Spirit Age

by Chris Gayle
Spirit Age
An amazing action adventure game in a fantasy world on mystical islands
ID:1482316
 
EDIT: http://www.thespiritage.com ||

Hey guys! It has been way too long time since you last heard from me, so lets get on the same page regarding the Spirit Age;

Over the last few months we have spent the majority of our development time refining systems, adding a couple new features but primarily writing the lore which defines the world the Spirit Age is occurring in. We have always had a pretty vague idea and have been experimenting for a little over two years now, but laying certain things in stone create a true foundation to launch with.

Spirit Age Heroes

We have also made some drastic changes, but naturally only with the best interest of the game at heart. One of our largest switches is a shift from the "over 100 players on server" goal (which I've realized I only followed because it was the standard on BYOND, not necessarily the best for the game) and have decided to design the game as a locally played RPG with optional multiplayer.

Making a change like this removes a lot of tasks which have slowed our progress, building an MMO versus an RPG are very different scenarios. Fortunately for us all, now we really get to focus on the gameplay and it's stories.

Don't get me wrong though, we would be crazy to drop multiplayer altogether, so instead we will be encouraging social gameplay in the Spirit Age, friends will be able to hop into servers together and play with one another, in the normal world or in a couple planned arcade-like modes which include dungeon diving and village wars.

Spirit Age Heroes
Sanji, Amelia, Emile & Galeo

The game's story is experienced through a band of heroes, a group of characters who have their own unique abilities & back stories. Multiplayer will only be limited to the number of heroes created, a group we hope we will continue to expand as Spirit Age matures.

So here's some even bigger news, we want to go to Kickstarter with the project. We've gladly invested a lot of time and resources and will continue to do so, however our pace has slowed tremendously.

Spirit Age Heroes
"Faye" will be a hero available to kickstarters

I think we are just getting old, and the life-responsibilities have been pouring in. Much of the free time we once had is wrapped up in part time jobs plus college, I really want that to change, and I've been pushing to find a solution. We have plenty to show for our time developing, and to let the project suffer from packed schedules sucks for the team, demotivating even. So why not try? So that's something that is coming up very soon.

Spirit Age Heroes

You guys have been with us for this journey, the ups & downs, and been the motivation for us to continue when otherwise seemed easier. I hope you like where we take the project and stick around for more.

The KS is all dolled up and submitted for review, and having gotten cleared by Tom we are 100% good to go, so look out for it :)
Gah damn, that running/dash sequence is gorgeous.

Shame though, I was hoping this game would eventually be the successor of what ragnarok accomplished.

If your platform mechanics are really as seamless as they look, you have something special here.
In response to Shaddow2
Haha, I assure you they are as seamless as they look.

The team still really loves the MMO world, and maybe one day we'll try it, sequels are always possibilities or maybe a stretch goal, but establishing the game's story is going to be a whole lot more manageable this way.
Bit of an off question, but how do you make these gif's ?program you use?

It would be much more helpful than busting out camtasia every time I want to make a video.

Also- why don't you guys ever post actual game play vids?
In response to Avidanimefan
Gyazo is a good program.

On a side-note, very interesting. Don't forget to link the Kickstarter link though.
Can't Wait To Get Onto This Game!
@Avidanimefan - I had used http://gifrecorder.com/ to create them.

We have posted a couple game play videos actually, but we haven't made a habit of it to be honest. This http://youtu.be/f8RKpBjLMBM was posted on these forums in December by Zane, but it was a rather rough version as you can see. I will make sure to publish more as time progresses.

@Raimo - I will certainly do so, once it's cleared later this week by the Kickstarter team I will make an update post.
Ehh dislike the idea of doing that taking same route Yut Put did with Epic Legend for the online thing..
In response to Ganite
Ganite wrote:
Ehh dislike the idea of doing that taking same route Yut Put did with Epic Legend for the online thing..

It really isn't about other games, whether it's Eternia, NEStalgia, Epic Legend or a Naruto fangame. It's what is best for the Spirit Age, I think the MMO style is something BYONDers are used to, and stepping out of that on this website makes some of us a little nervous.

We are all 100% capable of enjoying single player games (after-all, there are tonnes of amazingly popular games built single player) and find great joy in bringing our friends into these usually private and lively worlds with us.

