Eternal Eden
Indie is all about power to the people. Not in some kind of ranty Marxist way, but in a good ol' fashioned, free-market, homegrown kind of way. Indie is about lowering the barriers to entry so that anybody can get out there, do their thing, and try to find their audience, charge (or not charge) whatever they want. It means that anybody who believes they have an idea and talent can get out there and make it happen, rather than relying upon some middleman or bureaucrat gatekeeper to give them the go-ahead and dubious promises.

RPG Maker is one of several game creation toolsets that empower indie developers. It is hardly simple to use, nor does it unload the important creative burdens from a user's shoulders. But it's accessible for non-programmers and even non-artists (thanks to existing art, of sometimes questionable legality) to create full-fledged games, so long as they resemble 16-bit jRPGs. The advantage over other commercial products with similar capabilities (like Neverwinter Nights) is that game makers can distribute the complete game freely (without requiring other users to own the toolset), even commercially. And the toolset is cheap enough that even my daughter was able to buy a license with her allowance.

The consequence of this power and freedom is, unfortunately, a landscape littered with lame, incomplete, unoriginal, and ill-conceived games. When you get rid of the barriers, you also get rid of the filters. There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.

But the advantage is that there are some real rough diamonds out there, as well as some real gems of games to be found from very creative, talented people that we'd otherwise never have heard of, let alone enjoyed their creations.

Eternal Eden is definitely in the latter category - a polished indie gem. The custom artwork is exceptional (the creator also did some of the sprite work for the Aveyond games), and the gameplay and storytelling is very tight (at least from how far I have played, which is several hours in).

The basic storyline may ring somewhat familiar to folks who have attended Sunday School. The world of the principle characters, Noah and Downey, is a land of eternal youth, beauty, and plenty. A world without death. All their needs are provided for by the mysterious "Eden Tower." There is but one law that all the inhabitants must follow, left by their father who established this land: Do not eat the fruit of the tree at the top of the tower.

Can you guess what happens next?

You see, there's this friendly pie-making competition to win the favor of the Princess, who is about as old as Yoda but way prettier. And Downey really, really wants to win. And there's some fruit the Princess is sure to be surprised by...

Yeah. It doesn't end well.

But that's only the beginning. Now that disaster has struck, the princess is a monster, and the heroes find themselves in a parallel world to their own full of nastiness, it is up to them (and you) to fix things.

Eternal Eden is thick with storyline, as you can imagine. It also relies heavily upon puzzle and problem solving. These aren't Pathstorm-style brain-melters, but they do can prove pretty challenging. If you really hate games with lever puzzles and moving-objects-around puzzles, then you should probably stay away. But if you enjoy them, Eternal Eden has them in spades.

Another rare approach Eternal Eden adopts is to have a fixed set of encounters. While you can't be certain of exactly what you will encounter when you choose to enter combat, once you win an encounter, the enemy is gone. So far, I've not encountered any respawning. So the combats are fewer and further between, but usually pretty challenging.

You will want to explore every nook and cranny in the game world of Eternal Eden, because it is packed with hidden objects. I'm talking literally - almost every tucked-away corner or alcove has something hidden you can find and pick up. Usually it's a potion of some sort, which comes in very handy in the challenging combat encounters.

Unfortunately, there's no customization in leveling up, and the save-game points are scattered across the landscape, making you never quite sure of when and if you should push forward or retreat. Since monsters are finite and non-respawning, backtracking isn't very time-consuming or dangerous, but in some of the dungeons it can make it easy to forget where you were last.

The game is tightly balanced, very well polished, and very pretty. It exudes professionalism and attention to detail. And, most importantly, it is a lot of fun. If you are a fan of indie RPGs in the old 16-bit jRPG style, I must recommend downloading and at least giving it a go through the free trial period.

You can download it here at Rampant Games, if you feel so inclined. Or not, if you aren't.

Download Eternal Eden Free at Rampant Games

As usual - please post here if you've tried it and let us know what you thought. Just try not to post major spoilers (be vague if you have to). Or I may cry. And you really don't want to see a grown man cry, do you?

Labels: Game Announcements, Indie Evangelism, Roleplaying Games

- posted by The Rampant Coyote @ 2:41 AM (Permalink)