I have been wanting to start an RPG project for some time, but only recently had the determination to do it.
First off, this game is called Ara. Ara is a working title and right now it refers to the name of the planet that the game is set on.
The game will have a dark tone to it. Not only in colors but in atmosphere, dialogue, and story. It will have a very large cast (anywhere from 8-14 PCs) with one main protagonist and one main villain. It will be made using RM2K3.
Story
That's the basic concept of the plot. Comments?
These screenshots are just experimenting with the Rm2k3 RTP, some color edits and some mapping in FF6's style.
Screenshots
Features
Side view battle system
Hard difficulty (i.e. you cant just spam attack, use of tactics in most non-boss fights and all boss fights required)
Party change system
Challenging puzzles
Minigames
As suggested in the story, it is much harder to learn magic in this game. I am still undecided but leaning towards only druid PCs having magic. And they will have to stick to the type of magic they are born with.
So, unlike FF6 where you can have everyone learn Cure and just use the "garbage" characters to spam cure... in Ara, only the healer will be healing and if s/he dies, you'd better cross your fingers.
I like the idea of having 4 "types" of characters:
1- Tank (High HP/DEF, low attack, special ability to attract monsters attacks)
2 - Healer (extremely fragile, but can heal party--healing too much will result in the monsters attacking them)
3 - Damage Dealer (fragile, but can do lots of damage. Doing too much will result in the monsters attacking them)
4- Support (enfeebling the enemy, boosting party's stats, haste, slow, stuff like that.)
Characters
First off, this game is called Ara. Ara is a working title and right now it refers to the name of the planet that the game is set on.
The game will have a dark tone to it. Not only in colors but in atmosphere, dialogue, and story. It will have a very large cast (anywhere from 8-14 PCs) with one main protagonist and one main villain. It will be made using RM2K3.
Story
There are two races. Humans and Druids. Druids are elf-like in appearance and are born with the ability to cast certain spells. They cannot acquire new spells unless a Druid dies, in which case they release the 'aura' of that spell and if contacted by any druid, will be integrated into their body. They are very in tune with nature and are very peace loving. Humans are, well, humans.
The story takes place in Ara. A fantasy-age planet with monsters and diverse regions/continents, airships, dragons, boats, the standard RPG stuff. Ara has a global government, ruled by King Duncan.
Our story begins when a rebel group of Druids (which is almost unheard of, due to their nature) starts robbing travelers that are passing through a forest. One day, the travelers happen to be a royal caravan with the Prince himself among them. The rebel druids hesitate to make such a daring attack, but eventually go through with it due to the high value of the caravan's cargo.
The Prince and his soldiers resist the robbery and begin counterattacking. For the first time in the known history of the world, druid magic is used to attack humans. The results are devastating. The entire caravan is destroyed, the soldiers and the Prince killed. Half of the druids die in the attack, and the other half are so drained from using their magic that they faint and are captured later that night when a search team is sent out for the caravan.
Enraged, Duncan orders a decree that all Druids are to be imprisoned until further investigation of their powers is completed. Soldiers scatter across the world to imprison them. Not surprisingly, the Druids do not want to be put in prison. They resist, killing many soldiers, but are eventually outnumbered. Their houses are torched.
That night soldiers arrive at the house of a very important Druid, Vega. Vega is a special druid because he was born with the ability to cast Meteor. Never before has any druid been born with this spell. Due to its destructive nature, the spell has never been cast. While trying to accost Vega and his family (wife and small child named Drac), there is a battle. Vega's wife repels the soldiers advance by creating a line of fire, but the king's archers hit her in the chest with an arrow. Traumatized, Vega stumbles over to his dying wife, and out of the corner of his eye notices some soldiers hauling off his little child. He becomes enraged. In a final act of desperation, he casts Meteor, hoping to wipe out the entire royal army.
The meteor, amplified by Vega's eruption emotions, is larger than he could have ever imagined. After he casts the spell, he and the soldiers cringe, awaiting an intense explosion and certain destruction. Nothing happens. Suddenly, a distant sound is heard in the sky. A sort of soft rumbling. A huge dust cloud appears behind the moon. The meteor has hit Ara's moon and Vega's attack has apparently been in vain. He collapses, nearly dead from the energy exerted to cast his legendary spell. The soldiers capture Vega and his son, Drac.
Nearly every other Druid has been killed. The only survivors were able to get word of the attacks and hide. They have established a colony far from the King's eye. Vega is sent to an island prison where the world's worst rot in their cells. Among the prisoners are the 2 rebel druids that were captured after the intial attack. His son Drac was given to a foster family in the mainland.
Astronomers research the damage done to the moon. It appears that the meteor caused the moon to alter its orbital path around Ara. The impact from the meteor has launched the moon towards its planet. With every passing day, it gets closer. The moon's gravitational pull causes the sea levels to rise drastically. The tides grow every day and soon begin flooding towns. Some of the sea level towns are underwater within a month. They estimate that the mainland will be underwater within 20 years.
