This is a game I was working on way back in 2007. I only spent a few weeks on it before I abandoned it to be the director of another project team. This is mostly just copy/paste of the public-facing info I had. But, I've also added a bit, including some videos I was working on for the sequel (I'll post the vids in a new thread). This was intended to be a duology - Chimera's Dream would be the prequel to Death of Feros (with around a thousand years in between the events of the two games).

I'd like to revive this project. I have the Kupid project that I'm working on, of course, and that will take precedence to this game for the time being.

CD takes the focus away from battle, and instead puts it on stealth, subterfuge, and cunning. If you want to, you could just charge into an enemy stronghold and burn it to the ground; but it might be more wise to use scout the location, gather intel, and use what you've learned (along with your command over Essence) to engineer an "accidental" explosion. After all, this is a secret mission, so staying undercover will help you out down the line.

Any comments, questions, or suggestions, please feel free to post. It might just give me the incentive I need to get going again.





Feria, a green and fertile planet in the darkest depths of the universe. It straddles the bridge between the realm of the gods and that of mortal man, or so legends say. Those who inhabited this world in the elder days had many different faiths, but one such faith sought to endure the ages by wiping away all others - the Order of Feros.

The Order, as it was before these ambitions, however, was peaceful and benevolent. They worshiped the spirit of Feria, Feros; nature was their temple and they had love for all. But, the two factions began to quarrel as their numbers diminished. Soon enough, the Order was divided against itself. The darkness within their own hearts, once held at bay by the light of brotherhood, consumed them.

Now, at the dawn of a new age, 53 years after the Great Summit, the world is changing.


Click for larger map.



You are Seld, an elite warrior charged with a secret task by the Order of Minos. You lead three other members of your squad on a search for an underground group of iconoclasts calling themselves the Beatics. But this is not a mission given simply because the Beatics oppose the Minoc faith - these rebels are kidnapping people and performing twisted experiments on their bodies and souls.

You must go undercover and discreetly seek contacts which will lead your group to the three Beatics lords: Healvar, Cealvar, and the powerful Lord Socinar.

As a Minoc, you are trained in the arts of Essence wielding; namely, the powers of destruction. Your compatriots each posses useful skills which will come in handy throughout your search. But, Beatics have strong defenses, so confrontation is not advised - however, if you must, the best weapon is not your immolating fireball, but your mind.

On your quest you will travel from the Minoc citadel of Dysmin across the great sea to the New World where a grand megalopolis is being built, and the Beatics are trying to gain a foothold.

Can you covertly gather clues and information as to the whereabouts of the rebel leaders? What secrets will you uncover? Can you destroy the Beatic infrastructure? And survive killing the three lords? When you discover the ultimate truth, will you even want to?

• Stealth & Espionage elements
• Hidden codes which will unlock new features and hidden pages of a companion website.
• Item Synthesis which is not limited to a specific location (no need to find a smith for a new sword - using your command over Essence will allow you to produce one from out of thin air).

Introduction Narration Text

Spoken by a cloaked and hidden figure at the beginning of the game:

In the elder days, now, long forgotten, the unified Order of Feros reached its pinnacle. Over many hundreds of years, the Order spread across the continent of Discon and gained thousands of followers. But, in the wake of a plague, pagan gods rose. Between the two sects of Feros, the Beatics, and the Minocs, tension began to build as the Order fell into decline. Each side had plenty of blame to place on the other, blame which evolved into prejudice and hatred.

Fearing a rift that would divide and destroy Feros, the elders of the governing council came up with a plan which would end the conflict and reunite Minos and Beos in brotherhood. However, the Lords of the two sects saw only a threat, their minds long poisoned against ideas of peace and unity with each other. The Minoc Lords were further corrupted by greed, and the Beatic Lords developed a dark ambition which would one day seal the fate of humanity.

But, my tale begins here, at the great summit in the valley of Raeo, more than a thousand years ago. This is where the elders declared war against the pagan gods, where they would choose to wield the weapons of the enemy, and forsake the very foundation of their religion.

This is where I was born, for you. This is where I died, for you. And where I will die again, for you.


Excerpt From the Great Summit

Elder1:

Fellow members of the Grand Council of Feros, we convene here this day to discuss the looming doom of our order. The plague which has swept our lands decimated the faith of our followers. Lines of trade have been broken, and the Commonwealth has retreated to its lands, barring the entry of all those beyond its walls. Famine and death taken its toll on our order. What is troubling more than all, is the resurgence pagan worship.

And let us not forget the troubles within our order; the discourse and anger. But, there is yet hope.

We have learned recently that there is a land beyond the great sea; it is said to be just as green and fertile as this: our sacred valley. Beyond the crashing waves, beyond the black sands of Silic, this land calls to us; for in this place there are many who are in need of salvation.

These people of this new land called Tisil have forsaken all gods and worship none but themselves. This revelation is the divinity of Feros! We shall come together as we once were, as brothers and sisters, and bring salvation to the heathens!

The time has come for the rise of our order, once again. Let us tackle this challenge, let us heal sick of this land, and save the souls of the poor godless heathens of Tisil!

The elders have decided: Our Beatic brothers will build great temples throughout the world, so that all may behold the splendor of Feros. And let the children of Minos write new texts and establish new traditions and rituals to enlighten our minds and souls.

