A windy story game

[Pink Eye]

Backed it out of a moral obligation:

Spoiler

I hope things get better for you, sincerely. I know what's like to be homeless. To be thrown into that abyss of darkness. It sucks. Several years back, I had to battle leukemia. Damned accursed disease decided to appear during my senior year in High School. Couldn't even finish school because of it. The cancer treatment and bone marrow transplant thereafter. Left me and my family destitute. We were homeless for several or so years; it feels so long ago, looking back at it now. It was, truly, a horrid experience. On many occasions, I nearly came close to taking my life. I felt useless and hopeless. The experience of it all still gnaws at my heart from time to time. But we - my family and I - endured through it. For better or worse, things are much better now. We're not homeless for starters. I suppose you count the blessings you're given. Of course, things aren't all that peachy, still suffer from serious fatigue issues every now and then.

Things may look bleak now, but they *will* improve. The future isn't a fixed path. Things are constantly changing. In other words, you have no idea what's in store! So hang in there. Things *will* get better. If this stupid life taught me anything worth importing unto others. It's that patience is a fucking virtue. Good luck with your game. God bless.

Here's a nice song from one of the best Silent Hill games to listen to:

Spoiler

 

[PrettyDeadman]

Is this going to be released sooner than RatTower game?

 

[Otay]

Backed it out of a moral obligation:

Spoiler

I hope things get better for you, sincerely. I know what's like to be homeless. To be thrown into that abyss of darkness. It sucks. Several years back, I had to battle leukemia. Damned accursed disease decided to appear during my senior year in High School. Couldn't even finish school because of it. The cancer treatment and bone marrow transplant thereafter. Left me and my family destitute. We were homeless for several or so years; it feels so long ago, looking back at it now. It was, truly, a horrid experience. On many occasions, I nearly came close to taking my life. I felt useless and hopeless. The experience of it all still gnaws at my heart from time to time. But we - my family and I - endured through it. For better or worse, things are much better now. We're not homeless for starters. I suppose you count the blessings you're given. Of course, things aren't all that peachy, still suffer from serious fatigue issues every now and then.

Things may look bleak now, but they *will* improve. The future isn't a fixed path. Things are constantly changing. In other words, you have no idea what's in store! So hang in there. Things *will* get better. If this stupid life taught me anything worth importing unto others. It's that patience is a fucking virtue. Good luck with your game. God bless.

Here's a nice song from one of the best Silent Hill games to listen to:

Spoiler

Thank you so very much!! xoxo

Is this going to be released sooner than RatTower game?

It already is, isn't it? Realm of the Tempest's free to DL, with development and educational services scheduled to resume as soon as I've found a place to live, and worked out a lease.
https://otay.itch.io/realm-of-the-tempest

For an idea of how fast ROTT updates come out, and how much the content grows, check the twitter timestamps.
https://twitter.com/bramblegate

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Fucking hell...

That's how the supposedly humanistic, democratic, benevolent West treats people with mental disorders - with complete indifference.

"here's a person suffering, how can I use this to critique capitalism and america?"
you are a terrible person

 

[thesheeep]

Uhm... from the KS

I'd like to be able to afford rent (and convince family to help cosign.)

This sounds like you're trying to pull in your family to help fulfill your dream.
DO. NOT. DO. THAT.

In the end, game development - or rather living from it - is and will remain a dream to most people (even WITH a successful KS it tends to be a one-shot thing).
As such, you should never, ever, invest something you couldn't afford to lose into it. Because the chances are very high that you WILL lose it.
I don't know your family, but generally I'd count family among "something you don't want to lose".

In general, I think the KS page is all over the place.
It goes from game design concepts to you living in a garage, to child education, to sad shit that happened to you (sorry, btw, sounds awful!), to faith and back to design concepts.
Honestly, half of that campaign reads more like a gofundme than a KS campaign.
Maybe a gofundme is really what you need, but if you want to go the KS road, make it about the product, not at all about you (beyond things that are supposed to show that you have the skills, but even that is superfluous, demo and good gifs/videos are best).

