Diamonds in the Rough by Atropos Studios (ALMOST THERE NOW!)

[alkis21]

Dear all,

I'm happy to announce that the positive feedback I received on my freeware game Other Worlds has made me decide to found my own Adventure Games Developing Company, Atropos Studios.

The production on our first game Diamonds in the Rough has started.
In the game, you play the role of a 20 year old American called Jason Hart. Jason is a high school dropout who works as an office boy. All that is about to change in the beginning of our story, when he is approached by a mysterious man who seems to know more about him than Jason does himself.

The man claims to represent an organization that recruits people who are believed to have "special abilities". Those abilities could be telepathy, telekinisis, or other extraordinary powers. Jason has had such an ability all his life, fearing to admit it to himself, let along others. He accepts the job offer for this organization, which is called "Diamonds in the Rough".

The story begins as soon as Jason moves to a town in the Midwest, where he will do this mysterious "work". He will soon start to wonder who he is really working for, and what the purpose of the organization is.

The game will be 800x600, True Color, 3rd person perspective. We will focus on a solid, deep storyline and innovative puzzles.

A couple of screenshots:





Status Report (June 12, 2007):
- graphics 100%
- puzzles 100%
- story 100%
- music/sound 100%
- testing 90%

More information and screenshots can be found in the official website of Atropos Studios.

[GarageGothic]

This sounds very interesting. Especially the "Current thought" caption intrigues me, I can't start to imagine what the gameplay will be like. Other Worlds is one of my favorite AGS games of all time. It had such innovative puzzles so I'm looking very much forward to this one.

I know this isn't the critics lounge, and I don't know if it's too late for changes. But here goes: I honestly think you should change the clothes textures into something more photorealistic and possibly add bump mapping. The T-shirt in particular stands out as very CGI, and the shoes look much too clean. I would probably change the jeans texture too, but it doesn't call attention to itself like the shoes and T-shirt do. You've managed to avoid the dreaded Poser look on his face, so it would really be a shame to ruin it with the clothes. In addition, his standing pose seems a bit too symmetrical - making it look stiff - and you should also be careful with the position of the feet. Right now it looks like his toes are pointing inward on the front view. That said, the backgrounds look very nice, and I'm particularly impressed with the trees and other vegetation in the screenshot on the site.

Good luck, and keep us updated!

Edit: I couldn't really figure out, will this also be freeware or is it a commercial game?

[alkis21]

Thank you very much for your feedback, it is appreciated.
Regarding the Thoughts GUI, here's how I would describe it:

Think of it as a second inventory. As you progress in the game, new thoughts are added and old thoughts disappear. A simple thought is a character's name, for instance. A more complex one can be a situation, like a meeting Jason just had or something he saw.
Thoughts can be:
-Examined (example: click on a name and Jason will tell you what he thinks about that person at the time)
-Combined (example: use a name on a situation and Jason will think if there's a connection between them)
-Used anywhere else in the game, just like inventory items (example: use a situation on a person and the person may tell you something about it)

Succesful use of any of the above may open a new location ("I'd better go ask X what he thinks of that"), trigger something somewhere else in the game, or even make Jason think of something new (a new thought will be added).

I like to think that the Thoughts panel will make Jason seem more real, instead of a marionette that obeys to the player's wishes. Plus, it should create some original puzzles.


The Thoughts Panel

I'll forward your comments on Jason to my artist. It is certainly not too late for changes; in fact, Jason changes every day and his appeareance is far from finalised. I totally agree with you that his posture is too stiff and not satisfactory yet, although to be honest I haven't had any complaints on his clothes before.

I'm afraid the game will be commercial (low price), I hope it's ok with everyone here. I already got CJ's permission (and it has to be said that he politely declined any financial compensation).

[big brother]

he is approached by a mysterious man who seems to know more about him than Jason does himself.

The man claims to represent an organization that recruits people who are believed to have "special abilities". Those abilities could be telepathy, telekinisis, or other extraordinary powers. Jason has had such an ability all his life, fearing to admit it to himself, let along others.

Reminds me of:
http://everythingjake.com

Except it's about a college kid and whatnot. You're probably not familiar with the webcomic, as it's not an original premise anyways. Just connected in my mind. Or should I say, the two thoughts combined.

