Star Willow, [DEMO AVAILABLE!!] Options

[phxDansuke]

Bad stuff happens... obviously because the game needs to have a conflict, doesn't it? ....

Star Willow

Also known as the epic adventure that happens when a legendary energy source goes berserk

Genre: Adventure/Fantasy
Engine: RPG Maker VX Ace

Start Date: 06-18-2012
End Date: TBA (Demo 1 -> http://dl.dropbox.com/u/86152308/Star%20Wi...20%5BEN%5D.rar)
(Demo 2 -> 2013)

Release Date: TBA

Hi, i'm phxDansuke and I'm showing this little game I've been working on recently called Star Willow...

In a nutshell, Star Willow is a tribute to 8 and 16-bit RPGs and games in general... an adventure in which your character directly influence the people living in it. It will include a lot of customization and a story structure similar to the "choose your own adventure" books. Expect lots of awesome cutscenes, interesting characters and videogame references.

You can play as one of two protagonists: Jackal and Fiora. Both are soldiers from the Ubitopia Academy. They aspire to become adventurers like the Archmages from the Willow War, but on their way, they will find way more trouble than expected. In this adventure the player can choose how the protagonist will react to certain situations, therefore changing the other characters' mood and deeply changing the course of the story. More protagonist are likely to be included, at the form of "Expansion Packs", but only after the game's release, and if the game has feedback enough.

[Show/Hide] Setting:

Of every history to be told, the most meaningful happened in Ubitopia, a strong continent where peace was the main value of the eight kingdoms. To reassure peace and prosperity, each kingdom decided to make an alliance to one another, that's when the "Union" was formed, between Lidium, Nazzo, Hyon, Blinity, Alamond, Ulburn, Crydion and Razhion.

But like in everything, this alliance had its weaknesses: while time passed, ideas of conspirations, fear, deception and rumors were stuck in the kingdoms' leaders, there was distrust to the point of a war with devastating proportions, that was the beginning of the greatest of legends.

Slaughter spread on the battlefield, the earth wept while being poured with the crimson tint of blood, to the point that, in the midst of all this hatred and bloodlust, a mysterious willow appeared from the ground.

Many soldiers didn't mind at all for this seemingly random presence, but its branches started to get the attention of the people nearby, as it began to pierce every soldier near it. Paralyzed and defenseless, this plant began to assassinate them, one by one, getting bigger and stronger to the point of having its roots break the ground, destroyed frontiers that once were so deeply united that not even the screams of the suffering witnesses could be heard. Rivers were formed, and maybe the blood had turned into that thick mass resembling the ocean the continent had; destruction and death spread so quickly like the torrents of water that quickly filled the newborn rivers.

That's when the cataclysm that appeared from nowhere, gave the perfect timing for a new Union striving for peace, they would triumph above everything again. With this idea in mind, the soldier began to help needed citizens and every kingdom called his greatest mage.

These eight powerful mages were reunited to fight against this new evil, using their powers to create a powerful spell, that would not only harness the power of the willow, but also would make a "shell" out of itself and seal it permanently... or at least, that's what it seems to this day.

A new era has begun, and the eight mages were known to everyone as the Archmages.

Now in peace, the Union tried to find out about this strange phenomenon that had just killed hundreds of lives, but even the most prodigious scientist couldn't get the slightest hypothesis. "A willow that growed to spread destruction, appeared quickly and from nothing like a shooting star exploring the heavens. Star Willow." they called it. "So no one forgets..."

A phrase that was remembered for years to come, this Star Willow, wouldn't be that much of a mystery very soon...

Approximately, thirty years had passed since that day that felt like an open wound to the continent of Ubitopia, and in every kingdom, a new generation of warriors, sworn to become legends, motivated by the desire to greatness, were trained daily on the Union Academy. A place where they could make those dreams true...

Without knowing......

The seal of the Star Willow was slowly breaking, and in its silent tomb, no one could ever believe that its destructive power was slowly going to be felt over all of Ubitopia, threatening the world around us all over again.

Characters:

[Show/Hide] Jackal

Born from a couple of prodigious warriors, Jackal is the male protagonist of the game. A calm, but insecure boy with a strong sense of moral and leadership. His desire to graduate from the academy is to have enough money to mantain him and his mother's economic status, and move to a better town. He is Cinquedea's "unofficial" leader, with his party members being their best friends Flora and Elroy, and the "official" leader and rival, Edeon.

[Show/Hide] Fiora

Born from a couple of inn owners, Fiora is the female protagonist of the game. She's Jackal's best friend, a secure and strong, but shy girl with a strong sense of responsability and caring towards her party members. Her desire to graduate from the academy is to travel all over the world, and be a prodigious warrior, like Jackal's parents. While she may look weak and insecure in the outside, she has the need to take care of his partners and give her life for their well-being if it's necessary.

[Show/Hide] Edeon

Edeon is the lider of the party group Cinquedea. Chosen for his excellent strategic and combat abilities. However, his arrogance makes it difficult to get along with the party. Edeon enters the academy as a first step to be the heir of his dyansty, because of him being the youngest sibling of Ulran's current governor. Edeon has a rivalty with Jackal because he feels Jackal is a threat to his "authority" within the party.

