In this brief introduction, well be explaining the basic principles and goals of our project: both creative and commercial. Im Svadoch, lead developer behind One Spirit and director of Voyvod Arts, and these are the key points of our project:

WHO?

We are a modest, independent team of international artists with a vision for a genre.

Were part of a generation that understands the height of creative media, where medium and message are hardly apart. We believe narrative games are one of the most exciting promises of gaming, and want to be part of the effort to heighten their means and ends. Especially for visual novels, we look to introduce themes, aesthetics, styles and mechanics hardly seen in the current market, which can nevertheless spearhead a sense of variety, novelty and originality. We believe in not only pushing for a solid game but a solid contribution to its genre and its historical moment as well. We are convinced we live in a time that deserves this aspiration.

WHAT?

We are producing an alternate-history, coming-of-age visual novel.

One Spirit is, above all, a visual novel about being human. While it has certain thriller and dramatic elements, it remains a slice of life perspective into the troubled lives of everyday characters and their society. It mixes realist and literary tones for many issues: identity, self-image, social relations, family life, mental health all the way up to nationalism, war, ideology, extremism We blend the events of a lore-rich world with the psychology of the characters, presenting them as products of their environment: a lost generation. By using an alternate-history setup, we mix fact and fiction, creating ambiguous, subjective, and oftentimes transgressive evocations. Our goal, at all times, is to speak to the player, but never with a clear message. If we succeed in any of this, no two people should have the same feelings and conclusions after their playthrough.

HOW?

We intend to make a game with ample accessibility, content and style.

Heavy-handed can be a troublesome thing to be. Thats why One Spirit doesnt present long-winded exposition, large over-arching plots or a dense, serious tone at all times. At the surface, where we want most people to stay and play, the game is rather casual: a grimmer, bleaker slice of life perhaps, but never hard on the player or their attention. We believe depth is best kept beneath the surface: we want those who prefer a simpler, smaller drama to enjoy us without boredom. One Spirit aims to:

• Be about 200.000 words long, amounting to 15 20 hours of gameplay. This could likely be upped or cut, but never excessively. 5 chapters will make up the plot. They will all be released with the full game.
• Create a lore-rich, fictional world: including a unique Slavic setting and constructed language, all set in a largely realistic alternate-history scenario where the Cold War drags on into the early 2000s.
• Have over 30 high-quality BGs and CGs (backgrounds and scenes), to create an immersive, tightly explorable world and captivating scripted sequences. Roam freely! Secondary events can trigger and details will be hidden all over.
• Have 13+ total characters, reliant on crowdfunding expansion budget. While some secondary characters will be mainly plot elements, many of them will allow you to engage in optional paths and routes with them parallel to the main storyline. In fact, we want to
• Have 6 subplots running parallel to the main storyline. We dont believe One Spirit would work with singular, branching paths leading to wildly different endings. However, neither is it linear. Certain subplots are incompatible with one another, or will influence each other depending on your choices throughout them or the main plot. These choices open up unique events, dialogue and perspectives. Different endings will be generated from their combination.

WHEN?

We are currently producing a Kickstarter demo to release this summer.

A demo no longer than 1 hour will be open for everyone to play during our campaign. If funded, well be extending it to a 3 to 4-hour standalone prologue that will become our final demo and be released as a standalone free-to-play near the end of 2021. The full game can be expected to arrive no earlier than late 2022, and no later than 2023 if all goes as planned. We will be maintaining close communication all throughout to make sure everyone is up to date!

WHERE?

We are a PC digital release.

And we are a Steam and itch.io release. All of One Spirits products will be playable on Windows, and very likely on MacOS and Linux as well. You can find us on Twitter (@VoyvodArts), Instagram (@onespiritvn) and Reddit (r/onespiritvn, in construction). We'll be updating you with bi-weekly devlogs from here on out!

HOW DID THIS ALL EVEN...?

Nobody knows.

We went from wanting to make an emotional family tale to post-Soviet depression simulator. Wack.

[ 2021-03-17 17:59:20 CET ] [ Original post ]