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{{Article for deletion/dated|page=Elysian Shadows|timestamp=20140530150717|year=2014|month=May|day=30|substed=yes|help=off}}
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{{primary|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox video game
{{Infobox video game
|title = Elysian Shadows
| title = Elysian Shadows
| image = Elysian Shadows Coverart.png
|image = [[File:ElysianShadowsBoxArt.png|frameless|Pier Solar and the Great Architects]]
|caption = Proposed Dreamcast Box Art
| caption =
|developer = [[Elysian Shadows Team]]
| developer = GyroVorbis
|publisher = TBD
| publisher = WaterMelon
| series =
|designer = [[Falco Girgis]]<br> [[Tyler Rogers]]
|composer = [[Connor Linning]]
| engine = ESGamma
| platforms = [[Dreamcast]], [[Microsoft Windows]], [[OS X]], [[Linux]], [[iOS]], [[Android (operating system)|Android]], [[Ouya]]<ref name=rgm>{{cite web|title=Retro Gaming Mag coverage of Elysian Shadows and Adventures in Game Development Episode 21|url=http://retrogamingmagazine.com/2014/02/12/elysian-shadows-coming-dreamcast-linux-macosx-windows-iphone/|date=February 12, 2014|publisher=Retro Gaming Mag|accessdate=July 22, 2014}}</ref>
|released = {{vgrelease|NA|2015}}
| released = <!-- {{Video game release|}} -->
|genre = [[Action-adventure game|Action-adventure]]<br> [[Role-playing video game|RPG]]
|modes = [[Single-player video game|Single-player]]
| genre = [[Role-playing video game|Role-playing]]
| modes = [[Single-player video game|Single-player]], [[Multiplayer video game|multiplayer]]
|ratings =
| director =
|platforms = [[Sega Dreamcast]], [[Microsoft Windows]], [[OS X]], [[Linux]], [[iOS]], [[Android (operating system)|Android]], [[Ouya]]
| producer =
|media = [[CD-ROM]] <br> [[Download]]
| designer =
| programmer = Falco Girgis
| artist = Patryk Kowalik
| writer =
| composer =
}}
}}


'''''Elysian Shadows''''' is a [[Vaporware]] [[Cross-platform|multiplatform]] [[indie game|indie]] 2D [[role-playing video game]] that was in development by GyroVorbis. The game was set to be published by WaterMelon, which previously developed and published the [[Sega Genesis]] title ''[[Pier Solar and the Great Architects]]'' in 2010. The development of ''Elysian Shadows'' has been chronicled in a [[YouTube]] series titled ''Adventures in Game Development''. ''Elysian Shadows'' has been marketed as a "next-gen 2D role-playing game" (RPG) due to its hybrid 2D/3D graphical style.
''Elysian Shadows'' is an upcoming [[Homebrew (video games)|homebrew]] 2D/3D [[role-playing game]] for [[Dreamcast|Sega Dreamcast]], [[Microsoft Windows]], [[OS X]], [[Linux]], [[iOS]], [[Android (operating system)|Android]], and [[Ouya]]. It is being marketed as a "[[History of video game consoles (eighth generation)|Next Generation]]" 2D RPG, as it fuses aspects of [[History of video game consoles (fourth generation)|16-bit era]] console RPGs with modern advanced rendering techniques, dynamic 2D and 3D perspectives, positional and dynamic audio, rigid body physics, and particle simulators.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elysianshadows.com/game/information/|title=Official Website |publisher=elysianshadows.com |accessdate=2014-05-26}}</ref> The game is best-known as the focus of the "[[#Adventures in Game Development|Adventures in Game Development]]" [[YouTube]] webseries, where fans have been given a behind-the-scenes look at the development of '''Elysian Shadows''' since its inception in 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://youtube.com/gyrovorbis|title=GyroVorbis' YouTube Channel |publisher=youtube.com |accessdate=2014-05-26}}</ref> The team is currently promoting the game in preparation for a [[Kickstarter]] crowd-sourcing campaign during Q2/Q3 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elysianshadows.com/kickstarter|title=Official - Kickstarter Info Page |publisher=elysianshadows.com |accessdate=2014-05-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seganerds.com/2014/05/27/watermelon-to-publish-new-dreamcast-rpg-elysian-shadows/|title=Watermelon to Publish New Dreamcast RPG, Elysian Shadows|publisher=seganerds.com |accessdate=2014-05-30|date=2014-05-27}}</ref>


''Elysian Shadows'' was being developed for the [[Dreamcast]], as well as the [[Ouya]], [[iOS]], [[Android (operating system)|Android]], [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[OS X]], and [[Linux]] platforms. The game received a successful round of [[crowdfunding]] via [[Kickstarter]] in August 2014. As of December 2024 no rewards have been delivered. The last Kickstarter update was published in 2017.
== Setting ==
Limited information has been revealed regarding the storyline of Elysian Shadows, although the developers have been vocal in insisting that the game was originally conceived as a storyline concept and that plot and character progression would be the central focus of the RPG.<ref name="youtube.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K56mndHzpQc|title=Adventures in Game Development Chapter 24 |publisher=youtube.com |accessdate=2014-05-26 |date=2014-04-09}}</ref>


==Gameplay==
=== World and Story ===
''Elysian Shadows'' intended to fuse traditional elements of 2D games with dynamic 2D and 3D perspectives, positional and dynamic audio, rigid body physics, particle simulators, and other modern 3D rendering techniques. This gameplay was intended as a re-invention of the 2D style used in [[History of video game consoles (fourth generation)|16-bit]] [[Role-playing video game|RPGs]].<ref name=indiel>{{cite web|title=IndieGames.com Elysian Shadows coming to PC, OUYA, Dreamcast & mobile|url=http://indiegames.com/2014/06/elysian_shadows_coming_to_pc_o.html|date=June 2, 2014|accessdate=July 14, 2014|archive-date=July 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714125029/http://indiegames.com/2014/06/elysian_shadows_coming_to_pc_o.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=gama>{{cite web|title=Discover a World Separated by Magic and Technology|url=http://gamasutra.com/view/pressreleases/217250/Discover_A_World_Separated_By_Magic_and_Technology.php|publisher=[[Gamasutra]]|date=June 2, 2014|accessdate=July 14, 2014|archive-date=August 11, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811004910/http://gamasutra.com/view/pressreleases/217250/Discover_A_World_Separated_By_Magic_and_Technology.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> Planned features for the game, in addition to its hybrid 2D/3D camera and gameplay, included: advanced fluid dynamics, weather and a day/night system, customizable characters with in-depth class/job system, and a cross-platform save system.<ref>{{cite news|title= Developer Interview: Elysian Shadows' Falco Girgis |url=https://www.thedreamcastjunkyard.co.uk/2015/04/developer-interview-elysian-shadows.html |date= April 7, 2015|website= The Dreamcast Junkyard |accessdate= April 25, 2024 |last= Charnock |first= Tom}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://kotaku.com/a-16-bit-rpg-that-promises-a-modern-twist-1626228329|title = A 16-Bit RPG That Promises a Modern Twist| date=24 August 2014 }}</ref> VMU mini games have also been added to the game.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://forums.elysianshadows.com/viewtopic.php?f=48&p=91400#p91400|title=Elysian Shadows • View topic - ElysianVMU Pre-Alpha Release Testing|website=forums.elysianshadows.com|access-date=2016-06-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624180937/http://forums.elysianshadows.com/viewtopic.php?f=48&p=91400#p91400|archive-date=2016-06-24|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Elysian Shadows Screen Shot.jpg|thumb|Screenshot of the protagonist, Julien, standing in Loren's Market.]]
Elysian Shadows takes place in a land known as Asphodel, playing host to a diverse set of biomes, including forests, caves, mountains, jungles, plains, tundra, and a variety of ancient ruins. The societies of Asphodel are caught in constant conflict between magic and technology, as the religious sects have been bestowed with the gifts of magic, while the intellectual sects are forced to turn to science and technology in their day-to-day lives. Upon uncovering a long-lost artifact in an ancient ruin, players find themselves thrust into the middle of this rising conflict to maintain the status quo.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nichegamer.net/2014/04/discover-a-world-separated-by-magic-and-technology-in-elysian-shadows/|title=Discover a World Separated by Magic and Technology in Elysian Shadows |accessdate=2014-05-26 |publisher=nichgamer.com | date=2014-04-20}}</ref>


