Tech Demo is out!

The tech demo is finally out.

Hello, I'm Tatochop, and I'm a begginer coder with the mission of developing a game which harkens back to the old-school RPGs I grew up playing and enjoying. I have fond memories of playing "classic" role-playing games such as Magic Candle, Dark Sun, Eye of the Beholder, Ravenloft, Ishar, Might & Magic, and later discovering how developers blended these concepts with sexy themes such as the ones you can find on Cobra Mission, the Rance series, Knights of Xentar, and so many PCE /  PC-98 games. Another concept that's interesting to me is that of mixing different play genres in one game, such as Princess Maker's blend of management sim with top-down adventure RPG, or Sengoku Rance's strategy layer combined with its (admittedly light) dungeon crawling segments.

If that kind of mix appeals to you too, then this project might be of interest to you!

Savior Maker is my design idea for a game that combines different elements into one sexy, fun package. Fun is a hard idea to manifest because it's very possible that, whatever feels fun to me, doesn't necessarily feel fun for others. But, at its core, I designed this game from the following foundation:

I want my gameplay to be chunky, meaty. I want to explore cool places and feel like I'm in danger. I want to defeat a dungeon boss and feel the satisfaction of overcoming a challenge.

I didn't set out to make a VN (and I don't even have a dialogue system in place yet). SM is not an idle clicker or a Survivors game.

I thought about the kind of things that I enjoy in my RPGs. I like to watch my numbers go up, sure, and finding cool loot that makes my character stronger and able to overcome encounters they hadn't been able to yet. I like choosing what my build is going to be and seeing how it's going to affect my ability to survive the challenges ahead.

SM is not there quite yet, but it's a game which is taking its first steps in that direction. I tried to make it so combat is dangerous and deadly instead of a meaningless slog. I added functionality for environmental traps, locked rooms and exploration. Resources are limited and, if you're not careful, you'll lose by attrition.

Whether this is fun or not is debatable! On top of that, my implementation of the above ideas is definitely going to need tweaking at many levels. Just like I'm a beginner coder, I'm also a beginner game designer. My knowledge of game systems is limited to only having played a shitload of games but, as they say, you can't get better at something unless you try it out first.

I hope the concept interests you and that you find the game entertaining. I need feedback to make the game better so, if you enjoyed it enough to leave a comment, please do so! If you have ideas on how to make it better, share them with me! The worst thing about being a solo developer is that I can't test my games from the eyes of other people, so it's hard to know what feels right and what doesn't.

~ Tatochop

About Development

This game was developed in Godot and, if you're interested in the idea of coding your own games, I recommend it! Granted, since it's the only programming language I'm familiar with, you might want to take my advice with a grain of salt. But, in the span of a year, this engine (and so, so many Youtube tutorials) have allowed me to take the first steps towards what I originally set out to do: transforming ideas in my head into actual mechanics on a game. For those of you interested in making their own games, I can tell you that it's a wonderful feeling.