Blogs - HorizonsOfAchaea

Welcome back!

And thank you for checking out our blog!

Today’s an exciting day…

Today we’re announcing the 4th member of our Core Development Team:

So, without further hesitation:

YT Link: Youtu.be

Tony’s a Michigan-based composer and singer-songwriter, and he is just a true master of creating captivating and emotionally charged music. His melodies are a reflection of life's triumphs and tribulations, which is great for JRPGs that focus on the Hero’s Quest, such as ours.

With his symphonic, cinematic, and dynamic sound, he takes listeners on a profound and passionate journey that pairs PERFECTLY with Horizons of Achaea.

His work has been performed worldwide by renowned ensembles such as:

• Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

• Traverse Symphony Orchestra

• Washington Metropolitan Gamer Symphony Orchestra (WMGSO)

• And More!

He has also created music for Minecraft and Universal Studios, which you should definitely check out.

Tony has remarkable versatility in all of the samples I’ve listened to and he effortlessly navigates a wide range of artistic landscapes that leave a lasting impact.

I’m confident he will breathe the musical life into Horizons of Achaea that it deserves.

• Website: Manfredoniamusic.com

• Minecraft x Universal: Youtu.be

But don’t take my word for it.

Here's the first track for Horizons of Achaea:

If you haven't already, go take a listen to our first OST for Horizons of Achaea, entitled “Air Ship” and tell me that isn’t the sound of adventure ;-)

If this first bit of music is a prelude to the quality we are able to deliver, you can know for sure that your contributions will be utilized to the fullest for something truly special.

Thank you again for continuing to tune in and your support!

Welcome back! And welcome to May!

I say that because it’s a particularly exciting month here for Horizons of Achaea.

So, as promised in the previous Q&A video, we have our finalized concept art for our third character, Lira

And without further ado:

“Heir to a lost throne... and a lost heritage. Lira, left a ruined home to travel the skies of Achaea hoping to spare others from the fate that befell her home.

Armed with her magical talents and lacking no amount of courage, Lira is determined to help her new allies overcome this eldritch evil and see that what came to pass in her home never happens again.”

I LOVE how Lira’s design came out.

Let me know what you think of her design in the comments below.

So, some updated timelines:

Currently we have the Cormorant being modeled into a 3D asset for use in our upcoming trailer and gameplay footage. Right now, early June is when I expect that to be completed.

From there and throughout June, we will be reattempting the 3D models for Zei and Kaia.

For the remaining portion of May we're moving onto elements of our announcement trailer and gearing up to be ready to drop finalized assets into the scenes.

Dialogue systems are being explored and voice over work is starting to begin.

Also, this month (potentially early June) - I’m expecting to introduce you to the 4th member of our Core Development team - so stay tuned for that exciting update, as I’m super stoked that he is joining the cause!

I really want to continue to say THANK you to our supporters out there, because it is making it possible to continue moving forward.

May now marks 6 months in pursuing this ambitious project and I am as determined as ever to show what can be done with our small studio.

We are definitely working to make the best JRPG we can that evokes the memory of these games we’ve taken inspiration from like Skies of Arcadia and Dragon Quest.

And if you’re someone that’s been considering supporting our start up. Links are below. It’ll be because of you all, that we can make this a reality.

Even sharing, retweeting, getting the word out there that we are trying to bring this to market will be a major help!

Make sure to subscribe to our various social media outlets in order to get up to date information on our development cycle. And thank you for continuing to tune in!

• Tik Tok: Tiktok.com
• Twitter (X): Twitter.com
• Patreon: Patreon.com
• Discord: Discord.com
• Website: Horizonsofachaea.com
• Store: Horizonsofachaea.store

It's been a moment since the last update and I appreciate the patience!

We have made some decent progress!

I've got our 3D artist off and running on the Cormorant's design ((Captain Valen's (Zei's Dad) Air Ship)).

After the artist and I went through all the sketches, concept art, and what we want to "do" with the asset, he expressed needing 45 days in order to complete.

That gives us a delivery date of June 7th for the initial air ship that will be utilized in the cinematic and gameplay! This is a bit longer than expected, but we're knocking out a couple of birds with one stone in that this asset is both a playable "actor," as well as it'll be used as a "level."

I'm still getting my "Unreal" terminology down :-P

So yes, we're modeling the interior as well. And not just the exterior for the 'overworld,' if you will.

Upon receipt of the air-ship, he and I have discussed the characters 3D modeling needs in which he will be starting on those two (Zei and Kaia) during the month of June. My first attempt at Zei's 3D model went terribly back in February/March.

So, I'm hoping this round goes better.

