KickStarter Arcadian Atlas: FFT/Tactics Ogre inspired RPG

[Siveon]

Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1266693296/arcadian-atlas-tactical-rpg-inspired-by-classics
Steam Greenlight: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=656905110

http://www.arcadianatlas.com

Spoiler

Arcadian Atlas is now LIVE on Kickstarter!

Welcome to the war-torn lands of Arcadia, where political turmoil and power struggles ravage the land and its people. Each move and every decision you make will leave a lasting impact on the story. Tread lightly, Adventurer, and may the Atlas always guide you.

You alone will determine the outcome of your allies and foes as well as the fate of the lush forests, cliff-side cities & overgrown ruins that make up the beautiful and most treacherous world of Arcadia.

Prepare to immerse yourself in the story of Vashti and Des, two star-crossed lovers embroiled in the intrigue, insurrections, and dark powers that threaten to tear the world of Arcadia apart.

Arrows will fly. Swords will clash and shields will splinter.
Blood will spill and heroes will fall.

Choose carefully and always protect your allies. There will be no bargaining or return from the icy grip of Death.

Just found this on indieDB one day, looks pretty good.

Their latest post:

It's Dangerous to Go Alone

Don’t let our charming demeanors fool you. We’re totally selfish. As much as we love everyone (equally and fully and forever and ever), we’re making Arcadian Atlas for ourselves.

And that’s good, in fact. A certain amount of selfishness is to be encouraged, though maybe not applauded, in game design. The evidence doesn’t lie: people make better games when they want to play them themselves – it’s that creative drive so many developers feel when they start building something, digging their hands into the dirt to form that first brick. It’s gritty and tangible and glorious.

But our team is also older and wiser now – a lot of our towers of brick have fallen apart – and we know that it’s exceedingly dangerous to go alone. We are, at the end of the day, just a couple people lost in a ruin of bricks.

So we realized early on that this process depends wholly on community. Juggling full time jobs, developing a game, and seeing human beings in real life for at least five minutes out of each day takes a lot of effort, and we know we can’t survive this alone.

We need help.

Which is why we want to talk about our approach to Arcadian Atlas, and how you, the community, are an integral part.


Our Master(Sword) Plan
Link wasn't just born ready to bear the Master Sword. Nope, that lil’ dude had to work up to his big-boy-britches slowly, and our plan for Arcadian Atlas is much the same: a slow build.

All of game development is a juggling and allocation of resources – time and money being the most vital. We feel as developers that there’s nothing more important than transparency, so here comes a shocker: we have limited time and money.

I know, crazy right?!

Just like everyone else in the world, we have to make trade offs, which is why we want to focus the next few months on creating a strong foundation for Arcadian Atlas that, if the community is willing, can be built upon in some spectacular ways.

And, of course, there’s no better measuring stick for community interest than crowd funding. After all, people support what they love. So yes, somewhere down the line (likely in April 2016) we will be doing a Kickstarter for AA (alcoholics anonymous!? No.)

What does that mean for Arcadian Atlas? Well, it means it will get made no matter what happens – because we want it to be made – but we have to focus on telling the core story with the limited resources we have. That means it can be made faster and better (to our wildest, craziest, most nut-so expectations) if the community wants it.

So below you’ll find our approach to some of the main game design areas of Arcadian Atlas, including ways we want to expand the core ideas as we get more time and money for the full game.

Classes
We had a central concept in mind when approaching class design: character personality and class are linked. Almost everyone has classes in RPGs and tactics games that they identify with: some love the swashbuckling bravado of a thief, some the sheer power and pomposity of a mage. But whatever it may be, that class says something about us.
So we begin with 4 core classes that define that identity (more on these in later blog posts), which you choose at the outset of the game and develop, rather than switch. What this looks like in practice:

• All skills are useful and have specific tactical applications in battle – no more stepping stone classes
• Core classes have multiple approaches and play styles (want to sacrifice mobility for sheer power as a Ranger? Equip a longbow and invest in skills that take out foes with arrows designed to split armor. Or equip a recurve bow and go all-out Legolas on everyone – with beauty and grace, of course.)
• Idea Expansion: create splitting specializations for each of the core classes that give players even more creative outlets for carnage; more core classes and splitting specializations for them!


