Sylvant (Demo v1.2 now out!)

[The_Trinity]

Let's start this off with a quick backstory behind the creation of this game. Yes, it does use the default RTP. Why is that? "There's plenty of free assets to use!", you say. And yes, there is. But as my first ever game I've made with RPG Maker (first game in general actually), I wanted to keep it short and sweet and see what I could do with just the assets handed to me. There'll be time later for more grand things. Anyways, you didn't visit this page to hear me blather about myself, onward to the game!
​

 
​

 
​

Story
​

 
​

The small kingdom of Sylvant has always been a peaceful one; only the elderly can scarcely remember a time of turmoil. Peace, however, cannot last forever. For the past five years, strange things have been happening in Sylvant. Frequent natural disasters, unrest in the seas, increase in the malevolence of the people, and the appearance of monsters are among the primary dangers. People say that it is because the kingdom has forsaken the goddess, Xeria. Now she is slowly unleashing her wrath upon the land…
​

Luke is a youth from the small farming village of Temnat. Quiet and quaint, although it's where he’s lived his entire life, he would enjoy a little more action. When a powerful thunderstorm hits one night, he gets his wish when his father mentions that he saw something fall out of the sky into the nearby forest. When he finds the culprit, a girl named Chara, it sets off a chain of events that will uncover the secret behind Sylvant’s curse itself.

 
​

Characters
​

 
​

Main Characters

Spoiler

Spoiler

[SIZE=14.6667px]Luke: [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]The son of a farmer, Luke has always had an avid fascination with weaponry, particularly swords. With the consent of Chara, he accepts an offer from the Queen in exchange for much needed funds for his village.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.6667px]

[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.6667px]Chara:[/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px] A mysterious girl who falls from the sky one night, it[/SIZE]


turns out that Chara is a member of the once thought long dead Zavi tribe. In exchange for a safe trip back to her home,


[SIZE=14.6667px]she agrees to help Luke in his journey.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.6667px]

[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.6667px]Nicolette:[/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px] A member of Sylvant’s royal mages, Nicolette is a naive and goofy, but powerful magic user. She is appointed by the Queen herself to assist Luke on the quest that she has given him.[/SIZE]

 



[SIZE=14.6667px]Elise:[/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px] Young Elise is the daughter of Silie Village’s chief. She has quite the affinity for animals, and has even befriended the local earth spirit. When the party comes into town, she’s determined and[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.6667px]insistent in joining them.[/SIZE]

 
​

[SIZE=14.6667px]Addie: [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]Short for Automated Defensive Distribution Intelligence Entity, Addie is a highly sophisticated robot created by the scientists of the Zavi tribe. Or as Luke says, “Addie is kinda like the robot healer of the group.” [/SIZE]

Supporting Characters

Spoiler

Spoiler

[SIZE=14.6667px]Queen Anissa: [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]The much beloved queen of the kingdom of Sylvant, it is rumored that she has put up a large sum of money for anyone who can curb her son’s suspicious behavior…[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.6667px]

[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.6667px]King Raggar: [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]The king of the kingdom of Sylvant, he baffs at [/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.6667px]anyone who claims the kingdom is cursed, and has closed the gates to the castle to all but the elite. It’s said that he’s done it to stop people from seeking out the queen due to the rumor of a reward over a superstitious belief about their son.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.6667px]

[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.6667px]Prince Eldran: [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]The young, yet power-hungry prince of Sylvant, it’s no secret that Eldran is impatient in his succession to become the king. Yet what most citizens don’t know, is that the prince has been dabbling in dark arts of late…[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]General Horacio: [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]Leader of Sylvant’s royal army. The general is loyal to a fault. Horacio treats the king’s word as law, and thus does not hesitate to enact his will, no matter what direction it may take the kingdom.[/SIZE]


 

 


[SIZE=14.6667px]Alyssa: [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]A merchant that travels across the land, she exudes a joking and mother-like personality. Alyssa meets up with the party many times as she travels around to sell her wares.[/SIZE]


 


[SIZE=14.6667px]

[/SIZE]


 


[SIZE=14.6667px]Brigder: [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]A famous blacksmith known across the land, Brigder is one of the few outsiders who still knows about the existence of the fabled Zavi tribe. Chara’s journey was initially to meet him on business before her ship got derailed.[/SIZE]


 


[SIZE=14.6667px]

[/SIZE]


 


[SIZE=14.6667px]The Watcher: [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]A mysterious woman who watches the story play out from afar. Take a good look at her under all those robes, she’s not really that old, is she?[/SIZE]


