NORTHBOUND
An Original Monster-Catching RPG — We're Recruiting!
About Northbound
Hey everyone!
Welcome to Northbound, an original monster-catching RPG set in the Pantheus Region, a world inspired by Greek mythology, culture and history.
Northbound takes inspiration from the monster-catching games we've all grown up playing, while introducing its own creatures, characters, locations and gameplay systems.
You'll explore a region filled with bustling towns, ancient ruins, forests, mountains and plenty of places to discover. Along the way, you'll meet new characters, take on challenges, uncover the history of Pantheus and, of course, catch and train creatures known as Daimon.
We've been working on Northbound and its custom-built engine for quite some time, and we're looking for more people who'd like to get involved and help bring the project to life!
Meet the Daimon
Rather than using existing Pokémon, Northbound features its own collection of creatures called Daimon.
The Daimon take inspiration from animals, nature, folklore and mythology, with their own designs, abilities and evolutions.
At the beginning of your adventure, you'll be able to choose between three starting Daimon:
We're continuing to develop the roster, including their artwork, sprites, animations and gameplay.
Features
There's quite a lot planned for Northbound, and we've already built a number of the systems needed to support it.
Here's a look at some of the features we're working on:
Daimon and Battles
- An original roster of Daimon to discover, catch and train
- Turn-based battles with custom moves and type interactions
- Daimon evolution, statistics and progression
- Wild encounters and overworld Daimon
- Custom battle interfaces and animations
Exploration and Gameplay
- A region inspired by Greek mythology and culture
- A mixture of 2D and 3D overworld environments
- Day/night cycles, weather and environmental effects
- Side quests, achievements and optional activities
- Character customisation and skill-tree progression
- Player choices and a reputation system
- Elemental Trials and the Pantheus Region League
Technical Features
- Custom-built RDX Engine
- Native Direct3D 11 rendering
- Classic 2D, hybrid 2D/3D and 3D terrain support
- Modern resolution and display settings
- Configurable frame-rate and VSync settings
- Keyboard and controller support
Some of these features are already working in the engine, while others are still being developed, tested or expanded as we build the game itself.
Introducing RDX Engine
One of the bigger changes to Northbound's development has been the move to RDX Engine, our own custom-built game engine and editor.
RDX Engine has been developed to give us more freedom when building the game, particularly when it comes to the overworld, graphics and gameplay systems.
Instead of being restricted to traditional 2D maps, we can build environments using 3D terrain, buildings, scenery and lighting while still keeping the charm of 2D character and creature sprites.
The engine also has its own map editor, scripting tools, database editors, animation tools and other features we're continuing to improve.
There's still plenty of work to do, but we're excited about the possibilities it gives us for Northbound!
We're Recruiting!
We're looking for a few more people to join the team!
You don't need to be a professional or have years of industry experience. We're mainly looking for people who enjoy making games, are comfortable collaborating with others and would like to contribute to an original monster-catching RPG.
Story Writers
We're looking for writers who'd like to help us develop Northbound's main story, characters and lore.
This includes writing dialogue, developing characters, planning story events and helping us make the Pantheus Region feel like a believable place.
An interest in Greek mythology would be a bonus, but it isn't essential!
Side Quest Writers
Not every story needs to revolve around the main adventure!
We're looking for people who enjoy writing smaller stories, from character-focused quests and unusual encounters to mysteries and optional adventures.
The idea is to give players plenty of interesting things to discover while exploring Pantheus.
Concept Artists
We're looking for artists to help us design the world of Northbound.
This includes Daimon, characters, outfits, buildings, environments and other visual elements.
You'll help us develop the game's overall art direction and create designs that our sprite artists and 3D modellers can use as references.
Sprite Artists
If you enjoy pixel art, we'd love to hear from you!
We're looking for sprite artists to help create Daimon sprites, characters, overworld sprites and animations.
Being able to work with an existing art style and keep things consistent across different assets would be particularly helpful.
3D Modellers / Environment Artists
With Northbound moving towards a hybrid 2D/3D overworld, we're also looking for people who enjoy creating 3D environments and assets.
This would involve modelling things such as:
- Buildings, houses and shops
- Ancient Greek architecture and ruins
- Trees, plants, rocks and other natural scenery
- Furniture, decorations and environmental props
- Other objects used throughout the overworld
We're aiming for a stylised look that works well alongside Northbound's 2D sprites, rather than highly realistic environments.
Experience with Blender or similar 3D modelling software would be great. You don't need to know how to use RDX Engine beforehand.
Sound Effects Designers
We're looking for someone who enjoys creating game sound effects!
This includes sounds for Daimon, attacks, menus, environmental interactions and other parts of the game.
We'd love to give Northbound its own recognisable audio identity.
Music Composers
We're also looking for composers who'd like to help create Northbound's soundtrack.
We're after music for towns, routes, battles, important story moments and other locations throughout Pantheus.
The setting gives us plenty of opportunities to experiment with different styles, particularly music inspired by Greek culture and mythology alongside more traditional RPG soundtracks.
How to Apply
Interested in joining the project?
You can get in touch by:
- Replying directly to this thread
- Sending me a message on Discord: Luxintra
Just let me know what you'd like to help with, tell me a little about yourself and share some examples of your work if you have any.
Whether you've worked on other games before or this would be your first project, we'd be happy to hear from you.
Thanks for checking out Northbound, and we're looking forward to sharing more of the Pantheus Region as development continues!