Welcome back! A happy New Year and happy MAGFest to all!

I'd like to send a warm 'Thank you' to everyone who tried out our little game and gave us feedback over the full four days of MAGFest. Your honesty and passion helped us take massive strides towards realizing the best version of Pharos imaginable.

It was amazing watching everyone run through our introductory scenario: exploring ruins, killing slimes, and dealing with everyone's favorite tyrant: King Gordian. Oh, he definitely left an impression on each and every one of you. I'm just happy that you guys enjoyed playing the demo as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Dan and I have big plans for the next few months. We are working on creating a final demo that will contain a complete vertical slice of everything possible on the first island. We hope to have this demo online once it is ready. Work and life events will probably end up slowing us down here and there but we're going to try to realize a perfect slice of Pharos that everyone can keep and play while we form the rest of the game's content. We have a long journey ahead of us. I hope you'll watch our progress and keep us honest while we bring it all together!

-Jeremy

(Please enjoy our picture recap of the weekend below)

Summary

Day 1: Setup & Bugs

Day 2: It Got Better

Day 3: We're Not Dead Yet!

Day 4: Teardown & Goodbyes

Hey! I'm not sure if you all know about this event called MAGFest (it's only one of the coolest places to be for gaming 😉) but we submitted Pharos to their indie video game showcase (MIVS for short) a few months ago... and got accepted! As you can probably tell by the lack of updates since then, we have been pretty busy getting everything ready for the event. We're beyond excited to see everyone try out the game and will be at the event all four days, which runs from Jan 2nd to 5th.  Hmm...that's only two weeks away... 😲. Before I head off to finish up some remaining polish for our current game build, here is a preview of the new game screen:

We wanted to give the player a character they can call their own, so you will be able to change the portrait, name, and profession of your starting adventurer. Here are the portrait options we have added so far:

Okay, time to get back to work. See you at MAGFest!

Pharos is a 2D adventure RPG featuring turn-based battles with real-time elements and dynamic open-world exploration. The player assumes the role of one of the many captains exploring a chain of mysterious islands filled with relics, monsters, and locales that defy science and reason. It is the player’s job to assemble a crew, survive the islands' dangers, explore their hidden wonders, and sell their secrets to the highest bidder.

Players will begin their adventures in a small town at the edge of the world. The town will act as your home while you assemble a crew, equip them, manage contracts, and otherwise prepare to depart. Once the player reaches an island, they will need to utilize their crew’s professions, combat skills, and wits in order to survive long enough to find something worth bringing home. Once safely returned, the player will need to find a buyer offering a decent price for their stolen relics, trade goods, and other treasures. Every adventure incurs costs and turning a profit is just as important and slaying monsters. Completing objectives on each island and, most importantly, lighting every Pharos, will open up more island and content for exploration.

The islands are a bizarre mixture of incongruous biospheres divided by large stretches of open ocean. Some of the islands are naturally tropical while others are inexplicably frozen, suspended high in the air, sunless, arid, or marshy. The one consistent feature they share are the massive lighthouses, the legendary Pharos, that rise miles into the air and dominate the surrounding land. Few ever reach a Pharos in their lifetime but many speculate that an explanation for each island’s weirdness lies within. While the Pharos are rarely plundered, various ruins and tombs can frequently be found scattered across the islands. Each of these ruins is equally populated by monsters and relics, which are coveted by many. These relics are known to have mystical qualities and many have found their fortunes selling these artifacts to various archaeological societies, military research divisions, and criminal syndicates. Others have forcefully acquired their fortunes by exploiting their relic’s reality-bending powers.