Greetings and welcome. As an introduction antecedes most relationships, let me begin by apologizing for my tardiness in writing to you.
Court of Ashes, though announced only two weeks ago, has a storied past reaching all the way back to 2016. The days, evenings, and nights of unwavering devotion needed to bring this project to where it is now may seem like a fine enough excuse for developing in relative silence, but those activities do not subtract from the attention owed to you, the person who will (hopefully) purchase my game.
In that spirit of full atonement, let me devote myself as fully to these annotations as I do to the development of my actual game.
My game? Whose game? Court of Ashes is being developed and published by Cratel Studios. Folding the development under the auspices of a “studio” is mostly a formality; Cratel Studios is co-owned by me, Chris Cratel, and my husband, Christian (C.S.) Cratel. If I use the first-person possessive when describing Court of Ashes, it is merely as a token of pride and affection. Pride, not only for what we’ve created but, for what it’s taken to create in the first place.
As much as I’ve committed myself to an introduction, I’d sooner like to depart from talking about myself. Approach any deli counter and order bologna on white bread and you will be in possession of the allegorical equivalent of my person. To my husband’s credit, he can at least pass for mortadella on rye with a slather of mustard.
So, to the (deli) meat of the subject: what is Court of Ashes?
Court of Ashes is a narrative-driven adventure.
Court of Ashes is a scaled-down nation management sim.
Court of Ashes is centered around building rapport and learning to be a good leader.
Court of Ashes is filled with over 250 singular and expressive scenarios to solve.
Court of Ashes is told through the lens of five distinct playable characters.
Court of Ashes is meant to be played multiple times.
Court of Ashes is outfitted with 18 separate endings interspliced with multiple sub-endings.
Court of Ashes is presented with unlockable outfits, locations, and scenes.
Court of Ashes is not a romance story.
Court of Ashes is not an epic, open-world RPG requiring hundreds of hours per playthrough.
Court of Ashes is not developed with the intention of producing freemium/DLC content (though our artist wants to draw unlockable canine versions of each council member post-release).
Court of Ashes is not a 1998 Toyota Corolla, still runs great, $800 OBO.
While I could derivate each of these points into ever-increasing lists of what Court of Ashes is an is not, I would much rather take the time to dilate on each of the major features surrounding the project… the real “what’s in it for me” proposition behind the idea of you purchasing this game.
In the coming installments, I want to talk about the 60 individual affinity scenes, the original soundtrack and symbolism behind the music choices, the branching narrative and 18 base endings, the 250+ scenarios and what a scenario actually consists of, and, most importantly, what we’ve learned throughout our development to make this game better for you.
So, putting to bed the matter of my introduction, let me leave you with a question; who are you? If you’ve gotten this far, I would be so eager to meet you, reader.
Until next time,
Chris Cratel
