One Year Deadline!

The goal of this blog is to record the development of Elspeth's Garden, my first commercial endeavor. The purpose of this journal is two-fold:

-1.) To establish a proof of copyright. One of the risks of developing entirely in secret is if suddenly a more powerful entity releases a work that is very similar in theme, characters or mechanics to your own; you can't suddenly say "B-but I thought of it first!" Ideas are a dime a dozen anyway. But at least by jotting things down on the internet, there will be a permanent record just in the unlikely chance that there be a conflict of interest.

-2.) To serve as a learning manual for first-time developers taking their first steps in making a commercial game. It is assumed that you have already a couple of freeware or forum games under your belt, so you know the basics of designing and making a game even if you're not a programmer -- I believe using off-the-shelf engines even if it's just Game Maker or Ren'Py is perfectly alright. The trick is how to make the experience shine while using limited tools and budget.

At this point in writing, I have finished pre-production and have just started commissioning the art and music assets to be used in Elspeth's Garden. I will not be showing these assets until the last possible moment, so that I have time to tweak them until the overall motif is delivered just the way I like it. I gave myself a deadline of August 2011 to get the finished game out, so I hope to have a beta with final assets by May-June or earlier.

So what is Elspeth's Garden going to be like? It's going to be a steampunk tactical RPG - visual novel hybrid. When I first thought of the idea I wanted to have a game featuring lots of anime girls and lots of apes... little did I know that Bioshock Infinite and Planet of the Apes remake were under development, both of which seem to have the style that I'm aiming for. But, yes, I was inspired partly by the original Planet of the Apes trilogy, as well as elements from Brave New World, Grapes of Wrath, and Crest of the Stars.

Originally, I wanted to make a Disgaea-style pure SRPG with mostly dialogue cutscenes, but as it turns out I don't have the time or money to commission the art for dozens of battle stages. So more story will be used to supplement the lack of battles (when compared to a regular SRPG). If I can still have random dungeons I will use them, but right now I have a limited list of campaign maps. But the game will be more of a 'casual tactical RPG', lasting about 5-8 hours playtime.

The indie dev support forums recommend that you don't make an RPG for your first game. Well this is my first major game and unfortunately I'm making a tactical game of all things. At least I followed their advice and decided to stick to a recommended budget of $5K instead of blowing tens of thousands on a new IP that has 90% chance of never recovering its investment. Later on I will want to polish up the presentation and marketing a bit and present a more solid businesslike presence, but right now, since I'm doing this out-of-pocket, it's going to be treated as a hobby until I have something sellable.

In anycase, here goes the first step.