Released Pokémon: Scrolls of Destiny

Hematite · May 24, 2017

Wow, this looks like a really creative and promising project!! I'm excited to see more on it - it's already easy to see how dedicated you are to it, which is awesome and gives me high hopes for the future!!

Some of the things that stand out to me the most:

> I dunno if everyone will agree, but I actually really like that your protagonist has enough of a backstory that the player is figuring things out about them, and it goes hand in hand with the benefit that exposition isn't awkwardly shoved on the player all at once. (If you know you want the player to learn gradually about the family and all - "These happenings are not explained to the player, as it is assumed that the character knows what is going on, but you as the player are meant to find things out in due time." - that means your intro isn't frontloaded with excessive backstory infodumps and it all comes into play naturally! That's good to keep the player from being overly slowed down at the beginning.)

> I love the concept for the Jewel Keepers! It seems like you're doing something like Sun and Moon - giving the Gym system a fresh coat of paint that's more personal to your region and ultimately still builds up to the traditional Elite Four. I really enjoyed what Sun and Moon did there (with the Trials) and it had a heck of a lot more character than ordinary Gyms, so the fact that you're doing something like that and making it original to your game is going to make the experience really enjoyable and unique!!

> The Scrolls of Destiny themselves are an interesting concept - I know not everyone likes predestined heroes/"chosen one" plots, but it feels like a more magical plot and gives it a different sense of scale - like a coming of age and "fulfillment" plot, not just saving the world! I also love that there's some doubt involved (you don't know, at least at first, if the scrolls mean you or not) and that you start your journey before you even know about the scrolls, because it takes away the obligation from it - it's less "well, this scroll says I'm going to do this, so I'm going to do this?" and brings a really... adventurous, almost kiddish excitement to it (kiddish in the best way, not like "how childish" but "wide-eyed optimism and a thirst for adventure!"), like "WOW, I went on this journey for an adventure, and it turns out that there's this prophecy - I wonder if I could do this! Am I special?" And then when the plot picks up and starts to be serious, it's with a sense of belonging ("I can do this" and "I'm wanted for this role") rather than obligation ("because the prophecy said so!"), which I think gets around most of the issues people take with predestined stories, right?

> I'm really impressed that you've finished all 180 Fakemon!! I've been working on my game for a long time and still only have around 2/3 of my Fakemon done, haha - that shows real dedication!! I think, of the ones you've posted, my favorites are the bunny and the anglerfish (who knows? maybe I'll be an Electric-type specialist! XP), and the sheep (Fire-type, right?) is totally my choice of starter!!

> I have one last thing to say... I absolutely love that you're making your own battle backgrounds so that your sprites fit in!! It is so common that people will create new Pokémon, but they'll look really out-of-place because they're mixed with official graphics... Making the entire scene - backgrounds and Fakemon (and canon Pokémon in games that do have them) all together - is the best way to keep everything looking cohesive and fitting together, and you've pulled that off well! Maybe you're right that they're not the most perfect mimicry of the official style, but I applaud you for not just saying "well, they're my own style" but going the extra mile and actually changing the backgrounds to match!!

All in all, I'm really excited for your game and it looks like it's going to be a fun adventure, so you have at least one follower right here!! C:

updawg734 · May 24, 2017

Hematite said:
> I dunno if everyone will agree, but I actually really like that your protagonist has enough of a backstory that the player is figuring things out about them, and it goes hand in hand with the benefit that exposition isn't awkwardly shoved on the player all at once. (If you know you want the player to learn gradually about the family and all - "These happenings are not explained to the player, as it is assumed that the character knows what is going on, but you as the player are meant to find things out in due time." - that means your intro isn't frontloaded with excessive backstory infodumps and it all comes into play naturally! That's good to keep the player from being overly slowed down at the beginning.)

This is exactly what I was trying to avoid! I thought it would be more fun to keep the actual player in suspense. For example, your dad says something along the lines of "I wish your mother was here to see this, she would be so proud." Hopefully causing the player to think, "Wait...what happened to my mom?!" Which, obviously, you will find out eventually.

