The final stretch goal (Celestial Hearts Kickstarter)
Hello again! This will be our fourth--and likely final--update for the Celestial Hearts Kickstarter.
As of this writing, we've reached exactly $1600 - 133% of the project goal. We shot straight past both of the first two stretch goals! But now comes the real challenge: The $2000 stretch goal to upgrade the five main characters' battle sprites.
Here's some *work-in-progress* examples of how the new sprites (right) would look in comparison with the current sprites (left). (Note that the mock-up characters are *not* the main characters of Celestial Hearts)
This art style leaves room for unique poses for each main character (not to mention it's way more visually pleasing). We still have a ways to go before hitting this stretch goal, but if we do, this is what you have to look forward to!
Celestial Hearts is 100% funded! Now let's talk stretch goals...
Hello again! As of today, we've hit 100% of the campaign goal for Celestial Hearts! I never imagined we'd hit it this fast. I greatly appreciate everyone who's helped us come this far! For this update, I want to talk about the three stretch goals I lined out on the main Kickstarter page, and also to clarify a couple other details on the "Become a Statue" backer tiers:
Those who back at the $20 tier and up will have a statue for themselves placed in this room. The character on the statue will be randomly generated (though I can take small requests for how the character should look). Backers will be asked the following questions:
-What name to leave on the statue (if I don't receive a reply, I'll go with your Kickstarter name. Full names will have their last name abbreviated) -Whether you'd like to show your contribution ('no' by default) -A short message you'd like to leave
If requested, I can also place a small weapon in front of the statue - I mostly have sword variations, but I also have an axe, daggers, scepter and bow.
$1300 Stretch goal: Vagrant's Arena
Vagrant's Arena is a place for adventurers from all around the world to come and prove their worth in combat. After facing four waves of enemies without rest--and no items--you'll then face off against another group of adventurers much like yourselves!
Vagrant himself is the grandson of a certain young dragon knight you might be familiar with--and if you're lucky, he won't be the only descendant-of-a-famous-hero you run into here.
$1500 Stretch goal: The Depths
Featured in two of my previous titles, Knight Bewitched and Finding Light, The Depths is a massive challenge dungeon comprised of four smaller dungeons and a, erm... Rather odd town stuck in the middle.
While the layout of The Depths is the same as in the previous titles, the environments are all slightly different--as well as the loot, enemies and bosses. Both The Depths and Vagrant's Arena will have elements that tie into the main story as well.
$2000 Stretch goal: New hero battle sprites
So I gotta be honest here: I hadn't planned on hitting the crowdfunding goal this soon. I figured it'd be a last-minute thing where some generous donor would cover the last bit of funding needed just hours before the campaign ended - let alone hitting the goal over a week beforehand!
The $2000 stretch goal outlined in the Kickstarter is aimed toward replacing the "stock" hero sprites during battle scenes with new, higher-quality sprites. Unfortunately, I don't have an example image to show what a new set of sprites would look like. I'll be on the lookout for an artist who can do this work--and if the campaign looks like it might hit the $2000 stretch goal before the 26th, I'll release another update promoting it and going for one big final push!
Thanks again to all of you! If you have any questions, feel free to ask (I've probably missed something!). We still have 9 days to go!
Have a great week and stay safe!
Kickstarter and Progress Update
Hello everyone!
We're not far into the campaign and we've already passed the 50% mark! That's great news, and I'm really happy that people are as excited for Celestial Hearts as I am. There's 16 days left, and we still have a long way to go!
All 25 of the $7 Early Backer Rewards have been taken, but (at the time of this update) there are still some Early Backer Pre-Release rewards left. For just $3 more, you can have Celestial Hearts two weeks in advance!
Anyway, I wanted to share that I've added a new $50 backer tier:
Design a weapon!
Unlike my previous releases (like Knight Bewitched), Celestial Hearts uses a side-view battle system. Thanks to that, you can actually see the weapons each party member is equipped with--and if you're interested, you can design your own!