Party Formation
Arcadian Atlas is about a tight-knit group of soldiers and the two people who lead them. Des and Vashti’s story is just as much the story of those they fight alongside. Loyalty, honesty, and the rigors of battle draw people together, so shouldn’t we have a say in the people we raise swords with?

That’s why we want players to have an option to mold their party (their ENTIRE party) according to their own wishes. No more random, take-what-you-get soldiers (unless that’s your thing). These people are your troops, your brothers and sisters in arms, which means you can decide who they are and how they fit into your army. What this looks like:

• Tailor the classes of each of your troops
• Permanent death – once gone, they’re gone forever, so tread lightly!
• Idea Expansion: custom relationships between party members that give bonus skills and stats when in battle together; secondary party members that contribute to conversation based on the class and skills you’ve selected
• Full Customization: ideally, we want to have hair styles, skin tones, and clothing styles customizable for each of your party members


Setting & Characters
Arcadia is a place of lush forests, ancient ruins, cliff-side villages, and snow-packed hovels. Each of these locations brings different tactical challenges: rivers raging too fast to cross, cliffs that put you at the mercy of enemy bows, and snow that a man could get lost in.

And that’s not to even mention the cutthroat inhabitants of Arcadia. From a disenfranchised princess dabbling in things she cannot hope to control, a soldier so torn between her family of blood and her family of war that she breaks, and the very human (and therefore brutal) story of a royal family born in lies and the terrible toll it takes on a kingdom. And that doesn’t even touch on the central plot.

But creating the art assets for all this takes lots of time and makes Becca’s hand curl up into a claw, so we’re focusing on the essential maps and sprites we’ll need to tell the storyline in the most economical way with the resources we currently have.

Going forward, we are excited about the following:

• 
Settings that show off the mesmerizing sights of Arcadia – maps and scenes that are a feast for the eyes
• Characters that breathe, are rooted in reality, and speak to what is most true in human nature – both the beautiful and utterly depraved
• Idea Expansion: more sprites, more maps, more story; expanded animations to bring character interactions to another level


The Road Ahead
So the next few months will see us forming that core experience, and we want you to be involved. We’ll be sharing screenshots, blogs about classes, skills, features, and story details, and gifs of Vashti slapping characters for our demented pleasure – all the while talking with the community about the things they love most about gaming.

Inspiration comes from everywhere, so throughout this process we want to hear from you.

Whether you’re a gamer, a fellow developer, press, or a cat puppet terrorizing Gametrailers.com, we want to chat. Shoot us an email or follow us on Twitter – because we spend a lot of time on Twitter. I mean really… way too much time on Twitter. It is neither healthy nor prudent.

But whatever you do, don’t be a stranger. Follow Becca on Twitter here and me here, and don’t be shy.
And did someone say PAX South?! I’ve heard some rumors… but that’s all I’m going to say for now

Original blog post can be found here.

 

[Siveon]

New blog post on the mapping engine (accompanied by a WIP gif) and a newsletter:

Old Maps Are Out + Arcadian Atlas Newsletter

This gif, though carefully dressed with decorative plant life & painstakingly captured, was the nail in the coffin for our mapping engine. The graphical jitter and the "something seems off" ground and wall textures caused by the 2D to 3D conversion mapping engine just weren't going to work for us or for the game.

We've been working with Martin (aka GubiD), the creator of the GTBS engine Arcadian Atlas utilizes, to bring an entirely new, limitless mapping engine that will allow for pixel-perfect map textures and beautifully lush maps a la FFTA-2 but will be capable of more interactivity/exploration options. This is exciting news for Arcadian Atlas so we hope you guys will stick around to see what we have in store for the game next!

In the meantime...

Musicians:

Hold on to those resumes, we've got an important Arcadian Atlas musician announcement to make soon!

And in other news...



You can now also find out about the most important Arcadian Atlas news via our email newsletter!

No spam, just things like the musician announcements, future crew member additions, Greenlight/Kickstarter releases, and demo & official game release announcements will be sent to you.

Thanks for tuning in. Check back soon for more.

Until next time, folks!

 

[Ninjerk]

Following with tepid interest.

