I don’t know if I’ve ever brought it up, but something that’s always been on my mind is a game called Phantom Seal.  It’s something I first conceived when I was in middle school, developed in my senior year in high school, and planned to make reality during community college but never did.

In some ways, it’s the basis of every fiction project I’ve ever worked on.

Basically, it’s an RPG.  At the start, you choose either a boy or a girl and give him or her a name.  The boy hero’s story is that he is a ruin raider who inherited his late uncle’s belongings.  One of them is the Omnis Shield.  Engraved on the shield is a prediction of the end of the world.  The girl’s story is that she inherited the Seal of Creation, passed down from her mother.  This is a magic orb that is able to break down any item into its basic elements and create a new item from the absorbed materials.

No matter who you choose, the goal is to save the world from destruction in one year.  You have to decide how to earn the money necessary to travel and gain clues.

Every NPC in the game has their own year-long path that doesn’t change unless you somehow make it change.  This depends on what sidequests you complete, who you befriend or make enemies with, and even what you buy.  Most important is the rival group Phantom Seal, a group led by Shadi, the Seal of Destruction and his childhood friend Hiren, the Seal of Fire.  Shadi has already begun his own quest at the start of the game, and throughout the year he slowly recruits the other members of Phantom Seal: Lynn, the Seal of Earth; Razei, the Seal of Wind; Khan, the Seal of Water; and Midori the Seal of Wood.  It’s possible to stop Shade from recruiting some members, recruit them to your side, or even join Phantom Seal.

All in all, the aspects I wanted to stress most were freedom, planning, adventure, and interpersonal relationships.  Not being railroaded into a single storyline but still taking part in an epic scenario.  In short, something entirely too ambitious for me to even consider tackling by myself.

After I finished Vamoe Hunter Lumen and picked up RPG Maker 2000, I decided to make Vamoe Guardian Lucia to get familiar with the program and see if it’s possible for me to make Phantom Seal by myself.  Years later and VG Lucia still isn’t finished, and I’m no closer to even starting Phantom Seal.  If anything, constantly improving VG Lucia has taught me that Phantom Seal would require exponentially more work than I envisioned.

I’d like to share more details about the project, but I’m only going off memory, and I don’t quite remember where I put my notebook where I wrote down all of my thoughts.  Just some bits and pieces: there were four continents, one of which was named Rhea.  One of the world backstories involved an ancient war between Elementalists (people who could naturally conjure magic) and Alchemists (people with no magic talent but attempted to harness the power artificially).

I’m not sure why I’m bringing this up now.  I think it’s because I read a review of Persona 4 (which I still need to play… once I finally get through Persona 1, 2, and 3… I’m aware I don’t have to play them in order), and the calendar thing reminded me of Phantom Seal, but since I haven’t played it yet, I can’t really compare.  It’s not like it’s a truly unique idea, right?  I mean, I’ve seen a calendar mechanic in plenty of visual novels, dating sims, whatever genre Harvest Moon is…

At any rate, I feel a bit better knowing my oldest concept is up in the open on my blog now.