Hey everyone,

Good to see things are still going well for you all. So another week has passed, meaning it's time to talk more about Niravasi. This week, I'll start by touching on the setting of the game itself, the titular city of Niravasi. While there's not a lot I have to show for the future levels, let's start talking about the locations that currently exist and what the future awaits for players.

Main Setting: NIRAVASI

"There is protection in perfection."

In case I didn't specify enough, the setting with this RPG Maker Horror game is the titular city of Niravasi, an ancient city built long ago by humanity to serve as its capital within the planet of Aetherius. For a time, all was well and the people of Niravasi thrived and prospered. But after the planet of Aetherius was shattered at the climax of a brutal war, the city was cut off from the rest of Aetherius, leading Niravasi stranded in the vast depths of space. Now the city has been rediscovered, leading to Willow Eugenics sending out specialists to investigate the ruins of this mythical city, not knowing the horrors contained within.

The Inspiration

Unlike the world of Transech in BLANK, Niravasi is not a place filled with magic and wonders. Instead, the latter is a desolate and empty city, devoid of any organic life. While there may be robotic horrors lurking the streets and halls of this place, they are not its residents. The former inhabitants of this place are long gone, but remnants of their stories can still be found; you'll just have to look deep for them.

As a player, I've always been fascinated with ancient structures/ruins as settings for games. One of the my favourite examples of this is the Destiny series, which often has players navigating ancient ruins from a bygone era filled with love and prosperity. Seeing that juxtaposition in the game's environments was always something I adored. The city of New Mombasa in Halo 3: ODST is another example. While only recently destroyed by the war, the empty streets of the city invoke a feeling of loneliness not many other games replicate well.

Why a city?

Looking at a lot of different RPG Maker Horror games that exist, many of them focus on quaint/close-to-home environments such as a haunted estate in Cat in the Box or an Art Gallery in Ib. While these settings work really well and can further impact the tension of the player's current surroundings, I felt that for Niravasi I really wanted to thrust a character into a completely alien surrounding. You'll find out what I mean by that as you delve deeper into the story, but know that it's not all going to just be ancient ruins.

Additionally, making a city also presents the opportunity to designing and exploring set-pieces you wouldn't normally see in places like a manor or a castle. Haunted hallways are cool, but how about running from killer robots, while dodging automated underground trains from within a city?

Anyhow, that's all I have to touch on with the game's development. Things are going very well at the moment and I'm incredibly happy with both the encounter and environmental design of Niravasi's second level. Here's hoping that with the completion of it, you'll all be that much closer to having access to a Public Demo release of the game.

Have a good week everyone and next Devlog, I'll be touching base on just what kind of monsters you'll be escaping.

Kind regards,
King Sangos