The Last Kingdom - Blogger Update 24

 Hey, everyone! Going to keep this one short, so that I meet me sort of deadline here, and get back to work. I've been up to finishing up the final story based quests. I am currently still working on the Raven's Ridge portion of these quests, but should be done with these shortly. From there I'll be moving to the Rockshore Hollow end-stage quests. Alongside this, I've been edging in the visual novel function into the game. It's a little tougher than it looks to add into RPG Maker, but once you get the hang, you only need to worry about the time it takes to implement. I want the lines here to feel true to the characters, and their actions, but be fun and goofy in some situations. Lastly, I have more H-art on the way, because what is an H-game, without any H! I am still looking for artists, if any of you want to collaborate on my project! 

Anyways, once again- thanks again for stopping by and checking out this update! I'll see you guys again at the next one! And when I make VERY sporadic Twitter/X posts! Talk to ya later!

Here's a small look at one of my Visual Novel scenes (SFW). More to be posted on Twitter/X!

Project Ebonlight (@EbonlightGame) / X (twitter.com)

The Last Kingdom - Blogger Update 23

 Hey everyone! It's been a busy 3 months since my last update, and I still haven't gotten any better at posting updates. I should really find some help on the social media side. Anyways- a lot has happened and been completed since the last time I updated here, and I will separate the updates by section, as I do in my SourceForge updates. Now- let me get into it!

Progression: The game has progressed finely since the last update. The game can be played from beginning to a bit after the start of the 3rd act. I am currently in the works of adding the late stage quests, and implementing interesting map design, side events, minigames, and puzzles to aid and enjoy along your journey. Progress has been moving swimmingly, but as with most things- it takes time. I have also been working on implementing some of the enemy and boss battling. They are not exactly balanced- yet, but that part comes later. The battles have to work- AT LEAST!

Art: I am working on the comic book, which is coming closer to a stage where I can present somethings. About half of the book is lined, but there are more pages left to be worked on. In terms of in-game art, progress still flows as it has.

As for the state of other things,look at howw time is flying by! 3 and a half months through the year, meaning we literally only have 8 and a half left. Sounds like a long time, but in 2 weeks, it will be May. It's just insanely wild, and time is flying, and I can't wait for Halloween, again! Anyways- Thanks for dropping by to check out my update, and I will be back with another update soon(er than you think)!

The Last Kingdom - Blogger Update 22

 Happy New Year, everyone! With every new update, there are all sorts of updates to be found. I have implemented the entirety of the Windermagne goblin cave portion of the game, and here the game really opens up to the player. Once completed in this area, the player is return home, with the experience gained, and a whole northern region open for exploration. I am excited to get into that area, and fill the story for us even further!

New art has been in the works, as well as new characters and characterizations. The shortstack goblin who I mentioned in a few updates over on SourceForge, has now been given a name and a backstory to her place in the game. I have also created a couple of groups that will aid the story; the Sisters of Starfall and the Bazaar du Arcana Mystique! Besides these things, the daily grind moves on. I constantly add new details to our world, and make additions and changes to the way the story progresses. 

Thank you for following Project Ebonlight, and I'll see you at the next update!

The Last Kingdom - Blogger Update 21

Hello again, everyone!

As one more half week comes and- will go... so comes another update! This update is significantly larger than last week, as over these past two weeks, a lot has been done and is being done. I have made great strides in completing the Windermagne Stronghold section of the game, sounding that the end of Act 2 is upon us. There have been a few changes to this portion of the game, but it does still roll as it does. Aside from progression and gameplay, there are changes to art, and other deals.

More art is in progress. Art for the introduction; art to be encountered in game, character reference sheets, character sideview animations, and tileset art. I will add a few pieces to the end of this update. I am also pretty excited to say that the first comic book of our "Project Ebonlight Stories" series, and soon I'll be posting the pages to Twitter. All I can say is these are probably the most in depth and time consuming portions of the game design. Time really flies.

Anyways, for the short, that is the update of these past week. I hope that you feel the same excitement, that I do, and soon you will see what we have! Thank you for being here, once again! See you for the next update!

Pollina Battler Pose

WIP

Saa'veedra Alternate Skin (2)

The Last Kingdom - Blogger Update 20

 Hey, everyone! Hope you all had an awesome Halloween, and first of November! This year has passed by exceedingly quickly, and for that... another month is upon us. Now, straight into business.

These past couple of months, I have been working on implementing new dialog, scenes, and quests for the player to experience in the Windermagne Stronghold portion of the game. This process had slowed down over the past months due to a project I have been working on for my job, but now that it is complete, process will be back to normal speed.

