Legacy of Heroes – Of Hobbits and Heroes

It must be Friday again, which means time for another weekly update.

Friday is typically patch day, so I would be discussing the patch-notes, but there are a few updated being rolled into one big one for later.  The main issue is a number of databases will need to be reset after each one, requiring all the characters to be reset, so we’ll delay the patch until they are all ready to minimise disruption for the alpha testers.

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Long Silences and “The Future of Freya’s Aett”

Long Silences

Yes, I have noticed the lack of updates.  I am very sorry about that.

Let’s start by saying that the pre-production phase is slow.  In a full studio, the design for the prototype might have been done in a week and there would be concept art all across the walls.  In this small studio, the full GDD is more important, so the prototype will have to be reverse engineered based on what can be done with it.  Also, since I am not getting paid for it, I can’t really afford to put all my eggs in just the one basket.

Negativity over, there are some bright motes of light on the horizon.  There have been a few responses from artists looking to help out on Legacy of Heroes, but not so many programmers; sadly, most of the programmers I know either want paying or they are busy on other pro-bono projects and not really free to take on the dreams of another “oh-so-talented, charmingly Bohemian, tragically impoverished” designer.

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Legacy of Heroes – Design Restrictions

Running around and playing other RPGs as part of my competitive analysis, I started to realise that there are certain fantasy tropes which I very much needed to get rid of. Certain clichés have no place in this game, even if it isn’t going for gritty realism.

In terms of ‘level’ and art style, I will always be aiming for Conan of Cimmeria rather than Forgotten Realms or Tolkien’s world.  The world is lived in and you want to keep clear of dark alleys and the edges of kingdoms, not running around filling your pack with every plant and rock you find that would fit in your pack.

As such, here are some of the rules according to Anthony…

• City streets are not filled with crates and barrels just waiting to be smashed open, those tend to be in cellars or warehouses.
• If you do smash open crates, you are more likely to unleash a torrent of beer or water on your boots than to find gold.
• Smashing barrels is destruction of property; the watch takes a dim view…
• Healing potions are found in apothecary shops, not in a rat-infested sewer.
• The only thing you will find on the corpse of a rat is fur and meat, neither of which you will want or need.
• Just because you can pick mushrooms does not mean they will not kill you if you eat them.
• Flirting with nuns and princesses is not ‘forbidden love’, it’s just a sure-fire way to get excommunicated and / or exiled.

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