The Crimson Diamond

[jmjm]

Inspired by Sierra On-line's "The Colonel's Bequest", an EGA text parser adventure game of mystery and intrigue set in Northern Ontario, Canada! Made with AGS, of course!

The year is 1913. You are a clerk working at the Royal Ontario Museum and your boss wants the mineralogy exhibit to be the talk of the town when the museum opens the following year. So when a fisherman finds a huge diamond in the belly of a fish, the Professor sends you up north to investigate! This could be your big chance to prove to everyone you have what it takes!

Work-in-progress game intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7Eh8GeLHJ4&t=2s

Screenshots:









Development progress:
Story: 85%
Scripting: 15%
Graphics: 75%
Sound/Music: 0%

Expected completion date: When it's done.

[Cassiebsg]

This looks awesome! 
Looking forward to the release. 

By, that was a long intro. 

[CaptainD]

Gorgeous screenshots - and I'm not even a particular fan of that style!  (Arj0n is going to be in fits of rapture when he sees this!!)

All the best with development. 

[Shadow1000]

Looks terrific and being from Toronto I'm excited about the Canadian content and especially the ROM. Good luck!

[Mandle]

Go Go Go!

This looks amazing!

[arj0n]

Gorgeous screenshots - and I'm not even a particular fan of that style!  (Arj0n is going to be in fits of rapture when he sees this!!)

Cappy, you're right. I absolutely LOVE those EGA (& CGA) games!

Keep up the good work jmjm!!

EDIT:
I was wondering why another Colonel's Bequest game was popping up
Until I took a peek at that youtube video. Then I realized this is the work of Julia Minamata
(I've been following her work for quite some time already)

Can't wait to see this game being released, Julia, this looks so gorgeous!

[AnasAbdin]

How didn't I see this before?
I want this as soon as possible please.

[Chicky]

Hey Julia! Great to see a GiP thread for this. I'm the guy that helped with resizing pixel art for facebook a while back The trailer looks lovely, that's some rad placeholder artwork. The finished screenshots are crazy good

[ThreeOhFour]

This looks awesome. 

[dactylopus]

Charming.

This reminds me of my early years growing up near Toronto.  I watched the videos, and they look very nice so far.  The Intro had lots of super sketchy art that I thought was hilarious.  When the real art started to show, it looked fantastic.  Looking forward to seeing more.  Good luck!

[selmiak]

this looks spectacular. Some grass fields (green areas) like in the last 2 pictures could need some more highlights (one hl color) or brown patches like in image 2 to add some more variety. Keep it up!

[jmjm]

this looks spectacular. Some grass fields (green areas) like in the last 2 pictures could need some more highlights (one hl color) or brown patches like in image 2 to add some more variety. Keep it up!

Ah, that's a good tip! The grass around the shed does look a bit too uniform. Jack probably isn't that great of a landscaper .

Thanks to everyone for your kind words! I have no idea when this game will be done. I'm a little intimidated by you seasoned veterans with your many completed games. This is my first one -- It started slow because I was learning how to use AGS. I'm STILL learning, but now the work is progressing faster.

Hey Julia! Great to see a GiP thread for this. I'm the guy that helped with resizing pixel art for facebook a while back

Thanks, Chicky! Thanks to this game, I'm learning so much. Especially from helpful AGS folks!

[Nixxon]

WOW that's like... my all time favorite style. And you blitzed it! Looks killer.

[jmjm]

Hello, folks! I'm pleased to announce significant progress on The Crimson Diamond (not the least of which, it has a name now!). The Crimson Diamond website is where you can subscribe to a mailing list, various social media links, DOWNLOAD THE DEMO, and listen to me discuss the game on the Classic Gamers Guild podcast!

Any feedback can be sent to feedback@thecrimsondiamond.com

Hope you like it!

[Mandle]

Lovely title screen! Is there a reason why the diamond isn't crimson though?

[jmjm]

Lovely title screen! Is there a reason why the diamond isn't crimson though?

The game is set in a ghost town called Crimson, Ontario. So not a for real crimson diamond! Already it has intrigued you, yes?

