It’s time for another game development update! Over the last couple of months, we added a lot of exciting features to Crimson Spires and found ways to make our development process more efficient. You can view these changes in action by playing our free demo, available on itch.
COMIC BOOK PANELS
As we began to block out an exciting action sequence in the story, we came upon an all-too-common challenge. How do we suggest a large amount of movement and action within a scene while constrained by static 2D characters? Sometimes movement can be suggested with slides and camera shakes, but other times, those motions look silly and dampen the player’s imagination.
The character sprites can’t properly overlap in this situation…
We consulted a fellow artist who has taken an interest in the project, Mike Harvey, who gave us a great idea. We could take a lesson from comic books and use panels to suggest some action while leaving the rest to player imagination.
Panels show character talk over CG
With panels, we can catch a glimpse of off-screen characters with a more dramatic flare than the typical side-portrait. Scenes like the one above are still a bit tricky to set up, and we might need to keep tweaking it. But overall, panels will be a fun feature for us to play with to increase the drama and action of exciting scenes.
We can also use the panels to display minor characters in an abstract way. Long conversations with a minor character become more visually appealing if that character remains on screen.
PERFECTING A NOISE / FILM GRAIN
We’ve talked in the past about how we occasionally work in/adapt UE4 Marketplace assets to Crimson Spires, but usually that comes up when there is a very specific asset we need and we search to see if there is a sufficient existing version that would save us the time of making it ourselves. This time, something different happened.
Every month, UE4 offers a new set of free assets that all developers can claim and use in their projects. For May, they offered Chameleon Post Process, a blueprint that applies a set of post processing effects. We’ve had our own journey creating the camera effects in Crimson Spires, starting with using the UE4 Post Processing volume to apply film grain, then setting up our own custom effect using Post Processing Materials.
When we tried out the Chameleon effect, we discovered that it could easily do everything that our custom effect could and more. We could still have the scratchiness and CRT noise we apply regularly in the game, but we could also use it for a few other dramatic effects in individual scenes. This left us with a hard decision to make of whether to replace our Post Processing with Chameleon. We could have never known that this Blueprint would later become available to us when we did our initial post processing work, but it’s still hard to throw away stuff you’ve worked on. We eventually decided that the extra effects would be worth our begrudging acceptance that we didn’t have to make the effects ourselves a few months ago.
In-game screenshot with Chameleon film grain and rain droplets
Once the decision was made, we carefully went through and replaced our PP volumes with Chameleon, which revealed some inconsistencies with how we maintained our effects between our player camera and cinematic cameras. This problem would have sprung up eventually, and we’re glad we were prompted to fix it.
Made in UE4, Crimson Spires blends horror with otome-style romance. First-person character control allows you to explore the stark town of Bataille, MO–a 3D environment inspired by PS2-era horror games–while experiencing an interactive story.
The small mining town of Bataille, Missouri has been cordoned off from the outside world for six months. The inhabitants have no idea why. All they know is that ever since the so-called “Contingency,” planes no longer fly overhead, strange creatures have been glimpsed beyond the perimeter, and large mechanical towers gun down anyone who tries to escape. As Sheriff Erika Wright searches for the truth, she must listen to the advice of a serial killer, mingle with extreme conspiracy theorists, and negotiate with vampires.
Expected Work and Payment
For now, we are simply gathering expression lines for each character. These are short, expressive lines of dialogue that occasionally play when a character speaks to punctuate their current emotion. Payment is $0.50 per expression line, including all takes. Each character will probably have between 30-100 expression lines.
*Important Note!*
Please be aware that this casting is considered preliminary. Due to the project’s early stage of development, our immediate plans are only to record approximately 30-100 expression lines for each character to have in place for demos, pitching to publishers, etc. Our hope is to eventually commission scene dialogue with the same cast, but that is not guaranteed, and will be renegotiated in the future according to budget and project needs.
Rating/Maturity
This game will contain adult language, violence, and sexual themes. We are not yet rated officially, but we expect to land in the Mature/R rating category. There will be F-bombs. Romance scenes might get a little racy, but not explicit. Please only audition if you are comfortable with that!
