Just a little progress...

Here's just a little taste of Sayamir Caverns: here

Belated State of the Chronicles: October 2011

I would've had this up sooner, but USB port issues forced me offline at the end of the month.

Anyway, work on The Video Game is going very well--we've introduced many new characters and locations, coming ever so closer to a demo release date

This coming month, we hope to have more viginettes up and sneak peeks of the digital Shokiyu

Some of Dorian's Verses

At the beginning of the game:

The world of Shokiyu cries once again
For the demon lord rises and casts a great stain
The Eight Holy Ladies try to hold him back
As at the light barrier, he slashes and hacks

This harrowing scene plays out in a girl's dream
As the Holy Ladies call to her, she hears not their scream
That the hour has come for the Gemsinger to rise
She knows not of her destiny as she opens her eyes....

Receiving the letter to Leria:

How will a quest help us?" the girl did protest
As they walked to the mayor's at her fairy's behest
"Maybe we will find something valuable." she was told
"Such as a rare item, fine jewels, or some gold."

But alas, when they got there, the mayor's request
Was to deliver a letter, the girl was distressed
But they set out for the palace far to the east...
The girl she complained, and wasn't pleased in the least

When Miresa accidentally burns a rare vase with an errant fire spell:

A fire spell cast to amaze and astound
A family heirloom was burned to the ground
The girl was heartbroken, it had been there for years
And her parents would have no sympathy for her tears

But all was not lost! her fairy did say
A traveling merchant has come here today
Maybe he'll have a vase like the one burned?
So the girl grabbed her coins, for a new vase she yearned!

Video Game Update: Dorian LaMaire

See Dorian in action!

Note that what he says here is a temporary script.

Digital Viginette #3: Meet Dorian LaMaire

Dorian LaMaire is one of the more well known Shokiyan minstrels--in The Video Game, he keeps track of what you've done previously, reminds you of what you need to be doing, and notifies you of any sidequests in the area. If you were to actually meet him, he would probably say this:

Welcome! Welcome, traveler! I am Dorian LaMaire, a pearl rank minstrel of the Fellowship of Singers. As with others of my trade, I make a living wandering about Shokiyu, telling tales and singing songs about great heroes, cunning tricksters, fair ladies, terrifying monsters, and other figures of Shokiyan lore.

Right now, I'm in the process of writing the tale of the Sixth Gemsinger--so if you find me on your travels, I will be happy to tell you what I have of the tale so far, in exchange for a coin or two in the harp case.

When to Expect a Demo

My partner on a timeframe for a demo:

"The answer is simply...

I really don't know yet.

I was thinking of making a demo for Gemsinger Chronicles: The Video Game. However there's still much more I need to do before a demo is ready. I have many incomplete and unmade sidequests. I want to be able to get the Halliwen sidequest developed and the underwater sea sidequest finished. I also need to start upgrading the scenes and do some tinkering with the battle system. I also want to get more gameplay before a demo is released.

My goal is to finish the Ice Sigil and get the Fire and Wind Sigils done as well. Then a demo will be made. Progress is increasing on that. I have to finish the Isilia Mountains and make the Ice area (Unnamed Ice Dungeon) so that the Ice Sigil will be complete. Then I can move onto Fire and Wind. (I have something special for those two. However I won't spoil that yet)

After that I will have done 5/8 of the main quest completed. (8 gems, and I would've had 5 out of 8 gems)

Then I will most likely have a demo ready. However, this won't be something that will be released in a day. It will take quite a while for this to be ready.

So stay tuned for Video Game updates."

The State of the Chronicles: September 2011

Viginettes returned in full force, and even my Video Game partner got in on the writing by contributing a few written sneak peeks of the digital version of Shokiyu.

I'm looking foward to the day when we can get a playable version of The Video Game to you. (even if it is just a quick demo)

That said, is there anything you'd like to see "cross over" from one version to the other, or have a prompt for a viginette? Let me know in the comments.

