KickStarter Arakion, first person, group based RPG

[Grauken]

And now the game is rolled out in chapters. I can't remember any game where this was ever a good idea

good that the kickstarter was so long ago that I long stopped caring about this, or I would be pissed

Big news
So the two big news pieces today

• The Chapters
• The Greenlight Plans.

Chapters
So what's the news?

After much deliberation with both testers and Andrew, I have decided to roll out Arakion in Chapters. Each chapter will be a complete story in and of itself while also interlocking to the larger overall narrative. You can think of chapters in the same way as you would a Telltale game in the sense of the satisfaction gained by completing a chunk of the story.

That's not to say there isn't more to do in each chapter than the story though! Every chapter will add not only the story sections but their own islands to the massive open world for you to get lost in.

But why?

Arakion is a planned 3 book 20 chapter saga, this allows us to move forward with the endgame of creating a massive interconnected RPG (much like light and dark side of Xeen make World of Xeen) as opposed to three entirely separate games.

A very incomplete section about them on the site can be found here

Steam Greenlight
So what's the news?

So you know the plan for chapters. You've looked through it and now you're wondering "When can I get my hands on the first release!?!?!"

Well I've got good news for you my friend, shortly after Arakion is approved on Steam Greenlight, I will be putting it up for download and exploring for all! In addition this also means that all of our rewards will FINALLY be sent out to you, Arakions most loyal followers.

Alright alright so when is this "Greenlight"

In addition to all the heads up and other tidbits I'll be sending out it's important to know that Steam will be launching on a Thursday, hopefully NEXT Thursday but I have to finish press write-ups and the all important press kit as well as the trailers and videos. I will let you all know a couple days in advance.

It is imperative that during the first few days of Greenlight Arakion gets as many votes as possible so that it is accepted. If you want to dig your teeth into the juicy meat that is Arakion. be sure to get your buddies, friends and guys ("I'm not your fwiend buddy") to upvote Arakion as much as possible. The more upvotes the faster it will be accepted.

Lastly, thank you to everyone who put in the hours on Alpha2. We've squashed a lot of bugs and we've came away with something special!

I am so very excited for the journey ahead!

-Lavidimus

 

[Excidium II]

tl;dr need money injection to continue development

 

[Roqua]

That's understandable and honestly I'll take less sooner than more later. Games tofay seem to either have way too much content or not any content.

 

[Grauken]

The problem is that most games released on a chapter schedule never reach the finish line

 

[LESS T_T]

Apparently this is coming out on Steam Early Access next month:

FAQ

• How many people are developing Arakion?
  Arakion is primarily developed by one person.
• What games are similar to Arakion?
  The core of Arakion is based on Blobber RPGs. With that said, Arakion takes inspiration from many games including Might and Magic, Dark Cloud 2, Dungeon Master and many more to create a truly unique experience.
• Is Arakion turn-based or real-time?
  Arakion will launch with only real-time combat. However, the Arakion engine supports both - implementing turn-based combat as an option is a high priority for after-launch.
• Arakion has been in development for a while, what took so long?
  I chose to take the time to develop a quality product and engine as opposed to rushing Arakion to market. I was either going to do it right or not do it at all. Players deserve a quality game, no matter how much time it takes.

 

[grimace]

"Arakion is primarily developed by one person."

 

[Abu Antar]

I saw it in my Steam queue. I knew I had heard of this before.

 

[Lavidimus]

Hey everyone, developer of Arakion here. Thanks for posting the Steam Store! I'm happy that Arakion is finally being launched.

Some common questions that are probably relevant to this forum.

• Arakion will launch with only real-time combat. However, the Arakion engine supports both - implementing turn-based combat as an option is a high priority for after-launch (hopefully it will be in around a month after release).
• NPC's are recruitable.
• Real-Time combat has been adjusted to focus on proper party building and strategy, over dancing. (Most mobs can attack diagonally making dancing pointless| Player combat uses a combo system that rewards you for staying in place | Some mobs straight murder you for dancing around)
• Arakion places a heavy emphasis on story and world building.

If anyone has a question just let me know and I'll be more than happy to answer as soon as I see them!
Also, I'm not sure if I should start a new thread to promote Arakion or use this one.

 

[Nyast]

Q: how much content / length is the game ? Is it purely linear or open-world-ish ?

 

[Lavidimus]

Nyast

How much content/length is the game?
The main story, for each chapter, will be ~5 to 7 hours (4 Chapters on full-release of 'Book One'). There is also a lot of side content including town/world building, farming, randomized dungeons, fishing, arenas, NPC recruiting, pet training and plenty of other features. So playtime will vary depending on how much or little you care about any given side element.

