PLEASE START US OFF BY INTRODUCING YOURSELF:


Hello! I am Alan Gabbard, Creative Director of Positive Concept Games and Shrine's Legacy. I largely focus on writing, directing, game design, concept art, sound effects and marketing for our game.

TELL US ABOUT SHRINE'S LEGACY.

Shrine's Legacy is a 2D pixelart co-op Action RPG reminiscent of classic SNES titles such as The Legend of Zelda, Secret of Mana, and Terranigma. The idea came from a childhood story I made up to tell my younger brother when we were children. My best friend, Joseph Duke, approached me for a game idea in high school and I pitched Shrine's Legacy as a co-op game as we felt not enough RPGs let you play in co-op.


HOW HAS THE DEVELOPMENT JOURNEY BEEN

Development has been long and brutal, haha! We bit off more than we can chew by choosing a big RPG as our first project. But we're deep in it now (development is nearing the end), so no turning back!

WHICH GAME ENGINE DID YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?


We chose to use Game Maker Studio 2 because my co-dev Joseph largely had experience using Game Maker and he is our one and only programmer.


WHAT'S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST DEVELOPMENT HURDLE SO FAR?

Making the pixel art better has been the most challenging development hurdle. We aren't talented pixel artists, so we ended up having to hire professional artists after our successful Kickstarter. Otherwise, the grind to program mechanics for this massive Action RPG has also been a big hurdle and struggle for us.


ADVICE FOR FELLOW DEVS?

Yes. DO NOT make a big game as your first commercial project! It is not worth the mental stress and hassle. Start with a much smaller project, build up a fanbase, then work towards getting a team together to make that bigger project. Trust me, it will save you a lot of pain. Another piece of advice: Make sure your art is GOOD and stands out. If you don't have a strong art style for your game, it is extremely difficult to stand out. We learned this the hard way.


ANY FINAL THOUGHTS?

-Life is too short to not chase your dreams. Making and finishing this RPG game has been a dream of mine, and fail or succeed financially, I am proud to one day be able to say, "I actually did finish a dream project." Not many people get to say that, and I'll be satisfied if I can say it someday.

- Alan

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1435410/Shrines_Legacy/

❤️