A tactical RPG where all players' choices come together to drive a living story, created by a AAA veteran and a chart-topping author.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Introducing: The Machinist + Social Stretch Goals Underway!
about 8 years ago
– Fri, Apr 22, 2016 at 08:44:37 AM
Hi Everyone!
Our Social Stretch Goal is off to a strong start: we’re already on our way to 50 tweets, so keep it up! If you haven’t pinged us or mentioned the game yet, help spread the word and unlock that game mode!!
Facebook - like Abyssal Arts on Facebook and tag us in your post!
Twitter - tag/follow @abyssalarts so we can retweet you and keep track!
Fan Art Submissions: contact [at] abyssalarts [dot] com
Today, we’re introducing the combat mechanics for the Machinist, one of the three classes coming to City of the Shroud THANKS TO YOU!
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The Machinist
Our next class is the Machinist, and in addition to being a hybrid dexterity/magic class, the Machinist has the distinction of being the weirdest class. You see, the Machinist doesn’t have a weapon, and doesn’t actually attack enemies – well, not directly anyhow.
Instead of building combos like the other classes, the Machinist builds machines for a variety of purposes. Unfortunately, using magic to power machinery is still, shall we say, experimental, so the Machinist carries a backpack device that allows him to discharge excess energy from the process rather than explode and die.
It’s surprisingly difficult to find volunteers who are willing to absorb energy discharges while the Machinist is building, but fortunately your enemies don’t have much choice in the matter.
With the proper calibrations, the Machinist can build or upgrade turrets, teleport himself or allies, and heal or enhance allies. This allows you to focus on fortifying an area, enhancing your mobility, or simply making all of your allies better.
Given that the Machinist doesn’t have a weapon, you really don’t want him fighting on his own, but as part of a team he is a very valuable asset!
Best,
Ryan & The Abyssal Arts Team
Thunderclap + Social Stretch Goal Announced!
about 8 years ago
– Thu, Apr 21, 2016 at 07:43:46 PM
Hi Friends!
Today, we’d like to announce two exciting things: first, we’re launching a Thunderclap!
Thunderclap is a fun way to get everyone together to send out a big, simultaneous blast on Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr (ka-boom!). We’re going to use it to tell the world when City of the Shroud’s Kickstarter hits the 48-hours-left mark - join in so we can spread the word:
The second is our shiny new Social Stretch Goal: Survival Mode!
Survival Mode will pit your team against wave after wave of enemies - test your team’s prowess to see how long you can remain standing!
If all of us can band together and get the word out about City of the Shroud, we’ll add Survival Mode to the game - all you have to do is help hit any 10 of the 26 goals below:
Reach any 10 of these and we'll add Survival Mode to the game!
If we can hit 10 of those goals, we’ll add Survival Mode to the game for everyone to tackle!
Be sure to tag us when you Tweet or post and use this link so we can keep track of how often the campaign is being shared:
Facebook - like Abyssal Arts on Facebook and tag us in the post!
Twitter - tag @abyssalarts so we can retweet you and keep track!
Fan Art Submissions: contact [at] abyssalarts [dot] com
Let’s get out there and spread the word!
Best,
Keaton & The Abyssal Arts Team
Technical Deep-Dive: How Your Choices Drive The Story
about 8 years ago
– Wed, Apr 20, 2016 at 09:43:44 PM
Hi Everyone!
Today, we're going to talk about the tools that power the player-driven story system in City of the Shroud; aka, how YOU influence the plot!
(That's step 3 with all the wires!)
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Anyone in the web industry knows how important analytics are to a homepage. They let us as developers see which pages are engaging visitors, what links people are clicking on, and most importantly, what to improve. But that’s not all they can do!
City of the Shroud is taking that approach one step further and using those tools for something different. The game is able to tell us what factions players are choosing, which quests are being completed, and what choices have been made throughout the story. We then compile all those choices into graphs, charts, and spreadsheets in real-time, which allows Moira to create an evolving story based on your actions!
The best part is: we’ve already accomplished this. The preview story we did back in February is a 4-part series which was driven by the players, and you can read about how it went in our first Kickstarter update!
