Warning: if you were one of those delicate souls who didn't like having to kill the doggy in the last adventure I released here, then don't even THINK about playing this one. Other criticisms of that game I've taken to heart though - so in this game I've rendered the character sprites a lot larger, so that they don't pixellate so much in close-up; actions are deferred until the character arrives at a target area rather than giving an irritating "it's too far away" kind of message; and it's possible to "eyeball" the surrounding area to find potential exits, rather than having to blunder around until you stumble over them
Early days yet, but this will be a "Resident Evil" style game, mixing both action and puzzles. Violence, adult themes, some gore, a great deal of cussing
The game engine is pretty much written now. Everything is controlled from the core script, and there's no code attached anywhere else. That was an intellectual challenge as much as anything else, but I've found that at the end of the day it makes the development process a lot easier to control
Anyhoo, "Hood" is the working title, but that may well change as it develops
(http://artofdarkness.nfshost.com/AoDSamples/Images/HoodPromo001.jpg)
Finally!
I'm intrigued, the "doggy killing" part got my attention.... and I have a good feeling about this. Definitely a game for me:)
amazing , remember me resident evil 3 , ;D ;D ;D
i guess mentioning the dead doggy was a mistake, huh? sheesh, good job i never posted the game where you have to kill an elephant in order to advance
and don't even ask about the blue whale...
anyhoo, a few more screenshots
(http://artofdarkness.nfshost.com/AoDSamples/Images/HoodPromo002.jpg)
the first level is pretty much written now. it establishes the premise, introduces the heroine and a few other characters. there's a dozen or so screens to explore, one main puzzle to solve, and quite a few things to find. there's music, and sound effects, but no combat as yet. that will be the next major stage of the project
anyway, once i've winkled out the last remaining bug (like THAT ever happens) from this stage of the game i'll pm a link to everyone who's expressed interest so far. well, at least that's not going to take long, is it?
I know this isn't the critics lounge, but I just have to point it out: the background perspective does not align with the protagonist sprite. Is it a w-i-p thing?
the alternative is to use boring straight on camera views for every single scene, which would obviously then match up with the straight on sprite views
personally i prefer to use dynamic camera angles, giving a variety of different scene perspectives and scales, and the player just has to suspend disbelief regarding how the animated sprites fit into the scenes
however, if you know a way of dynamically modding the in-game sprites to match background camera angles in AGS, then i'd be fascinated to hear it
Wow, I was completely off there. From the title I immediately thought you meant "(Fort) Hood: Survival Horror" :S
Anyways looks good, good luck with this. The backgrounds are nice, I could totally see a TMNT mod of this :P
Quote from: S on Mon 09/11/2009 13:50:51
I know this isn't the critics lounge, but I just have to point it out: the background perspective does not align with the protagonist sprite. Is it a w-i-p thing?
Now, of course it's a work-in-progress! Isn't 'AGS Games In Production' name kind of giving it away?:)
I do agree about the perspective though.... I love the theme, resident evil references and the graphics here, but you should maybe tweak scaling level here and there. Having said that, on some of the screens the characters and backgrounds are in perfect harmony!
Woah, looks great. Can I get a link, too when you dish them out?
Cheers bro.
Quote from: Grim Reaper on Mon 09/11/2009 20:28:08I do agree about the perspective though.... I love the theme, resident evil references and the graphics here, but you should maybe tweak scaling level here and there. Having said that, on some of the screens the characters and backgrounds are in perfect harmony!
i'm not really sure i quite understand the criticism. i spend quite a bit of time on each screen ensuring that the max and min scaling levels of each room match the character's height to the surrounding environment. that's an inexact science, of course, but those are the only parameters (as far as i'm aware) that i have at my disposal to manipulate the sprite's shape, and looking at the screens i've posted i can't see any obvious discrepancies on that score
to illustrate the point, the other characters on the posted screens are "static" (although they do in fact have a few animation frames each) figures, actually rendered in the environments, and as can be seen, the heroine's height pretty much matches theirs when she's near to them
i'd agree that the
perspective of the character doesn't always match up with the camera angles, but as i've said, using this software it's impossible to do that while also using an array of different camera angles. the only way it's possible is if you simply plonk the camera in front of each scene and get a head-on view of it, and my preference is to have the occasional skewed perspective but more interesting camera angles. that will become important when the combat phase starts too. a lot of the success of early resident evil was some of the claustrophobic angles it employed to put the player on edge
anyway, thanks for the comments. it's always useful to get feedback
as to the initial release, it's a day or so off. everything's in working order, but i just keep thinking "well, perhaps i should just add.. .so and so?"
