Mythaumatology [Mature Content]

Started by , Sun 27/05/2012 15:23:39

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Ghost

Originally planned to be part of the AGS Bake Sale, Mythaumatology was later put on the backburner on account of being too large, too graphic-intense and, yes, probably too scantily clad. But things are looking good these days- we're back on track and things have improved on the way! The game's now larger, graphic-intenserer...er, and still somewhat scantily clad.


Mythaumatology
an Interactive Portmanteau

Deep in the forests, a creature of unknown origin awakes, with no memory of her past, with mysterious scars and no apparent place in the world. A ragtag, underdog, clueless misfit... and we all know what that means, don't we? We've seen this happen a thousand times, there's only one way the story can go.

But this is Saga, a gaslight fantasy world where humans have tamed magic so much that is has become their most ordinary tool, and where people are used to things being the same day after day. They don't really like savages...
This is no place for you, and even though you may be here, you're not quite there... yet.

WHEN you are there, though (that is, when the game will be released), you'll be in for:
* 18 hand-drawn rooms (that is a total of 1382400 pixels, which is a LOT!)
* everyone's favourite retro resolution of 320x240
* exploration, puzzles and that certain IF vibe
* a full cast of mythic beasts, including very large trees, centaurettes, wizards with a vengeance, golems, and one very grumpy moon
* a slim, robust two-click interface
* offbeat humour balanced by a thoughtful origin story
* emotion, drama, and marshmallows on fire

Have screenshots!

"I have no idea what this place is, and how I came here. It's nice and peaceful, but I *think* I should be somewhere else, somewhere high. I should be flying."



"Marshmallows told me to find the Elder Tree. He was nice. He gave me amber to eat and dew to drink. I think he is sad."



"This place is a maze and not as peaceful as I thought. There are things here that are hungry. One of them, however, is me."



"I must find a way out. Why do things always get complicated? Why isn't there a straight path out of this place? Why does everyone want to me to look at stuff and do complicated things? Do they think this is a game?"



"More troubled beasts, more tasks. There is something wrong here. There is a puzzle, and I..."



Mythaumatology's about to be released somewhere around this year (I never seem to be able to uphold shedules but heck, 2012 *must* work). AnalogGuy has offered to make a really cool soundtrack, and with a bit of luck there's even going to be voice acting (WHAM and Tabata have already helped to voice a single location, which was a hilarious experience!)

Stay tuned!

Snake

Looks just as good as it did during the back sale!

Looking forward to this one, Ghost. Keep up the good work and also, thanks for scaring the pants off of me with that moon. Good goddamn, man, I'll never look up at the moon again O_O
Grim: "You're making me want to quit smoking... stop it!;)"
miguel: "I second Grim, stop this nonsense! I love my cigarettes!"

WHAM

Yay! I am 100% supporting this and doing my best to voice any more or less curesy woodland critters you might need voiced! And don't forget playtesting! And I can give you critique of any artwork you might have, the more mammaries the better!

All in all, one of the most interesting AGS game projects I've seen, can't wait to see it finished!
Wrongthinker and anticitizen one. Pending removal to memory hole. | WHAMGAMES proudly presents: The Night Falls, a community roleplaying game

Tabata

YAY YAY YAY! 
A little gem is on it's way!
What a wonderful day today with such news! 

Stupot

Gorgeous screens!  Looking forward to this. :)

Mati256

Looks awesome Ghost! Can´t wait to play.
My Blog! (En Español)

Technocrat

Aha, I was wondering where this got to!

Ponch

Quote from: Snake on Sun 27/05/2012 15:33:31
thanks for scaring the pants off of me with that moon. Good goddamn, man, I'll never look up at the moon again O_O

Seriously, fuck that moon!  (wtf)

Looking forward to this one!

Radiant

Pretty!

Quote from: Ghost on Sun 27/05/2012 15:23:39
a gaslight fantasy world
Does that mean you're a Girl Genius fan?

Ilyich

Yay! Great to see this back on track, looking splendid!

Tabata

... and I seriously loooove this moon

       

It remembers me of some of you,
who try to appear like bad boys
(but in reality are quite fond of)  :kiss:

arj0n

Ah yes, the game with the "critter with very few clothes".
Top priority indeed. Awesome news Ghost!

Ghost

#12
Gee, thank you all for the encouraging responses! I really appreciate it; Mythaumatology is new ground for me in many ways and I hope you'll enjoy this one!

