GloomWarden, isometric crpg in early dev looking for partners.

[Gloomwarden-Dev]

Hey there, long time occasional lurker here. Been playing Crpg's since I first stumbled on the geneforge saga on realone arcade.

I'm a digital artist, and while I have a lot to learn I feel I have a strong enough understanding to produce the art direction of this game. Funding it out of pocket on minimum wage.
I'm currently working with an art studio based out of ukraine and have some leads with gameplay designers/artists in the industry.


I'm also using AI software to develop some of the concept art for environment assets. Crazy how advance they have gotten.

Don't think I can do this alone but you can't start anything without some form of investment. Nobody likes an idea guy. So this is my foray into dev! Take a look, hope you enjoy what you see.
Looking for one or two partners and open to discussion on the terms.

Endgoal is to make an rpg that's sort of a mash between bg3/geneforge/crypt of the necrodancer.

 

[Darth Canoli]

bg3/geneforge/crypt of the necrodancer

BG3? that's your reference? And mixed with a dancing game/roguelike (necrodancer).
What's the goal exactly ?
Giving birth to a(n even more) retarded Fluent with 3 arms and one leg?

At first glance, your colorful graphics suggest a mobile A"RPG"

 

[lukaszek]

BG3? that's your reference? And mixed with a dancing game/roguelike (necrodancer).

thinking about it larian writing is always but a step away from bollywood. Basically we are yet to witness their skeleton dance of from bards tale

 

[Gloomwarden-Dev]

bg3/geneforge/crypt of the necrodancer

BG3? that's your reference? And mixed with a dancing game/roguelike (necrodancer).
What's the goal exactly ?
Giving birth to a(n even more) retarded Fluent with 3 arms and one leg?

At first glance, your colorful graphics suggest a mobile A"RPG"

Turn based combat. With influences from those games. I like how necrodancer has each weapon with a different moveset and want to incorporate something similar. Enjoy the same thing with abilities on the weapons in bg3.
Beyond that, I want to add in a dialogue system like that in the geneforge or avernum sagas.


I don't think larian is a good example of writing, but they know how to make games fun. Grabbing some inspiration from their mechanics is a no brainer imo.
I would hate to make a mobile game, End goal is moreso this:

 

[Catacombs]

they know how to make games mind-numbingly dull

FTFY

 

[Gloomwarden-Dev]

they know how to make games mind-numbingly dull

FTFY

Seems like Rpg codex isn't where fans of rpgs congregate.

 

[Darth Canoli]

Turn based combat. With influences from those games. I like how necrodancer has each weapon with a different moveset and want to incorporate something similar. Enjoy the same thing with abilities on the weapons in bg3.
Beyond that, I want to add in a dialogue system like that in the geneforge or avernum sagas.


I don't think larian is a good example of writing, but they know how to make games fun. Grabbing some inspiration from their mechanics is a no brainer imo.
I would hate to make a mobile game, End goal is moreso this:

Battle Brothers did this before and Prelude to Darkness even earlier.
None of the games you mentioned has any emergent gameplay.

Sure, Geneforge is a decent series but with a simplistic system.
Taking these 3 as examples show your poor taste or your lack of knowledge in cRPG, you should play the classics before trying to make a game on your own, just to know what's out there.

And if you did and that's all you came with as examples, maybe you should stick with mobile games, there's certainly a market for colorful graphics with simplistic systems.

Also, your name seems like a reference to Gloomhaven, one of the worst example of what game developers can do nowadays, technically deficient, mediocre gameplay but muy 3D graphics...
You should change the name.
Not that I think you'll ever release this, but just in case you do...

 

[Gloomwarden-Dev]

/shrug

No skin off my back if you don't like it. All it's doing for me is proving this place is a cesspit. Get with the times old man.

 

[MF]

You'll find plenty of love for Geneforge here, but the rest of the games you mentioned... not so much.

That said, you've done more than most people with an idea, so god speed.

If you're looking for a designer/programmer, and it seems like you do, they're going to be put off by the technical problems with your art so I'd suggest you fix those. You copy/pasted trees without matching the perspective to the knight. The stump sits at yet another angle, which makes that whole scene look like a bit of a jumble. Those details matter a lot because they are much more noticeable in motion. Also, be aware of the light source. Either use uniform lighting or make sure it's accurate if you insist on drawing detailed highlights and shadows. If you want reusable tree assets with that level of lighting detail, you'll need to come up with a way to do procedural shading for your art or be ready to produce a lot of it.

Stuff like that is exactly what an art director is supposed to watch out for, aside from obviously keeping a consistent style and aesthetic. You said you have a lot to learn. You do. Nothing wrong with that, of course.

The shading on the characters is very flat and bright, which is probably what reminds people of mobile games. It's not a bad style, but you'll have to deal with those connotations if you stick with it.

Plenty of posters here are extremely knowledgeable about RPG systems, new and old. Some great artists, a few good programmers. I guess your pitch didn't entice them to come out of the woodwork to help. Probably because there isn't much of a pitch. You name some games that inspired you with no explanation of how those would go together. People responded by attacking Larian. Don't take that personally, just post your ideas instead and tell them what you like about Larian's stuff that you'd want to incorporate in your game. Obviously it's not the writing, but what is it? "Grabbing some inspiration from their mechanics" is too vague. You mention barebones RPG functionality like combat and dialogue instead of what makes those games stand out.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

4 posts in and already antagonizing the future customers, impressive speedrun

 

[The_Sloth_Sleeps]

You could inspire Vogel with AI "art" and microtransactions.