[XP] Little Sin

Little Sin

You want to become the most powerful wizard in existence, but such a thing is far from your grasp. Knowing some basic or even godlike spells isn't enough to make the cut. Wisdom must be gained and power must be found. After the events that followed after the loss of your hand, you became interested in this lifestyle and left your humble village; nightmares included. Will you become an apprentice of some well known wizard? Maybe you study on your own. What about the future? Stay your life without anyone who knows you or will you try to become the archmage of the one and only king!?

Spoiler for Plot/Intro:

Little Sin follows the life of a simple boy. He came out of a poor family and for survival, he had to steal. It all went well for the first couple of years, he was fast and knew the town as no other. One day, when he had reached the age of eight, he witnessed the execution of an infamous Wizard. Bound by pride, the man walked to his death. The boy gazed into his eyes wondering why the man didn't flee, before seeing the executioner pull the lever. The head fell off and the cut was clean, no blood was ever seen. A week later the boy was caught while stealing bread from the local baker and justice took him in. Even while the act was small, stealing was still wrong. It didn't matter if he had to survive nor did they care about his loving parents, who cried and begged on their knees. With one swinging motion, the soldier dropped his blade and the boy lost his hand; just for a little sin. Time went on and days passed by. The boy, shocked and scared, had no place to go. Sure, he had his parents but the treatment that he had received was justice in its own right. People who saw the arm without a hand knew of what he did. No home nor shop welcomed a thief and he was one. Life became a little harder and he knew fully well that it would always be this way. Once a thief, always a thief; right?

The Game

Little Sin gives you the chance to be reborn in a world of magic. While you play with the character you've created, you follow the story of a poor and rather weak boy. How will you obtain the dream you alway had? As you progress, more and more of your character reveals itself but it will be you who shapes him. By battling others and finding ancient writings, you become more powerful by the second. Maybe you want to travel around the world and make a lot of friends. Challenge uncharted dungeons or slay powerful monsters with their help. Another option would be to study in the famous 'College of Liquei' and learn from some of the most capable wizards. Of course, you could always do research and try to locate different kinds of rare rituals and spells. Choose your path and become the most wise and powerful wizard you can be!

Screenshots

Spoiler for Sabena:

Features

• The freedom to roam the world and find your own way.
• Many interesting cut scene's
• Gameplay totally new to the RPGM world.
  
  • Create your own strategies and ways to fight
  • Combine certain spells to obtain a whole new effect

Help?
I can always use some help to figure out the things I have stated above. While the whole game isn't that big to create, the systems are. I'm a total noob in scripting and eventing. Yet, if this is obtained you can imagine how many hours of game-play and fun you will have. Don't be afraid to suggest or ask or give feedback.

YellowPepper

The battle/skill system you have in mind seems above average in terms of creativity, as well as the puzzle aspect of the plan. You have my attention.
I believe that a lot of your ideas are going to be very difficult to execute without proper scripting, though, and not only do I not know RGSS, I use VX. SO, I will wish you luck, offer what eventing help I can, abnd advise the following:
*Get the database and maps done enough to include screenshots.
*Tear through our tutorials section to get some scripts that may help.
*Begin assembling your resources now; put them all together in a big file and then prune them when you know exactly what you want.
Learn how events work. Cutscenes are all about eventing, and a complex scene may encompass 4 or more separate events with several pages each.
*Don't be afraid to make some compromises.

I'll be looking in on this project, I think it has potential.

Interesting, waiting for screens!

Interesting, waiting for screens!

I can tell you that I have started mapping some things. Still, I´m currently writing out the magic as in how it should work and act. I should have this 40x40 map done in maybe two days. (This includes most of the events that don't need any form of magic.)

The battle/skill system you have in mind seems above average in terms of creativity, as well as the puzzle aspect of the plan. You have my attention.

Thanks

I guess I can explain some of it, day/night and weather system. I like to make things natural realistic and these systems are a sign of that. A day should take 5 minutes in-real, same for the night. This will be counted until a month. This is for a reason.
The player is able to learn a passive ability that lets them absorb power from the natural elements. A windy day, sunny day or maybe some irritating rain. This means that it's possible to power up on certain days. Later in-game, the player can even call forth certain weather types. As for the whole month thing, full moon. The full moon will buff the power of a water wizard quite a lot. Some spells of major destruction are only possible with the moon totally shaped.

