Gakumerasara's site

GiaD 2009: Gerdal the Turtle

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 20:50:55 GMT

My Game-in-a-Day entry: a platform puzzle game starring Gerdal the Turtle.
Help Gerdal reach the delicious noms using turtlepults and pixelated trampolines.
I'm not sure exactly how long it took to make (with all of the distractions and breaks), but it was well under 10 hours of coding.
http://www.byond.com/games/Gakumerasara/GerdaltheTurtle if you want to give it a try

The End of the World

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 17:00:14 GMT

Because of the energy channeled from the heroes Oriole and Cherrysoda, Morgaine was able to free herself from the chains that imprisoned her. Meeting with quite a large amount of adventurers in the town of Remora, the troupe began to proceed towards The Crimson Queen. Travel was quite easy as a group while Oriole and a select few took out the straggling monsters that were found.

Upon reaching the Sea Biscuit, 4 adventurers stood on the seals unlocking the door that barred passageway to to chamber. It was a rigorous battle, but they were very successful in keeping the queen at bay long enough for Morgaine to work her magic and destroy her soul.

The plan was to take out the queen, then to move on to Zeygram, the larger threat of destruction. However, it didn't work as well as we had hoped.

The Sorcerologist, Manastrologist and Knowologist discovered that the manastorm wasn't in fact a memory of the world, but that the world held the memory itself, however after presuming that Ansi was the work behind the ability of the world to be able to recreate itself, Zeygram made short work of them by banishing them, claiming that it was him who had done this.

Zeygram then proceeded to explain that he created the world in peace for all creatures to live in harmony, and that Ansi was the one who started war by teaching mankind that it was superior to the other creatures, claiming that the others were monsters. Mankind fought off the other creatures in the past and eventually created the wards that protected the towns be evaporating 'monsters' that approached them. It wasn't long before mankind had control of the world. After the destruction of 'monsters', mankind then turned to war against each other. This was the time when Zeygram was first seen in the world. Thought of as a monster, he was sealed under the earth.

Disappointed that the world had brought itself to such a low that they did nothing more than fight with each other, Zeygram replenished the worlds population of 'monsters', which forced mankind to unite as one and stop the pointless fighting. He then created the manastorm to cleanse the world. However, the newly created worlds were no different than the old ones because of the nature of humans.

Calling out to the world, he was answered by a Maverick which let him out of his prison, only to be sealed back under the earth once again. Upon his second release, he spent weeks trying to fix his broken world himself, only to fail. He decided in the end to manually cleanse his world himself by undoing what he once created. This is now the end of the world, as we know it.

Was Zeygram really the true creator of the world, or perhaps this was all an elaborate ruse to make mankind ponder what it has done, and to feel as though it's been fighting a backwards battle against itself? This is something I fear we might not know, and without the consciousness of mankind, we never will.

The Duet with a Queen

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 06:34:56 GMT

Not long after the world was prematurely changed, and forced into a final era of living, a maverick jumped the gun and released the being known as Zeygram into the world. Gathering the courage I could, as well as a poor soul that looked up to me in battle, and a comrade named Compass. I decided to engage the beast in an attempt to see if I could harm him.

With great speed I ran from one side of the world to the other in search of the demon, to be finally told that he was spotted in Remora. Traveling forth, I met with my comrade, and engaged the might Zeygram. Slashing furiously with my flaming sword, I came to the conclusion that he isn't going to be taken down with raw force alone. As he appears to be able to see everything that is happening, and he slayed the young warrior that had followed me into battle.

With the help of Compass, we locked the demon into a room, only to find that he has the ability to teleport out of his imprisonment.

Later on, in another attempt to destroy the great demon, I gathered together 7 warriors. While they may not have all been the strongest, they made up for it in heart. Compass, Accomplice, Cherry, Argonus, Firefox, Jimbo Jambo, and myself unlocked the door barring the queens chamber, and ran in to engage her in a hoped attempt at luring Zeygram into her chamber to watch them do battle.

Avast it was a failed attempt. With the brute force attacking her, and the aide of our healers we managed to hurt the queen slightly, however it was to no avail, as she regenerates faster than we can harm her. After a strained battle, we were disappointed that Zeygram never showed up, and we all perished in the futile attempt.

The Final Era

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 09:36:29 GMT

As some of you may have read previously, Zeygram was released upon the world during the second era causing 5 heroes to sacrifice their souls to once again imprison him, bringing peace to the world once again. After this happened, everyone woke up in a brand new world. Much research was ensued and we discovered that the manastorm was not the cause of the worlds troubles, but in fact the life source of the world itself. When times get tough, the manastorm would swallow the world to cleanse it and then recreate it as best it could from memory. This is the reason why the changing of an era would cause the world to be altered.

However, this was not the case which brought us to a final era. Many have come to understand that Zeygram was once human, or humans(just a thought), but nobody is sure where he or they came from. However, he was sealed under the earth.

Nearing the end of the third era Nefaros, Beledim the lightbringer, and the skeletal wizard, three beings whom used to be humans named Sothriam, Medda, and Calpha whom had changed into monsters by their own will joined together to form the Crimson Queen. A being whom we are assuming is as strong as Zeygram himself. She is said to be against Zeygram but as a monster I doubt she can be trusted.

