No, really, I mean it. I tried censoring the system and the first three dungeons once at school. IT TOOK OVER THREE HOURS.
Table of Contents
[1F]: Introduction
[2F]: Screenshots
[3F]: Download Link
[4F]: Features
[5F]: Storyline Information
[6F]: Characters
[7F]: Coming Soon
[8F]: Credits
[9F]: Known glitches, untested equipment
[10F]: Criticism/Praise
I can't exactly say I'm a newbie. I've been making games in Game Maker since I was in sixth grade, so I've had a lot of experience with games. I CAN say I'm a newbie in that this is my first finished game.
Wait, finished? Then why post it here? Why not completed games? Well it's not exactly finished. I call this the Alpha Version.
I have done a playthrough of the game and fixed all the glitches I found (and damn did I look hard) but the truth is I may have screwed something up while fixing everything, or just not caught everything. So the first reason that this is the alpha version is that this has not been properly tested. The second reason that is the alpha version, rather than the beta, is that It's going to receive a content update. More on that in 7F, but this is far and away from being a truly complete game. Sure, it's finished storyline wise and will pass as is, but I don't see it as complete. Maybe this needs a move anyway. If I'm wrong, mods, feel free to slap me with a brick and move this.
This game was originally started almost two years ago (so yes, some of the writing is that old) until it was shelved for almost a year. I then picked it back up for a bit for school and completed a couple more dungeons, but it wasn't until these last few months that I updated the system and just went "let's do this."
So I did. And it has taken so much of my free time it's insane, but I did it. I. Did. It. For now anyway.
I feel that it's only fair to say, that the game is sarcastic. A lot of it is just pure sarcasm. I even tried to make fun of some WRPG and JRPG stereotypes WITHIN THE MAIN CAST. I designed some of their appearances around this. I designed one of the main towns around a similar notion. The fact is that the game is meant to be fun. I've tried to keep it strategically deep and exciting, but at the same time, it's a game. I know it's a game. And so I have some fun with it, and I hope you do too.
I can't promise you a stunning, gorgeous game. I did this by myself on my own free time. Only two characters have custom spritesets and one is a carry over from an older game. The sprites in this game are 95% RTP.
I can't promise you a complex, in-depth storyline. The storyline is okay, passable maybe, but the truth is if I wanted to really write a story, I would've written a novel (I did actually, but that's another topic entirely.) The game is currently a bit weak here, but I hope to fix that a bit more later on.
I can't promise you some new battle system, as I'm not a great scripter- I edit, that's it. I can promise you only what I have, and that's a game that I finished because I wanted to, and that I hope is at least an interesting and unique experience, if nothing special. With that said, let's move on
And no, neither of the two guys in the first screenshot are the main characters. Only one is even playable.
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I have the RMXP RTP, download.
That guy might but I sure as hell don't. Download.
Battles are done in a side-view, ATB battle system.
Every character has only 10 levels in this game, and a level up is achieved not by getting kills, but by beating dungeons so it's a measure of progress, not farming. This means that yes, every boss is as hard for you as it was for me when I played through it.
50 weapons, all unique. Yes, ALL UNIQUE. I don't mean "iron is stronger than bronze, bam, unique." Every single piece of equipment has some kind of tactical advantage or disadvantage. ALL of it is useful, even your starting equipment. ESPECIALLY your starting equipment!
Speaking of equipment, every character can equip a weapon, shield, armor, accessory, and bonus ability that give great bonuses, but are hard to find.
More skills than I'd like to think about, all different with their own trade offs, like weapons (all equipment really) I strove to make everything useful. You might think "oh Triple Attack is better than Double Attack" but there are many scenarios where that simply wont be true.
About a dozen optional bosses, seperate from a dozen sidequests, all with their own unique rewards.
129 different maps means that you have a lot to get through. The game time will vary, but doing the sidequests, reading all the dialogue, and experimenting with characters and equipment will net you at least 4-5 hours, if not more. At least, that's what it took me, but then again I can walk through walls, teleport anywhere, and win any battle I want to instantly so I guess it might differ for you.
Pretty weather system
6 different, playable characters with their own skillsets and their own Overdrive abilities. More on them later.
Stats do not change by level up, but can be radically altered via equipment choices. This is a game built on using what you have and what you gained to face new challenges, not to hit level 99 and one-shot everything. Low numbers and a low damage cap means that even with optimal damage settings some strategy is going to be required.
9 different endings, gained through conscious player decision-making and an unconscious record of the methods you use to play the game. You could go "all good" or "all evil" with your decision making all you want, if you don't change your playstyle you wont get them all.
