Aureus

My first screenshot Saturday for new Windy Meadow!
 

Greetings, dear forum.
5 years ago I released a game. It had many flaws. I couldn't pull it off - yet.
Now I'm going to make it right.
Windy Meadow - tales of 3 young people facing difficult choices, set in a village from the fantasy world of Roadwarden. Coming (very) soon. 
And you can add it to your wishlist on Steam!

 
Over the span of this 3-hour game, you navigate 3 distinctive characters lost among complex relationships and difficult choices.
 
Vena, the huntress, has an opportunity to take a lucrative job for the city merchants, and to leave her home for years to come. Before she decides what to do next, she needs to figure out her relationship with her over controlling father, and learn what it is that she truly wants from her life.

Fabel, the storyteller, is struggling with a difficult past, and the limitations it puts on him as he tries to pursue his dream of becoming a bard. Before he makes his final decision, he needs to figure out what’s more important to him - trying to satisfy his audience, or staying true to his own passion.
 
Iudicia, the herbalist, has agreed to marry a man she feels safe with, but whom she doesn’t love. Being an outsider her entire life, she now needs to decide if she’d rather sacrifice a part of herself to get closer to others, or embrace her anger and follow her instincts.
 

Thanks to all sorts of updates across the board - from massive rewrites, new scenes, updated visuals, to the most basic UI redesigns - I’m convinced the game has truly leveled up as an experience.
 

I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have. To me, reimagining an entire, old project is an exciting journey.

Thank you for your support!

Roadwarden is officially released! : )
 

Roadwarden is officially released! : )
 

Roadwarden is officially released! : )
 

This is it. My last ScreenshotSaturday before Roadwarden's release. Can't wait to bring you the good news on Thursday!   I estimate it's a 30+ hours campaign, but completionists will spend even more time completing the large, world-changing quests. And since all quests are optional and most of them can be completed with varying outcomes, various players will have a completely different experience, further altered by their character class, personal goals, personality, and the allies they'll choose.   In Roadwarden you can't make everyone happy. There will be sacrifices.  
 
 
 

Only a few weeks left! Roadwarden will be available on Steam on September 8th! 
 



 

Only a few weeks left! Roadwarden will be available on Steam on September 8th! 
 



 

Hi there! Long time no see.
In the meantime, Roadwarden got pretty close to what I hope is its last stage. I still need to fix a few things, but there's a chance the game will be available on Steam this September!








 

Quite happy with the current style of Roadwarden’s icons. : )
A fistful of icons - 6 of the newer items and a reminder how does the inventory look like in the game. : )
 
 
 

Quite happy with the current style of Roadwarden’s icons. : )
A fistful of icons - 6 of the newer items and a reminder how does the inventory look like in the game. : )
 
 
 

Roadwarden is an interactive fiction 
in which you explore and change a hostile, grim realm.

Everyone knows to stay away from the wilderness. Most people would never risk a lonely journey.
Roadwardens not only accept this struggle, they embrace it. They deliver messages, assist merchants, burn human corpses and, if possible, get rid of beasts and highwaymen.
They live on the road, die young or retire early.
It’s a dangerous job, but a respectable one. And it pays well.

Main Features:
Explore and change the world. Travel through a detailed fantasy setting filled with secrets, challenges and uniquely harsh lore. Have immersive conversations. To gain support of dozens of NPCs, you need to earn their trust during complex dialogues and sidequests. Create your own character through role-playing and decisions. Shape your background, abilities, beliefs and personality. Unveil the local mysteries. Investigate, use your wit and make connections to understand the true nature of this realm. Overcome your weaknesses. The wilderness is full of dangers and you can trust nobody. Find your path to success against all odds. You can find more information as well as the free demo on the game's website!






So, what do you think? Have you got any idea how can we call this game's genre? : P

Three inns, three different opportunities to hide from the creatures of the night.
The obvious differences are the room prices, HP restoration values, and the “breakfast included” service. But there’s more - sleeping in some spots involves unique encounters and conversations, and the prices and benefits change as the player befriends the owners of these places.
There are also other areas in the game where the player can find a shelter, but they usually involve a more effort before they get unlocked.
 

I’m having a crazy month, but I’ve managed to test some new things.
1) The new d6 icon, that both makes it clear that a choice has a random chance attached to it, and allows me to alter some of the older choices to make them more interesting. It’s especially useful in combat - and gambling.
 
2) The new “wait” option, a quality-of-life addition to the UI.
 
