Mystic Land: The Search for Maphaldo - Old school RPG inspired by W7 and EoB

[IronMaiden]

Nice. I assume that if you are still adding monsters, loot and parts of areas, the balance of your game does not exist. My advice is not to treat demo as early access/vertical slice, but try to make very good impression from the start. Take your time, a month before release of demo share is with some ppl not involved with development to gain feedback on balance and to check how it works on various range on specs. I am sure that there are many smart guys here in this thread who can provide valuable feedback in no time.

We do play the game all the time to check how it feels playing without any cheats, etc... so I hope it won't be a complete mess regarding the balance in the game (and I don't really think it will be).
For example - just today I tested this first mini-boss encounter with level 1 and 2 party (as it's in the first dungeon). You can beat the monster with not too much trouble, but need to be careful as this opponent can poison your team members and in this stage, you better have cure poison potions ready - otherwise it's all but game over for your poisoned character (at least until you resurrect the poor soul ). You can find a few of those scattered about in the dungeon

And yes, I was thinking of releasing the demo to a smaller audience first somehow.
To be honest, was also thinking of setting up a Patreon for our small team, as we could really use a bit of help to speed up the development. As mentioned multiple times, I'm the solo "investor" at this time and I already poured a lot of my money into the game (at least a lot for my financial situation - particularly now that the "real world" work is limited for me with my chronic health issues).
Maybe if I can get a bit of a close-nit community started there, that could also be a place to first release things like a demo, etc...

Would anyone of you guys here be interested in such a thing?
No pressure, just want to see if there's any interest at all for this. Will 100% understand if not - and not to worry, I'll keep on developing this game until it is done and ready for release. This is my passion project, anyway...

I would give to a Patreon. I would give feedback on a closed beta.

I would too, but only for a blobber with this much potential.

 

[SirBlabsAlot]

Another small post on X.

 

[smileyninja]

I just signed up to Patreon. I'll be good for $5 per month.

 

[SirBlabsAlot]

I just signed up to Patreon. I'll be good for $5 per month.

Thank you! Much appreciated!
Didn't yet open a Patreon for this, but probably will very soon.

Thinking of giving all Patreon supporters game for free (without any DRM or anything similar) and maybe releasing a physical copy there as well.
Would be better for us as well, as Patreon charges a lot less than Steam for example.

Quite a few ideas for this... stay tuned!

 

[mindx2]

I just signed up to Patreon. I'll be good for $5 per month.

Thank you! Much appreciated!
Didn't yet open a Patreon for this, but probably will very soon.

Thinking of giving all Patreon supporters game for free (without any DRM or anything similar) and maybe releasing a physical copy there as well.
Would be better for us as well, as Patreon charges a lot less than Steam for example.

Quite a few ideas for this... stay tuned!

Yes to a physical boxed copy!!

 

[covr]

Another small post on X.

This is beautiful. Good luck with patreon, I'll be day one supporter for sure.

I've just noticed that font resolution/visibility is rather poor. Text from text box is much more pixelated vs rest of UI. Could you improve that?

 

[Nikanuur]

I would gladly Patreonize this beyond-awesome piece of work, as well.

 

[SirBlabsAlot]

Another small post on X.

This is beautiful. Good luck with patreon, I'll be day one supporter for sure.

I've just noticed that font resolution/visibility is rather poor. Text from text box is much more pixelated vs rest of UI. Could you improve that?

Thank you muchly!
I'm planning to add an option for a bigger info window with bigger font size for the final (release) version of the game.

I was also thinking of giving Patreon supporters eary access to demo (and updated demos) and also early access to the full game (so when the content is all there but I'm still not sure if the game is balanced enough).
Also, I was thinking of opening access to more areas in the demo for supporters to test out (comparing to the public demo that will be put on Steam and will have 3 areas to explore).

Would that be something you guys would be interested in?

 

[SirBlabsAlot]

I would gladly Patreonize this beyond-awesome piece of work, as well.

Thank you kindly, good sir!

 

[covr]

It's not that font is small or text box should be bigger - they are all fine. Issue lies with the font itself.

 

[SirBlabsAlot]

It's not that font is small or text box should be bigger - they are all fine. Issue lies with the font itself.

I think that could also be the issue with Twitter's image manipulation as I see that Twitter resized the image (why I don't really know).
If the issue will be there in the game (I didn't notice it up until now), then of course, I will look into it.

