Masquerada - A New 2.5D Isometric RPG

Witching Hour Studios sent out information about their new RRG game called Masquerada: Songs and Shadows. As usual here is the game trailer, and short game description.

Masquerada: Songs and Shadows is a 2.5D isometric RPG, built in the vein of Baldur’s Gate and Dragon Age where you can pause combat to plan tactics for your party.

Set in the Venetian-inspired fantasy city of Ombre where rare masks are the key to casting magic, Masquerada is dressed in the colours and style of French comic books and vivid games like Bastion.

Players follow the Inspettore, Cicero Gavar as he returns from exile to solve a kidnapping that will shake up the foundations of the city.

Masquerada is intended for release on PC, Mac and consoles (TBC) in early 2016. Visit us at PAX East 2015, booth 8236 to try the demo and get some swag!

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More information.

The game looks very good for an early build, like a cross between The Banner Saga and Transistor, if the story is good I will definitely check it out.

Looks pretty good, but also looks like it should have been turn-based to me

A little too cartoony for my taste, but definitely something to have an eye on.

This almost looks better than Pillars of Eternity
The combat seems more interesting anyways. We have to find out the details for sure. I am sure to be watching for this game now. Early 2016 means it will compete vs TToN..

Looks fantastic if the maps/story/mechanics/ai are good. I actually like this art style; it isn't that I dislike bg or poe but the change makes it interesting.

Looks awesome! I love the art style and another game in the vein of Baldur's Gate is always welcome.

Heya guys, I'm Ian, the creative director here at WHS. Thank you all for your kind words. I hope we don't disappoint! In the meantime, I'd be happy to answer any questions you guys have.

(If I take a while to respond it'll probably be because I'm on a plane to Boston from Singapore. Sorry in advance!)

Any info on game mechanics you can share would be good.
Like character creation options, leveling options. Then combat and magic system. Resting. Dying. Loot and inventory.
Maximum number of characters in party. Player made characters or NPCs that join the party. And so on.

Looks very interesting. Is it going to require a Kickstarter?

Archangel said:

Any info on game mechanics you can share would be good.
Like character creation options, leveling options. Then combat and magic system. Resting. Dying. Loot and inventory.
Maximum number of characters in party. Player made characters or NPCs that join the party. And so on.

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It's really early on, but I'll share what I can.

I think it's best I preface by saying that we're a small team, so the project is scaled to what we can do. We've decided to focus on two core tenants - story and combat. Any system that doesn't help either will probably not be in the game.

There are many things we'd LIKE to have, but we're trying to be realistic and provide a tight experience over having many systems done sloppily.

1. Character creation - We follow a story of Cicero Gavar, so there isn't character creation, per se. You can customise him quite a bit with regards to his skills and abilities though.

2. Levelling - We're telling a linear story (again, team and budget) so we decided to forego the classic experience points in favour of skill points that are awarded as you progress the story. This allows us to tweak combat knowing that you'll have a certain amount of skill points at any point in.

The skill points unlock skills that can be augmented as you progress. I'm a big believer in opportunity cost, so you'll find your version of a skill might be very different from another person's.

3. Combat and Magic - Combat has a number facets. Positioning matters as all characters have an elemental shield that protects your front - your back is always vulnerable. The shield can also be depleted to add to your offensive skills, depending on how to you levelled them up.

We also have a tagging system such that combos and unique can be created when characters work together. Still a bit early to go into it, so I best not say too much.

Magic.. comes from Masks, and all the skills in the game stems from them. Each also has a unique spell that can be used when it's charged up.

Hmm. What else. We have four classes: Pavisierre - tank, Sicario - assassin, Dirge - bard/summoner, Maestro - hybrid of the other three. Cicero being the last.

4. Dying - That would require a party wipe. We haven't finalised how characters are revived. It's between auto or party help right now.

5. Loot, Inventory - We took both out. The only objects you get to manage are the masks you pick up along the way. There are also weapon upgrades, but that isn't really an inventory thing.

6. Party - It's always gonna be a three member party, which you can pick from five main characters. Each with their own story arc and unique abilities.

