JUNE 18 2007: THIS PROJECT NEEDS A MUSICIAN -See latest post for details.
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Well, it's that time of year again: the time of year where I start to feel guilty about not releasing anything for twelve whole months! Unfortunately I won't have a finished game to release this year, but as I am increasingly optimistic about finally completing this project in the first couple months of '07 I think it's time to initiate a little marketing hype by starting a GiP thread.
Announcing: CHARLIE FOXTROT, a game in progress.
Actually Charlie Foxtrot is an intrepid space adventurer --> (http://www.vanwijst.com/games/charlie_foxtrot/Foxtrot.gif)
But I haven't come up with anything better to call the project, so it's named after him for now.
STORY: Charlie is a clone working for the Empire of Conformity. Unfortunately his free-thinking ideals get him into trouble, so he flees to join up with the Intergalactic Rebellion Against Conformity. The problem is they've gone underground, so Charlie must scour the galaxy to find them. Once he does make contact with the rebellion he becomes a rebel agent on a mission to destroy the forces of conformity for ever!
CONCEPT: This game is conceived as a zany space adventure with a stong emphasis on parodying sci-fi as a genre. Every effort has been made thus far to incorporate as many elements of sci-fi pop culture as possible without actually infringing on any intellectual property rights -at times I concede it's probably a pretty thin line I'm walking.
SCREEN SHOTS: First here's a picture of Charlie about to steal the Millenium Bug from a Conformist space station. (http://www.vanwijst.com/games/charlie_foxtrot/millenium_bug.png)
This is Charlie wasting time in the scuzzy Burger Bar on the planet Aridis. (http://www.vanwijst.com/games/charlie_foxtrot/aridis_burger_bar.png)
Here's an example of some of the animation in this scene --> (http://www.vanwijst.com/games/charlie_foxtrot/Saxing.gif)
And now he's talking to Oxar the Grunge on the post-apocolyptic puppet world of Marf. (http://www.vanwijst.com/games/charlie_foxtrot/oxar_the_grunge.png)
STYLE: The artistic style of this game is intentionally retro-blocky while attempting to keep a high level of detail for visual appeal and game immersion. Every blocky character and many objects are animated to give the game an energetic feeling like that found in very old cartoons. Needless to say this has delayed progress more than I would have liked, but I think the final product will be worth it.
PROGRESS: Ah yes.... I'm never very good at this part (I misjudged the completion date of my last game by over a year....). So take this all with a grain of salt:
BACKGROUNDS: 57/57 }
ANIMATIONS: 100% }
PLOT: 100% }-Last Updated April 29 2007
SCRIPTING: 98% }
MUSIC: 2% }
I hope to update thread on a weekly basis to show continuing progress. If you see me slacking off please heckle me either in the thread or through PMing in order to keep me on task. Questions, comments and encouragement are also welcome.
DEVELOPMENT UPDATES:
Minus sounds and music......
ACT 1: polished to release standards (March 6 2007)
ACT 2: polished to release standards (November 2006)
ACT 3: polished to release standards (March 22 2007)
ACT 4: polished to release standards (April 16 2007)
ACT 5: polished to release standards (April 29 2007)
December 2006 -Yeah, this was pretty much a write-off....
January 2-12: I have done two rooms and all the associated animations and interactions! Also, I have two more backgrounds in various stages of completion, and I've done another walk-cycle!
January 13-15: Another background and a simple animation.
January 16-19: Stupid tech issues with laptop -no discernable progress.
January 20-21: A complex animation completes the interactions for a new room!
Late January 21: Another background and room objects drawn & animated.
January 23 : futuristic vehicle designed and latest room fully scripted.
January 30 : two more rooms added with animations -we're getting there!
February 9 2007: Another two rooms, four characters designed (& two of them animated).
February 11 - Feb 27: Kinda got distracted by a side project ::)
February 28 2007: Back on task with a walk-cycle!
March 2 2007: Two idle animations and two rooms worth of interactions polished off.
