Wrestling With Emotions: New Kid on the Block cover
Wrestling With Emotions: New Kid on the Block screenshot
PC Steam
Genre: Simulator, Sport, Strategy, Adventure, Indie, Visual Novel

Wrestling With Emotions: New Kid on the Block

Wrestling With Emotions powerbombs Gayming Live 2023
Team Lazerbeam recently got an awesome opportunity to share our punk pro-wrestler dating simulator, Wrestling With Emotions: New Kid On The Block! We were luck enough to have a huge slot on the main stage of Gayming Live, the world's biggest LGBTQ gaming convention!



As part of our participation in this wonderful event, we put together an awesome presentation. Aiming to give people a deeper look at what we're doing with our alternative dating sim, plus introduce the wonderful people bringing it to life, our presentation included the following:


  • A special video presentation - featuring original animations, and unique clips crafted by each member of Team Lazerbeam!
  • Drag Queen Demo Let's Play - the lovely and hillarious Juice Boxx played the Wrestling With Emotions Demo!
  • Developer interview - An in depth interview with 4 members of Team Lazerbeam!


The whole thing was an absolute joy to put together, and today we're extra stoked to share the full video presentation that we put together! Covering everything from writing, art and music to programming and game design, this presentation is the biggest insight we've ever given fans into the making of our dreamy dating sim!

Here's the whole Gayming Live presentation!



We hope that watching this will bring you as much joy as making it brought us! If you like what you see, be sure to wishlist Wrestling With Emotions! Or pass it along to someone awesome in your life!

Thanks again to Gayming Mag for hosting this event, and to our publish Prismatika for making this happen!




We'll check back in next month with more news from the making of the worlds most adorable wrestling dating sim. Till then!



Celebrate Halloween 2023 with our guide to Wrestling With Emotions costumes!

Happy Haloween Lazerbabes!🎃

On this most spooky of days, we're delighted to bring you a small gift from Team Lazerbeam; our comprehensive guide to get the look of your favourite Wrestling With Emotions superstar!

Wanna become Irresistible Steve? grab some green tights and a nipple ring! Maybe Matsuri is more your speed? Get your hands on a cat mask and a denim jacket! Dreaming of becoming Freakshow? All you need is a bucket of green slime!

Whoever it is that your dream of becoming, we hope this guide will help you create the most gag-worthy Halloween costume on your block! Have fun, send us photos, and stay rad everybody!















Wrestling With Emotions at Game Devs of Colour Expo 2023!
Great news everyone! Wrestling With Emotions will be a part of the wonderful Game Devs of Colour Expo!

As long-time fans of GDoCE, we couldn't be more stoked to be involved in their 2023 outing!



The festival highlights an amazing creations, from a diverse mix of wonderful game devs of colour from around the planet. As part of our participation in the event, we're so happy that 3 members of Team Lazerbeam will be doing a special interview in the conference side of the expo. Tune in on Wednesday, 27 Sep to catch Catherine (words and music), Crystal (production and beam-projection) and Mars (words) Lazerbeam, chatting about bringing Wrestling With Emotions to life!



Thank you so much to Game Devs of Colour Expo for doing such great work, and high fives for including Team Lazerbeam in this years magic. We're truly honoured!




Play the Wrestling with Emotions demo today!


Heya everyone!

You may have already seen that we’re participating in LudoNarraCon in just two days' time, but we couldn’t wait any longer before sharing the demo for Wrestling with Emotions: New Kid on the Block with you.

Introducing: Wrestling with Emotions - Demo Dawg’s Treat!

You’ll get to:

  • Build your very own demo dreamboat
  • Explore Cuddle Town
  • Learn about MEAT (Muscle, Elegance, Attitude & Theatrics) with your new wrestling coach, Major Malfunction.
  • Paint your nails, bust out some jewelry, and get tatted-up to create the perfect pair of grabbers!
  • Get swept up in a whirlwind romance with one of 7 superstar wrestlers!
  • Pet Demo Dawg!

