Download Demo v2.01 Here

"Hate me. Please just hate me. And forgive everyone else."

Astral Transparency: Cole's Gate is a fantasy RPG game with multiple endings.



A child whose existence shrouds the world.
Something like that shouldn't have been left alive.
... It's all just too cruel.

Genre: Fantasy, drama, thriller, some romance.

Fifteen years ago marked the beginning of the end.

A country at the verge of war with another postponed its plans thanks to the arrival of a strange young man on a canoe, here to tell them that he would give it all up for the sake of the person he cares for. And then, he realized that it was too late to back out. At that time, a young woman discovered a life-draining, world-ending artifact. She accepted no credit for her discovery. Two years later, the first revolution began. Many died. A man named Dave Shrubalt was killed.

A woman told her son, they were to destroy a monster who killed innocent people in cold blood just to fulfill his own desires. It has been ingrained within his mind since he was five. It was trapping, traumatizing, and utterly restrictive. She was a mother who sacrificed her love for her own son just for revenge. He never would have been able to regain the life he could have lived. And for that very purpose, he sought the Cole's Gate - that cold, cruel artifact which would drain the world of all life. And that is where one story ends and another begins. He will meet that person, and there will be no turning back.

Actually, there was never any turning back in the first place.



(For images, as well as more characters, go to the main site.)

Ray Shrubalt

One of the main protagonists, a young man who works with his mother as a servant to the governor of Sydea, a capable man named Alben Lapurett. What Lord Lapurett does not know, however, is his last name and his lineage - he is a decent swordsman who can make use of light magic, a powerful element but one that is limited a sense. Unlike traditional mages like Valoria who use their inherent magic supply on weak elemental spells, light spells will deplete magic from the user so strongly that it will never be replenished, and if used too much would kill said user. He inherited this ability from his late father, Sir Dave, an old knight of Lord Lapurett's court.

???
Fifteen years ago, a man named Cole Larens stumbled upon the artifact of death which would later be called the Cole's Gate. He led a cult worshiping that power, in a mad feat to bring about an apocalypse, or so they say. The Forest of Death, where the Cole's Gate is located, is closer to Sydea than any other city. This is the teenager who claims to be that man, to a torn and tired Ray Shrubalt one achingly painful dawn.

Valoria Lapurett
A charming and capable young lady who is the sole daughter of Lord Alben Lapurett, governor of Sydea. She is a semi-skilled mage who can wield the elements of ice, wind and earth, all to a rather limited extent. She gets along well with the servants, and is friendly and charismatic. Her mother, Liana Lapurett, died a little more than three years prior to the story due to what the public knew as an illness.

Janelle Emerleaf
A young, cheerful maid of the Lapurett house, who works for the governor along with her older brother, Lorenzo Emerleaf. Sometimes, she tends to have her head in the clouds, and sometimes, she can be surprisingly down-to-earth. She holds a keen interest in the abstract, and has an affinity with numbers. Speed is her strong suit, and her ability to get chores done at record speed is rather impressive.

Simon
A young man who supposedly had a message for Lord Lapurett from the capital city, Nivandrox, from which Sydea was made independent of less than two decades ago. He knows his court manners and his flattery, but behind the backs of nobility he can be quite the annoying lout.

"Tom"
A strange mercenary whom Valoria met in a cave not far from Sydea's outskirts. He appears to have some kind of link with the Cole's Gate.

In-Game Areas

The City of Sydea
Sydea has been independent from the main capital of Nivandrox for around twenty years. The governor of the city is Governor Alben Lapurett, and due to how disastrously close the city is to the Forest of Death, it has caused much worry to him.

The Forest of Death
The forest of death is the nickname of the place where the Cole's Gate resides. Due to its disastrous influence, many have suffered in this short time of over fifteen years. It is also the residence of its cult, lead by Cole, that possesses the power to manipulate darkness.

Affected Area
The Cole's Gate is said to be able to reduce the entire continent into a lifeless land mass in a mere century by absorbing the life energy of everything around it. So far, the area around it that has been destroyed it called the affected area, and nobody dares to step within these grounds.

The Kingdom of Nivandrox
Nivandrox is a flourishing capital, led by King Anryens. They are located across the Forest of Death from Sydea, though there is a roundabout way around the Affected Area that allows messengers from both cities to make contact. King Anryens hasn't contacted Sydea much since its separation, but then the arrival of the mysterious visitor Simon seems to counter that.

The Kingdom of Palendine
A country across the ocean. Tension between Palendine and Nivandrox has been fluctuating, almost turning into a full-blown war around fifteen years ago, but prevented due to Nivandrox stocking up their supplies after receiving advance notice. This tension has yet to break into war so far.








Tutorial
Click on Game.exe to start the game.
Game Screen
Use the arrow keys to move around the map.
To interact with people or objects, press Spacebar.
Menu Screen
To access the Menu, press Esc.
Use the up and down arrow keys and spacebar to click on tools in the menu.
Battle Screen
Attack – Attack with your currently equipped weapon
Magic – Use a skill, consuming MP.
Defend – Reduce the damage taken by any attacks for that round.
Item – Use an item.


DOWNLOAD
A Demo version of the game has been uploaded. You can download it below:

Current Version:
Download Demo v2.01 Here

It looks intriguing. I feel drawn to "Tom" for some reason.

The story sounds pretty cool. Somehow it reminds of the sing "Mordred's Lullaby".

I just know this is going to be awesome! :3

Thank you for the comments. I will be uploading the character portraits soon.

Sounds interesting. When's the release date?

Hmm, I guess it'll still take some time, given that I've only just started and I'm still juggling this with lots of RL things. ^^; I'll post occasional updates though.

I'm looking forward to it =3 it sounds fun~

Wow. The story seems very intriguing as does the characters... Can't wait for a demo!

*clicks "notify me when new posts are added" button*

The artist has posted a first draft of the character portrait sketches. More info here: www.soyasushi-kirroha.weebly.com

Ooooh, they're really cool! I can't wait to see them in color. ^^

The sketches are looking lovely, Kirro. I especially like how their hair flows. Good luck with the project!

Thank you.

Here's a rather useless preview screenshot, for whoever who's interested:

xD "Useless", but interesting. Also, I love the map. I don't know why, it just looks really cool. XD

It's just the RMXP tileset. Nothing particularly special. ^^;

xD Yes, but you mapped it very well and balanced everything (cracks in floor, etc.) out very well. Good job!

Thank you ^^ It's the first time I tried mapping seriously, so I wasn't sure if it had turned out well.

Cole's Gate will have occasional CGs like most Visual Novels do, and here's a preview of one:

The picture looks nice, but what exactly is a "CG"?

Drawings of the characters in a situation depicted in the story, something like that. You know in usual screenshots, the sprites will be there? A CG will be a picture showing the scene itself.

Ah, okay. Cool!