Untitled Strategy Project

About

Untitled Strategy Project is a 2D turn-based strategy RPG with art & game design by Danny Poloskei, programmed by Anonymous. The project started with some basic graphics and design concepts in November 2022. More concrete design ideas, story writing, character concepts, and detailed graphics were gradually developed with the goal of having something worth showing when presenting the project to a programmer. Untitled Strategy Project will be a game similar to Fire Emblem, but with some key differences to provide a unique experience.

Design Intentions

The basic gameplay is similar to Fire Emblem - the player controls several units on a map, choosing movement and attacks for each unit on the player's turn. Once the turn is complete, the enemy does the same with all of their units. The cycle continues until the objective is accomplished. Typical objectives would be defeating all enemy units, defeating just the enemy boss, or reaching an escape point in one piece. The game will have permadeath - units defeated in battle cannot be revived and will remain dead for the rest of the game.

I've played through many Fire Emblem games; some of them are my favourite games of all time, others felt like a bit of a chore to trudge through, aaand then there are some that I felt weren't even worth playing, so I didn't. How can one franchise get it so right with one game and so wrong with another? The gameplay tends to be very similar across the games, so it comes down to other crucial details. My intention is to get these details right, or at least closer to the Fire Emblem games I (and the general fanbase) consider to be the best.

These are some of the design details I have in mind:

• Permadeath - The emotional investment in a character and shaping a unique story experience based on who survives and who dies is interesting. The problem is if you let one of your good units die, strategy RPGs don't allow you to fill their place with one of your benchwarmers because their level is too low to be able to do anything in battle. Untitled Strategy Project will basically allow a surviving unit to inherit the fallen unit's level, thus allowing the game to resume viably.
• Fan service - If there's one thing that cheapens any product, it's fan service. Unfortunately, this has become abundant in Fire Emblem. Untitled Strategy Project's goal is to provide an engaging gameplay experience, not arouse the player. That said, there will be no dating aspects, female characters will be just as armoured as male characters, and the characters won't try to act cute or flirty.
• Anime visuals - The artwork is anime style, but leans towards a more grounded look. Likewise, the characters are intended to behave like normal people and not be bubbly anime tropes.
• Avatar worship - In Untitled Strategy Project, the main character is not the center of the universe.
• Enemies - There won't be any phantom or demon enemies, nor will the final boss be possessed; the game's conflict is human vs. human.
• Gameplay - There are several gameplay innovations planned! A fatigue system will prevent strong units from singlehandedly wiping out enemy mobs, horses will be separate units (not built into classes), there will be active skills (not just weapon changing), and RNG elements like "miss" and critical hits won't be included.
• ... and more!

Concept Art

Here's a look at some character concepts. The plan is to have around 30 playable characters to allow some room for fallen units to be replaced. Note that all artwork on this page is subject to change!

Last revised: August 22, 2023