BijouxRed

Demo Video - Basic and Advanced Features

2011-12-10T04:47:00.001-05:00

The prototype is pretty far along. I'd like to release a prototype demo where players can set up their character and their opponent, including some presets... but I wonder if that's too much control. I'll have to think hard about how much control the player will get in the demo...

Demo Video - Combat Overview

2011-11-13T23:36:00.002-05:00

A brief overview of combat in Bijoux Red. This video was taken from a demo build that's currently unfinished. Thankfully, the new UI is about half-complete and featured in this video. It'll look much better when the new Command Menu and the battle commentary text is working!

Sounds of King City Part 5 - Prologue Soundtrack

2011-10-09T13:54:00.002-04:00

Since we've been making more use of videos lately, we've decided to start sharing music from the first Bijoux Red Prologue with everyone via Youtube. We're going to be uploading all of the Bijoux Red music on Youtube piece by piece, starting with these four tracks, which will all be featured in the first few hours of gameplay.

Don't Look Back!
Player Mission Theme - The newest soundtrack offering, this piece is heard when the player takes their turn during mission sequences.

A Secret, The Searing Wind, Tall Grass
Freegrove Theme - This is the theme of Freegrove, a desolate field of tall grass and unyielding sun. This is the first area players will explore in Bijoux Red.

Red Fox Underneath The Blazing Sun (Ander's Theme)
Ander's Theme - The first world map theme, and Ander's theme.

Show Me How!
Tutorial Theme - This theme plays while the player learns how to fight and how to control units during missions.

We're going to start taking a more active interest in uploading videos by sharing work-in-progress footage of the Prototype Combat system. Of course, everything we post is subject to change until the game is actually made available, but we figured it would be more exciting to actually see the game in action!

Ander Concept Work Sketchbook

2011-10-07T01:50:00.003-04:00

Ander is the lead protagonist of Bijoux Red, our tactical RPG work-in-progress. While Mike is leading up the animations (where I only lend a hand when needed), I'm going to be tackling the portrait art myself, including Ander's, who I'm quite fond of. Until I procure my brother's tablet though, I'm just playing around in my sketchbook and with some inks.

I only inked two images where I tried to capture the detail in his clothing and I had to make the images kind of small because of the size of my sketchbook. I definitely want to do a very large marker and inks version showing off Ander's outfit - it probably won't get in the game (we'll be going digital for the portrait art), but I definitely want to give it a shot anyway!

Prototype Combat - Progress and Polish

2011-08-31T14:29:00.005-04:00

You may notice from the progress screens below that not only have we included a new animated background into the Prototype Combat file, but also that we're developing a new UI. While it's not a huge leap from the previous one, the way the new UI animates will be a little more dynamic and exciting. Well, I say it will be because that menu isn't actually in the current build. Although these are in-game screen shots, the UI elements were doctored up in photoshop so that I could see how they would look in action!

The new backgrounds add a greater layer of depth to combat and feature animations with more frames. You can really believe the grass swaying in the wind!

The size of Command Menus are going to be entirely dynamic, based on the number of entries in the menu and the amount of space needed to display information.

A combat scene using the new UI.

The main purpose for redesigning the new UI is two-fold. The intention is to both eliminate wasted space in the UI by creating a more dynamic-friendly design (empty space in the previous design did look very unattractive) and to create a reusable design where the themes and elements used can reappear in other in-game menus and interfaces. The new UI will be central in tying together the varied game play scenarios - something I was very worried about with the previous UI!

You can see examples of the previous UI here, here and ... well, all over the place!

Prototype Combat Part 5 - Drive and Technique

2011-07-24T20:40:00.004-04:00

Units in combat build Drive while fighting. Drive is required to use special Techniques in combat and is essential to performing the most devastating attacks available.

There are four levels of Technique made available to units at first, with the mysterious OverDrive Techniques becoming available later. The correct number of filled 'Drive Bars' are required to perform Techniques of the corresponding levels. Predictably, the strongest Techniques consume the largest amounts of Drive and are capable of inflicting significant damage.

Ander's 'Shining Slice' is a strong and dependable attack that harnesses the beaming sunlight through the blade of his dagger.

'Sunburst Crush' is incredibly effective at interrupting enemy attacks.

Try as they might, enemies can't evade Ander's 'Fire Wave' attack.