Hematite said:
> I love the concept for the Jewel Keepers! It seems like you're doing something like Sun and Moon - giving the Gym system a fresh coat of paint that's more personal to your region and ultimately still builds up to the traditional Elite Four. I really enjoyed what Sun and Moon did there (with the Trials) and it had a heck of a lot more character than ordinary Gyms, so the fact that you're doing something like that and making it original to your game is going to make the experience really enjoyable and unique!!

Thank you! My thought process was that the gym concept was getting over-used. Like you mentioned, I LOVED Sun and Moon's fresh twist. To me, I just wanted something practical. I found myself thinking, why are we collecting these badges..? I get that they are signs of achievement, but they did nothing themselves. That's where the idea for a practical "key" was born.

Hematite said:
> The Scrolls of Destiny themselves are an interesting concept - I know not everyone likes predestined heroes/"chosen one" plots, but it feels like a more magical plot and gives it a different sense of scale - like a coming of age and "fulfillment" plot, not just saving the world! I also love that there's some doubt involved (you don't know, at least at first, if the scrolls mean you or not) and that you start your journey before you even know about the scrolls, because it takes away the obligation from it - it's less "well, this scroll says I'm going to do this, so I'm going to do this?" and brings a really... adventurous, almost kiddish excitement to it (kiddish in the best way, not like "how childish" but "wide-eyed optimism and a thirst for adventure!"), like "WOW, I went on this journey for an adventure, and it turns out that there's this prophecy - I wonder if I could do this! Am I special?" And then when the plot picks up and starts to be serious, it's with a sense of belonging ("I can do this" and "I'm wanted for this role") rather than obligation ("because the prophecy said so!"), which I think gets around most of the issues people take with predestined stories, right?

Once again, this logic is exactly why I want to lay out the storyline to become increasingly dynamic as you playthrough. I'm really hoping that it will add to the experience to make players feel connected to what they thought was a regular Pokémon journey, but turns out to be more of a fulfillment of prophecy.

Hematite said:
> I'm really impressed that you've finished all 180 Fakemon!! I've been working on my game for a long time and still only have around 2/3 of my Fakemon done, haha - that shows real dedication!! I think, of the ones you've posted, my favorites are the bunny and the anglerfish (who knows? maybe I'll be an Electric-type specialist! XP), and the sheep (Fire-type, right?) is totally my choice of starter!!

I must admit, I have been recovering from surgery on my ankle lately, so that has given me quite a bit of free time. That being said, I have been working on concepts, artwork, and implementation for Fakemon for probably about a year now. It all started with some doodles of ideas where I thought, "Why isn't there a Pokémon like this??" You aren't alone in liking the anglerfish, by the way! He's been a fan favorite since his first design from everyone that I've shown. Just to give you a little more on it, it's name is Cerravolt, dark/electric type.

Hematite said:
> I have one last thing to say... I absolutely love that you're making your own battle backgrounds so that your sprites fit in!! It is so common that people will create new Pokémon, but they'll look really out-of-place because they're mixed with official graphics... Making the entire scene - backgrounds and Fakemon (and canon Pokémon in games that do have them) all together - is the best way to keep everything looking cohesive and fitting together, and you've pulled that off well! Maybe you're right that they're not the most perfect mimicry of the official style, but I applaud you for not just saying "well, they're my own style" but going the extra mile and actually changing the backgrounds to match!!

Honestly, I was pretty nervous to post about this game because of the artwork of the Fakemon. I thought people might just think they look bad, since I've seen some on this site that really look awesome, and mimic the style of canon Pokémon. I'm so relieved that you like how it all looks together! I knew that I had to do SOMETHING to make everything look a bit more cohesive.

Hematite said:
All in all, I'm really excited for your game and it looks like it's going to be a fun adventure, so you have at least one follower right here!! C:

Thank you so much for all the positive feedback! You really boosted my spirits about this game!! Like I mentioned, it's the first public announcement of any kind, so it's awesome to hear that it looks good to someone. Much appreciated!

updawg734 · Jul 17, 2017

We've just released Installment 1 for Pokemon: Scrolls of Destiny!