We have also started working on the concept art for the third character, Lira. She will be revealed in mid-May (maybe sooner) as our filler update between now and the Air-Ship's gameplay teaser footage.

Starting May 10th - I'm going to be working through the weekend in order to get a rough trailer for.......(drum roll).....our newly acquired musician and audio lead.

I plan on having his big reveal in June as the 4th member of our Core Team.

The working trailer I'm going to make with temporary assets will help him apply music to the scene in order to really make a good attempt at capturing that atmosphere we are chasing.

This coming weekend, May 3rd-5th is my first wedding anniversary 🥳 and the wife will NOT tolerate my lil air-pirate video game fantasy hahahaha.

That said between now and May 10th, I'm revising my pitch decks, and re-sending to different entities out in the world. With each new update adding between 16-20 new subscribers, we are hoping that our community funding starts to pick up a bit as well, in order to not have to rely on publisher funding too much. We'll, of course, see how that goes.

As always, you're continued support is appreciated and I should have more updates this week / early next week as we close out the design work on Lira.

Thank you, and I'll see you all on the Horizons!

Welcome back! I hope you all are having a great time going into the weekend, getting to relax, maybe playing some video games, because....

You deserve it.

So, some exciting news, we have our finalized art for the first airship the player comes across in Horizons of Achaea.

This ship belongs to your dad, Captain Valen.

So, without further ado, I present to you the “Cormorant.”

I was, at first, mocking up a big ornate ship. A big 18th century war vessel or something like the Black Pearl from Pirates of the Caribbean. But ended up rethinking that and creating something a little more humble and a little more nimble.

The Cormorant has been with the island’s people for a long time, and the aim in this game will be to have the airships have just as much personality as the cast of characters we meet along the way.

This sleek and agile vessel serves the air pirates in their missions and assists in bringing their home island the much needed bounties to survive.

Let me know what you think of this design in the comments below.

And also, what do you think about ship customization? As I’m dreaming about my perfect RPG and elements I wish could’ve been expanded upon in past games. And doing more with these ships seems like a natural progression.

I really want to continue to say THANK you to our supporters out there, because it is making it possible to continue moving forward.

We are definitely working to make the best JRPG we can that evokes the memory of these games we’ve taken inspiration from like Skies of Arcadia and Dragon Quest.

And if you’re someone that’s been considering supporting our start up. Links are in the description below. It’ll be because of you all, that we can make this a reality.

Even sharing, retweeting, getting the word out there that we are trying to bring this to market will be a major help!

With some of the development on autopilot through Friday (March 15th) of this week, we're to the point of creating the business in it's official capacity. This is strategic as I'm hoping the upcoming months of April and May start to see an uptick in activity from our 'internet audiences.'

To this point, we've mostly been focused on the concept art while in the background learning the ins and outs of Unreal Engine. That, and hammering out the initial story beats that dictate the level design.

I've also learned a metric tonne about 3D rendering and animation rigging over the past month with our first attempt at bringing Zei to life (which...you know how that went....).

But back to the main point.

Now we're at a critical point to where our pitch decks are taking shape and I'm working on getting several sources of funding together. This with the goal of getting some of our first employees here in Q3 of 2024.

It's all VERY contingent on the summer going well. But with good fans like you all on Patreon, I'm hopeful that we can make a great attempt in a competitive arena.

First Major Hurdle :-(

Oh my and this has been a fun one. So, going into each portion of this game build, I've approached it with a degree of caution. This is my first game ever that I'm attempting to build. There are many properties that go into creating a complete piece of a work that is both an artistic vision and technical masterpiece. None of which you wake up one morning and be like "I'm going to create a game, execute x, y, and z...." and BOOM it appears.

My first challenge I'm referring to is the 3D modeling. I'm going to have to go back to the drawing board on our character Zei. As the 3D artist and I were unable to come to a unified understanding. And it perhaps was my inability to appropriately communicate.

As a surge of ideas and visions come into my brain, I'm going to have to get better at portraying those thoughts into clear words and instructions in order for the work to come out as I'm needing it to.

But the work presses on. I do believe 3D modeling is going into April's 'to-do' list as other things are needing to move forward.

What are those things you may ask?

Well, as of Friday, I'm working with my other artist (concept artist for Zei and Kaia so far) on sketching up the first ship the game will introduce the player to, the Cormorant.

The Cormorant is Captain Valen's ship. Captain Valen, if you remember, is Zei's father. It is the ship that Zei and Kaia have been cutting their teeth on. And, right now, it is a candidate for the first "level."

The Cormorant development stages will be as follows:

• Concept Art (March 2024)
• Level Design (April 2024)
• 3D Modeling + Integration into First Trailer (May - June 2024)

Stay tuned, THANK you for the support, and as always, I'll see you on the Horizon :-D

I really want to continue to say THANK you to our supporters out there, because it is making it possible to even have a game plan for moving forward.

