The Cat Lady

[Grim]

Demo & pre-order now at: http://www.thecatlady.co.uk

[embed=640,360]<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1P3o9LZJwrY?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>[/embed]



It's Halloween. Midnight... It seems like a good time to announce Harvester Games' new project. Here goes

The Cat Lady


  FIRST TRAILER

  SECOND TRAILER

click on above link to watch on YouTube









Susan Ashworth has woken up to a beautiful dream... She's in a field of barley, at a strike of dawn. Warm wind blows in her face, her hair waving as she stares at the sunrise. She's dead. Through her dream she can barely hear the sounds of reality breaking through- the screaming of a friend who found Susan's body on her bedroom's floor, the ambulance crew resuscitating her on the way to the hospital. She has taken an overdose, and willingly at that. Life has been tough on her lately. After her husband's death everything lost its meaning, her world was empty and grey and she decided to end it once and for all.
And for the first time in a long time she is happy. Not really aware of what is happening... but she's enjoying being in this strange beautiful place on the edge of life and death.

What she doesn't realize is that it's all a trap, an illusion, a road to hell.
She'd fall for it, she'd go through the fields into an abandoned tunnel filled with wrecks and further into the darkness, if not for something that happens. Somebody's tricked her again- she finds that someone wants her to live after all...
So she's back in the land of the living. Accused of wanting to kill herself she has been assigned a Suicide Watch. They'll keep a close eye on her... But for now she's back home, in her two bedroom apartment where neighbours know her as the Cat Lady. She has a thing for cats...

She decides to give it another go, try to find her happiness again. The only problem is that she brought something back from that other world- a warning. Something bad is going to happen and she'll have to fight to survive. Five people will come into to her life. One of them will change her life and make it better. But the other four have nothing but cruel intentions. They'll have their own reasons to hurt her...



Team:
story, scripting, graphics: Grim Reaper
soundtrack: Micamic
technical help & GUI: Dualnames

Overall progress: 100% complete, Testing in progress, VA in progress

Will post more info soon. For now, Happy Halloween everyone:)...

[david]

Hey Grimm, happy Halloween to you 
nice project
looking forward to this 

she looks like Agnes from the downfall, especially her hair 

[ThreeOhFour]

I'm not really a horror fan, but I have to say you introduced the story in a very beautiful way. Really gave me the chills, nice work

[Dualnames]

From all I can say,apart from that the interface is my BIATCH, I think you should make an in-game footage,because it's really difficult to notice the smoothness of the animation and movement from just screenshots. I myself, was little wowed with it. Comparing it to Downfall its 200% more smooth. Anyway, the game's really sureal and all, and well good luck with it!

[Cryxo]

Absolutely bloody brilliant!

I wait with anticipation.

[Chicky]

Hey, this looks like the Bland Street Bloom video by Sikth.

Awesome!

[Midian Design]

Beautiful!

[arj0n]

wow!

[Crimson Wizard]

That looks terribly intriguing and atmospheric!

BTW, still waiting for Akella to begin distributing your Downfall CD I failed to understand how to buy things online, sorry 

[Frodo]

Looks lovely.  Awesome graphics.   

And happy halloween, Grim Reaper.   

[CosmoQueen]

Oh my! I don't think I've ever seen anything like this before! All I can say is wow.......just wow.

[Grim]

David: Thanks:) She looks like Agnes? I don't know, maybe? I see Agnes every day, it's hard to get her image out of my head. ( did I forget to mention that 'Downfall Agnes' was based on my real life partner? So anyway, I did now!:)) Susan Ashworth is much older though. In my battle to fight gaming stereotypes I decided to make her a woman in her fourties.

Ben304: Not a fan of horror, eh? What's the matter with you?! Ha ha, I guess I should mention it's not yout typical slasher horror ride. There isn't going to be a group of overly sexualised college students who die one by one... or monsters from hell... or an ancient curse...It's a different kind of horror.

Also, the description was never meant to be the, well, description advertising the game. That's what I emailed to my brother to give him an idea of what sort of music he should be making for it, to make him feel the atmosphere a bit better. But I guess it works:)

Dualnames: a bit too early for a trailer... But I'm really happy with this new way of doing animation. It works well, and it's something different too. In comparison, Joe in Downfall had six frames of walking animation. Susan's walkcycle consists of 21 frames( +21 frames of running animation) SO you were quite right about that 200% Thanks you so much again for your continous support ( you clever clever man:))

Cryxo: Thank you very much!

Chicky: Never seen it, but I do take inspiration for art design from music videos actually. The main sources are as usual Porcupine Tree and Tool.

Cosmo Queen: Thanks, all I can say now, it's going to be a very different adventure game. Interface, camera view, themes... More info soon, when I get some more time to type it:) Right now, I'm already late for work!

[Snake]

Grim, I'm loving that screenshot of the town with the sky... very atmospheric.

When will there be a demo or trailer?

[Igor Hardy]

Is the hair of the lady going to be animated as that one screen suggests? If so I'm very impressed.

The atmosphere of the images reminds me greatly of a Polish animated film The Labyrinth by Jan Lenica. Maybe you know it, Grim?

[Grim]

Grim, I'm loving that screenshot of the town with the sky... very atmospheric.

When will there be a demo or trailer?

Thanks Snake. In original it's about 2500 pxls wide, so it will look a bit different in game. Most backgrounds are scrolling. But this one, I think, deserves a full shot in the game. If only I could figure out how to smoothly pan camera in/out... but I'm working on it.

There won't be a demo for quite a while yet. I'm thinking about a short trailer...

Is the hair of the lady going to be animated as that one screen suggests? If so I'm very impressed.

The atmosphere of the images reminds me greatly of a Polish animated film The Labyrinth by Jan Lenica. Maybe you know it, Grim?

Yeah, it is, but only when she's outside. ( triggered wrong idle animation on that screen, so it is animating inside too in that location)
I'm not familiar with the film you mention, I'm afraid... I've left Poland a long time ago, you see.... But I do recall an old soap opera In The Labyrinth ( lol). Also- Pan's Labyrinth- good film, good film...

[ThreeOhFour]

I may not be a horror fan, but I am a Tool fan, so you can't totally pick on me for my tastes in entertainment

BTW, meant to say this before but the photo style actually works surprisingly well!

[Firmar]

It looks really good, I played just demo of DOWNFALL and I really enjoyed (gotta load up some money and buy it !) so I am sure this game is gonna be awesome as well ! So, yeah I am really looking forward it good luck with it

[Grim]

When Downfall got released it surprised me that a lot of people felt like sharing their thoughts about it. And not only between us, AGSers- we must feel by nature inclined to comment and criticize because... because most- if not all of us- make games. We're in the same business, really, so it is easier for us to understand how things get done. When we play AGS-made games we see more than the maker would want us to see. It's not just about the story and the graphics. It's about scripitng tricks, work-arounds and pushing what the editor is capable of, testing its boundaries. I felt it strongly while playing Dave's latest Blackwell game. I felt that sometimes, if even for a brief moment, I was almost inside his head, understanding why and how events were happening...

So, my point is, and I'll better get to it before I get completely stuck in my track(), that we share something in common here, but it is also quite interesting what people from the "outside" feel when playing AGS games.

