Greetings everyone!

While I prepare some improvements for the demo, I'd like to gradually start telling you about the world and the design philosophy of my game.

The main source of inspiration for creating the Neuctian* Republic was my travels to Italy as I wanted to convey the feeling of Italian nature and architecture in the game as much as possible through the minimalist capabilities of RPG Maker and my even more limited proficiency with these capabilities. Therefore, when designing the exterior of the palace on the Epiotic coast, I followed a simple principle: if the available standard sprites and tools work towards the main aesthetic goal, I use them; if not, I optimize and draw my own.

In the project of the palace itself, I decided to base it on Tuscan architecture. According to the game's plot, it is a summer residence where the elected rulers of Neuctian rest from political fights, so Tuscany is a perfect fit. Mainly, I looked towards the Palazzo Pubblico, the Palace of the Commune, which is located in Siena on the Piazza del Campo.

As the main building material, I took a red brick tile from the default RPG Maker library, slightly changed its shade and added distinctive rectangular notches on top. I also took them from default tiles, but added chips, unevenness, and other weathering to make them look more lived-in and less generic. I manually added multiple ventilation "ears" and protruding white elements of the load-bearing structures, as well as metal fastening brackets typical for Gothic architecture (the ones that Ezio Auditore climbed so skillfully in Assassin's Creed II). However, instead of the Sienese triforium as the window form, I chose the biforium as more compact and better adapted to the schematic-conditional visual logic of RPG Maker, and decorated the tympanum of the window with a four-petal Venetian rose. After all, the palace is located on the seafront, so let the spirit of Venice be present alongside Tuscany!

Now how about landscaping?! In the summer residence, Dnege** should rest well and contemplate the fate of citizens while breathing in healing air. That's why I turned my thoughts towards Villa d'Este in Tivoli: fountains, an architectural ensemble drowning in greenery, baroque balconies, shrubs and cypresses - and I tried to combine all this with a more restrained but very distinctive aesthetic of the Basilica of San Domenico in the same Siena.

Another important subtask for me was to preserve the feeling of Mediterranean nature, more precisely, Adriatic. Therefore, I heavily planted the courtyard with white and pink oleanders and let my favorite purple bougainvilleas grow on the palace walls. It turned out well with the bougainvilleas. Thanks to their contrasting color and distinctive appearance (fallen petals are also very important here in terms of design), they immediately fit very logically into the game mechanics: these are natural stairs for moving from one floor to another.

None of the standard tree and shrub sprites suited my concept at all because they didn't solve the aesthetic task I had set for myself. To enhance the feeling of the Italian Renaissance, I needed cypresses and Mediterranean umbrella pines. Without umbrella pines, like those in Rome, you simply can't fully understand what Neuctian or the Epiotic coast is.

I drew cypress trees in three versions (short, long, short with cones) based on a regular tree from the RPG Maker library (fortunately, little of it remained). I based my umbrella pine sprite on a reference from a botanical book.

And that's it for today! Best of luck an see you soon.

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* Neuctian, the main setting of the game, a republic, one of the main political powers located on the Epiotic coast. Pronounced as / nuːk ʃən/ (nook ·shn), from the Greek Νυκτός — “Night”.

** Dnege, an elected ruler of Neuctian. Pronounced as /dnedʒ/ (dnayzh), mixing Venetian title Doge /doʊdʒ/ and Slavic title Knez.