(and to be honest, i HAVE been trying to come up with a way in which i can introduce a whale into the scenario. if you're gonna waste fluffy stuff, may as well think big...)
I'm sorry to be an ass again, but I just can't get over it: why the ugly window border in the screen shots...?
There's a built-in screen shot function, and even without that, why not friggin' crop the shot first...?
I see this all the time in recent threads and I just don't get it. Sorry again.
Apart from my ranting, the screens looks really good for pre-rendered stuff (which usually isn't my cup of tea) and I'm looking forward to giving this a shot.
Quote from: Khris on Tue 10/11/2009 10:16:21I'm sorry to be an ass again
it doesn't take much to yank your chain does it? war, famine, drought, pestilence, global warming, corruption in high places.... noooooo, it's none of those, it's the fact that the screen shots have got a frigging border round them
lighten up man. it is NOT IMPORTANT
Aww, actually, the borders ruin the screenshots totally for me as well. And the fact that she looks like she's floating above that box in the fourth one. And how she's always on her tiptoes.
But hey, awesome rendering man, you got some cool talent, and this ain't the critics lounge so it is me who is in the wrong ;D
Good luck getting those bugs winkled out! :)
Aw com'on. What's wrong with borders showing in the screenshots? Though you can take screenshots directly in AGS there is no rule to force you to use it. IMO the borders are somewhat a proof to the game indeed being made with AGS.
Get over with it. This is about upcoming games, not about whether the screenshots have borders.
Personally I think the games look nice and I'm looking forward to seeing it finished.
Is "It is full of absolutely nothing." worded so intentionally or was the meaning that it is empty? If it is the former then thats a suprisingly lax reaction.
it's the response of an affirmed nihilist
there's an episode of the simpsons where bart's being pursued by sideshow bob, intent on some gilbert and sullivan backed murder & mayhem
he (bart. not sideshow bob. and not gilbert. nor sullivan) runs to the front of the boat, and sees some killer... for the sake of argument, let's say... alligators
he runs to the back of the boat and seem some killer... for the sake of argument, let's say... electric eels
he runs back to the front of the boat and sees...
and says: "oh yeah"
i'd forgotten, when i started re-posting here, what this place is full of...
i've remembered now...
NOT THE CRITICS LOUNGE ... if he needs/wants critics on the graphics he'll post in there. Let's get back on target.
Quote from: hieronymous on Tue 10/11/2009 16:20:06
i'd forgotten, when i started re-posting here, what this place is full of...
i've remembered now...
It's not usually! I'm surprised. I think your game deserves better. Haven't played the demo yet but hopefullly will tonight. Don't let it discourage you!
Quote from: hieronymous on Tue 10/11/2009 16:20:06
i'd forgotten, when i started re-posting here, what this place is full of...
For what it's worth, I think your game looks awesome. I love that dark, gothicy style. ;D
Don't let the petty nitpicks get you down.
I'm looking forward to playing it. :)
Good lord, I've played it and only now understod what " It's full of absolutely nothing"comment meant! It's a quote from this game! It's also proceeded with "shit" to spice things up. Very imaginative...
Hood looks pretty good. When it's still. Why did you decide to make your main character jump up and down, left and right? That's not idle animation- that's a woman attacked by a bee! If this is not a final version of chapter 1, please change it to something more subtle. I understand that people in game are under a lot of stress but the current idle animation ruins any sense of atmosphere you could possibly create.
And what's going on with the talking portraits? I'm sorry, but either there's something wrong with me or those doll-like sexy big-lipped faces of the all-female cast of the game keep moving rhytmically forwards and backwards, suddenly oblivious to unknown threat that bothers them and instead pretending to be a 5 looped frames out of a porn clip, and yet, denying it by saying all those very serious things...
I apologize if it sounds harsh... Maybe- and I mean maybe- you could use your talent to turn this story around and make it more believable?
There is something really sexual about Hood. All those women, the way they speak, those pink converse shoes... it's not a posh classy sexy but nevertheless it is intriguing. If you only dared to explore that area more you could a) achieve your signature style and do for horror games what larry did to comedy games, b) sex-up (safe playing) adventure games market c) be cool,
Yeah, I think that would be really really cool, and I don't even usually use that word.
