Hi everyone!

Now that Mythology jam is over, I'd firstly encourage you to take a look at the entries! https://itch.io/jam/mythology-vn-jam/entries

 I'd like to thank all of the voice actors for their time and dedication. This project is so accessible and it's thanks to your wonderful performances.

I'd like to thank the testers for going through and ensuring the game worked well on multiple devices and OSs (not oculus sinister, operating systems ;)) . 

Also, thank you to streamers who have taken the time to play the game! And of course, to all of you who have played the game so far! Also I really appreciate the ratings and comments I've received too :)

Now, I'd like to talk a little bit about the Pursuers of Mythic Truth and where it came from. 

What is truth when you're a creature who is known as 'folklore' or 'a mythic'? 

A deep question, but it was a really interesting basis for me to start with. Mythics who live with King Tier (see Bloodlines) don't have to question truth, because the truth is all around them. They are surrounded in their daily lives by mythical and magical things. 

But what about mythics who live in modern society? How do they grapple with 'truth?' What does 'truth' mean when many of the people around you...think you're a myth or a fictional being? That's when I wanted to really explore what 'truth' means to being like these.

Deep diving into storytelling from different cultural origins

I wanted to focus on how different mythics might tell stories or their 'myths', and how they share what they think is their 'truth'.  Suraj uses a Kavad-like box.  I really wanted to capture this story-telling style as closely as I could (without saying it was explicitly a 'Kavad' (it's an important cultural artefact and I didn't want to disrespect the real-life item)). So I did lots of research on the style of drawing and method to invoke the style.

When considering how Seo might tell her story, I carefully examined the 'Minhwa' art style. The fox on the left panel and the woman on the right are both meant to represent Seo...who is 'a myth' herself.  What is interesting to note is that both of these storytelling artefacts contain pictures of a character who is emerging to be the antagonist of our series 'Pandemonium', (players of 'Only when you sleep' will likely recognise them).

There is a little sadness for 'Hakon', our infamous Valravn, due to spoilers I cannot discuss it in too much detail, but he has no method to tell his story, no grand artwork or devices to share his legacy. We are beginning to see that Tier's obsession with bloodlines is fueling inequality and some mythics genuinely believe their stories are 'not worth telling'. This is something that our protagonist, Suraj, rallies against - making him a 'pursuer of mythic truth'... no matter what truth it is.

Also...keep an eye out for that bamboo witch. You'll be seeing her very soon ;) 

Edinburgh, Udaipur, the Mythic Market and the Neverplace

I wanted to make sure that we felt like we were in 'the real world' in between story-telling segments. A close friend of mine went to Edinburgh and took some shots of places like 'the Royal Mile' and other locations. So if you go to Edinburgh, you can walk the very streets of Suraj, Hakon and others we meet during our adventure! 

A big part of Suraj's is story relates to his Father's life in Udaipur - I watched many videos and travel vlogs as well to get a feel for the place. It is an absolutely beautiful part of the world, I'd like to go one day! The thing that struck me the most was how colourful and lively it was, so I wanted to capture that in Vikram's story.

The 'mythic markets' are introduced a little more firmly in this game, but keen-eyed players of 'Only when you sleep' will have heard of this place before...with it somehow linking to none other than 'the Crooked Man'! Also, players of 'Sanctuary' might notice a character somewhat similar to a certain leading lady in the image below :)

Daanya Haath

Also...here he is ! He finally makes his first voiced appearance! Daanya Haath, one of the 'lead characters' in 'Only when you sleep' is finally identified! I had originally intended to release this game ahead of 'Only when you sleep', but due to production/jam deadlines, I swapped the release dates around. So his story might hit a little differently than I originally intended. But it's all good stuff!

Mythics in their mythic form!

This is the first game where we formally begin to see mythics being...well 'mythics' (and sometimes the form in between their 'human' and 'mythic' form).  Players hear the shortened origin stories of many folklore and mythical creatures. Some of them are a bit grizzly, so read at your own risk!

Bethir

Baobhan sith

Suraj, Seo and Hakon all have specific illustrations as they share their stories, so keep a lookout for those.

The big reveals :)

For the sake of keeping this spoiler free, I have blacked out the text...but...the characters below are creating links between all the games in the series! The intrigue around the Crooked Man is building, and the mythic King is also being called into question.

Jack and Jill were seriously anticipated characters, and they make their first physical debut in this title! (Also, for those who are dying to know...Jack can draw very well based on what we see at the end of 'Inside the box'....Jill can't (as you'll see in this game).

Also... I won't say anything about this image...I'll just leave it here for now. But this character is not only the very first Folklore character I ever conceived (yes...even before the Crooked Man), but he was also very hotly anticipated by a very small number of IRL friends who knew about the series. 

I can confirm we're about half-way through the main Folklore story! I'd like to thank everyone who has played so far...I can't wait to continue the series! Thank you all once again :)

Take care and stay curious!