The Blacksmith – the very beginning
Welcome at my dev blog #1 to the indie game “The Blacksmith“!
Everything starts on paper – that is at least something I’ve read a lot in the past. That’s why I started on paper. Well, actually I started to write down my thoughts about this game, some mechanics it should have, the overall setting and a plot.
As soon as I started writing my mind explodes and many ideas come up. So writing is a good thing, I guess. Sleep a night over it and return to your table. Actually this one night were many nights and now I am here where I am.
I got a vision and played my first ‘prototype’ on paper with my wife while my newborn was sleeping. By the way, it is awesome when he is sleeping, because than I have some time to do this work 😉
So my circumstances are that I am a husband, father and I got a full-time job at a very large retailer as an IT project lead. But in my spare time I am a full-time indie dev and gamer – well, I was my whole life a gamer, but I started creating games only a few years ago. And I didn’t invest that much time into it until now!
Why the heck building a blacksmith indie game?
I really like the fantasy (RPG) setting and I enjoyed games like “The Black Eye” (Part 1 to 3, in German “Das Schwarze Auge”), Â Baldur’s Gate, Ultima Series and many many more. But I also like economy games like “Mad TV”, “Settlers” (part 1 and 2), “Sim City” and of course “Cities: Skylines”.
So why do not create an economy game in a fantasy world? Almost every player knows the fantasy setting, but not from this side. Normally you raid dungeons and sell your goods at the blacksmith’s shop. Owned by a guy, strong as hell, large beard, deep voice and always supporting you heroes. This is the blacksmith!
When you think about it – there are million things you can do in such setting – so I try to find a good way to put it into a game that makes fun. At least I know that when someone starts playing this game, he will find himself in a very familiar world.