55 lines
2.7 KiB
HTML
55 lines
2.7 KiB
HTML
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/book-page.css" />
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<h1>AUTHOR'S FOREWORD</h1>
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<p>
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When I started working on this game back in 2017, one thing was already clear:
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in a time when tabletop roleplaying games seemed dominated by dark fantasy
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titles and gruesome, gritty tales of opportunistic characters steeped in
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nihilism, I felt the need for a refreshing alternative.
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</p>
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<p>
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I wanted a game of magical worlds and optimistic stories, steeped in the
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wondrous aesthetics of the Japanese console RPGs that had left me speechless
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as a kid. There was an element of nostalgia, sure, but it was accompanied by a
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conscious need to write a game based on cooperation, hope, and mutual trust;
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both in the stories it was meant to tell and in its very ruleset.
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</p>
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<p>
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For its working title I went with "Fabula Ultima" — a Latin phrase that could
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be translated as "Last Fable" or "Ultimate Story". Needless to say, this was a
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tongue-in-cheek homage to what is probably the most notorious JRPG saga in
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existence, and also my first encounter with the genre (Final Fantasy X, back
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in 2001).
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</p>
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<p>
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During the spring of 2018, my health condition unfortunately plummeted, and
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the name "Fabula Ultima" took on a bit of an ominous ring. Luckily enough,
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this ended up being nothing too serious — but that title had accompanied me
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during those harsh months, so I decided to keep it for the final release.
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After all, the whole point of the game was to tell tales of heroes who achieve
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their goals by overcoming suffering and defeats, in the hopes of a better
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future.
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</p>
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<p>
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Working on Fabula Ultima was neither easy nor quick, but dozens of people have
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given me the strength I needed over the years: some by supporting me via
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Patreon, others simply sharing the game and playing with me. Testing and
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experimenting, again and again, in a process of constant rebuild and
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transformation that ultimately resulted in the book you are reading today;
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speaking of which, my collaboration with Need Games was crucial. While the
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release was announced during 2020, our conversations about the game date back
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to 2018: Nicola has followed the project since its beginning, and sometimes I
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really think he's enamoured with it more than I am!
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</p>
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<p>
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Anyway, I've definitely written too much already: now it's time for the game
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to speak on its own. All I ask of you is to let yourselves be swept into a
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heroic adventure rife with hope, adversities, rebellion and emotions — and to
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do so by trusting those who play with you, and being passionate about their
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ideas.
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</p>
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<p>To fight for what you believe in, because this is your story.</p>
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<footer>
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<p>Emanuele Galletto</p>
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</footer>
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