Audition Process
Please record the included audition lines for the roles that interest you and send them in either .wav or .mp3 format to jenny (at) woodsy-studio (dot) com. Please include your name and the character name in the files, such as “YourName_CharacterName.mp3”. Multiple takes and styles are highly encouraged so I have a good sense of your range. The last day to audition will be Saturday, Sept 29, 2018.
WHAT I LOOK FOR WHEN CASTING:
When I cast voice actors, what I care about most is your ability to act. This is more important to me than vocal range, accent, or other secondary details. Although I generally don’t judge your audition on a resume or past roles, I find that it’s beneficial for voice actors to have theater experience, so feel free to mention that.
As for demonstrating your ability to act, try to fully embody the character your voicing and let their personality shine through every line. Major bonus points if you can somehow help me see the character in a new way I never even thought of before. Err on the side of feeding an audition line too much emotion rather than too little; I always know I can ask you to tone it down, but I don’t always know whether you can kick it up a notch (and do it well).
SIDE NOTE ABOUT ACCENTS: You will see a note that some characters have American/Slight Southern accent. Technically, those characters would have a Missouri accent, which is like a softer version of the typical Southern accent. I’m flexible on whether the final casting choice uses the accent, though; I’ll select based on acting ability and capturing the character more than the technicality of an accent. If you can, try a take each way!
CHARACTERS!
August Flynn
(Human, Male, Romance Interest) Before the towers rose, August Flynn was a philosophy professor accused of 7 murders, coined the “Heartbreaker” for removing the victims’ hearts. Erika doesn’t believe his claims of innocence, but she might need his expertise against darker forces.
OVERALL PERSONALITY: Playful, dangerous, can be charming, but slightly unhinged
AGE: Early 30s
ACCENT: American
***********Audition Lines************ Line 1: (playful, charming) “Do my hands look like they belong to such a cold-blooded killer?” Line 2: (threatening) “Truly, Agent, I would not advise trying to shoot me in these circumstances.” Line 3: (haughty) “You’re trapped in a prison far worse than mine, Sheriff Wright. The prison of your own mind.”
Julian Bataille
(Vampire, Male, Romance Interest) Julian Bataille excels at acting calm, polite, and practical in most situations. He claims to maintain order in Bataille with his wealth and influence. He does like to maintain order and peace, but in the end, he cares most about accumulating power and control.
OVERALL PERSONALITY: Calm, collected, very charming, but can be dangerous/threatening when opposed
AGE: Late 20s/early 30s
ACCENT: American
***********Audition Lines************
Line 1: (charming) “It’s a shame we don’t see you more often, Sheriff Wright. May… may I call you Erika?” Line 2: (cold, threatening) “I think the easiest thing for you to do right now would be to drop this whole issue and return to the police station.” Line 3: (angry) “Don’t be pathetic. Your decisions are your own. Don’t blame your poor life choices on your sister.”
Liam Bataille
(Vampire, Male, Romance Interest) Adopted by the Bataille family at a young age, Liam has always struggled to feel like he fits in with the family. He’s easily the nicest member of the Batailles with an optimistic attitude, and he regularly urges to Erika to relax and have fun. But his loyalty is frequently torn between his personal virtue and his desire to please Julian and Charlotte.
OVERALL PERSONALITY: Kind, optimistic, tries to be laid-back
AGE: Late 20s/early 30s
ACCENT: American
***********Audition Lines************
Line 1: (sweet, charming) “Oh, maybe I can show you around the mansion sometime! Beautiful building. Even has an indoor swimming pool!” Line 2: (reassuring) “Good point. I’m sure Charlotte will think of something. She always does.” Line 3: (upset/angry) “I will. I see now I never should have tried to help you at all. I thought I would win your respect. But you’ll never respect me, will you?”
Bradley Jones
(Human, Male, Deputy US Marshal) When you wake up in the morning and see the star of a 80’s action flick in the mirror, you tend to act like it. Jones is no different. Cocky and carefree until sparked to anger. Has risen quickly, in status if not rank, but not because of his careful police work.
