Shrine in the Wind

  A cinematic platforming adventure game about a woman on a journey to finding inner peace in a spiritual journey through the desert. Updates every Wednesday and then some. Created by @vivariumgame and @freedomlanes

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How the dungeon first looked VS how it looks now after the first art pass.

We’ve still got a lot of work to do on this area but it’s good to see our iterative progress!

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Shrine in the Wind has a dynamic music system that I’ve been working on for a little while now.

For example, in the archives here you can hear a melody with bells that only plays in this section of the level!

-Trent

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Here are some highlights from our pre-alpha demo so far!

It’s been such an incredible experience working on this game for me and Mike. We’ve learned so much about game development, the way we like to work, and the stories we want to tell in our projects. 

I hope you enjoy this little montage of some of our favorite parts of the demo, and can’t wait until we can get some more playtesting in to see what players think of it so far!

-Trent

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New music for the town at night!

I made a variation of the daytime theme for when you return to town after the long journey through the first dungeon. It’s a lot of fun picking out different instruments for each track while trying to keep a consistent tone.

Can’t wait to show more of the cool music I’m working on!

-Trent

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More sound design this week!

I decided to give Kali some grunt sounds to add more to her character and make the player feel more connected to her, along with adding a bunch of movement and environmental sounds.

So far I haven’t actually recorded a single sound by myself. I’ve just been relying on a subscription to a sound effects library and free sound effects by people on places like FreeSound.org. 

Then I mix sounds together, chop them up, fade them in and out, and add effects. I think it ends up sounding pretty good!

-Trent

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I’m finally getting around to going more in-depth with the sound design!

Switching hats between programming, sound design, writing, and everything else is always fun but hard to commit to just one thing for a while.

So the next few weeks I’m going to try to only work on sound design and music for the game, then go back to programming and reworking the level designs.

-Trent

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New character reveal!

Jarah is a swindler who provides Kali with a room to stay in in the monastery town.

I love getting sketches from Mike after coming up with inital character descriptions. Usually they inspire me to change characters a bit to better fit the personality of the drawings.

For example, Jarah was originally going to be a more awkward and uncomfortable character, but after seeing Mike’s art for him I felt like he should be a bit more snappy and direct.

-Trent

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Here's the collider blockout of the first dungeon, compared to to the in-game map.

Sort of like a subway map, some of the rooms are compressed & simplified, while others are drawn to detailed scale.

Yep.

- Mike

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We’re working on the map mechanic for the game!

You can find contextualized maps in the game’s dungeons with schematics, notes, and details left behind by the cartographer. *And how about those cool hands in the foreground?)

Kali may also add her on notes to map when she accomplishes a goal, or finds something interesting.

Now let’s try a play-testing experiment -- can locate the general area on the map where she’s standing in the end of the footage? Leave a comment in the notes letting me know where you think we left off!

- Mike

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We’re exploring different coloring styles for the game.

What do you think?

- Mike

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After a long day of adventuring, you get to hang out with Kali as she unwinds in her home.

Here are some of the animations from the end of day scene.

This aspect is like my favorite thing I suggested to be added to the game so far. It’s really nice to just get to spend some quiet time in games, and just chill out.

- Mike

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We just decided to add a bunch of new jumps just for the sake of cool.

The first of which is this new side flip jump. If you turn in the opposite direction while dashing, you can launch upwards with the slide flip!

It’s so fun to pull off and gives players a lot of new options for climbing and jumping through the level.

- Mike

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In Shrine in the Wind, sometimes inconspicuous doors and passages lead to vast discoveries.

We want to give the impression that behind any corner might be something interesting in the game.

Here, Kali finds an underground temple within the mountain, right beneath the town.

- Mike

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Here’s some new dialogue/VN stuff from the first time you enter the monastery town!

I love writing new characters and I’ve been having a great time exploring their personalities.

Daris is a Diogenes-esque unhoused man who can often be found roaming around town muttering philosophical quandaries to himself. He can appear brusque and mean but under the surface he has a heart of gold. You’ll see him a lot throughout the game and hopefully form a close friendship with him!

-Trent

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Various animations used in gameplay. So far, over 350 unique drawings make up Kali's move set.

Jump climb run go!

Even though the platformer sprites have a chibi proportions and stylings, I kept the animation aesthetic weighted like classic cinematic platformer fashion. I wanted to give the impression that she’s powerful, wearing heavy travel garments and carrying equipment.

- Mike

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What kind of indie game would we be making if there was a dog and you couldn’t pet it?

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shrug