The Crimson Queen, or rather Nefaros, Beledim and The Skeletal Wizard had stolen the power of the manastorm causing the world to be unable to cleanse itself. When the act of the three began to happen, the world attempted to cleanse itself during the transformation. This is when it appears that the Crimson Queen stole the power of the storm, and now that it has no power left. The world will remain the way it appears.

Unfortunately, the whereabouts of The Crimson Queen is unknown, and if we do not destroy Zeygram upon his next release, humanity will be lost forever.

The Third Era

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 00:21:55 GMT

As the manastorm grew out of control in the Stolen Lands and the Mavericks grew in numbers, one being stood out. A Maverick known as Orinasu gathered three objects, an unknownflower, a soulstone, and a jesteregg. Combining these items he completed the ritual and broke the seal on Zeygram.

Being released, Zeygram's force broke the seals on the settlements, no longer protecting them from the monsters that wandered freely.

Appearing in the Arms of Fate, Zeygram traveled south towards Serpants Path. I, Oriole, with the help of Stasus, a Maverick siding with the humans met him here and attempted to destroy him, but it was a bitter attempt. Stasus being a Maverick was of little use against the evil, being of evil decent, his presence merely helped the demon recover his own. Without Stasus, I followed Zeygram west towards Morestine where I eventually lost his trail.

Finding myself of no use against him physically, I looked towards the stars and pleaded, giving up my soul as two others had done before me.

In the end, 5 heroes, namely Cherrysoda, Claviarm, Oriole, Lavarion, and Claviarm II suffered the same fate, giving up their souls in order to seal Zeygram once more.

The third era has begun, a time of peace. However, it won't last long. Zeygram's seal won't last forever and until he is destroyed, his destruction will return.

It is time for heroes to rise up, to join forces and prepare for Zeygram properly. Arm yourselves if you're brave enough, and join the fight!

Ultimatum

Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:59:38 GMT

After much anticipation, and much eager waiting, we here at BYOND Fantasy finally bring you a much awaited interview. I met with Unknown Person a couple weeks ago and interviewed him about his title Ultimatum. We hope it peaks your interest, and gets you eager to play his game.

Mikau: I'd like to thank you for taking the time to meet with me.
Unknown Person: No problem.

Mikau: I've always been curious, what made you start making Ultimatum?
Unknown Person: Well, around two years ago in my random game scavenging hunts, I found a game called Battle of Wesnoth (which you probably have heard of, since it's basically the main inspiration of Ultimatum). It's always been in my head to bring something over that shows what BYOND can do, and also fill the gap in strategy games.
Unknown Person: So I started Ultimatum. Ironically, it was originally going to be an RTS game.

Mikau: Interesting, what made you change the style?
Unknown Person: Well, I didn't completely envision in my head that it was going to be full blown RTS, since such a big game is already nearing some limits, but TBS games tend to be more simple and straightforward; it doesn't require you to think all the time. The only downside I could think is that the average 2 player game can last for 1-2 hours.
Mikau: I guess it's a game that you would have to plan out and take your time with.

Mikau: Were there any games besides Wesnoth that inspired you, perhaps a BYOND game?
Unknown Person: Not really, although I have taken some concepts from the game "Age of Wonders" as well. That game actually inspired me of the idea of siege implements, so it is a fairly important inspiration. There aren't that many BYOND strategy games at this point, so I took inspirations from the outside game community.

Mikau: What about single player? Is that an option in the future?
Unknown Person: It's an open option for the future, but I don't have any promises for the near future. Right now, I'm working on building up the foundation for a solid game, then expand with more things on from there. I envisioned single player to be facing through a form of scenarios, rather than having a storyline, though.
Unknown Person: However, if this does happen, I do plan on bringing general background stories.
Mikau: Sounds good.

Mikau: Are there any plans for more races in the future, or more classes of infantry?
Unknown Person: The current 5 factions are planned to be the foundation of units in the game, and at this time, I don't plan for any more. It'd be more realistic for me to start adding more units to each faction, because at this point the factions aren't completely balanced, and you can see that with the Elves faction at this moment. My next leap on infantry is to introduce Siege Implements, which I've already planned for on the battle HUD.
Unknown Person: Siege Implements are essentially objects that units control, such as cannons and trebuchets. This can also introduce new types of working units, which is my main goal right now.

Mikau: What else might you add after siege implements and faction balancing?
Unknown Person: When the game is ready for a release, I will be adding a point-based rating system. This type of system should make it more motivating to finish games, even if you are on the losing team. The system isn't completely sketched out, but it will essentially let players gain points when they finish games (more when they win, less when they lose) Dependant mainly on how much they did during the battle. This can potentially allow the loser of a game to gain more points than the winner if they have done more in the game.

