Always nice to see the artwork and behind the scenes content.
Keep up the good work!

Congrats to the winners!

Congrats to the top 10 and great work everyone! 

I'l have to check it out just to see. =D

I also experienced a similar error as weregoingkokobop but on Windows here. For me it popped up during the Hospital scene where she goes to the vending machine. Clicking ignore several times will result in the game continuing at Joseph'S so not sure how much is actually missed between the two points.

Otherwise no other problems and played through the demo. Liking it so far even if the awkward factor of the Teacher reaction had me cringing. Poor Maia. 

Can't wait to see it finished.

Happy Holidays!

Oh, didn't realize the whole map was bugged out. Will fix that as well. Thank you for pointing it out!

The final product is a bit of both but more closer to local with dungeons and quests in the local area. Sort of primarily on this island with a trip to a second much smaller island. =]

Well... there was two rivers and a half? Most of my rivers ended up being in an unused map! You did at least get to see 2 River Lords. >_>

Thank you for playing the  game! <3!

You're quite welcome, it was a pleasure to play the game.
You still managed quite a bit for the month so it's understandable that stuff had to be dropped or that some bugs get missed. So far every game I've played (short of like 2) have had a few so you're in the right crowd. ^_~
Oh! That makes more sense now, with a fading game over kind of thing? That's actually a pretty good idea.

Ah, a case of the “Fix one thing and break another” that I didn’t test out properly before putting it up. Thank you for pointing that out, it’ll be fixed for the next time.

Thank you for pointing out the tool, I definitely need to check that out as I did have issue about the file-size. =D Thank you again for the review.

Bit of a long one here so bare with me. 

While the font for the title is default, the background image reflects the game play (with a clear shot of various characters) plus the music is very old timey snes music box like which fits with the particular tiles you’re using (and the change in music per area fits well with what's supposed to be there, I.E. more bpm for Genko's area for example). The window screen has a bit of a thickened line on the corners but otherwise, it looks quite nice.

Text wise, there are some little hiccups (names not capatilized and extra/missing spaces) but otherwise you can easily see the personality of the characters in how they are written. The sprite used for Misha in dialogue options has a tiny extra bit of pixels on the left which seems to make it off center compared to the others.

Gameplay:

There really isn’t anything to tell me what buttons do what, which is okay as this is standard RPG Maker MV but that can get a little hairy if I wasn’t familiar with it. There is a bit of reliance on "common sense" to perform various actions (like fishing for example, you aren't told you need to go to the end of the dock) which again, is more of a nitpicky kind of thing here. The quest journal is a nice touch but completion of the toy quest didn’t result in any kind of notice (nothing to say the quest was done or what the next step was after finding the toy) but it did update the journal on the first day to let me know of the various quests I had to do (the Apprenticeships, Speaking with everyone and Manuscript).

There is a passability issue in the MC’s home where I can walk up onto the upper portion of the wall (2^nd floor has it on the parent’s bedroom wall and 1^st floor starts just one “block” below the door). Map transfers also have a nasty habit of sending me back to using the previous map if I’m using my mouse to move.

Then came the game breaking bug on Day 4. If you enter the mine with Jet standing in front, you cannot move without returning to the cave. Every time you exit the cave/mine, you're ported to in front of Jet with the only available movement is to the left which puts you back into the cave.  If you have already done your apprenticeship with Tolkien then you’re stuck and cannot progress the storyline any.

Graphics Wise:

2 NPCs walk into a wall and just stop on Day 2 (Shiori and Suki), they are still capable of being interacted with but look a little strange. Day 2 also had the gold griffin (Shiori’s grandmother I believe?) with some image clipping on the wings. Day 3 had Menke with clipping on the top of their head. Otherwise, everything has a cohesive look and it genuinely looks like the homes belong to the same village.

After getting the bad end on my second play through, I was still able to walk around during the To Be Continued screen which might have been intentional but seemed a little weird. I could also move the camera during the initial starting screen after the second dialogue box.

Closing Thoughts:

Despite the few bugs, it’s a fun little game. The characters feel different enough to make it feel like it’s an actual diverse village. While you kind of just get dropped into the relationship with Shiori (or friendship I suppose), it does make sense with the history of the characters, I just would have liked some more references to the childhood they had to make it feel more like a believable background.

I liked the little touches with the 4^th wall breaking comments and the Griffin’s prayers made me giggle. Storyline wise, I couldn’t figure out how to work on the Manuscript (as per the quest, but only tried up until Day 4 as I had to restart on that day) but otherwise I enjoyed the varying dialogue from each character. 

