New User Interface!

With the UI complete, we're one step closer to a playable demo!

This first draft of the user interface has the currently active player's face in the top-left corner, and shows whoever you're talking to in the top-right.

Below, you can see some of the more core stats, as well as icons to open up the inventory, quest journal, full status menu, and map.

LadyStripes has also done some more work on the 'special' animations, which I can't wait to show off!

Stay tuned for more updates.

All the best,


SpaceTea

Revelations in the Great Hall

As the Earl waited for our answer, there was an intense feeling of frustrated anticipation building in the room.  At its center was the Earl, whose eyes flitted between each of us.

I suddenly felt very self-aware as his eyes locked onto me and stared deeply into my own, as if to ask the question again.

I said nothing, as did everyone else.

There was no way that I would leave now, with all I had done for this chance.

The Earl continued to look around, and then relaxed, sitting in his chair at the head of the hall.  Despite his ease, the room remained rife with tension.

“Then I will begin...” he concluded.

“I would first like to say how proud I am, to have young men and women of such courage and honour within my people.  You do me a great service by being true men and women of the North” he announced.

The Earl’s voice was deep like my father’s, and he spoke carefully.  I was calmed by his tone, and I felt a sense of pride in his words, which rung true to how I felt of myself.

I noticed a touch of movement in the corner of my eye, and found Ulfr Hailagasson taking a deep and exaggerated breathe, obviously not as captivated by his father’s praise.

“I want you all to know that what you face is dangerous.  In truth, I do not know how dangerous.  I do know that it will cost many lives, and yours may be among those claimed.”

Now I heard a sound, like a tapping foot, and turned to the young woman around my age who had been standing near Ulfr when I arrived.  She was tapping the ground with her toe, which showed how badly her mother had taught her respect.

I may not be a master with words, but even I know the basic rules of how to treat an Earl I thought.

“Recently, there have been a number of people disappearing near the mountains...” the Earl continued.  “I find these disappearances deeply troubling...”

I paused on the thought.  I don’t know how dangerous this could be...  after all, people often go missing near the mountains...

“You’re all thinking that I’m mad to see such events as foreboding, but I have to warn you all:  There are a number of things that I find strange and disturbing about what is happening.”

The room seemed to become more attentive.

“First, I will have you know that most of the missing are women...” he began, before a voice rang up from beside me.

“That could just be organized bandits, or Southerners” said a man with long brown hair.

The Earl shook his head slowly.

“That cannot be the case, young Skorri.  These disappearances are too far within our borders, and besides...there is more...” he trailed off, as if unsure of his own thoughts.  “There are stories of beasts, taking these people in the night.”

This time, I could hear chuckles from a few around the room.

Again, Skorri spoke.

“Those are just stories, imagined by townsfolk who wish to see monsters instead of men.  No one should believe such imaginings” he stated.

Now Ulfr spoke, at last.

“No Skorri, these are not imaginings.  I rode out to the towns myself, to make sure of it.  There is something truly disturbing happening...”

I hung on his words, as did everyone else.

“I found little evidence, but there were tracks and other signs at the last few places where people had gone missing.  Among other things, the tracks were those of a beast, but in sets of two...”

I swallowed hard.  Ulfr was not the type of man who would speak such words carelessly.  He had a reputation, and he would not dishonour it on a fool’s quest.

I turned back to the Earl as he began to speak again.

“From what I learned, the beast will likely be in the hills near Ljosavatn in a matter of days.  You will have time to ride that distance, but only if I leave by morning.  That is why I called you all here with such urgency.”

The woman that was tapping her foot spoke up.

“And what should we do once we arrive in Ljosavatn?” she asked the Earl.

He turned his head to her.

“Agmundr, my chief advisor, will lead you all to Ljosavatn.  What you do from there, I leave to him.  Whatever steps you take, you must find out what sort of beast is roaming my lands and put an end to these disappearances:  No matter the cost.”

“Why is Ulfr not going to lead us?” asked Skorri, sounding worried.

Hailaga smiled.  “Do not fear, Skorri.  Ulfr will be along as well, but he must rest for a day.  He has only returned from his journey, and you must leave at first light.”

There was a pause, and Skorri seemed to relax.