[Show/Hide] Elroy

Elroy is Jackal's best friend. They met a long time ago, they even entered the academy together. Elroy is known in the town as a prankster and doesn't take stuff so seriously, but is naive and loyal personality makes him an important ally who embraces danger no matter what. His motivation is to get out of the town and explore the world. His weapon of choice are axes.

[Show/Hide] Lanz

TBA

[Show/Hide] Screenshots:

These screenshots are *NOT* in any way, shape or form the final product. They're basically to show off how the game would look like with the regular RTP, and how the choosing mechanics would work. And more essentially, to cover the screens needed to post something here.

[Show/Hide] Credits:

Thanks to the scripters that made the scripts I'm using for this project:
-Yanfly
-Kread-Ex
-Khas Arcthunder
-Woratana
-modern algebra and Pacman
-Enu
...and special thanks to Night_Runner for a pretty important script he made for me.

Characters are made with the RPG Maker VX Ace's character generator. (Screenshots purposes only, they will NOT appear in the main game. Faces made with FoxRichard's Face Maker. Link below.

http://foxrichards.deviantart.com/art/FaceMaker-52755515)

"Yeah, that's kinda cool... but I still don't see what makes this game different from the rest of games in RRR."
Well, don't wait any longer!

[Show/Hide] Features:

*Story, characters and setting made as a tribute to 8-bit and 16-bit RPGs and video games in general.
*Choose your words wisely: Modyfing environment and character moods and personality based on what you say.
*Time and Seasons System: Merry christmas!
*Stealth mechanics, and many missions based on stealth.
*Playable Arcade games with high score, leaderboards and game tournaments.
*Customizable outfits: Your protagonist looks changes depending on the armor it's using.
*Character Selection: You can play as either Jackal or Flora. More characters to be announced if the game has good ratings.
*Free-roaming world: No overworld maps here, you have to travel from one town to another via routes (like Pokemon).
*Alchemy mechanics: Combine and create magic based on objects and recipes.
*Multiple endings.
*And many many many more!!

[Show/Hide] Recruitment:

This is an urgent matter. As you can see, it's a lot of work for a "semi-noob" RPG Maker user isn't it? Well I really need backup from YOU (and by YOU, I mean any help possible.) This is NOT an easy game to make and i'm not the one to the task in making it all by myself. So I need the following:

Event Designer:
I can fit in this role myself, but if someone wants to help me with the massive amount of events my game has, it's a welcome addition.

(HYSTERICALLY BEGGING FOR A...) Spriter:
I don't want this game to use the original RTP. It's cool and all, and the character generator is actually pretty nice, but I want my game to look unique. If you're interested in working in this game with me, i'd be outrageously grateful (does that actually make sense?)

Story Consultant / Writer:
Always in handy.

Composer:
I don't hysterically beg for one, but I need a composer before the release of the first demo. Come on, awesome composer for hire, make my day.

Mapper:
It would be really helpful, as mapping is not my specialty.

Tester:
For long demos or final product, I'll need people to actually play the game. As there are literally hundreds of possible fails if the game doesn't work properly.

Art Direction:
Need official art, logo design, things like that. As you can see, the game's topic is in life support.

That would be all I need for now, but ANY kind of help is appreciated. If you're interested please send me a PM. I'll be sitting in a fetal position in the corner of my room pressing F5 over and over again until I find a message.... Well, not really ... but I'll still be checking my inbox.

Project Update: (07-04-2012)
The game is WAAAAAAYYYYY far from finished. There is still a LOT of things to do. But the story, setting and characters are all there. I just have to make it playable. I have a LOT more in mind than all those features I said earlier, but I have to prove first if they'll work. When it will be released depends on the feedback you guys give to me, because I could be wasting my whole life doing this on my own.

For spanish-speaking RRR users, I inform you the game will be released in both Spanish and English. As I'm making the main project in Spanish (it's my native language), and I'm translating it myself afterwards. There would be a chance of releasing the game into other languages, but that would be if the game actually becomes popular, because I don't know any other languages and that takes a lot of time.

So, yeah... Star Willow, ladies and gentlemen

Please I would love to know your opinion and suggestions to improve the project, so please feel free to comment

This post has been edited by phxDansuke: Dec 25 2012, 07:49 AM

[phxDansuke]

Project Update: (07-29-2012)
The project is still steady , since the game's announcement, I had some people to help me carry on with this project:

aragonez (mapper)
bluend (writer)
fearslayer (writer and story consultant)

I also got suggestions for a mapper and a composer, but they still won't answer. Whatever, I'm still missing some important people, mainly a spriter and a composeer. If someone wants to help with something on the project, don't forget to tell

I'll upload new screenshots that show the awesome job aragonez did, and will show a prettier and more structured game. It's also safe to remember that the final project will NOT use RTP, they're just screenshots to motivate potential staff.

At this point, I think the demo won't be out for a couple of months if everything goes as planned (I'm not any good at making dates so don't expect much from me until it's officialy announced ), and maybe I'll upload a trailer later to cover up a little bit more of gameplay and story.

