Arbor's Eve [now in mv!]

[KasperKalamity]

Greetings Save-Point. I've been here for a few weeks, and besides talking up my game and sharing a few screenshots, I never really had anything to show for my efforts.

UNTIL NOW!

Old Arbor's Eve Demo (Circa 9/29/11)




Arbor's Eve is a game I began designing waaaay back in 2002. It has seen many transformations over the last 9 years from what I originally envisioned as a third person action game set in modern times with guns, cars, and ninja-hobos that lived at an airport baggage claim, all the way up until I discovered rpg maker 2000 back in 2004. Since then, I've lost my progress several times due to the program deciding it didn't want to work anymore (postality knights), a computer fire, a cat urinating on my laptop and shorting it out, another laptop dying, and extended periods of not having a computer. Through it all, I've perservered mightily, and have come so far as to want to do to be more like what the game has become today. Without further expository storytelling, I introduce to you the players of this play, and the far away archipelago known as Zea Mays.

The Characters-

Kasper:



Kasper lives in a town called Villageburg. A thief by hobby, he managed to carve out a niche living for himself by stealing enough money to move away from his hometown of Zoar. In Villageburg, he notices that no matter what the day brings, the people there go about their lives doing the same things at the same time, day in, and day out. He sets out one night to do something he thinks will "wake them all up" and change the way they live, freeing them from the bondage of routine.

Strayer:



This pasty Bruce Lee lookalike won the Royal Mounted Navy's Bruce Lee Lookalike contest two years in a row. He was a sailor patrolling the seas on a peacekeeping vessel, when something happened that changed him forever. He became a hydrophobe not long after deciding to leave the navy, and hasn't spoken much about it since that day. He whittles away his days in Villageburg at his home, where he strives to maintain his health through martial arts, and the meditative practice of building his dream home.

Jayce:



Jayce is a bright-eyed Green Mage from the mostly unknown town of Green Oaks. There he studied under Lobuz, learning a form of magic that hasn't been seen by the world for nearly a hundred years. After growing weary of a life lacking in adventure, he left his hometown to venture to Marshton, where his life was almost cut short at the hands of the evil snowman army of the malevolent Schnee. He is saved by Kasper and Strayer, and joins them after almost having both legs amputated. (The doctor thought he had swamprot)

These three lovable rascals are joined by a cast of more than three, but less than nine, and opposed by another seperate cast of evil oppressors so far numbering into the mid-thirties.

The Story-

Long long ago, in a time before time, the universe was a chaotic place. Then, things formed, and the world as we know it came to be. As the spirits of nature were no longer needed, their essences crystalized, and took the form of seven seeds, to be planted again to summon them in a time of great need (Or so the story goes.)

One night, our hero Kasper, sets out to do all the things that I already typed in his character description, when he meets a talking rock. The rock tells him to gather the seeds, as it has come time to bring the Tree Of The World back into being. This tree, with its mighty roots and gargantuan trunk, has the power to suck the evil straight out of the air, returning the world to a state of peace not known since the beginning of time.

However, others are also seeking the seeds for their own misguided purposes. Some are building armies, while others are biding their time until an opportune moment presents itself. Will Kasper and his companions gather the seeds in time to save the day? Probably. But it won't be a stroll down parasol parkway.

screenshots of all the action!

The next demo, with all the updated bells and whistles should be out around 11/7. i'll keep this updated regularly as I progress.

a sample of the oppressors

[NnsNightshade]

Looks like fun. Downloading the demo now~

[Kristovski]

This game looks completely retarded and stuffed to the rim with fart jokes, and for this, I am downloading immediately.

Edit: Now if only my download was faster than 113kb/sec...

[KasperKalamity]

for that, i will ADD a fart joke or two to the next demo. there weren't any in the last one, but there's no reason there shouldn't be any. but there WILL be an area of the game full of boogers and snot, so maybe i can add a poop joke there as well.

edit: i'm also reading Dumas' Musketeer stories right now, so some of the characters may talk like they're living in the 1600's. i can't help it, it just seems that i adopt the mannerisms of whatever i'm watching or reading at the time.

double edit: I just founded a facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ArborsEve

[DerVVulfman]

Hey, dude. You may wanna check some history on Alexander Dumas's work. He got the Musketeers based on the journals of D'artagnan himself. Those three with him were just aliases as he didn't give you the real names of those individuals. Yep.... it was kinda... history? Or dramatized based on a real person's so-called life. Just saying. Yeah, I read it. Closest movie version would be the 1970's Three & Four Musketeers with Michael York.

If a musketeer was to be gassy... Porthos.

[Kristovski]

So yeah, played some of the demo and died in the forest that makes no since. Why would I go right and come out the right side of the map?

[KasperKalamity]

i included the solution to the misplaced forest in that download, so check it out if you get stuck. i accidentally made the puzzle unsolvable, but fixed it for that demo. I wanted to make something frustrating, like zelda's lost woods.

The reason you come and go at strange angles like you described is that because in every non 3d jrpg i've ever played, everything is represented from a head on point of view. i wanted to interject a bit of realism into my game, by not having everything face the same way. if you check out the world map in the spoiler, you'll see that Benzol and Mount Athos are both sideways. that is because i want the player to realize they face different directions, but cannot necessarily do that in two dimensions. were i to extend Benzol's map further south (down), it would take the shape of a cove, but the character can't see that far on the map, so it was cut.

tl;dr, i didn't every map to face the same way. if you can suggest how i can make it clearer, i'm open to any feedback.

World Map

[Kristovski]

The only thing I can suggest is to let people have their bearings. If you were to include a compass that would make it a lot easier to know what direction you're heading. When I start walking left, I automatically assume I'm heading west. Other than than that, the map makes sense to me. At the very least, put some moss on the trees so I know which way is north.

[KasperKalamity]

thats not always true, especially of there's water nearby.

new demo coming in 5 hours or so. stay tuned.

[KasperKalamity]

And Here It Is!