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Greetings, everyone! I'm Dirge, part of the dev team at Hall of Nerd. We're hard at work on our debut title, Isabella, and we need YOU (for specific variables of "you".)
Currently, we are on the hunt for fine folk to fill these positions:
Artist: Isabella began life as a comic book concept, and has been storyboarded as such. Now that we've moved it to the video game platform, we want to keep true to that - our cutscenes will be done in an animated comic style. We're looking for someone who is willing to create these comics for us. Additionally, we're planning a series of comics as part of crowdfunding rewards. These would also fall under the heading of "your area."
Mapper: We're looking for people to work on mapping with us (including parallaxing).
At the moment, we're all working on the game as a labor of love, not because we're being paid to do so. However, we have concrete plans for multiple stages of crowdfunding, and everyone who is part of the project will be reimbursed based on the success of these campaigns and their contributions. If you're interested or have any questions, drop me a message here on the forums. I'm always around.
Now, without further ado, I present you our project, Isabella.
In the year 1837, the world of Terrae is being subjected to a perpetual battle between two warring nations: Insavance and Dryadalis. Dryadalis, the island of the Dryads, has technology that is far more advanced than that of Insavance. This leaves Insavance, the home of the common human, with little to no protection against its rival nation. To make matters worse, Skypirates have been causing political unrest in Insavance, and some believe they intend to start a Civil War. This sets the backdrop for our story, which begins in a small village in southern Insavance...
Hal Kirkland is a 43-year-old retired mercenary who spends his days drinking and gambling in the cozy town of Salvum near Insavance's southern border. One day, while Hal is drinking at his favorite haunt, he is approached by one of his old mercenary partners, Walter Conroy, who offers Hal a high-paying contract. Hal hastily explains his retirement. However, Walter insists that Hal will want to take the job. "Hal, a girl's life's in danger," says Walter as Hal is preparing to leave to smoke a cigar. "It's President Vitam's daughter."
Hal returns to Walter and sighs. "Tell me about the girl."
Hal Kirkland is a 43-year-old retired mercenary who spends his days drinking and gambling in the cozy town of Salvum near Insavance's southern border. One day, while Hal is drinking at his favorite haunt, he is approached by one of his old mercenary partners, Walter Conroy, who offers Hal a high-paying contract. Hal hastily explains his retirement. However, Walter insists that Hal will want to take the job. "Hal, a girl's life's in danger," says Walter as Hal is preparing to leave to smoke a cigar. "It's President Vitam's daughter."
Hal returns to Walter and sighs. "Tell me about the girl."
Overview
Isabella is a Western steampunk JRPG. At Hall of Nerd, we've endeavored to create a cast of memorable characters, a rich and deep world, and as many awesome features as we could shake a stick at. We've got crafting, fully animated combat, piles of awesome items, fully voiced cutscenes, tons of original music and sounds, heaps of side quests, an optional mini-game that persists throughout the game, a meticulously-planned world where your decisions really do have impact, not to mention the grand adventure at the center of it all. And that's just the beginning … in fact, I think we're gonna need a bigger stick.
Characters
Hal Kirkland
The Retired Mercenary
Hal is an ex-mercenary who's a little rough around the edges. He spent most of his youth gambling, drinking, smoking, and involving himself in questionable mercenary work. Now that he's retired … well, nothing much has changed, except he doesn't do the mercenary thing anymore. He's no stranger to love and loss – a fact that shows in his piercing, scrutinizing gaze. Hal's face bears few wrinkles, but those he has stand out – the years of wear and tear are obvious, and his unshaven jaw serves as a testament to his tendency to turn that intense gaze inward, and find himself wanting.
“What the hell is so interesting about those books? I know what you're thinking and no, I'm not paying for a library card so you can sit at the inn and read all day!”
Isabella Vitam
The Damsel in Distress
Isabella's spunky, happy-go-lucky attitude serves as suitable cover for her immense fear of what lies ahead. Her baby-blue eyes are always filled with wonder as she explores the world around her. Isabella's smile can melt the heart of any man; her elegant face houses shapely, highly expressive features. Though she makes a naïve impression, she possesses wisdom beyond her years – proving equal measures useful and irritating to those around her.
“Just two books? Please? We're days away from Relicum. What else am I supposed to do while you're keeping me awake with your incessant snoring?”