[Click'd]

The first mind screw right on the title screen. That's gotta be a record.

[jmjm]

The first mind screw right on the title screen. That's gotta be a record.

Ehehehehe! I look forward to feedback. There's even an AGS easter egg... And many thanks, again, to this community for helping me when I got stuck with coding.

[dactylopus]

I'm so happy to see an update on this game!  I was worried it may have been abandoned.  Thanks for sharing!

[Mandle]

Lovely title screen! Is there a reason why the diamond isn't crimson though?

The game is set in a ghost town called Crimson, Ontario. So not a for real crimson diamond! Already it has intrigued you, yes?

Oh, sweet! And yes it does!

[jmjm]

I'm so happy to see an update on this game!  I was worried it may have been abandoned.  Thanks for sharing!

I've been working on it this whole time, but I really had to get the working demo, website etc. set up quickly once I learned my game made it into the showcase at WordPlay 6, which is a one day free festival at the Toronto Reference Library (in Ontario, Canada) on November 10 from 12-5pm.

Any Canadians/Ontarians/Torontonians are welcome to stop by the event this Saturday to play the demo, meet me, and discuss the game!

Oh, here's the WordPlay site: http://handeyesociety.com/wordplay/

[SarahLiz]

I just played the demo last night.  The Colonel's Bequest is my ALL-TIME favorite adventure game.  Laura Bow 2 was fun, but just not the same feel as a guest-staying-in-an-old-mansion-whodunit.  As there has never been a remake of CB, or even a fan-made game version (that I know of), I can't tell you how excited this makes me.  I too had seen this post a year or so ago, and figured it had been abandoned, so I'm just giddy at the thought of it being completed! The demo is pretty nice...spying and snooping through everyone's crap is really fun, so hopefully the player will be able to find some juicy stuff in the drawers & cabinets & suitcases in the completed version.  Looking good so far.

[jmjm]

The demo is pretty nice...spying and snooping through everyone's crap is really fun, so hopefully the player will be able to find some juicy stuff in the drawers & cabinets & suitcases in the completed version.  Looking good so far.

Thanks so much! I know, those drawers and cabinets... Adventure gamers are basically like hungry raccoons . For the demo they're mostly empty, but I just got a bee in my bonnet that I wanted them to actually work. When I make the gameplay for the rest of the story they should have some stuff in them .

[jmjm]

https://www.youtube.com/embed/VWEfmPgaqpE
I made a gameplay trailer!

[milkanannan]

I'm so happy to see an update on this game!  I was worried it may have been abandoned.  Thanks for sharing!

I've been working on it this whole time, but I really had to get the working demo, website etc. set up quickly once I learned my game made it into the showcase at WordPlay 6, which is a one day free festival at the Toronto Reference Library (in Ontario, Canada) on November 10 from 12-5pm.

Any Canadians/Ontarians/Torontonians are welcome to stop by the event this Saturday to play the demo, meet me, and discuss the game!

Oh, here's the WordPlay site: http://handeyesociety.com/wordplay/

Wish I were home. I'd totally go - the lineup looks awesome. I didn't know we Canadian adventurers had enough critical mass to throw one of these!

Good luck today!

[jmjm]

Wish I were home. I'd totally go - the lineup looks awesome. I didn't know we Canadian adventurers had enough critical mass to throw one of these!

Good luck today!

Thanks! Out of the 25 games on showcase, only 3-4 were local or had local involvement, I think? Still, I'm glad I went and it was a well-run event. I had a great time watching people play my game for the first time ever! Got some good feedback and some bugs to stomp on .

[ManicMatt]

Those crops are so lovingly drawn pixel by pixel! Good stuff!

[selmiak]

This is very beautiful, and what I played was kind of interesting. I guess it is part of the story to explore but there are only empty cupboards (what did I expect in a hotel...) and nothing else to pocket or use, but after some time I grew tired of the text parser input. Is there any chance you add mouse controls? This would be so much more fun.

I found a typo, the japanese room mate says "as" instead of "has" one time.

