RMVXA Geiken

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The first in any incorporeal step is to rise and become cognizant of your own desires. All walks of life must adhere to this simple concept. Resistance to such is to follow what is laid out before you, progressing infinitely through kalpas created over nonsensical dreamstates. How? Because all paths are laid out regardless of prior choice. The most difficult area in this regard is to accept this as an absolute, and move forward with what is necessary. Defiance is not optional. You only have a single directive – comply.
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Description

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Geiken is a mystery/philosophical story set in a fantasy/sci-fi world, inspired by games from the Legend of Zelda, Elder Scrolls, and Fallout series. The focus is on the writing and storytelling, covering themes of identity, apotheosis, and the pursuit of happiness. Decisions can be made that alter the course of the narrative and the landscape of the finale. There are six different endings that occur based on prior choices.

(Download is at the bottom of the post.)

Trailer

Story​

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Spoiler

Futile as it always was, the man slapped away the sand embedded in his black hair as he pushed his way inside the beaten house. Between the arid outdoors and the decrepit confines of his home hung a single curtain, the purpose of which was not to keep intruders from raiding what little he had but to at least keep the dirt away from his bed. But as he glanced forward into the interior, it seemed that perhaps he required something to fulfill both purposes after all.

“You’ve been visiting the spring a lot recently, haven’t you?” the intruder spoke with what the man surmised to be a female’s voice. It was the only description of this person’s character he could muster, as she was covered from head to toe in cloth and robes. Typical garb for those who dwelt in the desert.

He didn’t answer at first. As night descended upon the vast hills of the sand-filled wasteland outside, lighting his sanctuary took priority. The hooded interloper watched quietly as he meandered around, igniting the candles strewn about.

“I suppose light is important to a man with one eye,” she said. “Always wanting to keep everything as bright as possible to compensate for the unwanted darkness.”

“Your clothes. How did you get them?” the man finally responded, his eyepatch facing her as he lit another wick.

“’How’, not ‘where’, hm? You’re implying that I did something illicit to get these.”

No response.

“They’re mine. Which means, to you, that I’m from here,” she continued. “I believe we’ve already established a line of trust from our correspondences. Or did something change?”

The man stayed silent for a few moments before making eye contact, or as much of it as he could tell given that her face was obscured. He sat down and lit the final candle upon the table they were now both sitting at.

“So you’ve brought the package, then.”

“…No.”

“Then why are we talking?”

“Because I’m going to tell you how to get it yourself.”

The man opened his mouth in rebuttal, but soon after closed it. He didn’t know how to respond, or if he even wanted to. There was a certain confidence in the way this person conducted herself, and to him, it was slightly unnerving. He leaned back.

“Alright then. Tell me.”

“I plan to. But first you must answer a question,” she said.

His eye twitched.

“I’d rather not be messed around with…”

“Neither would I, which is why I would have you answer this for me. Consider it a test, if you will, to ensure that I’m not just handing something that valuable to an invalid.”

The chair creaked as the man placed his hand on one of the chair’s arms and tapped his forefinger against the wood. With a few seconds of deliberation, he finally nodded to allow her to continue.

“Good. Then…” she started. “If you are successful in accosting this item, how do you and your winged friend plan on using it?”

To him this was as forward and simplistic as a question could get. What bothered him, however, was how she knew of his connection to the Prime Minister. But it was negligible; she managed to find him in the middle of nowhere, after all.

“You’re aware that the capital has closed its doors to all outsiders, yes?” he asked.

“Keenly.”

“And you’re aware of the growing number of anomalies that have cropped up over the past few years?”

“…What counts as anomalous, I think, is a matter of perspective… but sure, I know what you’re referring to.”

He leaned forward.

“We are under the belief that the two are connected.”

The intruder sat quiet for a while, seemingly waiting for the man to continue. Upon seeing that he wasn’t, though, she couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

“As if that idea was new,” she chuckled. “So I take it you’re going to do something about it?”

“If this ‘package’ is as miraculous as you say it is, then yes, we plan on moving forward on this supposition.”

The hooded woman nodded before slowly standing.

“The package is going to be delivered to a man named Vincent. While his goals are different, he has a similar sense of altruism. And in case you have any ideas of intercepting the transaction before it reaches him, I’ve already arranged a meeting so that I may hand it to him directly.” She walked toward the curtain. “Your job should just be taking it from him.”

“You’re playing a strange game, lady,” the man with the eyepatch stated. “It sounds as if you’re trying to get us to kill each other.”

