When I set out to make The Black Knight Chronicles: The Widow Without Time, I had exactly two things:
- A love for snow levels (seriously, they’re the best).
- A title so long it could double as a haiku.
That’s it. No story, no characters, just vibes.
I’d already created the Black Knight as a secret character in Citadale years ago, and I wanted to expand the lore—but not in another action-platformer. Enter RPG Maker, which I owned but had not properly used in years. Turn-based combat felt like the right fit, especially if I could make battles strategic (think rock-paper-scissors, but with swords and magic).
Early Struggles:
No Plot? No Problem? I started by loading sample maps and tinkering. Ideas emerged randomly: ice temples, ancient ruins, a demonic final boss. I scribbled notes like a madman.
Music First: I couldn’t compose without a vision, so I licensed tracks from Alexander Ehlers. His music became the game’s soul—each track inspired a location or character. That somber piano piece? That’s the antagonist’s theme now.
Most RPGs start with a story. I started with teleporters.
Level Design Philosophy:
Every dungeon needed a unique gimmick (e.g., a teleporter puzzle where you hunt for a lever mid-boss fight).
No filler: If a puzzle was solved in your head, the game should immediately reward you. No mazes, no endless backtracking.
Small but dense maps. Players would learn layouts organically—no minimaps allowed! (Sorry, GPS generation.)
Characters from the Soundtrack:
Quirky track → Snarky sidekick.
Mystical theme → Wise sorcerer.
Upbeat tune → A DOG. (Mandatory. 10/10 good boy.)
Dialogue wrote itself over time. At first, characters were tropes, but they grew personalities like fungus in a damp dungeon.
Sidequests Were Supposed to Rule: I told my wife, “Half this game will be sidequests!” Spoiler: It’s more like 30%. But what’s there is quality:
- Lore-heavy mini-stories.
- Time-sensitive quests (fail them, and they’re gone forever—marked in red in your log).
- Zero “collect 10 bear butts” tasks. (I ended up doing some of those, too)
The No-Map Experiment: I hid quest-givers behind “?” and “!” markers but refused to add a map. Playtesters (aka my wife) navigated just fine. Victory!
The game released on June 28, 2024, after a chaotic but magical dev cycle. Key takeaways:
Let music guide you. It’s a cheat code for creativity.
Tropes are tools. Overly-long anime titles? Yes. Self-insert protagonists? Hard no.
Players aren’t GPS drones. They’ll learn your world if you design it with care.
Final Thought: Making this game felt like herding cats, but I’ll do it all again. Thanks for reading—now go freeze to death in my snow-covered world! ❄️