Announcement

[Pentagonbuddy]

Demons -- immortal beings with mastery over the world’s elements and power beyond any mortal’s imagination. They waged war with one another, dominated the land, and ruled over humanity until a plague struck them down.

Yet not all were destroyed. Many lived on, trapped in crimson stone until some notion of fate decided to free them, and now eight of the strongest walk among humans once more.

Your job is to kill them.

In Demon Slayer you play as a bounty hunter turned titular Slayer, going from hunting down criminals to hunting down superpowered, immortal demons. Nevermind about the immortal part -- you’ve got some tricks up your sleeve, but even then it still won’t be easy.

Combat is built around Melody’s PTB system, focusing on mastering an elemental system to make the most of your turns; this makes its gameplay similar to games such as Digital Devil Saga and other MegaTen games. There are no extra party members, levels, or weapons. Instead, the Slayer grows by fusing her skills to learn new ones, and may find accessories and boosts to her magical power through careful exploration. Stats are left up to you and may be altered at any time out of battle, allowing for a variety of approaches to each fight.

Spoiler:

She has abandoned her past life in pursuit of a higher cause: purging demons and restoring balance to the world, she claims. Her skills have been honed by a lifetime of fighting, and she boasts the finest technology to aid her in battle. The Slayer hopes to live up to the legacy of Slayers from the distant past, legendary warriors who sought to protect humanity from their demonic overlords. With her views set in steel, she has set out to prove herself and do good in the world.

Spoiler:

The self-proclaimed tyrant of Bormias, and an ever-present thorn in the Bormian government’s side. He lurks in the mountains, preying on travelers who skirt to close to his domain. Although he rarely leaves his lair, kidnappings and disappearances have been on the rise ever since he showed up. Certainly he is powerful, but many wonder why he chooses to hide himself away like a bandit on the run.


Currently responsible for the destruction of Lonze’s capital, he has twisted the metal city into an intimidating fortress, filled with his gargoyle servants and impressive defenses. The Lover keeps himself sealed away, venturing forth only to kidnap the occasional batch of humans. Few make it back to tell any tales, but those who do speak of a luxurious palace, one ruled by a mysterious human that The Lover devotes himself to.


Not much is known about The Monarch, other than his wandering nature and distinct appearance. He spreads unrest wherever he goes, and the people of his kingdom are widely regarded with mistrust -- though the validity of these suspicions is sometimes called into question. The Monarch himself soldiers on regardless of what others think or whoever tries to stop him.


The Warlord is currently Genahr’s divine emperor; under his rule the country has begun to expand its influence through bloody conquest. The Consort is his most trusted advisor, and the two form an awe-inspiring duo. Within their own country they are beloved rulers, but not everyone sees them in such a flattering light.


Quite possibly the #1 reason Hynli’s economy has been spiraling downwards. Her favorite fish happens to be Hynli’s most valuable commodity; her appetite has lead her to eat entire villages out of a profession. She is not above hassling traders and merchants, and continues to lurk the waterways no matter how often she is chased away.


Deep in the forests of Thendlem, The Guardian protects the humans there from the dangers of the outside world. The forest itself has been expanding because of him, swallowing up villages and providing a safe haven in nature. Thendlem’s technological advancement has slowed to a crawl -- it’s hard to develop anything when The Guardian is ready and waiting to crush it.


She is determined to impose her judgment onto the world, and does a good job of keeping herself hidden. The Arbiter has quarrels with many of her brethren; she refuses to stand by and let them do whatever they please in the world. It’s only a matter of time before justice catches up to them all.

This is a land shaped by many forces, including the magical substance known as nemata. It is in the blood of every living creature, but ages ago lived in the very dirt and soil of the continent itself. It was during these times that the original borders between each of the eight elemental clans was established, though modern days have drastically altered the political makeup.

Long after the eight clans have become countries and empires and lost kingdoms, nemata still remains an important feature of everyday life. It flows through various bloodlines, causing different magical talents to develop based on one’s heritage.

