The Last Wrath, Dev Journal #1
Introduction, current status

What we have so far

Oh no, this is not a happy tale

The Last Wrath has been in its prototype stage for the past month. Now, we'll be documenting the development process on this site.

Logically, the first entry in this development journal is the following: What is this game even about?

Table of contents:

    1. Overview

    2. Story

    3. Gameplay

    4. Release Plans

    5. Development Status
 

Overview

The Last Wrath is a 2D, action-adventure, boss rush game developed by VoidLynx Game Studios.

It has a dark story, unsettling atmosphere, tense combat encounters, a simple abstract art style and a mysterious world full of secrets. It's a game that challenges it's design into incorporating influences from the likes of Dark Souls and Shadow of the Colossus into a 2D game, and the result is quite unique. 

Story

The game is set in a rather unusual world.

A prosperous civilization of religious humanoid rat-people used to inhabit the deserts, forests and snowy mountains of the land... until things turned for the worst.

Faith in the gods was lost, and the gods that rule the world did not like that.

The civilization suffered a disaster of biblical proportions. Unnatural disasters, famine, disease, demons, madness, possessions. The first and final wrath of the gods. Civilization had been reduced to a few, isolated and dying tribes.

Until one day, a tribe's Head Priest discovered an ancient writing that could pardon the species' sins and push them out of all the chaos.

It was a ritual; a sacrifice. The gods demanded the life of the land's greatest warrior. He must first prove his worth by defeating 7 dark spirits and, eventually, one of the gods' physical essence.  If the warrior was to be successful, he would enter a secret chamber in the Sun Temple, and trade his life to save the rest. 

You, the player, play the role of the tribe's chosen warrior. 

 

Gameplay

The player can move using WASD, look around and pan the camera using the mouse, roll towards the mouse pointer using the Right Mouse Button, and slash your sword with the Left Mouse Button.

You can also interact with NPCs and other interactable using the E key, and also access a map that gets filled in as you play the game using the Tab key. 

The combat incorporates bullet hell elements, but with a twist.

The player's sole weapon is the Ceremonial Sword, which can be charged with Good Energy (we'll come up with better names later). When the player slashes with an uncharged Ceremonial Sword, it slashes like any normal sword; but steel is ineffective against the celestial entities  you're charged with defeating.

When the player slashes a charged blade, it emits a powerful attack that damages the dark spirits. 

Slash without charge

Slash with charge

In each encounter, the foe will produce Evil Energy in some shape or form (sword slashes, projectiles, etc.). When the player makes contact with this energy, he gets damaged.

The enemies will also produce some Good Energy in the same way Evil Energy is emitted. When the player makes contact with this energy, it charges up the player's Ceremonial Sword.  

The resulting combat loop consists of the player dodging and rolling past Evil Energy, catching onto as much Good Energy as possible, looking for an opening, getting up close and slashing the enemy.

Green = Bad, Red = Good. It's a Star Wars reference.

Release Plans

The game is planned to launch first and foremost on Itch.io, with a Steam release shortly after. The game could also be perfectly imported to mobile devices.

Monthly builds will be hosted on Itch.io, and a shareware installer will be published halfway through development, serving as a demo for the full game. 

Development Status

Right now, 3 out of 10 planned zones and 2 out of 10 bosses are fully functional. 

We still have a long way to go, but a lot has already been done. 

The player controller, combat, dialog system, title screen, sound effects, map system, and save points have all been developed.

What we have planned to implement this week will be a new boss and a zone with an NPC that gives some insight into the lore of the world, and what exactly happened. 

Not all the boss fights are against the dark spirits the hero is tasked with defeating. Other boss fights include gate keepers, rival heroes and even an ambush of devil worshiping cultists, which will be the next boss we'll integrate. 

That's all for now. Stay tuned and have a great day!