Koji Igarashi returns with Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

[Soapy]

Koji Igarashi has started a Kickstarter for a brand new Metroidvania game.

 

[zenith16]

cool I cause this before posted it in the lounge further details




Top, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Castlevania producer announces Bloodstained
Published 10 hours ago. 295 comments.

Kickstarter seeking $500,000 in funding.

Koji Igarashi, producer of several Castlevania games including Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, has announced and launched a Kickstarter campaign for Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, a new 2.5D action game for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
The exploration-focused, side-scrolling platformer will feature RPG and crafting elements. Koji Igarashi is leading the game himself, with Michiru Yamane composing the music and Inti Creates leading development.
The Kickstarter is seeking $500,000 in funding. In addition to digital copies, backers will also have the option to receive “Special Backer Edition” physical copies including a swordwhip, hidden boss, and Kickstarter-edition slipcase across all platforms.
The following stretch goals are also posted:

• $600,000 – Artbook upgraded to hardcover
• $700,000 – Second playable character unlocked
• $800,000 – Nightmare difficulty mode
• $850,000 – Voice acting by David Hayter

Read up more about the game’s characters at the Kickstarter page.
Watch the pitch video below.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/iga/bloodstained-ritual-of-the-night?ref=video



View some images at the gallery.


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PC, PlayStation 4, Top, Xbox One, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Game Announce, Inti Creates, Koji Igarashi, Screenshots

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Koji Igarashi’s Spiritual Successor To Castlevania Is Bloodstained: Ritual of the Knight. May 11, 2015 . 10:00am

Azure Striker Gunvolt and Mighty No. 9 developer Inti Creates are developing Bloodstained in partnership with Igarashi for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

A gameplay concept mockup for Bloodstained.​

Yes, the rumours are true. Former Castlevania director Koji Igarashi is indeed working on a spiritual successor to the series, and we can finally talk about it. The game in question is called Bloodstained: Ritual of the Knight, and as you’d expect it’s being partially funded through Kickstarter.

Azure Striker Gunvolt and Mighty No. 9 developer Inti Creates are developing Bloodstained in partnership with Igarashi for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The game is described as a 2.5D “Igavania” and features a lady named Miriam as its protagonist.

Bloodstained’s story involves alchemists and demons and all sorts of other arcane nonsense you’re looking for in a Castlevania game. The gist of the story is that Miriam was picked up as an orphan by an alchemist at a young age and turned into the host for some sort of dark alchemical curse. Miriam slumbered for a decade while the curse matured inside her, and when she awakens, she finds demons have entered the world.


In addition to Miriam, the two other characters that are part of the story are Gebel, the game’s main villain, and Johannes, who is described as a support character. Unlike Miriam, who is currently 18, both Gebel and Johannes are older at 30. Character profiles for all three of the main, story-centric characters can be found below.

Main Character: Miriam (age 18)
Picked up as an orphan by an Alchemist at a young age, she became a host for the dark Alchemists’ curse. Although the magicrystals were fused with her body at a young age, for 10 years she lay sleeping while the curse matured to its full form. It was during this period that the demons arrived, meaning that she missed their appearance and awoke with a mild form of amnesia, not quite fully understanding what happened to her.

She is a woman of few words but strong of purpose. Her youth is deceiving, making her seem confrontational and quick to judge, though in reality she is constantly evaluating her next step. The pain she felt as an orphaned child fuels her compassionate desire to protect her loved ones and friends.
​

Antagonist Character: Gebel (age 30)
Original host for the magi-crystal curse that summons demons to the planet. He was the only one to survive its effects at such a high level. He destroyed the guild that created him, but in doing so realized he was no longer human and had no place on Earth. This in turn, lead him to summon the demon castle from hell to appear on the planet.

