This is a story about the development of Nine Parchments, a multiplayer video game about young wizard students collecting spells and sometimes blowing themselves up accidentally while learning them. For your amusement, this story is illustrated with images and outtakes from across the development period. The Journey Begins In the autumn of 2015, Frozenbyte published the third installment of the Trine series. Trine 3: The Artefacts of Power was an ambitious project, which near broke our hearts as we were forced to release a game with only a partly finished story. As we labored in the smoldering ruins of our […]
Nine Parchments is a very fast-paced game about a group of ragtag truant wizarding students going out into the world to look for some missing spell parchments, and while they encounter terrible foes and breath-taking vistas, any dramatic moments of confronting difficult narrative choices (other than, should I throw a fireball at my friend or not) are less than featured in the game’s short, sweet and few cutscenes. Party Banters To match the game’s lively speed and our intention that you would like to experience the action more than just once, we wrote you some Party Banters. You may have […]
It’s time for a monthly report! As you may have guessed we have been quite busy with Nine Parchments and other projects. And no, we still don’t have news about the release date. So hang in there, we’ll tell you the date as soon as we have one! Meanwhile it’s good to check what we have been up to! 😊 Firstly we do have smaller news about Nine Parchments: Redonkulous Gaming released an interview that they had with our marketing lead. The interview is in two parts, so remember to read both. First part is about Frozenbyte in general, and […]
August was a busy month! A lot happened, especially compared to the few previous months. And from this, I bet the most exciting thing for many players was the moment when we announced that Amadeus is a playable character in Nine Parchments. How many of you saw this coming? 😉 Nine Parchments team probably had most of the pressure here with our QA team, as they prepared the game’s demo build to Gamescom and PAX West. Also our marketing team was super busy due to these events, below is a bit about their journey. First, three of our guys drove […]
There are many wizards in the world of the Nine Parchments, and we have now met all the adventurous students of the Astral Academy who are about to embark on their quest to complete their spellbooks later on this year when the game will be released at last. But they are not the only wizards in the world! Amongst many others, one particularly famous student of the Astral Academy is Amadeus, who made his name and face memorable when he banded together with Pontius the Knight and Zoya the Thief. Together, as the heroes of Trine, they defeated many villainous […]
Nim the Cleaner “Few things are worth pursuing – but a complete spellbook is one of them.” – Nim Favourite spell: Steam Beam Not only vaporizes enemies, the steam also removes grease stains from the dining hall flagstones. A less-fortunate student at the Astral Academy, Nim finances the Academy fees by working as a cleaner before and after classes. The mysteriously masked caretaker is a taciturn mystery who prefers short conversations and solitude. Nim is eager to collect the Nine Parchments, for a completed spellbook means a swift end to a life of servitude at the Astral Academy.
Owl the Mechanical Owl “Think, Owl, think. If Owl were a parchment, where would Owl hide?” – Owl Favourite spell: Electric Bolt It’s easy to be charmed by a high-speed lightning projectile that stuns its targets. So much potential for experimentation, observation and unintended lightning injuries! Owl is a self-aware mechanical creature and one of the many peculiar oddities of the Astral Academy. Being capable of casting spells and learning magic, Owl was accepted to study a couple of years ago. It seems to have a knack for lightning spells. Owl is curious, analytical, perky and completely lacks all common […]
June has gone past and the summer vacation season is going! That means that there isn’t that much going on at the office at the moment but below are some highlights for you guys. And let’s start with that even though it’s summer, we’re actually still waiting for the summer weather, 15 Celsius degrees isn’t a summer on my scale. Regardless we did have a nice barbeque party which included soda and burgers. Unfortunately we have no pictures from the party as it was raining a bit, or support team might have been too busy eating the burgers. One of […]
Carabel the Glacial Fortunately, I’m not afraid of hard work… or doing it all by myself. – Carabel, Head of the Astral Academy Student Committee Favourite spell: Frost Cloud A chilly spell for a hothead. An efficient and exciting way to start a career in ice sculpting. The Astral Academy’s precious spell parchments are gone, and Carabel is determined to help retrieve them – and to have the adventure of a lifetime! Coming from a long line of Ice Wizards, Carabel’s childhood bedtime stories were populated by these heroic wizarding stalwarts. She yearns to follow in their footsteps, to leave her […]
Rudolfus the Strange “They say curiosity killed the cat, but I don’t think the proverbial cat knew how to conjure hexes.” – Rudolfus the Strange Favourite spell: Certain Death Spray A dangerous spell with dangerous effects for its caster. But happily enough, Rudolfus loves dancing on the edge of trouble. A student of the sinister death magics, Rudolfus is aspiring to become a warlock. As for his background, no one knows where he came from. There’s also some speculation whether or not he is a werecat, or a cat turned into a man, or a man turned into a cat; […]
Gislan of Alcyon “By the groves of Alcyon, we will find those Parchments!” – Gislan of Alcyon Favourite spell: Poison Flower There is something satisfying about planting flowers, and Gislan does not discriminate when it comes to what kind of flowers are in question. Gislan is the youngest member of a coven of verdant witches. She hails from Alcyon, the sacred island of trees, and was sent to the Astral Academy as part of an exchange program – the witches share their knowledge of the verdant healing arts with one of the wizards in exchange for the wisdom imparted upon […]
Marvek the Torrid “When I was young, the roads were even longer, and all uphill!” – Marvek, on the path of adventure Favourite spell: Huge Fireball Convenient when baking multiple batches of cookies. Also useful for incinerating monsters! And teammates. Marvek had it all planned. Just a few more busy years of running their small bakery, and after that he and his wife Poppy could retire to a small beach house. Those golden years dreams went up in smoke when Marvek’s magical talents manifested for the first time. An accidental fireball burned the bakery to a crisp and left him […]