What is 9th Dawn?

9th Dawn is a classic RPG with modern elements. The game boasts a large openworld map, in which the character can navigate through seamlessly, walking in a fluid pixel-by-pixel motion. The dual on-screen analogue pads provide a comfortable way to play the game, making the realtime hack'n'slash combat fun and engaging. The game contains a 3D physics engine and particle engine, allowing arrows to literally fly through the air, and stunning visual effects not often found in this style of game.

http://valorware.com/images/9thdawn/screenshots/3.jpg

http://valorware.com/images/9thdawn/screenshots/4.jpg

http://valorware.com/images/9thdawn/screenshots/5.jpg

The graphics are all original and based on a 'retro' aesthetic. Together with our original soundtrack and premium purchased atmospheric sound effects, players will be immersed in the game world whenever they play.

There are approximately 200 different items in the game (graphics are done, but some still need coding) 6 villages, lots of dungeons, big boss battles, loads of monsters to fight, and plenty of ways to do it! Here is a screenshot of the collectable items in our map editor (dont worry, a lot of them are censored!)
http://i.imgur.com/F9TY9.jpg

We released a Tech Demo for the game in June 2012, which is available on the Google Play store. We got a lot of good feedback from the app!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.valorware.vw9thdawntechdemo&hl=en

As a disclaimer, this demo is not completely up to date with our current work. The trailer video is a more accurate representation of our development progress so far, but the demo will let you get an overall feel for our engine and the stylistic quality of the game. We are constantly responding to the feedback we receive on our demo from enthusiastic players, hoping to deliver the best playing experience that we can.

The game supports a variety of screen resolutions, with the lowest supported at 480x320. The game is suited to most modern smart phones with good screen resolutions. It also works great on tablets, but we need to make the GUI slightly larger to compensate. Here is an image of the game at a large resolution

http://valorware.com/images/9thdawn/screenshots/largeres.jpg

What do we need funds for?

9th Dawn has been in development for the past year, although it got a head start as we ported the base of the engine from one of our previous DirectX PC projects (now discontinued). We are proud of our progress and have managed to fund most of it personally. However, since the release of our Tech Demo on the Google Play Android market in June 2012, development has been slow due to a lack of funds. It is difficult to find time to develop the game to completion, as we have bills to pay and jobs to work at. We sometimes find ourselves debating on what unfinished features of the game we can 'leave out' just to get it finished, which is a shame - as there is still so much potential for the game and features we would love to add. With the funding we hope to gain from this Kickstarter Project, we can dedicate much more of our time to creating the game that players both expect and deserve and design it to the level of standards that we had in mind from its conception.

- More content - Although there are loads of items, monsters, and dungeons in the game at the time, there could be more. Personally, we would like to expand the number of dungeons and maps in the game to both increase the amount of content available and make the world more immersive and exciting. Funding will allow us to spend more time adding more map content to the game for the player's benefit. The map we currently have is massive, especially from the perspective of a phone, and we need more hidden caves and secret areas for it! Quests are also very time-consuming to program, as we aim to make them unique and interesting with multiple outcomes and different ways to complete them.

- Graphics - Some graphics are outdated, such as the magic spell icons you see in the video, (they are the dodgy coloured numbers, 1-4). Some GUI improvements are to be made, and some map objects need to be redone. We will also be working to add a variety of particle effects to make the spells more visually exciting.

- Buy more sound effects - We have already spent a lot of money on sound effects, but a lot of things (such as spells) are still without sound.

- Licenses - Probably the most critical category for funding needs are licenses for software we use to develop the game. In particular, one of our Marmalade SDK (formerly known as Airplay SDK) seat licenses expired last month, and it is crucial that we renew this seat license. Without it, only one of us is currently able to continue working on the game (accessing the map editor, programming dialogue for NPCs, testing code, deploying to devices), which is extremely limiting at the moment. In addition, our Marmalade licenses are also necessary because they allow us to code and port our game to practically any mobile platform, with Android and iOS being the most important. We also need to upgrade an Educational version of Visual Studio to a commercially licensed version in order to be able to release the final commercial version of the game.

- Legal costs - There are some costs to help us protect both the game and company legally.

- Marketing - We need to invest some of the funds into marketing the game once it is released.

When will it be done?

If this funding is successful, we can dedicate our time to development, and expect a release in late September or October 2012. It might take a little longer to get it onto the App Store for iPhones and iPads due to their approval system. As you can see from our demo and trailer, this game is not a pipedream and is already considerably developed. We hope to provide one of the most detailed, unique RPG experiences in the current mobile gaming experience and, furthermore, hope to build a reputation and positive relationship as a small development company with gamers in general. We are dedicated to providing a quality product, which is our primary drive for seeking funding here. With your pledge comes the promise of a quality RPG title, with our continued support and attention both during and after the development process.

Previous History

We have been trying to make a game like this for the past 9 years. With every project we have taken on, we have always outgrown it in pursuit for a better version. The previous game we were working on was called Remnants of Caspartia, an MORPG for the PC using DirectX as a renderer. The engine got pretty far, featuring account creation, map creation, wandering, inventory, and all the networking code to support it. We had fancier graphics with it, again, drawn by us, except the character which we had to hire someone to do a 3D model.

http://valorware.com/images/RoC/2.jpg

Before RoC, we had worked on "Seventh Dawn", a similar enterprise to RoC. RoC actually served as a technological improvement to SD, featuring a brand new engine and enhanced networking capabilities, though we received a tremendous amount of positive feedback concerning SD's artistic style. Below are two screenshots from this project. Please note, the character sprite used in the screenshot was borrowed from HudsonSoft's Crystal Beans.

http://i.imgur.com/YddXq.jpg

Future Prospects

We will release a PC version of this game. Development of that will commence soon after it is released for smartphones/tablets. This is achievable for us, since it is the platform we originally developed for.

If the OUYA is successful, it could probably be a another platform for the game, especially if it runs on Android. 9th Dawn's controls would be perfect for the controller.

Unreleated to this Kickstarter project, we plan on looking into making a similar, multiplayer game for the Xbox 360.

A Humble Request

To those of you who are interested in our project, but for one reason or another do not wish to pledge at this time, please spread news of our project and Kickstarter campaign to your friends and social networks. Often enough, this can be even more helpful than monetary support! We extend our thanks to those of you who support us in any way that you can.