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A nameless woman. A monster that even nightmares fear. In an age of conflict, two lonely souls are trapped in a labyrinth of memories and darkness. Both have been summoned to an ancient place where a war in the shadows is about to begin.

Can they unravel its secrets before being consumed by its spiraling dementia?

Anima Gate of Memories is a third person action RPG in which the player must explore a vast world filled with both dangers and wonders. The game is being developed by the same people that wrote the Anima Beyond Fantasy role-playing game books and the Anima Tactics miniatures game, who are now working with an experienced team of video game developers. Our first goal is to publish Gate of Memories on Windows and Mac through Steam, but there are also plans for console releases.

The game is mostly focused on action, but as any good RPG, it will also have infiltration and puzzle content. In addition, while Gate of Memories is story driven, it doesn’t force you to ride along rails from place to place. The idea is to give players freedom to explore a rich world and tackle obstacles in the order they want. These choices, even if you make “wrong decisions” or leave behind story points, will have a big impact on the progression of the game. This way, players can visit many different places and reach very different conclusions at the end depending on their choices.

Sounds pretty awesome! Can you give me a quick overview of the features?

• It will be DRM free!
• It will feature gorgeous graphics and animations. Travel through the tower of Arcane and the world of Gaia across stunning backgrounds and places.
• It will feature a deep and multifaceted story. A player’s choices and actions will influence the journey and decide the destiny of the characters.
• There will be battles with epic bosses. Challenge many legendary entities, each with their own special features and game play.
• It will utilize a combat system that combines RPG elements with fast paced action and spectacular attacks and spells.

UPDATE #1 – General Gameplay

UPDATE #2 – Graphic Style

One of the challenges we have set in Gate of Memories is to make the game play a special experience. In the game the player take the role of two different characters, each of which has their own abilities and powers, and are customizable; every time they level up, players will be able to decide how to develop the characters skills, much like the advancement in the Anima Beyond Fantasy RPG books.

Players can also switch between the two protagonists, even in the middle of an attack to combo moves together. So players get to play both characters and can combine their powers in an almost limitless number of ways.

General Setting

Anima Gate of Memories is set in Gaia, an anachronistic setting which combines many elements, such as traditional medieval fantasy with magic-based technology. While a great part of the game will take place in a mysterious tower called Arcane, the player will be able to move to other parts of the world and experience the wonder and awe of Gaia.

Arcane

Arcane is an extremely unusual place. Not only does it have a huge labyrinthine structure inspired by tarot cards, but it will also alter its appearance according to the memories and experiences of its “guests”.

For reasons unknown at the beginning of the story, shortly after the arrival of the main characters Arcane begins to attract powerful entities known as The Messengers and begins adapting its interior in a “dreamlike” way to reflect the lives of these creatures. Thus, the set of the game is not just made up of ruins and tower interiors, but of elements as diverse as dark forests or old battlegrounds. Of course, not every area is totally independent. At the points where the lives of The Messengers cross, the rooms blend into each other connecting the different dreamscapes together.

UPDATE #3 – Main Story and Subquests 

The story of Anima Gate of Memories is one of the most attractive and absorbing parts of the project, since it combines intense personal storylines and an engaging script.

The game tells the story of The Bearer and Ergo, members of an ancient society called Nathaniel which for centuries has protected mankind from the darkness. At the beginning of the story both receive the order to recover an old artifact called The Byblos that has been stolen by a renegade of the order. The Byblos is a collection of prophecies announcing a chain of events that could trigger a vast cataclysm in the world.

After a long pursuit, crossing areas ravaged by war and misery, The Bearer and Ergo are able to corner the fugitive in the center of an ancient construction. However, before they are able to recover it, the whole area is swallowed by an abyss.

Sometime later, both awake locked inside a strange structure without any way to escape. However, they are no longer alone. Strange beings called The Messengers are also summoned there. Soon, they will discover that something darker than they could imagine is about to start, a war in the shadows in which both will have a leading role.

