by Aran[/FONT]
-:- SYNOPSIS -:-[/FONT]
What once was a peaceful nation is suddenly cast into a horrific terror the night Princess Keara is kidnapped and the royal Queen Ilya is found in front of her husband's grave as a petrified stone statue. Such odd and terrible occurrences engender a perilous fever that scourges the Araunian Nation, leaving them distraught and insecure in their homes. The most prevalent notion that seems to cloud the people's minds is the mystery of the culprits and the most they can suspect is a terrorist attack from the neighboring nation of Geminiccus. But where and when did the Geminiccans acquire such magicks? When did their caliber of skill leap so high without snagging the Araunian eye? Their umbral thoughts and apprehensions begin to wane the Araunians' spirits to a degree that their hollow religion is unable to nurture. What shall become of their Queen? What shall become of their Princess?
-:- HEROES -:-
Kyran ::. [M] http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/3063 ... agebq1.png[/img]
Race ::. Arcan
Age ::. 21
A former Araunian Knight of the 1st Leo rank that was discharged on rather 'vague' reasoning. His skill entails his arrogance when he is forced to break the bounds of his silence, but he is fairly caring. He frequently has the desires to be with his lady--the princess of Araunian herself, but his relinquished status has deprived him of the ability to quench his hunger.
Keara ::. [F] http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/8868/k ... ageta9.png[/img]
Race ::. Arcan
Age ::. 21
The royal princess of Araunia, heir to her mother Queen Ilya and deceased father, King Vigilus. She resents her stepfather, King Jaccal, and has done so since she was 10 years old when her mother re-married. Her resentment towards him has kindled a deviant mentality within her that has driven her to do a myriad of un-royal deeds and has even led her into the embrace of an impoverished backland soldier, named Kyran. One night she is kidnapped and is left with only horrific images that plague her mind.
Jeremiah ::. [M] http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/4969/j ... ageeo9.png[/img]
Race ::. Human
Age ::. 68
His past is a mystery that only he holds. All that is truly known of him is that he is a veteran of the Penance War--one of the few humans to survive such a diverse war. However, he has suffered some physical loss, including his left eye. He now resides in Helmya, basking in the solace of the rural environment.
Demus ::. [M] http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/7374 ... agelj7.png[/img]
Race ::. Arcan
Age ::. 22
He is the seventh generation of the highly renowned Relic Keeper Jarai, which has awarded him citizenship of Araunia and a shack in a backwater village called Helmya. Day in and day out he contemplates leaving the village to explore his potential, but lacks the funds that will dismantle the shackles that inhibit him. Until that day comes he continues to live out the tradition of Jarai Legacy by protecting the village and training the un-skilled.
Re'Kudo ::. [M] http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/3583 ... agead4.png[/img]
Race ::. Drow / Dark Wood Elf
Age ::. 786
A freaky witch doctor from an anonymous carribean island in the southwest archipelago of Ardana. For many centuries he has trained himself in the art of the linguistic magicks, rituals, alchemy, ethereal readings, etc. His age has made him somewhat senile and bitter, but then so has his alcoholic status. The upset of the nation's balance drives him nearly from his home for inquisitive reasons, but he needs his ticket to actually leave. Then he meets Kyran...
-:- OTHERS -:-
Jaccal ::. [M] http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/4669 ... ageth9.png[/img]
Race ::. Arcan / Dark Wood Elf
Age ::. Unknown
1. King of Araunia. 2. stepfather of Princess Keara. His demeanor seems dark and suspicious to those in his presence whereas his suggestions are only whispers in the Queen's ear in front of her board of viziers on a regular basis. His character even shows a sense of lasciviousness to his female subjects. Of late he has only been secretive, even to Ilya. His personal discharge of one particular soldier was rather sudden and odd.
Sampson ::. [M]
Race ::. Arcan
Age ::. 22
The average village ne'erdowell that always seems to bridle the prevailing. He thrives on competition, which has only helped him to constitute a strong distaste for those better than him. He would only lunge for the opportunity to surpass them. However, with the late events his demeanor has changed; darkened.
-:- FEATURES -:-
- Side View Battle System (SV-BS)
- Dashing Feature
- Swimming Feature
- Climbing Feature
- Checkpoint Feature
- Intricate Scenes
- Some (Not All) Unique Sprites
-:- Gameplay -:-
Character Development
The characters will develop via a system much like the Sphere Grid of FFX or the License Board of FFXII. More elaborately, there will be no levels through which your characters grow stronger after attaining a certain amount of points, but rather by reaching (or purchasing) nodes that augment something (i.e. Attack, Strength, Magic, etc.). Through this system you will acquire battle skills, immunities, whatever. The specifics of this system have yet to be finalized.
