Brotherhood

[Kinerex]

Introduction:​

Hello, everyone! I am very proud to announce the demo release of my game, "Brotherhood". This game is based off of the book I wrote a few years prior. I am so excited for this game to get played, and have invested 1,000+ hours into creating it. The game is finished, and is undergoing final maintenance, but I would like to put out a demo so that you fine people of RPG Maker can play it and enjoy it almost as much I enjoyed making it! I hope you enjoy it and cannot wait to hear what you think! Happy gaming!​

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World (Atherea):​

"Now imagine a world where 5 rulers have ascertained immortality; they would be reasonably unstoppable, and as such, would become tyrants. We can never allow this to take place. It is our duty, our obligation, to ensure that immortality remains a legend among the people. And we'll do it at any cost necessary."​

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Atherea is the world in which your characters transverse. Often referred to as "the realm", it is run by 10 Judges. These Judges are split into two subdivisions. The Magistrate Judges of the Commons, and the Imperial Judges of Atherea. The Imperials are the overseers of the realm, who hold all distinctive honors and privileges. The Common Judges are right below them, working out orders given from the Imperials. Each system sets up one head of each subdivision, and has a system of checks and balances to keep each other in order. Each Judge can have no ties to anything else, and must serve and dedicate their lives to their position. As a result, they can have no family, no friends, no allegiances, except to their duty. Below the Judges are military chiefs and the military itself. ​

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Story:​

"Everything was simple in the beginning...raise our blade for the honor of others, defend the weak, and serve the people at all costs. This was our creed...this was our lifestyle. However, within mere moments, the light had faded and the life we lived as mercenary brothers was ripped right from our grasps. ​

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We were supposed to be ready; I was supposed to be ready, but I wasn't...and it cost me everything."​

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Heroes are forged by tragedy, tragedy that is scarcely foreseen. Take charge as Xoeon Asara, a masterful swordsman who is the leader of a mercenary group known as the "Brotherhood" in the village of Grehn. While out training one day, the brothers return to their home village in shambles. Powerless to help anyone, or save the village from the pillaging flames, they mournfully travel to the northern city of Erudicam.​

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On their way, they are alerted by a hunter that a Mauntali nest is hyperactive during hibernation season. Agreeing to help, they make way to the nest, discovering deep in the trenches that something is not right. Before they realize it, the brothers stumble upon a planned world rebellion against the Imperials, which threatens the lives of all in the realm, and become the new targets of those who want the Imperials dead.​

 

A hero's story was never built around joy and triumph; sometimes the greatest heroes burden the greatest loss. Take charge of the Brotherhood, and lead them into their most ferocious battle, for the sake of all.​

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In a tale filled with love, loss, pain, light, darkness, hope, and death, only you can see it through to the end. Only you...can make the sacrifice.​

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Characters:​

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Xoeon Asara​

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The leader of his brothers, Xoeon takes great strides to ensure his brothers' safety and well-being, even if it means putting himself in danger. Emotionally sound, he provides sound and logical decisions when leading his brothers. His claim to leadership came naturally due to his quick and witty ability to make critical decisions when it matters most. He is the only role model for Kinerex, and works hard to teach Kinerex how to remain as the light in a world falling into deep darkness. As a moral leader and teacher, Xoeon commands great respect from his brothers and deals it out equally back to them. He is adept, if not masterful when it comes to wielding his dual katanas. None who oppose him usually live to tell the tale. ​

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Rioz Asara​

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Blood related to Xoeon, Rioz carries many of the same characteristics. He differs from his brother in regards to what he focuses on. Like Xoeon, he has a great reverence for Kinerex, taking notice of his innate innocence. Rioz is sharp, intelligent, straight-forward, and regrets nothing he does. He is considered cold by those outside of the Brotherhood due to his stern demeanor and lack of enthusiasm for anything that won't ultimately benefit him. Instead of dealing with enemies up close and expending too much energy, Rioz stands from afar and strikes down his foes with his bow and arrow. This does not reflect poor close quarter combat skills, as Rioz is the most technically trained fighter hand to hand. He is always on guard, as he was once in the military and knows to always be prepared to fight and kill.​

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Vallnis Deamante​

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Vallnis Deamante, known as the prince of Deamante, is the only member of the Brotherhood who crept in the picture later due to circumstances out of his control. Coming from a foreign land, Vallnis knew nothing of the world outside of his third world country. It was Xoeon who recognized Vallnis' potential and utilized it, teaching him the language of the land and inaugurated him into the Brotherhood crew. Vallnis carries a very dark and treacherous past, making mention of his hatred for his father every now and then. He speaks little about his past, and instead focuses on encouraging justice wherever he is. He has a deep sense of loyalty to his brothers, but takes a favor to Rioz as they both know hand-to-hand combat. He has a unique ability to materialize his halberd from thin air, and knows a plethora of magic which he uses to his advantage. He also has a humorous and deep-seated resentment for Aemillion. Vallnis despises pride and makes it a goal to humble those who are filled with it.​