I have also been working with a few different artists on character reference sheets, character animations, and illustrations based on the scenes the player will come in contact with. The introductory cutscene is still in progress, and has come to about 45% of its runtime. I am excited to present these things to you.

Besides all of this, things are moving and back in order. There is more on the horizon! Thanks for checking in!

[This is WIP scene from the introduction cutscene.]

The Last Kingdom - Blogger Update 19

 Hey, everyone! How are you all doing this fine Sunday (PST)? I think I say it every update, but this one is no different. Time is really flying, and as it does, the updates keep getting shorter. Again, this update is no different there either.

As this update is short, I'll go over the quick basics of it all. I am working on the complete connection of the Windermagne Stronghold storyline. As some of the dialog has changed, I have to work on making it cohesive with the rest of the storyline here. That part is moving as well as it can, but that is the length of the struggles. Anyways, no matter how short this update is, thank you for checking it out. I'll be back with another update at the end of the month, and hopefully it will be a little more substantial. Thanks, again for being here!

The Last Kingdom - Blogger Update 18

Hey everyone! Here we are again, back with another update! I have come to the conclusion that posts should have some form of content attached to them these days, shouldn't they? So as I have a few times in the past, I will be adding content to posts in the future. Not every post, but more than I have in the past. That being said, on to the actual Update!

To start, I have completed about 15% of the second act (2nd) pass, and I can say it is going well. The story is already available, so I am implementing quests that are related to the player's relationship between the characters, and refining the current dialog spoken between them all.

As for art related details, the creation of the story  introduction is making progress. It is being worked on, illustration by illustration, by one singular artist, who is amazing at what they do. No spoilers for this yet, but I will have a preview for it, sometime soon. 

Anyways, progress seems to be shuffling away, and it will for the next few months. We are close to a point where an early access can be available, and we will stay on the grind until it can. Thanks again for checking out this update, and I'll see you in a few weeks! Also... WIP content...!

WIP screenshot of the Xorania Territory on the Overworld!

Screenshot of a WIP night parallax section of the Xoranian Territory! 

The Last Kingdom - Blogger Update 17

Hey, everyone! Short, but quick update... the development of the second act is in progress. The intro to the act is almost complete. Just a few dialog additions, and event connections are to be done. Basic stuff. Alongside that, the game introductory cutscene is in progress. More is being worked towards it, but I do have something to show for it now. The music and narration has been completed for a while now. I am excited to share it with you soon. Anyways... these weeks have been flying by, and as always, thank you for checking out here, and I'll be back to update soon!

The Last Kingdom - Blogger Update 16

 Hey everyone! It's another 'other' Sunday, and there's another update to be had! As programming moves along, it is a slow stepping process as I move towards ensuring the game is in a 100% playable state. That being said, the 1st act of the game is complete! The game can now be played comfortably, from the start of the game to the end of the 1st act. In progress now is the second act. It will be a solid skeleton at the end of this stage of development.

From there, more art is being put together, and is on the way. Again, art is one of the most time consuming and difficult bits in game development. Ensuring something looks good, and is in a position to present. Alongside the in game scenes, there is a new game logo in the works, as well as a cutscene that will be awesome when it is complete. Stick around, and it'll be presented soon! Thanks again for checking in and I'll be back in a couple of weeks!

The Last Kingdom - Blogger Update 15

Hey everyone! Mid-June already and it feels like time has been flying by! Today is a very short form update, since the last update applies a lot to this week's update. Let's begin!

I have been running through the gameplay progression and timing my playthrough. That's really the gist of everything lately. Every so often, I'll run into an issue where progression is stunted by something that I may have changed later in development, and so from there, I'd cut time, and continue from where I start next. Along with that, I've added a few more character interactions and player choice dialog expansions.

Second to all of this, I have been working on in game art, and putting together the game introduction cutscene. The audio for it has been completed for a while now, but the hard part of the project is getting the art/animations together to bring it together. However, it does seem like it will come together soon!

See, super short form update here... now, I'll see you in a few weeks for our next update! Thanks for tuning in!

The Last Kingdom - Blogger Update 14

 Hey, everyone! Another update here, and another update closer to release! Let's get to the details. These past couple of weeks has consisted of bug fixing, along with the implementation of new quests, and features. Among these features, a lot of player options have been added in order to make the gameplay tailored to how you want it. The option to show followers now exists, and there is now a music box feature (that is still under work), that will allow you to listen to the game music you acquire throughout your playthroughs.

Following all of these implementations, I will be playing through the game in its entirety to ensure that it can be played as such. There will need to be some work to the aesthetic of the maps to make them feel alive, but that will come after full story progression has been verified. Come next week, you will know of these developments. Once again, thank you for keeping up with The Last Kingdom, and I'll see you in the next update!

