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[James K. Isaac]

In a new tactical rpg project, I'll be pushing medieval fantasy tropes into a technologically diverse world. Orc culture had degenerated into dispersed dependencies, unsure of their past and on the precipice of extinction.




Begin your orc's journey, in a backwater dependency, called the Skids,  policed by the Halflings (aka runtlings, or Smallfolk, depending on who you ask). Long ago, orcs fell from power, reduced to drunken, pleasure-seeking, ever more puny slobs on the edge of extinction.




In the Skids, you will start to build your Reputation, Horde, Loot pile and favour in the eyes of Krog, the orc god. Your first fights will give you a taste of tactical combat, using Synrec's Tactical Battle plugin. More so, you will eventually be able to leave the Skids and ride, with your crew, on boars and steampunk vehicles, in a quest to finally conquer the Smallfolk's shires and regain respect for orc-kind.





After this, the world will open up where, if you manage your resources, forge connections and intimidate the feebler races, it will be yours for the taking.

The opening act has been created, although everything is up for change. I'm using a variety of VisuStella's plugins to enhance the atmosphere, with dust clouds, footprints and light sources. So far, I have added music by Emily-RollForFantasy to give the orcs that mean, moody vibe, although each region and race will be given different themes.





It is a good start, things will be tweaked, enhanced and improved upon along the way, but I'm happy with the look and atmosphere and the emerging storylines a player will be able to create with their orc.

[James K. Isaac]

R and R at The Green Gentleman Tavern

The second major area, The Green Gentleman Tavern, provides respite for parched throats after riding steampunk bikes through the night.

This will be an important area, where you will start to define your orc and pick sides as you begin to conquer the world.

I'll be using variables to decide different parts of your orc's reputation, which will unfold and influence events and opportunities. At present, I plan for a general Reputation stat, Horde stat, denoting the size of your entourage/army and a Krog stat, which will represent the favour of the orc god. Your pile of Loot will also be used to determine some events.

[mobilelast]

This is completely out of context, but somehow the gang reminds me of an old Finnish comedy show:




That moody music combined with rednecky appearance would surely make an interesting contrast.

[James K. Isaac]

I've been a bit slower this week since my new book just came out and I've had to sort out things with it. If you like dark, historical fantasy, give it a read and a review. Like with games on Steam, it will just languish without attention:) Plug: https://www.amazon.com/WOAD-James-Isaac-ebook/dp/B0BM81SSRX

This week I've continued developing the second main area, The Green gentleman Tavern. There will be divergent paths here.



Using Synrec's Tactical Battle System, you can add a dose of tactics to your rpg brawls. Notice in the pictures the main phases. The start phase allows you to place your actors, the yellow boxes on the side are a handy interface to see available placement positions.



Next, notice the green arrows. This shows your movement range. After that, you can attack. The yellow crosshairs show the attack range, the red crosshairs show your current target(s). The system works well, but I will need to reduce the size of some of the UI and info bars. I've also noticed that heavy particle effects result in a slow-down with larger battles.


I've also used Visustella's plugins for lighting and weather effects. One example is the flame-filled image, a result of nefarious orc sabotage. Too much?




Another shows a smoke and dust-filled sky outside The Green Gentleman Tavern.



Finally, the last picture has your characters followed by a bike gang of impressed orcs, perhaps the start of your new orc army?





Time will tell.

As always, this is a WIP and is liable to change along the way.

[James K. Isaac]

Greennek orcs performing comedy stunts on motorbikes sums up the devolved state of orcdom. They must reclaim their place as terrifying beasts! A hard, long journey awaits.

[James K. Isaac]

I have been tying up loose ends to the game's opening scenes. Some sections have several ways to tackle a situation and I got a bit confused about making sure events don't overlap. The orc raider camp, the Dust Clan, is an area that might only be seen following a particular route. The player's choices will make them friends or enemies.



One potential path with open-up unit battles. This is yet to be implemented but will take place similarly to the standard tactical battles, with sprites representing a massed unit.

I've also worked on the world map. I have not decided upon a final name for the world/continent your orcs may someday conquer.



The world map will be divided into four sections, SW, NW, NE and SE, populated by the usual, but transformed fantasy races. Of course, there will be many surprises along the way. There are loads of details to add, including roads and political borders.



