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Most Recent Update:	10/18/09: Added character info for Adele and Shiroma/Kuroma. New title image.
Update history:	10/18/09: New character info, title 9/19/09: Plot Summary, Videos added 9/13/09: Characters added 9/13/09: Page created

Project Oracle is my in-progress RPG Maker 2003 RPG.

Begun in early 2004, perhaps earlier, the project was designed and written by an uncreative teenager, and it showed. The plot was contrived, the characters were blatant self-inserts of me and my school friends, and the dialogue was stiff, bland, and generally not up to par. Following a long hiatus, the project was officially dropped in 2005.

Fast forward to the summer of 2009. Sifting through the dustbins of my past projects, I came upon this long-abandoned RPG. Feeling a sudden spark of creativity, I decided to revive it and make it not suck.

The game was unpolished. That was no secret. The list of things to do was long, and I certainly had my work cut out for me. Among the problems were:

• Very large playable cast (12) with very little characterization. The cast was divided into three parties, each with 4 members; which makes it a little better, sure, but it was still a daunting number of characters to get oneself familiar with, especially when they had zero introduction. And when you're using real people as characters, playing with characterization is hard to do without getting things wrong. So I chickened out and didn't characterize them at all.
• Too many elements, not enough spells. Each character had a unique element, and there were two additional character-neutral elements, for a total of 14 magic elements.
• Bad dialogue. Since the characters had no personalities, all they really did was cycle between lines of dialogue which weren't written for any character in particular. The dialogue served solely to move the plot along.
• No effective variation between characters. Not only were their personalities identical, their stats were as well. I'd attempted to give them their own niches, but they didn't really wind up being different enough.
• Lack of good balance. Making and balancing stats in a game is hard, and my effort at it was half-hearted at best. It was literally impossible to lose at this game.
• Too many RTP assets. The RPG Maker 2003 Run Time Package is cool and all, but customized graphics and sound assets do so much for improving the general level of polish.

So I spent a few months, as of this writing, hammering out the kinks and fixing what needed fixing. Among the improvements I've made are:

• Reduced cast size. Three characters were cut from the final lineup, and the size of each party was reduced to 3, down from 4.
• Cast replaced with original characters. The problems with using real people are just too many for me to be at all comfortable with. The existing characters will remain loosely based off of their real life counterparts; however, they are now considered original characters. They are also, so far, retaining their original designs and names, though that may change. With this step taken, each character now has a working personality and characterization that is relevant to the plot.
• Improved magic system. With three characters removed from the lineup, the Wood, Gravity, and Poison elements are now redundant and have been removed from the game. In addition, the Pearl element has been reworked into the Almighty element, which is a neutral element inspired by the Shin Megami Tensei series. The spell names are now based on the SMT series as well, though that may change in the future.
• Dynamic battle animations. RPG Maker 2003 has two methods of animating characters in-battle; Battle Chara Sets and Battle Animations. The former is the default method, and what I used originally. Now, however, I have switched over to the Battle Animations method, which gives me a HUGELY improved level of freedom when designing character animations. Characters now move around the battlefield when attacking, and have much livelier animations for things like attacking and spellcasting. I have no videos demonstrating what the old animation system was like, so you'll have to take my word for it that it's a huge improvement.
• Rewritten dialogue. Pretty much every scene in the game has been given a thorough working-over to get it up to my current standards.
• Revamped plot. Most of the original plot and backstory has been more or less scrapped in favor of my new vision for the game world. More on that later.
• Balance changes. I have a better understanding of the way stats work, and have reworked them accordingly. The game is now difficult. I intend to keep it that way.
• Improved character niches. Each character now has a defined "class" in addition to their element, which is an indication of how they fight with both magic and physical attacks. I'll get into how classes work in Project Oracle further down the page.
• Rearranged parties. The party setup in the original version was entirely arbitrary, and a bit awkward at that. I've rearranged the characters based on their new niches. More on that later.
• More original graphics and sound assets. I have freer access to these assets now, so I've steadily begun to phase out all content from the RTP. I'll still use some of it here and there, but otherwise, the rule from here on out is original content only.
• Improved original graphics. I've learned a few image editing tricks since then, which means I can make my original content look much better than before. Learning about dithering alone single-handedly allowed me to begin implementing original backdrops.

