Adventure Game Studio

Time Stone is a short adventure game set in a fantasy world with a Sci Fi twist.

The Story

In a fantasy realm, Elle, a young Wizard's apprentice, arrives at the Professor's house house one day for her potions lesson, only to discover that the Professor is in terrible danger and an evil Warlock is looking for something that holds tremendous power. Will you be able to uncover the Professor's secret and rescue him from the evil clutches of the Warlock? Only time will tell.

Team
Time Stone was designed and created by Stuart Lilford.
Original Soundtrack by Mark Lovegrove

I shall play and love the hell out of this! Looks scrumptious!

Looks very cool indeed! :-D

I played it earlier and I liked it a lot.  Enjoyed the characters and dialog a lot and wouldn't say no to a longer game featuring Elle at some point!

I was lucky enough to test this and it's a beaut.  Quite short but very sweet with some really funny dialogue.  Nice one Stu :-)

Quote from: Stupot+ on Sat 09/11/2013 21:24:01
I was lucky enough to test this and it's a beaut.  Quite short but very sweet with some really funny dialogue.  Nice one Stu :-)

Same sentiments here. Congratulations, Stu! :)

Downloading now!!! Been waiting for this one since I saw the screenies in GID XD Looks like a nice lazy Sunday afternoon delight!.....AND....It's Sunday!!!

Great graphics. Looks like Maniac Mansion with a touch of Simon the Sorcerer.

Oh noes! That hotspot label (that says Puddle in the screenshot) is 1px too high. Rated 0 cups! :p

(Just kidding, looks absolutely great - although that tiny misalignment drives me up the walls, kinda like mixed pixel resolutions - I'm weird like that haha)

Hahaha! Great game! Short, but very well crafted in all the details. Just finished it... Loved the ending :-D

Short but sweet. I also liked a lot of hinted and mentioned backstory, gave it all a feel of a bigger world.

I'm jealous of this game, this is what I wanted to achieve with the Dwarven Dagger games!
Great job so far, I'm stuck and sleepy and will have a fresh start in the morning, but enjoying the game a lot!
Congratulations!

That was cute!  (http://www.smileyvault.com/albums/userpics/12962/bravo.gif)
Good job!

I especially loved the animation when the evil was beaten - gave me a laugh :grin:

Very nice, really enjoyed the incidental animations, and also (no bias!) would like to see more :)

The soundtrack is here (http://www.screen7.co.uk/music/midi/scores/TimeStoneOST.zip) for download. I decided to finally give FL Studio a shot, though it was the free version, whereby you can't load any saved files, so I wasn't able to modify anything, just do it once and hope for the best. Typically I alleviated the problems during the last track to make.. Still it was a good introduction to FL Studio and hope the music brings some enjoyment despite its somewhat lackluster approach. Thanks for the op Stu!

We have received some lovely little write-ups for Time Stone:

IndieGames.com:http://indiegames.com/2013/11/freeware_pick_point-click_the_.html (http://indiegames.com/2013/11/freeware_pick_point-click_the_.html)
Indie Statik: http://indiestatik.com/2013/11/14/time-stone/ (http://indiestatik.com/2013/11/14/time-stone/)

Plus we were featured as a game on Game Jolt! We've had some really positive feedback on the game, so thanks everyone who has ever said anything nice about it :)

@Ghost
Did you play and love the hell out of it?

@CaptianD
Thanks! Glad you think so :)

@MattFrith
Really nice to hear that you enjoyed the dialog. Unfortunately, there are currently no plans for Elle to return for another game. Perhaps one set in the same universe?

@Stupot+
Thanks again for testing. I would wholeheartedly recommend you as a tester to anyone. Very thorough!

@Adeel S. Ahmed
Thanks again also for testing :)

@Mandle
Yeah, I originally started working on this back for MAGS July! Although I was no where near finished, I'm glad that it turned out the way it did. Nice to hear you enjoyed the ending.

@Gribbler
Simon the Sorcerer was one of the core influences for this game. If you notice, the tapestry has similar symbols to Calypso's house from the first game ;)

@DoorKnobHandle
Oh Noes, I must launch a patch to fix this dire bug. Ha Ha.

@Anian
Thanks! The world wasn't something I concentrated a lot on, but just hinted at, so it's good to see some of that got through

@Miguel
Did you end up finishing? Or are you still stuck?

@Tabata
We've heard from a lot of people that the game is funny and makes them laugh, which is just heartwarming, thank you.

@Mods
Thanks again for the music, man. I was really pleased with how it all came out in the end :)

Bug report: when you put the candles into the candlestick, their baseline is probably wrong because they appear in front of the character.

Spoiler

Hey! Is the teleportation animation from Flashback? :D

[close]

Loved it! The dragon's my absolute favorite, he just cracked me up. And was the professor's... you know... friend Saruman? Kinda looked like him -- but maybe it's just me being tired. Anyway, a short but thoroughly enjoyable experience. Strangely enough, it's the second game featuring a female practicioner of magic that I played today -- the other being "A Boney Night" -- and both were so playfully inventive in their approach to the fantasy genre. I'm having a hard time trying to refrain from borrowing some of the ideas for a fantasy story of my own :-D

Great little game for a one roomer!
Good attention to detail!

What a loveley little game. I really enjoyed it!

Really aesthetically pleasing and charming wee game. Really enjoyed the ending (laugh). Hope to see more adventures of the Time Stone!

Very nice short game. Took me about 25 minutes to complete.

The graphics are very good, the sound effects fitting and the music builds up great tension in the final scene. The dialogs introduce the characters very well and give a nice amount of background information.

I love that after discovering the dragon he comments on your actions.

