Humorous Elder Scrolls parody crafted using pre-existing resources successfully brought to life

Bethesda's iconic RPGs are known for two things: jaw-dropping open worlds that make players feel like the possibilities are endless, only to be marred by silly, albeit entertaining, bugs. It seems even the new The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remaster ain't immune to this unavoidable house special.

This inelegant yet humorous aspect is something indie developer Dionysus Acroreites embraces in his first-person RPG parody, aptly named, you guessed it, The RPG. "I'm a gigantic RPG enthusiast, and I wanted to create a game that highlights the bugs that developers usually view as immersion-breakers and frustrations," he shares. "I believe the bugs are the features."

This is clearly evident in the opening scene, which mimics the infamous cart scene in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim's beginning, with you getting pounced upon by a glitchy dragon. But unlike its Skyrim counterpart, this time the glitch isn't just visual; it intentionally affects gameplay, too.

"When you do engage in battle with him, he'll perform wacky maneuvers like flipping your camera upside down, or disabling the UI," he elaborates. "It's a satire, but it does have depth and its own lore. There's an entire dungeon that resembles a warped Disneyland for adventurers to plunder, complete with traps, torches, and sorcerers resurrecting monsters."

Interestingly, you'll eventually find yourself faced with a decision: you can either join these dungeon workers or continue on your traditional adventuring path.

Lone Wolf Indie Dev

The RPG was a solo endeavor for Dionysus, who identifies as multi-skilled and enjoys wearing multiple hats. "I've a preference for this method of working, and I see this trend growing with the rise in development costs and difficulty of securing investments in the gaming industry post-COVID," he notes.

The greater challenge, however, was maintaining a balance between this indie project and his full-time gig as a senior game developer for Voodoo — crafting mobile midcore auto-battler and strategy games. "It's all about scheduling and dedication," Dionysus admits. "I sleep early at night and early in the morning, then I work during the wee hours of the night and weekends. Frankly, it's been a bitch, but if the game does well on Steam, I could quit my day job and go full-time indie."

What's helped lighten the load is that The RPG relies on store-bought assets, like Epic Games' FAB store for Unreal Engine. Dionysus explains: "I'm a decent programmer, I understand game feel, and I have some level design knowledge, so those are my strong suits."

He adds: "I know what good and bad art is, and I can model something, but I'm not that great at it. If I'd created all the models by hand, it would have taken me another year at least."

With the fantasy genre's popularity, finding assets for say, medieval buildings and weapons isn't too tough. But these existing assets haven't just been slapped into the game willy-nilly; there's customization and art direction involved.

"If you mix a bunch of asset packs from various artists and just toss them into the game world, you'll end up with a chaotic mess, like a Lego set with mismatched pieces," Dionysus clarifies. "I have specific demands for exterior and interior designs that need to go together. I also re-texture many things to give it a hand-painted look or remove unnecessary details."

Design Simplicity: Overall Flexibility

However, while it's possible to purchase character models in the fantasy world, The RPG opts for simplistic character models resembling 3D stickmen. Dionysus was inspired by Supraland, another solo dev's game that the dragons in The RPG share a similar function.

"When you use straightforward character models, you have more freedom to alter facial expressions, as overly realistic characters can run the risk of falling into the uncanny valley," he explains. "The hard part was that armor and clothing assets had to be customized, so I had to use Blender to do so."

Funnily enough, The RPG's stickmen designs include no bottoms, which, apart from being less assets to worry about, also feels like a callback to an Oblivion quest where you need to help retrieve someone's lost undergarments. It appears this lite RPG adventure has it all.

Hopefully, The RPG will see the light of day by the end of this summer. In the meantime, you can try the demo on Steam.Steam . Need more inspiration for your indie game development journey? Check out our guides on best game development software and no-code software.

Dionysus Acroreites, an indie developer, embraces the bugs typically viewed as immersion-breakers in his first-person RPG parody, The RPG, to create a unique gaming experience.
The RPG features a satirical take on common RPG elements, such as a glitchy dragon that performs unconventional maneuvers like flipping the camera upside down or disabling the UI in battle.
The RPG also includes a decision-making aspect, presenting players with the choice to join the dungeon workers or continue on a traditional adventuring path.
Dionysus worked on The RPG as a solo project, balancing his indie work with his full-time job as a senior game developer for Voodoo.
To lighten the load in development, Dionysus utilized store-bought assets from Epic Games' FAB store for Unreal Engine, but customized and art-directed them to ensure a cohesive game world.
The RPG's character models are simplistic, resembling 3D stickmen, for greater freedom in altering facial expressions, and the armor and clothing assets were customized using Blender.

Humorous Elder Scrolls parody crafted using pre-existing resources successfully brought to life