[In Progress] Durance of Magic

[Cartographer]

>>> QUICK LINKS AFTER EDIT <<<

- 1st Video === http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWL3tQ5XDqA

The Durance of Magic

:: Synopsis ::

In an age of strife, when the world was young, the races of the world struggle for survival. Monsters roam the lands, stepping over the borders of the wilderness and encroaching onto the war torn soils of civilization.

A shaky truce called between the kingdoms of men, Myloc and Dunkargo are two young veterans of the Great War cast aside and sent home to a land left to the mercies of the frontier. With their home found in ruins, the two ex soldiers turn to the Mercenary Guild for survival. Admitted fast for their skills and experience, their position as swords for hire soon send them deep into the chaos of a forgotten legend. A prophecy of doom that will shake the very world as they know it.

:: World ::

The world of the Durance of Magic is vast and untamed. Though the influences of civilization has stretched far and wide, the viscous nature of the world's wilderness has contributed to a slow growth in regards to the civilized races. No single continent is fully colonized and the ruins of failed attempts at civilized life litter the dangerous grounds of the frontiers.

A warm and rocky planet lush with vegetation, the world of DoM is bustling with life. While Magic has yet to be harnessed by the civilized races, there are a multitude of magical plants and animals. Still a young world, the face of this planet is constantly changing. Deserts stretch across sprawling plains and forests range from coast to coast.

There are many different cultures in the world of DoM. Though most races hold to one traditional culture, some of the races such as the Humans and the Kobold have varying cultures even within their own people.

The creatures of the world are separated into two groups. The civilized and the uncivilized. The difference between these two groups is that a civilized race can communicate and reason with other members of their race as well as other civilized races. There are far too many uncivilized races to catalogue, however the official civilized races are as follows:

- Man

- Elf

- Kobold

- Lizardfolk

- Naga

- Mimic*

- Grinn**


- (*) Mimics are considered civilized out of fear and respect. They are a chaotic neutral race of loners that are frighteningly unpredictable.

- (**) The Grinn are a collection of the oldest undead in the land. Their name coined from the unnerving smile they constantly wear. To better fit in with the civilized races they wear the skinned faces of the freshly deceased. They can not understand why these actions have an opposite effect than the acceptance they expected.

:: Characters ::

((Only a few so as not to be a spoiler.))

Myloc

Clouds skitter across the orange sky of the setting sun. The last rays of daylight warm a calm and complacent face as the high mountain wind strokes away the stray strands of silver white hair. His tall frame casting a long shadow on the scraggly grass behind him.

A roguish looking man with dark blue hair and a green cloak tosses a pebble against the back of his head. "Hey!" the rogue yells, "We gonna move out or you just gonna stand there?"

The silver haired man blinks. Out across the mountain cliffs the falling night softens the harsh view below. A stray wolf can be seen far down, sniffing at the corpse of a dead caravan guard. The shattered wooden carts lay still and empty, thoroughly looted by whatever bandits had slain the hapless travelers.

"We're too late." The man states to no one in particular.

The rogue digs in his ear unceremoniously. He looks at the fruit of his labors stuck to the end of his finger before flicking it off into the grass and shrugging carelessly. "Not our fault, buddy. We offered them protection. And at a good price, too."

A feeling of anger spiked suddenly within the man. The tall mercenary thought back to a familiar scene of destruction at his hometown far away. Just as soon as it had come, though, the anger seemed to fall into a deep hole inside him where it would lie dormant. Perhaps until a time when it would all burst forth at once. Or perhaps until it would fester within.

"Let's go."

Dunkargo

The heavy wooden doors to the Bar n' Brothel swing open, banging almost abnoxiously against the walls on either side. An average built human strides in with a cocky smile and an over-confident gait. Maids and wenches alike turn their heads, some giggling to one another, others calling out his name playfully.

Greeting the patrons with subtle waves and the ever classical point-and-wink, this charismatic vagabond weaves his way through the throng to the bar. Leaning on his side, he relaxes onto the bartop and throws up a hand gesture, recieving his usual drink in return.