We are definitely working to make the best JRPG we can that evokes the memory of these games we’ve taken inspiration from.

And if you’re someone that’s been considering supporting our start up, it’ll be because of you all, that we can make this a reality.

Even sharing, retweeting, getting the word out there that we are trying to bring this to market will be a major help!

Now… Once again, I couldn’t be more pleased with how this next character turned out and I’m not going to keep you all waiting.

This our 2nd protagonist; Kaia

“Another native of the island, Pirate's Cove, Kaia has been going on adventures with Zei since the two could walk (and some say as soon as they could crawl). Like any other aspiring sailor, Kaia also trains her skills on the Cormorant under the command of Captain Valen.”

“Imbued with a talent for memorizing spells, she quickly has proven her standing as a member of the island. She, too, has the determination to do the most good in the world and protect the ones she holds most dear.”

Like our previous hero, Kaia’s design ties tradition to present and already we can see her unique voice coming to life.

Speaking of… should we include voice acting in this game? Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Horizons of Achaea continues to take shape both in design and story.

And over the next couple of weeks we are hoping to get our first two characters converted to 3D models in order to insert into our alpha builds of the game.

I cannot WAIT to show these off and continue down this path.

Make sure to subscribe to our various social media outlets in order to get up to date information on our development cycle. And thank you for continuing to tune in!

Until next time, I’ll see you all on the Horizon!

We’re ready to show off our first set of concept art for Horizons of Achaea!

I couldn’t be more pleased with how this turned out and I’m not going to keep you all waiting.

This is one of protagonists; Zei

“Growing up on Pirate’s Cove, Zei has always maintained a carefree attitude while still being able to adhere to his father’s strict orders when aboard the Cormorant. Zei dreams of one day commanding a ship, a crew to sail with, and an island to call his own.”

“And with his Grandfather’s sword at his side, Zei wants to do his best to uphold the creed of the air pirate and never let those he loves succumb to chains or tyranny.”

The design evokes tradition but I believe it is a win for us in setting up that unique voice that will accompany the game.

Horizons of Achaea is taking shape both in design and story.

And over the next couple of weeks we are hoping to get our next character design out into the world for you all to see.

Of course, if you're a Patreon member you will get first looks at anything we’re dreaming up.

Patreon.com

And guys, I’m not going to lie - making Horizons of Achaea come to life will be completely dictated by our ability to garner community support.

I don’t want to half-a$$ this game, because I don’t believe you all deserve a cash grab.

So, if you’re like me and want to see this JRPG and studio come to life, consider supporting our start up.

Even sharing, retweeting, getting the word out there that we are trying to bring this to market will be a major help!

And for those who are already supporting us, we THANK you because it is making it possible to even have a game plan for moving forward.

Things really feel like they are moving along as we work on building the world of Achaea and its story. A key element of any good RPG, however, are the characters.

In the coming week (possibly two) - we will be showcasing our first protagonist's concept art and provide a short bio about who the character is in this game.

Paid subscribers will see the reveal first, so if you've been considering supporting the game, now will be a great time to jump in and help see this RPG to reality.

Happy New Year, 2024, y'all!

I'm pretty excited to start this year because we have a ton of things planned, most of which is all focused on getting a demo of Horizons of Achaea to publishers that can potentially partner with us in order to make this game a reality.

Beau (scenario writer) and I have been hard at work creating, revising, and more creating, and more revising, rinse, and repeat on the story elements for this initial portion of the game. A standalone voice is extremely important to us in order to create memorial characters for our players.

We're also doing a lot of networking with developers and JRPG enthusiasts that might be able to help us along the way.

And one BIG thing I'm learning in this journey is ….the costs!
Making a game is NOT cheap (duh!) by any means. And I've read / watched lots of developers logs over their journeys and the years upon years they spend to even make some minor passion project.

It seems this and story are where a lot of aspiring video game developers fall short, and that's completely understandable.

But what's a new wanna be indie studio to do?

Answer: Breathing and taking it slow. And focus on that first level!
At the moment, we're primarily focused on the initial art for the game. Our artist did a PHENOMENAL job bringing our logo ideas to life and our next portion will be trying to bring the main characters concept art to a point that we're ready to show to the world.

We're also building other areas of the studio (in terms of the business).

Our new websites will be taking flight here in the near future - so stay tuned for that post. :-)

We're hoping to use that website in order to introduce our first two characters to the world.

Stay tuned!

Thank you, again, for supporting us!

And as always , we'll see you on the Horizons!