What is the Game called and why did you change the Name?

Four Seasons – A fan-created Avatar Game

It was previously named “Avatar – Rise of the Phoenix King” but its not safe to use that Name for a Fan-Project and we wanted to make sure that this is clearly communicated in the Title.

When will the game release?

The Game will release when it’s done, and I am happy with it; I don’t want to put a date on it yet; definitely not this year. It would be awesome if we could finish Book 1 complete with Voice Acting around 2023/24.

On which Platforms will the Game release?

The Game will be playable on all the Platforms the Game „Dreams“ is playable on since we develop it in that Game; currently that’s only on PlayStation 4 and 5.

If Media Molecule decides to release Dreams on other Platforms, it will also be playable on these Platforms but currently there are no Plans for that.

If we get an Update on PS5 which allows us to use more Memory the Game will be exclusive to PS5, just because we could do so much more with it like: Multiple playable Character, AI Companions that follow you around, more Skins, more Details in Levels, higher detailed Sculpts, Glidersections in the same Level as the Mainlevel, more Animations in general, more complex Fighting Logic, more Enemy-Types and Animations, more Animals and so much more, it would be a No-Brainer for us.

Where/when/How can I download/play the Game?

There is playable Pre-Alpha Build from January 2021 available inside Dreams on PlayStation 4/5 right now (https://indreams.me/dream/mBvDfqnfNbN). Dreams will not release on PC, X-Box, or Switch in the foreseeable Future; Mobile will 100% not happen.

To be able to play it you must own the full Version of Dreams by Media Molecule and then search for „Four Seasons“ or Elca_Gaming in the Dreamsurfing Section.

Dreams‘ usual Price Point is around 20/40 Bucks, but it’s often on Sale for less (and is imho WAY too underpriced); once you have Dreams you can play my Game without any additional Costs.

Why aren’t you developing Four Seasons in a „real“ Engine like Unity or Unreal Engine?

First, I never „decided“ to make the Game in Dreams; I simply picked up Dreams in the Beta and Avatar was one of the first things that came to my Mind for a cool Game-Idea.

There was never an intent to make this into a full-fledged Game from the Start, I experimented with the Development Systems Dreams provides and wanted to see if I can make a small Avatar Experience.

Once Excitement for the Project began to rise and I learned more about Dreams I decided to make it in a longer Game inside Dreams.

Dreams is extremely User-friendly and easy to use; and since I don’t know ANYTHING about Coding, Sculpting or Sounddesign in regular Fashion it was (and still is simply impossible) for me to even begin a Project like this in a traditional Engine without putting in major Hours to learn all of this in a completely different Environment; and frankly at this Point there is no Point to spent the Time redoing everything in an Engine while also keeping the legal Reasons in Mind. Not to mention that a Project in this Scale would be almost impossible without Budget and a bigger Team in a traditional Engine.

I never thought I will get help with this Project so the ability to (in theory) do everything on my own in Dreams was intriguing.

What about Copyright Issues?

I can’t talk about that. But Avatar and related marks are owned by Viacom International Inc. This fan-created game is not endorsed by, sponsored by, or affiliated with Viacom/Nickelodeon.

Will this Game have a Story?

Yes, the Game will roughly follow the same Story of The Last Airbender, obviously we can’t include every single Scene and Episode, so we must cut Corners.

But I want to have every major Location in the Game as well as all the Scenes that are iconic to the Series.

Do you have a Team?

Yes, since Day 70 or so I have a small Team of about 4 Main Contributors, me included that work directly in Dreams. We of course also have a couple of People for Music and other Stuff.

We have one Animator; PieceOfCraft, a Sculptor; MikeyCslt, and a Person that helps me with Leveldesign and Sounds; Rhodochrone. Most of the Music for now is by CJ Music.

Which Characters are playable?

We want to focus on making Aang as the main playable Character atm; there are – at least right now – major Memory Constrains that restrict us from having more playable Characters in the same Scene.

But – and this was planned from the Beginning – Momo is also playable and will be used for Puzzles and Collectables.

What can you do with Momo?

You can play Momo as soon as you unlock him at the Southern Airtemple in the full game. Then you can play Momo whenever you desire. He can find Collectables, Secrets, open Doors for you and also will have Minigames in which you collect food.

Is this Open World?

The Game is not Open World, but for Dreams‘ standards we have big open Levels; I try to fit every Location into one Scene and transition into another Scene for big Interiors.

Can you travel to every Location from the beginning?

No, you will unlock new Areas as you progress in the Story, once you finish the Main Story Arc of one Location you unlock the next Location the GAang visited in the animated Series.

So, for Example once you have fought and escaped Zuko at the Southern Watertribe you will be able to walk up to Appa and go to the 3D Worldmap.

You can physically travel to the next Location which is, in this case, the Southern Airtemple.

Will it have a Skilltree?

Yes, we already made the Gamelogic for the Skilltree and in the current playable Versions all Skills, that we’ve done yet are unlocked so you can try them out. In the final Game you must unlock them with Bending Scrolls that you can find and buy from Merchants.