Snake, Ponch: Wait until you see the *sun*!  (laugh)

Arjon: Very few clothes? Where? ???  ;)

Quote from: Radiant on Sun 27/05/2012 23:45:59
Does that mean you're a Girl Genius fan?

Absolutely, I love that comic! Steampunk is all very well, but I like the way Gaslight Fantasy plays with magic tropes, and it is a rich hunting ground for game ideas and puzzles. It was great fun to set up a world with a ridiculously commercial approach to spells and suchlike, and with a certain simple ruleset that keeps everything together. The result is a human society that recreates "modern" machines with magical effects- one example is the summoning of a Telly-Faun (who remembers a message and then whizzes off *really fast* to tell it someone else).

It's fun ;)

Knox

Those screens look great! I really like the map + atmostphere of the backgrounds.
--All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.

Monsieur OUXX

the complete absence of anti-aliasing is surprising at first, but it looks really good! I wonder what it'd look like with a 3x filter :-)
 

WHAM

#15
I would call using AA in a low-res game cheating and cheap, but then again I use it in my lighting effects all the time, so I guess I'll just be quiet.
Wrongthinker and anticitizen one. Pending removal to memory hole. | WHAMGAMES proudly presents: The Night Falls, a community roleplaying game

ThreeOhFour

Great to see that you're back working on this! Looking forward to it as much now as I was when you first showed it off (which is a lot :D )

Chicky

#17
Oh wow! Ghost! That map!! That is by far the coolest map I've seen in an AGS game! Absolutely perfect :)

I really think our pixel art would work wonders together, although mine is a little washed out, your woodland bg's could happily fit into the fantasy world I've been crafting for the past 6 months (read: we should enter MAGS sometime!).

It looks and sounds really great, keep up the good work!

Regarding AA in low res, there's a massive difference between hand drawn AA and a 3x filter :P

Darth Mandarb

Quote from: Chicky on Mon 28/05/2012 15:48:11Regarding AA in low res, there's a massive difference between hand drawn AA and a 3x filter :P

Regarding the Games in Production board... it's not the Critics Lounge!!  :P  Let's stay away from CL type stuff please.

Anian

Needs more cowbell...and nudity. :grin: Game is looking cool and unusual.

It couldn't hurt to have more AGS games with nudity.  :wink:
I don't want the world, I just want your half

Tabata

We will see, whether gamers are adult enough for it and able to see more than just the nudity.   

And if you are already sure about that ...
Don't talk about it - do it!   

AnalogGuy

#21
Quote from: Tabata on Mon 28/05/2012 22:12:29
We will see, whether gamers are adult enough for it and able to see more than just the nudity.

You stole my words! 

But since we have AGS games such as PISS and Nancy the happy whore, there's nothing wrong with such innocent nudity this time. (laugh)
Ask if you want me to compose your game.
---
One thing that I would like to see happen with films is for music not to be treated as just one more ingredient, but as an integral and fundamental part, due to its fatal capacity to affect the mood of the movie.

LTGiants2000

Wow impressive, adding this to my "must play" list!

Ghost

Quote from: Anian on Mon 28/05/2012 21:52:59Needs more cowbell...and nudity. :grin: Game is looking cool and unusual.
Quote from: Tabata on Mon 28/05/2012 22:12:29We will see, whether gamers are adult enough for it and able to see more than just the nudity.

I really think they are, this thread shows it, and I am happy about that (former Bakers know I had my doubts). Fact is, there is nudity in the game because it has characters who have no reason to wear clothes. It's as simple as that- the game takes place in a forest inhabited by "savages": Mythological beasts kept seperated from civilized humans*. It's common these days to just quick-edit a loincloth over any naughty bits, but, to quote DualNames: "Don't change your vision, just do your thing."
____
* Plot element!

This day saw a couple of small detail work being wired in: Kee can now switch between several speech views to allow her to show more emotion, and I am warming up to Ali's SmoothScrolling module. It's pretty cool to have objects move a bit when walking around a larger scene- I think I'm going to keep it that way.

WHAM

We require more boobies! Boo-bi-es! Boo-bi-es! Boo-bi-es!
Wrongthinker and anticitizen one. Pending removal to memory hole. | WHAMGAMES proudly presents: The Night Falls, a community roleplaying game

Tabata

#25
Quote from: Ghost on Tue 29/05/2012 00:23:33
Quote from: Tabata on Mon 28/05/2012 22:12:29We will see, whether gamers are adult enough for it and able to see more than just the nudity.

