Unsung Story - May Update

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In the May update for Unsung Story, there is talk about an upcoming stream, physical copies for console versions, current state, maps and a development update.

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am extremely happy with the development progress. Not only did we get our first console builds this month, but we also got to play initial versions of several different battle maps that included many new classes and abilities.

So that's what I'm going to talk about for the rest of this update.

But first, here is a quick review of what Unsung Story is all about for context. Back in August we started from scratch and rebuilt the story and design based around Yasumi Matsuno's original ideas.

Matsuno's goals in the design

• Instead of a World Map, we have a Historical Map that allows the player to revisit various battles and moments in the War
• Players will explore the game across 5 different chapters - each with their own main Story Character
• Classes have pure gameplay mechanics (Warrior, Priest, Wizard, Pioneer)
• Players can level up and unlock new classes to switch between
• Player units can have a Primary and Secondary class which creates lots of variations and unique combinations
• Environmental height and incline affect movement, speed, and attack
• Simplify the presentation of stats to make them less complicated without sacrificing depth
• Introduce the triangle grid for slightly different tactical choices

Basic story concepts

• The game takes place in a medieval fantasy world filled with wild chaotic magic that is fueled by vibration and shaped by songs. This magic literally has the power to reshape reality around the caster.
• Realizing that the world could not sustain life, the first inhabitants built the Opus of History - the first and oldest song that holds the world together. Since that time History has been sung and recorded in magical schools around the world.
• The game opens at the end of a 77-Year War. Cities have been decimated, and the schools ravaged. A final, desperate war summit has been called - a plea to finally end the war because the Opus of History is starting to fail, and no one knows why. The world is coming apart at the seams.
• A small band of aging heroes are given an impossible task. Armed with an experimental spell, they must brave the unknown by traveling into the Opus to find a way to repair the tears.
• But something unexpected happens, the spell doesn't work as expected. Instead the squad is transported backwards in time and thrust into the middle of a recent major turning point.
• From there the player will meet key figures on both sides of the war. They will fight each key battle working their way backwards and gaining a small new opportunity each time - methodically unraveling the intricacies of history in an effort to prevent the war in the first place.

So there you have it. A narrative told in reverse that allows the player to slowly learn about the past, then visit those battles, and even come back to play them again to experience alternative timelines. At its core, the game focuses on the war. Each map and encounter needs to capture that spirit in a different way.

Last month, I shared the entire class list because it wasn't going to be possible to share progress without discussing those in more detail. This month, we're going to deep dive a couple battle maps and discuss some of the class abilities. Again, the standard disclaimers apply. Some of this will change as we get further into iterating on the game.