[Extended Demo] VANITY

[Yeaster]

STORY:

MARCUS FORD, a former delinquent who has turned his life around, is thrust into a world of deceit, death, and murder when he is accused of being a key player in stopping the upcoming apocalypse. After murdering a powerful attorney, he is forced into a battle from which he cannot escape, and the only way he can obtain his freedom is by destroying the source of the evil itself. He is joined by ASHKII HASTIIN, a warrior from the mountains in search of his missing father, CHELSIA ASHFORD, the beautiful trophy wife of Alexander Ashford who desires to put an end to the chaos that her husband had created--despite having questionable objectives of her own, and LINDSEY LONDON, a humanoid demon liaison between Earth and the Underworld. Should they fail, mankind could face extinction. Will Marcus side with forces of light and cast the dark forces back into the underworld, or will he side with the forces of darkness and expose the light forces for the scandals they really are? Or will he overthrow both sides and forge a world of his own? Your fate is solely in your hands.

FEATURES:
- Three branching pathways, each with their own set of characters, individual plotlines, and point of views. Your actions and interactions with certain characters will determine your alignment.
- Fast-paced battle system.
- A mature, dark storyline.
- A complete walkthrough of the demo

SETTLING:
- A modern society in which Demons have become legal citizens. Furthermore, stores are run by machines and not people. The major districts include:
Bridgeford - An industrial city that is known to be very demon-friendly. Marcus has spent his entire life there, leading a life of crime before finding himself behind bars. Most of its citizens are corporate professionals. Despite its size, it is not terribly expense to live there.

Lunsen - A small town sandwiched in between Bridgeford and Arcellus. Features a higher demon population than most. Crime is high, and housing is very poor. Humans tend to stay away from there.

Arcellus - A save haven for the humans. Is controlled by a Prophet who claims to have lived since the birth of man. It has limited sources, but is growing rapidly.

Jensa - A seemingly quiet and peaceful town. Its bread and butter lies with its ships, a porting town. However, there is a much darker side to Jensa oblivious to the rest of the world...a deadlier side.

Gold - The demon capitol of the world. Most of the people in power are demons. They are, however, very human friendly, and has less crime than Bridgeford and Lunsen.

CAST:
  
    
    MARCUS FORD
    29
    As a youth, Marcus has had trouble with the law, but he has since turned his life around. Since he was a child, a young girl would always talk to him in his dreams. Calling her his "dream buddy," he spoke to her until his late teens, in which the communications stopped. The mysterious dream woman now returns, warning him that the world's future will soon             depends on his hands. Thrust into a situation beyond his control, Marcus knows that the only     way he can solve this mystery, as well as to fully understand his powers, is to find this girl.
  
    Marcus's element is [SOLAR], a power that comes from the spiritual realm and is weakened by the [EARTH]'s influence. His Essence powers are mostly offensive, and his Abilities are [PHYSICAL], requiring the use of his fists.

  
    NEVENE
    28
    Nevene's origins are mysterious even to her. She's never met her parents, and along with Ashkii, she was raised by a man named Leo, whom she views her father. As a child, Nevene had     frequent conversations with another gifted boy in her dreams. She never learned his name, and eventually lost touch with him once his powers became weak. Now a fully grown woman, Nevene wishes to use her power to better herself and the world, believing that in order to bring peace and order back into the world, the demons need to be wiped clean, and a "Chosen One" must watch and protect it.      

    Nevene's element is , a power that comes from the heavens and is weakened by [ BLACK ] magic. Her Essence is geared towards healing, and her Abilities require to use of [SHOT] weapons.

  
    CHELSIA ASHFORD
    30
    Chelsia is the beautiful, wealthy wife of Alexander Ashford, a well-known and respected lawyer who's been involved in black magic. Chelsia is well aware of Alexander's quest for power, and pretends to be oblivious until the right time to strike. Unlike most, Chelsia doesn't fear the demons. She believes that demons are pawns, and can be very powerful allies if used correctly. Chelsia dreams of a world of equal opportunity, a world where power can obtained by anyone who deserve it, a world of absolute freedom. She knows this could bring about frequent war and chaos, but she believes that war would be a great tool to separate the weak from the strong.

