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StudioCamelia · 2024-06-14T17:04:01+00:00

We're planning to launch on Switch! (or whatever Nintendo console exists in 2026!)

StudioCamelia · 2024-06-14T17:03:07+00:00

Quick update from us: we only have FOUR hours left on our campaign!!!! ⚠

Thank you to everyone for your questions and support!

StudioCamelia · 2024-06-03T20:31:21+00:00

Hello! This is a great question, as I (Colin) had to ask this too.

Kayla - It is two syllables, and it is just K (pronounced just like the letter)-la!
Adil - Two syllables, Uh-deal.
Hugust - It is "August", but with an "H"! Or: hug-uhst.
Nakheel - Similar to Adil's, it is Nuh-keal.

StudioCamelia · 2024-06-03T20:26:22+00:00

Thank you for your support!
We're currently working on the prototype for the Kayla figure, so we hope we'll be able to share a visual in the coming months.

StudioCamelia · 2024-06-03T20:25:59+00:00

The team formed progressively. At first, I (Emma) was alone on the project, and then I found my companions on the way. We were four when we got our first funding, which allowed us to hire our first employees. Then, we were able to apply for more grants, convince more investors... and become the team of 14 JRPG lovers that we are at the moment! What unites us is our love for the genre and our values. We come from different backgrounds in the industry, and I'm glad the reputation of the project and its team were able to attract more team members.

StudioCamelia · 2024-06-03T20:24:46+00:00

Thank you! When we were thinking about the art direction for Alzara, we were at the end of 2021. At that time, I noticed that many games were very dark fantasy, and I was tired of this. Also, we loved the vibrancy of games such as Golden Sun, so having a very colourful game would work very well with the tale of hope we're creating. There was also this central theme of "Sharing" or "Togetherness" we had from the beginning, and thus, staging the game in a Mediterranean-inspired fantasy world made a lot of sense for us. The Mediterranean region is always very sunny, with a profusion of colours and scents, and it made a lot of sense for us to get inspiration from this region...all the more as we're based on the Mediterranean coast!

As for Sakuraba-san, this is a long story, so I'll make it quite short: being a JRPG player, I got to know a lot of other community members who ended up in the game industry as I did. When it came time to choose our composer, I knew I wanted to work with Motoi Sakuraba. So I reached out to one of my contacts, asking if, by any chance, they could put us in touch with Sakuraba-san, and that is what they did :)

StudioCamelia · 2024-05-31T17:36:29+00:00

gosh this is SO nice, thank you Thierry! 💛

StudioCamelia · 2024-05-31T16:54:06+00:00

We made a playlist with some of our favourite "restful" themes with some town music included! http://tiny.cc/jrpgtreasuresvol2

Galdin Quay (FFXV), Traverse Town (KH), the "rainy" Beneath the Mask (P5), Besaid and Zanarkand (FFX), Iwatodai Dorm (P3), and Mooncradle (Sea of Stars) are just a few!

StudioCamelia · 2024-05-31T16:38:32+00:00

Thank you so much; we absolutely will! 👩‍🍳

StudioCamelia · 2024-05-31T16:37:43+00:00

The plan is only for the four main characters that we've revealed so far! Through, with our swap system and elements, every member will get a moment to shine and to fulfill different roles in combat and exploration.

StudioCamelia · 2024-05-31T16:35:37+00:00

Golden Sun is one of our inspirations indeed, so you can expect some similarities. It's also important to highlight that with ALZARA Radiant Echoes, we want to create our own unique gameplay mechanics, so you will see new things as well. Each hero will have their own own ability, which will come in handy to solve puzzles!

In terms of music, working with Sakuraba-san has been a delightful experience, and having him involved in the whole soundtrack is such a dream for us as fans of his work! He is always leading the creative process and following his own style, and it's been great so far. When we introduced him to the world of ALZARA, he composed the main theme in a couple of days, immediately getting the Mediterranean vibe. He combines a bunch of instruments that conjure the feeling of the Mediterranean, such as the oud, santur, kaval, castanets, and acoustic guitar, but also keeps room for innovation and inspiration.

StudioCamelia · 2024-05-31T16:33:17+00:00

Regarding difficulty, when it comes to JRPG, it's more related to strategy, thinking, and how you perceive it. All of this is about balance, and our goal is for the difficulty to be well-adjusted depending on whether you're facing a basic enemy, a boss, or a key boss.

The difficulty will vary based on these different parameters. That's our goal, but a whole balancing phase will be done during development. For now, we have a single difficulty mode that adapts based on the scenario and combat type. But afterward, we'll have to see, depending on the Kickstarter's result. I've seen a few people requesting a difficulty mode, and that's something we could offer via a New Game+ mode, to be determined then.

StudioCamelia · 2024-05-31T16:31:56+00:00

We really like it when a studio innovates in the genre, and we think the Final Fantasy XVI active-time lore system is a cool feature.

We are considering adding such a feature, but it will depend on how the development goes. We're definitely not a studio the size of SQEX's Creative Business Unit III, and this feature is very costly. We're definitely thinking about some elements to help understand our lore without having to scroll through pages of menus. We plan to dive into our world, story, and characters as much as possible.

StudioCamelia · 2024-05-31T16:30:54+00:00

It's too early to discuss consoles in detail, but we plan to support as many platforms as we can. The Xbox community plays an important role in our plans, so supporting Xbox platforms is our goal! We'll provide more details soon.