The Slayer has the blood of metal-controlling Lonze in her veins, though she herself hails from elsewhere. The demons she hunts have the purest possible blood of each element - the source of their great power, and the greatest clue to their weaknesses.

The map gets to be unfinished for now!

From left to right:
Row 1: The picture of Miss Slayer that makes it into the logo, concept art for level 2, a for-fun (scaled down!) desktop for Jalen, and me having fun with makeup.
Row 2: Some of Jalen's NPC designs~! Another one of the bosses you fight. (yes she is the chubs.) Level 3 boss! (I INTENSELY DISLIKE drawing feet can you tell?)

Pentalen/Jalenta's Notes
If you're wondering where we've been, this should answer your question. We began working on this in April with the intent of finishing sometime in the fall; due to the large amount of graphics we'll be making, this definitely won't be done by the end of fall! However, we do plan on releasing a demo of the first level soon, mostly for feedback on general gameplay and nipping potential problems in the bud. Soon = however long it takes Penta to sprite the necessary sprites!

If you'd like to help out with this game, feel free to drop either of us a PM, but do take note we're using a custom sprite template; about the only thing we'd be interested in for sure getting help with is overworld/NPC sprites.

If you'd like to support this project or shamelessly advertise it in your signature, here you go~! But please upload to your own hosting (photobucket, imageshack, imgur...there's a lot of options!) and spare our bandwidth.

CODE

[IMG]http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/l546/VXnet_Storage/Demon%20Slayer/DSSupport-1.png[/IMG]

CODE

[IMG]http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/l546/VXnet_Storage/Demon%20Slayer/DSBadge1.png[/IMG]

[Pentagonbuddy]

Battles are fought in rounds, with each side taking several turns per round.



Blue icons are for player turns, red icons for enemy turns, and grey icons denote turns that have been used up. By default you have three turns through round, but by hitting elemental weaknesses or landing critical hits, you can gain more. Using elements that enemies resist will use up turns faster, while using elements they absorb will end your entire round. Fighting fire with fire is about the worst you could do!

Pressing right on this screen will allow you to view your current status, skip all your turns, or change game settings.



By default, all elements deal 100% damage, and you have 100% vulnerability to all status effects. (Note that this does not mean every status effect will succeed 100% of the time!) By equipping or using certain skills, the Slayer’s elemental affinity will be shifted around. Lower numbers mean that the element will do less damage, while higher numbers mean the element will do more damage.

Stats++++++++++

Attack (ATK): Determines physical attack damage.
Defense (DEF): Lowers damage taken from physical attacks.
Spirit (SPI): Determines magical attack damage.
Resistance (RES): Lowers damage taken from magical attacks.
Agility (AGI): Determines how often physical attacks are evaded, as well as who has the first round in a battle.
Dexterity (DEX): Determines how often physical attacks hit, as well as their critical rate.

Each stat is paired with another; when modifying one the other is affected.
ATK <> SPI
DEF <> RES
AGI <> DEX

Stances++++++++++
Selecting a stance uses 1 turn, and the chosen stance lasts until your next round.

Defensive: Raises defense, heals 5% HP, and prevents critical attacks.
Offensive: High chance of countering physical attacks with one of your own.
Evasive: Raises evasion, but lowers defense.
Spiritual: Raises resistance to magical attacks, heals 5% MP.



When selecting a skill to use, pressing shift brings up an extended description of the skill’s effects. Skills are equipped outside of battle, and empty skill slots are automatically filled with a “pass” skill. Most skills cost Skill Points, but certain kinds of skills cost Rage to use.

Rage++++++++++
The Slayer herself and many of her foes are apt fighters who know how to use their rage to their advantage. Rage is built up through two main methods: carrying out a physical attack or receiving damage, with physical attacks being the fastest way to raise rage. When rage is maxed out, the Slayer becomes ENRAGED and her ATK/SPI stats increase while DEF/RES are lowered. Under these conditions she can also use powerful Tier IV skills. When afflicted with the Chill status effect, rage cannot be gained.

