Leveling system

I wanted the way you leveled up your character to be different than that of most RPG games where you get a set stat every level depending on your class and that was it. I wanted some customization and I want players to be able to experiment with stats to fit their play style and see what works best. So I decided that the way the leveling system will work is that each class will still have a set way their base stats are raised, however, there is a shop in the main town that will allow you to use 'Orchalium' (an item now that is on occasion dropped by certain enemies) to level up max health, attack, defense, magic attack, magic defense, mana, or luck.  This way, you can choose your class at the beginning, and as the game progresses boos certain attributes about your class that you like depending on your play style.

~ Saul

Update: End of November Progress

So far I have finished the skills and abilities for the foreseeable future (as the development progresses I may add more for story and continuity reasons, although the road map says 95% the 5% is just to say I am not sure what I'll add in the future), I have also finished the enemies for the first area and second area, the mini bosses for the first and second area, the first town and the opening cut-scene for the most part.

For the most part I am on track for timing wise according to the road map. Bear with me for more updates soon!

~Saul

The Magic System

  Magic in the world works a bit differently than some other games. Instead of having some magic types be strong against others, certain magic types have a strong defense against others.
  You also don't have the typical 'earth, air, fire, water' type magics either. Not exactly anyways.

  The way the world works is that once there were four types of magics that were used by all mages;   
  Fire: Created and dispersed heat in order to control the elements pertaining to fire or heat.
  Light: Used light and holy energy to cause heavy damage to targets.
  Water: Used the fluidity of water and tides to cause damage or to heal.
  Dark: Took advantage of the user's power and life force to cause damage.

  After the advent of gunpowder and the 'industrial revolution' of Orchalium, these old magics were 'updated' and adapted into the modern age:
  Solar: Combines the explosiveness of Fire magic with the energy of Light that uses the power of the sun and light energy.
  Energy: Combines the energy of Light magic with the explosiveness of Fire that uses the power of the earth's magnetic fields and natural energies.
  Liquid: Combines the substance of Water with the viscosity of Dark to create a magic that controls and creates liquids or ectoplasms.
  Soul: Combines the viscosity of Dark with the substance of water to take advantage of the user's or target's soul energies.

(EDIT: 1/25/16 More types will be added later)

  Typically, Solar and Energy work closely together and Liquid and Soul work together, but using Solar and Liquid or Light and Soul (or any other combination of the two groups) is dangerous and unstable.
  Here are the various defenses against each magic type (*note: physical damage responds normally with each type of magic damage, neither having a defensive or offensive bonus against them).
  Fire has a high defense against Light.
  Light has a high defense against Dark.
  Dark has a high defense against Water.
  Water has a high defense against Fire.

  Modern science has incorporated magic into most machines and devices for everyday or industrial use. The military has combined many weapons with these magics for use in battle. I may make some changes in the future, such as adding new types of magic or adding more of a complex 'rock, paper, scissors' defense system to magic.

Until next time,
 ~Saul

To begin with

Allow me to introduce myself and the game.  My name is Saul and I am a beginning game developer.  Orcahlium is not my first attempt at making a game, I have made a few games before but didn't publish anything. 

Orchalium is a fantasy RPG set in a time after the discovery of gunpowder and a mineral known as Orchalium.  Orchalium was found to have many powerful properties that allow certain elements to be powered (similar to electricity).  However, there was a side effect that was discovered all too late when people and animals began to change into monsters.  They became known as the 'corrupted' and the use of Orchalium was outlawed and all deposits of it destroyed.

Years later, an old mine of Orchalium was discovered by accident during an archaeological dig and the corruption began to spread again. You play the part of a spec ops operative sent by the crown to investigate and destroy the Orchalium mine and eradicate the people and animals corrupted by it's dark power.

I am building the game to be simple yet difficult. It is a traditional turn based battle game similar to that of 'Final Fantasy'.  As the player, you will delve into dungeons and fight monsters using one of three classes (Gunmage, Battlemage, or Knight) each with their own style of combat, skills, and equipment.  The enemies you face will be merciless and difficult and you will need to use more than typical strategy to defeat them and survive the whole ordeal. 

Some of my favorite games are the Dark Souls games and I really wanted to make a game that was a similar difficulty in the sense that you are not just handed powerful weapons or items and the enemies you face are tougher than you are and it takes a bit of extra strategy to survive each battle.

I am still in the development stages of items and equipment and will soon be on to map making and characters (see the 'roadmap').  I will update this blog whenever I can to show you all progress.  If you are interested in following me through this process please follow this blog.  I am not asking for any money or anything like that, just friendly support.  If you have questions concerning the game or the direction it is going please email me.

~Saul