A game about Choices.

And no, not so evident as the header image (just and old promotional image). Not going to spoil some of the first interesting choices...

First, a bit about me:

I get real immersed when I play 80’s RPGs (first Realms of Arkania, Eye of the beholder, Dungeon Hack..) and 90’s Adventure Graphics (Space Quest III,IV and V, Leisure Suit Larry, King Quest, Quest for Glory, Ringworld, Innocent Until Caught, Leather Goddesses of Phobos… and of course Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, as my favorite)… are my way to go. 

But what I most like are the mix genres of Adventure with Strategy or RPG that you can found in the early 90’s, like the amazing Silmarils games (Transartica, Stormaster…) or the first Dune. What that means? I like obscure, complex and hard games, that mix in correct amounts Story and Gameplay. 

In this game, apart from mixing genres, I’m not trying to reproduce the rest (difficulty, in general). I’m making a heavily story game where there is no fail state and every choice will give you a different approach, different opportunities, that you can shape into getting the best ending that suits you… and lots of replayability.

 And one of the best things of all those oldies were the spicy stuff, the lewdness that one can expect in a game for adult people. 

Because games were for adults back then, or at least young adults. 

I'm making the game that I want to make, so I'm making BfL:Armored Romance. 

In very early hands-on development, I even integrated an army sized turn based tactical combat system. But fast I realised that wasn't giving the player anything interesting; I weren't to code a battle system that good to be good a feature. But what if how battles progress and results, was due to player choice along hours of story based conversations and decisions? Who you make your ally or your foe, what Lady you convince with your lewd arts to give you her better levies? 

The game has some clears mechanics (Loyalty and the four cardinals, Piety, Knightly, Ambition, and Lewdness) that grow as you make choices; Those choices opens doors, and you open those doors because you seek a particular ending. But what If you marry that heir, or cajole with that noble putting the others against you, that isn't going to colaborate in your specific pursue? Will you be able to fix it? Did you in your Army the exact leaders, troops and resources that will help you in a specific battlefield? Men make plans... Here enters other important part of the coding of the game; Making sure there is lots of (better or worst) solutions, for the same problems. 

A mix of adventure and strategic thought that I put in motion. (And an inmense quantity of code).

The first release is simple enough: A mostly linear Introduction and Prologue to set you in motion, and a first Chapter of freeroaming where you decided how exactly accomplish your first deed (how, and what to get from it),  to take a feel of what is going to be the rest of the game. 

Sadly, (The reason where is a disclaimer in this first release before making a choice) Some of the choices you may take in Chapter 1 have only consequences in the long span rather than in the short, so there is not the same quantity of additional content for each one of the three possible important branching options. But in the best of cases, you can just Save the Game. 

But all important choices will reverberate across the rest of the game in greater or lesser extent.