There's a lot of stuff going on in the game and it looks like you're planning on adding more so that's awesome. I'm not a huge fan of the particular tile/character style but I enjoyed it. Just gotta ask... where did Tobi go use the bathroom? (just kidding, that was a good end to an entertaining scene).

TL:DR; version

I like the game. It's very cute with a diverse cast. A few bugs here and there but otherwise a nice little game. It also has some replay value given the different endings as well as an ability to customize the character's path.

And congrats on getting a game in! Especially as this is solo work, which makes it all the more impressive.

4/5

Come check out River Lord, a little rough around the edges at parts but pretty proud of what I accomplished in a month for it.

Working now on re-adding gender based choices and scenes along with lengthening the Festival (and Festival-ing it a little more), fixing some passability errors that I did not notice and redoing one of the maps already in game.

So all in all, thank you to everyone who has looked at the game and to those that provided feedback. 

Thank you for the review! 

Time did kind of run away from me so I didn't draw out the festival scene as much as I liked so will keep that in mind for future renditions. It's supposed to be relatively quick but not so quick that it kept you out of the moment. 

For the bridge, that would most likely be the event itself. It's meant to be broken until a certain point so I'll look into fixing that.  When I tested, it was working but I didn't check from all checkpoints in the game. Thank you for pointing that out!

The forest to the west of Irgaz's campfire is meant to have a lot of little short cuts through the trees so that's more of me and not passability errors as you're meant to be able to walk under the trees at certain gaps. This map is going to be edited heavily now that I'm not time crunched with the month, but will take that into account on the next version so that it's a lot clearer that they're meant to be gaps in the tree line.

No worries, there are indeed a lot to play through. 

Thank you again for playing and the heads up on problems you encountered. =D

Sorry about the size folks!
My attempts to use the in engine "remove unused assets" option kept preventing the game from playing after deployment so had no choice but to leave them untouched due to nearly missing the deadline for submission.

It will allow you to edit the page but the upload Game portion will be disabled.

Steadily moving along and have an update video on one of the scenes/areas. Have to update some placeholders but otherwise, everything is looking good. Have to finish tweaking some scenes and further grammar/spellcheck as I go along. I have the battle system mostly working, tied into things running around the map which respawn after a few seconds.

So didn't have much time today so I just played around in RPGMaker MV. Ended up going the route of the Home Teleport which turned out to be a lot easier to implement then I thought so that's now a definite in the game.

Just need to decide now whether to disable it in Dungeon like areas or to leave it as a get out of jail free card. Regardless, it was pretty fun to make a spinny vortex and teleport.

Colors would be easy, the abilities/sprite change would just be quite time consuming. Especially with a possession mechanic. Definitely something for more then a weekend jam.

Yeah, that kind of thing would take a lot of work. Would need several different sprites, recolors and... yeah, too much work with not enough time. Ah well, I'll just have slime monsters for now. =P

Same here!  I love Venom and the other symbiotes (Carnage, Riot, Rife, Toxin... and I can't remember the other ones). I almost want to do a symbiote type thing in the game but it seems a little cheap with Venom just coming out in theatres. lol

Haven't had the chance to update as the weekend (and the last few days) was super hectic. I did get some art updated and some more maps completed. I completed the main dialogue for the story line quest, only need to add it into the game at the appropriate parts.

Decided not to use a world map for this, instead going for a Secret of Mana kind of world with just travelling. Hoping to have a Home Teleport added in but that is an addon if I have time at the end of the necessary  stuff (technically, there isn't much travelling between areas right now anyway). If I have time, I also intend to add in corrupted/flooded versions of a few maps. That would be far more aesthetically pleasing but isn't 100% necessary.

I've also decided to add in at least one other villager in Kelos itself with the possibility of additional characters just to spruce up the amount of people there. As right now it's just the absolutely necessary people and that doesn't feel quite right.

That being said, I'm pretty happy with where I'm at. A lot done and still a bit to do but it's been quite the productive month.

Definite To do list:

• Accades Village Map
• River Heart Map
• River Source Map
• Cliff Map
• Update Quests
• Additional Kelos Villager
• Clean up logo

To do list if I have time:

• Corrupted/Flooded Maps
• Extra Villagers
• Miras Village [Chapter 2 area]
• River Tower [Chapter 2 area]
• Additional Side Quests 
• Home Teleport [Via Item?]
• Dialogue Tweaking (width/height, grammar, spellchecking)
• Better window skin
• Pretty up the UI

Most of it should but we'll see how it goes. =] And you're quite right! There's a lot of cool and varied projects so far for this. It should be interesting to see all the different games that folks have come up with. Plus people are pretty supportive too.