 

[Jack Dandy]

I've been keeping an eye on this for a while now.
It popped up in the pixel proespector twitter feed.

Looks really cool!

 

[deuxhero]

Could be cool. Tell me if it's any good once its out.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

Btw, it's Arcadian Atlas. No highschool, waifus or demons here.

 

[Siveon]

Oh dear lord o' mighty how did I make that mistake?

Fix'd. (Thank goodness it doesn't, highschool setting = )

 

[Major_Blackhart]

Interesting. Will follow with hope.

 

[Siveon]

Repost/Update: Stuff about stories and childhood memories.

Their blog already had this, but they updated their indieDB page with it, so, why not?

Story Time

Chrono Trigger



When Becca and I were just children, we were ultra-serious about game development. We had this vinyl kiddie pool in the front yard of our rural Texas home, and during the summer months we’d swim methodically in a circle till we formed this vortex. The vortex helped us think. The vortex was a blender of juicy story bits pulpified.

“The princess has to run away, though, remember?” I’d say.

Becca would think a moment, putting herself in Princess Musashi’s shoes. “But they’re all on the third floor. How would she just sneak out the window without falling to her death?”

“She could tie sheets together to form a rope like in prison shows…”

“While everyone is looking at her?”

“Don’t use logic on ME, woman!”

Shot from Genesis, our dead old project



Then we’d start the vortex the other direction.

Some things have changed, some have not. We still disagree and challenge each other on storylines, but we’ve both grown enough to be flexible and understand that differences make a good, well-rounded story. And she’s married now to a smart guy with really good taste because he watches way cooler movies and listens to trendier music than me while I blare pop drivel, which lends a classy element to the story.

And while I can’t speak for either of them, I’d like to share my philosophy of story telling and how it affects the plot we’re working on. I do this through the extremely avant-garde (and therefore hip) method of connecting each philosophy with a game or book that inspires it. So without further ado:

Character Is King – Chrono Trigger
I believe the key to a solid plot is solid characterization. If you have relatable, realistic people populating your game, you have all the drama, tension, and beauty you need to propel things forward. I learned this from Chrono Trigger, which, though it has a very basic plot structure, has some stellar characters that struggle with real issues – inferiority, shame, rebellion, and love. When you finally kill that oddly chicken-esque final boss, you don’t much care about Lavos’ world-destroying motives. You care about the world you saved because of the people that populate it.

Love is Dangerous – Till We Have Faces (C.S. Lewis)
Sometimes love can blind us. It can make us selfish and twist us into monsters, but it can also make us better if we let it.

This game is about love, both in the making, the breaking, and how – or if – it can come back together.

Lewis is a man who understood that love is powerful, and any power unchained can be dangerous. Without temperance, love corrupts and justifies many evils. Our game is about people confronted by love and the choices they make to keep it – some of them wise, some of them destructive.

Final Fantasy Tactics



People are Complicated – Final Fantasy Tactics
My favorite character from FFT is not Ramza. It’s Delita Heiral – the nobody, the peasant whose sister is murdered, the guy who tries desperately to make a mark on a world that doesn’t want him. And man does that dude’s life end poorly.

We are all ruled by passions and convictions that are messy, and the characters in this game are no different. We are setting out to tell a story about people who disagree, not just with others, but with themselves. People who are conflicted – torn between the things they love, the things they need to survive, and what is right.

The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien, illustration byTed Nasmith



Sorrow is Beautiful – J.R.R. Tolkien
Okay, it’s not one book. It’s a person, but the guy’s got too many books that are significant, so cut me some slack. The Lord of the Rings and the Silmarillion are some of my favorites, but Tolkien himself has taught me that life is tough. Horrible things happen to people all the time – things that are tragic and soul crushing and seemingly insurmountable. But we surmount them, because we must surmount them.

That sorrow we feel from loss is beautiful. It teaches us how much we’ve loved and how hard we would fight to hold onto those things we love. It makes us wise, and wisdom is what gives us strength to fight when all seems lost.

Unfortunate things will happen in this game – to the main characters, to supporting characters, to everyone. The question becomes, how will they respond to sorrow when it comes?