[eri0o]

This game is beautiful and looks very very fun to play, where can I subscribe for updates other than this thread?

[Shadow1000]

... my game made it into the showcase at WordPlay 6, which is a one day free festival at the Toronto Reference Library (in Ontario, Canada) on November 10 from 12-5pm.

Any Canadians/Ontarians/Torontonians are welcome to stop by the event this Saturday to play the demo, meet me, and discuss the game!

Drat...just saw this post now, 2 weeks late

[jmjm]

This game is beautiful and looks very very fun to play, where can I subscribe for updates other than this thread?

Yes, there is! On my site there's a sign-up for my e-newsletter, the first of which came out this past Sunday. You can read it on the site here:
http://www.thecrimsondiamond.com/CrimsonGazette1.html

And I have a new version of the demo on the site too, with the click-to-walk feature implemented, a tutorial room, and some bug fixes!
http://www.thecrimsondiamond.com/

[jmjm]

... my game made it into the showcase at WordPlay 6, which is a one day free festival at the Toronto Reference Library (in Ontario, Canada) on November 10 from 12-5pm.

Any Canadians/Ontarians/Torontonians are welcome to stop by the event this Saturday to play the demo, meet me, and discuss the game!

Drat...just saw this post now, 2 weeks late

I'm hoping to show The Crimson Diamond at Comics x Games, which is also held at the Toronto Reference Library! I'm going to submit it when submissions open, so fingers crossed .

[Shadow1000]

I'm hoping to show The Crimson Diamond at Comics x Games, which is also held at the Toronto Reference Library! I'm going to submit it when submissions open, so fingers crossed .

Awesome...I think it's at Yonge and Bloor?

I played the demo last night. My thoughts:

First, HUGE kudos for taking me right back to the late 80s when I played text-based games. Unlike the 80s games, I didn't find myself typing 30 variants of a command to get JUST the right word combination. I found that the parser worked surprisingly well so the game progressed at a nice pace rather than becoming a word-guessing game.

The demo does state that many of the graphics are unfinished. Despite this, I can see great potential and talent in the backgrounds. The story and characters are intriguing and definitely make me want to play more. I liked exploring the lodge; more about this soon. There were few specific puzzles but that's ok; the demo is a great preview of the upcoming game.

Don't read unless you've played the demo

Spoiler

I did find there to be a lot of opening things, including doors and drawers that had nothing in them. I don't know if this is intentional or just because it's an early demo. If it were the completed game I might find this aspect to make the pacing of the game drag a bit. Another point is that the last "thing to do" I found a bit confusing because i was trying to do it using a certain blue item found in the kitchen rather than the correct item found closeby in the kitchen

[close]

Other than that, I really think this game will be a huge success and I'm looking forward to it. Especially having lived in Toronto my whole life, the Canadian aspect resonates with me.

Cheers

[jmjm]

This is very beautiful, and what I played was kind of interesting. I guess it is part of the story to explore but there are only empty cupboards (what did I expect in a hotel...) and nothing else to pocket or use, but after some time I grew tired of the text parser input. Is there any chance you add mouse controls? This would be so much more fun.

I found a typo, the japanese room mate says "as" instead of "has" one time.

Thanks so much! The funny thing about the cupboards... I couldn't help myself, making them all interactive. I have the whole story and the puzzles planned out, I will be most likely putting more stuff in the cupboards! Although you're right, it was a hotel so it would make sense for the cupboards to be empty . I hadn't originally planned on making a demo but I later felt it was an important step to take, which is why some stuff is over-developed and some is under-developed for this stage of the game.

I added mouse controls for the movement of the player's character, but that's probably it. I love creating with the text parser!

Do you remember what sentence specifically had the typo in it? I'd love to correct that!

Thanks so much!

[jmjm]

Awesome...I think it's at Yonge and Bloor?

Yes, the library at Yonge and Bloor!

AGS has a lovely text parser feature that I wish was used more! It's better than what the Sierra devs had in the day, and it's easy to use. It's great tool, and it goes a long way in making the text parser more playable.