"Well, wot 'ave we here then? If it isn't that old thief, Dunkargo!" says a voice from somewhere in the crowded room.

Dunkargo turns, resting his back against the bar and propping himself up on his elbows non-chalantly. "That's Treasure Hunter!" He yells back.

The throng of patrons erupts into good-natured laughter...

Gafgarion

The screams of the villagers ring out over the chaos. Crackling flames of destroyed homes dance wildly against the drizzling rain, sending noxious smoke high into the overcast sky. Amidst the murder and mayhem a red robed figure walks slowly, his boots squelching into the blood soaked mud.

"Help me!" A battered woman pleads, clutching a squealing infant to her mud stained breast. "Sir! You're human! Please help!"

The mysterious man turns his head towards the shrieking mother, his lips sneering in disgust as she hurls herself onto him, clutching at his crimson robes.

"Please, sir!" she cries, "Don't let them hurt my baby!"

The robed man chuckles and shakes his head. With a snort of contempt he shoves the woman down into the mud. "Welcome to the real world, woman." He remarks, "I believe the scholars call it natural selection."

The woman's eyes widen in terror as she realizes the robed man is not a friend but a terrible foe.

"Perhaps you or the child's father should have been stronger." He laughs as a pair of werewolves howl in delight as they dive upon the helpless villager and her infant.

:: Features ::

:: Storyline ::

The original outlet of expression for the Durance of Magic was a written trilogy. However, the idea of making a video game was much more compelling. DoM is designed to be game of depth and possibility. Like games before it, the length of gameplay depends on the player. There are a multitude of optional quests, side stories, and chances to seek out more character developement. In a sense, DoM is as long or short as the player cares to make it.

:: Party System ::

The maximum members allowed in a party at one time is 4. There will be times, though, when the player's entourage consists of more than 4 characters. It is during these times that the player will make use of a party member swapping system similair to the one in Final Fantasy 6. Different party members may trigger different events in different places at different times.

:: Combat ::

The game's combat system is traditional. It sports the old school side view with an active turn based menu style. Each character brings something special to the table in terms of combat dynamics. However, the enemies have been given more power and ability than usual. Most characters possess an ability called First Aid which restores a small amount of HP without the use of any MP. This is mainly used as a spammable heal when out of combat. Items such as Potions and Ethers are primarily used during combat. Items are a player's best friend.

:: Secrets ::

There are a ton of secret passages, hidden doors, and stashed treasures to be found. One must keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. Watch close, though. Many treasures can only be gained at certain points in time.

:: Tech System ::

We are currently working on a Tech system similair to the one in Chrono Trigger. We would like to be able to have dual techs, triple techs, and possibly even quadruple techs that involve all members of a given party. This may or may not be a feature come release time, though.


:: Adventuring ::

It is part of the storyline that the protagonist joins up with an organization called the Mercenary Guild. Because of this, the player is able to take on optional jobs that may take the player to the farthest corners of the world. Some of these jobs are easy and some are very challenging.


:: Treasure Hunting ::

The world is littered with ruins of fallen kingdoms and pillaged towns. There are even hidden caves, underwater lairs, and whole cities lost in the overgrowth of forests and jungles. Who knows what treasures may lie within these forgotten places.


:: Interactive World ::

An experienced RPGer would do well to remember the rule of conversation. Be sure to talk to any NPCs you find as even the most simple of passer by could change one's fortune in the future.

[Cartographer]

Hi, everyone. Hopefully you will forgive the repost. It just feels uncouth or something to throw everything I need to say in one big gaudy post.

I would like to introduce myself. I know this isn't the new members board. I am not a new member. I have been an avid fan and user of Charas-Project.net for going on 4 years. I have created a new account and have chosen to introduce myself here because this is where the majority of my time is spent. In the gaming development and resources areas. I am not any good at online forum socialization. I just bring what I have to offer and that is all. Many thanks to those who have helped and supported throughout the years.