The Last Kingdom - Blogger Update 13

 Hey, everyone! Today's update is fairly short, but that is okay, because it includes a lot of additions. The introduction to the game is implemented and can be played through, into the game proper. From there, I've begun to implement the character interactions and enemy battles that you will encounter throughout. I have also implemented the enemy patrols, that allow each of the enemies to roam the environment, and chase the player if they are spotted. However, they won't chase the player indefinitely. If they lose line of sight, they will return to their patrol after not relocating the player. And with every enemy patrol system, comes the necessity of a player stealth system.

The stealth system works as allowing the player to hide in abnormally dark sections of the map, and can lose enemy sight by hiding in those spaces. However, if an enemy finds the player within one of these spaces, they will commence chase. This feature is in its infancy right now, but will be available upon the early access release. Thanks for checking out this short  dev-log, and I'll be back soon, to update you again!

The Last Kingdom - Dodo Brain Update

Hey, everyone! As most of you know, I have been basically AFK here on the website for almost a year now, and that is due to my HORRENDOUSLY [Dodo Brained] social media management. That being said, The Last Kingdom has been in development during this time, and so no time was wasted in between. As with keeping up to date with posting here and on Twitter, I plan on lowering my update post count to one per 2 weeks, that being on Sunday (PST). I've decided to make this change so that they each update can be a bit more substantial, and I have time to corral everything together.

In reference to the update for today, majority of the most recent work completed is directed to the new introduction that is currently being implemented. The pathing and routing for the player during this segment of the game is complete, leaving the dialog and cutscenes to be worked out before completion.

Lastly, I just wanted to mention a few things regarding the social media channels. I'm excited to say that we will be doing giveaways! To start, we will be mainly giving away video games by established developers, but when the time comes, The Last Kingdom will be included. The kinks haven't exactly been worked out about how they will be diverted to the winners, but most likely, it will be set by milestones being hit. That being said, I look forward to updating you guys again, real soon!

The Last Kingdom - Blogger Update 12

Alright! Update 12, it is! Short update for the day, but that's fine! This week has moved incredibly fast! I feel as though it was just Sunday 1 week ago...! Anyways, received some more of the great art that has been in the works. That falls under the animation and character bust variety. I can proudly say that busts for Pollina, and Saa'veedra have been completed. I'm excited to say that they look incredibly awesome! I am also putting some more in the queue to be created. 

As for game design, I've started reworking the introduction of the game, as I may or may not have mentioned in our last update. This is to implement the new player character into the story and build something of a start for them. I have also been working on the in-game world map, as when you are not in an active area on the map, you will be traversing an open area on the map.

Lastly, I have a few new side villains on the way, as well as a few more love interests for each of the characters to interact with throughout the towns. They will be a host to special quests, interactions, and art dedicated to both them, and the character they are associated with.

Thanks for checking out the update today, see you in a few days!

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Deeper Dive: #4

 Elizabeth Mae

Occupation: Highwaywoman Creeping through the dense woods of the Blackwood Forest, she regularly surprises the lone weary traveler, even going to far as to thieve their entire caravan by cover of night.

Age: 19

Birthplace:  Buenavista

She was born to a noble family in Buenavista. Buenavista, is a beautiful minor port town near the outskirts of the Blackwood Forest, and stands across the pond from its sister town, Merriview.

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Elizabeth hasn't had many intimate interactions with women. That being said, she does quite enjoy what she gives, and can get from men. With there being such an overabundance of men in Kaidiria, it makes it easier for her to get "what" she wants.

Relationships (+): Gareth, Olivia

Eliza is attracted to Gareth's goofy inner personality. The part of him that he hides behind his hard shell. As for Olivia, she feels a deep natural connection to her, even for having knowing her for such a short amount of time.

Relationships (-): Sandee

It's not necessarily that Eliza has an innate dislike of Sandee, but Sandee doesn't like her. Eliza's thieving doesn't sit well with Sandee's need to be truthful and honorable.

Type: Entitlement

Entitlement is her skill type. These skills fall under any physical/ranged type, swordplay, or any skill that may be unlocked through repetition and training.

Status: Damage 

Her skills are best utilized in disorienting and/or dealing significant damage to the enemy.

Alignment: Good 

Although, she can make some questionable decisions when it comes to interpersonal interactions with others, she does actively seek to help her friends when she can. She can be what you would call a... "Ride or Die."

Traits: Clever, Clumsy, Untrustworthy

Eliza, even being such a capable thief, can sometimes come off as clumsy. This causes her to find herself in many an unfortunate situation. However, she is clever enough to either talk, or craft her way out of said situation.

