Legacy

I've alluded to this in other posts, but this one will have lots of details for you if you're interested in the next stage of Bradley's magic training. This process begins around Day 14 and I don't actually have all the story content connecting that to the end of the last demo (Day 10)...but in a fit of inspiration/impatience I went ahead and made the whole scene where Bradley and his classmates learn about their options.

They head to the student lounge where books have been left out with information on the two specializations available for each element. Typically there's an offense-oriented choice and a more strategic/supportive choice, but I've tried to give each one an identity.



Each classmate has a choice they favor and will ask for your thoughts when you chat with them.



If you agree with their instincts, go ahead and tell them! But if you want to suggest the other choice, what happens depends on the level of friendship. In this case, I have a high friendship score with Nevin and I suggest he pick Battle Mage instead.



Now when the time comes to officially assign everyone their new skill tree, he'll get the Battle Mage spells. But if I don't have a high friendship score, they stick to their original choices. I haven't spent much time with Zoe in this playthrough so when I suggest she pick Hydromancer instead of Atmosphere Mage, she is having none of it.



So that's how that part works. But what about Bradley's own choice? It will be a while before any of you need to decide, but I figured I'd make this fun and reveal the various spells involved with all the choices. I've gone out on a limb with some of these and I'm not sure they're all possible in the engine without some scripting (I've added an asterisk to the ones I'll probably need help with).

Fire - Pyromancer path
-Fireball (Damage to all enemies)
-Inner Flame (ATK/MAT buff)
-Incinerate (Heavy damage to one enemy plus "burn")
-Dragon Breath (Ultimate fire attack that hits all enemies and can add "burn")

Fire - Battle Mage path
-Searing Touch (Enemies attacking you take damage)*
-Fireside Glow (Heals allies and can cure "freeze")
-Sun Ray (ATK/DEF debuff on one enemy and a chance of "burn")
-Blue Flame (Damages all enemies and adds powerful new "grevious burn" condition)

Water - Hydromancer path
-Deluge (Damage to all enemies)
-Cleanse (Removes status effects from user and buffs MAT)
-Poison Spray (Moderate damage to all enemies plus "poison")
-Tidal Wave (Ultimate water attack damages all enemies)

Water - Atmosphere Mage path
-Purity (User is immune to status effects for several turns)
-Heavy Mist (Moderate damage and an accuracy defuff for all enemies)
-Mana Pool (All allies use less MP for a few turns but high initial cost)
-Mermaid's Gift (All allies are healed and all status effects are removed)

Lightning - Electromancer path
-Lightning Blast (Damage to all enemies)
-Conduct (Siphons HP from two enemies)
-Chain Lightning (Huge damage to one enemy, then half damage to another one and 25% damage to a third)*
-Electrocution (Ultimate lightning attack hits all enemies and can add "stun")

Lightning - Tactical Mage path
-Afterimage (Catches enemy completely off-guard, ignores MDF)
-Defibrillate (Revive an ally with full HP)
-Power Surge (Next physical attack does double damage)*
-Debilitating Shock (Heavy damage to one enemy, lowers AGI and adds "stun")

Wind - Cyclomancer path
-Chinook (Damage to all enemies)
-Wind Shove (Moderate damage to one enemy, may cause "disoriented")
-Aerial Assault (Heavy damage to two enemies)
-Hurricane (Ultimate wind attack damages all enemies and can inflict "blind.")

Wind - Air Mage path
-Vortex (Enemies take wind damage when they hit you)*
-Dust Storm (Evasion buff for all allies)
-Headwinds (ATK/AGI debuff for all enemies)
-Harmattan Winds (Removes status effects from all allies)

Ice - Glaciomancer path
-Cold Ray (Damage to all enemies)
-Magesicle (Lowers MAT of all enemies)
-Ice Shrapnel (Hits multiple enemies multiple times)*
-Deep Freeze (Ultimate ice attack damages all enemies and can inflict "freeze")

Ice - Aurora Mage path
-Cold Snap (Removes status effects from one ally)
-Glacial Chill (No damage but will instantly freeze most enemies)
-Blizzard (Damages all enemies and can inflict "blind.")
-Ice Wall (All allies get Reflect for three turns)

Earth - Geomancer path
-Rockslide (Damage to all enemies)
-Earth Embrace (Large DEF boost at the cost of AGI)
-Mud Pit (Damages all enemies and lowers AGI)
-Boulder (Ultimate earth attack damages all enemies)

Earth - Natural Mage path
-Rejuvenate (Heals all allies and can cure "paralyze")
-Weight of the World (Damage to one enemy and can inflict "paralyze")
-Earthquake (Damages all enemies, may cause "disoriented")
-Rock Wall (Completely nullifies damage from one attack to all allies)*

There will be some options for Peri's Dark Magic too but I'm still working on that. Then there's the guild spells and whatever I'm going to do with combo attacks. Lots of magic coming your way, that's for sure!

