Paxia, City of Legend

Valigarmander · Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2006 8:13 pm Post subject: Paxia, City of Legend

Hello, erebodeh. It's me, Valigarmander, the resident n00b. Well, I've actually been here for 5 months now so I think I'm officially a venerable n00b. HA! So, yeah. A few months ago, I started a game called Revelations. It was my reply to Castle Paradox's apparent lack of good survival-horror games. I started out excited, but eventually my interest faded and I decided to scrap the game. That was a dumb idea. I worked everyone up with my crappy game then STRUCK THEM ALL DOWN. It may have pissed a few people off... Shaken a few relationships...

But that's in the past now. I have decided to start a new game. But before I reveal what it is, I must get one thing across.

Yes, I do plan on completing it this time.

Now that everyone knows that, the game is called Paxia and it is your average fantasy RPG. Right now the game is in its infant stage, with only some of the graphics and maps partially completed. The story so far...

The city of Paxia is a sprawlign metropolis filled to the brim with adventurers, wizards, thieves, monsters, guilds, pacts, and incredible magic. To the north of the great city is the World Tree, a massive tree that was born from a goddess who sacrificed herself to save the planet. It supplies the world with its strength, and all life depends on it. But when the four guardians who were given the duty of protecting the tree suddenly die, the Tree's aura begins to waver. Marius, a magician from another land, takes notice of the anomaly and travels to Paxia to meet his old friend/enemy, Landolor, who is the leader of the city's most prominent guild. Landolor reluctantly offers his old rival three of his apprentices to aid him on his journey to discover what is troubling the World Tree. There is Electra, the spunky swordswoman, a powerful knight who honors courage and valor above all. Her partner, Orlando, is a mage in training under the wizard Patrykon. He is a very powerful spellcaster, despite his tendency to bumble magic. And last but not least, there is the thief Jasper, a cranky old bum raised in the slums of Paxia. He is skilled in the art of thievery and silent as night, able to quickly and easily dispatch his enemies in the dark. Together, the four travel to the Tree, only to be attacked by a powerful demon. Returning to Landolor bruised and battered, the three guildsmen are left to strike down the evil themselves as Marius stubbornly begins his search for a powerful ally in the kingdom of Gaal. Electra, Orlando, and Jasper are told by Landolor to search the city for the four talismans of the Guardians: the sword, the shield, the helm, and the breastplate. With these four ancient artifacts, they will be able to call upon the power of the gods to stop the evil that threatens the world.

Okay, that's the story. Hope you're interested. After returning from the Tree, the three will be split up and sent to different sections of the city. You will be able to hire mercenaries, buy pets and summon dieties to help you when you stand alone. The city is massive, divided into ten boroughs. The streets range from heavily guarded avenues with guild halls and mage academies, to slimy alleys crawling with thieves and thugs. The sewers beneath Paxia are a city in their own, with intricate dungeons and dark communities. The skyways are crowded with airships, dragons, aerocopters, and flying beasts used by the Paxians for transport. Your journey will take you through all ten districts of Paxia as you search for the Guardians' treasures.

The whole Paxia universe was based off of a story I started a long time ago called The Sword of Paxia, in which a trobble (a trobble is a creature of my own creation, half human and half halfling) named Albus Boffum who acquires the Guardian's sword. I never completed it (it's not the first thing I haven't finished Raspberry!

) but I've come up with a few ideas for OHR games based off of the Paxia universe, including this one I am working on now. I promise you I will have some screenshots ready for you soon, and maybe some artwork. Wish me luck. Valigarmander out!

Battleblaze · Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 9:09 am Post subject:

Lyhn Sohler · Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 2:21 pm Post subject:

It's good to know you're still making games.

Valigarmander · Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 3:24 pm Post subject:

Thank you both. I would have had some artwork ready for this post, but my scanner's tweaking out. Pissed off!

If anyone has any suggestions, anything at all, just let me know.

Valigarmander · Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 4:29 pm Post subject:

Okay, I DO have a little picture ready for you. Nothing special, just a crappy little map of the city.

