Not a massive update for you today but for sure the most important one since a long time: Gamera Interactive took back publishing rights for Alaloth – Champions of The Four Kingdoms, its own in-house developed IP. We can’t go into details about the process that led to this [don’t ask] but hey, that’s a big news, isn’t it? Hands shaking while posting this, we are over the moon now, after a very long silence since the latest Steam update back in November. We can’t wait to show you what we were working on and disavow all those who believed the worst about the future of Alaloth.
On one hand, we’ve suffered the pain of not being able to answer to everyone in real time, we offer our apologies for this. On the other hand, the huge support we’ve received, fueled us and gave us all the strength to move forward as a team, even in the darkest moments, facing the pandemic first and many other issues out of our control then. As any “respected studio” outside, we’ve got trolls jumping in here and in our social channels sharing “the truth” about the development: the upcoming cancellation of the project, the redesign of 99% of the game, the shady explanations of the problems we had and so on. Nothing true of course but legit, we can say, considering the above-mentioned silence that luckily ends today with this fresh restart. This time for real.
The development never stopped. Never. We now have the chance to think about next steps, pushing our vision in full, taking care of everything we consider pivotal in the long term: the community, the players. Participative design anyone?
Before writing down this update we were so much excited we even thought about the option to fully reveal future plans and next steps but going all in is definitely not a thing in game dev. We carefully have to evaluate what’s the best path to follow to release the game at its best and truth is that we’ve a business running here, so we can’t just throw our cards on the table without weighting all the opps popping-up here and there. It could be a new partner jumping in, old friends rejoining or such. We are dealing with all of this now putting pieces together.
We’ll immediately work on getting the ball rolling again. A lot of people are testing the game right now, we are at work to get the spotlight in one of the key events happening in a while, a new gameplay trailer is ready [and we love it]. We decided to put consoles versions on hold, focusing on PC now: someone else will take care of this letting us being focused on PC build. This is a choice we made with the full picture in mind. And yes, we have an ideal release window too in mind and it is much closer than what you expect.
So, what’s next? There is a huge queue of unreleased contents we are going to share since now on, we just have to reorganize the flow a bit. There are so many things to say that we’re probably going on with a few “random drops” here. We’ll be showing in-game features, creatures, companions, tech stuff, lore related contents and so on. Following the inspiration let’s say, trying to pair the original plan we had in mind as soon as possible.
When we put online the last update about the development, we explained how we tried to stick with the original vision we had, despite the fact that the scope of the project changed with the day by day, transforming Alaloth into a bigger, ambitious product. It was September 2021 and today we can confirm everything we said about our vision at time, just adding that probably these months have been the most important so far. We added new features, iterated a lot, redesigned a few things not convincing us 100%, collected super amazing feeds from testers ranging from QA guys to dev superstars. We’ve been glad to see this people getting the essence of a game intended to be something new, in between old school classics and modern action games. We’ll be back on this in the next days, anyway.
Once again, thank you very much for the love and support: every single message has been red, and we are super excited to chat with you all and show progresses we’ve made. AMA on the way too, to ask all your questions about WIP [details to be posted by the end of the week hopefully!]
Following up on September’s Production Update that brought you the latest info about the development of Alaloth - Champions of the Four Kingdoms, we’d like to bring you some news about Alaloth as a brand. We’ve been working on a new logo for the game and have been excited to unveil the new look to you all. We couldn’t wait any longer to tell you all about it, so without further ado, we present to you the new logo for Alaloth - Champions of The Four Kingdoms!
We’ve come a long way since Gamera Interactive was founded in 2017 (it will be 5 years in February! Yay!) and a lot has changed within our company and around the game. We also feel grateful to be working on such a cool IP that has so much potential. Given all that, we felt that it was time to give the logo a new look.
Our company was founded around the idea of delivering our dream RPG, inspired by the old classics but with a modern twist, so when making the new Alaloth logo, we used references from the 80s and 90s. We pulled strongly on our nostalgia of the golden era of RPGs and we feel that the new logo reflects our fond memories of that time. We hope that you like it too.
Another reason that we wanted to give the Alaloth brand a fresh new look, with a logo that was more readable and modern is because of the other Alaloth goodies we’ve been working on. Under the umbrella of Alaloth there’s more than just a video game, there’s also Alaloth - The Tempest, a comic book that serves as a prequel to Alaloth - Champions of The Four Kingdoms as well as a novel in the works.
Alaloth - The Tempest is ready for print and will hit shelves in bookstores and comic shops by the end of the year (it will be available in major online stores too). We’re pretty excited as it’s not often that you get to physically see and touch the product of your work in the mostly digital world we operate in! We’ve also signed a deal for a novel, which will be a collection of stories (codename Alaloth - Legends) from our narrative team. That project is in progress but is almost ready for publication as well. Be sure to follow our channels to stay updated on these extra goodies from the realms of Alaloth. Even if we can’t say too much now, it is just the beginning talking about retail.
We appreciate your support and patience as we work on Alaloth -Champions of The Four Kingdoms and other Alaloth projects. Do you like the new logo? Let us know here on Steam or on our Discord.
We have something special for you. We felt that this was a good moment to give you a general overview of the Alaloth - Champions of The Four Kingdoms development situation.
After the release of our last gameplay trailer, a little over a year ago now, we started to post regular updates on Steam, focused on the game’s lore and development. We hope that you’ve enjoyed the content we’ve shared across our channels throughout our development journey, it's been great to see your support along the way.
