Atapi - Release Date: June 21 - Beta Testers Needed!

[MoodyBlues]

4 Days Left Until Release!

Blue Feather Games presents:
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Atapi
(Formerly Forces of Nature)
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Story:

Oko Bokog, a timid, kind-hearted sakwa, lives peacefully.  With the help of Kiri, his curious, adopted human daughter, he has rebuilt his life after a violent tragedy.

However, a mysterious, deadly illness afflicts the human children of his village and puts Oko to the test.  Can he and Boma, a hromu healer, cure the illness?  Or will he find a solution through supernatural means?

Demo:
http://www.mediafire.com/?swoyyz9w1nq

Screenshots:


Oko and Kiri explore lush woods and rivers.


Oko examines a large, mysterious stone.


The swamp hides many secrets for Oko to discover.

Music Samples:

"Atapi Main Theme":  www.freewebs.com/luvrayman/music2.mp3
"Kiri":  www.freewebs.com/luvrayman/music4.mp3
"The Swamps": www.freewebs.com/luvrayman/music5.mp3

Features:

1)  Diverse environments - tranquil swamps, broad plains, and treacherous forests
2)  A world both exotic and familiar, filled with strange creatures, alien cultures, and unpredictable deities
3)  Original midi music
4)  Voice acting
5)  320x200, hi-color, original graphics

Progress:

1)  Story: 100%
2)  Dialog:  100%
3)  Graphics:  100%
4)  Puzzles:  100%
5)  Scripting:  95%
6)  Music/sound:  90%

Log:

July 14, 2007:  Took some photographs in the Haskell-Baker Wetlands.  Click here for more information.
July 15, 2007:  Created a few rooms and posted the summary.
January 4, 2009:  Updated the game description and screenshots.
January 15, 2009:  Added another screenshot and set a release date for the demo: February 1!
January 23, 2009:  Finished the beta version of the demo.
January 24, 2009:  Recorded MP3 versions of the demo music.
January 31, 2009:  Released the demo.
April 16, 2009: Update.
April 29, 2009: Beta version finished!
June 10, 2009: Release date announced - Father's Day, June 21, 2009!

[yarooze]

I like the sprites very much. I saw some of them in the CC and I'm  glad to hear that you'll make this game. I would like to play it... 

I have my doubts about photo background with pixel graphics, but may be it will work fine... Surprise me!

PS. Please don't forget this female wood spirits...  :

[MoodyBlues]

Thank you!

Yeah, I'm still unsure about the backgrounds.  I'm probably better off Photoshopping them.  However, I'm reluctant to drop the photos; I waded out into nearly waist-high swamp water to take some of them.

And don't worry - there will be female wood spirits aplenty - unfortunately for Oko. 

[UP]

I think this time the characters blend in quite well with the backgrounds. Or maybe it's the small images, but I don't think you have to change them, at least these ones (backgrounds with different color schemes might be different - hard to say ). I like the contrast between the photographic backgrounds and the drawn characters, at least when they're this well drawn.

And the rest also looks interesting, I'll definately be waiting forward to this.

[dunnoson]

i would reccommend you try to find a different background to go with your characters.  Frankly,  it does not mix well.

[fovmester]

I like the sprites a lot. They fit in quite well in the second pic, but not in the first one. I think it is the lighting that is wrong. I think it is quite important for you to use the light and scaling of your characters in a proper way to make them fit in. A semitransparent shadow would also help, I think.

[hedgefield]

This looks great! Story sounds interesting, and you're pulling off the real vs pixel blending pretty well. As has been said in the CL, you may want to play with some filters, and definitely add shadows. Basic ones a pretty simple, and with a little effort I think you would be able to get proper soft shadows aswell.

[SuperDre]

I'm with dunnoson, IMHO the backdrops don't do the nice animations justice.. But for yourself you could use them to create the game you have in mind, and later replace the backgrounds one by one, even for betatesters you can use the photobackdrops. So when you are pretty done with all the coding, you 'only' have to replace the backgrounds.
As I mentioned before, I do like the sprites, and I loved to see the adventure finished.. And I must say that I would even play it with the photobackdrops, but it won't be as positive then as with drawn backdrops..

anyway, just make sure you finish the game, that's the most important thing... Good luck..

[Darth Mandarb]

1) This is NOT the Critics Lounge STOP TALKING ABOUT THE GRAPHICS (if you want/need advice on the backgrounds post in the CL (which I believe you already have))

2) If you are going to replace the BGs then these aren't proper screenshots and this thread will be locked.

Please let me know if you are "starting over".

[MoodyBlues]

I think I'm planning on changing these backgrounds, so go ahead and lock this thread for now.  Should I PM you when I'm ready for a proper update?

[MoodyBlues]

Hey!  Atapi (formerly Forces of Nature) is back!  The backgrounds and puzzle design are finished; all that's left is scripting, sprites, dialog, and voice acting.

