A Bold Open-World RPG Experience

The Harbinger: Awakening is a third-person, open-world, fantasy RPG that takes place on the fictional world of Vahde. Orphaned when your mother died giving birth to your sister, you have raised your younger sister, the prophesied Harbinger, along with the help of people from your home town, Alwen. When your sister is taken from your home while you complete the final trials as a warrior-in-training, you must step out of Alwen and travel across the Five Holy Nations and face against countless enemies with your ally, Bo, to find and rescue your sister. 

As avid (and picky) gamers ourselves, we are hand-tailoring The Harbinger to be a ground-breaking open-world experience. The Harbinger focuses heavily on compelling narrative development paired with cutting edge graphics that immerses the player in a realistic and beautiful world. We are also working tirelessly to continue to develop our game systems, from Bo's traversal mechanics to combat, crafting, and more.

Existing & Planned Features

Core Mechanics

• Bo's Powers. Bo's abilities (Bobilities™) are going to be some of the player's most useful tools. Bo will have shapeshifting abilities, allowing the player to traverse the world in a variety of ways, including land mounts, gliding mounts, and sea mounts. On top of traversal, Bo will have combat abilities that enhance the player's experience. 

Early concepts of Bo's land mount and gliding mount forms.

• Enjoyable Combat. We're tired of stale combat in RPGs, so one of the first systems we're putting full effort into is combat. We want to give the player a variety of tools to use in combat paired with an evolving AI that learns how the player fights. 

• Crafting & Cooking. A staple in any open-world RPG game of similar scale, we are currently developing the crafting and cooking systems for The Harbinger. You'll be able to gather a variety of resources from across the world to use to make new gear and try new recipes. 

• Survival Built In. As gamers ourselves, we noticed that a lot of mods for popular open-world games add survival features such as hunger and sleep requirements, sensitivity to climate, and more. We want to provide those options to the player in our base game, so we plan to have toggleable survival features available when the game launches. 

World and Story Features

• Beautiful, Diverse, Realistic Open-World. Our world features five distinct nations, each with their own unique geography and biomes. Using the resources available through Epic Games, we're proud to be building a world that's beautiful and realistic in appearance. 

See more early environment shots on our website.

• Compelling Narrative. With lore over two years in the making and writers working tirelessly to create storylines that are captivating, The Harbinger will provide players with a deep narrative without sacrificing the open-world experience. 

• Choices with Meaning. As the player progresses through the story, they will find that the choices they make when interacting with NPCs have a real impact on the world around them. 

• Quality Characters. A compelling narrative requires quality characters with it. That's why we are making sure the people you meet in the game don't feel like carbon copies of one another. Arrow in the knee, anybody?

There are many other features that are planned for the game, but we will save those for a later date, once these systems are more refined. It's our goal to create an incredible gaming experience with The Harbinger, and we hope you will come along with us on this journey! Keep reading to learn more about some of these features.

Customization

One of the core design philosophies we are implementing into our development of The Harbinger is customization. This goes beyond standard customization to extend into customizable features that affect overall gameplay. Namely, we are planning on launching the game with a variety of survival elements designed to enhance player immersion. Each of these elements will be independently toggleable - you choose which survival elements you want to play with and which ones you don't. 

Technical Overview

Platforms:

We plan to release on the following platforms. Please note that some platforms may require approval that we cannot guarantee.

• PC
• Xbox Series X & S
• PlayStation 5
• Mac
• Linux

Release Date:

We tentatively plan to have the game fully accessible in Spring 2025. Demo versions will be available between now and the release date. 

Gameplay:

• 50+ hours of main quest content (7 Arcs);
• 150+ hours of side-quest content. 

Engine & Tools:

• Unreal Engine 4/ Unreal Engine 5
• Quixel Megascans
• MetaHuman

This project is possible because of the resources provided by Epic Games to indie developers like ourselves. Unreal Engine 4 is allowing us to create an incredible game, which will only be enhanced by the release of Unreal Engine 5 later this year. Quixel Megascans and MetaHuman are also vital to our success, with both providing us with hyper-realistic graphics and assets. We cannot thank Epic Games enough for the tools they provide. 