I'm really glad I had this opportunity to get feedback from the broader audience. In emails I received upon releasing Downfall few issues kept getting back to me constantly.

DOOR TO ROOM 666- a lot of people wanted to know if it can be entered. I was reluctant to give the answer... because it was a little experiment I had done there. It's the only door within the hotel you can't open. And yet, even though there is absolutely no reason to go there, everybody wanted to! I've learned something there- you can play with people's minds easily. And this joke was on me.

CHOICES- everyone enjoyed being able to make choices in Downfall... and yet regretted it in the same time, because it was so easy to make a wrong one. Not all of them affected the story, but they all affected how people felt about themselves somehow...

CAT- I couldn't count how many times the bloomin' cat came up! Was it really so shocking? It's a game, after all. I killed over 55.000 zombies in Left4Dead( and even got achievement for it!), and felt nothing. Nothing! And yet, a single black cat stirs so much controversy? Why is it so? Are we, as players, not used to killing animals? What about Lara Croft killing tigers? Or spiders? Or whatever other animals she bumped into.

So, before I'll get told off for not sticking to this thread's topic, I'll better draw to conclusion. These issues I mention above, are some of the lessons learned from my previous project and they are in one way or the other will affect The Cat Lady. If there's a door, does it have to opened? Or is it better to make player forever think that they've missed out on something? If making choices is popular with the players, should the game be based on them? Where do you draw a line between videogame violence and bad taste?

But, spending a lot of time thinking about these and other aspects of game development, I'm pretty sure I know what I'm gonna do...
 Just as before, I'll do as I like. I don't give a damn if some pussycat lovers get offended. It's a story, and in a story anything can happen. Hundreds of people across the world killed that damned cat, and if they felt sorry for it... then good for them. But I'll continue making games where young girls get offered cigarettes and pussies are stabbed. Not because I'm a nasty person, but because I love this feeling of being in control of the world I created, telling my actors what to do and say and pulling all the strings. If I was a god I guess I would be a scary Cthulhu kind...


Well, I'll keep posting my thoughts here, 'cos I've got no one else who'd want to listen about this stuff. It might as well be my little dev's blog. I posted another screen on top of this to attract your attention to all this text:) It's a good example of what I'm doing- a mixture of photography, digital painting and rendering. Playing with colours. It's actually an object from the game. I've never quite mastered colours, but I'm getting there... Maybe 5 games from now I'll be able to make candylike fantastic worlds full of vibrant colour... But not yet. Besides, I guess it works at the moment.

As for now, shut your doors and shut your windows, as no pussy cat is safe while I'm around...

[CosmoQueen]

Very well said. I look forward to this game. And I do intend on purchasing Downfall as well

[Dave Gilbert]

I felt it strongly while playing Dave's latest Blackwell game. I felt that sometimes, if even for a brief moment, I was almost inside his head, understanding why and how events were happening...

I'm glad one of us knows what goes on inside my head!

Anyway, Remi, this game looks awesome.

[Grim]

Thanks very much CosmoQueen:)

And thanks Dave- I knew that you'd pop by to have a look:)

[Dualnames]

That's really deep there. About the choices, I'd like to add, not that's its necessary, but well, there's the price of choices in the real world too. Given a selection of choices, you can always make the wrong one.

[Grim]

Given a selection of choices, you can always make the wrong one.

Sure, but sometimes in life all choices are wrong....

[Grim]

Just a quick concept art- which won't be included in the game but I was having fun with designing Helen Road and this is one of the shots I've taken. As seen here, 3D graphics blend with digital painting and photography. I've discovered that doing 3D takes a lot of time, but is also incredibly engaging..

[CosmoQueen]

WOW that is.........incredible!!!

[Grim]

.. ... .... ... . . .... .. .  Just woke up from a horrible nightmare. It's crystal clear in my head what happened in it. I was in a public toilet. There was someone in one of the cubicles, but I couldn't see anything until some bare feet showed in the space between the floor and the door. An old woman crawled out through there, silently. She kept staring at me as she walked towards me, her eyes cold and still.... Then, there were at least five of them in the room, closing in, and the door behind me wouldn't open, no matter how hard I pulled it... I told her to stop where she was, to back off, but she wouldn't listen. As she reached to my face... I woke up.

Strangely, I enjoyed it. It might even make it into the game! If only I had nightmares more often....

[Ryan Timothy B]

Too bad I don't get nightmares anymore.  They can be great inspiration.

Oh and btw, I thought you were doing Morse code with those dots there.  Like a hidden message, but all you wrote was: I S H S E E H I E.    The randomness means nothing to me. 

[Grim]

Oh and btw, I thought you were doing Morse code with those dots there.  Like a hidden message, but all you wrote was: I S H S E E H I E.    The randomness means nothing to me. 

Maybe subconciously I tried to spell 'shit' but letter T got lost in translation?

[micamic]

Too bad I don't get nightmares anymore.  They can be great inspiration.

Oh and btw, I thought you were doing Morse code with those dots there.  Like a hidden message, but all you wrote was: I S H S E E H I E.    The randomness means nothing to me. 

I S H S E E H I E = IS SHE HERE ?

[micamic]

This game will be even more amazing than you can expect. I'm telling you this as a member of Harvester Games responsible for the soundtrack.
During production of Downfall's music I had many doubts and wanted to interfere in storyline and other details. Now I have 100% confidence that Remi (Grim Reaper) knows what he's doing. Believe me, he knows how to use his mojo.

And here I present Cat Lady Soundtrack. It's not complete yet but it should give you bit of a taste.

[i k a r i]

Awesome background, awesome story, awesome music, scary nightmare...


can't wait.

[Grim]

Just sent out first of the series of promo posters to a number of sites. I'm expecting a lot of rejection... the subject matter isn't exactly pleaseing for the eye. Have a look for yourselves:

[Crimson Wizard]

Erm.... ewww... does this actually assumes you have to rip cat's belly open to get the key? 

[Grim]

Erm.... ewww... does this actually assumes you have to rip cat's belly open to get the key? 

Who would've thought of such obscenity? That's sick! But seriously now, this is a game for people who actually like cats, believe it or not...

[discordance]

Erm.... ewww... does this actually assumes you have to rip cat's belly open to get the key? 

Naw. Just follow it around and wait for it to poop.

[Dualnames]

And I'm sort of holding this project a little back, but promise to have a cool answer right away!

[Cryxo]

Me thinks of the cat in Downfall 

[Crimson Wizard]

Me thinks of the cat in Downfall 

...me thinks of the cat on your avatar 

[xenogia]

Hey, this looks like the Bland Street Bloom video by Sikth.

Awesome!

Oh miss that band, lights candle for Sikth

[FireOrange]

What a nice cat. I`m looking forward to this game.

[Grim]

Just got rid of the main thing holding me back. It's gonna sound strange but lately I just couldn't stop playing the damn Left 4 Dead game....

So I uninstalled the fucking thing and Steam altogether:)

Now, if you've ever experienced anything like this you will know how nasty it can get. I used to take a piss out of those rehab clinics for gamers for years but now I've had a taste myself and it's not funny at all.

