What's New - 9/28/16

*"Neko the Catboy" added in select towns and villages. This NPC wanders around selling his tabloid-like (mostly gossip but now-and-then something interesting/worthwhile) newsletter for five coins.

*Holy Tombs B2 layout slightly altered

*Added "Repel" spell, prevents random encounters for 100 steps.

*New enemies: Looter, BumbleBee, Collector, Pixie, Inferno, and Mirage.

*Added "Entertainment Venue" business to Theos.

Enemies and hazards.

Simply put, enemies are a large part of what makes RPGs (or really any game for that matter), fun to play. But, like with most things in life, balance is important. If you can kill every enemy in the game with one attack then the game will lack challenge. If every enemy in the game can kill YOU in one attack, it's the exact same problem, just at the other end of the spectrum.

When developing enemies in LifeWeaveR (especially the bosses) I used a three-tier approach to help me with any fine-tuning of enemy attributes:

1: Fight the enemy using the worst equipment possible.
2: Fight the enemy using at least some weapon/armor upgrades.
3: Fight the enemy with the best possible equipment.

 Take Ageus here for example. As the very first boss enemy of the game, I wanted to keep the difficulty factor a little on the easy side. Thus, I tweaked the settings until he was possible to defeat at about level 5, even using the bare minimum equipment. Note that I didn't say EASILY defeat. It took a lot of adjusting and re-adjusting, but the end result is that it is possible to beat him using the basic sword and leather armor you are given before you even step outside of Ami's house.

This helps me ensure that the difficulty level never soars into "Excessively unreasonable", because you shouldn't have to spend four hours gaining levels plus thousands of coins in weapons/armor/items just to defeat the very first boss of the game.. If you grind until you're level 15, buy the best gear possible, and STILL can't beat him, then I feel the problem is with the player, not the game.

Some enemies, though dangerous, are highly sought after because of the potential rewards.

For example, this one.

This is called a "Melancholy", and gives a whopping 37,000 experience when defeated. The Melancholy is similar to the Metal Slimes and Metal Babbles that you're probably familiar with if you played the Dragon Warrior series of games. The Metals in those games offered huge experience points, but generally were extremely tough to kill due to a combination of ultra-high defense, and the fact that 99% of the time they'd run away in the first round. The fairy-like Melancholy also have high defense, but will not run until the fourth round, giving the player a much better chance at defeating them (which is still going to be hard since they tend to be fond of the instant death spells Flatline and Genocide).

Enemies, however, are not the only things that can kill you in LifeWeaveR. Most RPGs have some form of "damage zones" (places you cannot walk or enter without taking damage) but this isn't just a hazard for RPGS or even for older games (Alien: Isolation, for example, has areas you cannot survive in without proper equipment). Aside from the traditional "damage floor" that deals damage with every step, LifeWeaveR has places (such as the appropriately-named "Death Marsh") that are fatal if the player even comes into contact with them.

The Ice Cavern of Alistine.

Then there are places which pose a hazard no matter what the player does or equips. The Ice Cavern of Alistine is a good example. Regardless of what equipment the player is wearing or what spells might be known, the sub-freezing temperature of the Ice Cavern causes a very slow but steady drop in Hit Points that, if not addressed. will eventually lead to the death of all party members.

I realize that such a mechanic forces players to continuously expend either items or MP in order to survive, even though they're not in battle or being attacked. However, the damage suffered is very small (if I remember correctly it's set to -0.5%) and it's appropriate for the setting. In other words, one would expect that being in an environment with sub-freezing temperatures would have a negative impact on ones health. LifeWeaveR may be a fantasy game with fantasy elements, but in my own opinion, a game mechanic such as this adds a little bit of fun and creativity.

Enemies and the environment aside, players also must be weary of one of the most time-honored and desired features to ever appear in RPGS; the treasure chest. Enemies hiding in treasure chests are nothing new or original, but I'm not talking about that sort of treasure chest (though, again, LifeWeaveR does have them). I'm talking about the sort of treasure chest that might be a bomb in disguise, or might literally rob the player when it's opened.



There are some that will pilfer an item upon being disturbed, some that force the player into a battle, and some that inflict a status ailment such as paralysis or "Soul Bleed" which is similar to poisoning, only instead of health, it's MP that gradually decreases. Staying at an Inn or using items will replenish the MP of the affected character, but without the proper countermeasure their MP will just self-deplete down to zero again.

There are many more hazards and obstacles in LifeWeaveR that I haven't mentioned, but not everything should be publicly divulged ahead of time. Some of them the player will just have to discover for themselves once the game is finally complete.