Mikau: What about walls and other obstacles, will the players have the option to fortify themselves in the future?
Unknown Person: You can think of the display you're looking at while in a game in Ultimatum as a map, and tiles are pretty big. If you're talking about walls which units are impaired from entering, then you can think of that as a terrain's movement cost. The idea of letting units fortify themselves from attacks wouldn't be what you would think, since it would break the gameplay by letting units pop in and out of buildings, for example.
Unknown Person: Units can defend themselves by going into more defensive terrain, such as mountains and villages, and that's what the game's basis of defense will be built upon.

Mikau: I've noticed that ranged units can only attack one tile away from themselves, the same as melee. In the future, will range actually be ranged?
Unknown Person: For units, most likely not. You can think of game tiles measured in kilometers. However, I am planning on giving Siege Implements having ranged attacks longer than 1 tile.

Mikau: Aside from the game play, do you do all the development yourself, or do you have help from anyone secretly?
Unknown Person: Like all of my projects, I do development all by myself, since it's much more simple without the overhead of other people, and I can end with the game I envisioned from the start.

Mikau: Time for a little bit of fun for the readers.
Mikau: Do you have a favorite faction?
Unknown Person: Yeah, I tend to stick with Humans. They have a good balance in units, and have got a healer.

Mikau: Have you noticed any 'cheap' tactics being used in your game yet?
Unknown Person: I haven't seen anything extra-ordinarily cheap in the game, since the unit's average lifespan makes it hard to find unfair strategies. The only real cheap strategy in the game is common in free-for-all games when players team up against each other, even if they don't mean to do it purposely. This is most commonly seen in fast 3-player games in maps such as Anguish Peak when player A waits for player B and C kill each other to attack and have the advantage.

Mikau: What about distinct strategies that become common between games?
Unknown Person: Common strategies in Ultimatum are to recruit fast units at the start of the game, since the key to surviving the longest and ultimately winning is to capture the most villages early on in the game. Other common strategies is to team up many units against one during one turn, and attack in wolf packs.

Mikau: Any secret strategies?
Unknown Person: Yeah, always designate a couple of units to directly attack your opponent's leader if it's possible. For example, if your opponent isn't careful you can send two Mermen or Nagas over in the map "Showdown" in the water, and attack your leader. But don't try this strategy if you're planning on playing against Leftley.
Mikau: Haha, alright.

Mikau: What's your major long term goal for the game?
Unknown Person: When I started Ultimatum, my goal was to bring a strategy game over to BYOND for the community to play and have fun with. You can say my long term goal is to let the game be run by the players, since without players, there is no game.

Mikau: Any spoilers to reveal for us?
Unknown Person: I don't know what could be called a spoiler since Ultimatum doesn't have a storyline, but I try to let the players know what's coming up next so they ultimately can help me test it during the public tests in the weekend. If you count the possibility of AI and BYOND Member exclusive features spoilers, there you go.

Mikau: Well, thanks for you time, I'm out of questions. Any last words for the BYOND Fantasy readers?
Unknown Person: Yeah, come join Ultimatum during the weekend tests!
Mikau: Will do, good luck with development.
Unknown Person: Thank you.

Acheron's Awakening: A visual look.

Sun, 27 May 2007 23:25:00 GMT

I've finally gotten around to uploading the screen shots, if I didn't use the screen shots that you sent me it's nothing personal. I just grabbed the what I thought would look best, and went with them.

First we have some screenshots of the title screen, character creation, and where you spawn when you enter the world.

I take a quick look at my stats, and my inventory to see what I start with as people gather outside talking about the game, and a party starts to form killing turtles.

Next we have a shot of me killing a turtle, as well as someone doing some shopping. The last picture is a couple people standing in the town center, which was an area used for PvP later on in the testing.

Here we have a picture of myself admiring my new robes and staff, a trade being taken between two players, and an shot of someone in the library.

Here someone spies on the Wizard, which is part of a quest(spying on him isn't the quest), and a couple of groups of people exploring.

Here we have a party in the caves taking on the slimes, and some screenshots of the PvP that took place.

More PvP

Acheron's Awakening, a look on the inside.

Sun, 27 May 2007 19:14:12 GMT

After grinding through a session of Dragon Warrior Online, I was invited along with many others for a much anticipated preview of Asheron's Awakening. Although the game wasn't near completed as one would think, there was quite enough content for an extended session of gameplay that the end of the preview was not reached. The session was meant to last 1 hour, however it was extended to appease the fans.

The games controls were set out for the player, and they were quite comfortable. Any user that had played Proelium previously would have had no problem moving around with the walk and strafe system, and the chatting and attacking was as easy to get used to as most other BYOND games. I had no problem playing the game even without a number pad on the keyboard by setting a personal macro for the center key on the number pad.

The player versus player aspect of the game, although I didn't do much of it in the time alotted, felt very similar to Proelium as well, which made the game quite interesting if you were a Proelium junky, and it gave the battle a more stat/skill aspect over the pure skill needed in Proelium.

The graphics, although being sub-par to quite a bit of what we have seen on BYOND, they blend together and are quite easy on the eyes. It's the type of game I could see myself playing frequently, which is saying quite a lot, for I don't get into many games.

The quests in the game were easy to understand, and easy to do without being overly easy and pointless. The quests I completed were mostly messenger tasks, however there were tasks that involved gathering map information, as well as finding lost people.