The starting section, the South West portion of the map, includes the preliminary locations of pacified orc settlements (sort of like trailer parks), the Dust Clan camp, the Warrens, infested by a goblin hill tribe and various halfling villages and farmland. The largest settlement, by the sea, in the guise of a Wild Western-style town, is Great Rest, the halfling capital.

As mentioned, much need to be added to give the world greater life, but it's a start.

As always, this is a WIP and things are liable to change.

[James K. Isaac]

​Your questing band of orcs are starting to see their plans come together this week. They can now tentatively explore the South West portion of the world map, although much needs to be added. Here, as well as major locations, there will be minor locations in which you must make a choice as to the outcome of an event, for example, Spare it, Raidf it, Raze it, and get the appropriate reward and consequence.

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We can also interact with the mischievous goblin settlement, the Warrens, an abandoned, never completed dwarven stronghold. You can see the upper halls, where mass orc units are about to engage mass goblin units, with traps scattered across the battlefield. The victory allows your orc band to enter the great halls, a more furnished part of the dwarven stronghold. Although, with certain choices, you may be able to find a secret entrance to avoid this larger battle.

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Inside the great halls, depending on your actions, you may be able to ally with goblin forces before we move on to the climax of the early game, the raid on the Shires. The dwarven hold is very square and blocky, which seems somewhat appropriate for dwarfs, but I'm still not entirely happy with the look.
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There are lots of story threads to iron out here and everything is still a WIP and liable to change.

[James K. Isaac]

I've spent the last week trying to balance stat awards for Reputation, Horde, Loot and Krog, in the earliest part of the game. I have continued to tie up dangling event threads too.  However, I have also started implementing world map interactions to bolster your resources and army and eventually affect other races' opinions of your orcs. 



A player can interact with orc settlements, after initial quests to grow their horde with orcs and goblins.


The farmlands of the Smallfolk lay vulnerable before your rampaging horde and you get to decide their fate too, with lasting consequences.



Lastly, I was unhappy with the relatively sparse detailing on some of the buildings and props of the player's starting orc settlement. I added dithering and gradients to their trailers, barrels and gas canisters.



I'm happy to see the world coming more to life but it has been difficult keeping track of different choices, their outcomes and balancing variables, which will be an ongoing issue.

This is a WIP and everything is liable to be changed or modified.

[James K. Isaac]

This week, I have been developing the South West portion of the world map. Most of the progress has been to events mentioned in the last devlog.

  By this stage, your orcs should have acquired their initial army and the Dust Lands and Shires lay trembling before your horde. Here, you can raid farmlands and a trading convoy.  Notice the orc totems and shrines above conquered lands or black smoke above land you have ravaged.



More importantly, orc tribes, oppressed and pacified as they are, offer the potential to demonstrate your power. Force them to join you, or make an example out of them to spread fear of your intentions. Some tribes will cave to force, others demand more... esoteric displays of power to impress.



Then there are the Smallfolk (halfling) settlements. The hamlets, villages and towns cannot hope to stand before your horde. Some of these settlements have intrigues, which you can take advantage of. The goal here is to destroy or occupy these places to grow your resources and reputation.




The next stage will be your grand homecoming to your own tribe, in final preparation for the assault on the Smallfolk capital, Great Rest.

After this, your new orc nation will be formed and you'll be able to travel the wider world. The opinions of other nations/races will be affected by how many settlements you have razed or occupied.

This is a WIP and everything is liable to change.

Since this part of the year is the Crazy Time, further development will be slower for a couple of weeks.

Merry Christmas, peace and joy to you all!!!

[Alain]

I've been lurking your devlog for a while. I love the premise and Unexpectedly Green Journey overall seems a wonderfully quirky project. Keep up the great work and happy holidays to you as well!

[James K. Isaac]

Hi Alain, thanks for the support. It means a lot, more so after I looked over your own devlog, knowing how much time and effort you have put into your own project.

I love games as a way to tell stories, the unique satisfaction of seeing a world change due to a character's action. My main goal is to try and do this, in a small way, in my own made-up world.

Merry Christmas!