The Bearer

The Bearer is one of two main characters of the game and one of the cornerstones of the story. She is a twenty-year-old girl who works in secret for a holy society called Nathaniel as a hunter of nightmares. A decade ago she awakened the entity Ergo Mundus making a pact with him. This unusual act allowed her to partially control the creature as well as share some of his powers.

Oddly she has no name, since as part of her pact with Ergo, the demon “ate it”. Nobody can remember what she was called before, so the other characters refer to her as “The Bearer of Calamities”, the given name of anyone who holds Ergo Mundus (while the latter simply calls her “Baby”, a nickname used to upset her).

At the beginning of the game her background is not known, but as the story goes on and the characters travel deeper into Arcane, various fragments of her past, as well as the moment when she signed her pact with Ergo, are displayed through enigmatic dreams and visions.

Of the two main characters, The Bearer carries the greatest emotional charge. Her personality is serious and melancholic. She hates the supernatural, believing that it is what destroyed her family and her chance to have a normal life. Above all she hates herself and the special blood that flows through her veins due to her pact with Ergo. However, despite her tough facade, she is still a young woman who dreams about the same things that any other girl of her age would.

The Bearer of Calamities uses the pages of Ergo as weapons. She can will the pages of the book to appear around her forming anything she imagines, from angelic wings to swords, which she can use to attack enemies or defend herself.

Ergo Mundus

Ergo Mundus is the companion of The Bearer, as well as the character who takes the male protagonist role in the game. He is an enigmatic immortal creature (Nathaniel calls him a demon, but the truth is that nobody knows for sure what he really is) who, centuries ago, triggered a conflict that almost plunged the world into a state of chaos. After being stopped through the combined efforts of Nathaniel, the Church and the Saint Elienai, Ergo’s physical body was so shattered that, to avoid his destruction, he was forced to hide his soul in a book. Since then he has been under the close supervision of Nathaniel, which agreed to allow Ergo to exist in that form in return for his help destroying other creatures like himself. However, to do so one condition is necessary; someone must sign a pact with him, a contract that allows that individual to control the demon’s powers and, on unusual occasions, re-create a temporal body for him.

Ergo’s personality is very charming in his own particular way. He is an egocentric foulmouthed character who craves attention. He loves making cynical comments only to disturb The Bearer, and he is always reminiscing about the past atrocities he committed. However, the truth is that he is not as terrifying as he pretends to be, nor has he perpetrated such horrible acts. In fact, Ergo doesn’t remember anything about his past before being sealed in the book, although he has never confessed it to anyone.

Of course Ergo’s background hides much more. His true identity, as well as the real reason why he has been bound in the book for centuries, will be essential to the story.

Ergo’s fighting style is very violent, but with his own stylistic look. He attacks by creating cuts in mid-air (which is visually represented as “energy claws”) and summoning monsters that emerge from his body or directly from the ground.

Ergo and The Bearer’s relationship

The bearer and Ergo Mundus have a curious relationship. Outwardly they express mostly indifference and hatred towards each other, however, this disguises fondness though this isn’t clear at the beginning of the story. At the start of the game their relationship is purely “master and slave”. The Bearer despises the monster that for years Nathaniel has taught her to hate and Ergo loathes the human who has the power to control him as a simple pet. However, the player will soon discover that she has a particular affection for him, not only because Ergo saved her during their first encounter (at the time she made the pact), but because after being reunited years later, she realizes he has always been at her side.

Ergo’s feelings are more contradictory. Proud and egocentric, he will not realize how important she has become to him until it is almost too late. For a long part of the game he will try to bother her all the time with cynical jokes, but he will surprise himself more than once putting his life in jeopardy protecting her.

The Messengers

Throughout almost the entire game The Messengers play the role of the main antagonists. These are creatures that have been summoned to the interior of Arcane, whose memories and minds shape the chambers of the ruins.

