Aria: The Last Days, The quest for the four crystals ends up being just a diversion. Options

[Ragnarok99999]

*This game is for RPG Maker VX and is COMPLETE. I understand it's not perfect and I'd like to fix those imperfections if enough people are interested enough to play. I'd appreciate some feedback on this project. It's approximately 10-12 hours long by the way.

Aria: The Last Days

Story: Aria, the daughter of the Green Crystal elder has been burdened with the task of acquiring the power of the Green Crystal. She must do this to prevent the resurrection of the their ancient foe that comes back every 200 years. But, Chronos, the Earth Guardian, foretells his coming and Aria must now venture to acquire the remaining three crystals. Together with the aid of her companions she completes her task but she meets many unexpected enemies along the way. Who she thought were her friends turn out to be foes and she no longer knows whom to trust.
She is presented with 2 paths: Will she arrive at the correct conclusion?
*Warning* The second half of the game contains a lot of religious elements. If Christianity offends you then you might not want to play.

World: The game takes place in the world of Ormus. Every 200 years an enemy that threatens the world attacks Ormus. No one knows what the enemy is or why it attacks since no records or details remain after the assault. The world continues to exist so they just assume someone stopped the attack.
There are 4 crystals in Ormus, each embodied with the power of one of the elements. A village guards each crystal and chooses a person to inherit the powers of the crystal. Such is the way that Ormus insures its safety. The 4 people who are charged with wielding the power of the crystals are supposedly those that save Ormus from its demise every time. But is that really the truth?
There are 3 continents: North, East, and West. Aria and her companions only explore the East and West continents.
There are also places outside the world of Ormus��‚��

Gameplay: This rpg features a side-view battle system that's active time (all done through scripts that talented people were nice enough to post online). This game is non-traditional in that it has no levels, equipment, money, or world maps. Instead, characters raise parameters by using items called Crystals which are created through shard-merging (shards are obtained from enemies after battles). Spells are obtained from items or storyline events. Since a currency does not exist, items are obtained after battles or treasure chests. The player moves from one screen to the next with no world map to explore (like Star Ocean 3 or Secret of Mana for example).

Main Characters:

Aria (Age 19): She is serious about her responsibility as Green crystal bearer but, lacks the faith in her own abilities. Nevertheless, she starts off on her quest to claim the other 3 crystals��‚��„� powers. Along the way she realizes that things are not as they appear and she questions the purpose of her quest. Later, she finds out that her life��‚��„�s destiny is determined by one simple question��‚��
She uses a rapier in battle and is proficient in healing. She also learns elemental saber attacks and various other spells.

Blight (Age 24?): Very little is known about Blight. He just shows up an offers his help to Aria.
He is calm, composed, and slightly aloof. He also seems to be really old but only looks to be in his early twenties. There are just too many mysteries about him but, in time his true character reveals itself.
Blight wields a lance in battle, uses debuffs, status spells, and some low-level elemental spells.
While he can use the elements, it is ill advised to use them unless you plan to raise his Magic power substantially.

Chronos (Age ???): He is the Earth Guardian and is the one that warns Aria of the impending doom that Ormus faces. He is loyal to Aria and honors her wishes even if he has some doubts about her judgment.
Chronos uses an axe in battle. His spells are mostly buffs but he also learns some healing spells. He also has the potential to be a powerful physical attacker. His presence is vital for later boss fights.

Diamond (Age 17): She is Aria��‚��„�s best friend and joins her on the quest to claim the crystals��‚��„� powers. She��‚��„�s just there to support Aria and because she wants to see Ormus remain peaceful.
She uses a rod in battle. Her primary form of attack is elemental spells and she can become a powerful mage if used correctly.

Credits:

Scripts
Wait Guage (9 scripts) ��‚��€œ Ziifee
Simple SBS ��‚��€œ Reedo
Custom Menu ��‚��€œ KGC
Pseudo 3D Battleback ��‚��€œ Cozziekuns
YEZ Custom Status Properties ��‚��€œ Yanfly
YEZ Core Fixes and Upgrades ��‚��€œ Yanfly
Revive State Script ��‚��€œ Enu
Credits Script - Jet
Class Stat Limit - Mithran

Resources
Title Screen ��‚��€œ Rekx
Windowskin Generator ��‚��€œ Aindra and Woratana
Character Generator ��‚��€œ Damian666

Music
Claude Debussy
Hiroshi Tamwari
Hitoshi Sakimoto
Masashi Hamauzu
Motoi Sakuraba
Nobuo Uematsu
Shinji Tamura
Tappi Iwase
Tsuyoshi Sekito
Yasunori Mitsuda
Yoko Shimomura

Screenshots:













edit 1: version 1.1 is complete! substantial changes to the maps have been made. New screenshots posted soon.

