Eruta. The Plan.

In this post I'll detail what Eruta, the game I have been developing, is about. If you think it's a good idea, or have any comments, then please feel free to contact me or comment. If you'd be willing to join the development, that would even be better! :)

Let's begon with the basics. Eruta will be Japanse style computer RPG with 2D sprite graphics. It will be available for Linux, Windows and Mac OS X. It will be free, and open source. The art style will be inspired mostly by the Phantasy Star series, but reworked in an original way.

Eruta is set in a very distant future where the earth as become almost a utopia. Technology has become so advanced that it's almost indistinguishable from magic. The plot focuses on 2 young adults who seek to find their way in life, 10 of their possible friends, and 3 of their possible foes.


In the setting of Eruta, androids do all the strenuous work, and help people lead an enjoyable life. All the necessities of life are plentiful and free. Humans are from birth covered by the symbiotic Husk, a nearly invisible living membrane that covers them to protect them from physical pain, wounds and illness. People live long, healthy lives. Twenty-one Trees, spread over the world, maintain the world peace and emit Numen, a mysterious energy that allows humans skilled in it's use to perform extraordinary feats.

But still, in this near utopia there are also problems. The current era of peace was only reached after many wars, disasters and much ecological destruction. The areas around cities, towns and roads are safe, but outside of that, it's a very rough and wild world. Most animals have died out, and those who have survived evolved into terrible, fierce Beasts. Maverick androids stir up trouble occasionally. And then there is the waste of the Ancients, and the the corruption of the Omen infection.

In this world, two young adults, Berun the scholar, and Chelia the huntress, each set out to find their way in life. Each of them decides to explore the country of Eruta, famous for its ancient historic records and ruins. What will they discover? Who will they meet there? Will they make new friends, or meet new enemies? Will they find love? How will they decide to live their lives? How will this influence the fate of Eruta and the Earth? That will be mostly up to the player to decide.

The battles will be tactical and turn based, with a mix of ideas from Grandia, Mana Khemia, the Atelier series, Phantasy Star 4, etc. There will be combos and also "action commands" that allow the fighters to intervene between their turns. There will be a "combat ethics" system that both enables special moves, but also influences the development of the personality of the characters. The battles will take place on the map screen as in Chrono Trigger.

The art will be 2D sprites, tiles and character portraits at a (virtual) 640x480 resolution. The art style will probably takes cues from Phantasy Star 4 and the Playstation 2 remakes of the Phantasy Star series, perhaps with some Atelier series and Ars Tonelico influences.

Technically speaking, Eruta is being developed in plain C (not C++) using the Allegro game library and use Lua as the scripting language. The tile maps can be edited with the Tiled Map Editor. The technology may seem a it spartan, but this is to better focus on the game's content.

Here's a screenshot to show the current progress, which isn't much yet:

Eruta game engine displaying a tile map editor (.tmx) map.