Introducing... Clouds! (The game)
spoiler alert only like 5% of it takes place in a sky kingdom
This is the official Tumblr page for my upcoming game: Clouds! My itch page has been pretty dead (as in, I barely do anything with it) and I wanted to provide more in-depth detail about the game itself! So here, I will do just that! Locations, characters, and gameplay will all be shown here!
So, first off, here's a few questions/notes/FAQ/whatever we're calling this...
What is Clouds?
Clouds is a brand new 2D pixel-art RPG all about making choices. Explore a brand new world where everyone seems to know you, but you don't know them! As you make your way, encounter many enemies who want to capture your rabbit partner, Lee! Kill them or talk your way out of battle.
You're trapped in the wrong dimension, so you must travel to the capital city in order to enact the plan to escape to your home universe, Laru.
But is that actually what the game is about?
No, this is just the main plot of the first chapter. Chapter 1 deals a lot more with setting up characters. Think of it as a prologue. There's no timeskip, however, as Chapter 2 starts the moment after Chapter 1 ends. So what is this game actually about?
The game is about alternate universes. You travel to seven different universes to thwart a (soon to be revealed) threat. Each universe started at the same point in history, but branched off from that single point leading to many different events. Roles get swapped around, different people have different relationships with each other, stuff like that. Think of Undertale AUs where many of them are switched up roles. Another important factor is that everyone knows you're the player character of a video game(well, everyone knows this by chapter 2). You don't play as your own character, you are yourself, and the characters will speak to you directly.
But... this doesn't stop you from travelling through time. Certain events will happen in each chapter that will result in an unsatisfying outcome, but you won't know why. As you progress through later chapters, you might learn the reasons behind these problems, and you can go back and fix them. Then, you can play through the chapters again and see the differences, or you can just return to where you were before. The differences made in these timeline changing scenarios are pretty large, however, so there is always something new to see.
When is the game coming out????
I've been working on the first chapter for about 3 years, and recently finished the first round of playtesting. I don't want to set myself any deadlines, but it's getting closer. I'm redoing a lot of sections but the groundwork is there for everything.
Where's a trailer?? Isn't that like, one of the most vital things to have??
No trailer yet, I have no idea how to make a trailer, but I will try to make one soon. In the meantime I will post screenshots, music, and footage of various parts of the game!
What do you actually do in the game?
The main gameplay is in two parts: One, making choices. Nearly every single thing you do is tracked and will affect your relationships with the characters and your ability to do certain tasks. Two, the game is a "fighting" game. I can't define it into a genre since there is no genre for the fighting system. Each chapter will have a different type of battle system to match the universe you're in. For example, chapter one is a turn based bullet-hell platformer. The people you're fighting want to give you a fair chance, after all, battle etiquette is very important! But, in chapter two, no one cares about battle etiquette. Everyone wants to simply kill you. So, the combat system turns into a hack and slash. Different renditions of the previous battle systems will reappear throughout the game depending on who you're fighting.
...Honestly, I'm still not sure if this is a good idea, game design wise. But I'm committed, and I'll make it work.
Anything else????
Not that I can think of right now, but I will update this FAQ as time goes on in order to discuss the game in more detail. For now, I'm going to work on posting character bios and art so you know what you're getting yourself into!