OVERALL PERSONALITY: Works hard but knows how to play, kind, charming, a little cocky
AGE: Early 30s
ACCENT: American
***********Audition Lines************
Line 1: (relieved) “Thanks for the help, Agent Wright. I’m… I’m so glad you’re here.” Line 2: (charming) “I guess until the cavalry arrives, it’s just the two of us.” Line 3: (angry) “I’m not going to sit here and wait for them. Not after what that monster did to Gant!”
Madeleine (“Maddy”) Gray
(Human, Female, Romance Interest) Growing up as a lesbian in a conservative, rural town often made Maddy feel like an outsider in her own home. The Batailles were the only people who fully accepted her, so she feels loyal to them. But as she learns the real truth of the Batailles, she’ll have to fight for the greater good.
Line 1: (sweet, helpful) “You could use some help, don’t you think? You’ve been doing this alone for months and it has to get tiring.” Line 2: (cheerful, determined) “I’ve got your back, boss!” Line 3: (angry) “I can’t believe you’re letting a serial killer help you with this case over me!”
Charlotte Bataille
(Vampire, Female, Antagonist) The dangerous leader of the Bataille family, Charlotte may be the only one in town beginning to grasp what’s truly happening. She’s rather spoiled and used to getting her way, but she’s also smart and resourceful.
OVERALL PERSONALITY: Scheming, haughty, maniacal
AGE: Late 20s/early 30s
ACCENT: American
***********Audition Lines************
Line 1:
(tickled, laughing) “Oh, that man is a riot! Why on earth do you leave a brain like that to rot in a cell, Erika?” Line 2: (haughty) “You’re going to set him free, Erika. And you’ll do it now.” Line 3: (annoyed, dangerous) “I am growing rather tired of this exchange. Do I need to repeat myself? Or should we settle this… a different way?”
Stacy Grenier
(Human, Female) Growing up, Stacy never thought she’d be able to leave Bataille. Now she’s trapped permanently, but at least Bataille is interesting now. An optimistic foil for Erika, Stacy is also vulnerable to those in the town with quick fixes and semi-plausible answers
Line 1: (happy) “Oh, welcome home, Erika! I hope you’re hungry, because I just finished cooking!” Line 2: (concerned) “I reckon you had an awful day. I heard about Jessica and Gary. People at the Dollar Store wouldn’t stop talking about it!” Line 3: (nervous) “Then again, folks have seen some strange things since the Contingency. Silhouettes of monsters roaming beyond the towers.”
Instructions (Refrain)
Once again, please record the included audition lines for the role that interests you and send them in either .wav or .mp3 format to jenny (at) woodsy-studio (dot) com. Multiple takes and styles are highly encouraged so I have a good sense of your range. The last day to audition will be Saturday, Sept 29, 2018.
As we forge ahead with our next project, Crimson Spires, we’re looking for new ways to fund development, so we’ve started a Patreon! Any funds we collect will not only help to feed and house us as we work, but will also support costly features like voice acting.
As a patron, you’ll get to see screenshots and artwork from our next game before they’re publicly released. You’ll also get weekly posts about our behind-the-scenes development process. And finally, we’ll create custom content such as bonus CGs and short stories every month for patrons! Below is a sneak peak at our first bonus content, an image of Michael and Lucifer doing… I wonder what exactly? 😉
The road to release Echoes of the Fey: The Last Sacrament has been a long and winding one, but at last the end is in sight. We’re almost ready to give you a story packed with more romance, mystery, and action than anything we’ve released yet. We release for PC on July 10, 2018!
At Woodsy Studio, we’re tired of seeing most games (even AAA titles) treat story and writing as an afterthought. Our primary goal is to deliver a good story with rich, complex characters in a world you can fully immerse yourself. With Echoes of the Fey: The Last Sacrament, we’ve taken what players enjoyed about Echoes the Fey: The Fox’s Trail and developed it even further.
