RITUALEN PRESENTS
AN HISTORICAL HORROR GAME
MMXXV
BACKGROUND
Setting the Stage
In the year 1567, King Erik XIV of Sweden, after years of battling mental illness, brutally murdered Nils and Svante Sture. On May 24th, shortly after the killings, he vanished into the countryside. For three days, he disappeared without a trace. On May 27th, he was found, disoriented and in disguise, speaking in riddles. His words made little sense, and the true nature of what he had experienced remains a mystery to this day, until now...
INSPIRATION
16-bit source
Based upon the runaway success Vampire Survivors, a particularly frenetic style of rougelike shoot'em up game, Bloodthrone places Erik in a haunted nightmare forest where he encounters creatures of Nordic legend, eventually confronting the ghosts of his victims.
Erik XIV dressed to kill
ERIK XIV BLOODTHRONE
The perfect first Unity game attempt, Erik came to life as a simple one-level challenge: survive the forest and see how far you can go.
VISUAL ASSETS
Foundation
To capture the 16 bit aesthetic all assets were drawn by hand in Aseprite. Frame animation and pixel art brought to life the dark world of Erik's tormented journey into madness through the Swedish wilderness.
Design
What says decadent 16th century royalty, folk horror and historical Europe? These were the questions that guided our choices of what relics and monsters to create. Superstition and legend blended down to 16 bits was a really fun ride.
Characters
Tapping the Nordic's pantheon of monsters, Bloodthrone sets Erik in the woods with witches, trolls, demon pigs and dragons, not to mention the typical inhabitants, like moths. Those can also be deadly!
Erik
Mothmonster
Wolf
Lindormen
Gloson
Squirrel (evil)
Witch
Troll
Ghost of Sture
Items
During his journey Erik encounters new weapons and items to sustain/empower him. You never know what you'll find in the forests of Sweden in 1567.
Amphora Mysterium
Vessel of potent magic vinegar
Ärtsoppa
A belly full of poison soup: a deadly weapon
Broken Plate
Shards of china for hacking and slicing
Riksäpple
The power of the throne in the shape of an apple
Eye of Västerås
Viking brooch granting magical sight
Spirit Candle
Defense against darkness, burns brighter when evil is near
Codex Argentus
Mystic texts of secret knowledge, bound in silver
Knäck
A feast for kings: dry crunchy bread
Prästost
A brutal and pummeling cheese with a slight nutty flavor
Ägg
A filling yet smelly quail egg
Kungens Hjälm
The king’s helmet: powerful defense
Elixir Magistratum
A potion improving brain health and vigour
Trollsäck
A magic sack containing… almost anything
Royal Key
A symbol of the king’s power to shut out evil
Svamp
Poison mushroom granting bursts of hallucination-fueled super strength
Silver Horde
A viking bonanza of silver artifacts
Vit pärla
Decadent kingly accents
Thor's Stupid Hammer
The lightening hammer of the old gods
Pärla
Powerups spit out by enemy deaths
Ruby
Precious gem
Emerald
Precious gem
Environment
Mapping out a series of endlessly repeating tiles Erik can effectively go forever. It's like a bad dream... Using a series of autogenerating tiles we could make infinite boards with programmed variations. Add a few custom trees and you got yourself a forest.
Normal tree, spoooky tree
UI Elements
Buttons and UI needed to capture the royal theme so plenty of gold and purple are at play.
SoUND
Music
Composed specifically for Erik XIV these pieces bring us back in time and set the perfect mood for mental illness in the Renaissance.
Concerto for Menu in A minor
Concerto for Level One in A minor
Sound Effects
To add an extra special Ritualen touch we composed sound effects..***
COVER ART
Loading Screen
We went all out on the opening backdrop: full drama, full monster, full Erik. Hopefully reminiscent of the headboard of a pinball game without the lights.
COMING SoON TO STEAM!