It is said that his real purpose in summoning the castle was to give Miriam a place of her own, but as his Magicrystal disease progressed, he soon forgot his own reasoning. The more he surrounded himself with hellspawn, the quicker the magicrystals engulfed his body. He continues to plot the downfall of man, and how to best convince (or use) Miriam to achieve his dark ambition.
​

Support Character: Johannes (age 30)
​

A member of the defunct Alchemist guild and Gebel’s best friend. The only Alchemist who dissented with the plan to call demons to the earth to cement Alchemy as the prevalent philosophy. His rejection of the other Alchemists’ scheme is what kept him from sharing their fate. He has a vague understanding that Miriam’s awakening and the demon castle’s appearance are no mere coincidence.

He is a caring, optimistic, and emotional individual, making him ill-suited for the work of an alchemist. However, his alchemic knowledge is the one thing keeping the magi-crystal curse from consuming Miriam entirely. He continues his devout study in hopes of stopping Gebel and avoiding the mistakes of the Alchemists before him.
​

Bloodstained features a crafting system whereby you defeat enemies and acquire forgeable materials via their loot drops. Occasionally, you’ll also find rare items and materials that are more useful than the regular drops, and using alchemy you can craft powerful magic skills and weapons to add to Miriam’s repertoire.

Iga is asking for $500,000 in contributions via Kickstarter. Bloodstained has already been partially funded (although just where this funding is coming from hasn’t been explained yet), and the 500k will be used to up the game’s budget, as well as manufacture retail discs for PS4 and Xbox One for Kickstarter backers.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night will be released in 2017.

Read more stories about Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night & PC & PlayStation 4 & Xbox One on Siliconera.

source: Gematsu& Siliconera

 

[DarthSkywalker]

I saw this earlier today. All I can say is:

 

[zenith16]

Bloodstained: Ritual At The Night Will Now Have Local Co-Op Multiplayer. May 12, 2015 . 1:58pm

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Koji Igarashi’s spiritual successor to Castlevania, is sitting comfortably at over $1.5 million in Kickstarter contributions.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Koji Igarashi’s spiritual successor to Castlevania, is sitting comfortably at over $1.5 million in Kickstarter contributions—well over its base goal of $500,000. Along the way, it’s checked off a bunch of stretch goals.

As of this report, Bloodstained will feature a second playable character, voice-acting by David Hayter (known for the voice of Metal Gear Solid’s Solid Snake and Big Boss), the implementation of local co-op multiplayer, and a new boss.

Other stretch goals that it’s in the process of reaching include a Speed Run Mode and a Boss Rush mode. Igarashi and co. have hinted at a future stretch goal that will involve bringing the game to Nintendo platforms, but this hasn’t been revealed yet.

Bloodstained is in development for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.

Read more stories about Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night & PC & PlayStation 4 & Xbox One on Siliconera.

source: Siliconera

 

[zenith16]

Igarashi Talks About Miriam, The Protagonist Of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. May 18, 2015 . 3:29pm

Iga takes questions from fans about his new game.

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Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night director Koji Igarashi has answered questions from the community, touching upon various aspects of the game. Read them below.

On why the protagonist of Bloodstained is female:

This actually stems from my old games. Fans often expressed interest in playing as a cool female character, so I’d tried it once before. Now that I’m creating a brand new world, I wanted a fresh start. That’s why I designed a female lead with a tough demeanour.
​

How Iga came up with the concept of Miriam’s stained glass skin:

The stained glass theme came about when I decided to include engineered humans. Crystals that harbour demonic powers are embedded into the characters’ skin. Each marking originates from a single crystal and over time, the curse spreads across the body. Those glyphs written around each mark are powerful magic that surpress the curse and prevent its spread. I pictured how the cursed crystals would compress, and it happened to resemble stained glass. When I showed it to the designer, he’s the one that pointed it out, so we ran with it. So that stained glass is basically composed of those cursed crystals embedded in their skin.
​

If one can expect many secrets and Easter Eggs in Bloodstained:

In game design, it’s easy to get hung up on all the rules. But you can’t forget that games are a form of entertainment. Those little hidden surprises are equally important for fans to enjoy your work. I plan on doing my best to hide some really cool surprises for you all in Bloodstained.
​