More Mystery
In The Last Sacrament, you actually have TWO mysteries to solve. A desperate politician named Nikolai Melinkov blackmails Sofya into a dangerous job: stealing the Sacrament of Tears from the Krovakyn Church. But in the meantime, Sofya’s childhood love, Katerina Lapidus, needs her protection from a dangerous assassin. Can you steal the Sacrament and hunt down Katerina’s enemy in time to prevent disaster?
More Romance
Despite her hardships, Sofya gets many chances to find love amidst her adventures. This episode offers the first opportunity to romance Sofya’s partner, Heremon ir-Caldy. She can also forge a romantic bond with Nikolai, Katerina, or Arkady as she tries to escape the dangers of her predicament.
More Action
Large segments of The Last Sacrament will play as a point and click adventure game with dialogue in the traditional style of a visual novel. But unlike our previous games, The Last Sacrament also features an in-world tabletop RPG called RiftRealms. Inspired by story-focused pen and paper games, Sofya will play RiftRealms games with various supporting characters as dungeon master. Players will both build a character in RiftRealms to fight increasingly more powerful foes, and learn about the key players in Sofya’s life through how they choose to tell a RiftRealms story.
While the characters of Echoes of the Fey play RiftRealms with Sofya, they reveal their own prejudices and beliefs through their strategies. They serve as “dungeon masters” who try to create a gaming experience for Sofya (and thus the player) that is both entertaining and challenging. Kind and compassionate characters like Heremon might slip up by making the game too easy, while ruthless characters like Arkady transform the game into a harrowing experience.
To get a reminder on the day it releases, go to Steam now and add us to your wishlist! Doing this also helps out indie developers like us by informing the Steam store algorithms that there is real community interest in the game. We can’t wait to share the final result with you!
A little over a year ago, I set out to complete a strange task: I wanted to build a visual novel in Unreal Engine 4. To some people this seemed like using a rifle to shoot a fly. I was even prepared to admit they were right. But once I got deeper into the UE4 engine, I didn’t regret a single thing.
Why UE4?
The short answer to why I love using Unreal Engine 4 is this: the engine can accomplish just about anything I imagine, and it can do so quickly. It’s a wonderful engine to work with and it’s capable of so much.
That said, Ren’Py is still a wonderful tool to create traditional visual novels. If you don’t plan on adding 3D elements or complex mini-games to your narrative, then there’s probably no reason for you to switch to UE4. BUT if you want to expand the boundaries of a traditional visual novel and set yourself apart from the other VNs out there, I can assure you that UE4 might be a great tool to accomplish that.
Screenshot from our UE4 visual novel, Echoes of the Fey: The Last Sacrament
How to Get Started?
When I started my first VN project in UE4, I struggled to find helpful resources. Not many people had tried to create a traditional VN system within UE4. I found a VN marketplace plugin, but it only functioned for very small-scale projects, and was completely unwieldy in terms of handling a large script or rewrites. So after a lot of searching and banging my head against the computer screen, I set about building my own system from scratch.
Now, one game and many months later, I want to share what I’ve learned with the game dev community at large. I’ve started a video tutorial series that will help you build the foundation of a VN system within UE4. This system is designed to handle large-scale projects and gameplay elements beyond just dialogue. You can begin by writing your script in a typical Open Office or Word document, then convert it into a spreadsheet and import it into UE4.
End scene and destroy actors when scene is finished (7:58)
In the tutorial series created so far, I don’t yet get to branching dialogue or character sprites. But if people find this first series useful, I may go on to create tutorials about that later. You can also find my posts about the VN system on the UE4 Forums.
Meanwhile, we’re running a Kickstarter for our current visual novel project, Echoes of the Fey – Fantasy Visual Novel Series! If you enjoy my work or find my resources helpful, please support us!
****AUDITIONS NOW CLOSED****
Thanks to everyone who auditioned! Here is the resulting cast:
Nikolai – Christopher Vitemb
Katerina – Sara Secora
******************************************
About the Echoes of the Fey
Echoes of the Fey is an English-language visual novel series that combines the magic of high fantasy with the mystery of the classic detective novel. You play as Sofya Rykov, a private investigator operating in a town on the contentious border between the Humans and Leshin (Elves). While her job is to uncover secrets, Sofya has a dangerous secret of her own: unlike other Humans, she can use magic. It’s a handy trick for solving cases – in the rare instances she can control it.
