The Legend of Zelda. River City Ransom. Diablo. Classic games that shaped childhoods for many, including us. These legends in the gaming world are what drove us to start developing Overture: a game that will surely bring back memories of epic dungeon crawling in fantastical worlds.

Who created this, and why should I care?

We're Black Shell Games, creators of the critically acclaimed indie hit SanctuaryRPG: Black Edition (recently featured as one of PC Gamer Magazine's Best PC Games of 2015).

We have a knack for creating only the most enjoyable gaming experiences on the PC to date, and Overture is no exception.

Is there a demo? Can I try before I buy?

Of course there's a demo! You can give it a try at www.OvertureGame.com

A bit of backstory...

"Who could knocking at this hour?", you ask yourself as you pull the sheets over your head. The knocking becomes more insistent, a brisk rap turning into full-fisted pounding. You pull yourself up out of bed, hopping on one leg as you struggle to get your trousers on. You take a quick glance out of your living room window.

You're used to frightened, torch bearing villagers but the presence of heavily armored Royal Guardsmen sitting atop their armored steeds means it's something far more serious. You slowly open your front door, fearing the worst. The Royal Herald's frilly tunic is covered in dust. Sweat runs down his brow, dripping from his nose. "Cyrus...kidnapped the oracle...a few hours ago", wheezes the Herald as he attempts to catch his breath. "These are your orders."

You let out an plaintive sigh as the Herald shoves a scroll into your hands. So much for a peaceful retirement.

At the heart of Overture’s engine lies a truly engaging AI system, designed to produce monster intelligence that behaves in exciting and unpredictable ways. Less intelligent monsters might try to communicate with you… (That unlimited talk-time does come in handy sometimes, huh?) But no, not these fearsome creatures—they use straight up violence.

Melee enemies will charge headlong into battle, while ranged enemies keep their distance and relentlessly pummel you with projectiles from afar. Unique boss enemies will switch up attack depending on how the player reacts, and enemies will use swarm AI in an attempt to thwart your plans for dungeon conquest!

We want the player to feel overwhelmed, but at the same time in absolute control of every situation, armed with an array of tools, weapons, and abilities. Upgrades to gear and characters are limitless, so you can easily deck out your hero as much as you want. There's a ton of loot and new equipment to gather at every corner, so you're never left with the same old tools.

Features

The world is your oyster

A mix between procedurally generated dungeons and uniquely designed levels ensures that you'll never have a dull play experience.

Any playstyle, any time

24 unique playable character classes to experiment with. Play as the vestigial archer, the staunch paladin, the reverent warrior... we could go on for ages!

Feast your eyes

Beautiful 2D graphics for a variety of environments. Hand made art from some very talented pixel artists.

Unforgiving but easy to pick up gameplay

It's as simple as blowing up enemies with explosives, whacking them in the face with a broadsword, or sniping them from afar with a deadly crossbolt!

Out of this world enemy AI and bosses

Intelligent monsters each with their own unique mechanics that will hunt you down to the very depths of your being. Did we mention huge bosses?

One of the most brilliant soundtracks ever created

Overture boasts a masterfully crafted custom soundtrack by Rafael Langoni Smith, a world-renowned video game composer!

Gameplay experience is one of the primary driving factors behind why we play and enjoy video games. The proper implementation of roguelike game flow in Overture will help foster an immensely enjoyable experience which in turn increases the fun factor of gaming. We strive to integrate these principles into every single nook and cranny of our game. With Overture, we plan to redefine the way you play games, one pixel at a time. Roguelike games with completely randomly generated dungeons and encounters are a favorite for the team here at Black Shell Games. We took tenants of the genre that we loved the most and combined them all into Overture!

From a technical standpoint, the game's engine is complete and we are now ready to dive in and actually begin creating even more content for the game! So far, development has been exclusively done by a small team of two programmers, one composer, and one production guru. We are now ready to port Overture to Mac, Linux, Android, and possibly iOS! Black Shell Games intends to take our fans' feedback into account at every step as we fine-tune the gameplay, add in more content, bug-test the game, optimize game flow, ensure replayability and enjoyability, and look into things like DLC and expansions! This part of the project requires a huge amount of time and resources, so it can no longer be supported by one person.

We're trying to do this for a living, but it is tough. We need money to make sure that we can keep doing what we love and getting you a game that you’ll love. Licenses, software, and all of the other miscellaneous expenses that come up when developing games are a huge pain. If you can help us cover these, it’s a load off of our backs and we’ll be far less stressed as we develop Overture to perfection. Plus, we want to get the game on Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS! Every like, share and back will help us get closer to our goal to ultimately make the game as close to perfection as it can be! Thank you so much.