Quest to End All Quests: Updates and Search for an Animator!

[Play_Pretend]

UPDATE 10/07/08:  Hey everybody!  We're back in full swing on Q2EAQ after the successful release of Damsel, and we've got a couple new little tidbits to titillate you, plus an update on our overall progress and a request for assistance!

We're at just about 60% completely finished backgrounds, with the rest medium-drafted...I know it seems lower than our previous progress, but after the positive response before, we expanded the game with a few more rooms, characters and puzzles that add to the plot and make it even more fun.   The scripting's progressed pretty far too, all the many, many room responses are completely done, and we're at about 60% with the dialogues and in-game events.  We're looking at probably another...6?  Months?  Maybe?  We hope?  Before release.

Our composer Jaroban is coming up with a *spectacular* musical score for the game, here's a short sample:
Tell me this doesn't make you want to grab a sword and run over plains in slow motion!

We're also looking for a character animator to help us handle the large quantity of animations in our game...if you're handy with pixellated (and very detailed) art, and want to learn more, you can get all the info here: Search for an Animator!

Here's a couple more finished screens:

Circe, Semi-Retired Witch


Pinky the Elephant in her natural habitat:


And it's official, we're definitely going to be casting voice actors for the game a few months before release, so keep your throats warmed up!

Thanks for taking a look, we'll keep you posted!



Original Thread:

Strange Visitor Productions and PPA Entertainment are proud to present...

Quest to End All Quests!

Balder!  Hero of a thousand adventures!  Well, actually seventy-two adventures, but still!  Balder has spent his whole life as a barbarian hero, going on one Quest after another, rescuing lost treasures, saving scantily clad princesses and defeating evil monsters and wizards.  And what does he have to show for it?

Arthritis, a bald head and a lot of scars.  Who wouldn't be tired of solving other peoples' problems all the time?  And now that he's old and wants to put his feet up and enjoy his elderly years, dang if people aren't *still* pounding his door down day and night with more quests!

Well, enough is enough.  Balder is going on one last Quest to find out what higher power is dragging him into these messes over and over, and put a stop to it.  What happens when heroes get old?  What happens when monsters lose their teeth and the villains sell out?  Find out, in a Quest of existential enlightenment, a Quest of naked leather-clad muscle power...

...a Quest to End All Quests!







Conceived in the Shower, Written, and Scripted by: Strange Visitor
Magnificently Arted, Charactered and Animated by: Pijin
Melodically Composed by: Jaroban
Fancily Special Art Moments by: MashPotato

Backgrounds: 60%  (All medium drafted, and 50% final drafted!)
Story, Puzzles and Hoopla: 100%  (No making it up at the last moment for *us*!)
Characters: 50%  (Balder seems to only be wearing 10%.  Barbarians.)
Scripting and Writing: 70%  (There's always room for more jokes!)
Music: 40%

Estimated Release Date: Early 2009-ish

This project has been tons of fun to work on so far, and we really can't wait to get it out there.  It's been in production since November 2007.  Once everything's 100% complete we'll be looking into voice actors for it as well.  We'll keep you posted!

Eensy Update:  In response to the posts on here and a bunch of messages I've gotten, I wanted to tell you...believe it or not, Pijin did all that artwork on *Microsoft Paint*, using only his mouse.  *gasp!*    I originally did the art to look like KQ1-3-ish, and the original 16-color blocky bg's and chars will be released as an extra.  But Pijin's work was so freaking impressive that the game grew larger and got more characters and puzzles just to keep up!  He's busting himself hours every night doing all those amazing details.

A quick example of just how far he's improved over my old artwork:   :o



Also, yes, I'm a huge Pratchett fan, although I swear I wasn't trying to rip off Cohen.  He started as a really old looking parody of King Graham.  It wasn't until I'd changed his original character and went, "Hey!  It's so much easier to make him a little old man in a posing pouch!"  that I realized he looked like Cohen.  Plus, there are going to  be moments in the game when you'll hear a "glingleglingleglingle", which started as a coincidence, but is now an homage.

And yes, the shortened nickname for the game is Q2EAQ, which we pronounce "Q-tweak".

Weensy Update:  Really, I swear, other than his accidental resemblance (how many ways can you draw an elderly barbarian?) and the old-hero theme, this game will be nothing at all like The Last Hero.   For all those who asked:   



And yes, we will probably release a demo a couple months before the finished product.

[Buckethead]

Wow these backgrounds are amazingly detailed. Can't imagian how much work much have gotten into them. Great job! Good luck with processing people! 

[Frodo]

Hehe.  This sounds really funny.  And those screenshots are brilliant.   
I love that dragon with the specs.   

Can't wait to find out what happens when heroes get old!!!   

[ginanubismon]

Wow, I cannot wait to play this game.

And I want to see the villain sell out, too.

[twin-moon]

*gasps with astonishment*

This looks gorgeous! The barbarian reminds me a lot of how I imagined Cohen the Barbarian (from Discworld) and being reminded of DiscWorld while playing a game is never a bad thing.
It's a very good idea, this should be LOL to play indeed.

Can't wait to download this!

[Zufub]

Nice job! Screenshot with dragon is the best ^^ I wish you will end this game ^^

[Erwin_Br]

Looking good!

--Erwin

[Mazoliin]

Nooo waaaay :o
How can a human being do something like this?

This is going to be a great game, I can just feel it! Good luck!

[Zufub]

Nooo waaaay :o
How can a human being do something like this?

Similar graphic (good as this one) i saw in old adventure games Look at Curse of Monkey Island for example. But that was games made for making cash. Here we got game building from first steps all in freeware version.

Let's back to the topic: that should be fantastic!

[Mordalles]

looks great! i love the way the rocks are done! great textures.
can't wait to play. 

[glaurung]

A must-play if ever there was one!!!

And I have to admit, I have a weak spot for adventure games with the word "Quest" in its title...

[Zufub]

I think author of this project using tablet to make graphic ;P

[miguel]

Great art on the screenshots! Hope you finish it as it deserves to!
Will the game have a lockpicking puzzle?

[ThreeOhFour]

Awesome. There are a number of things I'd like to "Awesome" at, but the long list would probably annoy people. So allow me to "Awesome" the entire thing.

Awesome.

[KuroShiro]

This reminds me (a LOT) of The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Actually that's a pretty good thing. An awesome thing even.

[i k a r i]

WOW.. indeed VERY detailed backgrounds, it must have taken some time  :o

I love the idea, and everything xD. Cant wait.

[Zufub]

from Pratchett I'd prefer everything with Grandma Wheaterwax . But other books're great too ^^ I heard bad informations about him ;(


But let's back to topic:

Will you make a demo version? ^^

[Akatosh]

I'm filled with astonishment, eager anticipation and envy in equal amounts. If the rest of this game will be as good as the art...

[CosmoQueen]

Oh my! The colors and the details of the graphics are astonishing! And the story sound very cool! I've never seen a game action hero in his old age and yet so incredibly ripped! LOL I really can't wait for this to come out. This has jumped to number one on my list of game releases I'm most anticipating.

And by the way I love that name you gave him! "Balder" That's just hilarious!

[Zufub]

Balder's name don't making me funny in any way.

Nice evolution of him ;-) (Carol Darvin?)

My first game on list 'Games waiting for release'? It is of course Duke Nukem Forever >joke