Adventure: The Inside Job

Akril15 · Mon 26/05/2008 10:56:55

Thalia James, member of the Earth Anti-Encroachment League for over twenty years, has contacted a bizarre disorder during an inspection of a distant planet. Now it seems that danger is always two steps behind her as she continues what she once considered a relatively mundane job. It seems as if there is something rotten in the state of the Milky Way...

*******

That was the summarizing paragraph for the adventure game I was going to star in...before it got cancelled.

However, for a game character, being cancelled is hardly the end of the world. In fact, there's an entire universe beyond the one that you Outsiders see on your screens whenever you start playing our games...and for the first time, you're going to get a look at it...

This is my first AGS project. I've been working on it for almost six months as of now, not wanting to say anything about it publicly until it was nearly finished.

The paragraphs above are pretty much the best way I've found to describe this game's plot without giving too much away. I feel that going into too much detail about the plot would ultimately spoil the experience, since the premise of this adventure game is a somewhat unique one (at least, I hope it is).

To elaborate somewhat: My first game, Area 50.5, was meant to appeal not only to people new to adventure games, but to people who love adventure games as well. Adventure: The Inside Job, however, was designed to appeal to people who not only love adventure games, but have played too freaking many adventure games.

Here's some good news and bad news about what you can expect from Adventure: The Inside Job-

The bad news:
-This game will have ripped sprites, ripped backgrounds, and ripped music.
-The game's storyline is copied from an idea conceived by an author to such an extent that fans of said author would be screaming "RIPOFF!" five minutes into this game.
-This game is pretty big (and I don't mean "big" in terms of story, length, budget, or puzzle volume).

The good news:
-This game has ripped sprites, ripped backgrounds, and ripped music for reasons quite different than the usual "I can't draw/compose music very well"/"I don't have time to draw/write music for this game" excuse, for reasons you will soon see once you start playing. And the game DOES have some original sprites/backgrounds/music.
-This game is meant as a homage to the author mentioned above, in fact, one of his books is hidden in one of the game's screens, and I intend to give him and his idea full credit in the credits.
-This game's size is primarily due to its vast quantity of (original!) animations and its high resolution (640X480!).

In some ways, TIJ can be considered a fangame, which would make it one the few fangames that includes ripped graphics and music yet isn't a sequel, a remake or a spinoff.

Development Progress:
Approx. 95% done. All that's left to be done now is mostly last-minute testing and tweaking. If all goes well, this game should be completed within the next month or so.

EDIT: Added breaks near beginning of post.

UPDATE (6-8-08): About 99% done; all that remains to be added is the music for the end credits. I've found someone willing to write it, but I don't know how long it will take him to finish it. I've also found several people willing to beta-test the game, so I don't need any more testing volunteers.

UPDATE (7-16): Credits music is on the way, so the game should hopefully be complete before the end of this month.

UPDATE (7-29): Release date has been pushed to mid-August.

UPDATE (8-22): I'm afraid the date has been pushed again to the end of the month. Hopefully the music for the end credits will be complete by then. Again, sorry for the long delay.

UPDATE (8-30): I should have seen this coming...I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the music will be complete by mid-September at the latest.

scalad · Mon 26/05/2008 11:19:04

Sounds Great! can't wait for the release.

Alarconte · Mon 26/05/2008 11:55:36

wow, seems a game to play, but I don't understand well It is has any sense. You make so misterious but didn't got my attention. I only see a bunch of ripped graphs with no sense u_u . You don't gonna go to say bout WHO is fangame?

The first screen make me think 'bout another SQ, but is Crearly NOT by the other screens. Hittchiker, maybe? Lewis carroll xDD?

Cyrus · Mon 26/05/2008 16:04:38

Really exciting! Hope you'll finish it!

Akril15 · Mon 26/05/2008 23:48:15

Quote from: Alarconte on Mon 26/05/2008 11:55:36
wow, seems a game to play, but I don't understand well It is has any sense. You make so misterious but didn't got my attention. I only see a bunch of ripped graphs with no sense u_u . You don't gonna go to say bout WHO is fangame?

The first screen make me think 'bout another SQ, but is Crearly NOT by the other screens. Hittchiker, maybe? Lewis carroll xDD?