Channeled through Ander, the power of the Sun is used to deliver an array of condensed solar rays in the form of an attack. 'Solar Spear' can be used to wear down enemy defenses but is best used on unsuspecting foes who leave their guard down.

Ander's 'Solar Cannon' and 'White Haze' will also feature as unlockable abilities early in the game. All of these abilities will be available in the first prologue chapter of Bijoux Red.

Rene Shible
Director - Bijoux Red

Prototype Combat Part 4 - Charge and Double Charge

2011-06-16T14:30:00.003-04:00

Because every action performed in combat consumes stamina in the form of SP, it doesn't take long for some units to run out of energy. Although SP does regenerate passively over time, idling around with an empty stamina gauge and waiting for it to fill can be rather dangerous.

Without SP, you don't have many options in combat. Fortunately, Charge abilities, like Charge Boost and Booster Alpha, will help you regain your stamina in no time.

Charge abilities are activated by holding down the mouse button over a prompt that appears. Once a Charge is activated, removing the mouse button will end the effect. Charge abilities allow units to regenerate SP quickly in combat, but sometimes have additional effects, such as draining a unit's Break Gauge. Units can not react while charging, so this state tends to leave them vulnerable to damage. Receiving enough damage while charging will knock a unit out of their Charge State.

Stronger units will have access to greater Charge abilities. While the most basic 'Charge Boost' will help units regain their SP quickly, the more effective 'Booster Alpha' will allow units to build an even larger store of additional SP. This effect of building additional SP is called Double Charge.

Once units have restored their SP using a stronger Charge ability, they may begin to build additional SP in the form of a second SP gauge, effectively allowing them to double their overall available SP. Entering Double Charge requires the use of part of a unit's Drive Gauge.

With so much SP at your disposal, you might feel encouraged to start throwing around some of the more expensive and powerful techniques.

Stronger Charge abilities can break past even the 'Double Charge' point, reaching a hidden technique called 'Over Charge'. While we've decided to omit the details of 'Over Charge' for the combat prototype, the best way I can think of describing it is to imagine what happens to the Super Saiyans of the Dragon Ball world. Most units with Over Charge techniques will have unique abilities and status bonuses associated with their Over Charge - the most common Over Charge bonus will include access to an infinite SP gauge for a limited period of time. Well, details for another time I guess.

Rene Shible
Director - Bijoux Red

Prototype Combat Part 3 - Defense and Defense Break

2011-06-01T21:10:00.003-04:00

During combat, units have the ability to React to enemy attacks. The most basic Reaction Ability, and the first ability that most units will learn, is Defense. Reacting with Defense at the right time will reduce the amount of damage received from attacks.

Before enemies successfully execute an attack, a React prompt will appear on screen. The timing of the React prompt is based on which Reaction Ability the unit has equipped. Some Reactions, such as Parry for example, can only be used while attacking.

Less damage is received while Defending.

Defenses wear thin over time. As units defend multiple attacks, their Break Gauge will begin to sharply increase. Maxing out an enemy's Break Gauge will inflict Defense Break - a condition that leaves a unit stunned and vulnerable to damage.

Overwhelming enemies with lots of small attacks is a great way to increase their Break Gauge. As a unit's Break Gauge will drain naturally over time while not being attacked, hitting your enemy with frequent small attacks will also keep your enemy's Break Gauge from depleting too quickly, creating more opportunities to inflict Defense Break.

When an enemy's defense is broken, attacks deal a greater amount of damage. This critical damage is indicated by the red numbers displaying the amount of damage inflicted. The screen also flashes whenever critical damage is inflicted.

When hit with a Defense Break, the afflicted unit is Stunned. They can't perform any actions, nor can they respond to enemy attacks. All attacks deal critical damage to Stunned units.

Certain attacks, like the multiple-hitting Triple Combo, are more effective when used against a Stunned opponent. This is a great opportunity to attack opponents with punishing moves that might otherwise consume a lot of resources or require a lot of time to execute.

You might notice in that last screenshot that this Freelancer has -3 HP. Their is no end condition to combat at the moment - in the current build of the Prototype, HP just keeps draining past 0 as more damage accumulates.

