Detached

[Koder]

Hello and greetings to community,


I'm evaluating an early idea - a deconstruction of classical JRPG/Fantasy genre. I'm providing playable demo (~10 minutes of gameplay). Please keep in mind that this is 3-days hacking of completely unfamiliar system, so bugs and rough edges are to be expected. 


Story:


In a world where magic is able to bring dead back to life, how does society look like? Are resurrected persons just another kind of undead? Are undead misunderstood humans? You are about to find out as you embark on a journey into world of necromancers, both black and white. You died as a farmer and awoken as abomination feeding on lifeforce of others. Yet you find yourself not so different from your master, able to rise dead on your own. Embark on a quest to find your deceased spouse and decide if eternal unlife is really worth it.


Gameplay:


Quite classical JRPG/fantasy with turn-based, side-view combat screen.


Screenshots:








Demo:


Playable demo (deployed to www, playable in browser, no download needed): http://www.kodera.pl/detached/. Window deployment (125MB download, zip) can be found under in this package.


Disclaimer:


As I said, this is three days worth of work, most of in spent learning RPG Marker MV. This idea was lingering in my head for years, and as a veteran of many JRPGs (of PS1 era) i feel competent enough to implement it.

 

[taarna23]

I'm going to approve this, but do note this isn't a place for commercial-related questions (such as yours asking how much to price it).

 

[Koder]

@Taarachnia Fair enough, it wasn't clear from R&G. I edited out commercial-related part of post.

 

[Koder]

Update:


Concept has been updated with roughly twice the content. This is still a preview release, showcasing mostly story and some gameplay options. Focus is on dialogue and freedom of choice, and little care was given to details like title screen or music. These are to be filled up later, if the idea holds.


Windows deployment:


Due to unforeseen problems with www deployment on some system, im putting up a windows executable deployment: 125MB ZIP archive.


Characters:


After prologue you play as Detached - a dead soul separated from body and material realm. Slain in an raid of your village, you'll find yourself in a house of a necromancer trying to exert her will upon you. You'll find death to be both cheap and temporary, as both you and your companions can raise dead bodies with ease, including your own ones. Your quest and obsession will be finding the body of your spouse, and bringing him or her back to life. Saving world in the process is highly doubtful.


Effort was put to make characters - both protagonists and antagonists - in-depth. There are reasons behind their actions, and they profile is far from paper-cut.


Experience Points:


Killing opponents does not give you much of an insight into combat or skills. You have to learn things and practice. If you are a human. Detached absorbs Life Force of slain foes, and with it their experiences, knowledge and skills. Killing things will grant you a great power fast. But everything comes with a price, and discovering this price will be central to the story.


Gameplay/story separation:


If your character can do something in combat, he should be able to do same out of it. And if he has something out of combat, he/she can use it to battle. Reanimation is a prime example and story drive - if you can restore a fallen combatant, why not your dead spouse? Why are people actually left dead if such power is at hand? And what is fueling all this reanimating power?


Combat:


While game was designed with idea of using pretty much vanilla JRPG combat in mind, there are quirks that make it unique. Skills and weapons have a big role. Skilled and well armed swordsman will likely parry everything a rookie can throw at him, unless he's surprised with environment or unexpected move. You'll have an arsenal of tactical options, ranging from observing and learning fighting style of your foe, though different combat stances, up to reckless adrenaline-fueled moves. Use of these skills can turn a tide of any battle.


Take a third option:


This preview should give you a hint of freedom of choice given at your disposal. You usually have a choice and a choice you take actually maters, moving story in different directions. Will you submit to a necromancer or try to fight her? Slay your foe, or take him to captivity? Or slay him and take his head, to reanimate it and question later? RPG is about choices you make, and choices you will have plenty.


Death:


You are dead already. Falling in battle is just a minor drawback. "Save, and save often" is a mantra for other projects.