About Episode 2: The Last Sacrament
The Last Sacrament will be the next installment of the ongoing series. Sofya’s loyalty grows divided when politics clash over the town’s water system. Her childhood love, who also happens to be the Emperor’s daughter, seeks Sofya’s protection from mysterious threats. But a ruthless politician seeks a fourth drop of Eszther’s Sacrament — the consumption of which is the greatest heresy against the Krovakyn Church — and he will go to any lengths to ensure that Sofya delivers it to him.
The amount of recording needed is not yet set in stone. Shortly after choosing the cast, we will request a recording of expression lines (30-60 short lines of expressive dialogue). After that, we will request some scene dialogue over the next few months as our budget allows.
Rating/Maturity
This game will contain some adult language and sexual themes. However, we expect to remain in the Teen / PG-13 rating category.
Audition Process
Please record the included audition lines for the role that interests you and send them in either .wav or .mp3 format to jenny (at) woodsy-studio (dot) com. Multiple takes and styles are highly encouraged so I have a good sense of your range. Auditions will remain open until March 12, 2017.
Katerina Konstantinova Lapidus
Female
American accent
Appears both as an adult (20s) and teenager (about 13 years)
Katerina has a kind and empathetic nature, but she also grew up as the daughter of the Emperor during a time of warfare. Her kind nature is frequently in conflict with her need to firmly represent her father’s interests and crush her opponents. She rejoices in any opportunity she finds to kick back and behave like an ordinary young woman. She hates being called “princess” or any other unnecessary flattery. This is why she enjoys Sofya’s company so much. Sofya has never cared for politics, and always knows how to forget about all problems and have fun.
Katerina will mostly appear as an adult in the story, but there will also be flashbacks to her as a young teenager meeting Sofya for the first time. Therefore there are audition lines for both adult and teenaged Katerina (around 13 years old).
Please send lines for both adult and teenage Katerina, as she will appear as both in different parts of the story. Teenage Katerina should sound younger/higher-pitched.
Adult Katerina Audition Lines KATERINA (angry): All of this was about a photograph?
SOFYA: I don’t know. But, Kat, take a deep breath. You’re okay. KATERINA: I’m sorry, Sofyuska. I just… I had no idea that this might actually happen. When I hired you… I didn’t really think…
SOFYA: You didn’t think you were really in danger? KATERINA: Not real danger! Not like this! I thought they’d throw vegetables at me or tag my carriage.
Teenage Katerina Audition Lines
SOFYA: Thank you, Kater– Uh, Lady Lapidus. YOUNG KATERINA: PLEASE don’t call me that. I’m so sick of everyone sucking up to me. YOUNG KATERINA: Just call me Kat.
SOFYA: Okay… Kat. YOUNG KATERINA: Now, if you’re going to be stuck in the castle for the winter, maybe we can at least have some fun.
Nikolai Fyodorovich Melinkov
Male
American Accent
Late 20s/early 30s
Nikolai Fyodorovich Melinkov is the eldest heir of House Melinkov. House Melinkov is one of the wealthiest families of the west and one of the staunchest opponents to Imperial control of the borderlands. They are led by Nikolai’s grandmother, Alma Melinkov. Nikolai is the heir because his father (Alma’s son) died during the war and Alma’s daughter is a church matriarch.
Nikolai never wanted the responsibility of leadership. He is a man who enjoys fine dining and classy entertainment. If he had his way, he would run a theater or prestigious tavern rather than control his family’s domain. He also believes that his dying grandmother, Alma Melinkov, is much better suited to protect the family than he is. For this reason, he will use whatever tools he possesses to extend Alma’s life and protect the family’s interests in the meantime–even if that means breaking the most sacred law of the Krovakyn Church and blackmailing Sofya to help him.
Audition Line 1: NIKOLAI (firm, threatening): You will do as I say, Lady Rykov. My sister has ten copies of this photograph. If I do not wire back to Volgrad with other instructions within the hour, she will send it to Patriarch Arkady here in Vodotsk. However, if you deliver the Sacrament to me, I will destroy every single copy of the picture and the glass impression. Audition Line 2: NIKOLAI (determined): We are GOING to build a dam, and we’ll make the Leshin pay for it!
