The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante has been translated into two more languages: Simplified Chinese and Japanese! If you have been waiting for the right moment to get familiar with Sir Brante's world or want to play through your favorite game without missing a single detail—now is the time to do so!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1272160/The_Life_and_Suffering_of_Sir_Brante/

Walk the path from birth until true death, where every choice has a price and leads to irreversible consequences. Will you become a stern judge, an idealistic rebel, or a merciless inquisitor? The decision is yours!

Join our Discord community[discord.gg] to find like-minded people, chat, discuss the game or its universe, learn the latest project news, and much more!

It is our pleasure to announce a new narrative roleplay adventure from the minds behind The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante!

The Life and Suffering of Prince Jerian is a narrative roleplaying game that casts the player as the heir to the Blessed Arknian Empire, who must carve out a destiny for his nation. The world is grim, and the gods are eager to punish anyone who breaks their commandments. People live preordained lives, their fates sealed the moment they are born. It is up to the player to decide what kind of leader they will be: uphold the established order, or build a new kind of future.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2936290/The_Life_and_Suffering_of_Prince_Jerian/

You, Prince Jerian of House Tempest, must embark on a lifelong journey. It starts in your childhood, blissfully ignorant of your destiny, and continues into maturity as you take up a role you have been primed for since birth: emperor. As crown prince, you must not only understand your country and its culture, but also make many difficult choices that affect the fragile balance of powers in the Empire, and inside yourself. If you go where political circumstance and family obligations guide you, you risk losing yourself in the chaos. Can you keep yourself whole, or will you shatter?

Check out the trailer, which will give you some first impressions about the upcoming game!

In addition, to celebrate the official announcement of the game, we are releasing a special video address from the development team at Schisma Games, in which they will pull back the veil of mystery shrouding the contents of their upcoming title. Come watch!

The game is currently in development. Wishlist The Life and Suffering of Prince Jerian now and subscribe to our newsletter to never miss an update!

Join our bustling Discord community[discord.gg], the best place to make the wait for the new game a bit more enjoyable. Any questions you have, you can ask there. Discuss the game world with like-minded players, share your ideas and suggestions, and be among the first to hear any news about the game!

Friends!

We are pleased to report that the official announcement of the new game in The Life and Suffering universe will take place very soon… This Thursday, to be precise! It will be held in the format of a video presentation where the developers themselves shall tell you all about their upcoming project.

The link to the live stream is already available. Follow it, click the bell, and subscribe to the channel so that you do not miss the big event and any other forthcoming news!

We hope to see you all on YouTube this Thursday, July 25, at 16:00 UTC / 9:00 PDT!

Come and learn all the details regarding the future title set in the world of the Great Arknian Empire!

We would also like to remind you about our bustling Discord community[discord.gg], where you can always discuss the game with like-minded people, stay up-to-date on all things Life and Suffering, and more!

Summer has arrived, bringing sunny weather and vacation time along with it! Daylight hours are longer now, but the heat may not make you want to stay outside for too long... So, if you are looking for new ways to have fun indoors, we have a great offer—a 60% discount on our game!
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Other titles from our publisher are also included in the sale. Hurry up and get them at a discount. Seize this great opportunity to replenish your library with even more good games!
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https://store.steampowered.com/app/1596730/Dynopunk/

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https://store.steampowered.com/app/1294880/Blind_Fate_Edo_no_Yami/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1146600/For_the_People/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1546060/My_Summer_Adventure_Memories_of_Another_Life/

Recently, Schisma Games staff held another QA session with players, during which more questions were raised about The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante as well as the development of the future title in the same universe. We have collected their answers in this article and want to share it with you!

The questions were answered by: Theodore — the studio's founder, Chip - Lead Game Designer, Igor - Technical Lead and Project Manager, and Lance — Art Director.

Players: In the first game, various consequences and the Brante family's status depended solely on the protagonist. For example, despite the fact that Stephan strives for the Nobility of the Sword, he himself does not raise the family's reputation. Will there be events in the new game where characters increase or decrease various parameters without the main character's active participation? Also, will there be events that happen when you max out your relationship with a particular character?
Chip: When stats are being altered, this may affect the options available in certain scenes or even launch additional events, taking freedom away from the player. With that said, I think there will be more of such moments in the new game, since it will include more characters and scenes able to influence various stats, and the significance of individual relationships as well as the consequences of the player's decisions will be even greater than before.

Igor: You also mentioned maxing out character relationships. When designing a game, achieving the maximum possible value of any parameter is not always the intended goal. Sometimes it is just an opportunity to save up a few extra points so that you can later spend them on whatever you really want. So, a kind of player empowerment.