 

[The people of Duckburg]

I was also thinking of giving Patreon supporters eary access to demo (and updated demos) and also early access to the full game (so when the content is all there but I'm still not sure if the game is balanced enough).
Also, I was thinking of opening access to more areas in the demo for supporters to test out (comparing to the public demo that will be put on Steam and will have 3 areas to explore).

Would that be something you guys would be interested in?

I'm definitely potentially interested. I'd like to play a demo first, though, because I've been burned enough times to know better. Also, how much should we expect to pledge to access the early things/getting a DRM free copy? Apologies if it's already answered on twXtter; the site has refused to work for me for a long time.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Another small post on X.

So everyone drowned... but there's evidence of significant bloodshed. That water must fight like a mfer!

Seriously though, everything's been looking cool about this one. Looking forward to it.

 

[SirBlabsAlot]

I was also thinking of giving Patreon supporters eary access to demo (and updated demos) and also early access to the full game (so when the content is all there but I'm still not sure if the game is balanced enough).
Also, I was thinking of opening access to more areas in the demo for supporters to test out (comparing to the public demo that will be put on Steam and will have 3 areas to explore).

Would that be something you guys would be interested in?

I'm definitely potentially interested. I'd like to play a demo first, though, because I've been burned enough times to know better. Also, how much should we expect to pledge to access the early things/getting a DRM free copy? Apologies if it's already answered on twXtter; the site has refused to work for me for a long time.

Totally understandable. And I know that there are a lot of scammers out there, or the people that promise a lot, but when they get their hands on cash, they lose interest.

I'm not even 100% sure I will open the Patreon, to be honest. As I mentioned a few times in this thread, I like that I'm totally independent (this is also the reason why I would not sign up with a publisher - there was some interest and contacts from a few - and the reason why I put a lot of my savings into the game - a nice 5 digit number already ).

The problem is that my health is giving me some issues for the past 2 years and so the past few months I had to scale back with my "serious" freelance work. This also means that now I can't spend as much on this game per month as I could in the past.
That's why I'm thinking about opening Patreon. It wouldn't be a cash grab - it would be to offset the lost revenue from my work, and adding to that - I don't hide the fact that I would like to become a full time indie game developer (I'm working on Mystic Land in my free time now) as this was my dream for like forever - and maybe Patreon can be the first step to do that along with released game(s) in the future, of course.

BUT. Saying that - even if I do open Patreon, the basic demo (first 3 areas of the game) will be totally free and available from Steam and probably even Itch. Don't know how GOG works with demos, so I can't promise that it will be on GOG, but I will try to put it there as well.

How much to pledge? I don't yet have the plan for that at this time. I was thinking a few tiers so everyone can choose what they can afford, and was thinking to offer free game to everyone that reach certain amount with the Patreon support, even if they do so over a time period (so totally random fantasy number here - if I have a tier of 3,99 a month and you sign up for that, I would give you free game if you reach the intended game price with Patreon support. If the game would be 29,99 and you would support me for 7 months for example, ... you are eligible for free game. I would drop the price of the game a bit for supporters as well). Think of it like pre-ordering the game in installments or something
Again, totally "out of my arse" numbers here, just for explanation.

Anyways. I'm rambling now.

TL/DR : There will be absolutely no pressure to anyone to sing into my Patreon (if I open it, of course), just to play a demo or something - as the basic demo will be free and available to everyone.

 

[SirBlabsAlot]

Another small post on X.

So everyone drowned... but there's evidence of significant bloodshed. That water must fight like a mfer!

Seriously though, everything's been looking cool about this one. Looking forward to it.

Thank you!

I can't really afford game over screens for every possible type of death
There are 2 though - 1 for when you die outside (like the one shown) and one for when you die in cave/dungeon/etc...

 

[Lagi]

I love your webpage.

So whats is the best way for you to buy the game? (where you got most % of my money)

 

[SirBlabsAlot]

I love your webpage.

So whats is the best way for you to buy the game? (where you got most % of my money)

It will probably be Itch as they charge a lot less than Steam or GOG for each copy sold (30% for Steam and GOG and I think itch takes less than 20% after the commission and fees).
If I go with Patreon, then it will probably be the platform where I get the most % out of the revenue, as I think Patreon takes 8% commission plus processing fees).
Steam and GOG are by far the most expensive for developers, but we all know that you need to get your game on Steam at least, if you want to have any chance of succeeding in this business. And Valve are well aware of that

 

[covr]

I think you should just stop thinking and talking about this and just open that Patreon and see what comes next.