Another Art update.

So spent the earlier part of the day pretty sick but messed around with the larger sprite size I was debating on using. Not sure if I will use them by the end but it's nice to see how they would fit inside the existing maps.

Yesterday I did manage to get some monsters sketched but managed to design a bit of a boss (who's an homage to the Queen of Zeal from Chrono Trigger). Fairly straight forward kind of "giant floating face" fight.

And today I did a few more River Lord specific monsters.  The gazer, chicken and rat are all based on the pre-existing monsters  in the RPG Maker MV resources. Still kind of iffy on the bubble girl but the slime-skeleton is one I'm working more on.

Hoping to have all my art done by the end of this weekend so I can expand on everything else I already have done (including spreading the story beyond the initial hour requirement).

Thank you!
The village just seemed a little too "Vendor NPCs" only so had to add him in.

Didn't feel up to working on the database/battle system today so instead here is an art based update.

Generally for characters, I do an initial sketch which I then translate as close as I can into the standard MV style sprites before basing my color choices on what I get out of the MV generator.  Depending on some choices in the MV Generator, I've changed the character design further. 

Some morning writing  focusing on the Villager Character Profiles.  There are more characters that Koi will interact with but these are the characters at the start of the game. 

These characters will have their own unique busts (currently in the process of lining and colouring each one) and have their roles (Vendor, Recruitable, Quest Giver, etc) listed.  I may add in quests related to the children at a later date but as of now, they're just NPCs.

Koi

Koi is the main character of the story. An individual on the cusp of adulthood, they have lived most of their life in the quiet village of Kelos. Ten years prior to the beginning of River Lord, Koi was found clinging to life on the banks of the Accades River. Koi does remember the life before but the memories have become distorted with time.
Koi’s personality is determined by the actions of the player.
Koi begins the game as a warrior class with a simple knife as their main weapon. Throughout the gameplay, Koi will unlock new abilities and powers.
Changeable Name and Gender

Nial

Nial is the elder brother of a set of twins. He has lived his entire life in Kelos Village with the occasional trip to one of the larger villages with this Father. He has taken up apprenticeship to Hunter Irgaz and is often found either in the forest or working with the older Villager.
Nial, with his twin sister Sorcha, have been friends with Koi since they were children. Nial is the more dependable twin, often doing what is expected of him instead of what he’d want to do. That being said, he tends to go along with whatever Koi suggests but will always be the friend advocating common sense.
Nial begins the game as a warrior class with a sword as their main weapon.
Recruitable & Quest Giver

Sorcha

Sorcha is the younger sister of a set of twins. She has lived her entire life in Kelos Village but dreams of one day moving to somewhere more exciting. Sorcha prefers to be sitting out on the mountain paths or in hard to reach places.
Sorcha, with her twin brother Nial, have been friends with Koi since they were children. Sorcha is the friend instigating trouble for the trio. If it’s against the rules then even better. Somehow, she manages to get them all out of trouble once she gets them in.
Sorcha begins the game as a warrior class with a bow as her main weapon.
Recruitable & Quest Giver

The Elder

The Elder was the villager who took in Koi when they were found by the river. He is the one whom most of the village looks to in times of need and general decision making. The Elder is the oldest villager, having been old when most of the adults were children.
Considered Wise, the Elder is a man of secrets and stories. Most villagers assume he has forgotten more then the rest of them would ever know.
Quest Giver

Blacksmith Asa

The Blacksmith, Asa, actually moved to the village a few years ago with his daughter. He prefers the quiet life despite not having as much work in Kelos as he had before. Still, he keeps busy with creating items to be sold to wandering merchants and in other towns.
Asa is easy going but can be a bit stern if people ignore him. Asa’s life revolves around his daughter, the man is willing to drop everything if something happens to her.
Quest Giver,  Vendor & Trainer

Merchant Isla

Isla, the merchant, inherited the merchant shop from her father within the last year. She did spend her childhood learning the ropes about how to run a shop and generally has a full shop thanks to the other villagers. She has also arranged for merchants to stop in occasionally.
Isla can be a bit flighty, and often forgets the unimportant things, but she is a friendly woman who enjoys working in her family’s shop.
Vendor & Quest Giver

Hunter Irgaz

Irgaz is a young man who has dedicated himself solely to the task of hunting for the village. He, and his brother, often stay outside the village in various camps or stay at the Town Hall during bad weather.
Adept in several weapons and snares, he is more at home tracking animals then he is with dealing with the villagers themselves. A no nonsense kind of man, he does not tolerate anyone tampering with his livelihood or the village proper.
Trainer & Quest Giver

Kaela

The mother of the twins and Faolan, she is a kind woman who lives in the northern part of the village. She often makes food for the other villagers, most particularly the Elder and Koi. Her husband is often away on trips to other islands so it is just her and her children.
Quest Giver

Faolan

The younger brother to the twins, Faolan is a cheerful and energetic young boy. It takes a lot to get him down. He almost hero worships Koi as an older “kid” who isn’t a sibling.