I really think they are, this thread shows it, and I am happy about that ...
Quote from: WHAM on Thu 31/05/2012 11:18:53
We require more boobies! Boo-bi-es! Boo-bi-es! Boo-bi-es!
                         (... must be the reason why I feel that much at home here  :wink: )


But please don't forget the interesting and mystic tale that is to be discovered in this game.   ;-D

Kastchey

It's awesome news that this is back into production. The screenshots look beautiful!
QuoteKee can now switch between several speech views to allow her to show more emotion
Cool idea. It's fun to see how each of the screenshots in the main thread shows her with a different facial expression.

Ghost

#27
Quote from: Ghost` on Sat 02/06/2012 21:17:56
I have good news and bad news. The good news is that the game will be kept "in progress" but if given the chance I will remove all nudity. The reason being that there are so many nude games coming out. So keep checking and find out what will happen.

at Ghost' (aka SaneCo)
SaneCo, I had to check your profile to see who you are, but I don't think it is very funny! What do you think you're doing here? If you have to say something about the game, do NOT pretend to be me, and post your questions, concerns, crits or feedback here so that I have a chance to answer it. Using my avatar and name just to post about my game... well, that's not cool, it's assuming an identity to mislead. I am not cool about that.
I have reported that message because it really ticked me off.

Feel free to stop using my forum nickname, my avatar, and my signature anytime, or better yet, instantly.

edit:
Thanks, Darth.

Darth Mandarb

I have removed the offending post (so nobody gets confused about what Ghost is/was talking about!)

SaneCo - not cool, please do NOT do something like that again.

Ghost

Quote from: Kastchey on Fri 01/06/2012 00:36:16
It's awesome news that this is back into production. The screenshots look beautiful!
QuoteKee can now switch between several speech views to allow her to show more emotion
Cool idea. It's fun to see how each of the screenshots in the main thread shows her with a different facial expression.

I was always impressed by games that go the extra mile and add small inbetween animations to a speechview- Monkey2, Kyrandia, Simon, to name a few. Then we had The Forgotten Element where the team had a plugin written to make characters automatically do "emotional" stances and gestures. That really got me very exited and I've always wanted to give it a try. Mythaumatology focusses heavily on its main character and I think using extra expressions and stances make it easier for the player to relate to Kee. Not so sure how far I can push it; the sprites are relatively small and I can't do much with the eyes, but it's interesting indeed.

Sslaxx

It's a shame someone felt so offended by pixels representing nudity that they had to impersonate the creator like that. Whatever happened to "if you don't like something, don't look"?

Really do like the way that this looks thus far, Ghost. Nice style going on there with those graphics, going to be interesting to see how this all plays out.
Stuart "Sslaxx" Moore.

Ubel

Looks fantastic! Getting to see those visuals in action oughta be reason enough to try this game. Looking forward to it!

m0ds

Looking very nice and traditional!

Kastchey

Quote from: Ghost on Sat 02/06/2012 23:23:37
Mythaumatology focusses heavily on its main character and I think using extra expressions and stances make it easier for the player to relate to Kee. Not so sure how far I can push it; the sprites are relatively small and I can't do much with the eyes, but it's interesting indeed.
Chance of the Dead had some neat facial expressions that added a lot to the overall enjoyability of the game, so if this is going to have even more of them, then I can't wait to see how it will turn out!

EchosofNezhyt

Any updates? Close ups or Videos?

:P In all seriousness hows it going?

Secret Fawful

Full cast of mythical breasts...I mean beasts, eh.

theo

Looks great! That moon is gorgeous in it's creepiness. I want to talk to it - what a brilliant character.

Ghost

Frito- No close-ups and no videos, but progress is steady. I'm getting quite good at drawing trees. Each location has them, and so I am trying to experiment a bit with texture and colours. Have a peek:

I have also polished up the interface a bit to make everything look nice and consistent; once all the tedious code is done I really want to put up a small "demo" to show off all the cool trees and a small puzzle. These are interesting times and I am happy to make games!

Secret Fawful: I see what you did there :P (and heck, that *would* be a cast to remember!)

theo: I never thought of that... but... ooooh idea!