*Spoiler*
Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?pwcsgit7918dfs7
You do not need RPG Maker VX installed to play this. It comes with the RTP.

I hope you enjoy my latest project.

This post has been edited by Ragnarok99999: May 31 2012, 10:13 PM

[Titanhex]

The mapping is rather dull. But other than that the synposis and gameplay sounds fascinating. Certainly worth a look.

[Kaimi]

Yes, maps certainly need a person who would give them some charm. If you can't map, I advise you to recruit someone who would help you with them.

[supercow]

title looks like could be very interesting, but its hard to read the words. the colour almost blended too well its hard to distinguish it.
you could use outer white/ other colour to distinguish the difference, so its easier to recognize.
map is too big and bland
theres 1 tomb that harbors a thousand souls? and the grass is too well tended?

[Ragnarok99999]

Aria version 1.1 is complete. I mostly changed the maps...tried to make them less bland. I hope that people will start talking about the story now because all I've heard so far are comments about mapping (from 3 different forums).

[anubischick]

Ragnarok99999 the reason you are hearing about the mapping rather than the story is that it is the visual interface that delivers the tale. If that interface, be it maps, facesets, sprites or anything else, are lacking it detracts from the ability to portray that story in a way that is going to engage the player.

You state that you've worked to improve the maps so I imagine the comments you will now receive are more in line with the sort you are seeking, provided, of course, that the change is enough to warrant a closer or further inspection.

Now I'm not going to play your game, not because of the maps, though from the screenshots the complaints are valid, but because you have already kindly warned me off doing so. Christianity doesn't 'offend' me, no religion offends me, but the inclusion of an Earth based religious doctrine into a fantasy world always feels false whenever I come across it. No matter the religion, Christianity is the most prevalent I have seen but I have played games where Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and even a somewhat twisted form of Nazism (like that wasn't twisted enough) appear and I know enough about comparative religions/faiths/cults to recognise them when they raise their heads. So I do appreciate the heads up, though you may want to reword the term 'offend'. It comes across with a inordinate level of disapprobation.

I wish you luck and hope your game receives the attention you seek.

[zacheatscrackers]

I'm a sucker for games that use sideview battle systems (especially w/ ATB), and the story seems interesting enough, so I might give this a whirl.

Mapping looks a bit... egh, though.

This post has been edited by zacheatscrackers: May 30 2012, 11:21 AM

[Ragnarok99999]

I was a bit lazy in uploading the screenshots from version 1.1. The mapping isn't amazing but, it's definitely less bland than what's posted here. I'll upload them... or you can check out www.rpgmaker.net where everything is up-to-date already.

[Lato]

Yeah im gonna have to agree with everyone else on this one, the maps are a real eyesore, I never liked mapping with VX but its a necessary evil.
There is just way to much open space, the world just isnt like that, unless MAYBE your in the desert. I would just try throwing a bunch of stuff in there and see what happens.

[X-M-O]

I think there might be a way for you to improve your mapping without too much difficulty.
The idea I have, is that you can take a helicopter view of an old port town to see how things might be arranged (and how crowded it would look, as well as where things might be located) and what thing might be there.

So for your port town screenshot, I'd say that if you were to modify it to look more like this version of Port Morris, you might be able to make your map/town look more authentic/believable. =]

I'd recommend that, for every map you make, you should find a real life example that is relative to what you are trying to make and then use it as a guide to construct your map.

I hope that is helpful.

[Ragnarok99999]

I think there might be a way for you to improve your mapping without too much difficulty.
The idea I have, is that you can take a helicopter view of an old port town to see how things might be arranged (and how crowded it would look, as well as where things might be located) and what thing might be there.

So for your port town screenshot, I'd say that if you were to modify it to look more like this version of Port Morris, you might be able to make your map/town look more authentic/believable. =]

I'd recommend that, for every map you make, you should find a real life example that is relative to what you are trying to make and then use it as a guide to construct your map.

I hope that is helpful.

That's a good idea I might use for my next project. I've noticed lately that I'd look at something and imagine it in rpgmaker.

[X-M-O]

Well, you might not be able to find exactly what you want in reality, but it can at least be a guide for you. =]

That's funny, lol.
When I used to edit audio files in Audacity, I would randomly think something similar when I'd listen to music (I'd always imagine what it would sound like if I changed x or y.)

[amerk]

Closed at the OP's request.