We’ve uploaded it to our Steam page so you can play it now!

Watch the trailer below!


What are you waiting for? Play the demo today!

Stay rad!

Discord: https://discord.gg/9Xh3HAE
Twitter: @teamlazerbeam
TikTok: @teamlazerbeam

Watch our demo stream at LudoNarraCon 2023!


We're so excited to share that Wrestling with Emotions: New Kid on the Block will be taking part in LudoNarraCon and we wanted to kickstart the event with something special!

On Thursday, May 4th (10am PT / 6pm UK / 7pm CET), we will be sharing not one, but two exclusive playthroughs of the devs playing through the demo! First up will be Ben and Caitie, followed by a playthrough from Mars AKA Wii_Gay.

Find out more about who they are and the rest of our team in this Steam update!

They'll be sharing all their thoughts and feelings about Wrestling with Emotions as you meet the datable dreamboats and explore the Cuddle Dome together. We've also got loads of other fun stuff planned for the stream, so you won't want to miss out!

But if you can't make the start time, we will set up the video to loop for the remained of LudoNarraCon, so don't worry!

To learn more about LudoNarraCon, visit the LudoNarraCon website. Make sure you check out the full list of exhibitors, to see all the rad people who are taking part alongside us.

See you all next week! As always, you can find us on Discord or Social Media if you want to keep up with all our latest news:

Discord: https://discord.gg/9Xh3HAE
Twitter: @teamlazerbeam
TikTok: @wrestlingwithemotions

Dev Update #6: The Radical Reveal Video
Greetings from The Lazerverse,

Last month was a big one as we announced our publisher and released our Radical Reveal Trailer (RRV).

But we realised that we hadn’t formally shared it here, or broken it down for our lovely Steam community! So let’s do that!



The Radical Reveal Video (RRV)


We put this video together to give our community and the press more of an understanding of what they can expect from Wrestling With Emotions: New Kid on the Block. This isn’t a typical dating sim, in fact, it takes the dating sim genre and completely flips it on its head.

This game will also push against the common theme in games where you’re the chosen one. In this game, you’re not the most powerful person, in fact, you’re the least powerful person, and that plays a key role in your journey.

All in all, the RRV introduces you to three things:

  1. M.E.A.T Stats
  2. Datable Dreamboats
  3. Character Creation



M.E.A.T Stats



Over the course of Wrestling With Emotions you’ll get to chart your own character’s journey to stardom. As you play through the story, the writing will start to tailor itself to some of your past choices, whether that was making nervous, hesitant choices, or embodying a confident, go-getter attitude.

One of the biggest choices you can make in the game is your M.E.A.T stats. We did a lot of research into the 1990s wrestling scene and determined that being a good wrestler came down to these four things:

  1. Muscle
  2. Elegance
  3. Attitude
  4. Theatrics

Your M.E.A.T stats will affect decisions that you can make in the game and you’ll also need M.E.A.T stats to win over the affection of wrestling fans and the datable dreamboats.

Higher M.E.A.T stats unlock additional options in hard-to-deal-with situations, both in the ring and in your everyday life. The bad news is that all your meat stats start at 1, and you’re going to need to pump them up.

Every week you’ll be able to plan out your time and train to increase your M.E.A.T stats. Choose which stat you want to focus on by visiting various locations across Cuddle Town. These are:


  1. Mrs. Muscles Gym to pump up your bod
  2. Hot Shop to elevate your elegance
  3. Thrashers to amp up your attitude
  4. Drama Queens to increase your theatrics




The Datable Dreamboats


While our game has a massive cast of lovable freaks and geeks, the datable dreamboats are our 7 core NPCs that a player will be able to develop the deepest relationships with.

Each dreamboat has their own M.E.A.T stats, which dictate how likely a dreamboat will be at a location when a player visits it. They also have two additional stats: like and feelings.

