Kissed By A Star

Hey ya'll. zDS here. I'm going to ramble a bit about WHAT this game is and why it came about. Don't expect fancy pictures. Just you and my text. Everyone's favorite.

I’ve been thinking of my big one for a while. Since before I even participated in my first IGMC in 2014. For about a decade, my game development has been dominated by games I deemed to be smaller projects, hoping to practice for my first big one.

I do not regret it. I have learned so much. Most importantly, I learned to be efficient. Because if I was not efficient, this game would not be possible.

My first big one has gone through many faces. I see two massive dead projects behind me. Sometimes, I regret not making them. They were products of the past zDS. And they will stay there.

All the roads I took led me here. For this project I hold dear to my heart. Kissed By A Star.

The most challenging part of getting this game started was figuring out HOW to do it. All of my development during A Ghostly Rose, I was crafting this world in my head as I tried to sleep or drove or showered or whatever.

I wanted an unpredictable format of story telling. With a large cast of characters. Where point of views rapidly changed. Never knowing who your party will be. I had this large story in my head. So many shining moments lighting the way. I needed a vehicle to tell this story.

I replayed several of my all time favorite games. I rewatched several of my favorite TV shows. I re-read my favorite novels. Absorbing what I liked about these experiences as much as I do.

After much pondering in my head, I came to the decision I would have to sacrifice SEVERAL RPG mechanics we all have grown to love. This is the aspect that haunts me the most, as I want to make a very RPGlike RPG eventually. And it will happen. But Kissed By A Star is not. It is RPG-Lite.

There are no levels. No building a character up. No gold. No equipment. Dungeons aren’t full of chests and puzzles. Narrative is what brings this game forward. But I do this not as a dismissal of these elements. I love all of the turn-based RPG quirks. My gut led me to do something a bit different with this game.

The gameplay is mostly about beating encounters with what you have. Different characters in different match ups a lot of the time. You do not have items to manage. You can alway save. Always start a battle fully healed. This is not that new to my games, but in this case it was something that weighed heavy on me to decide.

Kissed By A Star is formulated by what I like to call, rapid paced Chapters. Chapters are usually about 20-30 minutes long. Most have combat. Some are just talking to characters. Every chapter will feature a different character from the last, with a set cast of point of views. You may start as the older sister of the Moore family, then to the middle sister, then to the Dad, then to Vivica who is across the world.

All in all, it’s a colossal time gamble on my part. The story I have in my head is rather large. This journey will take me a while to finish. I currently have 9 chapters finished and I am quite happy with how it is turning out.

As of now, I still have no freaking clue how I will release this. Thankfully that's in the distant future. Commercial? Free? I've even had something else in mind I'm pondering about. These are things I'll ramble about in the future. Oh and I'll eventually tell you more about characters, world, music, and blah blah.

IT'S BEEN REAL