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Official Clockwork Rune Announcement Thread

jonbonazza

Android Expert
Jul 13, 2010
1,930
457
This is essentially a continuation of THIS thread. Now that we have actually begun development of the game, I thought that it would be best to create a new thread along with it. We will use this thread to continually update everyone on the status of the game (which is coming along nicely I might add!).

If you have any questions or suggestions (or both) let us know either here or via our website!

-Jon
 
Update:

1) I know that we stated in the final post of the old thread that we had a video of the main menu prototype, however we decided that we would be better off re-recording it with a screen capturing software instead of a camera. With that said, we are having some framerate issues with Fraps that we are trying to resolve. Hopefully we will have a video out sometime this week.

2) Staying off topic a bit, we are happy to announce that Derek, Co-Founder of Bonafide and lead UI designer of CR, has taken it upon himself to completely redesign the website. We decided to stray from the blog approach and go with an entirely custom website. Furthermore, we are also working on implementing some forums. Currently, the forums are installed on the server (we went with phpBB3), however no links are present because Derek is also hard at work redesigning the look and feel of those as well.

3) I have had a lot of questions as to what to expect as far as features go from this game, and how it will differ from pocket legends. Let me elaborate here for everyone so that it is clear:

Let me first do some comparison between CR and PL.

First off, I can, in fact, say that the graphics will, hopefully, be much higher than pocket legends. Because we will also be releasing this title on a plethora of other platforms--including the PC, PS3 (Most likely the PSN Store, in which case PSP may be a viable option as well), XBOX 360 (Again, most likely the online market, in this case, XLA), and, if we can get our hands on a few Mac computers, Mac and iOS--we want the graphics to be as high as possible in order to appeal to the players on the more "capable" platforms. With that said, finding the "happy medium" between high-end and mid-end graphics that allow for fast rendering on all of the aforementioned platforms will be quite challenging--or at least I am assuming so.

Another thing I can say in regards to comparison between the two titles is that, unlike Pocket Legends, which takes a more "rated everyone" approach, this game will be geared more towards the mature crowd. Gore, language, and nudity will most likley not be filtered out, as our story is a rather dark and gloomy one, and the cutting of such effects would only hinder the portrayal of the images we wish to convey.

In regards to the gameplay, the movement system will be quite similar to that of Pocket Legends. Due to the implementations of touch devices, and the lack of screen real-estate on the same devices and more, the use of a D-pad overlay was not considered. With that said, the best approach that we could find that would enable smooth movement on all platforms, while not reducing the mobile crowd to physical-keyboards, was the implementation of the click-to-travel system. Pocket Legends utilizes this same approach. The only exception to this would be the console variations (PS3/XBOX360) in which case the controller will be used for movement (Although a USB mouse may along with the click-to-travel system may be included as an option for these devices. We are still unsure as of right now).

The skills and magic that are used in the game are performed in an entirely new and innovative way, however. Instead of the traditional buttons located on the HUD, for the Android, PC, and Mac/iOS (if made available), gestures will become the method of delivery. For example, you set the particular skills or spell to a specific gesture, then to perform the action, you first click a gesture icon at the lower left- or right-hand corner of the game screen to open the gester overlay with which you can perform any skill/spell you wish by simply making one of the gestures you registered. This approach will cater heavily to the mobile crown, but could prove very efficient on the desktop/laptop and console crowds as well. Obviously, because the consols do not have mice or touch capabilities (unless a USB mouse is used), we are going to attempt to make use of the rotational capabilities of the joysticks in order to perform the skills/spells, so it is a similar approach as the touch/mouse gestures.

I am not sure of the features that are available on Pocket Legends, however I can assure you that there will be tons of things to do in the world of CR. Such past-times include, but are not limited to:

1) Crafts - Crafting will be presented in a sort of mini-game. Rather than letting crafting become the boring, grind-fest that it has become in various other MMORPGS, we have decided to make crafting more fun. Crafting will become a gesture-based mini-game that will prove to be a very entertaining past-time, thus giving mobile players something to do even when not granted the amount of time that they would like.