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Aemillion Shiomi​

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Aemillion is the strongest member of the Brotherhood...physically. Mentally, Aemillion holds a candle to none, and often gets under the skin of the other members because of it. Lacking proper mannerisms (and grammar often), Aemillion often finds himself in awkward situations that he gets out of by brute force. Naturally, as Kinerex's older brother, he tries his best to humiliate him and show how much stronger he is than Kinerex. Because of this, Aemillion commonly catches flak from his other brothers. This isn't to say Aemillion does not care for Kinerex, for there are many instances where Aemillion shows how big his heart is for his brother. Even with a childish heart, Aemillion has righteous ambitions, and is always challenging himself to prove his worth to his brothers and protect others. He uses an axe as his choice weapon, and most of his skills involve smashing something.​

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Kinerex Shiomi​

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Kinerex, the youngest and most innocent member of the Brotherhood. Kinerex looks up to all of his brothers (except Aemillion, understandably), but looks up to Xoeon the most as his role model. Kinerex is kind, merciful, and carries the biggest heart of his brothers. He is always searching for ways to improve himself in order to help the team, which gains him their unyielding respect. Anxious to prove to Xoeon he can do more, Kinerex is always on the up and up, seeking opportunity. He is close to each member, and has an air of trust and dependability about him. Coupled along with his warmth and loving demeanor, Kinerex's light is easily noticed by all who come across him. Using gauntlet blades and white magic, Kinerex can switch between offense and magic loosely, giving him a distinct edge in battle. He is easily influenced, something he never gives thought to. ​

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Features:​

• A dynamic and entrancing story
• 13-15 hours of game play (Demo is 1 hour to 1.5 hours long)
• Five in-depth and uniquely written characters
• A beautiful interactive world and setting
• Side view battle system with intricate skills
• Stat distribution so you can build your character team the way you want
• Skills that are bought with points earned in combat
• Intriguing bosses and villains that challenge you as a player 
• Colorfully designed menu screens 
• Equipment that's variable is by %, meaning it grows with you
• High replay value
• A secret dungeon for those who complete the game
• Access to the 240,000 word novel "Brotherhood" upon request to author (which is me)

Screen Shots​

Spoiler

Screen Shots

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Link to Download:​

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http://www.mediafire.com/download/omnwkdc1lkntih3/BHOOD_Demo_1.1.exe​

(For those who don't need the RTP)​

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Link Coming Soon​

(For those who do not have RPG Maker VX Ace installed on their computer)​

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Updates:​

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Spoiler

• The battle HUD is upgraded, and much more convenient..
• Removed a lot of random transitions into the next scenes so it is much easier to keep up
• Removed sections of the game not prevalent to the story or game flow
• Fixed the item pop up so it isn't cut off
• Replaced default BGM in villages and fields with new BGMs
• Have the player start off in the village after the first mission much faster.
• Fixed some text wrap difficulties
• Lowered the cost of MP for beginning skills so the player can actually use them (like Aemillion) with a couple of stat points toward MP
• Gave a brief overview of each character in an orderly and concise fashion as to not interfere with game flow
• Tried to add a little bit of spice to the mapping (mapping is not my forte)
• Have NPC dialogue tie much better to the characters and who they are
• Looped Battle BGM

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Foreword:​

Needless to say, I am more than stoked for this game to be played. In the file, I have included a document giving credit to those it was due. This game, like previously mentioned, very loyally follows the book I wrote, with minor deviations (due to some restrictions of RPG Maker Vx Ace), but the story is still present, nonetheless. I do encourage feedback and have played through this game rigorously in order to find bugs and fix them. If you find any in the demo, please let me know!​

 

[Xoeon]

I for one was amazed at how well the game was structured, the story is so amazing! You just feel the emotions flowing from each character and their dynamic personalities.

 

[Kinerex]

Thank you, brother!

(For everyone wondering, my book was influenced by real life events and used in the story. As such, the story is actually based off of myself and four others, whose each character is used in the book. That's why the user above has the name "Xoeon".)

In any case, thank you, and I hope you like the full release just as much!

 

[hiromu656]

Downloaded, will be sure to try it out soon.

 

[Kinerex]

Hiromu! Thank you for giving my game a chance I hope you like it and can't wait to hear back from you if you have a game you would like me to play, please let me know!

 

[hiromu656]

Hm, I don't seem to do any damage to the Serpeant boss. It just says "No Dmg" for everyone but Aemillion (he can deal 4 damage). I don't have any skills, so I can only use Attack, which is not a good thing. I don't plan on sitting through 4 damage each turn until the boss dies unfortunately.