Rene Shible
Director - Bijoux Red

Prototype Combat Part 2 - Unit Stats

2011-06-01T05:35:00.004-04:00

Because a lot is happening in combat, one of the toughest parts of designing the in-game HUD was deciding how to arrange information in such a way that the most relevant information would be easily visible - while maintaining that other less essential information would still be accessible.

I decided to keep things compact so that the player's eyes wouldn't have to wander around so much when looking for important information. Also, because we want to experiment with camera controls and generally larger sprites (an idea we got while playing SNK's NEO-GEO versions of The Art of Fighting), we thought the the HUD should take up as little room as possible.

As you can tell, certain information is more highly visible, with coloured gauges representing the most vital and relevant combat stats, such as HP and SP. Following those integral combat elements are other stats with more contextual importance that the player will be able to reference as needed during battle.

The Breakdown...

1 - Unit Name - The name of the unit currently in combat.
2 - HP - When a unit's hit points, or HP, reaches zero, that unit has been defeated.
3 - SP - Performing actions in combat drains SP. SP is the currency of battle in Bijoux Red.
4 - Drive - Drive is required to use Techniques. Four different levels of Techniques can be acquired for use in combat.
5 - Impulse - A passive gauge that is constantly regenerating. Once the Impulse Gauge is full, the Command Menu will open, allowing players to perform attacks and other actions. In turn, performing actions will drain the Impulse Gauge. Some actions don't require the player to have a full Impulse Gauge to execute, such as certain Evasion and Defense abilities.
6 - Avatar - The unit's portrait. Generic units don't receive a unique portrait.
7 - Threat Level - Numeric representation of the unit's natural fighting abilities. Threat Level can change during combat as units unleash powerful techniques and exchange blows. A higher Threat Level typically yields a higher damage output, as well as other passive bonuses.
8 - Break Gauge - Constantly defending attacks builds a unit's Break Gauge. When the unit's Break Gauge fills completely, the unit suffers 'Defense Break' and is rendered completely vulnerable to enemy attacks. The unit will be unable to move until the Break Gauge drains completely.

9 - Fighter Grade - A grade given to units representing their skill level in combat. The attacks and techniques of a unit with a high Fighter Grade are generally more effective in combat, especially when fighting against units of a lower Fighter Grade. Both Fighter Grade and Threat Level must be considered when gauging your chances of survival in combat. Fighter Grade is always reassessed at the end of combat based on that unit's average combat performance over the last few battles.

Rene Shible
Director - Bijoux Red

Prototype Combat Part 1 - Overview

2011-05-31T01:29:00.002-04:00

When we decided to do a complete style makeover for Bijoux Red, we also decided to redo the entire game from the ground up. The programming and the combat style for Bijoux Red's ARC Combat System have been completely redone to maintain the same spirit of fast-paced menu-based combat while being more intuitive and user-friendly.

What we're working on at the moment is a stand-alone Prototype Combat program that we'll be using for testing and tweaking while we build the world map, world menus and mission portions of the main game.

Below is a brief overview of some combat basics as they're being developed.

Units engaged in combat do battle in the Combat Screen. Units initiate combat from the main map by interacting with adjacent units, similar to other tactical RPGs.

When units are ready to act, the Command Menu will appear. Players will be able to select from an assortment of attacks and abilities equipped to that unit for use in combat.

Executing attacks successfully will inflict damage to enemies.

Players will sometimes be prompted to React to their opponent's attacks. Reacting successfully could help mitigate damage, or to avoid harm entirely.

As units grow, earning greater attributes and combat abilities, more combat options will become available to the player. Techniques, Defense Breaking, Chain Attacks and more will encourage players to take advantage of the variety of units in their army, creating a strong and versatile team.

The main focus of the new game design has been centered around ease of use. Bijoux Red's ARC Combat System is meant to be a versatile combat system that will give the player a large number of choices in battle. What we've learned that this means however is that players will become easily overwhelmed by the breadth of their options. By keeping actions contextual and giving the player more room to think, the streamlined Prototype Combat program is quickly growing into the type of combat system that we'd originally envisioned.

For every day this week, there will be a post on Prototype Combat - which will give us a chance to explore our progress, and to reflect on our current work.

Anybody interested in seeing what the original ARC Combat Prototype was like can find it here. The demo is still available online. Because it's so different from the direction we're headed in now, I'm not sure whether or not to remove it from the site entirely.

