Emily Enough: Imprisoned--Calling All Beta-testers

Anarcho · Sun 01/08/2004 22:12:13

EMILY ENOUGH: IMPRISONED
by Logan Worsley

THE (back) STORY:

Emily Enough, child prodigy and daughter of wealthy entrepreneur Charles Enough, developed an appreciation for the niceties of life at a very young age. As an heiress to the Enough family dynasty, she ate the finest foods, cherished the finest dolls, and lavished in a lifestyle fit for a queen.

Emily was also blessed with the gift of intelligence. She learned to read at the age of four, enjoyed Dickens at age six, savored Dostoyevsky at age eight, and debated the merits of Plato's Republic at age ten. Her nearly encyclopedic knowledge of all things arcane stunned her tutors, and often intimidated her own parents.

In addition to money and intelligence, Emily was also cursed with an anti-social personality. She cared little for the well being of others. She took pleasure in torturing the family servants, both mentally and physically. Her love of luxury was matched only by her willingness to inflict pain and violence upon others. Her parents feared that they had given birth to an amoral monster, so much so that they sent her to a therapist at age seven. Her therapy abruptly ended following an incident with a dull letter opener. The child's irrational actions continued, and increased in frequency. Anything short of perfection, from the quality of her breakfast to the softness of her sheets, would result in a violent mood swing. As Emily's eleventh birthday approached, her parents contemplated institutionalization. But the Enough family hesitated, fearing a scandal and a tarnished reputation.

The family paid dearly for their vanity, for on her eleventh birthday, Emily murdered them all. On that day, Emily had received only three new ponies, instead of the usual five. Without hesitation, Emily stuck a dinner fork in her mother's throat, and forced a steak knife through her father's heart. A scene of unimaginable gore ensued, as Emily repeatedly stabbed her already dying parents. She then turned her attention to the servants, managing to slice the face and wrist of a scullery maid before a group of housekeepers and cooks pinned her to the ground. The staff was horrified but not surprised. The police were shocked, not only by the violent nature of the girl's crime, but by her complacency and disinterest in the incident.

Physical evidence and eyewitness testimony connected Emily to the crime. The local community was outraged over the incident and many called for Emily to be tried as an adult. The District Attorney, however, had been a friend of the family, and felt pity for this obviously disturbed child. The DA tried Emily as a child.

A jury found Emily guilty of all charges, and sentenced her to ten years in mental ward. She was sent to a newly privatized sanitarium owned and operated by the pharmaceutical interest Claxochem. The game begins as she is escorted to her new home...

You'll play the game as Emily, child deviant and evil mastermind, as she rages against her captors and tries to escape the terrible corporate confines of The Claxochem Center for Mental Wellness!

THE SCREENSHOTS:

Fascinating Characters!

Scandalous Locations!

Never-ending Drama!

Projected Release date: It's been pushed back more times than i can count, so I won't even try to guess.

THE PARTICULARS:

640x400 artwork, hi-color, guaranteed to take up more hard drive space than you can ever possibly imagine. I've completed all of the backgrounds, 95% of the sprites, and a fair bit of the programming. I've got some animations left to do, and a whole lot more programming to do. The story, back-story, and most of the dialogue is already written. And oh yeah, cut scenes. I still have to do those terrible cut scenes.

Soooo, let me know what you think of the graphics/back-story, and keep in an eye out in the coming months for a posting in the completed games forum

Babar · Sun 01/08/2004 23:32:46

wow...very interesting story. It would be great to see where you go with this. Some nitpicking with the graphics: All the characters seem to be very pale, and Emily doesn't look nearly evil enough, even subtely evil. She looks sad.

Bagpuss · Sun 01/08/2004 23:37:07

What do I think?Ã,Â Wow!Ã,Â Are those backgrounds 3D rendered?Ã,Â Either way they're good.

As for Emily, I know most adventure game heroes are kleptomaniac vandals, but this is taking it to a whole new level.

By the way, I suspect the following to be a misprint:

QuoteShe pleaded not guilty, on the basis of insanity 1FEE .