Elemental strengths/weaknesses++++++++++



The above chart shows each element’s strengths and weaknesses; every Slayer knows it by heart! In general, each element is weak to two elements, strong against two elements, complements three elements, and absorbs itself. The exception is Metal, which is weak to three elements, strong against three elements, and complements only Earth. Earth itself is somewhat of an oddity, as Earth magic has a sub-type of Nature that has a separate set of strengths/weaknesses from Earth.

Strong: These match-ups will grant the user 1 extra turn.
Weak: These match-ups will cancel 1 of the user‘s turns.
Absorb: Elemental match-ups that absorb result in canceling all of the user’s turns.
Complement: Complemental match-ups are part of what determine the effects of mixed-element skills. If the skill’s two elements are complementing ones, then the user receives a boost in resistance to each element. An example is Heat Wave, which is fire/light, and using it increases resistance to fire and light attacks. Resistance boosts gained this way do not stack, and may be canceled out by other mixed-element skills applying their own resistances.

Another note on mixed-element skills++++++++++
When mixed-element skills are made up of opposing elements, the user‘s affinity is skewed towards the “stronger” element in the pair. For example, the skill Radiant Prism is made up of Ice and Light. Light magic dominates Ice in the elemental food chain, so using it increases the Slayer’s Light affinity. This makes her more vulnerable to Earth and Metal, and more resistant to Ice and Darkness.

Armed with this knowledge, go forth and crush your enemies... Once this is done being vaporware and there is a playable version out. As a side note, expect some of these images to be updated; there are a few graphical quirks. Nothing major - just a few alignment oddities and spacing issues.

[quigonkeichy]

Ooooh nice! This looks really good! The battle screens/screens in general/idea all seem really cool and original too, well doneo~! (also I'm actually a little bit frightened, Demon Slayer was the name of the first ever RMVX project I made when I first got it...INCEPTION). Also slavery.

Looking forward to more updates!

[Luchino-chan]

I recall seeing this on rpgmaker.net and wow, it looks good. I love the custom artwork that you ( and Jalen? ) did, as well as those battle sprites. Sort of recalls those Minkoff battlers from RMXP. The Slayer seems pretty androgynous too, which is good. She isn't just another pretty face in the hordes of games on this site ( maybe I count myself guilty... >< ) and looks badass as well. But aside from that, I'm looking forward to a playable demo in the future.

Good luck, Pentalen/Jalenta.

[Emmych]

FFFFFF IT'S HERE IT'S HERE

I'm gonna go off in my corner and fangirl just a little bit.

[Pentagonbuddy]

@quigonkeichy: Demon Slayer was supposed to be a working title, oddly enough! It just ended up sticking.

@Luchino-chan: Ah-hahaha, all Pentart for now! Jalen has to wake up and tell me what she'd like to chip in. She's done some NPC designs, among other things. Meanwhile I draw NSFW pinups silly things.

Miss Slayer there is definitely not the only androgynous one. And much thanks for the well wishing!

@Emmych: YEAH YOU'VE ALREADY SEEN THIS x10, though I guess Astra .giffing his makeup on is slightly new?

[Emmych]

Oh man, totally did not realise that was a .gif ;A;
OH MAN IT WOULD BE GREAT IF THERE WAS A RANDOM SHOT OF PINK FROSTED SARNOCK IN THERE xDDDDD
I seriously love the sweet blushing Sarnock, IT IS ONLY LIKE THE CUTEST THING

But yeah I have seen this 10x. OTL
STILL BEAUTIFUL THOUGH, BBY, STILL BEAUTIFUL. <33333

[Indra]

EEEEEEEE! *fangirl hysteria episode*
I am gonna stalk this SO HARD. I was sold right away on the graphics and sprites, but after peeling my eyes away (with some diffulty, damn that water lily image is so BEAUTIFUL) and took the time to read the text it only got better. All the characters sound like they will have interesting aspects about them, I'm really looking forward to meeting them. The combat system is also right up my ally (press turns and weaknesses ftw!) and while I'm not a fan of single player parties, this one seems to be well thought out.

