RMMV (Story Demo available soon) Eniko: Ghosts Of Grace

[HalcyanStudio]

@cradth Thank you very much! From an accomplished dev as yourself, I'm very happy to hear that Working hard on the demo, I'm adding much content and fixing a lot of things for the demo, so shouldn't take too long.

 

[cradth]

@cradth Thank you very much! From an accomplished dev as yourself, I'm very happy to hear that Working hard on the demo, I'm adding much content and fixing a lot of things for the demo, so shouldn't take too long.

I can't wait to play that! Take your time & good luck!
*Check your inbox, bro.

 

[HalcyanStudio]

I've updated the main post with the links to the OST videos and the new screenshots. Here's another new screenshot too

Getting closer and closer to a demo, but when all the content is ready I'll need to contact a coder to fix some bugs and other stuff i can't fix myself, up the marketing, find some beta testers etc. Step by step

 

[HalcyanStudio]

Good news! I have released a first gameplay video today. Looking forward to your comments and feedback! There's some small bugs too be fixed and the recording made the animations flinch out somehow a couple times, but getting there!



It feels like we’re entering a new phase in development: almost all content for the demo is ready and now we’re gonna enter a pahse of testing, bug fixing and optimising. I feel like it will be super important to work very structured here, … not my strongest point First I’ll fix as most as I can myself, then I need to get a coder involved for the stuff I can’t fix myself and then it’s time for the beta testers to try out the demo and test every nook and cranny.

Some people have asked to be part of the beta testing team already so that makes me super happy! Do you want to part of the beta too? You can send me a PM/DM here and i’ll add you to the list! Soon I’ll get a form up to finalise registrations and a Discord will be set up during testing.

Anything else? Well, when the demo is ready and tested it’s time to show it to a bigger audience so it’ll be important to share it far and wide and put some marketing behind it. So soon i’ll start putting the game on more platforms like Steam, Gog, Gamejolt, dev forums etc. Exciting times ahead! I also have an idea for a trailer in my head, all I have to do now is make it. Easy right?

 

[berribyte]

Woah, this game looks really neat! I love the visual style a lot, and I'm really excited to see where this project goes!

 

[HalcyanStudio]

@fabb Thank you, means a lot to me! Feel free to follow on social media to stay up to date ^^

 

[HalcyanStudio]

Tying up a lot of things now so I can put the demo out soon. Also talking with a couple coders to fix some bugs. If you happen to be a coder yourself and are interested on working on this game, please contact me! (Not for free of course, I have a budget for coding).

Some recent screenshots and a short animation of the finished up Title Screen:

 

[HalcyanStudio]

It's coming all together, explore the backstreets of Belrynna in this video (turn on sound!)


The beta demo is almost ready to be tested, if you are interested in trying the first public version of the game, you can sign up for the beta demo at: https://eniko-game.com/demo-beta-sign-up/

 

[HalcyanStudio]

I'm starting with the beta testing for the demo tomorrow! Here's a preview of the Fenrir Boss Battle, hope you guys and gals enjoy!

 

[HalcyanStudio]

A quick update from my end! A demo is currently being playtested and will be released during Q4 2021. I'm preparing the Steam page launch and trailer as well. Part of that process was improving the synopsis of the game, which I did. I also updated it here in the thread as following:

Developer's Note​

I’m Kevin, an independent game developer working on my game and passion project Eniko: Ghosts Of Grace.

Eniko: Ghosts Of Grace is a story-rich action adventure rpg that pays hommage to jrpg games and 90's gaming through it's unique retro 2.5D pixel art look, but is bold and refreshing enough to carve it's own path.

A demo will be released Q4 2021 and is currently being tested!

Synopsis​

The great Fenrir Wars lay in the past but in Belrynna, the heroics of the war's Champions is celebrated zealously in the Arena. Livia is a promising young Warrior training at Zigmond Academy. Gusty but ambitious, she will both have to fight the mighty Fenrir in the Arena and deal with the political games outside the Arena. Will Livia be able to climb the ranks and become a champion of the Arena? After a fateful encounter, everything she believes in will be put to the test.

Join Livia on her adventure through a tale that explores what it means to be family, betrayal versus loyalty and the long-term effects of indoctrination and a brutal war on society.


And to close off this small update, a new screenshot:

 

[HalcyanStudio]

Exciting times ahead! Very soon I will release a trailer and promotional art of the game and I will also launch the Steam page and share the public demo soon after. So expect many thing posts in the next weeks. Today I posted a devlog "Four things I learned while developing my indie rpg game": https://eniko-game.com/devlog-5-four-things-i-learned-while-developing-my-indie-rpg-game/



Can't wait to try the demo? Join the Discord group now and play the closed beta demo today! https://discord.gg/JFvdsMvTPY

 

[TwentyFree]

Wow thats actually amazing you can do this with a 2D engine!
this looks good and is different enough to get attention imo.
Keep up the good work!