How Igarashi got involved with Inti Creates:

I’ve always wanted to work with Inti Creates. They’ve got an excellent reputation for side-scrollers. When I met with my agent to start planning, their name came up again. It was nice knowing they had a proven track record. It also helped to see how passionate they are about the 2D genre. When I saw how well they could build on my ideas, I had a great feeling about working together.
​

What aspect of Bloodstained Iga is most excited for:

I’m beyond thrilled just to be able to create games again for the first time in ages. The other thing is how excited I am that you’ve all given me the opportunity to relive my favourite work.
​

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is planned for release in 2017 for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.

Read more stories about Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night & PC & PlayStation 4 & Xbox One on Siliconera.

source: Siliconera

 

[zenith16]

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night PC Backers Will Get Access To A Beta. May 19, 2015 . 5:00pm

Backers that have contributed $60 or more will be eligible for beta access.

Backers that have contributed $60 or more to the Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Kickstarter for the PC version of the game will get access to a beta via Steam, the game’s development team has announced.

That means you’ll get to play early builds of the game, help find bugs, watch the game improve as development progresses, and provide feedback on gameplay as well.

All $60+ digital and physical PC copy backers will be eligible for the beta, but the beta build will only run on Windows PC.

Read more stories about Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night & PC on Siliconera.

source: Siliconera

 

[X Knight]

ooh!! This looks really interesting!!

And, it has a female protagonist!!

 

[Jick]

Color me interested.

I'm also glad we're getting a female protagonist. I'll be looking forward to this title.

 

[zenith16]

Level Design For Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Now In Progress. May 25, 2015 . 5:31pm

Bloodstained director Koji Igarashi takes on more questions from fans.

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In a new video Q&A, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night director Koji Igarashi takes on more questions from fans. To begin with, Igarashi reveals that the monsters in the game are based primarily on the Lesser Key of Solomon. Answers to some of the other questions he was asked can be found below.

On ideas Iga has had in the past, but not implemented in his game:

As I’ve made my games over the years, I’ve actually used the vast majority of area ideas. I’ve considered having a Maya civilization or something, but that’s about all I can think of. Items, too, I pretty much use all of the ideas I have, so I can’t say there’s much I’ve passed on.
​

If Bloodstained takes place in a historical or fictional setting:

Well, it’s technically a fictional world of course, seeing as they summon demons. But as far as the setting, I’m more pulling from real-world history than just actual locations. It takes place in England around the late 1700’s, a decade or two into the Industrial Revolution. It was around that time that a great deal of the population in England died in accidents, and that’s the aspect of history I’m aiming to work into the story of Bloodstained.
​

Biggest inspiration for designing Gothic-style games:

I like the gothic horror genre. Movies, books, things like that. Stained glass is also a major part of Bloodstained, and I like stained glass so much I’ve actually made it myself before. I’ve also got some antique furniture in my home. That’s all a very broad source of inspiration for me.
​

Will Bloodstained have any areas outside Gebel’s castle to add variety?

At first I considered including a wide variety of areas but I decided to make the castle the focal point. That doesn’t necessarily mean it lacks nature. I could just have trees in the garden, for example, or a vast cave beneath the castle. So it’ll take place in the castle, but it won’t be confined to manmade settings.
​

What new additions one can expect to level design:

Now that we’ve finally raised the funds needed, we’re only starting on all the level designs now. I want to take my time and carefully plan them now that we can finally focus on the game itself. As I come up with the new storyline and materials for the game, I’d like to incorporate a few things that catch players off guard, so I hope you like it.
​

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is scheduled for release in March 2017.

Read more stories about Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night & PC & PlayStation 4 & Xbox One on Siliconera.

source: Siliconera

 

[zenith16]

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Gets A Wii U Stretch Goal. May 27, 2015 . 9:31am

At $3 million, Igarashi and Inti Creates will commission a Wii U port of the game.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night officially has a Wii U stretch goal. At $3 million, Igarashi and Inti Creates will commission a Wii U port of the game, developed by Armature Studio.