What's troubling me is that with your graphic skills you really have the potential to create something great. But also, perhaps storytelling isn't your strongest skill? My advice is to either do full time graphics or coding or study and observe professional screenwriting. And once again, I'm sorry if some of my comments have offended you... I'm just being honest.
If we want to be pendantic about it, 2D character sprites are ALWAYS out of perspective unless they are stood in the exact centre of the screen at camera height.. and even then technically only 1 pixel of that sprite is in perspective.
I don't know what everyone's problem is. I just played the demo and I thought it was pure awesome. It's way too early to judge your storywriting skills, but from what we do get it sounds like quite an intriguing plot. As far as works in progress go (and people seem to have forgotten that that is what this is), Hood is shaping up to be something quite special. Good luck, mate. I'll be keeping my eye on this one.
I don't have the demo *hint hint* so I can't comment on anything except the screenshots. ;)
Sorry to ask but is this a fan adventure game? ???
the DEMO is good , i like it , only the music is ripetitive and boring , but for the rest the work is so good :=
Where can I download demo ???
Quote from: hieronymous on Mon 09/11/2009 09:42:32
anyway, once i've winkled out the last remaining bug (like THAT ever happens) from this stage of the game i'll pm a link to everyone who's expressed interest so far. well, at least that's not going to take long, is it?
Oh, silly me, here I was looking for a link ::) Is it too late now?
Quote from: Bulbapuck on Sun 22/11/2009 00:14:12
Oh, silly me, here I was looking for a link ::) Is it too late now?
I dunno. I kinda hinted a few posts up, but... nothing. Still no demo. :(
I was sent a link to the demo a while ago... I feel like I've put the game's creator off with few negative comments and he might've abandoned this project ( no new posts) and can't help feeling guilty about it now... So if you're reading this Hieronymous, please don't give up on it! Every game has its strenghts and weaknesses, and all I meant was to help you improve what in my opinion needed some more work put into. Don't get discouraged! I might've been a bit harsh, but only because I'm really into this zombie survival stuff and I can see lots of potential here yet to be discovered. So yeah, keep working on it and keep us posted and if you totally disagree with me on that zombie/erotica idea just try to forget I ever said it. Just seemed like a cool idea at the time...:)
Quote from: Grim Reaper on Mon 07/12/2009 18:03:27
I was sent a link to the demo a while ago...
Don't suppose you would like to share that demo? Please? :)
And I'm sure one person's comments didn't persuade him to abandon this game. ;)
Quote from: Frodo on Tue 08/12/2009 10:54:41
Quote from: Grim Reaper on Mon 07/12/2009 18:03:27
I was sent a link to the demo a while ago...
Don't suppose you would like to share that demo? Please? :)
And I'm sure one person's comments didn't persuade him to abandon this game. ;)
Looks like it was removed from the server. The link doesn't work anymore...
I thought the graphics are most excellent, but from the comments it sounds like there were some issues with the game-play itself. Either way, I'm curious to see how the game plays.
the game wasn't abandoned, i just abandoned this forum
i'm always more than happy to receive, and respond to, valid constructive criticisms, especially from other games writers who understand the problems associated with turning an initial idea into a final game - particularly the compromises that often need to be made
however, i have neither the time, nor the patience, to deal with comments of a... trollish... nature
i started "HooD" with the idea that i'd make it accessible to a wider audience than my normal fare, but it seemed fairly obvious from the word go that it didn't find favour with a number of people here, and some of the comments were simply negative for the sake of being negative - not even based on the demo version of the game, but just on one or two screen shots (and one person even managing to work themselves into a lather of indignation about the borders round the screen shots ffs)
well anyway, it's no big deal. games-writing is just R&R for me. i run my own site, and i'm not beholden to this one. as things turned out, by abandoning my idea of releasing HooD here, it meant that i could rethink the content level, and in fact i've now made the whole thing rather more explicit than i was originally planning. if i was asked to give the genre a name it would probably be something like "soft core snuff p0rn. with puzzles"
the game's now been completed, and anyone interested in playing it (bearing in mind the appellation above) should be able to find it without any trouble on my site (link in sig). the site itself is not a games site, it's a 3d art site, for adults. there are a lot of well-known and respected artists in the field posting there, and some superb artwork; however some of the content will not be to everyone's taste. membership is free, but you have to register. it is NOT suitable for minors, nor is it appropriate for workplace access
p.s. if i get a spare moment i'll pm a link to the game itself to anyone who's expressed an interest in it to date
Congrats on finishing a game!
I wouldn't worry too much about the nay-sayers ... just make the game you want!