Asara

The daughter of the Blacksmith, Asara has lived in the village since she was a baby and has known no life other then the life in the village. While she is just as energetic as Faolan, she tends to keep to herself but is still well liked by the rest of the village.

Spent entirely too long on the West Forest Map today but at least I have it done and pretty. This puts the total completed maps up to 9. 

The new map also includes a  cloud moving over head to make it more... mysterious? Was kind of going for an old Legend of Zelda forest feel, the one where you find the master sword. Going to add some critters running about but I think tomorrow is when I'm going to do the actual monster/battle mechanics.

And final update for today, just an example of how I'm using the Quest system in the game.

Certain quests will require "fetching" but if the items aren't unique then they can be held before hand (as evidenced by the Morin Cap quest).  Also providing multiple quests that can be completed but not requiring all of them in order to continue the initial main quest to help villagers.

Gotta fix the message width or adjust font size but definitely need to trim down the massive amount of rows for a simple "Quest Objective Complete" notification.

Started adding the changes in dialogue based on who is in the party and what gender was selected at the first of the game.

Also implemented buttons to turn the flashlight on and off inside the darker areas of the game instead of it being always on.

Currently toying with the quest system as I'm disliking the way my current plugin looks and debating on just going with the traditional RPG version of Questing without a log.

Nov 8th Update:
Some sketchy updates of character art.  The Blacksmith, Elder, Merchant and Astor. 

Also started working on several more maps to continue the storyline as well as began inputting the quests I have written up.

Hoping to get a lot more done this weekend as it's a 4 day weekend for me so we'll see how that goes.

Bit of a story lore update. Writing individual entries for books and notes in the game with the potential for a "home" library for the character if the player chooses to re-read all the bits of lore they've discovered. While there will be lore presented to the player as they progress through the main Quest Line, a lot of background for the world is going to be uncovered through interactions or reading objects.

Some lore examples:

Pre-History

Long ago, our ancestors came to the Islands from a land rocked by war. They struggled at first as they landed on one of the smaller islands with little food. They quickly travelled to a new island where they founded Kimora, the first village.

The First Village

The location of the first village has been lost to time but it was the first home of the people on the Islands. Many villages have claimed to be Kimora over the years but it has never been confirmed.

The Islands

The Islands are our home and are comprised of three main ones; Pele, Breta and Srano. There are other smaller islands but most are inhabited only by a few people.

The River Lords

The River Lords are legendary among the people of the Islands. Blessed with a unique ability to control water around them, they are powerful magic users. Most of the River Lords live on Pele Island but there are a few smaller villages scattered throughout the Islands.

Half Week Update:

Tweaked one of the maps to suit my liking. 
Completed the Merchant's House.
Done lineart for several busts (added flat color to one).
Started River map.
Completed dialogue for the first portion of quests.

Video is a bit massive but can be found here, mainly shows off some of the pre-existing maps (and the current one I'm working on) and some brief interaction with the other villagers.

Play Now!

Genre: RPG 
Engine: RPG Maker MV 

Brief Synopsis: River Lord is a Fantasy RPG set on a chain of islands. Take on the role of Koi, a young orphan on the cup of adulthood, as they discover secrets of their past and journey into an uncertain future. Starting out, they are accompanied by a set of twins but their party may grow depending on their choices.

Characters

Koi [Gender and Name changeable] *This was disabled due to time constraints, but will be reactivated on a later version of the game.

The Twins

Features

Already Implemented

Tutorial mode  which can be Enabled or Disabled at the start of the game. Tutorial mode provides further information to players when encountering something new in the game (First Quest, First Treasure Chest, etc).

Several plugins via Yanfly for some nifty features as well as a better screen resolution and message system.

To Do List

Finish character images and draw title image. Also some River Lord specific monsters.

Decide whether to stick with default RTP sprites or create new ones or edit them.

Finish Maps 

Tweak combat system