Maestro

Employees only! This is a screenshot of my previous project, Mystic Saga III, which I don't want to elaborate much upon. It was back in my "plot must b br00tul serius" phase. Hence, this game is a shining example of my current belief that every good story needs some comic relief... not a little like this game, not a lot so that it's no longer serious, but a moderate amount so that both the seriousness and comedy complement each other nicely. This is probably the only bit of comedy relief in the entire game... it's that lacking. It's also my only game where you can fight me as an optional superboss.

Your typical evil Mario ROM hack

This is what the very first town you visit in Stromm looks like so far, in event editor mode. It's not done yet! I'm trying to give each nation in Tangents its own distinct feel. The first nation you visit, Saskaor, is sort of a mishmash of different towns, since each one was its own independent kingdom at one point in time before uniting to pool their resources together. Each new town you go to as you progress towards the end of chapter 1 has this looming sense of something wrong taking place. Neloddar, the first nation you see in chapter 2, is a raw, unexplored land. Although towns dot the continent, they do not have very many connections between them. Scorching heat and tectonic activity plague all but the northern tip of the nation, which has allowed criminals to prosper. Ogal is a mighty empire to the east. I aimed to give it a calmer, more serene vibe, and made it look somewhat Japanese. Although it's allied with Neloddar against Saskaor in chapter 2, one can still ride a ferry over to Saskaor from Ogal. It's in Ogal that an important decision is made: go to Saskaor, or go to Stromm. Stromm is the largest nation, and is supposed to be like a Russia-sized Scandinavia, if you will. It's the largest out of the four nations introduced in the first two chapters, and the coldest. When walking around here on the world map, thanks to the Weather Dominator script, snow will fall quite often. Although I've never been to Scandinavia (I really want to go though!), I always think of pretty-looking towns in the cold where the people are hospitable and look out for each other. The same could be said for Canada, but certainly not this part I live in. Too hot in the summer, not enough snow in the winter, too many tourists, blah blah blah.

Is that even physically possible? Let's say it is.

This cutscene is nicely put together, if I do say so myself. The girl in the blue, Eva, is about to go back to her and Duke's (the guy on the right) homeland: Saskaor. Things have changed since they were last there, and it's a lot more dangerous as of this point in the game. Duke, however, decided to go to another nation, which leads Eva to think this is the last time they'll see each other. These two, contrary to what's depicted in the picture, aren't lovebirds; but, they have known each other since they were little. Also worth noting, my sprite art is getting pretty good. Still can't make a sprite from scratch, but I'm getting better at making custom poses.

So this is one of the choices you have to make towards the end of chapter 2 in Tangents. While many choices made may not play a major role in the plot for some time, this one does, and it'll show in chapter 3 and beyond. The scene in which you make this decision took two hours to make, from beginning to end. Yaaaaaaay lousy phone screenshots!