Prophet Moon is an amalgamation of many types of game, but at its heart is a Turn-Based, Tactical RPG in which the player controls a small band of heroes lead by the enigmatic Star Child, against a suite of otherworldly foes. There are, however, a number of twists on the formula which make Prophet Moon Unique.
Roguelike Progression & Randomization
The experience of playing Prophet Moon is made up of bite sized “Campaigns” which can usually be completed in a single sitting. Each Campaign is made unique by extensive randomization: enemies, items, levels, allies and more are chosen at random at the start of each Campaign. Overall progression is achieved between Campaigns by unlocking new elements to be added to the random pools, to be found in subsequent Campaigns. For example, completing a quest might allow a new ally to appear in future campaigns, while defeating a boss might add a deadly new enemy to the roster.
Physics, Craziness & Emergent Gameplay
The items and environments in Prophet Moon can have wild & unpredictable effects, launching friend and foe alike as well as altering the environment in interesting ways. Victory will often be determined by how well the player can capitalize on the chaos and quickly adapt when their strategy is disrupted. Combined with the heavy randomization and a nuanced and characterful AI, this leads to Emergent Gameplay – a totally unique experience from Campaign to Campaign.
Difficulty & Death
In the course of a Campaign, if an ally dies – that’s it – they are gone for the remainder of the Campaign and the Star Child grows in power to compensate for the loss. However, if the Star Child dies, the game is over. Propet Moon is deadly by default, and the player is expected to learn through repeated failure. There is no difficulty selector, instead the game automatically adjusts its difficulty according to the player’s performance, introducing harder content as the player succeeds, and helpful content as the player struggles. For instance if a player dies to a fire breathing dragon, items that deal more damage to dragons, or that resist fire, might be added to the random pool in future Campaigns, whereas beating the dragon might unlock a more lethal version.
Narrative Fusion of Plot and Gameplay
Prophet Moon takes place in the infinite world of Horizon, a world so unimaginably vast that all possible words are contained within. It is said that if one were to sail forever, one might find a land identical to one’s home, save for a version of oneself who hadn’t made the journey. In each Campaign, the player controls a different aspect of the StarChild, in a different part of the world, so that each playthrough, regardless of success or failure, forms a “Cannon” part of the ongoing story. What sets the StarChild apart from the countless other souls echoing across Horizon is their uniquely intertwined fate – the thoughts and deeds of one StarChild subtly affect all others, regardless of distance. As the player guides various StarChildren on their adventures, they will gradually unravel the mysteries of this strange bond, its terrifying origins, its cosmic significance, and its dreadful ultimate purpose.
How it Started
When I was first learning to program I kept to the old adage: stick to simple goals or get discouraged. However, once I had a solid grasp of the basics, realistic program goals started to get boring. I still wanted to learn, but until I was a master, I wanted to program for its own sake, without hope or anxiety for the finished product. I decided to throw caution to the wind and start working on something impossibly complex and ambitious for my skill level. To that end I tried to imagine my perfect game, a fusion of all my favorite gameplay elements, unconcerned with the realities of development. Enter Prophet Moon – with a plot and setting based on a story I am working on by the same name, I started work on an impossible project, to hone my skills and keep the distant dream close in mind.
How it’s Going
Pretty well! Or so I’d like to think. As I had hoped, the challenge and motivation that came from working on a dream project was a tremendous help in advancing my skills as a programmer, and despite my misgivings, Prophet Moon is gradually coming to fruition. Currently, most important gameplay systems are in place and much of the work that remains is content generation – art, level design, and the like. because of this, and due to technical limitations, the project is being shelved temporarily until I have more time and resources to allocate to its development.
Strange Times 