I've changed the story, characters, and screenshots, so check the first post!

[yarooze]

cool. I was afraid that you abandon this project. 

dunno if I like 3d characters more than pixel art, but once again: surprise me!

[MoodyBlues]

I'm currently holding voice acting auditions!  Please see the Adventure-Related Talk and Chat section (link) for details.

[Akril15]

Glad to see that this project is active again. The backgrounds look beautiful.

[MoodyBlues]

Thanks for all the kind words and encouragement.

I've set a release date for the demo: February 1!

Also, here's a screenshot featuring Boma the hromu:

[MoodyBlues]

Another update, folks - I've recorded the music for the demo!  Check out some samples on the first post.

The demo is complete!  All it needs now is a little beta-testing, courtesy of Jon, Alarconte, and Tobey Billinger.  It should be ready by next weekend, so stay tuned!

[MoodyBlues]

Thanks to the diligent beta-testing of Tobey Billinger and Jon, I was able to release the demo a day early!  You can download it here: http://www.mediafire.com/?bcmxbdsnjwt

Have fun!  I'd definitely appreciate your feedback and suggestions; they'll help make the full release better.

[Dualnames]

Woot, gonna try it.

[MashPotato]

I liked the atmosphere of the demo a lot; it was calm and charming, and the storytelling rather like a folktale, in a way :)  The music fit very nicely too.

I have some suggestions/crit:
1) I find the dialogue font a bit hard to read on some backgrounds, perhaps try lightening it a tad.

2) it's difficult to tell where the cursors are pointing, and to have this clear is particularly important in this game since there are loads of hotspots (and some fairly small), the backgrounds are fairly pixelly, and hotspot names are not indicated.  If you don't want to display hotspot names, since inventory items have that little cross mark on them, perhaps try putting them on the cursors as well? :)

3) it's a little unclear what has to be done, sometimes.  For example, I'm stuck at

Spoiler

how to separate the cobweb from the stick, since using the handkerchief doesn't work.  Is the stick kindling, or do I have to find more?

[close]

4) I may have encountered a bug where Kiri disappeared after I left her to enter the forest.  Not sure if that was intentional.

5) This one's a bit specific, but

Spoiler

perhaps put the stone closer to where it's eventually used.  It's rather hidden, and it leads a bit to a feeling of why do I have to pick up that one *particular* stone, when there are probably stones all over.  It's a bit like this with the branch too, but that was easier to see

[close]

Hope that helps a bit, and I haven't come across as too negative!  Like I said, I enjoyed the demo's atmosphere and am interested in the story's premise, and I wish you good luck in completing the game! :)

[MoodyBlues]

I liked the atmosphere of the demo a lot; it was calm and charming, and the storytelling rather like a folktale, in a way   The music fit very nicely too.

Thanks!  That's high praise coming from someone whose game (judging from the screenshots) has great charm and atmosphere.

I have some suggestions/crit:
1) I find the dialogue font a bit hard to read on some backgrounds, perhaps try lightening it a tad.

I noticed that with Kiri's dialog, actually; I'll fix that in the full release.

2) it's difficult to tell where the cursors are pointing, and to have this clear is particularly important in this game since there are loads of hotspots (and some fairly small), the backgrounds are fairly pixelly, and hotspot names are not indicated.  If you don't want to display hotspot names, since inventory items have that little cross mark on them, perhaps try putting them on the cursors as well?

Will do!

3) it's a little unclear what has to be done, sometimes.  For example, I'm stuck at

Spoiler

how to separate the cobweb from the stick, since using the handkerchief doesn't work.  Is the stick kindling, or do I have to find more?

[close]

Spoiler

Just use the stick covered with cobweb on Oko.  He'll take it off.  Now that I think about it, using the handkerchief is more intuitive since Oko is all, "OMGSH COBWEB CAN'T TOUCH IT NOOOOO!"

And the stick isn't kindling.  Oko needs to find a bunch of sticks in one place.  Have you checked out the forest?

[close]

4) I may have encountered a bug where Kiri disappeared after I left her to enter the forest.  Not sure if that was intentional.

It might be intentional.  You don't expect a little girl to stand around in one spot all day, do you?    If you can't find her after giving Boma all the items, let me know.

5) This one's a bit specific, but

Spoiler

perhaps put the stone closer to where it's eventually used.  It's rather hidden, and it leads a bit to a feeling of why do I have to pick up that one *particular* stone, when there are probably stones all over.  It's a bit like this with the branch too, but that was easier to see

[close]

Good point, though:

Spoiler

since I didn't notice rocks anywhere else in the backgrounds, I thought I could get away with showing one good-sized rock for Oko to find.  I might make it a bit brighter so it's not so hard to see.

[close]

Hope that helps a bit, and I haven't come across as too negative!  Like I said, I enjoyed the demo's atmosphere and am interested in the story's premise, and I wish you good luck in completing the game!

Thanks a lot!  I'm glad you enjoyed it.