Adventure Game Studio

Features

   
• Unique dual story gameplay
• Multiple Endings
• English and Japanese Language
• Loads of graphical effects
• A dynamic music system and amazing soundtrack
• An exciting and bizarre story
• Another exciting and bizarre story
• A cool interactive manual
• Add your name to the online Hall of Completion
• Gods, aliens, samurai, and Charlton Heston

Screenshots

Interactive Manual

The game's interactive online manual can be accessed

here (http://www.xiigames.com/files/linus/manual.html).[/list]

Hall of Completions

After completing the game, you will be given a code to add your name to the online Hall of Completion!

The Hall of Completion can be accessed from

the game's webpage (http://www.xiigames.com/linus).[/list]

Soundtrack

Download the game's fantastic soundtrack by

Nikolas Sideris (http://www.nikolas-sideris.com)[/list]


Credits

   

Vince Twelve (http://www.xiigames.com) - Design, Writing, Art, Programming
   Kumiko Twelve - Japanese Translations, Support, Love
   Nikolas Sideris (http://www.nikolas-sideris.com) - Music, Sound
   Erin "The Ivy" Robinson - Xarnax and Xarnax Dialogue
   Greg Schlaepfer (http://www.herculeaneffort.com) - Bass, Guitar, and Percussion Samples
   Chris Jones (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk) - Adventure Game Studio

Beta Testers:

Steve McCrea
Mordalles
Erin "The Ivy" Robinson
Greg Schlaepfer
Luke "Erenan" Simpson
Dr. Zaiss

[/list]

Technical Recommendations

This game uses a lot of animations and transparencies on the screen at once, and since the engine lacks real hardware acceleration, the game will get bogged down on slower computers.  On a slow computer (say, less than 1.5GHz) animations will slow down and the sound will often skip.

I've included an option in the game's option menu that turns off some of the uneccessary effects which can help performance.  If this doesn't resolve the problem, I'm sorry.  But remember: it's just a freeware game!

It's cheating to create 2 threads about the same game in the GiP forum! :=


Looks really good... Downloading now... (if only the downloads won't stop every minute and I have to click resume here...) :P

Yay! Now I can pretend that I haven't played it before and play it again to see it in its full featured glory! Huzzah! Yippee! Whoopee! Yahoo! Et cetera!

Wait, what? I'm so confused. The deception! This looks so incredibly brilliant. I think I've just fallen in love with you Mr. Twelve, I hope you don't mind.

I don't mind, but my wife might.  She's a small Japanese gal, though, so you could probably take her.

Looking forward to hear some post-play thoughts!  And I wonder who will be the first to add their name to the Hall of Completion (http://www.xiigames.com/linus)!

You are clever in game making good!  ;)

Well I never! It's funny becuase I saw the samurai type game and wasn't interested in the slightest, and saw the other game and looked foward to playing it! Does that make me half interested in playing it? Um, no I'm all the more intrigued now!

I don't get it. We're the two games both in production by your people, Kami and that Von Whatsitsname? Are the original creators fake accounts? What's up with the title? Who's Linus Bruckman? I'm so confused right now, I feel like I'm in a dream :D.

Downloading ;D.

My comments on the game will apear here:
I downloaded it, played it, fucked my computer up, but damn, AWESOME GAME ;D.

I managed to get the solution on the puzzle, but when I was gonna switch places on those things my computer couldent handle more  :o.
So gotta play it on another computer another day :P.

clever boy, idlu... But as I see no one is at the Hall of completion (http://www.xiigames.com/linus) yet...

Just wanted to say that it was pure pleasure to work with Vince. :) (And that the game is one mind blowing little gem as well, but...well... since I'm involved a tad too much, can't say anything like that publicly... whoops just did...! :D)

Hehe great idea, when the player is clicking the same stuff made progression in two completely different stories (with completely different dialogues too), too bad it's really hard to follow both stories all at once, when a (er... two) line(s) of text appeared I read both, the result was I got lost and didn't understand either of the stories, I think I need to just concentration one half of the screen for each play :P.


It did run a bit slow for me though, my computer was a 2.8 MHz already.

Either way, since you can't read Japanesse (most probably), you are bound to follow Jouniors story at first... solving that will Translate te Japanesse text... So then you vcan follow the other story, knowing the jounior story already... :P It is difficult I reckon of course...