You can escape from 99% of all encounters, even boss fights. You also get a full heal after every enemy encounter. You're still going to need items. Every group of enemies is different and some will require different tactics than others, and while you could ignore them all, and hey, if you don't want to fight you don't have to, you might not get the money you'll need to buy the items you'll need for the big boss battles when they come around. (Okay, I'll be fair, all the big boss battles are entirely optional but I mean, come on. :P)
The ability to play as your final boss rather than the party. (As a result, there are more endings that involve the world ending than not.)
Both a weapon range system and a magic affinity system for different strategy making and character picking.
The game centers around a mercenary (wannabe mercenary at first) named Vice, who finds himself hired to collect pieces of the Diamond Shard by Julia, an emissary of the Silver Knights, and reassemble them so that they may be destroyed. The Diamond Shards are part of the Diamond Rope the Silver Knights had once shattered, a rope that although serve no useful physical purpose can connect different worlds together. The connection is still there, although weakened, and a new threat is surfacing to use that very connection and break into the human world, where it doesn't belong.
Vice
The game's "hero", he's kind of a dick really. A lot of a dick. He's a wannabe mercenary who only really cares about himself, and although he's not a complete asshole deep down, he tends to be very profane and generally abusive. After the first dungeon he gains the ability to swap between his normal form, and an alternate form altogether.
Vice's Weaponry is limited by the weapon range system, but he has the most unique arsenal by far.
Normal Form: Mercenary
Structured around physical damage, this form has several options for dealing with all kinds of opponents, but specializes in a one-on-one setting.
Alternate Form: Shadowblader
Structured around mixing both physical, venom, and magical damage in order to bypass defenses, this form has a wide variety of moves but the wide array of moves keeps his options per encounter limited.
The game's "hero", he's kind of a dick really. A lot of a dick. He's a wannabe mercenary who only really cares about himself, and although he's not a complete asshole deep down, he tends to be very profane and generally abusive. After the first dungeon he gains the ability to swap between his normal form, and an alternate form altogether.
Vice's Weaponry is limited by the weapon range system, but he has the most unique arsenal by far.
Normal Form: Mercenary
Structured around physical damage, this form has several options for dealing with all kinds of opponents, but specializes in a one-on-one setting.
Alternate Form: Shadowblader
Structured around mixing both physical, venom, and magical damage in order to bypass defenses, this form has a wide variety of moves but the wide array of moves keeps his options per encounter limited.
Eva
You get her early on, thank god, because she's actually a legitimately nice person. Picked on because of her "emo" wardrobe, and considered a freak because she can, you know, shoot lasers out of her fists, she's used to dealing with abuse which, although tragic, lets her deal with Vice a bit better. She is a lovely person with a great personality, but a part of me wants Vice to stab her.
Eva's weaponry do INT-based damage, and are not limited to the weapon range system. They also tend to give really nice stat boosts.
Class: Magician
We're not doing this stupid white/magic black/magic garbage. No offense/defense forced specialization in mages. Do I give you a fighter who only has the defend option in battle? No? Because that'd be stupid. She gets two skills per level up- one offensive and one defense. She doesn't know fireball, because fireball sucks. She knows laserbeams.
You get her early on, thank god, because she's actually a legitimately nice person. Picked on because of her "emo" wardrobe, and considered a freak because she can, you know, shoot lasers out of her fists, she's used to dealing with abuse which, although tragic, lets her deal with Vice a bit better. She is a lovely person with a great personality, but a part of me wants Vice to stab her.
Eva's weaponry do INT-based damage, and are not limited to the weapon range system. They also tend to give really nice stat boosts.
Class: Magician
We're not doing this stupid white/magic black/magic garbage. No offense/defense forced specialization in mages. Do I give you a fighter who only has the defend option in battle? No? Because that'd be stupid. She gets two skills per level up- one offensive and one defense. She doesn't know fireball, because fireball sucks. She knows laserbeams.
Dreth
He looks like a creep, but it's okay, because he is ridiculously powerful. A bit sadistic and with a dark sense of humor, he really likes to stab things. Normally though, he's silent, which is good because I think he brings a knife to school.
Dreth uses "snakes", swords that extend (think Ivy's weaponry) into whips, so he is not bound by the weapon range system. He also has the most powerful weapons in the game by far.
Class: Serpentstriker
Not only are all of his skills powerful, he gains many options for dealing with multiple enemies at the same time, but never loses in a one-on-one contest either. His speed is sorely lacking however, and he has no options (read: I can't remember any options) for hurting ghost enemies, which are immune to all predominantly physical moves.
He looks like a creep, but it's okay, because he is ridiculously powerful. A bit sadistic and with a dark sense of humor, he really likes to stab things. Normally though, he's silent, which is good because I think he brings a knife to school.