A Beautiful, Detailed, and Expansive World

The world of The Harbinger has been built from the ground up to create a series of stunning environments for the player to experience. From intricate lore and worldbuilding, to a breathtaking environment built by hand, we are confident you will love the world as much as we do. Your adventure takes place in a small segment of Vahde known as the Five Holy Nations. Each of these nations has distinctly different environments and social structures, ensuring a comprehensive fantasy RPG experience. 

Valbora is the dominant geopolitical power of the Five Holy Nations. It is (quite literally) at the center of trade and politics in the region. It has some of the most fertile lands of the nations, temperate forests, access to bountiful resources, and a coastline that is unrivaled. Valbora is inspired by traditional medieval European society and culture. As Erin, you will begin your journey in the northern reaches of Valbora. 

Rengea is a peaceful nation west of Valbora, whom it has close ties with. Rengeans are reserved and respectful, and highly value loyal friendships. Much of the nation is covered in mountains and dense, misty forests, with its southern provinces being an icy tundra similar to much of Indevaar. Rengea is inspired by Eastern Asian cultures. 

Indevaar is a frozen hell, where the people are harsh and society is brutal. The people of Indevaar are vikingesque brutes who have managed to build a strange tribal society in the frozen wasteland. For centuries the state has been fractured by internal quarrels between the various tribes, but the Inden tribe has been able to hold unitary power over the various tribes for some time now. Indevaar regularly attempts to invade Rengea, seeking to claim more fertile lands and expand their influence. Its culture is loosely based on that of Nordic cultures. 

Sanuvar is known for the vast desert that spans most of the nations, and is home to harsh conditions rivaled only by Indevaar. A famine has been tormenting the people of Sanuvar for several years, pushing the nation to the brink of collapse. The elitist royal family of Sanuvar hoards what little food the nation can obtain, leading to additional struggles within the nation. Even still, the people of Sanuvar persevere in life, accepting the challenge of surviving when it ought be impossible. Sanuvarian society is based on Middle Eastern and Egyptian cultures. 

Aduran is the technological marvel of the Five Holy Nations, developing geothermal powered wonders thanks to the large amounts of volcanic activity found there. Surrounded by mountains, volcanos, and the sea, and far away from any of the other nations, Aduran can easily maintain its separatist stance while developing technology far more advanced than the other nations. Even with these great marvels of human creation, the country largely remains disconnected from the world, choosing not to engage in conflicts until absolutely necessary. Adurani culture is loosely based on Roman society, most prevalent in their architecture. 

A World in Turmoil, a Chilling Prophecy, and Mankind's Savior

Centuries after the world was created by the gods, chaos struck. In a desperate attempt to preserve humanity, they created an eternal soul to fight for mankind - the Harbinger. Over the course of history, the Harbinger has come to the aid of all against countless foes. This is one of those times. 

Nations are raising their banners, people are dying by the thousands, the world quakes in frightful anticipation. The world is in need of its hero. A prophecy points to the player's sister, Elle, as the Harbinger, but she is far too young to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders. 

As Erin, the player must complete their training as a warrior to protect Elle, but when Elle is taken from their home in the ancient mountain town of Alwen, the player must travel across the Five Holy Nations with their spirit golem companion, Bo, to rescue her. Erin and Bo will face countless foes, attempt to prevent wars, resolve struggles, and stop the return of an ancient evil. 

Our Quest Design Philosophy

We believe quests should serve a purpose greater than "just another thing to do." That's why our writing team is working to design main quests and side quests that are more than just filler. Gone are the days of the generic fetch quest!

Our quests are built as chains of long-form quests that intersect and influence on another instead of the classic "main quest," "side quest," and "miscellaneous quest" setup that is too common in other RPGs. These long-form quest arcs tell naturally evolving stories that don't start and end with just that single quest. 

That's why our philosophy on quest design is that every quest in The Harbinger should serve a true purpose. It should either expand the lore, the world, or the characters. In summary, each quest should make the world feel real to the player, or as real as it possibly can. 

A Patchwork World

Because the game takes place across five different nations, each with unique inspirations from our own world, our goal with quest design is to create questlines that feel unique to different areas of the world. A character in the icy tundra of Indevaar will have different needs than a character in the scorching desert of Sanuvar, and our quest design is aimed at illustrating those differences, both for the main quest and side quests. 