Several centuries before the beginning of the story, the prophet Harael Grimoire had a disturbing vision; in a near future twenty-one creatures would be the harbingers of the end of all existence. Since Harael had never been wrong before, Nathaniel took the threat very seriously and, from that moment, their agents have tried to locate and eradicate the foretold “Messengers of the End”.

Based on Harael’s predictions the organization created a list of twenty-one candidates which embodied the greatest threats to the world. Since then, the organization placed a special emphasis on their capture and destruction, but given the considerable powers and intelligence of such beings, they have been unable to neutralize any of these threats.

These “Messengers”, represented by the twenty-one Major Arcana of the tarot, are immortal beings of huge power who, to a greater or lesser degree, have been involved in several major events in the history of Gaia. Even if they bear no relationship, their long lives had allowed them to know each other. Ironically, Ergo Mundus is considered one of The Messengers, but is now forced to hunt his compatriots.

Of course, each one of them has an interesting background with deep motivations and a complex life. With the cut scenes of their areas, and book scripts that Ergo and The Bearer can collect, the player will discover who they really are as well as their personal drives, giving them character development so that they become more than just ”bosses” to be vanquished.

Created by a collaboration of occidental and asians authors, Anima Beyond Fantasy is a license recognized for its role-playing books, miniature wargame and card game. Anima products have been translated into English, Spanish, French, Italian and German, and are available in more than 20 countries worldwide.

Our teams consist of professionals with a wide body of knowledge in the field of developing games of all types. Our ranks include people like the creative mind behind the Anima Beyond Fantasy world, Carlos B. Garcia, and amazingly talented artists like the internationally known Wen Yu Li.

Our goal has always been to create a game of the highest possible quality, a work that would be a memorable experience for anyone who plays it. Unfortunately, although we would like to say that we can embark upon the project on our own, we realize that we have a limited number of people to achieve it and, most likely, the team would be unable to accomplish the desired result. Therefore we have resorted to Kickstarter with the conviction that, by raising money in this way, we can create a great game without sacrificing any of the quality we are determined to achieve.

Project Monitoring

Everyone who is involved in the project, regardless of the size of your contribution, will be informed of the evolution of the game and will see how our work is progressing “behind the scenes”. For this, we have created a blog and a forum that will allow you to contemplate the progress of our work and ask the questions you consider relevant.

However, our intention is to go beyond simply reporting the project status. Since it is thanks to your collaboration that Gate of Memories will be possible, we want to hear your suggestions and opinions, thus making you a small part of our team. Therefore, there will be decisions that we want you to participate in, since it will enrich the quality of the game.

Of course, we have additional goals planned, that we would be able to implement in Gate of Memories if we are able to raise a large amount of money.

$120,000 or more

• 10 additional skills or powers for each of the main characters.
• 4 additional enemy types.
• A vocal main theme and ending theme.

$160,000

• 10 additional skills or powers for each of main the characters.
• 4 additional enemy types.
• A highly detailed new zone to explore.
• Additional cut scenes and dialog to add story and character development.

$200,000

• 5 additional skills or powers for each of the main characters.
• New finishers and QTE animations.
• 20 New sub-quests and additional events.
• 2 additional playable characters with many customizable options.
• Boss rush mode.

$250,000

• Release of the game on 1 console.
• A cooperative mode that will allow 2 players take on the adventure together.
• 2 Additional Messengers, each one with their respective areas.

$350,000

• A fully animated opening and closing cut scenes.
• A secret final boss, who can only be unlocked by completing certain story quests and choosing certain options.

$500,000 or more

• A VS mode in which players can fight each other or against a series of special enemies.
• A survival mode played out in an additional dungeon as endgame content.
• A playable epilogue that link the game with its sequel.

We would like to thank all of the people who believe in us. It is because of your faith in our work that we are able to make things that entertain us all. We would also like to express our gratitude for looking at our project here. With your help we can turn our project into a reality.If you have any question about this project, feel free to contact us here on this Kickstarter campaign or at Anima@edgeent.com.