Author Topic: Roadwarden [Fantasy/RPG Elements/Pixel Art] [DEMO]  (Read 60804 times)

Aure

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Re: Roadwarden [Fantasy/RPG Elements/Pixel Art] [DEMO]
« Reply #45 on: August 31, 2019, 02:03:29 PM »
Cheers! I'm sure I'll need to work on it some more, but I can't focus my entire attention on it right now. But the more I draw, the more XP I get! : P
Roadwarden - an illustrated text-based RPG in which you explore and change a hostile, grim realm. Currently in development.
Tales From Windy Meadow - my fantasy pixel art Visual Novel.

Aure

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Re: Roadwarden [Fantasy/RPG Elements/Pixel Art] [DEMO]
« Reply #46 on: September 07, 2019, 01:56:06 PM »
It’s time to share something larger than a picture. The music presented in Roadwarden’s demo was waiting for replacement. Now we have quite a massive list of original tracks that still need a couple of adjustments, yet are already very close to the game’s heart.

It’s difficult to select and highlight a single track, but here’s the one that I love the most:



It immediately takes me to a wild, dangerous forest. I want to keep the sounds a bit anxious, emotionally vague, without directly telling the players what they are supposed to feel.

I really like it when fantasy video games don’t sink into the usual epic orchestras. 

So, do you love it, do you hate it? Let me know, I’m so excited to upload it today!
Roadwarden - an illustrated text-based RPG in which you explore and change a hostile, grim realm. Currently in development.
Tales From Windy Meadow - my fantasy pixel art Visual Novel.

Tusky

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Re: Roadwarden [Fantasy/RPG Elements/Pixel Art] [DEMO]
« Reply #47 on: September 07, 2019, 05:16:31 PM »
Very nice!

For me it evokes feelings of adventure in a place with some vague unknown menace.
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Aure

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Re: Roadwarden [Fantasy/RPG Elements/Pixel Art] [DEMO]
« Reply #48 on: September 07, 2019, 08:15:11 PM »
<3
I'm so glad to hear that! Up to this point, the feedback was divided between "it's boring and I don't like it" (what is a completely fair opinion and I don't dismiss it) and similar to yours, and I think it means that the music succeeds at invoking mental associations that I'm interested in. : )
Roadwarden - an illustrated text-based RPG in which you explore and change a hostile, grim realm. Currently in development.
Tales From Windy Meadow - my fantasy pixel art Visual Novel.

Jubal

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Re: Roadwarden [Fantasy/RPG Elements/Pixel Art] [DEMO]
« Reply #49 on: September 12, 2019, 11:59:23 PM »
I think it works - I mean, the thing is, it's background music, and that rarely functions well just as as a "to listen to on its own", it's all about the mental backdrop it gives you for doing other things, and I think it works well for that.
The duke, the wanderer, the philosopher, the mariner, the warrior, the strategist, the storyteller, the wizard, the wayfarer...

Aure

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Re: Roadwarden [Fantasy/RPG Elements/Pixel Art] [DEMO]
« Reply #50 on: September 28, 2019, 01:15:18 PM »
I’m back! My health is fine now, and I finally had a good week in the realm of Roadwarden. I’ve drawn a new area, the abandoned watchtower, and I’m really proud of it. Originally, it was meant to be a destroyed tower, but once I’ve drawn it, I haven’t have the heart to turn it into ruins. xD



I’ve also set up a new area, the road blocked by a fallen tree. The player can investigate this place for clues, trying to figure out what happened in this place. The later part of the quest is not written down yet, mostly because the NPCs related to it are not yet in the game, but it’s a fun little side-activity, that requires a bit of deduction.



The game’s world keeps growing... And it makes me super happy. ^^


Roadwarden - an illustrated text-based RPG in which you explore and change a hostile, grim realm. Currently in development.
Tales From Windy Meadow - my fantasy pixel art Visual Novel.

Jubal

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Re: Roadwarden [Fantasy/RPG Elements/Pixel Art] [DEMO]
« Reply #51 on: October 04, 2019, 08:39:01 PM »
Sorry for taking a few days to reply! Really glad you're feeling better - sorry, I don't think I realised/remembered you'd been unwell!

And yeah, that watchtower looks excellent, you're really managing to make the low palette for this work well.  :)
The duke, the wanderer, the philosopher, the mariner, the warrior, the strategist, the storyteller, the wizard, the wayfarer...

Aure

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Re: Roadwarden [Fantasy/RPG Elements/Pixel Art] [DEMO]
« Reply #52 on: October 12, 2019, 01:06:26 PM »
Thank you, Jubal, I was not around when you wrote this message. : P And yeah, I was too sick to tell around that I was sick. : P

But also! October is moving forward really well for me. The major part of the watchtower scenes is already in to the game.



There’s so much content already, and it seems to be almost bug-free so far (...though it involved fixing hundreds of mistakes), and the music works so well! There’s a good chance I’ll update the demo sometime next week, just to give you a chance to see how much has everything changed since the release of the old version. : )

During the last couple of days I’ve drawn a couple of new areas that are going to be used as minor stops and the “loading screens” - small bits of narration that precede arriving to a new area.