Magic has Consequences – Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (Susanna Clarke)
Clarke taught me one thing: if magic is to be believable, people must respond to it in a believable way.

That’s why people will respond to magic as magic really is – namely, gritty and full of complications.

Persecution, misunderstanding, horrific consequences – those are the sort of things that will accompany those who dabble in arts only heard of in rumors and wild tales. Of course, some forms of magic will be acceptable – those that are relatively innocuous to the people in power. But for everything else, tread lightly.

And be prepared for a lot of everything else.

Perhaps in the coming weeks we’ll hear from Becca and Brandon about the philosophies underpinning their own take on the story. It’s a collaborative effort, but one that is already shaping into something we can’t wait to get in motion.

And I’ll leave you with just a snippet of dialogue that may, or may not, make it into the final game:

“You were born by an illegal union, and you will never lay so much as a finger upon my son’s throne so long as you hold breath!”

“I was born of a king. You would do well to remember that. He loves you only for that sniveling wretch you birthed, and if word comes to his ear of what you whisper in secret, the noose will sooner be yours than his throne.”

Original blog post can be found on our website here.

 

[Jack Dandy]

I guess I should play FFT sometime.

 

[Siveon]

More story stuff. I guess it's like a character highlight.

Lucretia Belneive never looked back. She rode past a sea of corpses strewn along the Anthras Ravine, horse hooves beating against parched earth, and felt no regrets. This was the price she had paid – the price they’d all paid – for a better home.

Posted by bbreakfast on Jul 17th, 2015

Presenting: Lucretia Belneive


Brother Against Brother

tr_bq wrote:“If I’m to die for my choices, I’d gladly die without your pity. When they toss me in the dirt or burn me in effigy, at least they’ll say, “She was her father’s daughter.”
That might be all I have left, but it’s a legacy that means something. To give these people hope again – hope for a kingdom that accepts and understands them, hope for a home instead of a prison.
Because life is cruel and our days are short, I owe it to my people to set things right.
So no, this is not rebellion.
This is restoration. And you’re either with me or against me."
Lucretia Belneive never looked back. She rode past a sea of corpses strewn along the Anthras Ravine, horse hooves beating against parched earth, and felt no regrets. This was the price she had paid – the price they’d all paid – for a better home.

And when the day came for her to make that choice – a choice to forever alter the state of an empire, the choice to beat plowshares into swords and divide brother against brother – she did not falter.

She brushed the hair from her face, pulled the sword from the man who once protected her, and said, “If you would see the rightful rule, follow me. Together we shall reclaim and cleans what is ours by birth.”

She was 23 years old, and the world wasn’t ready for her.



Blood Ties
Lucretia was the firstborn of a king, which should have meant something.

Her father, King Tirgan of Dantalion, wed Patricia Belneive on a new moon with white robes and a laurel branch around his head. It was meant to signify new beginnings for the troubled kingdom. Turns out, there would be new beginnings, but not the sort anyone anticipated.

The marriage soured, as often happens when young, love-struck people rush into things. There were whispers of gold digging, of power grabbing, of sedition and subversion – but the truth was far more mundane. Tirgan and Patricia simply tired of each other. The thrill faded, and what was left were three children: Lucretia, Annalise, and young Prince Henrique. Oh yes, and one giant scandal.

Tirgan took a mistress. It was hardly a surprise to anyone, and even less so after word spread of his wife’s falsified background. She was not, as it turned out, of noble bloodline, which meant legally – in the eyes of magistrates and God alike – the marriage was forbidden.

So when the boy Henrique died of illness, and whispers spread that the Queen had poisoned the only male heir – her own son – to spite her husband’s infidelity, Patricia found her head on the wrong end of the chopping block.

And so Lucretia lost a mother. It was a blow, certainly, but she was a daddy’s girl, and as terrible as it might sound, she found one less woman vying for her father’s affections only made life sweeter for a time.

