Kingdom Eighties Camp Stories: The Crown of Creation
Gather round campers and let us tell you the tale of a crown.
A crown so powerful that it could destroy monsters and give courage to rulers. This story is called 'The Crown of Creation'...
Welcome to the first of our Camp Stories! In the next weeks, we'll reveal some bits of the lore behind the Kingdom games, as well as some of the new mechanics and features that Kingdom Eighties will bring to the table. Whether you are a veteran or a newcomer to the series, you don't want to miss these previews.
And we could not start in any other way than talking about the most important emblem of Kingdom, the object that we must protect at all costs: The Crown of Creation.
Kingdom Eighties is a standalone expansion to the award-winning Kingdom series. A singleplayer epic adventure of micro-strategy and base building. Defend your town against the mysterious Greed, and discover the secrets of your family lineage!
Want to read more about Kingdom Eighties? Check out our recent blog posts:
Are you excited to learn more about the Kingdom series worldbuilding? Anything you'd REALLY love to see in our upcoming Camp Stories! Join us on Twitter and Discord and let us know.
Onwards! š
[Sneak Peek] Recruiting the kids in Kingdom Eighties
Development team checking in! Are you guys up for some sneak peeks?
In this weekās blog, we're getting familiarized with Kingdom Eighties' take on a classic Kingdom mechanic - your loyal subjects.
As a ruler in Kingdom Two Crowns, you would grow your Kingdom by recruiting new citizens from encampments out in the woods. But in Kingdom Eighties, weāre shaking things up. This time around, your ruler is a teenage camp counselor that is joined by tiny, but brave, kids. So what kind of a town would Monarch be if there were homeless kids living in makeshift tents everywhere? Nah, we couldn't really have that. So we ended up choosing different buildings for each location. At summer camp, kids hang around outside their cabins, and in the suburbs, the playground is the place to be. Among the bustling shops of Main Street, youāll find kids by the doorstep of the shoe shops - just waiting for adventure (thatās you!) to pick 'em up.
Here's where things got a bit tricky for the development team. With the recruitment buildings looking different in every location, how could we make sure that the player always knew where to find the kids? We needed a visual clue to help guide the players.
The solution came when one of our designers remembered something he used to see as a kid. Shoes tied together by the laces and tossed over power lines. A symbol for both celebration and rebellion - these stinky, outgrown sneakers were exactly what we needed. So if you ever find yourself in need of more kids to join you in the battle against the Greed - now you know what to look for!
But there's more! Let's talk about putting those kids to work! Not in a āchild laborā kinda way, more of a "let's get shit done because the greed is invading our neighborhood" kinda way.
A new feature in Kingdom Eighties is that the kids will not only do things like build walls, shoot arrows or chop down trees. They are also eager to earn pocket money by doing chores around the Kingdom, such as mowing the lawn, taking care of dirty dishes in the mess tent, or pawning off old knick-knacks at a yard sale. Anything to earn a buck or two, no task is too small for the savvy kids of Camp Kingdom!
We will be talking more about the kids, the buildings, and what will make Kingdom Eighties a fresh new take on the series on our social media channels. Donāt forget to follow us on Twitter!
Introducing (again) The Wiz & The Tinkerer
Welcome back, Campers!
Weāve already met The Leader and The Champ but there are two more friends that will provide specialized skills to help defeat the Greed.
The Wiz š¾
The Wiz is the smartest kid on the block - and he knows it. When heās not inventing new gadgets, heās topping the leaderboards at the Polybius Arcade. Whether the scores are real or if he just hacked the machines, only he knows. While heās easily frightened compared to his companions, once you find and return his remote controller, heāll put his skills to good use building mechanical turrets and even assembling a siege robot. Along with the Champ's strength, this will be key to defeating the Greed.
Youāll be surprised what he can make from just a few spare parts and circuit boards.
The Tinkerer š§
As a member of the Junior Firefighter Brigade, all the training in the world could never have prepared The Tinkerer for the Summer of Greed. This resourceful optimist is pretty handy with a hammer and a wrench. If itās broken, the Tinkerer can most likely fix it. Youāll find her at the firewatch tower but sheāll only join you when itās safe to come down and youāve proved yourself a worthy leader. Have you got what it takes to explore the foreboding forest and expand your territory beyond the shadows to win her favor?
Once on board, sheāll help in many ways; fixing things, upgrading your walls, and reinforcing the Wizās turrets.