Weapons: Rapier/Revolver

She can precisely shoot and slice her way through crowds of enemies.

Abilities: Smokescreen

Elizabeth will throw down a smokescreen temporarily causing a sight ailment to her enemies, lowering their accuracy. This sight ailment affects all enemies and benefits all team members.

All members may still be targeted, and attacked, but with less accuracy from the enemy.

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Deeper Dive: #3

Saa'veedra Shiera

Occupation: Alchemist/Apprentice

Saa'veedra is the apprentice to a potions master, who's shop resides in Xorania. She is a capable alchemist, and continually creates new concoctions.

Age: 24

Birthplace:  Osharia of Lochriel

She was born to a farm family in Osharia. Osharia is a continent outside of, and not directly connected to the borders of Kaidiria.

Home: Xoranian Territory

She resides within the Xoranian Territory.

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Bisexual

While Saa'veedra primarily prefers to spend time with men, she will often spend time with women that she becomes close to.

Relationships (+): Penelopei, Pollina

Saa'veedra doesn't have too many positive connections in the group, due to how negative her personality may seem. Those who she is comfortable with know that she isn't much too bad, but to those who don't, she just seems like a pessimist.

Relationships (-): Xy'Na 

Xy'Na doesn't particularly connect with Saa'veedra, because of her outright negativity when things get tough. Besides having to deal with the negativities in her own life, Xy'Na also has to deal with Saa'veedra's.

Type: Potential

Potential is her skill type. These skills fall under any magic type, casting, or any skill that may be unlocked through use and understanding.

Status: Support 

Her skills support her team through barriers and potion administering.

Alignment: Neutral 

Joining the group by way of her potions master, she really has no stake in what issues Pollina and the mercenary are dealt.

Traits: Insecure, Wavering, Unreliable

Saa'veedra constantly doubts things that go on around her. Whether that includes the actions of others, or not, it may cause her to become distant and abrasive when being given requests and demands. She constantly requires reassurance to keep her morals up.

Weapons: Magic

By way of her ancient runic text, she can conjure hex magic to attack enemies, or defend from enemy attacks.

Abilities: Administer

Saa'veedra can administer potions of different types to her allies. It can effectively act as a second item use in any specific turn, if used properly.

Only potion consumables may be used by this ability.

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The Last Kingdom - Blogger Update 10

 Hey, everyone! This is the first update in a few weeks, so there's quite a bit to talk about. Let's get into it!

To start, I been working with some pretty phenomenal artists to get art done on a much more regular basis. Animations are being completed, and illustrations are coming along, in strides. I am excited to get more and more done, but as we all know, you can't rush great art! I hope to have something neat to present soon! Along with the game art, I have been working on completing a background of characters, but this has seemingly taken longer than expected. It should be completed very soon.

As for the game and its actual gameplay, it is complete. I am actively going through the game again to ensure that it can be played to completion without any hang ups or major issues. Once these gameplay trials are complete, I will be able to move into the alpha, and I have placed a deadline by the end of July to be at that stage.

I spoke with a few people interested with the game, and a few other game creators, and they recommended that I attempt to work with some type of publisher. I think I am going to take that path; however, it has not been moved into yet. It is still line that hasn't been crossed, but I do think it will assist in the spread of The Last Kingdom in the long run. 

Anyways, this has been a little bit of a filler for information this update, but there is a lot of progress being made. Until then, it'll just be me explaining how much is going on, and how it is going on. Thank you for checking in, and today, I leave you with a sketch snippet of "some" in-game art!

Art by (L 2 R): Ozuma Ryu, AmberHero, PlusBESTIA 

Deeper Dive: #2

 Penelopei Barajhani

Occupation: Amira/Dancer

Penelopei is the daughter of the Safiran Monarch, making her an Amira of the Safiran Oasis. She spends her time as a dancer, only choosing to do so, because she enjoys it.

Age: 19

This was her age before she went missing.

Birthplace: Safira/Safiran Oasis 

She was born in the southern desert region of Kaidiria, called Safira. It resides on the eastern coast of the il Zaaitran Desert. When Penelopei disappeared, the Safiran monarchy placed a strict militaristic ruling upon its people.

Home: Safira/Safiran Oasis

Her home was the Safiran Oasis.

Gender: Female

She enjoys her role, and the things she can do as a woman. Sexuality: Pansexual/Demisexual

As free as she may be spiritually and sexually, she definitely prefers to have a deep connection with anyone that she becomes entwined to. She, however, does not limit herself to whom she may find sexual or emotional attraction to.

