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Environment sketches drawn by Legend of the Time Star’s Lead Artist, Dudu Torres
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DEVELOPER DIARY 4: THE WORLD OF LEGEND OF THE TIME STAR
The Fortress City of Foghold is the world’s crown jewel. Nestled between The Northern Range and the plentiful land of Ardvale Fields, Foghold is a major center of commerce and the arts, not to mention home of The High King and his legendary Royal Knights. Foghold’s denizens enjoy the highest quality of life out of all the world’s major cities, thanks to its strategic placement that provides an overabundance of resources. It is well-protected and nearly impenetrable thanks to its high walls and few points of entry. It casts an unmistakable profile against the the sky, both inspiring and imposing at once.
The World of Time Star
In Legend of the Time Star,you’ll explore a vast and exciting world teeming with life and adventure. Whether you’re deep in Bolgard Grotto searching for a lost treasure, or scaling the snowy peaks of the Northern Ridge on the tail of a dangerous creature threatening a nearby town, you’ll encounter a wide range of beautifully rendered environments full of mysteries for you to uncover. In today’s developer diary, we’ll reveal some of the locations in Legend of the Time Star for the first time, in addition to explaining the linear/free-roam aspects of the game. Excited? You should be! Read on!
Linear + Free Roam
Cross section of game progression / environment map
Legend of the Time Star has both linear and non-linear aspects, like many of its inspirations. The chart above helps break it down; the red line that runs vertically through Hyder’s Wood, the game’s first major town, and Fresh River Ridge denotes the story path. This is the general direction the narrative will guide the player in as they advance through the game’s main story arc.
Towns are the largest on the chart for a reason. They’re the player’s safe zones; here, the player can sleep/recover at the Tavern, modify their equipment at the Forge, buy items at shops, and get medical attention if they so require it. Players will also find a wide range of unique characters to interact with in each town, some of which trigger side-stories, which are smaller story arcs that provide additional content to those who wish to leave no stone unturned. In addition to providing the player with great rewards, side-stories also shed more light on the world of Time Star and those that reside in it. Each town provides side-stories tied to the areas around it; in the chart above, for example, the player will find side-stories tied to Bolgard Grotto, Hyder’s Wood, the Crash Site, and Fresh River Ridge. The game’s main dungeons – ones that the player must beat to advance the story – are usually tied to the nearest town, and located in one of the main areas it services.
Each offshoot in the chart above is a unique environment with its own enemies and additional side-stories separate from the ones provided in town, meaning the player doesn’t need to rely solely on towns to stumble upon things to do. Players don’t need a reason to go to a location, just the means to do so (whether that’s a unique ability or simply advancing the story). Once they’ve got access to a locaton, they can go there whenever they please - whether it’s to hunt a rare creature, discover an unexplored dungeon, or simply see what the area has to offer.
For this reason, Time Star is both linear and free-roam. The player doesn’t have to advance the story until they’re ready; if they want, they can spend hours clearing all of the side-content available to them at their juncture in the narrative before moving on. On the other hand, if a player’s simply interested in completing the main story of Time Star, that’s fine too. It all depends on your playstyle and what you want to get out of the game.
Bolgard Grotto is nestled deep within Hyder’s Wood, accessed via an abandoned mine that runs beneath the southeastern edge of the forest. While it houses many rare resources, its large, twisting caverns are also home to many dangerous creatures. The deeper one goes, the greater the risks – and rewards. It’s even said that a complex catacomb exists somewhere within its reaches.
Side Dungeons
In addition to main dungeons that are part of the game’s core narrative, there are also unexplored and unlisted dungeons for the user to uncover. These dungeons range wildly in size and goal; some dungeons might be a single room containing a fiery battle against hordes of enemies, while others might be a half-hour long dungeon crawl capped off with a unique boss and loot.
There are two ways to discover these side dungeons; one is to purchase Dungeon Maps from a vendor in town, which marks the dungeon’s location on your map. The other? To stumble upon the dungeon yourself.
No place on the planet is quite like the Doldrums. This damp, dangerous swampland stretches for countless miles in many directions; to go in without a map is considered suicide. This is likely the reason that humans without hope have been coming here for centuries to ‘give themselves’ to the swamp, allowing themselves to waste away within its confines. Those that do so rise as Fungal Drudgers; depressed, moaning beings controlled by a mysterious and woeful life force. These lifeless husks used to spend their days staring at the skies and wailing, keeping to themselves. They were considered harmless until the Crash filled them with a mindless rage that has turned them into vicious monsters.
How Big is the Game?
Time Star will contain roughly half a dozen towns along its main arc, with each one servicing a handful of surrounding locations in addition to one or more major dungeons. This works out to approximately 36 different unique environments to explore, full of exciting adventures to undertake!
Long abandoned, the Ruins of Gom reside in an arid canyon of the same name. Foghold’s archives describe Gom as an ancient warrior that once ruled the desert alongside his army of Claymen - humanoid creatures borne of special clay pits unique to the region. No one has seen a sign of the Claymen for centuries – however, if they exist, it’s said that they do so within the walls of these ruins. Rumor also has it that Gom’s amulet, the supposed source of his power over the Claymen, is buried here along with the warrior’s lost remains.
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The End
That’s the end of today’s update – with each day we’re a step closer to revealing the gameplay video. This is not the last diary regarding the game world – we’ll be revealing more locations and information in upcoming diaries! Stay tuned.
-AM
Want this game to become a reality? We need the support of the gaming community to make Legend of the Time Star happen. Back to our Kickstarter today!