Screenshots pending, comments appreciated.

BYOND Fantasy Gazette Exclusive: Interview with The Brotherhood (FF:THG)

Fri, 04 May 2007 19:36:09 GMT

Moments ago, I sat down with members of The Brotherhood for an interview about Final Fantasy: The Hunting Grounds. During the process, I received a crash course in all things relating to Darlow, the world of FF:THG. We discussed the history and development of the game, as well as specific aspects of both the current version and the major upcoming update, version 8.

Note: Minor changes have been made to this transcript. Small typos and grammatical errors have been corrected in many (but not necessarily all) cases. Some messages have been reordered for the sake of continuity, and others have been removed where unnecessary. No content was added.

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Gakumerasara: Hello, and welcome. This is Gakumerasara of BYOND Fantasy, here with several members of The Brotherhood, the development team behind Final Fantasy: The Hunting Grounds (THG). Thank you all for agreeing to meet with me this afternoon. Before we move on, could you each please give me a brief summary of your individual roles within The Brotherhood?
Mahn: My primary job is hosting the 24/7 server. Secondary job I guess, is the forums.
Rand: My primary job is balancing the game in terms of stats, as well as creating new formulas for things or editing that which already exists if the need arises. I also server monitor in the game itself, as do the rest of us.
Kija: My main role is programming, but I also jump around between other things, such as graphics, design, maps, and other.
Tral: I've been working on creating new and original music for the game.
Gakumerasara: There is one other member who hasn't shown up yet?
Mahn: Two.
Kija: There is Kain, who is currently working on the new area. And Constantine, who is currently working on graphics for the new area.

Gakumerasara: It seems you have one person for each major aspect of game production. Have you run into any problems because of this?
Rand: To be honest, there are areas that many of us tend to blend into somewhat, and if anyone DOES have a problem, none of us are hesitant to attempt to help. It's why we're a team, after all.
Kija: It can sometimes be difficult to get the work done fast enough. It has taken a lot longer than I would hope. But, even though there is one person for each area, we still work together in each area to help pull through.
Mahn: What they said. 0.o

Gakumerasara: Managing a team of this size must be daunting. Does everyone have equal say or is someone actually in charge of The Brotherhood?
Kija: Everyone has an equal say. We are a team and work together in most things. But, our visions are very similar, so we rarely come into any major problems because of it.
Rand: We decide anything big on a vote. And, we do mostly think very similarly on matters.
Mahn: People have many opinions on how it is managed. Everyone has equal say. Discussions, debating, and voting help play into that role.

Gakumerasara: - a democratic system, quite unusual in game development, yet seems very effective in this case. Now before we get too far into this, there's one question I've been wondering for quite a while: The Hunting Grounds... Exactly who's hunting whom?
Kija: The creatures are hunting you. You are an investigator investigating why they have appeared.
Rand: And the extent of the damage done to the world and its people's nations.
Gakumerasara: That's an interesting twist. Could you briefly summarize the plot for our readers?
Rand: Basically, you begin your investigations in the Country of Dainan. Once you outfit yourself for the journey, you set off to discover what you can in your travels of the outlying areas, and later on the rest of the world. You also meet other investigators in your travels.
Rand: There are many odd, unexpected twists...like an overtaken cathedral that holds a dark power. Once you are able to enter the area, it is up to you to find out why it was sealed off from you, and what awaits inside.

Gakumerasara: I read something about a "Nexus". Is this related to the cathedral somehow?
Kija: In parts of the world, there are areas called the Hunting Grounds. They are unsure how they came to be, but many creatures inside of them have become twisted and evil. The once loving beings now gather to kill you. It is a dangerous place, and you must find out what is causing it. Nexus is the being people worship as their god.
Rand: Nexus...is a being which came to the planet of Darlow long before the storyline of the game takes place. He is somewhat the catalyst for the population's advancing evolution, and the entrance of magic. He eventually even links with the land itself, and is revered as a god amongst the mortal folk.
Gakumerasara: So is Nexus responsible for the monster attacks?
Kija: I would like to leave that for the players to discover for themselves.

Gakumerasara: Ah, fair enough. I'd also like to know, what is Skure?
Kija: Skure, now called Skyre is one of the continents of Darlow.
Gakumerasara: Wasn't there a role-play only THG2/Skure planned at some point? What happened to the project?
Rand: The main developer had to put it on hold for a time due to personal reasons.
Kija: Yes, there was. It took place in the future, after the age of the Hunting Grounds. It is put on hold right now and has changed several times.
Gakumerasara: There are plans to revive the project at some point?
Mahn: I wouldn't see why not.
Kija: I hope so. It had a lot of neat ideas and helped continue the story line.
Rand: No one can say what the future may bring...but I'd not discount the possibility.

Gakumerasara: Going back to THG's beginnings: If I'm not mistaken, THG started as a project under Dagolar. What was it like during the early years of development?
Kija: None of us were part of the Brotherhood then. But, from when we did start, it was a bit different. It was still only version four, with no abilities for the classes and plenty of bugs to fix. But, after the majority of the other Brotherhood had quit then, we started up and helped finish it. It was a big step in the game, and I am glad it was finally done.
Mahn: Well, it is quite different than it is now. Especially, in terms of design.