We’ve had a few delays and hurdles to overcome due to Covid-19 and some other last minute, unpredictable events, but we feel that we’re heading in the right direction now. Although we haven’t been able to get back to Gamera HQ since March 2020, our team has grown to 18 people (!) and we’re hoping to adapt to a hybrid work model soon that will allow our team to develop a closer bond. 2021 has felt like a fresh start and we feel like we’re approaching another great milestone.
[previewyoutube="y_4gH4sAMbo;full"] We’ll share more news about the future with you soon, but for now, let’s focus a little on the what’s been happening over the past few months as you’ve, rightfully, been asking for updates for a while now here on Steam, on our Discord server, and in many different RPG communities and we know our recent radio silence didn’t help matters.
We believe that honesty is always the best way to go and today we want to try to honestly answer a few of the questions you have asked in the last months. In general, we’ve lately been silent for a very simple reason: we were not happy with the game as it was and we were focused on addressing its issues. It was as simple as that. We totally understand that the lack of news and updates has been disappointing for you all—it has been disappointing for us too. In spite of all the obstacles that we’ve encountered, some beyond our control, our team is doing everything possible to work on the issues we’ve found along the way and to raise the overall presentation of the final game. We’ve been doing our best to hold on to our original vision for the game, but the project has changed since our initial announcement and we’ve had to adapt along the way.
[previewyoutube="P6vJ8oy6urU;full"] Although we’ve had to adapt the game to get around various challenges we’ve encountered, we’ve been able to hold on to our original vision of Alaloth being something between the classic RPGs we all know and love and our favorite modern-day action games. We’ve always said that Alaloth was born as a tribute game to all the nerdy stuff we love like D&D, The Lord of The Rings, the high-fantasy and soulslike genres in general, and of course awesome games like Ultima, BioWare’s works, and Diablo, or even board games such as Warhammer. All of this was more or less the alpha & omega for someone born in the 80s who grew up playing pen & paper and PC/console games.
Having such a great respect for all of those inspirations, it really means a lot to us when fans and even the press see the connections and acknowledge that the titles of gaming’s glorious past are the foundation of our game. People have told us that Alaloth brought back memories of classic RPGs from the 90s and early 2000’s and that’s made us really happy, it’s an honor.
"Back in the days: our very first 3D prototype!" [previewyoutube="Ai2GilszL-k;full"]
What we’ve been working on
In our most recent Steam updates we talked about the world of Plamen, about game design, characters, and narrative, among other things. Now we want to go deeper into these topics to give you a full picture of what goes on behind the scenes during such a complex development cycle, and how often things can change (and change again) along the way.
COMBAT, EXPERIENCE, & STATS
Alaloth - Champions of the Four Kingdoms is an RPG that fuses classic presentation with skill-driven combat. That’s our take. We’ve finally put in every single weapon, armor type, and item that needs to be iterated, playing with the numbers to find the perfect balance in action: we play, test every single set-up, change values, and repeat.
As you know from our previous updates, we have 3 different Ways of Power, each with 3 different professions to choose from with 4 skills each. Once you pick a race, you get racial traits of course too, and we added 12 other special traits to make your own build unique.
[previewyoutube="JK0m-KTT4ZM;full"] We had many internal discussions about Stats as we wanted to create something special for this. Characters will have 4 different Stats (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and Luck) that can be increased up to 5 times each. To do so, players will need to gather Stat points by leveling-up of course, but only a limited number of Stats Points will be available this way. Extra Stats Points can be collected by finding special books (Hero Books) that are scattered all around the world, making exploration and quests crucial, even considering that players are going to get XP through fighting rather than by completing quests the classic way.
[previewyoutube="WhvUsrY0t_8;full"] This will allow everyone to plan in their own style. You can essentially speedrun the game, by just focusing on collecting all necessary artifacts and not doing any side quests to reach the endgame, defeating Alaloth, as quickly as possible, without the experience of eating the whole cake as it were. However, if you want the full experience of the game, you can take your time traveling through the kingdoms of Plamen and learning about their legends, history, and people. Side quests will lead you to more combat which will give you the opportunity to level up, but you have to remember that traveling as a champion, you’ll have to face challenging champions from other kingdoms and that as time goes on, Alaloth will grow more and more powerful. We’ll expand on this in future updates.
[previewyoutube="YuXS6tbkjc0;full"]
WORLD MAP, CALENDAR, OTHER CHAMPIONS, & MOUNTS
The world map has been probably the only thing we’ve fully reworked during the development process instead of fixing it through iterations. And we’re not just talking about the graphic style. The world map has always been a tool that has helped us monitor the scope of the project and it’s also one of the key elements of the game.
We think of the map this way because when you build a fantasy world, everything is reflected in the world map. So doing something like adding a new location is not as simple as closing your eyes and picking a spot on the map. To add a new location we have to first go through a ‘world bible’ that’s more than 200 pages long, full of names and stories. We have to double check everything in order to ensure consistency with the game’s huge lore database and to make our fantasy world unique and believable.
