Announcement

[Drunken Paladin]

Disclaimer: This game deals heavily with religious doctrine that may be seen as offensive by impressionable and/or easily offended individuals. Please note that the contents of this game do not in any way reflect the spiritual, moral, or philisophical ideals of its creator or those affiliated with it.

A Brief Synopsis of the Tale:

The events of this game take place fundamentally four-hundred years after the assumed date of Milton's epic. Adam and Eve left Paradise, creating a foundation for the way of all mankind forever more. To eat, one must labor in the fields. To be warm, one must build a home, prepare fires, and dress in the clothes that tired hands have fashioned. To raise a child, one must first suffer the pain of birth, risk death and pray that God still watches over you. And illness--it seems only to exist for reminding us that we are not in Paradise any longer.

This is the story of longing in a time of bitterness, of search where there are no maps, of hope when the clouds are dark and the skies reveal nothing, and no one can remember if God had ever existed to begin with.

A man who you will come to know soon, however, knows something that many others don't. He knows that Adam is alive, still, after all these years, and that he lives among us.


The World:

This is a world you know well, even if you were not alive these many thousands of years ago. The Earth is separate from the Heavens and from Hell. It may, perhaps, seem as though these boundaries are traversed from time to time, but not by mortal men like you and me.

Expect to see the things of this world in a new light, however, as it might be said that our hero's soundness of mind has been jeopardized by his ambition, his own cleverness, and by something else entirely which I will not discuss at this time.


Some Individuals That You May Find Relevant:

Aran:




A scholar and former interrogator who was responsible for discerning heretics in a ruling kingdom which lies to the north of Nod. Aran retired voluntarily from this task, although he had developed a reputation for success, and never mentioned the reason for his leaving. Some say that he is a brilliant man, and that this has cost him his happiness, as he seems now to wander in search of vague histories and wives' tales. His newest obsession is Eden, and he seems to believe that he knows the key to unlocking Paradise for all of mankind. Most often, his ideas are discounted by other scholars as superstitious.

He will be the protagonist for this tale, and it will be his pain with which you identify most.


Adam
Adam is presumed to have been the first man ever created by God. No one can say if he exists anymore, and even the generation of his children who were born first did not all believe that a God had created him. Aran believes that these events had transpired roughly four-hundred years ago, making Adam impossibly old, if indeed he does exist, and still live among us.

They say that his rib was taken by God to make a wife for him, who the rumors no longer speak about. She was called Eve.


Satan
Perhaps he exists, perhaps he is merely a convenient tool for the superstitious to avoid accepting accountability for their actions. Most people discount his interference with everyday lives, and some discount his existence altogether.

But Aran believes that he was responsible for seducing Adam and Eve into sacrificing their own paradise for the wisdom of God. The stories say that Satan came to them in the form of a serpent, but that he was once an angel on High.

Gameplay:

The game will be largely sandbox-oriented. You will be at liberty to roam the world in any order you choose, although there will also be a set number of events which must be completed (in no particular order) to achieve the fundamental ending, which will be modified by how many other things you have done. Think Fallout, in that regard.

The class system is something which I am very interested in seeing reactions for. It is fundamentally Yanfly's Subclass selection system, but with a twist. You may still have a primary class and a secondary class, but upon doing so, it changes you into a new, unique class altogether. Being that there are 15 basic classes, this means that there are almost 100 different unique class combinations, each with their own ability/abilities. The catch is that the main player characters will have set primary classes for the most part, while the optional characters will be completely customizable in every regard. Also keep in mind that primary class dictates equipment options.

Here are a few newer screen-shots as an example of what I mean:

Spoiler:

Aran is a Scholar by default, and this cannot be changed since it defines him. However, in the subclass selection menu, you'll see that by hovering over Knight, you get an idea how choosing that subclass will alter his stats.


If you decide to choose Knight as your subclass, you will become a "Strategist". You will still be able to learn both Scholar and Knight abilities, but you will also have access to a unique class skill as a Strategist.


Here's an example of Adam, who is fundamentally a priest (of sorts). If you choose "Ranger" as a subclass, you will become a Veterinarian.

Finding different combination for each of your characters and building a party which suits your preferred style of play should be a unique experience for each individual involved.


Images of a Small Portion of this Project:

Spoiler:

Show Support:

Like the project? Show support with the userbar (image sources courtesy of blake_ezra) by copy/pasting the following codes into your signature:

CODE

[url="http://www.rpgmakervx.net/index.php?showtopic=25614"][img]http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/9871/ubd5623.png[/img][/url]

CODE

[url="http://www.rpgmakervx.net/index.php?showtopic=25614"][img]http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/6929/ubd1667.png[/img][/url]

Gratitude:

- Kevin MacLeod for some amazing musical tracks (hit this dude up at incompetech.com and give him money, he's a genius)
- PentagonBuddy for volunteering to assist with sprites/faces
- blake_ezra for some mind-blowingly good artwork
- Professor MeowMeow for volunteering to assist (though I foolishly have not capitalized on this just yet)
- Mokx Ruby for the incredible scripting work
- Yanfly, KGC, Woratana, Kylock, Modern Algebra and Para Dog for pre-fabricated scripts.

This post has been edited by Drunken Paladin: Jan 28 2010, 09:54 PM

[Sevith]

So this is a pseudo-sequel to Paradise Lost and not a video game adaptation, correct? Shouldn't you give it a name that reflects that, like Paradise Lost: The Losing of Paradise?

[Drunken Paladin]

So this is a pseudo-sequel to Paradise Lost and not a video game adaptation, correct? Shouldn't you give it a name that reflects that, like Paradise Lost: The Losing of Paradise?

