Elska

An RPG Maker game featuring elves and a human prince. Draws heavily from Norse mythology. This project is more story-driven than mechanic-driven, although I do want to focus on the artwork.

Four friends who live in Alfheim, the realm of the elves, discover a human prince (actually a jarl in Viking times) while out on a hunt. The situation escalates when unforeseen complications arise.

Goals

For the duration of the jam, I'd like to work on my teamwork skills. I've already gotten in touch with a composer who isn't on itch.io (to my knowledge. Liable to change). I'd like to have a playable demo with original music and a compelling story.

ohhh....this seems interesting! Definitely subbing to keep up with what’s going on.

ohhh very cool! i love narrative focused games. im interested in knowing more about these characters!

UPDATE!! 1/26/2020

Character roster so far. Placeholder art will be used for now.

 

Yngvildr

Trained archer, with expertise setting traps in hunting. She is serious to a fault and takes things too literally, but her loyalty knows no bounds. Is the ranged fighter.

Ginna

A healer in Alfheim. Her gentle touch is contrasted sharply by her nature as a flirtatious joker. Her strong sense of responsibility gets in the way sometimes. Half the time, Yngvildr can't tell.

Myndill

A foot soldier of the elves in Alfheim. The brother figure of the group. His down to earth nature keeps the others grounded. Soldiers under his command aren't afraid to confide in him when needed. Wields a spear in combat.

Sigfasti

Rune master and Seidr (magic) user. The most magically adept member of the group. Also a windbag. It's not uncommon to find people wandering away (purposefully or not) from him when he talks. Is also the subject of Yngvildr's crush.

The Human

An unknown human who washes up on the shores of Alfheim.

???

This one will be important.

Sample NPCs

Logo art

Slowly building the title screen. This is only the beginning.

the screen looks lovely! i love the title logo and decorative indicator UI. i feel like i already get a sense of the setting from those alone.

UPDATE! 1/29/2020

The title screen now has more custom artwork. The layers will be updated gradually as they're made.

Some samples of the village layout. It's not heard, but village ambiance has been implemented. All the routes work.

Been messing with Mog's Battle HUD plugin to figure out the placement. This is just the rough layout. Custom gauges and layouts will be implemented. (Also, I have no idea why the background is messed up like that.)

Concept art of Yngvildr has also been started on. This is the base that will be used for Yngvildr's artwork.

First draft of Yngvildr's concept art is done.

I've finished prototyping the layout of the game's areas, including the routes.

Next order of business: implementing the cutscenes.

Looks awesome! Definitely trying this

Prototype is finished. Play here.

Post-Mortem

This was my second game jam that I joined, and it was quite the learning experience.

I found out just how involved making an RPG is, what with all the status effects, items, spells, and attacks are needed to pull it off. And how important placeholder assets are for laying out the maps of an RPG.

Towards the end of the jam, while I did get everything art and music-wise in place, I ended up having to cut the cutscenes short due to time constraints. Which was disappointing, but it gave me pointers for what to do next time.

I did figure out what I liked in a workflow and what I didn't, so I can use that for the next game project I develop.

In the meantime, go enjoy the prototype here!