Dear all,
I'm happy to announce that the positive feedback I received on my freeware game Other Worlds (http://www.alkis.org/eworlds.html) has made me decide to found my own Adventure Games Developing Company, Atropos Studios.
The production on our first game Diamonds in the Rough has started.
In the game, you play the role of a 20 year old American called Jason Hart. Jason is a high school dropout who works as an office boy. All that is about to change in the beginning of our story, when he is approached by a mysterious man who seems to know more about him than Jason does himself.
The man claims to represent an organization that recruits people who are believed to have "special abilities". Those abilities could be telepathy, telekinisis, or other extraordinary powers. Jason has had such an ability all his life, fearing to admit it to himself, let along others. He accepts the job offer for this organization, which is called "Diamonds in the Rough".
The story begins as soon as Jason moves to a town in the Midwest, where he will do this mysterious "work". He will soon start to wonder who he is really working for, and what the purpose of the organization is.
The game will be 800x600, True Color, 3rd person perspective. We will focus on a solid, deep storyline and innovative puzzles.
A couple of screenshots:
(http://www.atropos-studios.com/images/screen5.jpg)
(http://www.atropos-studios.com/images/screen4.jpg)
Status Report (June 12, 2007):
- graphics 100%
- puzzles 100%
- story 100%
- music/sound 100%
- testing 90%
More information and screenshots can be found in the official website of Atropos Studios (http://www.atropos-studios.com).
This sounds very interesting. Especially the "Current thought" caption intrigues me, I can't start to imagine what the gameplay will be like. Other Worlds is one of my favorite AGS games of all time. It had such innovative puzzles so I'm looking very much forward to this one.
I know this isn't the critics lounge, and I don't know if it's too late for changes. But here goes: I honestly think you should change the clothes textures into something more photorealistic and possibly add bump mapping. The T-shirt in particular stands out as very CGI, and the shoes look much too clean. I would probably change the jeans texture too, but it doesn't call attention to itself like the shoes and T-shirt do. You've managed to avoid the dreaded Poser look on his face, so it would really be a shame to ruin it with the clothes. In addition, his standing pose seems a bit too symmetrical - making it look stiff - and you should also be careful with the position of the feet. Right now it looks like his toes are pointing inward on the front view. That said, the backgrounds look very nice, and I'm particularly impressed with the trees and other vegetation in the screenshot on the site.
Good luck, and keep us updated!
Edit: I couldn't really figure out, will this also be freeware or is it a commercial game?
Thank you very much for your feedback, it is appreciated.
Regarding the Thoughts GUI, here's how I would describe it:
Think of it as a second inventory. As you progress in the game, new thoughts are added and old thoughts disappear. A simple thought is a character's name, for instance. A more complex one can be a situation, like a meeting Jason just had or something he saw.
Thoughts can be:
-Examined (example: click on a name and Jason will tell you what he thinks about that person at the time)
-Combined (example: use a name on a situation and Jason will think if there's a connection between them)
-Used anywhere else in the game, just like inventory items (example: use a situation on a person and the person may tell you something about it)
Succesful use of any of the above may open a new location ("I'd better go ask X what he thinks of that"), trigger something somewhere else in the game, or even make Jason think of something new (a new thought will be added).
I like to think that the Thoughts panel will make Jason seem more real, instead of a marionette that obeys to the player's wishes. Plus, it should create some original puzzles.
(http://www.atropos-studios.com/images/screen3.jpg)
The Thoughts Panel
I'll forward your comments on Jason to my artist. It is certainly not too late for changes; in fact, Jason changes every day and his appeareance is far from finalised. I totally agree with you that his posture is too stiff and not satisfactory yet, although to be honest I haven't had any complaints on his clothes before.
I'm afraid the game will be commercial (low price), I hope it's ok with everyone here. I already got CJ's permission (and it has to be said that he politely declined any financial compensation).
Quotehe is approached by a mysterious man who seems to know more about him than Jason does himself.
The man claims to represent an organization that recruits people who are believed to have "special abilities". Those abilities could be telepathy, telekinisis, or other extraordinary powers. Jason has had such an ability all his life, fearing to admit it to himself, let along others.
Reminds me of:
http://everythingjake.com
Except it's about a college kid and whatnot. You're probably not familiar with the webcomic, as it's not an original premise anyways. Just connected in my mind. Or should I say, the two thoughts combined. :)
Backgrounds look good. Story sounds good. And I definitely like the thoughts system. It sounds similar to the clues used in Shivah, though Shivah was such a short game it couldn't take full advantage of the system. I'm sure you will be able to find some creative uses for it! Good luck with this.
I just hope you avoid the way-too-far delivery quests and poorly defined exits that made your last game so frustrating to play for me.
Quote from: Vince Twelve on Tue 18/07/2006 10:51:06
I just hope you avoid the way-too-far delivery quests and poorly defined exits that made your last game so frustrating to play for me.