Excited to see more about Kingdom Eighties? Why not follow us on Twitter, Facebook or chat in our Discord?
See you next time!
Introducing (again) The Leader & The Champ
Since weāve talked about Camp Kingdom and beyond, letās talk in more detail about the characters youāll meet along the way and their abilities. Re-introducing The Leader & The Champ.
The Leader š
In Kingdom Eighties you play as The Leader, a young camp counsellor who has just discovered that strange creatures attack the camp at night. These attackers, which experienced Kingdom players will recognize as the Greed, demolish anything that stands in their way. But their main purpose seems to be something else... stealing The Leader's family legacy, the Crown of Creation.
The Leader will coordinate the neighborhood kids to build fortifications and gather resources. When the night comes, the Greed will attack without mercy. If you lose your crown, everything is doomed!
With no response from anyone at home, itāll be up to The Leader to save not just the camp, but the entire town. Some of the older kids could provide specialized skills, but it will take some extra persuasion for them to join the effort.
The Champ š
The Champ is one of the older kids at camp and one of The Leader's allies. Each will lend their special abilities to help the Leader complete a level and ultimately get one step closer to their goal. The Champ's strength, loyalty, and athleticism will come in handy when the time comes to fight back against the Greed.
Youāll meet him hanging out by himself close to the camp, but youāll need to find and return his trophy to him if you hope to lift his spirits and enlist his help. Once heās feeling like a winner again, heāll aid you by shielding your troops with a heavy dumpster especially when launching an all-out attack on a Greed portal. to launch an attack on a Greed portal.
In our next post, weāll learn more about The Tinkerer and The Wiz. For now, thanks for reading! Excited to see more about Kingdom Eighties? Why not follow us on Twitter, Facebook or chat in our Discord?
See you next time!
Interview with Andreas Hald, composer for Kingdom Eighties, Part Two!
Development team calling!
A couple of weeks ago, we introduced you to the composer of Kingdom Eighties, Andreas Hald, and gave you a peek into how his mind works when creating the music for the game. This week, Andreas takes us even deeper into his process and nerds out about synthesizers!
How do you achieve the sound of the 1980s? I think the most important elements of ā80s music are the synthesizers, arpeggios, gated reverbs, sequencers, drum machines, tape echoes, cassette recorders, and something called FM. It stands for frequency modulation, which is a type of sound that you can get out of synthesizers. It was extremely popular in the early ā80s, so thatās why you hear a lot of FM sound in the music of that era.
Furthermore, and I donāt mean this in a demeaning way, a lot of the music from the ā80s was somewhat simple harmonically. I have a degree as a jazz musician, but bringing in some of those complex chords and structures just wouldnāt make sense for this soundtrack.
So the interesting stuff happened in the textures and the sounds. Maybe back then you were limited by, for example, a drum machine with mediocre samples because it only had a small memory buffer, as well as somewhat basic sequencers. Or maybe that sequencer or the synthesizer was difficult to program. So I wanted to keep that in my music by limiting myself by using the same gear from that era and trying not to cheat.
My not-so-secret weapons are delays and echoes. You can take the most boring and basic synth sound but if you run it through a delay, you instantly get magic. And then you use the delays and the echoes like instruments. You play with them, you move the knobs around or you touch the tape with your fingers to do small pitch things.
Iāve done a lot like that to get that ā80s vibe, but at times itās actually kind of modern-sounding as well. In order to create the darker side of the score - for example the Blood Moon cue - all the textures that I canāt create on a limited classic ā80s synth, Iāve used a more modern, modular synthesizer.
What were your main inspirations when composing the Kingdom Eighties soundtrack? Iāve honestly tried to steer away from listening to music for direct inspiration because I try not to be too colored in my choices. Thatās a really difficult thing to do. But Iāve listened to this kind of music my whole life and I am an ā80s guy at heart, so if I had to name some inspirations it would be Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, and John Carpenter, tv shows like He-Man and Knight Rider, as well as pop music by artists like Cyndi Lauper. The wailing, crying guitars that play in harmony in rock music - I love that, so I have that in there as well.
I also had the early graphics and storyline in front of me when composing. I like to darken my studio and only have lights from my gear, a few soft lamps, and maybe even turn some lava lamps on. Itās just something that gets me in the mood - the dark environment and the pictures in front of me.
But the main inspiration comes from my gear. Iāve been collecting synths for a very long time and I have a huge range of classic synthesizers from the ā80s, but Iāve never really quite gotten to use them as much as I really wanted in my film composing work. Then this project came along and it felt like something I couldnāt let slip away from me because it was just up my alley.