Warning for you guys - don't play L4D:)

[micamic]

I had the same once with Guild Wars. Decided it could be dangerous after few weeks and uninstalled it.
But the question is: is it THE game, or GAMES in general, that distracts me all the time. Problem is those damn games are too good lately

[Grim]

I had the same once with Guild Wars. Decided it could be dangerous after few weeks and uninstalled it.
But the question is: is it THE game, or GAMES in general, that distracts me all the time. Problem is those damn games are too good lately

It was definitely that one goddamn game. I play other games and have enough after a while. But L4D went on for over a year. I'm pretty sure the real zombie apocalypse would have finished sooner than that!

[Darth Mandarb]

Okay guys ... back on topic!  **cracks whip**

[Grim]

Back to the topic then. ( although I'm still suffering from L4D withdrawal symptoms... )

The gaming press has started posting news about the game. Here's what Martyn Zachary from Slowdown says about TCL.

And Adventure Gamers also mention it in the news section.

There are also numerous foreign sites that have written about it but I don't know what they're saying:)

So, it's all good, moving forward.

I edyted first post and the game is now 20% complete:)

[RedTalon]

Hey, Grim.

Any update on your progress? Really looking forward to this one.

[Grim]

I've kept quiet for a while... but only because I've been working my butt off making this game:)

It's not finished yet.... but I'm about halfway through. I'm very happy so far with the progress:)

So, if you'd like to have a look, here's a
  first trailer.

Also, updated first post, so you can find it there as well:)

PS. Big thanks to Dave Gilbert for help with voice acting!!!:)

[Dualnames]

So much blood since the last time I saw the game. I love the use of the parallax/smooth scrolling module as well. Generally the game looks great, freaky, disturbing!

Dualnames digs!

[Haggis]

Is one of the choices whether or not to put the cat in the bin?

[Igor Hardy]

The game looks really great. Also, very distinctive and quite different from Downfall.

[Chicky]

Great trailer!

[Ubel]

I liked the trailer, very good! Looking forward to this.

[Grim]

So, as usual the trailer went onto Gametrailers portal, where only the trashiest of American teenage COD fans dare to enter Heh, not really maybe, but there seems to be a lot of people whose input consists of typing "WTF?" and " bulllshit, what dickhead made this game?!" It got 25.000 views and 360 comments in one day:) Assuming that 10% of all people who watched it have brains, I think it's gonna generate some buzz...

 Jesse Gunn, the musician who recorded the trailer song and several songs used in game too, has his favourite pick of the comments. It's :

"What exactly is the audience for this besides goth girls afraid of becoming the title of the game?"

 I suppose mine would have to be:

I would rather eat a soggy box of poisonous butt-holes than play this

So, I'm guessing this must be a good thing:) This is exactly what I expected from Gametrailers;)

EDIT: In case anyone wants to have a read of those little gems here's s a link:

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/exclusive-debut-the-cat-lady/707912

[Anian]

Well, as they say, any publicity is good publicitiy.  
(a bit off topic, but I don't know about the people that go there and comment, but they do have some development videos at GT)

[Chicky]

Don't sell yourself short, it's gametrailers, one of the highest traffic video driven gaming websites. Your game has 25.000 views and plenty of positive comments. Congratulations!

[Dualnames]

Well here goes my favorite comments. (I went through 7 pages of great intellectual intelligence of the human soul)

1,000 hours in MS Paint

what a freak maked this one )) but looking dark

I like to point out that none of those two persons being the majority of the commenters, have a brain and/or the ability to spell. At least they didn't go like

OMFG TEH GMZ SUXXOR

So at least they have the ability to process a thought.

There's a guy I think page 2, that actually did have a brain. Generally I'd hate to have my game viewed there, or any game I worked on (HEY!).

Any publicity is good publicity for sure, I mean really, how can you judge a game from a trailer? GameTrailers = people that think MAX PAYNE 3 IS GOOD. Those kind of people make those movies that we all hate. Dead or Alive, Max Payne. I'm happy to say that this trailer looks really good, personally I found the first 10-20 seconds to kind of disappoint me, cause I remembered the game to look completely awesome in motion, then the hospital scene came.

I'm not promoting anyone's game or working with anyone, unless I find my self eager to play it.  I also never felt so jealous of a game made with an artistic style I found retarded till the very moment I saw the first screen of this game.

[Grim]

Just to prove there are nice people on GT too, here's a nice one:

"THANK YOU for being innovative, THANK YOU for being artistic, THANK YOU for doing something different, THANK YOU for not being another god damn money making annual sequel that all the SHEEPS purchase. ...this makes me remember when games used to be about placing you in imaginative worlds and scenarios. if i wanted to spend all my time fighting fukn arabs i'd join the army, not purchase the same game every year. THNAK YOU for dong something with balls in an industry driven by sales. "

What can I say... Thank you too:)

[theo]

Haven't seen this before and just now ran into the trailer. Apart from a few semi-qwop-like animations I'd say the trailer looks really sharp, good job!

I got flashbacks from the second blackwell game when your grumpy protagonist stood on the balcony and whined about the rain. Make sure you have something to contrast this with (your own joey mallone) or you might end up with a very flat main character.

Good luck with this enormous project! I feel it has great potential.

[Grim]

New screenshots:









  More on Harvester Games facebook page!!! Check it for incoming news about the game...!:)

[Iliya]

Very interesting design! Looks very intriguing. I like the idea that some of the elements are colored and the rest are monochrome.

[poc301]

I liked the teaser video.  Very creepy feeling.  I'll definitely give this a go once done.

-Bill

[Construed]

I really like the whole black and white style you got going.
You really pushed it to the limit on that building!

[moshboy]

Loving the graphical style of this game. Very refreshing and unique.

[Grim]

Thanks for the comments:)

But I really think TCL looks much better in action than still images- one of the reasons being the amazing Tween module I've been using a lot and now can't imagine working without it. And, of course, the discovery of alpha channels...

When the next trailer is out before the release of the game, I'm hoping for this sort of reaction:



Now I'm beginning to work on the cats animation- the moment I've been dreading for a long time- as much as I love cats, this is going to be very difficult, I think. But, obviously, cats are necessary in a game with a "cat" in the title, so I better get to it. I might post a cat sprite later:)

[cat]

I appriciate a game with cat in the title! Btw, the link in your signature doesn't work.

[Grim]

I appriciate a game with cat in the title! Btw, the link in your signature doesn't work.

Hey- and you're a lady, too!

Thanks for the info about link- I guess I forgot to pay the host... Oh, well, I'll do it tomorrow:)

[Grim]

A little update:

Here's an idea of a game's poster:



And two more screenshots:





The game is getting pretty big now- just finished room 100 few days ago! Yay!

[Dualnames]

stop fooling around and release this goddamnit! I can't stand it anymore! I want to play!! 

[Mr.Dream]

A big game, i waiting it.

[Chicky]

Looking forward to it Grim!

[Grim]

Dual: It's ready when it's ready. Can't speed it up any more-  high res games really do take longer to make...

Mr.Dream: Thanks. Big indeed. 800mb already...

Chicky: Thanks! I hope it won't disappoint you:)

[NickyNyce]

Hey Grim,
               
     I was wondering how those cat animations were coming along ? 

