[RM2k3] The Looming Spire

The Looming Spire

In a valley on a small part of the world lies a small nation of strong, respecting people. Amidst the valley looms a great tower, a tower older than the oldest denizens of the small nation.
One day, the great sphere affixed to the top of the tower began glowing brightly, and all kinds of very awful things began happening. Monsters began appearing. People began losing their minds, others began disappearing. Only a small population of people seem to have gone unaffected by the effects of the glowing sphere in the sky. Even fewer are brave enough to try and conquer what ever evil has befallen their homes.
Now our hero, Raz, the blonde-haired silent protagonist, through circumstances beyond his control, has now found himself in the belly of the ancient tower, fighting for his life and trying to escape. Along the way, will he uncover the secret of the Spire?


Yeah, the premise is lame, I know.

The Looming Spire is, conceptually, a project that revolves around exploring a giant tower through the use of items you find, acquiring new powerful spells and equipment, defeating hordes of monsters, and ultimately uncovering the secrets of the Spire. The game features a fully fledged custom battle system, fully operational and fluent custom menus, and a huge series of dungeons interwoven into a massive tower filled with monsters, puzzles, and plenty of secrets to uncover.

The game is currently still in early development stages.


The Battle System

The battle system is quite simplistic, but unique in several ways. The entire game is played as one character, who collects and utilizes magical elemental "Runes" during battle. He will eventually be able to equip up to 3 different runes at a time, and depending on the combination of runes he is using, will have a different set of abilities at his disposal (ex: Equipping the "Fire" and "Frost" runes gives you a skill called "Frostfire").
Raz uses his sword to battle enemies when using magic abilities is impractical. Through the use of "Timed Hits", he can unleash a deadly flurry attacks on an enemy, potentially dealing devastating amounts of damage in a single turn.
Like any traditional RPG battle system, there are plenty of status effects and items that will change the outcome of battle.

Video of the battle system in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C03wJv1C2oQ


Exploration

Navigating and unraveling the Spire is going to be the greater part of the gameplay. Think of games like Metroid or Castlevania, where a massive dungeon is comprised of several smaller dungeons, with bosses, items, and equipment scattered about.
Like mentioned above, the player will acquire "Runes", but their combat uses aside, they can also be used to ford new passages within the Spire. The "Fire" rune allows you to burn obstacles, while the "Earth" rune allows you to smash others. The "Void" rune allows you to move objects from a small distance away, even through walls!
Along with Runes, players will obtain "Relics", which are items that serve to be used only outside of battle. For example, the Flippers allow you to swim in any body of water. The Climbing Gloves allow you to scale walls, and the Dash Boots let you move at incredible speeds in a straight line. Finding these relics is going to be essential in navigating the entirety dungeon.


Screenshots


Using the Climbing Gloves to reach an otherwise inaccessible area.


Finding the Map! Pressing '0' reveals a big blue map of the dungeon you're currently in (which probably would make a better screenshot, but eh)


Swimming to reach a secret chest!


The Rune menu. See what spells you've learned here.


Much of this game is still a work-in-progress. The first dungeon hasn't even been completely finished yet.. but it's coming along!
If you'd like to follow this game tit for tat, go here: http://rpgmaker.net/games/1939/

Thanks!