Description

Elysian Shadows is an indie 2D RPG being developed for Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, iOS, Ouya and Sega Dreamcast. We fuse aspects of 16-bit classical RPGs such as Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, and Final Fantasy, with a highly stylized, modern vision by using dynamic lighting, physics, and audio engines along with swapping between 2D and 3D perspectives. Our goal is to create a "next-gen" 2D RPG in terms of gameplay, graphics, and audio while still remaining true to the games that inspired us to become developers.

With Elysian Shadows, we want to push the boundaries of pixel art by creating diverse, lush environments for players to explore with beautifully lit scenes and advanced rendering effects that could not have been possible on older hardware. Our goal is to create a gigantic, open world with a Zelda-style emphasis on exploration and environmental interaction while still retaining the rich storyline and combat mechanics of a full-fledged RPG. Combat is fast, fluid, and action-oriented, sporting particle effects, rigid-body physics, and advanced AI, while simultaneously offering tactical and strategic depth through character customization, unlockable abilities and techniques, and an advanced class system.

History

Early History

The Elysian Shadows project began as a storyline and gameplay concept by Falco Girgis back in 2007. Falco had just stumbled upon the Sega Dreamcast "homebrew" scene and had discovered a group of hobbyists who were able to develop independent games for his favorite console without any sort of official licensing or hardware modifications. He immediately became active in the scene, playing emulators, custom apps, and original games developed by ordinary people for the system. He became so inspired and fascinated by this community of hackers and hobbyists, that he decided to start teaching himself the C programming language to create his own game for the platform... and thus Elysian Shadows was born.

Shortly thereafter, he recruited his little brother to develop a level editor, and his best friend to develop scripts for the game. The three set out on a quest with no experience, no money, and no training to create the game of their dreams... All from Falco's room in the attic of his parents' house. They were inspired to begin recording their highly dysfunctional, late-night, caffeine-fueled "dev sessions" by the unlockable development documentaries in "God of War" for PS2. The idea was to release this footage as unlockable, end-game content in Elysian Shadows.

The team later decided to upload these videos to YouTube as the first three chapters of "Adventures in Game Development." What happened next could not have been foreseen by anyone... The videos quickly gained a massive amount of momentum, netting the development team hundreds and eventually thousands of subscribers. In a matter of months, the young, inexperienced team and their Dreamcast RPG were flung head-first into the indie game development spotlight. The series resonated with fans by showing them that a group of average kids could teach themselves to code and develop their own game with nothing but motivation.

"Adventures in Game Development" went on to become a successful "reality" game development series documenting the team's trials and tribulations learning to develop software and creating the game of their dreams. Fast forward to present day, and the series has almost 9k subscribers and over 25 "Chapters." The project itself has transformed from a niche 16-bit "oldschool" 2D RPG targeting the Dreamcast into a "next-gen" 2D/3D RPG, bringing with it a slew of modern gameplay and graphical upgrades for Windows, OSX, Linux, iOS, Android, OUYA, and the Sega Dreamcast.

While many members of the original team have come and gone, AiGD's fame has attracted international talent to the Elysian Shadows Project, which has allowed it to flourish. Tyler Rogers became the team's lead gameplay engineer and scripter, bringing with him a vast amount of knowledge of modern RPGs and gameplay elements. Patrick Kowalik later joined as a pixel artist, establishing Elysian Shadow's well-known 16-bit look. Leandro Tokarevski and Brandon Morgon were added to the art roster soon after, bringing with them classical art and NES-style pixel art expertise. In the music department, audio engineer, Connor Linning, has helped to fuse the old and new aspects of Elysian Shadows, by bringing with him a sound marrying vintage electronic music hardware with modern synthesizer software. Finally, Eddie Ringle, Andrew Apperly, and Daniel Tindall complete the dream-team by bringing with them iOS, Android, web development, and marketing expertise.

After spending several years developing their software development suite in the eyes of an eager YouTube audience, the team has finally completed their dream engine and all of their multiplatform tools required to get Elysian Shadows running on a myriad of platforms. Armed with dynamic lighting, particles, rigid-body physics, 3D positional audio, and a 2D/3D perspective, the team is set on utilizing their technology to deliver a game redefining the limits of the 2D RPG genre and the pixel art medium.