I found a few typos/glitches:

Spoiler

• Have you ever hear of a Time Stone?
• all of the professors at Unseen University - Pratchett's "unseen" slipped in here, should be unheard
• when putting the unlit candle in the candlestick and standing in front of it, the candles appear before Elle.

[close]

Quote from: Tenacious Stu on Fri 15/11/2013 18:54:13
@Ghost
Did you play and love the hell out of it?

I did play and enjoy it a lot. I think I did, by now, love at least a fiendishly large inner circle of the Inferno out of it, too!

No really, lovely, yet cruelly short. Sequel plz?

Really enjoyable, the dragon was a great NPC and you paid attention to so many details I didn't know where to start.
I also liked

Spoiler

that the most obvious answer in the last puzzle wasn't the right one :-)

[close]

Great graphics and really enjoyable. But It's a really short game.

Cute little game. Congratulations!

I was looking for a game to play with my son, and this one was perfect- I enjoyed reading the lines out loud to him, and it was just the right lenght. Cool stuff;) He didn't understand everything, but that's ok, because I could then explain and teach him some new things.

Good graphics and animation, very funny writing, and I like how it all came together in the end.

Also, I noticed mOds did the music;) Awesome!:)

I liked this, and I forgot to comment, so here I am. Lovely work, I enjoyed it a lot and it's obvious how much effort you put into this. Nice one! :cheesy:

Lovely little game! Thoroughly amusing and charming, with a very classic Simon The Sorcerer-y feel and a fun wrap up in the end. Good job!
Also, it was especially fun for me to see what puzzles you'll come up with, because the general setup of the room and its contents felt pretty familiar to me(wizard labs with girl apprentices ftw!). Have to admit, though - you definitely did a better job in the puzzles department. :)

Very cute and fun game! The evil warlock talking about his evil plan cracked me up ;-D

Like others I'd love to see another game set in the same universe.

Adorable and witty! Enjoyed it greatly. Splendid job. :)

Clever Ending I might say! Recommended! Good short game.

Wow! I'm really overwhelmed by the responses Time Stone has been receiving. Being featured on websites and even seeing a few Let's Plays was really unexpected. A huge thank you to everyone who has played the game and left comments.

I would love to respond to you all individually, so I'm going to!

@Monsieur OUXX
Thanks for the bug spot! I should probably write a list of these and get them fixed with an update. Also, yes i used a sprite sheet from flashback when creating that particular animation ;)

@Fitz
I'm really glad you liked the characters in-game. It was loads of... You know... Fun! Professor Yuno was based on the stereotypical fantasy wizard, so it's no surprise he reminded you of someone. Feel free to borrow any ideas you got while playing, I like the thought of Time Stone inspiring others.

@Construed
Thanks! It was a challenge creating a game all in one room, but I'm pleased with the way it turned out.

@selmiak
Glad you enjoyed it :)

@Sunny Penguin
Glad you liked the ending. I think that is my favourite part of the game too. There's currently no plans to return to Time Stone, but who knows, maybe someday ;)

@cat
Thanks for your kind comments on the Graphics. I was a little worried about them as I don't feel as though it is a terribly strong point for me, but creating the art for Time Stone was good practice. I'm happy that you enjoyed the dialog, this was fun to write. I agree that Mark did a great job with the music (even though I pestered him a little with some changes). Thanks for spotting those typos, I'll add them to the list :-D

@Ghost
Which inner circle would that be? Cruelly Short? Time Stone was always meant to be a short game as I wanted to create a small finished game to practice my AGS, design and art skills, I hope that the reason people think it's short is that they were enjoying it and didn't want it to end and that it actually isn't just REALLY SHORT. Sorry no plans for a sequel yet I'm afraid.

@Tamanegi
Lots of love for the Dragon as an NPC. Perhaps even you think he could be one of the best NPCs in a game you played last year (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/awards/nominate/)? *Shameless Plug. Please share, which puzzle solution did you think was obvious?

@Jaineshon
Thanks for the kind comments :)

@JuaniT
Thanks

@Grim
It's nice to hear that you and your son enjoyed playing it together. It was meant as a game for people of all ages and I got my nephew and little brother in law to help test. Really glad that you thought the game was funny. If anyone had any actual laugh out loud moments, please let me know.

@ThreeOhFour
Thanks for the nice comments Ben. I did put a lot of effort into it. It took around 3 Months to make using evenings and weekends around work and other stuff. Your games have been a huge inspiration to me when making games, so thank you :smiley:

@Ilyich
There are quite a few hints to Simon the Sorcerer in Time Stone. STS is one of my favourite adventure games and a definite inspiration for Time Stone. Initially with the puzzles, there was going to be a lot more going on, but I stripped it down a lot to end up with what was released, and I'm really glad I did! Really kind words, thank you.

@Matti
Garglewart's final speech along with Professor Yuno's dialog were probably my favourite to write, but the end speech in particular. I wonder how many people actually stuck around to listen to him? No plans for a direct sequel, but a different story in the same universe? That could be interesting.

@qptain Nemo
Witty! Now my head is really swelling with all of these wonderful complements. Thank you.

@GMD1984
Clever too! Thank you. I really made a point of making the end credits a sudden thing. As if to put a full stop on the story, in a similar way to how they do it with South Park episodes.


And, if you felt like it, maybe consider Time Stone for the upcoming AGS Awards (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/awards/nominate/). Maybe for best short game as so many people say that it's short :P

Thanks again everyone!

I've just played the game, and I wanted to say that I am really impressed by all the puzzles you created within that one small room. The graphics, music, characters, dialogues are great, but the puzzles are even greater, I must say. Well done!

I finally found the time to play it and, yes it's short, but who cares! Size don't matter!
I found it almost perfect, and I liked it so much!
I would like to play again your games!