Indiana Jones and the Shade of Odysseus

[Codex]

An Epic in Three Acts

April, 1941 â€" Athens.  Two years after his dangerous adventure in the heart
of Atlantis, Dr. Jones finds himself once again in Greece, this time on the front lines
as he narrowly escapes the Axis capture of Athens with the help of a mysterious stranger.
With Sophia Hapgood in hand, Jones heads for Istanbul via the Orient Express.
Constantly pursued by Nazi agents, they finally make it to the fabled citadel of Troy
where the duo stumble upon a Nazi plot to open the mythic Asphodel Gate and
unleash the vengeful shades of epic heroes.  And that's just Act I!
Travel the Mediterranean and begin new adventures in the new point-and-click from Codex Games. (Freeware!)

Escape Nazi-Occupied Athens and explore the streets of old Istanbul!


Explore the ruins of Ancient Troy!


Experience Odysseus' journey across the Aegean through the eyes of Indiana Jones!


Development Progress:

Story:
Act I: 100%
Act II: 90% (Some puzzle work)
Act III: 50%
Scripting:
GUI: 100%
Game: 25%
Graphics: 25%
Sound/Music: 25%

Expected completion date: 2011, though Act I should be released before September.  The game will be released as three separate acts corresponding to the three major sections of the plot;  I will compile all three acts together at the end of the project.

Recruiting:  BG artist!!!

FIQ (Frequently Imagined Questions)

Q: I noticed you are using paint-overs for some of your sprites and the graphics aren't nearly as good as FOA!  Wouldn't it be best to organically create all-original content in the style of FOA for your game?

A: I would LOVE to have all-original sprites.  However, at best I fail to animate convincing sprites from scratch.  I work well with adapting existing art, and in order to not delay the project years while I learn to sprite, this is what I've decided to do.  I'm a real-life archaeologist and classicist and I REALLY want to tell this Jones story I've concocted.  I was impatient to wait for the beautiful-looking Indiana Jones and the Fountain of Youth (Miez's art: /drool) so I decided to start my own game in the Spring of 2009.  I only got as far as the GUI!  After that, I did a project abroad; now that I am home I've started in earnest on IJ:SOO.  That said, if anyone with serious talent doing BG or sprite work would like to join my team, I would be ecstatic.  I would love to get a more organic look to the in-game art.  I'm used to collaborating online with Google Docs; if you're interested, Please PM me for more info.

Q: How much of your game is original art/music?

A: So far it's looking about 75% original, if you're counting the painted-over sprites.  All the music will be original besides familiar Indy themes and some leitmotifs from FOA.  I'm a songwriter and quite MIDI and synthesizer obsessed!  Like I said before, if anyone is intrigued by my project and wants to help me make it 100% original, I'd jump at the chance.  For now, I'm just going to concentrate on the characters and the plot.

Q: Are you trying to fit the story into canon?

A: No, but besides maybe a comic book or two, it should be in-line with the films and FOA.  Considering a major plot line from FOA continues into this game, I should hope it lines up!

Acknowledgements:  Proskrito // Thanks so much for the Lucasarts GUI template, I've updated and modified it to meet my needs.  Only took me a year!  But thank you so much.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

I think it's looking quite nice, just doing it yourself.  Paintovers aren't nearly the worst sin amateur game makers have ever committed.  Good luck with this!

[DrewCCU]

I would be more than happy to help you in the music department of this game if you're interested.  I noticed you mentioned it in your post.  I've always wanted to do music for an Indiana Jones game.  PM me if you're interested.

[Mr Flibble]

Actually, I really like the artwork. The usual crime is that people would use complete backgrounds from old games, with jarring MS Paint additions, but I actually think you've woven in the old stuff with new additions which keep the style nicely. The paintovers look really nice, and whilst I can recognise a new things here and there, I can see how the majority of this stuff is original artwork. I also really love the poster. The plot sounds good, too. I'm excited. Best of luck with this.

[Chicky]

This makes me very happy! Your sig had me intrigued and now i am pleasantly surprised! 

[Dualnames]

This makes me very happy! Your sig had me intrigued and now i am pleasantly surprised! 

Seconded. And as a fellow Greek yay (though some historical thingies) 

[MMMorshew]

I want to play this so badly, I love the stories in the greek mythology so much. 
Also, the backgrounds look very unique and charming and appeal to me. Please keep that style troughout the game.

[Monsieur OUXX]

I like the way the backgrounds are built. If it turns out that the puzzles and storyline are cool, I'm sure an artist could give all that a makeover... then we'd have another FoA! (I'll have good dreams tonight)

[doctorfargo]

Good luck on your game! 

[Peder 🚀]

Sexy!

[Codex]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone.  I just wanted to wait a bit to bump the thread to avoid being annoying...

My site is up and running at:
http://www.shadeofodysseus.com

If you're so inclined, check it out and register for the forum!

Thanks!

[NsMn]

Err, maybe you shouldn't have put that huge swastika right in the middle of the page...

[Codex]

Err, maybe you shouldn't have put that huge swastika right in the middle of the page...

It's funny you should mention that, I'm working on that right now   Thanks

[Darth Mandarb]

Maybe you should also remove the geisha girl from the image (since that's like modern slavery).

Also remove the whip from the bottom of the image 'cause that's indicative of slavery as well!

While you're at it you should remove the dog as well 'cause I'm sure cat-lovers will be up in arms about it!

I knew this horrible and mean old guy that used to wear a fedora so you should probably remove the fedora from the image as well 'cause it makes me think of that old bastard.

In fact you should just make the poster say the name of the game (but don't use a gradient cause that might be offensive to the color blind!) and don't use a fancy font 'cause what if some people don't have fancy fonts?

[Chicky]

Tell you what, why not make a point and click Crystal Skull? I'm pretty sure everything in that film is spot on!

Seriously, don't change a thing.

[neon]

There are always discussions about that symbol. In fact, it's a symbol that stands for a part of history, that we should not forget. You can't erase the past by avoiding to mention them, in speech or in symbols. And even if you could, it would not be useful. This has to stay in mind of everybody as a warning that we should never forget what happens, when people don't stand up to fight for justice.

While the Nazis in the Indy games are the bad ones, it's absolutly ok to show them exactly as they were.

[Darth Mandarb]

I broke my own rules (shame on me!) ... I'm going to stand under my confederate/nazi flag and whip myself while wearing a fedora as penance for my transgressions.

Now let's get back on target people!!

[neon]

You're right. Back to the game, it looks very nice. Looking forward to play it.

[NsMn]

Sorry to NOT get ontopic again, but my point was NOT that it was unethical or something (as fact, I'd love to see someone dare use it in a game!), but I was worried that the site would get blocked becaue of that or something. After all, don't forget that in some states the swastika is outlawed.

[Codex]

I only wanted to change the logo because I didn't think it represented much of the game and it was the wrong size.  I'm not afraid to use the swastika... what I'm really afraid of is making the Nazis seem like cartoonish boneheads, which is probably the only real criticism I have of the original Fate of Atlantis.  This is an interesting discussion!