The woman did not answer this. A minute passed as she held the curtain open to survey the outside.

“Can I ask where it is you’ll be meeting?”

“Hmf. So you can ambush us?” she asked.

“Based on your replies I’m inferring that you know of my extended information network. It would be embarrassing for you to try to meet in secret only to have one of my people discover it immediately. So I’m giving you a heads up, if you really want this… experiment to succeed.”

“Not sure if I should be taking that as a threat or just old-fashioned generosity,” she mused. “It’ll be on an abandoned island to the north. I won’t say anything more than that. You shouldn’t have anyone there given how little you appreciate attention.”

The man smirked. So she did think this out, he thought.

“Well, then, I guess it goes without saying that you should be careful of the anomalies I’ve mentioned. It’s likely they fester more in places with less occupants.”

Beneath her hood she offered a confident smile as her eyes scanned the desert. “Then I’ll offer the same advice.”

Characters​

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Spoiler

The Protagonist: You play as one of the anomalies that have emerged in recent days. This character's personality is defined by your input, and others will react based on that. They will also live or die based on that. It is up to you to decide whether or not something should exist, and whether or not the answer lies in compliance of the path set before you, or defiance with the goal of creating your own.

The Companion: Otherwise known as Mira, this character has lived on the beginning island all her life, seeking nothing more or less than what she has already. However, like many around her, she has begun to notice the subtle changes in the atmosphere of the world you will inhabit. It is through an innocent exchange between you and Mira that sets you on a course for answers.

The Pawn: Otherwise known as Jack, this character once served as a valiant knight in service of his country until he led his entire unit of soldiers to slaughter. Upon converging paths with you and Mira, he seeks to redeem himself under your servitude.

Heather: A kindly, aging woman traveling the land and aiding all those who are suffering. She fancies the color red, hates the color purple, and is very interested in seeing the world become a better place.

Current Features​

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- A 20-30 hour main storyline spread across 10 quests and six different endings.
- A quest journal system.
- An in-game compass that points to your current objective. Can be turned on and off.
- Combat is ABS, meaning you fight on the map. Companions are also able to fight alongside you.
- 30+ optional dungeons.
- 20+ side quests.
- 100+ unique weapons, armor, and items, all with different abilities and stats.
- Many readable, in-game books that expand on the lore.
- Open world gameplay.

Screenshots

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Spoiler

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Videos

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Spoiler

OwMeEye's Let's Play:

(Gameplay shows v1.7.1)

Studio Blue's Let's Play:

(Gameplay shows v1.7.2)

DutchPowerCreations' Let's Play:

(Gameplay shows v1.8)

Hard Reset's Stream and Review:

(Gameplay shows v2.0.3)

Leon Kennedy's Quick Look:

(Gameplay shows v2.0.3)

The Moonchild Kitten's Let's Play:

(Gameplay shows v2.1)

ChibiEvil's Let's Play:

(Gameplay shows v3.0)

Starmage's Let's Play:

(Gameplay shows v3.0)

Dead Don't Play's Let's Play:

(Gameplay shows v3.0)

HawkZombie's Review:

(Gameplay shows v3.0.3)

Version History


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Spoiler

(Versions 0.1 through 0.6 were before release.)
- [10/17/2015] v0.7 - Release
- [10/17/2015] v0.7.1 - Fix for a bug found IMMEDIATELY upon release. (Because the universe loves me so much.)
- [10/21/2015] v0.7.1a - Added a Demo.
- [5/3/2016] v0.8 - Snowtop Story Arc added
- [5/4/2016] v0.8.1 - Major bug fix and minor tweaks
- [5/6/2016] v0.8.2 - Another major bug fix and minor tweaks
- [1/19/17] v0.9 - Bridge of Absence Story Arc added
- [1/27/17] v0.9.1 - Falcao Pearl ABS Combat System implemented
- [3/2/17] v1.0 - Finale added (Released with v1.1)
- [3/2/17] v1.1 - White Island maps completed
- [3/5/17] v1.2 - Plius Peninsula maps completed
- [3/14/17] v1.3 - Kinis Highlands and Lake Verus maps completed
- [3/19/17] v1.4 - Ring Deserts maps completed, healing system implemented
- [3/21/17] v1.5 - East Desert, Sary Islands, and Ring maps completed
- [3/24/17] v1.6 - Kodigon's Temple and Snowtop maps completed
- [3/28/17] v1.7 - Completed lighting, shading, and fog effects
- [4/2/17] v1.7.1 - Bugfixes and changes in a few dialogue lines
- [4/6/17] v1.7.2 - Bugfixes
- [9/23/17] v1.8 - Town and Dungeon Updates completed
- [10/6/17] v1.9 - Side Quest Update completed
- [10/18/17] v1.9.2 - Final Touches completed
- [10/25/17] v2.0 - Completed iteration of the game uploaded
- [10/28/17] v2.0.1 - Fixed a few bugs
- [11/20/17] v2.0.2 - Fixed a game breaking bug
- [12/16/17] v2.0.3 - Fixed a few minor bugs
- [1/22/18] v2.1 - Many bugfixes and tweaks, new items added, many bosses revamped
- [2/10/18] v2.2 - Three new dungeons, bosses, and upgrades to certain items; tweaks
- [3/3/18] v3.0 - Compass Update
- [4/6/18] v3.0.1 - Players are now able to sell their items.
- [4/6/18] v3.0.2/v3.0.3 - Bugfixes
- [4/30/18] v3.1 - Easter Eggs and New Game Plus
- [7/6/18] v3.2 - Ability to Change Resolution

