(http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/7951/screenshotvj.png)
Fadi has been given permission to visit his Aunt Sylvia for the day - but Auntie Sylvia has a problem, and would like some help fixing it.
Join Fadi on a snack sized adventure through a colourful world that is host to a bunch of even more colourful characters!
I've been wanting to make a short one room adventure game all year, and have been distracted twice already, so this time I forced myself to not be so distracted (and I needed a break from my bigger project).
The game's page is here (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/games.php?action=detail&id=1208) - I hope you enjoy :)
I haven't yet started the game itself, but I can already comment that logos / main menu text is too fade! I guess more contrast needed. Downgrading graphics to 16 bit helps, but I suppose that's not an optimal solution...
Wonderful game, once again, Ben! Just finished it. It was quite fun and had a few funny sayings in it. The animations were great too.
Spoiler
When Fadi takes the knife out of the plant pot and turns around in that pose, it scared the bejesus out of me ;)
Just great!
Flawless game mechanics and superb attention to detail, as usual.
One little glitch:
Spoiler
The vending machine doesn't react to other inventory items.
A lovely game indeed with cute animations.
Well, I have these issues for now :)
Spoiler
1. Mouse cursor is initially visible and flickers a second before first logo.
2. Flag does not react to other inventory items.
3. There's a blue pixel on a house with flag. Or, maybe it was rather transparent pixel and sky shows through.
Allright finished. Only stuck for a while
Spoiler
trying to figure out how to get the pike.
More issues, including logical one:
Spoiler
4. It is possible to get statue a dress BEFORE speaking with Poron for the first time. If you do so, boy still acts as he already spoken to Poron before and knows he needs a password.
5. When flag falls down, there's a perspective mistake, I guess, it looks like it fell too far away.
Oh, yes, and I still suggest to make logo images (and credits too) more dark in colour for contrast.
Ben, you are a crazy guy. Admit it, you have a bunch of highly trained monkeys who work for you!
Haven't played it yet, but I expect it to be as good as usual. And I really dig your current style, both the character and the background art!
Thanks for yet another game.
Quote from: Mr Matti on Tue 29/09/2009 15:21:19Ben, you are a crazy guy. Admit it, you have a bunch of highly trained monkeys who work for you!
Ben must have ghostwriters... erm... ghostcoders. I suppose there are 303 ghostcoders ;D.
Downloading now, will report back soon!
Really Fun! I love how your games are set in completely different worlds and the minute you are comfortable in the setting and the story, something out of the blue happens and you get the impression that there is a lot more going on. Funniest game yet. Especially the Zelda-esk animation.
Stop taking us to these exciting worlds and only letting us stay for a short amount of time! I know you have said you like making short games, but come on Ben, you would have one epic game if you made a game that would take you an hour or two to complete.
Once again you have entertained, satisfied and inspired me. Good job!
Awesome!
The backgrounds, sprites, animations, humorous lines & music: perfect sweet game!
Well, I am ashamed to admit, but I hired a freelance ghost piano player to help me create the soundtrack this time and that guy cursed me after I didn't pay him, and now the whole place is haunted and I have these terrible nightmares of soda machines and unholy relics...
Way to go, Ben!
Ben, Ben, Ben, what did you do this time? Again a game, wonderful to look at but with puzzles, a bit too easy and 'standard'. Maybe next game focus a bit more on the intellectual part instead of the artistic part, ok? Don't get me wrong, a brilliant production again.
And of course I know an orange is orange ;-) Otherwise it would have been a green orange instead of an orange orange. But thanks for the reference. While on the subject, talking to auntie the final time:
- under this fellows nose --> fellow's nose.
Then the man replies:
- I can't believed it happened --> I can't believe
Great work, again. Well done, also congrats to Kaputtnik for another nice soundtrack.
Kaputtnik, can you please add this soundtrack on your website as DL?
;D ALRIGHT NEXT ADVENTURE...
Wanna follow the spirit!
MORE MORE MORE...
Wow Ben ! I can never get enough of your drawing style!
