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Game Design

CHARACTER SPOTLIGHT: Sanya Feral, the Survivor!

Palasiel Quest has a plethora of characters outside of the 5 main ones featured on the main page. Every few days I will do “Character Spotlights” that will go over a bit more about each character and what they bring to the table when it comes to either the story or the battles. And without further ado, we’re going to continue things with Sanya Feral!



Sanya is another one of the five people spirited away from Earth to the world of Palasiel! Except, you’ll soon find out that she’s been there for 7 whole years prior to the protagonist’s arrival. Because of this, she’s been assimilated into the world of Palasiel. She knows a lot of people and knows a lot of the history behind Palasiel.



Sanya’s a somewhat level-headed individual, who acts as the Team Mom of the group at times. She enjoys cooking and can make a decent meal out of almost anything. She is a decent hunter and as done a lot of it during her time in Palasiel. She also likes to get drunk. The alcohol in Palasiel is worlds better than Earth’s, you see.



Much of Sanya’s backstory is a mystery, that she’s not too keen on sharing. She has a severe case of arsonphobia (a fear of fire), triggered by an event earlier in a her residency in Palasiel. The party will find her in a prison cell, sentenced to execution for a crime she did not commit. When she meets the protagonist, she finally sees her opportunity to leave Palasiel and join him and the party. However, she’ll only do so if she can bargain with The Creator to allow her to take a certain special someone too.



Sanya’s class is dubbed the “Survivor” class. She specialises in hand-to-hand combat and uses martial artes she invented herself. She utilises a “Deathblow” like system that has her launch a combo of attack with varying degrees of strength before pulling off one of her own powerful martial artes. She’s also able to use Feral Artes, artes she has learned from certain enemies that she’s defeated. This works in a similar fashion to Blue Magic.



Sanya is built to be the powerhouse the party, with her strength surpassing that of Daran’s due to her powerful combos and finishers. The caveat is that she is the slowest in the party, so in a party with Ariel or Opal, she’s guaranteed to go last unless she is applied with a speed buff. She also has a low AP pool, so she cannot output finishers and Feral Artes willy-nilly. But she makes a great character for enemies and bosses with high HP pools and defense!



And that’s all on Sanya! Feel free to ask me any questions about the character in the comments! :)

Next I’ll be going over Opal Beryl, the fifth and final main character in the game!

Announcement

UPDATE: Demo A updated to V0.4!

Hello all!

DEMO A for Palasiel Quest has now been updated from v1.3 to v1.4. This update generally matches what the current main build of the game is like, adding a few QoL features and some aesthetic touches, among a few other things. Here is the changelog for v1.4!

- Changed the in-game text color to white
- Changed the dialogue text font and size
- Added a slide-in portrait of the active character in battle
- Saoirse's signature skill "Memento Mori" no longer raises her Magic stat. Now it grants a passive state that allows her to survive a lethal blow with 1HP while restoring the health and MP of the rest of the party.
- Changed the skit notification image
- Facesets have now been updated with new art
- Removed random encounters from the map with the first save crystal
- Color-coded elemental terms (such as Fire, Ice, etc) have been added to skill/item descriptions
- Added "full Pack 2025" font for the TP numbers. Be sure to install this font.
- Fixed some voice-to-text mismatches
- Fixed some grammar issues
- Fixed some word-wrapping due to new font and size
- Updated the Credits

Your save files SHOULD work with this new version as I made an effort to keep the filenames and locations the same. All you'd need to do is copy and paste your save file from the old version into the new version.

Game Design

CHARACTER SPOTLIGHT: Keon Cetin, the Gunslinger!

Palasiel Quest has a plethora of characters outside of the 5 main ones featured on the main page. Every few days I will do "Character Spotlights" that will go over a bit more about each character and what they bring to the table when it comes to either the story or the battles. And without further ado, we’re going to continue things with Keon Cetin!



Keon is another one of the five people spirited away from Earth to the world of Palasiel! You’ll soon learn that he’s already been there for a whole year! Whilst waiting for the protagonist to appear he’d quickly taken a liking to Palasiel and made himself comfortable.



