Author Topic: Roadwarden [Fantasy/RPG Elements/Pixel Art] [DEMO]  (Read 60815 times)

Jubal

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Re: Roadwarden [Fantasy/RPG Elements/Pixel Art] [DEMO]
« Reply #60 on: November 02, 2019, 09:35:57 PM »
Oh, that's very neat! And a good way to make clothing/jewellery matter in games too. Far too much of the time, what you wear is only treated as important for combat bonuses/armour class/etc, but using clothing/jewellery to unlock dialogue options is a neat one that I don't see used enough :)
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 #61 on: November 02, 2019, 10:42:16 PM »
: D I'm glad you think so! One of my favorite weird design choices in the Baldur's Gate series was giving characters "obligatory" items, like a necklace that has a "sentimental value" or Boo the Space Hamster. It was pretty much a form of handicapping the character's potential (such items had provided no or almost no stats) and couldn't be replaced, but when I was a kid, my imagination really loved it - it gave this weird feeling that these characters have their own agency, and won't agree to every whim of my.

I know that some video RPGs use "costumes" to solve quests or provide new dialogue options (even Planescape: Torment did it), but I hope to give the player this feeling that it's their choice how to treat such items. Are they a mechanical tool, or a part of the character's identity? I'm far from getting to this point, but maybe one day.
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 #62 on: November 07, 2019, 10:49:10 PM »
Ooh, I've not played Baldur's gate, but yes, that sounds interesting - I guess it leans more to the idea of the player as a storyteller with a character who isn't entirely their own rather than a player who's able to develop the character's personality as they wish, but it's a very nice characterful thought.

And yeah, I've seen bits where you have very obvious uses for wearables (signet rings in the witcher, the disguise robes you get for sneak missions in Mount & Blade), but using them more widely as a signalling mechanism to NPCs about who your character is really isn't used enough. Look forward to seeing more :)
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 #63 on: November 09, 2019, 01:09:08 PM »
In Kingdom Come: Deliverance (by the way, referring to your Twitter - have you looked into this game's weirdly racist themes?), you can wear pretty clothes and wash your body to add to your "attractiveness," but it's more a number than a set of unique interactions.

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I’ve been working a lot on the new title screen, and I think that after receiving a lot of very helpful feedback, it’s in a pretty good spot right now. : )





I’m also doing a whole bunch of minor things for the game, since I can hardly find enough time and patience to focus on writing dialogues. I’m adding quests, items, some new dialogue options... I had a really good flow with some ideas, like these two weapons:





I’ve also realized that my original plan of “fitting every bit of dialogue in a single window” won’t work. Some NPCs will just have too many dialogue options available if you meet them for the first time in a very late part of the game. Because of that, I’ve decided to add the optional scrolling - it will show up only if there’s something to scroll through, so it won’t impact the major experience.

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 #64 on: November 15, 2019, 10:48:25 PM »
Definitely love the new title screen, it captures the feel very well indeed I think :)
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Aure

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Re: Roadwarden [Fantasy/RPG Elements/Pixel Art] [DEMO]
« Reply #65 on: November 16, 2019, 01:51:40 PM »
Through this week, I wrote sooo many dialogue bits, made new items, designed new quests and broadened some older content... I’m in the flow, and it feels good.

Here’s an example of how arriving to a new place looks like. My lizard brain tells me to stop overcomplicating things, but I’m more like... Nah, “how bout I do anyway”. ; )







And here are some examples of how do the later parts of the same conversation look like.


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 #66 on: November 16, 2019, 04:18:22 PM »
Very nicely done - the reveal of the inside of the compound is a pretty clever use of the static pixel graphics system, I like it :)
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 #67 on: November 16, 2019, 04:27:38 PM »
Thank you! : D Playing around limitations can be pretty fun.
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 #68 on: November 30, 2019, 01:48:33 PM »
The development has recently encountered a couple of obstacles and pitfalls, but guess what. I *think* the new version of the demo is working. : ) It still needs some additional testing, would you like to help me with that?

You can download it here!

Does it start for you, can you play it? At one point, the Mac version was crushing out after saving. I hope it’s fixed. : P

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And if you wonder what has changed since the last version but you plan to wait for the full game, here are some highlights, just for context:

* the available content has tripled - you can visit four new areas (each one is significantly different) and engage in three complex dialogues that they involve
* a completely new music was introduced
* the in-game journal now includes a chapter that summarizes interesting clues related to various NPCs
* the inventory screen is completely redesigned and much more convenient
* area illustration and inventory icons were updated
* text parser that don’t need to support capital letters, like the one in the dolmen, don’t use them anymore
* various bits of dialogues and interactions were enhanced
* various spelling / phrasing fixes
* new menu screen
* bugs were eliminated - unless?
« Last Edit: November 30, 2019, 01:58:46 PM by Aure »
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 #69 on: November 30, 2019, 02:42:49 PM »
Been playing it a while. Really cool! Very soothing and there is a lot to get your teeth into.

I did spot a couple of small issues on the options screen:

  • When I selcted "Window mode", An X did not show that I had selected it
  • This isn't a bug - just something I noticed. You can resize the windowed mode, which Is cool - but you can make the game tiny and unplayable. Maybe have a min width or something
  • On settings "mute all" probably not the best wording since the only slider that is adjustable is the music slider.

Will keep playing though - and will update this if I spot anything else
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Aure

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Re: Roadwarden [Fantasy/RPG Elements/Pixel Art] [DEMO]
« Reply #70 on: November 30, 2019, 05:24:48 PM »
Thank you so much, Tusky, I appreciate that you've decided to give it a shot. Your suggestions are completely fair and I'll consider them, I really hope I'll have enough time to add the sound effects and justify the "mute all" button. : )
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 #71 on: December 01, 2019, 09:21:35 PM »
Oh nice! I doubt I'll be able to give it a go for a couple of weeks, but am looking forward to doing so :)
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 #72 on: December 07, 2019, 01:12:53 PM »
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 #73 on: December 08, 2019, 11:04:55 PM »
Very nice! :)
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 #74 on: December 14, 2019, 01:08:14 PM »
I’ve reached a rough spot, since as I share more WIPs from my game, my posts get more and more spoilerish... I need to figure out a new approach. But here is something more casual that I’ve been working on this week! : )
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.