But that time was not to last – something she found out the hard way when her father married the one woman Lucretia despised: Venezia of Blouchester. Overnight the former mistress became royalty.



tr_bq wrote:“Blood? What good is blood anymore? Are we not royal blood, Annalise? And yet look at how she treats us. We’re prisoners in our own home, forced to smile as she walks by with dresses she didn’t buy and manners she parrots in mockery of us, as if we’re garbage, as if we’re dogs to eat the scraps from our own father’s table.”
“If you would keep quiet, she might like you more, you know.”
“Don’t fool yourself. We’re a threat to her. Whether we shout or shut up, she will never like us. And one day – make no mistake – she will get rid of us. Just remember: we live amongst wolves here, Anna. There’s no use pretending otherwise. I’m making plans for the day they try to take me, and I suggest you do the same.”
And then there was the boy. Prince Donne, the only living male heir to the throne, was born a short eleven months later. Lucretia never could see any trace of her father in that child’s face. Said it was because Venezia had done to the boy the same thing she had done to the king: consumed every trace of him in her pride and ambition.

Sometimes, however, Lucretia would see a glimpse of the father she once knew. A stroll in the courtyard, a conversation about politics, a meeting of minds so sharp and serious that they melded into one. She cherished those times, though few and far between.

At times, they were all that kept her going. That is, until the day the King grew ill.

The kingdom at war, Prince Donne still far too young to rule, and her own chances of ascending the throne cut off the day the blade fell on her mother – Lucretia felt the wolves circling. They were licking their jaws, all eager for a chance at a crown she couldn’t hope to have – her father’s life the one thing holding them back. But that too was thinning. The day was fast approaching when the wolves would pounce.

Luckily for her, the preparations were almost ready. She wouldn’t be taken by surprise because she watched and listened to the people that mattered. Especially to one man – a man Queen Venezia trusted more than anyone. A man she told her secrets to.

People called him Wulff, and he acted the part.



Next Time: Wulff
Continuing the tradition of looking at our characters in pairs, next time we’ll hear from the grizzled war veteran Wulff, followed shortly by the closest person to him, Queen Venezia.

So next time, the most skilled military officer Dantalion ever had: Wulff.

If you’ve enjoyed this and want to be alerted when new ones come out, sign up for the blog’s mailing list below. You can also get major game updates by signing up for the newsletter to the right.

Find us on Twitter, shoot us an email, and stay in touch! We want to hear from you!

And if you'll be at SGC this Saturday, shoot us a message and we just might see you there!

 

[Ninjerk]

The sprites make them all look like mouth breathers.

 

[Siveon]

Soundfags inquire.

Arcadian Atlas needs talented composers & SFX artists to bring the world of Arcadia to life. Check here for info!

Posted by bbreakfast on Jul 27th, 2015

WANTED
Composer / SFX Artist
What Do We Need?

Mood-setting orchestrated themes, shriek sound effects when a character is killed in battle, background river flow sounds... We will need it all, eventually. Just a few SFX and tracks will be needed initially as we're aiming to produce an MVP (minimum viable product) demo of Arcadian Atlas to present on Kickstarter as a test of community interest in the game. Your workload will be dependent on the crowdfunding campaign's success or lack thereof. The game will vary from roughly 4-6 hours of total gameplay all the way up to possibly 30+ hours of gameplay, depending on if the Kickstarter reaches its MVP base funding all the way up to the off-chance of overfunding & reaching all stretch goals. Estimated start date is October - November this year so part-time availability during & beyond that time is a must.




Who Are We Looking For?
Any talented Musicians, SFX Artists, or (preferably) someone who is skilled at both with a knack for taking game scenes to the next level with their musical abilities and keen sense of sound effect design & placement. No formal education required. Experience with jazz, trip-hop, and orchestration a plus.
1 to 2 individuals will be required to fill this role depending on if we find an Audio Designer to cover all aspects of the job, or if we opt for a Composer & SFX Artist duo to cover their respective roles.

What Sort Of Stuff Are We Looking For?
Music Style:
Mixture of orchestrated (cello, violin, oboe, flute) with modern touches of light trip-hop beats & jazz influences throughout. Music will match the moody, heavier themes of a strategy game based around medieval warfare, love & betrayal while still always maintaining a sense of adventure & thirst for exploration within the exotic lands of Arcadia.

Sounds We Like (And Why!)


Bonobo - "Black Sands"
We like pretty much everything about this song & find it overall captures the sort of "feel" we're going for with Arcadian Atlas. We like the many sections & layers to this song with instrument choices that seem to transport you to a faraway land.


