-------------------------------------------------------
OVERVIEW
-------------------------------------------------------

Demons of Scheherazade is a spiritual successor to the NES Classic, Magic of Scheherazade. However, in lieu of the random battles that marred that title, this game aims to improve upon the top-down combat and exploration system by borrowing mechanics from Secret of Mana and similar titles.

This game is intended to be a polar opposite to Zodiac: Story of the Guardian. Where Zodiac was huge, Demons aims to be intimate. Where Zodiac was lonely, Demons aims to be crowded. Where Zodiac was spamming beam weapons, Demons rewards precise and careful attacks. Most importantly, where Zodiac was based on collecting new items to power up the main character, Demons focuses on choices, rather than locating items.

The focus on choice is the fundamental narrative and mechanical structure of Demons. Rather than find equipment, you will find ingredients that can be combined to cast spells, including many that transform the player into new shapes with new abilities. You will not find a Bomb Bag anywhere; instead, you must mix a potion that will temporarily make you into a Ghost that can drop explosive charges. Everything you can gain is temporary.

Choices you make, however, are not. Strike out at an ally, and they will remember and act with hostility. Enemies can be overcome by sword or by cunning. The time-travel mechanic of Magic of Scheherazade allows the player to witness both the long and short term effects of choices. Will Moroon be ruled by the Demons, the pilgrims of Malat, or by Sabaron's minions? While this likely sounds like Undertale's mechanic, unlike that game, Demons aims to treat the idea of choice with more maturity. (That is, the characters you can interact with are not all mentally five years old.) Think of it more like a Grand Theft Auto installment, but one where you can play the game as a pacifist and reap unique rewards -- while you can be forced into acts of violence, there were always choices you could have made earlier that might have avoided the need to come to blows.

To control the size of the branching tree of possibilities, the game is divided into "Chapters" just as Magic of Scheherazade used. At the end of each chapter, your decisions will earn you an Arabian Class, which will determine how the next Chapter begins and how difficult it will be overall.

-------------------------------------------------------
HOW TO PLAY
-------------------------------------------------------

Download the game file, rather than just the .qst itself. You need the enhanced music at a minimum.

The controls should be self-explanatory (I learned from Zodiac), but in case they're not obvious, here is an overview. The top right of the screen shows you what your A,B,L and R buttons will do in any given situation. They may change depending on where you are and what you transform yourself into. The START button brings up your alchemy subscreen and allows you to mix ingredients. While you're mixing, the game is not paused - the enemies don't care if you want to take out your mixing table in the middle of a battle.

The A,B, and L buttons are usually used for abilities of your transformation. In normal state, for example, A is your Scimitar, B is your Rod, and you can hold L to run. The R button normally becomes active when you are next to something that you can look at, talk to, or otherwise interact with. In addition, you can use your abilities in different ways. Standing still and pushing A causes a low slash; moving forward and pressing A causes a high stabbing attack, for example.

You have three stats to keep track of. Health and Magic are what you think they are. Endurance is a measurement of how tired your character has become. Running, attacking, or taking damage reduces Endurance. It normally recharges quickly as long as you take a break, however. If you're exhausted -- or struck by a powerful enemy attack -- you may find yourself knocked out instead of just pushed back.

-------------------------------------------------------
PROJECT STATUS
-------------------------------------------------------

As of the opening of this Project, the Prologue chapter is complete. As you will see, the game mechanics are all in place and functioning. You can finish the Prologue in many different ways, and earn an Arabian Class from Saint, to Fighter, to Demon. You very likely won't see everything the Prologue has to offer on your first play through.

There are a few known issues with clipping while running in unusual situations, and getting chatty characters to shut up when you've decided to fight them instead. Nothing that should interfere with your playthrough under normal conditions.

I anticipate being able to complete new Chapters (1 - 6 in total) once every four or five months, and I will update my project page each time I do.

-------------------------------------------------------
UN-PASSWORDED?
-------------------------------------------------------

You bet! Go ahead, check out how I put this together. The Script is organized into files in a subfolder that you can peruse. Note that, if you enable cheats, you'll break the game and it will suck, so don't do that. And, if you want to use any visual resources in the game, please give me a shout first. The artwork here is quite a bit more time-consuming than it was in Zodiac.

-------------------------------------------------------
CAN I HELP?
-------------------------------------------------------

Maybe. My dedication to finishing this project is tempered by my concern that remaining locked into the Zelda Classic launching utility makes people reluctant to play the game. I am also concerned that my lack of knowledge in audio-editing leaves me reliant on other copyrighted material. For music, this is fine, so long as the artists provide licenses (and the musicians here have Bandcamp licenses which do). For sound effects, however, I see no good resources to find properly licensed, 8-bit sound effects.

Therefore, I'm interested in teaming up with some other like-minded folks for this project. Here are the tasks that need to be accomplished:

1 - Create a utility or ZQuest build that can produce executable files. Conceptually, making ZClassic simply start up a particular Quest file while bypassing the current file-select system should be possible. The Zelda Classic NAME should of course be prominently displayed -- I'd never deny the devs that credit -- but you'd be surprised how many players give up the instant they have to do more than double-click to start playing.

2 - Custom sound effects (8-bit). Right now I'm using effects I've found here and there, and I don't want to be reliant on found resources like that.

3 - Mapping. As strange as it sound, having someone help with the mapping -- the simplest part of the ZQuest process -- would be really helpful. This is the task of designing the levels and maps, creating the world in which the game takes place. I can handle this, but if someone else was doing it, I could dedicate myself more fully to the coding and artwork sides of the equation. I have some folks in mind (you know who you are!) but so far, this position remains open.

-------------------------------------------------------
CREDITS
-------------------------------------------------------

There are three people who have been instrumental in getting this project off the ground:

1. Saffith - His TANGO code was a big part of my decision to start this game in the first place. It gives you an AMAZING ability to use strings in Zelda Classic in interesting ways.

2. SAVESTATES - An amazing chiptune artist who allows game designers to use his work, at least for non-commercial purposes, if you buy his albums. Check it here: http://savestates.bandcamp.com/

3. Jake Kaufman - Well known for doing the music from Ducktales Remastered and Shantae among others, Mr. Kaufman also allows non-commercial use of his music. Check out his albums here (and buy them all!): https://virt.bandcamp.com/