So that's all I wanted to say. I will support this. I shall stalk this. I shall look eviously to the sprites of this (and all the graphics, really). @.@

Um, I'd love to help with anything you guys need help with, but I'm not much of a graphic artist...If you ever need help with something simple/tedious/testing for bugs/etc (or writing, but usually people prefer to keep to their own style, but who knows) I would be glad to lend a hand.

[EvilEagles]

SIR.

THIS KICKS ASS.

I KINDLY DEMAND FOR A SUPPORT AVATAR TOO SIR.

[Kyriaki]

Beautiful, simply beautiful! I too have an obsession with demons that borders on the erotic, this will be utter enjoyment.

[Scinaya]

;u; I had to adjust my siggy a bit to make some room for this... I love how it llooookkks 83 And the element emphasis sure sounds interesting and tactical...
I don't know what I like the most, there is so much to like 8D

Strong lady for the win. x3 Astra <3 Horns everywhere, lovely art and everything seems (the little I can seee) so well written. Melody is also customized in interesting way to add up to the gameplay. 83 There has really been effort put in this... Enjoy the projeect and reallly BEST BEST BEST LUCK FOR IT!
<3333333 Haha... I want to dance for this project.

[neosky]

Wow amazing work. it looks wonderful!!! I love the image of the demon in the pond. It's amazing! I can't wait to see more. When I'm not too lazy I'm supporting this for sure!

[Pentagonbuddy]

@Indra: Ah-hahaha, talk about flattering! We'll be needing beta testers fairly soon, so I'll be sure to keep the offer in mind. Jalen and Emmych play with the most broken of versions, but I'll definitely be running it by more people.

@EvilEagles: Support avatar? That's a new one! If I think of something like that I'll definitely put one up. Either way, much thanks for the support, advertised or not. <3

@Kyriaki: No shortage of erotic demons here... Ah-hahahaha I'm giving people entirely the wrong idea about this game OTL

@Scin: I'm surprised you managed to fit it in there! And you remember Astraaa <333 HE IS IN AN ACTUAL PLACE AND NOW ACTUAL GAME, though he is level 4 and thus not in the demo.

@neosky: Most of the art up there is definitely for fun stuff for when I get tired of working on in-game graphics, that's for sure. There are some other things I haven't put up but I either need to finish them/they're just a bit too silly! OTL But a hearty thank you for the support!

[EZaxess]

This is looking good and polished, I like every bit of art presented here. This game seem to be done with simplicity and good taste, I will be watching this.

Goodluck ! cheers-

[Jalen]

Thank you so much for all the nice replies, everyone! ;A; Penta's gotten to most of you all so I'll just

HRRRRNNNNG SPREAD MY ARMS WIDE AND HUG EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU

@ EZ: Don't you just want to press Penta's art to your bosom and keep it there forever uwu

My desktop has never been happier!

~~~

NPC art has been added to the OP! I have sooo many more I need to do, but here's some basic designs to ogle if you're interested X3

[Lunarea]

Adding support bar to my siggy!

It looks absolutely fantastic. I can't wait 'til the demo is out.

[rgangsta]

Oh, wow! This game is lovely. I fell in love at first sight. I wish I could add it to my sig but then it turns into HTML code. It's a pain having to fix it.
It's worth it.

This post has been edited by rgangsta: Sep 17 2011, 08:23 PM

[LordBagardo]

This looks absolutely fantastic, Penta! Bravo old chap!

[serch]

O:
looks amazing
I cant wait to come out the demo ñ.ñ
and the graphics are amazing

[flipsomel]

I remember seeing this on another rpg maker site and thought it was awesome, and that thought remains the same. (i also checked Pents blog, gorgeous maps! )


I wish i could help with anything but my scripting skills are not top notch yet...



I really look forward to this game^^ Best of luck you two!