[Vince Twelve]

Backgrounds look good.  Story sounds good.  And I definitely like the thoughts system.  It sounds similar to the clues used in Shivah, though Shivah was such a short game it couldn't take full advantage of the system.  I'm sure you will be able to find some creative uses for it!  Good luck with this.

I just hope you avoid the way-too-far delivery quests and poorly defined exits that made your last game so frustrating to play for me.

[alkis21]

I just hope you avoid the way-too-far delivery quests and poorly defined exits that made your last game so frustrating to play for me.

All the feedback (both positive and negative) I got on Other Worlds is going to be taken under consideration.
Pushing the TAB key will display the Exits for a second, and there will be a shortcut map for you to get where you need fast.

[Vince Twelve]

Sounds great!  Keep up the good work!

[splat44]

Hi alkis21,

Yes, I did played with other Worlds and congratulation to feedback you've received for starting your own adventure game company.

Just to clarify:

Is your game going to be commercial?

Usually when something read "Company" in post, might also think $ is involved down the line.

Great improvement over "Other worlds"

[Josh R]

I'm afraid the game will be commercial (low price), I hope it's ok with everyone here. I already got CJ's permission (and it has to be said that he politely declined any financial compensation).

[MadReizka]

Have you modelled everything yourself? Looking good, that is.
What program are you using?

[alkis21]

Yes, as I said the game will be commercial.

Great improvement over "Other worlds"

I assume you mean the graphics.. whether the actual game will be better remains to be seen. It's hard to match something you worked more than three years on, to be honest. I'll do my best.

Have you modelled everything yourself?

The only thing I can draw is conclusions! We have two artists working for us.

Looking good, that is. What program are you using?

You got me there... I know the characters were done with Poser 6.0, I'm not sure about the backgrounds. My associate purchased the software the artists requested.

[Nikolas]

Καλή τύχη.

Good luck.

hope everything turns out ok for your future (current) company. Graphics looking good, story too and you have already done a game! So you have experience!

As I said good luck with everything

[alkis21]

Ευχαριστώ Nikola. Nice picture of your sons you have there. I tried to visit the web pages in your signature but they seem to be down.

[alkis21]

Atropos Studios is happy to announce the beginning of what we are sure will be a very fruitful collaboration.
Nikolas Sideris will compose the music of Diamonds in the Rough.
Nikolas has a diploma in Piano with honours, a degree in Harmony, a degree in Counterpoint and a Master of Music from Royal Holloway College, University of London, with distinction. He has performed in concerts all over Greece, and his work has been featured in a number of plays and documentaries.
Visit http://www.nikolas-sideris.com to hear a few samples of his work. I suggest you go to Samples-> Commercial and listen to "A Tale of two Kingdoms", my personal favorite.
If you share my belief that music can be a crucial factor as far as the atmosphere of an adventure game is concerned, I'm positive that you will find this announcement very promising regarding the quality of the final product.

[deadsuperhero]

Well, it's good to see that you're doing that, Nikolas!

[alkis21]

If anyone is interested in reading more details on Atropos Studios and Diamonds in the Rough, there is a detailed interview of mine in the September issue of The Adventure Lantern online magazine.

[etchersketcher]

Personally, I'd say the main character's posture and lack of any facial expression are what make him look computery and dead.  But then again, these are early versions of the graphics, so perhaps your artist just hasn't posed them yet.  A great addition would be if his idle animation differed depending on his current train of thought.  Also, his chest sticks out a lot... Maybe I play too many underdog games where the hero's just a scrawny lad like myself.

[alkis21]

I agree with you, Jason's posture has already been improved compared to what you see in the screenshots. As soon as we think it's perfect, we will post some new ones. I don't know if his *idle* view will depend on his train of thought, but he will be changing expressions often (ie during a conversation).

[CosmoQueen]

OH WOW!! Those screen shots are gorgeous!!! The colors and the details are incredible!

I'm really gonna like this game when it comes out!

[alkis21]

Hello all. I would like to bring to your attention that our web page has been updated.

Additions (regarding our upcoming game Diamonds in the Rough):

-New screenshots
-Two new characters: Sydelle Williams and Nadine Conner
-Voice samples of the four characters that are featured in the site

Any comments would be welcome.

Updated Progress Report:

- graphics 90%
- puzzles 40%
- story 90%
- music/sound 30%