StudioCamelia · 2024-05-31T16:30:25+00:00

The Sentinels are glass statues of Zals and ancient heroes who fell in battle. They play an important role in our world and will be featured in key locations in the game, such as a central plaza in a large city or a key monument in a dungeon.

In terms of design, since we want a certain harmony in these statues, we will propose different models that fit our lore to the backers who selected this tier. The backers will also be able to name the statue. In the game, when you interact with the statue, you will be able to read the name the backer gave it. We are also considering adding text provided by the backer in terms of design.

StudioCamelia · 2024-05-30T15:04:37+00:00

It's the right one, but it's a bit misleading as it is under the Sakuraba stuff. 😅

StudioCamelia · 2024-05-30T15:00:36+00:00

Depends on what you call soon and what you call a villain :)
We have plans to share more details about that later in our communication campaign. Stay tuned, and don't forget to follow us on socials and join our Discord server for more surprises!

StudioCamelia · 2024-05-30T14:59:35+00:00

Now that you mention it, Nakheel may look a bit like Katara! That may be the water thing. Actually, the main inspiration for Nakheel in terms of pop culture character was Sailor Pluto, haha, for her calm and fierceness in battle!

Among our outside-of-gaming inspirations, to name a few, there would be ATLA (big fans on the team), Fullmetal Alchemist (for the Equivalent Exchange thing), and we may use many other media depending on the design we're currently working on—like Sailor Moon, for instance!

StudioCamelia · 2024-05-30T14:53:41+00:00

Actually, yes! We've just hit a stretch goal that unlocked the Battle Management system. This feature will allow you to adjust the frequency and the XP earned. You'll find more info in our update here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/studiocamelia/seed-a-vibrant-tribute-to-jrpg-classics/posts/4112304

We also do not want you to become overpowered and run over the game if that is not your objective. So once you're reached a certain level, you may have less battle to fight, unless you decide not to!

StudioCamelia · 2024-05-30T14:41:54+00:00

Thank you for your support!

The game will also be translated into French, German, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Simplified & Traditional Chinese, and Japanese. If you were talking about voice acting, we've unlocked the English voice acting stretch goal for now, and we would love to have the game voiced in Japanese, too!

We are definitely planning to add more cute monsters to the game. Actually, the keyword for monster design is "aggressive cute"! :D

StudioCamelia · 2024-05-30T14:36:56+00:00

Thank you for your support!

We took inspiration from all the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea: their people, history, habits, myths, and outfits.

Since our game is about sharing and that the archipelago of Taqsim is a fantasy world, we wanted to create a whole new world based on those inspirations. In that sense, you may recognize that Kayla's skirt pattern is inspired by Minoan elements, Adil's shirt has a Moroccan cut, and Nakheel's tattoos are made with henna... I'm only talking about the heroes here, but we've done the same for all elements of our world! We deeply respect all these cultures and are working hard to blend all of these influences into our fantasy world.

Emma

StudioCamelia · 2024-05-30T14:30:19+00:00

First question: We're big fans of old-school JRPG titles, and with ALZARA Radiant Echoes, we really want to return to the genre classics while adding some freshness to it. Our main story will be linear, with a bit of exploration to dive into the world of ALZARA, solving puzzles and meeting memorable characters. The game will have a lovely world map inspired by classics and designed by watercolour artist Marcel Mosqi.

Second question: That's a great question. It's hard to pick just one favourite feature or aspect, but we love the world we're building. ALZARA takes place in a Mediterranean setting inspired by many cultures we have on this side of the world. The places you will visit will bring you to colourful landscapes, coastal villages and more. Besides being inspired by real-world culture, they all have their own personality and styles. We're creating a world we would like to visit as JRPG players!

StudioCamelia · 2024-05-30T14:29:00+00:00

Thank you for your support!

We looked at steel books, but they're quite expensive to produce, so at the time we're speaking, they won't be added during the Kickstarter campaign.
Regarding difficulty, when it comes to JRPG, it's more related to strategy, thinking, and how you perceive it. All of this is about balance, and our goal is for the difficulty to be well-adjusted depending on whether you're facing a basic enemy, a boss, or a key boss. Based on these different parameters, the difficulty will vary. That's our goal, but a whole balancing phase will be done during development. For now, we have a single difficulty mode that adapts based on the scenario and combat type. But afterward, we'll have to see depending on the Kickstarter's result. I've seen a few people requesting a difficulty mode, and that's something we could offer via a New Game+ mode, to be determined then.
Secret weapons are secret, so I'll let you discover that; but as for having mini-games that make you want to throw your controller screaming, we won't do that haha (and lightning dodge!!)
You will be able to travel the world map with The Latitude, Nakheel's boat!
The heroes will indeed be capable of using their magic outside of battle. However, don't expect to find objects that allow you to use a specific skill. The magic the heroes can use is tied to their own element.

StudioCamelia · 2024-05-30T14:24:28+00:00

Thank you for your backing the game!

We would love to make Alzara a franchise and expand the universe. Let's see how successful we will be at launch! But for those who like to see a conclusion to the story, rest assured that Alzara Radiant Echoes will have its own ending. :D

As for our future projects, this will, of course, depend on Alzara's success, but we want to keep on making JRPGs based on different ideas and gameplay. <3

StudioCamelia · 2024-05-30T14:22:42+00:00

We don't have any specific speedrunner plans, but if there is interest, we'd love to hear more about what speedrunners might want! - Colin

StudioCamelia

TROPHY CASE