Uncharted Isles, Mineshaft, Contraption...

In the industry, games are pitched every day. Some make it to the next stage, but many don't, like those named above. We regret to announce that we're adding Shaker: An Old-School RPG to the latter list.

We are profoundly grateful to our fans. You were as excited about this game as we were, and from the very beginning, you encouraged us to post more details about it and even sent in fan art! We have received backing from over 7,000 of you and raised a quarter million dollars in just a few days (!). That's humbling and wonderful.

We are profoundly grateful to the press. You covered our Kickstarter's launch and story update and gave it as much attention as you possibly could. It was through your efforts that many heard about our game.

We are grateful to our friends in the game industry who gave us suggestions, support and critique. We are a wonderfully tight-knit community, and we owe you for all your feedback and friendship.

Ultimately, our pitch just wasn't strong enough to get the traction we felt it needed to thrive. Sure, it may have made it. We could have fought our way to a possibly successful end. In reading your feedback and talking it over internally, however, we decided that it made more sense to kill it and come back with something stronger.

In game design, mercy killing is the law.

So, please accept our thanks and apologies in equal order. Expect something more soon.

You may keep in touch by joining our forum, following @LootDrop on Twitter and friending us on Facebook. Again, thanks so much for your help and support!

- Tom & Brenda

Hey, folks, we've been having discussions about the world of Antera...and here is the current world map! There may be slight refinements as we go... and the places, races, and story deepens. Check it out!

THE WORLD OF ANTERA

Connelly (or whoever you customize as your main character) and team find themselves on a world they've visited before, but only in a narrow sense, under strict orders. Now they will be required to explore it more deeply to find out what happened...and if there is the possibility of any way home. If not, it's time to settle in and find their place in this new world!

This area is Blade Sector, the second sector in the way Shaker operatives have divided up this world and its primary inhabitation sites. Sector names are based on locally familiar words, so that an off-mention will not sound strange. Anvil Sector is inhabited, but is not near the Delta Node on Antera. 

 Here are a few highlighted places in the area the game will take place in:

THE HUB CITY: LOKE

Loke is a beautiful city on the water, a thriving city for trade and a meeting place for all races. This has been the team's first stop on all their missions.

FELAIRN FOREST: THE SURVIVORS

Living in Rhun-Daar, the humanoid race of the Paldor are survivors of a great onslaught of creatures from Darkling Crag. They won the war, but at a dear loss to their population. Those remaining have an intense mistrust of strangers.

BYRGAAD: CITY UPON COLDRISE

Home to wintry-mountain dwellers the Grell, their Mt. Valchonne has at its base lava-heated Valchonne Springs.

PLAINS OF SERE

Dry-cracked plains in the lower regions of the south, below Landsrift. Home to hard-shelled, hardy race known as the Fen-Rasei, who live in the barren city of Tiladi.

WARCHAL SWAMPHOME: THE XYLA

Home to a magical, earthen-borne race know as the Xyla, they are often chaotic, but are immensely useful when facing magical foes, and can learn to enhance their innate ranged attacks.

ARAPATHI JUNGLE: THE CITY OF KALAA

The hirsute race of the Kalakaan mastered their surroundings and became renowned for their healing prowess and subtle fighting skills. Their beliefs do not allow them to use ranged weapons -- a purity of attack lies in landing the personal strike upon the enemy -- but they can grow to be devastating fighters.

YOU CAN HELP SPREAD THE WORD! 

Please spread the word by following @LootDrop on Twitter, friending us on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/lootdropgames, retweeting our posts and linking to our Kickstarter -- thanks so much for your help and support! 

THANK YOU 

Thanks for your feedback, support, and passion -- you are helping make this happen! 

--Tom and Brenda

Hey there, Shaker operatives! This update we thought we’d let you check out the new tier you asked for, and give you a peek at the concept art process -- from sketches to finished design!

Before we begin, just want to remind folks of the new tier, $125 for the Old-School Edition + Cloth Map. People wanted something more affordable, and we priced it as low as we thought we could!

Concept Art

To review: Shaker: An Old School RPG features a six-character party - you and your 3 crew as well as 2 recruitable player characters. You begin the game as James Connelly, though you may customize him any way you like (including changing his appearance and gender). Next, you create 3 different Shaker operatives to join you on your Antera mission. Traveling back through time and space to arrive on Antera, you may recruit two locals to work on your crew. This is a medieval era world, with swordplay and magic.

So we needed cool concept art to convey combat in that medieval world.