==Story==
In addition to a lush overworld, Asphodel also plays host to a variety of different underground ruins scattered about the lands. These ruins are excavated by "diggers" and scholars seeking to uncover their ancient secrets and hidden treasures. While the backstory of these ruins has not yet been revealed, they will play a major role in the plot progression of Elysian Shadows.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elysianshadows.com/game/information/|title=Official World of Elysian Shadows|publisher=elysianshadows.com |accessdate=2014-05-26}}</ref>
''Elysian Shadows'' was to take place in a world caught in constant conflict between magic and technology. The gift of magic is bestowed upon loyal followers of The Creator, while the nonreligious sects of society are forced to rely upon technological advances in their daily lives. Upon uncovering a mysterious artifact deep within one of the ancient ruins scattered throughout the land, Julien and friends find themselves thrust into the middle of this mounting conflict, and they must now solve the mystery of the ancient civilizations to prevent the destruction of their own.


==Development==
Various pieces of concept art for the ruins and their inhabitants have been posted by the team to social media sites, and the developers have announced during interviews that at least one of these ruins will be survival-horror themed, inspired by [[Resident Evil]] and [[Ocarina of Time]]'s Shadow Temple.<ref name="twodashstash.com">{{cite web|url=http://twodashstash.com/2014/05/indie-stash-cast-falco-girgis-tyler-rogers-talk-elysian-shadows-developing-dreamcast-answer-questions/|title=Indie Stash Cast: Falco Girgis and Tyler Rogers Talk Elysian Shadows, Developing for the Dreamcast, and Answer Your Questions |accessdate=2014-05-26 |publisher=twodashstash.com | date=2014-05-20}}</ref>
Since October 2007, the development of ''Elysian Shadows'' has been chronicled in the [[YouTube]] web series ''Adventures in Game Development''<ref>{{cite web|title=Adventure in Game Development|url=http://www.destructoid.com/i-m-into-adventures-in-game-development-273218.phtml|publisher=[[Destructoid]]|date=April 14, 2014|accessdate=July 14, 2014}}</ref> however Falco Girgis' earliest post on the development forums was in 2004, leading to uncertainty as to when exactly development on the game began. The early years of development were spent on designing original technology and development tools. These tools were simultaneously developed for OS X and Windows. They were later designed to target a host of platforms including Android and Linux, which enabled the developers to design the game without worrying about porting. The team has gone through a large number of member changes, however lead programmer Falco Girgis and lead artist Patryk Kowalik have remained constant since Falco founded the project and Patryk joined.


In May 2014, it was announced that [[WaterMelon Co.]], developer of [[Pier Solar and the Great Architects]], offered a publishing deal to the Elysian Shadows Team for the [[Dreamcast]] platform. In June, lead developer Falco Girgis tendered his resignation at [[ADTRAN]], where he was a software engineer, to work full-time on ''Elysian Shadows''. On June 19, Girgis and co-founder Tyler Rogers were invited to give a presentation of Elysian Shadows at their alumni university, [[University of Alabama in Huntsville]].<ref name=uah>{{cite web|title=Computer engineering degree from UAH provides foundation for dream career|url=http://www.uah.edu/news/people/7927-computer-engineering-degree-from-uah-provides-foundation-for-dream-career#.U8Oe-vldWSo|publisher= [[University of Alabama in Huntsville]]|date=June 24, 2014|accessdate=July 14, 2014}}</ref>
=== Main characters ===
While the complete party has never officially been revealed, various party members have been released at one point or another through episodes of "[[#Adventures in Game Development|Adventures in Game Development]]," or on the team's official social media pages.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.410087505701567.88557.201764123200574&type=3|title=Facebook - Party Concepts |accessdate=2014-05-26 |publisher=facebook.com | date=2012-06-21}}</ref><ref name="GyroVorbis YouTube Channel">{{cite web|url=http://youtube.com/gyrovorbis|title=GyroVorbis YouTube Channel|accessdate=2014-05-26|date=2008-08-07}}</ref>


On 1 August 2014, the development team launched their [[Kickstarter]] campaign with a goal of $150,000 and stretch goals that went up to $750,000. In less than 24 hours, the project had attained $30,000 of its target and a couple of days later it had successfully raised over $75,000. On 20 August, ''Elysian Shadows'' received national coverage by [[WHNT News]] as they interviewed the team and ran a story on Girgis and Rogers quitting their jobs to develop the game.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://whnt.com/2014/08/20/two-madison-county-engineers-leave-jobs-to-make-video-game-close-to-funding-their-dream/|title = Two Madison County engineers leave jobs to make video game, close to funding their dream|date = 20 August 2014}}</ref> Less than 24 hours later, the game was successfully funded and in the process set a record for the [[Ouya]]'s [[Ouya#Free the Games Fund|Free the Games Fund]]<ref>{{cite tweet|number=503243490722316289|user=playouya|title=Congrats to @elysian_shadows for breaking the record for the highest funded Free The Games @kickstarter at 150k!<!-- full text of tweet that Twitter returned to the bot (excluding links) added by TweetCiteBot. This may be better truncated or may need expanding (TW limits responses to 140 characters) or case changes. --> |date=23 August 2014}}</ref> as well as for the most money raised in Alabama through Kickstarter.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kickstarter.com/discover/advanced?woe_id=2347559&sort=most_funded|title = Discover » Alabama, US » Most Funded — Kickstarter}}</ref> In August 2014, the game received notable press coverage internationally coverage from Asia and Europe, most notably from Russia and Germany respectively.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gamestar.de/spiele/elysian-shadows/news/elysian_shadows,51606,3059372.html|title = Elysian Shadows - 16-Bit-Rollenspiel mit modernen Elementen|website = Gamestar|date = 25 August 2014|last1 = Münster|first1 = Tobias}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://igronews.com/news/indie/2315-elysian-shadows.html|title = Двухмерная трёхмерность в инди-рпг "нового поколения" Elysian Shadows}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nexgam.de/Dreamcast-Linux/Elysian-Shadows-Das-grosse-Interview.html#sheet1 | title=Elysian Shadows Interview mit dem Team neXGam | date=6 November 2020 }}</ref>
* '''Julien''' is the main protagonist of Elysian Shadows. He is revealed to be a digger living in Loren, uncovering artifacts for the local museum. His name was reportedly inspired by the team's favorite band, [[Julien-K]].