The goal is low, but even that might be a danger to the campaign.
Everyone knows that amount of money is not enough to develop a game with, or feed even a single dev for a longer time. As such, the amount will seem shady to many, no matter how well you explain it (most will never read the explanation as they'll tune out after seeing the goal).

My advice would be similar to the previous.
You seem to have coding skills - great, those are worth a lot of money. You could do what I'm doing, work part-time as freelance or employee, put aside what you can until the pile is big enough to allow you autonomy for a year or two focusing on the project. And, of course, spend that other part of your time on the project.

You could also try to work full-time PLUS work on the project, but I wouldn't recommend, that's basically asking for a burnout and other health issues.

This is essentially the scene from the Truman show where the director is being excessively discouraging and negative for no reason besides highlighting the character's growth toward freedom.

> "You could also try to work full-time PLUS work on the project,"

Perhaps you're so lost in abstract thought that the idea of being homeless, injured, broke, and working as a dishwasher netting zero profit in a hotel with no laundry has escaped your grasp?

Thanks for driving your sh%t stench train through this already foul and corrupt topic, but given the kickstarter was already successful I'll just say ho ho ho and have a merry Christmas.

I gave you some valid criticisms of a frankly bad KS campaign page and equally valid advice on how not to mess up your life further by focusing on yourself first and not a game project, as have others.
You chose to react with utmost hostility.

Your KS goal got reached not because people have faith in the product or the campaign itself is great, but because they have pity on you after your episodes on Twitter.
As is evident by the low number of backers vs the high amounts they backed at.
Which, you know, is fine - shows that people care. Awesome! And I sure hope it'll actually help you get back on your feet.

But if this is how you react to people trying to help you with anything more useful than "all will be fine"-platitudes or giving you money, no worries, I won't bother any further.

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

Otay have you tried getting a freelance programming gig?
Front-end or back-end, it's all easy and pays well. Or get hired by an indie studio as a Unity dev, or anything like that. Work remotely, part-time, the rest of the time work on your game.

Because otherwise, what's the plan here? Those 4k will run out eventually, and then you're back on the street?

 

[Pink Eye]

I don't know what state you live in - or if you even live in America. But if you're in Florida. You can dial 211, check them out here. Never mind, the service also applies to other states too! Not just Florida! Anyways. It will get you access to loads of community services near you. They were a real life saver when me and my family had to leave the hospital's care and had nowhere to go. They can get you connected to shelters including other agencies as well that will help you with your homeless issue. Case workers too. There's also programs to help with the bills too.

 

[Abu Antar]

He's in Texas.

 

[Pink Eye]

Well I don't know what Texas is like. I've never lived there! But if you put in your zip code here: https://www.211.org/about-us/your-local-211 . It *should* give you more information. Or you can just dial the 211 number. Again I have no clue how it works in Texas. Good luck!

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

I've enjoyed what I've played.

 

[agris]

Good luck to you and your project Otay ; past isn't present, nor is it future. Take care of yourself.

 

[Otay]

I've enjoyed what I've played.

Glad to hear, glad to hear

Good luck to you and your project Otay ; past isn't present, nor is it future. Take care of yourself.

Great words of wisdom, gracias


Version 1.5.3L has some great new features for the first 3 campaigns, and the fourth campaign is a little playable too.
Currently planning item system changes and story implementations for 1.5.3M. Stay tuned...

 

[Otay]

The Kickstarter is no longer live now. Does this topic need to be updated by a mod to reflect that or what?

 

[Abu Antar]

The Kickstarter is no longer live now. Does this topic need to be updated by a mod to reflect that or what?

You can edit the title. You thread tools at top right corner.

 

[Otay]

The Kickstarter is no longer live now. Does this topic need to be updated by a mod to reflect that or what?

You can edit the title. You thread tools at top right corner.

Done, appreciate the help.

 

[Otay]

New Equipment feature: all items can now be held for stat bonuses.

 

[Otay]

Item stat generation feels like Diablo 2. (Even has the vanity element of random colors.)

Drops from Valimor:

Drops from Basilisk farming (highest level mob in the current version at level 1000)

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Time to dl this patch.

 

[Otay]

New gameplay videos











If you've never played the game, these videos will probably be hard to follow.