I believe that a lot of your ideas are going to be very difficult to execute without proper scripting, though, and not only do I not know RGSS, I use VX. SO, I will wish you luck, offer what eventing help I can, abnd advise the following:
*Get the database and maps done enough to include screenshots.
*Tear through our tutorials section to get some scripts that may help.
*Begin assembling your resources now; put them all together in a big file and then prune them when you know exactly what you want.
Learn how events work. Cutscenes are all about eventing, and a complex scene may encompass 4 or more separate events with several pages each.
*Don't be afraid to make some compromises.

I'm working on the database bit by bit. I'm thinking of using XAS Battle System as a base for the system, but it will need some adjustments. As for the resources, I'm going to use the RTP most of the time. Some add-ons and other stuff to make it more like I want, but nothing major. The most for on this is to get all the spells and abilities. I'm afraid I have to make most of them myself. I can do it, but it will take quite some time. The cutscenes are no problem. I'm no beginner at eventing and can manage myself for the most part. Complicated systems are the only thing that block my path to completion. Any help towards eventing is always welcome, how small it may be. (This counts for all things, haha.)

I'll be looking in on this project, I think it has potential.

Thanks, I think so too!

YellowPepper

A seed for your creativity: In some pagan magical systems, aka modern Witchcraft, phases of the moon are associated with certain elemental attributes. For that matter, so do times of day and compass points. If you want to include the moon, may I suggest for your consideration that the first crescent is air, gibbous waxing is fire, gibbous waning is water and new is earth. Of course, I do see merit to the full moon affecting water magic as it does the tides, but I would then include some similar "buff' to the other elemental categories.

A seed for your creativity: In some pagan magical systems, aka modern Witchcraft, phases of the moon are associated with certain elemental attributes. For that matter, so do times of day and compass points. If you want to include the moon, may I suggest for your consideration that the first crescent is air, gibbous waxing is fire, gibbous waning is water and new is earth. Of course, I do see merit to the full moon affecting water magic as it does the tides, but I would then include some similar "buff' to the other elemental categories.

I really like this. Maybe some links for reference to work with?

It would require a way for the player to see or know the placement of the moon, but that should be a big problem. A nice bar above in the screen with the different moons and a tiny arrow to point how many days are left until then. Of course, this will only be obtained after the player learns about it. (Basic Elemental Knowledge, so after the basics of the basics).
I understand the reasoning you place in giving the other elements a similar buff. I need to think of that one, as I already have some other things in mind, which lower my options. At some point, learning a second element will be possible. Lava and Ice are two elements I definetly want to add. This means that Volcano's are taken out of the option list for Fire. Brainstorm time, haha.

Edit: Maybe I'm thinking to far with the whole combining elements thing, as combing spells will also be an option. Hmm..

Hm. If you're really basing the magic on elements this heavily, try to think of the elemental planes like in D+D. Arange them in opposition, and between the elements are Para-elements, like where earth and fire combine is magma, where air and earth meet is dust.

For references, I can easily provide you with that information if you like. I'm a practicing witch and that system of thought is similar to my practice of witchcraft.

                                 

I want to make a game with my favourite class and show the real stuff they are capable off.

Mages are my favourite class too. During my 5 year FFXI career, I mostly played Red Mage, but also Blue Mage and Black Mage. The former two are very versitile when played correctly (the same in any FF/RPG game that has such classes really) and Black Mage's wanton destruction made it awesome. Plus there's always a lot more strategy, in my opinion, with using magic users in the best way possible.

The right and wrong ways to use a spell should also be made clear in-game and in the system.

Sometimes, figuring out appropriate ways to use combinations of spells can be the fun part of the game experience. Whilst there should be hints on how to make good use of it, you probably don't want to take away too much from a player's use of creativity and trial and error. Since you're intending to make a puzzle orientated game that makes use of combining spells, ensuring a player feels like he achieved the solution by himself is a very rewarding thing to offer him (whilst achievements can be seen as a form of rewards - and you can attach in game rewards for their completion - they are in reality just goals to work towards).

Hm. If you're really basing the magic on elements this heavily, try to think of the elemental planes like in D+D. Arange them in opposition, and between the elements are Para-elements, like where earth and fire combine is magma, where air and earth meet is dust.                           

It might be worth drawing up a map of how the elements relate to each other. Having a visual reference to work from will help you see the elemental world clearly, which may just assist in the development of the system itself.

