KickStarter Braven Arts - a 2D turn-based RPG inspired by classic titles such as Chrono Trigger and Suikoden

[gomiyagames]

Hey guys!

My name is Paul and my brother and I have been working on a game called Braven Arts that we just launched on Kickstarter yesterday. Here is the link to it: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1904078825/braven-arts-by-gomiya-games

We are new indie developers and the game is inspired by JRPG classics such as Chrono Trigger, Suikoden, and Final Fantasy. Here is a quick overview of features we are implementing into the game:

• An Alterable Grid Battle System - battles will take place on 2 sets of 4x4 tiles where players can change the tiles to different elements, place objects and summons onto the field to fight for you. Think a fusion between FFX and Mega Man Battle Network. The focus in the battles, will be utilizing the synergy of elements between abilities and tile types to create devastating combos, as well as moving and positioning your characters to adapt to the situation.

• Day and Night/ Schedule System - every NPC will have their own life throughout the day as they move around, going about their daily business. You'll be able find different monsters, NPC's and events, appearing at different times of the day giving each area many different faces to explore.

• Guild Hall - SImilar to Suikoden headquarters, you'll be spending time in a guild hall where party members you acquire throughout the game or characters you recruit throughout the world will hang out. Recruitable characters will give small perks that will effect your gameplay such as access to new items. We want you to have a good time, so we will be incorporating a lot of events, mini games, and fun character dialogue that you can experience in the Guild Hall.

• Banter - One thing we liked about games like Dragon Age and the Tales series was the amount of dialogue between characters, developing them further than most games. We want to do the same thing with Braven Arts by providing our own banter system through optional dialogue as your party members express their opinions and thoughts of the situation throughout the game.
  

Everything will be weaved together to create a storyline and gameplay that we hope will be memorable for our players. We want this game to push RPG explorers to the edge of their seats, with tons of lore and content that they can delve into, secrets and crazy end game bosses that will test the players mastery of our battle system, and a cast of characters that you can get attached to in the Guild Hall and Banter systems.

If you want more in-depth explanations about the game, check out our Kickstarter. But we also want to hear from you guys! What was your favorite classic or modern RPG? Is there something about that particular RPG that you love that we might have missed out on or you think we should add? Let us know and thanks for spending the time to read!

 

[80Maxwell08]

A word of advice that doesn't have to do with the game itself. When marketing a kickstarter campaign it's better to do the bulk of the marketing before the campaign even starts. It leads to more people pledging at the beginning which leads to more people paying attention and thinking you are legitimate.

I'm writing this part after watching your video. Now then you should remove the part about being like the Battle Network games. Those were real time while yours is turn based and positioning didn't mean too much aside from dodging attacks. I like the day & night cycle idea but I'm curious if you can actually do it or if it will be too much work. As for your art I'm kinda torn since I like the backgrounds, am neutral on the sprites and dislike the portraits on the second to last image in your post. All in all it's ok but I don't think I would pledge to it.

 

[gomiyagames]

A word of advice that doesn't have to do with the game itself. When marketing a kickstarter campaign it's better to do the bulk of the marketing before the campaign even starts. It leads to more people pledging at the beginning which leads to more people paying attention and thinking you are legitimate.

I'm writing this part after watching your video. Now then you should remove the part about being like the Battle Network games. Those were real time while yours is turn based and positioning didn't mean too much aside from dodging attacks. I like the day & night cycle idea but I'm curious if you can actually do it or if it will be too much work. As for your art I'm kinda torn since I like the backgrounds, am neutral on the sprites and dislike the portraits on the second to last image in your post. All in all it's ok but I don't think I would pledge to it.

Hey man thanks for the feedback. This is our first time doing Kickstarter and we realize that we should have done this before and built a backer community before everything began. I guess this is a learning experience for us.

As for the Battle Network Series, yes it was real time, but basically what's similar would be the grid system. Like its stated, its a fusion between that system and a turn-based Final Fantasy like combat. So yes, we are not exactly like Battle Network, but the inspirations for how tiles work came from there. The day and night cycle is probably the biggest thing about the game. We have the whole system down in the code already, and we just need to start adding people and places and their schedules. Now making this all fluid and feel like a dynamic world will be determined by our execution, but we will work really hard on making this the best that it can.

Thanks for the input, and would love more constructive criticism and advice you could throw our way. Cheers!

 

[80Maxwell08]

Hey man thanks for the feedback. This is our first time doing Kickstarter and we realize that we should have done this before and built a backer community before everything began. I guess this is a learning experience for us.

As for the Battle Network Series, yes it was real time, but basically what's similar would be the grid system. Like its stated, its a fusion between that system and a turn-based Final Fantasy like combat. So yes, we are not exactly like Battle Network, but the inspirations for how tiles work came from there. The day and night cycle is probably the biggest thing about the game. We have the whole system down in the code already, and we just need to start adding people and places and their schedules. Now making this all fluid and feel like a dynamic world will be determined by our execution, but we will work really hard on making this the best that it can.

Thanks for the input, and would love more constructive criticism and advice you could throw our way. Cheers!

Oh I get what you meant by saying the grid was inspired by battle network but it's such a small comparison. However something that would be in common with the MMBN games (particularly 3) would be having a ton of random things interact. For example in a LP on something awful of MMBN3 the LPer showed off that using a fan chip on an area with sand panels will blow the sand off and damage the enemy with them. Trying to have as many small touches like that would make this game a ton better. Like having an attack smash the ground below an enemy and if they step on it they might loose their footing and fall for a turn or something like that.

Also a side question how difficult do you plan on this game being?

 

[gomiyagames]

Yes, those tile interactions are exactly what we want to incorporate in our gameplay. We want to make battles be focused on tile interactions, so we are going to give players a TON of different abilities that will interact with each other and tiles, and effects already on the tile.

Onto the difficulty of the game. As the programmer of the duo, I am so excited to start pumping out AI for monsters and bosses. I don't want battles to be some repetitive monster or boss that has a sequence of attacks, I want them to analyze the situation and your positioning, and wreck you for your mistakes. Of course, getting through zones and regular monster mobs won't be as difficult (and we are thinking about adding a system where you can turn off monster encounters), but as the game progresses, the game will get harder. We don't want players to just spam abilities and get through the content, we really want them to think about the situation of the battles, and enemies, especially bosses, will punish you if you don't.

Don't get me started on optional and end game bosses. My keyboard is ready to get demolished as I will spend A LOT of time working on the AI and make sure that they put you to the test. We want the system to be easy to use, decently challenging to get through the main content, and finally an end game that will really put your mastery of the system to the test.

 

[StaticSpine]

The screenshots look pretty cool.

 

[gomiyagames]

The screenshots look pretty cool.

Hey man, glad you like them

 

[Crooked Bee]

Your combat grid looks a bit like Radiant Historia for the DS. Is it going to play out similarly, i.e. pushing and grappling enemies, etc.?

I'd pledge, but I'd like to see some examples of the writing first.

 

[Abu Antar]

When I see names like Chrono Trigger and Suikoden, I expect to be blown away by what I am shown. In this case, I am not. I hope you succeed and that the game turns out good, though.

 

[Zed]

Chrono Trigger was 50% music.

What's the music like in this game?
Also what does Braven Arts mean?

 

[Trexrell44]

You pixel art and environments look really cool. The bigger beasts look rather interesting too good luck.