Players: Will the universe be expanded, and, if so—how much? What time period are we talking about?
Theodore: Of course, the universe will be expanded. We will dive deep and uncover stories that have not been touched upon before. I may not go into specifics, but what we can say is that, in many ways, the new game will focus on the passage of time, showing how intertwined our past, present, and future really are. It is going to explore how willing (or not) we can be to accept our past, and how much that can deprive us of our future. We will delve into the past of the Arknian Empire, talk about the present, and peek into the future.

Players: Will there be an option to study the lore outside the game format?
Theodore: I have previously saved and collected all the information on the game's lore in my personal archive. Discrepancies would arise from time to time, and putting everything in order was often a difficult and time-consuming process, so I am grateful to everyone who worked to create independent wiki projects for our game.

Players: Will the second game be longer than the first?
Theodore: Internal test sessions currently take longer than we expected. The first playthrough will definitely take just as long if not more time to complete than in case of the first game.

Players: How much did Sir Brante influence your other games?
Theodore: Good question. The games you make always teach you something and help form a pattern—your ability to work on projects of a particular genre. Processes begin to be tailored to that specific genre and the type of titles you made in the past. Going beyond the familiar genre can be difficult and risky. At the same time, when we started making another game, it was clear that we had the ambition to take it a step forward—implement new concepts and not simply retread what had been done before. I hope we will be able to deliver a new experience and keep innovating in the future. Although certain outlines will still probably hint at what we have worked on in the past, we see a great future ahead, and that hopefully does not stop with our current project.

Igor: A certain amount of fatigue will always accumulate when you work on the same kind of project for a while. We will most likely take half a step to the right, then half a step to the left, exploring new styles and subgenres. That said, some of the emotional core will probably remain the same: if you will ever see, for example, a platformer made by us, know that it will likely come packed with a lot of suffering.

Players: What goal did you set for yourself: to make a separate game or to continue the story of Sir Brante?
Theodore: It is interesting to complement the previous game with another project. I feel like a lot remains untold in Sir Brante's story. We saw history unfold from the perspective of Brante and his immediate circle, but other perspectives obviously exist in this world too: there are more dimensions to it, more layers of society, and even more characters to explore. The two games will be independent of each other, but I am interested in making the overall narrative complete and hope we will make it happen.

Players: Will the topic of in-game theology see further development? Will the game world become deeper and more detailed so that players and future modders can continue to grow the universe?
Theodore: Yes, theology and the history of the relationship between mortals and the gods will play an important role in our new title, but structuring the project bible is a complex matter. If later the community wants to make or expand a wiki, we will help by providing materials. If you, however, want to put together a comprehensive in-game bible, then this will, unfortunately, be impossible. One cannot cover and describe all the mystical things that inhabit a world such as this.

Players: Theodore mentioned a great idea—to end the story with an aged Brante sitting in his garden. Is this in the plans? It would be a cool reference to the first game.
Theodore: We once wished to make the first game from the moment of birth until old age. Show Sir Brante's later years, where he, for example, takes care of his favorite flowers. But when it comes to game design, things get complicated: you need to figure out how to structure the gameplay and fill the story with a rich selection of choices and suffering. I hope that we can avoid spreading the narrative too thin, but stay focused and drive the point home, even though I still like this old age idea. Regarding Sir Brante's cameo, I think we will definitely include something like that, at least in the form of allusion to the first game's (and Brante’s life) events.

Stay in touch on our official Discord server[discord.gg]!

We have great news! The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante is now fully translated into Brazilian Portuguese, and the new language is already available in-game! Along with its addition, we also fixed many strings in other languages.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1272160/The_Life_and_Suffering_of_Sir_Brante/

Embark on a lifelong journey where every choice has real consequences: from breaking family ties to rewriting the established laws of an entire Empire… or perhaps the Universe itself. There are many possibilities all around: which path will you choose, and where shall it lead you? The decision is yours!

Difficult choices, rivalry, love, and great turmoil await you in this award-winning game, developed by Sever and acclaimed for its outstanding story. Once again, we want to thank all of you—our dedicated community—for playing and offering your support from all over the world. Know that it helps us a lot and makes great things possible, such as adding more languages to the game. Thank you for being with us!

We would also like to remind you that we have an active community on Discord[discord.gg], where you can always find like-minded people to chat or discuss the game and the history of its world with, as well as learn all the latest news. For this and more, consider joining us on Discord today!

Friends!