Another helpful thing to do is to write down the key concepts and ideas, and the rules behind them - how the games works, how the concepts work - and make sure you stick to them. It's when you start doing things that change those rules or break them that you'll also start having issues with the development.

I can't agree more with this last paragraph. Since the main idea of the game is magic and how it works, you'll need to have some consistent, predictable rules for the players to work with. The visual aid then becomes the road map of the very core of your idea.

Sometimes, figuring out appropriate ways to use combinations of spells can be the fun part of the game experience. Whilst there should be hints on how to make good use of it, you probably don't want to take away too much from a player's use of creativity and trial and error. Since you're intending to make a puzzle orientated game that makes use of combining spells, ensuring a player feels like he achieved the solution by himself is a very rewarding thing to offer him (whilst achievements can be seen as a form of rewards - and you can attach in game rewards for their completion - they are in reality just goals to work towards).

I see your point but you must understand that this game isn't puzzle orientated in nature. The main goal is to become the best in the field by what ever means the player chooses too. They can learn the basics and some elemental magic at St. Liquei or travel around the world. The latter is where the puzzle aspect comes in. There are some ancient civilizations whom created area's that would hold their knowledge. Most of these are protected and need some form of magical ability/knowledge to reach; puzzles.
I like what you said through. Rewarding the player with his own thinking and doing is something I would like to obtain in this game.

It might be worth drawing up a map of how the elements relate to each other. Having a visual reference to work from will help you see the elemental world clearly, which may just assist in the development of the system itself.

Another helpful thing to do is to write down the key concepts and ideas, and the rules behind them - how the games works, how the concepts work - and make sure you stick to them. It's when you start doing things that change those rules or break them that you'll also start having issues with the development.

I have a basic idea for how the elements will work.

Spoiler for Elements:

Fire -> Wind -> Earth -> Water -> Fire
Fire + Earth = Lava
Wind + Water = Ice
Water + Fire = Smoke
Wind + Earth = Dust

I did some reading on the internet and found out about something called Spirit (Fifth Element). I was thinking. The fifth element combines all four. I don't want something like Avatar: The Last Airbender, so such things won't be possible. The civilization I talked about earlier could become one that mastered this fifth attribute. In order for the player to earn the right of combining two elements, they need to study, practice and be the fifth element. All things are created from this element, they just have to realize. Still, because the player isn't a descendant of the Liquei, he can only master and combine two elements. (Which would take a lot of time).
If this would become the case, Guido Te Liquei could become an important figure in the game. He has died long ago, after founding the College of St. Liquei but his writings are yet to be found; if they exist. This would also give the college a reason to be in the game, besides the fact that you can learn basic magic and basic elemental magic here. (It would also give more depth to the characters in the game).

Most of the game itself works in secrets and myths the player has to clear for him/herself. I'm a good writer and can handle mapping quite well. Yet, I'm no expert in developing systems. Because of this, I find it hard to think of rules.

For references, I can easily provide you with that information if you like. I'm a practicing witch and that system of thought is similar to my practice of witchcraft.                               

I could really use this. Besides the use for the game, I find it interesting myself!

Cool beans, I'll try to prepare something soon.

To be honest, the unifying fifth element has been done rather to death in a lot of popular fiction; I'd either avoid it or change the terminology to dodge any anti-climactic letdown or feeling of triteness. The druids were extolling that kind of thing for eons before we were born.

For your elements, I'd try to think of how each element combines with every other element. Your examples look well thought out, but I'd expect Fire and Water to make steam, not smoke. Fire and Air, though, that makes sense to me. i'll dig up some material I have that you may find useful in regards to this sometime soon... assuming I remember to do so in a timely manner!

Keep in mind that all this assumes that your story is highly focused on the magic, as in everyone has some magical ability and the bad guys and everyone takes magic for granted- that is, it's no big secret and it's common enough that everyone has at least heard of it. Specific locales may specialize, but have still heard of the several magical schools and the "Para-elemental" schools as well.

Cool beans, I'll try to prepare something soon.

To be honest, the unifying fifth element has been done rather to death in a lot of popular fiction; I'd either avoid it or change the terminology to dodge any anti-climactic letdown or feeling of triteness. The druids were extolling that kind of thing for eons before we were born.

Hmm, I'll have to thing about this one then..

Keep in mind that all this assumes that your story is highly focused on the magic, as in everyone has some magical ability and the bad guys and everyone takes magic for granted- that is, it's no big secret and it's common enough that everyone has at least heard of it. Specific locales may specialize, but have still heard of the several magical schools and the "Para-elemental" schools as well.