I very quickly decided that this was a project where I wanted to record everything outside of the computer, through hardware synthesizers, hardware recording equipment, and tape recorders, and keep it analog, organic, and human. Iām playing everything myself. And Iāve tried to do that for as long as possible before committing it to tape and recording it on the computer.
Of course, I bought a new synthesizer for this project alone - the Oberheim OB-X8. Itās a new synth based on a very old synth from the ā80s which money canāt buy. The Oberheim is known for its voice panning, which means that the synthesizer alternates between the speakers for each note. So when you play a note, it first plays in the left speaker, and then you play another note and it plays in the right speaker, spreading the synth across the stereo spectrum. It makes many people go āoh, I can hear itās an Oberheimā. Itās kind of weird, but itās something that I really, really dig about it. Iāve used the Oberhiem extensively throughout Eighties and there is one track where you can hear it prominently - during foggy days there is a song played with only that synthesizer.
So I would say that the music in Kingdom Eighties is an homage to those artists as well as to the classic synthesizers from that era. It has to be the most enjoyable project Iāve worked on so far. Iāve been given so much trust and in return, it has boosted my ambition for this project through the roof. Itās really nice to have that freedom.
Thanks for reading part 2 of Andreas' interview! Weāll be sharing more info about the Kingdom OST further down the line. See more of Andreas' work here: http://andreashald.com/
As part of the Raw Fury Publisher Sale, we have prepared something special for you: A sneak preview of the first level of Kingdom Eighties!
Just tune in Twitch tomorrow, April 20th, at 11:30 am EST / 5:30 pm CET, and join our community ambassador Vicki on a tour around Camp Kingdom. The Kingdom team will be there to answer your most pressing questions. Well, maybe ALMOST all of them...
Don't worry if you miss it, we'll tape it for you :vhs:
Progress Blog #2 - April Update
Hey there, my name is Vladimir, and I'm part of the programming team here at Fury Studios, blogging at you live asynchronously from beautiful Zagreb, Croatia. Today I'll share more about what we've been up to in the last couple of months. You've probably guessed that this post is going to get more technical, but fret not; all the techno-babble results in some wonderful upgrades to the look of Kingdom. But you won't have to trust me on that; I come bearing gifs!
Today is a gift, that's why they call it the Present!
Today I'll focus on a new effect we added to Kingdom Eighties: Emission.
Emission is best described as a property of an object to glow independently, highlighting itself and objects around it. It's achieved by drawing pixels that should emit a glow into a separate texture and then adding that to our final image. Since it's all done dynamically, it allows us to play with the intensity, color, and spread of the glow to achieve the look we feel is perfect for Kingdom Eighties. Plus, it's fun to add to different objects in the game and see what a rad glow-in-the-dark deer would look like.
Ghost Glow Intensity Example
Ghost Glow Color Example
Deer Glowing in the Forest
So why add this to Kingdom? And why now?
Two reasons.
Kingdom has that "wow" factor in its presentation, and a lot of that comes down to the water and reflections, combined with the crisp pixel art. We knew we could expand our palette of visual effects and make it even more enjoyable to boot up a Kingdom game and just vibe out.
Kingdom Eighties is special and stands apart from other Kingdom games and settings. While I know the 80s aren't exactly "modern times", our comparison points are the knights and vikings of Two Crowns, so I'll just go ahead and call this a Modern Setting. And so we've included a lot of sprites of modern architecture, some of which glow. Ferris wheels, shop signs, street lights... Plus, we also have a bit of a sci-fi twist, so it's not uncommon to see lasers.
Background buildings lit up in the night...
I hope you enjoyed this quick peek into just one of the techniques we're applying to make this the richest Kingdom experience yet. We've been working mad hard on it, and we can't wait for you to get your bodacious hands on the game! And, like, hella soon too!
Check out our new gameplay trailer as seen during The Mix Direct 2023!
A new gameplay teaser trailer? Pop in the š¼ and let's go!
Whoa! There's so much going on, so we don't blame you if you want to watch it again (and again). Maybe even freeze-frame it a little to catch all the little surprises. We're so excited for you to come on this new adventure with us in 2023, and for those with consoles, we can announce the game will launch later this year on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch!