Please visit pokemonsod.weebly.com for the download.

I would greatly appreciate it if anyone playing would report any bugs to me and provide some feedback! Thanks!

Maor80 · Jul 18, 2017

i

updawg734 said:
We've just released Installment 1 for Pokemon: Scrolls of Destiny!

Please visit pokemonsod.weebly.com for the download.

I would greatly appreciate it if anyone playing would report any bugs to me and provide some feedback! Thanks!

i cant play the game there is error in it there window poping out wroten in it the following words script spirte window 218 ruintime error occured filname is nil fix this error quickly since if not iwont be able to play the game and say what ithink about it

TechSkylander1518 · Jul 19, 2017

Some of my impressions so far-

The intro seems neat, but the professor's introduction puzzles me. It doesn't quite make sense to wake up from a dream and then have a professor describe your world, ask for your name, and then vanish.
The custom music is really nice, but it makes the default music in battle that much more disappointing. I'm sure that'll be changed later, though!
Having the townspeople call you by name and talk about day-to-day life was a nice touch, it felt like there was a bit of life in the characters rather than just cardboard NPCs that you usually see!
I love items being seen as actual items in the overworld, it's a great touch in fangames that I'm surprised canon games haven't done!
Tembusu's murder is definitely an interesting twist, but the aftermath kinda undoes the surprise. Just after the spooky music and ominous message, we get a brief "an ambulance arrived and carried the body away" message and we're brought back to cheery music and the setting just as it was before. Even with the dialogue, it feels hard to believe that it happened.
Perhaps this is being nitpicky, but why do the lab staff instantly consider the player a trainer? They only have one Pokemon in their party, and that's on loan. It's not shocking to think that they would want help given the recent events, but I think it would make more sense for them to ask for help because they see the player's helpful nature (given that they're already on an errand for their dad) rather than assume a level of skill with Pokemon that isn't there.
The family connection to Tembusu is a very interesting one, but it kinda comes out of the blue-the first news to Dad is about the professor, even though he didn't say anything about him beforehand and we were supposed to go to the post office?
As before, the player's father is kinda assuming a lot of the player. The jump from "you got a Pokemon as a gift" to "you must want to become a trainer and go on this journey like everyone else (that starts in a secret place)" is a bit confusing. I think that, given the theme of fate, it would make sense to have the player's father insisting that the gift was a sign that they were destined to follow in their parent's footsteps, rather than assuming it was what they wanted.
The level curve is a bit of a toughie-with no battles outside of wild Pokemon until the first Jewel Keeper's trainers, and having your Dad take back his, it's easy to be at a disadvantage. (probably didn't help that I only had Tackle, which triggered Cute Charm)

Maor80 said:
fix this error quickly since if not iwont be able to play the game and say what ithink about it

It's a little impolite to tell people to fix something fast for you, especially considering that it's only an error on your end and can't be fixed through updawg changing the game. (If my experience with Uranium errors is anything to go on, it probably just needs to be redownloaded, since it says a filename is nil)

Maor80 · Jul 19, 2017

s

TechSkylander1518 said:
Some of my impressions so far-

The intro seems neat, but the professor's introduction puzzles me. It doesn't quite make sense to wake up from a dream and then have a professor describe your world, ask for your name, and then vanish.

The custom music is really nice, but it makes the default music in battle that much more disappointing. I'm sure that'll be changed later, though!

Having the townspeople call you by name and talk about day-to-day life was a nice touch, it felt like there was a bit of life in the characters rather than just cardboard NPCs that you usually see!

I love items being seen as actual items in the overworld, it's a great touch in fangames that I'm surprised canon games haven't done!

Tembusu's murder is definitely an interesting twist, but the aftermath kinda undoes the surprise. Just after the spooky music and ominous message, we get a brief "an ambulance arrived and carried the body away" message and we're brought back to cheery music and the setting just as it was before. Even with the dialogue, it feels hard to believe that it happened.

