Branching Pathways of Fate - Introduction

A story blooms under the will of its maker. A party of seven becomes your vessel for change. In this world, your input shapes the lives of those around you through your dialogue and choices. Will you go down the well-trodden road, falling into the same mistakes day after day, or will you change this world for the better? Throughout its real-time grid-based battle system, expansive variety of builds and equipment to experiment with, heavy emphasis on player autonomy in both gameplay and story experience, and ever-shifting art style based on the conflicting perspectives of your party, Branching Pathways of Fate is here to ask you one question: what do you want from this world?

(Note: All the features listed here are currently planned for the upcoming releases. Not all will be featured in the demo due to its short length.)

Our World

The world of Ozaian may be familiar to you. Dragons looming above, monsters teeming at the outskirts of villages, the prayers of worshippers a common sight outside temples. A world of fantasy, heavily inspired by the likes of fantasy tabletop roleplaying games, acts as your canvas. And yet, as the brushstrokes of your will color in this world, perhaps you will find how distinctly this world changes through different eyes.

Characters

Your seven vessels could not be less alike, their experiences and viewpoints resonating like a fork scratching against a plate. To progress, you will be forced to depend on all of them at different times for their varying strengths and weaknesses, and watch through their own eyes as their perceived realities become yours. The art style of the game changes drastically based on the perceiving character, from the realistic paintings of the wizard to the surreal sketches of the warlock. Their hearts turned inside out on this impassioned stage, malleable by your hand.

Story

The main story consists of many routes each character can take, each influenced by the gradual buildup of choices you make along the way. A caretaker turned violent by desensitized brutality, a murderer's eyes softened by a change. These paths interweave with one another, influencing each other and the outcomes ahead. Exclusive events, items, bosses, and even characters await, the fruit of your actions.

Combat

Combat takes place in an unconventional combat system combining the fast-paced dodging and reactions of a real-time tactical RPG with the slower organization of a party-based RPG. You control your seven party members on a large grid, piloting them in real time and positioning them to safety while choosing from your own built repertoire of actions and spells to influence the battle. If this sounds overwhelming, worry not: you possess the ability to control the flow of time from outside the screen, being able to temporarily pause the system to delegate actions and strategize. Your hold on time is not absolute, however: after only a few seconds, time will accelerate until back to normal speed, forcing you to stay on your toes.

Buildcrafting

In-battle play is only half of winning a fight: the other half comes from how you build your party, constructing your given individuals to fight by the means by which you prefer. Each character has numerous paths they can go down with their build, the options synergizing with each other to create an expansive variety of different playstyles by which to approach combat. Items, collected throughout the adventure, play a major part in these builds, ranging from minor buffs to monumental pillars of a build.

Difficulty Customization

The difficulty of the adventure ahead is decided solely by you. Whether you wish for effortless battles to experience the story, or for a brutally difficult experience that pushes your strategic skills to the limit, Branching Pathways of Fate has the right playstyle for you. The game features very customizable difficulty, having five individual difficulty settings ranging from relaxed narrative enjoyment to outright masochism, and gives players the ability to customize their experience more by experimenting with custom difficulty settings. No penalties are incurred for playing on lower difficulties; we believe our game's narrative and world should be accessible to all.

Valor

While certain parts of the story are mandatory (at least on their respective routes), other parts of the story are left for your own choice, giving you the authority on whether or not you experience them. Our Valor system is more than a simple list of sidequests; it is a distinct gameplay pillar, with many miniature crafted stories within the larger branching narrative. Some act as contrast, lighter moments in a darker time, while some act as omens for the events ahead, others act as important moments of character interaction, and so on. For each Valor mission completed, a character gains a certain amount of Valor tokens they can spend for rewards, and the missions themselves often change the characters' narratives just as much as the mandatory storylines. (One can choose to activate an indicator of how much bearing each mission can have on the plot, so as to not induce anxiety over needing to do every mission for a desired ending; others can simply allow the events ahead to surprise them, their eyes blind and their experiences fresh.)

Release Schedule

The game is planned to release in segmented installments, starting with a free demo introducing the setting before the events of the game begin. The demo is currently in development without a determined release date.

This world is waiting for you, like a rough sketch waiting to be colored in with care. Join the community today by following this website, and let it bloom in your heart. Official social media handles should be out shortly.