EDIT:

Okay, I did the obvious (not really) thing and just grinded for another level, I just put all the points into Attack. Then I was finally able to hurt the monster. I don't think its a good thing that you do literally no damage to the monster if you haven't leveled up yet. It's a bit off putting, and may even cause someone to drop the game for good. I'm assuming you ran into just enough battles to reach level 2 in your own playthrough, but random encounters are just that, random, so you can't have the level requirement be so tight. Another point, which is something you can take onto (hopefully) future games, starting off with the task of managing 5 whole party member's equipment, stat distribution and manually learning all of their skills is not a good idea. It's way too much information for the start of the game and puts too much pressure on the player starting out.

When I was playing as Kinerex I nearly beat that one dude in Training, since I only put points into Attack. I also pressed ESC too many times during the fight with the Serpeant and accidentally closed the screen and didn't finish putting all my stat points in. If I hadn't made that mistake I would have beaten that guy. I'm now tempted to find out what happens if you win.

 

[Kinerex]

Hm, I don't seem to do any damage to the Serpeant boss. It just says "No Dmg" for everyone but Aemillion (he can deal 4 damage). I don't have any skills, so I can only use Attack, which is not a good thing. I don't plan on sitting through 4 damage each turn until the boss dies unfortunately.

EDIT:

Okay, I did the obvious (not really) thing and just grinded for another level, I just put all the points into Attack. Then I was finally able to hurt the monster. I don't think its a good thing that you do literally no damage to the monster if you haven't leveled up yet. It's a bit off putting, and may even cause someone to drop the game for good. I'm assuming you ran into just enough battles to reach level 2 in your own playthrough, but random encounters are just that, random, so you can't have the level requirement be so tight. Another point, which is something you can take onto (hopefully) future games, starting off with the task of managing 5 whole party member's equipment, stat distribution and manually learning all of their skills is not a good idea. It's way too much information for the start of the game and puts too much pressure on the player starting out.

When I was playing as Kinerex I nearly beat that one dude in Training, since I only put points into Attack. I also pressed ESC too many times during the fight with the Serpeant and accidentally closed the screen and didn't finish putting all my stat points in. If I hadn't made that mistake I would have beaten that guy. I'm now tempted to find out what happens if you win.

Thanks for the information and advice! So you feel the complexity of managing the five together is too much? Hmm, perhaps if I started the game in a 2-2-1 split for the characters to give everyone a fair chance to be learned. I can also lower the Serpent's DEF a bit, but my hope as a developer is that my players would familiarize themselves with the game and get the starter skills (they cost like 10 JP). I definitely see where you are coming from in regards to a beginning supposed to be easier. Would your suggestion be to tone it down slightly? 

I usually got to level 2-3 in the start of the game during my play-through. 

I appreciate the feedback and will definitely make some edits! Thanks for your time!

 

[hiromu656]

Well I don't mean the boss should be easier, it's just that you can't hurt him unless you get to level 2, and during my playthrough, running to the boss I hadn't encountered many monsters so I was only level 1 there. When I leveled up the boss was actually quite easy already. When it comes to the party size and the management, it's more of a game design issue, that you shouldn't overwhelm the player so early into the game (managing 5 whole characters in the game's first minutes). I personally didn't have a problem with it, but from the perspective of someone who doesn't play too many RPGs, it's a lot to deal with.

 

[Kinerex]

I see! Well I'm working right now to change the beginning to split the characters 2-2-1, giving them enough EXP to level up, and will have each character talk about their specialties to hint toward what stats they should focus on with each individual character. Thanks so much for the advice and information! This way, each character will be level 2, and automatically prepared to fight the boss. 

 

[Synctual]

I'm downloading the game right now. Decided to check it out. It looks pretty good so far and from the above reviews, I'm really excited. I'll let you know what I think

 

[Kinerex]

I'm downloading the game right now. Decided to check it out. It looks pretty good so far and from the above reviews, I'm really excited. I'll let you know what I think

Hey brother do me a favor and hold off until tomorrow; I'm revamping the demo so it's going to be a lot better tomorrow

 

[Kinerex]

New demo link is up! 

 

[Triple Seven]

I happen to be a tester for my friend Kinerex and have played through the game. My save file is about 13-14 hours into the game and I can tell you it's worth every penny. Now, which I heard rumors that he is improving it massively, I can only imagine how good the full game is gonna be. You guys need to try it out

 

[Kinerex]

Thanks, Triple! I appreciate it. The improvements could only come thanks to HuntingSwan and his online crew and Hiromu for giving exceptional feedback to really help my game gain a shape. Thanks to everyone who has been a part of this new journey and cheers when we see it through to the end!

