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AUTONOMY

ANARCHY

Hey friends!

Sorry for being tardy when it comes to updates (yet again). 😳

But today, I'm finally gonna sit down and do these things! 😀 Because AUTONOMY is getting a bit of a sequel, you know.

TRACHII

I always planned to continue the story of TRACHI. Though I also had my mind set on going beyond the comforts of RPGMaker and dive into Unity, Unreal et al. Most importantly, though: I wanted to tackle AUTONOMY's biggest flaw.

Interaction

Of all the (very lovely) feedback I received since the game's first release in May 2019, the lack of proper gameplay segments was by far the biggest point of criticism. Which is, in my opinion, completely understandable.

So I went ahead and made it my first priority to come up with a system that not only incorporates the overall idea of TRACHI as a world, but also fits neatly into the story we're trying to tell.

Labyrinth

Granted, it took a bit. I went from the concept of a turn-based tactical RPG to an RTS to a Real-time tactics game to a squad-based third person shooter. Any genre was fine, as long as I would be able to squeeze TRACHI into it.

Though I also knew that I'd have to make camp, eventually.

Two steps forward.

For all intents and purposes, I was in a pretty bad place during the first months of this year. I had a lot of the initial infrastructure already set up, featuring the full range from visual to audio to technical aspects, including among others: AI, ability and online systems.

But all of that's not much worth if you don't know how to make a game out of it.

One step back.

As appreciative as I was of the things I've learned, there was also a huge feeling of dread in my mind. I knew I could make something good, if I threw all my weight behind it. But considering the fact that I'm also pursuing a PhD, it might've taken me 5 years – if not 6 – to produce something meaningful.

In the meantime, I'd have to go out and tell people about the things I'm making.

Coming out

Considering the amount of hours I'm throwing at this project, it was high-time for me to come out and tell the world just how much I'm in love with it. On Twitch, we went through the entire story and dived deeper into specific events, organisations and individuals.

All of that culminated into a monthly symposium on Youtube, where I try to apply models describing elements of human interaction to the world of TRACHI.

Fish in the water

During these presentations, I realized two things. One, that there's much more to AUTONOMY's story than even I realized while I was writing it. Second, I remembered how much I enjoy making content. At some point, I started writing entire scenes just to present and to talk about them.

Reconstruct

I love the characters, and I want to show you so much more of them. On the other hand, I do want to elevate the technical framework and make an actual game. Taking a step back from active development showed me exactly what I needed to see in order to satisfy both of these things at once.

InvAsion

During the development of InvAsion, I invested close to 9 months familiarizing myself with Unity. I implemented a large chunk of AUTONOMY's characters and incorporated them into a dialogue-driven kinetic novel, released as a DLC on 26th August, 2022.

Not so coincidentally, I also prototyped a full RPG framework. Eventually, I dropped it from the project, because InvAsion back then didn't really need it.

ExcommunicAtion

Three weeks ago, I reopened the Unity project and reintegrated the RPG systems. Since then, I've been prototyping different combat systems, level editors and animation controllers.

It's been a wild ride so far. But with the things I've already set up for InvAsion, coupled with the added experience gathered over six months in Unreal, I think I'm finally ready to settle down.

ParAdise

In other words: Coming your way is a game powered by the same engine and dialogue system as InvAsion had. Add to that the field exploration, depth and scope of AUTONOMY. Most importantly, though: For the first time in TRACHI's history, the characters will not only talk the talk, but walk the walk as well.

As a huge fan of Tactical RPGs, I'm incredibly excited to try and follow the footsteps of many classics released in this particular genre.

And while I can't pretend to have a chance at filling these shoes, I will try my best to create an experience that is not only engaging by itself, but also further underlines the ideology of TRACHI as a whole.

Sympathy

Can you feel it, too? πŸ‘€

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2169000/TRACHI__ANARCHY/

ACADEMY

Hey friends!

I'm back! More importantly: I've got something super important to say!

Starting 18:00 CEST on 20/04/2023, I'll be talking all things TRACHI for a couple of days. If you'd like to hang around and get to know both the game and the underlying ideas a bit better, I'll be more than happy to have you! <3

Below, you can find the full program of each individual day including its respective topics: [code]"We've met before, haven't we?" - Knowledge horizons in TRACHIAN discourse

Thursday, April 20th 0. TRACHI 0.1. The brand 0.2. The game 0.3. The framework

Friday, April 21st 1. Terminological Groundwork 1.1. Uncertainty & Anxiety 1.2. Ambiguity & Ideology 1.3. The "need to know"

Saturday, April 22nd 2. IONIA 2.1. Eighteen years of shame - Sunset over Greece 2.2. The 2nd Ionian Enlightenment 2.3. Kenovice and Trachi - From tragedy to farce

Sunday, April 23th 3. Eurydice 3.1. Philanthropenos 3.2. EcoRev/EnKAD 3.3. CoExA/IIS 3.4. AURA [/code]

  • in AUTONOMY
  • 3 min read

Verbatim

## Hey friends,

today's the day!

TRACHI - InvAsion 1.0 (Verbatim)

I've said most of the important stuff in the preview already. So I'll spare you that, if you don't mind.

Instead, let's try something else. If you've played either AUTONOMY or InvAsion, you know how much I love writing dialogue. And even though I've written more than ten-thousand individual lines at this point, I still can't get enough of it.

So let's pretend for a second someone asked a couple of questions. Furthermore, let's pretend that person is you.

FAQ

What's InvAsion? It's the counterpoint to AUTONOMY. In that sense, it's an expansion, an epilogue and a deconstruction. The first segment aims to wrap up events of AUTONOMY, the second part is a slow descent towards phase 2 of the TRACHI project as a whole.

How much content is there? Depending on your reading speed, playtime ranges from 45 to 60 minutes, roundabout.

How linear is it? Extremely so. To be honest, I treat it more as a movie or a play than anything else.

Do I need to play AUTONOMY beforehand? Yes. And no. There's a lot of things that'll fly past your head if you haven't experienced AUTONOMY. However, InvAsion was deliberately made to be its own thing, too. So feel free to hop into InvAsion, right away.

What's next? I'm glad you asked! I've been pondering the perfect setting to announce it. But seeing as both of us are here, we might as well get it over with.

That's it? For now. Partly because a lot of the stuff is WIP. But mostly because I don't want to spoil the surprise, too much.

I'd like to give you a couple of days, in case you want to experience InvAsion in the way it was meant to be.

PostApocalypse

Starting next week, we'll have a first look into phase 2 and what it's all about. From that point onward, development will (hopefully) be much more transparent. The way it used to be, even though we're all a bit older and hopefully a bit wiser, too.

At any rate, by the time you're reading this, AUTONOMY and InvAsion have become a thing of the past. We're moving on to greener pastures. One that values actions much more than words.

Nonetheless, I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who's reading this. Whether you've been here from the days of rmn back in 2019, or just recently hopped on the train.

PostAtopia

This is your space, too. It's a space for you to plant your roots. A space you can call home. So if life ever gets rough, feel free to seek shelter here. Because that's what we do, right?

Until then, I wish you all the best. And hope that both AUTONOMY and InvAsion managed to nudge your desire for more. If not, please feel free to stick around, anyway. Because I can guarantee you one thing, already.

Nothing's ever going to be the same again.