“Before…”
We started out with 4 kingdoms each with 6 Fighting Areas, 6 cities, and 3 points of interest. We ended up with 7 Fighting Areas (with 4 additional unique boss fights around that can be unlocked with reputation, even if every area basically has its own boss), 7 cities, 5 points of interest, and random generated bounties with other ad hoc environments, taverns, and more for each kingdom, plus 4 dragon caves throughout Plamen. We also started out with a few pawns moving around the map and now we have more than 15 different guilds and organizations, as well as cults, septs, and wandering chars. Another change was that we originally began with the idea of 3 Moonstone-like champions but now we have 40 champions representing every single playable house or clan, each with their own background, skill, fighting style, equipment, and so on (when you start the game, you’ll roll 3 random champions from this set to serve as your opponents in your run to defeat Alaloth). So as you can see, we've added quite a lot to the game.
"...and after"
Time is a key part of the player experience as well and we’ve been working on this too to find a good balance, eventually adding different game modes to allow players to customize their runs for either more rpg or action. Considering that you can move whenever you want, mounts are another important thing to mention when talking about time. You just see pawns on the map when you move, so you’re not supposed to ride a mount in real time, but your speed is determined by the terrain and different mounts move slower or faster on depending on the difficulty of the terrain (rams are faster on cliffs, wolves run better in the desert, super warhorses are best for open fields, while gryphons fly)].
Mounts are also important because they impact the max weight you can carry, and weight is crucial in Alaloth because you can’t always be carrying around 10 different types of armor or 5 different weapons. You’re supposed to know where you’re going and what you’re going to fight or hunt so you have to choose your equipment wisely. Four more potions or an extra sword? It’s up to you. And remember, you can’t access your inventory during fights…
BLACKSMITHING, COOKING, & ENCHANTING
When we thought about crafting for the first time, we had in mind something immersive, a bit more unique than what’s usual. We think we’ve managed to reach our goal. To craft your weapons and armor, you’ll need to find a blacksmith (lords and ladies, don’t craft their own of course!). You’ll have to buy ingots, metal scraps, and anything that’s necessary for the artisan to make your suite of choice. There are different types of armor to choose from which will impact your stamina management (there are light, medium, heavy, and tank types of armor) but materials are unique and are very different by lore, offering different bonuses for different occasions.
Moreover, every kingdom has its own set of materials which are as unique as the different armor sets available. If for example you want to buy an elven set of armor or collect the materials for one but are from a different kingdom, you’ll need to take your time to travel to Larastir and look for them there, look for them in markets, or wait for merchants to come through your area according to the calendar, celebrations, and so on.
Items have limited durability, so you’ll have to take care of your equipment. Eventually you’ll be able to enchant weapons and armor by visiting enchanters in capital cities. This will be the only way you can install or remove gems from your equipment (basically offensive or defensive stones with different properties).
Last but not least, cooking will allow you to get a special bonus before a fight (if you choose to eat before entering a Fighting Area, using the cooking pot in the Safe Area spot) or during one (you can bring in some consumables which are timed).
[previewyoutube="eTlOmGf6l2Y;full"]
CLOSING
That’s all for now. As you can see, our work on Alaloth never stopped, we just entered stealth mode so that we could focus on the game’s development and to take extra time to improve the quality level. It’s for these reasons that we skipped major events this year and didn’t send out any news for a while and we’re sorry for leaving you all in the dark, but now we can say that we’re back in action so we hope that we’ll be able to update you more often. We’re available on Discord of course but you can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook as well to get the latest updates.
You’ll need power and skills to survive in the world of Alaloth. To possess them however, you will first have to choose a Way of Power and a Profession. Today we’ll take a deeper look into the Way of Arms, one of the three Ways of Power you’ll be able to choose from.
The Way of Arms
With strength of arm you will be able to vanquish any foe that comes your way, whether by sword or axe, with a shield or a polearm—nothing can stand in your way. The Way of Arms pushes your champion’s physical limit to the max, giving them the skills they need to endure and deliver powerful strikes that shatter bones and cut through flesh with ease. Your champion will use their strength to master lethal fighting techniques that will turn them into a war machine. The Way of Arms relies only on the physical, avoiding the use of magic.
Professions of the Way of Arms
Like every Way of Power, the Way of Arms has its own unique Professions that will help you conquer your fears and fight like a sentinel in the face of danger.
Marksman
With eagle eyes, marksmen always hit their target. Whether from afar or up close, there is no escape for any enemy once an arrow is coming their way.
Power Sting An arrow shot that comes with an extra boost of force that will deal devastating damage to an opponent.
Arrow Chain Shot in quick succession, one after another, Marksmen give no quarter to their enemies who cannot avoid the rapid arrows coming their way.
Rain of Arrows When one arrow is not enough, launch a barrage of arrows at the sky and let them fall on your enemies from above.
Snareshot A piercing bolt that penetrates deep into the enemy, causing substantial blood loss during combat.
Warlord
Rushing into battle, Warlords are a force to be reckoned with, and put all of their might to their strikes, leaving a trail of bodies and broken armies wherever they roam. They excel in hand-to-hand combat, delivering powerful blows to the enemy until they’re subdued or dead.
Mighty Blow With all your might, raise your weapon to the sky and bring it down on your enemy with the force of a true warrior.
Ring of Pain Without a doubt, the immediate area that surrounds you is a danger to any foe. Teach them a lesson for getting too close.
Leaping Strike Leap towards the burning sun and bring a devastating blow down upon your enemy that no foe can withstand.
Charge A true warrior is as light on his feet as he is strong. Use these two skills to charge at your enemy without giving them time to react.