Vega regains his energy after a week in the prison. Unable to cast Meteor again, he soon realizes that he knows a new spell. Fire. When his wife died, Vega received her magic. Not only could she cast Fire, but ironically, she could raise the dead. Twisted by his hate towards the King and all humans, Vega torches the prison from within his cell. Literally every wall crumbles, and every prisoner/guard is engulfed in flames. The only two creatures he spares are the 2 rebel druids, who are barely living as it is--drained from using their powers and being so young. All that is left is a small island full of rubble and corpses. Vega, eager to try his new spell, tries to raise the fallen prisoners from the dead. He casts the spell and watches as the inanimate piles of bones begin to reconstruct themselves. After they form complete skeletons... they stop. There is no more restoration. No skin, no hair. Vega's hate has corrupted the very nature of his only curative spell. Instead of restoring life, it creates undeath. Standing before him now is a small army of undead prisoners, unable to think for themselves, they look to Vega for instructions. Realizing his spell could never be used to revive his wife... he becomes insane.
Ara is slowly being flooded. Astronomers agree that the only plausible way to save the planet would be to cast another Meteor at the moon, in the opposite direction. Their days are numbered. Wanting to seek Vega's help (and unaware that he has turned the prison into a shrine of undeath and gone totally insane) the King sends out a boat to the prison. Vega obliterates the boat the moment it touches the dark shore of his new island. A few sailors tossed overboard are able to escape the wreckage and row back to the mainland on emergency boats. They inform the King.
Believing Drac to be the only other Druid left on Ara, the King and his court agree--the only way to save Ara is for Drac to learn Meteor and counter his father's spell. And the only way to teach Drac meteor is to have his own father slain.
Right now, Drac is only a baby, 2 years of age. The world will have to wait until Drac becomes a man, able to accomplish this task and cast the spell that can save the planet.
The game begins 19 years in the future. Drac is now 21, and the world is half flooded. Vega has corrupted 2 more continents and has created an undead army that is finally capable of overthrowing the living. In one year's time, the moon will be close enough to cause the entire world to drown under its ominous glow.
The story takes place in Ara. A fantasy-age planet with monsters and diverse regions/continents, airships, dragons, boats, the standard RPG stuff. Ara has a global government, ruled by King Duncan.
Our story begins when a rebel group of Druids (which is almost unheard of, due to their nature) starts robbing travelers that are passing through a forest. One day, the travelers happen to be a royal caravan with the Prince himself among them. The rebel druids hesitate to make such a daring attack, but eventually go through with it due to the high value of the caravan's cargo.
The Prince and his soldiers resist the robbery and begin counterattacking. For the first time in the known history of the world, druid magic is used to attack humans. The results are devastating. The entire caravan is destroyed, the soldiers and the Prince killed. Half of the druids die in the attack, and the other half are so drained from using their magic that they faint and are captured later that night when a search team is sent out for the caravan.
Enraged, Duncan orders a decree that all Druids are to be imprisoned until further investigation of their powers is completed. Soldiers scatter across the world to imprison them. Not surprisingly, the Druids do not want to be put in prison. They resist, killing many soldiers, but are eventually outnumbered. Their houses are torched.
That night soldiers arrive at the house of a very important Druid, Vega. Vega is a special druid because he was born with the ability to cast Meteor. Never before has any druid been born with this spell. Due to its destructive nature, the spell has never been cast. While trying to accost Vega and his family (wife and small child named Drac), there is a battle. Vega's wife repels the soldiers advance by creating a line of fire, but the king's archers hit her in the chest with an arrow. Traumatized, Vega stumbles over to his dying wife, and out of the corner of his eye notices some soldiers hauling off his little child. He becomes enraged. In a final act of desperation, he casts Meteor, hoping to wipe out the entire royal army.
The meteor, amplified by Vega's eruption emotions, is larger than he could have ever imagined. After he casts the spell, he and the soldiers cringe, awaiting an intense explosion and certain destruction. Nothing happens. Suddenly, a distant sound is heard in the sky. A sort of soft rumbling. A huge dust cloud appears behind the moon. The meteor has hit Ara's moon and Vega's attack has apparently been in vain. He collapses, nearly dead from the energy exerted to cast his legendary spell. The soldiers capture Vega and his son, Drac.
Nearly every other Druid has been killed. The only survivors were able to get word of the attacks and hide. They have established a colony far from the King's eye. Vega is sent to an island prison where the world's worst rot in their cells. Among the prisoners are the 2 rebel druids that were captured after the intial attack. His son Drac was given to a foster family in the mainland.
Astronomers research the damage done to the moon. It appears that the meteor caused the moon to alter its orbital path around Ara. The impact from the meteor has launched the moon towards its planet. With every passing day, it gets closer. The moon's gravitational pull causes the sea levels to rise drastically. The tides grow every day and soon begin flooding towns. Some of the sea level towns are underwater within a month. They estimate that the mainland will be underwater within 20 years.