Kingdom Eighties is a love letter to the nostalgic days of summer camps, riding bikes and sitting around in your pajamas on a Saturday morning in front of the TV. You play as the Leader, a young camp counselor who must protect the town from the relentless attacks of the mysterious Greed. The neighborhood kids will be at your side, and youāll also find some new friends along the way: The Champ, the Tinkerer, and the Wiz will lend you their skills and support in battle.
Want to read more about Kingdom Eighties? Check out our recent dev blogs that we'll continue to produce and keep you updated with development, so check 'em out!
We'd love to hear your favourite parts of the trailer! If you have any questions, we'll do our best to answer them.
Onwards! š
Interview with Andreas Hald, composer for Kingdom Eighties, Part One!
Development team calling!
We hope you've enjoyed peeking behind the curtains for Kingdom Eighties so far. This week, we want to share the first part of the conversation we had with Andreas Hald, who is the composer of the Kingdom Eighties soundtrack. Andreas is a Copenhagen-based film and media composer who has written scores for movies, television and lots more, and we're super happy to have him on board for Eighties.
What are the defining points of a Kingdom OST to you? For previous Kingdom gamesā soundtracks, the defining points to me have been ambience, sparse, almost like a melting pot of all sorts of different musical elements being put together in order to create something else than your typical genre-specific music. Itās music that, at least to me, sometimes might sound odd but in a very good way. To me, that is classic Kingdom - that melting pot of elements being put together.
Then you have Kingdom Eighties which is a different beast. This game relies heavily on memories and references of 1980s Americana. The eighties were fast-paced, you had acid-washed jeans and the neon colors - very bombastic and in your face with most things. There was also this shift in technology which opened up new sonic environments, so we had to come up with something else for Kingdom Eighties than what you hear in the previous Kingdom games. You want it to sound like the ā80s but at the same time like a Kingdom game, so how do you balance that?
It is a tough one to crack. The ā80s sounds one way to me but it may sound completely different to you based on your memories, what you listened to, and where you were brought up. Did we want it to reference glam rock, hip hop, or electronic synthesizer music?
If you go a bit further with it, a Kingdom soundtrack should enhance the player experience and not step on the playersā toes too much. Itās there to make the game feel more immersive and I think that the music kind of reflects on the anatomy of the game. It is two-dimensional, you can only go left or right, and it forces you to be creative in both the design of the game but also in the design of the music. You need to make it interesting, evolving and cool, but within the boundaries of the core of Kingdom.
I think Kingdom Eighties is just a different paced game from previous Kingdom games, which I think is cool, but it is different and you need to embrace that and go with it. I think that weāve gone all the way to create an ā80s game in all aspects, not just the music, and I think thatās how it should be. No half-measures. Go all the way, full out. Be brave and donāt look back.
Thanks for reading and tune in later this month where we continue with part 2 of Andreas' interview! See more of Andreas' work here: https://andreashald.com/
Warning! This blog is a [Sneak Peek]! If you want to be surprised or have fresh eyes when playing Kingdom Eighties, feel free to skip this blog; we'll see you next week!
Development team calling!
Last week, we shared more info about the very first level of Kingdom Eighties - Camp Kingdom. Today, we want to give you a little peek into what lies beyond. Now, if youāre the kind of player who wants to discover the game for yourself, donāt look beyond this point! Weāre veering into spoiler territory! But if you seek to know everything you can, read onā¦
After escaping from Camp Kingdom, Episode II takes the Leader and their crew to their own neighborhoods to get help from the adults. However, they soon discover that there is no one around, and what's worse, the spread of the creatures has advanced more aggressively here. Not only are the attacks getting more vicious, but strange, otherworldly rocks and trees have infested their old neighborhoods. The kids need to set up camp at the school and figure out what to do next. Perhaps The Wiz, who decided to spend their entire summer at the arcade instead of Camp Kingdom, can give them a hand?
In the pursuit of finding their parents and saving the town from the threat of the Greed, they make their way to Monarchās main street in Episode III. The Leader will establish a base at the Town Hall, and the kids will work the abandoned stores and utility buildings to keep themselves fed and safe. Now that their team is complete, The Leader will need every bit of help from their new friends, The Champ, The Tinkerer, and The Wiz, to hold off the overwhelming attacks and reach the epicenter of the invasion.
With our friends fighting onward, I wonder where itāll take them. What about the final location? Thatās something youāll have to see for yourself; we want to keep some things under wraps for now! Where do you think the final battle of Kingdom Eighties will be fought?
Thanks for reading! Are you excited to see more about Kingdom Eighties? Why not follow us on Twitter, Facebook or chat in our Discord?