3) A WIP illustration. I’m struggling to find a balance between the chaos and emptiness of the wilderness. I'll need to rework it, but I think it's an interesting attempt.

October will be one of the loosest months I’ll have in 2020, so I’ll be able to finally focus on the game’s development. I can’t even express how happy I am. ^^

You can now find the newest Roadwarden devlog on https://moral-anxiety.itch.io/roadwarden/devlog/176144/invisible-milestones-roadwarden-devlog , with updates on the new approach to the character’s goals, the crossbow rework, the heart of the forest, the game’s release date, and more!
 

In the original “Roadwarden’s” Design Document, there were no game-overs. You could get significantly hurt during your journeys, but never to the point where you’d face a brick wall that would make the further progress impossible. You need to rest and heal your wounds to participate in some events, but you can always move forward.
I’ve finally decided to change it. In most situations, reaching 0 HP won’t result in an instant death. But in some scripted encounters - usually when facing an overwhelming opponent while being completely unprepared - your character will be broken.
Still, I hope to make it as player-friendly as possible. Did you forget to save your game? Was autosave ran in an inconvenient spot? You can jump back in time a bit, no strings attached.
The game now also involves some new systems, like a redesigned “armor level”. I’ll talk more about it in the next devlog.
 

Humans try to mark their presence in the world, but their memories and tales dwindle, their bodies wither away, their homes and statues turn into dust.
The wilderness prevails, indifferent like time.
 

Unlike most people, the monks learn to be satisfied with what’s essential for their survival, the simplest foods and shelters. They seek happiness in understanding and accepting things as they are, hidden both in nature and between the lines of the sacred scriptures, studying the mysteries of the world - herbs, crops, magic, beasts, metallurgy...
Many of the monasteries are placed on the outskirts of civilization, where the monks explore and tame the unknown grounds. They expect that the other settlements, especially those which focus on food production, will provide for them. In return, the order shares with such villages the fruits of its research, from general guidance to specific inventions.
The monks see themselves as responsible for broadening the potential of humankind, even though this perspective is rarely shared by those who don’t follow the teachings of the Church of Truth. Disbelievers claim that too many of the orders aim to gather resources beyond their needs, discarding their grand ideas, and reveal just the scraps of their research, and only when they can’t parasitize their neighbors any further. The lack of transparency sparks distrust, fear, and in some cases - hostility.
 

Humans try to mark their presence in the world, but their memories and tales dwindle, their bodies wither away, their homes and statues turn into dust.
The wilderness prevails, indifferent like time.
 

The Clean Spear inn. From February 2019 to May 2020.
If you think it’s an improvement, you should see the game’s writing. I’ve been grinding some juicy level ups.
(New, probably the last, version of demo coming this month.)
 

I’ve made some fantastic progress this week, but I’m especially happy with introducing the new continue button. One of the best things about making a game that doesn't use a lot of hardware is that you can make it run almost instantly. You won't have to remember where has your last save occurred or which save slot you have used - just click and play.
Also, I don’t think there will be a reason to add some semi-skippable animated company logos whenever the game launches, so all it takes from the moment you press the game’s icon to the moment you’re in is like 10-15 seconds. : P
 

The game has grown tremendously, though I try to keep everything spoiler-free. : )  For now, how about a tune?
We want our music to be subtle, not bluntly cheerful, nor overwhelming tense. The today’s example is on the “brighter” side, but we still tried to hide some uncertainty in it. Is “post rock folk” a thing?
 

For this ScreenshotSaturday, I have a rather large update. And a lot of pictures to show. Too many for a forum post. Oh dear, that must mean... It’s devlog time!
And here it is!
I wrote about the map updates, the new armor system, UI adjustments, the new Journal, the most recent WIPs, and recapped the stuff related to the game over screens and the new font.

In the original “Roadwarden’s” Design Document, there were no game-overs. You could get significantly hurt during your journeys, but never to the point where you’d face a brick wall that would make the further progress impossible. You need to rest and heal your wounds to participate in some events, but you can always move forward.
I’ve finally decided to change it. In most situations, reaching 0 HP won’t result in an instant death. But in some scripted encounters - usually when facing an overwhelming opponent while being completely unprepared - your character will be broken.
Still, I hope to make it as player-friendly as possible. Did you forget to save your game? Was autosave ran in an inconvenient spot? You can jump back in time a bit, no strings attached.
The game now also involves some new systems, like a redesigned “armor level”. I’ll talk more about it in the next devlog.