The Marionette (02 November 2009: Final round of refinement)

[Steel Drummer]

I think you should have the game be donateware. With all the games going commercial, it sounds like a good idea. Glad to know this is going to be a fantasy game, and the shape shifting element sounds intriguing.

[Nikolas]

Just a small info about donationware (I hope you mean the same by saying donateware...): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donationware

Donationware is not "forcing" anyone to give you any money. It is more simmilar to shareware than freeware, as, if the "customer" is satisfied, then he should give a compensation to the creator (you).

That said, any recomandation on the price would be invalide, under the notion of donation/shareware form. Note that in a donationware there is no ownership. So the "customer" (thus the " ") is not buying anything, just donating for the nice job (obviously it already shows!) that the creator auriond has done.

I won't go into details furthermore. Just say that the art is lovely and the dog even lovelier...

I will PM you for further discussion.

[Hammerite]

Is it DARK and IMAGINATIVE fantasy though?
I don't really want to play through ANOTHER game that's definition of fantasy is just some overused Tolkien-template.
From the sounds of it, it isn't a cookie-cutter fantasy story, so keep on working!

Good Luck!!!

[auriond]

Thanks for the comments everybody. It's very interesting to see the variety of responses.

Sorry for the weird update. It was prompted by a couple of the members on this forum, who were dying to have something weird happen on the 1st of April. Unfortunately I suck at pranking so I just came on here and posted a bunch of half-truths. But thanks you two for solidly backing me up.

So here's the rest of the truths:

1. Giuseppe - that backstory is indeed his and goes with the picture I posted. The character started with a dream that I had with that exact backstory (minus Eshana the clown). However he's since changed, and he serves a different function in the game. So, nope, he's not a faery and he's not a dog anymore in the game. But I still had that picture I drew after having that dream, and it seemed such a shame not to post it here, so I did, along with his old story.

2. Fantasy is how I would classify this game, but Tolkien it's not. Although it's true that I'm a wuss so don't expect things to jump out of dark corners either. I have no idea how this game should be classified though.

3. Here we come to the interesting part. I figured if my "joke" fell flat on its face (as it's doing now), at least it would generate a discussion on donateware or donationware or whatever it's called.

The model I was suggesting was that people have to donate any amount they want in order to download the game, which is different somewhat from the model that Nikolas linked to. It's a very tempting idea... people actually paying to play the game, without me feeling guilty that it's gone commercial. XD haha. I wish.

Thanks Nikolas for the info both in your post and in your PM. I've learned something today so my nonsense didn't go to waste. I'll reply to your PM in more detail when I have a little more time.

But bottom line is: The Marionette is free, with no obligation to make a donation or any kind of payment. Unless you're buying the soundtrack, of course... that's another matter altogether. But so far no one has, so I'm not too worried about that.

Now, all I need to do is finish the game. *goes to update status on first post*

[Fleshstalker]

I just downloaed and played the game for a bit. I usually don't download demos, especially when they go over 6MB, but I figured I give it a shot since I had nothing to search online.  I'm not much into first person Adventure games, but I actually enjoyed it very much. The art is fantastic and the setting gives off this eerie feeling which draws me in. Music also fits the mood. A very promising game to look forward to. I DEMAND MORE! 

[auriond]

Thanks Fleshtalker! It's very encouraging that I've gotten several positive responses from people who don't like first person games.

Update on the first post, and I offer a screenshot just for the fun of it:

[vertigoaddict]

Haha 'H. Townshend" that was SOOO on purpose!

This looks cool, can't wait ill it's done! OwO

[Tsolaelia]

Auriond, I've just played through the demo - this looks INCREDIBLE. How goes the progress?

[auriond]

El Townshendo was indeed slipped in on purpose

Tsolaelia: The progress is slow, but at least it's there. Still 40% complete as of now, although I'm entering another busy phase so I'm not sure when I can work on it again.

[auriond]

One new screenshot just to show I'm working on it, though I don't really have much of significance to report. Except that I'm probably not going to be able to finish the game this year (predictably so).

[Bai Karl]

Is there a walking chacacter in the game?

[auriond]

No, it's all in first person.

[yarooze]

Since the demo doesn't start on my pc (dunno why  :'(), it is definitely another one game, that I'm waiting for...

I need more scary games!  :o

[Maverick]

Glad to see that you are back at the drawing board!
I suppose that between the wedding plans, work and other projects we won't have the final product real soon?

Good luck and keep it coming.

[Dualnames]

I hope you finish this game sometime. But as a poet used to say it's not the destination that is important but the trip. You 've put a lot of effort I'm sure and even if it doesn't pay off for the rest of the world it wil play off for you for sure. Carry on, laddie.

[auriond]

Since the demo doesn't start on my pc (dunno why  :'(), it is definitely another one game, that I'm waiting for...

I'm worried that it doesn't work on your PC, can you PM me with any error messages that it gives you?

I suppose that between the wedding plans, work and other projects we won't have the final product real soon?

You're partly right, in that I really have a lot to keep up with and I may not have it done this year like I planned to, but when I do get free time I have bursts of productive periods. So it's hard to say. I will definitely not drag it on beyond January or February next year, because I really want to get this out there.

Dualnames: Thanks, and I promise it will be finished.

[auriond]

As I mentioned elsewhere in the forum, I haven't been updating this because I didn't want to raise hopes again (see previous post promising an early 2008 release... gee, is it September already??  : ) So I've been contenting myself with updating only the first post of this thread.

But recently I have been having a nice little burst of productivity that's just generally making me very excited, and  I just had to share this excitement with you. I've added a journal function, which helps in making sense of the plot. At the end of every section, depending on your actions, the journal will be updated with Martin's thoughts. If all goes well and I manage to wrestle the desired results out of my limited scripting skills, these thoughts also act as an indicator of which ending you're likely to be headed towards.

To counter the fact that I've put in the new features, I've had to take out some things as well. You know the puzzle from the demo that involved you picking up scraps of your drawings from all over the place? Well, that's been scrapped (pardon the pun). Also, that room that you couldn't enter in the demo is now permanently unenterable.

So as it stands now, the demo, which used to be about 30% of the planned game, is now about 20% of the planned game. That's the bad news. The good news is that this planned version is likely to be the final one, since the storyline and puzzles are very firmly in place now. I don't intend to add or subtract any more. I just want to finish the game. After that, I'll think about other things like animation and voice acting. Voice acting in particular is driving me crazy, because I can hear the characters saying things in my head, and I can't seem to translate the nuances into text alone! Oh, well.

And, of course, the very good news is that I'm finally over the halfway mark. Not quite yet the home stretch, though. When that happens I'll be asking for beta testers.

Here is a portrait of teenaged Alice, as painted by another character.

[auriond]

Ok, last screenshot, I promise. No more after this one until the game is complete.

[shayavr]

This is not just a game
It's an interactive  work of art

looks awsome!!

[Hammerite]

Looks promising!
I presume it's finished soon then?