Guardian
Protection above all—any attack will falter, and any arrow let loose deflected, no one breaches the Guardian’s walls. This profession ensures protection against any and all vicious enemies that stand in your way.
Puppet Wire You are a sentinel among mortals, a terror to man and beast, no one can look upon you without fear, and even the bravest shrivel in dread.
Rage Look deep into your beating heart and trust in the rage that burns inside to regain the will to fight.
Battle Shout Rally your troops to your side and fight with the fury of a thousand soldiers. Everyone beside you will fight harder and better.
Last Stand In the thick of battle, when defeat appears to be imminent, make your last stand, and keep on fighting till the end.
Discover New Content Every Week
If you missed any of the previous Lore Updates, check out the latest ones here: https://steamcommunity.com/games/919360/announcements/detail/3058479723998971794 https://steamcommunity.com/games/919360/announcements/detail/3060730254448222082 https://steamcommunity.com/games/919360/announcements/detail/3059602452005106721
We hope you enjoyed this foray into the rich world of Alaloth. Do you think you’ll choose the Way of Arms? What did you find the most interesting? Share your thoughts with us on Steam and Discord.
*Based on external and internal factors, the frequency may change.
Development Update #7 - Sound Design and Music Creation
In our previous Development Updates, we’ve had the chance to talk about many different topics such as animation, VFX, narrative, and more, explaining our approach to Alaloth’s development so far. Now it’s time to talk about music and sound design! A variety of epic games and movies inspired us in many different ways so we wanted to share how our audio team approached the challenge of bringing our huge RPG world to life.
The Blessed Kingdom of Edherest
To create the loops for areas in Edherest, we found inspiration from the lore description of each city, their aspects and inhabitants, as well as from other great video game soundtracks. We started with the main theme, improvising a melody with the idea that this was for the ‘capital city’. Then, we added some basic harmony, following the root key. What came next was the tricky part. In fact, it was not easy to create six different variations (based on the city lore and appearance) because it could be easy to fall into repetitions resulting in the tracks being a bit boring. Therefore, while staying faithful to the theme, we decided to use different rhythms and changed instruments’ timbre to get around the problem.
Goldport [Main Theme]: Solemn and epic music, with a dark and medieval melody. All variations must follow the melody. It starts with theme presentation (string section only), and goes through to the climax with percussion and brass sections.
Winterleaf: A very dark track with only a string section and viola. The first part of the theme is with a cello; the second part is with the string section.
Baystone: Creates a shady and mysterious mood using only a dulcimer. Very rhythmic with bass; melody goes “crescendo”.
Coldwood: Similar to the main theme. The brass section introduces the melody, then percussion and string sections in “crescendo”.
Mayfalls: A soft mood, due to the presence of nature sounds and the presence of a waterfall. String and expressive flute.
Westwall: A “military” mood, ready for war. Great importance to the brass and percussion sections.
Whitewind: Similar to the mood of Winterleaf. String section and two cellos that overlap each other.
The Republic of Larastir
In composing the main theme of Larastir and its variation cycles, we mostly read the description of the introductory lore for inspiration, trying to understand what kind of melody, harmony, and mood could fit its stories. The main external reference and inspiration came from The Lord of the Rings and elven music in general, although in this case, we preferred to improvise more. This led us to experience some challenges, especially with creating the variations, but by changing timbres, rhythm, and mood, we were able to come up with something we were pleased with.
Thilaris [Main Theme]: Solemn music but creating a very magical atmosphere: horn and string sections and an emphasis on the choir, which fills the background. The string section dominates in the first part while the horn section dominates in the second
Lindorwin: A sad and melancholy mood, but still solemn. Rhythm and harmony with the string section, while the melody is carried by the horn section. A choir in the background maintains a magical mood.
Edhenen: A darker mood. The harp and horn section carry the melody with the "magic" choir in the background.
Tirothas: Very rhythmic due to the connection between the elvish and dwarven races. Short violins and the horn section carry the melody with the ever-present choir in the background .
Val’Rhain: An expressive flute and horn section symbolize a bow and arrow. Rhythm is carried by the string section and choir.
Forlariath: A battle-ready mood, supported by the horn section. The string section and choir fill the background.
Nir-Lathias: A secret and mysterious mood, with the harp and string section carrying the rhythm, and the choir singing a sort of melody.
Here’s an example of the process of creating the sound design for an area in layers:
[previewyoutube="9_dcpcRWa3s;full"] We start adding footsteps and a basic layer of SFX.
[previewyoutube="uPBAQczS_XE;full"] Next, we add a music loop tailored for the area and do a first round of polishing.
[previewyoutube="JZBMQpGLEeg;full"] Once we’re happy with the overall result, we add ambient SFX such as waterfalls, wind, animals, etc for the ‘final touch’.
The Expanse of Karak-Hohn
For Karak-Hohn, we started with the main theme, then moved to the variations, always reading into the kingdom’s intro lore description and taking a look at the cities’ design. The main reference was dwarven music from The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings once again. It was a little tricky, especially with the melodies (the harmony needed to be in sync with the percussion), but got through it by changing rhythm.
Khunden-Hohn [Main Theme]: A strong start with percussion and and the choir shouting to introduce the dwarves, the melody is carried by the horn and string sections. Always solemn.
Bardushel: A bit of a battle mood, due to the ruling clan being here. Harmony with the percussion and choir shouting with the string section. Melody carried by the horn section.
Naledzir: A secret kind of mood, with percussion and the choir shouting and a repetitive melody from the string section.
