Ruby (series)

Ruby is a series of games set in the Medieval history of Jerako. As such, it is intended to expand on the world's history.

Gameplay
Ruby is designed in the line of DOS-era dungeon-crawlers. Up to six members are allowed in the party and the interface takes a first-person view. Several races are available, as are several classes, and equipment is divided into standard and unique items. The party's position is determined by order, with those at the top being in the front ranks, middle slots representing mid-range, and the bottom slots representing the back row. Certain equipment is required to be able to attack from further-aft rows.

Ruby features an auto-map with a twist: it is tied into a scouting system. Multiple scouting methods exist based on race and job.

Development
Ruby was created before Jerako was chosen as the name of the world, but the intention was there early on to set it in the history of what was then called "Battle." The initial races chosen were a pared-down roster of those found in Jerako: The World That Is, with Humans, Star Children, Angels, Automata, and Gaeans as a condensed race. Automata were quickly replaced by Armora and Titans were added soon after to serve the function of Tigers.

The decision was made early on to include a feature that would set the game apart from the titles it emulated. To that end, a complex scouting system was designed to work with the auto-map to appear simple to the player, but offer a good deal of depth when examined.

Logos were made for up to seven games in the series, with the intent to aim for a trilogy, with seven as the absolute maximum of what would ever be made.

Enemies were written up to minimize palette swaps, but several were subsequently given variations, allotting the game a very large roster when compared to similar DOS-era titles at over fifty different monsters. Effort was put into finding familiar enemies and giving them a unique twist, oftentimes in the A.I. Spells were likewise written to include familiar staples such as the fireball and area freeze, while adding more whimsical effects such as fireflies and bubbles to be more in line with the existing tone of Jerako.

While in the process of creating resources, a spin-off title was generated. This sister project, tentatively titled Wilf's Game, is under parallel development.