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[abraksil]

It all began with a single drop. Form it two primal forces emerged. Forces of life and death. They fought one another in a futile effort to renounce their allegiance, only to realize that to exist separately is against their nature. From that communion the Soul Tree was born and with it the world as we know it.

Soulblight is a dark, top-down roguelike luring you to cross the thin line between good and evil. Instead of XP grinding, it introduces a Tainting Mechanics. While traveling through the shattered reality of the Sanctuary, you will receive personality traits based on your choices. These will be the main source of your strength. To harness them, you will have to act accordingly. Becoming an alcoholic means that you will be rewarded for getting drunk, but from that point being sober might prove to be unbearable.​

Features:

• A unique Taint System designed to encourage role playing.
• Tons of weapons, armor, and utility items.
• Dynamic and tactical combat build around stamina management and distance control.
• Optional stealth approach that complements fighting.
• Randomly generated, visually breathtaking levels.
• High difficulty level emphasized by permadeath mechanics.
• Gameplay­-driven narrative.

Soulblight On Live Steam!

Hi Everybody
So we're finally here - Just a moment ago Soulblight when live on Steam.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/530930/Soulblight/





As you might know Soulblight is a personal project for us. For this special day I asked our story designer Jurek to tell you about it:

=========================================

Hi, Jurek here
Today I wanted to tell you about a week when I got really annoyed with Kuba - Soulblight's designer, programmer and generally the heart and soul of the project.

With our release date approaching Kuba wanted me to write something personal about our game and about what we wanted to say with it. I wasn't really happy with the idea, for two reasons. Firstly, everything I wanted to say with Soulblight I already said in the game using all the tools we had to convey it. I feel that retelling it here would spoil it for those who are actually going to play the game. And secondly, I don't think it's ever a good idea to interpret any piece of art form for someone else. That's something that has to come to every single person individually.

But Kuba insisted. We argued a little bit about it, I tried to explain that I don't know anything about marketing, and of course as a writer I had to throw in "I'm not a salesman" somewhere into the discussion. But it still didn't change his mind.

So I sat down and tried writing knowing that I will fail so that I could show him the results and say "See, I told you so!"



I tried approaching it from many different perspectives. I started by explaining why we wanted to make a difficult game. The obvious reason being that those are the games that we ourselves enjoy. We like the challenge whether it be a From Software production or something conjured by the likes of Bennett Foddy. I would also slip in something about how what we wanted to say would not work had the game been easy.

But I wasn't quite happy with the result so I tried another approach



I started writing about what kind of a gamer is a rogue-like player? Someone who is willing to lose all the in-game progress with every attempt and what does that say about them and their determination? Then I started to wonder what would happen if they were presented with another way? A short cut. Would they take it? What if we tempted them enough? Then I touched a little bit on morality systems in video games and how we wanted to incorporate them in Soulblight.

But again it seemed that with every word I wrote I got further away from what's my personal take on this game.



So I wrote about how the idea of Soulblight came to be. I explained how Kuba surprised me when he told me about wanting to make a story-driven rogue-lite. I didn't expect that since it's not typical of a game of that genre.

But I didn't feel that it was good enough either. I told Kuba that I don't know what else to do, but he annoyingly (to me at that time) said "keep trying and remember keep it personal". I felt hopeless and angry.

I needed some way of venting my frustrations. So instead of writing I, naturally, started to procrastinate. After a while I decided to pick up a controller and play our game, you know to "look for inspiration". It successfully managed to distract me from what I was really supposed to do. So I played and I died a couple of times, as I usually do. But I didn't quit, knowing what's waiting for me as soon as I'm done. With each play through I got a little bit further. After a couple of hours of playing something unthinkable happened. I managed to beat that one boss that I always lose to. I couldn't believe it. I had to adjust myself in my seat as I continued to play. I got a little further then I beat another level and then another boss. That's when my palms started to sweat as I knew I was getting closer and closer to the end. Then another boss fell. Despite the fact that I knew exactly what would happen next I got nervous and a thought came to my mind "Oh my God, I'm going to do it! I'm going to beat this game!". After an evening of avoiding responsibilities I did it, for the first time since the beginning of the production process I managed to beat our game from beginning to end.

As a game creator you hope to invoke partilucar feelings in people playing your game. But because you yourself designed it, wrote it and seen it numerous times you can't know for sure if you achieved that effect. So the only thing you can do is to hope that it's there and that the players will know what you meant. And when I finally beat the game, despite hundreads of hours of testing I have a feeling that maybe they will. That's when I thought "Maybe that's something worth telling people about?".



That's all I wanted to say. Sorry it took this long to say it, but if I was to shorten this whole thing to a single line, I don't think it would do us any good - "Soulblight - it's more fun than writing a paper".

Lastly, if you got through this whole text, I applaud you. That's a good indicator that you don't give up easily, so maybe, just maybe you're the person we're speaking to.

That's it from me. I really hope you'll enjoy our game.
Jurek

*Before writing this I didn't realize that I'm this childish.


