Heretics, Our third dev blog will preach the importance of the setting of the game and how it shapes your journey in sanctity as well as the way to achieve it through conquest.

Medieval Italy as a place of changes and evolution

14th century Italy was an interesting place: commerce and investments were flourishing in Italy. It was the time of the birth of international banks Italy-based, but with European (and beyond) wide markets, when, at the same time, there was an emergence of pauperistic movements. These movements conflated social justice and religious issues, the latter part and its contrasts are masterly presented in The Name Of The Rose book. We wanted to have a setting that triggered reflection on social issues that are actually relevant for everyone today within a historical context.

Your surroundings during battles

At each starting game, patterns are generated for each town; platforms, fountains, and monuments are placed in the town grids accordingly to these patterns. Thanks to this mechanic, each campaign generates a different set of town grids.

• Platforms give the occupying unit an advantage in both defence and attack;
• Fountains block a cell so that nobody can cross it;
• Monuments both block the cell where they are set and also can block projectiles.

So, placing and moving units on platforms and behind fountains or monuments can be a great way to improve your chances of converting a town to your faith.

Giving birth to an environment

The artistic style is directly inspired by the preference for simplicity and lyricism found in the paintings of Giotto and his school and by the austere and minimalist style characteristic of medieval miniatures. Consequently, the emphasis is on symbolic and expressionistic value rather than on realistic and verisimilar representation.
Source: Sailko, CC BY 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons & Codex Manesse, UB Heidelberg, Cod. Pal. germ. 848, fol. 14v, Markgraf Heinrich von Meien For the scenarios and architectural elements, let's consider for example the "2D" representations that we find in ancient manuscripts and in Giotto's paintings where architecture is predominant.
Source: Cacciata dei diavoli da Arezzo, https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cacciata_dei_diavoli_da_Arezzo (2024, October 4), Wikipedia We chose cities and regions that had somehow evolved at the time as independent entities, which is, of course, a new historical feature that emerged at the time. So the map of Italy is distorted if compared to modern projections because most free towns were around central Italy, so that part of Italy is wider, and as the south of Italy at the time had very few independent towns, it is shrunk. Also, in several maps of the time, the upper part of the map is not north but East, and that fit the user interface orientation of the game, so we adopted it
Source: Sailko, CC BY 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons To you, which Italian towns are the most iconic and should have their own battle map and buildings? Feel free to comment your suggestions on Steam or share it on our Discord! The next dev blog will dive deeper into the gameplay mechanics and is planned for next month! Stay blessed, heretics! - The Becoming Saint team -

[ 2024-10-25 13:57:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Becoming Saint places you in the shoes of a young woman from Assissi, Italy in the 14th century, determined to preach, inspire and convert others!
Harness the religious fervor of your followers to conquer and convert as many city-states as possible, paving your way to sainthood. However, there are many obstacles to success, but with perseverance you will Become a Saint during your lifetime!

Engage in Real-time medieval battles

Engage in small-scale battles with select units making each choice strategic (unit synergies, strengths, weaknesses, blessings...) and allowing you to appreciate all the meticulously implemented details of each battle. The stakes of battle are not through the deaths of your enemies but the conversion of their settlements – because sainthood is not achieved through senseless violence.

Define your creed

Make choices during your journey that will define your political and spiritual traits. This will impact your followers, economy, and conversion strategy throughout the game. Each playthrough presents different moral, cultural, and religious choices, creating many different paths for you to lead down.

Play indefinitely

Even in death, there is opportunity to learn. Should your sainthood be cut short, new challenges and strategies will await your new incarnation. The better you do, the longer your saint will be remembered in the annals of history, so strive to spread your word further and faster than ever.

Discover the medieval Italy

Explore 14th century medieval Italy and its society: beauty and brilliance thrived in the shadow of turmoil, making Italy a masterpiece painted with both glory and grief – all they need now is a new Saint to guide them!