Hello, everyone! This is the first newsletter for SWORNSWORD, an indie JRPG-ARPG fusion being made by... me! I wanted to share some progress on the project, what the project is about, and what you should expect in the next couple of months.
Aside from that, let's start the newsletter!
What is SWORNSWORD?
SWORNSWORD is an RPG focused on combining the combat from ARPGs (especially the older Zelda games and the dungeon crawler gameplay) with the strategic creativity of JRPGs. This game was primarily inspired by DELTARUNE's battle system, but I've greatly iterated over it and added a lot of mechanics, which I'll talk about more in the next newsletter. I also took some inspiration from a lot of games I've played over the years, particuarly Hollow Knight and Silksong (amazing games by the way) and Kingdom Hearts II.
When I initially played DELTARUNE Chapters 1-4, I really liked the battle system and felt it had a lot of potential. However, with my iteration of the system, I wanted to make a more interactive battle system while also keeping the turn-based aspects that make DELTARUNE and other JRPGs fun for me.
The first iterations of this project were actually fully ARPGs, but I really did not like those iterations. Mainly, fights felt limited and derivative, so I switched to a more fused approach.
As much as I would like to dive into specifics, I'm reserving those for the next newsletter. Sorry!
Newsletter and Playtest Schedule
Newsletters, in normal circumstances, will be posted every couple of months. What you should expect from newsletters primarily involves progress updates and news, but many of them (like this one!) will have bits of game previews like art or soundtrack previews. Newsletters will usually not be as this formal as this one (i think). This newsletter is the "boring one": future newsletters will be more relaxed and (hopefully) a bit more polished as time goes on.
Regarding playtesting, if things go according to plan, there should be a playtest form announced here by the end of April. The form will come out with an accompying newsletter detailing specifics, but for now if you're interested, stay posted for updates! The only thing I will say about the first playtest is that it will be focused on the battle system. Again, more details will be announced soon.
A mailing list will also be made soon. The website will be updated whenever the mailing list is ready. Also, about the website, it will not just be this newsletter. Consider this newsletter a "soft launch" of the website. I will be updating the website soon with information about the game, including pictures, trailers, and where to find the game when it becomes available for wishlisting.
Some Stuff to Look At
Some panels from a cutscene in the game. These are pretty old, so don't be surprised if these are revamped.
A sneak peek of a track from the game. Try to guess what it's inspired by!
It's still being worked on, but if you have any thoughts, let me know!
Conclusion
Thank you for reading the newsletter! It means a lot that you're here, and I look forward to the future
of SWORNSWORD with you. If you want to contact me about the game, you can friend request or DM me on Discord
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Also, I'll add two things here. Firstly, do not spam my DMs (self-explanatory). Secondly, if do you contact me and are interested in working with me, I will have to decline. I still would love to talk though!
Thanks again for reading the newsletter!
bye bye
- mk