*Downloading*
Adventure games are usually such lonely affairs. It's remarkable how you can conjure up an actual sense of community just by having all the characters in the one place.
It's nice to see Ben maintaining his high standards, the animations especially. Excellent stuff.
Good to see you finished it, Ben. The background and animations are great!
Great stuff again Ben.
Thanks for sharing it with us.
Crimson Wizard: I am glad to hear you enjoyed the game, and thank you for bringing up those things which caught your attention. I haven't tried downgrading the graphics to 16 bit, but I would really advise against doing this, as there are a few sprites reliant on alpha transparencies and downgrading would most probably cause some odd visuals to appear.
Snake: Thanks - that is probably my favorite animation in the game too, so it's fun to hear it caught your attention ;D
Khris: And more thanks! :D Also, I appreciate you mentioning the little glitch. I don't know how these things slip my attention, but they always do. Glad to hear you enjoyed, regardless :)
Mr Matti: There are no highly trained monkeys - there is only a single untrained monkey, and that is me 8). As for being crazy, well, you're not the first to suggest such a thing...
Helme: Nah, although Ghost did help me with some of the script for Annie Android ;)
Indie: Thanks again, man. I tell ya, I am working on a longer length game, but I still want to make short games as well, so expect to see at least one more before I've got a longer game to show off. Making longer games is alright (as if I'd know), but I do so love just taking out a couple of weekends to put something concise together as well.
Arj0n: I am pleased to hear you enjoyed it, mate. I am sure Sebastian can be convinced to share his music from his submarine (last seen near Spain)
Sebastian: Sprinkle salt around the place. It works for me, and when you need to add a pinch of salt to your pasta, you can reach down to the floor and get it, without having to travel all that way to the cupboard!
Leon: Yep, I thought it'd be nice to do something 'standard' for a change. Pushing my puzzles in new directions is enjoyable and all, but I'd been designing and coding all different sorts of puzzles for about 6 weeks before starting this, so I wanted to do something simpler for my brain's sake. I am glad to hear you enjoyed it, amused to see that you noticed that line, and unsurprised to see that you found some typos 8).
Charles: Thanks, bud! If you're looking to follow spirits, may I humbly suggest you try Heed? ;D
LUniqueDan: Appreciated, licorice toaster friend upon sugary islands of moss!
Clarvalon: Cheers :). Putting all the characters on one screen also means that I only have to align two hundred thousand pixels with my tablet, as opposed to a million or so ;).
ProgZ: Thanks, ProgZ. It makes it worth the hours of staring at pixels to hear that!
Miguel: Thanks bud! Glad to hear you enjoyed :)
Arjon: Bill there, Stan that: http://erdbeertelefon.net/en/soundflies
Get your Awakener soundtracks while they're hot, people, and them drop 'em like they're broken!
Kaputtnik, thanx!
When I use this as my wakeup-call-tune I will have my own awakener ;)
I must say I was a little disappointed on Heed, I just found it rather not-good, it's just me, but this one is worth a try anyway. Still can't stop loving Shifter's Box and Annie !!
Quote from: Dualnames on Wed 30/09/2009 14:26:24
I must say I was a little disappointed on Heed
There's some kind of hardly explainable coefficient, like a relation between story/puzzle densities in game; I'd say that Heed had too little actual puzzle amount per average amount of rooms & some huge vague background story behind... ::)
Awakener has high density of characters and puzzles per single room.
Oh, I liked this better than the last game. Loved the music as well.
I'm really torn apart between wanting you to make longer games and making more of this short pieces of awesomeness. That isn't a bad thing I guess. ;D
Nice game! As always, backgrounds and animations are excellent. I actually laughed out loud when he stuck that spear down his pants (although I'm not a fan of 4th wall humor, sadly :)).
My only real gripe is the font you chose; it's a bit cumbersome to read at times (IMO) when compared to something like the traditional Lucasarts font.
Overall, nicely done! Good job!