Perhaps this is being nitpicky, but why do the lab staff instantly consider the player a trainer? They only have one Pokemon in their party, and that's on loan. It's not shocking to think that they would want help given the recent events, but I think it would make more sense for them to ask for help because they see the player's helpful nature (given that they're already on an errand for their dad) rather than assume a level of skill with Pokemon that isn't there.

The family connection to Tembusu is a very interesting one, but it kinda comes out of the blue-the first news to Dad is about the professor, even though he didn't say anything about him beforehand and we were supposed to go to the post office?

As before, the player's father is kinda assuming a lot of the player. The jump from "you got a Pokemon as a gift" to "you must want to become a trainer and go on this journey like everyone else (that starts in a secret place)" is a bit confusing. I think that, given the theme of fate, it would make sense to have the player's father insisting that the gift was a sign that they were destined to follow in their parent's footsteps, rather than assuming it was what they wanted.

The level curve is a bit of a toughie-with no battles outside of wild Pokemon until the first Jewel Keeper's trainers, and having your Dad take back his, it's easy to be at a disadvantage. (probably didn't help that I only had Tackle, which triggered Cute Charm)

It's a little impolite to tell people to fix something fast for you, especially considering that it's only an error on your end and can't be fixed through updawg changing the game. (If my experience with Uranium errors is anything to go on, it probably just needs to be redownloaded, since it says a filename is nil)

sorry if iwas impolite i will try redownload now i hop you understand i waited so long until i could to play thisis why i felt disapoitmant and stres------------------------

TechSkylander1518 said:
Some of my impressions so far-

The intro seems neat, but the professor's introduction puzzles me. It doesn't quite make sense to wake up from a dream and then have a professor describe your world, ask for your name, and then vanish.

The custom music is really nice, but it makes the default music in battle that much more disappointing. I'm sure that'll be changed later, though!

Having the townspeople call you by name and talk about day-to-day life was a nice touch, it felt like there was a bit of life in the characters rather than just cardboard NPCs that you usually see!

I love items being seen as actual items in the overworld, it's a great touch in fangames that I'm surprised canon games haven't done!

Tembusu's murder is definitely an interesting twist, but the aftermath kinda undoes the surprise. Just after the spooky music and ominous message, we get a brief "an ambulance arrived and carried the body away" message and we're brought back to cheery music and the setting just as it was before. Even with the dialogue, it feels hard to believe that it happened.

Perhaps this is being nitpicky, but why do the lab staff instantly consider the player a trainer? They only have one Pokemon in their party, and that's on loan. It's not shocking to think that they would want help given the recent events, but I think it would make more sense for them to ask for help because they see the player's helpful nature (given that they're already on an errand for their dad) rather than assume a level of skill with Pokemon that isn't there.

The family connection to Tembusu is a very interesting one, but it kinda comes out of the blue-the first news to Dad is about the professor, even though he didn't say anything about him beforehand and we were supposed to go to the post office?

As before, the player's father is kinda assuming a lot of the player. The jump from "you got a Pokemon as a gift" to "you must want to become a trainer and go on this journey like everyone else (that starts in a secret place)" is a bit confusing. I think that, given the theme of fate, it would make sense to have the player's father insisting that the gift was a sign that they were destined to follow in their parent's footsteps, rather than assuming it was what they wanted.

The level curve is a bit of a toughie-with no battles outside of wild Pokemon until the first Jewel Keeper's trainers, and having your Dad take back his, it's easy to be at a disadvantage. (probably didn't help that I only had Tackle, which triggered Cute Charm)

It's a little impolite to tell people to fix something fast for you, especially considering that it's only an error on your end and can't be fixed through updawg changing the game. (If my experience with Uranium errors is anything to go on, it probably just needs to be redownloaded, since it says a filename is nil)

OK I tried to download the game again but still the same window keep to appearing to me when I am pressing space bar and the game in the intro screen it happening

TechSkylander1518 · Jul 20, 2017

Maor80 said:
OK I tried to download the game again but still the same window keep to appearing to me when I am pressing space bar and the game in the intro screen it happening

You extracted everything from the game files, right?