Gakumerasara: What happened to the original Brotherhood, and what has changed in terms of design?
Kija: They quit for whatever reasons they had. Some has disagreements with the direction of the game, and with others, their lives were too greatly affected. A lot of the original members went to college.
Mahn: A small example of a change in designs, is the battle system is new and improved for the turn based battles. Monsters now have spells and skills. Investigators can now use skills, not valid in the previous versions before Version 5 and area spells.

Gakumerasara: Did the story evolve with the game, or was it planned out from the beginning?
Kija: The story was written long before the BYOND version was ever thought up.
Gakumerasara: Who was responsible for the story, then?
Mahn: Dagolar himself is writing a novel on it.
Kija: There have been changes along the way though. But the main part of the story is still the same.

Gakumerasara: What prompted the recent Hub-swap? It's now listed under The Brotherhood. Was this simply for convenience?
Mahn: We can now freely edit the hub for various changes we need without having to wait when Dagolar is online and not busy to edit the hub.

Gakumerasara: Getting back to the game itself, what would you say are THG's defining characteristics? What sets it apart from other games on BYOND?
Rand: Largely the community, I would say, as well as the fine-tuning of our coders. Everything is tested by and large before being added to the game server.
Kija: The battles are also much different, and are also evolving even more. For instance, the new bosses battles. I have been really happy with them.
Rand: Yes. You are now required to use your brain as well as your brawn to come out alive. Many [other] games are simply "hack the beastie until you get its treasure hoard".
Kija: The world itself is also something I really like. Many others games I have seen have no storyline. But, this one is really interesting, and with the new versions, is becoming [an] even greater part of the world, as we make it more alive [with] more interaction.

Gakumerasara: I've noticed when playing THG in the past that there were a ton of NPCs scattered around, most of which couldn't be interacted with. Is this still the case, and did new players often find this confusing? And what was the reasoning behind the extra NPCs?
Kija: Most of them still do not talk, but we will be changing that. They are there currently just for atmosphere.
Rand: The NPCs are not extras. Players DID find this confusing occasionally, but most took it in stride. However, NPCs will soon be fixed up with text of their own to add to the game's flavour and experience.
Rand: There may also be a few little surprises in store for day-to-day goings...
Gakumerasara: Day-to-day goings?
Rand: Yes. Such as when you need to travel into town for whatever reason.

Gakumerasara: What can you tell us about the custom music? What is your inspiration, or what are you trying to emulate?
Tral: I've always like music from the old RPGs and such. The music from Crystal Chronicles left an impression.

Gakumerasara: For the benefit of those who have never played THG before, what is the most common problem players encounter when joining for the first time?
Mahn: "How do I talk to NPCs?" and "Where are the battles?"
Kija: The biggest problem we have right now is that it can be very hard to play by yourself. If you are not in a party, you will probably die a lot if you are new to the game. This is something that will be changing in the new version and is probably one the biggest turn offs.
Rand: The most common problem I've noticed is that they do not bother to attempt learning the controls and just ask people in-game. There are text bubbles which pop up whenever you create a new character to tell you of the game, and what you do to navigate the world.
Kija: Actually, they are no longer text bubbles. That was changed a long time ago. It is just text now, so they can even scroll up.
Kija: I do want to get a better instructions guide eventually though, so new players who do want information will be able to find it easier. We do have an online guide, but it is just a scroll text. There is also the instructions command, but that is just as bad in some aspects.
Gakumerasara: So, note to new players: Read the instructions and join a party if possible.
Kija: Yes, that is good advice.

Gakumerasara: I read over the website briefly and had some questions for you about various topics and issues:

Gakumerasara: "Some monsters have the ability to eat their target." This really stuck out to me. Care to explain?
Rand: Sure. Some large monsters have the ability to swallow you whole in battle.
Kija: Some large creatures can eat you. The new version of eat is much less annoying though. In the original version, it killed you, and you had a small chance to be recovered that lessened over time.
Rand: You gradually lose Hit Points until you die. However, you have a chance to make the monster spit you out, or it can be killed while you are alive and you are recovered.
Kija: When eaten, you can always be recovered and do not die. Once eaten, each round the creature will digest you. This digestion causes you damage as the creature gains it. If you are dead inside the creature for four rounds, you are considered to be completely digested and cannot be recovered. Within the creature, there are three options: Attack, irritate, resist. When using attack, you will do damage of one weak hit. Irritate allows you to irritate the creature to vomit you up. There is a base chance of irritate to be successful; however, if your level is higher than the creatures, the difference increases the chance. This difference does not work for the creature's if his level is higher than yours. If you resist the creature, the damage done from digestion is reduced.
Mahn: You can now resist his digestion system, irritate to get thrown back up, even attack from inside.