As long as I make multiplayer plug & play, something with an ingame invitation and smooth connection, it'll be great, maybe even match making.
Will it be like 1-4players or massive? I can't see multiplayer really being all that fun with 4 players.
In response to Ganite
Ganite wrote:
Will it be like 1-4players or massive? I can't see multiplayer really being all that fun with 4 players.

Limited to the number of heroes available, as I have explained in the post. I think you'll have to give it a try before you decide.
yeah i dont imagine it getting much traffic from BYOND, definitely gotta advertise it elsewhere, but I think its safe to say they are already doing that since they are starting a kickstarter.
I love how the game's looking, but I'm afraid it won't succeed if you limit the players that can be online at the same time. Just take a look at Epic...

I personally had bought it because I thought it was gonna be a MMORPG (I should've read more about it), and I don't think people buy it anymore. I don't know if you'll let players host it or you'll buy your own servers, in both cases you won't see many benefits if you limit the amount of players.

I don't know what's your goal though, but if you want to earn money or get a successful game, make it so you can also have a big (or normal) server. I doubt it'll get more than 300 unique plays if you limit it, the vast majority on BYOND like playing with many people, and if you're gonna make it single-player or limited to some heroes, it'll probably lack popularity due to the low audience that'll be interested in it.

Now again, the progress you've made so far is incredible, but please try to make it so in the future it can be adapted to keep many players online at the same time.
In response to Eternal_Memories
There's plenty of single-player games that people buy, just look at a good majority of console and PC games.

If people stopped being scared of single-player games and just did it (And advertised outside of BYOND of course, since no one here likes change), I'm sure you'd find unexpected results. Sure, a 2D RPG has its own niche, but if they get it out there then they will definitely have it being played.

And an extra plus? Its single-player, so you don't have to worry about how players interact with each other (Except for the minimal multiplayer they seem to have planned), and you can focus on making a good game that sucks you in. You also can just fix any bugs and release a new version and let people download it, and you don't have to manage a server or anything.

All I'm really trying to say is don't downplay the possibility of success of a game simply because it isn't another MMORPG.
Not really I'm scared of single player games more of I come to BYOND to play/create multiplayer games I'd go buy GTA if I wanted to play something single player.
In response to Ganite
If you only come here to play multiplayer games, then good on you. That still doesn't really justify trying to say that this is going to fail because it isn't multiplayer.
I didn't say that it would fail, I'm just sad that its not going to be but I'm still looking foward to it either way didn't follow this game for 2years for nothing.
For some reason I am soooo tempted to call you Chris G...



Lmfaooo. ANYWAY! Mr. Chris Gayle, and to an old friend Zane, I 100% support your decisions on this. You two have been putting in sooo much work. Hell I've even witnessed Zane's art quality shoot up tremendously over time. I remember when his stuff looked like everyone elses. Then BAM! He quickly started showing his true skill and creative ability. I look at this and see so much flavor!

The game deserves the best treatment, and I believe you two are giving it such. I've been away from BYOND for a WHILE, but I always kept myself updated on the progress of this game. I even followed the facebook page lol. I look at this game as something that stands out from BYOND and it's trends. I wish for the best on this game. Hell, I'll most likely end up becoming a Backer when it does hit Kickstarter.

Me and a few guys have a YouTube Channel, and a pretty awesome Facebook "Family" (It's a group @__@... but I feel like they're relatives lol). I'll definitely put it up on YouTube, Share it in the group, hell tell my irl friends and family about it too.

This is probably too long... but yeah! I really wanna see you guys benefit from having a great creative nature and drive to work so hard on this game. Keep it up!
From being competition at one point in time, you've become inspiration.
@Chris: Remember that no matter what you do, you'll catch hate for it.

That said, I think this is a well-reasoned, and positive direction for SA. Good luck on your kickstarter, and be sure to come back with a postmortem when it's over!
I understand the criticism behind doing something different, but as Ter13 has said, it is a well-reasoned direction for the game. We really want to focus on the story, the world, the heroes, the gameplay. To express all these things in all the glory we can muster we've sacrificed what may seem like a big deal to some, but I promise it won't kill how much you and your friends will enjoy the age, only enhance it.

I really appreciate the support, as anxious as I am, we're really looking forward to getting started.
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