Developer Schisma Games recently held a meet-up with players, during which they were asked questions about The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante and the development of a future title in the same universe. Especially for you, we have compiled their answers into a single article and want to share this interview now! Read up on the team's views regarding the games' universe, and you will also discover a lot of new things as well as learn why the game turned out the way it did.

The questions were answered by: Theodore — the studio's founder, Chip - Lead Game Designer, and Lance — Art Director.

Players: How long has The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante been in development?
Chip: It was initially planned as a small title that we would develop in 6 months, more or less using it to assemble our first studio. The longer we worked, the more we realized what could be done, as well as how to expand and improve our game. We knew then that we had a big and original project on our hands, and that we needed to push it beyond the previously outlined scope. As a result, the entire development cycle took us 2.5 years.

Players: Is gunpowder known across the Arknian Empire?
Chip: Gunpowder is only ever used in industry for performing controlled explosions. Methods of employing it in military affairs are starting to be researched, but any mass use of firearms is unheard of. However, its use slowly begins to grow more common among Arknians, as it can bring victory over one's rivals.

Players: Is gunpowder only prohibited in Magra while other provinces are more permissive towards it?
Chip: While not initially prohibited anywhere, once the threat gunpowder poses became clear, it was banned throughout the Empire. However, since there are groups and individuals who can enact separate laws in the provinces they control, the use of gunpowder may be allowed in certain regions. For example, Brante can sign such a decree and make an exception for Magra's industry.

Players: So, if Brante does not sign the decree after the "Mine and Gunpowder" quest, then gunpowder will remain prohibited in Magra as well?
Chip: Yes.

Players: What Blood Tide do Lowborn humans belong to?
Chip: A Blood Tide is a mystical, sacred history. It encompasses the past, one's ancestors, and hereditary memory, giving those who inherit it strength and marking their belonging to a particular legacy. It both enhances the player's character and limits it. The protagonist's ancestors moved in a certain direction, and if the player chooses to maintain this course, the Blood Tide will strengthen them. Alternatively, if you try to follow a different path by doing something contrary to your predecessors' will, then the legacy shall resist you. It is important to understand the difference between Arknian and human positions in this case, too. Arknians are a race that draws its power from the past. Their Blood Tide runs deeper, going further back into the past, even as Arknians themselves live longer, maintaining a stronger connection to their legacy. Integrated into the Arknian society, humans began to gradually replace them, at the same time constantly having to adapt to change. First they were slaves, then servants, then they began to garner Arknian trust. Other races had their own lore, but humans either did not or abandoned their culture in order to better suit the Arknian ways by imitating them. Due to the fact that, on the one hand, humans have copied the Arknian culture and, on the other, they began to do so rather recently, human nobles are still seen as a kind of novelty. That is, human Blood Tides are much weaker: they include fewer ancestors and memories. There could be such a thing as a Lowborn human Blood Tide, but, by the standards of the Arknian Empire, it would be a miniscule Blood Tide below notice.

Players: If the Ottons have such an impressive Blood Tide, how did Brante manage to defeat Otton in a duel?
Chip: Looking at the conditions for Brante's victory in said duel, you will see that Dorius must go through a Court of Honor, in which he will be defeated by Gaius Tempest. And the Ottons' Blood Tide will refuse Dorius Otton, admitting that he overstepped his bounds. Accordingly, at the next meeting, Dorius Otton will be left without his Blood Tide's support, giving the player an opportunity to defeat him with a high enough fencing skill proficiency.

Players: Could Brante win the duel if Dorius Otton reconciled with his Blood Tide, but our hero would not play by the rules and tried to cheat?
Chip: Indeed. This is what Arknians hate about humans — they often do not follow the rules and get away with it. Therefore, one can easily defeat Arkians by using dishonest and unconventional means.

Players: Many players complained that The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante involves too much math and raised issues with certain mechanics, such as Brante's Willpower, which serves as the main source of difficulty in the game. Will the RPG system be improved in the sequel?
Chip: Regarding the game's reliance on math: of course, all mechanics are based on calculations. We are always adding, subtracting, counting probabilities, etc. We then look at the resulting chance of success or failure. This is like blaming a text for having too many letters.

Another complaint is that some mechanics are too complex. That may be true. Players have the right to make mistakes, but only minor ones. Why is that? After all, we could make the game easier, then this annoyance factor would disappear. But it was important for us to make the game exactly the way it turned out: with difficult skill/knowledge checks and sporting a high level of complexity. For what reason? Well, there are two big ones:

1. It was important for us to write a story where an ordinary person fights the system, facing a truly uphill battle. It should be extremely difficult to win because the chance of a single person succeeding over the system is negligible. And in order for the game mechanics to reflect this idea, we made it so that the player is most likely to lose somewhere along the way.
2. The experience of defeat is, in fact, much more valuable and important for us than that of victory. Therefore, a win in our game is elusive and almost unattainable, thus making every defeat seem that much real. It is not something predetermined, but simply the harsh reality Brante has to face: after all, he did have a chance to win, but the player guiding him did not play their cards right. This is exactly the sensation we wanted to convey.