For the first time in almost thirty years, the land of Oraz is at peace. For three decades, the Humans and Leshin of Oraz waged a brutal war over the right of Humans to power their cities and machines with magic. But the Leshin people have overthrown their theocratic leaders who pushed to extend the war and ushered in a new era of reconciliation and reconstruction.
This peace, however, is fragile and strained under the shared history of the two peoples. This is true nowhere more than the city of Vodotsk, a historically Human city that was occupied and ruled by the Leshin for years. Old grudges among the Humans have re-emerged. Leshin who lived there for years as rulers must decide whether to return beyond the Great Forest or stay as second-class citizens. And the wounds of the war threaten to re-open whenever the two peoples come into contact.
Echoes of the Fey is a series of detective stories set in the high fantasy world of Oraz starring Sofya Rykov, a Human private investigator with a dangerous secret: following a near-death experience in the war, she spontaneously developed the ability to use magic. She is joined by her Leshin partner, Heremon ir-Caldy, a doctor fascinated by Sofya’s magic but fearful it will soon come at the cost of her life. Together, Sofya and Heremon navigate the mysteries and tensions of Vodotsk, the city they intend to make both their hiding place and their home.
“The Fox’s Trail” is an English-language visual novel with multiple story variations. Will you uncover the truth behind the mystery on your own? And once you do, what will you do with that information? Your investigation will change the future of the city and its people. Over 100 individual choice points exist throughout “The Fox’s Trail.” Some will improve your relationship with the characters. Others will provide you critical information. And some will change the fate of the people you will come to know. Explore Vodotsk in side-scrolling segments and assist other characters in minor side-quests to uncover more about the history and lore of the realm.
Written by Malcolm Pierce and Jenny Gibbons
Art by Jenny Gibbons and Wendy Gram
Music by Jenny Gibbons
Programming by Jenny Gibbons with use of VN Edge Engine by ThinkBoxly
Sound design by Jenny Gibbons
Sound effects by: Drew Becker, Adobe Audition Library, Free SFX
“The Fox’s Trail” also features voice acting–fully performed critical scenes and expression lines throughout–by the following awesome voice actors:
First of all, let me be frank: I haven’t had much formal training in music. I rarely know which terms to use when, or how to technically describe some of the tactics I use while composing. But I grew up surrounded by musicians, started churning out my own music in middle school, took a couple college courses in composition, and kept churning more out. I’ve recorded about 19 full CDs of music altogether. So I’d like to think I have a decent amount of experience.
I’ve also allowed myself to develop some bad habits.
I’ve always composed with keyboard synthesizers using a wide array of digital instruments. I use software like Cakewalk or Ableton Live to record each instrument on separate channels. For me, the process of picking out the right sounds can take up at least half–if not much more–of the full time required to complete the song. Even once I’m done recording, I go back and keep changing the sounds–or adding new ones–until I’m satisfied.
It’s fantastic that the digital platforms for composing gives me that freedom. But as a result, I’ve noticed that almost all my songs tend to accumulate more and more instruments as they go from start to finish. In the beginning of the song there may only be two instruments; by the end there are ten, all playing at once in a mad dramatic frenzy.
After spending time with some other local musicians in Game Jams or panels, I’ve realized that my instrumental tendencies are not necessarily good ones. While I’m proud of my ear for instruments, I shouldn’t let the arrangement overwhelm the the structure of the song itself–or in many cases, keep me from thinking about the overall structure in general.
Here’s a version of the main theme for my upcoming visual novel, Echoes of the Fey. It is more or less a normal composition of mine in terms of number of instruments.
The overall feel of the soundtrack was very inspired by the “Legend” soundtrack by Tangerine Dream. But it was after I saw the movie “It Follows,” composed by Disasterpeace, that I started considering how many instruments I used. I was in awe of how a few simple digital sounds could create such compelling music, without complex instrumentation (that’s not to say, of course, that Disasterpeace didn’t work some brilliant technical wizardry to stretch those sounds the way they did).
