The Legend of Blake

At long last, there is a Legend of Blake demo available for you to try (which, as I'm sure you know, can be accessed by clicking on that cute little download button up above). There's not a ton of content in it, but there's enough present to get a taste of what is to come. Depending on how much you do, there is up to an hour of gameplay. Or more, if you die frequently... which is a distinct possibility when you're really low level. (If conditions are that dire and the game is that unbalanced, you can interact with that odd flashing plant in Blake's house to become Level 99 and hope that I fix the enemy encounters at a later date.)

There are four distinct outcomes to the demo. The first, and most unfortunate, is the game crashes/freezes/hangs/doesn't work. In that case, I apologize. Please tell me where things went wrong.

The other three outcomes are all based upon your actions. Yes, your choices matter. I won't spoil anything, but the demo is effectively over when you reach the cutscene in Galdorai Castle's throne room. You can wander around after that, but the quest given to you by your story's quest-giver presently does not exist.

There are certainly some issues. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around this combat system, and as such, it's not perfect. Even though Blake telepathically swings his sword in a fairly wide arc, the hits only seem to connect when the enemy is directly in front of you. There is actually a LOT more to the combat system than I've actually put to use in the demo... you can train animals, use bombs, boomerangs, a hookshot, etc. There are hints of some of this in the demo, but for the most part, the most complex thing you have to worry about is swinging your sword. And if you take Dylan with you (which I HIGHLY recommend), he will likely learn a heal spell. You can cast it just fine by via the the main menu by pushing ESCAPE, but there are a whole host of other menus you can access by pushing N or M. I don't really explain them in the demo, but if you make Dylan the party leader, he can cast Cure on the map screen. He can't fight, though, so... yeah, it's not an ideal situation. I'm working on that.

There is also a great possibility that you will find impassable or otherwise funky tiles... and any number of other glitches. Again, please let me know if there's anything wrong (or if there's anything right, in the rare event that happens)! As a less-than-special reward for your input, I'll be certain to name an NPC after you.

Anyway, if everything works and the game doesn't crash, if you enjoy my unfortunate sense of humor, if you don't mind a little swearing (or a lot of swearing), and if you like feral turnips, you just might have an agreeable time with the demo. I hope that you do!

Here are some screenshots from the Princess.

Welcome, fiends!

Since a public profile is a pretty bare bones introduction to a game, I thought I'd waste a few moments of your precious time for a more proper intro to The Legend of Blake.

First things first... I am NOT a spriter/graphic designer/artist, or anything along those lines. I am fairly handy with PhotoShop and certainly have the capacity to edit existing sprites, but I have no ability to create things from scratch. Thus, I have to use resources that are available to me on the Internet to gam mak. I'm mostly using sprites from The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap and A Link to the Past, along with generous helpings of Seiken Densetsu 3. It's an odd fusion, but I think the art direction is generally consistent. That being said, EVERYTHING is in flux and some of the stuff I'm about to show you is still a little rough around the edges. In the end, there should be some degree of cohesion, but for now, it is what it is.

The Legend of Blake is being made in RPG Maker VX, using the Falcao Pearl ABS Liquid battle system, meaning that the game basically plays like a 2D Legend of Zelda game. You see an octorok, you push the attack button, and the poor little bugger dies.


I swear, one day, the sword will actually be in Blake's hands when he swings it, but for now... yeah, he's using some sort of advances telekinetic powers to swing that bad boy around. I'm just happy I got the system working! XD


Some enemies won't detect you right away. If you're lucky, you can sneak past them, but Blake is probably going to wake up that Keaton if he tries to open those treasure chests. Pots generally don't contain treasure, but bags (like the one in the NW corner of the room) always contain some sort of loot.

There are lots of caverns like this one that you can explore. Much like Skyrim, many of these caverns will yield some loot, but are generally not necessary to visit.


Despite playing like The Legend of Zelda, the game definitely draws inspiration from other games, including Mass Effect. You will often be posed with a series of branching conversations, and the choices you make there can and will have ramifications down the line. For instance, if you forget to put Blake's clothes on before leaving his house in the beginning of the game, the other characters will make note of this. Certain events will be different because Blake is running around in his boxers... The object of the game is to get Blake to become a hero, so there are obviously some choices that might be detrimental to this goal (unless your goal is to make sure Blake does NOT become a hero, which is also feasible). That being said, much like Mass Effect, you'll generally get the same story regardless of your choices. And who knows, maybe I'll even craft an awful ending, just like Mass Effect 3! Oh, and as you can see from the screen above, salty language will occasionally appear. Ethan's had a rough day, though, so you'll have to forgive him.

If this all seems ambitious, well... that's because it is. I'm not exactly a noob when it comes to making games; I've made four games prior to this one, but due to the Great Computer Implosion of 2010, they don't exist anymore. The Legend of Blake is a culmination of everything I learned making those earlier games--and then some--so there's a chance that I might actually have the skill to pull this project off.



The game takes place in Galdorai, a kingdom not far from Hyrule that nobody really likes to talk about. Hence, you'll be seeing all sorts of familiar faces from The Legend of Zelda universe... but for the most part, The Legend of Blake is a universe unto itself. I will have more details about just about everything in future blogs, but for now, I hope that you feel sufficiently introduced!