Like is how much you as a player like this character, while feelings dictate how strongly a dreamboat feels about you.

With higher feelings, a dreamboat may be more willing to give you their number to go out on dates or want to team up with you in the ring. If you push someone’s feelings into the negative, chances are they'd like to put you through a table.

Over the course of the game, a socially ambitious player could grow close to two or three dreamboats but, as with the original, things ultimately come down to finding your perfect match.



The Character Creator


Identity and freedom of choice are at the core of this game and this all starts with the Character Creator. When playing this game, we want you to really feel that your story is unique and special, so your journey begins with building your dream muscle-person.

Look-out Lovers (LOL) is our high-tech system, where wrestlers shape their identities, changing their name and appearance in the process. This brings us to Strong Cuddles Magazine.



Right at the beginning of the game, you’ll discover an application form to join Wrestling with Emotions in the latest issue of Strong Cuddle Magazine.

Filling out the application allows you to refine your character, establishing details like your pronouns, where you're from, what kind of music you like, and your favorite style of wrestling. All of these details are tracked by the game and will be called back down the line.

The application is also your first introduction to the 7 dreamboats. You'll be asked to pick who you most like, and who you'd most like to punch in the face. These initial choices affect the like and feeling stats of these characters, immediately creating a sense of who the player is and isn’t into.

Between these choices and being asked to describe your vibe from the very start, the game allows players to start building a sense of personality. Using the stat modifications of these choices, we can then present players with a story and character that feels all their own.

--

We hope this gave you some insight into what you can expect from Wrestling With Emotions: New Kid on the Block and we have so many other exciting things that we can’t wait to share with you.

Thanks for reading, and stay rad!

Discord: https://discord.gg/9Xh3HAE
Twitter: @teamlazerbeam
TikTok: @wrestlingwithemotions

Announcing the Ultimate Tag Team!
Yo gang!

Brace yourselves, because this month's update is a BIG ONE! We've been working hard to create Wrestling With Emotions: New Kid on the Block, but we knew if we wanted to create the best wrestling dating sim ever we would need a little additional support.



So, we’ve teamed up with the incredible folks over at Prismatika to help bring our dream pro-wrestler cuddling-sim to life!

They’ll be handling all things marketing for us going forwards so we can dedicate our full attention to making sure that Wrestling With Emotions: New Kid on the Block is the best it can possibly be!

We’re so excited to be tag-teaming with such a wonderful team and can’t wait to release our game with their support.



We’ll check back in next month with more news from The Lazerzone. Till then, stay rad!

Discord: https://discord.gg/9Xh3HAE
Twitter: @teamlazerbeam
TikTok: @wrestlingwithemotions

Dev Update #5: Announcing the Ultimate Tag Team!
Yo gang!

Brace yourselves, because this month's update is a BIG ONE! We've been working hard to create Wrestling With Emotions: New Kid on the Block, but we knew if we wanted to create the best wrestling dating sim ever we would need a little additional support.



So, we’ve teamed up with the incredible folks over at Prismatika to help bring our dream pro-wrestler cuddling-sim to life!

They’ll be handling all things marketing for us going forwards so we can dedicate our full attention to making sure that Wrestling With Emotions: New Kid on the Block is the best it can possibly be!

We’re so excited to be tag-teaming with such a wonderful team and can’t wait to release our game with their support.



We’ll check back in next month with more news from The Lazerzone. Till then, stay rad!

Discord: https://discord.gg/9Xh3HAE
Twitter: @teamlazerbeam
TikTok: @wrestlingwithemotions

Dev Update #4: Introducing Band Hunter
Yo gang!

We’re deep in the grips of developing Wrestling With Emotions: New Kid On The Block, but a couple of weeks ago we took a little time out to run with a fun mini-game idea for SA Game Jam 2022.

Game jams have been such a big part of the development of Team Lazerbeam; they challenge us to try out new things and let us take a break from our overarching projects to create a small rad experience for players to enjoy.

