Trine and Tine

So... I got detoured. That is the nature of life, and thus the project went on a backlit burner after a teleporting bug cropped up in VX. That bug has been fixed as of today.

So, Is Trine and Tine Redux going to be better? Well, if you like mindless grinding and going up empty floors, like the original, only to hit a magic three door combo that may send you back to the bottom or let you pass? Yeah, the redux will be better then that.

So the basics are simple. Trine and Tine is about Megai, a demon slayer whom has come from the Serai Deserts from the south to Risres, as have many other adventurers before him to enter Loki's fortress and climb all sixteen floors of the Demon's hideout. In other words, it is a classic Rpg maker dungeon crawl, and the redux is not going to go that far from what it is.

Rtp graphics are the way to go here, as I don't want to lose anouther project due to me saying the graphics need to be custom made, so expect standard fare here, with some interesting tricks. XD I do know how to map a mean map.

The Music is all going to be the same as the original, that is this 1980s synth from the Megami Tensei OVA (The original). That one, released as the Digital Devil here in the united states is, well... Its pretty terrible, but as a megaten fan, I fell in love with the overdramatic music. So 80s synth all of the way, with some japanese 90s pop, the stuff that still feels like it belongs to the american 80s pop scene. It works, despite what anyone will complain. Just imagine this like Ultima, if ultima sounded with 80s music.

The key feature is the RANDOM ALIGNMENT that is assigned to Megai from the beginning. Just because he kills Demons does not make him a good guy. You can not choose your alignment, you just need to accept it and how it will affect conversations now on.

Well, as far as progress goes, I have finished the first two levels and populated the dungeon with adventurers. I might introduce some sidekicks for Megai, like a priestess who keeps getting in trouble and a mage that knows a little too much as they climb the fortress. Understanablly, Higher levels will have less adventurers and such. So unlike the original, you are not alone!
The town feels so empty now I have completed the re-design, so I might populate it with people who can give out quests. You know, like classic diablo and that jazz. Defenitely have to fix some of this Dialouge, all though I love the jokes about Harold Camping's apocolypse scare of last year. Yes, the Oracle is a joke off of Camping. Always has been. XD
The game is now red, a red red tint instead of the purple. It feels a lot more demonic how the sky and the air has stagnated to this point. It helps the dialouge, and I might add a switch which makes the air more stagnant as you climb.
So far, there is a quest where you break off these crystal stems that have grown over certain machinary to activate a portal to the next floor, a sub-plot for evil characters and a key system for doors.

Overall, it is coming along nicely. Like all good things, you have to let it ripen. Let's not let this project spoil!

As I work here, at a small discreet summer camp during my break, the absence of the internet is a real drag, but....

It has given me time to work on a a proper sequal to Trine+Tine, and not some simple four hour crawler like the first. No, this project is becoming a wind storm, growing with power every time I resume spriting and editing the game mechanics a bit more. Due to my slow connection, I dare not release any screens just yet, rather, I will wait until I can release a proper game page and work out some of the finer kinks, but I shall reveal some of the mechanics and setting that this game takes place in.

Setting
This game will take place about 3068 years after the first game, but will follow an alternate ending for the first game. No longer did Megai succed in defeating the being known as Zypher, rather all the endings for Trine+Tine were merely delusions created by a forced imprisonmentd. In the time that Megai remains "preserved", Zypher has split into 6 lords, and a wraith, which holds his original persona. Underneath the control of these lords, the world has rotted away and become a mere shell, filled with machines that provide power in exchange for life.

Mechanics
1. Battle Stamina Limit: All battles will be set to a timer, so fight as fast as you can before Megai hits his borderline and dies of a heart attack.

2. AIC(Alignment is Cheap): Choices can change your alignment, but so can items and even weapons shift your alignment. Remember, Megai has different options unlocked depending on his alignment.

3. Soul Radiation: With the world in decay and ruins, there are some areas of the world that can drain you of your soul and mind, known as Soul Radiation. Keep your Soul Radiation under 20%, and you will be fine. Any higher and you may begin developing soul sickness, a disease that will drain at your energy and life.

4. Final Game Limit: The entire playtime must be under a certain time or parts of the world will go up in smoke. Move fast, or else that town you just visited be reduced into a mere abyss.

5. Dynamic Moon Cycles: The cycles of the moon affects the Zypher and thier minions. Ulitize this to kill them when they are weakest, but be warned: Not all of them hit thier peak at full moon.

Okay, so maybe my last project I worked on was a little bit of a nightmare, but this game is pretty much your standard rpg dungeon crawling fare. Climb a towering fortress to kill the demon Loki right? Well, for the most part, yeah, except for the on extra feature I tried to implement but only affects maybe three things in the game. For my four hour game, I bring you this one idea that sets it apart from other basic dungeon crawlers: Personality!

At the begining of the game, your personality is randomly chosen and set in stone: There is no way to change the personality that Megai was born with, unless you restart the game. There are three personas for Megai, as follows:

Megai of Light: Exactly as the name implies, this is the "Heroic" Megai, and he receives the good ending at the end.

Megai of Balance: The slacker persona whom just wants everything to be neutral. He gets the Balance ending.

Megai of Chaos, aka Evil Megai:Typical villan wanting more power by devouring Loki. He receives the Evil ending.

Hamster Megai:Not implemented, but was going to be a new game+ where Megai becomes a hamster and wishes to kill Loki to get his favorite squeaky ball back. His ending was retooled into the secret bad ending. Was going to implement, but ran out of time...

So, there we are. There are also some in-jokes about the recent apocalypse, but you might miss them if you don't talk to the people in town. The town is almost purely there for function. Most of the time you will be fighting your heart out in the near insane difficulty I placed in the upper chambers.