Ponch

Looking good, Ghost. That moon still creeps me out and I think I know why now: It looks like Abraham Lincoln. Apparently when he got shot in the head, he became the moon. I never suspected such a thing was possible, but it certainly makes sense in hindsight! I hope Elvis Presley became a tree. Also, for some reason, the blue M in the corner made me think of the old Netscape Navigator.

I look forward to many more naked screenshots from your game.  8-)

EchosofNezhyt

Looks awesome, I figured the moon might be a character.
Also a demo thing would be cool.

Only one thing though is I think the nudity takes away more then it adds imo its kinda distracting.

WHAM

Quote from: Frito Master on Sun 10/06/2012 02:55:04
Only one thing though is I think the nudity takes away more then it adds imo its kinda distracting.

If ya can't stand the boobies, stay away from the mammaries! ;)
I'm sure Ghost wouldn't just throw in boobies for the sake of boobies in a game that already seems to have such high production quality.
Wrongthinker and anticitizen one. Pending removal to memory hole. | WHAMGAMES proudly presents: The Night Falls, a community roleplaying game

Sslaxx

Quote from: WHAM on Sun 10/06/2012 16:06:22
Quote from: Frito Master on Sun 10/06/2012 02:55:04
Only one thing though is I think the nudity takes away more then it adds imo its kinda distracting.

If ya can't stand the boobies, stay away from the mammaries! ;)
I'm sure Ghost wouldn't just throw in boobies for the sake of boobies in a game that already seems to have such high production quality.
Well, at least he didn't be as much of a jackass about it as SaneCo. What is with the prudes lately?
Stuart "Sslaxx" Moore.

AnalogGuy

#42
Quote from: Frito Master on Sun 10/06/2012 02:55:04I think the nudity takes away more then it adds imo its kinda distracting.

That's very childish. Try to see the real beauty behind things... I mean like, "outside of the box". Your problem is that you can't avoid the associations of the thoughts of nudity... shame on you  :P

This reminds me of that funny documentary about a man who created a picture book only about closeup photos from hundreds of female's genitals. Of course, men had a lot of troubles avoiding the associations I mentioned when looking at the photos. The idea of the book was that there's unique beauty that you might miss because of these associations. Every photo shows you the fact that there's never identical genitals because each was different and unique. It's like a fingerprint!

In same way, if you see a woman breastfeeding her baby in open place like shop or park, would you yell "Shame on you! That's very inappropriate!" only beacause you can't avoid the associations when seeing her breasts? It's like you can't see, she's only feeding her child.

Hopefully you got the point I'm trying to say.  :P
Ask if you want me to compose your game.
---
One thing that I would like to see happen with films is for music not to be treated as just one more ingredient, but as an integral and fundamental part, due to its fatal capacity to affect the mood of the movie.

Ghost

#43
Wheee, easy! GiP is free for all and Frito just spoke his mind; nothing wrong with that at all.

Mythaumatology is clearly not a game for everybody. Apart from the visuals I am pretty sure that the actual story will not appeal to everyone (though I am trying to keep that a bit of a secret). That's just the way games are. I am very exited about trying out something new, something more mature- my earlier games were mostly funny with a bit of a dark streak; this time I want to go the extra mile.

Of course, a mature story does not NEED nudity. But I think it can better find a use for it. The idea was never to "have some boobies run around in a forest", the idea is to create a mood for the player, a background atmosphere, and maybe even some symbolism. From the very start of the project nudity (not only of the main character but of pretty much every mythical beast in the forest) was a theme. It contrasts with the civilized human society as it is portrayed in the game. It adds a tension of being vulnerable, and it seriously impacts the traditional bottomless inventory. It's not a mere gimmick, it's part of the story I want to tell.

Igor Hardy

Quote from: Ghost on Sun 10/06/2012 18:01:20
From the very start of the project nudity (not only of the main character but of pretty much every mythical beast in the forest) was a theme. It contrasts with the civilized human society as it is portrayed in the game.

I read that bit as "but of pretty much every mythical breast in the forest".

But I agree that we shouldn't look down at nudity - it's such a completely natural state to be in.

EchosofNezhyt

#45
Quote from: Ghost on Sun 10/06/2012 18:01:20
The idea was never to "have some boobies run around in a forest", the idea is to create a mood for the player, a background atmosphere, and maybe even some symbolism. From the very start of the project nudity (not only of the main character but of pretty much every mythical beast in the forest) was a theme. It contrasts with the civilized human society as it is portrayed in the game. It adds a tension of being vulnerable, and it seriously impacts the traditional bottomless inventory. It's not a mere gimmick, it's part of the story I want to tell.