I started limiting my songs to two or three instruments.
This forced me to think more deeply about the notes I was playing rather than obsessing over adding more instruments, drums, or sound effects to amp the drama as the song played. It also made me spend more time with the one or two instruments I did select, adding reverb, flangers, or other effects until they sounded just right. Here’s the result for Magic Energy:
I haven’t adhered faithfully to this rule all the time, I confess. But I’m trying to at least break my old habits. So far, I’ve learned that less can be more, even when it comes to increasing the drama of a song. I even made a song that only uses one instrument, and I’m damn proud of it. I can only hope that my music sounds as good as what inspired it!
For thirty years, the continent of Oraz was wracked by the great war between its peoples. The East was ruled by the kingdom of the humans, divided up into counties and family houses. Beyond the great forest of the west were the Leshin, undying men and women with a strong connection to the Fey, capable of powerful magic. When Humans learned to tap into the Fey with technology–powerful Fey reactors–the Leshin staged a decades-long invasion to disarm Humans of their Fey reactor technology.
As the years drew long, the Leshin resolve for war weakened and was propped up by a shrinking group of religious fanatics. In the last days of the war, these fanatics staged a suicide attack on the city of Onigrad. In what would come to be known as the Immolation, extremist Leshin mages detonated the city’s Fey reactor, killing thousands of humans.
Horrified by the actions of their religious leaders, the Leshin people revolted and the new government surrendered to the humans, ceding all lands seized in the invasion. The Immolation ended the war, but with a loss instead of the victory the extremists hoped for.
One Human soldier, Sofya Rykov, survived the blast radius of the Immolation. She awoke severely injured and as she recovered, she found that she now had a connection to the Fey that was stronger than any Leshin mage. She could use magic previously unthinkable by humans. This is an ability she can barely control and must hide from everyone around her. Disowned as a traitor by her family, Sofya opens up a shop as a private investigator in Vodotsk, a town on the Human/Leshin border.
Episode 1: Fox’s Trail
Tiatha ir-Adech’s son is dead. Or is he?
A Leshin soldier, Folren ir-Adech was supposedly killed while rising up against his extremist superiors when they attempted to execute several human prisoners of war. But Tiatha claims she never felt him die through the Fey, and his bonded pet fox remains in Vodotsk as if seeking its master. Not many humans would help Tiatha, but Sofya Rykov isn’t most humans. Besides, she just learned how to turn into a cat and that has to be useful in tracking a fox.
Sofya Rykov
Female, mid 20s – The daughter of a powerful human noblewoman, Sofya was supposed to have a comfortable life in the Imperial Court. The events of the Immolation, however, imbue her with mysterious and unstable magical power that she must hide from all other humans. To make matters worse, she is disowned as a traitor. Hides her injuries–both physical and mental–behind a reckless optimism and a fondness for drink. Now works as a private investigator in the border city of Vodotsk, using her magic to secretly take investigative shortcuts.
Heremon ir-Caldy
Male, late 20s in appearance (actually much older as a Leshin) – Heremon is a Leshin (elven) medic with a stoic and analytical personality. Feels responsible for Sofya, who saved his life during the Immolation. Stays by her side out of a mix of affection, concern, and curiosity regarding her magical powers. Is deeply distrustful of other Leshin, due to the trauma of the Immolation.
Arkady Vanzin
Male, mid 30s – The Patriarch of Vodotsk County Krovakyn Church. A fanatic true believer, Arkady has quickly climbed the ranks in the church by feigning an interest in politics and a loyalty to the Emperor. Keeps his composure 90% of the time, but at times betrays the wildness of his devotion to the goddess Eszther.
Luka Teteriv
Male, early 30s – Imperial Inspector for the city of Vodotsk, plagued by a youngest-son inferiority complex. Was never the best soldier or socialite, now he’s assigned to be the Imperial police force for a city that isn’t even technically part of the Empire. Gruff and desperate to prove himself. Butts heads with Sofya, who he sees as a threat to his legitimacy as inspector.
