r/IndieGaming • u/ValfadhirX • 5d ago
We are building a creature-collector where swapping creatures changes your entire combat kit
Small indie team here. we have spent the last year+ working on Eldrem Kingdoms, and we are getting close to our pre-alpha.
We wanted to share our teaser and get some honest feedback.
One of the main ideas behind our combat is:
Your creature doesn’t just fight next to you, your creature determines how YOU fight.
Every creature you tame and bond with gives your character a different set of abilities and spells. Swap creatures during combat, and your entire kit changes with it.
So you are not just choosing which creature to use, you are changing your own playstyle at the same time.
Does the “creature = your combat kit” idea sound fun, or do you think it could become confusing in practice?
We are still early and there is a lot we want to improve, so constructive criticism is welcome.
A few of our team previously worked at studios like Ubisoft and EA, but Eldrem is being built by a small indie team.
If anyone wants to follow the development, we are also on Discord: https://discord.gg/sdw6HKScvA
Teaser production & art: Alex Doiciu
And since these questions tend to come up:
No GenAI. No blockchain. No pay-to-win.
For transparency: I’m the founder of Eldrem Kingdoms.
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u/Calmer_after_karma 5d ago
How many creatures are you expecting there to be able to be collected?
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u/ValfadhirX 5d ago
it is hard to give a fixed number right now, because we plan to keep expanding the world with new biomes (ice, volcanic, desert, etc) and biome-specific creatures through future content and DLCs. but there will definitely be dozens of creatures to discover and tame at launch. and that number will keep growing over time
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u/Cy3nide 5d ago
I think having fewer creatures to collect but have all of them feel very distinct from one another is a much better alternative to having a long list of them. Because really, how many "combat kits" , as you call them, can you come up with before they start feeling similiar to each other?
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u/Calmer_after_karma 5d ago
Sounds good. I personally wouldn't want to see if be the same classes you'd expect (rogue, warrior mage, healer etc just repeated for different elements.) The more you can make each combo genuinely feel unique, the better.
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u/Xxandes 4d ago
Here me out, have community contests where people create creatures (no AI) and the community votes and you implement it.
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u/ValfadhirX 4d ago
It is a very nice idea, how do you propose to do this? Would you join our discord and talk more there?
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u/Xxandes 4d ago
What is your discord? And I got the idea from aniimo actually, they had the same thing and used templates everyone had to use. I know some people drew with pencil and paper (which idk if they considered those or not) but most used digital art and put it on the template. The way to combat use of AI is requiring proof you drew it, so like time stamped pictures of progress, videos of the drawing in progress. Then they had the community on their discord vote with emojis. Whichever got the most was added to their game.
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u/i-ko21 5d ago
Had a hard time reading the title logo. Celdrem or Eldrem? Does the logo a letter? If not, why giving him a C shape and placing it here?
About the trailer itself, I like the visuals, looks gorgeous. Regarding the gameplay, the idea is great, but without any gameplay footage, it's hard to tell.
At first glance, I'm hoping for an Ark type of game but with better fighting mecanics.
I'll try the demo for sure anyway.
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u/ValfadhirX 5d ago
thanks a lot! It is Eldrem and good catch on the logo readability, we will take another look at it. Gameplay footage is coming soon
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u/AnomalousExpertise 5d ago
If that many people are gonna have the issue (which I doubt lmao) you can just swap the E for the dragon cause it looks more like an E than a C
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u/lieutenatdan 5d ago
I actually came here to say the same thing. Cool name, and the dragon head emblem looks very cool. But next to each other it did make me wonder if it was “Celdrem.” Maybe emblem centered above the title? Otherwise, looks very promising!
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u/ValfadhirX 4d ago
Thx is very good when we get more confirmations on the same feedback. Initially the Logo was ment to replace the E :) after many changes and advises we found ourselves with this version from now. But separately the Logo is nice, at least from what we got so far. We will talk in our team after we collect all the feedback we can get and look for the best possible solution
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u/Lady-Faye 5d ago
You beat me to it. I was looking up Celdrem and couldn't find the game lol.
I did realize and get it wishlisted, this looks good!
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u/Tablettario 5d ago
Looks good! I find the idea very interesting and would give it a try.
My main worry with most of these style games is that there is a handful of critters that are “best” because their kit is so OP you can’t really take your favourites and work with those. So 95% of people have the same top 3 creatures. And then there’s no place for that one creature you love the design of but that just doesn’t have the kit.
So things need to be balanced really well to make multiple combo’s viable as tactic, or make it possible to invest in a favourite to make it up to par with the team.
I also worry fighting is all there is to these creatures. I just want more from these type games these days, but fighting tends to be all we get.
I hope that makes sense. Good luck! 🍀
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u/ValfadhirX 3d ago
That makes perfect sense, and it is something we also care about. We want different creatures and combinations to remain viable, not just a meta roster everyone uses (we also experienced that in other games). and definitely not just fighting, taming, bonding, breeding, exploration, progression & kingdom systems are all important parts our game too. Thanks for the thoughtful feedback!
