The Song of Awakening
ConceptThe Song of Awakening is a 2D action RPG metroidvania set in a world where music creates magic and instruments become powerful weapons.
GameplayCombatThe player is equipped with an instrument that doubles as a melee weapon. There are a variety of instruments that can be found, each with its own attack style, range, and damage. Players will need to experiment to find the right instrument that suits their combat style.
The player is also initially gifted with the ability to dash, providing a brief window of invincibility, and the ability to parry, deflecting certain attacks that leave enemies vulnerable to counterattacks.
SongsSongs can be found throughout the world and once learned they give the player the ability to recite them to produce a variety of magical effects.
Platforming & ExplorationInitially the player can run, jump, and climb to explore the world and new movement abilities are discovered as the game progresses.
RPG ElementsThere are a variety of items and equipment that alter the player's stats or abilities. These can be mixed and matched to create different builds for different playstyles or to overcome specific challenges.
WorldIn the world of The Song of Awakening there exists two primary Gods - Lyra is the goddess of music, and her powers extend to the very fabric of existence, shaping the world around her through her melodies. Those who are gifted with her power are called Lyramancers and are able to use music to create powerful magic. Haedra is the god of silence, and his powers extend to the very absence of sound, shaping the world around him through the void he creates.
The kingdom was once ruled by Lyramancers who use their music-magic to create an abundance of joy and prosperity. The king, who was the most powerful Lyramancer of all, and his family had served the realm for generations. But then the king's wife had fallen ill, and he had been desperate to save her. Haedra, the god of silence, had whispered in his ear, promising that if he silenced the Lyramancers he could save his wife. The king had done as he was told, and the world had fallen into darkness. The cycle of life and death had been broken, and everything had become stagnant and corrupted. The king had been controlled by Haedra ever since, unable to break free from his guilt and his shame.
1000 years later a mysterious hero emerges, granted with the ancestral gift of Lyramancy, they must use their newfound talents to take down a malevolent force of a silent god and bring back harmony.
HistoryI originally started this project in 2016. I didn't really have an idea for a game, I just wanted a fun side project to work on and I knew I wanted to make a platforming engine in Unity. Between 2016-2020 most of my time on the project was focused on the fun, technical problems like collision, physics, level editing tools, etc. In 2020 is when I started to develop some more ideas for what a game could be that used everything I've built so far and decided I wanted to make a 2D action RPG platformer. This is also around the time I started coming up with the core concept for what the world of the game would be. I was thinking about the Bard archetype and how it's so often represented as a supporting character or something comical like the jester. I wanted to create a world where that character would be the hero and central to the story. Between 2020-2023 I worked more on the design and ideas for the game as well as updating the engine to support everything it would need. Beginning in 2023, I created a feature list for what I would want to show in a demo and started refining the overall design to support this. Around this time is when I started working with artists and animators to bring the concept to life.
DevlogThis devlog will be mostly focused on the technical and design side of things and will be updated to show off anything interesting or general progress as the game continues development.