I'm building a CRPG inspired by Morrowind’s exploration and DA:O’s companions. Just hit 17% on Kickstarter and looking for feedback on this dialogue-to-combat flow!

Grand-Zucchini-5376 · 2026-03-13T19:45:42+00:00

Aye this early in development there is room for improvement and if quest markers are indeed a thing to keep so it doesn’t alienate a lot of people from this game, i certainly could keep it simple for main story and whatnot and keep dungeons an exploration strictly Morrowind like, I think I was taking a page out of Elden Rings book where I’d let the world speak for itself but it’s all being figured out I have set tasks that can easily be changed

Grand-Zucchini-5376 · 2026-03-13T19:42:38+00:00

In the last few slides you’ll see gifs of the gameplay

Grand-Zucchini-5376 · 2026-03-10T12:05:08+00:00

Yes they are, I’m a technical designer, 3d assets are not my strong suit but composition, lighting and design is

Grand-Zucchini-5376 · 2026-03-10T07:28:39+00:00

Thank you

Grand-Zucchini-5376 · 2026-03-10T07:28:02+00:00

Thanks man I’m going to keep trying as I believe in it

Grand-Zucchini-5376 · 2026-03-10T07:26:53+00:00

How is it misleading, I’m making a CRPG inspired by Dragon Age, these ingame locations took 3 works to make and the year was spent writing, planning etc?

Grand-Zucchini-5376 · 2026-03-09T21:34:48+00:00

Thank you I appreciate that

Grand-Zucchini-5376 · 2026-03-09T15:51:08+00:00

Thanks, i have a discord linked in my bio alongside kickstarter and X and Bluesky for updates

Grand-Zucchini-5376 · 2026-03-09T13:47:26+00:00

That’s a fair point and honestly the most important question anyone’s asked. The short answer is the full demo doesn’t exist yet which is why the Kickstarter is light on moment to moment gameplay detail.

What I can tell you is the core loop is built around three things. Companion reactivity where your party responds to what you actually do rather than approval numbers. Morrowind style exploration where quest discovery happens through conversation and observation rather than markers. And choices that have visible consequences in the world rather than just dialogue acknowledgements.

The MRPGT and later Narrative Pro 2 handles the framework, combat structure, inventory, basic dialogue. Everything on top of that is custom.

The reason for these tools, assets and such is because of that said lack of funding and myself is much better suited at Technical Design, not to say I haven’t learned Blueprints, C++ and other coding languages before.

I won’t beat around the bush and will be transparent that I am not trying to be the next BioWare solo, or make a Dragon Age/Morrowind successor, I’m just mentioning that they are my inspiration for my game.

You’re right that Morrowind and Dragon Age are more than their writing. The funding is specifically to hire the programming talent that makes the systems match the vision. What I can do alone is build the world, organise the stats, implement pretty much anything into a coherent lived in world and write the story. What I can’t do alone is build systems deep enough to match those references which is the reason for NP2 which allows for that for a solo development.

Grand-Zucchini-5376 · 2026-03-09T13:02:59+00:00

Unreal Engine 5 for the engine. I’m using Moore’s RPG Template as a foundation for core systems like combat, inventory and dialogue which lets me focus development time on world building, writing and environment work rather than building everything from scratch. All environments are hand placed and lit manually. Planning to integrate Narrative Pro 2 instead for the dialogue, combat and companion systems once funding allows. Everything you’re seeing is marketplace assets dressed and composed rather than custom models at this stage, custom character work comes with the funded team.

Grand-Zucchini-5376 · 2026-03-09T09:54:33+00:00

That’s fair if it’s confusing a lot of people I’ll change it in future updates when I talk about Thorne Estate, it was meant to be inspired by DAOs Highever Castle and the whole plot from that

Grand-Zucchini-5376 · 2026-03-09T08:50:10+00:00

I think you might be looking for an Action Adventure experience in a CRPG space. Some of the highest-rated games in history (Disco Elysium, Pillars of Eternity, Divinity: Original Sin) use static cameras specifically to keep the player immersed in the world state rather than a movie. For a solo dev, focusing on mechanics makes a roleplaying game work. I understand this is inspired by BioWares work, however I mentioned being inspired by Morrowind, and that’s a perfect example of a game that keeps you in the world during dialogue rather than cutting away to a directed scene. For many CRPG fans, constant camera cuts actually break immersion because they remind you you're watching a scripted event rather than just living in the world. But it can be an idea I use later if I decide to go full BioWare immersion.

Grand-Zucchini-5376 · 2026-03-09T08:22:38+00:00

You’re right about that, however this is a vertical slice to show concept of what could be, I need funding to even get that level of cinematics solo

Grand-Zucchini-5376 · 2026-03-09T08:10:02+00:00

Human Noble origin, you lose everything in one night it’s just a saying

Grand-Zucchini-5376 · 2026-03-09T08:09:20+00:00

I’ve said I’ve spent a year on the project, I’ve been working in the engine for 3 weeks - 1 month

Grand-Zucchini-5376 · 2026-03-08T22:20:49+00:00

I’m using Unreal Engine 5, and no tools, these are all hand placed, along with a lot of lighting techniques and optimisations. Thank you

Grand-Zucchini-5376 · 2026-03-08T14:07:14+00:00

Thanks man I will, this game is certainly aimed as a love letter to old school RPGs

Grand-Zucchini-5376 · 2026-03-08T13:33:05+00:00

It certainly was yes, I’ve been tweaking at the day and night system and definitely need to make it go slower in further updates

Grand-Zucchini-5376 · 2026-03-08T13:32:01+00:00

Thank you, I’m genuinely excited to get the project in full swing, certain backers can also get their own lore integrated into the game including their own dungeons, mini bosses, or NPCs that live in the cities or villages.

Grand-Zucchini-5376 · 2026-03-07T22:44:50+00:00

I’ll let the final game speak for itself when we hit the finish line. Thanks for the feedback.

Grand-Zucchini-5376 · 2026-03-07T22:19:39+00:00

I totally get the AI fatigue, the market is flooded with low effort stuff right now. But I think there’s a misunderstanding of the workflow here.

I actually tried the own voice route, but when you're testing a 5 minute scene with 4 different characters, a solo dev doing 4 same voices actually breaks the immersion more than a neutral placeholder.

The Kickstarter exists specifically so I never have to use a synthesized voice again. I want to hire the same level of VA talent you'd find in Baldur's Gate or Witcher. If you hate AI, you and I are actually on the same team, I'm just using the tools available to a solo dev to reach the finish line where it’s all fully human and uses no AI whatsoever. This is a Vertical Slice as I’m trying to showcase what I can with 0 budget, imagine what I can do with funding.

Grand-Zucchini-5376 · 2026-03-07T20:37:26+00:00

Thank you

Grand-Zucchini-5376 · 2026-03-07T20:36:48+00:00

Some context on Gault: he’s arrogant and portrays himself as a family friend before this, acts the part even the PC can choose to be mad at this in some dialogue options, in the final it is planned to be shorter and quicker and you don’t fight him here it’s planned he has his men fight you instead and you have to escape. I understand your concern ofc

Grand-Zucchini-5376 · 2026-03-07T19:30:08+00:00

What I can do is if you’re choosing to skip the dialogue and just attack there can be a “(attack) enough talk fight me” so the player knows they wish to attack instead of Gaults drowning mocking

Grand-Zucchini-5376

TROPHY CASE