Welcome to Gaia! ::

This is my current project, and one of the few I've come up with a good storyline for lol. Namaste is a romance based RPG, but will also be quite dark at times. I am not going in the direction of Final Fantasy 8 with this game, though that's one of the things that gave me the idea for the game. I'm hoping to achieve a good balance of cutscene and gameplay, so if the cutscenes end up being numerous, they'll probably be brief. If they end up being long, they'll probably have long periods of gameplay between them... most likely, they'll variate. In truth I'm still working on the first steps of the game... literally. Every time I get to the part where I should be able to start moving, the game freezes... I think it has to do with two events co-inciding so I'll try to fix it quickly.

Some of the features I'm going to attempt to implement are:
Journal System (To show your current progress and remind you of what to do incase you're lost.)
Limit Break type system (I don't want to completely knock them off so I'm trying to think of a way to make this a little more original.)
Alternate endings (For anyone who's played the early Resident Evil games, or similar ones, there will probably be 3 endings: Good, Normal, and Bad. I may also add special game overs for losing to certain bosses.
Alternate Costumes (For completing the game on good I might add alternate sprites for the characters on a new game)
New Game +? (Maybe.)

Now, without further ado... here's the storyline and some info about the game's main characters. (This includes all the party members I've come up with thus far, and the main antagonist/villain/evil-dude or however you want to put it.)

Storyline (W.I.P.):
In Nobu's world, an increase in monsters has lead to the Emperor of Tamotsu (Nobu's home country) declaring that subhumans would not be allowed to live and are to be killed on sight. This includes Kitsunes, Nekos, Elven people, half demons, and any other types of non-pure human. Nobu, a samurai youth had given up his blade after meeting a Kitsune named Ai, who he fell in love with, hears of the government delceration. Nobu decides to go to Minori, a country on the Northern Continent, that still allows subhumans to live peacefully, and take Ai with him. However, Ai is not a normal Kitsune either... and suddenly everyone is interested in capturing her. Nobu and Ai must find a way to escape the nightmare brought on by the Emperor. On top of that, they meet others, that like themselves, simply want to refuge in Minori. A bond is formed between them all, and a common goal becomes clear. The pursuit of freedom.

Characters:

Nobu

Nobu was raised as a samurai but couldn't stand to kill other people and became a rurouni after he met Ai. He now travels with a sakibato (reversed bladed sword) and has vowed not to kill anyone. He's in love with Ai, and wants to take her to Minori so they can live peacefully. He's ashamed of his choice to become a Rurouni because he feels like he can't protect Ai. However he truly believes that they will make it to Minori, and Nobu won't have to protect her with his sword anymore. Nobu translates from Japanese, into "faith."

Ai
/
Ai is a kitsune, who possesses strong magical powers, (Excels in healing magic) though unlike most of her kind, she lacks the ability to shapeshift. She's usually a pacifist, though she begins to find her self in more and more situations in which force is neccessary. Though she only wants to live a peaceful life with Nobu, she begins unlocking the powers inside of her, and begins to have prophetic visions. She hopes that fleeing to Minori will end her visions by removing her from the chaos around her. She usually conceals her Kitsune features (Large fox ears & tail) with a bandanna and sash to keep her tail around her back. Ai translates from Japanese into "love".

Kyo

Kyo is a homeless young thief who is arrested by the Tamotsu government because he attempted to steal from the Emperor. Kyo has developing fire powers, and is actually half elven, unknown to the people who arrested him. He's not a bad kid, but has a bit of a temper problem. He carries a knife with him that he made himself. Kyo is set to be executed but "miraculously" survives the execution, and by law, has to be set free. He returns the eve before Ai and Kyo's executions and frees them, and they set off. His name (in this instance) means Ginger, a reference to his striking red hair.

Toru

Toru is a nomad, who's spent most of his life in the desert. Like the rest of his nomad clan, Toru has so many different types of demon in him that he's unique. His most noticeable feature is that his right arm has a massive steel hand. He willingly had his arm amputated to help him in combat. He frequently participates in fighting and gladitorial competitions, which is where Nobu and Ai meet him. He has only been allowed to survive because he entertains people at these competions... despite loving battle, he refuses to continue life only to be a sideshow and decides to flee to Minori with the others. His name translates from Japanese into "Penetrating, Wayfarer."

Senka
/
Senka is an assassin for hire, originally hired by Yuu to kill Nobu. However, Senka was an ally to Nobu's father many years ago during one of Tamostu's last great wars, and is personally against the Emperor's goal of killing all sub-humans. She attempts to use her stealth and cunning to get the others to Minori as soon as possible. She's also an adept fighter with Katars, and bare hands. Her name translates from Serbian into "Shadow"

Yuu

Yuu is the young Emperor of Tamotsu, with dark intentions. He took over as Emperor after his father died of unknown reasons. He began the sub-human extermination, and ruthlessly pursues Ai and Nobu. He personally hunts with his soldiers and is a renowned swordsman. His name translates from Japanese into "Superior".

I'll have screens once I've actually gotten far enough in the game to take some XD. I'd appreciate comments/(constructive)criticism on how I can improve the story/characters. Or if anyone has ideas for some of the features I will take them to heart and consider them.

Minor Edit: Improved the character descriptions.

Screens:

Title:


Tamotsu Castle Gardens (Opening Cutscene):


Caves:


Forest:


First Battle:

I may... I may also do it depending on the time taken to complete it. I'd like to do it by adding number of game overs, but unfortunately it's not really possible. I don't want to spoil it too heavily, but it may also depend on items too... I may have a dark/light type of system depending on what you have equipped. Ex. Nobu switching from a Sakibato to an actual sword, and being able to kill people.

TBH I got the journal idea from a game called Everlong (GREAT GAME, search it on Google. Best RM2k3 fan game that I've found hands down; Beats even Naufragar: Crimson by a long shot) which has a similar one.

Well, thanks.

Actually, there is another method of doing a New Game + in 2k3... it's just annoying as hell. And it involves a-lot of switch use. The other way to do it is after completing the game, offer a save game screen. After doing so, the game simply restarts (meaning in the event you have to deactivate EVERY SWITCH IN THE GAME except for any associated with the New Game +, say if you want alternate dialogue or anything like that.)

And I'll be adding a few screens in a moment, now that I've actually got something to show. And yes, the cave tiles are from the GBA Pokemon games XD.

Actually I can fix that... that wasn't the chipset; I used the random dungeon generator for a little bit before modifying it... but I havn't finished on it yet. Also, some of them only can be one tile high becaues (SPOILER) there are hidden passages in the walls... when you go in the doors, you can't see your character... but there's hidden "Stuff" in them. Kinda like the FF5 theif passages.

Minor Update:
Not working on a demo for awhile... but soon I will be looking for a few testers. I won't be releasing a demo until I have 30+ minutes of game play (minus random battles) so it'll still be a little bit yet. Expect some new screenshots soon though... I've improved the cave a little and I'm working on the first and second towns.