The project received a great deal of criticism when Girgis created the Misadventures in Kickstarter crowdfunding series, in which he complained of hardships during the project's development. The video's description and Girgis's later commentary suggest it was satire.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.destructoid.com/indie-dev-s-angry-rant-demonstrates-the-stress-after-being-kickstarted-314636.phtml|title=Indie dev's angry rant demonstrates the stress after being Kickstarted|website=Destructoid|date=8 October 2015|access-date=2016-06-05}}</ref>
* '''Eryn''' is the female protagonist of Elysian Shadows. She also lives in Loren and runs the local museum, studying ancient artifacts with her father. She has been said to be a strong female lead, inspired by Lucca of [[Chrono Trigger]] and [[Lara Croft]] of [[Tomb Raider]].


In 2016, Girgis stated that progress on the game was going well in a post that describes setbacks caused by a former team member.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1945059142/elysian-shadows-next-gen-2d-rpg/posts/1438772|title=Update 17: Team Drama, Combat Engine, 4 Player Local Multiplayer, Delays · Elysian Shadows Next-Gen 2D RPG for Dreamcast & Steam & OUYA|website=Kickstarter|language=en-US|access-date=2016-06-05}}</ref> He has also posted news about ElysianVMU, an emulator for the Dreamcast's Visual Memory Unit, allowing non-Dreamcast players to access VMU content on their PCs, smartphones, and other devices.<ref name=":0" />
* '''Angel (name not known)''' has been teased as a third party member during an episode of [[#Adventures in Game Development|Adventures in Game Development]]. Nothing has been revealed of her backstory, but her sprite has been shown displaying a prominent pair of wings.


As of December 2024 the game has not been released and no update has been posted on the Kickstarter since 2017.
== Style and Influences ==


=== Visuals ===
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
[[File:Elysian Shadows.png|thumb|left|3D Perspective and Dynamic Lights in Loren's Church.]]
Graphically, Elysian Shadows uses mostly [[pixel art]] in the style of 16-bit RPGs, with slightly higher resolutions. The team has cited console RPGs such as [[Chrono Trigger]], [[Secret of Mana]], and [[Phantasy Star]] as artistic inspiration; however, unlike other games of the genre, Elysian Shadows features advanced lighting techniques such as [[shadow mapping]], [[normal mapping]], and [[specular highlights|specular highlighting]].<ref name="https">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMsB17loGcY|title=Adventures in Game Development Chapter 21 |publisher=youtube.com |accessdate=2014-05-26 |date=2014-01-13}}</ref> The environments are also rendered in full 3D, which allows the game to dynamically change between 2D orthographic and 3D perspectives during cutscenes or other in-game events.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elysian-shadows.wikia.com/wiki/Elysian_Shadows|title=Unofficial Elysian Shadows Wiki |accessdate=2014-05-26 |publisher=wikia.com | date=2014-03-27}}</ref>


==External links==
According to the official website, the team's mission for the visuals of ES is {{quote|"[..] to push the boundaries of pixel art by creating diverse, lush environments for players to explore with beautifully lit scenes and advanced rendering effects that could not have been possible on older hardware."|Elysian Shadows Team|[http://elysianshadows.com/game/information/ Elysian Shadows Official Website, Game Information]}}
*{{Officialwebsite|http://www.elysianshadows.com/}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140527214445/http://www.dreamcast-scene.com/games/elysian-shadows/ Dreamcast Scene Page]


[[Category:Android (operating system) games]]
=== Audio ===
[[Category:Crowdfunded video games]]
Similar to the graphical style, the audio of Elysian Shadows is also a fusion of old and new. Background music dynamically changes in intensity to match the player's environment, and sound effects are positional, in full 3D. The soundtrack uses vintage electronic music hardware with modern synthesizer software, resulting in songs with a distinct 16-bit chiptune-style mixed with a variety of instruments, choirs, and electronic sounds.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elysianshadows.com/game/information/|title=Official - Music, 3D positional & dynamic |publisher=elysianshadows.com |accessdate=2014-05-26}}</ref> In his blog posts and during [[#Adventures in Game Development|Adventures in Game Development]], composer [[Connor Linning]] has sampled various beats and sounds from popular [[Sega Genesis]] and [[Super Nintendo]] games, including [[Sonic the Hedgehog]], [[Harvest Moon]], and [[Donkey Kong Country]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.connorlinning.com/2014/01/26/elysian-shadows-soundtrack-development-blog-2/|title=Elysian Shadows Soundtrack Development Blog 2 |accessdate=2014-05-26 |publisher=ConnorLinning.com | date=2014-01-26}}</ref>
[[Category:Dreamcast homebrew games]]

[[Category:Fantasy video games]]
=== Gameplay ===
[[Category:Indie games]]
Elysian Shadows' gameplay has drawn influence from a wide variety of games, many of which aren't even RPGs. The RPG aspects of Elysian Shadows have been said to be primarily inspired by 16-bit [[Squaresoft]], [[Enix]], and [[Sega]] RPGs, while the adventure aspects of the game have been primarily influenced by the [[Legend of Zelda]] series, with an emphasis on environmental interaction and rewarding overworld exploration.<ref name="youtube.com"/> Additionally, the game includes [[Platform game|platformer]] gameplay mechanics such as dashing and jumping not usually found in top-down RPGs. The team believes these mechanics will open exploration up into the third dimension and will make combat more interesting, citing the speed and agility of the [[Megaman X]] series. The team has referred to the battle engine as a marriage between the [[Secret of Mana]] and the [[God of War]] series.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/elysianshadows/photos/pb.201764123200574.-2207520000.1401124606./730020550374926/?type=3&theater|title=Combat Engine Facebook Post |publisher=facebook.com |accessdate=2014-05-26}}</ref>
[[Category:Kickstarter-funded video games]]