To name a few. But I've gone on entirely too long about this already, so without further delay, let's get into the actual content.

Characters
Player Characters (Group 1)
Taylor**	"A confident, pragmatic leader." Age: 16 Element: Ice Weapon: Solstice Sisters (Katars) Class: M Slasher Specialty: Support Skills Info: Taylor is the leader of Group 1, and her practical, decisive nature well qualifies her for the job. Her magic and physical skill are nearly balanced, but she leans slightly more in favor of physical prowess.
Beth*	"A clear-headed voice of reason." Age: 16 Element: Earth Weapon: Ira de Gaia (Hammer) Class: S Striker Specialty: Physical Defense Info: Beth can always be counted on to see things clearly and exercise caution when it's needed. In this respect, she is very much the opposite of Taylor, who tends to rush in head first. She relies on physical attacks and a high defense, with very few special spells to her name.
Clara	"A meek but compassionate follower." Age: 16 Element: Almighty Weapon: Athena Piercer (Bow) Class: W Piercer Specialty: Healing Info: Her quiet and apologetic nature makes her seem unthreatening, but her magic is something to be feared. However, she is easily stressed in combat situations.
Player Characters (Group 2)
Michael*	"A quick-witted thinker with a strange sense of humor. Element: Fire Age: 15 Weapon: Sirius (Pistol) Class: M Piercer Specialty: Speed Info: Coming Soon
Joey**	"An eloquent and poetic soul." Age: 16 Element: Light Weapon: Lumina (Staff) Class: W Striker Specialty: Intellect Info: Perceptive and insightful. He specializes equally in offensive and defensive magic, but has very little physical skill.
(No Name)***	Coming Soon
Player Characters (Group 3)
Matt**	"An analytical mind with strong principles." Age: 16 Element: Lightning Weapon: Jupiter Strikers (Knuckles) Class: M Striker Specialty: Offensive Magic Info: Leader of group 3. His rational way of approaching things puts him very out of place in the fantastic world he finds himself in. His magic is slightly stronger than his physical skill.
Jackson	"An enthusiastic and athletic young man." Age: 17 Element: Water Weapon: Charybdis (Spear) Class: S Piercer Specialty: Strength Info: As the captain of the swim team back home, he knows very well the value of cooperation and group harmony. His skill is balanced between physical strength and defense.
Adele	"A strong-willed and loyal ally." Age: 18 Element: Wind Weapon: Kaze Ichimonji (Sword) Class: W Slasher Specialty: Balance Info: She exudes an aura of confidence that inspires even those around her. She has the strongest physical attack of all the casters, though magic is still her strong point.
Guest Party Members
Logoni Kogawa	"A world famous explorer who is looking for something." Age: 31 Element: None Weapon: Whip, Chain Whip, Mace Class: ??? Specialty: Physical Info: Logoni is searching for a place of legend, known as Interstice. His search seems to be taking him down the same path as ours...
Sparrow Frostgale*	"...Who is she...?" Age: 13 Element: None Weapon: Staff Class: ??? Specialty: Magic Info: A young girl who seems to like talking about her "mysterious past". She seems to have a strange power over the people in this world...
NPCs
Jephod*	Age: ??? Element: ??? Weapon: ??? Class: ??? Specialty: ??? Info: A regular patron at the Rairu pub, he silently observes and never speaks. What's his deal...?
Kuroma and Shiroma	Age: ??? Element: Black, White Weapon: ??? Class: ??? Specialty: ??? Info: Not much is known about them; no one's even seen their faces. They teach magic that can't be learned through the Weapons, though they do so at a high price. With all the places you seem to be able to find them, they may just have mastered the art of being in multiple places at once...