The Chronicles of Evenhelm
The Game
The Chronicles of Evenhelm is a two player, action RPG set in the fantasy world of Evenhelm. It is targeted to the PC platform with the possibility of a Mac OS X port. This story driven game targets players who desire a deep, meaningful story with intense hack-and-slash combat and puzzle solving based around elemental spells cast by the players, and is targeted at the Teen ESRB rating.
The Story Thus Far...
The game is set in a fantasy world once ruled by a benevolent Empire of Aluria, which streched the bounds of the known world, with only the demon worshiping, warlike state of Biquor standing in opposition of what would be a perfect peace. A generation ago, this empire was ruled by a kind hearted Empress who married the Lord of Biquor, thus sealing a pact that would secure peace and prosperity for the entirety of the empire and end an age old war across the land. This peace was not meant to be...
The Empress and her Biquoran Lord birthed three children together, and, with the help of the College of Sages, they ruled and raised their family, until an event called the War of the Archsages occurred, about three decades ago. During this war, many lives were lost, including that of the Empress, and one of the three Imperial Heirs, Daevn Alturan, became lost, presumed taken by his Biquoran father to his tumultous homeland as the Empire crumbled around them. The other two children, twins, were spirited away to the desert town of Oasis to be raised in secret by a dwarven govenor of that provence. This was the last act of the final Archsage of the College, who also lost his life, despite his mastery of the elemental arts.
Over time, decay fell upon the once mighty Empire. It's roads became cracked and broken, it's peoples seperated, and men forgot about the lost Imperial Heirs, who would have been raised in secret and known only the peace of Oasis, until one faithful day. A demonic horde befell the tranquil Oasis, slaying it's dwarven governor, and sending the Imperial Heirs on a journey to avenge their fallen foster parent and regain their lost Empire by building their own knowledge of the Elemental Arts that once served the Empire so well...
Rules
Each of the two players takes on the role of one of the two True Imperial Heirs, who will be of a gender of the player's choosing. The goal is to progress through a story driven, linear progression of enviornments within Evenhelm, fighting their demonic enemies and solving puzzles to allow them to progress.
During the course of the game, players will collect Elemental Spell Tomes and Equipment which will allow them to fight off the demonic hordes of Biquor, but also solve puzzles of increasing difficulty, based on intuitive Elemental Interactions, which can also play into combat. Examples of such Elemental Interactions include freezing water so that it can be walked across with the Elemental Power of Ice, or electrifying it with the Elemental Power of Lightning so that enemies in the water take increased damage, or knocking over an oil lamp and setting it ablaze with the Elemental Power of Fire.
An individual player can only use a set number of Elemental Spell Tomes at one time, which can be traded between the players from a menu interface. Management of these Spell Tomes will be required in order to solve the puzzles in the world of Evenhelm, as players may not always start at the same locations, but will generally seek to reach the same goal through cooperative use of their own Spells.
Combat will take place largely in a hack-and-slash manner, with players using weaponry such as swords or bows. To be truely effective in combat, players will need to make keen use of their Elemental Spells. Enemies will have varying resistances to different Elements, and learning this resistances will allow players to exploit weaknesses inherit in each enemy to allow them improved effectiveness in combat.
Goldens are collected by defeating enemies and reaching objectives which will allow players to purchase new Elemental Spell Tomes and Equipment upon reaching a Town. In addition, some Elemental Spell Tomes and Equipment will be dropped by defeated enemies, or found at various locations throughout the game. Since both players share their Goldens with one another, management of their monetary assets will be necessary for the True Imperial Heirs to be successful in their war against their lost brother, Daevn.
Environments can be divided into four rough categories...
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Towns allow for interaction with townsfolk and the purchasing of Spells and Equipment with your hard earned Goldens.
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Overland areas will involve some combat, but will mainly feature puzzle solving as the players seek to travel between battlegrounds. Expect Elemental Interactions which focus on allowing the player to move freely through the landscape.
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Battlegrounds will be areas that are heavy in combat, and will be the site of boss fights and major story events. Expect lots of combatative Elemental Interactions throughout these areas, such as barrels of burning pitch or pools of water, waiting to be electrified to fry enemies, or frozen to ensare them.
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Sage Towers will be areas which contain both combat and puzzle solving in equal measure, and will generally be present to teach the player to use pivital Elemental Spell Tomes to their advantage.
While there will be a variety of Elemental Spell Tomes based on each Elemental Power, expect the following Elements to be featured...
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Lightning has a violent reaction with water, and can be used to power machines.
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Fire is the stuff of passion and heat. Expect it to burn oil and pitch, but to be doused by the cooling presence of water or the Elemental Power of Ice.
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Ice freezes water, douses fire, and can stop enemies dead in their tracks.
Features
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Two-player cooperative play will be a major focus of the game.
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Elemental Powers can be unleased by using various Elemental Spell Tomes.
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Elemental Powers will cause Elemental Interactions with various objects within the world, allowing players to create deadly combatative effects or solve puzzles in the world of Evenhelm.
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Expect classic hack-and-slash combat with an emphasis on quickly determining the Elemental Resistances of an enemy, so that you can quickly employ the appropriate Elemental Power to defeat them.
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The game will present a story driven plot that raises questions about our notions of family, duty, and honor.
Inspirations
Dark Messiah Might and Magic This was a first person action RPG built on the Source engine, which featured enviornmental pieces which responded differently to different weapons or elemental spells. In it, jars of oil catch fire, puddles of water become electrified, or frozen, all at the flick of a hero's wrist and the utterance of an incantaion. Enemies reacted to these status effects, which led to some interesting strategies that indelibly impacted the design of Evenhelm. The difference in the Chronicles of Evenhelm is that Elemental Interactions will be used not only for combat, but also to solve puzzles which will provide a break from the constant action of combat.
Diablo 3 Diablo 3 inspired this game in several ways. The third person isometric view port, click to move interfacing, and focus on demonic enemies are all aspects that will be a part of Evenhelm, and these are featured in Diablo 3 prominantly. Also, the skill system from Diablo 3 will influence the Elemental Spell Tome system of Evenhelm considerably. Diablo 3 also influcence Evenhelm in its separation of enviornments into towns, dungeons, and open, overland areas. Diablo 3 was not a story driven game, and it involved no system like Elemental Interactions or Elemental Resistances on enemies at release time. It also features little or no puzzle solving to bridge action sequences together.
The Legend of Zelda The Legend of Zelda influenced the puzzle solving elements of Evenhelm considerably. In order to solve puzzles in a given Zelda game, some special piece of equipment is usually required, which allows the games to maintain an open feeling world while actually pressing players down a fairly linear path. Evenhelm differs because it will make use of Elemental Interactions with in game objects in order to facilitate its puzzle solving mechanics.
Concept Art
Concept art is coming soon...
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