Rene Shible
Director - Bijoux Red

Sounds of King City Part 4 - White Wolves

2011-05-20T15:24:00.002-04:00

The White Wolf, Nikolai White

A recurring villain, Nikolai White, begins the story as a high-ranking member of the Lost Dogs. Over the course of the story, however, he will become a figure who is known for his manipulative and scheming designs.

The player will have many chances to encounter this sneaky foe as the landscape of the King City conflict changes with the tides of war. 'White Wolves', Nikolai White's theme music, is meant to carry the same air of deceit and danger that Nikolai White will be known for.

Click here to listen to Nikolai White's theme, 'White Wolves'.

Rene Shible
Director, Bijoux Red

Sprite Works Part 4 - Freegrove Wildlife

2011-05-16T03:13:00.005-04:00

The harsh environment and the blazing sun aren't the only things to worry about in Freegrove. Along with other dangers, the feral inhabitants of Freegrove will keep Ander on his toes as he makes his way through the barren landscape.

Feral Dogs are the most common danger in Freegrove.

Although cowardly on their own, their attacks become more brazen in groups.

Scavengers and carrion seekers, Crows gather around the sites of old battles

Crows will viciously defend their prey if necessary

Rene Shible
Director - Bijoux Red

Sounds of King City Part 3 - Freegrove Theme

2011-05-09T17:26:00.003-04:00

Over the course of the game, players will explore a large urban landscape that includes scenes such as an abandoned subway system, a congested chinatown street and more. Despite the modern theme however, the player will also be exploring locations such as seaside caves, a thick dark forest and a dry hot field of tall grass and dead trees.

That last description applies to the first area players will explore in Bijoux Red; the vast and merciless expanse of Freegrove.

Click here to listen to 'A Secret, The Searing Wind, Tall Grass', the theme of Freegrove.

Rene Shible
Director - Bijoux Red

Sprite Works Part 3 - Ander's Animations

2011-02-14T00:29:00.002-05:00

Do you ever get the feeling that although you don't know where you're going... you can't stop until you get there? I do have a reason for coming to King City... I'm just not sure what I'm supposed to do here.
-Ander

Just exploring some animations featuring our introspective protagonist.

Rene Shible
Director - Bijoux Red

Sprite Works Part 2 - Ander, Vector Sprites

2011-02-06T19:22:00.002-05:00

What could I possibly do? I'm nothing like you... I can't save anyone.
-Ander, in confidence, to Visha

As part of Bijoux Red's re-envisioning, all of our sprites and assets are receiving a complete overhaul. On top of redoing our combat system, menus and gameplay from the ground up, we've decided to take advantage of the Flash development environment by exploring vector art for all of our assets. Personally, I'm hesitant when it comes to vector art in Flash games. The results, however, are something that we're really pleased with.

Main character Ander's new look and idle animation.

Thanks to our new vector sprites, we've started exploring different camera techniques to use in combat, such as a dynamic zooming camera and larger sprites for more epic boss battles. Without requiring different assets, we can zoom out to pit Ander against a large boss or simply display him at his regular size against an average opponent.

Ander from afar...

...and from up close!

Despite the obvious advantages of vector art, it was important to us that we find a way to work in vectors that matched our image of Bijoux Red - how it should look and feel as a game and as a world. Our goal has been to build on and improve our previous work with Bijoux Red, and designing this new style has been a natural and integral part of that process.

So far, we've completed three or four different sprite sets with more on the way. A prototype for the new combat is also in development, for which we're looking for playtesters. More or less, a team has been assembled. I'll try not to inundate with progress updates. The less I say and show now, the more we can show off over time.

Rene Shible
Director - Bijoux Red

Managing Your Units! Part 3 - The Team Menu

2010-06-23T00:12:00.002-04:00

A fight's about to break out... and it doesn't look like these guys care whether or not you end up as collateral damage. So stay close to me, alright? I'll keep you safe. You can count on it!
-Visha the Valiant

Because we've been spending so much time developing our other projects, including a title that we're currently developing alongside our partners at AMI, we haven't been able to give Bijoux Red much of the love or attention that it deserves.

To compensate, I took it upon myself to go back to the basics of Bijoux Red's unit management environment and clean up the Unit Menu by adding new features and fixing some old ones.

As presented previously, this is the Units Window ... complete with a few new features.