 


[SIZE=14.6667px]

[/SIZE]


 


[SIZE=14.6667px]Hiroyoshi: [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]A powerful fire spirit who lives at the top of Mount Kendrao. No one knows how long he’s been there, but it’s said that he guards a great treasure worth more than the assets of Sylvant.[/SIZE]


 

 


[SIZE=14.6667px]Aldar: [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]An anthropometric blue wolf who also is known as the guardian spirit of the snowy town of Kettleburg. Many trek through the snowy mountains north of the town to visit the cave in which he resides in to receive a blessing.[/SIZE]


 


[SIZE=14.6667px]

[/SIZE]


 


[SIZE=14.6667px]Brinley: [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]A sweet earth spirit sylph who lives in the forests behind Silie Village. His best friend is the young human Elise, and he prefers to spend his days carefree guarding the forest he so loves.[/SIZE]


 


[SIZE=14.6667px]

[/SIZE]


 


[SIZE=14.6667px]Zavi: [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]At first it may look like a highly advanced robot, but Zavi is actually the guardian wind spirit of the mysterious technologically advanced tribe of people named after him. [/SIZE]

 

Screenshots
​

 


Using Moghunter's BattleHud plugin. Still need to tweak it to my liking.


 

 


Oh, what's that? A forest! The same one Chara fell into! It's alot larger than what's shown on screen.


 

 


Sails away! Took about an hour, but I got the ship working the way I wanted to.


 

 


First meeting with Elise, Luke likes to run his mouth sometimes.


 

 


Inside Elise's house. The mapping is done, just need to finish the programming in this area.


 

Features
​

 
​

-Extensive skills and spells!
​

A variety of ways to punish and take down your enemies!
​

-Hidden treasures!
​

Sure, there's chests with goodies to be found inside them, but most little treasures and trinkets are hiding in plain sight! Run into a tile that should be passable but its not? Check it out! There might just be something there. Knick-knacks can also be found in logs, rocks, and other common things.
​

-World interaction
​

The land of Sylvant might be small, but the party has alot to say about the world they live in. Interacting with different objects in the game brings up unique dialogue.
​

-NPC interaction
​

No longer are NPCs used as placeholders for boring one-liners! Many NPCs in the world interact with the party when conversed with, and hold conversation. Some will even welcome you when you enter their home or shop! (Note: Not everyone in the world is an interesting plump peach. Certain NPCs still deliver simple dialogue.)
​

-Character Development
​

Time changes people, and the world inside a game should be no different. The more the party journeys together, the closer they'll get, and the more their own developed personalities shine though. The way they handle certain events and the aftermath of those events depends on each character and will shape them. For better or worse.
​

-Extensive Balancing
​

The party may get stronger, but so will the enemies. Every area of the game has extensive work put into it so that it'll present as a challenge. Bosses are also rough and tough and require a different strategy to take down compared to normal enemies.
​

 

Demo
​

 
​

Demo v1.2 Download: http://gamejolt.com/games/sylvant/133768
​

 
​

Credits
​

 
​

Moghunter (Battle Hud)
​

Yanfly (Scripts)
​

Origin (Graphic Art)
​

Lorenzo (Tester)
​

Ohmknight86 (Tester)
​

 
​

 
​

 

[aliensalmon]

This looks pretty interesting so far.

 

[trevers18]

While this does look quite nice, I have to ask what about this will make it unique? Right now, this seems fairly generic and like there's not enough going on. As it's still early on, though, it's dismiss-able. Otherwise, it looks pretty good.

 

[The_Trinity]

While this does look quite nice, I have to ask what about this will make it unique? Right now, this seems fairly generic and like there's not enough going on. As it's still early on, though, it's dismiss-able. Otherwise, it looks pretty good.

I can see where you come to that conclusion from the screenshots. They're very bare bones and don't really show any story elements. With the story however, which yes, it is a little generic at first, larger story elements come into play that do give the game its own life so it isn't "another generic RPGmaker game". I don't want to spoil any major plot points, however.

As for what makes it unique, since I'm using the RTP for this project, it won't stand out graphical wise, but I hope that the enhanced dialogue and story make up for it. I'm working on the demo up to the first boss currently. It'll be about an hour to an hour and a half long, and hopefully it'll draw more interest.