Honestly, we're hoping to do a few things right instead of many things wrong.. which small teams are likely to do. I'd love feedback from you guys on the trailer and any expectations you have. Would give us a better idea of what do go as we continue development.

Cheers!

Ripper said:

Looks very interesting. Is it going to require a Kickstarter?

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Nope! We've saved up enough to take this to market already.

I think the trailer looks great, and I really like the aesthetic and the setting. I see the good sense in narrowing the focus to keep the scope manageable, but, for me, it's a bit of shame that there's no loot, inventory or deeper character progression.

This is all great info. Although you lack features that I was hoping you would have I am still interested, I just hope the price will follow the lack of those features
How long do you expect the game to last and how replayable will it be? (are there going to be any real choices in the story? )

Also, you might want to consider doing like Divinity: Original Sin and go to KS to get money to expand the game and add some of these other features like inventory, or less linearity. I would support you on KS for sure.

One more question, is the game going to be more action(H&S) or more quest based?
Is it going to be more Diablo or NWN/BG (minus free exploration)?

Being compared to Banner Saga is high praise already, and should help a lot with sales. I'd prefer a turn based game myself, but it wouldn't stop me from buying it, tbh.

Ripper said:

I think the trailer looks great, and I really like the aesthetic and the setting. I see the good sense in narrowing the focus to keep the scope manageable, but, for me, it's a bit of shame that there's no loot, inventory or deeper character progression.

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Thank you! Well, if we do this right, those things might be in what comes after. Assuming it adds to experience, of course. Some games have them for no other reason but for having them. Don't wanna be one of those.

Deeper character progression though? Totally into that.

Archangel said:

This is all great info. Although you lack features that I was hoping you would have I am still interested, I just hope the price will follow the lack of those features
How long do you expect the game to last and how replayable will it be? (are there going to be any real choices in the story? )

Also, you might want to consider doing like Divinity: Original Sin and go to KS to get money to expand the game and add some of these other features like inventory, or less linearity. I would support you on KS for sure.

One more question, is the game going to be more action(H&S) or more quest based?
Is it going to be more Diablo or NWN/BG (minus free exploration)?

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We're thinking $25 to $30. It's gonna be about 15-18 hours, based on the script. We did something a little different by starting develop with the lore and script first. We're hoping this makes all the mechanics meld well into the world we're creating.

Choices are something we didn't wanna do the first time round. We wanna do it right, so we've shifted it to what we'd like to do next - assuming we have the opportunity to do it. =D

Ah, we're a small team and we'd rather focus on making the game.. many of the game kickstarter games out there have whole teams dedicated to running a campaign and doing the follow up logistics. It's really not our strength and we'd end up annoying everyone!

More NWN, surely. It's a story you follow, not a checklist you prune.

Carnifex said:

Being compared to Banner Saga is high praise already, and should help a lot with sales. I'd prefer a turn based game myself, but it wouldn't stop me from buying it, tbh.

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It's -very- high praise, and we're astounded at the support and interest we've gotten so far! You can actually play the game with pause. We're planning to have auto-pause functions so you can have an experience close to turn-based. Kinda like Frozen Synapse, another lovely game.

Tebius said:

It's -very- high praise, and we're astounded at the support and interest we've gotten so far! You can actually play the game with pause. We're planning to have auto-pause functions so you can have an experience close to turn-based. Kinda like Frozen Synapse, another lovely game.

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Well there is a drought of isometric RPGs and you also got a really nice art style, a really nice one.
Also combat looked cool and animations looked nice. As long as the combat is going to be interesting and varied with good encounter design and story is going to fun and memorable you got a big hit game incoming.

Welcome to our site Tebius I must say your game has potential. I played both your Ravenmark games on my iPad so I'm happy to see you guys making a PC game.

Couchpotato said:

Welcome to our site Tebius I must say your game has potential. I played both your Ravenmark games on my iPad so I'm happy to see you guys making a PC game.

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Thank you. And thanks for the support from the beginning! It's your support that allowed us to continue to make something like this!