Hello everyone, and welcome to a new entry in the Designer Diary!
As we near the end of our campaign, we’re thrilled to see how close we are to reaching our funding goal. While we may end up producing the game on a slightly smaller scale than initially envisioned, it’s still very much within reach—and that’s thanks to your incredible support!
During a recent meeting with Dan, we discussed a special piece of content we originally planned to release after the campaign. But we realized: if we don’t share it now, it may never happen. Since we’re building Crystal Collapse for the long run—with you on this journey—we want to let you in early.
📚 The Campaign Mode – More Than Just Missions
A question that has come up time and time again is:
“Will there be a campaign mode?”
The answer is a resounding yes—and it’s one we’re deeply passionate about.
A tactical JRPG like Crystal Collapse absolutely needs a campaign experience. But we wanted to give you a solid core game first—one that stands on its own—before introducing a layered narrative journey built on that foundation.
The campaign mode connects individual quests through a “choose your own adventure” structure, where your decisions shape the unfolding story. Each quest outcome, choice, and path determines the next mission you’ll face—and which heroes will join you or stand against you.
Much like Suikoden, you’ll encounter characters who may become allies or rivals. Your journey through the campaign will be unique every time.
🎮 Gameplay & Narrative
The first act of the campaign is titled “Escape from Oldenburg”, following Kurado’s dangerous breakout from the secret hideout of the Red Mages.
Campaign missions are fully playable solo, cooperatively, or in PvP mode.
And yes—there will be:
- Loot and level progression
- Class switching systems to fully customize your heroes
- In true Final Fantasy Tactics style, you’ll be able to build a party that reflects your own tactical and narrative preferences.
📱 App-Supported Storytelling (But Still Fully Analog!)
We’re especially excited to announce our narrative companion app, which brings the story of Crystal Collapse to life with charming 2D pixel art scenes. Want to know what we’re talking about? Check out this short sample (excuse the typos, its just a proof of concept demo at this point):
The app:
Tracks key story decisions and progress
Displays your mission logs
Adds immersive storytelling—without replacing analog gameplay
📌 The app is entirely optional.
📌 For players who prefer to go screen-free, we’ll offer all campaign content as free downloadable PDFs.
📌 A Closed Beta of the app is planned for later this year, with all backers receiving free access to the final release.
That’s all from me for now! We’d love to hear what you think about the campaign mode and app integration. Your feedback helps shape this game and this world alongside us.
Thanks for being part of the journey—
Max & the Lion Tower Team
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