 

[Sotomonte]

The problem with Itch is... taxes.

When I was interested in buying a game on Itch, seeing that the prices were the same as on other platforms, I ended up getting an unpleasant surprise when I went to pay and found that the price did not actually include taxes, raising the price by 21% (at least when buying from here).

 

[anvi]

Usury is unconstitutional and against Christianity, Catholicism, and Islam.

 

[Lagi]

i will send you money in envelope, and you will send me back floppy discs with game

 

[Iluvcheezcake]

As some gentleman already mentioned, go with Patreon and see where that takes you

 

[SirBlabsAlot]

Hey guys,

I opened the Patreon page today for our small studio, so if any of you want to support us, you are more than welcome.

For now, there is only an introductory post there but I will create first "real post" for members (if there will be any ) later today, showing you 1 sample item that you can expect from a Deluxe physical (boxed) edition of the game. Yes, we are already preparing for that and I will post examples of the stuff you will get on this Patreon page.

I'm also thinking of making the boxed editions (normal and deluxe) of our games Patreon-only as this will give me at least an approximate number of copies I will need to order when the game is released.

Also, you guys are the first to be notified about this page, as I'm doing this for the first time (and don't really know what I'm supposed to do), so if you notice any errors, strange things, etc... on the page, then please do let me know about it.

And if you can spread the word around, I will be eternally grateful.
To be direct - we would need about 100 members at least to have a significant impact on the speed of the game's development (as I would be able to purchase significantly more assets for the game each month).
If (by some miracle) we reach around 1000 members, that would allow me to go full-time working on the game.

So, if you are considering supporting us, I thank you in advance!

Patreon link:
https://www.patreon.com/megavisionsoftware

 

[mediocrepoet]

Hey guys,

I opened the Patreon page today for our small studio, so if any of you want to support us, you are more than welcome.

For now, there is only an introductory post there but I will create first "real post" for members (if there will be any ) later today, showing you 1 sample item that you can expect from a Deluxe physical (boxed) edition of the game. Yes, we are already preparing for that and I will post examples of the stuff you will get on this Patreon page.

I'm also thinking of making the boxed editions (normal and deluxe) of our games Patreon-only as this will give me at least an approximate number of copies I will need to order when the game is released.

Also, you guys are the first to be notified about this page, as I'm doing this for the first time (and don't really know what I'm supposed to do), so if you notice any errors, strange things, etc... on the page, then please do let me know about it.

And if you can spread the word around, I will be eternally grateful.
To be direct - we would need about 100 members at least to have a significant impact on the speed of the game's development (as I would be able to purchase significantly more assets for the game each month).
If (by some miracle) we reach around 1000 members, that would allow me to go full-time working on the game.

So, if you are considering supporting us, I thank you in advance!

Patreon link:
https://www.patreon.com/megavisionsoftware

You're selling classes AND levels!? How very mobile tier P2W garbage. You're not a Tencent subsidiary, are you?

 

[SirBlabsAlot]

Hey guys,

I opened the Patreon page today for our small studio, so if any of you want to support us, you are more than welcome.

For now, there is only an introductory post there but I will create first "real post" for members (if there will be any ) later today, showing you 1 sample item that you can expect from a Deluxe physical (boxed) edition of the game. Yes, we are already preparing for that and I will post examples of the stuff you will get on this Patreon page.

I'm also thinking of making the boxed editions (normal and deluxe) of our games Patreon-only as this will give me at least an approximate number of copies I will need to order when the game is released.

Also, you guys are the first to be notified about this page, as I'm doing this for the first time (and don't really know what I'm supposed to do), so if you notice any errors, strange things, etc... on the page, then please do let me know about it.

And if you can spread the word around, I will be eternally grateful.
To be direct - we would need about 100 members at least to have a significant impact on the speed of the game's development (as I would be able to purchase significantly more assets for the game each month).
If (by some miracle) we reach around 1000 members, that would allow me to go full-time working on the game.

So, if you are considering supporting us, I thank you in advance!

Patreon link:
https://www.patreon.com/megavisionsoftware

You're selling classes AND levels!? How very mobile tier P2W garbage. You're not a Tencent subsidiary, are you?

Well, ... you never know