With one week left in the Kickstarter campaign, I wanted to share an update on how things are progressing!
We've made our first stretch goal, and are closing in on the second one. So please keep sharing if you can! :)
Discord Server
I've created a discord channel for all players to discuss the game, report bugs, or talk about anything else! Backers will get special roles assigned at the end of the campaign.
Join the discord here!
Extended Demo
I'll be releasing an extended demo exclusively for backers shortly after the campaign ends. It will include one more week of gameplay and will available to ALL tiers of backers.
Sunday, Sunday, Sundaaaay! The Radiants Kickstarter goes live April 18th at 2pm EST!
I'll be kicking off the launch with a livestream that evening (at 7pm EST) where I'll be showing some NEW scenes and answering questions. Click HERE to follow on twitch!
If you've played the demo for The Radiants, you will have run across various students in the halls of Serenvale that will get you involved in some mini quests on the weekends.
Currently these students are represented by just a name and a silhouette. But wouldn't it be cool if you could add yourself, your best friend, or your favorite OC into one of these roles?
With the Character Designer tier, you'll work with us to design the appearance and name of a student of Serenvale that will appear in one of the weekend quests. The character will get their own character sprite drawn by our sprite artist, designed by you! (subject to approval, of course)
This reward is very limited, so if it's something you are into, get on that quick! :)
Kickstarter launches in ONE WEEK! Click here to be notified on launch!
Kickstarter Reward Preview #3 - The Physical Packs!
Digital rewards are great, but sometimes you just wanna have something you can actually hold.
That's why I created 3 versions of the physical pack so you can decide how much loot you want to take home.
Physical Pack Mini Tier: The mini pack gives you a choice of two character acrylic keychains. Choose your favorite characters! Of course you'll also get access to the Alpha Tester tier, the digital lorebook, and the game itself.
Physical Pack Plus Tier: Upgrade your pack and get the entire set of acrylic keychains! (6 total)
Physical Pack Mega Tier: For the player that want's everything, this Mega tier gives you the set of 6 acrylic keychains, a set of sticker sheets (design TBD), and a physical copy of the Loreboook/Guide!
All these physical items are exclusive to kickstarter backers! They will not be sold elsewhere.
Kickstarter launches in 10 days!! Click here to be notified on launch!
The opinion of the players is valuable. I had a small group of close friends test the demo for The Radiants before it went live, and their opinions helped shape what it became. I made changes based on their opinions and issues, and I believe the demo turned out better thanks to their feedback.
If you're the type of player that loves giving feedback to help shape a project you enjoy, or if you just want to get your hands on as much of the game as possible as soon as possible, then this tier is for you!
In this $65 tier, I'll be sharing frequent alpha builds with the testers (as often as there is a significant portion to test, anyways). This will likely be done on our soon-to-come discord server for ease of sharing. You can give your opinions on how the game is going or you can just enjoy playing it as it goes along!
Of course you'll also be getting the digital Lorebook and a copy of the finished game that you helped shape! :)
I think this is one of the pledge rewards I am most excited about.
During the conception of The Radiants, I've written a LOT of lore about the world, characters, etc... that will never be seen in the game.
So when researching possible rewards for the upcoming Kickstarter, I noticed a lot of video game campaigns include an artbook. I thought it'd be a fun idea to expand on the idea of an artbook and include all of the lore I've written alongside the art.
I'll be including more detailed information about the races of Radiants you see in the game (and some you haven't seen), history of Serenvale Academy, and more about the Human/Radiant war.
Also, since the game is a stat-raiser with multiple endings, I think adding a walkthrough/guide to the book will also be a welcome addition. For those that want to get every ending, I'll be breaking them all down for you!
So if you find yourself interested in the world of The Radiants and want more, this will be the perfect item for you!
The digital Lorebook will be available for every tier $35 and up. If you're interested in having a physical copy of the book, we'll have one of those available too! I have tons of experience in printing books from my days as a photographer, so the physical book will be stellar quality! :)
Kickstarter launches April 18th! You can sign up to be notified here.
I am also planning a livestream on launch day to play the game, answer questions, and show off some new unseen scenes. ;) More details on that soon!
With about 3 weeks till our Kickstarter Launch (on April 18th, officially!) I am going to be sharing some reward previews and other teasers here and on our itch.io devlog.