Barran-Garr: Percussions with the choir shouting and a hammer-like sound. Harmony carried by the string section and melody by the horn section.
Nhulbarar: A softer and slower mood, with percussion and the choir shouting. Harmony carried by the string section, melody by the horn section (first part low, second part high).
Khuamun: A more rapid track, again with a hammer-like sound, and percussion and choir shouts. Melody carried only by the horn section, without a precise harmony.
Kin’il’Nar: Very rhythmic, starting only with percussion and choir shouts. Then, in the first part, the melody is carried by the horn section (low); in the second part, low and high horn sections together.
The Desolation of Baga
To create loops here, we started from the description of the kingdom as usual and then moved to the cities’ lore description. As a main reference, we used orcish music from classic sources such as Warcraft and other titles. We tried to create something strong, but still solemn with not as fast of a rhythm as in other kingdoms. For the main theme, we chose the horn sections and percussion to be fundamental. For the six variations, we sometimes went a little far from the main theme to keep things interesting, but always followed the root key and musical scale, considering the double nature of Orcish people (we have savage orcs and citizens in Baga, living in a different way).
Na’Nardur [Main Theme]: Aggressive and solemn. Trombones and percussion introduce the theme (a sort of oriental melody) this is followed by the horn section low and high and cellos and violas in the background. Crescendo of percussion.
Hashak: Very solemn. Only the horn section with high and low; very rhythmic percussion.
Gholuk: A dark mood. Introduction with the horn section and percussion (tuned to the horn section). The violas and cellos in spiccato create something dark and mysterious.
Gashak: Similar to Hashak, due to the fact they are twin cities. It begins with trombones and then the horn section is added. Percussion again tuned with the melody.
Ballek’Mahl: The introduction has the horn section and percussion doing the same pattern. Then trombones continue the melody, with cellos in the background. In the second part, percussion is always the same.
Vhoken’Mahl: A darker mood. The same instruments of Ballek’Mahl, but percussion does a simpler pattern. More of a presence of the cellos in the background.
Na’Kazkadden: A military and battle mood. Only percussion in the beginning, with two timpani. Then the low horn section introduces the melody, sustained by the high horn section in the second part.
Points of Interest
To create the loops for the Points of Interest around the Four Kingdoms, we took inspiration mainly from the aspect of the places and their descriptions. We also decided to improvise melodies and harmonies, even if our references were video games such as Witcher 3 and Skyrim. For every Points of Interest we followed the root key of the Kingdom’s loops and the same instruments, in order to be more coherent.
The Sea of Stars: A very quiet and calm mood. The string section, with violins and cellos create the melody with doublebasses in pizzicato for the harmonic and rhythmic part.
The Tears of Light: A somewhat solemn mood. Trombones in the first part to introduce the melody, which is then continued by the horn section. Doublebasses cover the harmonic part.
The Turquoise Ice: A mood of amazement. The string section is in the background with the horn section carrying the melody.
The Sentinels: Melody carried by the clarinet with cellos in background. In the second part there is a harp for the rhythmic part.
Gloworm Caves: A magical mood. Only harp (both harmony and melody) with a choir in the background.
Waterfalls of Wishing: Very magical. Melody is carried by the harp with the strings section in the background. A choir in the second part creates an atmosphere.
Bingel, The Hawk: Solemn for her importance. The melody is carried by the trombones in the first part, then strengthened by the horn section. The string section is in the background with percussion (symbolic of the dwarves).
The Bloody Lake: A mysterious mood. Very low doublebasses with percussion. The melody is carried by a harp.
The Eye: A solemn and astonished mood. The introduction is carried by violas, cellos, and doublebasses. In the second part, the melody is carried by the trombones and the horn section.
The Spoor of Gorbag: The melody is carried by the cellos with aggressive percussion in the background. In the second part the melody is strengthened by the horn section.
The Well of Baga: A bit disturbing. The introduction is carried by the cellos and doublebasses, followed by the addition of violins and violas. The melody is carried by the horn section.
Kima, The Volcano: A bit aggressive, with only trombones and tuned percussion.
Discover New Content Every Week
If you missed any of the previous Development Updates, check out the latest ones here:
We hope you enjoyed this foray into the making of Alaloth. What do you think about the descriptions of the different Kingdoms tracks? Share your thoughts with us on Steam and Discord.
Lore updates will be posted on Steam every Wednesday* and will introduce key characters, companions, guilds, places, monsters, stories, gods, legends, and so on, to give you the full picture of the work we’ve done to bring this epic world to life. Sometimes they will come in the form of a special Companion update to introduce companions that may accompany you on your quest. A brand new piece of art will be available every Monday* as well!
Be sure to check Steam every other Friday* to get an update on Alaloth’s development. The updates will give a general overview of in-game content, explain gameplay features, give insight into the gaming tech we use as well as reveal other game-related content.
*Based on external and internal factors, the frequency may change.
In our first Companions update we introduced the brave champion of the light, Lileah the Last Light of Vaizmil, who aims to bring Alaloth to his knees for the betterment of all the mortal races. Your next potential companion hails from the Republic of Larastir, a kingdom of many champions, some looking for redemption, some looking for justice, and some, like Estilress, looking to put the world back in order.
