I have updated the media section, and will continue to do so. It has been a rough time, since in order to afford the character models, backgrounds artwork and illustrations; I had to take on another job working during the American elections. It was very educational and I accrued enough funding for many things I wished. My friends said I was stupid for refusing to charge for this game despite all of the extra work that was involved, but I made a promise this was free to the public, and I intend on sticking to my work. I wanted to improve and continue to add on the production value, so I will pay the price.
All the background artwork were done specifically for the game, using a proper engine. It is a little bit embarrassing to look at the current page, because the screenshots and all of the information are entirely outdated in every way. Unfortunately, I cannot change it.
One thing gone is statistics, because it felt redundant and pointless in this scenario. The problem with the traditional Japanese Role Playing battle system ‘formula’ in this game was the situation. It felt strange to walk around a forest and encounter an endless supply for Ohio Indians or later British troops to fight. That was removed in favor of scripted encounters, akin to Chrono Trigger. Though constantly replenishing the enemies through the passage of time also felt bizarre and unnatural; another major problem enemy encounter was at a much lower frequency than others within the genre. Grinding for statistics was too difficult, so leveling was removed entirely.
Originally, it was the scenario of the game that called for these changes, but thinking about matters more, there were more logical reasons for straying away from the ‘formula.’ A friend of mine once questioned how is it fun to fight the same blue slime for an entire area every five steps? To be honest, it never bothered me, though I realized it is because I had the fast forward option in many emulators so I was able to speed through an area without much hassle. Though that presents another question, how is it I am able to speed through a battle so carelessly and walk away unscathed? Is that even fun? No one fast forwards a film they enjoy watching, the same idea should be applied to games. Certain elements felt redundant, pointless chores, so they were cut. I wished to be more conscientious and ‘economical’ with a player’s time.
While turn-based, the combat in Americana Dawn deviates from tradition. It allows for allies and enemies to counterattack each other like a card game. Leveling and statistics are also eliminated, and progression is measured by classes and equipment accumulated, both allowing more options and abilities to choose from.
I intended of the Japanese and English version to be in the same file, but I realized that a lot of the jokes did not translate into English too well.
In the next update I intend on having information about the larger scale battles.
Thank you for being so patient! I do not update the game website page as often as I do here.