Will it have the Music from the Show?

No, we can’t use the original Soundtrack from the Show because of Copyright Issues. But we already have four Albums of original Music in the Style and inspired by the animated Series, you can hear the Albums on CJ Music’s Channels. (https://open.spotify.com/artist/56C07WwXqmNmRXSmkmJFsK?si=Ld5WLQ6UTGqafqzE1A2sIg).

Will this Game all be in one Dream (equivalent to a Game inside Dreams) or will you split it?

We will split the Game by Books; so Book 1 will be one Dream and so will be Book 2 and 3.
So three Dreams for the whole Game; the reasoning behind that Decision is that you can only have 100 Scenes in a Dream; that also includes separate Scenes for Cutscenes and other Stuff in order to fit everything into one Dream we would need to massively cut down on scale of the Game, so splitting it into three Dreams gives us the freedom we need.

How long will the Game be?

I actually have no Idea how long the Game will be; the current playable Pre-Alpha Version online that features three Locations with no Story, no Collectables, no Missions and no Cutscenes is about one to three Hours long. So, my Estimation is about 10-15 Hours for each Book, so about 30-45 Hours for the whole Game (all three Dreams together).

Customization for Aang, Momo and Appa?

We concentrate on building out the Levels first before we add any Customization because this shares the same Graphics Memory in the Game. We have a lot we could do but we must be careful to stay inside our Memory Boundaries. I definitely want to get the Signature Skins in the Game. Stuff like Hats or additional small Details are easy to add in the current state though.

Will there be Multiplayer/Coop?

No; that’s currently not planned.

Will it be playable in VR?

VR is not planned for the Main Version of the Game, but we will work on something akin to Assassin’s Creed Discovery Mode for all the Levels so you can check them out in 1st Person VR with some Trivia about the Places.

Will this have Voice Acting (Original Voice Actors)?

Yes, currently that is the plan. Some original Voice Actors like the ones that spoke for Toph, Azula and Sokka are interested in working with us. But there are some major legal Issues that are needed to be resolved to make that possible. So, we try to get Voice Actors that are as close as possible to the original Voice Actors.
We might have a version the Game without Voiceacting if it takes longer than expecting to implement.

Will it have “X”-Language Support?

Currently the Game is only in English. In order to have multiple Languages, we need Support for multiple Languages in a single Text Displayer from Media Molecule otherwise it would be very inefficient to add more Languages. For Voice Lines it would be way too much work to organize more than one Language.

When will you start working on “X”-Location?

Locations are made in the Order they appear in the Show, there are some Exceptions with bigger Locations that are planned out way in advanced like Omashu or Ba Sing Se. Feel free to check out our Trello Board with our current Progress on Maps:
https://trello.com/b/RSaUDSJ0/four-seasons-a-fan-created-avatar-game

Will there be Cutscenes and Sidemissions/Sidecontent?

Yes, and yes.

What Elements can you use and how do you unlock them?

Unlike the old Avatar Games by Book 3 you will be able to bend all 4 Elements in our Game; you will unlock them at the same time and in the same place where Aang learns the elements in the Show.

So, Book 1 will only feature Air and Water, Book 2 will introduce Earth and finally in Book 3 Aang will master Firebending.

Will there be Subbending?

Aang never really learns to subbend Elements until the last Episode where he redirects Lightning. So no, there will not be Subbending for Aang.

How many Moves will each Element have?

Currently we have about three normal and three heavy Attacks as well as one or two Block Variants planned for each Element.

Will it have Quicktime Events?

In normal Fighting Sequences we will not have Quicktime Events but in Bossfights we might have Sections in which you will need to complete a small Quicktime Event.

Will there be Areas that you can only unlock with certain Skills?

Yes, we will have a Metroidvania-like Mechanic, so you can go back to earlier Levels and unlock new Areas with Abilities you have learned.

Will the GAang follow you around?

Originally that was planned but as we approach more and more the Limits of Dreams, we had to take this Feature out since it would require too much A.I. Logic to make it work with the Platforming Areas.

Will there be NPCs?

Yes, there will be both static and interactive NPCs. Of course, you will also fight Enemies.
The number of NPCs in each Level really depends on how efficient we can make them and if the Memory Limit for Dreams will be extended on PS5.

Will the Game have Bossfights?

Yes.

Will you go into Avatar State whenever you want?

No, we will have separate Sections of Levels that you will play inside Avatar State. There is no “Ultimate” that you can activate on will because Aang can’t control Avatar State up until the very last Episodes.

Will the Glider be usable in normal Gameplay?

As of now with the Memory Limit we have we can’t do it because the Animations take up too much Memory even optimized. So, the current Plan is that you must collect a certain number of Collectables in each Level which unlocks a Version of the same Level in which you can fly the Glider.

This also solves the Issue that you could use the Glider to cheat through Platforming Sections.

If Dreams gets an Update on PS5 that allows us to use more Memory we will most likely have it in the same Level with all the Animations.

