Thank you for your interest Dan. I will try and be as direct as possible, but this may take a moment to properly explain the games current development state. In short, the game would be considered on Hold.
Let me begin by saying that the game itself started as a fan project by myself, as a means to gain skill in development using methods planned for later use.
As development began classic 'beginners syndrome' started. In other words every 2 months into development everything older than 2 months wasn't as good as my currently skills.
Eventually the quality of the project was very mismatched in the sense that certain areas were designed better, dialog was written better, or simply graphics used were just better.
As time progressed it became apparent a massive overhaul was needed. That started and finished (thankfully) and an entirely new set of graphics were used for all the maps, and everything already designed was redesigned and streamlined.
By the time the overhaul was done, development was long past the internally set goals. Additionally I had gained all the skill I wanted to and more.
The problem was I was ready to move on past the game, but the game wasn't ready for me to move on. Stubbornly I puttered through development and slowly kept things going in other regards to Bon Ink Creations, and eventually found myself not developing for that project at all. Mostly due to time.
What is currently available for view is definitely not a representation of what is completed. Development left off on finishing the combat system, which is already balanced, has 80% or so of the weapons and armor created, 60% or so of the icons, and zero animations.
After combat is finished, development of actual playable content is to begin. At current it's a big empty world with lots of empty houses, and empty towns. Most of the locations for season 1 are completed excluding dungeons.
I had actually thought about Merlin the RPG yesterday believe it or not, and decided I needed to figure out what I was going to do with that. I believe what will likely end up happening is I will take out all the unnecessary additions to the game, crafting system, non story characters, side quests, etc. and just leave in a linear story path that follows the show. This won't be what I personally envisioned, as I wanted to put my own 'spin' on their take of Merlin, but I believe as far as a fanbase is concerned a game that follows the story and brings their show to a digitally interactble world is what people want.
I really can't say for certain what exactly will come of it and when, I'd like to try but I dare not. All 3 of the active development teams signed with us are at or near launch phases for their projects so my time grows less and less every day. But one thing I will say for certain, provided we receive a cease and desist (knocks on wood) or I die (two knocks on wood), Merlin the RPG will see completion. The longer it takes, the better it will be.
Again, thank you for your interest Dan, all developers need more interested parties such as yourself that go over and above to inquire about projects. That's part of the reason the forums are here in the first place. I hope to get you a Merlin Game within your life time (ha) and not to disappoint either.
-Cheers
/Jon Bon - Founder/Owner Bon Ink Creations