Well actually I followed the Japanese part first and found out that:

Spoiler

the puzzles and controls are not completely identical, for example the cursor could be moved in a square grid in say the colour changing puzzles where you can choose two different colours in the two stories.

[close]

Disabling the filters for both games did help improving speed for me though, but that I think the music volume text for teh japenese half of the option were reversed.

Quote from: ildu on Sat 25/11/2006 12:05:57Are the original creators fake accounts?

I guess DG is off the hook now.  Does this mean that I don't get to keep my best first post ever (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=25371.msg320321#msg320321) award?

And, yeah, Gilbot, it's much harder if you try to follow both stories at once. 

Quote from: Gilbot V7000a on Sat 25/11/2006 12:56:39
I think the music volume text for teh japenese half of the option were reversed.

D'oh! Chalk that up to my inability to read Kanji!  I'm not that concerned though.  If I ever release a version 1.1, I'll switch those around.  Thanks!

And finally, I'd like to add a huge thanks to Nikolas for his help throughout the development of this game.  I set in front of him an epic challenge: to create two tracks of music that were completely different in sound and mood, but could be played at the same time and feel like the same piece, and he nailed it.  The alien tune is so addictive, that my wife often hums the tune while making me a sandwich, washing the dishes, giving me a massage, or other wifely chores.  Nik also helped me with suggestions on the game, website, advertising, everything.  He was a pleasure to work with and I only wish I could pay him for his services. (Maybe next time Nik!)  Even if this game doesn't appeal to you, you can still enjoy the awesome soundtrack, so download it!

So, in conclusion ladies and gellyspoons, vote for Nik for Best Music in this years AGS Awards!

I quite enjoyed that, even though I hate those kinds of puzzles (only because I'm so terrible at logistics). But I perservered and figured it all out in the end. Only thing, I finished both stories but got no code... Did I do something wrong?

On second thoughts, your wife can keep you.

Did you finish both stories...

Spoiler

simultaneously?  ;D

[close]

Ah. That would be it then. I'm not sure I have the brain capacity for that...

Yes! The shroud of secrecy is finally lifted! Seriously, everyone should check out this game. I don't know how Vince came up with the dual interface, but it works seamlessly...and if you play the game long enough it actually starts to seem natural. Careful, though, this game is dangerously addicting.

I hope everyone else enjoyed "sanou" and "rightMind" as much as I did. Check out some of "rightMind's" photoshop entries carefully to really get your mind blown.  :)

Quote from: The Ivy on Sat 25/11/2006 14:38:52
Check out some of "rightMind's" photoshop entries carefully to really get your mind blown.  :)

Heh, caught on to that, did you?  For more fun, check out how long I've been planning this stunt by looking at the dates that I created the fake accounts...  The seeds were sown long ago...  Also, note that "sanou" is Japanese for the left lobe of the brain.  Left brain... RightMind...

...

I have no life...  :-[

Yay I finished it properly! I love you again Mr. Twelve! I agree with the Ivy when she says it becomes more natural the more you play. I was really getting into it by the end. Coming out of the game was weird because I expected to see two mouse cursors instead of the usual one. This really is an excellent game I must say.

And it makes my brain hurt.

Look brilliant and sure is a brilliant idea, too. But unfortunately my computer here sucks, so I can't play it ^^ I'll test it, when I'm back to my home computer.

I just started this game and it looks very interesting.Ã,  When I try to access the manual (from outside the game) I get a "bandwidth exceeded" message.Ã,  So, could someone please tell me how to save, quit, access inventory etc etc?Ã,  Ã, Thanks

:-/ The manual works fro mthe link here at the first post of the thread...

Anyways... There is no inventory, so you don't need that, no items at all. Pressing Esc will get you to the screen where you can save, load, tweak the settings and quit.

Bandwith exceeded indeed... Got the message from the main page... Well... at 188 downloads in 12 hours or so... Ah...

I'm arranging things with www.cgempire.com. Should be up again in an hour or so... but with the links given here... Can't change the initial post, or the games page I'm afraid. And Vince is most probably asleep (03:00 in Japan right now...)

Sorry for that... It's now mirrored to www.cgempire.com

Linus.rar (44 Mb) (http://www.cgempire.com/hostedgames/linus.rar)
Linus.zip (71 Mb) (http://www.cgempire.com/hostedgames/liinus.zip)
The Soundtrack (6.8 Mb) (http://www.nikolas-sideris.com/stuff/LinusSoundtrack.zip)

EDIT: OMG! Three posts in a row :P I'm awful! Will someone combine the three posts into one please? So sorry for that... Was in a hurry...  :-[

Well done Nikolas, I am downloading it now.