[Alain]

Thank you so much! From everything you are showing here, one can tell that you really care about your story, world and especially the characters in it. Looking forward to hear and see more next year

[James K. Isaac]

Happy New Year. I hope you all had a lovely festive season.

Meanwhile, back in the world of a rising orc nation, the war with the Smallfolk Shires is reaching its conclusion. If the player has spread enough fear, ravaged or occupied enough land and enlisted enough orcs and goblins for their army, the path to the smallfolk capital, Great Rest, opens up.

Before you venture into the cowboy-style port town, you return to your newly weaponised tribe- literally weaponised; the shacks and trailers bolted together to form a mobile fortress and camp, befit with orcs in trash-forged armour. Here you will find representatives of all the forces you have gathered.



If the player manages to get to Great rest, they'll find a town trembling in fear. News of your actions has spread. A showdown awaits.





The town needs further development to bring it to life. All variables (horde size, Krog's opinion of your actions, wealth, reputation, and some secret variables), must be factored into the eventual outcome. Victory here will give the orcs their burgeoning nation, allowing your party to explore the wider world.

The whole first section of the game now has to be proofread. The story needs further development, the world will be populated with more side events, skills and classes will be expanded.  This will take some time.

Since all early paths end in Great Rest, I'll be able to, hopefully, expand the scope into a more free-roaming, exploratory style of play, allowing the player to shape their orc's story.

Everything is liable to change as this is a WIP.

[James K. Isaac]

I've been away and work has been halting until the last week, but back in action now! Synrec has updated his great Tactical Battle system. It has taken me a while to reimplement the battles and the initial abilities and effects. The system is working better than before now.

The initial opening engagement, with your orcs, pitted against Smallfolk oppressors, is over. It is time to grow your orc domain. First, I have been working on the Embassy Hotel, in the Smallfolk capital, Great Rest. Here will be a hub, allowing your orcs to communicate with the nations of the other races.

You have, of course, commandeered the upper floor. Find your friend Grumbol in the bath giving his beloved boar, Porclin, a good scrub. The Shamaniac, Loon, in a deep commune with his god, Krog, develops a fascination with dwarven lava lamps.



Along the lower floor, you will find rooms used as embassies. Your goblin pal, Gobba, has let success get to his head and trashed one of the rooms.



The room below is used by an elf, a scar-ridden duellist who has rejected the once famous elven appreciation of beauty, though still possesses ties to nature and the forests.




Next door is the room used as a dwarven embassy. Dwarven society has become one of crazed excess. Hobbies include the addicting inhalation of noxious underworld gasses, and, of course, the excessive consumption of the ever-ubiquitous grog. Some dwarves have even gone through procedures to infuse the rock of their Mountain onto their own bodies.




One of the human nations, the Silver Rose, also uses a room. From here, the human ambassador warily keeps an eye on the new orc nation, assessing the threat posed and how it can be exploited to her benefit.



From here, the opportunities to explore other parts of the world map will become available. I plan to add variables charting the opinion of other nations, which will decide various outcomes when you eventually decide to explore further flung parts of the world now that you have subjugated the Smallfolk realms.

As always, this is a WIP and everything could change.

[James K. Isaac]

I am at the point now to expand the story into the wider world. To these ends, I have been developing the North West and North East parts of the map. Here, you will encounter Dwarven, Elven and Human nations. I plan to add events to these maps, many single-page choices to gain attribute points and spread your orc dominion the way you wish, as well as a few expansive areas with more developed quests.



Above is the North West section of the world map. Here, you'll find lands torn apart by warring dwarves and elves. The dwarves live in the mountains and have built artillery towers along their borders to bombard potential enemies. The dwarves have also developed submarines, to rule the Boiling Sea. The elven forest is bristling with runway towers, from where they launch their biplanes to attack dwarven mountain peaks.

Between the mountains, No-Man's land suffers; the obliterated country between warring states. Here, find the remains of the railway, and abandoned Human and Smallfolk towns. To the north is the last remaining wild orc tribe, currently working with the elves, besieging the entrance to the great dwarven Mountain. Potential allies, or foes?