I am Cartographer. Lead Member of the development team known as Durance Gaming. While introducing myself, i would also like to bring to light the existance of Durance Gaming. We will be making games for years to come. As a brief summary of who we are, I will just cut and paste some text from our website. Forgive my laziness.   

:: Background ::

Durance Gaming, named after its main project known as the Durance of Magic, was created by team member Cartographer in 2007. Since his early childhood, Cartographer had been smitten with the greatness of the early Final Fantasy series. Later, he became intimate with the storylines and characters of other great RPGs such as Chrono Trigger and the Secret of Mana series.

With the release of the next generation systems, it was Cartographer's feeling that the video gaming industry began spending too much time and energy on the looks and features of RPGs rather than the storyline, character developement and immersion that had enthralled him like so many others before.

And so, Cartographer started what was at first a silly attempt at honoring the great RPGs of his time. Over time, with growing confidence and the support of his friends and testers, Cartographer realized his efforts may be worthy of something real.

The Durance of Magic will be released as a fully free to play single player RPG. Money has never and will never be the goal of Durance Gaming. Our dream is to tell stories that incite thought and to create characters that invoke emotion.

The mission of Durance Gaming is to offer something tangible. We are a game development team dedicated to the old ways. We strive to bring the indie gaming community compelling storyline, familiar style, and quality gameplay.



P.S.

The game featured above is our first game. The Durance of Magic. There are no fancy bells or whistles. No slick graphics or myriad of customization. This is a game like those many of us played as kids. Think back to games like Final Fantasy 4, Final Fantasy 5, Final Fantasy 6, Secret of Mana, Breath of Fire, Chrono Trigger, and many others like this. These games, while each sporting neat features and fun gameplay, were memorable for their stories and their characters. This, too, is the aim for Durance of Magic.

So if you were a fan of these older style RPGs, then this game is meant for you.

[fruckert]

Don't worry about the double posting, updating a central post isn't usually done.
I have to say that I'm rather interested, though...it seems like an interesting fantasy realm, and I love older RPGs (in fact, I was just playing FFVI).

Is this made in 2k3, or is it a custom engine?

[Cartographer]

This is RM2k3.

[Shady Ultima]

Aside from the fact that I am almost 100% sure that you're using the default battle system, this does seem alright. Especially the descriptions of the characters, very nice there.

[Infected]

Looks like a great game man. 

Would love to try it when you get a demo or a full version out.

[Ben]

 Durance, is not a word. Its the last name of a porn star though. Im assuming it was an intended root-word to ENdurance, which would make sense...if Endurance had a root word that was not Endure. Durr is, however a word...Because with a word like Durance...Dur would have to be the root. 'ance' is a suffix. Dur, as in 'HURR DURR DURR" is slang...for something that is stupid, or generally retarded....(check it) So calling this "Durance of Magic" or "Durance Gaming" essentially means "The retardedness of magic" and "Retarded Gaming". Not attacking you, just want to make sure you are aware of this...might want to re-brand. Despite my bad spelling, Im an english nerd. I live with a dude finishing his last year in a linguistics Doctorate....Im keen on this sort of thing.

Good luck with the project. Looks...playable. The world map looks bland as hell, but well planned. Could use some more variation. It seems like the screenshots from the world would be uninteresting. Moar spice plz

Story driven games are great, but youd best have some good gameplay, flow-wise, or nobody is going to give a **** about your story. Default Battle systems arent going to make anyone want to play a story driven game. too much aimless grind  

[fruckert]

I agree that it needs a better name.
"X of Y" names are exceedingly common in the biz.

[Cartographer]

Hahah! That's funny, I've always felt it needed to be renamed. I've stuck with it for now, though. Until I can think of something better.