Keon is a confident guy who’s super chill. He’s made a little bit of a name for himself around Palasiel as a mercenary and he’s got a lot of contacts. He’s very flirtatious and rarely wears his heart on his sleeve which makes him come off as a rather cunning individual. Keon expressed a strong disinterest in going back home, and would much rather stay in Palasiel, which will cause some tension among the party.



You’ll meet Keon a few hours into the game where he joins up with the Palasiel Rogues to help stop an assassination from occurring. He’s pretty familiar with RPGs with his favourite being Wild Arms V. He’s got a keen sense of justice befitting your standard hero, and due to his past he’s not fond of bullies.



The concept of Keon’s character was inspired by Alvin from Tales of Xillia and Irvine Kinneas from Final Fantasy VIII. Keon’s class is dubbed a "Gunslinger". His role is a mixture of a Bard and Ranger class. Ideally, he’s a support class with the ability to deal technical damage and grant buffs to the party. Since Artes are purchased by the player using Arte Points, one can build Keon as a really potent support character early on, opt for more technical DPS, or a nice balance of the two.



Keon has average stats all around, however the fact that he uses a gun means that he cannot be countered by physical attacks. Using his "Bulletcraft" abilities, he can recover the party’s health and TP with his "Heal Shower" arte. He’s also one of the first characters to be able to target all enemies at once with his "Wild/Crazy Bullet" artes.



Keon becomes particularly useful when it comes to dealing with enemies of a particular type/breed. His "Golden Bullet" skillset allows him to deal a guaranteed critical hit on certain types of monsters, making him ideal when it’s time to go out monster hunting!



And that’s all on Keon! Feel free to ask me any questions about the character in the comments! :)

Next I’ll be going over some of the secondary characters in the game!

Game Design

CHARACTER SPOTLIGHT: Ariel Nino, the Sidekick!

Palasiel Quest has a plethora of characters outside of the 5 main ones featured on the main page. Every few days I will do "Character Spotlights" that will go over a bit more about each character and what they bring to the table when it comes to either the story or the battles. And without further ado, we’re going to continue things with Ariel Nino!



Ariel is another one of the five people spirited away from Earth to the world of Palasiel! Except, you'll soon find out she's been there for 2 whole months already! She'd been waiting for the "protagonist's" arrival this entire time all the while making a backstory for herself.



Ariel is an upbeat and somewhat assertive young woman. She's a big RPG-nerd and it didn't take her long to adapt to the way things worked in Palasiel. She an excellent swimmer and has a huge affinity for water. You'll meet Ariel about an hour into the game and she'll kick-start the plot of Palasiel Quest, as well as the first arc of the story (and pilot of the game).



During her time in Palasiel Rogues, she had gotten herself involved with the internal affairs of a nearby kingdom called Parisa. She enlisted with a small resistance group called the Palasiel Rogues to help liberate the kingdom.



The concept of Ariel's character was inspired by Spinel from Crimson Gem Saga. Ariel's class is dubbed a "Thiefmage". She is a hybrid-class of a White Mage and a Thief. This makes her role a little bit interesting when it comes to battles because all of her artes are split into two skillsets. Since artes are purchased by the player using Arte Points, one can build Ariel as a really potent healer/support early on, opt for a DPS debuffer build, or a nice balance of the two. Ariel's affinity with water plays a role in battle and she has a unique passive that allows her to absorb water damage.



Despite her moderately high magic stat, Ariel only has one offensive spell in her White Magic repertoire which is Lum, a light elemental attack. This will be her bread-and-butter during the early game due to Ariel's subpar strength stat. Ariel is also able to learn the skills of other characters and use their stat modifiers! For example, the damage for Ariel's version of Perky Step will use Daran's strength stat instead of her own, making it more powerful if Daran's strength is already buffed!



Ariel can also use Steal to not only steal items from enemies, but also to disrupt or disable an enemy's attacks/abilities. Perhaps some pesky enemies are using potions to heal themselves. Have Ariel steal their stash of potions to stop them from using them! Ariel also has an arte called Assassinate where the damage multiplier is based on how many status ailments the enemy has. Ariel herself is able to inflict poison with Toxic Edge and inflict blind and silence with Still of Night.



And that's all on Ariel! Feel free to ask me any questions about the character in the comments! :)

Next I’ll be going over Keon Cetin, the third character in the game!