Can you throw us a bone, .....errrr.... I mean a pic ?

[Grim]

Hey Grim,
             
    I was wondering how those cat animations were coming along ?  

Can you throw us a bone, .....errrr.... I mean a pic ?

The cat animations are top secret and will be revelead when the game is out.......

But for now, I'd like to show you the   SECOND TRAILER .

Also updated links in the first post.

Also #2- new screenshot:

[NickyNyce]

Very nice screenie and trailer, nothing says scary like someone chopping meat in the shed.   

[Midian Design]

Good job and <3 the gas mask 

[Igor Hardy]

chop! chop! chop!

But where are the kitties?

[Grim]

chop! chop! chop!

But where are the kitties?

Being chopped for dinner, of course....

[pmartin]

This game is the nº1 thing that's putting my horror project on hold. Since I can't finish before you, I have to wait and see how high the bar will be set after the release. And PRAY that it isn't higher than I can reach.

But this new teaser made me hopeless.

[Surdy]

Hey Grim,

Your new trailer remembers me the same feeling when I discovered Diablo's first real boss called the Butcher in his slaughterhouse (Aaah !!! Fresh meat !! he said). It gives me the creep ! 

It's good idea to take a peek before. What is she ? An old freaky nurse turned in a butcher?

I also like the old abandoned garden full of garbage with the tumbledown house.

She is as your Downfall's Devonshire's axeman, a kind of a savage killer. 

Are there any voices in your game or is just for the trailer ?

[ZapZap]

Wow. that's all i can say after seeing the trailer. Read about the story and already loving it

[Bogdan]

Wow... this game is so creepy, and so horrible and so violent... so much blood... that trailer was sooo disgusting...

I LIKE IT!!!1

[Dualnames]

Feels like a sociopa-, oh, it's Cat Lady. 

[Darius Poyer]

I caught that trailer on the front-page of gametrailers.com and I was surprised to find myself interested in it. Your doing some good work Mr. Harvester.

[Grim]

pmartin: So you're the guy who posted a comment on my Youtube channel? I'm sure there's room for another horror game with this kind of animation... I don't know how far into production you are, but after having made over 3.000 sprites this way I've learnt few things and will happily share some knowledge with you ( PM me?).  One important fact is that no matter what, you will always have to do some editing and post-production tweaking to the sprites to make sure there are no sharp sticking out edges or add some details. It is also a great way to experiment with all sorts of motion blur effects- sometimes it's just a single frame that adds a lot to the visual quality of the whole animation.

Surdy: I think I can remember that as well- I spent a lot of time playing Diablo on my Playstation 1 with my brother. Good times:) 

  I shouldn't really reveal who that nurse is yet ( spoilers!) but you will find out soon enough. I can only say  that as I said in the other thread, there is a part of game that pays a direct tribute to Maniac Mansion. So..... do you remember any nurses from that?.... And the swimming pool in the backyard? How about a little refresher:



As for a Devon Axeman... well, yes and no. There are several characters that pose a threat to the player in TCL. This is just one of them.

And the voices are only used in trailers at the moment. I am planning to do va for all speech ( not hotspots descriptions) in the game at the last stage of production. Temporarily, different actors have been used. The voice in the first trailer has been kindly recorded for me by a New York actress who does some work for Dave Gilbert. The nurse, on the other hand... I got fed up and did it myself:) Yeah, I know...

Cleanic: Thank you kindly:) There will be more about the game in the upcoming months before release!

Bogdan: They're all gonna hate me for all this violence, aren't they?... I'm glad there are people like you who like it, but I can already predict an awful lot of problems with publishers saying: " It's too much. Cut down on the blood and the swearing. It's too risky"). Well, I'm not gonna bloody cut on anything! This is my game and there's tons of blood in it, amongst other things. After having played Dead Space 2 recently, I find it very hard to understand how my depiction of violence could offend anybody while games like DS2 feature a man taking some woman's EYE with a SCREWDRIVER, and than WAVING it around like a trophy. I think I'm not at that kind of level with TCL yet....

Dualnames: You- shut up:) I will need your help soon, actually, to make this game great:)

Darius Poyer: Oh, yeah:) Thanks for reminding me. And more positive comments this time, too! Have people really finally tired of playing COD all over again?... Also, I probably should play that ClockTower game they're always bringing up, just so I can understand why....

[micamic]

Grim, in second trailer You are trying to attract people with gore and blood but it’s not the right way. As a tester I played a lot of this game and I must say the game has much more to offer than just guts and meat spilled around â€" it’s just accessory and the gameplay is based on incredibly intriguing and compelling story. But the game-fun comes from figuring out what the hell is going on. And WHAT is going on is much more terrifying than we can see in second trailer…

[Mr.Dream]

When a new, about this game?

New teaser? Or Screenshot for Halloween?


What's happening after the Second Trailer?
Mystery...

Ps: Sorry for The bad English. I'm French.

[NickyNyce]

Yes!    That would be a good idea, since this game looks very haunting!!

I'll second that

[Mr.Dream]

So, for Christmas...

A new?

A screen?

A Trailer?

A demo (this is a big wish) ?

Or Nothing x)

[Sughly]

I have to admit, despite loving the look of the screens and falling in love with the original trailer, I never really took the time to read through the whole introduction you wrote for it. That setup though... phwoar, amazing! The five people, and the one person, and, and - gah! Keeping a very close eye on this for sure.

[Grim]

Thanks for all your kind comments! And just to reassure everyone the work is still very much in progress, I'm giving you 2 new screenshots. It's not long now before TCL is finished.... Then testing and voice acting, which I still am on the line about- should I do it or not...? There is soooo much text in the game it will be a massive job. If I get it wrong, it will actually make the game worse... and even if I get it right, it will still look odd without lip sync. If only I had a million dollars...

There are currently 145 rooms in the game, and over 3400 sprites.
I'm pretty sure it will be, at least size-wise, one of the biggest games ever done with AGS. The story takes course over a few in-game weeks and features a cast of over 40 characters and varied locations (and colour palletes:)) There are over 100 inventory items... and a very cool control system that Dualnames has created for me. We have polished it massively over the course of the last 3 years.

Well, just to say, I am hoping the 2012 will be the year of the Cat Lady!!!





EDIT: Rare updates mean I try to focus on making the game rather than on talking about it.... But today I felt this update was long overdue anyway;) Hope you like the screenies!:)

[Mr.Dream]

BEautiful!

This is a very good present for the new year!

I hope I can understand the game x)

But, it's me? Or sometimes the head's characters is a little bit big?

Good luck for the next!

[Grim]

Mr Dream: Thanks;) I too hope you can understand the game! If it's any help, there will most likely be different translations available. German and Russian for starters. I'm looking at these screens trying to see if the heads are too big... and I don't know, maybe  they are? But at this point I could never change it, because so much work went into all the sprites. Unless of course, you meant the head character, as in main? ...

[Mr.Dream]

Finally, i don't know. Sometimes it's little or big but i think when you play it's not present.

French version (i don't know if my sentence it's correct):
Finalement, je ne sais pas. Parfois c'est petit ou gros, mais je pense que lorsque l'on joue ça ne se voit pas.