Gakumerasara: THG has a monster called a "Vampire Zombie". How does that work, exactly? Does (undead X undead) = living?
Kija: No. It just means that a zombified creature was turned into a vampire. In that area, the people there would mummify their dead.
Gakumerasara: By "that area" I assume you mean in terms of race and culture. THG features four different races (Daines, Hassites, Anarans, and Lireans). Are players able to create characters of different races?
Kija: Yes, there are four kingdoms, all of which are selectable [for characters].
Gakumerasara: How can one distinguish characters of the different races from each other?
Kija: Each one has their own culture, appearance, and location in the world. But you always start in Dainan.
Gakumerasara: Do characters of different races progress differently or have different experiences?
Kija: No. The primary difference is the colour of their clothes. It is just for looks and for people who like to roleplay.
Rand: Those are actually different nationalities rather than races, per se. Everyone has the same progression level.
Gakumerasara: Ah, I see. Is there any relationship between the Daines nationality of THG and Danes of Denmark?
Rand: Hahaha....not particularly, if memory serves.

Gakumerasara: THG has some bosses with interesting names. In terms of a Super Smash Brothers-esque brawl, with all other things being equal, who would win in a fight between the bosses: Vallatio, Kaug, Magora, Grygasz, and Geyzer?
Rand: It is hard to say. They each have their own merits.
Kija: Magora is the strongest being. She is quite evil and powerful.
Gakumerasara: Who would you choose as your own character and why?
Rand: Vallatio. His power stems not only from his physical ability, but from his cunning slyness, and his very decent grasp of magic. As for attacks, I cannot rightly say what he would be capable of in such a situation.
Mahn: I would choose Kaug as he is formidable foe. His rage is his superior form of damage. Brute strength, if you will.
Kija: Yes, Vallatio is my favourite as well. He is smart, powerful, and can drain the blood of anyone of who dares to face him. I am also a fan of magic, which Vallatio is a master of.
Tral: I like Geyzer. He’s tough and has the greatness of the cold, the ice..

Gakumerasara: a frigid adversary. Looking over the classes + descriptions at http://www.freewebtown.com/ffthg/ What is your favorite class + build?
Kija: I am big fan of magic. Primarly destruction magic. The blackmage is my favourite class, with pure willpower for that extra power boost.
Mahn: My Favorite class is the Fighter. He can dish out a massive amount of damage an can endure quite alot of pain. As for the build, I haven't told anyone it.
Rand: Technically, I enjoy all of the classes, due to their various uses in battle and their contribution abilities. However, I am mostly using a Redmage. I utilize a build of Willpower and Agility.
Tral: I prefer the thief.

Gakumerasara: Which builds do you recommend and which would you advise against for beginners?
Mahn: I would recommend any of the builds on the website. They are good, "generic" builds.
Kija: Any build can work well. It mostly depends on how you want to play.
Rand: I wouldn't particularly advise against any build. Any build at all can have benefits in one form or another, and it is for a player to customize their character and their fighting ability.
Gakumerasara: So new players would do well to read over and decide on a build beforehand.
Kija: It is not necessary, but it can help to plan ahead.
Rand: They can, but they're more than welcome to try things out and see what they like, of course.
Mahn: or, just wing it.
Gakumerasara: I also noticed that for builds, you have "Melee Ranger". Keeping with the build-naming convention for other classes, shouldn't that be "Power Ranger"?
Mahn: Well, PR is known for his power...lol

Gakumerasara: Now, I read something that concerns me slightly… "Defonce" the Knight skill... According to my sometimes-reliable source, Babblefish, that means "drug abuse" in French. Is this an attempt by a member of the Brotherhood to reach out in some way? Is an intervention in order? =P
Rand: Gakumerasara...people act strange daily. Zoning out is what we do with each other.
Mahn: Can we really say, if they were, it was our fault? Not really.
Mahn: Tral seems to zone out 24/7, though..
Mahn: :P
Rand: This is true. Heh heh.

Gakumerasara: What's the current development status of THG? Are you presently working on another major update?
Rand: Yes, we are.
Kija: Version eight is a very big update.
Mahn: Very big, indeed.
Kija: Version five was big, and this is even bigger.

Gakumerasara: What can players expect to see in version 8?
Rand: Well...how to not give out spoilers...haha!
Gakumerasara: That was my next question actually. =P
Kija: The biggest changes are the new level system and new area.
Gakumerasara: How will leveling change, and what does the new area involve?
Rand: Leveling itself won't be very different. It will be how you develop your character in the leveling that will be so very different.
Kija: The new level system will incorporate more choice for the classes. A character of the same class can be even more different and have different styles. It will also have changes to make other abilities more useful. Such as right now, status spells are mostly useless. The abilities will also be centered around more team work, where players will be able to help setup attacks for each other and help encourage working together rather than just being together.

Gakumerasara: That should make the game even more enjoyable. What about the new map?
Kija: The new area is much different than the other areas. It is the first step in many things. It includes original graphics, for the area, creatures, and other. We also want to make the area more explorable. Right now, most of the areas are very linear, and there are no good reasons to explore. With this new area, we want to change that. There will be more interaction and things to discover as an investigator.