The story focused on magic, like you said. Magic is known to the normal citizens but not all try to practice it. It takes a lot of determination and energy, so many stop at the basics. Still, there is only one magic school which was founded by Guido Te Liquei. There have been others that tried to make something but non succeeded because of St. Liquei's fame. While basic and elemental magic is known to most, information about the para-elements is not. It was lost in history, like most things in time. Some scrolls and books left by the ones that studied high magic can be found but these are classified; for a reason. It's just to powerful for an average wizard to deal with. This doesn't mean that the player will be the only one with a para-element.
One thing I can spoil is that the player will receive the chance to help someone with his/her journey. What they stumble upon after some events are some ancient scrolls which tell them about the combining of elements. This person as of then will try to master it, as much as the player probably will. Like stated before, the higher magic is guarded by puzzles from the Liquei Civilization. This magic will, of course, be the para-elements.

To summon it up, not many know of the para-elements. Only those who take their time and really study and search for magic may know of it. Only the strongest and bravest will really learn and master it.

For your elements, I'd try to think of how each element combines with every other element. Your examples look well thought out, but I'd expect Fire and Water to make steam, not smoke. Fire and Air, though, that makes sense to me. i'll dig up some material I have that you may find useful in regards to this sometime soon... assuming I remember to do so in a timely manner!

Steam! That's what I meant, haha. I can't wait to see what you'll make me read. Like I stated myself, I'm also curious myself. I love things like this.

Update

It's been a day since I posted and I realized that I haven't really posted about anything I was doing. Sure, I told and talked about the magic system, which is a huge part of the game; but I have yet to tell you about what I've been doing besides that. Because of that, I decided to update you guys on my progress!

How does the world/game work!

Of course, this is the most interesting part for most of you. I myself find the creation of the world, characters and story more appealing but hé. When you start off, you know nothing. You have a dream and a certain will to life like a wizard because of the events in your life. Once the very long intro has finished, you will be given your character. You'll walk around on your own and stumble upon events that make you choose. You could search for someone in particular (I know who! Gnagnagna!) or you could travel to a town with a local wizard. There are many options on how to learn the basics of magic but what ever you choose, it will be oké. The whole point of the game is to let the player choose his/her own story and plot. As you make chooses, you progress. While it is a free-roaming-world, you still have a story. This makes it interesting. (For me at least) The magic system will be introduced as you go. You'll learn more and more and the system will be revealed bit by bit as you do so.
Once the basics are learned, even more things become available. There are a lot of mysteries in this world and you have the option to solve them. Unfortunately, this will require some book reading for the player. How boring, right?! Sure, but you'll learn a lot about characters never to be seen. You'll learn about the world and you will find every secret hidden in the game with your own mind.

Locations

I have a lot of idea's in my head. What kind of villages and cities I want to add and all kinds of area's. Still, I cannot say that there will be a demo in the upcoming months. The magic system isn't the only reason for that, so are the maps and locations. To avoid getting bored of making this game, I've set one important rule for myself that I must uphold. I will only map locations that I want to map. This means a steady progress and fun while I'm doing it!

The first map could be seen in the Screenshot Topic. I've done most of the work already and I'm near done. Let me introduce you to the Gorge of Issu. The natural Gorge, located in the Naturi Mountains and has two beautiful villages. They survive by trading with one another and have a great love for the nature that surrounds them. Not much is known about this place as it's hard to enter. The only way to reach it is by going through a complicated cave system. The village you enter at first is known for their organic food; farms and such. The second village lies on the edge of the mountain, surrounded by cliffs and the sea. They are known for their fish and stock. Yet, they cannot start trade. Why? The harbour is surrounded by dangerous rock formations. Passing means certain death.

Characters

Ahh, the love for good characters will always bind me to things like this. I'm currently writing out most NPC's for the Gorge. It's a long way as I try to make them unique and useful. It takes time but I'm managing it quite well and I'm even a little proud. I've mentioned the name Guido Te Liquei quite often. He's a legendary figure with a lot of stories around him. Some are true and some are just plain stupid. This makes it fun for me, as I know the player will not get it easy with this. (Evil Smile!) Of course, I've been working on the Gorge and one very Important figure had to be created. Who? Come on! You should know how I name my locations by now!