I am also planning a livestream of The Radiants on launch day that will feature some NEW never seen scenes :) Stay tuned!
I've decided to make it official - you will now be able to romance everyone's favorite dryad roomie in The Radiants! It was something I considered at the start, but wasn't sure if people would want it... but it turns out they do! So it's happening!
Some people really love stat-raisers, while others find them to be very stressful or tedious. Personally, I Iove stat-raisers, but I am not the type of player that enjoys using a guide in order to get a good ending. I prefer to play through it organically, seeing where my stat choices will take me. I enjoy being surprised by the outcome, but not when it means I’ve cornered myself into a bad ending because I am a few points short.
I designed the stat system in The Radiants with all this in mind. I wanted an experience that offered a lot of variety and replayability, without forcing the player to keep a spreadsheet in order to achieve their goals.
How will it work ? Well, first off, the stats do not affect your romance in any way. Nothing is worse than spending the entire game flirting with your person of interest only to have them reject you because you are a few points short in charm. That’s not very realistic, either. Instead, if you want to get cozy with a character in The Radiants, all you have to do is spend time with them and not treat them like dirt. Easy, right?
So what DO the stats affect if not the romance?
The most immediate affect you will notice is that weekend events will use skill checks to allow you to approach challenges in different ways. If you’re the charming type, you might want to talk your way out of a situation. If you’ve been working on your Force skill, you can use more physical means to handle it. Every successful skill check will earn your extra points in the applied skill, but don’t be afraid of failing a skill check. You will earn points in that skill even when you fail (though less than if you pass), so failing is it’s own reward.
There are also some random skill checks sprinkled about the game, but these are not meant to punish the player for not maxing all their stats. Instead, they’re meant to provide a unique experience for the player based around the type of character they are trying to build. Different outcomes will occur, but there is no definitive BAD outcome.
The other most important thing that stats affect is your ending. Well, PART of your ending. In The Radiants, your ending is a combination of several different choices you make throughout the game. You choice of romance, several plot point choices, and your ending stats. But it is important to note that there is no “Bad” ending when it comes to stats, only a different ending. Your ending stats will determine what type of oracle you will become, and there are many different combinations. Think of it a bit like the endings in Princess Maker.
Some players will want to achieve specific endings, of course, and for those types of players, we will eventually provide a guide. But for casual players that don’t want to have to plan out their every move, you will still have an enjoyable experience with The Radiants. So build your stats worry-free and have fun!!
Next time I am going to go into more detail on the Talents, which are a bit different from the skills.
What type of stat-raisers do you enjoy? What do you like or dislike about stat raisers?
The PC version of the demo has been updated with some bug fixes, including removing those pesky tooltips that kept appearing and refusing to leave the screen. HOPEFULLY, that will no longer be an issue.
The Mac version is still experiencing some issues that I am continuing to work on. Sorry for the delay, Mac users... I'm working to get it fixed as soon as I can.
Steam Release
I'm looking to get the demo released on steam within the next week, depending on how fast they approve it. When it goes live, I'd really appreciate your support by wishlisting the game to get more eyes on it. I'll be sure to post here as soon as the steam page is live!
Kickstarter
I've gotten a lot of questions about when/if there will be a kickstarter for The Radiants, and I am here to say YES there will be a KS, but probably not for a month or so. It will be my first kickstarter campaign, so I am doing a ton of research to make sure it will be the best it can be. I'd love to hear from you, however. What kinds of rewards would you like to see? What stretch goals are most important to you? (voice acting, extra CGs, Additional love interests, etc)
That's it for this update! Stay tuned, there is a ton happening on this side and I look forward to showing you more!
Meet the protagonist of The Radiants! She's an ordinary college-aged girl that is about to have an adventure of a lifetime! The protag is nameable by the player, but thus far, I have not given her a default name. Should she have one?
I'm Allison, the dangerous force behind Rose Arcana Games.
Currently, I'm working on a magical academy otome game called The Radiants. It's in the beginning stages, but my goal is to have a fully playable beta demo ready by fall of 2019.
Here I'll be sharing the game's progress and any other interesting tidbits on the development. Thanks for joining me on this journey!
You can also find game updates on twitter! https://twitter.com/rosearcanagames
