PROJECT KARDA

GAME SUMMARY

A narrative-driven JRPG game set in a fantasy world with consequential storytelling, the game pays attention to what the player does or says and aligns their identity according to their past actions, similar to telltale games.

SYNOPSIS

Alaric, a lowborn whose family has suffered from heavy taxation and oppression of nobility; finds himself amidst a changing time when the Empress Seraphyne promotes the scholarship initiative for the most prestigious academy in the Darsenian Empire. Wielding a rare affinity and immense talent, Alaric will soon prove to the haughty and arrogant nobles that there is no such thing as 'Divine Birthright'. But is it out of justice? or vengeance?

IMAGES/SCREENSHOTS

VISION

The game aims to be a short but compelling story that focuses on

-> Branching Storylines with multiple endings

-> Dialogue Choices with Lasting Consequences

-> Great character-driven narratives

-> Combats and encounters that feels deliberate/intentional rather than filler or random

-> Fully interactive environment that is tight and 'intimate' but extremely detailed

WHY THE RTP?

I initially considered getting proper artwork and sprites, commissioning them from artists; but it felt rather premature and reckless. It'd draw it up to the equivalent of getting a $1000 vtuber model... only to then realize you barely have any experiences streaming. So for this project, I'm planning to maximize the native base engine to it's fullest before crossing into the panic-inducing territory of plugins and sprites.

Anyway, It's been so fun working on this and I'm glad to be here!

I SPENT 60$ FOR ATMOSPHERE

THINKING PROCESS

After finishing up the protagonist's room, despite initially telling myself that I could make it work with just the RTP assets of RPGMaker; I suddenly felt like the room was too 'neutral' or 'blank'. It worked fine as it did, but it did not create the atmosphere and or tone that I needed, relying solely on the environmental storytelling to setup the tone.

So I spent the rest of my time finally delving into plugins; before snatching up Sang Hendrix's Realtime Post-Processing and Realtime Parallax. They're great because I wanted something quick and easy, rather than messing around with the old but powerful galv or visustella plugins. This is the result.

IMAGES/SCREENSHOTS

COOL FACTOR VS NARRATIVE DESIGN

While browsing Hendrix's catalogue of plugins, I found myself extremely tempted to snatch up all of the awesome stuff like; directional lighting, Action RPG, Smart speech bubble. But I decided against it, it wasn't central to the game or the narrative. It would definitely look cool and a great detail to have, but it wasn't going to damage the game as much as not having the right color-grading. It's very easy for RPGM devs to look at these massive library of plugins and forget that you also need the content to go along with it.

For this project, I'm aiming to be sort of the 'soft-world builder kind'. Meaning realistic scope, no adding content that doesn't benefit the narrative. As much as I'd like cool looking battle animations, It's just not what this game needs with the current team size.

WHAT'S NEW?

-> Color-graded, parallax mapped

-> A custom class called 'Aspirant' was made to immerse the player into the shoes of a young and weak child

-> Some custom weapon and armors mainly used for storytelling rather than stat-sticks

-> And yes, you can definitely make your bed and pull up the ripped curtains.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Now that I have a parallax mapping plugin and post-processing? Expect the next area (The family house) to feel more dynamic, and also.. consequential storytelling.

-> If you don't make your bed or pull up the curtains; your mother might ask you about cleaning up your room. Then you'll likely get the dialogue choices of

- Lie: "Yes I did" +Insecurity

- Truth: "I forgot."+Honesty

- (Reconcile?): "I'll do it right now." +Humility

These choices feed into a hidden personality system that influences how future dialogue and reactions are presented.

YOUR THOUGHTS?

I have to admit, I'm definitely an amateur at best when it comes to color-grading. I did my best to portray a bleak tone, and I think I did okay. At least, It's not as vibrant as that default RTP coloring. But how do you see it? Could be a bit darker? Maybe the bloom on the window is a bit too much?

WRITING THE SCRIPTS, CHARACTERS AND OUTLINING A CHOICE'S MATTERS GAME

Difficulties:

Honestly, the most difficult part, besides mapping was actually writing out the script. Since the early game is carried by the narrative, I needed it to have strong characters, feel immersive, and that couldn't be done if I reduced the characters to the usage of the plot. It was also one of my first times actually writing for a narrative-branching game, and so I had to really understand what should affect what and not just add a new branch of story for every line of dialogue. The game didn't just exist around the player, it also had a world and history of it's own; and if I didn't understand  every character who was going to appear, it would lack the depth that would make up for the game's default assets.

I didn't want to write the other characters to just end up as plot challenges for the protagonist, I wanted them to have actual reasons for saying what they say, and doing what they do. 

After about three or four days of brainstorming, drafting and slacking off on the narrative. I eventually managed to wrangle out something I truly believe was compelling, compiled it into a flowchart and spreadsheet (for later usage) and finally was able to jump back into the game. Have a look!

Similarly to the example I made prior, depending on whether the player took the subtle hint to tidy up their room, perhaps do a little bit of exploration. The mother's dialogue changes, (and a variable increases)

If the player selects the bottom option, the story progresses as usual, and the two sits down for a meal. However, if the player took the time to explore their bedroom and tidy it up, they won't need to go back and do so!

THE SIGNIFICANCE

It was very important to me that the player gets the agency to decide their own speech immediately, and also; that the moment they start the game in the bedroom, the world is already paying attention to them. The idea is that something as mundane as 'tidying up your bed' can cause a dialogue change is the proof of concept of the game; It is very subtle now, but everything that the player chooses to say or do will eventually have great ramifications on how their protagonist views the world at large; but the important thing is. It's not about which worldview is right or wrong, It's about who you choose to be in this world.

ALARIC'S BEDROOM UPDATE

Also, I improved on my last iteration of the bedroom, trying out more parallax mapping for light/shadow. 

NEXT:

- Finishing the Breakfast Scene (Alaric's Father comes in)

- Starting the Town Market Scene (Will be the first instance of player reward, where they get to explore the town a little before meeting up with one of their companions and childhood friend.)