During a podcast interview, the team mentioned that the recurring theme of scattered underground ruins in the world of Asphodel was inspired by the [[Megaman Legends]] series, and that their composer's primary source of inspiration comes from the survival horror genre and franchises like [[Resident Evil]] and [[Silent Hill]].<ref name="twodashstash.com"/>

== Development ==
Development on Elysian Shadows is widely regarded to have started Oct 7, 2007, as this is when the first Chapter of the "[[#Adventures in Game Development|Adventures in Game Development]]" series was uploaded to [[YouTube]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iimLO5UkWYg|title=Adventures in Game Development Chapter 1 |publisher=youtube.com |accessdate=2014-05-26 |date=2007-08-07}}</ref> Going by date, the game has been in development for almost 7 years, and this number is often cited by critics regarding the game's lengthy development cycle.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.micromania.es/noticias/elysian-shadows-7-anos-desarrollo-indie|title=Elysian Shadows: 7 años de desarrollo indie |publisher=micromania.com |accessdate=2014-05-08 |date=2014-04-09}}</ref> The team has publically dismissed the "7 year" estimate during interviews, as it is claimed that they were just kids in their parents' attics at the time, with no development experience, and much of the time has been spent growing into their roles as game developers. In addition to time spent on the actual game, the team also cites time spent developing their own engine, tools, and multiplatform library, further bloating this figure. They have also taken several extended breaks throughout development, as many of their members are attending graduate school and work full-time jobs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://coreelementspodcast.blogspot.com/2014/05/ce-61-elysian-shadows.html|title=Core Elements 61: Elysian Shadows|publisher=http://coreelementspodcast.blogspot.com/ |accessdate=2014-05-26 |date=2014-05-09}}</ref>

=== Publisher ===

On 26th May 2014, the team shared on their Facebook page that developers of [[Pier Solar]] Water Melon Co has contacted the team about possibly publishing Elysian Shadows.<ref>https://www.facebook.com/elysianshadows/photos/a.261525073891145.61859.201764123200574/748968801813434/?type=1</ref> The press release did not say that a deal has been finalized, merely discussed the possibility.

=== Sega Dreamcast Support ===
Elysian Shadows began as an an RPG exclusively for the [[Sega Dreamcast]], but the engine was quickly ported to many more platforms as the [[#Adventures in Game Development|Adventures in Game Development]] [[YouTube]] series rose in popularity. With the inclusion of advanced shading techniques in Elysian Shadows' visuals, the team has stated many times that the game will be pushing the console to its limits.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dreamcast-talk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=4814&start=50|title=Dreamcast-Talk Elysian Shadows Discussion Thread |publisher=dreamcast-talk.com |accessdate=2014-05-26 |date=2012-07-24}}</ref> The limited resources on the Dreamcast have often been the target of many jokes throughout the [[#Adventures in Game Development|Adventures in Game Development]] series, as the team has stated that the development builds frequently run out of [[texture memory]]. They have also joked that players may have to manually free memory resources allocated to scripts when the framerate drops.<ref name="https"/>

While the [[Sega Dreamcast]] is no longer the sole-focus of the Elysian Shadows project, the lead engine developer, [[Falco Girgis]], insists that Elysian Shadows continues to support the aging console, calling it his "quest" to release a game for the platform he grew up developing for.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JN90aCRuQI|title=The Week in Geek - Episode 5|publisher=youtube.com |accessdate=2014-05-28 |date=2014-05-19}}</ref>

=== Technology ===
The majority of the technology behind Elysian Shadows has been developed in-house by the team, including the Engine, Toolkit, and platform-independent driver back-end.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elysianshadows.com/game/information/|title=Official - Powering the Future of the 2D RPG|publisher=elysianshadows.com |accessdate=2014-05-26 |date=2014-04-09}}</ref>

==== ESGamma ====
ESGamma is the proprietary engine developed in-house to power Elysian Shadows. It is written in [[C++11]] and links against the [[#LibGyro|LibGyro]] API to achieve platform independence. The engine boasts full 3D dynamic lighting, 2D and 3D dynamic cameras, 2D rigid-body physics, advanced particle effects, bump and specular maps, and shadow mapping. It is fully extensible through the [[Lua (programming language)|Lua scripting language]], which allows the Elysian Shadows team to create and script custom contents and events for the world of Elysian Shadows in a manner similar to Behavior Scripts in the [[Unity3D]] engine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elysianshadows.com/game/information/|title=Official - ESGamma|publisher=elysianshadows.com |accessdate=2014-05-26 |date=2014-04-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiI59XlCeK0|title=Adventures in Game Development Chapter 20|publisher=youtube.com |accessdate=2014-05-26 |date=2012-04-08}}</ref>

==== ESToolkit ====
ESToolkit or "ESTk" is a 2D level editing and creation tool developed by the Elysian Shadows team to create the environments for Elysian Shadows. It is developed in [[C++11]] with the [[Qt (software)|Qt framework]] and is said to share a significant amount of code with ESGamma. ESTk offers advanced editing features for developing environments using tilesheets.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elysianshadows.com/game/information/|title=Official - ESToolkit|publisher=elysianshadows.com |accessdate=2014-05-26 |date=2014-04-09}}</ref> It also contains an entity/component editor that was influenced by the [[Unity3D]] editor. One of its most well-known features is the ability to give flat tiles "elevation" information within the levels, allowing the team to create 3D levels for Elysian Shadows using only 2D assets.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecjtXlo89K0|title=Elysian Shadows Live Stream #3|publisher=youtube.com |accessdate=2014-05-26 |date=2013-05-25}}</ref>

==== LibGyro ====
LibGyro is a platform-independent multimedia API written in C, providing interfaces for rendering, device input, audio, asset management, linear algebra, and system management. These interfaces are implemented as statically-linked libraries on various platforms, including [[Dreamcast|Sega Dreamcast]], [[Microsoft Windows]], [[OS X]], [[Linux]], [[iOS]], [[Android (operating system)|Android]], [[Ouya]], which are then linked against the ESGamma engine, allowing it to remain truly platform-independent through compile-time and link-time [[Polymorphism (computer science)|polymorphism]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elysianshadows.com/game/information/|title=Official - libGyro|publisher=elysianshadows.com |accessdate=2014-05-26 |date=2014-04-09}}</ref> It has been demonstrated at various times throughout the "[[#Adventures in Game Development|Adventures in Game Development]]" series that the linear algebra library implementation for at least the x86 and [[Dreamcast|Sega Dreamcast]] platforms are assembly-optimized to take advantage of [[SIMD]] instructions for vector and matrix processing. LibGyro has enabled the Elysian Shadows team to easily move the game to various platforms without ever requiring engine rewrites or modifications.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.linkedin.com/in/falcogirgis|title=Falco Girigs LinkedIn - libGyro Project|publisher=linkedin.com |accessdate=2014-05-26}}</ref>

=== Adventures in Game Development ===
[[File:AiGD.jpg|thumb|Elysian Shadows Team releasing ESTkv1.5.2 in AiGD Chapter 20]]
"Adventures in Game Development" is an ongoing [[YouTube]] [[video blog]] series uploaded to GyroVorbis's Channel, giving viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the life of indie game developers, by chronicling the development of the Elysian Shadows 2D RPG from start to finish. The majority of the videos are filmed in the style of a reality television series, with limited post-production and editing effects, and a raw, uncut presentation.<ref name="GyroVorbis YouTube Channel"/> The series is well-known for its adult humor, caffeine abuse, lack of sleep, and dysfunctional antics. Despite this fact, many of the videos dive into great technical detail and the series is viewed by many as being partially educational.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.destructoid.com/i-m-into-adventures-in-game-development-273218.phtml|title=I'm into Adventures in Game Development|accessdate=2014-05-26|publisher=destructoid.com|date=2014-04-14}}</ref>

While the series has historically been mostly programming-oriented, the latest Chapters attempt to follow all aspects of game development, including coding, art, music, and design.