Gakumerasara: Are there plans to change any of the existing areas?
Mahn: Most definantly.
Kija: Yes. The entire game will eventually be replaced with original graphics and redone maps.
Gakumerasara: That's quite an undertaking; THG has a huge map.
Rand: It will be a very long and arduous process. But anything worthwhile is.
Kija: Yes, it is a very big change, but I want it to happen. It needs to happen. The world will be much more enjoyable, and you will feel much more like an investigator. Right now, it is mostly just a grind. But with the changes, it will not be.

Gakumerasara: Are there any spoilers or teasers you'd like to share?
Kija: Well, there are some preview images of some of the new creatures found here http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y294/Kija/Examples.png.
Kija: We will also be making another update post about the level system details in the future.

Gakumerasara: Excellent. Is there anything else you'd like to share with the readers at BYOND Fantasy?
Mahn: I'd like to mention one thing to anybody. Whatever you wish to do as a job or a hobby, never give it up. Alot of people have big dreams of becoming astronauts, game creators, publishers and whatever else. Don't give it up. :P Anything is possible.
Rand: Not that I can think of. Though I'll love to answer any questions a reader may have personally :)
Kija: Well, I can go over a bit about interaction. In version eight, it is the first step in this interaction. The example given was item interaction, using Dainaria as a location. In Dainaria, you may find a journal describing the life a person there, and the eventual fleeing and destruction of the town. Beyond just the areas, we want to expand this to other parts of the world. For instance, we want libraries to have books too. This interaction will not [only] be for books though. As the world expands and the new area comes together, you as investigator will be able to discover new things, discovering the past, the present, and the hopeful future. We want the culture of the world to come more alive, and people to feel a part of it.

Gakumerasara: All right; it's been a pleasure. Thank you for your time, and please keep us informed of any updates on the BYOND Fantasy forums. I'm looking forward to doing this again when you start on version 9. =)
Kija: Thank you for your time as well. It has been fun and hopefully people will be able to learn more about the game and its future.

Another World

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 19:13:36 GMT

The first interview with the Another World development team was a great success and we learned much about their plans with the game, and how the team came to be. Although I couldn't meet with the entire developement team consisting of Cecil81067, Shinkinrui, Usei, Hudson, Mikau(myself, for obvious reasons), ZBlackomenz, Vortal, and XxDohxX. I did meet with the 3 owners of the Another World developement team. After learning from the programming mind behind the team that they weren't expecting to be successful, and how they were worried about their game being considered a knock-off of another popular game titled Final Fantasy Legacy, they were more relaxed and had a bit more fun with the interview.

Mikau: Did you guys ever think about giving up on the game?
Cecil81067: I have thought about it a few times when things got hectic.
Shinkinrui: The thought's crossed my mind, but I never really seriously considered it. I won't give up on it.
Cecil81067: When we had lost our 4th owner it was difficult.
Usei: Yes, I did. When we released it before we felt it was ready, I felt so much new pressure that I wanted to quit

Mikau: FF5:AW having another owner aside from you 3 isn't well known to most.
Mikau: What happened that they were lost?
Shinkinrui: There was a pretty major difference in opinion about how development/releases should progress.
Usei: Yeah. The fourth was Elias (BreakmanDX). We had completely different work ethics and we just clashed a bit. ^^;
Shinkinrui: Basically, Usei and I were on one side, trying to keep things slow and do the best job we could. BTW, I don't think it's fair to say we had different work ETHICS, we just had a difference in opinion.
Usei: Well, yeah, I suppose that's what I meant. XD
Shinkinrui: Elias wanted to get as make as much content for the game as he could, as fast as he could. HK was in the middle of those two conflicting opinions, trying to moderate.
Shinkinrui: Long story short, it didn't work out.

Mikau: Well, everyone has different work ethics.
Mikau: Back on the topic of the game though...
Mikau: How did you guys invision the game when you first started? Did you picture a new world, or thinking back to Final Fantasy Legacy. Did you see the players roaming a world modeled after the original?
Shinkinrui: From the beginning, we wanted it to be a fully new world.
Cecil81067: From the start, I wanted a new beginning. I was tired of seeing a copy of something, since I had been with FFL so long. When I had talked to Shinkinrui about the game. I had invisioned we would make a new world instead of just a copy.
Usei: No, I really wanted to make a NEW world, and create the maps and some of the icons ourselves
Usei: I'm really a creative-minded person--I love making new things with my own hands.
Mikau: That's completely understandable.
Mikau: Everyone wants a creation to call their own.

Mikau: What about new content regarding players, ever consider adding extras to the game that wasn't in the original?
Usei: Yes. There may be extra classes in the future, but that will be a lot of work for me as iconer. XP
Cecil81067: We have, and still intend to add more spice then what was in the original FF5, we don't intend to overdo it though. I personally like being true to the game as well.
Usei: FFAW's storyline is also nothing like FFV's
Usei: It wil still be connected to the original somehow, but not the same
Mikau: Now, I know Final Fantasy Legacy is very player fighting based, and mostly revolves around fighting random battles.
Shinkinrui: What I'd love to see someday are more ways for the players to interact with each other. That's what makes games like these fun- the community and more ways to interact.

