Dorateen
Arcane
I have decided to share updates here about the hobby project I've been working on this year. As a backer of the IceBlink RPG toolset, I was interested in the freedom of creativity that would be given to module builders, and the turn-based combat system that was being developed. The campaign I am working on has a decidedly SSI Gold Box game influence, due to the nature of combat and largely because of the art assets such as sprites and tiles I am borrowing from the Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventures archives.
So why not just use the FRUA construction kit or Dungeon Craft? Well, I wanted to show support for slowdive as I was familiar with his work in NWN2. And also, the IceBlink engine offers a powerful conversation editor that I am more experienced in using. This includes the "Party Chat" style dialogues such as what was featured in Storm of Zehir. In the campaign I'm creating, options become available to different party members based on conditionals such as attributes, class, alignment, and race. But more than just flavor text, it allows individual characters to learn about NPCs and interact with the environment through various choices available to them.
While not being tied to any world "setting", this project aims to deliver a classic Dungeons & Dragons party-based experience. Players will create up to 6 characters with traditional fantasy races available and classes including Archer, Paladin, and Thief. (That's right, thief, not Rogue!)
The adventure hook, as I like to phrase it, has the party fleeing from an attack on a feudal manor and seeking refuge in Castle Hearkenwold. From there, they can be enlisted into the service of the Kingdom for the defense of the realm, or they can go off and explore the surrounding regions on their own. One of the principle design objectives is to make the campaign an open world, sandbox style where the player can try to do and go wherever they want, with all the understood dangers of possibly getting in over one's head.
In that sense, I also draw influence from the old Might & Magic series. Although the engine is not first person perspective, instead, if you examining the exploration/travel map screenshot, I'm making these areas like a top down view of a tile-based terrain. Kind of like the area view you would see with the Wizard Eye spell.
The best way to explain how IceBlink presents gameplay is that exploration is done on a 2D map with the party represented by one character's icon. This party member can be swapped at any time, much like the Storm of Zehir Overland Map. Then, once combat is initiated, grid-based battle begins in turns, again more reminiscent of the Gold Box engine.
The flow of the module I am making is text and narrative driven to create more of a Pen and Paper type feel, rather than cinematic storytelling. And combat. Lots of crunchy, turn-based combat.
As I am in the middle of a work-in-progress stage of building, I'm open to suggestions and comments, so long as it doesn't conflict with the overall design goals. The IceBlink engine itself is still growing in versatility with each future update.
Here are some screenshots.
So why not just use the FRUA construction kit or Dungeon Craft? Well, I wanted to show support for slowdive as I was familiar with his work in NWN2. And also, the IceBlink engine offers a powerful conversation editor that I am more experienced in using. This includes the "Party Chat" style dialogues such as what was featured in Storm of Zehir. In the campaign I'm creating, options become available to different party members based on conditionals such as attributes, class, alignment, and race. But more than just flavor text, it allows individual characters to learn about NPCs and interact with the environment through various choices available to them.
While not being tied to any world "setting", this project aims to deliver a classic Dungeons & Dragons party-based experience. Players will create up to 6 characters with traditional fantasy races available and classes including Archer, Paladin, and Thief. (That's right, thief, not Rogue!)
The adventure hook, as I like to phrase it, has the party fleeing from an attack on a feudal manor and seeking refuge in Castle Hearkenwold. From there, they can be enlisted into the service of the Kingdom for the defense of the realm, or they can go off and explore the surrounding regions on their own. One of the principle design objectives is to make the campaign an open world, sandbox style where the player can try to do and go wherever they want, with all the understood dangers of possibly getting in over one's head.
In that sense, I also draw influence from the old Might & Magic series. Although the engine is not first person perspective, instead, if you examining the exploration/travel map screenshot, I'm making these areas like a top down view of a tile-based terrain. Kind of like the area view you would see with the Wizard Eye spell.
The best way to explain how IceBlink presents gameplay is that exploration is done on a 2D map with the party represented by one character's icon. This party member can be swapped at any time, much like the Storm of Zehir Overland Map. Then, once combat is initiated, grid-based battle begins in turns, again more reminiscent of the Gold Box engine.
The flow of the module I am making is text and narrative driven to create more of a Pen and Paper type feel, rather than cinematic storytelling. And combat. Lots of crunchy, turn-based combat.
As I am in the middle of a work-in-progress stage of building, I'm open to suggestions and comments, so long as it doesn't conflict with the overall design goals. The IceBlink engine itself is still growing in versatility with each future update.
Here are some screenshots.