Of course, if you're not an artist, you can simply describe how you want the weapon to look, and I can either pull from a selection of weapons on-hand or commission an artist myself.
Here's the details for this new backer tier:
The size of the weapon can be up to 48 x 48 pixels. (you could make the weapon smaller, but then you wouldn't be able to see it!)
You can provide a name (up to 20 characters) and, optionally, a short description around 20 words / 120 characters.
I will determine the stats of the weapon, but you can specify what stats or elemental affinities you'd rather the weapon be geared toward (is this a "hit-things-first, ask-questions-later kind of weapon? Maybe it's more defensive? Or a lightning-fast dagger, perhaps?)
Here are the weapon types you can choose from, and which character they'll belong to:
Of course, you're welcome to be creative (to an extent - let's stay appropriate, please). Want Kayah to wield a giant fish-horn? Go for it! A bow that shoots other bows? Fine by me!
This $50 backer tier has 6 spots available and includes all other rewards below it. If you've already backed the project, you're free to upgrade to this tier anytime.
Game Progress
Long story short - it's coming along smoothly!
I don't have a whole lot to show off right now, but the project has reached its second-to-final stage of development: Writing! Just about everything else is finished, and all that's left to do is actually write the dialogue, design the cutscenes, and then begin the long process of playtesting!
Based on my current rate of progress, I'm thinking Celestial Hearts will be finished by late December and will release in late January/early February. This means that those subscribed to the Early Backer pre-release tier will receive their Steam copies around mid-January.
That's all for now! If you have any questions or comments about Celestial Hearts, the new backer tier (or any other tier), or just want to say something, you can leave a comment here or email me at Jkweath@gmail.com.
If you plan on purchasing Celestial Hearts, you can contribute $7 (first 25 backers only) or $8 after that to receive a discounted copy at launch!
This is an all-or-nothing campaign - so if you back the project and it doesn't reach the campaign goal ($1200), you won't be charged.
If you'd like to contribute, here are the other backer rewards tiers:
$3: Have your name featured in the end-game credits!
$7: The first 25 backers at this tier will receive a 30% discounted copy at launch! After the first 25, this reward will increase to $8.
$10: The first 25 backers at this tier will receive a pre-release copy two weeks before launch! (Estimated release date: Early February 2021)
$20: In addition to the above rewards, you'll have a statue with your name on it featured in the Hart City statue room, one of the main hub towns in Celestial Hearts.
$25: In addition to the above rewards, you'll also get full-size versions of each rough sketch and art illustration to use as desktop wallpapers or however you see fit!
Some information about the Kickstarter:
-My campaign goal is $1200, with the majority of this money going toward in-game art illustrations (such as the rough sketch you see above!), and the rest going toward Kickstarter fees and development costs. The campaign will end on November 26.
-I also have stretch goals for adding bonus content at $1300 and $1500 (this stretch goal will add The Depths, which is a dungeon some of you may be familiar with from Knight Bewitched!). If the campaign reaches $2000, I'll commission custom side-view battler sprites for the five main characters.
-If the campaign is unsuccessful, Celestial Hearts will still be released but with slightly less content and less art illustrations.
-If the campaign *is* successful, I will very likely attempt another similar campaign for my next project: Knight Bewitched Definitive Edition! A DX version of Knight Bewitched will likely feature an engine upgrade (which would come with many minor improvements across the game as a whole), new in-game art illustrations, some dialogue touch-ups, a revamp of the menus and battle system, and, of course, new content!
My funding goal is $1200, the majority of which will go toward funding in-game art illustrations. A few noteworthy Kickstarter reward tiers:
Back $3 to have your name featured in the game's credits! Also, thank you for contributing :)
The first 25 people to Back at $7 or more will receive a discounted copy at launch! The game will launch at $8.99 for one week and $9.99 thereafter.
The first 25 people to Back at $10 or more will receive a pre-release copy 2 weeks before launch!