Tiatha ir-Adech
Female, 20s in appearance (again, much older since she is a Leshin) – Powerful and well connected Leshin. Looking for her son, Folren, who is believed to have died during the war. Convinced he is either still alive or buried improperly, she hires Sofya to find out what really happened to him, but may have alternate motives for the investigation.
Eduard Galkin
Male, early 20s – Like Sofya, Eduard is a high-born noble who found himself in the wrong place in the last years of the war, and now at the center of Sofya’s investigation. Eduard conceals a dark secret from his time as a prisoner of war behind a flamboyant and flirtatious playboy persona.
Emilia Osborn
Female, early 40s – Lady of the Krovykan Church in Vodotsk. Devoted to the people of the city and her own brand of populist church teachings, which she developed while secretly ministering during the city’s Leshin occupation. Jealous of the outsider Arkady’s position as Patriarch.
Viola Aristova
Female, mid 30s – Arch-Commander of the southwest region, Imperial Army. An army lifer who has spent most of her time in command positions due to her family’s wealth. When she was young, people didn’t think she deserved her job and she reacted by becoming one of the most ruthless and pragmatic leaders in the Imperial Army. Now struggles with peacetime and her place as an Imperial officer in an Empire that isn’t recognized by her family’s lands.
Anya Saitov
Female, mid 20s – A commoner who lived in Vodotsk during the occupation and Folren ir-Adech’s ex-girlfriend. Spent her entire teenage and adult life living under Leshin control and learned to be resourceful and clever. Was well-regarded as a smuggler and white hat grifter. Has had some trouble adjusting to human culture since the end of the occupation.
Last weekend I participated in the STL Scatterjam 2015 with Malcolm Pierce and musician Sarah Wahoff. Scatterjams are a type of game jam that started in St Louis last year. Teams are encouraged to form up long before the jam begins, thereby skipping the awkward phase of most game jams in which teams are hastily formed amongst strangers. While it’s still good to try working with new people during a jam, for a Scatterjam you have more time to reach out to other members of your community and ensure the team you form is a good fit. Group festivities are only at the beginning and end of the jam; while working on games, teams can scatter as they please to work at home or elsewhere.
The theme was “connections.”
It’s a broad theme that can encompass almost anything, so my team had a hard time deciding what sort of game to make at first. We drank beers and threw some ideas onto a white board. But as soon as Malcolm said, “What if you’re a vampire detective…” we knew we were on to something fun.
We decided to use RPG Maker like last year, and Malcolm is the RPG Maker expert, so he got to building the environment while I sat down and started drawing. We decided to put all of our assets through a specific color pallet, so that the tiles that come packaged with RPG Maker would have a fresh look. Sarah started composing some melodies, and we all dove deeply into the work.
On the second day of the jam I took a short break from drawing to try collaborating with Sarah on music. I haven’t had many chances to collaborate with other musicians, so I really enjoyed rearranging one of her melodies into a new piece. You can hear the song we made together in the game, and a little clip of it at the end of the trailer.
Finally, I asked David Dixon if he had any interest in throwing his voice talent into the mix, because I’ve really enjoyed working with him on projects like the Serafina’s Saga animation and Serafina’s Crown. My team and and I tried to voice the rest of the cast with our own humble VA efforts (and less than ideal recording setup).
By the end of the game jam, we had this!
It has some pretty rough edges like anything that comes out of a game jam (and a few of the art assets may be a little familiar :p), but altogether I’m proud of our little dark comedy. There’s about 20-30 minutes of playable content altogether, including alternate endings.
More Mystery
More Romance
More Action
“The Fox’s Trail” is an English-language visual novel with multiple story variations. Will you uncover the truth behind the mystery on your own? And once you do, what will you do with that information? Your investigation will change the future of the city and its people. Over 100 individual choice points exist throughout “The Fox’s Trail.” Some will improve your relationship with the characters. Others will provide you critical information. And some will change the fate of the people you will come to know. Explore Vodotsk in side-scrolling segments and assist other characters in minor side-quests to uncover more about the history and lore of the realm.