Maor80 · Jul 20, 2017

i extarceted audio data fonts grapics game knownpoint gif.dl knownpoint pokemonessetinals wiki rgss102e.dl rgss104e.dl rubyscreen .dl selpont and townmap gen thats all

TechSkylander1518 said:
You extracted everything from the game files, right?

what iseen after its done is there things thats missing i am usaly using win rar maybe what i am using extarecting is not good

updawg734 · Jul 22, 2017

Maor80 said:
i extarceted audio data fonts grapics game knownpoint gif.dl knownpoint pokemonessetinals wiki rgss102e.dl rgss104e.dl rubyscreen .dl selpont and townmap gen thats all

what iseen after its done is there things thats missing i am usaly using win rar maybe what i am using extarecting is not good

Thank you so much for your interest in the game! I hope we can get it working for you.

You shouldn't have to pull apart any of the files. When you download it, it'll all come as one cohesive zipped file. My suggestion is that you drag that zipped file to your desktop. Then, right click and select to "Extract All" (it might say "Extract Here.") Then, open the folder that was extracted. The only thing you should have to do from here is press the file called "Game.exe" That should start the game up. Let me know if you're still having errors!------------------------

TechSkylander1518 said:
Some of my impressions so far-

The intro seems neat, but the professor's introduction puzzles me. It doesn't quite make sense to wake up from a dream and then have a professor describe your world, ask for your name, and then vanish.

The custom music is really nice, but it makes the default music in battle that much more disappointing. I'm sure that'll be changed later, though!

Having the townspeople call you by name and talk about day-to-day life was a nice touch, it felt like there was a bit of life in the characters rather than just cardboard NPCs that you usually see!

I love items being seen as actual items in the overworld, it's a great touch in fangames that I'm surprised canon games haven't done!

Tembusu's murder is definitely an interesting twist, but the aftermath kinda undoes the surprise. Just after the spooky music and ominous message, we get a brief "an ambulance arrived and carried the body away" message and we're brought back to cheery music and the setting just as it was before. Even with the dialogue, it feels hard to believe that it happened.

Perhaps this is being nitpicky, but why do the lab staff instantly consider the player a trainer? They only have one Pokemon in their party, and that's on loan. It's not shocking to think that they would want help given the recent events, but I think it would make more sense for them to ask for help because they see the player's helpful nature (given that they're already on an errand for their dad) rather than assume a level of skill with Pokemon that isn't there.

The family connection to Tembusu is a very interesting one, but it kinda comes out of the blue-the first news to Dad is about the professor, even though he didn't say anything about him beforehand and we were supposed to go to the post office?

As before, the player's father is kinda assuming a lot of the player. The jump from "you got a Pokemon as a gift" to "you must want to become a trainer and go on this journey like everyone else (that starts in a secret place)" is a bit confusing. I think that, given the theme of fate, it would make sense to have the player's father insisting that the gift was a sign that they were destined to follow in their parent's footsteps, rather than assuming it was what they wanted.

The level curve is a bit of a toughie-with no battles outside of wild Pokemon until the first Jewel Keeper's trainers, and having your Dad take back his, it's easy to be at a disadvantage. (probably didn't help that I only had Tackle, which triggered Cute Charm)

First of all, THANK YOU for all of the feedback! I sincerely appreciate all of it. I was so excited to see that someone was actually playing the game! I'll do my best to respond to your feedback here:

I never really thought of the stark contrast in the introduction with the professor. I'll look into some ways to make the introduction a little more unique to my game, since I definitely want to keep the dream part.

I definitely will consider looking into other music for battling. I didn't think of this either!

Regarding Tembusu's murder and the scene after, I definitely agree with you that it returns to normal a little too fast. I was worried about this, because I obviously need the game to return to "normal" at some point so that you can get back home, but it does happen a little too fast. I'll work on that scene!

Regarding a few of your points, I'll definitely look into changing some dialogue and story line points to make it more cohesive (like how the starter is given to you and how your Dad reacts). The story line is intended to be one of the major draws for Scrolls of Destiny, so I want it to be engaging and exciting as much as possible!

The leveling right away is a bit tough, I'll agree to that. I'll most likely alter the levels of the first Jewel Keeper arena to be more realistic with where trainers likely are with their leveling.