Issu is also a legendary figure. Not much is known of him/her, not even his/her gender. He/she was the one who found the Gorge and started living there. It is said that he/she had something to do with the deathly water current and rock formations, but that's just a myth. I myself know all about Issu, as I created him/her. Fun fact, I will be the only one to ever know how he/she personally was. Has this character any use for the game? Maybe..
That's it for now. I'm going out for a nice cigarette!

YellowPepper

This is pretty intresting, I'll keep my eye on this

Here's some material for you. According to the D+D 3rd edition monster manual, Mephits are elemental creatures that "leak" into the material plane where it converges with the elemental and para-elemental planes. From this material, we can the surmise the relative positions of the EPs and PEPs by understanding that all such planes touch in some way, and adding in some good old fashioned hermetic magical theory, we come up several elemental "portfolios" that would read something like this:

FIRE and its attributes
Red, warm and dry, midday, purification through destruction, chaos, anger, renewal, the spear and sword, war, south compass point, the summer solstice, citrus fruit, palm trees, candles.

As you can see, this "portfolo" includes information that may not be useful to your game mechanics, but could be useful to the immersion storytelling you seem to be after. i can provide more material if you so desire.

Anyway, if all the planes touch, then where fire meets air is smoke; where it meets earth is magma; where it meets water is steam; so forth and so on untill all options are exhausted.

Here's some material for you. According to the D+D 3rd edition monster manual, Mephits are elemental creatures that "leak" into the material plane where it converges with the elemental and para-elemental planes. From this material, we can the surmise the relative positions of the EPs and PEPs by understanding that all such planes touch in some way, and adding in some good old fashioned hermetic magical theory, we come up several elemental "portfolios" that would read something like this:

FIRE and its attributes
Red, warm and dry, midday, purification through destruction, chaos, anger, renewal, the spear and sword, war, south compass point, the summer solstice, citrus fruit, palm trees, candles.

As you can see, this "portfolo" includes information that may not be useful to your game mechanics, but could be useful to the immersion storytelling you seem to be after. i can provide more material if you so desire.

Anyway, if all the planes touch, then where fire meets air is smoke; where it meets earth is magma; where it meets water is steam; so forth and so on untill all options are exhausted.

This will indeed be hard to use for the system itself, but I see the potential of it if used in the development of the elements; story-wise. The portfolio's from water, earth and wind would be awesome to have. I haven't worked on this project for a day, I can't always find the time. Yet, the day before yesterday was something I enjoyed very much. I started with writing out the system for Little Sin, starting with what the statistics are and how they work. Because I'm a little to lazy to summarize it, I'll post it here.

How the Statistics Work

The system will be based on two important statistics. The wisdom level (WL), which raises itself as you learn and study; supplies the mana and decides the base power of your attacks. Let´s say you use the passive move Ignis Gradus (Fire Step, we'll name it IG for now) this will take .. mana each second. Depending on the level of this ability, the mana drain can change. Dashing will double the mana use, making it .. mana taken from your reserves each second. Learning gives you strength and tools to use in battle. To use these in a correct way is a total different thing, experience is needed.
This is where the second statistic comes into play; battle experience (BE for short). As the player battles with magic and beat monsters/wizards, they gain levels in BE. With a high BE, you'll do more damage in battle situations. Still, this is not enough. To make this part more realistic and a little deeper, BE is broken up into a couple sub-statistics.

FmBE  -> Fire Magic Battle Experience
WmBE -> Water Magic Battle Experience
AmBE  -> Air Magic Battle Experience
EmBE  -> Earth Magic Battle Experience

Every succesful hit and/or kill using a certain type of element will raise the experience of the BE linked to that element. I've been using Fire Magic as example until now so I will keep it that way. The more experience the player has in FmBE, the more damage he will do with this element. In order for me to even obtain IG, I need enough FmBE. (Level 4 is required.) So to get this, I need to train my FmBE up by battling using the most basic Fire Spell; Fire Ball. More on Spells later. Once the player gets strong and wise enough, they can obtain a second element. This can be any of the remaining 3, but I'll take Earth for example. Now things will become interesting.  Once you reach a certain WL and find some important scrolls and/or books, you'll be able to combine both elements. The power of this third and final element in your characters life will be the strongest. Fire and Earth make Lava and the element isn't the only thing combining. The damage of this element is decided with the following.