On this; http://i.imgur.com/6V5Rm.jpg the Head is small

and on this;http://i.imgur.com/scqCg.jpg it's normal x)

But do not pay attention on my stupid remarks, continues your excellent work

[SquirlyGirl]

LOL I have been, well I guess you can say sorta obcessed with this game for awhile now, I have shown the trailers to probably 100's of friends... Posted them on my facebook wall, I always get responses of either : OMG that looks so awsome! Or "Wtf is wrong with you Beth!? why you play stuff like this?"

Lmao what can i say, I like games that are made by people who think outside of the damn box, and I do enjoy being terrified from a game/movie that has a awsome story. I am so happy I got to see some new screenshots here!

I am so excited to play this 

Grim, I know this is a little early but, do you consider like making any kind of preorder bonuses for when you release this?

[Grim]

Mr Dream: haha this must be some optical illusion, because this character's view is built in Maxon 4D Cinema using flat textures and a set camera angle for all her animations. I assure you the size of her head is exactly the same on both image #1 and #2. If I drew each frame seperately then yeah, it could've happened, but basically her head is a 3D object (well, a plane, but still)  

SquirlyGirl: That's great! When Downfall was released few years back I always suggested to people who got in touch with me that I would really appreciate if they spread the word... for a simple reason that I could never afford to spend money on advertisement;) There's a film called "Pay it forward" with that little boy from the Sixth Sense, what's his name... Anyway, it was about doing good deeds and in return asking people to do something for others and spreading the word around. The idea of 'paying it forward' was something I always liked and hoped that perhaps could be adapted as a PR model for a small developer like myself. I don't know if it works... Probably just on a minimal scale;) But it was still worth the effort, I guess.

One day in the future I will get a billboard.

But until then, thanks for telling your friends about the game and posting it on your fb page. Every little helps. It's people like you the 'underground' is built of!

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

On a different note, I don't know whether I mentioned it already or not ( could scroll up and check? -nah...) I often think these days what's gonna happen when this game is finished...
   Susan Ashworth, the Cat Lady, has been in my life for nearly 3 years, always there when I needed to hide behind her. It's been a shit year. Bad things happened. Sure, we all take punches, we recover and carry on, but it's good to have something to fall back on, this constant thing in your life that makes you think it's gonna be alright...

Well, if it wasn't for Susan I don't know how things would have turned out. It's odd. It's like I've got some switch in my head; I can flip it and think about the game for some time and distance myself from other problems. Without sounding like Ann in S.King's Misery  (who used to run to her 'happy place' when things were going wrong) Susan has been my escape, and a friend of some sort. Though she is just a game character, being such a big part of my life made me care about her. There's going to be a big empty space in my heart when I'm finished with her, I guess.


But until then. when I go out for a smoke, I'll still think a bout things like: " So how is Susan going to cut through that damn electric cable?... And will I let her have a happy ending, or should she be denied that luxury, like all great heroes of our time?... "

[WHAM]

Too long thread, didn't ready everything: Is there any idea when this will be released? I've been keeping an eye on this for a while now as it keeps bobbing on the GiP area, but there isn't much info in the first post.

In any case: This looked awesome when it was first announced and it still does, perhaps even more so! Keep it going!

[Grim]

WHAM: If everything goes well- in about three months...

[Surdy]

Hi Grim, 

What's up doc ?

Can you give us a bait or some new graphics ?

Can you update your Harvester Games Facebook or give us a date of release?

If you are interested in a french translation, I am your man.  8)

[Mr.Dream]

Ha! An another french gamer want to play to this game!

I'm not alone! x)

If you want wait, you can play to the old game of Harvester Game; Downfall. A great, no it's better, an amazing video game!

[Grim]

All right, then. Especially for French fans, a midnight drop of screenshots from different stages of production, mostly shots of some locations from the game taken from odd angles;)  



Oh, yeah. I'm just working on the final scene now;) So.... just another few yea... weeks, and then I can start TESTING PHASE!!!!

edit by darth - shrank and linked to those HUGE images!

[Tabata]

Yeah! 
A bloody cool time is getting near!

[m0ds]

Fantastic! I didn't realize all that 3D work went into it.

[Surdy]

Hello Mr Dream ! Glad to see another french guy on the AGS forum.

Thanks for the pics, Grim 

Have you planned a fully voice acted game or not ? (with Dave Gilbert's help).

How many Mo ?

Have you planned an interview as for Downfall ? (DevHardy for instance)

[Grim]

It is planned as voice acted release, but whether it's with Dave's help or someone else it has not been decided yet. There are more players at this table lately, it seems...

As for Downfall, I've done so many interviews I am really not planning on doing any more! I think I said all there was to say about that game;)

[Mr.Dream]

Wonderful!

How many hours for one sprite of animation? xD

Good luck for the next phase :p

[m0ds]

Good news and bad news, I hope to help Grim with the voices and translations, amongst other tasks to bring TCL to the Euro market and beyond... The good news is that the game itself is finished, Grim has been adding the final touches and going over his bug list, so it exists in its entirety, woohoo! The bad news however, is that it will still be a good month or two before the game is out, as voicing, testing and translations are yet to be finished. But it's looking great! Kudos to Grim and all of his hard work.

Even better news perhaps is that the demo WILL be ready soon, so you'll finally be able to lay your eyes on this fantastic horror!

Be sure to bookmark and keep an eye out in the near future on this web address:
http://www.thecatlady.co.uk

[Mr.Dream]

Excellent news!
So good luck for the final work.

P.S: Good cover

[SquirlyGirl]

YAY great news. I know this will be in digital form when it comes but if successful enough is there ever a possibility of a Retail Box version?=D I love the retail box's lol Has there ever been consideration to sell signed art of the game? 

[Surdy]

Congratulations Grim, your baby looks wonderful !! 

Good news for our dear Cat Lady.

Like others I am interested in a box collector's edition as U.K Machinarium even the price is a little bit higher... 

[m0ds]

Grim very much wants that so you can rest assured hard copies will be available, and perhaps even something bigger and boxier than just a DVD-rom

[Snarky]

Yay stack of floppy disks!

[Grim]

Hello;) Yes, it's true. It seems it takes me about three years to make a game;) It was much more intensive this time, though... While Downfall started as a little "once a week" kind of project, the new game has been very much a full-time job and I can now see that if I ever make a game again, I will not do it alone, because it's just bordering on impossible... I do hope this effort will pay off. I feel I've done my absolute best... 

I started speaking with mOds about a month ago and I have a feeling he understands what's the best route to take with TCL and is very passionate about making his new business glow. He's offered to help in areas I'd otherwise struggle with- I'm particularly excited about the voice acting! With mOds being an AGS legend for a long time, I think I can trust my "baby" is in the right hands!:) Maybe I'll finally find out what's that "I love Mark Lovegrove" thread all about!:) (it was too looooong to read;))

   While I'm trying to add the final polish to an otherwise finished game, there are things that get in the way. As most of you here make games too, you'll probably agree when I say the main one is "life" No, this actually sounds awful... But while there are times I feel like I should spend some time working on the game ( as I see it pretty much as my second job these days) life comes along and I always choose wife/family, who need me to be there for them, and they'll always be the priority. I think they've put up with enough from me, anyway.... My mind has been somewhere else for a very long time- the dark twisted world of the Cat Lady, and it's been a tough ride and my shield from a grim reality, something I could always fall back on to.