Although it's the kind of thing that we take for granted while playing games, I really wanted to go back and allow the player to organize their units based on different criteria. The player can now sort their units based on any of the criteria displayed in the Units Window. Incidentally, the Units Window now displays more statistics than we had previously included.

The next feature we added in has to do with something that we've been planning on including all along. By clicking on the Team Icon at the top of the Units Window, the player can now open the Team Menu! The Team Menu can also be opened from inside a unit's Unit Profile.

From the Team Menu, players can view some basic unit stats, make new teams or add units to an existing team. Certain units can't be removed from the team they're in, or have their leader status revoked.

Teams that you design yourself from the ground up can be customized in any number of ways. This includes choosing how many units are in that team and which unit will act as the team leader. Unit Classes will play a large part in arranging teams efficiently. Every team, for example, may benefit from including at least one Bodyguard!

Once you've made your teams, the icons next to a unit's name may change! Icons shaped like a single person indicate units that have not yet joined teams. Icons shaped like a row of people indicate units that are currently in teams. Yellow icons, on the other hand, indicate team leaders and a little skull indicates units defeated in combat.

Keep in mind that units that are joined to teams cannot be retired from your gang.

If we're able to find some free time to post more on Bijoux Red, I'd really like to share some of the new combat mechanics we've been working on, or to go into detail about the various Unit Classes available to the player! Although we're pretty busy with other projects, we remain extremely dedicated to making Bijoux Red the most unique and interesting Strategy RPG that we're able to design! I look forward to sharing more with everybody soon!

Rene Shible
Director - Bijoux Red

ARC Combat! Part 2 - Crash Attacks

2009-10-21T13:02:00.001-04:00

Hey! Don't interrupt me! What's that? You say I wasn't saying anything? You say I was the one interrupting you? Are you sure...?
-Rascal

During fast-paced combat, the best defense is sometimes a good offense! Skilled fighters can interrupt their enemy's attacks by crashing through with an attack of their own! Crashing attacks can be accomplished using any command, although some attacks are more effective than others at crashing... on the other hand, some commands are harder to crash through than others!

Be sure to check out the Bijoux Red ARC Combat Tutorial Demo to try out Crash Attacks for yourself!

Coyote's getting ready to use his Buster Slam command! This one hits hard, but it takes a while to set-up... there's a small window of opportunity here to defend yourself, or to Crash through his attack!

It looks like hitting Coyote with the Swift Punch Command wasn't enough to phase him!

This move hits pretty hard! There must be a way to stop him!

*POW!* The Elbow Thrust command is ideal for crashing through enemy attacks! Even Coyote's Buster Slam can't hold up against this one!

If you act quickly, even normal attacks like Swift Punch can crash through a strong one like Buster Slam! Two hits with Swift Punch will crash right through his attack, and deal a lot more damage in the end!

Make sure you read the Command Description before equipping a command! If an attack is useful for crashing, or hard to crash through, that information could affect how you set up for combat and how you use your attacks! Check out the tutorial on Equipping Commands, available in the Tutorial Demo, for more information!

Rene Shible
Director - Bijoux Red

Playable Demo - ARC Combat Tutorial

2009-10-18T01:38:00.003-04:00

The dream of the new world is as a seed, nourished in the suffering heart of Man. For, you see, the beauty of Man lies in his penchant for trial and his ambition to growth.

Lament not this pain, sweet boy. When we are through, the seed of your dreams will be as tall as the great tree holding up the heavens.

-Gangster Lord of the Veil, Ishtar

We at Revolver Games are very proud to announce our first available playable demo! With the ARC Combat Tutorial Demo, players will have the chance to explore our unique ARC Combat System in a number of tutorial settings, as well as in a challenging one-on-one battle!

Check out the ARC Combat Tutorial Demo now!

During the Tutorial, you'll be taught the basics of ARC Combat by everybody's favourite old man, Coyote.

Coyote will run you through the basics of acting, reacting and charging during combat.

Pay a visit to the Advance Tutorial to learn how to take advantage of battle mechanics like the Break Gauge, or like crashing through your enemy's attacks!

When you're ready, check out the Demo Battle scenario. A challenging battle awaits you at the end!