Armature, as you might know, is a studio in Austin, Texas, founded by a group of ex-Retro Studios employees that worked on Metroid Prime.

Up until now, they’ve primarily worked on remasters such as the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection and Inustice: Gods Among Us for PS Vita. They also developed Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night will be released in March 2017.

Read more stories about Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night & PC & PlayStation 4 & Wii U & Xbox One on Siliconera.

source: Siliconera

 

[zenith16]

Wii U, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Deep Silver trademarks Bloodstained
Published 2 hours ago. 45 comments.

Deep Silver the owner of Koji Igarashi's new game?

Koch Media, parent company of game publisher Deep Silver, has trademarked the name “Bloodstained” in both the United States and Europe, suggesting the company is not only the publisher of the Kickstarter-funded Castlevania: Symphony of the Night successor, but the owner of the franchise.
Bloodstained‘s Kickstarter campaign is currently funded at $2.8 million, much over its initial $500,000 goal, with 15 days left. It’s achieved the majority of its stretch goals, with the only visible goals left being a Wii U port at $3 million (the game is currently confirmed for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC) and a hidden stretch goal at $3.25 million.
Thanks, NeoGAF.

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PC, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox One, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Deep Silver, Inti Creates, Trademarks

source: Gematsu

 

[zenith16]

PS Vita, Wii U
Bloodstained coming to Wii U, PS Vita stretch goal added
Published 11 hours ago. 124 comments.

Asynchronous online multiplayer stretch goal also added.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has surpassed its $3 million Wii U version stretch goal, and the game is now officially lined up for release on the console.
The Wii U version, like the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC versions before it, will be available in digital and physical copies. It will be ported by Armature Studio and include a number of Wii U-specific features, such as:

• Pro Controller Support
• The map on GamePad while playing on the TV
• The ability to draw on/annotate the map
• Play exclusively on the GamePad (off-screen play)
• Miiverse social integration
• Featuring your Mii in-game

Additionally, the game’s next big stretch goals have been revealed as asynchronous online multiplayer at $3.25 million and a PS Vita port by Armature at $3.5 million.
Here are the details on each:

Asynchronous Online Multiplayer

• “Borrow” a friend’s character stats for a certain amount of time (your friend will get a bonus)
• Ghost Data (See friend’s saved character movements while fighting a boss)
• Friend’s playthroughs affect your game in some way (e.g. a gravestone and an offering might mark the spot where your friend died)
• Plus another surprise that we’ll unveil soon…

PS Vita Version

• Armature will be working with the development team on the PS4 version to see what it can do to make both platforms complement each other.
• Most of Armature’s games have been released on the PS Vita—that would be Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, Injustice, and The Unfinished Swan.
• Armature knows the PS Vita platform inside and out, and it’ll do it justice as it brings you Bloodstained, running on UE4, to the PS Vita.

Bloodstained is expected to release in March 2017.

Read More

PS Vita, Wii U, Armature Studio, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Inti Creates

source: Gematsu

 

[Tron Bonne]

Damn, 3 million was the stretch goal for a Wii U version? Guess this wasn't built with Unity then. Either way, cool that it reached it.

 

[Octoberist]

Beautiful!

 

[zenith16]

Igarashi On His Most Memorable Boss Fights From Castlevania. June 1, 2015 . 10:34am

Iga talks about his favourite or most memorable bosses from previous games he’s worked on.

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Seeing its latest stretch goals reached, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is headed to the Wii U. Alongside that announcement, project lead Koji Igarashi has also shared another YouTube video in which he answers more fan questions with creepy music playing in the background.

The highlight of the Q&A this time around is Iga talking about his favourite or most memorable bosses from previous games he’s worked on. Igarashi mentions two, and you can read his quotes below, accompanied by a look at the bosses in question.

