2021 Passion Project
Please keep in mind: Everything you see in this ‘Illustria’ section of my Folio, is a Work In Progress.
Illustria is a Turn-Based Role-Playing Game that I started developing in late 2020. It is being created using RPGMaker MV as a base, but through use of the Yanfly Engine – a set of plugins so versatile it essentially rewrites the entire program – the development software has been completely overhauled, allowing for much greater design freedom.
The Characters!
Ilia is a Monk-in-Training at the Solstice Monastery, located deep in the Brazen Hills in south-eastern Solaria. She’s a little awkward, but has a playful sense of humor, and doesn’t take crap from anybody.
Her specialty is dealing high single-target damage, and has minor crowd-control capabilities through her Stunning Strike.
A Soldier of the Solarian Military, 14th Division. Leodore was dispatched to the Solstice Monastery after completing his training, where he now acts as a member of the campus guard. He met Ilia shortly after, and the two became fast friends.
His specialty is protecting his allies. While he lacks the ability to deal meaningful damage, he more than makes up for it by Taunting enemies to only attack him, while putting up a sturdy defence, keeping the threat away from his comrades while they dish out the damage.
Tsuri is an elf – the natives of Lunateal – and is found by Ilia & Leo quite far from home. Once they were a medic for the Lunatealan Army, but they’ve since turned their coat and defected.
Their specialty is restorative magic, and keeping their allies safe through the power of prayer… though for someone who is supposed to be a devout priest, they don’t seem all that enthusiastic about it.
A mighty mage from the a small village upon Mt. Eisstral. Stella in her early years was fascinated with the arcane arts, and after putting her research into practice, quickly earned a reputation among the village folk – alongside her sister – for defending them against the mountain beasts.
Her specialty is Sorcery, weaker multi-target spells that call upon the elements. She can also provide some support to her allies.
The Combat!
This project is still very much in its early stages of development, so rather than copy/paste two full GDD pages of info here, I’ve recorded some battle footage so you can get a general idea of how combat plays out. Here are a few things to note…
Initiative: At the top right of the battle screen, the Turn Order Initiative is displayed. Enemies & Allies are placed here from left to right in descending order of their Agility (AGI) Stat. This determines who acts when during combat.
Talent & Magic Points: Each playable character has their own special category of Skills. Sol Powers of Ilia, Abilities for Leo, Prayers for Tsuri, and Sorcery for Stella. These Skills will consume either Magic Points (blue bar) or Talent Points (green bar). While the former can be replenished with items, the latter only increases when a player deals or receives damage.
Instant Skills: Some Skills have little ‘!’ Exclamation Points next to them. This means the Skill does not cost a turn to use. You can use as many Instant Skills on your turn as you can afford with your TP or MP, and then end your turn properly with a normal attack, Skill, Item or Encouragement.
Row System: Enemies will arrange themselves in rows of three during battle. All enemies in the Front Row must be defeated be ore the Second & Third Rows can be targeted. Once the Front Row has been broken through, both the Second & Third Rows become targetable together. Some characters may have Skills that bypass this, by targeting a specific row, one specific row of their choice, or targeting all enemies at once.
The Cross-Country!
One key component to Illustria that I really want to stand out, is the world itself. Rather than using random encounters, Enemies appear on the map as the player is exploring. These creatures won’t come after the player, and will mind their own business. It’s up to the player to engage with combat when and where they wish to. The maps are filled with collectibles, colourful scenery, and secrets & hidden areas to discover.
Want to see some Cutscenes from Illustria? Check out the Narrative & Scenario tab!