Rene Shible
Director - Bijoux Red

Sounds of King City Part 2 - Ander's Theme/World Map 1

2009-08-15T23:48:00.004-04:00

What's the point? Maybe I'll find out if I just keep moving.
-Ander

Using the idea of 'leitmotif' to represent our characters through music, we've managed to create an extensive soundtrack featuring various arrangements on numerous themes. This allows us to help the player experience an environment, such as exploring King City from the World Map, in two very different ways! For example, early in the game, we introduce King City through a World Map Arrangement of Ander's Theme. Later, as the player begins to move between districts and the conflicts and characters evolve, we introduce a World Map Arrangement of Visha's Theme, which is more reflective and vast in nature and tone.

Both themes portray a larger King City but the individual flavours of each character will hopefully help the player to experience King City in different ways as they progress through the game.

Bijoux Red OST Preview
Red Fox Underneath the Blazing Sun (Ander's Theme) - World Map Arrangement

Rene Shible
Director - Bijoux Red

Sounds of King City Part 1 - Hidden From The Sun

2009-07-27T20:34:00.004-04:00

Even the broadest reach of blinding sunlight fails to penetrate the deepest recesses of King City's shady past. And yet here we are; nothing more than silly, bored people, without a past.
-Bella Strange

Whenever I begin writing a track for Bijoux Red, I often start with what I call a simple 'Guitar Sketch'. This helps me to envision the structure of the song, and to imagine what sort of accompaniment I'd like to hear.

I don't always do this when writing music, but something about the exotic King City made me want to try to write as much of the music as I could on guitar first. There's something about that acoustic flavour illustrating this world that I'm really hoping to convey!

Attached underneath, I've included both the 'Sketchbook' version and the 'Original Soundtrack' version of a song introduced early in the first episode called 'Hidden From The Sun' - just to sort of emphasize the benefits of this working method.

Music Sketchbook
Beneath the World, Hidden from the Sun - Underground Theme

Bijoux Red OST Preview
Hidden From The Sun - Beldan Woods Arrangement

Rene Shible
Director - Bijoux Red

Sprite Works - Sabina

2009-07-21T00:23:00.004-04:00

You say you want me to stop 'itting you? Ze nerve! You are a man, oui? Start acting like one!
-Sabina du Mer

Rene Shible
Director - Bijoux Red

ARC Combat! Part 1 - ARC Combat Basics

2009-07-08T16:41:00.010-04:00

The boys of Southwall Crew sure have got a lot of enemies... there they sit, alone, with no escape, their backs against the sea. On any side, they're surrounded by allies of the Blood Lord, their sworn enemy, with no friends in sight. But their backs, hardened by the load they carry, are strong and their senses, sharper for all their confrontations, are keen.

Here in this remote sea-side town, the boys of Southwall Crew do their righteous work in solitude, awaiting the day that they might receive that sign; the light of revolution from the base of August Hill. And they will not die before that day, for their leader is clever and guides their arms in battle, and their purpose, clear as the emerald sea, guides their hearts through the coldest nights.

As is standard fare for Tactical RPGs, strategic combat in Bijoux Red is not only central to gameplay, but also to the unique flavour of our story! It's for this purpose that we've designed our own battle system called ARC Combat - which stands for Action, Reaction, Charge!

ARC Combat is designed around giving players more control in an otherwise traditionally turn-based, one-on-one active-time battle. To illustrate the idea, we're currently preparing a series of posts dedicated to the features of ARC Combat, as well as a playable demo that will allow players to take the time to develop a unique unit's abilities and to test them out in combat!

When enemy units engage in combat, the player is brought to the Combat Screen, where the main battle plays out. From the Combat Screen, you will have access to your unit's vital information, such as HP, SP and the circular Impulse Gauge. As can be expected, the battle is over when either unit's HP drops to zero!

When the Impulse Gauge is completely filled, your unit's Command Menu appears. Any abilities that you've equipped to your unit will appear here! Each unit can equip up to four Action Commands, one Reaction Command and one Charge Command.

Selecting an action from the Command Menu, such as Swift Punch, will cause your unit to attack the enemy! But watch out for your SP (Stamina Points)! Every action has an SP Cost, and with no SP, your unit will be left defenseless!

Watch your opponent closely. As they're readying their attacks, you'll often see a ring appear around them that will become smaller as they inch closer to actually executing their command. This period is referred to as the command's Casting Time, and is much longer on some commands, typically stronger commands, than on others.