Field Skills (FS)
With the progression of the game you?ll find certain oddities about the terrain, i.e. ridges in tall sediment that lead up to plateaus upon which you'll see treasure chests, or random punctures in the ground. That treasure chest can only be acquired by using the Climb FS to scale the ridged wall and you can widen the punctured ground to enter the underground with the Dig FS. Other FS's such as Dash and Swim and more will be features as well.
-:- Battle System -:-
Visible Enemies
To hell with random battles that only annoy you with their randomness! Your enemies will be visible unless they?re hiding in the grass to pounce upon you (varying feature XP) and will commence battle upon contact with you. Some enemies may be faster than others, some slower. A possible feature may even be the Field Skill Stun, which will make the enemy freeze in place and will disable battle with them upon contact.
Side-View Battle System
The Battle System definitely will NOT be the default. Why? Because it's ugly to me! Furthermore, the animated hero figures should be more attractive to the eye. Unfortunately, this system will probably prolong a demo (one with battles at least).
Blowback Baby!
In battle there will be a feature called Blowback in which case upon inflicting a critical the enemy may be knocked out of the screen and forced to forfeit their turn. The greater the difference between the attacker's strength and the victim's weight, the higher the chance you'll blow them back. Furthermore, Blowback is a status ailment, which could go for better or worse. In a worse-case-scenario, some enemies may be immune to Blowback (i.e. bosses). A lovable feature, I think!
-:- Puzzles -:-
Like any good 2-D RPG (key word: good), Arcan will posses some intricate puzzles that will take possession of your time for a good ten to sixty minutes *lol*. The puzzles will match the environment, in which case you will more than likely end up using the tools of your surroundings to complete the puzzle. They'll be fun.
Character Development
The characters will develop via a system much like the Sphere Grid of FFX or the License Board of FFXII. More elaborately, there will be no levels through which your characters grow stronger after attaining a certain amount of points, but rather by reaching (or purchasing) nodes that augment something (i.e. Attack, Strength, Magic, etc.). Through this system you will acquire battle skills, immunities, whatever. The specifics of this system have yet to be finalized.
Field Skills (FS)
With the progression of the game you?ll find certain oddities about the terrain, i.e. ridges in tall sediment that lead up to plateaus upon which you'll see treasure chests, or random punctures in the ground. That treasure chest can only be acquired by using the Climb FS to scale the ridged wall and you can widen the punctured ground to enter the underground with the Dig FS. Other FS's such as Dash and Swim and more will be features as well.
-:- Battle System -:-
Visible Enemies
To hell with random battles that only annoy you with their randomness! Your enemies will be visible unless they?re hiding in the grass to pounce upon you (varying feature XP) and will commence battle upon contact with you. Some enemies may be faster than others, some slower. A possible feature may even be the Field Skill Stun, which will make the enemy freeze in place and will disable battle with them upon contact.
Side-View Battle System
The Battle System definitely will NOT be the default. Why? Because it's ugly to me! Furthermore, the animated hero figures should be more attractive to the eye. Unfortunately, this system will probably prolong a demo (one with battles at least).
Blowback Baby!
In battle there will be a feature called Blowback in which case upon inflicting a critical the enemy may be knocked out of the screen and forced to forfeit their turn. The greater the difference between the attacker's strength and the victim's weight, the higher the chance you'll blow them back. Furthermore, Blowback is a status ailment, which could go for better or worse. In a worse-case-scenario, some enemies may be immune to Blowback (i.e. bosses). A lovable feature, I think!
-:- Puzzles -:-
Like any good 2-D RPG (key word: good), Arcan will posses some intricate puzzles that will take possession of your time for a good ten to sixty minutes *lol*. The puzzles will match the environment, in which case you will more than likely end up using the tools of your surroundings to complete the puzzle. They'll be fun.
-:- RECRUITMENT -:-
Arcan: the Official Recruitment Thread
If you'd like to join the team, follow the link directly above! Help is always appreciated.
-:- SCREENSHOTS -:-
http://img108.imageshack.us/img108/7946/openingscenescreen1mq3.th.png[/img]http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/7585/openingscenescreen2co0.th.png[/img]http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/7900/openingscenescreen3gw9.th.png[/img]http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/2971/prettyscreenxf8.th.png[/img]