Bah I finished it (the full thing) and good god was that a brain bender, I didn't even bother to solve the top by itself. Once it was translated I went right to solving the whole thing...

And then when I get my handy dandy code... bandwith is exceeded on site... so I can't even join the ranks of the uber Linus Bruckman defeater squad... or something.

Gah!  Sorry about the bandwidth thing.  I have a number of websites and I can manually set the bandwidth limit for each.  In preparation for the launch, I wanted to set the bandwidth limit to 100 GB /Month, but I set it to 10 GB on accident!

The main download should be working again!  Gah!

And congrats to Mac, for being the first person on the Hall of Completions!

Er, thanks. It's pretty cold and lonely out here in the hall. Can I come back inside now?

Looks interesing, and started playing, still figuring everything out but it looks pretty unique and great! And the music is great too nikolas :)

Hmm maybe I should persist, but I was put off playing it as soon as I realised I had to do something with those pill things. Too much work, looking at it, and the menu.

So, fantastic graphics, brilliant music, crazy and amusing dialogue, but just like your last game, Anna, I really don't like those sort of puzzles. It's put me right off.  :(

Still, this game is so fresh otherwise, and interesting, and mind-bending that everyone should play it just to see such originality!

I did that same thing when I played it Matt, as soon as I realized what I needed to do to beat it, I thought, "I'll beat it tomorrow." But when I played it again and actually worked on solving the puzzle, it really isn't as difficult as you think. What's harder is the very last part, which I don't want to spoil. :)

Mac: No!  You must remain out there.  But you have Alynn to keep you company now.

Alynn: Thank you for being the second person to join the Hall of Completion (http://www.xiigames.com/linus)!!!

Buloght: Thanks for the nice comment!  I'm glad you like it so far.  Doesn't Nik just rock?

ManicMatt: Yeah, I realize that this game isn't going to appeal to everyone.  It's not exactly your standard adventure.  And the game is really just one big multi-layered logic puzzle, which I know doesn't appeal to everyone, but it's the kind of mind-bender that I like.  So, it won't appeal to everyone, but at least the unique concept, graphics, and music can be appreciated by all!  And like Geoff said, once the logic-y stuff starts setting in, the game really comes together.  Thanks for playing!

Geoffkhan: Thanks again for your beta-ing help!  And hurry up with Super Jazz Man!

Hurrah, I have an Alynn! So that's what that strange growth on my back is...

I just want to say that I'm really quite thoroughly sick of standard adventure games, which is why this appealed to me so much. Despite my mental handicaps, I found solving the puzzles to be a really rewarding experience. It's a lot of work, but it's all quite logical and I'd really recommend people just stick with it as it certainly does make sense the more you play it. My brain wanted me to stop hurting it, but something was compelling me to just keep playing and keep trying. Hehe, I had a whole page of notes to help me solve it all.

Anyway, I've posted enough in this thread, but I just want to congratulate you Vince Twelve on a truly great gaming experience, both in the lead up to the release and of course the game itself.

     What mental handicaps? Were you just making a joke?

This game is a real gem; very creative! Great work by Vince and his team. :D

And awesome work,  Nikolas! It's amazing how well the two different types of music work together! My compliments :)


All I have to do next is get my name in the Hall of Completion! :=

Thanks Scorpy!  I appreciate the comments.  Good luck on joining the Hall of Completion.  Five people there now!

Now here's where I shamelessly try to promote the game some more:

To everyone who played the game, now that the AGS game database is working again, why not leave a vote and a comment over on the game's page (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/games.php?action=detail&id=815)?

And if you use Digg, how's about giving me some luvin' (http://digg.com/playable_web_games/Innovative_new_adventure_puzzle_game_With_dual_gameplay)?

Also, for those interested, I'm going to be posting a post-mortem on the game, looking back at the development process of Linus, on the xii games blog (http://www.xiigames.com).  So, if you like that kind of thing, it should be up this week.  Possibly today.

Thanks!

This is an ingenious game, I can't think of another like it. The animations and post-effects really bring what could have been a very static puzzle to life. Bravo Mr Twelve!

I thought I was well on my way to completing the pill-puzzle, until I realised that I hadn't been moving the floating orbs when I'd been moving the pills. Oooh I wish I spoke japanese.

