He Watches

Started by WHAM, Fri 17/06/2011 22:03:09

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WHAM





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- Update 31st of July 2016 -

Just wanted to post a final update in the thread now that I remembered...

He Watches as it was originally designed is no more, as folks might have guessed from the fact that the thread has been dead for ages. Due to some technical fuckery I managed to wipe most of the game's data AND the backups in one fell swoop a couple of years ago and never recovered the energy to rebuild the game. What art assets I still have (some 550+ images including character sprites, backgrounds, UI elements and other visual effects) I might reuse as part of a smaller game project some day. In all honesty I feel that the game as I envisioned it was far too big and complex to be a one-man project, so despite my enthusiasm and early progress it was doomed to fail one way or another.

Thank you to everyone for supporting and showing so much enthusiasm towards the game!
I hope to release something else worth your interest in the future.

-Tomi "WHAM" Kähkönen

Spoiler


He Watches is going through some changes, and I thought I could list them here, both to explain why the game isn't out yet and what my plans are for the game.

Firstly, He Watches is going through a fairly major overhaul all around. While I do not have the resources, or even intend to, re-draw all of the game's graphics, most of the backgrounds, as well as almost all GUI elements are going through a slight re-design in order to better incorporate some enhancements. To ensure this goes off withthout a hitch, I have started the project over, with mostly all-new AGS scripts, with only a few old elements brought over from the demo build. These enhancements are all aimed at ensuring the game has as high a quality as considering with available resources.

I am also looking into raising 2000 - 3000 � of money in order to fund voice actors, original music, sound effect equipment, some external art for the game, paid testers etc.

So why am I putting all this money and effort into the project?

Here in Finland, I am currently looking into starting up a small one-man company called WHAMGAMES during the coming few months, with funding mostly secured by the fact that my employment has been continued permanently and I am getting a small pay raise. This, in addition to some possible external funding, are going to allow He Watches to be my first commercial release, with an planned price range of 10 - 15 � (intended price subject to change in order to reflect overall quality and resources spent on the project).

"Well damn", some of you might say, "I wanted to play this game but I don't want to pay!". Well, as the game began it's lifecycle as a freeware game, I can see where you are coming from. This is why I am planning to release a non-commercial freeware version of the game as well. This version will not have most of the resources I will have to pay for myself, that is, some audio, music, and almost certainly voice acting will be missing from the game. The paid version will also come with some extra material, such as a separete digitally released soundtrack, concept art and more. Thus even those who do not wish to spend their hard-earned money on He Watches will be able to play and enjoy the game, while those who wish to get more quality and wish to offer support for this and possibly my future commercial projects can do so with a reasonable price. The early demo I released last year has received plenty of insightful feedback and has allowed me to make improvements to many aspects of the game, which I hope will make the game even more enjoyable than the early 2011 demo could convey.

With these changes in mind, the game is inevitably delayed once more, as I do not wish to release a half-hearted game as a commercial release. I am currently working on a more accurate timetable and future version plan, on which I will base the future of this project. Once it has been constructed I will release it here and I hope it will answer many potential questions.

If you have any questions about the game or it's developement (or anything else for that matter), just ask away and I will answer either in this thread or via PM or e-mail.

However this turns out, I already feel I need to thank you all for supporting me in learning how to develop my games (I am looking especially at you, Khris!) and for all the moral support and feedback I have received. I could never have hoped to have the skills needed build a commercial-quality game without you guys!

- Tomi K�hk�nen aka. WHAM


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- 26.01.2012 -

I've done my first interview as an "indie game developer", thanks to CaptainD!
LINK: http://www.pcgamereviewsandnews.com/2012/01/captaind-interviews-wham-currently.html

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The demo has been released, download link below:
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/games.php?category=&action=detail&id=1477


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WHAMGAMES 2011 presents

The year is 2008 and the player takes on the role of Sarah MacDonald, a young woman born in London, now living with her parents in the Scottish countryside, working hard to finish her education. Almost a week ago, Sarah's boyfriend; Oliver, went missing without a word. Knowing the young man's interest in going on long trips in abandoned places without warning, nobody worries at first. However, a week without a word is a long time and Sarah finally begins to worry.

Maybe Oliver is just fine and is out documenting some abandoned building, as such is his hobby, or perhaps there is something far more sinister at work. Can you see through the deceit and find the truth?

An optimistic idea of a release date is December 2011!
HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! No...  >:(

FEATURES

  • Manage your fears, stay away from the dark
  • Interact with your environment as well as other characters
  • Solve puzzles and find clues to uncover a hidden truth
  • Enjoy a haunting classical ghost story with a twist
STATISTICS

  • Character graphics done: 1,1 / 5
  • Room graphics done: 30 / 60
  • Story script and documents written: 70+ pages
  • Lines of script written: Lots and lots
  • Cutscenes done: 10%
  • Project activity level: In full swing
  • Nervous breakdowns so far: 1,5







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Since a lot of people have been showing so much interest in this project, I thought I could reach out to the community for some collaboration.
Here is a background with a bunch of empty picture frames:


If YOU want to have a shot at getting a little bit of yourself into He Wathches, fill up one or more of the picture frames with your own artwork following the guidelines given below and send your donation to wham@whamgames.com via e-mail.