    Chelsia's element is [ BLACK ], a power that comes from Hell and is repelled by the forces of Heaven. Her Essence are offensive and inflicts numerous status abnormalities on its target. Her abilities require the use of [SHOT] weapons.
 
  
    ASHKII HASTIIN
    35
    Ashkii and Nevene were raised together by Leo, a wise man who taught them the gift of magic, and how to control it. He taught them the way of the light, and warned them that the future will bring about great pain and destruction to mankind. Ashkii serves as Nevene's older brother, shielding her and protecting her from the world. He too doesn't know his real parents, and sees Nevene and Leo as his only family. Recently, Leo was kidnapped by a man named Alexander, who was told that Leo could lead him to a great power. Ashkii desires to continue the fight for peace until the end, believing that he Nevene Denise will soon find the Chosen One.

    Ashkii's element is [MOON], a power influenced by the Moon's energy that is overshadowed by the [SUN]. His Essence is both supporting and offensive, and he fights with [BLADED] Abilities.

  
    LINDSEY LONDON
    29
    Lindsey serves as a link between the human world and the under world. Being a demon himself,     his primary purpose is to assist the demons into obtaining the power and the control he         feels they deserve. He walks the Earth as a man, looking for suitable warriors to help carry     out his plan. The first to catch his eye was Chelsia Ashford, a human female who was trying         to build a demon army of her own. Their similar goals led them to form an alliance. Lindsey         taught     Chelsia her powers and everything she knows about demons. Despite the followers of         light trying to suppress the demons, Lindsey feels confident that the dark will finally         overcome the "righteous."
  
     Lindsey's element is [SUN], a power that comes from the sun but is blocked by the [MOON].         His Essence and Abilities are primarily offense-oriented, with few supporting abilities. He         fights with [BLADED] weapons.
  
  
    BILLY SHAW
    29
    Billy is a former construction worker of Japalagos. He married at the age of twenty-one to his future wife Emilia, who was pregnant with his son Ryan at the time. After eight years of marriage, Billy's life was changed forever when a demon breakout occurred, resulting in death of nearly fifty civilians, including his wife and child, and nearly his own. With nowhere else to turn, Billy devoted his life to slaying demons and protecting the helpless, and after a director saw Billy's strength first-hand, he gave Billy the opportunity to join the Protective Agency, where he's been for the past ten years. His current client is Harleet, whom he may value more than just co-workers...

    Billy's element is [ATOMIC], an infectious nuclear power that's suppressed by [TWILIGHT]. His powerful [PIERCE] abilities will prove to be extremely useful, as well as his "Bowl of Life" Essence. He fights with [PIERCE] weapons.

  
    RUSSELL "RUSTY" GILLMAN
    23
    Russell was once a normal young man. Growing up, he never cared much for school or anyone but himself. His mother skipped out on the family when Russell was a youth, leaving his family to struggle with raising the family all on his own. Russell began acting out in     school as a way to gain the attention that he never got from home, only adding to his father's grief. When Russell turned twenty, his family suffered a heart attack and his brothers and sisters were taken into foster care, leaving him alone. He met a young woman named Ashley and after failing to gain her parents' approval, the two ran away to Jensa to elope, where a great change befall both of them...
  
    Russell's element is [GAIA], which is engulfed by [SOLAR]. His Essences and Abilities are nearly entirely offensive, with most of them attacking (or healing) an entire group. He fights with [STRIKE] weapons.

  
    HARLEET ROSAMOND
    28
    Harleet is a friend of Marcus from high school. Despite her beauty, she was always seen as being "too weird," and thus never had many close friends. She and Marcus dated for a while, but Marcus's frequent troubles with the law ended the relationship. Nonetheless, the two have remained great friends and it was Harleet who helped Marcus get on the right track. As a youth, Harleet always felt she was "special." She heard a girl around her age talk to her in her dreams, and soon later, she had the ability to use magic. She kept her powers mostly hidden, until joining a Wicca group in her early twenties. Outside of her Wicca group, Marcus is the only one who is aware of her abilities.

