The Kristala Dev Blog - Issue #2

Welcome back to the dev blog, folks!

In case you missed us the first time, we’re Astral Clocktower Studios, an up-and-coming indie game dev studio from Central Pennsylvania, USA. Our current project, Kristala, is a third-person, fantasy action RPG saga filled with compelling characters and riveting storylines.

This week, we'll follow suit with the same format from our first dev blog as we break down the past week's exciting development progress.

As always, we invite you to get engaged and share your thoughts and suggestions with us in the comments section below.

Programming

It seems Will has been having some poisonous thoughts lately...when programming our Dalamese' level, that is! (insert cheeky elbow nudge)

Not only has Will rewritten the area's poison system, he's also created a poison-resist stat that will be applied to our swamp enemies. Will's also tinkering with the strength of our poison resistance stats, assigning them different values to ensure they work properly with our existing systems in-game.

While we certainly appreciate the effort, here’s to hoping Will's next update is a liiittle less deadly for our dear protagonist...

Story Design

Justin is wrapping up the content that'll be included in our story-centric newsletter, and he's eagerly charging forward in the lore and weapons department for a new game area.

If you’re a fan of dead cities and burnt-out structures, then you'll love what Justin's got coming your way soon. For now, be patient, young warriors. ...Rome wasn’t sacked in a day, you know!

Character Modeling

Kieran, our resident Aussie, is one of the newest members to the ACS Games family.

Before joining the dev team, Kieran constructed mouth-watering assets for community mods of Imperator Rome and Mount and Blade. Needless to say, we're excited to bring his talents to the world of Kristala.

Kieran’s first task was to model out the Sykomana Clan's main characters, combining the flow and form of the hairless Sphynx cat breed with the true grace and glory of a fantasy-action heroine.

Check it out!

Environmental Modeling

Cass continues to populate the Dalamese' with the latest and greatest in bog architecture (shhh...it's totally a thing). His second swamp house structure is officially complete, and all that's left now is to unwrap the UV's and get to texturing!

Nick has been busy pumping out assets too! He recently crafted a few Anagativa toy dolls to give the abandoned fishing village a bit more life.

Once done, Nick will populate the area with additional assets to represent the interrupted lives of the villagers who once considered Dalamase home.

Nick has a few more dolls in the dev oven, so prepare yourselves for a bit of heartstring tuggin' and eye mistin' comin' your way when you see these in-game.

You've. Been. Warned!

Level Design

Tiffany has continued crafting the world of Kristala, putting together one of our cave locations in the blink of an eye!

An eerie light permeates this particular cave, where bits and pieces of civilization can still be found, adding to the overall peculiar air of the cave.

While Tiff strives for strange, Joe aims for a more traditional approach. He’s put together several sub-sections of each demo area, including pathways, landscapes, and any incidental decorations you might stumble upon in-game.

Joe hasn’t added any lighting or effects just yet, but knowing him...it won’t be long before these areas take on the ominous look and feel of the rest of the surroundings.

Animation / Rigging

Allie is still hammering away at our animations, putting together key movements for our protagonist. These include both combat-based simple base movement animations (such as walking, running, limping, and dodging).

Stay tuned to our socials so you don't miss the release of our first teaser trailer, where you'll get to see some of Allie's latest animations in motion.

Menu / UI Design

As the game's Producer, Allie wears many hats when it comes to Kristala.

Check out some of her mockups for the weapon-leveling menu. The mockups help guide Bianca, our Character Modeler (and gifted graphic artist), while designing the finished menus based on Allie's initial concept.

Here are a few mockups to tide you over until you can see the real deal live in-game.

Translation / Marketing

Kristala goes Español! ¡Yupi!

With the addition of Spanish Translation & Marketing Liaison, Alexis (known as Bode around the studio) to the dev team, we’re able to bring the magic of Kristala to a whole new audience!

A central theme of the game itself is unity and togetherness. It’s our hope that even a mere video game (albeit a totally, ridiculously badass one) can help bridge borders and unite like-minded individuals from all walks of life.

Be sure to join the official Kristala Español Fan page on Facebook to check out some of Bode's work.

Welp, that's it for now...another dev blog in the books! As always, if you have any questions, constructive criticism, or general insights, be sure to leave us a comment below.

Until next week...stay creepy, peeps.

Kristala Discord: https://discord.gg/MqBmSTQ
 Kristala Subreddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/kristala