====Accidental Success====
While the series has been highly successful as a game development video blog on YouTube, with over 9k subscribers as of May 2014, the team has admitted that this success was purely accidental in a recent podcast interview. Chapters 1-3 were apparently recorded with the purpose of being end-game unlockable content, inspired by the developer videos at the end of [[God of War]]. The team was shocked to find a positive reaction to the original videos on YouTube, and they decided to continue documenting their development progress on YouTube, transforming the series into a [[video blog]].<ref name="twodashstash.com"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://coreelementspodcast.blogspot.com/2014/05/ce-61-elysian-shadows.html|title=Core Elements 61: Elysian Shadows|publisher=http://coreelementspodcast.blogspot.com/ |accessdate=2014-05-08 |date=2014-05-09}}</ref>

====Chapter Summaries====
Adventures in Game Development is released periodically as a series of "Chapters," with "Adventures in Game Development Chapter 25" being the latest release.

{| class='wikitable'
|-
! Chapter
! Release Date
! Description
|-
| [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iimLO5UkWYg Chapter 1]
| October 7, 2007
| Falco, Marcel, and Peter spend a weekend "devving" in Falco's upstairs loft bedroom. Falco works on the engine's text system, Marcel works on the ability to edit item attributes in the level editor, and Peter works on a Perl tool to manage item files. Falco and Peter consume caffeinated beverages and eventually fall asleep at around 5am. We are told that, after Falco and Peter wake-up, Marcel had fallen asleep on the "shitter" for three hours.
|-
| [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPmJ_UqjxdM Chapter 2]
| October 7, 2007
| Falco, Marcel, and Peter continue to work on their respective tasks. The Dreamcast build is seen for the first time. The player's character is seen picking up and throwing items at other objects. Items were also picked up and stored in the player's inventory, giving us a brief look at some RPG elements in the game's menus.
|-
| [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4cTav91oeM Chapter 3]
| October 7, 2007
| The chapter starts with Falco claiming that he and Peter had recently played [[Guitar Hero]] and that progress was made on their game. Falco works on rewriting the engine from [C_(programming_language) C] to [C++ C++], Peter works on writing item descriptions to existing files, while Marcel is away in Texas. Concept art and the "Alive Ground Devcock" notebook is shown giving us a brief view to the various game systems. We also hear of Tyler for the first-time and are told that he is playing [World_of_Warcraft World of Warcraft].
|-
| [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuzkX2xZxSs Chapter 4]
| November 4, 2007
| Falco and Peter are developing in his bedroom. Falco explains that he's currently rewriting the engine in C++, while Peter works on a Perl tool to generate data for class stats. Falco complains that Marcel isn't working, and explains more about stats.
|-
| [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nos4Ytod5rE Chapter 5]
| December 9, 2007
| The video opens with the team first waking up in late afternoon. Falco interrogates Marcel's level editor progress then announces that the team will be staying at his grandma's house. Falco talks about a conversation with the two artists, then the scene cuts to the full team discussing art and game design. Shannon shows off her concept art book. The team is shown "devving" in a sped-up musical montage for the first time, and the video ends showing several levels being constructed in the level editor.
|-
| [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJPj7fJSK74 Chapter 6]
| December 16, 2007
| Upon arriving at Grandma's house, the team discusses their plans for the night while they unpack. A musical montage begins, and the team is shown chugging Mountain Dew with various graphical overlays of their software being developed. The camera zooms out to soda cans littering the floor, and Falco states that he and Peter stayed up all night working while Marcel slept. Marcel wakes up to find his desktop background changed to deviant pornography. Peter finds a memory leak in Marcel's level editor. The Chapter ends with Falco playing through a tech demo level featuring sprites ripped from various games, including Dragon Quest.
|-
| Chapter 7 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcX_J0v0zJo Part 1] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s2s4cjiZhw 2]
| January 21, 2008
| The team takes turns explaining what they will be working on for the night. Bowman is introduced as a new pixel artist for the project. After the intro sequence, Peter and Marcel argue about whether Marcel should implement a feature in the toolkit or whether Peter should write a standalone Perl tool to do it. Falco ports his Dreamcast-based particle engine to the PC, and Marcel implements warp placement and camera boundaries in the level editor. Falco and Peter discuss NPC attributes, for an NPC-Maker Perl tool. The Chapter ends with Falco and Peter facing off their PCs to see which runs the particle demo better. Falco writes all over Marcel after he falls asleep.
|-
| Chapter 8 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlkFPR1xTzI Part 1], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6IlzYRG15Y Part 2], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qbfg2Q9k9Nk .5]
| February 18 and March 22, 2008
| Falco begins by providing a project update for the team's first 100 subscribers, which includes his old mentor, Alex, joining the team as a programmer. The camera jumps to the team unloading a bag full of energy drinks and burritos, followed by the first Rock Band/Game Dev montage of the series, with the team performing "Tom Sawyer" by Rush. Afterwards Marcel films an engine bug, causing characters to be scaled. Peter crashes the game by dividing by zero in an HP calculation. Marcel demonstrates the addition of the collision layer to his level editor then films Falco's text-based implementation of item animation for opening chests. Falco demonstrates picking up and equipping items and ends with demonstrating a level running on the PC and Dreamcast simultaneously.
|-
| Chapter 9 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okgZyO5aI-U Part 1], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J90gKjxfQng Part 2]
| April 5, 2008
| The Chapter opens with Falco berating Marcel for playing Starcraft instead of working on his level editor. After Chris, Marcel, and Falco all discuss what they plan to work on for the night, Chris shows off his work on tree tiles. Marcel tells the camera that he lost about 6 hours of work on the level editor, and is unsure whether it can be recovered or not. Falco goes on to discuss the lows of indie game development. Chris discusses the loss of a pixel artist, then Falco whiteboards the new party system. The Chapter ends with Marcel announcing that the team has recruited a new web developer.
|-
| Chapter 10 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CgBPkufvUQ Part 1], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc_Gwl6ICAU Part 2]
| May 25, 2008
| The Chapter begins in the aftermath of a party at Falco and Tyler's apartment. Falco starts off by explaining Alex's progress on the text box system and demonstrating how to create a sample NPC conversation. Marcel writes a quick BlitzPlus application to separate Rachel's interior tilesheet into separate tile and object sheets, based on whether or not each individual tile requires transparency. Peter finds a level editor bug when resizing maps with warps. Finally, the team discusses the storyline, and the Chapter ends with Marcel pranking Peter by filling a condom with water and rubbing it in his face after he falls asleep.
|-
| Chapter 11 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBl8asiCc7E Part 1], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul4iP9sjje8 Part 2]
| July 9, 2008
| The Chapter opens with the team driving to Falco's new house, followed by a tour by Brandi. A musical montage begins, and Peter creates an "NPC Maker" tool in Perl, while Marcel works on the level editor and Falco mows the lawn. Falco explains the treasure layer to Brandi, then Marcel demonstrates disabling and enabling tile layers, placing and modifying tiles, and laying warps in his level editor.
|-
| Chapter 12 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z5yPpoJfQ8 Part 1], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GiYXdpCIIo Part 2], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Cdn-hsA7to Part 3], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvvA52a-o1A Part 4], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ik6lCtxYj28 Part 5]
| September 14, 2008
| Falco begins by introducing the "devcock" folder then starts exposing Lua wrappers to Peter, while Marcel and his girlfriend fix a list of bugs in his level editor. Bowman continues working on his forest tilesheet. Falco and Peter perform various in-game tests of Lua wrappers, such as making Luigi appear drunk, laying warps, using items, and dynamically modifying the map. Peter and Marcel get into an argument about the level editor, and Peter winds up taking a shot of hot sauce after losing a bet to Marcel, by failing to crash the level editor within 30 seconds. Falco and Chris leave for a few minutes, then Peter and Marcel write various malicious scripts for Falco's computer for when he comes back. Marcel implements a tabbing mechanism for opening multiple maps in his editor. Falco spends the remainder of the video discussing his Lua implementation.
|-
| Chapter 13 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zjnbTOB8Ao Part 1], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4hhMGJYfVg Part 2], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ICln08DYvs Part 3], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwSulzre-KM Part 4], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huYBk4HKwu4 Part 5]
| September 29, 2008
| The project is officially given the name "Elysian Shadows" during the intro sequence. Falco begins by explaining an issue with their current Lua implementation regarding the persistence of local memory across multiple frames. He then creates the "Adventure Log," for displaying in-game quest information, and uses it for debug output. Peter demonstrates using a restorative item and a demo ice-skating rink area created with Lua. Falco later introduces the "Lua Debug Prompt," allowing Lua code to be typed and executed in-game as a debugging mechanism. Rachel shows viewers her development setup and her interior tiles. Falco's parody nerd persona, "XxStillAVirgin69xX" makes his first appearance, poking fun at Falco's pretentious classmates. The episode ends with a musical montage of Falco, Marcel, and Peter demonstrating various engine and toolkit features.
