Introduction
Hello! My name is Gavin Clayton, aka Interkarma. I’m an IT guy turned independent game developer, best known as the creator and lead developer behind Daggerfall Unity. I have a lifetime goal of building my own games, and once Daggerfall Unity was fully realised, I started working fulltime on my first original project.
This post is intended to share a little about me and my inspirations, and to roughly map out the game I’m working on so you can decide if it’s something you’re interested in following. I hope you’ll walk alongside me for a while and help explore where this road leads.
Background
“Project Arroa: Revenwood is the first video game adaptation of a fantasy campaign setting I created for friends and continued to expand throughout my life.”
In the 1990s, I ran a custom AD&D 2E campaign setting for friends set on a continent called Arroa. In our world-spanning adventures, we explored themes of cataclysm, the rise and fall of civilisations, and a failed magical dynasty. As a 2E setting, it contained all the high fantasy trappings of humans, elves, and dwarves, rolled up in a melange of my own ideas and inspirations from ancient history. The central mystery of this world was the impenetrable and perpetual divine storm of the Sandwolf, found deep in the Arroan Desert. Rumoured to safeguard immense power, nations of both the living and dead vied to reveal its secrets.
Over the following years, the world of Arroa continued living in my imagination. It became the setting of short stories where I explored vignettes of a larger work. It was a land I could visit in my mind’s eye anytime I needed an escape in darker moments. The characters and events which occupied this world grew in my imagination and never lost their sense of wonder to me.
Now, with a decade of experience building complex gameplay systems and successfully completing a massive game project, I have set out to explore my world first-hand as I adapt it into video game format. I plan to rebuild these places and adventures to the best of my ability and revisit them with fresh eyes. I also want to experience my world once again through the eyes of others, just as it was in the beginning.
Influences
“My best memories of gaming involve self-directed play, exploration, creative systems, and communities that grow around shared experiences.”
The continent of Arroa has deep roots in tabletop RPGs of the late 1980s through 1990s. These games and their systems occupied my imagination all through my school years, and still invoke happy memories of pencils, dice, and painting miniatures with friends. The foundations of everything I love about gaming were laid down by these experiences.
Outside of tabletop, I came to fall in love with video games like Pool of Radiance, Eye of the Beholder, Ishar, Daggerfall, Dark Sun, Baldur’s Gate, Fallout, Diablo, Morrowind, Lands of Lore, Ultima Underworld, V:TM Bloodlines, and more. I became a devoted fan of stealth and immersive sims like the Thief series, Arx Fatalis, Deus Ex, System Shock, and Bioshock. These incredible titles all influenced me in some way and helped inspire me to create games.
In 2014, I started my decade-long journey creating Daggerfall Unity. During these years, I found another clan who loved Daggerfall just as much as I did, and people who came to love it for the first time. I was part of a great community on our forums and helped it grow until it found a space of its own. I had the wonderful experience of watching people play something I created, and the joy of seeing them mod and remix the game to make it theirs.
All these years of amazing moments in gaming, game development, and community have built my sensibilities and will become my primary source of inspiration as I start creating games. I deeply value self-directed play, exploration, creative systems, and community. My goal is to build a unique world I can share with others and foster these elements for them to enjoy.
Feet on the Ground
“I’m currently working fulltime on this game as a solo developer and have set my goals to be realistic and within my capabilities.”
Building any video game is a complicated and expensive process. Creating something on the scale of Project Arroa as I ultimately envision it is far beyond the scope of a single person.
As an independent game developer currently working fulltime on this vision alone, I need to begin with realistic and achievable goals at a smaller scale. Rather than a continent-wide procedurally generated world, I chose to dial in the best game possible with my limited resources to create a fully handcrafted but smaller open world experience.
I will explore my love of both RPGs and immersive simulations, and how their systems can interact to create unique gameplay moments with emergent complexity.
To describe my intentions simply with the help of existing titles, Project Arroa: Revenwood will have a blend of gameplay familiar to fans of Daggerfall and of Arx Fatalis, set in a unique world with systems of my own.
Gameplay Summary
“Explore a unique fantasy setting with first-person gameplay combining elements of both CRPGs and immersive sims.”
Project Arroa: Revenwood is a first-person game combining elements of both CRPGs and immersive sims. Explore a unique fantasy setting with deep history and become part of its lore with the following gameplay.
