This is the first of (hopefully) many blog posts detailing the progress of my hobby game, Moonchild.
WHAT IS MOONCHILD?
Moonchild is a turn-based RPG inspired by Earthbound, made in RPG Maker MV.
Taking place in the year 200X, it follows the adventures of
four children trying to save the world from aliens from the moon.
WHAT’S UNIQUE ABOUT THIS GAME?
Combat uses an emotion-based attack type system. There are four emotions- Calm,
Sad, Happy, and Angry.
Each of the four party members uses one of the four emotions for their psychic
attacks, and enemies have strengths and weaknesses to each. The complexity
comes from figuring out what party members to use in which situations.
For this first blog post, I’ll be talking in detail about the four party
members, their personalities, and the basics of how they operate in battle.
MAX
An average boy from Tritown. After a friendly alien crashed in Max’s backyard,
he was granted psychic abilities, and told of a prophecy involving an alien
invasion and three other children. Now, he’s embarking on a journey across America
to find the other three heroes and save the world!
Max is a bit quiet most of the time, but his actions speak louder than his words. When he actually talks, it’s usually for important things. In battle, he uses light guns and other such accessories to attack, channeling his psychic powers through them in bursts of energy!
In battle, Max is the most balanced member of the party, having a good mix of
healing and attack abilities, and a well-rounded defense. His speciality,
however, comes from his Calm powers, which range from preparing a more powerful
attack on the next turn to turning completely invisible to the enemy!
SOPHIE
An introverted artist from Quadocity. Sophie has a bit of
trouble expressing herself and making new friends, most of the time preferring to
let her art do the talking. However, she quickly warms up to Max after he saves
her from a raging elephant, and slowly the shell starts to wear down.
Sophie’s very shy by herself, but when she’s with friends she opens up quite a bit. She channels all her feelings into her art, and evokes powerful emotions in anyone who looks at it- which, given her newfound psychic powers, does actual damage to enemies!
In battle, Sophie has some of the most powerful psychic attacks in the party, but her health isn’t the best. In addition to this, however, she has several moves designed to debuff enemies’ stats- opening them up for more powerful hits.
THOMAS
An amateur chef from Pentopolis. Thomas discovered his psychic powers through
his cooking- after his dishes started having magic effects on whoever ate them,
that is. And after hearing about the lunar menace descending upon the world, he
jumped at the chance for adventure!
Thomas is boisterous and loud to the extreme- often to the
detriment of his friends’ eardrums. He can always be counted on to lighten up
the mood, even in the darkest of times! With his trusty frying pan, Thomas’ cooking skills both
cheer up the party and disgust enemies!
In battle, Thomas is the party’s tank. He has many moves designed to heal or
defend party members from attacks, but in terms of attacking, he isn’t very good
as a result. However, he can soak up hits that would otherwise down a party
member, freeing them up for follow-up attacks.
DIVA
A punk-rocker from Hexaport. Diva just showed up one day in
a club, calling the act on stage “f***ing losers”, then blowing them away with
her own music. Now, she’s a regular fixture there, regularly drawing just enough
audience members to pay the bills and getting into shouting matches with
hecklers.
Diva is a headstrong girl that on the surface, seems very unpleasant. However,
get on her good side, and she can be very loyal and trusting. After the party
saved her from being possessed by the aliens, she joined them out of gratitude,
albeit trying to deny her feelings. Now, she channels her rage through her electric guitar, breaking the eardrums
of all enemies who hear it.
In battle, Diva is by far the most powerful physical attacker in the party, and
her psychic powers are near the top as well. The problem comes from her
recklessness- a few of her more powerful attacks either miss frequently or
damage her after use.
More frequent updates will be posted on the Frog in a Box twitter account, with more detailed updates coming here monthly. Stay tuned!