This page exists for historical reasons only.
Ascension: Revolution has been shelved indefinitely. See this post for details.
Latest Release: Bastille Day Demo
Ascension Revolution is my current main project. And it is an ambitious one.
It’s a spinoff of Ascension, taking place on the same world. Gameplay-wise, it’s an FPS/RPG hybrid with a heavy focus on dialog and story and a moderate degree of openness. It’s built on the GZDoom engine- no wait, don’t run away, it’s way more than a Doom mod! I promise!
The main influences of this game are Mass Effect, Skyrim, and Saints Row (of all things). It won’t be as big and open as Skyrim, of course, but you’ll be able to roam the land to a significant degree. It will have the emotional torque, cinematics, and deep characters of Mass Effect as much as I can do. From Saints Row comes the chemistry between characters (which I will attempt) and zone control mechanics.
Story wise it’s about kings and rebels, revolution and change, and, well, I’m not good at briefly describing plots in a catchy way. You play as the villain, imprisoned for heinous crimes, who is broken out and tries to take control of the land again. Of course, it’s not that simple. You can choose to be play as nearly a true villain, a pragmatist, or someone who actually has good intentions. It’s not a black and white world- this is all about the grey in between and how it looks different depending on the angle. The tone is overall fairly serious, but I’ll try to keep it from getting too dark or boring.
Licensing is tentatively CC BY-NC-SA, with the story itself CC BY-SA and the code under its own license (ZDoom’s licensing is a complex situation). Whatever the exact details work out to, it will be open source and derivatives will be allowed… although even if it wasn’t, the nature of ZDoom’s file formats make reverse engineering extremely easy. I don’t believe in shrouding the development process in a veil of secrecy, and in fact you can already download development builds. It will never be a commercial game and it will always be free.
If you would like to contribute, I’m looking for artists, musicians, and voice actors. Especially the former, since I have all the artistic talent of a particularly unartistic rock. I’ve been using some of Kevin Macleod’s excellent free music and I’m looking at finding other free pieces, but I still do need original songs for this game. I also have a horrible voice. Even if you have nothing to contribute, ideas and feedback are welcome and encouraged.
This is still under construction and will be updated as the game progresses, so keep checking back for updates.
Features
- Cinematic conversation system (like Mass Effect but with low-res sprites)
- Voice acting for plot-important segments (don’t think I’ll be able to do it all)
- XP, Leveling, Powers, Quest Journal, Inventory and all those wonderful RPG elements
- Dynamic, deep, and useful companions
- Immersive and intelligent storyline (hopefully)
- Open, nonlinear, interlinked environments (I’ll admit that’s just a bunch of buzzwords)
Setting
Ascension and by extension Revolution really takes place in a setting within a setting. Either the pseudomagical land of Rynn or the science-fiction Milky Way could be a complete verse in its own right. However, the two are combined and interconnected. The ancestors of the elves on Rynn are the ancestors of the space elves or Salveli. The mysterious race that brought humans to Rynn still occasionally visits. Both the Alliance (humans) and Salveli Republic have a presence on Rynn after first contact.
Specifically, Revolution takes place in a region of Rynn called Egaloch. It’s a mixture of Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, and French in a relatively small nation (about the size of Belgium but smaller ingame due to technical limitations). The Kingdom of Egaloch is not part of the overarching Empire (which is now in some serious hot water) although it is closely connected to it- thing intermarriage interconnected. It’s a standard absolute monarchy, with a lovely feudal system to match. Technology is mid to late Middle Ages, but mixed with magic, and with much more advanced technology being smuggled in.
Times are changing. The introduction of enlightened ideas has sent shockwaves through the academic community, through the military command, and through politics. Dissent is spreading. People are beginning to question the status quo. Modern technology is being put to use alongside magic, legitimately obtained or otherwise. Egaloch is relatively backwards compared to some other regions, but even it is not immune to the events unfolding across the world.
Plot
For years, an evil man and his army of minions terrorized the land. They attacked the King’s men, subverted the peasants, and generally caused as much destruction and chaos as possible. In the destruction, a great hero rose up, leading the armies of good to destroy those of evil. Finally, with his army crushed and most of his resources spent, the evildoer gambled and used the last of his forces to kidnap the Princess of Egaloch. The hero raced to save her and crush the villain once and for all. He succeeded, and the villain was arrested, stood trial and was imprisoned for his crimes.
That’s what they would like you to believe. History is written by the victor. The villain is the loser and the loser is the villain.
One year later, that villain gets up in his cell to begin his daily routine of eating slop and reading the few books they still allow him to have. Suddenly, the alarm goes off, and the guards go to full alert. There are several gunshots, and the guards drop like flies. An armoured figure strides in and hands you a gun. You follow them out, fighting your way out of the prison, releasing the other prisoners, and escape to a safehouse kept just in case.
It’s a second chance to start over. But is this about power, revenge, or are you actually trying to make the world a better place? Are you going to try again? The King’s men are willing to murder an entire town to find you, and you refuse to let that happen. A few short but intense minutes later, they lie dead at your feet, and suddenly, to the townspeople, you aren’t the villain anymore.
You’re the hero.
Characters
Kingdom
The Hero
The Princess
The King
Rebellion
The Merc – Natalia Garcia
The Avenger – Dagfinir Birgfelc
The Rogue – “Shadow”
The Runaway – Viriila D’Asal
The Trader – Hadrae Quintis Antonis
Links
ZDoom Forums: Project Thread