The Hero is Back

ongoing

"""The Hero is Back"" is a roguelike (RPG with procedurally generated levels and permanent death of the player character), with an original mechanic: every time the hero is defeated, he can choose one of the villagers to die in his place. As we will explain later, this original mechanic of sacrifice creates a series of deep and meaningful dynamics and memorable aesthetic moments for the players. Story, Theme, Graphic The story revolves around the characters of the village. For them the hero will be a valiant paladin but also turn out to be a cynical tyrant if his secret is finally revealed. The graphic style features a black-and-white palette, with red used only for what has to do with power, life and death. The theme is a paternalistic reading of the hero archetype and its philosophical, social, political, and ecological implications resonate throughout the dialogue and narrative situations. Work Plan Overview Pre-production is organized in a 15-month plan with three WPs: Knowledge Gathering, Art and Design (Deliverables: D1.1 - Game Design Document) Technological Development (Deliverables: D2.1 - Prototype beta version, D2.2 Build) Project Management, Financial Management and Promo Marketing (Deliverables: D3.1 - Management Tools) The overall pre-production effort counts 12 people from TinyBull Studios and 10 from Whitesock involving designers, artists, and programmers with experience in developing high-quality commercial games (TBS) and applied games on complex topics (WS). Project goal The resulting vertical slice will be a compelling gameplay experience that provides the game’s selling point and design strategies to address criticalities arising from the gameplay innovation introduced. The overall quality and handling of possible pain points (which emerged during discussions with several interested publishers throughout 2024) will give applicants the solid pitch-ready position they need to convert the interest already shown into sealed publishing deals."