Olive Kitteridge - "Ending Theme"
We like the moody oboe here as well as the many layers to the piece. Characters in Arcadian Atlas are all multi-dimensional with virtues and vices, so we gravitate towards orchestrations that match that complexity.



Bonobo - "El Toro"
This song captures the type of trip-hop, jazzy beats we are seeking to help keep the flow of the OST catchy & highly listenable. We tend to listen to our favorite video game OSTs long after we've completed the actual games, so we're aiming for the same quality in our game's soundtrack.


Chrono Cross - "Time's Scar"
The variety & layering of exotic instruments as well as the sense of wonder invoked here are what we're after. Arcadian Atlas's landscapes and architecture are heavily inspired by French, Spanish, Italian, Irish, and Icelandic styles so we're open to many instruments & musical styles to give a taste of those types of locations within the game.




Sound Effects Style:
We'll need essentially the same basic sound effects that come to mind when you think of Final Fantasy Tactics, with the same level of mid-realism (halfway between cute death screams & bloodcurdling death screams).
Sword clashes, bow shots, succinct male & female shrieks for when a human player falls in battle, a variety of monster screams/growls/moans, fire/ice/thunder/summon/etc spell sound effects, as well as a few smaller foley background sounds like babbling brooks & insects/birds chirping will all be needed.

Female Scream

Male Scream

Monster Scream

Shield Block

Sword Slash

Arrow Shot

This is Paid... Right?
Of course! We will work out the details of your preferred payment method before any work begins.

For now, all we need is....

• Your resume
• A few songs/sound effects you feel are relevant to this job
• A bit of info about you: What are you listening to? Biggest musical influences?
• Your portfolio website/SoundCloud/demo reel link
• Your preferred rates
• And a bit of time to go through everyone's submissions!

"Composer" | "SFX Artist"
Please mark your email with one or both of the above & send to:
inquiries@arcadianatlas.com

We will contact any applicants we feel might be right for the job via email and will release an official announcement (via our email newsletter) to celebrate when we have found the right person or persons for Arcadian Atlas. Job posting & application process will end in September.

Thank you in advance to anyone who is interested enough in the project to submit your work.

Can't wait to hear from you guys!

 

[Ninjerk]

zwanzig_zwoelf More work to not get paid for bro

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

zwanzig_zwoelf More work to not get paid for bro

Sent.
It'll be fucking hilarious if they'll choose me.

 

[Beastro]

Thepeople and place names are uninspired. One thing neat about FFTs was how they were different, but weren't generic fantasy silly, yet echoed a medieval European feel.

 

[Siveon]

Soundfags need not inquire.

Arcadian Audio


When it comes to music, we admit we're kind of Philistines. We listen to it while working, sing to it in the shower, but we don’t really get it. Not in a scientific sense. Not in much of any sense, really.

But we know the songs we like, and we know why we like them.

They tell a story. If the melody or the lyric – they say something about being human that we can’t say with just words. They bore into us, drumming up smells, sounds, feelings from the past that we had forgotten – sometimes that we wish we could forget. Those feelings are tempered by wisdom and experience, and we look upon them with fresh eyes, curling up beside the aches we once had – having them again, though thankful for them now.

And that’s why this musician hunt matters so much to us, and why we’ve been so humbled by the response we’ve seen over the past two months. People – real flesh and blood people living their lives with their families, friends, co-workers all over the world – took time out of their busy, beautiful lives to contribute something to our game.

And we've learned a great deal through this process. Here's just a sampling:

It Takes a Village
I think we were pretty shocked. Yep, that accurately describes us when after the first day of posting our search for a musician and sound designer we had something like 60+ applications. We were shocked, awed, and a tiny bit overwhelmed.