Zuko alone and Appa lost Days Episode; how will that be done if you only play Aang and Momo?

We have something planned for these kinds of Episodes but it’s still too early to talk about this as of now.

Anything Korra related planned for this or future Projects?

No, we are not planning to add anything from Korra to our Game except, some general Lore like an Avatar Wan Statue in the Southern Airtemple Statue Room. We will not make a Korra Game simply because I wouldn’t be so passionate about it; I only make things that I am 100% passionate about.

Will there be a Secret Tunnel?

Yes.

Have you experimented with Cell Shading?

There is no Cell Shading Shader in Dreams and if you make a similar Effect in Dreams from Scratch it looks ok but isn’t good enough for me. Also, if we would add it now, we would need to literally edit every single Asset we already have and that’s a big “No” from me.

I tested the best technique in Dreams out on our Aang Model, and it didn’t look particularly good anyways.

How long have you been working on this?

As of now I have been working over 3000 Hours on this Game. All the time from the Team combined probably exceed 4000 Hours. I started this in the Dreams Beta as a Prototype and began reworking everything from Scratch with a Team and the Knowledge I gained in January 2020; so, the newest Version is a Year old now.

How much time do you and the Team spent working on this Off-Stream?

I would say more than double the time we stream we spent doing stuff off-stream for the Game.
I usually fix Bugs or do stuff for the Game that you would only notice if it wasn’t there. PieceOfCraft redid whole Animations off-stream and worked Days on a new Cape. Rhodochrone has been working most of the time offstream.

When will you start creating, Storyline, Fight Mechanics and Dialogues?

This is not a Priority at all right now, since we still work on the basic Mechanics Aang has, I want to have all other Mechanics perfectly working together before I even begin to work on the Fighting Mechanics, because otherwise we will just run into Problems with the Fighting Logic.

The Storyline will be very close to the original Show, so we don’t need to focus too much on that as of now. Dialog will be added once we have all the Levels and written Dialog done, before that isn’t finished we also can’t start working with Voice Actors since I don’t want to send out Scripts every Week but one big Script for each Book.

Will there be a Delivery System in Omashu, and will it be a Minigame?

Yes, we already have it working.

Will there be a Pai Sho Minigame?

I already made the Assets for a Pai Sho Set but the Gamelogic is quite complex to implement in Dreams if we use the Skud Pai Sho Rules.

How long does it take to do an Animation?

Really depends on the type of Animation, something simple can be done in an Hour or so while more complex ones take Days of Tweaking, if there is a mirrored Version of an Animation we cannot simply mirror the Keyframes but we have to animate the other Side basically from Scratch again. All this while keeping everything optimized since Animations take up most of our Memory.

Do you create all the Game Assets yourself?

We use a lot of Community Assets for general Stuff like Rocks, fishing nets or stuff like that. Everything from the Avatar universe is made from Scratch and we are more and more creating our own generic Assets as we grow our Team too so we can optimize them as we need them.

Next Update?

The next big Update will most likely be released when Book 1 is complete; I might release another small Patch in between that fixes some smaller Bugs though.

What have you planned for Loading Screens?

There will be no Loading Screens.

References?

We mainly use Frames from the animated Series. We also use the official Artbook, Shots from Korra and Fanart. For organizing all those References, we use Puref.

Own Story Elements/Book 4?

We don’t plan to add a Book 4.

Spiritworld?

Yes, we have a Spiritworld, it will be used for Levels and Tutorials. The Spiritworld is one of the few Places that will look a lot different to the original Series since I want to stylize it a lot more.

Will be “X”-Character in the Game?

We try to get as many Characters as possible into the Game; Bumi? Yes. Cabbage Man? Yes. Face Stealer? Yes. Foaming Mouth Guy? Yes. You get it.

Will there be Easter Eggs?

Yes.

Can you import or export Stuff?

We can’t import or export anything in terms of models, Animations, Logos, Images in general, Fonts or similar stuff; everything must be made from scratch. We do currently import our Soundtrack.

How can I help you?

Generally speaking, I am very happy with our Teamsize and Progress so far, so we don’t need any help currently. The more people we get on the Project the harder it is to manage and to keep a consistent Artstyle. We have enough People for the Soundtrack and a Person for every Part of the Game.

So if you want to help, please don’t just ask if you can help but show me something you have done and finished; ideally in the Avatar Universe. If its outstanding, in our Artstyle and optimized like crazy you have a chance to be on the team.

What is planned after the completion of this Game?

After we are done with all Books, which will take some Years, we are planning to make an Arena Multiplayer Avatar Game with all your favorite Characters. Other than that, I want to make a Sly Cooper Fangame that extends his Story in Egypt. I would also be interested in making a Avatar Kyoshi Game or an original Avatar Game based on an Earthbender only.

Any Questions left?

PLEASE check the Trello-Board we have for the Game!
https://trello.com/b/RSaUDSJ0/four-seasons-a-fan-created-avatar-game

This lays out the current Stage of Planning, Progress Updates and Information about the Game, Credits and more.