Mikau: Do you intend to give FF5:AW a more in depth storyline, so that the players have more to do than just grind stats?
Usei: YES>
Cecil81067: YES! Absolutely, we don't want player's doing nothing but fighting. We'd like to see them solve puzzles and continue a fresh story all the way to it's end.
Usei: But you know, some games just have WAY more storyline than is really needed, and so they get boring fast... The story of FFAW I believe will be in depth enough to absorb the player, but not so long-winded that they get bored

Mikau: Also; I've read a recent artical about the use of out of character chat systems. Do you intend to leave in the world channels once the game evolves further? Or are you leaving all the players in complete communication?
Cecil81067: It's still up for debate, but we have been thinking about changing the way people communicate slightly. Although it won't be too drastic.
Usei: That's hard to answer without spoilers, I think. XD
Mikau: We wouldn't want that now, would we Usei.
Usei: No.
Shinkinrui: That's not something that has been discussed much ... but we have ideas in that area.

Mikau: What about the near future? Anything to be expected from the team?
Shinkinrui: Well ... the main focus is making content for FF5:AW Beta 3.
Usei: Personally, I've been doing a lot of work on FFAW--icons, monster sprites, even spell animations. It's doubtful that much will be added before the release of beta 3
Shinkinrui: Honestly, as many of our previous players can attest to, progress is slow. This is, after all, a hobby for us. We love it, but it's not all we do with our lives.

Mikau: Have you given yourselves a deadline to work towards for beta 3? Or are you taking the safe route as to not displease the players?
Shinkinrui: We've already made the mistake of setting deadlines XD
Usei: Not in that sense. Setting deadlines kind of kills our determination to keep at it, you know?
Shinkinrui: Won't happen again
Mikau: I know what you mean, hobbies and deadlines never seem to meet.
Cecil81067: We promise that we work very hard for the player's when it comes to Beta 3, and hopefully they won't be disappointed when we finally give them an update.
Usei: It's more so that we're still doing this as OUR hobby, not because it's expected of us. We care about the players and really want to keep them happy.
Shinkinrui: When you set deadlines, it feels less like a pleasureable hobby and more like an obligation. Atleast that's how I've felt in the past.

Mikau: Anyways, what about the future of the game? Do you see the project ever having an end, or will this be something you plan to always add to?
Usei: Oh, they WON'T be disappointed in beta 3.
Shinkinrui: This game will eventully be complete. We already have a basic picture in our minds of what the complete game will look like, and it will eventually be there.
Cecil81067: All games have to come to an end at some point, but hopefully we can keep it going with a live community. The better response we get the longer it can go with what we can do and add onto it.
Usei: It will eventually have an end, but we can always add sidequests and extra items.
Shinkinrui: But yeah, like they said, even when we reach the point when we feel it's "complete," you can always add more quests, more items, more goals.
Usei: And there are always guilds.
Shinkinrui: Yeah, that's something I hope will keep the players playing, the guild system we're eventually adding.

Mikau: The 3 of you have always worked on fan based games.
Mikau: Have you ever thought about creating a game that wasn't fan-based?
Usei: It was brought up to me by a few people... Non-fan games can be sold and can make money without making anyone mad, for one.
Shinkinrui: I haven't thought about it, honestly. I bet HK has, though.
Cecil81067: Several times, I feel that doing an original game will show the rest of BYOND that we aren't just a fan team. We want to emulate FF5 to show BYOND's potential. And one day when we have done that we can try to make something original that people will enjoy as well.

Mikau: It's obvious that you have the ability as a development team.
Mikau: Do you have any secret spoilers for us at BYOND Fantasy about the game?
Usei: Hmmm...
Shinkinrui: Well, I could mention that I brought up the idea and was bugging HK a little bit to make a better system for quests in FF5:AW.
Usei: And currently I'm working on custom borders and window colors that the player can choose.
Shinkinrui: Not just the major quests like obtaining jobs and all that, but lots of little quests, side stories, that kind of thing. More stuff for the player to do other than level-grinding and finding the jobs.
Shinkinrui: And hey, maybe you'll see something else from us besides FF5:AW. Who knows?
Mikau: Hmm, not really a game genie code I can punch in, but I'll take the spoiler, and await the new graphics.

Mikau: Do you have any last comments about the game for our readers?
Cecil81067: Hmmm.
Usei: I've been dying to tell people about FFAW's development. XD
Usei: I'd just like to assure people that we ARE working on FFAW. I have heard rumors, and I'd like to dispel them if I could.
Cecil81067: How's this for a spoiler.
Cecil81067: Our story will take place 1000 years before the events of Final Fantasy 5.

Mikau: Alright, thanks for your time. I hope in the midst of Beta 3 being released that we can do this again some time.
Usei: Sure thing.
Cecil81067: Sure can. Maybe we'll be able to reveal more to you next time.
Shinkinrui: That sounds good, Mikau. I like feeling important.
Mikau: Happy development, and good luck with your game.
Usei: Ah, my loveable co-dork...

After the interview, they revealed to me of a secret project they were working on that wasn't to be discussed, so you can be expecting big things from them in the future, as well as another interview in the near future. They seemed to enjoy it and are much more relaxed with the process. The games already featuring the full system in place and is simply awaiting the creation of a large scale world, and a story line to follow.