Why is the experience of defeat so important? Because it is more reflective. If you win — well done. That is it, end of the line. Otherwise, the painful process of reflection begins: "Why did I lose? What could I have done differently? Am I prepared to do what I need to win?" And so on, and so forth. For us, this is a more interesting experience, triggering the processes and emotions that we wanted our players to experience. TL;DR version: this is a feature, not a bug.

As for the RPG system in place — yes, it will be improved. We are making a new game, so the mechanics will be slightly different, but I will not lie: you may not like the way we evolve the game's concept. The things we value and aim to convey are not always what the player wants to see when they first launch our latest title. And that is okay.

I really appreciate it when players say: "I lost. I am sitting here devastated, with a swarm of thoughts buzzing in my head, inspired by my own failure. I reached for the top and did not make it." This is our sort of player. But there are those who go: "That does not work for me. It is unfair. I am angry, and the developers really messed up!" This is, unfortunately, not our kind of player. The experience we want to convey may not be one that suits them.

Thus, the mechanics will definitely be improved, but I am unsure whether it will be in the direction that the question's author would like it to go. 🙂

Players: In the second game, will there be an option to mitigate the damage from an event gone sour or a way to avoid the full extent of its consequences?
Chip: Yes, of course, this was already in the first title. At certain points, the player would be asked: something bad just happened — choose which consequence you want to deal with. Or something bad happened, but your skill level was sufficient to cut the hypothetical losses in half. These are individual-type solutions that have already been implemented before. The mechanics will change slightly and will be aimed at different goals and gaming experiences, but, in many ways, they will remain the same, as we are dealing with a continuation, and so we must stay true to the game's foundation.

Players: Will the dominant religion of the game's universe be flashed out even more?
Theodore: Of course! We believe religion to be one of the most important pillars on which the entire realm of the Blessed Arknian Empire resides. It largely determines the main conflicts and processes that take place in the Imperial society. Therefore, while working on our next project, we will definitely strive to immerse ourselves and our players in the spiritual, religious, and mystical aspects of the game's world.

Players: Who are the Twin Gods to you in this world?
Chip: I will, respectfully, not answer that. With this question, we are entering the realm of speculation, so the responses may be different, giving grounds to one theory over others. It is important for us that the game remains open to interpretation and that there is room for all players to muse, imagine, and come up with their own hypotheses. Seems to me that this is one of those things that benefit from not being given a clear explanation. Unambiguity will simplify everything, and once the riddle is solved… Well, what is the fun in that?

Players: My general impression is that the Twins are essentially one key character at odds with himself, and therefore cannot decide how to act. He has created humans and hoped that they would solve this problem, but, in the end, things only turned out worse, even though he created them in his own image and likeness. How accurate is this idea?
Chip: I will not evaluate this guess. It was precisely because we did not leave a concrete answer anywhere that such a theory arose and inspired players to think about it and search for a solution. It is important for us that the question remains open. Our idea works when players ask questions and build their own interesting theories. And this is more valuable than any one "truly correct" answer.

Players: What did Stephan do throughout the story?
Chip: We have two answers here. The first one is that he did absolutely nothing. The second is that he dealt with family affairs like a real nobleman: built up relationships, represented the Brante family, and generally engaged in politics.

Players: Is Stephan a military nobleman or a bureaucrat by education?
Chip: We do not know if he graduated from Imperial College. We know that he went to a boarding school and received some kind of education. He is more of a courtier than a bureaucrat or military man. He definitely has swordsmanship and diplomacy skills, though.

Players: How did Stephan get ennobled by the Mantle?
Chip: The nobility of the Mantle is a personal nobility that no one receives but you. It cannot be inherited — unlike the nobility of the Sword, which is not bestowed upon an individual, but their entire family. All family members automatically become nobles because they bear your last name. Stephan's father was a nobleman of the Mantle, and his mother was a noblewoman of the Sword, belonging to one of the most influential families of El Borne. He was the third child in the family, and a third-generation noble has the right to petition for recognition of his surname as a noble one to receive the nobility of the Sword. In this case, it was logical to train the child as a nobleman from childhood — and for this he must have his own noble inheritance. There were two options:
1. Recognize him as Stephan El Borne. Then he would have received the nobility of the Sword, but in this case the whole plan for him to be the third child in the Brante family would collapse.
2. Receive a letter of personal nobility from the Duke. Then the Brantes would receive the nobility of the Sword.
We chose the second option: Stephan received personal nobility from birth and was raised as a nobleman.