 

[HalcyanStudio]

Wow thats actually amazing you can do this with a 2D engine!
this looks good and is different enough to get attention imo.
Keep up the good work!

Thank you @TwentyFree! I'm really happy with the results we're getting. Working hard to spread the word around a bit now

 

[HalcyanStudio]

Shared another devlog: " Why I think you should play my indie rpg - defining the Unique Selling Points of my game" https://eniko-game.com/devlog-6-why...efining-the-unique-selling-points-of-my-game/




Also, a small little preview from the upcoming trailer:

Want to stay up to date? Join the Discord group now! https://discord.gg/JFvdsMvTPY

 

[HalcyanStudio]

Small update but really happy to share with you the promotional art for the game, made by the talented @Kato-A who is also on this forum:

 

[HalcyanStudio]

I'm happy to share two big updates today, first of all, here is the trailer for the game:



And secondly, I launched the Steam page ! If you would like to support the game, please Wishlist it->

Thank your everyone here who supported Eniko: Ghosts Of Grace so far!

 

[tumsterfest]

This is really well-done.

 

[HalcyanStudio]

Thank you very much @tumsterfest, sorry for the late reply though

I posted a new devlog: "What 2022 has in store for Eniko: Ghosts Of Grace"

First and foremost I would like to wish everyone a happy new year! We are still in troubling times, but I firmly believe the coming year will bring us hope, new memories and hopefully lots of events!

In 2020 I decided to take up my old hobby of game making (well, tinkering with game making) when the first lockdown happened because I had a good story and mechanics idea in my head. In 2021 I was at a point where I liked where the project was heading to and started to think that Eniko: Ghosts Of Grace could become more than just another experiment. I decided to to show the game to the internet and see if there might be an audience for it. The feedback was very positive and I’m excited to see people are starting to follow the game on social media and such. By the end of 2021, Eniko: Ghosts Of Grace had 1000+ followers on Steam, 700+ followers on Twitter, 30 betatesters on Discord and in just a couple weeks time, over a hundred Wishlists on Steam!

It is now clear to me that this passion project might have a chance to become a full-fledged game. In 2022, I have these goals in mind for Eniko: Ghosts Of Grace and myself as a game developer:

Release a public demo​

In november 2021 I have released the beta demo that is being tested by some people. Since then, I have been working on bugs, performance issues and gameplay adjustments for a public demo. Even more recently in December I have launched the Steam page through which the demo will be shared. This will be the first goal for 2022 and should be available for download by the end of January. Soon after I will also make the demo available on Itch.io. An important milestone! During betatesting it has become clear that there are some issues with the Mac release, but I’ve been looking for solutions and am happy that these solutions exist. I’ll do my best to have this implemented for the first public demo version.

Player feedback, Q&A’s, Behind the scenes and Tutorials​

Once the demo is available for everyone to enjoy, I hope that Eniko: Ghosts Of Grace becomes more of a community and a dialogue. I want to know, what was fun playing, what confused you, what was unclear or dull. That is the best way to improve the overall quality of the game. I also want to have some Q&A sessions regarding any questions you might have about the game itself, but also game design, pixel art, inspiration…

While all content I share on social media now are screenshots, gameplay videos and music, I want to extend that with behind the scenes stuff, tutorials and Q&A sessions like mentioned earlier. I might also give YouTube (development videos en tutorials) and Twitch a go to see if I feel comfortable using these platform in a more personal way.

Launch a Kickstarter campaign​

If all goes well, I can extend and improve the first public demo based on player feedback and implement more of the story. Once I come to a point where I’m happy with the gameplay, stability and story writing, I want to take the next step for my indie game by launching a Kickstarter campaign. A Kickstarter campaign is both a great way to gather a bigger following and receive more financial support. Right now I get the help of an amazing composer, coder and artist. If I manage to launch a successful Kickstarter, I will be able to hire these talents to make additional contents and improvements for the game, such as:

• An extended soundtrack
• Steam Achievements
• Fishing minigame
• Allied characters battle AI
• Port for Nintendo Switch
• Artbook/Walkthrough Guide
• And much more…

Quit my job, found Halcyan Studio and become a fulltime developer​

If all of the above steps work out, my lifelong dream would finally become tangible: to found my own indie game studio and become a full indie game developer. Right now I works as a web developer for a marketing agency. Which I combine with a side job of web development but aimed at e-commerce. I enjoy my job to some degree, but like many I don’t want to be stuck in a 9-to-5 grind the rest of my life. I want to create and be creative, I want to learn how to build and publish a successful project.

I already gained some experience on how to found and run a small company through my side job, which I founded before Covid started. If the first three milestones: public demo, build a community and launch a successful Kickstarter, I feel that it is both a safe-ish and wise choice to take that leap into fulltime self employment as an indie game developer!

 

[tumsterfest]

From a fellow digital marketing agency guy, best of luck. Ironically, our agency's web developer's last day is today ... Are you him? (kidding)

 

[HalcyanStudio]

@tumsterfest Alas I am not. Is he also making a game?