And also, I’ve added two new tracks to the game’s Soundcloud. They’re worth checking out. ^^

Roadwarden - an illustrated text-based RPG in which you explore and change a hostile, grim realm. Currently in development.
Tales From Windy Meadow - my fantasy pixel art Visual Novel.

Aure

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Re: Roadwarden [Fantasy/RPG Elements/Pixel Art] [DEMO]
« Reply #53 on: October 19, 2019, 01:01:19 PM »
I’m too sick to write dialogues, but I still have enough patience to draw, and drawing is fun. Here are some new areas that I’ve been working on - some of them are meant to be memorable and interacted with...



while others are going to be used more like loading / transition screens. Creating one of those takes me much less time than it used to, but still, it’s so great that podcasts exist.





Also, I’ve decided to return to some of my older pictures and update them to the new style that I’ve adapted through the months of learning. My military camp, one of the oldest pictures I’ve ever made (in February), has changed so many times, and it’s all thanks to the feedback and criticism that kind people share with me on-line.



The new version of the Roadwarden’s demo is going to be available in November. The introduced changes are going to be huge, so I personally recommend to not play the older demo - though it’s still available on Itch.io.
Roadwarden - an illustrated text-based RPG in which you explore and change a hostile, grim realm. Currently in development.
Tales From Windy Meadow - my fantasy pixel art Visual Novel.

Tusky

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Re: Roadwarden [Fantasy/RPG Elements/Pixel Art] [DEMO]
« Reply #54 on: October 19, 2019, 05:37:54 PM »
Really nice.  That camp has improved so much!
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Aure

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Re: Roadwarden [Fantasy/RPG Elements/Pixel Art] [DEMO]
« Reply #55 on: October 19, 2019, 06:30:25 PM »
Cheers! Learning by failing. : P Or rather - learning thanks to the kind strangers who are willing to give me a hand. : )
Roadwarden - an illustrated text-based RPG in which you explore and change a hostile, grim realm. Currently in development.
Tales From Windy Meadow - my fantasy pixel art Visual Novel.

Jubal

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Re: Roadwarden [Fantasy/RPG Elements/Pixel Art] [DEMO]
« Reply #56 on: October 23, 2019, 10:56:42 PM »
On the most recent version of the camp, I think you might want a fuzzier rocks/grass border at the top of the cliffs that are at the image bottom? Just my eyes read the right hand block of cliffs as if they might be a wall, if that makes sense - I don't easily get the increase in height from them visually.
The duke, the wanderer, the philosopher, the mariner, the warrior, the strategist, the storyteller, the wizard, the wayfarer...

Aure

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Re: Roadwarden [Fantasy/RPG Elements/Pixel Art] [DEMO]
« Reply #57 on: October 26, 2019, 01:11:23 PM »
Thank you, Jubal! I haven't consider it, but you may be right - I'll look into it.

Today’s illustration has a little story behind it.



The oldest design document for Roadwarden was written in the first months of 2018. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to make a game with a place like this one - an isolated dwelling, in which the magic crafter stays away from other people, obsessed with her trade, surrounded by her creations.

Originally, I planned to place the game’s prototype among these walls.

I prepared my software, but I barely even started. I “realized” I *won’t* be able to make pixel art, maybe even ever. I had to postpone the project anyway, so I accepted that I failed and moved on.

When I started working on the game in January 2019, I knew that I still wanted this place to be a part of my fantasy realm. I was slowly learning the basics, and focused on some other areas - those that the player sees in the first stages of the actual game. Most of these areas are going to be available in the new demo.

But I finally decided to give it another shot. And now, here it is. The residence of magic crafter. The exterior went from “impossible,” to “finished in two days.” The interior took another day. I’m not gonna lie - I’m moved.

For now, enough of drawing. Recently, I’m focused on programming and writing. And it’s going pretty well. ^^


Roadwarden - an illustrated text-based RPG in which you explore and change a hostile, grim realm. Currently in development.
Tales From Windy Meadow - my fantasy pixel art Visual Novel.

Jubal

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Re: Roadwarden [Fantasy/RPG Elements/Pixel Art] [DEMO]
« Reply #58 on: October 30, 2019, 10:41:48 PM »
I do like the golem thingies in the courtyard, they're the right level of menacingly cute :)
The duke, the wanderer, the philosopher, the mariner, the warrior, the strategist, the storyteller, the wizard, the wayfarer...

Aure

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Re: Roadwarden [Fantasy/RPG Elements/Pixel Art] [DEMO]
« Reply #59 on: November 02, 2019, 01:08:03 PM »
Thank you! It was really important to me to not portray them like some terrible monsters. I get why fantasy games like to present golems like these terrifying killing machines, but when you live in the middle of nowhere, in a somewhat tranquil spot... Who needs any more nightmare fuel? : P

I have just this little thing to share, a hidden in-game detail.



Not every character starts the game with this item, and I’m sure some players won’t notice its hidden interaction. If you wear it, various NPCs react to your presence in new ways.




So, are you going to wear it all the time, proud of your beliefs? Are you going to keep it hidden, hoping to avoid quarrels? Is it just a tool for you, something that you hide or show depending on who’s around you?



How do you play your role?

Roadwarden - an illustrated text-based RPG in which you explore and change a hostile, grim realm. Currently in development.
Tales From Windy Meadow - my fantasy pixel art Visual Novel.