“MONSTER FIGHT”

We’ll first look at the primary concept art of characters fighting a dragon-like creature. Our concept artists provided some roughs, and we chose this one:

So a work in progress was done.

We liked this a lot. We gave comments about intensifying magic color and such. Then we got the final image, improving the rendering, adding detail and bright magic. This was a representative piece of art, but also a bit of a color study for the world of Antera.

JAMES CONNELLY

James Connelly, experienced Shaker Operative, was the next -- we had his character description and provided a lot of reference art.

We liked what we saw, made comments, so we approved the final. Connelly is wearing his usual duty wear while on the Bridge. 

He of course turns into a medieval version of himself (or herself, if you customize to change gender and such) when reaching Antera!

YOU CAN HELP SPREAD THE WORD!

Please spread the word by following @LootDrop on Twitter, friending us on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/lootdropgames, retweeting our posts and linking to our Kickstarter -- thanks so much for your help and support!

THANK YOU

Thanks for your feedback, you are helping make this happen! See you in the next update!

--Tom and Brenda

You asked for it, we listened, and YOU GOT IT -- a $125 Tier for the Old School Edition with a Cloth Map!

$125: OLD-SCHOOL CLOTH MAP EDITION -- All the previous rewards + a BOXED EDITION OF OLD SCHOOL RPG + CLOTH MAP + CD CONTAINING THE OLD SCHOOL RPG AND SOUNDTRACK + EXCLUSIVE OLD SCHOOL RPG LOGO T-SHIRT + VIP IN-GAME CHARACTER HONOR + CUSTOM OLD SCHOOL RPG METAL DOG TAG MEDALLION. Harkening back to the golden era of RPGs, the Old School edition of Old School RPG comes complete with a classic RPG box which opens to reveal the Old School RPG t-shirt wrapping the game's CD and soundtrack. A cloth map of the world and classic trinket medallion -- in this case, a Shaker Corporation dogtag -- completes the 1980's effect. Please add $15 for international shipping.

Thanks so much for the suggestion!

YOU CAN HELP SPREAD THE WORD!

Please spread the word by following @LootDrop on Twitter, friending us on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/lootdropgames, retweeting our posts and linking to our Kickstarter -- thanks so much for your help and support!

THANK YOU

Thanks for your feedback, you are helping make this happen! See you in the next update!

--Tom and Brenda

The core of any RPG is its combat system, and we are pleased to reveal SHAKER’s combat system to you today. Be sure to check out our previous update for information on your character and crew. To recap, you create and customize your own party and take them to the medieval, fantasy world of Antera in search of the beginning of a chain of events that lead to a deadly consequence.

Be sure to friend us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @lootdrop!

Combat: Steel and Spells

Combat in the world of Antera is full of swords and sorcery! Outside of combat, you have free movement about the world of Antera, but once you have an encounter with the not-so-friendly residents of this medieval world, it’s old-school, turn-based combat.

Before the Encounter

Your party has six characters in total (your four characters and two local NPC recruits). Before combat, you are free to arrange your party as you wish in front and back ranks. The further back your characters are, the safer they will be. The closer they are to the action, the more brute-force damage they can do. Back-rank characters must have spells, long-range attacks or weapons, or special skills. All weapons and spells have specific ranges.

Entering Combat

Combat occurs when you near an enemy, and you enter combat mode. Before you, you see the creatures in the world, and combat proceeds in turn-based rounds. In traditional RPG fashion, you choose each character’s action. The NPCs are, at first, autonomous, but you can choose their actions once they fully trust you. Once everyone determines their course, the game determines who goes first based on everyone’s quickness (plus or minus any modifiers). Combat then plays out in front of you with each party member or enemy taking turns in order of their Initiative. Combat ends when you defeat the enemy or they run away, knowing what’s good for them.

Combat Rounds

During combat, your characters have several options to choose from depending on their available weapon, profession and location in the party. You may choose from: Attack using your current weapon, select a Spell/Special using your profession’s unique powers, or use an Item. You can also get the hell out of dodge or skip your turn.

Combat continues round after round until there’s a victor. Hopefully, you’re the one looking down on the bodies of your foes! :)

GOOD OLD GAMES

Vote up Shaker: Old School RPG on Good Old Games! Here's the link to add the game to the community wishlist.

SPREAD THE WORD!

We have received some great press and are so thankful for all the coverage -- here’s a sampling of all the great reviews.

Please spread the word by following @LootDrop on Twitter, friending us on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/lootdropgames, retweeting our posts and linking to our Kickstarter -- thanks so much for your help and support!

THANK YOU

That’s it, thank you again, and see you in the next update!

--Tom and Brenda