Back at $25 or more to receive 2 digital copies, a statue with your name on it in-game and full-size PNG files of all cover art and in-game art illustrations as well as their rough sketches!
After the first 25 donations of more than $7, you can back with $8 to receive a copy with a small discount at launch. Think of this as the equivalent of pre-ordering, except you're getting a discount and helping fund the game itself!
Of course, all numbers and dates here are subject to change.
If you have any questions about Celestial Hearts, you can comment here or email me at Jkweath@gmail.com.
Celestial Hearts
Celestial Hearts is a jRPG featuring the love story of a heartbroken young elf and an angel seeking her life's purpose.
Features
Genre: Yuri jRPG
Four difficulties, including Story Mode for casual players and Heroic for RPG veterans
2D graphics with beautiful in-game scene illustrations
Active Time Battle (ATB) combat with a party of five heroes
Offline game play with no ads or in-app purchases
Game length: ~10-14 hours
Celestial Hearts is a stand-alone game that takes place more than a century after the events of Knight Bewitched 2.
A Kickstarter to fund the in-game art illustrations, character art and bonus content is planned to launch in late October 2020. Kickstarter rewards are TBD but will at least include Steam keys and early access keys.
Estimated release date on Steam is late January 2020 with a launch price of $9.99. It will be available for Windows and possibly Mac, while an Android port is still TBD.
Alpha Screenshots
For those of you who've finished Knight Bewitched 2, this place might look somewhat familiar...
Deep within the continent of Belume lies Livia, a small village of nymphs and fairies. Kayah, a young elf and guardian of Livia, is slowly recovering from the loss of her partner. One fateful night, the village is raided by the Graveharts, an ultra-rich and powerful family that all but owns Belume.
Kayah, her friend Sylvie, and the nymphs wake up in an underground prison. During their escape, they find a winged woman chained up and passed out. After escaping and nursing the angel back to health, they learn that her name is Helen--and little else besides that she is aware of a purpose she cannot remember.
Kayah, feeling drawn to Helen, vows to keep her safe as they flee from the Graveharts. But the two, alongside their friends Sylvie, Gail and Matthias, know that they can't run forever...
What is Helen's purpose, and how is it connected to the Gravehart family? And more importantly, what is this indescribable feeling between Helen and the elf who has sworn to protect her?
If you have any questions or feedback about Celestial Hearts, you're free to ask here or email me at jkweath@gmail.com.
8-22-20 News
Hello everyone!
Knight Bewitched 2's release week was a huge success. Besides the first Knight Bewitched, it outperformed the release days of all of my other games combined! Thank you!
if you've beaten the game already and have a moment to spare, please leave a review alongside any thoughts or suggestions you have for my next game. Sorry to keep pushing on this - the 10 review mark is a big milestone as it establishes the game's overall rating. As of this post, we're at 7 customer reviews--only three more to go!
An apology
When I first released Knight Bewitched 2, I had it tagged and described as a "Yuri jRPG". I did this because many players referred to the first Knight Bewitched as a Yuri Game, so--without having any idea of what the word "yuri" actually meant (I assumed it referred to the art style. Oof.)--I labeled Knight Bewitched 2 the same way.
After some discussion with other users, I came to a better understanding of what constitutes "yuri". Thought Knight Bewitched 2 does have lesbian and trans representation, lesbian romance specifically is not part of the game's storyline. I have removed the Yuri tag from the game's description to reflect this.
I apologize to any of my yurifans who bought KB2 expecting a new romance plot.
That said, for my yurifans, I am happy to announce that my next game *will* feature a romance plot that I'm sure you'll love!
What's next?
*Minor spoiler warning ahead for Knight Bewitched 2*
Before I go on, I want to acknowledge that I've received many suggestions to write a new game with a continued romance plot between Ruth and Gwen. That said, this probably won't happen anytime soon. I've worked with Ruth, Gwen, and the world of Ambrose in *almost all* of my games, and to be honest, I'm ready to move on to something new--as I hope that many of you are as well.
