Update - 05/02/2023
Hello, guys! How was your weekend? I hope it wasn't too cold, I know the US is having a rough time lately! It was a nice and quiet weekend for me, just working and writing, as usual. As you know, Godshard was officially released this week, and the response has been amazing! It's so cool to see people discussing the game on the Discord and online. So far it's proving to be as deadly as I expected, haha. I felt tempted to tone it down a couple of times, but I think combat is well balanced and it's mostly the survival aspects of the game that are killing characters. I'm afraid that since the game's randomly generated, you are quite dependent on your luck; a few unlucky weather rolls and you'll find yourself swimming while your raft sinks beside you.
This week I've spent a lot of time every day answering questions, emails and messages, regarding mostly Across a Thousand Dead Worlds (with the release of the latest update people are starting to play it!) and Godshard. Due to Chaoclypse's band influence, though (he's on a skirmish streak), I've been returning to my idea of making a skirmish game. You see, about two years ago, before the current explosion of skirmish games that Forbidden Psalm initiated, I started working on a skirmish game for Disciples of Bone & Shadow. It was based on the amazing Five Leagues from the Borderlands, by Ivan Sorensen from Nordic Weasel, and Ivan was on board, helping me with it, so it was going to be kind of an official thing. This was before his deal with Modiphius though, so he was still relatively unknown and just releasing stuff directly to Wargaming Vault. But then the deal with Exalted Funeral came, and you know the rest. It was a cool game though, I had created a kind of JRPG job system based on Disciples' archetypes. You would start on one archetype and each could evolve into two different ones, and those two would evolve into other two. So each "class" had several potential outcomes and specializations. Well, I've been considering making a skirmish game for Sacrifice lately, and even though I'm not sure this job system would work for it, I do have other, quite original ideas, things I haven't seen in any other skirmish game. So I think that I'll probably work on it here and there, because it's a fun thing to do.
Speaking of Sacrifice, the Game Jam is back, and it has 3 entries already! I know of more people working on stuff for it, so let's see what cool things people write for it!
So aside from spending a lot of time answering stuff, I've also made good progress on Riftbreakers. The loot system is complete, and I couldn't be happier with this. It's a big, important step, because this is something I had started working on for Under Ashen Skies, and now that it's done I can re-implement into that game, with some fixes and changes, of course. I'm currently working on the crafting rules (which will probably also go into UAS at some point, since crafting is a big deal in that game), having finished the travel rules. This is a departure from my usual stuff, it's quite streamlined and simple! Overall, I think the whole game is coming along nicely, in a very streamlined and simple way. for my standards, at least!
Oh, here's the cover, by the way! It's an illustration I had commissioned for Empire Undying, but even though I love it, I never thought it fit the game due to the character's air of confidence and cockiness. EU is not really grimdark but it's certainly not heroic, like this illustration implies. So I thought that it was a perfect fit for this new game!
So this week I'll keep working on Riftbreakers, and probably answer more questions about my other games. Keep them coming, I love to see you guys engaged with my work!
Have a great week!