Between the Pillars of Creation

Started by Cogliostro, Tue 08/05/2012 04:34:04

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Cogliostro



New GUI.  New introduction.  Now comes all of the troubleshooting to see what I broke.

- Cogliostro
"First things first, but not necessarily in that order." - Dr. Who

Cogliostro

The damage to the Ophidian Coolant System(tm) is pretty apparent in this shot.  Which might cause further trouble for the reactor in the next room.



After some honest assessments, I redid a few of the backgrounds.  I am also going to retool one of my earliest and most programming-intensive puzzles. 

Then I think I need a few Beta Testers.  Anyone want to volunteer?

- Cogliostro


"First things first, but not necessarily in that order." - Dr. Who

AnasAbdin

I'm sorry I don't test games that I like 8-) Good luck finding testers. I can't wait to play this game (laugh)

MyEakinBack

I am currently testing this and I cannot hold my silence. You guys are going to be blown away by this! He's put so much into this so far, and there's a way to go. But this is going to be worth the wait!
completed: Beyond Eternity

Cogliostro

#44


Okay, I had been seriously thinking about how enjoyable I would find it if the players went through the game, understood the ideas behind the story, and commented on them.  They feel good about finding the underlying ideas.  I feel good because they really did get it.

Who the hell am I kidding?

This game has a some AGS hype and that's it.  Given it can be played in 2-4 hours, there's a real possibility that no one will notice the themes I worked into the story.  So, in order to get people worked up, here are three major concepts driving the story.

THEMES / CONCEPTS behind "Between the Pillars of Creation"
Spoiler


1) Humanity is spreading across the galaxy in a stolen spaceship.  Unless we find our own microscopic black hole to power our own FTL ship, the "Ship Builders" will eventaully return, take back their stolen property and humanity's Golden Age comes to an abrupt end.  Hard Science Fiction Storyline - and pretty damn obvious from the screenshots.

2) All of our old prejudices are gone.... so we created new ones.  Everyone in the future has their computer/phone wired into the head.  Jason's neurological condition prevents that, he has Ludwig's Disease.  I finished most of the story before realizing I had created the ultimate metaphor for how society treats mental illness - the main character's head is literally miswired.  Or, for that matter, any invisible handicap, like deafness.

3) Finally, this is a retelling of the story of Jason and the Quest for the Golden Fleece.  Pretty much exactly.  I included the Stygian Witches, plus Scylla and Charybdis, who didn't occur in the original myth, but seriously, the rest of the story is all there.  Jason, the agronomist, is aboard the Argo.  Medea, the shipboard gene-witch, helps him through ALL of his challenges.  At the end of the story, he becomes captain because of her actions.  This list goes on and on.  Read the myth and see how many references you can catch.
[close]

Three years of keeping it under my hat and here it is.  Let me know what you think.

- Cogliostro.
"First things first, but not necessarily in that order." - Dr. Who

CaptainD

I'm particularly interested to see how your second theme is developed in the game due to it being very much linked to my day job.  I've always like hard sfi-fi and Greek mythology so it's all good from my point of view!  :-D 8-)
 

Cogliostro

Recording voice overs!

- Cogliostro
"First things first, but not necessarily in that order." - Dr. Who

Cogliostro



ARGH!  Was doing a play through only to have my 14 year old ask, "So why didn't Medea just ask Jason to bring the replacement circuit when she called him the first time?"

FOUR YEARS of mentally reviewing the story, only to have a plot hole this big sitting in the middle of it?!

Mercifully, I was able to fix it without changing the story/game flow.  But now it's time to call the voice actors.

- Cogliostro
"First things first, but not necessarily in that order." - Dr. Who

Cassiebsg

(laugh) Sometimes a bit of distance is a good thing, we get so focus on the details that we only ever focus on a very little bit at a time.
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

CaptainD

Kids are the best bug testers.  But your game is going to be amazing, it will all be worth it in the end!
 

Cogliostro

Glad to hear you think so.

- Cogliostro
"First things first, but not necessarily in that order." - Dr. Who

Cogliostro

#51
Between the Pillars of Creation needs a couple of voice actors:

Female - Atalanta, ship's doctor - 10 lines, calm and condescending

Two female, one male - Stygian Witches - They were astronomers before they lost their marbles - about 8 lines each

Male - Castor & Pollux - the arrogant twins - 14 lines total, really just one role since they sound alike.

Either gender - Harvester - A poetically murderous robot!  14 lines done 4-5 times each.

Male - Draco - officious and smug little AI - 7 lines

Male - Pelias - Captain of the ship, 40 lines.  Half of them are delivered in a fatherly disapproving voice, the rest are murderously insane.

Male - Phineas - Aquaponic Engineer and friend of Jason's - 15 lines

PM me if you're interested.
- Cogliostro
"First things first, but not necessarily in that order." - Dr. Who

Cogliostro


Still hoping to get the last few voice actors, out of 20 voice acting roles, I'm down to five.  None of these are huge commitments.  Anyone willing to step up?

- Cogliostro
"First things first, but not necessarily in that order." - Dr. Who

Cogliostro

Pillars is BACK in production after a considerable hiatus.

- Cogliostro
"First things first, but not necessarily in that order." - Dr. Who

Mandle

Quote from: Cogliostro on Thu 21/06/2018 00:13:00
Pillars is BACK in production after a considerable hiatus.

- Cogliostro

Great news! Best of luck!

CaptainD

Quote from: Cogliostro on Thu 21/06/2018 00:13:00
Pillars is BACK in production after a considerable hiatus.

- Cogliostro

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah!! 

Just in time, too.  I'd been thinking of bugging you with one of my occasional "are you still going to release the game" emails! :grin:
 

Cogliostro

Audible released, "Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made".

Nice to know this insanity isn't unique to the AGS community.

- Cogliostro
"First things first, but not necessarily in that order." - Dr. Who

ManicMatt

Good stuff, I know when I abandoned my last adventure game for a couple years, it bugged me so much. I have no intention of abandoning my current project, this time its my full time focus, not a hobby.

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