Again, thank you so much. I really appreciate all this feedback and will take all of your points into consideration!

TechSkylander1518 · Jul 22, 2017

I'm very glad I could help! I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes!

Maor80 · Aug 28, 2017

Hey after the game did not work it begin to working to me few days ago and I captured pretty much any pokemon. even the pokemon that was wrote area unknown in their pokedex pages still searching for sparklit in the game and I am started training part of the pokemon I chught does the little red panda pokemon evolving ? I am interested since I got even the pokemon from the trades by the way why babanda is offered to get two trades its offered in the for beeble and in and in the place of third jwele keeper for pepa you should change this

updawg734 · Sep 1, 2017

Maor80 said:
Hey after the game did not work it begin to working to me few days ago and I captured pretty much any pokemon. even the pokemon that was wrote area unknown in their pokedex pages still searching for sparklit in the game and I am started training part of the pokemon I chught does the little red panda pokemon evolving ? I am interested since I got even the pokemon from the trades by the way why babanda is offered to get two trades its offered in the for beeble and in and in the place of third jwele keeper for pepa you should change this

Thanks for playing the game, and I'm glad you are enjoying catching the fakemon! Yes, Babanda actually will end up evolving twice. I don't believe Sparkit is available anywhere in the first installment that I have out right now - sorry! By the time the whole game is finished, there will be a way to catch all of them, so no worries! I did not even realize that I made two NPC's trade a Babanda, thank you for pointing that out! I will be sure to fix it.

Again, thanks for the feedback and for playing!!

updawg734 · Oct 12, 2017

Sorry to anyone following this game for the lack of work recently. I've been extremely busy with two jobs and school, so I just wanted to pop in quickly and say that I have not forgotten about the game, it's just been a struggle trying to find time to work on it! Thanks for any support!

Maor80 · Oct 26, 2017

I want to ask if sparkit evolving? since this fakemon seems like the real pokemon like pikachu I want to ask since I want it in my team in the next version

updawg734 · Oct 30, 2017

Maor80 said:
I want to ask if sparkit evolving? since this fakemon seems like the real pokemon like pikachu I want to ask since I want it in my team in the next version

Yes, Sparkit does have one evolution! He should be a powerful electric type to have on your team! If you want more specific information on his evolution (typing, name, picture) let me know and I can message it to you. Just don't want to include any spoilers in case anyone wants to be surprised :)

updawg734 · Jan 29, 2018

Hello again to anyone following progress on this game! Once again, I apologize for lack of progress. I've run into quite a span of time where I haven't made much progress.

HOWEVER...I do have an update!

I have begun the process of integrating 5 more fakemon into the game, bumping the total number up to 185. These 5 new fakemon will be similar to fossil pokemon. One evolution line comes from the mysteriously warm palm fossil, and another comes from the frigid fang fossil. One of these ancient fossil fakemon is different than the others, and will require a little more work to obtain. Legends say that it hoardes precious jewels deep in its underground dwellings...

Stay tuned! Hopefully I'll find time to start more frequent work on the game.

updawg734 · Jun 18, 2018

Once again, I apologize for lack of progress...life gets busy and hectic!

I have been very slowly working on some mapping for the game, as well as integrating Gen 5 graphics more completely (bag, PC, etc.).

Progress is slow, but it is happening! I refuse to give up on making this game, no matter how long it takes!

Released Pokémon: Scrolls of Destiny

Hematite

Trainer

updawg734

Whats up, dawg?

updawg734

Whats up, dawg?

Maor80

Cooltrainer

TechSkylander1518

Wiki Dweeb

Maor80

Cooltrainer

TechSkylander1518

Wiki Dweeb

Maor80

Cooltrainer

updawg734

Whats up, dawg?

TechSkylander1518

Wiki Dweeb

Maor80

Cooltrainer

updawg734

Whats up, dawg?

updawg734

Whats up, dawg?

Maor80

Cooltrainer

updawg734

Whats up, dawg?

updawg734

Whats up, dawg?

updawg734

Whats up, dawg?