“Now head off to your beds, and rest before morning” Earl Hailaga concluded. “You may not have another full night’s rest in many days.”

As the room began to shuffle, and people began to move towards the doors, I heard my name.  The voice was that of the Earl.

“Come here for a moment, Sigrid” he called.

As the others began to leave, I slowly approached Earl Hailaga.  When I reached him, I noticed his eyes roaming across my body, obviously unconcerned if I noticed.  Men of his stature often felt that they had a right to do anything they pleased, and they often did.

When he was finished inspecting me, he gave me a solemn nod and I bowed slightly in respect.

“I regret having to meet you under such terrible circumstances as these, Sigrid Thorodsdotter.  I’ve heard tales of you from others in Osfjoll” He said proudly.  “I’ve always been impressed by your mother, and I’m glad to see that you take after her”

As he spoke about my mother, I noticed the Earl lightly bite his lip.

“Thank you...” I said to him, feeling self-conscious.

“But that is no matter.  I am glad you could come.  I can only hope that even under the circumstances of our meeting, this will mark the beginning of a strong bond between us.”

Even with such kind and innocent words, I felt another tinge of discomfort.

“As do I” I said, unsure how I should respond.

Hailaga smiled deeply.

“Geirny will lead you to where you may sleep, and she will wake you just before sunrise” he said, gesturing to the doorway by which Geirny now stood.

“Thank you, Earl Hailaga” I nodded, and moved toward the door.

As I walked away, I heard the Earl’s voice murmur from behind me.

“I hope you survive your journey.”

Walking the Talk

I know that everyone has been waiting to see the game in action, and we finally have a little taste of what we have planned.

I give you the first rough draft of the walking animation!

While seeing a low-quality recording of a rough animation probably won't blow you away, and while this doesn't really show off much of the programming I'm working on, I want to show you guys what we can accomplish in a fairly limited time-frame, without a great deal of financial support.

My hope is that after seeing this, people will imagine the great things that we can accomplish if we were able to invest more time in the project.  We have our first few supporters on our patreon, and wanted to say thank you for all the encouragement and support that we've been given thus far.

Either way, we will continue to work on Days of Ragnarok, and we promise that the game itself will always remain free.

All the Best,


SpaceTea and LadyStripes

Murmers in the Great Hall

The room was brightly lit by the warm hearth that adorned its centre, which filled the room with heat.

The room itself was quite large, though not for a great hall.  Earl Hailaga, while known for his greed, was not the wealthiest of rulers.  Still, he was far wealthier than any who graced his hall that evening.

Standing by the main archway was Hailaga’s son, Ulfr.  With his raven black loose hair and his large frame, he looked far more the warrior than his father – who was a much shorter and thicker man.

He has just arrived from a scouting mission, and he was still sweat-stained from a hard day’s ride.  Despite being a man of restrained character, he always found himself in high spirits when he was successful in his missions.  As his gaze moved around the room, however, his face soured.

They’re all too young.  No experience. He thought.  There’s no way they’ll make it back alive.

His eyes settled on a pair of archers near the back, the son and daughter of a farmer.  He’d met them once before, at a shooting competition, and they weren’t entirely worthless with a bow.

The others that stood about the hall were new to Ulfr, though he could see in their movements that they were inexperienced in combat.  He had seen every type of fight from a battle to a brawl, and even the slightest motions revealed everything he needed to know about them.

As he stood there, silently judging them one after another, one of the women left her place against a large pillar and approached him from his right.

“You’re Ulfr, aren’t you?” she demanded.

“I am” he said, not bothering to look over at her.

“If you’re the son of Hailaga, then you must know what our task is going to be.  He must have told you what he’d ask of us” she continued.

Now Ulfr understood who she was.  What little her stride might have hidden from him, her mouth gladly gave.

“The Earl said that we must wait” he calmly stated.

He heard a huff from her.

“I came here to prove myself, not stand around” she complained

Ulfr was beginning to become annoyed, and turned his large frame to face her down, and to put her in her place.  Yet as he turned, he lost his nerve.