Estilress the Mad
Born closer to the surface, an unusual thing in dwarven society, Estilress was always considered to be a very peculiar dwarf due to his love for the outdoors and his incorporation of other cultures’ fighting styles into his own. Estilress has spent his life traveling across the continent from a young age, never content to stay in one place for too long. From his journeys he’s gathered many tales to share with his people back home. The dwarves call him “Estilress the Mad” because of all the extreme and exotic adventures he’s gone on, but still love listening to his stories each time he returns.
Estilress was topside when the worst Tempest hit. He lost consciousness during the disaster and when he opened his eyes afterwards, he could see that everything as he knew it was going to change. The new reality was one where the world he loved would slowly but surely deteriorate. He knew that now, the places he’d visit would be plagued by monsters, nature would begin to rot, and ancient ruins that had stood for centuries would crumble into dust.
Now, Estilress spends his days trying to save whatever he can, but the destruction he sees everywhere weighs him down with bitterness and depression. He dreams of the world he knew, and wishes to see it once more. Estilress is looking for a champion that will protect all lives as well as the history of The Split Kingdoms. Someone who will help him restore the world to the one he knew before.
Discover New Content Every Week
If you missed any of the previous Lore Updates, check out the latest ones here: https://steamcommunity.com/games/919360/announcements/detail/3060730254426286535 https://steamcommunity.com/games/919360/announcements/detail/3058479723998971794 https://steamcommunity.com/games/919360/announcements/detail/3060730254448222082
We hope you enjoyed this foray into the rich world of Alaloth. Do you think you’ll be the champion Estilress is looking for? Share your thoughts with us on Steam and Discord.
Lore updates will be posted on Steam every Wednesday* and will introduce key characters, guilds, places, monsters, stories, gods, legends, and so on, to give you the full picture of the work we’ve done to bring this epic world to life. Sometimes they will come in the form of a special Companion update to introduce companions that may accompany you on your quest. A brand new piece of art will be available every Monday* as well!
Be sure to check Steam every other Friday* to get an update on Alaloth’s development. The updates will give a general overview of in-game content, explain gameplay features, give insight into the gaming tech we use as well as reveal other game-related content.
*Based on external and internal factors, the frequency may change.
Development Update #6 - How to Create a Believable World
Today we are going to delve into the creative process of world dressing, character placement, and population control. The world dressing of a game is a very important aspect of development as it determines what the world of a game will look like. Things like whether there is a large population in a city, an impoverished family, a warrior protecting others, or a crazy person with insight into the future, are decided during this process.
The game has Four Kingdoms, each with its own cultures and traditions, and thus their own kinds of population. In those Kingdoms there are major cities and towns that are distinct from one another, so what works for one city in a sunny plain, may not work for a city covered in snow. In our work to find a balance in setting up the NPCs in Plamen’s cities, we looked at the architecture and the surroundings of the area we were populating. If a city looked very ornate and wealthy, like a place where only the upper classes and royalty lived, then the nobility would take center stage in the dressing of that city, with commoners seeming out of place if found there. On the other hand, if a city was supposed to be known for being a den of villainy and scum, the area would be populated mostly by commoners and shady individuals while the nobility would be scarcely seen.
When working on character placement in the different cities of our game, understanding the relevant Kingdom’s culture was perhaps the most vital aspect that needed to be taken into account before placing a single NPC. We’d consider such things as: ‘Does the culture allow for more liberty in the day to day of the common folk?’, ‘Does society look down on certain classes or races?’, ‘How nationalistic or patriotic are the people in this particular corner of the world, and what is the relationship between the race that controls the city and the other races of Plamen?’.
Another thing that would help in choosing where our NPCs would be placed is travel. While knowing the world of the game is certainly the key to understanding what kind of characters and archetypes go to which city, travel allows you to understand how cultures and geography can change the local population. Each city in the Kingdoms and the different Kingdoms themselves are similar to one another and yet very distinct, and that is what world dressing tries to capture so that the world doesn’t just feel populated, but alive.
Our goal is always to immerse you in the world we are creating, meaning that every character in the world, even if they are not someone you can interact with, has to have a purpose. When placing these characters, the world dresser has to have a story behind why they’re there; ‘What are they doing there?’, ‘Who are they?’, ‘What do they want?’. Some of these reasons won’t be apparent in the game, but thinking of these reasons when placing NPCs is part of making the world more believable and closer to our own.
Discover New Content Every Week
If you missed any of the previous Development Updates, check out the latest ones here:
We hope you enjoyed this foray into the making of Alaloth. What do you think about the process of populating Plamen? Share your thoughts with us on Steam and Discord.
Lore updates will be posted on Steam every Wednesday* and will introduce key characters, companions, guilds, places, monsters, stories, gods, legends, and so on, to give you the full picture of the work we’ve done to bring this epic world to life. Sometimes they will come in the form of a special Companion update to introduce companions that may accompany you on your quest. A brand new piece of art will be available every Monday* as well!
Be sure to check Steam every other Friday* to get an update on Alaloth’s development. The updates will give a general overview of in-game content, explain gameplay features, give insight into the gaming tech we use as well as reveal other game-related content.
*Based on external and internal factors, the frequency may change.
You’ll need power and skills to survive in the world of Alaloth. To possess them however, you will first have to choose a Way of Power and a Profession. Today we’ll take a deeper look into the Way of Nature, one of the three Ways of Power you’ll be able to choose from.