Sixty applications – that’s a weighty task. And when we tallied the final number there were over 200. And of those applications, here are some things that astounded us:

• Global Response – Austria, New Zealand, Mexico, Germany, Australia, the Netherlands, and even people in our own backyard in Austin, Texas sent applications. The traffic to our website alone on the final day of application acceptance looked something like this map with 55 different countries represented:

• Varied Backgrounds – it’s logical to expect applicants with experience in the games industry, but not quite as logical to expect that plus film and radio experience, independent musicians, classically trained pianists, and vocal majors. Schools of music we didn’t even know existed began popping up, and every link to another soundcloud account was something new and refreshing.
• Community – but more than statistics, we were blown away by the people. We met new faces on twitter, read about the amazing musical influences that impacted their lives, and just had a blast delving into the depths of those online portfolios (some of which I’ve personally bookmarked for personal listening).

Arcadian Audio
So you’re probably wondering, who is the new musician already?

After several weeks of working through the applications over and over again, we began to wonder what it was we wanted for Arcadian Atlas. Did we want big orchestral numbers, somber and full of premonition? Did we want lighthearted 8-bit throwbacks to the games we loved as kids?

Honestly, we kind of just hoped we’d know it when we heard it. Sure, there were some inspiration pieces that we liked, but ultimately we wanted to hear sound that felt right. We wanted to hear something that we would listen to without pretty graphics, a plot, and tactics. In the end, we wanted Arcadia’s audio to be bigger than the game.

That lead us to a lot of standout applications, but one reverberated in our minds. Who can say why? He’s skilled for sure, but there are a lot of people with skill. More than that, he fit – and that’s hard to define.

So without further ado, our new musician & sound designer:



Moritz P.G. Katz

Okay, in the name of full disclosure, he has a beard. And a pretty sweet one at that. This, I can assure you, in no way influenced our decision.

Nope, because Moritz is a great tonmeister. Studying Jazz vocals in Germany, working for the German Wahnsinn Studio where he scores films, animations and audio books, he produces sound that… well... grabs us.
And we hope it grabs you too. Take a listen to his jazzy soundtrack for the game Fort Meow, and the varied musical stylings of various projects at his SoundCloud account.

 

[Damned Registrations]

Well, I like the sprites, and aside from the one stoned-looking chick, the portraits aren't bad either. Though it seems a waste to me to replace the terrain engine- the blocky look may be artificial looking, but it's very functional when it comes to figuring out tile height on the map at a glance, which might be important depending on the combat systems they implement.

That'll be the real clincher of course. Well, that, and the character development system, loot progression/balance, encounter difficulty, AI complexity and predictability, pacing of the combat and overall game...

 

[Ayreos]

Tactical RPGs are something of an handicap for developers... the problems of countless pointless battles and linear plots seen in so many jRPGs are compounded in a tactical game, since everything is drawn out. The impressive writing and wealth of interesting mechanics seen in FFT and especially Tactics Ogre are the exceptions to the norm. I frankly doubt these devs will be able to pull off something above average, seeing as the things they seem to prioritize taking from these classics are the awkward art style of FFT and some nice-sounding concepts out of jRPGs that have little to do with the absolute priority of a tactical game: tight gameplay.

 

[Perkel]

This really depends on writing, characters and and other things.

For example Joane D'Arc on PSP is completely linear game and yet it is fun game to play and combat system is really good (especially with that materia like system)

But i agree SRPG needs really good combat system but aside from that something more.
People will compare it to FFT or Tactics Ogre.

 

[Damned Registrations]

I mean, if you're going to ape the style of something, it's only fair to be compared to it right? That said there's a lot of room between FFT and 'not good'. I'd be satisfied if they land somewhere in there, and drawing inspiration from FFT is a hell of a lot better start than most games have in development.

 

[Siveon]

Bump, because, why not? They just posted a decent looking mockup UI. A lot of FFT stuff going on, and the monsters seem a little..yokai inspired? Would be out of place normally but it kind of fits.

w/o mockup:

 

[Ninjerk]

So what's the plan? FFT clone with worse story, art, and music?

 

[Siveon]

Not sure. I hope to find out when a demo or something akin to that is released. It's still early but I wish they'd go further into detail about the meat instead of the fluff. Good chance it's a team full of artists and like one relatively new programmer.

http://arcadianatlas.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html

Oh, yeah, pretty much. I'd still like to give people the benefit of the doubt, so here's hoping. If not, well, there's always Battle Brothers for my strategy needs. Or the other SRPGs I haven't played yet.

 

[Ninjerk]

It just looks so hopelessly derivative.