 

[IAmJakeSauvage]

This looks pretty decent for a first project - although when you look at the map screens for your shop - the counter looks a bit off (I'd move it back one) and the cabinets/bed should definitely be moved...they're actually on the wall, ahaha! Your forest maps look pretty decent - although I'd recommend making them a little more chaotic (nature is organized chaos) - and look into tints [SIZE=12.32px]([/SIZE]-34, -51, -75, 34  - R,G,B,GREY is what Luchino uses for their forests and it looks great)!

 

[The_Trinity]

This looks pretty decent for a first project - although when you look at the map screens for your shop - the counter looks a bit off (I'd move it back one) and the cabinets/bed should definitely be moved...they're actually on the wall, ahaha! Your forest maps look pretty decent - although I'd recommend making them a little more chaotic (nature is organized chaos) - and look into tints [SIZE=12.32px]([/SIZE]-34, -51, -75, 34  - R,G,B,GREY is what Luchino uses for their forests and it looks great)!

Whoops, I didn't even notice that. That'll probably require a small rework of the shop but as long as there's no spooky wall cabinets! But regarding the forest, I didn't

want to end up making the map too cluttered, but ill try making it a little more chaotic and see how it works. And I will certainly look into the tints!

 

[Silenity]

Lol it's funny how you refer to the earth spirit as a he and he has boobs. >_<

 

[The_Trinity]

Lol it's funny how you refer to the earth spirit as a he and he has boobs. >_<

I was waiting for someone to notice that! That's actually an intentional decision. It'll get explained.

You sir, get a cookie for your keen observation.

 

[BloodletterQ]

I find it interesting to see how other users use the package characters. This seems basic, but here's hope it's the start of greater things.

 

[The_Trinity]

The first demo will be up tomorrow. My internet is being a piece of crap right now and won't upload anything.

 

[The_Trinity]

Update: The first demo is now out! Download link is on the main post. Playtime ranges from 45mins-1hr.


Known Issues: 

Spoiler

• When first meeting Chara, she does not face the player
  
• The horses in Bredda occasionally leave their pens
  
• Brigder and Anissa won't converse with the player after their initial dialogue
  
• The music for the first boss plays after the battle, not during
  
• There aren't as many NPCs in the castle town as I'd like right now
  

 

[The_Trinity]

Shameless bump. Anyone got any critiques before I fix some issues with Demo v1.1?

 

[The_Trinity]

Bump. This should have been out earlier but I've been "busy". Demo v1.1 is out with bug fixes.


Bug Fixes:

Spoiler

-On the bridge in Meadowbrooke Forest, the river event only activates the first time it is touched, not every time.


-The player can no longer walk on top of the table in the northwestern corner of Steak & Wine Pub.


-Fixed mapping issues in the fishing cabin area.


-Brigder and Anissa will speak with the player after their respective events are finished.


-Horses in Bredda stay in their pens now.


-The music for the first boss battle now plays during battle, not after.

 

[eluukkanen]

I'll try that demo, overall looks nice

 

[The_Trinity]

Just an update, demo v2 should be out by the end of March at the earliest, and the middle of April by the latest. Yay for spring break and actually having time to work on this! 

 

[KillerGin]

Hello Trinity!


Just checking out your project! Very nice so far. Is the Demo for PC or MAC? Do you plan to get it working on Android or iPhone? Yes, Thank God for Spring Break! Do you find people complaining that you are using the default characters as the main characters? Do you find that to be an issue in the long run? 

 

[The_Trinity]

Hello Trinity!


Just checking out your project! Very nice so far. Is the Demo for PC or MAC? Do you plan to get it working on Android or iPhone? Yes, Thank God for Spring Break! Do you find people complaining that you are using the default characters as the main characters? Do you find that to be an issue in the long run? 

Hey there! Right now, its currently only for PC, I plan to add MAC support also later on in development. As for Android and iPhone? Noooot sure yet.


No one has mentioned any complaints with using the default characters as the main characters so far. I personally don't see it to be an issue since I've clearly stated that this an RTP only game and I have tried my best to intergrate each of the default characters in my story as best as possible.

 

[KillerGin]

Whats an RTP only game? Sorry I am very new and I sometimes don't understand these acronyms. 

 

[The_Trinity]

Whats an RTP only game? Sorry I am very new and I sometimes don't understand these acronyms. 

The default resources that come with the engine.

 

[The_Trinity]

Got some new screenshots to show you guys. All the mapping is done for next area of the demo, just need to finish up the event scripting and stuff and then it'll be good to go. Also going to be polishing up previous areas and most likely adding Mac support in this one.

Spoiler