|-
| Chapter 14 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZZ8bivCfRg Part 1], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GErCNDhy1jQ Part 2], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqzUlt6geYQ Part 3]
| October 27, 2008
| After an in-game intro, Falco demonstrates the current build running on the Dreamcast and gets mad at Peter for generating so many particles that the internal vertex buffers were being overwritten. After putting a cap on the particle emission intensity, he discusses adding, removing, and triggering items and inventory through Lua. Marcel implements a region-fill feature into his level editor. Peter and Marcel create a battle system prototype completely in Lua. Falco describes preprocessor directives used to support render calls on both the Dreamcast and PC and introduces the team's new website. The Chapter ends with a full in-game parody sidequest, staring Luigi navigating through a dungeon with his head chopped off and particle blood spurting everywhere. After facing off against a few Dragon Quest slimes to the Poke'mon theme, and conversing with various sprite cameos, the quest ends with Luigi walking in on Peter watching porn in a secret room.
|-
| Chapter 15 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV9m_menReg Part 1], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU_zmHYcw3o Part 2], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsBAGgZ8IB0 Part 3], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBbDv-Qs5EE Part 4], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojVwBtzB2LY .5]
|November 29–30, 2008 and February 1, 2009
| Chapter 15 is the only Chapter to focus on minigames developed using the Elysian Shadows engine, rather than focusing on the Elysian Shadows game itself. Peter begins by creating a full-fledged Chu-Chu Rocket clone while Marcel continues working on the level editor. Falco discusses how to implement polling logic entirely in Lua, while Jools shows off his latest work on the forest tilesheet. The team then creates a concoction of Italian dressing, hot sauce, raspberry flavor concentrate, and maple syrup, announcing that the team member with the most mistakes caught on camera would have to drink it. The team spends the remainder of the video developing a Super Mario Bros. clone using the Elysian Shadows tools, and Marcel ultimately winds up having to drink the concoction.
|-
| Chapter 16 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pbnhn-mxLwc Part 0], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86opbifKoMo Part 1], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZLL-a_XyfM Part 2]
|April 20–21, 2009
| The video starts off with Marcel entering the Elysian Shadows level editor into the local Science Fair competition. After the team examines his display and demos the level editor, Marcel winds up winning a bunch of rewards and earns an invitation to the International Science Fair. Afterwards, Falco introduces the NPC action queue and walks through its Lua implementation. Kendall is introduced as Falco's girlfriend, and she talks about her work for the university. Peter experiments with adding 759 onscreen NPCs, trying to slow down the engine. The video ends with Falco being forced to run through the streets naked, after losing a bet with Kendall.
|-
| Chapter 17 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vf0NAQxMlI Part 1], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNfXs51uflI Part 2], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hONsn6gzm9U Part 3], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn7orfVadaA Part 4]
|August 13–14, 2010
| After the team spent nearly a year creating a new side series entitled "Elysian Shadows Revolution," Chapter 17 marked the team's comeback to the original series. While Chapter 17 did include some of the commentary and post-production emphasis of the ESRev series, it was toned down considerably, as the team tried to return to a more raw format. The video is centered around the Elysian Shadows Team continuing development on their tools and their friends, Dual-Thread studios working on their various Unity3D projects. The OSX build of Elysian Shadows is introduced for the first time, and Falco discusses the Unity3D engine's influences on the Elysian Shadows engine. Marcel introduces the newest rendition of the Elysian Shadows level editor, which would go on to be known as "ESTk" in later Chapters. Tyler is introduced as a gameplay scripter and writer for ES.
|-
| [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCc_uSgPxbs Chapter 18]
|April 7, 2012
| Nearly a year and a half after the release of Chapter 17, Chapters 18-20 were released back-to-back as a comeback for the team and series. These three Chapters had a larger emphasis on documentary-style commentary by each team member and featured more post-production video editing than the previously seen in the series. They also focus around the revamping of the Toolkit, ESTk. After an "Epic Meal-Time" shopping parody, the team reunites, announcing James and Jarrod of Dual-Threat as new recruits for the project. The episode takes a much darker turn, once the team settles down and begins testing the current ESTk build on every platform. The remainder of the episode focuses on the team overhauling ESTk, addressing the various random instabilities, unreasonable load-times, and poorly-designed widgets of the Toolkit.
|-
| [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB1BNa7zTqk Chapter 19]
|April 8, 2012
| Chapter 19 was the second in a sequence of 3 chapters detailing the revamp of ESTk. The episode focuses around the team releasing ESTk1.5.1. The team tries to implement a paper-based map concept in the new Toolkit and begins storyboarding the intro cutscene. The software team implements tile attribute modification widgets, recolors the UI, integrates the engine, and implements tile flipping and rotation. Falco provides a whiteboard lecture on tile flipping and rotation. James creates logos and various icon art for the Toolkit. Falco and Marcel implement a multi-tiered debugging mechanism to log and categorize errors sourced from ESTk or the Engine. The episode ends with a Facebook selfie and the internal release of ESTk1.5.1.
|-
| [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiI59XlCeK0 Chapter 20]
|April 8, 2012
| Chapter 20 was the last bulk-released episode detailing the revamp of ESTk. The episode focuses around the team releasing ESTkv1.5.2, beginning with the introduction of trendy icons, map zoom and scale, and Unity3D-influenced entity/component modification. James creates a new splash screen, and Marcel and Jarrod create History View and provide a lecture detailing its design. Falco and Jarrod implement adding and removing levels with an asterisk signifying the level has been modified without being saved. The team ends with a group Facebook selfie, and the internal release of ESTkv1.5.2, the most stable, feature-rich build yet.
|-
| [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMsB17loGcY Chapter 21]
|January 31, 2014
| After a nearly two-year break from the series, the team returns with a full feature-length episode, announcing that the series will be returning to its old, raw pre-Chapter 16 style. An Elysian Shadows Kickstarter campaign is also announced for the end of the summer. Significant progress is displayed on the engine, with the introduction of an entire dynamic lighting engine, advanced pathfinding algorithms, and 3D positional audio system by Falco and Tyler. Connor Linning is introduced as the new audio composer for the project, and he describes the team's vision for having dynamic audio, affected by tension in the player's environment. Falco gives a drunken lecture on using SSE-instructions to hardware-accelerate matrix operations on the CPU, rather than incurring BUS transfer overhead and performing the calculations on the GPU.
|-
| [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bpfaEpfo-k Chapter 22]
|February 9, 2014
| Peter is seen for a brief Rock Band reunion with Falco for the first time since Chapter 16. Falco and Tyler have over a random YouTube fan to dev with them. Falco completes his work with omnidirectional shadow mapping by using invisible 3D shadow volume prisms for sprites and implements a first-person perspective camera, demoing the levels in full 3D. Tyler continues working on his A* pathfinding algorithm and begins prototyping the combat system. Patrick begins working on the Loren Forest tilesheet. The team announces that Elysian Shadows would use both 2D and 3D perspectives.
|-
| [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR2rw5AJ24A Chapter 23]
|March 9, 2014
| Falco begins working on a dynamic day/night system, and supporting more than 4 simultaneous dynamic lights through multipass rendering. Tyler shows off a draft for the forest map on graphing paper, Patrick completes the pixel art and level design for the entrance to Loren Forest, and Connor composes the Elysian Shadows title screen theme. Falco later integrates his Dreamcast-based particle demo into the engine and reimplements the dialog box seen in past chapters. Tyler creates new spell effects using the dynamic lighting engine.
|-
| [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K56mndHzpQc Chapter 24]
|April 9, 2014
| Falco implements a full 2D rigid-body physics engine and specular highlights within ESGamma then creates a demo with spell effects applying forces to selective particles and rigid bodies. Tyler begins working on a new enemy, "Ziggy the Unamused." Connor samples the drums in the "Metropolis Zone" theme from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for a new track. Andrew is introduced as an iOS developer and gets the iOS build compiling during a Skype chat. Leandro is introduced as a new artists and works on the ice caves. Falco and Tyler also show off their design document binder and tease many gameplay and storyline influences to the audience.
|-
| [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEplKnoXBZQ Chapter 25]
|May 19, 2014
| Falco and Tyler switch focus from R&D to gameplay development. Falco implements platforming mechanics, moves the particle system to 3D, and begins scripting environments while Tyler works on the battle engine. Connor composes three new tracks, Patrick creates an enemy concept, and Leandro shows off his pixel work on cave and sky ruins maps. Daniel is introduced as a web developer/level designer. The team ultimately integrates the physics with the battle engine and allows the player to pick up and throw objects in the environment as a combat tactic.
|}