Links
Soulblight on Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/530930
Website: http://www.mynextgames.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MyNextGames
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MyNextGames
Tumbler: http://mynextgames.tumblr.com/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/3/+Mynextgames

[abraksil]

Screenshots

[abraksil]

The Idea Behind Soulblight

In our opinion, computer RPGs are in a strange place right now. Pretty much every game with leveling mechanic calls itself an RPG these days. We play those games traveling through awesome worlds, maxing out our stats, and grinding XP at every opportunity. But over the years this has become more mundane than enchanting.

Our team look back with nostalgia at our pen and paper RPG memories. Back then, gaining XP was only a part of the fun, and truly becoming the characters was the bigger and more meaningful part of the experience. Sometimes role playing could stand in the way of solving the quest at hand, but we’d identify ourselves with our characters and they felt more alive that way. Video games are different. We can’t expect players not to fight giant spiders just because their character has arachnophobia. That way they will miss out on precious loot and XP. And they know the game will penalize them for it as it becomes more difficult. So if we want players to actually role­play, there need to be special mechanics that will encourage them to do so. That is why we have created something that we call the Taint System.

[Thaumaturge]

You say that the personality traits gained are determined by the player's choices--what sort of choices produce them (combat, dialogue, exploration, etc.) and (aside from the "alcoholic" trait mentioned above) what sort of traits might one get, with what sort of effects? Do these traits effectively take the place of traditional levelling?

Overall, I find this "Taint" system somewhat intriguing! ^_^

[Pixel Noise]

Really nice trailer! Definitely interested in seeing more 

[abraksil]

You say that the personality traits gained are determined by the player's choices--what sort of choices produce them (combat, dialogue, exploration, etc.)

Before entering each new section of the Sanctuary you enter this special room we call - The Taint Room. There are 5 paths there and there is a chest witch certain items on each. The items and the signs on the floor are hinting to the taint you are going to receive if you choose to walk that path

and (aside from the "alcoholic" trait mentioned above) what sort of traits might one get, with what sort of effects?

Each taint unlocks a new way of gaining power - acustom mechanic designed to encourage acting like a person with that attribute. Let’s look at few examples:

This method of character progression channels our will to survive into actions in alignment with hero’s personality. The deeper into the Sanctuary you get the more varied taints you’ll be able to acquire. Think of it as if the dungeon itself was a skill tree of a kind. While making a choice you’ll have to be careful as it will shape your experience to come.

We're posting info on what taint there will be in game on our social media so you can find even more info on our facebook and Twitter

Do these traits effectively take the place of traditional levelling?

Yes there are no levels is Soulblight just Taints

[Thaumaturge]

Before entering each new section of the Sanctuary you enter this special room we call - The Taint Room. There are 5 paths there and there is a chest witch certain items on each. The items and the signs on the floor are hinting to the taint you are going to receive if you choose to walk that path

Iiinteresting... And does one's choice of path affect the next section of dungeon as well, or just select an "upgrade path"?

Each taint unlocks a new way of gaining power - acustom mechanic designed to encourage acting like a person with that attribute. Let’s look at few examples:

...

Ah, I see, I believe! I rather like that. ^_^

(... Although I'm not sure of how I feel about that representation of OCD, personally...)

Will there be logic to prevent conflicting taints? (Imagine a player ending up with a taint that penalises them for wearing armour, and one that penalises them for not wearing armour, for example.)

Yes there are no levels is Soulblight just Taints

I really like this--it's something that I've been wanting to see in an RPG for a while, now.

Following! ^_^

[BjornEricsonn]

Soulblight on Square Enix Collective!

Square Enix Collective is a platform where creators post their game ideas and let gamers judge which of those should come true. Essentially they’re trying to help small teams to build awareness of their ideas and help them collecting feedback. Every week on monday a new game pitch is published. This week is for Soulblight.

If you want to know more, visit our Square Enix Collective Pitch :
Soulblight Square Enix Collective Pitch!
Don’t forget to vote for us!

[BjornEricsonn]

And does one's choice of path affect the next section of dungeon as well, or just select an "upgrade path"?

No. Choice doesnt't affect on map generation algorythm but we are still considering various options 

Will there be logic to prevent conflicting taints?

No. Only player is resposible for combining Taints. If you mix conflicting taints like Coward and Reckless and
you will be killed, it's only your fault In this game you need to learn mechanincs and improve you strategy
of choosing traits. The best way to do so is trying (and dying). It's a roguelike, though.   

[codybye]

Hey Bjorn - what's the plan if the Collective doesn't end up approving? Happy to help on my end if you need it.

[Thaumaturge]

No. Choice doesnt't affect on map generation algorythm but we are still considering various options   

Fair enough! ^_^

(As a suggestion, it occurs to me that having the first level after a taint is acquired be themed after that taint's strengths might be an interesting way to ease players into each new aspect of their build.)

No. Only player is resposible for combining Taints. If you mix conflicting taints like Coward and Reckless and
you will be killed, it's only your fault In this game you need to learn mechanincs and improve you strategy
of choosing traits. The best way to do so is trying (and dying). It's a roguelike, though.   

Fair enough. In that case, however, can one back out of selecting a taint after one has seen the taint card and thus learned its effects?