March 4 2007: A walk cycle, a conversation, and another room of witty interactions.
March 6 2007: Hooray for snow-days! I have debugged and polished every single interaction in Act 1 (of five).
March 10 2007: Sheesh polishing takes a long time... Anyway, interactions for half of Act 3 done, and a puzzle had to be reworked for plot reasons.
March 18 2007: Well it was a really busy week at work, but I've had time to work on the game most of the weekend and have polished 99% of Act 3 -two more acts to go!
March 19 2007: I created a background, but expanded the game design by two additional rooms ::)
March 21 2007 : created three characters and three awesome animations!
March 23 2007 : New room +scripting, and new object graphics for a puzzle.
March 27 2007 : New room, 2 animations and a bunch of scripting for two puzzles.
March 29 2007 : Killer new animation :)
March 31 2007: New background, two animations, some interactions.
April 10 2007: Significant animation and coding progress -> I expect a Beta Version is possible within the week!
April 12 2007: Two new animations and more coding ->Act IV is quickly nearing completion!
April 16 2007: Act IV complete!!!! Only two more rooms to go (+ a bit of coding).
April 17 2007: Second last background done - one more to go!!!
April 18 2007: All animations for second last room done.
April 23 2007: Last background & a new animation completed.
April 24 2007: I drew fifty sprites today for the climax animation of the game!
April 25 2007: Half of the final scene is scripted (more drawing required....).
April 29 2007: I've finished Act V ! Let the Beta Testing Begin!
Looks cool. Make sure to play that star wars bar theme (cantina) when that sax-player is on the screen. I love it! :)
The resolution confuses me! But still very nice graphics!
Animation looks brilliant too, can't wait for it!
Looks great! Love the style! Goodluck!
I think the sprites and background by themselves look great, I just personally don't really like the idea of mixing different resolutions together. But storywise the game sounds very good and I'm looking forward to playing it.
So many pop-culture references in so few screens! I like. I especially like pinocchio drowning his sorrows.
Looking really interesting. I like the style and the plot sounds really unique. Keep the good work and I wish you the best of luck!!!
I would never have believed there were so many Pixel Purists out there! ;)
I suppose a brief word on the resolution is in order. At the very early stages of development everything was 320x200 but it was hard to see some details so I blew it up to 640x400, and I liked the feel of the general blockiness so I kept it. At the same time I was having problems representing finer details and especially things farther away, so single pixel lines started sneaking into my backgrounds.
Beyond the arguments of necessity and the excuses of a young artist trying to find his stylistic calling, there is a more cerebral rationale for mixing and matching pixel sizes. If you think about it, the wonky look of mixed resolutions fits in perfectly well with the zany atmosphere I'm trying to create: the two are mutually supportive ;D. So consider it not an artistic slip-up but an affected irreverence.
Thanks so much for the interest everyone has shown. The work continues!
I'm just curious if the Charlie Foxtrot has anything to do with the US Army acronym Charlie Foxtrot...
He he......yeah. It's from back in my treeplanting days -I had this crewboss named Charlie and he called us Charlie's Foxtrots, mostly for his own personal amusement. It was only afterwards that I discovered the military meaning of Charlie Foxtrot.... Of course, it's also a play on another military term, Roger Wilco.
EDIT: For anyone wondering wtf we're talking about see this (http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/forum/jones/jones4.php)
I loved your last game (I dont know if it was the first), you're the type of game creator that adds LOTS of commentaries and reactions, and easter eggs, your games are VERY entertaining, and I cant wait to play this one.
I know is not the CL, but I think a little shading could add A LOT to your already great graphics, I know this game will be great too. Another to my DTP list. :P
EDIT: I meant the winter rose :D
Foxtrot... Uniform... Charlie... Kilo...
Hmm, how did that get stuck in my head?
However, those are some very fine MS Paint graphics and animations!
Looks fun, I probably should give your earlier games a try.