All the feedback (both positive and negative) I got on Other Worlds is going to be taken under consideration.
Pushing the TAB key will display the Exits for a second, and there will be a shortcut map for you to get where you need fast.
Sounds great! Keep up the good work!
Hi alkis21,
Yes, I did played with other Worlds and congratulation to feedback you've received for starting your own adventure game company.
Just to clarify:
Is your game going to be commercial?
Usually when something read "Company" in post, might also think $ is involved down the line.
Great improvement over "Other worlds"
Quote from: alkis21 on Mon 17/07/2006 23:37:24
I'm afraid the game will be commercial (low price), I hope it's ok with everyone here. I already got CJ's permission (and it has to be said that he politely declined any financial compensation).
Have you modelled everything yourself? Looking good, that is.
What program are you using?
Yes, as I said the game will be commercial.
Quote from: splat44 on Wed 19/07/2006 04:12:21Great improvement over "Other worlds"
I assume you mean the graphics.. whether the actual game will be better remains to be seen. It's hard to match something you worked more than three years on, to be honest. I'll do my best.
Quote from: MadReizka on Wed 19/07/2006 10:07:42
Have you modelled everything yourself?
The only thing I can draw is conclusions! We have two artists working for us.
QuoteLooking good, that is. What program are you using?
You got me there... I know the characters were done with Poser 6.0, I'm not sure about the backgrounds. My associate purchased the software the artists requested.
Καλή τύχη.
Good luck.
hope everything turns out ok for your future (current) company. Graphics looking good, story too and you have already done a game! So you have experience!
As I said good luck with everything
Ευχαριστώ Nikola. Nice picture of your sons you have there. I tried to visit the web pages in your signature but they seem to be down.
Atropos Studios is happy to announce the beginning of what we are sure will be a very fruitful collaboration.
Nikolas Sideris will compose the music of Diamonds in the Rough.
Nikolas has a diploma in Piano with honours, a degree in Harmony, a degree in Counterpoint and a Master of Music from Royal Holloway College, University of London, with distinction. He has performed in concerts all over Greece, and his work has been featured in a number of plays and documentaries.
Visit http://www.nikolas-sideris.com to hear a few samples of his work. I suggest you go to Samples-> Commercial and listen to "A Tale of two Kingdoms", my personal favorite.
If you share my belief that music can be a crucial factor as far as the atmosphere of an adventure game is concerned, I'm positive that you will find this announcement very promising regarding the quality of the final product.
Well, it's good to see that you're doing that, Nikolas!
If anyone is interested in reading more details on Atropos Studios and Diamonds in the Rough, there is a detailed interview of mine in the September issue of The Adventure Lantern (http://www.adventurelantern.com/) online magazine.
Personally, I'd say the main character's posture and lack of any facial expression are what make him look computery and dead. But then again, these are early versions of the graphics, so perhaps your artist just hasn't posed them yet. A great addition would be if his idle animation differed depending on his current train of thought. Also, his chest sticks out a lot... Maybe I play too many underdog games where the hero's just a scrawny lad like myself.
I agree with you, Jason's posture has already been improved compared to what you see in the screenshots. As soon as we think it's perfect, we will post some new ones. I don't know if his *idle* view will depend on his train of thought, but he will be changing expressions often (ie during a conversation).
OH WOW!! Those screen shots are gorgeous!!! The colors and the details are incredible!
I'm really gonna like this game when it comes out! ;)
Hello all. I would like to bring to your attention that our web page (http://www.atropos-studios.com) has been updated.
Additions (regarding our upcoming game Diamonds in the Rough):
-New screenshots (http://www.atropos-studios.com/screenshots.html)
-Two new characters: Sydelle Williams and Nadine Conner (http://www.atropos-studios.com/characters.html)
-Voice samples of the four characters that are featured in the site
Any comments would be welcome.
Updated Progress Report:
- graphics 90%
- puzzles 40%
- story 90%
- music/sound 30%
WOW :o This game is going to be FANTASTIC!!!
Hi,Alkis really looking forward to your new game,i know it's a lot of work, but of all the games i have played otherworlds stands out and i , was completely immersed in the storyline .diamonds looks great graphically and your work is inspiring me to create a game of my own thanks for your help when i got in a corner with otherworlds it was appreciated ,and when i work on myÃ, new game would you mind if i came to youÃ, if i need advice thanks
You can come to me for advice anytime! Although many members know a lot more about AGS than I do, I can give you my opinion on pretty much everything else (story, characters, puzzles etc.). Not that I am the ultimate expert in those, of course.
Wow, this looks amazing, :D much better graphics than in "Other Worlds". (I have to admit i didn,t finish it because of that typing-quiz, ahem :-[.) This seems like a really ambitious project which I think quite a many people would pay money for (me included.) Good luck on the project. ;)
Alkis, Nikolas,
any game made with you guys working together is definitely going to be great!