Selecting the Reaction Icon (the top of the two lower-left icons on the Command Menu) with the right timing will cause your unit to use their equipped Reaction Command! Here, Ander is using the Defense command to shield himself from Sabina's attack. Don't forget that Reaction Commands cost SP as well! If you spend too much energy reacting to your opponent, then your unit will run out of SP too quickly!

Timing is key! Leave yourself open and you're gonna get hit!

As the battle wages on, units are sure to get exhausted! Hold down the Charge Icon (the bottom of the two lower-left icons on the Command Menu) to activate your equipped Charge Command! The longer you hold it, the more SP your unit will restore! But be careful! Charging in this manner will leave you wide open for attack!

Oh? What's this? Looks like a big one!

Some units can equip special Technique actions! Pulling these moves off is really the bread and butter of ARC Combat! Leave yourself open for these ones and you'll receive some devastating damage!

Rene Shible
Director - Bijoux Red

WIP Character Design #1 - Coyote

2009-07-06T16:49:00.002-04:00

Coyote

Music Sketchbook
I'm Not A Stranger, I'm A Coyote - Coyote's Theme/Freegrove Theme

COYOTE
Hey, kid, come on! Don't you wanna buy something?

ANDER
Who are you...?

COYOTE
What, you don't know me?

ANDER
How could I know you? You're a complete stranger...

COYOTE
Relax, kid. I'm not a stranger! Now you gonna buy something?

ANDER
Sorry, old man... I don't do handouts...

COYOTE
You must make plenty of friends with an attitude like that.

ANDER
I'm not looking for friends.

COYOTE
Oh, good! Then you have nothing to worry about.

Rene Shible
Director - Bijoux Red

Managing Your Units! Part 2 - The Unit Profile

2009-07-01T05:28:00.005-04:00

In King City, Gangsters live by a code called the Law of Dogs. Though the decrees of this criminal covenant are few and brief, they justly define the character and conflict of the Gang War that has engulfed the city.

Of these Laws, the fourth is considered by some to be the most important one, and the Law that will prove the true worth of a soul in King City. That Law is read as such - PROTECT YOUR OWN - and is a reminder to Gangsters to be true to their allies.

In King City, understanding your units and their capabilities is the key to staying alive. By visiting a unit's profile, you can view their stats and outfit them for combat!

From inside the Unit Profile, you will be able to access the Command List. Each unit learns their own commands, which can be equipped for use in combat. Be mindful however of the Power and SP Cost of these commands! Units will exhaust quickly in combat if their commands are too draining!

Given the opportunity, allow your units to rest regularly by accessing Rest from the Profile Window. This will allow them to restore their strength and morale. Units can also spend their Experience Points while resting, allowing them to become stronger!

Units can spend Experience Points to raise their attributes. Depending on which attributes you choose to raise, your units may learn new commands!

As expected, any new commands can be equipped from the Command List after a unit has learned it. If you take the time to get to know your units, and to experiment with their attributes, then combat will be a breeze!

Rene Shible
Director - Bijoux Red

Cipher Guild and the New Illustration Style

2009-06-29T18:51:00.009-04:00

Some Gangsters, like the signal pirates of Cipher Guild, stay alive by minding their own business and performing odd jobs for the bigger, more dangerous inner-city Gangs. Fortunately, the members of Cipher Guild are quite adept at hiding their tracks for those times when they decide to foray into the deep recesses of King City...

A common member of Cipher Guild, and an example of the new Illustration Style of Bijoux Red.

We here at Revolver Games have been recently seeing some major improvements throughout the production of Bijoux Red. But when you are in such a creative, progressive environment, you can't help but want to step up your game! It felt only natural when I proposed we take the illustrations in a new direction.

We have experimented with changing the illustrations before to match a more familiar & contemporary aesthetic but that idea quickly fell flat. After some time passed, we approached the idea again with much more success! I look forward to sharing more illustrations with all of you in the coming months.

German Shible
Illustrator - Bijoux Red

Managing Your Units! Part 1 - The Units Window

2009-06-28T22:54:00.013-04:00

The forgotten gangster world of King City, located ominously along the great Inveighlannes sea, is yours to explore in Bijoux Red! Beware, however, on embarking on this adventure alone! Word is that no one can survive King City without a Gang to back them up... so you'd better move quickly and find a Gang that will take you!

