iPhone Small Chronicles :: Unique Strategy JRPG :: Universal :: DEV BLOG

Discussion in 'Upcoming iOS Games' started by WhiteSponge, Jul 29, 2013.

  1. WhiteSponge

    WhiteSponge Well-Known Member

    #1 WhiteSponge, Jul 29, 2013
    Last edited: Mar 19, 2014
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    Hey everyone!

    I would like to share about the upcoming game that WhiteSponge is working on - Small Chronicles!

    What kind of game is it exactly?
    Super small stages + Turn-based Strategy JRPG? That’s what Small Chronicles is!

    Defeat monsters, gain experience! Learn new skills and acquire items to power up your characters! Plan your moves wisely as each wrong move can result in a defeat! As you progress through the game, you will unlock new worlds, new monsters, new bosses and new power up items!

    All of these are in the attempt to help your main character, Kon, save his sister who has been abducted by unknown evil monsters!

    Small Chronicles Chapter 1 – Key of Light and Darkness will be available in both English and Japanese for the initial release!

    Key Highlights

    Ω Venture into the world of Arystonia as Kon or Lyea, each with their own unique skill sets and story that intertwine with each other

    Ω Engage in combat against other players, win trophy stars and for a spot in the top leagues for the awesome ruby rewards!

    Ω All-New equipment growing system that allows your equipment to become better as you use them more in your journey throughout Arystonia

    Ω Unlock easter eggs for hidden secrets, characters or new perspective on the story and lore behind the world of Arystonia

    Ω Enjoy the original Japanese voice-overs while the characters tell their perspective of their journeys


    Additionally, Duncan McPherson, the sound designer and composer of both Terra Noctis and Spell Sword, is also the music composer for Small Chronicles!


    What's the status of the game crafting right now? [Updated March 19th]

    Check this link out to jump right away to the latest update -> http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?p=3169035#post3169035

    What's next in line? [Updated March 19th]

    Closing of the open beta!


    Questions asked
    Please feel free to ask questions or share opinions as it is also a learning journey for me too. I will consolidate the questions asked (and my reply to them) here so everyone can view them easily :D


    Finally
    Follow @SmallChronicles on Twitter or like Small Chronicles at Facebook for up to the minute updates on Small Chronicles!

    You can also follow @WhiteSponge on Twitter or WhiteSponge at Facebook for up to the minute updates on WhiteSponge!

    I will also update this thread regularly with Small Chronicles' development and design progress!

    And if you're interested in the iPhone/iPod Touch thread, here it is :) http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?t=150041

    For now, check out the official teaser trailer for Small Chronicles!



    And also here's a new gameplay demo! Enjoy!

     
  2. WhiteSponge

    WhiteSponge Well-Known Member

    Alright I'm in the processing of adding some new awesome items to the in-game store :D

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    And as you can see, these items have some pretty awesome bonuses but they also cost rubies to get.

    So to ensure that everyone can get their hands on some of these awesome goodies, I have increased the rate at which rubies can be gotten.

    You can now also get rubies from treasure chests! :D

    [​IMG]
     
  3. Game looks pretty cute!
     
  4. WhiteSponge

    WhiteSponge Well-Known Member

    Hey Connector! I'm glad that you like what you are seeing :D
     
  5. Thanks for letting me beta test it! Look forward to trying it out!
     
  6. Cynuyt

    Cynuyt Well-Known Member

    Waiting to play... liked all I seen :)
     
  7. WhiteSponge

    WhiteSponge Well-Known Member

    Looking forward to your feedback! :D
     
  8. WhiteSponge

    WhiteSponge Well-Known Member

    Thanks! Glad that you like what you have been seeing so far!

    Any interest in testing a pre-open beta testing version? :D
     
  9. Cynuyt

    Cynuyt Well-Known Member

    Yes, that is my pleasure. Accepted.
     
  10. WhiteSponge

    WhiteSponge Well-Known Member

    PM me your email address and I'll send you the TestFlight invitation :D
     
  11. WhiteSponge

    WhiteSponge Well-Known Member

    Finally got iCloud synchronization to work with Small Chronicles. Here's a quick camera shot of my iPad completing the synchronization :D ~

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    Basically if you have been playing it offline without ever turning on the synchronizing and you do so suddenly, the game synchronizes all the local data onto iCloud.

    In doing so, any new installs of Small Chronicles on other devices can still be updated to the latest data by tapping on the synchronization button (leftmost green button in image above)

    And if you have been playing Small Chronicles on multiple devices, any latest change made on 1 device that isn't detected in any other devices will be updated on those devices :D
     
  12. WhiteSponge

    WhiteSponge Well-Known Member

    #12 WhiteSponge, Sep 10, 2013
    Last edited: Sep 11, 2013
    Added cloud saving (across iOS devices) and several new sound effects for characters. Now when you select a character or have him/her do something, the character will speak in response.

    I added them as I believe it will add polish to the game thus making a better gameplay experience.

    Check out this video for a quick demo of the characters' sound effects (towards the end)


    Btw, here's some concept art of some of the monsters in the Wood Groves :D

    [​IMG]

    And iOS 7 is coming out soon. Going to add support for it! Cheers! ^^
     
  13. WhiteSponge

    WhiteSponge Well-Known Member

    Just added support for the upcoming iOS 7!