- Stealth and Combat: Sneak, hide, and use non-lethal takedowns. Deploy a variety of weapons and physical prowess to execute lethal attacks.
- Magic: Learn three complementary systems of magic that expand on stealth or combat and provide unique utility.
- Skill System: Allocate skill points to enhance your combat, stealth, or magical abilities.
- Exploration and Verticality: The world is designed with multiple pathways above and below to either avoid the action or get straight to the middle of it.
- Crafting and Upgrades: Upgrade and craft items and spells to customise your playstyle.
- Resource Management: Strategically manage limited resources that help you overcome challenges.
- World System: The conflict central to this world is constantly evolving as different factions come into play. Choose your actions and alliances carefully to influence outcomes with visible results in the world.
- Modding Tools: Add new quests, locations, magical effects, gameplay systems, and more with developer tools fully integrated into the runtime. Distribute your creations as a mod for others to experience.
Plot Summary
“An army of undead have surged out of the wilds, razing your homeland as they march for the capital. Explore, hide, fight, and use your unique abilities as you forge alliances to reclaim your home.”
Project Arroa: Revenwood is set during a pivotal moment in Arroa’s modern history. The undead nation of Ghasthill Wilds marches east to sack the human stronghold of Auldport. The player finds themselves caught by conflict as the dead swarm their homeland of Revenwood. You will need to escape detection from their rearguard forces and rally whatever defence you can against the odds.
In your fight for survival, you will explore the area of Revenwood, including parts of the Ghasthill Wilds and northern front of capital city Auldport. You will find your own place in this conflict as you unveil knowledge of the Sujaari, a bloodline the enigmatic Qu’Kish seek to destroy at all costs. Discover the secret below Auldport sought by the dead and help repel the invasion with carefully chosen alliances to reclaim your home.
Supporting Development
“I’m working on this game solo for now and will make the best experience I can with whatever resources I have. Even small amounts of financial support and word of mouth are a big help.”
Project Arroa: Revenwood is currently my full-time job. I’ve been working on this project solo for the last several months and will continue this way until the game starts to take shape. I am completely self-funding to bootstrap the early stages of development. During this time, I’m building with a minimal budget and learning all the skills necessary to progress towards my vision.
I have a lot of experience programming complex gameplay systems and managing a large project thanks to my time creating Daggerfall Unity. But I will need help eventually as there’s a mountain of assets required to fully realise even this small part of my world and its inhabitants.
My primary focus early on will be creating a tools foundation, content pipeline, and exploring gameplay systems. To begin with, I’ll build stand-in assets to my specification with a kit-based approach. Where necessary, purchased assets will help fill out the roster of assets required to explore systems.
Once the core tools and gameplay reach a minimum viable state, I will seek help with creating content and fleshing out the game’s environments. My kit-based design will allow for new assets that follow my specifications to be dropped in at a future date, enabling rapid iteration of the game’s visual style until it finds an identity of its own.
Even the smallest amount of financial support will help me with coffee and other basics like hosting. With moderate amounts of support, I’ll be able to commission bespoke art, music, writing, and more. With broader financial support, I can hire talent to help expand my vision further than I ever could alone.
The takeaway is that I’ll build the best game I can based on whatever resources I have available to me. The gameplay always comes first, and I aim to create a great experience even with limited resources.
If you would like to support my journey creating Project Arroa: Revenwood, I’ve started a Patreon with a single low tier to begin with. I’ll add higher tiers as the game progresses, and I can create more value for my patrons. Feel free to provide feedback about any tiers or benefits you’d like me to implement in the future.
You can also support the project just by letting other people know about it. Marketing is a black art to itself, getting word around will always help me in the long run.
Community Links
“Help build a new community for my game on Discord and other platforms.”
Discord is the primary source for Project Arroa: Revenwood development news and discussions. Click the below link for your invite.
If you want to help support development of Project Arroa: Revenwood, you will find me on Patreon below.
https://patreon.com/GavinClayton
For bite-sized progress updates and news, you can also find me on the following platforms. I’ll cross-post news to all of the below, so it doesn’t matter which platform you prefer.
Thank You!
Thanks for reading this far! If you’re interested in following Project Arroa: Revenwood and joining the discussion, I look forward to hearing from you. Feel free to hit me up on Discord or the other platforms I’m active on, and I’ll answer your questions when I can.