 

[Otay]

For those who don't know, I'm Otay, I'm the dev for Realm of the Tempest. (Fantasy Adventure RPG, turn-based)

Free Download
https://otay.itch.io/realm-of-the-tempest

Update Video


Developer Notes
After thinking for years about what this game even is, I still don't know. A pile of code?

More honestly I'd say Realm of the Tempest aims to be like a streamlined experience of all the game features I have enjoyed the most from a 1990's childhood.

E.g. Character building and equipment designed in the vein of Diablo 2:

Lush chromatic Neopets-esque inventory,

Arcade-like "avoid the heated tiles" minigame inspired by Starcraft UMS Bounds, feeding stat bonuses to the player's team

Encounter structure akin to early Dragon Warrior,

But with a power-up puzzle mechanic with a Tetris-Attack flair between turns,

With clan-colored landscapes made to feel like a first person experience of a Warcraft 2 match, mixed with a dash of Morrowind.

Massive realm map, everything portal-connected with a hidden cave system below.

With game content currently offering playthroughs for first timers an average of 8+ hours of gameplay, there's still even more planned. (Especially on the narrative side.)

As unusual as this might sound, the design plans for the smaller quest structures were kind of aiming to parallel the style of Mario 64 and the Tony Hawk series. (Each region offering their own "collect 5 scattered collectibles..." or "climb the highest mountain peak..." or "clear all the minibosses..." or "timed race toward a location..." etc.)

Not gonna lie, narrative structure is where this project falls short. Of all the influences mentioned so far, where's the narrative hard hitter with the immaculate meta?

But let's get back to the main appeal: competitive replayability.

The fourth campaign, as listed above in the ToC, can be completed in under 80 minutes. (Meanwhile the first campaign clocks in around 6 minutes or less, again for experienced players.)

So depending on the player's desired time investment for a competitive race against friends, there's quite the range of options. No unskippable cutscenes, no groan worthy hurdles, just blissfully paced combat and exploration.

All classes have several viable builds (all fairly balanced up until the 4th campaign.) As game content grows, the equations are like a bundle of thread-like polynomials fraying out near the end. Surprisingly not a total nightmare to keep up with.

As for some unfulfilled plans, the multi-party system throws in a "new game+" feature meant to scale gameplay in a Clicker Heroes fashion. (Combat numbers climbing through abbreviations, K, M, B, T, ... While each restart rapidly snowballs the growth rate of every new team.)

Leaderboards
Couldn't figure out a way to get the seasonal ladder feature any traction, but here are the leaderboards.
https://www.speedrun.com/rott

Controls
Gamepads and mouse keyboard are both supported.

Final thoughts
For a game with a budget under $5,800 I'm very satisfied with the results. I am planning to join the army or navy, hoping to come back in 2025 with enough discipline to write a decent meta, and some financial ability to enter Realm of the Tempest into some charity speedrun events.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Otay]

Walkthrough now available.



Questions or comments, LMK

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Ah cool. Looks like I need to DL the latest version. It is pretty awesome even if i get my arse kicked.

 

[Abu Antar]

Looked for Otay twitter and YouTube accounts. Both seem to be deleted. There was even an instagram account, but that one's also deleted.

Hmm, insta account showed up. Not the others.

 

[Otay]

Hi guys, I'm sorry, I'm discontinuing development.

Truth be told I am a drug addict, I've been stealing money from my family, and I've sold all my computer equipment for drugs. I've been using my whole life and can't stop. I've always had the support of a good family, but I keep using, stealing, and lying. I've lied most of my life. Plus I've always been lazy and could never accomplish anything, game developments harder than I thought. I'm trying to get clean and do the right thing, first step is saying goodbye to "realm of the tempest."

This is just a library computer, likely my last post.
Everything ROTT related will be destroyed.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Wth?!? You know, you do some awesome work for being "lazy+." Why delete it?

I better make sure i have the latest version.
Edit... fuck me i don't.

Anyone have the last update before it was deleted?
https://itch.io/profile/otay
"_crow() { Caw; Caw; } cudaMalloc((void**) &crows, 9999); // CAW CAW CAW"