The Forgotten One from Castlevania: Lament of Innocence:

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Iga: I’d have to say my most memorable boss is actually from a 3D title, the Forgotten One from Lament of Innocence. People were quite shocked at how disturbing it was. Even the rating got bumped up to Mature. That one was a doozy to get through, so I’ll never forget it.
​

Abaddon from Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow:

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Iga: As far as gameplay goes, Abaddon from Dawn of Sorrow attacks with a hoard of locusts. You can’t defeat the locusts, you just have to dodge there. But there is one special way to eliminate them. It really provided a great deal of scope to the gameplay, and it was a lot of fun.
​

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is in development for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Wii U.

Read more stories about Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night & PC & PlayStation 4 & Wii U & Xbox One on Siliconera.

source: Siliconera

 

[zenith16]

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night For Wii U And Vita Will Run On Unreal Engine 4. June 8, 2015 . 1:00pm

Armature have stated that the plan for the Wii U and Vita versions is to have them running on Unreal Engine 4, just like the PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 versions.

Now that it has reached $3.5 million in Kickstarter contributions, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night will see a PlayStation Vita port. The Vita port will be handled by Armature, the same studio that is working on the Wii U version of the game.

Armature have stated that the plan for the Wii U and Vita versions is to have them running on Unreal Engine 4, just like the PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 versions, despite the fact that Unreal 4 doesn’t support either platform out of the box. The Vita version will support cross-save with PlayStation 4, and touch screen support as well.

Meanwhile, the Wii U version will support multiple controllers (Pro Controller and GamePad), Off-TV play via the GamePad, the ability to draw on the map, Miiverse integration, and more. Both the Wii U and Vita versions will see physical releases, just like the PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 versions.

Read more stories about Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night & PlayStation Vita & Wii U on Siliconera.

source: Siliconera

 

[zenith16]

Watch Igarashi Play A Bit Of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. June 9, 2015 . 11:02am

Iga tests out character movement in Bloodstained.

[YT]TU-NF6SJxps[/YT]
In a Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night development update from Koji Igarashi, one catch a glimpse of some very early in-game footage from the upcoming game.

The off-screen footage can be watched above, and you can see Iga and a member of Inti Creates discussing the main character Miriam’s movement, as well as the game’s camera. Siliconera will have an interview with Igarashi on Miriam and how he feels about going indie this afternoon, so look out for that as well.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is in development for PC, Xbox One, Wii U, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita.

Read more stories about Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night & PC & PlayStation 4 & Videos & Wii U & Xbox One on Siliconera.

source: Siliconera

 

[zenith16]

Koji Igarashi Tells Us All About Bloodstained’s Leading Lady, Miriam. June 10, 2015 . 12:34pm

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night project lead Koji Igarashi tells us about Miriam, the protagonist of the game.

Castlevania director Koji Igarashi left Konami last year to strike out on his own as an independent developer and create the kind of games he’s fond of making. This eventually led him to create Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, a side-scrolling Castlevania-esque game set inside a castle populated by monsters and the occult.

Bloodstained’s lead character is a lady by the name of Miriam. Inside Miriam are cursed magi-crystals that were fused with her body at a young age by a group of evil Alchemists. As the curse matures over a period of ten years, Miriam lies in slumber until she finally awakens to a world where a demonic castle from hell has been summoned by Gebel, and old friend of hers that was subjected to the same curse as her. Now, left partial amnesia and the powers conferred upon her by the magi-crystals, Miriam sets out to stop the chaos.

Miriam sounds like an interesting character, but the scant few tidbits of information available on her don’t provide much of an account of her personality or her past—and so, Siliconera got in touch with Bloodstained project lead Koji Igarashi to talk about who she is and what her motivations are.


Miriam sounds like an interesting character. Her mission is fuelled by tragedy like so many other heroes, but you point out that she does have loved ones and friends that she cares about. Who are these people, exactly? Give us an idea of Miriam’s relationships and what her life is like.