The introductory sequence graphics are the rough graphics, the rest of the game is as it should be. Although whenever I play Colonel's Bequest, my fingers itch to improve my own game graphics .

Part of the reason all the cupboards and drawers are interactive is because I got carried away . I loved making them animate and work. But there will be more stuff in them.

There is one inventory item in the game you can pick up that is nothing but a tribute to AGS and all you lovely folks! This community is so wonderful and helpful, and has helped me over a few obstacles. I wouldn't have made it this far without the forums.

I'm a lifelong Torontonian, too. I recently visited the Royal Ontario Museum and was tickled pink to see two facing stone entrances for "Mineralogy" and "Geology", much like the rivalry in the intro of the game! The Crimson Diamond really is a combination of a lot of my interests and I'm glad to hear it has struck a chord with you!

[jmjm]

Let's Player LateBlt played some of my demo! The video's an hour long and shows some basic gameplay but not the entire demo, no spoilers really. 

I'm psyched!! He seemed to really like it and was super nice about it!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/zPmsyIpURuo

[dactylopus]

That's awesome!  I'm a big fan of LateBlt, I'll have to give this video a watch when I have some time.

[jmjm]

That's awesome!  I'm a big fan of LateBlt, I'll have to give this video a watch when I have some time.

Me too! It was such a rush hearing him read my dialogue 

[OgreVorbis]

I'd really like to know how you did that dithering like the classic EGA games. What tool did you use?

[milkanannan]

Just watched the play through of the demo. Looks great! You probably hate being asked this, but how long do you think before you launch it?

[jmjm]

Just watched the play through of the demo. Looks great! You probably hate being asked this, but how long do you think before you launch it?

Glad you enjoyed the play through! Heh, I don't mind being asked when I'll be launching it! Optimistically I'd say late this year. I've planned the game in 7-8 sections (down from 10, I compressed a couple of the days together!). Section 2 is being beta tested right now, and I've started on section 3!

[Ghost]

You had me at "parser". And "Bequest". That's some fancy nostalgia bonus right there, and I'll patiently wait until all parts are released, and then play them, in order, while wearing a monocle. This looks juicy!

[jmjm]

You had me at "parser". And "Bequest". That's some fancy nostalgia bonus right there, and I'll patiently wait until all parts are released, and then play them, in order, while wearing a monocle. This looks juicy!

I will admit to buying a loupe that is as similar to the in-game inventory item as I could find! 

[jmjm]

Here are some fun recent developments from The Crimson Diamond:

Amazing Twitch streamer and Youtuber SkippyGranolaSA played through The Crimson Diamond demo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmAtmdgPn9w&t=256s, we chat the whole time and it's very nice.

I was on the Classic Gamers Guild Podcast discussing game dev progress and The Colonel's Bequest https://www.cggpodcast.com/e/episode-20-the-colonels-bequest/

I was a finalist in the Ubisoft Toronto Indie Series! http://toronto.ubisoft.com/2019/03/finalists-ubisoft-indie-series/ I didn't win, but it was a great learning experience and I met lots of wonderful people!

The Crimson Diamond Gazette #6 is out! http://www.thecrimsondiamond.com/CrimsonGazette6.html

[jmjm]

PC Gamer published an article on their site about The Crimson Diamond! Written by Tom Sykes. https://www.pcgamer.com/the-crimson-diamond-is-an-old-fashioned-mystery-in-the-style-of-sierras-laura-bow/

[milkanannan]

Wow you're famous!

[jmjm]

Wow you're famous!

Hah! Thanks. I'm hoping to show The Crimson Diamond at more shows and stuff, get it in front of more people. I'll update here if I get anything!

[jmjm]

The Crimson Diamond is now available to wishlist on Steam! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1098770/The_Crimson_Diamond/

The demo is also available through the Steam client, or direct from my site: http://www.thecrimsondiamond.com/

[jmjm]

PushingUpRoses played my demo and did a great little video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVL5eUWCwHs&t=2s

[SarahLiz]

0h yeah.  Wishlisted!!

