The Mystery of Haunted Hollow

Hollowman · Thu 05/02/2004 18:55:04

Hello to everyone in the community.

This is my first posting on these forums so I'm a little nervous about posting this but thought I would take the risk and see what everyone thought.

I have been working for awhile now on my first attempt at a game. The name of the game is The Mystery of Haunted Hollow. The story follows a boy named AJ who lives in the town of Haunted Hollow. He is awakened one night by flashing lights outside his house, which signals the start of an intriguing mystery that has surrounded the town for hundreds of years.

The game will be medium to large with, hopefully, a fairly large amount of puzzles.

I have completed a lot of the game and have posted a small demo for people to check out.

Below are a few screenshots.

http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/magic.zip

Hope everyone likes it.

UPDATE 15/2/04

I am making very swift progress on this game and at the moment it is probably at the halfway mark, maybe even further along.

Most of the locations are now in the game except for the manor and the church and a lot of the puzzles are in place and playable. Currently there are 25 rooms in the game and 4 characters to meet and talk to.

I have posted a new screenshot of the park entrance below.

Hope to have a new update soon.

If I keep making as good progress as I am (and work doesn't get in the way too much) the game could be ready in less than a month.

UPDATE 22/2/04

After working almost all of the weekend I am very happy to say that the game is now getting very close to completion (way ahead of when I thought it would be ready).

This means:

1: I have no life whatsoever.

2: The game should be done in the next few days.

Here is a final screenshot

I am looking for a few people who would be willing to beta test this game when it is done. I am mainly worried about typos, inconsistencies, illogical puzzles and problems with the dialogs. My artistic skills are far from great, especially, the animation but I think they will pass.

The game is pretty big, at over 35 rooms and several dozen items.

Thanks to everyone who posted encouragements on the game; hopefully it will live up to expectations (not that I think anyone HAS expectations, but, just in case

).

Cheers!

Darth Mandarb · Thu 05/02/2004 19:48:00

This looks interesting.

My only thought about the game is that I'm not sure I'd move to a place called Haunted Hollow

Maybe a place called Deep Hollow or something like that but the locals call it Haunted ... just a thought.

The graphics (from the screenies) look pretty good!

It's good to know you've got some of the game done before posting. That's refreshing!

Keep us posted!

Edit - Just downloaded and played. The music is excellent! Very unobtrusive and it just fits into the background perfectly! Good job there!

The graphics are pretty good, though the scale is off from room to room (no big deal).

The game play is pretty good and the environments are interactive (which is good).

Keep it up!

JimmyShelter · Thu 05/02/2004 20:35:53

Promosing demo.

The music is cool, nice backgrounds. Just the scaling problem Mandarb mentioned: In some rooms the character looks too small.

How far are you with the game?

sergiocornaga · Thu 05/02/2004 22:08:54

That looks pretty damn good. And you shouldn't worry about posting on these forums, the people are really nice. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to insult everybody's work in the Critic's lounge.

DragonRose · Thu 05/02/2004 23:14:50

Wow, I'm impressed! Nice graphics, and the interaction messages are quite funny. The music is fantastic. Most shocking of all, your first post is in the announcements forum, and you actually have something to show for it!

I'm looking forward to the full game.

Kinoko · Fri 06/02/2004 00:41:22

I think it's awesome that he lives in a town called Haunted Hollow. It shows he's a mystery-lovin' kid! Or that he has parents involved in the evil arts. Either way, sounds cool, I'm looking forward to it.

Yeah, I was also surprised by this being your first post and being so close to finishing a game.

big brother · Fri 06/02/2004 02:53:25

I think John's post serves as a shining example to ANYONE who is even remotely considering starting a thread in the "Games in Production" section.

Not only did John wait until development was underway, but he posted screenies and even a playable DEMO! He also remembered to CAPITALIZE and his grammar's pretty good, save for the initial run-on.... heheh.

My hat's off to you, dude.

Welcome to the pathetic world of AGS, little buddy.