Koji Igarashi, Project Lead: The Alchemists’ process of grafting magi-crystals into her flesh has turned her into a beacon that calls demons down to earth—an experimental puppet. And there are dozens more like her, abandoned children and orphans whose disappearance no one would ever notice. When the Alchemists took the children in, they formed friendships with each other—the only others dealing with the same situation. Gebel was one of Miriam’s closest friends.

Johannes. Johannes was an apprentice Alchemist whose disgust with his guild masters’ experiments got him thrown out of the guild.

These new humans were a step forward in human development, in that they possessed powers and abilities that others do not, but the Alchemists’ plot to call demons down—to demonstrate that only Alchemists could protect humankind—turned this step forward into a colossal step backward when the Alchemists could not stop what they had begun.

The magi-crystal process was never perfected, and the summoning ceremony that Miriam was forced into left her in a trance—a kind of hibernation that suspended time while the crystals took root. None of the other children survived their trance—none except for Miriam and Gebel, who survived to vow revenge on the Alchemists who had created him. A year after the demons appeared, he did—only Johannes survived.

A decade after the demons, a dark castle appeared at the site of the old Alchemist’s Guild, and Miriam awoke with the certainty that Gebel was behind it—and that he must be stopped. Fortunately, Johannes never stopped developing his own skills during her slumber, and the glyphs he etches onto her skin keep the curse at bay… for now.

You’ve said that Miriam has partial amnesia. Just how much of her memories has she retained and which parts of it are missing?

We haven’t locked her background down completely, but the idea is that her trance has blended all her memories into a kind of fog of confusion. She remembers what happened to her, but she confuses the events and the cause and effect. When she wakes up she’s forgotten a great deal of the abilities she used to know.




There are obviously similarities between Miriam and Shanoa from Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. Did you have any particular attachment to Shanoa?

Attachment isn’t the right word. I think there are very few strong female leads, so Miriam also being a powerful female lead naturally creates that association. In reality they are two very different characters with very different motivations.

Is there any reason the tiara-like piece Miriam has equipped on her head makes her look like she has horns? Where did the inspiration for Miriam’s design come from?

That was a concept the character designer thought of. Right now the tiara doesn’t really have any function, except as a visual accessory, but I did like the resemblance to horns… something that’s associated with devils or demons. We wanted to give her a hint of the wicked from a visual standpoint, and I really liked it.

You refer to the game’s genre as “Igavania,” not “Metroidvania”. Which Castlevania games are you looking to draw inspiration from, in terms of how stages are designed?

The original design had the main character exploring a wide variety of different locations around the world, but the more I thought about the key concept of exploration it became clear that a vast castle would emphasize it better than a variety of locations. It maintains the Gothic style that has been present in most of my games, and allows the player to keep digging through the crawlspaces and contraptions and hallways hidden inside castles.

The Kickstarter page for Bloodstained says that you’ve already managed to procure partial funding for the game, and that Kickstarter funds will be used to elevate the game’s budget and manufacture backer rewards. Where did the initial funding come from?

After over a year of talking with just about every publisher and having them pass, we finally secured investment to cover 90% of the game, but it was conditional: We had to prove there was a market for another game like this. Now that we’ve cleared so many stretch goals we’ll be able to make a game with much more content than the one I’d hoped to make.

You left Konami in 2014. How’s life as an indie developer been treating you since? Now that you don’t have the backing of a large company any more, do you find yourself worrying about finances or how to put food on the table?

It takes guts to leave a stable job behind and strike out on your own, so I’m curious what your experience has been.

As far as my reasons for going independent… I think it’s quite obvious that I hadn’t been able to move any of my designs forward at my previous employer. While that was happening I saw what Inafune-san was doing on Kickstarter, and shortly after that his agent reached out to me, saying we should try to find a way for me to make the games I loved to work on.

Fans were lobbying for it as well, and initially there was interest from publishers. So I took the leap, thinking I’d be up and making a new game in a few months. This was a major miscalculation—as we pitched this game, door after door closed in front of me. Some publishers turned us down multiple times.