Once you join a gang, you can start managing your units and preparing them for battle! From the World Map, hitting the Units icon on the Command Menu opens the Units Window.

Opening the Units Window will show you all of the units currently fighting for your Gang! As long as you have these guys, you'll be safe... probably.

Double-click, or 'Inspect', a unit to view their Unit Profile. Visha's looking pretty good. Bosses, and other unique units, like Visha and Ander, tend to be stronger than the common Gangster!

Having a hard time defending your territory? Every turn, new units will appear in the Recruit Window! Don't hesitate to build your ranks!

But be mindful of your numbers. There is only a limited amount of room in each Gang! If you have too many units, you may not be able to recruit new ones!

Retire units that you no longer need and make room for the ones you want. Or increase your Gang Rank to raise the total amount of units you can recruit!

Maintaining a wide variety of skilled units is the backbone of a strong Gang. Treat them well and maybe you'll have a chance at staying alive in King City!

Rene Shible
Director - Bijoux Red

Welcome to King City

2008-10-07T02:47:00.030-04:00

Bijoux Red takes place in the gangster world of King City. The player takes control of Ander, a quiet loner from a nearby town, who unknowingly gets pulled into the dangerous King City underworld. Before long, he realizes that his actions have begun to change the tides of an intense gang war with a history that runs deeper than the city itself.

The Broken Heart of King City - A strange symbol that invokes fear or hope in those who look upon it – this is the emblem of Bijoux Red

Our first major project, Bijoux Red, is an episodic Tactical RPG set in the fictional gangster world of King City. Playing mostly as Ander, the primary protagonist, the player will follow the tale of Cipher Guild, a struggling pirate gang from the outskirts of King City. As the story progresses, the player will make serious decisions that will have a lasting effect on Cipher Guild's prosperity, or lack thereof, and will be given control of a growing number of characters with which to claim and defend territory as well as to do battle with. Some of these units include the members of Cipher Guild, secret characters, former enemies, and most notably, Cipher Guild's leader, and the protector of the King City outskirts, Visha.

The primary protagonist of Bijoux Red, Ander

Ander is a pensive and aloof 20 year-old who is drawn to wandering and never tries very hard to communicate with those around him. Despite people having a hard time deciphering how he feels about anything, Ander is generally trusted and well-liked. He proves himself to be clever, quick-witted and capable of becoming a force for change in King City. Unknown to Ander however, these very qualities have singled him out as a ray of hope to some and as an approaching threat to others.

Ander's guardian, and the secondary protagonist of Bijoux Red, Visha

Visha, protector of the King City outskirt gangs and the leader of Cipher Guild, reluctantly teaches Ander the ways of King City and tries to protect him from the cut throat gangsters that would take advantage of him. Like many others, Visha also sees in Ander a strong force for change, but given his dominant sense of responsibility, he would prefer that both Ander and his involvement with Cipher Guild go unnoticed by those who would rather see them harmed.

Consider this your welcome to King City. We're very excited about showing everyone our progress with the game itself as soon as possible. Please look forward to it!

Rene Shible
Director - Bijoux Red

On Progress

2008-09-20T18:47:00.000-04:00

After having subjected some of our friends to so many IKEA field trips, someone mentioned that we should be chronicling the time we'd spent putting together our newly founded game studio; like uploading videos onto youtube or something like that. Shying away from the thought of people watching us struggle with the basic assembly of stylishly simple Swedish furniture, we had no qualms with rejecting the notion at the time.

Seeing as this happened roughly three months ago, while we were still cleaning out the abandoned clinic that would eventually become our underground studio (literally), its no overstatement to say that we missed the boat on that endeavour. Well, I imagine it goes without saying that we eventually saw merit in the idea; leading us, one month into the development of our first title, to this site that you're visiting right now!

It goes against my nature NOT to get into the details that have brought us to this point. Suffice it to say, that's a story for another time. That being said, as we explore the development of our beloved Bijoux Red, I'll be chronicling step by step the complete process of what it takes to create, pitch and publish a 2D video game in the current industry climate. Of course, we also look forward to sharing our work with everyone!

Nostalgically examining our progress,

Rene Shible
Director - Bijoux Red