Is it purely linear or Open-World-Ish?
Open-World-Ish, relevant to any area you are at.

If you have any other questions just let me know!

 

[Grauken]

Scope creep the game?

 

[Lavidimus]

Grauken

Scope creep the game?
Nah, the same scope it's always had. Just took a lot longer than anticipated to develop and implement.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

 

[Grauken]

I'm quite sure you never mentioned stuff like farming, fishing or pet training in your original Kickstarter pitch, not that I really mind, it just seems like a waste of resources, considering you're what, already 4 years late

 

[Lavidimus]

Grauken
Four years late seems about right, I'd refer you to the FAQ.

Arakion has been in development for a while, what took so long?
I chose to take the time to develop a quality product and engine as opposed to rushing Arakion to market. I was either going to do it right or not do it at all. Players deserve a quality game, no matter how much time it takes.

I would add to this that Arakion is built for a three-story arc, so the base game and engine needed to be sturdy enough to support long-term development and products.

Most of the items you mentioned were part of the 'Town Building' portion of the original design, so it's understandable that most people wouldn't know about them.
As to whether it's a waste of resources and time, Kickstarter backers have had access to testing and playable versions for quite some time (about 3 years). A lot of Kickstarter backers have been, and currently are, part of internal testing (I update internal versions weekly). I can definitely see your point of view, it's been a struggle to follow through with all the content I originally planned and promised backers, in my mind though, it has been more than worth it.

Hopefully that clears things up!
If you have any other questions or comments, just let me know!

 

[LESS T_T]

http://steamcommunity.com/games/528980/announcements/detail/3270044456094086021

News | Launching Soon and Testers

Hey everyone

Arakion is full steam ahead ever closer to launch! The launch window right now is looking likely at the end of January or early February. I'm waiting for a few more pieces to fall in place and then Arakion will be ready to go!

In the meantime, Arakion is always looking for more testers. So if Arakion is something you think you would enjoy testing, email me at contact@arakion.com and I'll get you an invite to the Discord channel! I'll also begin posting updates more frequently now that we're closer to launch, so be on the lookout!

Have a wonderful day,
-Lavidimus

 

[thesheeep]

That is quite beautiful. And on linux, even better!
Not a fan a real-time blobbing, but I'm willing to subject myself to it for the atmosphere alone in this one.

 

[CryptRat]

Not a fan a real-time blobbing

Don't forget :

implementing turn-based combat as an option is a high priority for after-launch.

 

[Shin]

Not a fan a real-time blobbing

Don't forget :

implementing turn-based combat as an option is a high priority for after-launch.

...
You should never have faith in tacked-on TB modes...

 

[CryptRat]

 

[Lavidimus]

LESS T_T : Thanks for posting the update!
thesheeep : Thanks for the props! As the next person posted it will eventually contain turn-based as Arakion was built from the ground up to support both well, I just haven't been able to test both at the same time.
CryptRat : Yep!
Shin : Arakion was built from the ground up to support both, so it's not really 'tacked-on'. With that said, player feedback will be very important in making sure the turn-based mechanics are as fun as possible!

 

[udm]

I also have doubts on TB/RT implementations, but I wish you all the best and hope it does work out

 

[Mustawd]

Not a fan a real-time blobbing

You should never have faith in tacked-on TB modes...

I also have doubts on TB/RT implementations

EDIT: #metoo

 

[LESS T_T]

https://steamcommunity.com/games/528980/announcements/detail/1674654244620533470

Launch | May 15th

Hey Everyone!

Arakion Early Access is rolling out on May 15th!

Get ready to begin your journey into the unique world that is Arakion. The one-of-a-kind dungeon crawling experience. Why Early Access? Well, Arakion is large. Our testers currently spend ~10 hours on current content in the first playthrough. So, although it's Early Access there is a lot to do.

As our testers have already found out, Arakion also gets updated a lot, weekly in fact! So be sure to check out the Roadmap & Updates to always stay up to date with Arakion's developments!

Over the next two weeks, I'll be showcasing all the new and awesome stuff in Arakion such as crafting, constructs, randomized dungeons and more!

Have a wonderful day!
-Lavidimus

If you haven't seen Arakion in a while, take a look!

 

[Unkillable Cat]

*adds to Wishlist*

 

[*-*/\--/\~]

https://steamcommunity.com/games/528980/announcements/detail/1674654244620533470

Avatar with horns, Gengis Khan and Groot set out for an adventure? :D