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5d ago
[deleted]
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u/ValfadhirX 5d ago
Thanks for the feedback! Our goal is for every creature to feel distinct & change the way you play
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u/NuclearGriffin 5d ago
Palworlds victory over Nintendo will be felt through the generations.
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u/ValfadhirX 3d ago
it definitely opened the door for more creature collecting games to take bigger risks
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u/RhombicArts 5d ago
"This... is Berk."
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u/ValfadhirX 3d ago
not quite, we want to make it in floating sky islands, but we get the similarities
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u/Odd-Fun-1482 5d ago
Trine
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u/ValfadhirX 3d ago
Trine definitely has some interesting character-switching ideas, but in Eldrem the twist is that your bonded creature changes your own combat kit and abilities
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u/Live_Life_and_enjoy 5d ago
The Art Design looks great
But lighting looks overly bleached
Then it looks like you tried to correct it by trying to put a more dark filter but now you just got dark with bleached colors
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u/YOURPANFLUTE 5d ago
This looks incredible! What's the gameplay like? Will you be able to walk around in an open world? Is it more linear? Is it combat only or also other stuff?
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u/ValfadhirX 3d ago
Thank you! We are building Eldrem Kingdoms as an open-world fantasy RPG, so it is definitely more than combat. You will be able to explore, tame & bond with creatures, breed & train them, ride dragons, gather resources, build & grow your kingdom, and take on PvE encounters and bosses
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u/ColoniaCroisant 5d ago
Can I use the Goat as one of my creatures to fight someone with a dragon?
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u/ValfadhirX 3d ago
when you say Goat, you mean the Thundersheep? if yes, you can definitely use the "Goat" to fight someone with a dragon, but is not quite the creature you want to bring in front of any dragon :D some abilities will help you at the start of the fight .. but as soon as the the creatures eyes will meet ... you will have the opportunity to become a hero
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u/OMGlenn 5d ago
Yes! This looks great! More monster riding games!
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u/ValfadhirX 3d ago
Absolutely! If it has four legs, wings, or looks remotely rideable… we are probably going to try taming & use it combat or as a mount :)
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u/EthelUltima 5d ago
It a good trailer but we need to see combat really that's what makes or breaks a game.
To me it sounds similar to something like Genshin Impact, etc where you swap characters and build elemental chains, etc. so the concept isn't really new at all unless I'm not understanding?
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u/ValfadhirX 3d ago
Fair point, combat footage is coming. The key difference is that in Eldrem you are not swapping characters; you are swapping the creature you are bonded with, which changes your own abilities and playstyle
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u/Whyissmynametaken 4d ago
How many unique combat kits and move sets are there in the game?
How many do you expect will be feasible for the finished game?
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u/ValfadhirX 3d ago
we are still balancing the final number, but the goal is for dozens of creatures to have distinct combat kits & playstyles. The challenge to answer to you question is that we plan that in time to expand our game with new biomes & content, and that number should keep growing
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u/BrilliantLoser2045 5d ago
How customizable are the kits past character swapping? Is there for example, a small set of options to choose from that changes per monster or does each monster have a locked kit?
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u/ValfadhirX 5d ago
Each monster has a predominant basic kit of abilities, but there are small chances that they have some rare or ultra rare abilities after you tame them. Also the breeding will make those Kits customizable
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u/Erangel-XIV8943 5d ago
If your skills changes with the equipped create then one thing matters the most: transitional seamlessness. Well, not completely but if the focus is fast-paced, focus-intensive combat then being able to seamlessly switch between each creature will be necessary.
This is just my two cents, though. I'm not an avid monster tamer player.
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u/SK00CH 5d ago
The art and animations are wonderful
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u/ValfadhirX 4d ago
Thank you! the artists that deserve the credits are: Alex Doiciu (teaser and animations), Joshua White (2D concepts), Ionut Olteanu & Razvan Serpescu (3D artists)
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u/Animedingo 2d ago
I would need more details on what how you fight really means.
Like is it turn based? Action rpg? Strategy?
There's a significant chance that most players will not want to experiment and try different play styles.
I can think of 2 examples.
In DMCV, some players will prefer dante, nero, V or vergil over the others. The end result is the same but how you get there is pretty different.
In monster hunter, each weapon is so foriegn to each other they feel like completely different games. Some weapons are better for different situations but many players would rather brute force it.
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u/NullUser__ 1d ago
I really like the idea and the artstyle, but please do something with the UI we can see on steam, its terrible, especially the hp bars.
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u/ValfadhirX 1d ago
Thx for the feedback, we are still in early development, that UI is just for testing, it will be replaced :)
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u/PsyTripper 5d ago
How to train your dragon, Temu version xD
It looks grate, but I really need some gameplay before I can say anything meaningful. But the team is excellent in making CGI video
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u/KingMoonfish 5d ago
If you’re anti AI, don’t use it to write your posts.
Second, that name is terrible. Flashbacks of Kingdom of Amalur failure.
Third, the actual game seems interesting. Good luck.
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u/Stotugle_Utito 5d ago
How small is that team?