Game Design

CHARACTER SPOTLIGHT: Daran Logan, the Protagonist!

Palasiel Quest has a plethora of characters outside of the 5 main ones featured on the main page. Every few days I will do "Character Spotlights" that will go over a bit more about each character and what they bring to the table when it comes to either the story or the battles. And without further ado, we’re going to start things off with the character dubbed the "main protagonist", Daran Logan!



So you play the majority of the game through the eyes of Daran Logan, an average young man who was spirited away from Earth to the world of Palasiel. His preferred type of RPGs are action-RPGs, and has never been all that keen on the turn-based stuff.



Since you play the story through Daran, it will be perceived that Daran and the other 4 who were also spirited away to Palasiel will have all arrived at the same time. However, you’ll soon find out that is not the case and that Daran is actually the last one to arrive. Though Daran is one to go with the flow most of the time, and probably thinks that getting home will be easy. However he soon learns that it won’t be easy at all and gets himself involved in something so much bigger than "finding a way home".



Daran is given the Warrior class. He can equip swords and shields. He can also forgo the shields and equip 2-handed swords. If he has a shield equipped, he plays more of a Tank role in battle, and will learn many different artes that can provide protection for himself and/or the party, making him very effective in prolonged fights.

Such examples are Sentinel, which has Daran nullify all damage for a single turn. Another is Healguard, which reduces damage taken for one turn, and heals the rest of the party upon being hit.

In the offence department, Daran is able to use elemental-charged mana strikes with his sword, able to deal Fire, Ice, Water and Lightning damage and becomes one of the only characters able to exploit enemy weaknesses early game. He’s also able to learn debilitating moves such as Power Break and Armor Break.



And that’s all on Daran! Feel free to ask any questions about the character in the comments! :)

Next I’ll be going over Ariel Nino, the second character in the game!

Game Design

Improving Daran's Kit

So Daran, the main protaganist, is meant to be a sort of tank-warrior hybrid, but I realise his kit as it is now is very attack-oriented, and the only defense skill he has at the moment is "Sentinel" which nullifies all damage for a single turn. So I've been trying out some new ideas.

Guard Points
This is will be a hidden counter that will increase by one point each time Daran successfully blocks an attack using Guard or any of his other special defensive artes. These points will act as modifiers for special effects in Daran's guarding repertoire. The maximum amount of Guard Points that can be held is 10, and they are refreshed every battle.

Healguard
This skill will work similar to "Sentinel" in that it will heavily reduce damage for 1 turn, but it will heal the rest of the party on impact. The amount healed is based on how many Guard Points Daran has in the battle, with each point restoring 10% of maximum HP, with the potential for Daran to proc a full party heal if he's done enough guarding. This ability will reward diligent tanking in prolonged fights. The guard counter refreshes afterwards.

Counterstroke
This is an offensive attack that uses the Guard Point system in calculating damage. It works similar to "Sentinel" in that it will nullify damage for a turn. However upon being attacked, he will also counter with an attack that will do 30% more damage for every Guard Point obtained, for a maximum of 300%. This can be incredibly useful if players have Daran use "Taunt" to get the attention of multiple enemies and then combo with this skill. The Guard Points counter refreshes afterwards.

That's just a few of the ideas I have at the moment for improving Daran's kit!

Announcement

Palasiel Quest - DEMO A Released!

It’s been a long time coming, but after a number of delays and just academic life getting in the way, I can finally release the first demo (Demo A) of the pilot of Palasiel Quest! The game starts at the opening cinematic, and then the demo skips forward to a later part of the game, where you’ll be locked into doing one mission.

You’ll join Daran and Ariel as they opt to join a woman named Saoirse to collect the royal Sigils of Parisa. But the journey ends up being more than just a simple treasure hunt…

The demo is fully voiced, including voice talent from TeamFourStar’s Amber Lee Connors.

This game will only run on Windows (sorry Mac users!).

You can download the demo from this game page.

Alternatively you can download the game directly from HERE.

Progress Report

Palasiel No Longer An Episodic

So I'm just gonna go ahead and give this a lil' ol' boot up. Haven't worked on this as much as I would have like to. I had delays and then uni started, but my laptop screen has been broken for like 3-4 months, so production time has slowed down heavily.