You can see the North East section of the world map above. It is where fractious human city-states reside, all swearing allegiance to their Emperor. Along concrete and tar roads, the further you go the more advanced the humans become, with their blend of magic and steam technology.  In the south, medieval-style towns struggle to subsist. In the north, above the capital, find the culmination of humanity's dream to fly to the stars.

These maps help develop themes and quests to enliven the world and develop your own orc's story. Will you conquer, ally, or become a tool in the schemes of nations?

I want to add events to these maps in the near future, before creating larger areas to explore in depth like the cities and dwarven and elven settlements.

This is a WIP and everything is liable to change.

[Alain]

Cool, I like the world building regarding dwarfs using submarines and elves using airplanes. And your map is unique yet old school, which is fun to look at for me. Keep it up!

[James K. Isaac]

Hi Alain,

I love the look of old-school maps, they seem to ignite instant curiosity and set our imaginations ablaze. I appreciate your support! The elves and dwarves in this game will not be your generic variety. The world they live in has passed the high point of the medieval-fantasy era, where old ideals have been questioned and forgotten.

I really appreciate your support, your interest helps spur me on.

[James K. Isaac]

This week, I have added events to the world map's North West section. These events are simple choice-based decisions, like paragraphs from old-school gamebooks where you turn to different pages to see the consequences of your actions.

In this case, the consequences can have effects such as buffing or rebuffing your stats, building your reputation, affecting relations with other world races/nations, and unlocking future events and quests. I hope these will also make the world feel more alive, add depth to the lore and allow you to see actual changes to the landscape dependent on your horde's rising power.

Here are a few examples:



You can encounter a group of neophyte human adventurers in a tavern.  Your choices can build your reputation for brutality, spread the Word of your god, Krog, to human lands negatively affecting orc-human relations,  or have a good old-fashioned pint with the group, positively affecting relations with human realms.



In another encounter, at the edge of the Netherwood, the elven forest realm, you come across a slave camp. Here, elves sell runaway orcs back to the wild orc camp in the north, their nominal allies in the fight against the dwarves.

You can, of course, slaughter the elves, negatively affecting relations with them but pleasing your god. Buying warriors for your horde is also an option, enhancing your reputation with the elves as 'someone we can do business with.' This, in turn, will open up future events.



In an occupied Smallfolk village, you will find a cantankerous old orc preaching the values of democracy. Depending on your reputation, you can court his approval and get his followers to join your horde, pay off his followers or slaughter him. If the old git joins your horde, this could open up a range of consequences as his philosophy gains ground amongst your own followers.

This is a small selection of implemented events. There will be many more, supplementing the grander main events on local maps.

This is a WIP and everything could change.

[Alain]

I really like that your races and characters have qualities beyond just elves and orcs in a more modern setting! Those events sound cool and I also loved those "choose your own adventure" books when I was a kid. They were what brought me to pen & paper RPGs and your game makes me think of those as well, because e.g. your tavern looks like a classic dungeon map.

[James K. Isaac]

This last week I have been building some dwarven areas, under The Mountain, currently besieged by the last tribe of wild orcs. These areas need to be further populated and developed but lay the foundation of orcish expansion, through conquest or diplomacy, beyond the conquest of the New Shires.



Above, see wild orcs, their shaman and chief, outside the entrance to The Mountain. The fight has long ago moved under The Mountain, though the progress of the wild orcs is slow. Manipulated by the elves to weaken the dwarves and keep them in check, the orcs lack the technology for a final push to victory.





Here we see the fortress capital of the dwarves. Pipes and gas canisters, the toxic underworld fumes to which the dwarves are now addicted, adorn old architecture. The dwarven guard dons the equivalent of hazmat suits, armed with flame throwers and vats of fuel and gas. Dangerous but pale and withered, the dwarves are losing themselves to excess and hedonism, many seeking to make themselves part of The Mountain as they slowly turn into rock. Many have already had their eyes surgically swapped with precious stones.



In the heart of The Mountain, and home to the Lord of Brimstone, the ruler of dwarf-kind, you will find this forge area. It needs further work but hints at the corruption of the dwarfs, the abandonment of their history and the drift into occultist visions.

Events and stories need layering over these locations in time. Right now, I want to plan out the elf areas in the North West section of the world map. Along the way, I can adjust things.

This is a work in progress and all things may change.