FmBE + EmBE = LmBE (Lava Magic Battle Experience)

Because of this, it can be said that its highest level is 198. Unfortunately, combining two elements takes a lot of mana and while a Fire Ball is cheap if not charges; a lava bullet will cost something like a fully charged Fire Ball x 4. Reason for this is that all weaknesses have gone away. Not only that, the attacks are lethal.

Wisdom Level

Because the whole game is based around magic and the life as a wizard, spells are very important. However, not every spell can be used nor obtained without the right amount of knowledge. To make this possible, WL is brought in once again. It is needed for the battle system to work, but it was also brought in to make the game-play a little more interesting for the player. The most basic forms of magic can be learned without any of it and the teacher will bestow a little wisdom as the player does. So, how to raise something important like this? Without mana, a wizard can't be wizardly.
Throughout the game, the player will have the option to read books. Some are about culture, some are about stupid jokes and some tell the player about legendary figures and myths. The latter is of importance to the player, as these will reveal the locations of powerful magic and objects. Every time the player reads a book, they gain experience. The amount is decided by the difficulty, origin and content. It's very simple really, as you can see.
That's it for now. I'm going to my girl in for the coming two days, so I won't be able to work on anything besides this and maybe some characters if I'm up to it. Feedback is always welcome

YellowPepper

Small update, can't post big things all the time.

I've worked out most of the system. How battles should work + how to combine multiple spells successfully, Interface and what keys should be used for what, how the moon works in the game. Only things I need to write out now is the day/night system. Of course, that's a very small thing if you think about the rest. Overall, I'm very happy with the results.
The next step would be to write out some items that will help the player quite a bit. Some swords need to be worked on and quite some rings. I'm having fun

It's been quite a while since I last posted here. I've been working, house-sitting, dog-sitting, cat-sitting and of course, I have a lovely girl who I cannot neglect. Busy as I was, no time came free for any work on the game. Fortunately, I'll be done with all the sitting tomorrow, which gives me a lot of time. I did manage to find a scripter who's currently reading the whole concept of the system. Afterwards, we'll talk about what should/could change and maybe even improvements and/or other options.

While nothing on paper or on the computer, I had my head with me all the time. Who would have thought that! I've thought out the whole main plot and even some side-plots and will start writing these down tomorrow. Paper and Pencils also came into play as I babysit a nephew of me. If I can get back my old drawing skills, I might draw the faces in the future.

Once again a small update for the few who follow. I've had given myself a hour today to write the story out and it's progressing on paper. As for the drawing, I've got worse and find it hard to get my old level back. Because of that, I decided to call an old friend of mine who I hadn't spoken with in years.

After telling her about what I was doing and how I could use some help regaining what I once had, she offered to help me with the game. She's so awesome and sweet. Unfortunately, she hasn't drawn anything in the style I need for quite some time, so it will take a small week or so to get started. Hope my girl won't become jealous for staying over at my friends for a week.

Hope my girl won't become jealous for staying over at my friends for a week.

I think there is a pretty good chance that she might

Anyway, how far into the game have you made (How many playable hours have you done)?


I need to keep my eye on this one

Ahh, she should suck it up. I'm not gonna stop having girls as friends and acting like a pal just for her.

Anyways, the game itself is pretty much still in early development. The story and system has been worked out, the latter being in discussion and soon in creation. Some characters have been worked out but because of the nature of this game, I have a lot more to think about. The spells are yet to be worked out completely, maybe 5% done on that part. Because of the huge role-play element in-game, I cannot say how long the demo will become. I plan on bringing it out when I have a fully working system with the basic four elements. I hope that by then, I have finished the most important cities so that I can create the roads and area's between them. When that's done, you'll see a link appear in this topic.

The big secrets and spells nor the academy will be available in it. I'm hoping for one or two hours, at least. Of course, one could spend longer to his/her liking. Maybe I'll just bring out a system demo out. This could also work while keeping most of it a secret while still giving the followers a taste. So many choices!

Your first demo doesn't have to be too long.

Even if it's just 30-minutes long, feedback on the entire system and game itself is something that your game would need if you're trying to break away from the usual RPG style, and I think it is a good idea to get that feedback before putting effort into things that are fine the way they are
(I'm sure one of your systems is already perfectly fine and doesn't need to be improved)

Anyway my point is to say that a demo is something to look into getting out there for people to give you some critique and helpful insight.
Though I won't complain if you'd like to fully complete your custom system before providing any demo for the rest of us to take a look at.