    Harleet's element is [TWILIGHT], which is dissolved by [ATOMIC] energies. Her Essences are attack-based, while her Abilities lean more towards supporting, particularly her own attributes. She fights with [ARIEL] weapons.

SCREENSHOTS:























BATTLE CODES: [There's a guide in the game to help you with this]

   Solar - Dark Blue [Weak against Earth]
   Earth - Yellow [Weak against Solar]

   White - Light Purple [Weak against Black]
   Black - Black [Weak against White]

   Moon - Pale Blue [Weak against Sun]
   Sun - Orange [Weak against Moon]

   Atomic - Red [Weak against Twilight]
   Twilight - Green [Weak against Atomic]

   Physical - Brown [Weak against Magical]
   Magical - Purple [Weak against Physical]
   No Element - Pink

CHANGES FROM THE OLD DEMO:

- The new demo is twice as long (the original demo wasn't that long, don't worry)
- You get to actually choose your pathways
- Balance issues fixed
- Plot-holes/dialogue addressed
- I changed the way some of the pictures were presented to give them a slightly more...'unified' look, if you will.
- There is a 'chart' Book that you can access from your menu screen that will explain the strengths and weaknesses of each element (since the game doesn't use traditional elements like "fire, water...etc".
- A new title screen

And of course, the mainstays:
- Colored arrows to direct you to your next destination (in addition to hints)
- When backtracking you can skip battles - meaning you don't have to flee from the same enemies over and over

TRAILER: (Warning! This was made in 2008, so it is VERY old!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x39fvTedz-4

LINKS:

Download Link: http://www.mediafire.com/?vjsdpteddtcrd5c

Missing "WoodsB" picture: http://www.mediafire.com/?340tw0c475pch3t
(just copy the picture into the game's PICTURE folder)

Blog Link: http://www.gatesindependent.blogspot.com/


---

So, that's all for now. Tell me what you think! However negative or positive, I'd like to hear from you. =)

[Disclaimer: None of the music/graphics/artwork in this game was made from me. I do not take any credit for any of them!]

[A Forgotten Legend]

Just looking at your screen shots it seems interesting.  My main complaint is that the main character is much more plain looking than the rest of the cast, and looks like it could use a bit of sprite work.

Also, you might want to fix some of the forum code in your post.

[zuhane]

This looks like something that doesn't take itself too seriously.

That's exactly what I'm looking for!

[Yeaster]

Yeah, the game is dark but it does have a sense of humor about itself too. It's not totally bleak.


Also, duly noted about the MC's sprite. I'm not the best spriter, but it shouldn't be hard to do some shading. =P

[aboutasoandthis]

This sounds really interesting. I'm downloading, and may write a little review when I have the time. 

[Yeaster]

Cool. Look forward to reading your thoughts, good or bad. =)

[ninji]

...You're using RM2K3, right? How do you get your text to look like that? o.o

Mine's always... stuck together, and ugly looking... And small...

[Yeaster]

I paste my font into the windows: font folder. =)

Look for RM2000, I think it's called.

[ninji]

Oh, so it won't look all... shitty afterward? I'll try it.

[chengliu]

voltages, so you need an extra 2) for quite a while - maybe 10 hours constantly. It pulls about 290 mA. I've installed 8x 1.2V Ni-MH AA's rechargeables in it and put a charging socket on the back panel of mine!
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[Swanberg]

  Really interesting forum, look forward to your updates.

[ninji]

Bots double-teamed. D:

On an on-topic note, I like the way this game looks.
Oh, and the text thing worked for RM2K. No idea about 2K3 though...

[Yeaster]

RPGM2000 had its own patch, I think. All you had to do was install the font patch and you were done. But with RPGM2003, you have to manually paste the font in the windows folder. The game comes with its own FONT folder and instructions, so no one has to download anything extra. =)

[ninji]

Yeah, I tried the pasting the font thing, and it worked. Thanks for letting me know that, it was bugging me for the longest time. ^.^