[VXA] Gods Tell No Lies

Started by Spiralflux, June 10, 2014, 10:54:55 pm

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Spiralflux

June 10, 2014, 10:54:55 pm Last Edit: June 10, 2014, 11:55:05 pm by Spiralflux


A game by...



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Hey guys! Thought I'd post the current project I'm working on. I always wanted to follow my dream of having my own video game design company, even if it wasn't successful. Thus, Solar Entertainment was born, and this will be its debut title. This will mainly be a solo project, but any help and feedback is greatly appreciated!

Please note that this will be a commercial project.

Progress Report
Storyline: |||||||||| 90%
Mapping: |||||||||| 0%
Eventing: |||||||||| 0%
Music: |||||||||| 30%
Scripts: |||||||||| 50%
Art Assets: |||||||||| 80%
Database: |||||||||| 0%

Back Story
Spoiler: ShowHide
When we're all alone in the world, do we believe in God...?
or...
Do we make our own God?


The game is set in a world where humanity is in constant tension between three large continental super powers. Magic had long been forgotten and the only thing that is known is an energy called Aetherlight. It is the energy that makes up all matter and life. The few humans who are able to channel Aetherlight are known as the Ascended, feared and respected by all. Manipulation of Aetherlight allows the user to do super natural phenomena such as controlling the elements, moving at blinding speeds and having seemingly infinite strength but at a cost on the body. With the horns of war about to be sounded, who will decide the fate of the world we hold so dear?

Follow the tale of a boy named Fenn, who was forged into a man through blood. His father wrongfully executed and his home labelled him a traitor, to whom must he turn but himself?
On a constant run for his life, Fenn will soon come to realize that there are far worse fates than death in store for the people of this world.


Characters

Fenn: ShowHide


Fenn grew up with his father due to his mother passing away while giving birth to him. His father was a proud Captain of the Elysian army and thus trained Fenn under swordsmanship for many years. Fenn had a gift for analyzing situations and quickly grew to become a master at cold reading. However, his gift had made him extremely cautious of others and it was difficult for him to bond with anyone. That changed when he met Leo, a young boy from the noble family of Pridehart. Leo became Fenn's first and only friend, sharing their childhoods together. Fenn has a very sarcastic demeanor but deep down is very caring and kind.

Their friendship came to a sudden turn when Fenn's father was murdered before his eyes. In a haze of emotion and rage, Fenn slaughtered the ones responsible for his father's death as Leo watched on in horror. Fenn fled Elysia, having been labelled a traitor and spy. Vowing to find out the truth behind his father's death, Fenn is now on a constant cat and mouse chase with his child hood friend. Only time will tell what happens when someone loses the game.



Leo Pridehart: ShowHide


The youngest son from the most influential noble house of Elysia. Leo is adored by all and has an astounding amount of charisma. He is extremely loyal, trustworthy and kind; the ideal candidate for Elysia's next King. Leo met Fenn when they were young boys and enjoys sparring with him. Leo has been promoted to Captain for his skill and leadership.
However, the threat of war looms on the horizon and the people need a leader. After a grand meeting between the noble houses, Leo was selected to lead the army in their counter attack on the enemy.
Unsure of what fates lies in store for him, Leo is still determined to protect his people and most of all...find the truth about his best friend.



Lucia Lumiere: ShowHide


An innocent girl from the proud noble house of Lumiere. She was raised in complete royalty and isolation from the harsh outside world. However, her incredibly kind nature pushes her to help others and to be as selfless as possible. Gifted with the ability to channel Aetherlight, she now spends her days tending to the sick and injured. Lucia longs for a greater purpose and her dream is to step out into the open world to continue helping as many people as she can. With the news of the war quickly spreading through the city, it was only a matter of time before Lucia made up her mind to take action. She would participate in the war, all right, and it will be her mission to save as many brave soldiers as she can. That is...if she can handle the reality outside the safety of her city's gates.



Amelia Pridehart: ShowHide


Amelia was born into the Pridehart family by some cruel turn of fate. Her father was the eldest son of the noble house, while her mother was just a commoner. Amelia loved her father and mother dearly, hoping to one day become a proud woman of the Pridehart house. However, her existence was found out when she was a little girl and her mother was promptly murdered in secret. Her father was forced to remarry and Amelia was cast out into the city streets to die. Pushed by the will to survive, Amelia has become a very agile and skilled thief. Now all grown up, she thirsts for revenge on those who wronged her and will do everything in her power to exact her vengeance on the Pridehart family.


