Designers' Diary: Time Management
Aus dem Intro
Time Management
“Your whole life, like a sandglass, will continuously be reversed to ever run out again; a long moment of time will elapse until all those conditions from which you evolved return to the wheel of cosmic process.”
It has been quite some time since our last designers’ diary! Summer was a hectic period for Sankokushin’s development but we are very happy with our progress. During this time, we’ve especially focused on polishing the Boss Posture and Weapon Upgrade systems. However, this is not the time to speak about those mechanics, but of Time Management!
The simplest way to explain it is: In Sankokushin, time is a resource that is spent rather than one that just spends itself.
The Calendar
“What is time but the repetition of failure? I want to live free from this horrific karmic wheel, this endlessness. I want a life that matters.”
The campaign will develop over the course of 12 months (we are considering the in-game term Moons), each divided into 4 weeks.
Astronomy is a theme that we hold dear, as some people might already have seen in our previous title, So Long, My World. Sankokushin is no exception as many rites and traditions of Yamashiro are strictly bound to the movement of the celestial spheres and the succession of astrological cycles.
This is closely related to the presence of the supernatural and brings up the question of how divinity is treated in Sankokushin. While this is a different topic we may discuss another time, it is important for us to explain that in Sankokushin, as in our own world, deities are not intrusive entities and their general existence is not known for certain.
While there are many fictional aspects unique to Yamashiro, this approach is necessary since everything is solidly based on real traditions and history.
But I digress.
A week is the minimal time unit of Sankokushin’s calendar. At the beginning of a week, each hero gains 3 Time Points that can be spent to perform various activities while inhabiting the city. Some examples include:
- Breeding Amaterasu Crows costs 0 Time Points.
- Forging or sharpening a weapon costs 1 Time Point.
- Constructing a building costs 1 Time Point.
- Training in a Martial Art costs 1 Time Point.
- Participating in an encounter costs 2 Time Points.
Each hero spends Time Points independently and some activities may require (or benefit from) the participation of multiple heroes at once. Available activities depend on the currently unlocked Facilities and Social Bonds.
Choose wisely how you spend your time, as your choices will have an impact on the following weeks. Deciding not to participate to an encounter, for example, may lead to a character leaving Yamashiro forever, removing their social bond from that campaign run. Also, some events may only be performed on certain dates, so you should keep an eye on your calendar.
Lastly, if you’re able to reach the invisible world, you may obtain the blessing to relive old memories and see the multiple possibilities of the future. But of course, this has a cost.
Countless paths await and they cannot all be experienced during a single campaign. In fact, multiple playthroughs may be necessary to save Yamashiro from the entirety of its cursed destiny. But we will speak more about this another time.
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Story Details#1
Sankokushin – STORY DETAILS #1 – Axis Mundi Games