Monday, June 22, 2009
Aveyond - Lord of Twilight
Amaranth Games recently released Aveyond: Lord of Twilight. I got to spend some time with it this weekend (and put it up on the Rampant Games Store). While there are many enjoyable RPGs that are build on the RPGMaker engine, the Aveyond series consistently demonstrates a higher level of polish, attention to detail, and masterful storytelling. The latest game - at least so far as I've played it, several hours in - continues the trend.
The game opens on a dark scene from two hundred years in the past - a prophecy seemingly foiled. It is pretty obvious that the self-sacrificing hero has neglected a pretty crucial little possibility. and at the last moment his wife opts to not clue him in.Then we flash forward to Mel, an orphan living on the streets of Harburg who has enjoyed a pretty successful career of thievery in her young age. Mysterious cloaked characters have sought her out, specifically, for a heist at a ruined tower - the same tower that appeared in the introduction.
Yeah. What's the chance of this little job snowballing out of control?
Soon, the game alternates between Mel's story and that of the vampire Te'ijal - a not-so-nice vampire who nonetheless finds herself protecting Mel to thwart the machinations of her brother. Amusingly, the two "parties" share the same items and bank account in spite of being separated by geography and not being entirely synchronized in time.
While I've always been thrilled by the solid storytelling and polish of the Aveyond series, this latest title shows some definite improvement and refinement over even Aveyond 2: Ean's Quest, which I previously considered the high-water mark for games using the RPG Maker engine. Amanda Fitch and Amaranth Games are doing some interesting things with this one.
Aveyond: Lord of Twilight is the first of the "Orbs of Magic" series taking place in the Aveyond universe. These games are a bit smaller than the previous Aveyond installments, and are selling for half-price. This and the upcoming Aveyond: Gates of Night will make up what could be considered "Aveyond 3." I have my suspicions as to why Amaranth Games did that, but aside from some curiousity as to how the transitions will work between the two chapters, I don't have a problem with it. Lord of Twilight doesn't seem to be skimping in the hours-of-play department, so I hope I will be able to finish it before the next release.As usual, the game provides you with an hour of free play to check it out before deciding whether or not it is your kind of game. The time flew by for me, but your mileage may vary. The download is 61 megs - but well worth your time to give it a try!
Download Aveyond: Lord of Twilight at Rampant Games
Labels: Game Announcements, Roleplaying Games
- posted by The Rampant Coyote @ 12:31 AM (Permalink)
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look interesting. shame its trying to pull the orphan cliche stunt.
as to the pricing.. well if you release several 'episodes' whose total sale price is greater than the sale price of a standard size game....
the only downside is attrition and keeping customers hooked for 3, 4 etc 'episodes' to beat that price point.
will have to see if I can get the demo working under wine... no matter how many times I see it, I still hate that 'vertical' perpsective that rpgmaker does.
not like I need to get hooked on a new rpg instead of my development either... :)
as to the pricing.. well if you release several 'episodes' whose total sale price is greater than the sale price of a standard size game....
the only downside is attrition and keeping customers hooked for 3, 4 etc 'episodes' to beat that price point.
will have to see if I can get the demo working under wine... no matter how many times I see it, I still hate that 'vertical' perpsective that rpgmaker does.
not like I need to get hooked on a new rpg instead of my development either... :)
Actually, Amanda has taken care with the pricing thing. The game formerly known as Aveyond 3 (which was bigger than Aveyond 2, which in turn was bigger than Aveyond 1) was broken in half, and each half is being sold at half-price. So you still get the full game at regular price. So there's no real downside.
The $10 pricing is, I think, because she works with the portals. She's got to compete with a lot of clone games that are probably made with one artist and a wizard utility nowadays. Paint-by-numbers, fill-in-the-blanks, and she's making these big epic fantasy RPGs.
I'm in the same boat - I really should just swear off gaming completely for a month.
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The $10 pricing is, I think, because she works with the portals. She's got to compete with a lot of clone games that are probably made with one artist and a wizard utility nowadays. Paint-by-numbers, fill-in-the-blanks, and she's making these big epic fantasy RPGs.
I'm in the same boat - I really should just swear off gaming completely for a month.
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