Viginette: A Song of Friendship

Miresa meets Dorian in the Forest of Dawn, done in dialogue:

"Odd...who would be playing a harp all the way out here?"

"Good morrow, young lady...what brings you here to the Forest of Dawn?"

"I was going to meet a friend here to pick berries...likewise, what are you doing here, Sir Minstrel?"

"This clearing is my secret hideaway when I need some quiet time for reflecting on the day, or when I have a flash of inspiration....ah, listen to me ramble without properly introducing myself! I am Dorian LaMaire, of the Fellowship of Singers."

"Pleased to meet you, Dorian--I am Miresa Selvan, of the Blademages of Telrain."

"A pleasure to meet you, Lady Miresa--can you play any instrument at all?"

"I can play a number of flutes and whistles...in fact, I have a whistle with me."

"Would like to join me for a tune or two as a sign of our friendship?"

"Of course! I would be honored to play with you, Sir Dorian."

"Very well--we will begin with the "Prayer to the Emerald'"

The Demo Reviewed

After three years in the making, the first demo of The Gemsinger Chronicles: The Video Game is finally here.

All I can say is...wow!

It brought a tear to my eye to see some of the places I've imagined finally coming to life--aside from a few grammar errors here and there (and a hiccup when the infamous RPG Maker arrow key glitch reared its ugly head on the first attempt), the game so far looks very well done. Battles are fast paced, and the difficulty isn't throw-the-controller-at-the-wall hard, but not too easy either.

I am very pleased so far, and can only imagine what the final game will look like when it's done.

The First Demo is Coming!

From my partner:

I will be releasing a demo of The Gemsinger Chronicles: The Video Game soon! No release date yet, but it will be ready within the next few days. (Or a week, depending on how busy I am.)

So, here's what I have on my to-do list before I release the demo.

- I need to finish the town of Neras. (The shops, and other buildings)

- I need to add more townsfolk to Gemsinger's Point.

- The Forest of Dawn needs to be finished.

- I also need to finish the Watch Post.

Outline update

The spell in the kitchen incident is cut, and Halliwen has a reduced role because of that. Whether I cut her out completely is up in the air at this point.

I'm also considering reducing the quest from twelve stones to eight to make it consistent with the digital version of Shokiyu.

Artist Wanted!

So I'm thinking about turning the initial story into a comic (making it a lot easier for me to tell the story) Problem is, I can't draw to save my life.

So if you're an aspiring comic artist that knows how to draw fairly well, let me know!

Demons and Watchmen and a New Location, Oh My!

Our latest video unveils Gemsinger's Point, an eastern watchpost (where you can potentially earn hundreds of pearls), and the city of Neras

Check it out!

New video!

Here's some more of The Video game's beginning: The game begins...

This includes getting Arune and Bradlin in the party

The Hero's Journey, as found in The Legend of Zelda

And now for something completely different...

Extra Credits (a really interesting show on Penny Arcade TV that examines aspects of games and issues in the gaming community) did a two part series on the hero's journey as applied to video games. If you're interested, you can watch both episodes on the topic here and here.

Both episodes also got me thinking about how many other games use aspects of it, so I decided to examine my all time favorite game: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Consider:

1. The Call to Adventure--The Deku Tree summoning Link

2. Refusal of the Call--I could argue that Mido refusing Link access to the Deku Tree is an example of this because Mido never accepts Link as a true Kokiri

3. Supernatural Aid--Zelda has this in spades, but the most literal interpretation is Navi, for better or worse

4. Crossing the First Threshold--Stepping into Hyrule Field for the first time

5. Belly of the Whale--While Link literally does this by going through Jabu-Jabu's Belly, the best example I remember is when Link pulls the Master Sword

6. The Road of Trials--Awakening the six Sages

7. The Meeting with the Goddess--This happens twice--Link and Zelda meet as kids, and the more literal encounter as adults

8. Woman as Temptress--The whole bit with Ruto would probably count as this

9. Atonement with the Father--Meeting the Deku Sprout after clearing the Forest Temple

10. Apotheosis--resting and running around doing sidequests?

11. The Ultimate Boon--The Master Sword

12. Refusal of the Return--This one's hard--Link looking for Navi (or what we assume is Navi) during the beginning of Majora's Mask

13. The Magic Flight--Fleeing Ganon's Castle

14. Rescue From Without--Hm...not sure if Zelda has any moment that would fit this

15. Crossing the Return Threshold--Returning the Master Sword and sealing the Door of Time at the end of the game.

16. Master of Two Worlds--Traveling in time between a child and an adult

17. Freedom to Live--Link is forever known as the Hero of Time.

As you can see, Zelda follows the hero's journey very closely (some steps are out of order).

Thoughts?

Time to get this rolling again...

Take a guess at where this location will appear in the game: The mystery location