Walter Conroy
The Government Agent
Walter completed his first mercenary contract when he was just a teenager, earning over 300c for taking down one of the most dangerous outlaws in the territory. He quickly rose to prominence as the highest-paid mercenary in Insavance; his unorthodox methods and skilled marksmanship made him a force to be reckoned with. Following a botched mission that resulted in several innocent casualties and the loss of his left eye, Walter abandoned freelancing and sought employment with the Modus Government.
“B'fore I lost my good eye, I could shoot the sh** off a horse's ass at 300 yards. Now I can hardly button my own damn pants.”
Leona Lanigan
The Skypirate Engineer
After completing the highest level of education at the Relicum School of Engineering, Leona took up with the Skypirates, who allow her to freely experiment and invent new gadgets. Her engineering talent is unparalleled; even with the most complicated machines, she can repair broken components and install new upgrades in a matter of minutes. Leona dedicates most of her time to learning about the Spelldrinks and their potential.
“Why didn'ya tell me the engine was rattlin'?! You got a Spokehain buffrod that's slippin' and jabbin' the hell outta your Camrus compressor! The engine coulda blown at any second!”
Scarlet
The Red Sniper
Enigmatic, cool-headed, and a hellishly good shot, Scarlet is the deadliest sniper in Insavance, if not the entire world. Despite her morbid line of work, she maintains an optimistic, upbeat outlook on life, and enjoys helping those she deems innocent. When she isn't out killing people, it's not uncommon to find her telling jokes to a drunk crowd at the local bar. But a word of advice: if you like your innards where they are, don't get on her bad side.
“I can't shoot him in the head. It'll explode and get blood all over his friend. Wouldn't that be just horrifying? I'll just shoot him in the foot so he falls off the airship. Simple and clean!”
Features
Spelldrinks
Spelldrinks are in integral part of Isabella's combat system. Each party member can imbibe a Spelldrink to gain its powers, allowing them to cast fireballs and healing spells, summon deadly tornadoes, make their skin hard as a rock, and a great deal more. When a character consumes a Spelldrink, they gain a new ability, but forget the old one. Each Spelldrink also grants the character different stats; if a character is near death, you can have him drink a Rockwall to boost his defense, for example. You can swap out characters' active Spelldrinks on the fly, effectively changing your characters' strengths and abilities at the press of a button.
Spelldrinks are powerful and somewhat mysterious. There are over 30 different kinds, and while most are relatively common, there are legends of rare, even unique Spelldrinks that convey their user incredible power...
Combat
Isabella features a turn-based side-view combat system inspired with fully animated battle sprites, custom animations, and unique mechanics centered around the aforementioned Spelldrink system.
A very early combat-based cutscene (battleback/animations still placeholders)
A sneak peek at a couple enemies:
Vacant
A few months after someone dies with a spelldrink still in their system, their bodies come back, reanimated by the wild magic seeping into their dead flesh. This, combined with the proclivity of spelldrinks, means the popularity of cremation is at an all-time high in Insavance!
Voidcat
The war left scars on Insavance in many ways. The Dryads' magic twisted many of the native fauna, changing them in strange, mysterious - and dangerous - ways.
Shape Your Own Adventure
Throughout the game, you will be able to make decisions that drastically impact the world of Insavance. NPCs, entire towns, and even main characters will respond to your choices. There are no right or wrong decisions, but each option will always have consequences, so choose your path carefully!
Fully Voiced Cutscenes
Isabella's narrative was originally written to be turned into a comic, and we're keeping the spirit of that in our game. Our cutscenes are done in an animated-comic style, and fully voice-acted. We want our characters to come to life.
Persistent Mini-Games
More information coming on this!
Quests, Quests, Quests
Of course, there's a main quest. But in Isabella, everywhere you go, you'll find side-quests galore – each featuring multiple endings, determined by your actions and choices. Through these quests, you shape the world around you.
Items and Crafting
Our crafting system allows you to create unique weapons, items, and even Spelldrinks. Have you found some bits and pieces you can use to upgrade your boring old revolver into a gleaming steampunkified weapon of pure awesome? Go for it! Additionally, there's a rare metal called Skysteel you can use to upgrade your weapons. Skysteel is rare and prized for its unique ability to absorb magical energy, where all other metals repel it. Upgrade your weapon with Skysteel, and add in a Thunderbolt spelldrink to get something like this:
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