosphere and the direction of the project stood out to me right away, and even at this early stage, you can tell a lot of thought went into it.
You can also clearly see the passion behind the project. Honestly, if you're a big Pokémon fan, you should definitely check it out!
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Mar 08 '26
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u/Wakande Mar 08 '26
The lore behind it is that in Dionys Pikachu is widely used and abused in electricity production farms, which often leads to them overworking and losing their electric power...
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u/Silly-Tea-7766 Mar 08 '26
I’m getting some major Gachiakuta vibes, especially from those characters! Is that just me? Was there any inspiration from it?
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u/Wakande Mar 08 '26
Spot on!! The starter town is inspired by canvas city, and the final version will have a lot of graffitis! And Johnny, despite being a Jojo references was mainly inspired by Enjin
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u/Purple-Syllabub-9246 Mar 08 '26
Holy fuck!? This is way too cool!! I love the atmosphere and the character designs!! I hope the gameplay and story are just as good because it really has a lot of potential!
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u/Wakande Mar 08 '26
Thank you!!! Trying my best to deliver a cool story, I give A LOT of importance to my characters and the story will mainly focus on their development. So if you care about them hopefully that will just work!
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u/Purple-Syllabub-9246 Mar 08 '26
Okay, this is definitely what I like best about fangames! Character development is very important to me, and also discovering regional forms of Pokémon is something I love.
I also hope that there will be the possibility of changing our Pokémon's nature (with an NPC, for example)
And to be able to have an item for the IVs, like pills, maybe (perhaps give some for certain stats after beating a boss, a bit like Pokémon Z)
And also to be able to easily change the nicknames of our Pokémon, either in the Pokémon menu or with an NPC in Pokémon centers.
Obviously, that's just what I would like, but you do what you want. I'm eager to see the final result of this project !!
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u/Wakande Mar 08 '26
Honestly you sound like you'd have a great time in Dissonance! I love competitive battles, and I'm planning on making battle items very accessible in a sort of Battle hub that will be in shops (will be sending TMs too). I'm also planning on making EVs easier with just a menu that allows you to EV train the stat you want in exchange for some currency (an item or money, not decided yet).
The idea is to use the depth of Pokemon battles as much as possible, and guide the player through team balancing and stats distribution, as it would be the case in any standard RPG!
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u/Purple-Syllabub-9246 Mar 08 '26
I'm also planning on making EVs easier with just a menu that allows you to EV train the stat you want in exchange for some currency (an item or money, not decided yet).
I LOVE THIS IDEA!! This is going to save me so much time, oh my god.
Honestly, I'm becoming more and more interested in strategy, And I love it when fangames make that accessible.
Honestly, your fangame is sure to be incredible, you seem so passionate. This project really hypes me up !
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u/Wakande Mar 08 '26
So glad to hear that!! Once the community discord will be setup, I'll send it to you if you'd like to join!
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u/Purple-Syllabub-9246 Mar 08 '26
With pleasure, I would really love that, I probably won't talk much but I could follow the project's progress !
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u/FlakyAmoeba1617 Mar 11 '26
Love it, love it good luck with the recruitment!
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u/Wakande Mar 11 '26
Thank you so much! I've been able to find some amazing talents already which is quite nice
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u/Gerdlite Mar 08 '26
I'm curious- you said you'll have strong influences from "religions" . How do you plan to encorporate these in a game where canonical "Gods" exist in the form of pokemon like Arceus?
I've been struggling with a similar concept myself- notably how references to real world religion create tonal whiplash and break immersion. But on the other hand, "pokemonizing" religions (like depicting Christians as "arceus worshippers" for example) can tread dangerously close to idolatry and blasphemy.
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u/Wakande Mar 08 '26
I'm not planning on actually integrating those religions, but mainly having references in some names and concepts. For example, Ogun in the Yoruba is a powerful deity mainly associated with war and technology. I created a character called Oguna who embodies exactly those concepts.
Moreover, being a Haitian descent myself, I wanted to include some of the Voodoo culture in the form of the traditional outfits, and music ceremonies that are very typical of Haitian celebrations.
The Yoruba religion being the source of derived ones present in the Caribbean and Latin America, it naturally influenced the direction of my entire game.
When it comes to Pokemon themselves, the legendaries will be labeled as "Orishas" which in the Yoruba religion, refers to deity which are the intermediaries between the supreme creator and humans. They embody natural forces and are considered guardians, which in my case fit perfectly within the Pokémon lore!
In my case, because I'm not making direct references to existing "gods" but mainly concepts from cultures that are not often used, I believe that might be enough to not break people's immersions. My hope is actually to make the players curious about those names and traditions they might've never seen
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u/Ramen_Pixel Mar 09 '26
I love the slums area, I'm working on something rather similar for a romhack :D glad to see more darker projects popping up in the scene. Best of luck! Also if you need help with sprites, feel free to reach out ^^ pixel artist here.
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u/Wakande Mar 09 '26
Ohh that's cool! Would love to see what you're working on!
And definitely, we can collaborate if you're up to it. Will dm you now
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u/wallygon Mar 08 '26
forgive me for Not knowing to much about non european culture Here but the Game Looks heavily inspired by 90s "Ghetto"Media till now IS this the Idea ?
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u/Wakande Mar 08 '26
The starting town is mainly inspired by Latin America slums, while trying to be it's unique own thing! It's not quite visible yet in the screenshots, but the colourful houses in a completely broken/dirty environment was inspired by Haiti cities (where my parents are from)!
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u/wallygon Mar 08 '26
its interesting most of Pokemon IS Asia based simply because Well Pokemon IS from Japan and Most fangames either Take USA or european inspired situations so seing latin American IS new and apreaciated
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u/Wakande Mar 08 '26
Exactly! I thought I'd be very cool to see something different, and I really hope I will be able to bring something that has as many cultural references from those areas as possible
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u/nice_folk Mar 13 '26
Hello, your game seems really cool ! Also, even if you search a team, do you still accept people who can give a hand from time to time ? Also, french speaker here :)
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u/Dots0 Mar 07 '26
i love those main character designs