Vega regains his energy after a week in the prison. Unable to cast Meteor again, he soon realizes that he knows a new spell. Fire. When his wife died, Vega received her magic. Not only could she cast Fire, but ironically, she could raise the dead. Twisted by his hate towards the King and all humans, Vega torches the prison from within his cell. Literally every wall crumbles, and every prisoner/guard is engulfed in flames. The only two creatures he spares are the 2 rebel druids, who are barely living as it is--drained from using their powers and being so young. All that is left is a small island full of rubble and corpses. Vega, eager to try his new spell, tries to raise the fallen prisoners from the dead. He casts the spell and watches as the inanimate piles of bones begin to reconstruct themselves. After they form complete skeletons... they stop. There is no more restoration. No skin, no hair. Vega's hate has corrupted the very nature of his only curative spell. Instead of restoring life, it creates undeath. Standing before him now is a small army of undead prisoners, unable to think for themselves, they look to Vega for instructions. Realizing his spell could never be used to revive his wife... he becomes insane.
Ara is slowly being flooded. Astronomers agree that the only plausible way to save the planet would be to cast another Meteor at the moon, in the opposite direction. Their days are numbered. Wanting to seek Vega's help (and unaware that he has turned the prison into a shrine of undeath and gone totally insane) the King sends out a boat to the prison. Vega obliterates the boat the moment it touches the dark shore of his new island. A few sailors tossed overboard are able to escape the wreckage and row back to the mainland on emergency boats. They inform the King.
Believing Drac to be the only other Druid left on Ara, the King and his court agree--the only way to save Ara is for Drac to learn Meteor and counter his father's spell. And the only way to teach Drac meteor is to have his own father slain.
Right now, Drac is only a baby, 2 years of age. The world will have to wait until Drac becomes a man, able to accomplish this task and cast the spell that can save the planet.
The game begins 19 years in the future. Drac is now 21, and the world is half flooded. Vega has corrupted 2 more continents and has created an undead army that is finally capable of overthrowing the living. In one year's time, the moon will be close enough to cause the entire world to drown under its ominous glow.
That's the basic concept of the plot. Comments?
These screenshots are just experimenting with the Rm2k3 RTP, some color edits and some mapping in FF6's style.
Screenshots
http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/7775/nonameo.jpg
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/9954/noname5.jpg
http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/3130/noname4.jpg
Some new screens (and taken with my phone again, lol)
http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/6474/nonameiks.jpg
Drac looking at the flooding in his hometown.
http://i32.tinypic.com/6eql41.jpg
Another hometown pic
http://i29.tinypic.com/6zlo5l.jpg
Entering a mine (first dungeon/quest)
http://i27.tinypic.com/2cekavk.jpg
Battle
http://i25.tinypic.com/jv146e.jpg
Inside the mine
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/9954/noname5.jpg
http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/3130/noname4.jpg
Some new screens (and taken with my phone again, lol)
http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/6474/nonameiks.jpg
Drac looking at the flooding in his hometown.
http://i32.tinypic.com/6eql41.jpg
Another hometown pic
http://i29.tinypic.com/6zlo5l.jpg
Entering a mine (first dungeon/quest)
http://i27.tinypic.com/2cekavk.jpg
Battle
http://i25.tinypic.com/jv146e.jpg
Inside the mine
Features
Side view battle system
Hard difficulty (i.e. you cant just spam attack, use of tactics in most non-boss fights and all boss fights required)
Party change system
Challenging puzzles
Minigames
As suggested in the story, it is much harder to learn magic in this game. I am still undecided but leaning towards only druid PCs having magic. And they will have to stick to the type of magic they are born with.
So, unlike FF6 where you can have everyone learn Cure and just use the "garbage" characters to spam cure... in Ara, only the healer will be healing and if s/he dies, you'd better cross your fingers.
I like the idea of having 4 "types" of characters:
1- Tank (High HP/DEF, low attack, special ability to attract monsters attacks)
2 - Healer (extremely fragile, but can heal party--healing too much will result in the monsters attacking them)
3 - Damage Dealer (fragile, but can do lots of damage. Doing too much will result in the monsters attacking them)
4- Support (enfeebling the enemy, boosting party's stats, haste, slow, stuff like that.)
Characters
Vega - Druid
Known spells: Meteor (dormant), Fire, Life (corrupted)
Age: 53
Role: Primary Antagonist
??? - Druid (1 of 2 rebel druids saved in the prison)
Known spells: Poison based attacks
Age: 37
Role: Secondary Antagonist
??? - Druid (1 of 2 rebel druids saved in the prison)
Known spells: Lightningbased attacks
Age: 37
Role: Secondary Antagonist
Drac - Druid
Known spells: Ice
Age: 21
Role: Primary protagonist
Other characters in the process of being developed:
A female druid from the hidden colony
A human soldier from the royal army (one who has seen Vega in person)
Known spells: Meteor (dormant), Fire, Life (corrupted)
Age: 53
Role: Primary Antagonist
??? - Druid (1 of 2 rebel druids saved in the prison)
Known spells: Poison based attacks
Age: 37
Role: Secondary Antagonist
??? - Druid (1 of 2 rebel druids saved in the prison)
Known spells: Lightningbased attacks
Age: 37
Role: Secondary Antagonist
Drac - Druid
Known spells: Ice
Age: 21
Role: Primary protagonist
Other characters in the process of being developed:
A female druid from the hidden colony
A human soldier from the royal army (one who has seen Vega in person)