Most of them were nice, and I think they really did want to work with me, but for a variety of reasons it never worked out. As months went by with no income I began to get very nervous and a little depressed—I’m a creator and a family man, so having nothing to work on and no income was a heavy burden.

Fortunately, I was approached about working on mobile games, so I joined the company I’m at now, ArtPlay. The investors there were kind enough to allow me to work on console games independently, unrelated to ArtPlay, with the condition that I had to find the funding to make those console games on my own.

I guess I’m lucky to have found people like this, and fans, to help shape my career and smooth out my path. There are tough spots in life, but I’ve always had kind people to help pull me out of them.

Read more stories about Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night & Interviews & PC & PlayStation 4 & Wii U & Xbox One on Siliconera.

source: Siliconera

 

[zenith16]

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night’s Final Stretch Goal Is Procedurally-Generated Dungeons .June 11, 2015 . 9:00am

The game’s final stretch goal is situated at $5 million.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has crossed $4.2 million in Kickstarter and PayPal contributions, and as a result the game is going to have a bunch of new features added to it. Here’s the list of features you can expect:

• A third playable character
• Orchestrated music
• New Game+ with harder enemies and new attack patterns
• Online challenge mode with versus and co-op modes

Additionally, project lead Koji Igarashi has revealed the game’s final stretch goal, which will be achieved at $5 million: procedurally-generated roguelike dungeons. Here’s how this feature is described:

In this mode you’ll face a new castle every time, braving its treacherous (and massive) halls for loot, glory, and the simple, satisfying feeling of going where no Miriam has gone before. Once you’ve explored its passages and defeated its boss, you’ll get a code that will enable you to share your randomly generated dungeon with a friend.
​

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is in development for PC, Xbox One, Wii U, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita. Igarashi recently discussed the game’s main character, Miriam, with us, and you can read that interview here.

Read more stories about Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night & PC & PlayStation 4 & PlayStation Vita & Wii U & Xbox One on Siliconera.

source:Siliconera

 

[zenith16]

Shovel Knight Will Make An Appearance In Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night. June 12, 2015 . 9:02am

Sword? Whip? Or shovel?

It’s been announced in a Kickstarter update that Inti Creates has teamed up with Yacht Club Games in order to bring Shovel Knight to Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.

Artist Yuji Natsume previously drew the shovel-wielding bruiser (as you can see above) in a piece of fan art after IGA and Takuya Aizu played Shovel Knight during the Bloodstained Kickstarter’s launch stream. At the time, the fan art was titled simply “Shovel Armor,” and no one thought anything of it. But now that we know that it’ll appear in Bloodstained it may indicate as to how Shovel Knight will function in the game – i.e. as a piece of armor, perhaps.

As it is, both Inti Creates and Yacht Club Games aren’t saying exactly how Shovel Knight will manifest inside Bloodstained. Yacht Club Games tweeted on the subject saying (in Shovel Knight’s voice), “just because I’ll be appearing in #Bloodstained doesn’t mean I’m automatically an adversary! Maybe! You’ll see.”

Read more stories about Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night & PC & PlayStation 4 & PlayStation Vita & Wii U & Xbox One on Siliconera.

source: Siliconera

 

[zenith16]

Bloodstained’s Last And Final Stretch Goal Is A Mode That Lets You Play As Bosses. June 12, 2015 . 11:32am

The developers of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night have added another final stretch goal.

Having moved past their $5 million stretch goal, the developers of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night have added another final stretch goal: a Boss Revenge mode at $5.5 million. Here’s what that does:

• Control several different bosses
• Utilize their special attacks to wreak havok
• Explore a new BOSS REVENGE area
• Turn the tables and defeat “Hero” Bosses in your pursuit of humanity’s destruction

With eight hours to go until Bloodstained’s Kickstarter campaign comes to an end, it should be interesting to see if the Boss Revenge Mode stretch goal is reached.