In the beginning there was only the All-Father’s chaos and Jaiha’s earth. The only power to be harnessed was the raw energy of nature. It was the elves of old that learned that if one nourished their connection to the nature around them, they would reap great rewards. A champion who chooses the Way of Nature will gain elemental magical skills that can be used at a long range against their enemies. This way draws on the power of the nature gods to help a champion manipulate the flora and fauna that surrounds them.
Professions of the Way of Nature
Like every Way of Power, the Way of Nature has its own unique professions. These will help you connect to the natural world and vanquish your enemies.
Elementalist
By joining with nature, Elementalists have control over all elements in the mortal realm. They excel in conjuring these elements and manipulating them as they please.
Earthquake Shake Jaiha’s earth to knock down your enemies and make them lose their balance.
Fireblast Bring forth a mighty dragon within you that will burn your enemies to a crisp with the heat of its fury.
Lightning Bolt Harness the power of thunder and lightning to strike forcefully at your enemy with electric results.
Winter’s Grasp Permanently freeze all the enemies around you by surrounding yourself with the icy winds of winter.
Arcanist
Arcanists focus more on the magical aspect of nature rather than on controlling specific elements.
Arcane Shield The forces of nature and of magic are one. With both, you can form a mighty shield that will protect you from harm.
Forcewave Knock the enemies that are assaulting your position to the ground with the force that exists deep inside all living things.
Disruption Field There’s no reason to let the enemy storm your party without obstacles. Call upon nature to slow and disrupt the will and might of your enemy, giving you an edge in battle.
Cloudkill Unleash a poisonous cloud that envelops your enemies and follows them as they try to escape.
Warden
Wardens completely immerse themselves into nature, becoming one with it. They guide it and revel in it, manipulating it with admiration rather than selfish need. Wardens control the creatures of the ground as well as the earth itself.
Bohai’s Hand Summon the mighty thorny hand of Bohai, a root that will capture your enemies and keep them in place, not allowing them to move while it's called.
Elemental Aegis Do not let the enemy attack you with that which you hold power over; protect yourself from the powers of the elements with a shield made from them.
Healing Spring Form an aura around yourself that will promote the natural processes of healing in yourself and your allies.
Summon Familiar Call on the powers of nature to summon an animal familiar to fight by your side and charge at the enemy for the duration of a battle. The pet will follow you for as long as it lives.
Discover New Content Every Week
If you missed any of the previous Lore Updates, check out the latest ones here:
We hope you enjoyed this foray into the rich world of Alaloth. Do you think you’ll choose the Way of Nature? Which Profession did you find the most interesting? Share your thoughts with us on Steam and Discord.
*Based on external and internal factors, the frequency may change.
You’ll need power and skills to survive in the world of Alaloth. To possess them however, you will first have to choose a Way of Power and a Profession. Today we’ll take a deeper look into the Way of Gods, one of the three Ways of Power you’ll be able to choose from.
In the world of Plamen, you are never alone. A god or two is always watching over you, guiding you, giving you strength, or cursing your enemies. Following the Way of Gods, a champion will have the power to gain boons and abilities from a plethora of deities; some good, some evil—depending on a champion’s wishes. The gods channel their power through champions that they feel are worthy of possessing it, channeling spells that heal or kill as needed.
Professions of the Way of Gods
Like every Way of Power, the Way of Gods has its own unique Professions that will help you restore the faith and fight like the blessed monks.
Templar
Templars are mighty defenders of the faith, providing holy energy to the world by channeling the powers of the gods of justice, healing, and truth. Templars swear to protect the four kingdoms using pure magic.
Divine Shield Gather the powers of the gods to form a protective shield that will defend you from incoming attacks from close and afar.
Holy Fire Call upon the ire of the gods and send their righteous fury against enemies with a fire that burns more than just the unholy.
Bless The power of the gods channeled through this blessing will give you and your allies a boost in battle.
Consecration The enemy aims to corrupt the lands of the blessed gods, but you won’t let them. Consecrate the ground beneath them and punish them for their sins.
Cleric
Defenders of the faith and preachers of the word of the gods. Clerics travel between holy places, healing the sick, blessing the righteous, and smiting the sinful. They protect the mortal realms from abominations and the evil magic of the undead.
Banish Undead Send skeletons, zombies, and any creatures that dare to crawl out of their graves back into the ground with the blessing of the gods. Cause damage to all undead near you.
Purify Traveling and fighting in these corrupted lands takes its toll on you. Purify ailments and misgivings from yourself and your allies.
Sanctified Field Cast upon the ground around you the sacred power to cure yourself and your allies when in battle, and block the malice of your foes.
Heal Wounds Let the lifeforce given to you by the will of the gods flow through you to heal yourself or those around you.
Necromancer
Death is not the final stage for mortals as some may think. Necromancers hold dominion over the realm of the dead. They can raise them from their graves and make them walk the streets once more. Necromancers use the dead as their own personal army to fulfil their wicked plans.
Summon Undead Give the bloated corpses and piles of bones around you a new chance at life in your service as they fight to “die” for you.
Vampiric Touch The blood that flows through your enemy’s veins is yours by right. Take their lifeforce for yourself as you strike against them.
Affliction Afflict your enemies with a potent ailment from the gods of death and cruelty, let them suffer slowly as they fight against you.
Curse Let your opponent have no advantages in battle and make them vulnerable, make them feel pain when they try to strike against you.
