Lucide Chronicles: Ashmourn

Lucide Chronicles: Ashmourn is a first-person action RPG game that I’m solo developing in Unreal Engine. It tells the story of a failed experiment meant to weaponize the intrinsic light force called Lumina. Recently saved from captivity, you awaken as a living remnant of that experiment, cast into a fractured reality of unknown terrors. Your quest is to find your true identity by wandering the haunted continent of Somnus and confronting the adversaries that shaped your existence. Through visceral combat, forbidden power and deliberate choice, you will determine the fate ultimately awaits Somnus.

Map of Somnus

Roles & Responsibilities

Designing and Programming of all the game systems in Unreal blueprints
Level prototyping
UI Design and programming
Content Design
Combat Design
Character Design
Enemy and AI Design
Sound Design & Music
3D Modeling

Game Concept & Flow

Lucide Chronicles: Ashmourn began as a series of short stories and sketches of worldbuilding I made back in 2019, followed by several Dungeons & Dragons 5e games I wrote in that world. It is thematically inspired by Bloodborne and Castlevania. Considering my own limitations as a solo developer, I have experimented with different genre combinations for a while before ultimately making a decision. After a long period of trying to determine the medium in which I want to develop this universe, I have finally decided to make it a first-person action RPG game with immersive elements.

Despite being an action RPG, the primary design pillar of LC:A is "Meaningful Action & Agency". Meaning the game should encourage solving problems from multiple angles, offering an array of systemic affordances to the player and impacting the results based on their choices. This was inherently present in most old CRPG's and immersive systems used to be an integral part of almost every RPG. Ultima Underworld was probably the most influential RPG in terms of implementing immersive systems effectively and it is one of the biggest influences behind LC:A.

In Lucide Chronicles: Ashmourn, there are many features for the players to acquire in order to carve their unique path through Somnus. Several systems such as Classes, Seals, Magic and Lumina overlap with each other in order to present the player with unique and meaningful choices. While being an action RPG at heart with traditional progression systems, it is possible to use your power in ways other than combat and create your own affordances.

High-level Game Overview

Core Mechanics
Genre

Action RPG

First-Person

Progression Mechanics
Mode

Soulslike

Metroidvania

Aesthetics & Theme

Mood

Dark Fantasy

Horror Adjacent

Genre Standards

Base character attributes. (STR, DEX, RES, INT, LOR, CON.)
Character stats derived from STR (i.e. Attack Power from STR)
ARPG class archetypes with a twist: Grey Knight, Occultist, Templar, Hunter and Constable.
Standard ARPG combat with attack, block, parry mechanics.
Ranged & Magic for combat alternatives and utility.
Various enemies with different weakness types in terms of damage and elemental effects.
Veilshards to collect from defeating enemies and level up.

Innovations

Lumina Tree: Lumina rites and abilities unlocking unique areas, abilities, items, bosses and NPC interactions.
Parley Phase: Optional mid-fight bargaining for some bosses that unlocks new options at the cost of not receiving souls and items when the boss is defeated.
Hunter Trials: Opt-in contracts to fight boss and monster variants for Veilshards and glory.
Seal System: Seals can be earned and lost based on player decisions and other factors. Each seal has a passive element that affects gameplay in various ways.
Precision Combat System: Fast-paced combat & duel fantasy. Hitting exposed spots on an enemy deals extra damage.

Seal System

Seals are passive effects the player can equip and unequip anytime, depending on their seal slots. There are permanent seals such as class seals which take up no seal slots and can't be removed unless a special condition is met. Beside their passive effects, they can also affect the attitude of some enemies, NPC's and the world in general. Some seals include:

Ironside: +15% Max Health, +20 Damage Reduction.
Abjuration Protocol: Instantly shield from an incoming attack. Goes into cooldown after activation.
Hunter's Mark: Melee attacks mark a single enemy. Ranged attacks deal more damage to marked enemy.
Veil Touched: +20 Spell Power. Creatures from the Veil will be friendly towards you.
Hallowed Name: +20 Curse Resistance. +20% Max Health.

Seal System Demonstration

Lumina System

Lumina is an inherent ability of the player that can be further enhanced by the Lumina Talent Tree. As you explore the world, you will find Bloodlight Serums which will allow you to unlock more abilities in this tree. Lumina is a separate system from Magic which is dictated by the INT attribute. Lumina does not require or scale with any attribute.

Attribute & Stat System

Attribute System consists of six main attributes. STR, DEX, INT, LOR, CON, and RES.

STR determines the overall strength of the character. Also allows certain objects in the world to be moved.

DEX determines the overall agility of the character. Also effects ranged prowess.

INT determines the character's ability to cast spells using Magic. Higher level spells require higher INT and Mana.

LOR defines the character's overall knowledge of the world and its secrets. A higher LOR allows more worldly interactions and increases the amount of Seal Slots.

CON determines the health and overall sturdiness of the character.

RES determines the resistance values of the character against certain effects and damage.

Attributes can also be required to equip certain types of equipment.

Each level obtained gives an attribute point that can be spent on increasing any attribute by 1 point.

Attributes affect their respective stats and increase them by a certain amount with each point of attribute.

Attribute & Stat System Demonstration