She was a shieldmaiden, yes, but not of the sort that he had fought alongside in his many battles.  Instead of being shorter and perhaps stocky, the girth of her body was in her generous hips and her sizeable breasts.  Instead of rough skin and blood-stained hair, the soft skin of her neck was covered by the flowing mass of her rich brown hair.  Instead of a sharp and hard face, hers had a feminine softness about it.  As a maiden, she would likely choose any husband she wished.  As a whore, Ulfr thought, most men would likely trade a small fortune for a night between her thighs.

For a moment, he wondered why such a woman would throw her life away on one of his father’s foolish quests, but he quickly dismissed the thought.  His father promised respect, and honour, which were beyond all other value to those who desired them.

“If you would rather, you could always give up” Ulfr said at last.

Once again, she seemed offended.

“I’ll never give up.  Not that I expect you to understand that, being the son of an Earl” she jabbed.

Now, another one of the young warrior stepped forward.  He was a tall boy, maybe twenty years of age, with long braids of light brown hair and a beard that was just growing in.

“Be quiet, Kara:  You don’t know what you’re speaking about.  If you knew anything about Ulfr Hailagasson, you would never have said such a thing.  He’s a great warrior.”

Instead of Kara, it was Ulfr who answered him.

“I don’t need your kind words.  Not if they were true – and if I needed to answer the claims of some weakling who knows nothing.”

Now Kara was deeply angered, the pale skin of her face flushing with blood.

Just as she opened her mouth to speak, the sound of a door shutting echoed through the hall and the Earl emerged from a smaller entrance to the room.  By his side were three men, who were known to only Ulfr.  On his right was the mystic Alvis Egillsson and his apprentice Frodi Alvisson.  On his left was assistant, Agmundr Halldorsson.

As the four moved near the hearth, Kara moved toward them.

“Earl Hailaga!  Tell me, what is our quest?  Why have we been asked here?”

The Earl finished walking to his place at the head of the hall, as if he hadn’t heard her, but then turned to her and addressed her directly.

“We must all wait until all of you have arrived.  Only then, will I tell you.”

Kara crossed her arms.  This time, the others also seemed very upset.

A young man who had remained silent moved forward, swaying slightly from the weight of the massive battleaxe on his back.

“Please, Earl Hailaga.  We’ve been waiting all day...” he grumbled.

Alvis, the mystic, pointed a thin arm at the young man.

“This is a serious task!  Children will be of no use in your journey, so I suggest you show yourselves to be men and women.”

There was a brief silence.

“My apologies, Earl Hailaga” The young man mewled. “I await your word.”

There was a general sense of unease, but everyone seemed to have accepted that they would have to wait.  However, just then there was a noise down the hall – near the main entrance of the building.

What felt like minutes passed, until a person finally entered under the main arch of the hall – followed by a second person, who bowed to the Earl and left.

The person moved forward, revealing that they were a somewhat tall woman in her early twentes.  Her long blonde hair flowed loosely at the back, but was lightly braided in the front, framing her wide green eyes. 

The Earl smiled widely, taking in the beautiful woman’s figure.  She looked just like her mother before she had born her first child, and related thoughts drifted across his mind.  He, like many others, had desired her mother for many years – and seeing Sigrid was like travelling back to a time when Ingrid was still a maiden, open to the advances of men besides her husband.

“You must be Sigrid, Thorodsdotter” the Earl said.  “Welcome to my hall, shieldmaiden.”

Sigrid bowed.  ”It is an honour, Earl Hailaga” she said dutifully.

As she raised her head, she noticed intense stares from a few people in the crowd.

“Come now, everyone, and listen carefully:  I don’t wish to repeat myself, and what I am about to tell you will become a matter of life and death.”

There was silence, other than the shuffling of feet.

“But first,” the Earl added, “I must ask if there are any who wish to leave now.  Once I begin, you are all bound to carry out my quest – at any cost.  Unless you speak now, there is no other choice, but death.”

Still, noone spoke.

“Then I will begin..."

Back from the Weekend!

I hope everyone had a great weekend, and an awesome mother's day!

There will be new content starting tomorrow (tonight on Patreon), and this week I'm going to give everyone their first look at the game itself -- which I've been working on in most of my spare time.

LadyStripes has also been working on something very special, which will soon be ready :)

Have a good night, and look forward to "Murmers in the Great Hall", tomorrow!