2) Houses - Although a few other games have implemented personal houses or "storage spaces" for players, not one has done so to the degree that we hope to achieve. In CR, players will be able to purchase (or perhaps quest) a "Housing Flag". these flags will be able to be placed anywhere in the world, aside from cities. In other words, you could place a houseing flag in the woods, on the beach, or in the snowy peaks of the mountains. Once a housing flag is placed, a moderated will be required to "Verify" the location of the house in order before building can commence. Once the house has been verified, the player that requested the location will receive a PM letting him/her know that the house is ready to be built. Once this PM is recieved, the player will need to gather resources such as stones, wood, nails (crafted from iron), etc.. to actually build the house. Once built, it will be possible to expand and even decorate the interior and exterior of the house to suit the needs and wants of the particular player. Due to the potential overpopulation of houses, we have decided to make the houses deteriorate over time. What this means is that houses will, in a sense, have their own health. Players who wish to maintain a house will be required to repair the house on a regular basis in order to keep the houses HP up. If a houses HP falls to zero, the house will be destroyed, and the property will become up for grabs again.

3) Gathering - As stated above, the construction of houses requires various resources. Because of this, CR required a method of gathering these resources. The idea that we came up with was that the player would interact with the "sources" of these resources. For example, a player uses an axe to actually cut down a tree, or use a pick-axe to mine stone and iron in a cavern, and so on. This is another thing that can be easily accessed on the go and be accomplished in small amounts of time. We also would like to add animations to the falling of trees, crushing of rocks, etc... that would further enhance the user's experience.

4) End game - Although the specifics are still uncertain, we can guarantee that there will be a very effective and entertaining end game available for players to partake in at the end of their journeys.

5) Class-Switching - Because we know that playing one class all of the time, can become quite boring, we have implemented a means for characters to instantly switch back-and forth between unlocked classes (at no cost). Specific skills and stats for each class would of course be saved. Furthermore, there are various common skills and stats that all classes share. These stats will not be altered when changing classes giving players a solid foundation to build upon, no matter what class that they are at the time. With that said, in order to prevent the creation of "noob-tanks" or over-powered low-levels, caps will be placed on all stats on a per-level basis.

6) A real story - Unlike games such as WoW and LoTR, we wanted CR to feel less like a grind fest and more like a real RPG. Because of this, we implemented a Mission system. Missions are like quests, except that there are only 40 or so missions in the original game (more will be added with expansions) and each mission is very long. For example, where an easy quest might take 10 min to complete, a simple mission would require a few hours. This is not to say that all quests will be short either, as some will be even longer than the average mission, but on average, missions are much, much longer and even tougher. Another thing to mention about missions is that, unlike quests which are random request with no relevance to the actual story, missions are directly related to the story. In other words, with each mission completion, more and more of the story will be unlocked (complete with cutscenes ;)).

7) Character customization - We also realize that looking at the same old character can become boring, so we decided to add a little fun to this area as well. Not only can you customize the look of your avatar upon creation, but you can also change certain features such as hairstyles and tattoos in their respective shops. Of course these events would require currency, but it enables players to change the look of their characters whenever they want!

These are only some of the things that will be available in CR. Keep in mind that all of this may not be available at release, but over time, we plan to add all of the above mentioned and more!
 
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One more update for today that I thought should have it's own post.. Concept art!

Here are a few of the pieces that we have decided to release to the public:

Magi Court (Interior)
Magi_Court_Concept_Interior.png


UnderRoot Shine
UnderRoot_Wards-Shrine.png


UnderRoot Chasm
Underroot_Chasm_Concept.png


UnderRoot (Facing Tunnel)
UnderRoot_Wards-Facing_Tunnel.png


UnderRoot Shrine (Inside)
UnderRoot_Wards-Shrine_Inside.png
 
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Update:
We were finally able to resolve the FPS issues with Fraps. You know what that means! The first prototype main menu video is out!

You can check it out on our youtube channel here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Aembumv98s


Don't forget to subscribe to the channel for future videos!


EDIT: It was brought to our attention that Youtube had messed up the audio track on the video upon upload. This has been fixed, and the link in this post has been updated.
 
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First off I would like to thank all who are working on this project. Android really needs some more good games but this one sounds like a great one. I know how challenging life can be and how long it takes to get a good quality game out. I wish you all the best of luck to endure hard times and make your dream a reality. From what I have read so far it sounds like you and your team are focussed and are bringing your A game. I do have a couple of suggestions I would like to see added in. I like the class line up you have but I would love to see a couple of extras in if not at realease later on. Conjurer, Druid,shaman, and maybe a hunter class type that can tame wild animals as pets. As far as payments to play I would rather a 1 time fee even if it were substantial then a monthly fee but if you decide on that route I would hope you would allow the option to pay a month or a year at a time. The game sounds great and I will definitely check it out when the time comes. Thanks for all your hard work in advance!
 