Relationships (+): Xyna, Sandee 

Penelopei empathizes with Xy'Na and her losses. She also appreciates the care and compassion she shows towards Sandee. Xy'Na is Penelopei's deep connection. They grow closer together.

Penelopei admires Sandee for becoming such a strong person. Penelopei takes on what could be considered an aunt, or sisterly role for Sandee. However, that doesn't stop her from poking fun at Sandee, every so often.

Relationships (-): Olivia, None 

Penelopei doesn't really have any negative connections from her own perspective, but she does have a few minor negative interactions with Olivia. 

Type: Potential

Potential is her skill type. These skills fall under any magic type, casting, or any skill that may be unlocked through use and understanding.

Status: Support 

Her skills support her team through healing and enemy debuffs.

Alignment: Good 

She seeks to see the world as best it may be. She chose to become a healer, because doing whatever you can do for the next person, is what she believes will make us better people.

Traits: Loving, Fun-Loving, Sensual/Sexual, Adventurous

Penelopei is who she is because she cares so much. She also finds herself caught in odd situations, because trouble she doesn't seek out, seeks her. She may also allow her adventurous nature to find her in strange and different sexual encounters.

Weapons: Astral Arms

When utilizing her astral arms, they can conjure a sword in both hands, to release a deluge of attacks in rapid succession. Astral Arms can't be used while in her Healing formation.

Abilities: Karma

If Penelopei casts Karma, she casts it on an allied team mate. If an enemy singles out that particular ally and deals damage to them, that enemy will receive 3 times the dealt damage in return. If that ally is not targeted, no enemy takes damage, and Penelopei loses that turn. This skill does not account for enemy AoE attacks.

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Deeper Dive: #1

Aeris “Aura” Aureolai

Occupation: Ataraxian Celestial - Deity

It’s not as much of an occupation as it is a duty, but she is a Deity.

Age: N/a

She was created before the existence of the universe. There really is no age that could fit her. The closest we may reach is that of Eternal, but that wouldn’t be enough.

Birthplace: N/a 

Being born before space, you could say she was everywhere and nowhere, but it easier to just say she was born nowhere.

Home: Ataraxia

Ataraxia is the home of the Celestials. You may perceive this as the Celestial Plane, the Heavens, or even that of Eternal Bliss. However, only the Deities roam here.

Gender: N/a (Chosen: Female) 

Existing as a celestial body, she doesn’t have a true human form. However, she will appear to “you” in a form that would be most pleasing, or easier to comprehend.

Relationships (+): Pollina, Xyna 

Aura understands that even when something may go wrong, Pollina is trying her best to do the right thing. It’s her morality that drives Aura to her side.

Aura understands the demons Xy’Na is constantly dealing with. She wants Xy’Na to understand that she is not alone. Aura stands by her side.

Relationships (-): Saa'veedra, Penelopei 

Aura feels that Saa’veedra isn’t as careful as she seems. She is quite wary of her.

Aura doesn’t understand how Penelopei is so open and caring. Even when times don’t exactly end in her favor. Aura doesn’t understand her optimism. She also doesn’t understand her free sexuality.

Type: Entitlement

Entitlement is her skill type. These skills fall under anything that is physically learned or granted by any higher power.

Aura is the only magic user that falls under the Entitlement category.

Status: Support 

Her skills support the player through use of ally buffs, and enemy debuffs.

Alignment: None 

She has no alignment. She chooses no side whether good, nor evil. She only chooses to bless those whom she finds worthy.

Traits: Misunderstood, Misunderstanding, Forbearing, Straight-Forward 

Being a Deity, she does not understand what it means to live as, or be a human. When she interacts with others, they may misunderstand her intentions, and even take her straight-forwardness as assertion and as a lack of care.

Weapons: N/a

No physical weapons.

Abilities: Midnight’s Cloak

Aura shrouds the immediate area in darkness, limiting enemie’s view and allowing her blessed to traverse freely with a lesser chance of being spotted.

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The Last Kingdom - Blogger Update 9

It's Sunday, again! And that means we are back for another update! Let's get straight into it! I have completed the (non-parallaxed) working potion of the final town, and so I have started linking all of the late game story pieces together. Once, I am finished linking the endgame quests together, I will be going through the game in its entirety to ensure everything links up as it should. From there, all will be ready for an alpha testing stage. Going to keep progress moving, so you'll be seeing some things very soon!

As for Thursday, seeing that each of the playable characters have an announcement already, I will be doing a deeper dive into them as characters. These dives will include information about their home, alignments, relationships with other characters, and more. Keep look out for that. Anyways, thanks for checking out this update, and I'll see you Thursday!

Remember to Follow us on Twitter: The Last Kingdom