The graphics in the new posts are excellent, much better than the first ones (I agreed with etchersketcher 100%) and the story looks very intriguing!
And I also love the name of your company - Atropos***! Very very good! And I loved the "Nothing adventured Nothing gained" on your website! It's not an easy decision to make your own company, so all I can say is
Καλή επιτυχία!
P.S. Πολύ θα το ήθελα να είχες και πάλι κάποιον Έλληνα «πρωταγωνιστή». Η Ναταλία και ο Άλκης έκαναν να νιώσω το Other Worlds «δικό μου»!
:D
*** For those who aren't familiar with Greek Mythology, Atropos was one of the three Fates.
One more interview for anyone who wants to read a bit more guys, it's in the Mystery Manor (http://www.mysterymanor.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4802&highlight) forum.
The interview features two new, exclusive screenshots, and the site is offering two free copies of DITR to their members.
EDIT To accolyte:
I can help you with that typing quiz if you're still interested, send me a PM.
Dear friends,
Two samples of the game's music are now available in the web page of Atropos Studios.
Visit this page (http://www.atropos-studios.com/music.html) to listen to them. Your feedback will be appreciated.
I would also like you to know that the official demo of the game will be available on July 1st.
Some more excellent stuff from Nik! Looking forward to the demo.
That is some of the most impressive music I have heard, Alkis loads of luck with the game it looks immense. Although I don't like 3D generally this looks set to change my mind, lets hope so
Keep on trucking
Sin
Looks really great!!! Like nothing I've ever seen on AGS. Can't wait. :)
Oh yeah, is this game going to be freeware, or are you charging money for it?
Dear friends,
I'm glad to announce that a fully playable demo of Diamonds in the Rough is available at Atropos Studios (http://www.atropos-studios.com).
Enjoy!
I don't have time to play the demo through now, but here are some first impressions:
The intro narrative - great. You have my attention from the very first line. It does get a bit talky towards the end, but it's one of the most exciting setups for a game I've seen in a long time.
The interface - I don't really like it. The letter icons are not quite as intuitive as graphical icons, one way of improving this would be to have the "hotspot identifier" part of the icon bar tell you what they mean, as you move the mouse over the icons. Also, PLEASE implement mousewheel support to scroll through the mouse cursors. It's always a pain to click one time too much and have to start all over. With the mousewheel, you could just scroll back one. A very nice surprise was the highlighting of exits when you press TAB. I have a similar feature in my game though it also shows hotspots.
Edit: I just found out about the hotkeys for selecting cursors - nice touch.
The thought interface - I find it slightly tedious to use for conversation, something that was also the case with the notebook in Dagger of Amon Ra. But I'm sure that it will work great for gameplay - The Shivah and Blackwell Legacy proved that to me, even though I was rather annoyed with the implementation in Discworld Noir. A small point, which can be argued since there's also the inventory to get the current thought from, is that it would be nice if the cursor changed to the current thought after selecting one and exiting the thoughts screen. I think it currently defaults to the hand icon.
The graphics - Animation is a bit stiff as can be expected from Poser characters, but overall the look is very professional. There's something off about the perspective in the street screen (not the building exterior), but I can't really put a finger on it.
Voice acting - Very nice. I've only seen the intro and had a short dialog with Sydelle, but all voices were appropriate to their characters (the main character also sounds more like a teenager than he looks it - I would never had guessed from the graphics that he was only 20).
Great work. I look forward to having some time to actually play the demo.
EDIT: Ah, so I played the demo through, and as it turns out there wasn't much more to it than I'd already seen. I can't say that the single puzzle changed my first impressions much. To be honest it doesn't make much sense that...
Spoiler
... a person tells you straight out about a problem they're having, yet you have to combine two thoughts for this topic to appear. I'm also wondering - is the nightmare about the demons just an in-joke, or does the story have actual connections to Other Worlds?
I would like to offer my services if you need any help
I would also like to beta-test if possible
Site is down at the moment as I exceeded my bandwidth! :o Apparently too many people were interested in download it.. I'm trying to fix this, I'll let you know when I do.
EDIT: The site is back up and the file was moved to a different server so everything should be OK now!
OK you used POser for Character but
What do you use to make background graphics?
nemis - please do not make a habit of digging up threads. This doesn't break the rules, but please read them before you dig up anymore threads.
I'm happy to announce that our game is almost complete. It is currently in the last testing stages, and it is expected to be released in March.
In the meantime, Atropos Studios in association with the popular web site of your beloved genre, Just Adventure, is offering three complimentary copies of the game. More information can be found in this web page (http://www.justadventure.com/Contests/DITR/DITR.shtm).
Hello all!