Quote from: BaRoN on Mon 04/12/2006 18:25:38
He he......yeah. It's from back in my treeplanting days -I had this crewboss named Charlie and he called us Charlie's Foxtrots, mostly for his own personal amusement. It was only afterwards that I discovered the military meaning of Charlie Foxtrot.... Of course, it's also a play on another military term, Roger Wilco.
EDIT: For anyone wondering wtf we're talking about see this (http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/forum/jones/jones4.php)
Technically speaking we don't use Roger Wilco, as it's redundant. Saying ROGER means you understand, which in turn means you will comply. WILCO means WILl COmply, which in turn means that you understood.
So Roger works, and Wilco works, but never Roger Wilco. Similar with over and out, which is paradoxal, as over means I'm done speaking, it's your turn to talk, and out which means I'm done speaking, and don't want a reply.
Sorry for the OT.
About the res:
I took your first background, moved it one pixel to the left (the sprites' x-coords were odd) and resized it to 50%:
(http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/6189/redrawbarvu9.png)(x2)
Beauty!
I'd really reconsider the decision on the resolution, because
a) your second background doesn't even use the higher res.
b) the other two just don't look consistent.
Suggestion duly noted. I'll be frank: I'm not really seeing the improvement consistent resolution brings. Couple that with the fact that changing it at this point would create even more work than finishing the project otherwise would, I have to say that I'm pretty comfortable with how it is now.
This has been quite an unexpected learning experience for me! I will definitely focus more on resolution consistency in my next game.
Quote from: Alynn on Tue 05/12/2006 11:47:12
Technically speaking we don't use Roger Wilco, as it's redundant. Saying ROGER means you understand, which in turn means you will comply. WILCO means WILl COmply, which in turn means that you understood.
Sorry for the OT.
Wow, you really DO learn something new everyday! I was just vaguely aware that both
Roger and
Wilco were military terms. Since
Roger Wilco is the name of the original intergalactic adventure game hero, I thought
Charlie Foxtrot would be appropriate homage to those who went before me. The misuse of
Roger Wilco is something you'll definitely have to take up with Sierra or whoever controls their legacy.
Thanks again for all the interest everyone has shown in this project. I managed to animate another character today, proving that progress does [occassionally] happen.
BaRoN
Another update (see first post). I'll sweeten the deal since I'm double posting by releasing another in game screen shot -the bridge of the evil clone space station! Is that Dark Helmet or Darth Vader? Maybe it's a cross between Napoleon Bonaparte and Colonel Gadaffi? As long as you're guessing there's no copyright infringement, right?
(http://www.vanwijst.com/games/charlie_foxtrot/clone_station.PNG)
THIS PROJECT IS IN BETA TESTING MODE!
Effective 11:23pm EDT I finished the rough version of this game - This means it's fully playable with all interactions and animations! What it lacks is music, sounds & credits, and a bit of polish around the edges, but I intend to work on that while the nuts and bolts of the game are being beta tested.
WHAT I NEED: BETA TESTERS (Preferably 3 or 4).
JOB DESCRIPTION: Try everything -EVERYTHING! This is a big job, since the game is full length (60 rooms). I need fresh eyes to look for game crashes, walking deads, missing inventory items, stuck players, animation glitches and spelling errors. I hope to break the task down into segments so as not to overload individuals, but this could easily take 3-4 hours of your time.
WHAT YOU GET: First crack at the game, full credit as a beta tester in the game's documentation, and the eternal gratitude of myself and every future player of the game who won't be frustrated by avoidable bugs.
QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED: Previous Beta Testing is an asset.
HOW TO SIGN UP: PM me or post here.
Preemptive thanks to all those willing to help out!
BaRoN
I'll try out for beta testing. I'm currently beta testing for two games, so I have some experience.
I love the low-res graphic style, but some of the backgrounds seem out of resolution, eg: the burger bar is low-res and the street scene with Oxar is a higher res- or was that the style you were aiming for?
Cool! :=
May I (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/images/playtesting.gif), may I (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/images/playtesting.gif)!!! ::)
This game looks quite cool. I'll probably beta-test (although I'm not known for bug-free releases ;)) - beware my BUG TRACK NOTEBOOK OF DOOM!