  I don't know if it makes sense... I am pretty tired and stuck on a 12 night shift in the hospital. The main thing I wanted to say is this: screen7 and Harvester Games are working together and I am really excited about this!!! Watch this space!:)

   

[an Urpney]

Money already saved for this gem.

[Grim]

Finished.


Now external testing is starting and voices will be recorded and added. The game is fully playable, though, and I can't find any bugs- surely some will be found by other testers...

[LTGiants2000]

Grim, the game looks great. If you are looking for voice actors or doing auditions please let me know. Thanks!

[Dualnames]

Finished? What year is this?

Joke aside, well done. Everyone has been looking forward to this.

[Chicky]

Finished.

Fantastic news! I am very much looking forward to this, it seems you have managed to breach the gap between typical point and click fans and horror junkies. I will spread the word, do you still need voice actors?

[Grim]

LTGiants2000 and Chicky: Thanks:) And very kind of you to offer! For the moment mOds is in charge of voice acting and in case he's missed this I'll PM him, so he can PM you if needed. I know he's got some actors lined up already, but we can probably always use some more.

Dualnames: You will kill me when you see what I've done with your brilliant interface!!!:)

[Surdy]

I know the game is finished but can you give us a date of release ? July ? August ? More? 

[Surdy]

Hey Grim, any news with the production of voices? A date of release perhaps ?

[SquirlyGirl]

I'm pretty sure I saw a comment before from mOds that was predicting around halloween for release but I think he said earlier if it was done sooner. I don't see that comment now thou looks like it was removed or something. I have a question also thou, when it is getting closer to release date, will a preorder option be available? I would love to preorder the Box edition (I really want to make sure I can buy a copy in case they are sold out quickly!), but I will buy both digital and box edition if the digital is to be out before box edition is out.

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii241/lilbo1984/acb.jpg

edit by darth - non game related image removed

[Surdy]

I would love to preorder the Box edition (I really want to make sure I can buy a copy in case they are sold out quickly!), but I will buy both digital and box edition if the digital is to be out before box edition is out.

Me too A boxed collector's edition as Machinarium with goodies! But I'm pretty sure Grim is smarter than that A  french edition perhaps ?

[Grim]

Hey guys, the voice files started arriving and I've already put some in the game. We've found a brilliant actress for the role of Susan and I'm really happy with how things are beginning to take shape;)

I don't know the release date yet... I guess as soon as it's finished!;) Could be a month, could be two. Halloween would be cool, but it's really far away, isn't it?... Anyway, translations are being discussed as well, and German and French are most likely to happen. As for pre-orders... Well, I'll let Mr mOds decide whether it's a good idea;)

[Mr.Dream]

A french translation? *o*
I want it!

Just one month, or two... It's easy to wait... Easy...

[Surdy]

Hey guys, the voice files started arriving and I've already put some in the game. We've found a brilliant actress for the role of Susan and I'm really happy with how things are beginning to take shape;)

Hey Grim, who plays Susan? Any samples?

[m0ds]

Hey hey, Susan is played by an aspiring voice actor Lynsey Frost. Here's a quick sample. Thousands of lines still to come in from characters, and be edited, put in game and have the game tested again, so don't be expecting to play it tomorrow But yes, as soon as the time is near - you will be able to pre-order! The testers are doing an excellent job checking every little nook and cranny. Importantly, the demo will certainly be ready in July. Thanks for keeping an interest!

[SquirlyGirl]

wow I just listened to her voice sample, I like it!!!

[Surdy]

Hey guys ?! What's up ? Any news?

[Mr.Dream]

Pray : *Please an officialisation for a french translation, and of course; A date*
8D

[viltaket]

I very waiting The Cat Lady
I hope it will be released shortly.

[EchosofNezhyt]

Cool Voice, Sounds quality.

[m0ds]

Voicing continues, bug quashing continues, translations to be started soon... As for French translation, we had an offer but it was going to cost us thousands of pounds, so naturally we are looking for people who may want to do it for the love of it (or for slightly less than 1k!). I'll put up a recruitment thread for that in the near future, and some more voice samples on here in the next week. End of August is still the most optimistic time for release IMO, more likely September (translations cannot be written over night I'm afraid! )

But stay interested! Demo should be ready if we're lucky early in August. Rem is now away on a month's holiday so there's not a lot he can do to the game at the mo, I think. So I'm working to make sure everything is ready for him to input when he gets back.

[SquirlyGirl]

Whenever it comes it comes, personally I'm not in a hurry. I'd rather the creators take as much time as they need to make a amazing game ^^ I am looking forward to the demo very much thou

[Tabata]

... I am looking forward to the demo very much thou

So do I!

       

[Surdy]

Hey mOds, if you are interested in a french translation, please contact me. The only +big+ problem is that I only have a Linux laptop so it will be a blind translation consequently I will need some major help. That's all but I am still motivated !

[viltaket]

demo in early August-it's would be perfect!*_*

[Mr.Dream]

mOds> I'm ,french. I'm not perfect in english but I can help for the correction (minor) in french. But, I prefer to play to the game before, because I want the surprise! Translate the game, it's not a good  idea for discover this (amazing) story
I remember the last year, when I wanted to translate "Downfall" haha

So, it's the end! Soon a demo? GREAT!
I think, if I play to the Demo I can translate it with Surdy, it could be a good thing to interest the french (and bilingual) gamers

[m0ds]

Thanks! It looks like a French translation is sorted, thank you for your interest and support on that translation

[Zenger]

WOW, excellent voice for Susan, I love it!!!

mOds, if You are interested in a Spanish translation (Castilian Spanish), please let me know.

Regards

[viltaket]

what's new guys?
may  new screenshots
or third trailer
or demo ...

[SquirlyGirl]

what's new guys?
may  new screenshots
or third trailer
or demo ...

Agreed

[Surdy]

I think Grim is still in holidays or maybe he has been killed by angry brit' cats Demo please!

[m0ds]

Yep Rem is on holiday, he's back very soon, and then it'll be time to get the demo ready and online. Still recording voices, I'll put up some more samples in a couple of days.

[SquirlyGirl]

Was wondering if you had some more of those voice samples available?

[m0ds]

Was wondering if you had some more of those voice samples available?

Sure! Here's a line from the intro - here (Susan, played by Lynsey Frost)
And there's always someone on the phone in an adventure game! here AGS's own Rob McManus
Finally Emily Wilden voicing an upbeat nurse here

Next time you'll hear Joe and Dr. X but who else? 

Rem is back now and continuing work on some of the bigger bugs that remain, and the voices are still coming in. There will be a stack of samples to come, and a proper website and of course the demo where you'll finally get to hear the voices in the game, alongside the mesmerizing soundtrack and visuals These things are just around the corner so keep an eye out!

Thanks for your continued interest!

[Surdy]

Thanks mOds,

Glad to hear it. Still waiting

[LTGiants2000]

This makes me very happy Tell Rem we said ENOUGH VACATION, GET BACK TO WORK!!!