I didn't say that this game was strictly a fangame, but that it could possibly be considered a fangame to some extent because it borrows elements from many other game series (as you can see in some of the graphics).

Jared · Tue 27/05/2008 04:59:33

This looks fantastic, can't wait to play it.

Would I be correct in surmising that it's sort of like Drawn Together just with adventure games?

Akril15 · Tue 27/05/2008 06:18:07

Quote from: Jared on Tue 27/05/2008 04:59:33
This looks fantastic, can't wait to play it.

Would I be correct in surmising that it's sort of like Drawn Together just with adventure games?

Thanks. I've never watched the show, but I would say the game does have a very, very slight similarity to it.

GarageGothic · Tue 27/05/2008 06:38:51

Looks great! Seems like it will be full of adventure game in-jokes. I always loved games with a meta twist, like dropping into the Sierra studios at the end of LSL3 or re-visiting the EGA Ulence Flats in SQ4. I think this will be a quite enjoyable romp through adventure game history, and kudos for being almost done before announcing it.

Matti · Tue 27/05/2008 11:49:38

I don't know any of the characters in the screenshots, so I think I haven't played freaking many adventures.

Looks nice altogether but I think I will be a bit annoyed by such different drawing styles mixed together. The characters aren't really the problem, but if the background changes from one of the first two screenshots to the one in the third it seems a bit strange...

But nevertheless, I'll give it a try and will see.

Cyrus · Tue 27/05/2008 12:18:35

Are you planning a demoversion?

Akril15 · Wed 28/05/2008 03:25:24

Quote from: GarageGothic on Tue 27/05/2008 06:38:51
Looks great! Seems like it will be full of adventure game in-jokes. I always loved games with a meta twist, like dropping into the Sierra studios at the end of LSL3 or re-visiting the EGA Ulence Flats in SQ4. I think this will be a quite enjoyable romp through adventure game history, and kudos for being almost done before announcing it.

Thank you. The inspiration for this game came from a variety of sources, especially the various crossovers in Sierra's games.

Quote from: Cyrus on Tue 27/05/2008 12:18:35
Are you planning a demoversion?

This game won't be very long, so I thought making a demo would be a bit pointless.

Here's a full-sized version of the main character's sprite:

Cyrus · Wed 28/05/2008 05:52:24

Do you have a more-less definite release date?

Akril15 · Wed 28/05/2008 23:51:21

No, I don't.

Cyrus · Wed 04/06/2008 09:07:45

Inventory, GUI?

Akril15 · Wed 04/06/2008 10:28:41

The GUI is the classic Sierra icon bar, and the inventory is displayed in a popup window.

Snarky · Wed 04/06/2008 23:49:56

Can't you ask all your questions inside a single post instead of posting all these single-question messages, Cyrus? It's really annoying. People have told you this before.

Cyrus · Thu 05/06/2008 06:25:41

Yes, but if I add the new question to my earlier post, people won't be notified that I've asked it. (sorry for offtop)

Gilbert · Thu 05/06/2008 07:59:00

Then, why didn't you think thoroughly about it first and asked them all at once?
(Oh, I asked a question.

)
Enthusiasm is good, but the forum will be too cluttered up if too many repetitive and minor questions are asked separately, you may even consider using the PM feature when needed. This is just a kind reminder.

Anyway, back to topic, I think it's an interesting idea to have characters from different games and in different styles to appear in one game, looking forward to playing it!

Kaldire · Sun 15/06/2008 09:02:24

I cant wait akril! Glad to see this kind of a game!
I once had a vision of a movie like such where all the actors would just play every part they have ever done but in random places.

One question about the main character.. her hair, is the gray part short? sort of like a fro hawk? Looks almost shaved.

Akril15 · Tue 17/06/2008 00:02:24

Quote from: Kaldire on Sun 15/06/2008 09:02:24
I cant wait akril! Glad to see this kind of a game!

Hello and thanks!

QuoteOne question about the main character.. her hair, is the gray part short? sort of like a fro hawk? Looks almost shaved.

Her hair is the same length all over, about 1-2 inches long. It's easier to animate when it's that short.

I'm still waiting for the music for the game to be completed, so I still can't give a definite release date.