Anarcho · Sun 01/08/2004 23:43:06

You can plead not guilty on the basis of insanity, but she probably wouldn't, so I'm going to take that little line out.Ã,Â

No, it's not 3d rendered.Ã,Â I don't really know how to do that.Ã,Â On the opacity of the characters, they're all made to look that way...just a style thing I guess, I'm not sure why i decieded to do that...

and in making her look evil...i dunno, i feel like a character that doesn't neccesarily look evil but is, can be a bit more disturbing...but maybe she could look a little less sad...

Bagpuss · Sun 01/08/2004 23:54:19

I rather like Emily's downcast look, but it's your game, so do what you like. Maybe if she looked more sulky or petulant it'd work, after all that would fit with the backstory. The cute little shoes and dress simply must stay, though.

Anarcho · Sun 01/08/2004 23:59:18

well there's always room for improvement, and i'm still working on the side views...i just can't get her hair to look right. i'm going to post in the critic's lounge one of these days.

Barbarian · Mon 02/08/2004 08:45:43

Just some quick thoughts:

Disturbing story line (not saying that's it's "bad", just, ummm, very "dark").
Nice art, fairly professional looking.
Pulled off right, it could be a very unique and interesting game.

Good luck with it.

BerserkerTails · Mon 02/08/2004 18:07:13

Wow, this looks awesome! I love the art style, it just gives the whole feeling that the mental institute is a terrible place that sucks the life out of everyone. It just makes you want to escape that much more. Very, very cool. I can't wait to play it.

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens · Wed 04/08/2004 02:16:17

I noticed you said you were having some problems with her hair, so I thought I would lend a hand (or try)

I made some minor cosmetic changes, primarily to her eyes (other people mentioned a disinterested look?). The original is on the right, and I apologize if altering your work upsets you. Just let me know and I won't do it again

.

-ProgZ

Anarcho · Wed 04/08/2004 19:08:07

I was talking more about the side view hair, but i like what you did with her hair in this view too.Ã,Â I think i'm going to keep her face the way it is, though.Ã,Â i like the anime-ishness of her eyes.

DanClarke · Wed 04/08/2004 23:23:34

i love the look of this, very promising, and youve backed up your style with a solid plot, keep it up

edmundito · Thu 05/08/2004 00:55:59

The color scheme used looks pretty interesting, it looks very depressing too.

Rincewind · Thu 05/08/2004 12:24:54

Ah, this looks very good - The graphics looks cartoonish, but still very bleak and depressive... Heh, at least that's the impression I get...

As I said, looks mighty fine.
The story sounds rather macabre, but that's just good, I'd say... I'd say it's a slightly more morbid version of "Little Johnny Evil"...

Good luck with it!

Anarcho · Thu 05/08/2004 15:52:41

Thanks for all the positive feedback everyone! I really appreciate it.

You all seem to note that it's a morbid story with dark graphics...which is exactly what i was going for. Though I should note, that the storyline as played in the game is a bit on the satirical side and comical, not just purely dark.

-Logan

edmundito · Thu 05/08/2004 16:41:43

It remidns me of Nuttin' Atoll from Escape from Monkey Island... it has that same sort of feeling of darkish backgrounds.

Totoro · Fri 06/08/2004 15:36:07

This looks ABSOLUTELY fantastic and interesting :o
Cant wait to play this little baby! I love the characters, they look really sick and spooky!

Anarcho · Fri 06/08/2004 15:58:08

Are you from Berlin?Ã,Â I was living in Prenzlauerberg this past year when i started this...i was unemployed and spent about 12 hours a day playing around with pixels...i credit berlin's endless grey sky and a god-awful coal oven with inspiring the game's...um...spooky and depressing decor.Ã,Â Not to say that i don't love berlin...

I'm glad you like it!

-Logan

Totoro · Fri 06/08/2004 20:11:59

Quote from: ldw on Fri 06/08/2004 15:58:08
Are you from Berlin?Ã,Â

Yes, I am! Wow, after hearing that my hometown sort of inspired you, I even want to play Emily Enough even more! Good luck with it!

MoodyBlues · Sat 07/08/2004 03:42:42

Daaaang, this looks freaky-fun. Can't wait to check out the final product

Just curious - what's the overall tone of this game (besides scary/freaky/goreyfun)? Is it dark comedy, drama, horror, or something else?

fovmester · Sat 07/08/2004 09:41:30

Really cool story! I really hope you finish it soon!