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What happened to Tale of Aranath? The whole story of shyAway Games.
shyAwayGames- 08/02/2018 02:27 PM
- 833 views
Hello everyone, shyAway reporting!
So what happened to Tale of Aranath... and what the heck is "Saga of Denwyn?"
Well, I'm glad you asked! Let me take you through the story of development... the story of shyAway Games:
Originally, I wanted the game to be a game truly on par in terms of size and scope of that to the original Final Fantasy games created by Squaresoft. I have very large ambitions for the title (which has now become "title(s)") and want to provide players with the rich story, drama, and tactical gameplay that they have been yearning for since the newest Games of the Final Fantasy series have (in my opinion) devolved into a series button mashing, mindless and barely compelling story arcs that no longer challenge the player's intuition and logic or truly resonate with an individual on a deep emotional level.
Then came the time to create a demo of the game (I'm old fashioned - I think if you're going to sell something, you should give the player a legitimate sample of what you want them to buy). So I did; I worked and worked for months... almost a year in development now of the full game (many setbacks have occurred) and the demo which I created ceased to be just a demo - it turned into its own game!
Instead of creating a nice 10-15 minute experience of the combat, puzzles, concept and story (Which is now the CURRENT demo that will be uploaded SOON. I PROMISE SOON!!!) that could have consisted of part of a single dungeon... I simply became obsessed in creating content and well... created too much! I created so much for the initial start of the storyline that I had no idea what to do with it all!
So now I was in a situation where I (and this is me, the sole developer who knows the game in and out!) doing a speedrun of about 1.5 hours (Yes, there is THAT much to do - none of which in my opinion feels too grindy or pointless). I'll reiterate: A SPEEDRUN OF NEARLY 2 HOURS WHEN YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHERE TO GO TO FIND THE MOST POWERFUL GEAR, METHODS OF DEFEATING EVERY MOB, BOSS AND MINIBOSS ETC. So that is the entirety of the first portion of the development story.
The company aspect of the studio now moves into the picture: I am a lone developer. I have no art team, I have no music team, I have no programming team... it goes on and on in this fashion. Most importantly... I have 0 investors besides well, yours truly. So every facet of the entire spectrum of game development is handled by one person... let that sink in (I know all you indie devs out there just like me are struggling - hell, it's bad enough when there's only two or three of us on a team - imagine doing everything yourself while still working a full time job... and for anyone who is a sole developer like myself: I completely feel for you and if you would like to talk, I'm here!). Additionally, I've gone through 2 moves and a break-in during the development of the game. So a lot of financial burden has occurred in my personal life, let alone the company's life to the point where I can't afford to commission any help on project (#helpabrotherout?). So, point I'm getting at is that I have to generate a revenue stream from the work I've poured everything into...
Now we find ourselves in current day. I have a nearly completed game, save for only a few more loose ends that need to be tidied up - I have an indie game display at a convention at the end of the month, and I have faith that I've done the best I can to make a truly good game.
So, all of these things put together is the reason why "Tale of Aranath" has changed from a large RPG into the episodic story named "Saga of Denwyn."
Time. Time is everything.
Time will tell whether or not everything I've done from growing from a hobbiest to an amateur to a confident developer will allow me to continue doing what I've come to love (writing compelling stories in a video game format for you, the players) from here into the future.
No matter what happens- whether it turns out good or bad- just know that I truly appreciate all of you who have helped me along this journey... even if it was doing something as simple as trying my game.
So what happened to Tale of Aranath... and what the heck is "Saga of Denwyn?"
Well, I'm glad you asked! Let me take you through the story of development... the story of shyAway Games:
Originally, I wanted the game to be a game truly on par in terms of size and scope of that to the original Final Fantasy games created by Squaresoft. I have very large ambitions for the title (which has now become "title(s)") and want to provide players with the rich story, drama, and tactical gameplay that they have been yearning for since the newest Games of the Final Fantasy series have (in my opinion) devolved into a series button mashing, mindless and barely compelling story arcs that no longer challenge the player's intuition and logic or truly resonate with an individual on a deep emotional level.
Then came the time to create a demo of the game (I'm old fashioned - I think if you're going to sell something, you should give the player a legitimate sample of what you want them to buy). So I did; I worked and worked for months... almost a year in development now of the full game (many setbacks have occurred) and the demo which I created ceased to be just a demo - it turned into its own game!
Instead of creating a nice 10-15 minute experience of the combat, puzzles, concept and story (Which is now the CURRENT demo that will be uploaded SOON. I PROMISE SOON!!!) that could have consisted of part of a single dungeon... I simply became obsessed in creating content and well... created too much! I created so much for the initial start of the storyline that I had no idea what to do with it all!
So now I was in a situation where I (and this is me, the sole developer who knows the game in and out!) doing a speedrun of about 1.5 hours (Yes, there is THAT much to do - none of which in my opinion feels too grindy or pointless). I'll reiterate: A SPEEDRUN OF NEARLY 2 HOURS WHEN YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHERE TO GO TO FIND THE MOST POWERFUL GEAR, METHODS OF DEFEATING EVERY MOB, BOSS AND MINIBOSS ETC. So that is the entirety of the first portion of the development story.
The company aspect of the studio now moves into the picture: I am a lone developer. I have no art team, I have no music team, I have no programming team... it goes on and on in this fashion. Most importantly... I have 0 investors besides well, yours truly. So every facet of the entire spectrum of game development is handled by one person... let that sink in (I know all you indie devs out there just like me are struggling - hell, it's bad enough when there's only two or three of us on a team - imagine doing everything yourself while still working a full time job... and for anyone who is a sole developer like myself: I completely feel for you and if you would like to talk, I'm here!). Additionally, I've gone through 2 moves and a break-in during the development of the game. So a lot of financial burden has occurred in my personal life, let alone the company's life to the point where I can't afford to commission any help on project (#helpabrotherout?). So, point I'm getting at is that I have to generate a revenue stream from the work I've poured everything into...
Now we find ourselves in current day. I have a nearly completed game, save for only a few more loose ends that need to be tidied up - I have an indie game display at a convention at the end of the month, and I have faith that I've done the best I can to make a truly good game.
So, all of these things put together is the reason why "Tale of Aranath" has changed from a large RPG into the episodic story named "Saga of Denwyn."
Time. Time is everything.
Time will tell whether or not everything I've done from growing from a hobbiest to an amateur to a confident developer will allow me to continue doing what I've come to love (writing compelling stories in a video game format for you, the players) from here into the future.
No matter what happens- whether it turns out good or bad- just know that I truly appreciate all of you who have helped me along this journey... even if it was doing something as simple as trying my game.