Whispers of Darkness

Around the town of Osfjoll, there was a stirring discomfort.  Townsfolk had begun to speak of what travellers from nearby towns had told them, of strange markings in the forest, of missing people, and of a looming sense of danger that covered the land each night.

“Did you hear?” Erland said to another customer, as they handed him coin.  “Everyone from the North is saying that a curse has fallen.”

The customer raised one eyebrow.

“There are always rumours, Erland.  They pass the time for those who feed on hollow chatter” he said.

The smith chuckled. “You’re as joyless as ever, young Thorodsson.”

“And you’re as naive as ever, old friend” Bjarn shot back.  “I suppose we must each choose one or the other.”

“Or perhaps we could choose to be both” a soft voice suggested, approaching from behind Bjarn.  “Unlike my husband, I choose to believe that being open to myths and rumours doesn’t imply that we take them as truths.”

The woman moved up and beside her husband, greeting her friend with a nod.  Both men turned to face her.

“Ah Helga, as charming and beautiful as ever” said Erland.  “And still not afraid to put your husband in his place.”

Helga laughed, and patted the smith on his huge shoulder.  “Enough with the idle flattery.  I’m no beauty.”

Both men held their tongues, knowing that Helga had never been a fan of compliments.  Still, neither man could believe that she was unaware of her impressive beauty. Bjarn was silent mostly out of respect for her, and Erland out of respect for her husband.

Despite her humility, she was a gift from the gods.  Her form was thin and athletic, and looked strong and firm, yet the curves of her body gave it a powerful sense of feminine fertility.   Despite being average in size, the way in which her breasts defied gravity was apparent to even the passive observer.  Her light and supple skin was covered in the back by her long and flowing blonde hair, yet what her shirt left exposed looked soft to the touch.

Indeed, most men of the town had imagined her bare form.  To his shame, Erland no different than the rest; in private, he had imagined how it might feel to bury himself in the soft folds between her thighs, and he had lost count of the times he had spilled his seed to the thought of it pouring into her.

Erland shook his head, clearing the thought from his mind.

“And so what do they say, Erland?” Helga asked.

He cleared his throat.

“They say that there are dark things happening North from here.  They say that it’s a curse” Erland repeated.

Helga looked worried, and both men stared at her, as if to ask ‘what is it?’

Noticing, she looked at her husband and spoke.

“I heard whispers from Ulfr Hailagasson, that he was heading North with a group of warriors, at the request of his father...”

“And?” Erland asked, clearly confused.

Helga and Bjarn held their gaze.

“Bjarn’s sister, Sigrid, was among them...”

A Mother's Fears

“She forgot her cloak” Ingrid said, her voice waning.  “It’s cold out tonight.  She’ll be freezing.”

Thorod looked up from his small carving, which he had been carefully working into a piece of seasoned Oak.

“She’ll be fine, love.  Now tell me what’s truly bothering you.”

Ingrid’s face fell.

“I’m worried about her, that’s all...” she began.  “She’s still so young, and she hasn’t even lain with a man.  She’s strong willed, but she’s not ready to be out on her own.”

Thorod took a deep breathe and gathered himself.

“Sigrid is a capable woman, like her mother.  If you care to remember, you were younger than she when you first saw battle.”

Ingrid looked up at her husband, who smiled.

“Besides, the Earl would never send her off on her own.  They’ll help keep her safe, and perhaps she’ll find her love among them.”

“I doubt that they’ll pursue her for love,” his wife shot back.

Thorod chuckled. 

“Some see better than others, but not all men are blind.”

Ingrid’s brow furrowed.  “We live in a world of blindness.”

Thorod still held his smile.

“Come on, now, love, she has a sharp eye.  Have faith.”

This time, Thorod had hit a nerve.

“I had faith in myself, and my companions, and you remember what happened.  They left me fighting, and didn’t come back for me for nearly a day.”

Now, the smile that spread across Thorod’s face curled and darkened.

“I’ll never forgive what they did to you, Ingrid.  But we must not let fear extinguish our daughter’s hopes and dreams.  Imagine what your life would be, had you never gone.”

There was a still silence in the room.

“So many men spilled their seed in me that endless night.  Imagine what my life would be, had yours not already taken hold before that day.”

Thorod was finally without comment, lowering his gaze at the thought.

“I’m afraid for her... and for her dreams...”