That's all for now. Peace bros!

Since the Halloween release, I've mostly been mapping. There will be at least two, possibly three, new wilderness areas for the next build (whenever that is). I doubt much more will get done until the holidays are over, I typically have to resign myself to the fact that December is just too busy for a lot of game making, so it seems appropriate to just get the year-end post out there.

After the discovery Bradley and Peri made on Day 10, Bradley decides to try and consult a handful of influential people across Euthenia to try and find out more. These will be the first quests that can only be completed within a limited time frame (probably five days) but they are still optional and there's no direct penalty for not doing it, you just miss out on some information.

The major addition in terms of gameplay will be the specializations. I've talked about it briefly before and I might do a post getting into it deeper at some point, but this is where Bradley and the others will advance to the next level of their magic studies and pick one of two paths to follow. Each specialization has its own quirks and you'll have an opportunity to read about them all (and write about them in the journal) before having to make a decision. You can also influence the decisions of classmates that you've spent a lot of time with.

That should all keep me pretty busy! I'll end with a screenshot from the Great Swamp, a challenging wetlands area filled with tough enemies and remnants of an ancient civilization. Peace bros!

Now that I'm done with my summer traveling, I've been trying to get a new Legacy build ready sometime this Fall. It's a lot of new content, but so far I plan to just let my testers look at it for now and save the next public release for an even more substantial update. If there was a lot of demand to see this version, I'd probably change my mind but I don't really see that happening.

When we did Master of the Wind, I always felt like I had a sense of what people liked and/or didn't like about the game. This time, I have no idea. People have played it but most of you have been quiet. No worries. I know I'm terrible at self-promotion and probably just too old to be hung up on whether my game is popular or not. The Misao nominations were a total surprise so I guess something must be going right.

Ever since Labyrinthine Dreams, I've come to accept that the main reason to do any of this is because I like it. If I'm out for attention or (especially) money, chances are I'll be disappointed. But I won't be if I'm just making what I want to make, this has been my dream project for ages.

Sorry if that got a little morose. Here's a screenshot from the Western Cliffs area, at the beginning of a quest that's tied to how many enemies Bradley has encountered in the wild.

Peace bros!

It's been almost a year since I released the demo. A drop in the bucket compared to this game's overall time in development, but it's still been a while. I've been inconsistent with working on it but there is still quite a lot of new content but I'll get to that shortly.

Anyone familiar with my stuff has probably figured out that I get really upset about the daily injustices of the world, perhaps inordinately so. In that sense, it's been a difficult few months. It's also weird to see how Legacy starts to feel different as time goes on. This game and its story have been percolating for over ten years, with many of the plot points having been decided on from close to the beginning. And yet there is one event near the end of the demo that has an obvious analogue to recent US history. It wasn't planned but I would be lying if I said it didn't have an impact on some of the details of that scene.

Master of the Wind's commentary was done mostly through similarities. Equipment King is similar to Wal-Mart, The Hand is similar to white nationalism and Al Qaeda. Back in the early days of Legacy, I imagined that it would be a pretty cynical story too. But something weird is happening. The real world is deteriorating at such a rapid pace that the game's story is starting to sound optimistic. The commentary is being expressed through contrast instead. You see characters making an honest attempt to solve major problems and you wonder "why can't we do this?" It wasn't what I had planned, but if that's the path I've been put on then maybe I'm meant to follow it.

So what can you expect in the next release? Well, there's four new outdoor areas to explore - The Shallows, the Badlands, Salvin Islands and Western Cliffs. You will be able to join one of the magic guilds and have a couple of quests available (with unique spells as your reward).

The main story is coming a little slower. Day 8 turned out to be a real bear. Once I finish Day 10, I'll let the testers have another crack at it. There are a few other little features I want to highlight too before I end this one.


This was actually NeverSilent's idea. I made a little adjustment to the journal to add what's basically a bestiary. The first time you defeat a monster, Bradley or Peri will add a few notes that may be helpful in the future.


Treasure maps! You can find these laying around the various outdoor areas. They will show you where a goodie is buried and if you travel to that exact spot you can dig it up. The maps go in your inventory so you can look at them whenever you want.

That's all for now. Peace bros!

To my surprise, Legacy has been nominated for two Misaos this year:
Excellence in Narrative
Most Promising Demo

If you think either of those descriptions apply, feel free to vote here!

In terms of the game itself, I mostly have been working on guilds. It's another unique challenge to put the player on a similar path for each of the six guilds while making them all have a distinctive feel so it doesn't feel like simple cut and paste. Then I've got to work on the monsters for the Salvin Islands and, to a lesser extent, the Shallows (encounters work much differently there).

The main cast would like a brief word with you before you go. Peace bros!