Bugs to be fixed:

Spoiler

- When using the grappling hook on a target that pulls you to it and you have an incapacitated party member, you won't be able to move. Reviving that member before or after grappling will fix the issue. This is an issue with the script itself and the creator has not offered any other solutions.
- When there are many (over 100) enemies on the map, opening and closing the menu has a small chance to crash the game. This is really only applicable during the climax, so save often. It is also an issue with the script itself and no fixes have been found yet.
- The compass may point to the wrong objective occasionally.

Download



(RTP stands for "Run-Time Package", which is required for RPG Maker games to work. If you've already played an RPG Maker VX Ace game on your computer, chances are you already have the RTP. Download the Non-RTP version if that is the case; if this is your first time, download the With RTP version.)
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Non-RTP



With RTP


(The demo is merely the beginning area with little restriction. There is no story, you start with a basic weapon and healing spell, you can explore the island freely, and you can talk to any of the NPCs. This is just to allow anyone who is curious to see what the game offers.)


Demo Non-RTP



Demo With RTP


Sequel: The Halcyon Project​

 

Demo uploaded.  It takes roughly 15 minutes to complete.

 

Snowtop Story Arc added.  The game will now continue where it left off.  The new areas are mostly incomplete in terms of detail, but more will be added later.

 

i'm????? this looks really really cool, and your intro post made me laugh, so i'll definitely download this on the weekend.

 

Thank you for showing interest!

 

Reuploaded the game due to me forgetting to remove some testing events.  Also made some minor tweaks throughout the beginning.

 

Reuploaded the game again... another major bug was found and some minor changes were made in the latter half of the game.  I'll stop spamming now.

 

I have played about 90-100 minutes, and here is my short review of the game:


A vanilla RMVXAce game with an interesting theme.
I will try to keep this as spoiler free as possible, so here it goes.
The game starts off inside a dream, for some reason I am bald and in my underpants (gives the kind of feel that I am being reborn inside the dream), and then I got my clothes and hair back as the dream continued. It started of with a eerie feel and the dream ended abrubtly after certain instructions, and the actual gamplay began.


From a subjective viewpoint, I will split it into two parts, the positive and the negative points of the game.



Positive:



- The concept is interesting, it can go a long way with proper design and development.



- You can never predict when you will enter the dream world while playing the game, and unpredictability is always a good thing in RPGs. There is always an aspect of mystery in this concept that might continue well to the end.



- Writing style is good, there are no noticable grammatical errors or typos, which is commendable for a game which is in its developmental stage. The dialogues between the main male protagonist and the female protagonist are well executed. It is really rare to see a game in the developmental stage with a decent writing style like this game.



- I like the part where you have the option to say nothing and the girl always replies "You're so weird".



Negative:



- There is very little that makes the characters stand out, or express their personality. The main character doesn't think or interact, which strikes it odd at multiple places. A lot can be added to the depth of the character by simply including thought quotes or dialogues like "Oh... I guess that was just a dream. dayum, why does this keep happening to me?!" or something similar which brings out how the character feels towards being in the abnormal situation. Maybe others would feel differently, but personally it felt a bit awkward to me.