Alright, PMs should have been sent to all the Beta Testers. Have fun -I mean, work hard!
Something I forgot in the form letter: if you could send me your thoughts on possible copyright violations, that'd be awesome. I put my own twist on everything, but I'm not sure if it's enough of a twist in some cases.
Thanks again,
BaRoN
Well, from my point of view, this is a parody - so as long as you label it as parody, you don't violate copyright.
I love the graphics! I love the colours! Nice work!
Looks like fun! If ya still need a beta-tester than I'm game ;D
Well now......*Baron puts hands in pockets, stares sheepishly at the ground and kicks up some dust
I'll come right out and say it: I've encountered a bit of a snag in publishing this game, and that snag is music. Originally I thought I would be able to do it myself but the task proved, over the course of a month of trying, well beyond my abilities. So I contracted a musician friend of mine to do it, but after yet another month of NDP (No Discernible Progress) I've had to cancel our arrangement. Which means I'm essentially where I was at the end of April, which is immensely frustrating given this game's advanced state of completion.
So, I'm now in the market for the services of a musician. Interested parties should PM me for specifics and with a link to a piece of their work (doesn't have to be anything special) if they are interested. In general I'm looking for pretty cheesy sci-fi retro stuff (like early space quests or even Commodore 64 style) -for that reason MIDI is probably the preferable medium, but if you've got a compatible/complementary artistic vision I'm flexible. The only thing I absolutely must insist upon is some spoof music that is at least vaguely reminiscent of the Star Wars Cantina theme for my bar scene and a short Elvis spoof. Other than that the requirements are open to interpretation but will include:
-30 sec -1 min loops for 7 distinct zones (a space station, a small-town, the desert wilderness, a post-apocalyptic jungle, the primordial plains, a secret base and the final epic finale).
-A one off theme that doesn't have to loop for the introduction sequence and the credits afterward, but should be around 30 seconds long with a 30 second fill-up-the-time extension for the end.
-A five second "impending death" suspense build up.
-If you're into doing sounds too that's a huge bonus.
I will accept inquiries and submissions until Thursday June 21 @ Midnight GMT . Then I'll make a decision. Thanks in advance to any interest shown,
BaRoN
That really sucks about the musician Baron! If i could write anything other than guitar you know i'd help!
I'm current looking for a music at the moment aswell, it's really frustrating not being able to do it yourself.
best of luck mate!
Besides his own sizable NecroQuest project, Yarooze has generously volunteered his time and talents to compose some of the music for this game!
**Crowd cheers wildly for Yarooze!
What is more is that, after a lot of failure and dead-ends, I'm finally producing MIDIs that don't sound like bottled horse farts! So there are now two musicians collaborating on this project.
A sample of the game's music can be listened to at the following links:
Desert Wilderness, by Baron (http://www.vanwijst.com/games/charlie_foxtrot/desert_wilderness.mid)
Clone Lord Walz, by Yarooze (http://www.vanwijst.com/games/charlie_foxtrot/clone_lord_walz_2.mid)
Desert Town, by Baron (http://www.vanwijst.com/games/charlie_foxtrot/townscape.mid)
Cantina Adaptation, by Baron (http://www.vanwijst.com/games/charlie_foxtrot/cantina_adaptation.mid)
Crazy War Vet's house, by Baron (http://www.vanwijst.com/games/charlie_foxtrot/conspiracy_den.mid)
Junkshop, by Baron (http://www.vanwijst.com/games/charlie_foxtrot/junkshop.mid)
We've been at this for just over a week now, and we are roughly half way through!
EDIT JULY 5 - Jungle Rhythm, by Yarooze (http://www.vanwijst.com/games/charlie_foxtrot/jungle04.mid)
Glad that you've managed to get some music done. This game is one I'm really looking forward. And this process must mean the release is comming closer :)
Somebody call a moderator, 'cause this thread needs locking! 8)