Planned Features
Spoiler: ShowHide

Enchantment System
Upgrade your equipment using various materials for added effects. The better the material, the better the effect! But watch out, the success rate drastically decreases. However, it may be worth your trouble as there are many secret effects that could potentially be unlocked if you're lucky.
Multi-Branching Endings
Your choices echo throughout the story and have a direct influence on the outcome of the game. Explore over eight possible finales as you change the course of the events as they unfold. Will you unlock the true ending?
Stat and Skill Distribution
Customize all of your stats and skills by manually leveling them up. No more silly curves, you are in direct control of the direction your character develops.
Two Class Branches + Bonus Class
Each character can branch off into two class trees, each with a distinct role and with its own strength and weaknesses. Furthermore, playing on the highest difficult unlocks a bonus class to further allow for customization. Mix and match play styles to find what party suits you. Further min/max your party by customizing their stats and skills and you will always have a fresh experience every playthrough.
Over 400 pieces of equipment
No joke. The game will feature an arsenal of equipment to suit your play style. Find epic items on your journey with diverse effects and stats. Really like that bad ass sword of super duper hellfire you found but it's too weak to use now? Not a problem, go ahead and craft the stronger version of it in increments of 20 level upgrades (For example, if a weapon is level 35, you can upgrade it to the level 55 version, 75 version and 95 version, giving it an increase in stats and possibly added effects). That way you can retain the unique effects of items throughout the game to plan your strategies.
Challenging difficulty levels
The game offers a casual play through mode where enemies are much weaker, provide bonus experience and gold and have certain mechanics removed. There will also be a normal play through for those familiar with RPGs. For the hardcore veterans of the genre or those who already went through the game and looking for a challenge, the game will provide a Hard mode that not only unlocks a bonus class for each character, a selection of Legendary gear and the opportunity to witness the true ending, it will also make the game more challenging, with puzzles becoming more difficult, boss fights becoming more mechanically intensive and a general boost in the strength of the enemies.
Large variety of gameplay
While GTNL tries to keep the traditional roots of RPGs in tact, the game will offer many different evented sequences that break from the regular battle system and dungeon crawling. This includes many unique and interesting puzzles to keep you on your toes and your wits in the game.


Screenshots
Title Screen WIP: ShowHide

Battle System 1: ShowHide

Battle System 2: ShowHide


Feedback/Suggestions
If you would like to help me in any way, please feel free to send me your feedback in a message on this forums or add me on Skype (You can find it on my profile).
Also, please feel free to send in any ideas you have for the game! It doesn't matter how small they are. Got a cool idea for a weapon? Send it.
Awesome concept for a dungeon? Send it.
Thought of an interesting character? Send it.
Think there is a better placement for that one tree on that one map? Send it.
I will carefully go over all of your ideas and respond with my thoughts and we can have a nice discussion. If your idea makes it into the game, you will be put into the Special Thanks section in the credits!

Dev Diary
June 10th, 2014: ShowHide
Why hello! Today marks the creation of this thread. I'll try and put major progress in the game right here! Check back for any updates. I'll enclose everything in spoilers in case you don't want anything ruined for yourself. The game is still extremely new and I've been busy compiling all the resources I will need for it. There hasn't been much mapping done so I can't provide any cool screenshots just yet. Hopefully once I finish the resource gathering phase, I'll start putting lots of work into the maps.

legacyblade

Wow o.o Who's doing your character portraits? They look freaking awesome!

This game sounds fun, though I'm not sure why there's a distinction between Magic and Aetherlight. Is magic going to reemerge at some point as something distinct from it? If not, I'd leave out the whole "people forgot magic but still have..." bit. Unless it's important to the plot in some way.

BTW, is this going to be turn based or action based? With how complex your system sounds, I'd go with a turn based tactical system if you could. It'd work the best for the level of complexity you're shooting for (IMHO)

Spiralflux

June 10, 2014, 11:39:26 pm #2 Last Edit: June 10, 2014, 11:55:32 pm by Spiralflux
It's turn based. It uses the default battle system with some minor tweaks.
There is no real distinction, it's something more of a folk tale. Much like how we talk about vampires and unicorns, the people of this world have tales of wizards and dragons too. Magic itself has no relevance to the plot, BUT you're in for a few surprises.
The story is layered. It's told in three acts, each drastically expanding on the events of the previous one. What makes no sense and is left unanswered in one act will be answered and made clear in the next, but then more questions are flung at the player until you finally close it all off in one big finale. The true ending will go even a step beyond and extend the regular ending for an extra five minutes to further explain any missing details.

Also, I got the portraits from the Humble Bundle package. The portraits are made by an artist called Frontier Works, but is property of Enterbrain, so I am legally allowed to use them in my commercial project since I have a legal copy of RPG Maker VX Ace, so I fulfill their license requirements. :3

EDIT: I added screenshots of the battle system to illustrate it. Also a screenshot of the current Title Screen, though I may change it.

legacyblade

Oh ok, lol. That means I have them too o.o I got the DLC and stuff, but none of it was for RMXP, so I didn't really notice (fun fact though, Steam's RMXP also adds a "bonus" folder in the install directory. It has a tileset addon and a few recolors. They REALLY went all out for the steam version :V)

And wow. That sounds pretty interesting. I can't wait to play it!

I just wish you didn't use the default battle system XD I always hate those.