If not, I could see conflicting taints becoming somewhat frustrating (for me, at least), and the player having incentive to avoid unknown taints--which might be a bit of a pity.

After all, one ends up being asked to memorise two lists: which hint applies to which taint, and the specific effects of each taint. This is especially so with taints that the player has not yet seen: how is one to know that the "reckless" taint conflicts with the "coward" taint, unless one has already seen the cards? There's nothing inherent in their dictionary definitions to inform one that they don't work together, and on first acquisition I'm not likely to know their specific effects within this game. In that case, for me, at least, taking both and finding my build all but unusable really doesn't seem likely to feel to me like it's my own fault.

(On top of which, and speaking only for myself, I'm not a fan of being asked to memorise such things.)

Of course, it may be that your implementation--whether in mechanics or writing--renders this fear unfounded--if so, then well and good! ^_^

[abraksil]

Soulblight on Square Enix Collective - Update #1

The First week of our Square Enix Collective Campaigning is behind us. And so it is time for our first update. Let's begin with zooming in on the Taint System.

Update #1: More about Taints

And here's link to our pitch if you haven't voted yet 

Soulblight on Square Enix Collective

[zminusone]

Cool! GL HF!

[abraksil]

Soulblight on Square Enix Collective - Update #2

Week two of Soulblight being presented at Square Enix Collective is is now over. So far we're at 91% approval rate! Thank you all for supporting us. Today we've published another update to encourage you to vote for us. This time we're talking about our approach to the challenges of top-down perspective - Update #2: Challenges of Top-Down View

If you want to know more, visit our Square Enix Collective Pitch:

Soulblight Square Enix Collective Pitch!

Don’t forget to vote for us!

[Drof]

Looks pretty interesting. I think the concept of incentivizing roleplaying is pretty good.

That said, I think it's better to incentivize interesting roleplay. A few of the taints outlined on that Square Enix Collective post didn't seem that interesting to play from a roleplaying standpoint, namely Lazy Bum, Coarse, probably Superstitious the way I'm reading it, and to be honest Glutton as I feel like it doesn't really reward eating in excess, just eating regularly. I also agree that there's no reason you should be calling it OCD. Just Obsessive is fine.

Now, there could be a reason those mechanics exist, but whatever roleplaying you are encouraging still has to be entertaining. When I think of roleplaying, I think of playing a complicated person with complicated beliefs, goals, and personality traits, Most of these taints seem to be Personality (or physical) traits, and some of them aren't even ones I would consider character defining.

Lastly, I don't know if this is already something you're doing, but I think taints are a massive opportunity to actually change the world around you. For example, with Paranoid, actually change camera effects to make those corridors seem like you should be scared of them! Simply making the shadows darker, or having little eyes pop up in them, could make the player feel paranoid. With this in particular, it could probably spill over into other areas that aren't necessarily mechanically related - for example, chests which could be trapped might seem more imposing. But obviously this can get out of hand if you're not careful.

Good luck! You've done a really good job with the top-down perspective. Perhaps your characters could use some stronger silhouettes however? Something like a cape or a trailing scarf on the avatar could distinguish them better, I dunno.

[abraksil]

Sorry for delay in answering Drof and thank you for all the warm words. I noticed your post witch such a delay as I try not to spend to much time on forums to not get distracted form working on the project.

That said, I think it's better to incentivize interesting roleplay. A few of the taints outlined on that Square Enix Collective post didn't seem that interesting to play from a roleplaying standpoint, namely Lazy Bum, Coarse, probably Superstitious the way I'm reading it, and to be honest Glutton as I feel like it doesn't really reward eating in excess, just eating regularly. I also agree that there's no reason you should be calling it OCD. Just Obsessive is fine.

Thank you for your insight on Taints we will definitely look into things you mentioned as we're constantly redesigning them to be as entertaining as possible. There is one thing to mention thou there are certain restriction that we cant share with you right now as taints are an impotent part of a story in our rogue-like  

Lastly, I don't know if this is already something you're doing, but I think taints are a massive opportunity to actually change the world around you.

We have an internal discussion whether or not to implement it. You mentioning that defiantly moved it much higher in our task priority list

[abraksil]

Soulblight on Square Enix Collective - Update #3

And so the final week of our Square Enix Collective Campaigning begins. To encourage you all to vote for us we're once more sharing some details about our game. This week we're talking about combat
Update #3: Closer look at Combat

If you want to know more, visit our Square Enix Collective Pitch:

Soulblight Square Enix Collective Pitch!

Don’t forget to vote for us!

[abraksil]

Today is the final day of our Square Enix Collective Campaigning. If you haven’t voted yet check out our pitch: Soulblight on Square Enix Collective

[abraksil]

Just few days after our Square Enix Collective campaigning is over a new competition Emerges! Well I guess it's this time of the year again . Starting today for next 10 days you can vote for us at Indie DB.

Check out our page and help us get to top 100!

Soulblight on IndieDB

Don’t forget to vote for us!

[jctwood]

Wow that trailer is really something! I wish you the best of luck.