Guidelines:
- Picture should not look too out of place in a 1920's or 1930's setting
- I might slightly modify some pictures to maintain certain themes and ideas in the game
- Picture frames can be extended vertically if you wish, but please take dimensions of the room into account
- Some material might not be used in the game or in this specific room in the game, so don't get upset if your painting is not show in-game

[close]
Wrongthinker and anticitizen one. Pending removal to memory hole. | WHAMGAMES proudly presents: The Night Falls, a community roleplaying game

Dualnames

This looks and sounds exciting :D :D :D :D
You hooked one AGSer, 6554 or so to get us all :D
Worked on Strangeland, Primordia, Hob's Barrow, The Cat Lady, Mage's Initiation, Until I Have You, Downfall, Hunie Pop, and every game in the Wadjet Eye Games catalogue (porting)

arj0n


NickyNyce

I'm staring at that bottom pic just waiting for the lightning to strike.... ;) ... everyone loves a good ghost story, good luck with a speedy development

WHAM

Thanks for the positive feedback! That was fast!
I've gotten a lot of new scripting ideas from the two MAGS games I've worked on this year, so I wanted to put them to good use ASAP.
Wrongthinker and anticitizen one. Pending removal to memory hole. | WHAMGAMES proudly presents: The Night Falls, a community roleplaying game

vertigoaddict

Oooh I wonder what those O, M and S buttons do. I guess I'll have to wait and see = ). This looks great.

ddq

Well the P and O keys are like right next to each other, I think we all know what WHAM's really trying to say. But yeah, game looks spiffy! Nice pixels and such. Good luck, sir.

selmiak

This looks really cool, nice spooky mood in the scenes, but the GUI looks like it doesn't fit.

theo

Quote from: selmiak on Sat 18/06/2011 00:30:02
This looks really cool, nice spooky mood in the scenes, but the GUI looks like it doesn't fit.

I agree. This looks great and moody, but the GUI is hogging ALL the attention. Be warned!
Will keep an eye on this.

Zenger

WOW  :o, This is very interesting WHAM, looking forward to seeing more  ;D

WHAM

I'm aware that the current GUI ended up a bit too big and bright, and will definitely tweak it, hopefully so that it can be made a little slimmer and moodier as well. I'm looking to get some outside art for the GUI, so that might be a solution as well.

Will post more as soon as I have something new and interesting. Thanks for all the feedback!
Wrongthinker and anticitizen one. Pending removal to memory hole. | WHAMGAMES proudly presents: The Night Falls, a community roleplaying game

R4L

I've seen your art progress from Infection to this, and I must say, congratulations on coming this far!  :=

Looks very interesting. Will definitely put this on my wish list.

Ubel

WHAM, your art has improved a lot since your first games! This is looking really good and very moody. :)

Matti

Yeah, looking cool. But I'd definitely make the GUI darker and more discreet, it takes away the mood from the game.

WHAM

Since the game experience is strongly altered by the light levels of the rooms the player is in, I decided to make the GUI adhere to the same brightness levels as the rest of the game. If the player is standing in the dark, the GUI will also go quite dark (although there is a minimum lightness level to keep it readable), and when the player stands in a well lit room, the GUI becomes clearer and brighter as well.

I did a quick test run with it and it felt pretty good so far. I'm also slimming the GUI down a bit, but don't want to put too much effort into its design yet, in case I do get some external help with it.

Now back to designing rooms!
Wrongthinker and anticitizen one. Pending removal to memory hole. | WHAMGAMES proudly presents: The Night Falls, a community roleplaying game

ZapZap

Wow, I love the backgrounds. You're getting really good really fast
"Loose ends have a way of strangling you"

cianty

I really dig the backgrounds. Great atmopshere!
ca. 70% completed

Snake

I'm loving this so far, WHAM! The backgrounds hooked me first, but then I read what the game was about. Really really nice, man. I can't wait for this one.

I also love what you are doing with the GUI, making it go darker when in the dark and brighter when in light. This must add a ton to the atmosphere. I love it and can NOT wait <-- as said above ;)
Grim: "You're making me want to quit smoking... stop it!;)"
miguel: "I second Grim, stop this nonsense! I love my cigarettes!"

WHAM

#18
Feeling encouraged. I've started putting some more work into this and am, at the moment, looking at making 2-3 rooms per week. Some are simpler, though, so when I get to the big, detalied rooms, the pace might drop a bit.

I'm hoping to get all the rooms done by end of september.

Anyway, have a background:



Wrongthinker and anticitizen one. Pending removal to memory hole. | WHAMGAMES proudly presents: The Night Falls, a community roleplaying game

david

nice, but is it supposed to be that dark?

I suggest you put a bit light to that

I don't know, maybe it's just my computer, but this is what matters me most  :)

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