Here we have a crappily scribbled drawing of Paxia. Notice the ten districts, all numbered. Beh.

1. Tarma: Paxia's industrial zone, filled with factories and boilerworks, covered in smog and sprawling with buildings and towers that crawl up the Paxian mountains. This area is watched over by Hobblegone, a crazy goblin who is obsessed with a particularly massive vein of mythril hidden beneath his palace.

2. Norgolth: This area contains Paxia's tallest structures, reaching into the sky as though attempting to challenge the gods themselves. The great Paxian Skyport can be found in the district of Norgolth. A blue elf named Ymongulthon manages Norgolth.

3. Rumna: Paxia's largest district is also it's most criminal area. Gripped by overwhelming crime and corruption, this area of the city is composed mainly of labytinthine alleys and corridors between crumbling skyscrapers and factories. Rumna is run by the Dorman Syndicate, led by Mr. Pixel Dorma, the son of a sorceress and an incubus.

4. Banford: The quiet rural district of Paxia seems out of place next to Rumna. It is filled with rich forests and ancient sanctuaries guarded by the wood elves. One of said elves is Opalion, who watches over this section of Paxia.

5. Paxia: The center of Paxia is, well, Paxia. This is essentially the essence of the city itself, teeming with guilds and academies, and the birthplace of many a hero. The game begins in the northern section of Paxia, before the Supreme Guild Hall. Landolor watches over the district from this place.

6. Jpaea: Paxia's capital dwells within the tiny district of Jpaea. Though less than one square mile large, it is the most powerful section of Paxia and is ruled by the great king Withna, long dead yet still as strong as ever as a phantom ruler.

7. Gannos: The great adventurous section of Paxia is Gannos, famous for it's greatest attraction, the Colliseum. It is filled to the brim with journeymen, gladiators, warriors, and cutpurses. The ogre Zaroff rules this section of Paxia.

8. Aria: Paxia's port district is Aria. The home of many great ships and marinas, it is also Paxia's commercial home. The Tymet Corporation runs many of Paxia's shops and is headed in Aria. The draken enterpreneur Zysthikkanhe oversees Tymet as well as Aria.

9. Ura: The area at the northeast corner of Paxia is Ura. It is a massively suburban area filled with residences and apartments. The dwarf Orgiml keeps this area in check.

10. Aeglos: The last area in Paxia is Aeglos. It is considered Paxia's debaucherous district, filled with brothels, clubs, and bars. It is also filled with criminals, so beware! This area is run by Katmiria.

Other areas include:

Undercity: The massive community beneath the city of Paxia is a subterranean kingdom, accessible from the sewers hidden below the surface.

The World Tree: Not actually a part of Paxia, but an important location nonetheless. The massive tree that supplies the world with its power and a main aspect of the game.

Phew. I spent a damn half hour writing all of that. You're were probably either bored out of your mind by all of that, or didn't even bother to read any of that at all. What I want to do is immerse you in the Paxia universe. But I doubt I'm that good. Oookay...

Hope this has been an interesting experience for you all...

Valigarmander · Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 1:20 pm Post subject:

Pictures! I have a few enemy graphics and some artwork, but no screenshots yet. Okay. So, yeah. Enjoy, puny Earth children.

The basic Slimy Jelly enemy. Swell.

A Street Rat. Esentially the same as the slime, but with stronger attacks. Woo.

An Alacran. That means scorpion. This creature dwells in the sewers beneath Paxia and is weak to ice attacks.

A Driffid. Big, fungus enemy that can attack using poisonous spores. Also found underground.

A fledgeling Pyromancer. You can choose to fight this guy in the Guild Hall. Not much of a threat, with only first level fire attacks. However...

An EXPERIENCED Pyromancer is something more to behold. He can cast Magma Wave. Woo.

So, that's all the graphics I have for now, but here comes the artwork!

Karlabos, a big scorpion-dragon, and the first real boss you fight. Guards a treasure trove hidden beneath Paxia. This enemy is borrowed from FF5.