Gonna say some things though. Know how this was supposed to be split into 5 episodes each? That will no longer be the case. Palasiel Quest will be one full game. I made this decision because it will just be less stress on my end. However, the original intended "first episode" will still be released as a pilot, and then the full thing will be released when it's done.

A demo is also due too, but I've had to replace one of the voice actresses who appears in the demo, otherwise that would be out. Definitely pushing for a demo release by the end of this year.

Announcement

Demo is near - Beta testing in progress.

I know I haven't updated in a while. Things have been slow. Though I can say that a demo is more or less ready, and is currently undergoing some testing. I'll need a few beta testers for this, though. :)

Miscellaneous

Rules of Awareness

Rules of Awareness.

Something I came up with and started thinking about earlier today, regarding this project. This is more of a ramble as well as information about the project itself, rather than a progress report.

When I first posted the thread of this project over on RPG Maker Web there was an initial bit of backlash over the project being just another mindless parody RPG with no thought to it, and trying to hard for cheap laughs. That really wasn't what it is about, but I do believe I might have brought it upon myself. Initially, Palasiel Quest was planned out to be a web-comic, and the main characters had totally different personalities and ticks to the ones they do now, and when I decided to make it into an RPG Maker game, I still had that mindset of a webcomic carried over, which is why I kept emphasizing the parody part of it.

Palasiel Quest has since evolved from that over the months of development and has started to become it's own RPG...almost. One of the key things about it are having Rules of Awareness (henceforth called "RoA").

For those that don't know, Palasiel Quest is about 5 young people from the real world being spirited away to world of Palasiel, an RPG world. Where RoA is involved is asking yourself: "How aware are these characters? To what extent do they know that they are in an RPG? How aware are the NPCs?".

I think this plays a key part in how engaged a player might be with either the character(s), story, or the setting. The 5 main characters are most aware, but they will never be so aware that they KNOW they are being played by the player. They will also never be aware of things such as BGM changes (unless of course the music is in-scene), or tileset changes and then comment upon them. They WILL, however, comment upon changes in the scenery and comment about the creation of the place.

I think I get just a little bit of leeway with this since because of a character called "The Creator". He is the person who introduces the game, the one who brought the main characters to Palasiel and is essentially the personified character of the developer, i.e me). He acts as a guide to Daran for the first parts of the game, before returning to simply overseeing the going-ons in Palasiel as well as pop up every now and again for some hints or banter. The main characters know that Palasiel is a world that's been created, by The Creator.

Those are the Rules of Awareness I have set for the 5 main characters.

As for everyone else, the NPCs. How aware are they? Do they know that they're in an RPG world? No, they don't. However most will act like NPC would/should. Their level of awareness only reaches the point of which they think that Palasiel is the only world there is. While a will make remarks to certain RPG-esque happenings, the way they actually portray these remarks (through dialogue or whatnot) will always be within the boundaries of their awareness level.

What will be interesting about the 5 main characters is their familiarity with RPGs. In the original concept, back when I wanted it to be a webcomic years ago, all the characters had played RPGs before and therefore knew most things about them. While Palasiel Quest will cover some common tropes and clichés, they will either be played straight, or deconstructed. Palasiel Quest will never try to make a joke out of everything. Writing comedy is hard as hell, anyway. Daran, the main protagonist, isn't COMPLETELY familiar with RPGs. You'll find that he's played a Kingdom Hearts there, and maybe a Final Fantasy title or two. Ariel, his side kick, LOVES RPGs and plays them regularly. She is the one who will know her stuff.Same goes for Opal, fifth main character. Keon and Sanya, have never played an RPG before and their lives and it should be interesting to see how they cope in the RPG world, especially with players playing as Daran who isn't all that familiar with them, so he'll be finding out stuff about Palasiel at the same pace the players will.

Again, sorry. Not much of an update. Just me rambling on at 1am. I actually have to do about 2 weeks work all over again, because I had a harddrive failure and lost everything, but I had a backup on Dropbox which isn't too far back. All I have to do is replace all the facesets with the portraits I have, and insert on characters voices for about 2 scenes and that's it. So progress had been halted for the past 2 weeks.
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