What's New - 9/18/16

*Added more "environmental tinting", which is basically just changing the tint color of the environment to match the surroundings (such as darkening the tint inside caves or brightening it near the top floor of towers).

*In addition to the above, added a glowing aura around the Magic Crystals found in most dungeons.




*Re-wrote numerous text blocks to better align the margins between the word and the text box itself.

*Cecelias age has been corrected. It's 31 according to canon, but in one spot was listed as 35 and 28 in another.

*Added new state: Intoxicated. When this is in effect, characters manual control is removed and the character is more or less on "auto-pilot". It's similar to the state "Confusion" except that it wears off quicker (5-7 turns instead of 8-10) and instead of only attacking allies, characters that are intoxicated attack anything (and with greatly reduced accuracy and defense).

*Redesigned Cordova Castle jail, removed inmate who was in for bad singing.

What's New - 9/13/16

*Slight change to World Map (altering forest near Lyzera and Siltory House)

*Enemies Sai Stalker, Ambusher, Enchanter, and Fae added.

*Enemy troops added to Forest of Shadows, Lyzera area, and Great Ocean Cave

*Fixed glitch where Forest robbers would still appear after defeat.

*Re-write of Sepious Shard Shop owners explanation.

What's New - 9/7/16

Note: 9/7 is the date of post, but may include updates or corrections made in last 7 days.

*Removed Lyzera Town center statue, replaced with dirt path intersection.

*Fate Glass Mirror Fragment #3 now in Great Ocean Cavern, #4 now in Life Weaver Temple (switched)

*Ami's party now meets Pria before obtaining the #3 fragment instead of before the #4 fragment as originally scripted.

*Began replacing the black square doorways with actual doors.

*KikLaQuay village added.

*Ocean Cavern battle background set, five troops of enemies assigned.

*Two new items: Clarity Vial (cures BLINDNESS), and Siren Vial (cures SILENCE).

Features

Aside from Maps, all (or nearly all) RPG games share some basic features. Hit Points, Magic Points, enemies, and healing items are some of the almost universal features of Role-Playing Games, and are all found in LifeWeaveR. But there are many other features I wanted to include that I'd wished were in some of the games I had played previously, or that I'd found useful, or that I thought really enhanced the game as a whole. This includes, but is not limited to:

The "Shard" System

Ami learns about "Shards"

This was an idea I'd had for a while, and after debating about it, I decided it was something I definitely wanted to include. "Shards" are similar to "Materia" from Final Fantasy 7. They're bought in stores, found, or given to characters and whoever equips it can use whatever type of spell or magic associated with the Materia.

In LifeWeaveR, Shards work the same way except they cannot be transferred between players. What this means is once a character uses it, the skill is instantly learned and permanently added to the characters list of available spells. You cannot remove it once it has been learned, and not every spell in the game can be learned through Shards. Some you're going to have to get the old-fashioned way.

Experience and Level Supplements

Everyone hates "grinding" in RPGs, myself included. The fact is though that unless you're playing Undertale, you're going to have to at least to some degree. LifeWeaveR is no different; If you don't gain levels and build your stats, you're not going to beat it. Just like with the Maps and Locations, I tried to find a middle ground between "Grinding is necessary" and "Grinding is tedious, boring, and frustrating".

And I did, through items called "Crystallized Wisdom", of which Cascadia has three kinds: Crystallized Wisdom adds 1000 experience to your party. Pure Crystallized Wisdom will add 6,000, and Divine Crystallized Wisdom awards 15,000 exp. In addition, there are other items known as "Enhancement Crystals". Using one of these boosts the entire parties level by 1, and there are 10 of them in the entire game.


Additional exp and stat bonuses can be found by reading the red books found throughout Cascadia. Some will give bonus Exp, some will raise a stat such as ATK or DEF. Some will even upgrade your enemy item drop rate or give you more money from defeating enemies.

In addition, there are many "side quests" and mini-games that you can accept or play that award you additional Exp. It may be small amounts such as 50-100, or it could be 500-1000 or even higher. Even small amounts are very useful because any Exp earned this way means less time spent having to grind.

Equipment Compatibility

I personally love the older RPGs more than the newer ones. Nearly every RPG gamer I've ever known started with an NES (Dragon Warrior/Quest series, Final Fantasy, etc...) or an SNES (Chrono Trigger, etc..). My first game was Dragon Warrior III for the NES, which I still play even to this day because it is my favorite title in the series. But it had an enormous flaw that seems to have become less of a flaw and more of a standard feature. To put it simply:

The Wizard/Mage's selection of equipable weapons and armor is unbelievably limited.