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I had a chance to see your prototype log in screen on YouTube and I like it. One suggestion for future expansions is to change the zone to a new one in the expansion for a little eye candy. It's not a big deal but it would be kind of cool for folks that have been playing awhile. I love how you are involving the community for ideas and being open minded. It's a great way to make a lot of folks happy. You can't win em all but it's a great way to show your company truly cares about it's future customers and that's awesome! Keep up the good work.
 
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First off I would like to thank all who are working on this project. Android really needs some more good games but this one sounds like a great one. I know how challenging life can be and how long it takes to get a good quality game out. I wish you all the best of luck to endure hard times and make your dream a reality. From what I have read so far it sounds like you and your team are focussed and are bringing your A game. I do have a couple of suggestions I would like to see added in. I like the class line up you have but I would love to see a couple of extras in if not at realease later on. Conjurer, Druid,shaman, and maybe a hunter class type that can tame wild animals as pets. As far as payments to play I would rather a 1 time fee even if it were substantial then a monthly fee but if you decide on that route I would hope you would allow the option to pay a month or a year at a time. The game sounds great and I will definitely check it out when the time comes. Thanks for all your hard work in advance!

Thanks for the kind words! There will definitely be more classes as time goes on, but we can't comment on what these will or will not be as of now. A payment scheme has been decided but all that I will say is that I don't think you will be disappointed.


I had a chance to see your prototype log in screen on YouTube and I like it. One suggestion for future expansions is to change the zone to a new one in the expansion for a little eye candy. It's not a big deal but it would be kind of cool for folks that have been playing awhile. I love how you are involving the community for ideas and being open minded. It's a great way to make a lot of folks happy. You can't win em all but it's a great way to show your company truly cares about it's future customers and that's awesome! Keep up the good work.

Hey, thanks! As far as the background zone, it will randomly switch zones every so often to a new one. The list of zones that it chooses from will only contain zones from the latest expansion.
 
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I think this game has alot to live up to :D, think everyone is expecting something spectacular and i hope it is. I would love to be able to have a game of this standard on my phone.

Are you developing the game for all platforms at once? Or will it be released on one platform before another and if so which will come first?

Also in the future if you need any Beta testers for PC, PS3 or phone add me to the list :D
 
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I think this game has alot to live up to :D, think everyone is expecting something spectacular and i hope it is. I would love to be able to have a game of this standard on my phone.

Are you developing the game for all platforms at once? Or will it be released on one platform before another and if so which will come first?

Also in the future if you need any Beta testers for PC, PS3 or phone add me to the list :D

As of right now, we are planning to release the PC/Mac and Android versions at the same time. The console versions would come later.
 
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Love it.... can't wait to check it out. Do you still need testers? Or perhaps employees?? I would love to be able to check the game out.

Is there going to be a free version as well?? I think that's a great idea.... that way those people that are not sure about buying it they will be because they will love the demo and want more.

:-D
 
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I love watching a new company develop. This sounds awesome and the screen shots look great! I love how its not going to be a more family friendly thing. Android needs more devs like you! Just shoot me a message ifyou need beta testers. I have an HTC evo and Samsung epic. Will be following this
 
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Love it.... can't wait to check it out. Do you still need testers? Or perhaps employees?? I would love to be able to check the game out.

Is there going to be a free version as well?? I think that's a great idea.... that way those people that are not sure about buying it they will be because they will love the demo and want more.

:-D

We have not yet released a build of the game, however, you can expect the first Alpha release sometime early February.

The pricing of the game is still not entirely decided and we cannot yet comment on the little we have decided, sorry.
 
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First trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgIL_roBWy4
Shows off some of the art that goes into our game.
More, updated screenshots coming shortly!
That's not really a trailer, it's more art. It looks good, but...not really what we were expecting.

And can you please, PLEASE fix the screen shots in your second post? They're stretching my browser window (and I'm sure I'm not the only one).
 
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perhaps trailer was not the best choice of wording. We were simply trying to show off the artwork that goes into the game. At any rate, maybe these newer screenshots will help you forgive us:

cr2011011714445844scale.jpg


cr2011011714451504scale.jpg


cr2011011714453121scale.jpg


cr2011011714454265scale.jpg



[NOTE: I can't make the images too small as the whole point of screenshots is to be able to view the detail.]
 
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