Read more stories about Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night & PC & PlayStation 4 & Wii U & Xbox One on Siliconera.

source: Siliconera

 

[zenith16]

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  Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Passes Torment: Tides of Numenera For Most Funded Game On Kickstarter
  
  News
  by Hershall Cook on Jun 12, 2015 at 02:15 PM
  988 Views
  
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  Bloodstained has surpassed all expectations and is still going strong.
  ... More
  

source: GI

 

[zenith16]

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night May Feature Transformations Like Castlevania. June 18, 2015 . 3:58pm

I asked Igarashi if Bloodstained would be using transformations like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

Siliconera spoke with Koji Igarashi about a variety of topics this year at E3, and of course, among those discussed was his most recent Kickstarter project, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.

Since Alchemy is a major story point in the game, and since Inti Creates has a history of including transformation mechanics in their own titles, I asked Igarashi if Bloodstained would be using transformations as well, beyond the stained glass curse Miriam suffers. He replied:

“We’re not 100% sure that we’re going to add in transformation aspects to the game, especially at this early phase of development, but I can say that all of the developers attached do love transformations as a key concept—it’s been prevalent in a lot of our games before after all—so I think there’s a good chance you may see that element in the game. Beyond the curse, as you mentioned.”
​

In Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Alucard used three different transformations—bat, wolf, and smoke—to traverse the world in the game. It sounds like these kinds of transformations may be returning in Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.

Stay tuned to Siliconera for the full interview with Igarashi.

Read more stories about Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night & E3 2015 & PC & PlayStation 4 & Wii U & Xbox One on Siliconera

source: Siliconera

 

[zenith16]

As We Thought, Deep Silver Probably Funded Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. June 19, 2015 . 3:01pm

Siliconera sat down with Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night producer Koji Igarashi to talk about who exactly provided the initial funding for his game.

Siliconera sat down with Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night producer Koji Igarashi to talk about who exactly provided the initial funding for his game. Since Inti Creates has a well-established relationship with Deep Silver, we asked if they had any plans to work with the European publisher.

Igarashi replied: “While this is not official, but…it may as well be, as the [person] who is putting the most money into Bloodstained, it’s up to them when they want to announce their participation. I’m just going to say that I’m not officially saying ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ but I do want to say that the backend investment is what allowed me to make the game. I am 100% appreciative of them having faith in me. I hope everyone feels the same way, because without them, I never would have been able to get this far.”

“We literally went everywhere we could beforehand,” Igarashi continued. Before the meeting, I was speaking with Ben Judd, who recalled his own struggle finding a publisher. “I almost felt defeated as an agent,” he said “but then we finally found a partner and we couldn’t have asked for a better one.”

Igarashi went on to say, “First and foremost, I feel an incredible degree of appreciation [toward this publisher]. As for the actual relationship and how that’s going to work out, that’s something that will be from here on out. Any time an independent creator can get to keep their IP, [Ben adds here: “Which is maybe not the case with Shenmue 3?], ultimately, I think it becomes a great collaborative relationship.”

Keep your eyes on Siliconera for the full interview with Koji Igarashi.

Read more stories about Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night & E3 2015 & PC & PlayStation 4 & Wii U & Xbox One on Siliconera.

source: Siliconera

 

[zenith16]

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Will Be Around 1.5x The Size Of Symphony of the Night. July 13, 2015 . 5:55pm

Iga talks about the scope of Bloodstained.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night will have over 1,600 rooms, according to project lead Koji Igarashi, making this his largest Castlevania-esque game in terms of scope.

Given the amount of rooms that will make it into the final game, Igarashi says, the development team may need more enemies than initially planned to really fill them up. In addition, Igarashi is now also thinking of expanding the game’s story and introducing more characters to push the plot forward.

To provide a little perspective, 1,600 rooms would make Bloodstained around 1.5x the size of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (not counting the inverted castle in the latter). Just how these rooms will be spread out is unknown at this point.

Read more stories about Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night & PC & PlayStation 4 & PlayStation Vita & Wii U & Xbox One on Siliconera.

source: Siliconera