Category Archives: Game

02 Dec

Oferia Weiss, The Diabolical Nurse

Oferia Weiss, The Diabolical Nurse, is one of the most mysterious and sinister characters in Nocturnarya. A nurse without any scruple or affection for vampires or humans. For her, vampires and humans are simply commodities, pieces that she can manipulate to achieve her selfish and secret purposes.

Oferia Weiss, The Diabolical Nurse of Nocturnarya
Oferia Weiss, The Diabolical Nurse of Nocturnarya

Oferia is the granddaughter of a renowned and respected figure in the medical field. From an early age, she harbored a deep desire to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps, aspiring to become a doctor herself. However, her dreams were shattered when a macabre and mysterious incident led to her expulsion from medical school, closing the doors of the medical school for her. Not that she really cared. She always despised the medical school, its ethics and its methods, which in her opinion, were useless and archaic.

Undeterred by the setback, she resorted to practicing nursing in secret, taking up a position at a discreet and modest hospital located on the outskirts of Nocturnarya. It’s here that her true nature is revealed; a person devoid of moral scruples, lacking in professional ethics, and driven solely by a relentless pursuit of wealth and personal gain. These unsavory qualities have earned her the notorious moniker of the Diabolical Nurse. In a dark and clandestine operation, she has delved into the macabre world of selling human blood to vampires. Aware of their insatiable thirst for the crimson elixir of life, she has become a crucial intermediary, providing a steady supply of this vital fluid to satisfy their immortal cravings. Her involvement in this illicit trade has allowed her to accumulate substantial wealth, which fuels her insatiable desire for a life of opulence and luxury.

Driven by envy towards the seemingly eternal existence of vampires, Oferia has hatched a sinister plan to extend her own lifespan and revel in the riches that accompany it. Rumors circulate that she possesses a mysterious artifact, a dark and forbidden object capable of extracting every last drop of blood from a human body within a matter of minutes. This artifact, if indeed real, holds the potential to grant her the eternal life she craves, while also granting her unfathomable power and control. With her reputation as the Diabolical Nurse spreading like a sinister whisper throughout the shadows of Nocturnarya, Oferia Weiss’ dark ambitions and malevolent actions have cast a chilling pall over the unsuspecting kingdom. As her dubious activities continue to thrive under the cloak of secrecy, the humans and vampires of Nocturnarya remain oblivious to the sinister force that lurks within their midst, waiting for the opportune moment to unleash her diabolical plans.

Play Nocturnarya and discover how the path of your adventure crosses the path of Oferia, the diabolical nurse!

If you liked this story, you may also like the story of Archmage Cedric, a character from our games DragonScales 3: Eternal Prophecy of Darkness and DragonScales 5: The Frozen Tomb.

22 Nov

Localization of Nocturnarya is completed

The localization of Nocturnarya took exactly one month. It was a complex project, with numerous dialogue lines and a few challenging sections, as discussed in a previous post. Some terms posed difficulties during translation, such as Blood Cartridge, Fang Sword, Bloody Spirit, Diabolical Nurse, and others. We included the option to switch between vampiress and vampire identities for narrative purposes, without any impact on gameplay (our tests confirmed that there were no bugs resulting from this feature).

Raphaela speaking in French
Raphaela speaking in French

Submissions of the localized versions of Nocturnarya (German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Italian and Portuguese) are already underway, to our regular publishers. These localized versions will be available for Windows only, and there are no plans for a Steam release. All in all, considering both the time spent on localization and the development of the original English game, Nocturnarya stands as our largest project to date. Since Spooky Dwellers 2 was already localized in September, we can now shift our focus towards developing a new game.