- The NPCs. It feels like all of the NPCs were put in just for the purpose of a satire. Now, its fine if it is just like 10% of all the NPCs doing it, in which case it is actually humurous, but when over 90% of the NPCs just say weird stuff like I love tables more than anything, I hate wood, I can't get off this stool, it kind of kills the mood. The weirdest one was when I just entered a room and talked to a woman, she was like "I have no need for this, please take it." and then gives me 100G. I was like "What... what just happened? ._."
My two cents is, NPCs can affect quality of gameplay significantly, instead of just using them as tools for satire or giving the player money out of nowhere, it is much more beneficial if you use NPCs to help portray the world that the protagonist is in and enrich the backstory of it as a whole.



- The mapping. The maps, especially the dungeons look way to bland and incomplete. I know that it was mentioned that maps will be redone since the main focus is on story at the moment, but redoing the maps can actually be a more daunting task than creating them, if you do it at a much later stage. Anyway, I just feel like it should be given a priority to.



Overall I would like to say that the game has potential, so don't rush on finishing it too fast. Taking the time to address the issues and improve the quality of the gameplay will help the game a lot over the long run. Anyway, I will be following this project, and I would like to see where it is headed, good luck!
 

 

Okay, I'ved tried the game until when I destroyed the god-dragon and go find my friends!


Firstly, I really love how the beggining of the game gave an enigmatique and spiritual vibe to it!! made the game feel deep as I progressed on! the very mysterious atmosphere really made me feel thrilled as to what is going on in the game!! xD


Then I realized that the mysterious figure was actually leading the hero to his destined locations, very nice set-up there!! at first I thought it was creepy! still, the very idea itself of having peculiar visions/dreams from time to time was really cool!


Some parts of the game were quite creepy to me, creepy in a good exciting way! especially the parts at that strange town of silent people, lol! feels like something a silent-hill game would have.. and the music.. oh my!!


A certain old lady at the dock town also gave me a little bit of shock.. I won't know how she came to be?.. omg.. and then this old lady at poliper! hahah!!!xD I loved the quirky sarcastic and funny NPCs! (I also wanna comment on your very clever and hysterical use of words and phrases!!)


Now the battles, I understand that you're still working on a battle system! so I'm looking forward soon when you finish everything else! xD


Oh, and I found a bug at kinsa city.. when it got (spoilers) destroyed into a blazing fury and I entered the very first house there... when I leave the house, the whole town goes back to normal like it used to be! xD


So far, I really enjoyed the game mostly because of it's story, dialogues and thrills!!! great job!!

 

Updated to v0.9.  Bridge of Absence Story Arc added.  The story will now continue where it left off.


Next is the combat system.

 

Updated to v0.9.1.  Combat System implemented.  Details in the description.  The Demo was also updated to reflect the new gameplay.


Work will now continue on the main story.

 

Updated to v1.1. The main story has finally been completed, and the White Island maps are finished (aside from general tweaking when necessary). The narrative takes around 15 hours to complete. A quest journal has also been added to aid with direction.

Completing the Plius Peninsula maps is next.

 

Plius Peninsula maps complete. The demo has been updated too to fix some bugs.

Next are the Kinis Highlands and Lake Verus maps, both of which upon completion will phase out the world map which will be saved for ship travel.

 

Updated to v1.3. Kinis Highlands and Lake Verus maps completed, phasing out the world map save for ship travel.

Next are the Ring Deserts.

 

Updated to v1.4. Ring Deserts maps completed. The basic form of the healing system has also been implemented. Healing is now done through a spell that costs MP, which regenerates over time. There will be optional items found as rewards in dungeons or side-quests that can be consumed to increase the speed at which it regenerates.

Next are East Desert, the first two Sary Islands, Ring, and all of the smaller maps in between.

 

Updated to v1.5. East Desert and the first two Sary Island maps completed. Ring's tinting and lighting are completed, but shadows will be added once I've found or made an appropriate asset for it, and interiors and NPCs will be worked on when I start working on all of the towns and cities. The other Sary Islands will be worked on when I get to the optional areas in the game.

Next are the Kodigon's Temple maps.

 

Updated to v1.6. Kodigon's Temple and Snowtop maps completed. Animals were also added to lay the groundwork for hunting later on.

Next is adding additional lighting, shading, and fog effects to remaining maps.

 

Updated to v1.7. All lighting, shading, and fog effects related to story locations are completed. A roadmap has been added to the download post, detailing what comes next.

The focus will now move on to fleshing the world out, starting with towns, interiors, and NPCs.

 

I like the concept of your game. I'll be downloading your demo when I get on my desktop later! Really looking forward to this!

 

Thank you for showing an interest, I hope you like it! I'll be checking out your game as well.