Over the years we’ve participated in SA Game Jam, Ludum Dare Game Jam, and Free Lives Game Jam Island! In fact, the original Wrestling with Emotions was created for a little jam, way back in January 2016!



When brainstorming for this game jam, we jammed out exploring the idea of a "band scouting simulator" mini-game for our pro-wrestler dating sim.

In the 72-hour time limit, we wrote and recorded some new tunes, and made up some imaginary bands for you to pick and choose from. Not bad for just two people!

INTRODUCING: Band Hunter





"BAND HUNTER" is a game about listening to tunes and deciding the fates of bands in an alternative 1994! Successful bands will get to play at our in-game skate-park/ club, Thrashers.

Will you give tomorrow's next superstar their first break?

Or will you shatter the dreams of an ever hopeful new band?

Only you can decide!

You’ll be able to play Band Hunter when Wrestling With Emotions: New Kid On The Block releases or you can try it out through SA Game Jam.

We hope you all have a fantastic holiday period and we will be back in January with our next dev update! As always, you can find us on Discord or Social Media if you want to keep up with all our latest news:

Discord: https://discord.gg/9Xh3HAE
Twitter: @teamlazerbeam
TikTok: @wrestlingwithemotions

Dev Update #3: Meet The Team
Hiya!

Greetings from The Lazerverse, and welcome to our latest Wrestling With Emotions Dev Update!

In making our dream pro-wrestler cuddling-sim, our little video game band has evolved! This month we’re delighted to unveil the new and improved Team Lazerbeam lineup.

There are a bunch of awesome bandmates to share, so let’s jump straight in!

Ben - Art & Words



Name: Ben Lazerbeam AKA Sassquatch
Origin: South Africa
Pronouns: They/ Them
Finishing move: Atomic High-five


First, let me introduce myself: Yo! I’m Ben, the tallest and most excitable member of Team Lazerbeam! Since we started the band back in 2014, I’ve been laying down the art and words for our games! Wrestling With Emotions 2 is by far the most massive game we’ve dreamt up/ I couldn’t be more stoked to be working with this group of people to realise that dream!

Dope Saint Jude - Words & Music



Name: Catherine AKA Dope Saint Jude
Origin: South Africa
Pronouns: She/ Her
Finishing move: The Mic Drop


Rapper, song writer, producer, visionary. Dope Saint Jude’s musical output has defied genre, and been some of the very best stuff out of South Africa this millenium. WWE2 marks her debut in the world of video game narrative and music. We’re beyond stoked to have Dopey bringing mountains of heart and fire to our world of wrestling weirdos!

Check out her previous work 👇👇👇
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbY5vmW8GKo

Alex - Words



Name: Alex
Origin: Russia
Pronouns: She/ Her
Finishing move: Double-cat Dropkick


The wordsmith behind the fantastic writing in Backbone, Alex sure knows how to write some good words for video games! A reformed sand-salesperson turned game punk (who likes cats as much as the rest of us), Alex has been an absolute perfect fit for Team Lazerbeam!

Check out her previous work 👇👇👇
https://store.steampowered.com/app/865610/Backbone/

Mars - Words



Name: Mars AKA Wii_Gay
Origin: USA
Pronouns: He/ They
Finishing move: Pink Slipper Sleeper-hold


Rounding out our gang of wonderful writers, we’ve got the owner of Team Lazerbeam’s best moustache, Mars. Before joining forces on this game, we were monster fans of Mars’s musical output with his band Aye Nako. Between his ripping up the world of DIY music and doing hilarious let’s plays (as Wii_Gay - Check him out!), we figured Mars would be a wonderful addition to Team Lazerbeam!