Regarding this new project, we’re still discussing a few ideas. One of our goals for 2024 is creating at least one Match 3 game, that’s for sure. However, we’d like to explore other genres, if time and budget permit. We’ll likely write a post when we have clearer ideas about our next title. Stay tuned! 🙂

11 Nov

Nocturnarya: localized versions

Our current project is the localization of Nocturnarya Collector’s Edition. As usual, our target languages are: German, French, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. It’ll be a Windows-only release. This localization is a daunting task, which comprises a few intricate parts:

  • The Story: Nocturnarya’s story is a bit long, as the game builds a particular vampire lore, with adventure, scheming, military invaders, treasons and loyalty. The game portrays several characters of which the most important is you, the player. At its core, it’s a battle between you and Grysmore, the boss of the human invaders.
  • The vampire and the vampiress: In the original English game, you can choose how you want to be referred to as the story progresses: as a vampire, a vampiress, or a rockstar renegade. Localizing this is tricky, because of articles and genre-specific details in all the target languages. We’ll be removing the rockstar renegade option, and will do our best to keep the vampire and vampiress options. However, if it proves to be too error-prone we’ll just scrap this option altogether.
  • The Village: The game has a section that allows you to build a 3D village for your vampire tribe. However, the help window and the tutorials amount to a lot of text to translate.
  • The Match 3 levels: This includes all the help texts, instructions and user interface of the Match 3 levels.
  • Collector’s Edition goodies: Last but not least, we’ll have to translate the extra stories and minigames offered as Collector’s Edition exclusive bonuses.

If everything goes smoothly, this localization should be completed by the end of this month.

Nocturnarya Sammleredition
Nocturnarya Sammleredition
04 Nov

Spooky Dwellers games on Steam

Finally both Spooky Dwellers games are on Steam! Are you ready to embark on a thrilling and spine-chilling journey? Spooky Dwellers 1 is a Match 3 game that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Dive into a haunted world filled with mysterious dwellers and challenging Match 3 puzzles. With its unique blend of match-making and puzzle-solving, Spooky Dwellers 1 offers an immersive gameplay experience that will leave you craving for more. Unleash your strategic skills as you match tiles to lead the light of sacred talismans to banish the spooky dwellers!

But the excitement doesn’t end there. Brace yourself for even more thrills with Spooky Dwellers 2 (we announced the game release on Steam in this post). Building upon the success of its predecessor, Spooky Dwellers 2 takes the spooky dwellers gameplay to new heights with even trickier challenges and an enhanced 3D playground. Spooky Dwellers 2 will keep you entertained for hours, as you strive to conquer each puzzle within the dark corners of a ghostly house.

So, if you’re ready for an adventure that will test your wits and send shivers down your spine, look no further than Spooky Dwellers 1 and its sequel, Spooky Dwellers 2. Get ready to match, solve, and unravel the mysteries that await in this hauntingly addictive Match 3 game! And get all the Steam achievements in both games to prove your mastery of Spooky Dwellers!

31 Oct

Happy Halloween with Spooky Dwellers 2

Are you ready to immerse yourself in a spooky Match 3 adventure this Halloween? We have the perfect game for you, and it’s now 30% off. Step into the eerie world of Spooky Dwellers 2 Collector’s Edition and cast out ghosts, solve mind-bending puzzles, and unravel macabre stories that will send shivers down your spine.

And that’s not all. Spooky Dwellers 2 offers a spooky playground where you can unleash your creativity and embrace the Halloween spirit. Imagine being able to purchase spooky houses, haunted buildings, and an array of Halloween objects that will make your hair stand on end. Then, unleash your inner designer as you strategically place these bone-chilling elements on a 3D terrain. With Spooky Dwellers 2, the possibilities are endless. Whether you prefer a haunted house or a graveyard filled with eerie tombstones, you have the power to create your own frightful masterpiece. Also, here’s a guide for the game, comprising the tricky levels. And the best part? It’s now available at an incredible 30% off on Steam for a limited time only. So don’t miss out on this spooktacular opportunity. Grab your discounted copy today and let the Halloween festivities begin.

Get ready to cast out ghosts, solve creepy puzzles, read macabre stories, and create your own terrifying world. Happy Halloween!

