Journey to Silver Lake

Journey to Silver Lake is an upcoming role-playing adventure game developed by Ryan Nurse and Animatron Studios. First conceived in December 2015, it is currently in pre-production. It is Nurse's second RPG Maker VX Ace game, after Aura of Chaos.

Journey to Silver Lake eschews the traditional epic narrative of console RPGs, in favour of a more character-driven storyline. The game follows Jonathan, a pilgrim who is embarking to the northern holy site of Silver Lake to participate in a traditional coming-of-age ritual. Along the way, he encounters several others who are on the same journey, and whom can be invited to join him.

Gameplay
As with all RPGs, gameplay is split into two areas: exploration and combat. Journey to Silver Lake 's game world is mostly linear - although there are several optional routes and areas - and is divided into equal maps of 64x64. Although the player's goal is to head north to Silver Lake, they are free to explore the game world as they see fit, as well as taking on sidequests in the towns along the way. However, the player cannot return to Jonathan's home village until the pilgrimage is complete.

Over the course of the journey, Jonathan can encounter several other pilgrims who are also venturing to Silver Lake. Some can be invited to join the party, while others will ask to join and can be accepted or turned away. Each recruitable character has a unique class, as well as a "field ability" that can either unlock new paths or assist the player in some other way; Estelle, for example, can light up darkened caves that would otherwise be unnavigable. Conversations with NPCs, and between party members, will play out differently depending on which characters have been recruited; additionally, KOed party members will not take part in conversations, meaning some scenes may not be triggered at all if a certain party member is unconscious at the wrong time.

Synopsis
The game is set in a currently-unnamed land. It is tradition in these lands that, once a person turns 18, they must embark on a pilgrimage to Silver Lake, a blessed lake in the north of the country, and then bathe in its waters; only by doing this can they become a true adult. The journey is dangerous, with monsters and highwaymen littering the path, but numerous pilgrimages over the years have carved out a pathway: the "Pilgrim's Trail". On his 18th birthday, a villager named Jonathan sets out to complete the pilgrimage and become a man.