Milestone 3: Open World Tour

THE BIG NEWS IS THE BEST NEWS

It’s taken a long time to reach this point. One of the hardest things in the creation of a game or new IP is the foundation of a unique sense of universe. I’m a huge advocate, as a writer, that a solid narrative is founded not in the words, but in the sandbox you create. Adventure happens where you are. But when I look at games like Kingdoms of Amalur or Fable or Dungeon Keeper, or titles like Dark Cloud it’s less about the specific story and more about the universe in which you’re existing.

At the end of the day our mechanics are fairly straight forward;

• Investigate the grand mystery
• Travel to a new place to answer a challenge which is preventing you from moving on
• Help the locals with a problem

• Solve some unique puzzles in an ever more complicated pattern of ruins
• Fell and ancient evil
• Gain power and a treasure
• Open a sealed door
• Depart from your friends
• Repeat

But who you’re doing it for, and where that manifests are the real treasure. This world is HUGE. And though the Dungeons and Temples come later, it’s about the size of an Elder Scrolls game.

AVOIDING RACISM AND TELLING HARD STORIES

Our friends from the 24 races of the Sea of Steam were designed to avoid our worlds’ racism, sexism, and classism, while opening us up to tell stories and portray lessons which cover hard topics. Each major questline for both the Races and the secondary content are designed to take apart hard social issues which make meaningful tales. That’s what happens when a Star Trek kid creates a game universe.

I’ve aimed for a broad swath of peoples who represent polarized archetypes from our own world, but reframed in a Zelda-like akin to allow a sense of humor and farce in every interaction. But the Sea of Steam takes itself remarkably seriously. Years of study of Shakespeare has left me crafting something of a Twelfth Night.

Each zone has a unique feel, aesthetic, tool, story, and color scheme. But you’ll feel the touch of each race throughout the worlds as a whole.

As we move onto the main story, and wire up the Majora’s Mask time system, I wanted to take the time to show off the thousands of hours of work we’ve done so far. With much much more to come, we have a Playset and a Ruleset in your Toolset.

Milestone 4 is about moving from the Engineering Phase into the Creation Phase. From here on out our Sandbox becomes a game worth playing. And this tour is the gunshot that starts that race.

Thanks for taking the time to watch. Stay tuned for the Q&A session on Twitch for the diehard fans. And for new shots of the expanded hub and the time system. It will be a treat.

-Game On friends