The Symmetry Beyond the Yond

A short game made for GGG's RPG MAKER 2025 GAME JAM.

"The Symmetry -Beyond the Yond-" tells the story of Misha, a girl from the remote planet of Aura. Unable to return home after a chain of events collectively referred to as "The Natalia Incident", Misha decides to enlist in the Organization for Spacetime Law Enforcement called SYMMETRY.  

Cultural differences, frustration over losing her formidable conjuration powers, and an inability to cope with her losses eventually takes the better of her. The opponents of SYMMETRY do not miss this opportunity, and she is used in a ploy to discredit the organization. As a means of damage control, SYMMETRY relocates her to the remote outpost of TITAN-10, where she has started her training as a medic. 

Concept

The concept of this project is "jumping in the midst of an ongoing drama series". 

Playtime

About 45 minutes.

Gameplay

The game uses standard RPG maker controls with WSAD added. Personally, I recommend playing with a gamepad. 

Combat

• HP and MP
  • All characters start with max HP and MP of 100
  • HP and MP will heal 5% of maximum at end of turn
  • Once HP and MP go below 50, max HP and MP will decrease as well
  • After combat, HP and MP are restored up to the (possibly reduced) max HP and MP
  • Decreased max HP and MP can be restored to 100 by resting (in bed or in shuttle)
• Equipment
  • Weapons, armor and accessories can be equipped
  • Items need to be equipped in accessory slots to use
• Battle Command Window
  • All attacks, skills, items are presented in a single list
  • Items are also shown here
• Morale
  • Damage inflicted depends on attacker and defender "morale"
  • Morale is not shown on the screen
  • Some attacks lower enemy morale (see description)
  • Some skills consume morale (see description), these skills typically only appear when Morale is above a threshold
  • Morale will increase as skills are used and damage is received

The Characters

Misha Goldenbaum, Trainee, 36 years
A former idol on the planet of Aura, Misha was taxed with the responsibility of maintaining the morale of her people. As is not uncommon among the idols of Aura, she attracted the spirits of the planet, which she eventually learned to conjure to help her in times of crisis. It was her powers that contributed greatly in the eventual resolution of "the Natalia incident". The resolution meant, however, that she could not return home for the foreseeable future. SYMMETRY offered to negotiate asylum status, and now she enjoys full privileges as a resident of the Heliosphere.   

Sjorge Curiosity, Ensign 1st, 28 years 
 A young and talented navigator from Mars, Sjorge (ʃɔːrdʒ) Curiosity likes to think himself a thinker. When "the Natalia Incident" unfolded, Sjorge was stranded on the planet of Aura where he found a group of local humans under attack by giants. Although protocol dictated he could not involve himself in local affairs, he eventually chose to side with the humans, saving them. Misha was among those that survived that day. 

The Jank

As of this writing, this is the initial release and as such some degree of bugs are expected. An attempt will be made to iron these out as much as possible in the coming days. 

There are also some obvious placeholders (sloppy recolors) as well as missing character sprites. Even one of the playable characters has an incomplete sprite. Mea Culpa, I will try to add these over the weekend just in time for the submission deadline. 

Aside from these, there are some UI issues that are mostly "standard" RPG Maker, and little effort has been made to streamline them to match the game. It works, so I will not be addressing these in the interest of scope.