Together, we will lay the foundations of brotherhood and unite all under the divine Feros. Minos and Beos, do not quarrel! Show to the world your joy and love for your gods!

So have the elders decided.

Minoc1:

This is madness! Are we to abandon all that we hold dear? The texts and traditions are sacred!

Elder3:

That of which you speak was handed down to us by our ancestors. Our texts were written by man, not god. These new texts which will be written shall be held with equal esteem and honor! Our rituals, again, were defined by those who came before us. And so it will be that our children practice those rituals created for this new age that is upon us!

Elder2:

This change which we have elected is for the good of all.

Beatic1:

You claim that this change is for good? You would have us eradicate the pagans not through our conviction but through compromise and succession! Always have we worshiped the divine in this world, this land, they have created for us. As I speak, we are convened not in an opulent temple of the heathens but in the glorious and divine of nature!

Minoc2:

You all seem to be forgetting that without change this land will fall into ruin. Once we are gone, who will protect these sacred places? Who will preach the word of Feros?

Minoc3:

Our order will not last the century if we do not alter our thinking. Temples and texts which are widely available and appealing to the common man are the only way we can overcome this crisis.

Beatic2:

This path cannot lead to anything but despair. Abandoning all that separates us from the heathens will...

Elder1:

Enough! This matter is not open to discussion. The elder council has watched over the Order for hundreds of years, not once have we led it astray. In these changing times we must adapt or die. Then, what honor would we have? What would be thought of us if we gave up? If we saw this hurdle and laid down before it, in defeat? No, we will continue on.

I'll give a more thorough response as to my opinions and critiques later, but for now I just have to say that this makes me feel...godly. Though I have to say I winced at the title Death of Feros.

XP I'm sure it's all coincidence, but it made me chuckle.

I like the sound of it so far. I can tell you've thought a lot about the mythology of the world. The game can only benifit from that. It's deffinetly worth starting back up after your RPG Maker 1 keyboard project is settled. And I really like the headings. It makes the thread stand out. Consider me interested in this project.

You have no idea. Like I mentioned in another thread, I've basically been thinking about this world on and off for ten years - I've done a lot of development on the mythological aspect. Of course, for the sequel especially, the mechanics of magic (i.e. "Essence") are very important. The path of souls through the afterlife, the identities and motivations of the gods, the history of the people, etc.

There's also an invented language (it's actually very similar to the way Al Bhed works as far as letter substitution goes, but it's written much differently than english). I even took the invented language and made a computer font so I could type in it.

Thanks for the feedback.

I'm actually quite interested in what you've got here. It all look great to me.

My main hurdle with this is the scripting. I need to script several custom systems, not the least of which is the item-synthesis system.

Item synthesis in this world works like this - those who can wield Essence (i.e. magic) can shape and condense Essence to form objects. Your success in doing this depends on your skills in the art, your knowledge of the structure of objects (which can increase by examining objects, or by reading books about specific objects), your education (i.e. your understanding of Essence Synthesis Theory), item templates (specially constructed items through which you can channel essence to create basic or special items), and attribute templates (see below).

With Attribute Templates, like item templates, you channel essence through these - but rather than directly resulting in the creation of an item, these templates influence the attribute of the the created item.

For example - you start the game with basic synthesis knowledge but no equipment (it is a stealth mission, and all equipment you need must be acquired and discarded as you go along - think MGS). You eventually get to a point where you need a sword, so you use your command over Essence Synthesis to create one out of thin air. Now, with only the basic, start-of-game, knowledge you have, the sword you create is really simple.

But, if you have an Attribute Template (which, may only be as large as a small coin, and is thus easily hidden, and is reusable), you can first feed the Essence stream through the template as you create the sword. Depending on the kind of AT, different effects will manifest in the sword. If you use a Flame Template, your sword will possess a fire attribute, for example. Different ATs might be fire, lightening, ice, poison, etc.

Similar mechanics apply to armour, shields, and restorative items. Fire template and a potion? Burn Healing Tincture. Darkness template and a helmet? Blind-proof cowl. And so on.

Item synthesis is not just going to be superfluous either. It will be a vital component - if you elect to take the brains over brawn path. By reading books, making contacts with black-market template suppliers, and researching & examining things in the world (big and small), you increase your ES repertoire. Need to take down a building, but an explosion is too high profile? Then use your knowledge of poison synthesis, architecture, and an attribute template, to create a powerful acid to eat away at key elements in the support structure.

In the environment there may be templates of varying kinds that are hidden or a part of the natural world. You might find that natural objects like trees and rocks can be used as templates, or that old ruins and statues have interesting properties when Essence is channeled through them.

Since equipment needs to be discarded regularly (you can't walk into town heavily armed and hope to stay low >_>), you're going to have to keep a look out for opportunities to use the environment to your advantage, and stopping to read a few books now and again wouldn't be a bad idea.

Yes, this is ambitious. Which is why I really need to learn scripting to make it all possible. Chimera's Dream is only the prequel - Death of Feros is the really big game, so however ambitious this may be, DoF is doubly so.

If/Once I do start working on this again, I may have to end up scaling down the feature-set. But what's so appealing about the scripting system is that basically anything is possible.

That sounds like something that should have already been done by now... really great ideas you got.