Dreth uses "snakes", swords that extend (think Ivy's weaponry) into whips, so he is not bound by the weapon range system. He also has the most powerful weapons in the game by far.
Class: Serpentstriker
Not only are all of his skills powerful, he gains many options for dealing with multiple enemies at the same time, but never loses in a one-on-one contest either. His speed is sorely lacking however, and he has no options (read: I can't remember any options) for hurting ghost enemies, which are immune to all predominantly physical moves.
Julia
Working for the Silver Knights to collect the Diamond Shards, she's a bit distanced from the others, but absolutely terrified of being completely alone. Luckily she doesn't have to be.
Julia shares Eva's equipment.
Class: Summoner
With 6 unique summons and healing powers of her own, she is incredibly versatile. All summons, save her overdrive summon, are only level 5, but her sheer versatility and use as a back up healer (in case, you know, your glass mage happens to get hit, which may or may not happen ALL THE TIME) as well as her durability makes her a great, balanced fighter. More than that, even though her summons are low levels- they're never obsolete.
Working for the Silver Knights to collect the Diamond Shards, she's a bit distanced from the others, but absolutely terrified of being completely alone. Luckily she doesn't have to be.
Julia shares Eva's equipment.
Class: Summoner
With 6 unique summons and healing powers of her own, she is incredibly versatile. All summons, save her overdrive summon, are only level 5, but her sheer versatility and use as a back up healer (in case, you know, your glass mage happens to get hit, which may or may not happen ALL THE TIME) as well as her durability makes her a great, balanced fighter. More than that, even though her summons are low levels- they're never obsolete.
Damien
One of the silver knights. I gave him anime hair because I thought it'd be hilarious. I was right.
Damien's weapons are unique in that while they bypass the weapon range system, they are bound by the magical affinity system. He does physical damage with the weapons, but magical resistance comes into play. His selection is much less varied, however his defensive options are absolutely extraordinary. He can become an almost invincible support tank.
Class: Paladin
He's unique in that he doesn't really have all that many attack skills, but he has a wide array of healing and support skills and the durability of a brick wall making him a very reliable healer and buffer, but is versatile enough to become a practical fighter as well.
One of the silver knights. I gave him anime hair because I thought it'd be hilarious. I was right.
Damien's weapons are unique in that while they bypass the weapon range system, they are bound by the magical affinity system. He does physical damage with the weapons, but magical resistance comes into play. His selection is much less varied, however his defensive options are absolutely extraordinary. He can become an almost invincible support tank.
Class: Paladin
He's unique in that he doesn't really have all that many attack skills, but he has a wide array of healing and support skills and the durability of a brick wall making him a very reliable healer and buffer, but is versatile enough to become a practical fighter as well.
Tarisa
She duel wields, and likes to fight about as much as Dreth. That's all I have to say.
Tarisa can use all of Vice's equipment, as well as her own set of daggers and guns that inflict status effect damage.
Class: Dragoon
You know how there's always that "weird character" with all the status effects and such you never used? That's her. She's weak and only decently fast, but she has access to just about any status effect in the game, and is capable of simply immobilizing your target for everyone else to handle. An amazing support character.
She duel wields, and likes to fight about as much as Dreth. That's all I have to say.
Tarisa can use all of Vice's equipment, as well as her own set of daggers and guns that inflict status effect damage.
Class: Dragoon
You know how there's always that "weird character" with all the status effects and such you never used? That's her. She's weak and only decently fast, but she has access to just about any status effect in the game, and is capable of simply immobilizing your target for everyone else to handle. An amazing support character.
Armag
He's a dragon. That is all.
He's a dragon. That is all.
+More Equipment
+More sidequests
+More long dungeons (no level ups at the end but who cares)
+Storyline improvements
+Backstory fleshing
+Custom spritesets for the entire main cast
+Illustrated Cutscenes
+Unlockable Characters, if demand is high enough
+ARMAG EDITION, if demand is high enough
Music:
Maestro rage
Scripting:
Zeriab
Atoa
Blizzard
Sandgolem
Ccoa
MOG
ForeverZer0
game_guy
Uncle Lanzer
ShadwLink1993
Me (but only for edits, I kind of suck.)
Art:
Me
Enterbrain
Whoever did the Pirate Map Tilesets (I'm sorry I don't know who you are ;_
Did I forget someone? Sorry.
Dreth walks downwards until taking an action in battle
I have not tested most of Eva's/Julia's equipment which is regrettable because I totally forgot about the God Gem. So uh, try not to abuse it if it's horribly broken.
The fancy collapse animations isn't set up for all the bosses
"So...am I actually going to want to play this, or is it just an orgy of swearing and blood?" -My girlfriend.
"Your projects have always been entertaining, even if they didn't work." -My Comp Sci teacher.