Don't forget to review & suggest, because that's where the game gets its energy.

To make the update something that's worth it, I've uploaded the new screens, and "unlocked" the character Edeon. Hope you like it

[Magical_RuNE_Kni...]

Edit: nvm. But you might want to maybe work on making your game stand out more. : )
I like the idea of the academy, though. ('v')

This post has been edited by Magical_RuNE_Knight2001: Jul 29 2012, 09:25 PM

[phxDansuke]

Project Update: (09-03-2012)

It's been over a month I haven't said anything about this project.
I'm getting help at a Spanish-speaking RPG Maker community, so the project is going nice and steady. I already got help with art direction so expect new screenshots pretty soon.

We're working on the first demo, which should be out pretty soon, and expect a "sneak peek" with the first 10 minutes of gameplay anytime near the demo's launch. This is a really big project I'm trying to make, so any help is appreciated. Hopefully in 3-4 months the demo will be fully released in English.

I'm still hiring for people who would love to colaborate with this project with art direction and music composing. Don't forget to check the "Setting" of the game again, as it has been updated with a much better summary of the story so far, and I've "unlocked" one of the main characters, Elroy, and a little character summary.

I hope you enjoy these little updates, and stay tuned because the demo is coming soon. Don't forget to comment to know what you think about the game, because this game is for you guys, and I hope you guys enjoy it. Thank you so much for reading.

[Severity]

Your story is certainly interesting. No one would have thought of this idea about a "God" tree, but why is the last part in spanish?(Or something else.) Would be looking forward to a demo!

[phxDansuke]

Your story is certainly interesting. No one would have thought of this idea about a "God" tree, but why is the last part in spanish?(Or something else.) Would be looking forward to a demo!

I paste the original summary I have in spanish and forgot to erase that little bit. Sorry my bad . Fixed

[Severity]

People should seriously check out this game when it releases.

[phxDansuke]

People should seriously check out this game when it releases.

Thank you very much, Severity. I'm working on it the best I can.

Project Update: 10-02-12
The project has been going nice and steady. Unfortunately, I have not a lot to show; now that we're working full time on the demo, but I hope to release some updated screenshots sometime before the release of the demo, and maybe a little "sneak peek" of sorts.

Good thing is that we're on conditions to confirm the release date of this demo, which will be on November 17th. I chose this day as we'll likely to get the demo in 3-4 weeks... and because that's my birthday

So what do you think? I hope this update has been useful. Remember to stay tuned as I will upload screenshots about what can you expect for the demo. I hope you enjoy, thanks for reading

This post has been edited by phxDansuke: Nov 1 2012, 04:06 PM

[phxDansuke]

Project Update: (11-01-2012)

The demo's coming! We've been all month working on the demo, and well... here's a little sneak peek:

The screenshots are from the Spanish version, but don't worry. The demo will be fully translated in English

Well, the screens shows the basic structure of the demo: you'll be in a dungeon, fighting against the monsters lurking in it, pretty straight-forward right? Well, the thing here is that we're going to show the game's most important aspect: how your decisions will affect the story. It basically to show you guys a little "free sample" of the flexibility of the story in the games. This demo will also feature an original soundtrack made specifically for the game and awesome art design. But yeah, you be the judge on November 17th !!

Unfortunately, the demo's not ready yet (it's been a slow month thanks to my exams in college and some stuff that happened lately :/), but I'm working on it the best I can, and the game will probably get ready for the assigned date so don't worry.

One of the most "criticized" things about the game is the use of RTP. I understand this completely, but I still don't get someone who can make tilesets and charas. However, me and my workteam are worried to do the mapping as creative as possible with the resources we have. The game will be of your taste, with or without RTP. I just wanted to say, don't think the game will be completely dependant of RTP. This project will grow with the support and feedback from the community.

And yeah, we're near the demo, and don't forget we're still hiring people for the project. It was a really significant update I guess, see you on November 17th.

[phxDansuke]

Project Update: 12-01-2012

Well, as you can see I couldn't get the demo ready for November 17th. I've already uploaded the demo on Spanish-speaking forums but I had problems while translating the game to English, hence the delay for the demo's release. I'm really sorry if I let someone down on that. In the meantime, you can see some of the screens i've uploaded, and the small changes I made to the "Setting".

Don't forget to leave your comments, criticism, ideas, suggestions, etc. and I hope to get this demo fully playable in English anytime soon. Probably around christmas

[phxDansuke]

Project Update: 12-24-2012

Hello everybody. I'm here to inform you the English version demo is complete and ready for download!

These were kinda stressful months and I haven't been able to have the time to focus completely on my project, but I'm happy to announce you can download the demo and see for yourself what's this game is about.

As I've said before, the demo is pretty short.. with a length of roughly 10 minutes. It's your typical dungeon crawling, but it's in this demo that you can see what will be for the rest of the game, as for characters, setting, music and gameplay mechanics. I hope you enjoy this little demo and give your feedback.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/86152308/Star%20Wi...%20%5BEN%5D.rar

I hope you guys have a merry christmas and a happy new year.