Discover New Content Every Week
If you missed any of the previous Lore Updates, check out the latest ones here: https://steamcommunity.com/games/919360/announcements/detail/3060730254426286535 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/919360/view/3059602452005106720 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/919360/view/3062978883683506392
We hope you enjoyed this foray into the rich world of Alaloth. Do you think you’ll choose the Way of Gods? Which Profession did you find the most interesting? Share your thoughts with us on Steam and Discord.
Lore updates will be posted on Steam every Wednesday* and will introduce key characters, guilds, places, monsters, stories, gods, legends, and so on, to give you the full picture of the work we’ve done to bring this epic world to life. Sometimes they will come in the form of a special Companion update to introduce companions that may accompany you on your quest. A brand new piece of art will be available every Monday* as well!
Be sure to check Steam every other Friday* to get an update on Alaloth’s development. The updates will give a general overview of in-game content, explain gameplay features, give insight into the gaming tech we use as well as reveal other game-related content.
*Based on external and internal factors, the frequency may change.
Development Update #5 - The Importance of Characterization and Narrative
Nearly every game, from shooters to RPGs, has a narrative. It can be hidden in the background or carry the player from beginning to end, but it's always there. It has been our job to create that narrative in Alaloth: Champions of The Four Kingdoms, and embed it into every aspect of the game, be it in combat, quests, or the characters that you’ll interact with.
The world of our game has been in the works for quite some time, with different visions and building blocks laid out during the first years of development. It was during this stage that the core ideas of the game; the villain, kingdoms, gods, and overall style took hold and still influence every subsequent addition to the game. With the lore and world of the game already in place, new narrative designers didn’t have to invent the wheel, but rather expand upon it.
The first step when starting on a new project, particularly in the creative field, is to study the material meticulously. Every page, character, tree, and ant that was already created by previous writers needs a thorough examination. Every god and kingdom needs to be understood. In our role as designers, we need to first read everything that exists, then fully comprehend it, and finally memorize each and every small detail. Then we can create our own original stories, but set in an already pre-existing world and with a similar style.
After becoming familiar with the source, one can add to it, creating quests, characters, and in-game items that complement the existing lore. Sometimes a pre-existing aspect of the world needs to be reworked to fit the in-game content. It’s fun to create the intricate details of a kingdom and how each noble house behaves, but we need to be careful what we create is reflected in the dialogues, the random barks a player can hear on the streets of a city, or when meeting face to face with a king. Everything needs to mesh together seamlessly.
Narrative Design is similar to writing a novel or a movie, the components are all there. Every narrative has to have its structure, highs and lows, and its relation and inspiration to human life as we know it. But game narratives add an extra layer to the job. As a game writer, you need to consider the core gameplay and game design with every line of dialogue you write. You need to verify if a game can do what you want it to do, can the engine handle these complications for the sake of a narrative? But also, does the dialogue complement the style of the game? How do you convey your information in third person, or in an isometric view? All these have a deep effect on how you write and what you write, because while you can get sucked into the world and let your imagination run wild, nothing of what you write will ever see the light of day if the game is not considered first.
Another aspect of Narrative Design, once you look past your own imagination, is inspiration. The world of Plamen is one that takes the medieval style and combines it with magic and supernatural forces, leading to a lot of sources of inspiration when trying to create and expand these concepts into something original. One could look at old fantasy books or at the direction of similar games, but it’s important that these inspirations do not consume your product. You can be inspired by another game, like a concept, but at the end of the day, your world and story have to be your own creation and not depend completely on another.
Alternatively, a designer can look to real life for inspiration. When deciding on the names and traditions of races in the game, we looked to the different cultures of Earth for sources of inspiration. Irish festivals, Jewish holidays, and African dress are just a few examples of cultural aspects that can be studied for inspiration. Looking to Earth cultures for inspiration also has the added benefit of creating a sense of belonging in the characters of the different races, giving them some commonality in the world. This commonality also applies to the religious structure of Alaloth. Looking at ancient mythologies and the Bible itself, one can see the natural progression of a creation story, a tale of a god, prophecy, and prayer. It’s only with great knowledge of the world that surrounds us that we can create new and exciting worlds just like Tolkien did for Lord of the Rings.
In Alaloth: Champions of the Four Kingdoms, we’ve strived to bring you an engaging world full of mystery, chaos, and challenges. That all seeps into the core of our narrative, from the quest at hand to defeat a fallen God, to the many characters you’ll encounter along the path to that goal. Each companion will offer a new perspective on the world, and each character has their own internal motive for you to discover. At the end of the day, we can only hope that you, the player, will fall in love with the cast of misfits we’ve assembled and the world we created for your enjoyment.
Discover New Content Every Week
If you missed any of the previous Development Updates, check out the latest ones here: https://steamcommunity.com/games/919360/announcements/detail/3058475918421648964 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/919360/view/2961646623389887319 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/919360/view/4811498361139642909
We hope you enjoyed this foray into the making of Alaloth. What do you think about creative design in gaming? Share your thoughts with us on Steam and Discord.
Lore updates will be posted on Steam every Wednesday* and will introduce key characters, companions, guilds, places, monsters, stories, gods, legends, and so on, to give you the full picture of the work we’ve done to bring this epic world to life. A brand new piece of art will be available every Monday* as well!
Be sure to check Steam every other Friday* to get an update on Alaloth’s development. The updates will give a general overview of in-game content, explain gameplay features, give insight into the gaming tech we use as well as reveal other game-related content.
*Based on external and internal factors, the frequency may change.
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