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Codename Empyrean design guide
WARNING: this page is slightly out of date, I'm working on an update presently. -Clint
"Empyrean" is the flagship game that ships alongside the Flare 1.x engine. It replaces the alpha demo as the featured game using the fantasycore art set. "Empyrean" is the internal codename for this project until it gets a final title
This guide is the overview of Act I, which we'll create and ship at the same time as Flare 1.0 engine.
We want to make a good game using the fantasycore art set. We've been building it up over the last few years of developing the engine, and it's the fastest way for us to get a game released for the engine.
We want to showcase the Flare engine. Nearly all of the core features should be present in the game.
The protagonist is a new exile from the last remaining human city. The wilderness is dangerous and the few people surviving there have little hope. Desperate to be forgiven and return home, the hero performs a ritual to enter the Underworld -- in hopes for vengeance or forgiveness.
This act is similar to the classic beginning of the Hero's Journey, and we can borrow elements from there.
Act II would be the hero entering the Underworld, which is some kind of Afterlife and not simply underground. It could be inspired by Dante's Inferno, or could be a Dark World version of the overworld (ala Link to the Past).
We never indicate whether this story is actually set in limbo or purgatory, but that interpretation would be an acceptable one. It'll have those themes of guilt, punishment, and forgiveness underlying the plot
Tonally I want the game to feel lonely and dark. I like the gothic aesthetic of Diablo 1, and the similar feeling in e.g. Castlevania 1-3 and Demons/Dark Souls. I think most of us do, thanks to Diablo dominating this genre of games.
The NPCs should feel stuck in their world and not be obsessed with the hero. This isn't a grand world-saving mission, it's yet another hero flinging herself headlong into oblivion.
Text should be concise. NPCs should never ramble. The main character should rarely speak -- leave it up to the player to interpret on how the protagonist is reacting emotionally.
We want to fill the game with a feeling of mystery. The history of what happened to this world doesn't need to be spelled out. Anything we don't say, the player will imagine something more interesting to fill the gaps.
Lore is presented in a way that doesn't interrupt the flow of action. E.g. through item flavor text, or by reading optional books/runes around the environment. Specific NPCs can deliver some lore, e.g. the ones that move the main plot along.
What are we redesigning from fantasycore?
We want to mostly use the existing tile sets (grassland, dungeon, cave). We'll add new tiles as needed to tell the story. I've designed this act to thoroughly use the existing tiles.
We will want to add as many custom boss enemies as possible. Slightly-modified regular enemies could be used as placeholder art.
The numbers (damage, health, points spent, costs) are all subject to change. Personally I'd like to experiment with more max HP and tweak regen. I'd like to see more upgrade points per level, and levels to happen more frequently.
Powers and power trees are subject to complete redesign. I'd like to see more passive powers, and making the active use powers uniquely useful. If we add many more levels thus more spendable points, we want to add several upgrades to most powers. I'd like to redo most of the power animations -- most of them are below the quality bar we want for the game.
We'll create lots more items. Each item slot should have many useful regular and magic items. Some item bonuses will be more common with certain item slots (e.g. speed on boots). Then each item needs a way to be gained in-game -- on a vendor, treasure drop, creature drop, special event, quest, etc.
We will NOT focus on replacing all the art with HD art. That will be a later project (some overlap with Wandercall).
Many of the sound effects could be replaced. Several of them are below the quality bar.
I have a few generic NPCs in mind, but I'm looking for an experienced writer to help create better ones.
The game world will have a mostly linear main quest path and many small side quest paths.
Imagine Act I's world shaped roughly like a circle. If we think of the game's world as similar to a clock face, there are landmarks at each hour. The main town is at 12:00. There are major quest dungeons at 3, 6, and 9. There are waypoint teleporters at each hour mark.
Progress in the game goes clockwise around the map.
The starter areas between 12 and 3 are mostly grassland overworld. The design of these areas use more green trees and water. These maps have lush plains, forests, and long bridges. Goblins are a common enemy here.
The first main dungeon/temple at 3:00 is the least corrupt one. Here's where the player learns lots more about the story, particularly the ritual to enter the Underworld. This area features a hero's tomb and probably some undead themed as tomb guardians.
The areas between 3 and 6 are mostly caves. It starts with a mining area, then breaches into a cave system. Then there are overworld grassland intertwined with caves to make twisty mountain passages. Undead and antlions feature here.
The second main dungeon/temple at 6:00 is climbing upwards to a mountain peak. This area will feature Wyverns.
The areas between 6 and 9 are more dry/arid grasslands mixed with dungeon passageways. Minotaurs can feature prominently here.
The third main dungeon/temple at 9:00 will probably be themed as a mad wizard layer.
Between 9 and 12 is taking the ritual items to the desination where the ritual is performed. Mostly more cave areas, diving deep into some forgotten place. Tough side quest areas here allow for optional grinding and powerful item drops.
There's a final confrontation at the end of 12, near the ritual location.
The final ritual items are used. The doors to the Underworld open, and the protagonist walks through. ACT I ends there.
Each of the 3 (or 4?) main dungeons will be large areas around a teleporter. Probably complex or multi-wing dungeons based around a few themes. Each has a main boss, some mini-bosses, and a main quest item. The dungeons will feature more puzzles and traps than the grasslands or caves.
The dungeon tilesets will get the most use here. So there are two main travel areas that are mostly grassland, two that are mostly caves, and the temples between each travel area are mostly the dungeon tile set. So the main tile set being used is rotated often, hopefully making the journey more varied.
I want to work as a team to create a more detailed plan for this game. We'll decide specific issues like how many maps we need, what basic quests are moving the player along, and how much time it should take to get through the content.
From there we'll create content milestones and rough out a release schedule. Then I'll assign tasks to people who want to be part of the team.
I want your help, especially if you've already been a contributor to the Flare project.
Keep in mind that I'm going to be a strict Art Director and editor of everything going into this game. I will turn down some content for not being high enough quality, including my own. More content will be turned down than allowed in, if necessary to keep the game at high quality.
If you're interested in helping with a task let me know. Once I find people good at particular things, they'll manage that piece of the project. E.g. one person in charge of item design, who needs to communicate with whoever's in charge of the icons.
Most of this project will be volunteer work. We may use Flare donation money to hire a particular art specialist when necessary (which is how we've always used that fund). You'll have to be satisfied with making a game for free culture's sake.
We'll use the unmodified Flare 1.0 engine, which is GPL.
You agree that the content you create for this game is released under CC-BY-SA (or CC-BY or CC0). You'll still own the original copyright to your individual work.
We'll discuss Trademark issues when we come up with a final name for the game. Likely I'll manage the trademark and make sure no one's using the game's name in a misleading, promotional, or commercial way (without my permission).
I think from the beginning we need to agree that this game won't be a commercial project. I think this should stay gratis and libre for everyone.
Once we know that we have enough donations to cover the remaining art needed for the game, we'll close the Donate link. Essentially we're not interested in profit.
We may look into an online listing of what each contributor worked on, along with a e.g. flattr/gittip/bitcoin link to show that person appreciation.
Contact Clint Bellanger: clintbellanger@gmail.com or @clintbellanger on Twitter