Dirobeda, a giant sea serpent. Fought upon reaching the port in Aria, and can cast water spells. This enemy is also borrowed from a Final Fantasy game.

Grendel, the great dragonman. He is found in the deeper levels of the Undercity and is a POWERFUL foe. He knows all of the best spells in the game.

Carcharodon, a giant undead dragon chained underneath Paxia. Another boss fought in Undercity. Note that Carcharodon is actually the scientific name of the great white shark. ...Just thought you'd like to know that. Yeah.

That's all I have for now. (I think maybe I should have cropped some of the artwork to make the images smaller... Oh well.) Hope you're all interested. If not, just ignore the man behind the curtains. He does not concern you! Bye.

[EDIT: I cropped some of the artwork to make them smaller and quicker to load. Smokin'

]

Guest · Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 4:22 pm Post subject:

These actually don't suck...

Valigarmander · Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 4:57 pm Post subject:

Thank you.

Valigarmander · Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 12:04 am Post subject:

More enemy graphics.

A Blazer Beetle. The graphics are kind of crappy, and I plan on fixing it eventually.

A Cutpurse. For those of you don't know, "cutpurse" is old talk for "thief." He's running at you with his knife. Woo.

A Harlot. For those of you who don't know, "harlot" is old talk for "hooker." As you can see, Paxia's whores are very classy.

An Azure Drake. Found in the skies above Aria. They cast water and wind spells.

A Brute. This graphic kind of sucks too, but I'll fix it eventually.

Karlabos. If you look a bit further up the page, you'll see the artwork for this creature.

A Troll Punk. A big, muscly guy like the brute, but weaker.

A Patrol Officer. These guys can't be found regularly like other enemies. Law enforcers must be engaged and fought, and doing so pushes your alignment more towards evil. (I'll explain "alignment" later on Raspberry!

).

A Houndkeeper. Another law enforcer. The dog's graphic kind of sucks.

A Stalwart. Another law enforcer.

And finally, I have the title screen:

I don't know whether or not I'll be replacing this, but until then I'll keep it the way it is.

That's all for now. Bye.

Lyhn Sohler · Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 3:20 pm Post subject:

This actually looks pretty cool, Val. Keep up the good work.

TwinHamster · Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 3:23 pm Post subject:

I swear I saw a few of the enemies in FF6...

Moogle1 · Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 3:37 pm Post subject:

The harlot is similar in appearance to the FF6 enemy, but none of the others looks like anything from that game.

The first set of monsters you posted is much better than the second. The black outlines are distracting on the second set. I know you use black outlines on the first set, too, but you generally use them well rather than just putting black on the outside. As an example of where you could do better, the Driffid should have a black outline between the cap and the stem.

But the form of the second set of enemies is just bad. The Harlot and Karlabos are great (the Karlabos is probably your best, with possible exception to the impressive Rat), but the Patrol Officer is completely stiff and the armor on the Houndkeeper and Stalwart is just plain silly. Plate mail doesn't have that many joints.

You also need more contrast. Fixing the outlines will solve this partially, but the graphics are too smooth overall. Take the Drake, for instance. It's very hard to tell where his neck ends and the wing begins and he's got a very gradient look to him. I know it looks better in-game, but he'd look much better if you took out some of those blues and added more different colors.

Your graphics show a lot of potential, which is the only reason I'm bothering to critique them.
_________________

Slime Salad :: Independent Game Design

Valigarmander · Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 7:22 pm Post subject:

Thanks Moog, I need criticism! I'll try to fix them all.

Valigarmander · Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 7:29 pm Post subject:

Also, DARE TO COMPARE!

The FF6 enemy "Dahling" is where I drew some of my inspiration, Twin...

[Edit: GOD, mine looks crappy compared to Square's.]

TwinHamster · Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2006 5:17 am Post subject:

I was also thinking that the Brute slightly resembled colossus, just because it's all hunched over trying to fit into the box.

[edit]:Now that I compare them, they actually don't look all that similar. They just share that "I'm too big to fit into the box" syndrome.