[Grim]

I'm back, I'm back!!! Just working on the release trailer now- I always assume this kind of jobs will probably take a day or two, but as soon as I get started it becomes clear it'll take me much more than that... It's coming along nicely though;) Now it's is all about balancing how to show the best bits of the game without actually showing too much;)
I managed to get a really great song for the trailer- it's by an American band Tears Of Mars, who have been most kind to also let me use some of their music in game. Those guys rock!:) Check out their website:

http://tearsofmars.bandcamp.com/

In the meantime, as the voices are being recorded, I keep looking for more bugs... I want to avoid the situation from 3 years ago and make sure there aren't any this time;) Avoiding Downfall's bugs was like a little game within the game itself!

[viltaket]

Wow, this is really a great band

I wish you luck with the corrections!
Great game I'm willing to wait as long as needed   

[Xionix]

So, is the game is almost finish, why not release a demo? Or do you plan to release it the same time as the complete game? Btw,  I fell in love with the game the instant I saw the 1st trailer.

[Grim]

So, is the game is almost finish, why not release a demo? Or do you plan to release it the same time as the complete game? Btw,  I fell in love with the game the instant I saw the 1st trailer.

Demo is coming. We're just waiting for few more voice acting lines for one of the characters, and as soon as they're in, we'll release the demo. The full game will follow few weeks later;)

[LTGiants2000]

EXCITING!

[Xionix]

That's great, I forgot to ask (sorry, I'm kinda new in adventure games so still not getting use in using my brain), you mention the game is in high resolution, but what on what resolution you are making it? I want to know is I will be able to play it on my little tiny Netbook (wich I prefer for point and click games) or I will need the laptop.

[SquirlyGirl]

will box edition of the game be available same date as the digital release or it will come a bit later?

[m0ds]

It's most likely that DVD/boxed versions will come after digital release. We're still weighing up self publishing and outsourced publishing. So they may depend on the number of digital sales, depending on what happens.

We're doing everything we can to get the demo out next week, woohoo!

[m0ds]

The demo will be publicly available from tomorrow onwards (with a fully functional website and place to pre-order), but it is actually possible to have a go today - exclusive to AGS

Full release day - Halloween! Fingers crossed..

[pmartin]

Am I awake? Downloading.

[an Urpney]

I thought I'll have a nice walk home. Now I know I'm taking a bus. NEEEEED TO PLAY THIS!

[pmartin]

Just finished the demo. It's great.
The "Misery" line is a bit too loud though, maybe it was my shitty earphones... My "internet screamer acquired reflex" almost made me press alt+F4. (It definitely scared me, though, but that "immersion breaking" kind of scare).

Can wait to get the full game, also I'm really curious to see the ways Grim used to escape the linearity this kind of interface brings. Now, unfortunately, time to go back to work.

[an Urpney]

You scare the living crap out of me, gentlemen. And even meeting a familiar face didn't help.
Congratulations. Can't wait.

[m0ds]

Thanks for MISERY!!1 your feedback

Spoiler

That's Grim's cameo!!

[close]

Hoping to get the website and pre-orders online & available later today, thus making the release of the demo official.

[an Urpney]

Spoiler

Misery was an easy one for me with Misery being my favourite King's novel : ) Some people can get stuck ther as it requires knowledge from outside of the game, but I liked that puzzle and whole Joe's return part even if it - as the Misery puzzle - requires a little outside knowledge to be fully enjoyed.

[close]

Let us know when the preorder is on - and meanwhile I'll go and get my card ready : )

[viltaket]

this will be my first game which I REALLY  want to buy

[an Urpney]

You should try other Grim's game, Downfall. If you don't have it - go and buy! I can assure you, you won't regret.
EDIT. All right, bought it yesterday. Can't wait for Halloween : )

[m0ds]

Thanks you an Urpney. Sadly this thread has lost some replies after the recent forum crash, but I just wanted to reiterate, the demo and pre-orders are now available at http://www.thecatlady.co.uk/

[Mr.Dream]

Oh my...

It was beautiful. The puzzle are very easy (The message on the door are the same in "Downfall", and I like S.King's Novel), but it's not important.
It was a very great moment to see again Joe,  with an another point of view!

More (we said in French "clin d’Å"il") reference to "Downfall" in the complete game?


So I'm very exciting! Halloween could be my favorite Day/night this year

[an Urpney]

Thanks you an Urpney.

No, thank YOU : ) And Grim of course.

[Icey]

Will the game come with the setup file? I couldn't play the gae because of some driver issue even while using a bigger monitor.

[viltaket]

woohoo!!!! I made a pre-order ^ ^
I'm very happy!

[Surdy]

Hey Grim,

Think in euros & dollars too, not only shillings

Stop speaking, can you drop me the rts files for the french translation, please. Thanks!

[Mr.Dream]

Surdy, you will translate the game?

Tu vas être le traducteur officiel? Ou alors tu veux lui forcer la main? xD
J'y ai cru pendant une seconde, mais je suis encore assailli par le doute; et si...

[Darth Mandarb]

Please do not start a conversation in French (and post in English so everybody can read it) and let's stay on topic.

[Mr.Dream]

Well, it's just few details in french. I was too lazy for translate in English ^^
Don't worry, if I have a french conversation, it's only in Private Message. x)

And talk about a translation, it's talk about the game, isn't it?

[viltaket]

m0ds,what about  new trailer?
you wrote in Twitter that he was ready
very interesting when we can see it!))))

[m0ds]

The new trailer will be out around the same time the game is released, to pull people in - so near the end of the month If you're on the Screen7uk twitter, you will of course see it a bit earlier than most!

As for translations - we're still dealing with which need to be done in-house and which are going to be covered by localization companies who may distribute the game. So please be patient, we WILL be in touch in due course!

[Peder 🚀]

I'd like to see some more media coverage of this game being so close to release!
It should help both pre-orders and first week sales than if there is no media coverage before release day or after release day.

[m0ds]

I'd like to see some more media coverage of this game being so close to release!
It should help both pre-orders and first week sales than if there is no media coverage before release day or after release day.

Certainly! Plenty of interviews in the works, you'll be able to read those very soon & previews on various websites from around the 17th Oct. Of course, links will be posted here to articles as they arise.

Demo & pre-order now at: http://www.thecatlady.co.uk

[Surdy]

Any fresh news? Interviews? DVD boxed edition? Can we pay in euros too? Grim or m0ds are you always here?

[Chicky]

Really enjoyed the demo guys, some genuinely freaky scares in there which you don't often get, even in AAA titles. Fantastic sound design, looking forward to the release!

[Grim]

Hello there;) I'm pretty sure you can pay in any currency you like when you buy things online?

Mods has prepared really great teaser trailer that'll advertise the game until release and he'll probably post it later tonight. The original trailer is nearly 5 minutes long... and that one will be out on Halloween or just before, only for people with good attention spam- which probably won't be the Gametrailers.com crowd;) 

One thing I haven't mentioned here before is the addition of David Firth as one of voice actors. Anyone familiar with the Salad Fingers series? Well, those who are will recognize his voice instantly. It took some "pestering"... but he delivered some absolutely amazing VA for two characters and just the sound of his voice scares the shit out of me...