DWIII is probably the biggest culprit of this that I've ever seen. Wizards start with clothes and a wooden stick and it's nearly 8 towns/villages/cities into the game before you can buy them anything half-decent to use. I understand it's that whole "What they lack in equipment they make up for in magic attacks" deal but that shouldn't mean they can't wear a leather hat or carry a knife. LifeWeaveR reduces set-backs like this by using the [Universal] class of weapons and armor, and by widening the range of equipment they're able to use.

[Universal] weapons work fine in the beginning, but there are only a few that fit into that category and they're limited in effectiveness. Every character has their own signature type of weapon. Tysessor uses mostly axes, William mostly spears, Cecelia mostly bows and arrows, etc.. Also, every character has a special skill they can learn based on the weapon type they have. Ami, for example, receives the Razor Wind Sword technique after returning to Vhespia and finding it destroyed.

[Accessories] are worn in addition to the standard head/body/shield/helmet set-up. Their effects cover a wide range and include reduced damage from elements, increases in AGI, immunity to poison, boosted DEF, and many others. There is even a rare accessory called a 'Halo' that regenerates a characters MP and HP every turn in battle.

Party and Options Menu

LifeWeaveR features a non-standard Options menu that allows the player to change the music/sound volume, control the menu colors, enable/disable battle animations, change how text is displayed, and more. The Party menu is also non-standard and allows the player to have five members in the group instead of the standard four. Both of these scripts were created by the highly-talented  Yanfly as part of the Yanfly Engine Ace library.




"User Friendly" NPCs

I know that sounds a little confusing so I'll explain it. LifeWeaveR tells you right from the start that talking to people is vital for advancing the story. I think it's safe to say that 99% of players would have talked to NPCs on their own even without prompting from the game. This is an RPG after all, you're supposed to talk to people. The problem is a lot of the time, they don't tell you anything of actual importance, and you're basically thrown to the wolves.

In LifeWeaveR, nearly all of the hints and help needed is obtained by talking to various people. Going back to DWIII again, I realized a long time ago that if it wasn't for online FAQs, I'd have never finished the game because you literally have almost zero idea of what to do or where to go. The NPCs you talk to usually don't say anything worthwhile and even when they do, it's vague. That said, LifeWeaveR isn't going to put up signs telling players exactly where to go and what to do. The information you need is there, but you're going to have to work in order to find it.

The "Destiny Bell"

Throughout the game, the player will at times encounter situations in which Ami is prompted to make a decision that will change the story. When you make such a choice it is final and there is no going back.

 Shortly into the game, Ami encounters this situation for the first time (Shown on left).

The first time is relatively minor. Whether she chooses to help the cat or not, the cat leaves after her decision is made and does not return. As the game progresses, the impact of her choices become more and more obvious. .

You should probably think about this one for a minute.

Although none of the choices will actually change the games ending, a good deal of them change how much trouble you have GETTING to the ending. The situation on the right is a good example of a choice with far-reaching consequences. This situation is more-or-less "obviously important", but there are others just as important as this one that by all appearances seem insignificant and irrelevant. Try to keep in mind that the Destiny Bell tolls AFTER a choice has been made, not before. Therefore, you're advised to give any situation where choices must be made some thought.

Locations

No matter what system it was for,  or how old it is, or how it was created, all RPGs share a vital element: maps. Because of their importance, this is an element of the game that the developer usually spends a great deal of time working on. No matter how well-written it is or how good the graphics are, maps are going to have a big influence on players opinion of your game.

Let's take this for example:

On the left is a screenshot of how I originally designed an in-game forest. It is literally a tiled screen with a path through it. On the right is the final version of that same forest after it had been revised several times. It took a much bigger effort, but I'm much happier with the result that I'd have been if I just half-assed it and called it a day.

That isn't to say that maps have to be super complicated to have any degree of quality to them. On the left is a shot of Ami's hometown Vhespia. It's nothing fancy or complex, but it still serves its purpose just fine.

The fact that it doesn't have 50 stores or an extreme amount of detail doesn't make it poor quality or badly designed. Vhespia is a very poor village, so it makes sense that it would be small in size and not have much to offer.










In contrast to this, Megarah (shown here) has numerous points of interest and offers things small villages like Vhespia don't. Even though Megarah has a far bigger map than Vhespia, it too was designed simply and straightforward.

The reason for that is I didn't want players to have to run around and scour the entire city looking for something that I could have easily placed in a more obvious location. It frustrates everyone when this happens, so I wanted to try and prevent or reduce as much of it as possible.

This same reasoning applies to dungeons, but to a lesser degree. Some of LifeWeaveRs dungeons are simple to navigate whereas others can be an outright pain in the ass. The one thing they all have in common is I tried to find a balance between difficulty and frustration level. If the dungeon is too complex players may get frustrated and quit. If it is too easy, they may get bored and quit.