== Team ==
While the team roster has changed throughout the years, the current line-up has been present for most of the game's development and rise in popularity.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elysianshadows.com/team/|title=Official - The Team |publisher=elysianshadows.com |accessdate=2014-05-26|date=2014-04-09}}</ref>

*'''[[Falco Girgis]]''' - Lead Engine/Toolkit Developer
*'''[[Tyler Rogers]]''' - Lead Gameplay Engineer
*'''[[Daniel Tindall]]''' - Web Development/Level Design
*'''[[Connor Linning]]''' - Composer
*'''[[Patryk Kowalik]]''' - Lead Pixel Artist
*'''[[Leandro Tokarevski]]''' - Pixel Artist
*'''[[Brandon Morgan]]''' - Pixel Artist
*'''[[Eddie Ringle]]''' - Mobile Developer

=== Former members ===

*'''[[Marcel Girgis]]''' - Level editor development<ref name="first-episode">{{cite episode |title=Adventures in Game Development Chapter 1 |series=Adventures in Game Development |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iimLO5UkWYg |month=October |year=2007}}</ref>
*'''[[Peter Cartier]]''' - Scripting<ref name="first-episode" />

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.elysianshadows.com/ Official Website]
* [http://www.youtube.com/gyrovorbis Official YouTube Channel]
* [http://www.indiedb.com/games/elysian-shadows IndieDB Page]
* [http://www.dreamcast-scene.com/games/elysian-shadows/ Dreamcast-Scene Game Page]
* [http://www.watermelon-corp.com/ WaterMelon Co. - Publisher's Website]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elysian Shadows}}
{{Homebrew}}

