Fallen Gods - upcoming Norse saga-inspired roguelite from Wormwood Studios

[MRY]

Yeah, SitS is another game tramping on what I thought was a unique path when I switched to FG. :D

Star Captain was heavily inspired by Star Captain and Star Flight, though perhaps more by Weird Worlds (in terms of gameplay). It had pretty awesome world-building (in my not-so-humble opinion). Like I said, I want to come back to it someday.

 

[StaticSpine]

 

[Crooked Bee]

Just as a heads-up, MRY is looking for a voice actor: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/voice-acting.109114/

 

[Got bored and left]

Man, the writing is absolutely perfect, from what I can see. The alliterations, the somber, elegaic tone - it's as if I was reading The Wanderer or The Dream of the Rood, fantastic stuff. It's a damn shame I don't have proper audio equipment, I'd love to have a crack at it. Still read everything out loud for fun, of course I'm keeping my fingers crossed that MRY gets a nice voice actor, a good reading can really elevate those kinds of texts.

 

[MRY]

Thanks ArtB, and thanks for the publicity Crooked Bee! I'm still trying to decide whether voice acting is the right way to go overall. I am already somewhat worried that the text's density will be a turn off to players (whose very name indicates, after all, that they are there to play), and VO merely slows things down further. Obviously players can skip ahead, but then I think VO is perhaps even worse because it's skipping around and so on. Anyway, it's something I'll have to mull once I review the auditions (we've gotten quite a number).

 

[CryptRat]

EDIT : A very brief voiced summary or introduction to the event (instead of voicing the entire text) is also possible, if listening to what you're reading is too slow.

 

[cherry blossom]

Been following and looking forward to this. My only gripe is the title is rather generic, reminds me of those crappy hidden object games that you can by the score on Steam.

 

[MRY]

I have a pretty strong preference for short names, and even to some degree for generic names. Probably because, for the most part, that was the convention with the early computer/video games I grew up with.

 

[cherry blossom]

Not arguing against short, just sucky.

Primordia, for instance, is an excellent title.

Fallen Gods? Meh.

 

[Wayward Son]

Eh, I think Fallen Gods is a good enough title. It's short, memorable and to the point. Looking forward to the release.

 

[duanth123]

I have a pretty strong preference for short names, and even to some degree for generic names. Probably because, for the most part, that was the convention with the early computer/video games I grew up with.

How about "Apocrypha"? It has religious connotations, similarity to your previous work's title, and might capture some of the themes Fallen Gods will explore.

 

[Mustawd]

I have a pretty strong preference for short names, and even to some degree for generic names. Probably because, for the most part, that was the convention with the early computer/video games I grew up with.

How about "Apocrypha"? It has religious connotations, similarity to your previous work's title, and might capture some of the themes Fallen Gods will explore.

Too hard to pronounce. Not catchy enough.

 

[MRY]

I appreciate the advice, but I'm not particularly keen to change it.

Regarding "Apocrypha," it violates one of the core pillars of the game, which is avoiding the use of Greco-Latin-French words. I'm not really sure it ties to the themes, either.

The "Fallen" in Fallen Gods covers two important concepts -- the physical fall of some of the Ormfolk from the Cloudlands to the earth below, and the Christian concept of the gods being morally "fallen" (either in the sense of humanity's own fall, or Satan's fall). Orm ("snake") is a blend of Odin, Satan, and Prometheus (with a dash of Zeus, I suppose), so he is tied to the concept of the fall, too, in that regard. "Fall" also has an autumnal sense -- death, decay, shorter days, and so forth. And of course while neither Ragnarok, Ragnarokkr, nor Gotterdamerung means "Fall of the Gods," in a sense there is a harmony among those, too. Fallen Gods is not actually about the ultimate fall of the Ormfolk -- that day is still to come, perhaps even still far off, no matter how you play the game.

Incidentally, this isn't to say that people are wrong about not liking the title -- of course they're right. But I don't think I'll be changing it. Part of the pleasure of making this game is being able to indulge my whims, and one of them is that I like a certain clarity and simplicity, as I said. "Primordia" certainly is a beloved title, but to be honest it's not the kind of title I'd probably settle upon left to myself -- it took a fair amount of massaging to give the name resonance with the game's themes. As best I can tell, Vic just seized upon it in an epiphany that may or may not have been tied to recreational mycology.

Still, I'm not dead set against changing it, just not disposed to absent some idea that really catches me.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

It doesn't bring to mind any shitty games, so what's not to like?

 

[MicoSelva]

I am already somewhat worried that the text's density will be a turn off to players (whose very name indicates, after all, that they are there to play), and VO merely slows things down further. Obviously players can skip ahead, but then I think VO is perhaps even worse because it's skipping around and so on.

I always wondered why in games with VO, when you skip lines, the VO does abruptly end and just starts another line instead of some kind of fade-out, fade-in effect which would ease the transition. Or maybe 'a turn VO off' button (accessible at any point) for people who prefer reading at their own pace.

Fallen Gods is not as good a title as Primordia, but being more generic might actual help to gain more publicity, because people might stumble upon it by accident, which in Primordia's case was pretty hard (until Far Cry Primal release? )

 

[Mustawd]

I like Fallen Gods as a the title...

 

[Jaesun]

I like the title too. Too many people sperg vast amounts on stupid shit. In before the UI causes mass sperging....

 

[Darth Roxor]

some pretty sharp knees on that troll, 2/10

 

[Orobis]

I like Fallen Gods as a the title...

Same. Easy to pronounce and easy to remember. "Apocrypha" just sounds pretentious.

 

[Hoaxmetal]

And you already have

Then again, Fallen Gods is quite generic and easy to forget.

 

[Outlander]

some pretty sharp knees on that troll, 2/10

That pussy, however, looks p. inviting.

 

[MRY]

Sometimes an aurora is just an aurora.

 

[Blackmill]

Are any updates coming soon? I really liked what I've read about the game. Hope it succeeds.

 

[MRY]

We're working on having a little promotional video -- the game's intro cinematic -- to share. Otherwise it's not really a game that is amenable to previewing until the systems are all in place. The backbone of the game is the event system, and I certainly could post some examples of that, but they probably don't come across as much in isolation. We've got some cool new sprites, some great voice over (to my ear, anyway) and music, etc. But it's a very slow process.

 

[HoboForEternity]