People Crafted with Purpose

Throughout your journey, you will encounter a large variety of characters. It's our mission to ensure the characters you interact with feel like genuine human beings. This starts with the use of MetaHuman to make our NPCs and having our writers craft highly detailed lives for the NPCs to further immerse you into the world. These colorful and intriguing characters are thoughtfully handcrafted to bring greater depth to our expansive open-world RPG. 

Important Characters

• Erin. You will play as Erin, a young adult training to become a warrior in the ancient mountain town of Alwen. Erin can be either a male or female, and the player will have customizable options regarding the looks of the character. 

• Elle. Elle is Erin's younger sister, and is prophesied to be the legendary Harbinger reincarnate. She has an affinity for baking and is incredibly kind. Since your parents died when you were both quite young, she has taken on a motherly role in the house, and is quite mature for her age. 

Elle's complexion will change based on the player's customization choices for Erin.

• Master Arkin. Master Arkin is one of five Master Warriors at the Warrior Sanctuary in Alwen. He is a father figure to Erin, and acts as the player's mentor throughout the Harbinger. He is strong, headfast, and confident, and is seemingly all-knowing. His wisdom and fighting skills are seemingly unsurpassed. He is keen to teach Erin all that he knows, passing down generations worth of knowledge to his favorite student. 

• Bo. Borem (Bo for short) is Erin's spirit golem companion and the player's most important ally. Bo will be by the player's side throughout the entire game as you travel across the Five Holy Nations, and his shapeshifting abilities will enhance the player's journey tenfold. Bo is snarky and sarcastic, and will often let the player know when he doesn't approve of something you've done. He carries a burdensome secret the player will have to work to uncover. 

Even more important characters can be found on our website! 

Who is Blue Diamond Studios?

Blue Diamond Studios (BDS for short) we're indie rebels focused on making a positive impact to empower other indies within the gaming industry.

BDS was founded by Hunter in late 2020. He has had a passion for video games since he first picked up a gameboy in the late 90s, playing Pokemon Blue. Hunter found a passion for open-world games when he first picked up Skyrim in 2011, devoting an admittedly unhealthy amount of time to exploring dungeons and getting sent flying by giants. After much consideration, Hunter formed BDS to tell narrative based stories in open-world environments with other like-minded developers. He is the Creative Director of The Harbinger, overseeing the full development and ensuring that everything from mechanics to monsters adhere to the lore and vision of the game. 

Ricky was one of the first people to join Hunter on his journey to creating The Harbinger. He is the outgoing "people person" of the bunch, and serves as both the Director of Environment and Level Design, as well as the Human Resources Director for BDS. He handcrafted the environments visible in the trailer and screenshots, and is working hard to make them as stunning as possible. 

Arianna was committed to joining Hunter before he even formed BDS. She is the Narrative Director for BDS, and works closely with Hunter to oversee the development of quest design, narrative direction, and character development. She is currently seeking her degree in playwriting and screenwriting, as well as minors in literature and film & video production. 

While these four are over the whole of BDS, we aren't alone in this journey. We have an amazing dev team that we wouldn't be here without. In fact, we currently have around 20 developers working with us on the game. We all consider ourselves close friends, and we all share the same dedicated vision to proving that a game like The Harbinger can be made by a small indie studio. We all share the same vision of changing the gaming industry forever. 

What We Believe In

We believe that the gaming industry has been divided by "AAA" and "Indie" for far too long. We also believe that indie developers can create the same quality of games that AAA studios can. The tools indies have at our disposal today rival that of the greatest AAA studios, and we seek to capitalize on those tools to prove this point and provide gamers around the world with quality gaming experiences.

That's why our motto at BDS is "Because Indies Can," and we stand by that statement wholeheartedly. 

The Harbinger: Awakening Development Team

Currently, we have 21 people working on the game, either full time or part time depending on their circumstances. This dev team includes:

• Hunter, Creative Director
• Austin, Head of Development
• Ricky, Environment and Level Director
• Arianna, Narrative Director
• Steve, Lead Asset Modeler
• Anna, Character Modeler
• Jay, Asset Modeler
• James, Asset Modeler
• Matt, Asset Modeler
• Sarah, Asset Modeler
• Shane, Music and SFX
• Will, Music and SFX
• Dan, Writer
• Kyra, Writer
• Mr. Mcclaskey, Writer
• Zack, Character Design & Social Media Manager
• Emma, Concept Artist & Graphic Designer
• NihilAzari, Concept Artist
• Matt, Concept Artist
• Milan, Concept Artist
• Riccardo, Game Designer

While a lot of our team members have dedicated positions, a lot of us are working in various areas to bring the project to life. We're all proud of the work we've accomplished so far, and are passionate about the work we still have left. 