Dualnames: I hope you like this one better than Heed - actually if you compare the two, one could almost say that Awakener is the 'Anti-Heed', as they are almost polar opposites in terms of play style ;D
Anian: Good to hear you liked it! As for either making a longer games or more short ones, I am attempting to do both 8)
TheJBurger: Cheers! Fourth wall humor is something I haven't really used in the past, and I found enough opportunities in here to make it a fun sort of joke theme to follow. I probably won't do it again to such a great extent, but had fun coming up with responses using it.
I always used to love playing adventure games and seeing funny animations (Simon putting a ladder into his hat, Guybrush putting a dog into his clothes) so one could suggest that the animation with the spear was a little tribute to some of my favorite older games. Interesting point about the font - I haven't heard anyone else comment about it, but I've used this one for two games, so I guess I'm ready to try and find a different one.
Thanks to all who have played so far, and hooray for the Indie Games Weblog (once again!)
Now that TheJBurger mentions is, the font you use for your games is a bit on the small side.
(I very much hope that people who dislike games that break the fourth wall are not in the majority!)
Have just downloaded and finished the game. I can swear, that I absolutely love this new graphic style, Ben> (I mean, Heed> and Awakener).
And as for the story - then again, it's a cute little piece of concentrated humor and non-standard thinking. Not so thought-provoking as Heed (though it wasn't the aim, certainly) - but a different gaming experience.
And I must repeat after JBurger, that animations really made me laughing out loudly (especially ones with the halberd, heavenly soda can and, of course, the dagger from the plant pot).
Another great work of short-game art. Last time, I drew parallels between Heed and Myst, now, I suppose, it would be something like Awakener and Gobliins! ;)
Another great game Ben! :D I love the new art style.
Only downside was that it was too short, I left it wanting more :)
Excellent game Ben. I really enjoyed the time you spent on your character animations in this one.
Music was also very catchy. :P
Clarlavon: Then it is decided - I shall find myself another font! As for fourth wall humour, I have had a pretty good response to it so far, so I wouldn't be too concerned :)
Vukul: Thank you :). This game was certainly very different in intent and concept to Heed, and I am glad to hear once more that the graphics appeal. I appreciate you comments :)
Bulbapuck: Thanks! Shortness is my curse so far for games, but making short games is what I really enjoy. As for being left wanting more - well, I hope to put out at least one more short game this year ;D (no promises, though!)
Ryan Timothy: Thank you, sir. I lost motivation whilst doing all the animations because it really did take the most amount of time, but now that it is done I can say I am glad I put the time in.
Quote from: Ben304 on Fri 02/10/2009 07:56:49
I hope to put out at least one more short game this year ;D (no promises, though!)
Vague hope! *Yaaaaay*
btw. Most games don't leave me wanting more, so that was actually meant as a compliment ;)
Quote from: Bulbapuck on Fri 02/10/2009 12:52:53
btw. Most games don't leave me wanting more, so that was actually meant as a compliment ;)
Then that is how I shall take the comment :)
Again a really wonderfull game, looks amazing, and was very fun to play... I must admit that I needed some help
Spoiler
with getting the lance, I'm normally not watching everything closely enough, at least not animations
Can't wait to see your next big project... ;)
Beautiful. Polished. Very enjoyable. Thanks!
SuperDre: Nice to hear you enjoyed it - as for getting stuck, that's where most people seem to get stuck, so you're not alone :). With regards to the big project, don't expect anything too soon - it's definitely a long term thing ;)
SteveMcCrea: It was a pleasure to make, and even more of a pleasure to have so many nice responses! I am glad to hear you enjoyed it!
I have to say how much I appreciate how many people have taken the time to comment on this game, both here and in the database. It is impossible to not feel encouraged and motivated to make more games when I get such pleasant feedback! I've uploaded a slightly updated version with some typo fixes and missing interactions added in, so I thank the people who pointed these out as well!
Ah, right, I posted here before playing the game. So, to encourage you even further, I second all the compliments posted here. It was indeed very polished and enjoyable. The characters were funny and the animations nice (and just for the knife-animation I will play it again!).