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    I must say that most of it only involves ensuring that the tables in the game look and feel the same way as in iOS 6 and below ~

    If I just compiled and start the game without making any changes, this is what a table in Small Chronicles would look like in iOS 7:

    [​IMG]

    And that is because the default background color for iOS 7 tables is white :D

    So after making it transparent again, this is what it becomes:

    [​IMG]

    Overall adding support for iOS7 was pretty smooth. There wasn't any ground-breaking changes that affected Small Chronicles :D

    P.S ~ ignore the 999999 coins and rubies (it's only for testing :D)
     
  14. WhiteSponge

    WhiteSponge Well-Known Member

  15. WhiteSponge

    WhiteSponge Well-Known Member

    As you might have known, Small Chronicles has just started its open beta! The feedback from the beta testers have been awesome so far!

    In response to their awesome feedback, here are just two changes that will make the game better :D

    1) Showing the experience gained

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    You can see the amount of experience gained from defeating a monster! That should help those of you who are worrying if you will lose on a stage or level up just in time to regain your health and mana.


    2) Updated Store Interface

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    The in-game store now also spots a slightly different interface! You can now scroll from 1 end of the screen to the other! This means that you'll be able to see at least 1 more item on your screen at any 1 time.

    So what do you think? Do you like these 2 new changes? :D
     
  16. WhiteSponge

    WhiteSponge Well-Known Member

    #16 WhiteSponge, Oct 16, 2013
    Last edited: Oct 16, 2013
    Small Chronicles has come a long way from the prototyping and alpha days...

    And now v1.01 beta is finally here! I hope you are as excited as I am while I highlight main additions and changes of this new beta update!

    The New Goodie

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    Hmmm... did you notice that there is a "Lv. 1" at the end of the Volunteer's Guard's name?

    Yup that's right! I have added the ability for items to grow alongside your characters! Just equip an item and it will gain experience and levels too!

    [​IMG]
    A Volunteer's Guard at Lv. 2 gives +17 def!!

    While getting and upgrading items in traditional RPGs involves going to a blacksmith, Small Chronicles goes about it differently.

    Think of your equipment as being alive with souls in them. The more you fight alongside them, the stronger they will become :)


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    As mentioned in the previous post, you can now also see the amount of experience earned from defeating each monster!


    The Changes

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    Remember that animation that plays at the start of each stage? It now plays faster so you can get to the gameplay even quicker!


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    This is actually more of fixing a loophole than a change. This particular stage had 4 tunnels positioned in a cross position. That meant that the monsters were entering and exiting from the tunnels forever.

    If you played as the mage, you could potentially sit from a distance and fire away at will.


    Bug Fixes

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    While not a critical bug, this could affect the shopping experience at the in-game store. If you had Kon at Lv. 5, he would be able to use the Might Ring (which requires Kon to be at Lv. 4).

    While it didn't use to do so, this is now shown by the white colored label in the screenshot.


    More?
    Yes the next update could be a bigger one than this!

    Do follow @SmallChronicles or @WhiteSponge on Twitter for up to the minute updates!

    You could also like Small Chronicles on Facebook for regular updates too!
     
  17. WhiteSponge

    WhiteSponge Well-Known Member

    This is long overdue but I have just added a new gameplay demo video of Small Chronicles onto the youtube channel! This new video highlights the latest additions and changes to the game.

    Enjoy and do give feedback if possible! Thanks! :D

     
  18. Rafy211

    Rafy211 Well-Known Member

    Jun 20, 2013
    124
    0
    0
    Unicorn Land
    When will this be out and how much will it cost?
     
  19. WhiteSponge

    WhiteSponge Well-Known Member

    Hey there! It will be out before the end of december (including beta testing time)!

    It will be free to play but don't worry as everything in the game can be acquired even without paying :)

    heck there are some items that you can't get from paying in the game but only from playing the game more ^^
     
  20. WhiteSponge

    WhiteSponge Well-Known Member

    It’s been a short while since the last update! And that’s because I’m working on what is coming next for Small Chronicles! The next update will be interesting…

    What would the next update be about? Well if you have been following @WhiteSponge or checking the news regularly at the Facebook page, I have been dropping hints here and there.

    [​IMG]

    That’s right! League mode is coming to Small Chronicles! What this means is that you will be able to do battle against other players’ characters!

    Wait… that is not realtime multiplayer? Yes it isn’t. If you have noticed (in the screenshot above), you can either play a random match or create a game room in League mode. Let me explain what are the difference between these two.

    In random matches, you start by searching for a random opponent (well by using that “Random Match” button!). The game then searches for a suitable opponent for your selected character (usually +/- 5 levels of your selected character’s level).

    [​IMG]

    Once that is done, the game’s A.I will take over the opponent’s character and you will do battle against it. While monsters in the story mode do not seem to have a crazily intelligent A.I, the A.I in league mode behaves similarly to a player like you.

    It will definitely make use of blessings, go through tunnels and push any rocks that it can find. You can also be sure that it will use traps against you too.

    So why isn’t random matches real-time? Why that is because not everyone can be online at the same time. If random matches were real-time, you can be sure that you will walk into a ghost town at least once.

    That is especially true for mobile games. Small Chronicles is a mobile game and mobile devices do not always have that awesome WiFi or steady 3G/LTE connection.

    Now what about creating game rooms? Is that real-time multiplayer? Hmmm I’ll leave that to your imagination…
     

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