This is to be read by people looking for a true story about hope, inspiration and imagination.
This is about the actually journey, that Valhira placed on two people's lives. Be it destiny. Or a strange fate that sealed us by its leaking of infectious beauty.
Valhira was first thought up in the early part of 2007. I was actually reading the Harry Potter series at the time along with The Magicians Guild (I really recommend reading it if you haven't already). After completing the books I sat in silence before a thought hit me. Where has the world gone? The Harry Potter world is metaphorically created when you read one of these books. But does it merely fade away on the last drips of ink on the last pages? This might sound like a crazy idea but. I was actually annoyed at this idea. Why would an Author spend all that time creating a world knowing it's going to vanish?
That's when I had the idea. I love writing, creating. I am at heart, an artist. So I set about making my own world. I sat and for an entire year wrote about all the things I wanted in this world, the different creatures and habbits, jokes, folk stories, laws and kings that would bespoke this world. After an entire year I realised I wanted more than a book. I actually wanted a way for people to be able to see, hear, experience the world. And this lead me to the game idea. After 2 months I'd got a team of 6 people together and we began working on a 2D point and click. Rather rapidly I realised. This game wasn't going to entail everything I wanted in it. So I stopped production and began thinking. My artist however was dying to help create the world, allow it to become real. She understood my passion and with it, brought her own. We began another year journey of getting all the history and stories, rumours, kings, wars, creates and everything in writing. After that entire year I set out trying to make an MMORPG. I realised. In order for this to work. It had to have a grand community. It couldn't be single player. What made this world so great was the way it would allow others to get involved.
I then made, the greatest mistake in my life. I decided to hire someone to help make the game. I foolishly used one of them 'hire a freelance' websites and attempted to get a designer and coder long side. I was promised a pipe dream of a 3D world and server and such for £500. I was amazed and handed the money over. Then I got asked for a further £500 to pay for the rest of production. I asked for printscreens and then all of a sudden the guys became invisible. They vanished without a word. This left me in a state for just over two months. I knew I'd just been scammed, I'd lost my dreams and hopes. And with this I almost gave up.
Luckily however I discovered rpg maker xp. I'd played a few made games and one inspired me beyond anything ever had. It was beautifully mapped, the sound was custom. EVERYTHING was interactive, you could press a piano and it would play, you could press on a draw and it would open and have random pieces of paper in with some funny jokes or notes on. You could quest into a cave and kill a thief and save a nun who would tell you a tale of darkness. I fell so in love with this game I realised the potential rpg maker xp had. It then took me a while to get to grips with the engine then because almost an expert in events. I then started searching for an online system.
After months I found NetPlay. At the time it seemed like the Holy Grail. I found a coder, musician and sprite artist. Everything appeared to be working great. Until the coder vanished. I was left with a system still with bugs and a game half baked. So again. The game fell almost to dust. Until the Angel of the north that is Blizz appeared. He kindly offered me the option to use his online system.
He helped me set up and I literally felt new hope, as if, with Blizz helping every step he was lifting me from the darkness of which I had been plunged into.
I then managed to pull together some of the people from the first attempt, I then began working again with the new system. And now. Finally, after everything. My dream is about to become a reality.
This MMORPG is soon to release. It's not exactly how we imagined it (budgeting effects creativity apparently). But the basics of the world of still enrolled in this game. The story, the world has been mapped to the sketch of an A1 map drawn up by me and my artist. We hope everyone will enjoy it and get involved. Every penny we get will be spent on making the world more towards making Valhira look and feel more like it was intended.
Not only are we working on the game but there are 2 podcasts that are going to begin on release of the game. A comic is soon to be released on release of the game. And books are follow later in the year!
Thank you sooo much for reading this and I'd appreciate any comments, every positive comment keeps us going!
And Blizz. Thank you.