Just wanted to resurface this little thread back on top. :)
I don't how to go about speaking about a game I work on, so I'll try to keep it short and stick to the facts (as much as possible).
All the team, graphic artists, musicians, the coder's wife ;D, beta-testers of course, were unaware of the ending of the game. This is due to the way that Alkis works. So, finally, last week we all got our hands on the full game! It is 99.9% (would never say 100%, unless it was already released) and well, I was shocked and amazed, as I believe all beta-testers were as well, from the story!
I don't know about release dates, or anything towards that, I'm not responsible to any of these things, but since Alkis, mentioned March, and since the game *IS* 99.9% complete, I'd say that March is spot on. For further details you will need to ask him. ;)
I'm quite proud to be a part of the dev team and I'll leave it to this, I think.
Awesome! I can't wait!
I just played the demo through and here are my thoughts:
- The graphics looks great, but I don't really like the characters. Jason's walking animation looks pretty bad, I hope this will be better in the final release.
- Also there could be more animation from the characters. Idle animations and when they talk I didn't see any animation from them, expect that the mouths were moving :).
- The toughts thing is very nice. It did take a little time to me to understand it, but it is nice feature.
- I like the story, it really makes me wanting to play this game.
I remember from previous posts that you and your team are doing hard work to get the characters and animations better so i'm sure the final release is going to be much better (?).
Looking forward to this anyway!! Good luck!
Thank you for your comments.
I will not lie to you; the animations have been slightly improved since the demo, but the final result is not ideal.
I do however believe that the other aspects of the game are 100% professional and will compensate for that flaw. I'm talking about the story, the dialogs, the voice acting, the puzzles, the lack of bugs, the overall feeling of the game.
I also dare anyone to compare the music quality in Diamonds in the Rough to the one of any computer game under the sun. I have no idea what the hell is Nikolas doing working with us instead of a major Hollywood studio, but I will not question our luck.
Overall, I'm very satisfied and rather proud of the final product. It came out exactly as I had imagined it and in my opinion it is a very good pure adventure game. I can't guarantee that it will appeal to everyone (does such a game even exist?) but I'm confident that anyone who enjoyed Other Worlds will also like DITR.
Thanks for being honest :).
As I said in my earlier post, I am looking forward to this. I like'd the demo very much. The only complaints were those what I said.
Hopefully I will win free copy from Just Adventure :), if not, then I might just buy it.
Are you going to sell it through your website?
Quote from: Rd27 on Sat 23/02/2008 11:09:13Are you going to sell it through your website?
Yes we will, in a proper DVD box, not downloadable. Details will follow soon (in the Completed Games section).
No downloadable option? Is this because of the size? Because there are some great ways to distribute large files commercially. I'd imagine that you'd lose quite a bit of potential business by not offering a digital option.
It is not a matter of size. It's just our choice.
I certainly respect your decision, but if you wouldn't mind, as a person who is also planning on releasing a commercial AGS game, I'd be interested in hearing why you decided this. Ignore or take it to PM if that's better for you...
I have no problem replying to your question in public.
Ever since I started this, I've been doing things the way I've always liked them to be in the gaming world: 3rd person game, multiple cursors, challenging inventory puzzles etc. The same thing goes for distribution. I like my games to be in a proper box, or DVD case at least, so that's what I'm doing for Diamonds in the Rough. My opinion is that the shipping expenses are not considerable and people will appreciate it. I don't want to sell an 'invisible' product, and I certainly don't want to bug people with DRM or other security constraints. Digital distribution may be the future, but I don't think it's the present yet. Most people are used to getting something solid when they pay for it. All in my opinion of course, we'll have to wait and see whether I'm right or wrong.
Good luck with your project Vince, I remember that your comments after playing the DITR demo were more than helpful.
Thanks for the answer. Good luck Alkis!
Will there be any kind of downloadable playable demo?
There already is!
http://www.atropos-studios.com/demo.html
I played the demo the other day and wooow, this is good stuff!
The story, backgrounds, voice acting was outstanding and the music was really breathtaking. Nikolas has done well!
I can't wait till this is released! It's on my "to get"-list.
/Tom.
I believe that you shouldn't sell Diamonds in the Rough because it would make a good freeware game and if you want an alternate way to give it away than maybe a contest or buying it of your site wil help. Thank you, please don't make it commercial.
I believe that Alkis should do whatever he wants with his creation and his enormous efforts for this game. Plus check the completed games forum. ;) Game's out!
Game's out..
Just finished the demo and I must say I am very impressed.
The "thought board", for want of a better phrase, is a very innovative addition to the field of inventory based puzzles.
It took me a little time to get the hang of it, but once I understood the concept, I found it an excellent feature.
Graphics and music are great, and the story holds immense promises.
My only tiny gripe is that the walking animation could have been a bit more fluent.
This game will be well worth buying any day... (and soon we can)