I decided not to post any screenshots of the dungeons, as I felt that the game would be more enjoyable if players explored it for themselves instead of just following a picture.

Well, I guess just one would be fine.

Characters

Name: Ami Maye
Age: 19
Class: Spellblade
Hometown: Vhespia

The only child of Alex and Jessica Maye, Ami was raised entirely by her father due to her mothers death shortly after she was born. Strong-willed and confident, but also sarcastic and impatient.



Name: William DeGaulle
Age: 21
Class: Paladin
Hometown: Sepious

After both of his parents seemingly disappeared, William was taken in by his grandmother Judith and now lives with her in his hometown of Sepious. He meets Ami for the first time in Terror Tower and develops a crush on her.



Name: Tysessor Frederick Von Howard Stilvigson
Age: 43
Class: Royal Soldier
Hometown: Hirsheen

The captain of Hirsheens Royal Guard, Tysessor was one of the soldiers tasked with helping expel Vilogon and those loyal to him from Hirsheen. Somewhat irritable most of the time, he joins Amis party on his kings request.



Name: Pria Silvrose
Age: 24
Class: Sage
Hometown: Gildora

Raised in the Gildora Childrens Orphanage along with her older
sister Elyssius (who went missing after joining a search party trying to locate Vilogon), Pria is very skilled in magic, and tends to become angry when her white hair causes her to be mistaken as elderly.



Name: Cecelia Streyrite
Age: 31
Class: Archer
Hometown: Theos

This blue-haired Archer helps operate the Gildora Childrens Orphanage. Her youthful appearance often misleads people to believe she's much younger than she actually is. She has an ongoing friendly feud with Pria, often calling her "Granny" or "Senior Citizen", and in turn is often called "Wildflower" or "Cotton Candy".

Synopsis

Synopsis:

LifeWeaver is set in the fictional world of Cascadia. Long ago, the Divine Spirits that created the world grew tired of what they referred to as "Wasted Passion" (the example given in-game is of a woman whose ambition is to become a singer despite having no talent for it.)  To counteract this, they created an artifact known as the "Fate Glass Mirror" that has the ability to literally re-write ones destiny and fate to nearly anything they desire.

Along with this, the created the title of Life Weaver, or "One who weaves life and fate". How the title is transferred remains a mystery, but it is revealed there is only one in existence at a time. Therefore, the current Life Weaver has to either die or surrender his power before another one can exist. Because of such a limit, the Life Weavers Temple is in a fixed location, and those needing his services must come to him.

The games primary antagonist, a former Royal Soldier named Vilogon, is shown being arrested in a flashback that occurred 22 years before the games beginning. After a failed coup, his King expelled Vilogon and all the Royal Guard members loyal to him from the country of Hirsheen. Vilogon decided that if he were to possess the Fate Glass Mirror, he could use it's fate-altering power for himself. Learning of the plot, the then-current Life Weaver broke the mirror into six pieces and entrusted them to six worthy individuals before going into hiding in an effort to evade Vilogon and his men.

In the present day, the games protagonist, 19 year old Ami Maye, wakes up on the morning before a yearly event called the Terror Tower Competition. Now in its 53rd year, the annual contest involves participants fighting their way to the top floor of Terror Tower in an effort to obtain an item known as the Golden Cross. The first one to obtain the Cross and return to the Mayors office of the sponsoring town will receive money and a trophy for winning the event.

After initial complications, Ami enters and succeeds in winning. When she returns to her home, she finds it has been completely destroyed along with all it's citizens. Just before dying, her father tells her Lord Vilogon (whom had been MIA for some time at the games beginning) has returned and is responsible for what has happened to her village. After his death, Ami decides to go against her fathers wishes and seek revenge for her village.

There's not much I can say after that without giving away large amounts of the plot. The story-line has two distinct goals.

1: Defeating Vilogon
2: Recovering the Fate Glass Mirror fragments.

There is much more than just that, but again, this is as much as can be said without spoiling anything.

Welcome to the LifeWeaveR RPG Development blog.

LifeWeaveR is an indie Role-Playing Game created and developed by myself, Matt Montgomery. Development began in September of 2015, making LifeWeaveR a project one year in the making.

It was created entirely in RPG Maker VX Ace, but does include custom Ruby scripts from some very talented programmers, as well as custom artwork (if all goes well with the artist). The game is about 90% finished and a demo is available for download.

At first I was a bit unsure about the project, largely due to the negative opinion many people have about games made from RPG Maker software. Although I certainly see where this view is coming from, I'd like to remind people to follow the old adage of not judging a book by its cover. Or in this case, not judging a game based solely on what it was created with.

Thanks for reading,

-M