 

[Synctual]

Wow, the game is great. I can really feel the connections between the brothers and how much they care for each other. The mapping is pretty good as well as the gameplay. I like the battle system and the stat distribution system as well. Right now I'm stuck on the second boss fight. That thing keeps hitting me with one shots. If I get too frustated, I'll just start over and distribute their stats differently. Keep up the great work, the game is far better than I expected.       

P.S. Aemillion is my favorite. He's a fun one. 

 

[Kinerex]

Synctual, I'm so glad that you like the game!! Yes, they do care for each deeply (as explained in the book, they grew up together and all have the same virtues!) Mapping isn't my forte, but I'm glad you like it well enough Yes, the second boss fight is hard; my suggestion would be to level up one more time and stack on DEF stats which will help you resist. If you're getting one shotted, your DEF is too low (or perhaps HP? lol) He shouldn't be able to kill you with one blow, however! 

Thank you for the positive feedback! I give credit to HuntingSwan and Hiromu for their positive criticism which helped me polish the demo far better than I could have done alone! Thank you once again

P.S: I had the most fun writing Aemillion's scenes, which are equally, if not more humorous in the book lol

 

[djlanders020]

Great job on this demo!! The dialogue was great. I can tell the story is going to be fantastic. I really enjoyed the stat distribution and the battle system. The menu system is good as well. A few minor things... and you don't necessarily have to change them just for me.

 - I know there's a clearer way to show JP on the menu, but I don't remember what it is. Currently, it's a little tedious (and confusing, at least to me) to select a skill to see available JP). I googled it once and got some simple code to throw in.

 - I enjoyed most of the music. I can't help but feel that a few of the songs had some serious recycling of SNES Final Fantasy songs that's a bit distracting (I swear I heard the FF6 airship theme).

 - I was unsure whether there was an option for "front line / back line". If so, I would have loved to put my casters and archer on the back line. The way the character info boxes are staggered on the menu suggests that they ARE in front rows and back rows, but I think that's just the way the menu is designed.

 - There were a few encounters where I noticed small issues. For example, there's an encounter with (I think) defiler and forest fire, where the targeting is reversed. Again, I know this is just a demo. I just wanted to make sure you are aware of that.

 - The gear purchasing screen is a little confusing. It's hard to tell who can equip what (especially with armor) and how much of an increase each piece of gear provides. This was fine for the starting town, cuz I happened to have enough cash to buy one of everything and experiment.. but it could get troublesome when you get to more expensive equipment.

Again, I thought that this playthrough was excellent overall. It left me interested in the characters and wanting more content. I thought the difficulty level was great (nothing wrong with a little grinding now and then.. the levels come fast enough). All the items felt valuable (burning through those blueberries and blackberries). I would love to play through your next release.

~ Dave L.

 

[Kinerex]

djlanders, first, let me thank you for taking the time to post a review about my game's demo! It means a lot to have your support and feedback (and also that positive criticism)! So I extend my gratitude to you, for Brotherhood is nothing without its players.

As far as these critiques (which I love reading because I like to tweak my game for the enjoyment of the players), I have been dealing with these pesky bugs for a very long time, trying to get answers that simply seem to evade my grasp.

For the JP, if you ever come across that code again, please let me know! I've been searching endlessly for it, but to no avail. I love the skill learn system, so to not be able to see the JP is bothersome to me. 

Actually, no music I have is from Final Fantasy. I generally try to grab music that fits the atmosphere as best as possible. Do you have an example where you thought you heard the music?

The menu has deceived you lol there is no front line or back line, the menu just couldn't fit 4 characters across the screen, so poor Aemillion was left by himself unfortunately. I am going to try and get them all in a row or column together so it doesn't deceive the player lol

You know what, that encounter problem has been a thorn in my side for a very long time. Needless to say, it has overstayed its welcome, yet I cannot (even with endless times of tweaking and editing) get it off. If someone figures that out, I'll be very pleased!

I will try to make the screen more user friendly. Generally, if someone can use the equipment, their name will light up. Because stats are based on % rather than a static number, it won't show upgrades. However, I'll just give it a little tweak (so it gives a point of that stat per new item so it shows it gives a bonus to the player)

Thank you so much for the feedback! 

If any of you would like to be beta testers before the full release, let me know and I will certainly shoot you the full version for you to critique! Thanks all!

 

[rpg_oldy]

Hi, I dont understand what a "Demo" is doing in "Completed Games...

 

[Kinerex]

Hi, I dont understand what a "Demo" is doing in "Completed Games...

Hello, rpg_oldy, the game is completed, but I'm just putting up a demo for feedback on the demo and cleaning up a little bit of the full game before I complete (beta testers).