And yes, Durance is french for endurance. However, I had gotten the idea a long time ago from Diablo 2's "Durance of Hate". The durr thing is a bit of a stretch, but i get the gist. =P

Also, the majority of these screenshots are a bit outdated. They're from a bare bones Alpha I released to friends and family a while back. The overworld pic is really old. There have been changes made and a few new terrains added. We aren't looking to overdo it, though. The most painstaking of our work is the storyline and flow of gameplay.

We recognize the battle system as our ultimate challenge. The trick is to keep it traditional while avoiding the bore of the grind. Worst case scenario, there may be optional grind spots like the little desert in FF6's World of Ruin with the Hoover and the Cactrot that would yield the big *** supply of Gold, Exp, and Magic Points. However, if all goes according to plan, it is more likely that the challenge of the progessing storyline will lead players to where they need to be, strength wise. There's nothing worse than a game where you have to stop mid story to grind out 5-10 levels just to survive.

Thanks, everyone, for the posts thus far. I hope they'll keep coming. They're very motivating.

[Muraiko]

If all goes according to plan, it is more likely that the challenge of the progessing storyline will lead players to where they need to be, strength wise. There's nothing worse than a game where you have to stop mid story to grind out 5-10 levels just to survive.

That's one way to solve it. You could also just add other factors to make the battle system more tactical, so players who wish to power through with grinding can do so, while others who are more strategic can just plan ahead instead and end up the same. As for what other factors to add, it all depends on what you do with the battle system. If it's just plain the DBS with nothing added to it, then you really can't make it more strategic than equipment, party members, and maybe classes. Making a Custom Battle System opens MANY doors of opportunity for strategy, but not many even attempt it just because the amount of work it takes. A Default Battle System can be interesting as long as you do something with it.

[Cartographer]

We're doing our best to keep the battle system as traditional as possible in order to emulate the games this project honors. The need for strategy and a challenge was realized within days of starting DoM, though. You're right about the strategy of party members, equipment, and classes. It took awhile to work around the limitations of RM2k3 but eventually we found ways to incorporate more tactical measures into the DBS. This involved making full use of status ailments, buffs, weapon and element weaknesses and strengths, etc. We've also been careful to use battle planning for more than just our boss fights. This required a better design of the game's mobs. Players will discover that monsters in the game can do pretty much anything you can do.

There are some things we'd like to add, though, that we haven't yet figured out. One such thing is the tech system similar to the one in Chrono Trigger where multiple party members can combine forces for an attack. However it looks like we'd have to upgrade to RMXP for this, and at this point it may be too much to do a complete overhaul. Unless anyone knows of a relatively pain free way of translating RM2k3 maps, files, etc to an RMXP format.

[Cartographer]

Alright, folks. Getting a video together for preview before releasing the Demo. I am working on it right now... While you wait, you can watch an official Durance Gaming playthrough of Mega Man X. It's sweet. Just turn up the volume on your speakers cause the audio is kinda weak.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTPoffxwX9g

[Cartographer]

Whew... Internet went out for an annoyingly long period of time... Gotta love Charter.

Anyways, as aforesaid, here is the first video. This is the New Game Intro for Durance of Magic.

>>> VIDEO LINK >>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWL3tQ5XDqA

((Please Note))

- This is the Alpha for the game. Many graphics and whatnot may be changed before release. So the end result may look different.

[Prpl_Mage]

This looks interesting and I understand that you want to keep the traditional rpg feeling with the battles.
I'm not sure if you've solved the dual techs and whatnot But I have a lame but simple way of doing this if you are interested.
It basically involves a common event that add skills if the specified character is in the party and then removes said skill if the character isn't present.

[Cartographer]

This looks interesting and I understand that you want to keep the traditional rpg feeling with the battles.
I'm not sure if you've solved the dual techs and whatnot But I have a lame but simple way of doing this if you are interested.
It basically involves a common event that add skills if the specified character is in the party and then removes said skill if the character isn't present.

Yes, that would be really helpful actually. I've yet to master the common event system so it would be good to know.

Whenever you have the chance, of course.