Shangri-La Complete Version - Coming in 2012

Just a somewhat early Christmas present for you guys (especially the die-hard Shangri-La fanatics; you know who you are), featuring a not so "Christmasy" image. I've been talking a big game for a long time and saying I wanted to release it back in Summer of 2010. As such, it's been too long. Far too long.

Although it's still impossible to name a specific release date, I don't really see it taking so long if I can just sit down and focus sans distractions (the story's the most complex part, and that's already written). I will be taking a few cracks at it over the hiatus from Rain, but I admit the hardcore work will probably begin when I get the print edition of Rain out of my way. So, while I hate to ask you to wait again, we are probably looking at Summer(ish) or so.

It's worth noting that I've done a tiny bit of touching up on the character designs; most notably Reuben (upper-right corner), who wears his heavy coat around his waist instead of sweating like a pig with it on his body now.

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For those of you who are seeing this for the first time, Shangri-La is my other major project - a traditional turn based RPG with a not so traditional setting:

"Shangri-La is a distant island, home to but a small population of people. It’s a quiet, peaceful community where everyone is neighbor to everyone else. But no one who lives upon its soil has ever once set foot off the island… at least, not alive. Boats have sunk. Airships fell out of the sky. And since no actual land is in sight from any corner, it’s been deemed impossible to swim. It seems as though it’s impossible to leave Shangri-La. Ultimately, it’s not too much of a loss, as the inhabitants are generally happy with their home, but it’s almost like a prison. Many of the people do wonder what lies beyond.

And it’s worth mentioning that while it may be impossible to leave, it’s not impossible to enter it.

Yes, there is a small shrine on Shangri-La where people will suddenly materialize. Stranger still, everyone who does appear within this shrine has no recollection of how they got there or where they came from… or pretty much any part of their past. They always know their name (first name, only), and basic information they might have learned in school, but little else.

But when people emerge from the shrine, the island’s inhabitants will welcome them with open arms, gladly helping to calm them down and acclimate them to their society.

Then one day, the main character, Ursula, (the redhead in the picture) wakes up on this island. Just like everyone else who enters Shangri-La, she becomes part of their society and lives harmoniously with everyone else. However, it doesn’t take long for people to notice that when she appeared, so did these strange, shadowy beasts. Unfortunately, she doesn’t remember if she ever knew what they were or why they seem to appear wherever she does. Because of this, albeit unintentionally, she inspires people to seriously question their origins.

Ursula (who to her own surprise, is well-versed in combat), along with a couple of the other inhabitants (everyone else above), take on the task of protecting the other denizens from these monsters, while simultaneously trying to search the island for possible clues as to what the island is and where its inhabitants come from."

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The Complete Version will definitely include:
- All six characters above will be playable (plus two optional characters), each with their own strengths and weaknesses.

- Boatloads of story filled with hilarious comedy, dark, tear-jerking drama, thought-provoking mystery and more; a few of which enhanced with hand-drawn cutscenes. There's also tons of "Easter Eggs" for the very observant, and NPC dialogue changes very frequently.

- Ten chapters in total with up to five possible endings. There are also many side quests available. The Complete Version's playtime will probably range from 8-15 hours depending on how you play. On top of which, there'll be a New Game + feature for those who wish to go back and see the other endings while keeping their equipment, spells, items, etc..

- No random battles; enemies are seen on-screen beforehand and can be avoided (fairly easily) if you so choose.

- Grinding is never really necessary. The game's difficulty is dependent more on your ability to strategize and adapt to different situations than your ability to make everyone uber-powered.

- New, better map layouts (with a mini-map feature on screen for your convenience).

- Character and monster art drawn by yours truly. ^_^

- Completely original soundtrack, courtesy of the extremely talented ~NekoMage. To say his efforts made this game infinitely better wouldn't be giving him enough credit. (Seriously, check him some samples from the soundtrack - [link] [link] [link] [link])

- Absolutely no cost. Yes. It will be 100% free. FREE. I'm going to say it again: I don't even want your money. Just play it; it's free.

The Complete Version MIGHT include:
- An Achievement/Trophy system. You know, like a little arbitrary reward simply to acknowledge that you've surpassed a major milestone or completed a task that is exceptionally difficult. This is not crucial, but for some people (like me) they're fun to collect.

- Several difficulty levels. The demos base themselves on the Normal difficulty (challenging, but easy to overcome with a change of strategy). I also wish to include a Hard mode for masochist gamers who like a little extra challenge (level-ups ONLY increase HP and SP, enemy stats get ramped up, etc.). Then on the opposite end of the spectrum, I want to include a Story mode difficulty more strictly for those of you are interested in the story but not interested in video games (all battles are effectively removed, all you really do is navigate from one place to another). Both of these additional modes would probably be easy to make, but would take extra time; I might release these later (thus compromising the "completeness" of the Complete Version, but whatever).

- An optional post-game dungeon? I tend to enjoy these, but I don't know if it really fits the game too well. I may just stick with the New Game + approach.

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For more information, check here: [link]
Or try the 2-4 hour demo here: [link]