One minor plot point of Knight Bewitched 2 is that the story actually takes place in an alternate timeline away from The Black Dungeon, Knight of Heaven and Knight Eternal. This isn't important to anyone who hasn't played those games, but for those of you that have, it may help explain a few things.
My next game will *likely* take place in this alternate timeline, around a century after the events of Knight Bewitched 2, and on a new continent in the world of Ambrose. This setup gives me an opportunity for a fresh start while still being able to connect the new story to the previous one.
One character in particular, whose goals have driven her to stay alive for that long, will *likely* help bridge that gap. *wink*
The game is still very early in development, but if everything goes smoothly, I wouldn't be surprised if it's ready for release by late December/early January.
All I have to show off so far is the menu:
For my yurifans in the audience, you should be able to figure out the pairing based on this screenshot. ;)
I may launch a Kickstarter in the near future to help fund art illustrations and character artwork.
Well, that's all I have for this week. Thanks for reading!
7-14-2020 Update
Heya!
A minor update was released today in preparation for the upcoming sequel Knight Bewitched 2.:
-A Battle Animation Speed option was added to speed up the flow of battle.
-A small new temple area, alongside a short conversation, was added. You can find this area by sailing directly south of Gabenport (or slightly east of Deepforge II). This temple is the first area you'll be exploring in the sequel:
-Some of you might remember from an update long ago that I added a female character named Naomi to the Halonian church. She was originally planned to be a main character in Knight Bewitched 2, but was instead replaced with a young male cleric named Hermes. He has replaced Naomi in the Halonian church.
This update is mostly geared toward new players or anyone doing a 2nd play-through before the sequel's Steam release on August 10.
If you encounter any problems with this update, feel free to email me anytime at Jkweath@gmail.com.
A free demo is also available on Aldorlea if you'd like to try the game first and purchase it later. If you do this and later purchase the Steam version, you'll have to manually copy your save file over to the game's Steam folder. All sales from Aldorlea go directly toward funding my projects :)
The Steam release is expected to be on August 10 with a 20% launch discount (making it $7.99 for one week).
The Google Play release will likely be within 2-3 weeks after the Steam release.
If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to email me anytime at Jkweath@gmail.com.
Knight Bewitched 2: Release date, questions, and more!
Knight Bewitched 2 will release first on Aldorlea Games on August 15 for $14.99. A free demo will also be available on Aldorlea--no plans to release a demo on Steam, but anyone who plays the Aldorlea demo and purchases the Steam version can copy their save files over with no problems.
The Steam release will come one month later--September 15--for $9.99 with a 20% launch discount. Pick it up in the bundle for an even bigger discount!
Lastly, the Android version will likely release around a month after the September release. The Android release will also feature better mobile controls over my other games.
Do I need to play Knight Bewitched or the other games in the series first?
Nope! Though playing Knight Bewitched first will give some helpful context to the story, it's not necessary for you to play it, or any of my other games, first before Knight Bewitched 2--though I recommend you do anyway! Pick up the bundle!
Knight Bewitched 2 takes place just three months after the events of Knight Bewitched. However, there is a special detail about its place in the timeline that sets it apart from the other entries in the series. It'll be up to you to learn the truth!
Who are the characters on the cover art?
The cover art features the amazon Rae and her close friend, the white-hat thief Alex. Here's a menu screenshot showing how they look in-game:
How can I report a bug or suggestion?
The fastest way to contact me is via email: jkweath@gmail.com. I don't normally monitor discussion boards, but I almost always respond to emails within a day or two.
I'm a curator/content creator and would like a Steam key.
Sure! You can request one via Keymailer or Steam's Curator Connect. I generally accept almost all key requests from content curators provided you have at least a small following.
I expect to begin distributing keys sometime around early August once the game is finished.
I'm having problems streaming/recording the game with OBS.
Unfortunately I don't have a proper fix for this--the only way I know around it is to run the game in full-screen with F1 and use Display Capture rather than Window or Game Capture.