Video Game Update: Ice area and Magia Points

Some footage of the mountains and a new feature: Magia points. Check it out

Digital Viginette #2: Sudden Occurrence

Another digital viginette, courtesy of my partner:

"We've finally made it to the Forest of Dawn!" Bradlin exclaimed. Miresa, Arune, and Bradlin observed the area around them. The three had been given a quest by the mayor of Telrain. They would act as messangers and deliver a letter to Queen Leria of Selance.

"This forest is gigantic. I want to deliver the letter to Her Majesty before the end of today, so we should make sure we manage our time well," Miresa explained. The forest was huge, and filled with monsters. If they moved at a fast enough pace, they would make it before nightfall.

"You're right. It's best for us to make it to Selance. Important messages like this should be delivered as soon as possible. Maybe we could sleep at a nice inn when we get there," Arune nodded. As the capital city of the east continent of Shokiyu, Selance had many nice shops to go to. The inns were no different.

"We should probably get moving then," Miresa said. The other two nodded and the group began their journey through the Forest of Dawn. The time was still at full day, so the sunlight shone through the trees and combined with the sparkling butterflies to create a beautiful view. Arune seemed to admire the lush, green forestry and Bradlin seemed to occasionally stare at the sky. They slowly approached a creek up ahead.

"Thank goodness for the bridge," Miresa sighed of relief. Things would've been more difficult for her and Bradlin if there wasn't the bridge for them to cross. Arune would've been able to flutter across. Miresa began to walk through the connected, wooden planks. She slowly began to feel tired as if unconsciousness was pulling onto her.

"Miresa, is there something wrong?" Arune asked. But Miresa didn't seem to hear her. Miresa was slowly losing consciousness and she could hear a voice speaking to her. But only Miresa could hear it.

"The sigils are disappearing. A new gemsinger must arise…" spoke the whispering voice in Miresa's head. A few moments later she collapsed on the bridge.

"Oh no! She's lost consciousness!" Arune fluttered up to her and tried to shove her, despite their size differences, as if to try and wake her. Bradlin came running up shortly.

"Miresa! Can you hear me!?" He shoved her as well. "It's no use! She won't respond," Bradlin's voice was filled with urgency.

"We're going to have to take her to Lady Galia back in Telrain," Arune explained. "Do you think you can carry her?" she asked.

"Yes, let's hurry!" Bradlin wasted no time and swung Miresa over his shoulder. He began to run in the direction of Telrain with Arune hustling in the air at his side. Arune looked at her Other with worry.

"Please be alright," Arune said.

Digital Viginette #1: Encounter at the Earth Sigil

So my partner (the head designer of The Video Game) decided to give you guys a sneak peek of Shokiyu's digital form--enjoy!

"Miresa, are you ready?" Galia asked as the group stood at the entrance to the peak of the Earthly Crags. They had been on their journey for a while, and had heard rumors that the "Gemsinger" had come to the Earthly Crags. This was all wrong of course. The true gemsinger was Miresa herself.

"Yes, I'm ready to sing at the sigil to summon Goddess Terre. We've worked hard to get this far, and I won't let Goddess Meikon down," Miresa calmly replied. She turned around to face her group. "Everyone, please wish me luck." Miresa closed her eyes as if to say a prayer to Meikon.

"Don't worry. I'll be by your side!" Miresa's Other, Arune fluttered by her side. The fairy held both her mini sword and her shield with the pride of a Wingblade, while Bradlin gave Miresa an approving look. Miresa nodded her head silently. She was ready to summon Terre and protect the Gaia Emerald from the rumored Gemsinger.

"Thank you, everyone, for your support. Let us go!" Miresa turned around and faced the opening once again. The group slowly walked through the giant exit of the cave and entered the Earth Shrine. Miresa looked to her sides. They were high on the small mountain that resided by Brightleaf. She could see the village below.