Snake · Fri 06/02/2004 04:25:24

Pathetic? Eh? :

Anyway, DOWNLOADING NOW!
I don't remember when I was so excited to download a demo, this is awesome. I love the graphics you show in your screens. The title is also great, better than something like, "Haunted Town Quest" or some shit

I'll get back to ya,

--EDIT--
Great, now finish this game

What is the music in the house from? I remember it being in another AGS game too, either LJE or ISN: Kill...

--Snake

Lauzzy · Fri 06/02/2004 05:43:55

Great job! I love the creepy mood that is created. That tune is stuck in my head. Where DID the music come from? Looking forward to playing the full game!!!!

Nine Toes · Fri 06/02/2004 17:10:27

Hey, this looks like something I might be interested in... but I'll have to wait until I get home to download it.

I'll edit when I've tried it out.

Hollowman · Fri 06/02/2004 18:11:12

Thanks for the kind comments and for taking the time to have a look at this.

To answer a few questions:

The game is probably about 35% complete so far, standing at 18 rooms, all of which are fully done (interactions, lighting etc).That perhaps doesn't sound like much to a lot of people, but considering how fast I have been working on this so far, I think it will be done pretty quickly.

I know how the story will go so I guess that can be considered complete.

I wish I could take credit for the music but I actually just had a look around the web for it all. I actually thought that a lot of people would recognise the music from the house, it is from a very well known horror film. Any guesses which one?

I was wondering how easy everyone found the puzzles. I'm pretty sure that any experienced adventure players will find the ones in the demo very easy to complete (the demo ends once you get into the museum BTW), I just wondered how easy, i.e. how quickly everyone completed the demo.

I just wanted to say thanks again and I'll try and keep this updated as much as possible.

JimmyShelter · Fri 06/02/2004 18:32:21

It doesn't end in the house?

:

Ok, I'll have to download it again and try and sneak out through the backdoor this time.

Edit: small bug, when I look at the front dor from the outside, the mum reads the description.

Edit nr2: I downloaded it again, but I can't find a way to get away from the house. A hint would be appriciated.

Takara · Fri 06/02/2004 18:57:52

This game is really good fun!

The story is intriguing, I really want to know what happens, and what's in this here museum I now have entry to!

The graphics look really nice and the music, whilst familiar (Candyman isn't it?), suited the game nicely I thought

Great to have so many hotspots in the rooms too, I love things to click on!

Big thumbs up from me and I look forward to seeing the completed game!

Takara.

Pet Terry · Sat 07/02/2004 11:08:53

Looking really good. The music is from Candyman but it fits really well. Well, I guess I should play the demo a bit more, since...

Spoiler

...I couldn't open the back door... yet

[close]

Hollowman · Sat 07/02/2004 11:38:52

For the people who need a hint in getting out of the house..

Spoiler

The key has been hidden by another family member but luckily they left a note to let everyone else know where to find it. The message is in a place used specially for leaving messages.

[close]

Hope that helps.

JimmyShelter · Sat 07/02/2004 12:03:37

Quote from: John Donlan on Sat 07/02/2004 11:38:52
Hope that helps.

Nope, I must be stupid or something.

Hollowman · Sat 07/02/2004 12:13:23

Ok a last hint would be to look at EVERYTHING, especially in a certain room downstairs. Failing that...

Spoiler

In the kitchen, look at every one of the fridge magnets.

[close]

BTW I have just finished working on the interior of the museum and I'm quite pleased with it. Lots of weird items to look at with extra long descriptions.

JimmyShelter · Sat 07/02/2004 12:39:13

Ah, I thought I had done that, but appearantly I missed it.

Let's try again.

Hollowman · Sun 15/02/2004 22:13:10

Just to say that there is an update on the game's progress above and a new screenie.

Hollowman · Sun 22/02/2004 20:31:32

Final update to announce that the game is almost done. See the first post.

The Mystery of Haunted Hollow

Lauzzy