Great discovery this game. You manage to mix a lot of logic classics in a single puzzle, besides the music, both stories... all helps a lot in motivating you going forward. (I know, my name is not yet in the hall of fame but will be soon, I screwed the order of the top story and my brain is too smoky to try again right now.)

Apart of telling that I like it a lot I'll make a couple of comments in case you want to keep improving it.

- I wish you could move the balls without entering a different screen, I had to enter the controls repeating myself "top-left, top-left..." (and even so I made errors more than once.)

- If you play this game with the Linux engine the English subtitles for the top story might not appear when you start a new game. If they appear and you save the game, the subtitles will stay every time you load it again.

Thanks Tartalo (and a belated thanks to Ali)!  I'm glad you enjoyed it! 

And thanks for the suggestions!  Your first suggestion is very valid.  I could have implemented this differently without breaking the visual reminder of which button you have to press, especially since every button press requires significant thought! 

As for the subtitles not working, there aren't supposed to be English subtitles for the top until you finish the bottom.  Likewise there aren't supposed to be Japanese subtitles for the bottom until you finish the top, giving a different play experience for English and Japanese players.  But if you mean that you beat the bottom and still no subtitles appeared on the top, I'm not sure why that would be.  The game remembers which subtitles are unlocked by checking a save file that it makes when you complete one of the stories.  It may be a compatibility problem with Linux as I've never tested it on that platform.

And hey, since this topic is back up here, people who enjoyed the game might enjoy reading a Post-Mortem about the game on my blog:

Part One: Concept (http://xiigames.com/2006/11/29/wlbswheac-post-mortem-part-one-concept/)
Part Two: Art Production (http://xiigames.com/2006/12/21/wlbswheac-post-mortem-part-two-art-production/)
Part Three: Development (http://xiigames.com/2007/02/28/wlbswheac-post-mortem-part-three-development/)

Also, Linus was named "Catch of the Month" in the February issue of Australia's PC Powerplay Magazine:


And it had a little article in the January issue of UK's PC Gamer Magazine:


[/self indulgence]

Quote from: Vince Twelve on Thu 05/04/2007 02:14:15
There aren't supposed to be English subtitles for the top until you finish the bottom.

I solved the bottom, saw one ending, thought that being sold was just humor and quited thinking I had done it. Then I reminded the code thing, entered again, started a new game and the subtitles were there, in this moment both stories go simultaneous.

If this was the expected behavior all good, if not tell me which AGS version you used to develop the game and I'll try again, some games act odd if you don't use the right engine version. Windows users can't have this problem because the engine goes embedded in the game, but in Linux you choose it.

When you finish the bottom for the first time, there should be a little message just before the credits start saying  "You've unlocked the English subtitles" on the top half of the screen.  Then, when you start a new game, it has subtitles, so yes, this is expected behavior.  You must've just missed the unlock message.  :P

Sorry to be bumping an older thread, but I just finished playing the game and *finally* got to the proper ending.  Heh, I wasn't sure I was going to make it until I figured out a simple trick which made everything in the puzzle just click in my head.  It was a beautiful feeling.  So kudos to all involved in the project as it was incredibly unique and mesmerizing!  I really liked the music in the top half of the game as it merged just so with the bottom half music.  Plus, the way the endings merged together to give away the game's last secret was excellent.  This was a great game that I'm very happy I spent 6 hours of my life experiencing.

Thanks Lakerz!  Welcome to the Hall of Completion!  I'm glad you enjoyed working out the puzzle.

And yeah, wasn't that music great!

While this thread is up here, I'll take a quick moment to ask anyone who enjoyed the game to roll over to the Indie Game Showcase (http://www.indiegameshowcase.com/play/index.cfm?method=app.gameDetails&gameid=5635A097-5056-A102-1A4223B5C0620DA5&pagenum=6) and vote for Linus.  About a month or so ago, this woman running the showcase emailed me and asked me to submit my game, so I did.  I noticed another one of my favorite AGS games, Gesundheit! (http://www.indiegameshowcase.com/play/index.cfm?method=app.gameDetails&gameid=491219FB-5056-A15E-FEBAF52C74070966&pagenum=6) is up there too!  Plus a lot of other fun games.  So, if you enjoyed Linus, do me a favor and vote!

Thank you for linking that site!  I voted for Linus Bruckman and found a few other games listed there that piqued my interest like "The Antique Chronicles".