MV - Project Color - Story-Focused, Serious-Tone RPG

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Started by AquaticChaos 14 posts View original ↗
  1. AquaticChaos
    #1 Source
    Just a warning, HEAVY and SERIOUS themes are a focus in this game. This isn't a lighthearted type of RPG!
    Story/Plot
    "10 years ago, you- Aennsi- have lost your best friend in a bloody town witch hunt. Today, the King orders you- a trusted hero- to slay a powerful threat to his kingdom. You will travel forests, to tundras, to deserts, all to find this child killer. But tell me, was it really worth it, knowing your home will fall apart anyway?"
    -???

    Project Color is a current Work-In-Progress, heavy-story RPG made with RPG Maker MV. While battles are part of the game, they will not be the main focus, as rather choices are. Will you blindly obey the young, new king...or will you delve deep into the people you meet, discovering just what is right and wrong?

    Focus of themes are blackmail, rape, murder, treason, and suicide.

    Aennsi will begin his quest with the deep woods, seeking to stop a threat to the Spirit Tree. Then, to the tundra's Remorse Tower to bring back a blind heroine. Finally, he heads through the desert into the Ruins, where a great threat remains.

    Little does he know, someone- maybe two- is watching his every choice...

    Characters to Mention
    • Aennsi (Codename Yellow): As a child, he awakens one morning following a witch hunt to find out that his closest friend, Unori, has been hung - considered cursed. He hoped to show him that he can be a hero, something Unori couldn't be. And as such, 10 years pass- as well as a war known only by the name "Four-Kingdoms Battle" - before King Red, the heir to his home's throne, requests him to slay a large threat to the kingdom.
    • Unori (Codename Purple): Mere days before his demise, he has read about the legendary Perfect Soul, formed by Mind, Heart, and Body Essences. He dreamed of the day that the land he lives under could come together in peace. Sadly, it was not the case, as following his death the Four-Kingdoms Battle occured in order to find the Perfect Soul and its Essences.
    • King Righ Rogue (Codename King Red): Nobody is sure how he gained the title of royalty, as he appeared midway through war as soon as the old king disappeared mysteriously. Young and often immature, he has a desire to gain the power of the Soul, especially being the only kingdom left standing tall.
    • Kaiyo (Codename Blue): Once a trusted soldier in the battle, Kaiyo later was called out as the killer of a blind woman's son. He fled to the desert ruins of a once-powerful kingdom, knowing that King Red is to blame for ruining his reputation.
    • Takiko (Codename Pink): Takiko was once a powerful heroine, and even aided the old king in the war. Then, one day, Takiko was confronted by a mysterious man and left with a child of her own. She loved her child- named Take (Pronounced "Tock-eh")- until the day he was found dead. Out of fear, she escapes from her home for the tundra, and climbs the Remorse Tower with the intent to end it all.
    • Rick B. Luse (Codename Orange): Godfather of the deadly Aifam Spiders, he is fully aware of the war's effects on all but one kingdom. Looking for a way to bring the deceased back, he seeks the Spirit Tree deep within the woods.
    • ??? (Codename Monochrome): As Aennsi continues his quest from kingdom to kingdom, a powerful god watches over him. Who could he be? Nobody knows...
    Game Mechanics
    As battles are not the main part of Project Color, it instead relies on choices you make that alter the story bit by bit. It will have 3 basic endings, and 6 hidden endings unlocked by varying means.

    Think of it like Telltale's games, except in a retro-style RPG.
    History of the Lands
    It began with Essences of Mind, Heart, and Body. Essences belonging to mighty people, whether deemed good or bad. When all three combine, it creates a Soul. However, not all Souls are perfect, with some inbalances here and there. Perfect Souls, as rare as they are, are known simply for their incredible knowledge, empathy, and strength. As such, four kingdoms have longed to have such a powerful tool. Thus began the Four-Kingdoms Battle, a bloody war leaving 3 of the 4 mighty castles in ruins. Yet, with their victory, the surviving kingdom loses its king mysteriously and replaced by another...

    ...Within the distant future, the last kingdom struggles to keep upright until, finally, it crumbles. Without heroes to protect the homeland, an almighty god from the afterlife decides to finish off the dastardly castle. With this, everything starts anew, and the Perfect Soul is forever lost...

    (Images included are as follows: Aennsi, Faces of 8 main characters, and Aennsi's House)
  2. trouble time
    #2 Source
    Okay so...from what you've got I can't tell what's dark or serious about the game. Other than that it seems alright, but personally I'd try to describe the game beyond a refrence to telltale games, for example, someone may never have heard of Telltale games, or they may consider it a negative (like me. I liked their first Walking Dead, but don't like most of their other output.)
  3. AquaticChaos
    #3 Source
    Right, probably should've update that with examples of themes. As for describing, it's a work in progress.

