Factsheet

Developer:
Chase Tail Games
Based in Tucson, Arizona, United States

Release date:
TBD

Platforms:
Windows

Website:
chasetailgames.wixsite.com/strings

Description

Strings of Ambivalence is a side-scrolling RPG set in the breathtaking ancient lands of Goa, the World Beyond the Portal. Unearth long forgotten secrets, resolve challenges in your own way, and decide the fate of a fragile peace.

History

It was February 2016 when I first started working on the concept of Strings of Ambivalence. With very small amount of programming and game design knowledge, I dared to start coaching an after school club at the school where I am teaching physics and engineering. The name of the club was Game Programming and Design Society (GPADS) and we started working on developing a Game Maker prototype called "Cave Boy" with the interested students attending the sessions. We were programming in Game Maker and following tutorials made by a brilliant young developer. I was completing the lessons a few days ahead of the students to be able to help them where they got stuck.

When we got close to the end of the project, and each student almost completed their own prototype of the game, i asked them to come up with a game concept to continue developing past the last lesson of the Cave Boy project. I wanted them to use the game engine they constructed and apply it to a concept of their own interest: "a game that is not yet made, but would be their most favorite game if it really was made one day". I wanted to model the process for them so I started searching for a game concept that I deeply wanted to see myself playing.

The process took me back to my own childhood when I was playing Commodore 64, Amiga 1200, and early DOS pc games. 80s and 90s were the golden age of the sidescrollers and platformers. I found in myself that I wanted to develop a gameplay concept that pushed the fun, realism, and platforming capabilities of the Myth and Prince of Persia 2, while adding the dynamism, physical rigor, and environmental storytelling qualities of the legendary Another World and Flashback.

On the flip side, I also wanted to infuse my love of the more modern and visually stunning titles such as the Trine series, which would add a layer of physical puzzle solving, developing alternate strategies, and using an arsenal of fantasy skills to try countless solution attempts to a given challenge. Moreover, Trine was the first 2.5D game whose visual appeal was strong enough to convince me that a side-scroller can be built using a 3D engine.

Even though the titles I mentioned above captured most of the locomotion and platforming features of my ideal game, they did not quite address the RPG and dialog features I wanted to integrate into the concept. Into the "visually stunning 2.5D side-scrolling platformer with realistic physics..." concept, I wanted to add the story-rich and decision-heavy atmospheres of my most favorite RPGs such as Might and Magic series, Neverwinter Nights, and Dragon Age series.

Rediscovering the Treasures of the Past

The insights from all these titles helped me depict a vivid picture of the concept of the game as an original title with a unique overall experience. Yet, there was still one important missing feature to achieve a complete concept: An original story for the game. In order to develop the most fitting narrative for this game concept, I returned to my high school years and combined two different stories that I was intensely working on at the time.

The first story was our own AD&D world that I founded with two of my high school friends that we named "Goa". I spent countless hours drawing maps, writing stories, and drafting the history and culture of Goa, and even more hours leading the stories in that world as a Dungeon Master to single players as well as groups. Goa would serve as the physical location, historical background, and main context of the game.

The second story would serve as the "soul" of the game, and would eventually grow into the title of the game. The name of the story was "Non-word Places" and it was about a boy who could focus on the mechanics of his inner world so much that he discovered a connection through his inner world to manipulate the world outside of him.

Features

• RPG
• Side-scrolling "Trine-Like" play style
• Skills determined by character alignment

Strings of Ambivalence Credits

Pegassy
Founder

DesigNazli
Designer

Contact

Support
chasetailgames@gmail.com

Homepage
chasetailgames.wixsite.com/strings

Indie DB
indiedb.com/games/strings-of-ambivalence

Twitter
twitter.com/chasetailgames

Facebook
facebook.com/chasetailgames