When we started, there was no system in place to accomplish our goals for the narrative. Originally, we built our own server through Amazon. The game let players create accounts, save their game data, and even create a party filled with other players’ characters (that particular element is no longer in the game, but the development diary tier people will get to read all about it!). Unfortunately, the cost, overhead, and security issues of running a private server so early in development drove us to look for something different.
Enter Playfab. Playfab is a cross-platform service built for game studios to easily manage player accounts, build leaderboards, add friend lists, and so on. We were easily able to migrate our existing player accounts over to Playfab, and as an added bonus, we were able to switch over to a normal (read: affordable!) web-hosting provider now that Playfab is handling the game interactions. Basically, they provided the safe, reliable backend we needed to focus on building the system we wanted.
So how do the narrative mechanics work?
Whenever a player does certain actions within the game such as finishing a battle or completing a quest, a small data packet is sent to Playfab and added to our story database. Then our system grabs all those data packets, wraps them up, and sends the information over to the team.
Using the tools available to us in an unexpected way, we are able to do something interesting and complicated without breaking our budget or ourselves. Taking something that is meant for something dry and using it to do something new and creative has been really rewarding, and we hope you enjoy the results!
Best, Jon & The Abyssal Arts Team
Twitch Stream, Rezzed Top 10, and More!
about 8 years ago
– Tue, Apr 19, 2016 at 04:08:57 PM
Hi Everyone!
We’ll be streaming City of the Shroud with Myrathi tomorrow morning around 9 ~ 10 AM UK time. We met at Rezzed at the beginning of April, and he was kind enough to take the time to give us some excellent feedback that we plan to implement in the final game, right there on the floor. Join us tomorrow in bowing before his gaming senses (if you’re awake!)!
Best of all, we’re listed with on the same page as our friends at Titutitech and their incredibly fun couch-multiplayer game, Oh My Godheads!, being published by Square Enix Collective. I’ve known Fede since our days together at Capcom, and we’ve stayed in close contact after leaving to go indie in the same month! (Demo Here)
“The dialog is well written and isn’t afraid to blend seriousness with a bit of comedy and the gameplay is fantastic.”
“Keeping an eye on health, enemy and party placements, action gauges, and the recipe is complete for a rush of gameplay that is hard to put down.”
“City of the Shroud is a Turned Based Real Time Strategy RPG with combos such as those seen in Legend of Legaia back on the PS1 that blended fighting elements into an RPG. Take a moment to let mouthful sink in. With all of these elements ambitious is a word that fits perfectly and while it is ambitious, City of the Shroud Succeeds in order to grant a very appealing game style that is easy to get into.”
Thank you to Pierre-Yves for the kind words!
The game is getting a lot of love in the indie press, and we're only $44 from breaking $15k - let's get it over! Please share the campaign and help spread the word!
Best, Keaton & The Abyssal Arts Team
Introduction to Class Mechanics: The Defender
about 8 years ago
– Mon, Apr 18, 2016 at 11:03:23 AM
Hi Everyone!
Today, we’re digging into the gameplay planning behind one of the classes you’re helping us build: The Defender!
Check out the details below and let us know what kind of stuff you’d like to see from the Defender class in the comments :)
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The Defender is a hybrid strength/magic class, and is by far the hardest class to bring down. If you’ve often wondered why so many people seem to bring weapons into battle and would rather just bring two shields so you never die, then the Defender is the class for you. Defenders thrive in the thick of combat, with abilities to pull enemies towards you, create magical walls to keep them there, and abilities that get stronger when surrounded.
As a front-line fighter, the Defender can protect allies behind her or blast enemies in a wide area in front of her, but if your opponent breaches your formation then you might have a tough time protecting your allies. Fortunately, the Defender can cleanse Corruption stacks to heal, but the Defender does her best work when she is the one taking the hits.
Whether you want a tank that can dictate battle lines, a sturdy fighter that thrives in the thick of battle, or a melee healer that is just really difficult to kill, the Defender will help to make sure your team is the last one standing.
Their summary says it best: Quest of Souls is a multiplayer fantasy shoot 'em up RPG about a corgi dragonslayer, lizardman samurai, and a goodly lich who track down a stolen artifact! The team at King Crow Studios are drawing on twin stick shooters, classic RPGs, and Bioware-style dialogue choices to create what looks to be a very promising title!