[[Category:Unofficial Dreamcast games|*]]
[[Category:Video game lists by platform|Commercially Released Independent Dreamcast Games]]
[[Category:Upcoming video games scheduled for 2015]]
[[Category:Indie video games]]
[[Category:Android games]]
[[Category:Dreamcast games]]
[[Category:Linux games]]
[[Category:Linux games]]
[[Category:OS X games]]
[[Category:Lua (programming language)-scripted video games]]
[[Category:MacOS games]]
[[Category:Ouya games]]
[[Category:Ouya games]]
[[Category:Role-playing video games]]
[[Category:Role-playing video games]]
[[Category:Action-adventure video games]]
[[Category:Video games developed in the United States]]
[[Category:Video games with 2.5D graphics]]
[[Category:Windows games]]
[[Category:Windows games]]
[[Category:IOS games]]
[[Category:Vaporware video games]]
[[Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games]]

Latest revision as of 16:07, 2 December 2024

Elysian Shadows
Developer(s)GyroVorbis
Publisher(s)WaterMelon
Programmer(s)Falco Girgis
Artist(s)Patryk Kowalik
EngineESGamma
Platform(s)Dreamcast, Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, iOS, Android, Ouya[1]
Genre(s)Role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Elysian Shadows is a Vaporware multiplatform indie 2D role-playing video game that was in development by GyroVorbis. The game was set to be published by WaterMelon, which previously developed and published the Sega Genesis title Pier Solar and the Great Architects in 2010. The development of Elysian Shadows has been chronicled in a YouTube series titled Adventures in Game Development. Elysian Shadows has been marketed as a "next-gen 2D role-playing game" (RPG) due to its hybrid 2D/3D graphical style.

Elysian Shadows was being developed for the Dreamcast, as well as the Ouya, iOS, Android, Windows, OS X, and Linux platforms. The game received a successful round of crowdfunding via Kickstarter in August 2014. As of December 2024 no rewards have been delivered. The last Kickstarter update was published in 2017.

Gameplay

[edit]

Elysian Shadows intended to fuse traditional elements of 2D games with dynamic 2D and 3D perspectives, positional and dynamic audio, rigid body physics, particle simulators, and other modern 3D rendering techniques. This gameplay was intended as a re-invention of the 2D style used in 16-bit RPGs.[2][3] Planned features for the game, in addition to its hybrid 2D/3D camera and gameplay, included: advanced fluid dynamics, weather and a day/night system, customizable characters with in-depth class/job system, and a cross-platform save system.[4][5] VMU mini games have also been added to the game.[6]

Story

[edit]

Elysian Shadows was to take place in a world caught in constant conflict between magic and technology. The gift of magic is bestowed upon loyal followers of The Creator, while the nonreligious sects of society are forced to rely upon technological advances in their daily lives. Upon uncovering a mysterious artifact deep within one of the ancient ruins scattered throughout the land, Julien and friends find themselves thrust into the middle of this mounting conflict, and they must now solve the mystery of the ancient civilizations to prevent the destruction of their own.

Development

[edit]

Since October 2007, the development of Elysian Shadows has been chronicled in the YouTube web series Adventures in Game Development[7] however Falco Girgis' earliest post on the development forums was in 2004, leading to uncertainty as to when exactly development on the game began. The early years of development were spent on designing original technology and development tools. These tools were simultaneously developed for OS X and Windows. They were later designed to target a host of platforms including Android and Linux, which enabled the developers to design the game without worrying about porting. The team has gone through a large number of member changes, however lead programmer Falco Girgis and lead artist Patryk Kowalik have remained constant since Falco founded the project and Patryk joined.

In May 2014, it was announced that WaterMelon Co., developer of Pier Solar and the Great Architects, offered a publishing deal to the Elysian Shadows Team for the Dreamcast platform. In June, lead developer Falco Girgis tendered his resignation at ADTRAN, where he was a software engineer, to work full-time on Elysian Shadows. On June 19, Girgis and co-founder Tyler Rogers were invited to give a presentation of Elysian Shadows at their alumni university, University of Alabama in Huntsville.[8]

On 1 August 2014, the development team launched their Kickstarter campaign with a goal of $150,000 and stretch goals that went up to $750,000. In less than 24 hours, the project had attained $30,000 of its target and a couple of days later it had successfully raised over $75,000. On 20 August, Elysian Shadows received national coverage by WHNT News as they interviewed the team and ran a story on Girgis and Rogers quitting their jobs to develop the game.[9] Less than 24 hours later, the game was successfully funded and in the process set a record for the Ouya's Free the Games Fund[10] as well as for the most money raised in Alabama through Kickstarter.[11] In August 2014, the game received notable press coverage internationally coverage from Asia and Europe, most notably from Russia and Germany respectively.[12][13][14]

The project received a great deal of criticism when Girgis created the Misadventures in Kickstarter crowdfunding series, in which he complained of hardships during the project's development. The video's description and Girgis's later commentary suggest it was satire.[15]

In 2016, Girgis stated that progress on the game was going well in a post that describes setbacks caused by a former team member.[16] He has also posted news about ElysianVMU, an emulator for the Dreamcast's Visual Memory Unit, allowing non-Dreamcast players to access VMU content on their PCs, smartphones, and other devices.[6]

As of December 2024 the game has not been released and no update has been posted on the Kickstarter since 2017.

References

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  1. ^ "Retro Gaming Mag coverage of Elysian Shadows and Adventures in Game Development Episode 21". Retro Gaming Mag. February 12, 2014. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
  2. ^ "IndieGames.com Elysian Shadows coming to PC, OUYA, Dreamcast & mobile". June 2, 2014. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  3. ^ "Discover a World Separated by Magic and Technology". Gamasutra. June 2, 2014. Archived from the original on August 11, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  4. ^ Charnock, Tom (April 7, 2015). "Developer Interview: Elysian Shadows' Falco Girgis". The Dreamcast Junkyard. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  5. ^ "A 16-Bit RPG That Promises a Modern Twist". 24 August 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Elysian Shadows • View topic - ElysianVMU Pre-Alpha Release Testing". forums.elysianshadows.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-24. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  7. ^ "Adventure in Game Development". Destructoid. April 14, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  8. ^ "Computer engineering degree from UAH provides foundation for dream career". University of Alabama in Huntsville. June 24, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  9. ^ "Two Madison County engineers leave jobs to make video game, close to funding their dream". 20 August 2014.
  10. ^ @playouya (23 August 2014). "Congrats to @elysian_shadows for breaking the record for the highest funded Free The Games @kickstarter at 150k!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. ^ "Discover » Alabama, US » Most Funded — Kickstarter".
  12. ^ Münster, Tobias (25 August 2014). "Elysian Shadows - 16-Bit-Rollenspiel mit modernen Elementen". Gamestar.
  13. ^ "Двухмерная трёхмерность в инди-рпг "нового поколения" Elysian Shadows".
  14. ^ "Elysian Shadows Interview mit dem Team neXGam". 6 November 2020.
  15. ^ "Indie dev's angry rant demonstrates the stress after being Kickstarted". Destructoid. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  16. ^ "Update 17: Team Drama, Combat Engine, 4 Player Local Multiplayer, Delays · Elysian Shadows Next-Gen 2D RPG for Dreamcast & Steam & OUYA". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
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