Players: What color is Dorius Otton's hair?
Chip: I do not know. 🙂 We never mentioned this anywhere in the text.

Players: There are varying opinions online about which story branch is the main, canonical one for the game. Is there an officially established canon?
Chip: When developing the game, we understood clearly that there could be no canon that conflicted with our players' in-game choice. We wanted to give the paths of the priest, the nobleman, and the commoner equal rights to exist. Each of them tell the story in their own way. The nobleman's thread is more about family, the priest's path is more mystical, it tries to achieve a deeper comprehension of the game's world. And the rebel branch is more about conspiracies and adventures.

Players: What and who are you inspired by when creating art? How do you look for the right style and think through the appearance of the environment, the characters, as well as various details?
Lance: Touching on the game's visual style, we can say that we wanted to make it more artistic and detailed. And since the style of The Life and Suffering universe is full of allusions to XVII-XVIII-century manuscripts, we are looking at the work of engravers from that time period.

In general, I have two favorite engravers. The first one is Rockwell Kent — a fairly modern artist, not from the XVIII century perhaps, but a brilliant book illustrator of the first half of the XX century. The second is Gustave Doré or the best engraver I know. We cannot afford such detail as he did, nor do we want to because our goal is not to recreate the works of real engravers, but to stylize our own after theirs. I would like people to just look at our style and think: "Oh, those are some cool pictures."

When it comes to details, we focus on the early XVIII-century European fashion. In terms of style and fashion, the blessed Arknian Empire, as we see it, is akin to Rome, which survived until the XVII century. That is, almost unchanged classicism with Baroque elements, especially in architecture. But, of course, we regularly hold discussions and brainstorms about how and what things should look like. For example, and bringing the conversation back to one of the first questions, our games' world is greatly affected by the lack of gunpowder. In real life, it greatly influenced fashion: first among men, then women's tastes too, since they used the same stylistic elements.

At the same time, there is no need to perceive the game's style as a reconstruction from a good historical novel. It is simply not that. Still, our universe is quite synthetic, and we occasionally allow ourselves various liberties.

Players: What inspires you when working on the new game?
Theodore: We are inspired by much of the same as when developing Brante: the history of Russia from the XVII century to the present day, Rome, the European Reformation, the Enlightenment, and European revolutions.

However, this time we would like to look at the problems of these periods and countries from the other side: how were their authorities and states organized? What causes crises and reforms? What are the main contradictions that arise in the collision of the state, social elites, society, and the historical process as a whole?

Specific artistic sources important to the development process are too many to list them all here, so I would like to highlight the most relevant ones at the moment:

• In literature and philosophy:
  - Heinrich Mann:
  The Young Years of King Henry IV;
  The Mature Years of King Henry IV.
  - "The End of the Regime" by Alexander Baunov;
  - "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding;
  - Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of Europe" and Arnold Toynbee's "The Making of History."
  
• In film and theater:
  - "Titus, Ruler of Rome" by Julie Taymor;
  - "The Glass of Water," a play by Eugène Scribe and its film adaptations;
  - "My Friend Hitler," a play by Yukio Mishima;
  - "The Tree of Life" by Terrence Malick.
  
• In music:
  - Shortparis, "New New" music video;
  - "The Wall," Pink Floyd album and Alan Parker's movie;
  - Zbigniew Preisner's soundtracks for the films "Decalogue," "Three Colors," "The Double Life of Veronica."
  
• In games:
  - Victoria 3 and other Paradox titles.

Stay in touch on our official Discord server[discord.gg]!

Friends!

Spring has arrived, bringing with it warmth, bright colors, and fine weather! But this is not only a great chance to enjoy watching nature wake up and blossom, but also to take part in the big Spring Sale on Steam!
Hurry up and grab The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante at 60% OFF between March 14 and 21!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1272160/The_Life_and_Suffering_of_Sir_Brante/

Other titles from our publisher also participate in the sale, so make haste to purchase them at a discount. Seize this great opportunity to replenish your library with good games!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2488510/FatalZone/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1596730/Dynopunk/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1307690/The_Darkest_Tales/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1294880/Blind_Fate_Edo_no_Yami/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1146600/For_the_People/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1546060/My_Summer_Adventure_Memories_of_Another_Life/