Our Overall Goal

Our overall development is planned to take 3-4 more years, with our planned release sometime in Spring of 2025. A game like this takes time, and we want to make sure that we deliver on our promises. 

$500,000 is a key step in us reaching that development goal, and it will carry us into 2022. We anticipate that the total cost of our entire development will be close to $2,000,000 overall, or just at $500,000 a year. This means we have to be incredibly frugal with our purchases, and so every cent we earn will be carefully spent to ensure we maximize its utility. 

What We'll Use the Funds For

The $500,000 goal is meant to carry us through the entire prototype and vertical slice stage of development, and then further into early 2022. All of the money we raise from this campaign is directly going to the continued development of The Harbinger. We want to be as open and transparent as possible with our expenses, so here is our planned breakdown of a full $500,000 budget. 

• $400,000-$450,000: Developer pay. We anticipate that 80-85% of the money we raise will go directly to paying our development team and contracting additional developers to help us see the project through the early beta phase. Even if we don't meet our full goal, we expect the bulk of the money to go to paying our developers. 

• $50,000-$100,000: Additional business expenses. This includes things like upgrading our current repository, buying important tools and resources for the game, improving our marketing campaigns, covering necessary legal expenses (like trademark and copyright filings), and more. 

What this Campaign Means to Us

We've been developing The Harbinger for just three months now, with one full-time programmer and environment artist. The rest of the development team is incredibly dedicated, devoting as much of their time to the project as they can. The funds we receive from this campaign will allow us to hire the necessary people to increase our output and further develop the game. 

Even still, the campaign means more to us than just furthering the game. It means that we're doing something that has meaning and purpose to a lot of people. As a new indie studio, getting support is tough, so everything you can do helps. The support you give helps us financially and let's us know that you believe in this project as much as we do. This campaign means we aren't alone. 

The Next Steps in The Harbinger's Development

Following this campaign, we are going to dedicate a majority of the funds to paying our current dev team and bringing on some additional help. As mentioned previously, we are operating on a four-year timeframe for full development, with the game's release scheduled for Spring 2025. In the meantime, we have plans to regularly update everyone on the production, as well as plans to secure additional funding when it becomes necessary. 

The Next Year of Development

Our cumulative plan is to release a playable demo of The Harbinger this Fall. The demo will be free to play for anyone.

We also plan on releasing regular devlog content on our YouTube channel and website, as well as lore and other worldbuilding information so everyone can familiarize themselves more with the world we are building. 

We're also very excited that Unreal Engine 5 is slated to release later this year. With its release, we are hopeful that development will become even more streamlined and efficient, and that we can optimize the game further so that even more people can enjoy it. 

By the end of our first year, we plan to have the playable alpha completed. Upon meeting this goal, we hope to spend the next three years refining and polishing the game so it meets our personal expectations when it is released. 

Subsequent Years

Following this next year, the subsequent years will be spent refining the game's alpha, beta, and final stages through a series of playtests we have planned. Many of these playtests will be available to our backers only, and we are optimistic that when they come around you will all be excited by the progress we make. 

A lot of our time will also be spent working to either market the game further or secure some sort of publishing deal, as well as porting the final game to the platforms we plan to release it on. 

Thank You

We can't express our gratitude enough for taking the time to look over our project. We're very optimistic about where we're headed, and we hope you are too. We hope you'll stick by us through our journey to bringing The Harbinger to life. So, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you from the entire BDS development team.

- Hunter, Austin, Ricky, Arianna, and everyone else!

To keep up with The Harbinger and BDS, be sure to follow us on social media. 

https://www.twitter.com/bdsgamingllc

https://www.instagram.com/bdsgamingllc/

https://discord.gg/jYjD2daV9r

Note: We cannot make any guarantees about the full production of the video game. Many things change in development, including game scope and direction. For that reason, all things in this campaign are planned but subject to change. Thank you for understanding.