I contemplated this for a few months, and it's the only reason I did not create the thread earlier. The reality is, this game will essentially be about the events of Paradise Lost vicariously through a series of non-chronological fragments. It is Paradise Lost. Or at least, Paradise Lost is in here.

There is already a "sequel" to Paradise Lost by Milton himself entitled, Paradise Regained, which was never as popular. (It deals with the temptation of Christ).

I eventually decided not to add a subtitle to the game because the title of the epic itself is already so powerful, anything else would just detract from it. Fortunately for me, the statue of limitations ran out a few hundreds of years ago. Everything that I add to the book will be for the sole purpose of trying to excuse the format of the project as an RPG, but it does not add up to anything substantial beyond the text itself.

So consider it an adaptation mixed with an homage, under the same title.

This post has been edited by Drunken Paladin: Jan 17 2010, 11:26 PM

[Sevith]

Aah, the Dante's Inferno route... let's hope this homage goes a bit better than that one.

[Drunken Paladin]

Aah, the Dante's Inferno route... let's hope this homage goes a bit better than that one.

My plan all along was to ride the wave of Dante's infernal failure, so my project would look good in comparison.

[Confederacy]

Aah, the Dante's Inferno route... let's hope this homage goes a bit better than that one.

Hey now. Despite the fact that there is almost nothing from the Divine Comedy in Dante's Inferno (besides some characters), its still a damn good homage.


And yeah, I definitely can not wait for this Paladin. Hopefully its done by this year, eh?

[Drunken Paladin]

And yeah, I definitely can not wait for this Paladin. Hopefully its done by this year, eh?

Well, I have no predictions this early about when it will be completed. I will put in considerably more work than my previous project with regards to mapping and cinematic elements, so I anticipate that the project will move slower as a whole.

Although, I am excited to show off some of the incredible work blake_ezra has done with the title screen and artwork. I think, however, that I might delay for now and build up some anticipation (hint: it's amazing).

This post has been edited by Drunken Paladin: Jan 20 2010, 12:38 AM

[Hugh Clair]

Sounds interesting. Hope it goes well.

[Bluegrazz]

Holy hot hell. Don't quote the OP, especially in a project thread.
-Sevith

-This is what I am talking about... This is WHAT RPG Maker should be used for and is a shining example of doing something creative, different and unique.

I am a noob to RPG Maker (actually got it to make a Christmas Present for my Nephew) and so far all I have really seen is generic themes redone , repackaged, renamed and called a "unique game"...

I sure as hell look forward to playing this (I am very short on time ATM) as I can clearly see this is an intellectually and thought provoking experience.

I had to comment here- This idea really stands apart as something special.

-Good luck on this undertaking, and you "Level up" for being extremly creative and willing to experement with NEW ideals.

=P

[Drunken Paladin]

Thanks, Bluegrazz.

Although, I would hesitate to call the re-envisioning of a classic epic an entirely new idea. This sort of thing has been attempted more than a few times, and for the most part, it has been somewhat of an abomination each time (re: Beowulf film with Angelina Jolie and the Dante's Inferno game for which the makers should exist on one of Hell's many layers).

But I will certainly attempt to make this a worthwhile experience, and look forward to hearing more feedback.

This post has been edited by Drunken Paladin: Jan 21 2010, 09:09 PM

[inquisitorone]

Excellent. I've been listening for whispers of this project since its announcement, and its really a pleasure to see that Paradise Lost has come this far already.

I am certainly looking forward to playing (and enjoying) this venture and agree 100% on your comment regarding the 're-invisioning' of classic epics. I would say that the numerous revisions of Beowulf and The Iliad (may the gods smite whoever thought of the train wreck that was Troy).

Regardless, I'm very interested to see how the plot of your story unfolds. You can count on my support!

[Drunken Paladin]

Excellent. I've been listening for whispers of this project since its announcement, and its really a pleasure to see that Paradise Lost has come this far already.

I am certainly looking forward to playing (and enjoying) this venture and agree 100% on your comment regarding the 're-invisioning' of classic epics. I would say that the numerous revisions of Beowulf and The Iliad (may the gods smite whoever thought of the train wreck that was Troy).

Regardless, I'm very interested to see how the plot of your story unfolds. You can count on my support!

Thanks, inquisitorone.

Truthfully, I'm a little concerned about the demographic mismatch, so it's good to see people who are interested in the project. Hopefully the game will be interesting enough for people who have not read Paradise Lost, and yet, faithful enough to the original so that the people who have read it are appeased.

[MASH_MX]

Wow, Paladin just stunning work so far by the looks of it. I hope it goes for you according to how you wish. I can't wait to enjoy more of your creativeness and ingenuity.

[Drunken Paladin]

Wow, Paladin just stunning work so far by the looks of it. I hope it goes for you according to how you wish. I can't wait to enjoy more of your creativeness and ingenuity.

Thanks, man.


For some reason, the userbar wasn't working before, so I fixed it (and added a brand new one).

Cheers

[Scinaya]

That looks good and interesting. I´m looking forward on this and going to put userbar on my sig... ^^

This post has been edited by Scinaya: Jan 28 2010, 09:46 PM

[Lights End]

I like the Tree you made for the center of the garden, nice and big.

[Drunken Paladin]

I like the Tree you made for the center of the garden, nice and big.

Thanks, it's actually a recolor of an XP tree that blake_ezra did, I just added the fruit and flowers and photo-shopped it into a parallax.

[kabuto202]

Lol, this is actually the name of one of my old games that I never got around to finishing.

[Tervo]

Sounds interesting I'll be following this one.

[Thrillhouse]

There's a flood of Dante inspired games right now. I'm glad I decided to not create one. That said, I can't wait to play this one. Hope to see more soon!