    UPDATE: Check the first Spoiler for the dark-toned themes.
  4. onipunk
    #4 Source
    I'm absolutely balking at the conflation of "rape" with "theme", to be completely honest. Rape in and of itself is not a theme, it is a hugely traumatising event event. You can draw thematic concerns from it, but it's not the same thing. For it to be a theme, you need to say something about it. What is it you want to explore by having rape be an event in your game? If you don't know the difference between a central or recurrent theme and a singular act of violence and abuse, that says to me you're not ready to tackle those subjects.
  5. trouble time
    #5 Source
    onipunk said:
    I'm absolutely balking at the conflation of "rape" with "theme", to be completely honest. Rape in and of itself is not a theme, it is a hugely traumatising event event. You can draw thematic concerns from it, but it's not the same thing. For it to be a theme, you need to say something about it. What is it you want to explore by having rape be an event in your game? If you don't know the difference between a central or recurrent theme and a singular act of violence and abuse, that says to me you're not ready to tackle those subjects.
    I kinda get where you're coming from, but theme is also synonymous with "subject" or "topic" in certain cases. I do agree that there is a certain skill required in tackling touchy subjects, even though I consider my own game dark and I didn't use rape as part of it. Warhammer 40k coined the term grimdark, well grim darkness, and the closest it ever gets to rape is the Daemonculaba, which oddly enough doesn't even involve the Chaos God of pleasure and excess. You can easily write a dark story without it.....

    But I'm a horrible sycophant whenever new developers are involved so I say go for it. It may be bad, it may be good, but its better you try to write it and get say, an editor or beta reader on hand. I think its better you try fail and learn from it than never try at all, and if it doesn't work the first time you can choose to ditch it or try again.
  6. AquaticChaos
    #6 Source
    omnipunk has a point, to be fair. But these are topics that most characters focus on. I would explain what this kingdom relates to....but for one, you could probably guess...and second, it'll be one heck of a conversation to end.

    Oh yeah, and I do have another character in the making...call her Codename Gray. Or rather, Lady of Nightmares...
    She won't really have a purpose in this game, but I do have a sequel in mind...
  7. onipunk
    #7 Source
    What I was getting at is that saying "includes instances of/reference to" would be much more accurate. To use an example, Jessica Jones is a story where rape is hugely present, but the theme isn't rape itself. The theme is about trauma, how to recover from it, how someone with literal superpowers can be made to feel powerless by sexual abuse and how emotional manipulation can be a much more insidious and damaging type of violence than physical harm. It doesn't just use rape to be shocking or to give the work a dark tone, it's a springboard to talk about those aspects of rape, PTSD and recovery. I just think it can be dangerous to conflate violence with theme, especially a type of violence as heinous as rape. I apologise for coming off pretty strongly in the first post and the personal attack on your abilities was completely unnecessary, so I'm sorry for that. I know very personally what sexual and emotional abuse can do to a person, and I'm always a bit touchy with those subjects. They're one of the hardest to pull off because there's so much more that goes into them and even the best writers can completely screw it up sometimes. You won't know until you try, and if you succed then great, well done! And if you don't, you'll learn what to fix if you ever feel like tackling those subjects again in future. Definitely do a ton of research here if you want to make it a theme. Again, sorry if I came across harsh without really accurately explaining what my thoughts on it were, and best of luck with the project.
  8. AquaticChaos
    #8 Source
    Nah, I'm pretty easy to forgive people. You did have a point, onipunk, and as such I'll change the first sentence to better suit those used topics. If it helps any, I'm a fairly young and inexperienced game developer, only worked on any sort of engine since Summer 2016- where my game started progress.

    Appreciate your feedback regardless!
  9. onipunk
    #9 Source
    I should have been more considerate of that, god knows I couldn't have tackled those topics at 17 so it's unfair to hold you to a standard I couldn't have reached myself! I'm not personally a fan of thw Telltale style of adventure game, Life is Strange and Walking Dead are the only games in that style I like but I appreciate the attempt to use the engine for something different and experimenting with genre and tone, so best of luck for the project!
  10. AquaticChaos
    #10 Source
    Onipunk, you're perfectly fine to voice corrections I need to make. I was wrong in terms of topics versus themes. Yeah high school occupies most of the weekdays, so it takes time to notice responses. Anyway, thank you so very much for the hopeful promises! Who knows, maybe my game could actually work out!
  11. gigaswardblade
    #11 Source
    where did you get those face sprites from? is it an old version of rpg maker?
  12. VisitorsFromDreams
    #12 Source
    Sounds like something an edgy teen would think would be a cool idea for a game... Dark for the sake of being dark without any real understanding behind it or anything to say.

    Saying you already have plans for a sequel before having a functional game already close to completion is a big red flag too.

    Got to start somewhere I guess...
  13. yomielf
    #13 Source
    Were your pictures made from photoshop? i am not sure how to make my own custom profile pictures
  14. AquaticChaos
    #14 Source
    Terribly sorry about the long wait, I'll answer your questions and/or responses in order.

    1. where did you get those face sprites from? is it an old version of rpg maker?
      I'm not the best with art, and as such I have made them on the sprite generator Charas Project (.net). The reason I don't do it myself is due to my lack of doing people in art, and moreso the landscape. Also the fact that my income is incredibly small, meaning I have next to nowhere to spend assets on.
    2. Sounds like something an edgy teen would think would be a cool idea for a game...
      I appreciate the response, but please note this is a game I've been working on since about the Summer of 2016 (Following Sophomore HS year). It's meant to be dark for a good reason, a personal tie into the real world. Again, I appreciate the comment but try not to sound too much of a jerk.
    3. Were your pictures made from photoshop?
      Please read Comment #1, it explains it all.
    Yes, I am aware I lack experience with technicality for games. But now that I'm nearing College, I'm pursuing this as my dream job, something that I can make (Hopefully, that is) money off of. But with the likes of school, work, smaller projects, it tends to take time. And, if it helps any, I often times regret this decision with the fear of how people will respond. I'm unsure what the future- again, if any- will be like: Being a rare type of person- one with a mental disability- to make a video game. Whatever it takes to make this process progress, I will do.