Aleph - An independent RPG in the style of old-school games

Hello everyone,

I was directed to these forums by someone who is enthusiastic about old-school RPGs from the Good Old Games forums, so thought I would stop in!

I am developing an independent RPG called Aleph for the PC. Two of my favorite games growing up were Final Fantasy, and Ultima 4 (and later on, I ended up loving all of the Ultimas). The game I am making is, although artistically superior due to technology, in the same vein as the good old-fashion games of yore. I remember and am nostalgic over games that offered genuine challenge. The achievement came from overcoming difficult puzzles and slaying horrible monsters, not from whacking 10 zombies in the head with an axe so a little thing can flash on the screen giving you a thumbs up. To be honest, I have gotten a bit sick of most games these days thinking that it is acceptable to create 8-10 hours of gameplay and charge $60 for it.

So what is Aleph then? It is a fairly free-form, open-world RPG that is greatly inspired by the Ultima series, and to a lesser extent, Final Fantasy (particularly the battle system). The world is huge and there is a ton of places to explore: cities, towns, forests, mountains, deserts, oceans, swamps, dungeons, and much more. And of course, such a world is fair-teeming with terrible monsters, powerful allies, and ancient treasures. One of the things I am most excited about is the companion book for the game. Remember back when games actually came with books? Yeah, it was awhile ago. If you are a fan of the Ultima series or the first Fallout games, you will know what I am talking about. A real, tangible book that gives insight into the game world, offering information on monsters, locations, treasures, and so forth.

Right now, the project is up on Kickstarter. I started the project there to collect funds necessary to pay for producing the companion book and hiring the necessary people to help finish the project. Now that the minimum amount has been raised, I am using Kickstarter as a pre-order platform for the next two or so weeks until the time limit runs out. If you are interested in checking out the project, you can do so here (be sure to look in the updates section for more game information):

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/…de-games-great

If you wish to support the project, that is great! The various reward options are pretty much pre-orders. The higher rewards all contain something customizable that you get to create, but there are a limited amount of them. If you don't wish to support the project, then that is alright, too - I still thank you for taking a look!

Thank you kindly,
-Jesse

Well, looks like a JRPG, not my cup of tea

Good Luck anyway.

Yep, I noticed that too, Fenris. I'm not a fan of looking like a little kid in my games. We "might" have one or two folks here who play these types of games, but for the most part we're all well past our Zelda days.

Free form and open world are my thing. But I can not bear the anime style graphics in my RPG.

The sprites currently used are licensed placeholders. My goal is to find a talented sprite artist to make original ones, like what is being done with the trees, grass, and such by another artist currently. I ultimately want the look and feel of the game to be more on the realistic side.

This is not a JRPG - the primary influence is the Ultima series, the father of western RPGs. The battle system is really the only aspect of the game that is a throwback to the JRPGs of the 80's and 90's. The inventory system, attribute system, crafting system, and pretty much everything else is more akin to what you would find in Baldur's Gate, Oblivion, and other such titles.

Hmmm… if JRPGs are oldstyle, what is this stuff that we are playing ? Ancient Style ?
Prehistoric ? Pleistocenic ?

Cohen the Barbarian! Love that guy. Don't call him ancient or he'll gum you to death.

Well, if you throw out a free demo, I'll at least download that and take a look. I've never played an RPGMaker type of game, but I have tried a couple of the demos. There was one called Knights of Xentar…..

Knights of Xentar? Ummm, you might want to try an actual JRPG other than a porno imitating a game

Good luck with this game, PVGames.

Originally Posted by crpgnut
Yep, I noticed that too, Fenris. I'm not a fan of looking like a little kid in my games. We "might" have one or two folks here who play these types of games, but for the most part we're all well past our Zelda days.

Speak for yourself, I bought the original on my Wii last year and have been having a blast!

I'm also not a big JRPG fan, and the combat/item interface does look a bit JRPG-like, but if you release a demo (and tell us when you do, my memory is sometimes a bit on the short side), I'll make sure to give it a try.

Good luck with the game. It is nice to see that the indie market is thriving and that there is a wide spectrum of games to choose from.

[qutoe]We "might" have one or two folks here who play these types of games, but for the most part we're all well past our Zelda days.[/quote]
There is nothing wrong with Zelda, in particularly not the puzzles in the Zelda games.

I agree. I loved Zelda. I wouldn't play that type of game anymore, I've moved on. There are bound to be a few who would still play a Zelda game, but it definitely isn't the "type" of game covered here. The OP isn't making a Zelda game though. He's making a game, that so far, looks like a Zelda game. That's why I suggested he tell us when he has a demo available. I'd pay $ for an indie game with Zelda-like graphics if the gameplay was really, really deep.

Originally Posted by Fenris
Hmmm… if JRPGs are oldstyle, what is this stuff that we are playing ? Ancient Style ?
Prehistoric ? Pleistocenic ?

One of my favourite characters in the Discworld universe.

EDIT: My bad i didnt read OP. :/

Looks interesting…I will keep my eye on this.

Word of advice, take what you read here on this forums with a grain of salt…don't let any of it get you down.

Originally Posted by rune_74
Looks interesting…I will keep my eye on this.

Word of advice, take what you read here on this forums with a grain of salt…don't let any of it get you down.

I agree he definitely should not let it get him down, but he should also listen if a lot of people will not play his game. I also cannot stand jrpg's and will not play one. Maybe change those aspects that are jrpg like?

Many people do play JRPGs though, just not a lot of people here.

I agree. Making a JRPG is probably as viable as making a Western one. It may not be our market per se, but it can be just as successful. If a demo shows enough depth he may get some crossover sales. I don't typically buy strategy games, but I've purchased Heroes and King's Bounty because they had just enough crossover appeal. I even bought the first SpellForce.

I did not imply that nobody plays jrpg's or likes them. I said "if a lot of people will not play his game" maybe he should contemplate changes. If there is far more positive than negative response, leave it. If there is far more negative, change it. That's all I meant.

Late reply for me, my apologies.

No worries about people's feedback. I do realize that my game is not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but it might be some people's.

There is no demo available right now because all parts of the game are still be developed seperately - I just hired someone to make original sprite sets so he is working on that aspect of the game - the coder is working on implementing some new features and a mouse system that could change the way the game is played entirely - the music is being finished - and there is still specific writing to be done. When all of these pieces come together in some months, it will be beta testing time. Once the game goes through that for awhile, then I will make a demo for everyone to play. I would prefer not to make an alpha-stage demo simply because it won't be the game that the product will ultimately be.

I have added a few updates for the project, including a sample of the new art style that is being worked on. They might be worth checking out for some of you (especially for those who don't like the childish look of the current sprites - the new ones will be more realistic and anatomically correct in tradition of western RPGs - the sample I have is of a monster, but soon I hope to have a human character sample):

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/…es-great/posts

Thank you kindly.



Edit:
A big ol' graphics update:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/…comment-263540

Shows a few samples of what the new sprites will look like, plust a sample screenshot of how they look in game with the new textures I am playing with for the environments.