It's the final run before Halloween... Just trying to wrap everything up and make sure there is nothing missing.

[m0ds]

Yes! New teaser ist here

[embed=640,360]<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1P3o9LZJwrY?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>[/embed]

[Chicky]

Awesome trailer i like the quick cuts, they go very well with the music. Who edited this one?

[Grim]

Who edited this one?

That'd be mOds;)

[Tabata]

     
That teaser trailer is really good!

      *shudder*

[Mr.Dream]

Perfect!

The game will be a reference, I'm sure! x)

[SquirlyGirl]

wow so amazing looking, cant wait for release date to buy this!!! any news on date of physical copy if any release date?

[Zenger]

WOW  , Excellent trailer!!!!... excellent work, I love It!!!!

[m0ds]

Fresh meat - Link Dead Gaming have previewed the game, you can see what they have to say here!
http://www.linkdeadgaming.com/that-indie-kick-the-cat-lady-fibrillation/

"flourishes in the storyline are highlighted by unobtrusive vocal performances that manage to accentuate each story beat perfectly."

And don't forget to read their other recent interview with Grim!
http://www.linkdeadgaming.com/20-questions-with-remigiusz-michalski-of-harvester-games/

[OG]

If this game turns out to be all it is built up to be, I will be bloody astounded and happy. Grim, you are one hell of a guy, I can totally relate to you man. Finally, some real kick-ass story-telling. I say that because not everyone is a storyteller (even if they think they are, well, they could be if they apply themselves!), but you have done a pretty damn good job. Well done. I love the dada thing.

[m0ds]

It's not quite ready. We really appreciate the interest and your desire to play it ASAP. Pre-orderers will be kept up to date by email & get some exclusive material

[m0ds]

You can now read a new interview with Remi about this game and his work as a developer at Adventure Gamers!

http://www.adventuregamers.com/articles/view/23186

[an Urpney]

Blackwell episode by Grim?

[SquirlyGirl]

When I click preorder button it looks to me like it says game will be ready in 9 months, 4 days 10 hours? is this correct or I am not understanding this timer? if its 9 month wait i will wait on ordering it


OOOH i didnt even see the text on the timer before ,  kinda hard for me to read, now I see, 9 days not 9 months lol

[Mr.Dream]

Me I read "8 Day", and I Pre-ordered the 30th October.
When Can I have the download link? In 8 days?

[m0ds]

Looks like an email was sent out just before you did that. You'll get further updates to your email over the coming days!

Hello!

Thank you for pre-ordering The Cat Lady! The game is almost ready, but we've had to delay the release by about a week as we finalize everything. Over the coming days, you'll get a few extra emails with some exclusive previews and information.

Don't forget - you'll also be sent the game several days before it's available to the public, making you one of the first people to play this latest masterpiece by Harvester Games!

Why not read the very first preview at Link Dead Gaming!

Please don't fret - it's coming very soon and you'll be the first to download it. We're doing all that we can to get it out as soon as possible, so thanks again for your pre-order!

[m0ds]

Some further news, I know some have been asking so I've done what I can to sort it - so you WILL be able to get a hard copy (on DVD) as soon as it goes on sale to the public. It ships from America but postage is included in the sale price. I'll have more details about this soon! Just to be clear - there most likely won't be hard-copy "pre-orders" due to the way they get created and sent out.

PS. I removed the timer, it was causing too much confusion, the game is still in development..

[SquirlyGirl]

will the dvd be coming in like one of those old school box's? I love those lol was just curious

[viltaket]

is it a long loooooooong wait 

[m0ds]

A long wait but it's nearly over Voice recording is 99.99% complete, we're just waiting on 7 lines. Anyway, it's time to be confident about a release date - so mark Dec 1st in your diary. Anyone who has pre-ordered will have got an email today with the date your order will be met.

Notes:
1. We can't offer boxed editions unless the game is picked up by a super publisher or it makes enough to afford those kind of costs, which ultimately result in zero profit for the developers (it's not cheap to make & ship game boxes, we'd have to charge a ridiculous amount if we did it in house )

2. Steam? We hope to have a Steam Greenlight page just as soon as possible so people can vote up the game. SOON!

[Goldmund]

Imponujace! Gratuluje i podziwiam.

[Cirius]

I've literally just finished playing through The Cat Lady, courtesy of a press copy kindly supplied by Screen 7.

I am not holding back when I say it was literally one of the most unique experiences I have ever had from an adventure game. I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending it to anyone with even the slightest appreciation of adventure games.

Just a warning to everyone. To say this game involves mature themes would be an understatement. Themes of depression, suicide and violence fill it from start to finish, not letting up for a second. But despite their prominence, they are handled with an intelligence and sincerity that is worthy of respect.

Over the next few days I'll be finishing up a review which will go up at The Reticule, but for now all I have to say is thank you to everyone involved in the project.

[m0ds]

Thanks Nick, I'm sure Remi will be pleased to hear that - I certainly am! Looking forward to your article, thanks again for supporting such ventures

[an Urpney]

Almost get late for work today because of this game and passing by a cementary at 5 AM was far less plesant than usually. I had to force myself to stop playing just after chapter 1. The game is amazing.

[Grim]

Thanks Cirius- such a kind comment. I can't wait to read the full review!

Those who preordered should have received the game by now- and everyone else can get it on the 1st of December!:)
I really appreciate your patience and while there have been delays, I hope you'll love The Cat Lady:)
On Saturday a proper thread will be made in Completed Games section.
An Urpney- after a few more chapters you will be scared to pass by your local newsagents, let alone cemetery....

[Crimson Wizard]

'Tis time to remember all the cats you've killed in previous adventure games.


Wait, oh sh...

[xenogia]

Got my pre-order link yesterday and started playing it last night.  Up to Chapter 3 so far and it is awesome.  I have found a few bugs which I will submit, but other than that.  This game is probably one of the most enthralling AGS games I have played in years.

[an Urpney]

Started chapter 5 just before I had to go to work. One minor VO bug reported to Mark.
The game is getting better and better (only one slightly annoying part thus far - I'd tell what it was but I don't want to reveal any plot points before the game is officially out).

[m0ds]

Thank you, Rem is working on your bug reports. Good to know it hasn't fatally crashed or anything, and that you're enjoying it! I'm busy getting the DVD-rom stuff sorted. Everything looks good for both Screen 7 and Desura release on Dec 1st (sadly the game was rejected by GOG).

[Surdy]

Hi m0ds,

I am still motivated by translating TCL in french. Are you OK or not ? ;-)
You can contact me via e-mail.

[an Urpney]

End credits just rolled through my screen and it was great couple of days. Certainly will take this road several more times just to take different paths.
Actually I'm dying to discuss the game but I think it'd be better if I remain silent ultil the game is officially out.
For now, I'll just say:

Spoiler

GIANT ZOMBIE CAT!!1

[close]

And now I just need to sleep with it.

[m0ds]

It's Dec 1st, so you can now purchase it at http://www.screen7.co.uk or http://www.thecatlady.co.uk

All song and dance tomorrow I assure you, Grim will be posting a completed games announcement in the coming hours. ENJOY!

[Grim]

Completed Games thread is now in place;) Could moderators kindly lock this for us, please? Thanks!!!:)