Ahead of the group were a few steps. They walked up the short stairs and onto flat ground again. "I can really see the view from here!" Bradlin remarked. He looked over the edge of the rocky wall of the summit of the mountain. But their admiration was short lived.

"It's the false Gemsinger! I thought it would be you, Lytas!" Miresa yelled through the sound of the harsh mountain wind. Just ahead of the group were many soldiers of Katva's army, and Lytas, one of the admins.

The female demon chuckled. "Of course! We, of Lord Katva's army, need the power of the Earth Sigil!" Lytas turned around to face the group, with a sly smirk on her face. She looked at the elves from Brightleaf that had taken her here to the Earth Sigil. "All of you are a bunch of fools. I will admit, I was never the Gemsinger. And now that you lead our army to the location of the Gaia Emerald, you can go back and tell your little village that it's all your fault the world will be destroyed."

"Silence!" Lytas turned around at the voice of Miresa. "This new world of yours is not going to be created. I, the sixth Gemsinger, will stop you at all costs!" Miresa drew her sword and readied for battle.

"Like that's a stone of power!" Lytas let out a laugh. "You cannot defeat me. All of you inferior beings will perish before the might of Lord Katva's army!" Lytas flapped her wings and rose to the air.

"We have to be careful. This isn't going to be an easy battle." Galia warned. The other party members headed her words and the battle to save the Gaia Emerald had begun!

Viginette: Anticipation

Done in dialogue, Miresa and Arune:

"Did you hear? Did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"The great storyteller Yeline Rowata is coming to Telrain!"

"Like THAT's a Stone of Power! Yeline's a high ranking storyteller at that--what would make her want to come all the way out here?"

"Storytellers are like minstrels, Arune--they go where the wind takes them."

"So they do...have you heard Yeline perform before?"

"Yes, she told 'The Ungrateful Dragon', and "The Brave Seer..."

"Isn't that the one where a seer foretells demons crashing a mage's tournament, and helps a mage defeat the demons?"

"That's it!"

"Interesting...what other tales does she know?"

"Well...I don't remember the names of these, but she told one about a wizard whose friendship with the High Goddess helped him reveal that a legendary sword did not belong to a bandit, and the one about how Leria's uncle, Duke Siarl, outwitted a traitorous advisor with a swordsman's help..."

"I bet that one was funny!"

"Oh, it was! I was laughing so hard at how the captain of the guard kept refusing to believe him."

New Viginette: Anticipation

So I'm going to write more viginettes of Shokiyu, and my next prompt is "anticipation--so what's the best way to approach this?

Birthdays/festivals are the most obvious route, but what would be another feasible thing for Miresa to anticipate?

The Problem with Pacing

While this mainly has to do with pacing in games, a lot of what is said here can also be applied to stories too Extra Credits: Pacing

Video Game Update: Weather

Check it out here.

The State of the Chronicles: August 2011 and Plans for September

After a bit of a vacation, we continued working on The Video Game in earnest.

It's already shaping up to be an epic adventure, but there's still a lot of work to be done tweaking both versions of the world--so if there's a topic you want me to discuss, please tell me.

Another video

Part 2 of the Ocean Sapphire scene

Bear in mind that the dungeons will not be this small when the final game releases

New Gameplay Video

Ten minute update

I'll have another one tomorrow.

Currently, the whole game runs 3 hours

A Tale of Two Games

After a bit of a vacation from the blog, I now have a dillema concerning the Video Game...which version would you want the final game based off of?

A. The Project S draft
B. The newly revived Project R draft (details here
or C. Some combination of the two?

A Quick Tour of Telrain

Telrain is built around a town square, with some of the market and shops filling the west side. Going north will take you to the temple, the school house, and the council's houses. Southward leads to the entrance, and going east will take you to the entertainment district (it has a theater and a concert hall)

Video Game Update: Battle Arena

Check it out here