I didn't know it was 'just' a one-room-game, so perhaps you don't have a bunch of highly trained monkeys after all.. ;)
Lovely little game you made there. I always enjoy your games Ben! Please tell me there's going to be a sequel! The ending had me really intrigued.
By the way, I LOVED the animations! They were superb!
Quote from: CosmoQueen on Sun 04/10/2009 21:37:37
By the way, I LOVED the animations! They were superb!
Yup, the animations were special. But the whole game was good. ;D
Mr Matti: Thanks bro :). Glad to hear that little monkey rumor has been cleared up!
CosmoQueen: Thank you :D. Hearing nice words about the animations always makes it worth the effort, and I am glad you commented.
As for sequels, I'd be more interested in making a sequel for this than any of my other little games, but for now I have other things (http://ags-ssh.blogspot.com/2009/10/interview-part-4-ben304.html) to focus on 8).
CaptainD: Thanks again, and also for your mention of the game on your blog.
Without wishing to hijack the thread, I've posted a video of Awakener running on the Xbox360 in the technical forum: here (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=37481.msg513782#msg513782).
Wow, just finished playing this, it was awesome for as long as it lasted. Really professional-level quality in every aspect, except of course, it felt way too short :)
If you can ever get it together to make a game with a complete storyline to it, I have no doubt it will be a smash hit. For now though, your short games are awesome and a treat to play through. Thanks!
clarvalon: As I've said everywhere else - this is awesome!
Harry: Thank you for the kind words! I am currently working on a longer length thing as well as my short games, so hopefully one day in The Future it will see the light of day. Nice to hear you enjoyed, in any case! :D
Like it! Very nice and funny one! :)
Wow. I hate your games. I mean, I really HATE your games. The way they look so well put together, the way the graphics make me want to practice my art 3 hour a day more. And I reeeeally hate the way you put me in these really cool worlds where I want to hang out a while and have an adventure, only to show me the door wayyyy too soon. lol
No no, this as fun and enveloping as usual. And you hear enough of everyone else wishing for a longer game already, so I'll spare you. Keep up the great work, Ben! Thank you!
Iv4n: Thank + you :)
Mouthuvmine: Hooray for being hated! :=
Seriously now, thanks for enjoying the game and double thanks for telling me you did! We are working toe, sock and sneaker on a new short game for you to hate, and I am excited about it, so I hope to share the hate soon!
Finished it and I have to say I´m really impressed by the way your games evolve - especially your graphic style.
I also liked the intro/outro screens a lot.
I love these short games. Short enough to keep my attention. A+
Quote from: Ben304...We are working toe, sock and sneaker on a new short game for you...
For the love of God, Ben, what are you, a robot?
Can't wait!
Your squeaking elbow needs a bit of oiling.
DrWhite: Thank you sir! I really pushed myself to make the background for this game the best that I've ever done, and to make the characters really interesting to look at, and I am glad to hear people liked them! As for the intro/outro screens - after doing hundreds of frames of animation and spending hours on that background, I was sick of doing polished graphics for the game, so I decided to just freehand all the credits and titles. It's really nice to hear that they're not horrible - the Erdbeertelefon logo I drew makes me laugh every time I see it ;D
Layabout: You have no idea how good it is to hear that I am not the only one with a short attention span when it comes to games. Much appreciated.
Snake: Dang it man, I keep telling myself to, you know, take a rest from making games and just relax and do normal people things after work like watching tv or whatever, but in 5 minutes I get bored and start working on another game. I tried having a week break after releasing Awakener and just couldn't last even a day. At some point I'm going to buy a whole heap of games and then just sit down and play tons of games and not work on any of my own for at least a week!
Evil communistic letters infiltrate this game :=
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/awakener_russian_translation.png)
Release candidate:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/2tzo5qzglgy/Awakener_rus.zip
Ok, seriously, russian translation of this wonderful game ready for beta testing, if anyone would like to:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/myv0dndmyzz/Awakener_rus.zip
Still not translated: original readme, titles, main menu, interface.
Thanks to Ben for allowing me hack the game sources to make localization more polished :D.
Thanks to Lufia for drawing cyrillic font.