The Dazzling Wizard Byrath

[ArchiaArt]

"It's a sad fact of the world that utilizing magic is seen as inherently dishonest," remarked Hugo. "Men of power are notoriously touchy about being associated with it. Which is rather ironic, considering how often they seek out a wizard's services..."

Spoiler: Story

In the city of Esse Marque - capital of culture, jewel of the Continent - the Guild of Wizards was born. Wizards harness and study the raw power of magic, and bend this natural force to their will. And, much like the village witches of legend, they offer their services to the people of the city. Rich or poor, famous or unknown. If you want an odd job done... common advice is to hire a Wizard.

Hugo Byrath is a Wizard of relatively modest means, although he plans to be rich and famous. Talented in transformation (he was a short ugly man when he started to study Wizardry...) he's working on a spell that he believes will revolutionize transformative magic. His assistant, Kit, is the result of such experimentation...

One day, the powerful Lord Glaur hires him to discreetly find a missing lover. A simple enough job, for a Wizard. But nothing is as it seems...

Spoiler: Gameplay

What I like about RMMV is how adaptable it is to many gameplay types. So far it has been easy to start setting up TDWB the way I want it!

The game is an adventure game/visual novel. It focuses on the characters, and how the story affects them, as they unfold the mystery. There will be a few puzzles, too, that must be solved to progress.

This is my first game, so my no.1 goal is No Feature Creep. Keep it simple!

Spoiler: Screenshots

Title Screen - In progress! Ideally, I'd like to move the selection box to the left.

The following three screenshots are from the opening cutscene!
Hugo casting his transformation spell on Kit! I quite like the RMMV spell effect, but the default cat needs to go ahaha~

Big character portraits! Here is a happy Hugo~

Kit is grappling with the burden of being sentient and self-aware. And walking on his hind legs...

Video of gameplay test on my tumblr page [x]

Characters - TBC!

My current goal is to finish the script!

 

[Neotheny]

everything looks great, but i would definitely change the name from wizard to something else. i struggled to pay attention, just because there is a 'wizard' in the name.

try something that might intrigue people, like savant, thaumaturge, arcanist, theurgist or something like that.

 

[ArchiaArt]

Thanks for your feedback @Neotheny! I'm glad you think things look great ^^ But I will keep my title... I don't even know how to say half the names you posted ahah~

I made some new icons for interacting with the environment (speaking, examining, and travel) and made Nettle Street, where Hugo’s house is on.

Posted a vid of it all on my tumblr ^^

I had a go at making a VERY SIMPLE EVENT. Talking to Kit, you get a response. When you examine an item, you realise that Kit is lying. You can then talk to Kit again… and his dialog changes! In the face of the evidence, he admits the truth...

Super basic, but my first time trying out variables and I'm pretty happy!

 

[MinisterJay]

It being you first graphic novel/adventure game, are you intending to make it long, or start off with a short version?

 

[Eien Nanashi]

I've actually been waiting for this kind of game to be made in RM, and it looks extremely interesting! I love the art.
I'd like to ask the same question @MinisterJay asked, how long will the gameplay be?

And how long until you'll release a demo of this? :D (or the complete thing if you don't do a demo)

 

[ArchiaArt]

I'm gonna keep it shortish - same as or shorter in length than Blackwell Legacy or Chzo Mythos series, if you've ever played those before.

But that's getting ahead of myself!

First I'm gonna make a demo: a 'Prologue' scene where the player can learn the controls, and then 'Day 1' where the mystery is introduced, and shown as something a little out of the ordinary ^^ I'll get people to test the demo and give me lots of feedback, so I can improve things and set the final feel of the game. Then I will update the prologue and Day 1 and finish the rest of the game - probably 4 more days? I'm still refining the script.

Thanks @Eien Nanashi, glad you like my art :D I love this kind of gameplay too! RMMV very flexible, and already I'm having more success than I ever had trying to figure my way around AGS... lol!

Sorry... I have no idea how long until there is a demo, cause I'm still learning the program xD I guess the quicker I learn, the better!

 

[DarcHiro]

Oh wow, that is some super pretty art! I'd love to play the game or demo when it comes out!

 

[Chibae]

Oh wow, that is some super pretty art! I'd love to play the game or demo when it comes out!

i agree i can't wait till a demo, and more updates.

 

[ArchiaArt]

Thank you @EvilChibi and @DarcHiro! You are in luck cause here is a new update xD

I replaced the default cat with a new custom cat ^^

Hugo turns this kitty into Kit in the prologue. You learn movement and how to interact with the environment AS THIS CAT in the prologue ahah~

 

[Zebestian]

I just watched the video and I have to say this before I forget it: that text scrolling sound you have in there (at least I think that's what it is) sounds a lot like slight audio static and frankly I find it very unpleasant for the ear. You might wanna see if you can find a sound that's less... irritating. Might just be me though.
That said, I absolutely love the direction you're going with this, @ArchiaArt! I'm a huge fan of adventure games and seeing one made with RM is just all the more amazing. I've already gushed about your art so I guess I don't need to do that here, too... Ah what the heck! One for good measure:
Another thing I wanted to say... well, more like "propose": if you ever have the need for some custom music for another adventure game similar to this (or even this), I'd love to provide some songs for it. I've always wanted to write music for an adventure game.

 

[ArchiaArt]

Thanks @Kaimen! You can say you like my art as maaaaaany times as you like xD And thank you for pointing out the text sound thing... it really is quite jarringly inconsistent now that I sit and listen to it... esp with that soft piano in the background. I'll see, yeah, if I can find something kinder on the ears. I guess I notice visual things more than audio things! And I guess, since you are a musician, you notice the audio xD btw I'm listening to your soundcloud now!!
[doublepost=1455274943,1455257482][/doublepost]

Made a little ‘mechanics’ demo for my wizard game ^^ It’s the prologue to the game, and of course, this is SUPER EARLY ACCESS so things as you see them now may not stay the same.

Major example - I want different portraits for different emotions!

If anyone wants to try playing through what you see here, let me know, and I’ll upload a copy to dropbox. But it will be big filesize because I am scared of taking the default files out of RPG maker xD

Warning for a little bit of Ho Yay if anyone is allergic to that stuff xD

 

[Bizarre Monkey]

This looks very promising! //me follows!

 

[ArchiaArt]

Thanks @Bizarre Monkey!

Now that I have done the prologue, I'm going to move onto the meat of the story. First up is day one, where Hugo and Kit get an apparently simple locator job... ^^

Character Portraits so far!

Spoiler

Hugo

Kit

Lord Glaur - an upcoming character who gives you the job!

There will be more sprites and portraits to come ^^ But first I will make the scene where you get the job!
[doublepost=1455705561,1455352110][/doublepost]Finished the 'you get a job!' scene xD

Spoiler

[doublepost=1455775698][/doublepost]New character ^^