[jmjm]

0h yeah.  Wishlisted!!

Hooray! Thanks so much! 

[Leisure Suit Harry]

These pictures look amazing. Same graphic style and quality as the EGA originals --> love 'em
Call me conservative, but this is the kind of game I wanna play.

[jmjm]

These pictures look amazing. Same graphic style and quality as the EGA originals --> love 'em
Call me conservative, but this is the kind of game I wanna play.

Thanks so much! I hope you do give it a try. I'm making this game for everyone who has fond memories of this style 

[jmjm]

Good news! I'll be showing The Crimson Diamond at AdventureX this year at the British Library, November 2 and 3! http://adventurexpo.org/. Hope to see you there! (I'm in the upper left  )

[jmjm]

I've got a table at EGLX in Toronto https://eglx.com/ (October 18-20) where I'll be showing The Crimson Diamond demo! Hope to see you there!

Over the course of PAX West recently, I met up with a couple AGS heroes of mine, Dave Gilbert and Francisco Gonzalez! Read about it here: http://www.thecrimsondiamond.com/CrimsonDevBlog.html

.

Best wishes!

-- Julia

[milkanannan]

Wtf how tall is space quest historian! 

[jmjm]

Wtf how tall is space quest historian! 

He's 6'7", I think! I'm 5'0" so that certainly doesn't help matters 

[milkanannan]

5'0?! 6'7?! The dad joke part of my brain is in overdrive. Did you have to call him to talk? Did he warn you of inclement weather? Did you take a nap in his pocket?

Sorry! Had to let it out. 

[Laura Hunt]

Meanwhile, everyone here who uses the metric system...

[milkanannan]

Same face I make in my Brit-heavy office when everyone kicks it 1300 AD and compares weight using a stone.

[jmjm]

5'0?! 6'7?! The dad joke part of my brain is in overdrive. Did you have to call him to talk? Did he warn you of inclement weather? Did you take a nap in his pocket?

Sorry! Had to let it out. 

Ehehehe! Yeah, I think I come up to his elbow? Here we are more eye to eye: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qo6wIxNdnA&t=1484s

Canada's metric, but I was brought up still using pounds and inches/feet for height and weight. It's just kinda stuck with me that way! I'm clear on kilometres and I don't have a clue about ounces. And yes, the stone stuff throughs me for a loop whenever I watch something British!

[Laura Hunt]

Canada's metric, but I was brought up still using pounds and inches/feet for height and weight. It's just kinda stuck with me that way! I'm clear on kilometres and I don't have a clue about ounces. And yes, the stone stuff throughs me for a loop whenever I watch something British!

I feel you! Born, raised and living in non-UK Europe (*), I obviously use metric for everything. But since I work at an American company, little insidious things like MM.DD.YYYY date formats or decimal points have been creeping on me out of the habit of having to use them every day for work. It screws with your brain!

Anyway, don't want to derail your thread! Congratulations for your table at EGLX



(*) for the nitpickers out there, I can't say "continental Europe" because I was actually born on an island way way off the actual continent

[jmjm]

But since I work at an American company, little insidious things like MM.DD.YYYY date formats

Ooooh. That one is a definite pet peeve of mine!

Anyway, don't want to derail your thread! Congratulations for your table at EGLX

Hehe no worries! And thanks so much! It's my first convention where I have my very own table! I just got a stand-up banner printed up, I'm pumped! 

[jmjm]

Hello hello! I'm excited to share that I'll be at PAX East on a panel moderated by Francisco Gonzalez (Grundislav Games) about "What's Next for Adventure Games"! Dave Gilbert (Wadjet Eye Games), Josh Mandel (Sierra On-line, Transolar Games), and Katie Hallahan Rahhal (Phoenix Online Studios) are also on the panel. Hope to see you there 
https://east.paxsite.com/schedule/panel/whats-next-for-adventure-games

For more updates, articles, dev blog, and links to a FREE demo download of The Crimson Diamond, please visit http://www.thecrimsondiamond.com/

[Creamy]

Nice to see this still in development.