I really want to have the whole system finished first before anything else. Unfortunately, I have a rather creative mind which gives me many ideas as the progressing goes on. This is a rather downside, as I once was told that keeping the basic concept and finishing it first will give the best results. You can always make changes later.

I speak so wise, yet I have to remind myself of it. You're right of course, feedback is an  great thing to have. Completing the basic concept and then go further! Keep yourself to it Pep!

Lately, I've been in a very creative mood. Because of this I decided to make some music for the game! Why not? I've been writing music for 4 years now and I'm very confident in my abilities as guitarist. Second to that is that I need the music for Preya has vanished from the forum for some reason unknown to me. It's no big deal but I'm not a professional recording artist.
I did manage to create a nice BGM for the title screen and named it 'High with the Wind', more or less a reference to me feeling like I'm in the sky. How I love that green and pure medicine. (If you don't know what I'm stating, you're way to young to know! )
Another one was named 'Battle on the Fire', the first of many songs for the battles you'll encounter through your wizardly career.

Because I'm home again, working on the project has been a major every day. I finished up Sabena, including all events, and decided to work on Ronas. I'll make an update post on the new subject later. I've uploaded the Sabena screenshots for you guys and changed the first post. Hope you like it

Your screenshots look really nice.

How I feel annoyed right now. I've not heard from the guy who would script the battle system for quite some time and I really want to get things going. Unfortunately, it's the risk I'm taking because of my rather lacking knowledge on the subject. So, how did I try to make up for it? I took a long run and jumped into the scripting tabled.

The first step I wanted to complete was the menu. While making it look cool wasn't in my range of abilities (I can't make cool art to use), I could make it more functional. The standard menu is based on the fact that you'll have multiple party members. For this reason, you get the status screen when you go to equipment, skills or status in the menu. From there, you can select a party member and watch your desired screen. When I started with this, I knew nothing on the subject. It took me two days of poker and studying the script while trying to make some sense of it all. Fortunately, I managed to do just that. You can see below how the menu looks now. I've removed the status screens when going to equiptment and skills. If the player selects status, you'll see the menu status screen. If space-bar is pressed again, all statistics will be show.

I've managed to make it work without weird staying windows or floating screens. Every window opens and closes itself nicely, something I'm quite proud of. Working through the menu has become easier and simpler. And faster of course.

Spoiler for Menu:

Like I stated before, I'm proud of my accomplishment but not yet satisfied. I'm thinking of placing the gold window in the item screen. It would make much more sense and the menu itself would look much cleaner.


On another note, I take back about what I said concerning Sabena. While the events are done, I'm not satisfied with the depth of them. I have also yet to integrate any real quests. For this reason, I started to work on the map again. I've merged two quests into one, making it a little harder to really finish it. As reward, I've made a nifty spell that could be quite handy for player. Sabena will be a demo map and if you're able to complete it, you can unlock another area to travel too. Even the Demo has secrets!

A lot of scripters starting out doing something similar to what you just did and then continued to look into other things.
Keep trying and you won't need that other scripter

well I take risks for the games I like, and its been a long while since I've responded to this. I was actually reminded of it while looking through the notes of my bible app. I don't know why I have the note in there but itKs there. Anyway, keep up the work and try to find a way to get what you need, just don't stress too much over waiting. I'm probably going to get yelled at for necro posting, but your game is really interesting and I can't wait to play it. And that's why I take stupid risks like this.

It has been a while since I last visited this topic, for reasons that every adult male could figure out. It makes me smile that someone has not forgotten about this project after such a long time, and who am I to disappointing?

I have not stopped working on this project, far from it. However, not much physical progress has been made between my last post and this one; so no awesome screenshots. What I have been doing, is figuring out a way to make the PC and NPC's more interesting and easier to configure. The amount of eventing it took for a simple NPC to act certain ways because of the PCs behavior in the past was a real bother for me. Besides that, I wanted to give every character depth and have been working on ways to make this possible.
  I can honestly confirm that I've figured out a very useful system that will give all characters personalities. Yes, real ones that will work with or against the PCs own personality and make every game unique. The theory is finished and I'm currently working on the required art to go with it, before setting it all up.

Once I finished this, there will be a small demo for all to play, showing just how it works and what it does. I have a good feeling that many will enjoy it, as many interesting scenes will be available. The development should progress rather well after it, as it also works with the story and path choosing.

I'm sorry for those who have been waiting, but do not weep! Little Sin will continue untill I damn finish it!

Yours
YellowPepper