What you do when all your dreams are shattered?
"“You must understand that there is more than one path to the top of the mountain”
Miyamoto Musashi,
For centuries the empire of Taiyō no ōkoku persisted. An island of light and civilization in a world of darkness. Ruled by the Seppun dynasty of divine blood and the 5 great clans.
For centuries the Yoikai threat remained constant. Creatures who know only anger and suffering and who dream of destroying the world of samurai.
For centuries peasants have prayed to Amaterasu to choose whoever would be her chosen one who would finally end the war. An example of virtue and value that would inspire samurai until the dawn of time.
You are Nakao Daisako Kazunori, Tiger of Taiyō no ōkoku and heir of the Salmon Clan, you are the answer to all his prayers, and soon you will discover that this is a is just a mask…
"Winter - A Samurai tale" is a game inspired by the epic poems of old like the Illiad and the Heike monogatari. Follow the life of a samurai, make choices that will change your destiny and that of an empire, and uncover the tragedy behind the legends
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
― Sun Tzu
Tired of killing slimes to earn XP? Is RPG maker's turn-based combat system unbearable to you?
Then this game can be going to please you. It revolves around the system of 5 elements. You have 5 elements (fire, water, air, earth, and void), each representing an aspect of your character's personality. The success / failure of your actions and attacks will depend on the value of your attributes.
So if you have a lot of points on Fire, you will have a better chance of solving problems impetuously.
Obviously your choices during the game will increase / decrease your stats, so be careful with your path.
INFLUENCES
Literary : Musashi Ejii Yoshikawa, Heike monogatari (unknow writer), The Tale of Genji Murasaki Shikubu, The Shikanoko series by Lian Hearn, the Illiad by Homer, and the best book ever written : The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R Tolkien .
Mangas : Angolmois : Records of the mongol invasion by Nanahiko Takagani. The man who killed Nobunaga by Kenzaburo AKECHI, Yutaka TODO
Sources : « Histoire du Japon médiéval – Le monde à l’envers » Pierre-François Souyri, « Contes et légendes – Les samouraïs by Anne Jonas », the youtube channel The Shogunate (One of the main causes of my recent obsession with feudal Japan)
Tabletop RPG and boardgames : The Legends of the 5 rings, Boardgame Rising Sun.
Youtube channels who inspired me: Echo607 and ToastyTime
Games : Avadon and Arvenum series by Spiderweb softwere, the Choice of Games series, Shadow tactics blades of the shogun by Mimimi
THE STORY BEHIND THE GAME
Personally I find that the stories behind works of art are almost as fascinating (sometimes more) than the work itself. If you think like me this little section where I tell a little the story of my life and why I decided to create this game could be interesting
When 2020 started I thought this would be the best year of my life. My biggest dream had come true and grew, I had ideas, passion, projects and everything I could dream of.
And then the covid happened.
And within months I watched helplessly as my biggest and precious dream was destroyed before me. My heart was conquered by a deep depression covered with anger, and I wondered several times why I insisted on living in this world.
But 2020 wasn't just the year of depression for me, but also the year I fell in love with the samurai. I am a historian and since my childhood I have been obsessed with past civilizations and ancient legends, but Asia has never caught my attention.
However, thanks to Ghost of Tsushima and the tabletop RPG / Card game Legends of the Five Rings disputed an interest in me, and the more I studied the life of Oda Nobunaga, Takeda Shingen, Tokugawa Yeiasu and many others, the more I was fascinated by their culture, their beliefs and their lives.
A few months ago, while I was rereading one of my favorite books The Iliad of Homer, I thought to myself "it would be cool to have an Iliad with samurai" but after a few minutes I forgot that idea.
Later, one night when I couldn't sleep anxious that life, despite its pleasures, seemed extremely gray and empty, I had the idea of trying to convey all my ideas with a video game. I had already tried to create many small projects on RPG maker, but none of them lasted long. I started looking for some ancient Egyptian resources, and although this research was fruitless I found some images of Japanese warriors.
And then in my mind an idea came up like Amaterasu "The Iliad, but with samurai" and this is how the idea was born which occupied me for months.
Now, for the first time in my life, I have a not too bad demo to present and I hope you like it.
I would like to warn you that English is not my mother tongue and although I have made a great effort to correct all the mistakes, grammar has always been my Achilles heel. So I would thank if you can point me to any mistakes you find or phrases you think don't sound right.