27 Sep

Spooky Dwellers 2 is coming soon

Yes, the sequel for our Halloween-themed Match 3 game, Spooky Dwellers, will be available in a few weeks through several publishers, and eventually here on ikigames.com. The game’s Match 3 levels will showcase the distinctive gameplay of Spooky Dwellers, guiding a light from talismans to the ghosts on the boards. In Spooky Dwellers 2, we’ll introduce a few novelties to this mechanic. For instance, there will be the presence of Big Spooky Dwellers that require multiple lights to be hit. We believe it will be a really fun game!

In the original Spooky Dwellers, you decorate a terrace with Halloween objects as you progress through the game. Spooky Dwellers 2 takes it a step further: now you’ll be able to create a 3D Halloween playground. You can buy and place houses, roads, pumpkins, and many more Halloween-themed objects on the terrain. You have the flexibility to rotate and reposition your buildings and objects as you prefer. It’s quite cool. We also included this 3D village building feature in our previous game, Nocturnarya. However, Spooky Dwellers 2 expands upon it with improved navigation controls, creepy objects, ghosts, pumpkins, and many other features. If you purchase the Collector’s Edition of Spooky Dwellers 2, you’ll also have the opportunity to enjoy the Spooky Tour. This feature allows you to walk around your 3D Halloween playground! And the game has much more novelties!

Spooky Dwellers 2’s Halloween Playground

It’s been quite a journey. The development of Nocturnarya began in October of last year, and we announced it in December of the same year. Nocturnarya was completed in July, and we immediately started working on Spooky Dwellers 2. We hope you enjoy both games!

PS. Here’s a fantastic guide for Spooky Dwellers 2 by our friend and guru player Kathy Lew (aka SynthpopAddict).

05 Dec

Next game: Nocturnarya

We’re currently focused on our next Match 3 game, entitled Nocturnarya. At the time of this writing, the vampiric story is fully completed and all the new code for level design is already tested. Regarding the gameplay, our goal with Nocturnarya is to include a few levels with a bit of screen scrolling, and also a new type of path on the boards. And some Match 3 puzzles, of course.

According to our plans, the game should be completed by Q2 2023. Hopefully. For the time being, here’s the logo and Raphaela’s guidance.

Nocturnarya’s Logo
Raphaela

The kingdom of Nocturnarya has been done in by the human troops. Follow Raphaela or perish!

Update (September, 2023): Nocturnarya is now available here on ikigames.com, both the Collector’s Edition and the Standard edition. And the guide for Nocturnarya can be found here. Furthermore, a lot of things were changed in the final version of the game, including the logo originally presented in this post.

29 Oct

Spooky Dwellers on Windows 7

If you’re having troubles running Spooky Dwellers on a Windows 7 PC, please verify that your Windows 7 is updated. Specifically, note that the minimum requirement for Spooky Dwellers is Windows 7 with Service Pack 1. Your graphic drivers should be updated too.

Here are some links to update your Windows 7:

Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1)

Platform Update for Windows 7 Service Pack 1

Update for the d3dcompiler_47.dll component on Windows 7

It’s also important that your graphic card drivers are updated. These updates should let the Spooky Dwellers games run properly on your Windows 7 PC.

Finally, remember there is a complete guide for Spooky Dwellers here.

21 Sep

Coming Soon: Spooky Dwellers

Spooky Dwellers

Update: Here’s a guide for Spooky Dwellers, comprising levels from both the Standard and the Collector’s Edition.

After several months of hard work, our new Match 3 game is complete. The name of the game is Spooky Dwellers and it features a cool and fun mechanic. Essentially, on most of the Spooky Dwellers boards there are ghosts on the edges (the dwellers), and there are also sacred talismans that emit a light to repel those ghosts. Your goal is to destroy obstacles on the board and direct the light towards the ghosts. Of course, there are also several mini-games, such as hidden objects.

Furthermore, the game will have 2 versions: Standard, and Collector’s Edition (which includes 60 bonus levels, more mini-games and many other features). These versions will be available for Windows and, hopefully, macOS (still a work in progress).
The game should be available for sale next month. We hope you like it 🙂