Blackfaun

Overview

Inspired by some of the developer's favorite games (The Binding of Isaac and Diablo) Blackfaun is a top down 3D action-RPG game, with an emphasis on arcade-style combat and randomly generated environments, enemies, equipment, and bosses.

Development history

Development of Blackfaun started in April 2013, and is slated to be released through Steam's Early Access on December 3, 2015. Final release is set for Q2 2016. The game has two credited developers - with Paul "Spline" Phillips as a Programmer/Designer, and Tim McMahon as an Artist/Designer. The game's composer is Varien, and Bombadeer Studios is its sound designer.

Gameplay

Blackfaun drops the player into the role of Eri, a faun sent on a mysterious quest by her parents. The game has a twin-stick feel with RPG style advancement. Players traverse the environment while fighting enemies. The player's primary attack is a projectile (default left-click) and secondary attack is a mana burst (default right click) which primarily pushes enemies away from the player. The levels are divided up into rooms, separated by portals (usually doors) that act as pacing mechanisms. Equipment is collected or discovered in secret rooms, from slain bosses, and purchased from a merchant. Each level concludes with an encounter with Pan, Eri's brother in which the plot unfolds through their dialog.

Environments

The environments in the game are Lyrewood Vale and Duskhaven Sanctuary, each with its own set of enemies and bosses. Lyrewood Vale is a forest inhabited by goblins while Duskhaven Sanctuary is an abandoned temple inhabited by spirits and wraiths.

Enemies

• Lyrewolf - The basic melee enemy, runs after the player and is feared upon ally death.
• Stoneblade Grunt - A quick, melee-style enemy that occasionally stops to catch it's breath
• Dreameater - A caster enemy that casts pools of darkness on the player.
• Goblin Totem - A immobile style enemy that shoots directional projectiles.
• Warbrute - A hulking tank-style enemy that hits hard but is very slow. Casts frenzy on nearby allies when hit.
• Wolfwarden - A ranger style enemy that summons ghost Lyrewolves and lays traps

Equipment

Through out the game, players will find treasure chests that contain equipment which can go into one of five slots: Head, Chest, Jewelry, Weapon, and Offhand. Each inventory slot is tied to a different mechanic. Head items upgrade Lex, Eri's companion. Chest items give passive player bonuses such as lowered aggro radius. Jewelry grants passive utility bonuses such as marking points of interest on the minimap. Weapons effect how the player attacks, changing the players projectile to bursts, beams, or detonated projectiles. Offhands change the mana burst, give it a longer range or duration, for example.

Player Advancement

When the player defeats an enemy, he or she is granted experience. As more experience is gained, the player levels up. When the player gains a level, 5 stat points are granted which the player can assign to one of 3 primary stats, Agility, Intelligence, or Vitality.

• Agility - increases move speed, attack speed, and critical hit chance.
• Intelligence - increases base damage, magic resistance, and shot range.
• Vitality - increases shot explosion size, physical resistance, and shot piercing chance.

System Requirements (Windows)

Blackfaun has low system requirements, but for optimal performance more is recommended:

• • OS: Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8
  • Processor: Dual Core 2.0 Ghz
  • Memory: 2 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Nvidia 400 or Equivalent
  • DirectX: Version 9.0
  • Storage: 2 GB available space