Check out their previous work 👇👇👇
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhrzLLKNyEg

Kirstyn - Art and Code



Name: Ben Lazerbeam AKA Sassquatch
Origin: South Africa
Pronouns: She/ They
Finishing move: Panda Punch


Kirstyn Lazerbeam has been working on this game with us since early last year. Initially joining us on a uni internship thing, Kirstyn smashed the look of Wrestling With Emotions into a new dimension, and quickly became a full time Lazerbeam. Her 3D backgrounds have breathed so much life into the world of Cuddle Town!

Caitie - Art



Name: Caitie AKA Potato
Origin: South Africa
Pronouns: She/ Her
Finishing move: Doom Duckie


An illustrator/ animator that excels at bringing the adorable and strange to life, Caitie is the newest addition to Team Lazerbeam, but she’s been part of my chosen family for years. In a distant age called 2015-19, Cait and I worked together as Cool Your Jets. We were ronin artists, creating cute and weird animations for whoever hired us. Fast forward 5 years, and it’s just wild that the two of us have been creatively reunited to spend our days drawing wrestler nipples. What a time to be alive!

Dorian - Production



Name: Dorian
Origin: South Africa
Pronouns: Xe/ They
Finishing move: Hot Glue Gun


A legendary South African games artist, turned producer, Dorian is the glue keeping this whole crazy katamari together. Having a producer in the band is a pretty radical shift for Team Lazerbeam, and one that we’re super stoked by. Having Dorian in our corner has been life changing! Along with this game, Dorian is currently producing the upcoming roguelike goat-sweeper, Desktop Dungeons: Rewind.

Check out their other work👇👇👇
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1976950/Desktop_Dungeons_Rewind/

Natalie - Code



Name: Natalie
Origin: South Africa
Pronouns: She/ Her
Finishing move: Saw-wave Slam


Back when I first discovered Cape Town’s amazing indie game dev scene, Natalie was one of the first people I met. With a skillset that combines programming, art and music, Natalie’s made an awesome string of experimental party games, and breath-taking interactive experiences. On WWE2, she’s creating systems that allow for sandbox style wrestling matches, resulting in chaotic bursts of unique narrative mayhem!

Junior - Music and Sound



Name: Junior Elvis Washington Laidley AKA J.E.W.L. AKA Fridge Poetry
Origin: UK
Pronouns: He/ Him
Finishing move: Casio Crunch


Jun is one of my very favourite humans. I’ve had the joy of touring and performing with Jun’s power pop punk band Johnny Foreigner (if you don’t know them, do yourself a favour and check this incredible band out!). It’s super exciting to now have him joining Team Lazerbeam on sound design and music duties. Aside from the brilliant Jo Fo, Junior is also one half of the incredible Yr Poetry and has a solo project called Fridge Poetry. Everything this handsome man touches turns to solid gold, and we’re so very lucky to have him involved in this game!

Check out his previous work 👇👇👇
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6oFMsQdQWg

Jason - Music



Name: Jason AKA J-Booty AKA Drift Prism
Origin: South Africa
Pronouns: He/ Him
Finishing move: Blinding Legs Kickie


And wrapping things up, OG Lazerbeam and man of a million talents, the one and only Jason Lazerbeam. His music has been so instrumental in shaping every one of our games, from Snow Cones, to the original Wrestling With Emotions. Outside of Lazerbeaming, Jason can usually be found absolutely killing it with Cape Town’s Free Lives. With them Jason is currently working on the upcoming games, Anger Foot, Stick It To The Stickman and Terra Nil.

Check out his other work 👇👇👇
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1978590/Anger_Foot/

Wrap-Up



Whew! That’s it! What a cute gang right?!
And what sort of gang would we be without an official poster??



Can you guess who's who?

I hope you enjoyed this wee insight into the evolution of our game band. It feels so good to finally be able to share all this good news with the world!

We’ll check back in next month with more tales from The Lazerzone. Till then, stay rad and be excellent to each other!

Discord: https://discord.gg/9Xh3HAE
Twitter: @teamlazerbeam
TikTok: @teamlazerbeam
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