I definitely see where your coming from, and it makes even more sense after reading the above.
I hadn't though there was much more planning into the idea then its to show vulnerable/primal state so I made her naked.(In which it "to me" seems a more distracting element then what its worth.)
However, if you had all that in mind and its a common motif throughout the story and it defined and not just some visual thing, Then it does seem like a good idea.(You should tell us a bit more about the story. :D)


As for everyone else I never said I couldn't handle nudity, Your thinking to much into what I said. (FOLLOWERS BAN WITH ME, WERE GOING TO STRIKE THE RENAISSANCE ART PIECES OF OLD!):P


Good Luck, Ghost!

Darth Mandarb

Okay... the issue is resolved.  Let's get back on target.

Sughly

Whoa, the art style in this looks amazing! Keeping an eye on this one for sure :D

EchosofNezhyt

Oh I forgot to mention ghost your feature on indie games blog is the reason how I found out about this site in the first place, So thanks :D!

Xyzzy

Is this still in production, and if it is, then why?

Chicky

I sure hope this is still in production! D'you have any updates for us Ghost? :)

Ghost

Chook (and everyone): The game's still in production, but progress is much slower these days. I am still hoping to get things done within the year. I am facing some time-consuming stuff right now, but it'll be worth it in the end.

Quote from: Xyzzy on Mon 03/09/2012 14:20:37and if it is, then why?
I don't quite get that. The logical answer would be: "Because I really like making adventure games, and I think this is going to be a nice one."  ;-D

selmiak

Quote from: Ghost on Mon 03/09/2012 22:50:50
Quote from: Xyzzy on Mon 03/09/2012 14:20:37and if it is, then why?
I don't quite get that.

perhaps he means why is it not finished yet ;)

I'm also thrilled for now screens or other updates :)

Xyzzy

Quote from: selmiak on Mon 03/09/2012 23:26:08
perhaps he means why is it not finished yet ;)
No, I really wanted to know why this is still being worked on, and why "Ghost" hasn't changed anything. This thread clearly indicates that he is facing a rough road with his current mixture of "mature content" and no information at all regading plot and puzzles.
I have no problems with a nude character, but right now it looks as if it really is the only gimmick Ghost is prepared to show/talk about. Isn't a GiP for sharing information?

JSH

This looks great Ghost, looking forward to playing your game! :)

Nice to see a mature AGS game for a change, I can only think of Donna, A Second Face, and lately PISS which feature nudity at all. I don't mind things like that as long as it's serves a purpose in the story, which it certainly appears to do in this case. So keep it up!

AnalogGuy

#55
Quote from: Xyzzy on Wed 05/09/2012 14:51:48
Quote from: selmiak on Mon 03/09/2012 23:26:08
perhaps he means why is it not finished yet ;)
No, I really wanted to know why this is still being worked on, and why "Ghost" hasn't changed anything. This thread clearly indicates that he is facing a rough road with his current mixture of "mature content" and no information at all regading plot and puzzles.
I have no problems with a nude character, but right now it looks as if it really is the only gimmick Ghost is prepared to show/talk about. Isn't a GiP for sharing information?
Don't be such a troll about the nudity as if that would be a real issue. And aren't you aware that some games can be too great to even reveal a tiny bit of the plot? I mean that just giving away anything about the game could potentially reveal too much? IMHO it's best moment when you don't even have a clue about what the game will be about and then the game opens up for you with potentially amazing story that you didn't even have expectations.

Ghost told me that the game could be finished within 2 months and that it's realistic schedule. After he can finish the game, it ends up directly for me to compose it. How long it will take for me to compose the game? Who knows... From one week up to half an year!  (laugh)

So it is still being worked on, althought at slower pace. So don't worry.  ;)

Ask if you want me to compose your game.
---
One thing that I would like to see happen with films is for music not to be treated as just one more ingredient, but as an integral and fundamental part, due to its fatal capacity to affect the mood of the movie.

Darth Mandarb

It is with an extremely heavy heart that I must now lock this.

Ghost, if you're out there somewhere...

http://youtu.be/Hn-enjcgV1o?t=1m1s

... and I will [so very] happily unlock this!


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