Skumring

[SeamanNaranja]

>> THE GAME HAS BEEN RELEASED! <<
(click the link above to visit the Completed Games thread to download)

Eight Bit Skyline presents


The Official Website:
Skumring.eightbitskyline.com

The Story:
Port Horizon 1951. A city on the verge of collapse. Moral collapse. Crime. Corruption. Greed... Money. Private eye Cooper Chutney thought he was the exception. When a beautiful dame in distress enters his office he is ready to show that someone still cares about something in this wretched town. But as he soon will learn everything can change during a cold Port Horizon night...

SKUMRING features 30+ locations, 15+ fully voiced characters and 40+ inventory items. It will also feature a varied soundtrack, consisting of traditional jazz and original interpretations of classical music.

The Latest News:

• 24.04 - Release date set to 28.04.13.
• 18.03 - Because of a minor hiccup with the soundtrack and the very confusing copyright rules surrounding music in general, I have changed the soundtrack drastically. This means the game will be pushed back one or two weeks. Based on this I have set the release date to some time in april. I'm VERY much ready to get this thing released, but there are still a few big fixes before it can be done.
• 15.02 - Integrated over 2000 lines of dialogue/monologue in the game. The last session will take place next week. Besides that there's fixing bugs from the beta testers. The game is weeks away from a launch.
• 31.01 - Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been working steadily with fixing bugs and leading the voice recording. Yes, I have decided that the game will be fully voiced and we're already gotten a good way. There are over 1500 lines of dialogue/monologue in the game, so it will take a couple more sessions for it to be completely finished.
• 2.11 - Betatesting is moving steadily forward. Over a 100 small nibbles have been reported and sorted out. New beta for testers soon. We've also planned some voice recording this weekend. Voices will be optional in the game, since not every one find pleasure amateur voice acting. If anyones interested send me a message.
• 16.10 - Added a demo of the beta version! Download at the top of this post.
• 1.10 - Quick update just to say that the game has gone into the final testing stages! Ambient music is the only thing missing right now, besides the odd bug. Hopefully the testing phase will fix the latter, while I venture into Logic Pro to do the first.
• 27.09 - Been doing a lot of fixing lately and the game is (seemingly) nearly finished! The big area of work left is the audio department. Even though the recorded tracks for the game are ready, I'm still working on ambient music. Most of the sound effects are in, but there's still some to go there as well. Other than that the remaining parts are the following: A complete main menu, some gui fixes, final scripting (after feedback from the beta), end credits and an issue with the SayBackground code.
• 19.09 - So the game has finally gone into beta testing! Some good friends have started the process, but if anyone is interested just send me a message! I'll be adding a trailer later this week (hopefully) so that you'll be able to see the game in action.

The Trailer:

[embed=320,240]<iframe width="320" height="240" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CboOmsBDtnU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>[/embed]

Better quality available here!
Black and white version here!

The Screenshots: (Click on them for full size)







Some animations:



Progress:
Story: 100%
Scripting: 100%
Graphics: 100%
Sound: 100%
Music: 100%
Voices: 90%

Expected release: April 2013

[Tabata]

Nice grafic style! Looking very good!   

I'll take a closer look to the posters of the working penguin oil and The Red Cherry nightclub for sure.
Even if the lady seems to be dressed very chastely - actually for this time period

I'd like to see an animation of one of the characters, too 

Please keep us updated!

[SeamanNaranja]

Nice grafic style! Looking very good!   

I'll take a closer look to the posters of the working penguin oil and The Red Cherry nightclub for sure.
Even if the lady seems to be dressed very chastely - actually for this time period

I'd like to see an animation of one of the characters, too 

Please keep us updated!

Thanks for posting

I know that poster probably is a little raunchy for the time, but keep in mind that this is a really bad neighborhood in a really bad city!

I have added some character animations, but that is the biggest part of the work I have left, so they aren't the most impressive! I also added a screenshot of the style of the cutscenes in the game.

[Ghost]

"Skumring" has a cool sound to it. What does it mean? Apart from that I second Tabby's praise, sure looks like a cool concept, and the artwork's pretty neat!

[SeamanNaranja]

"Skumring" has a cool sound to it. What does it mean? Apart from that I second Tabby's praise, sure looks like a cool concept, and the artwork's pretty neat!

Skumring (in norwegian) means the time after the sun has gone down before it gets entirely dark. The entire story of the game takes place during one night, so that's why that became the title! Oh, and thank you so much for showing an interest.

[EchosofNezhyt]

"Skumring" has a cool sound to it. What does it mean? Apart from that I second Tabby's praise, sure looks like a cool concept, and the artwork's pretty neat!

Skumring (in norwegian) means the time after the sun has gone down before it gets entirely dark. The entire story of the game takes place during one night, so that's why that became the title! Oh, and thank you so much for showing an interest.

Sunset is our word for it.

Anywho looking good.

[Tabata]

I think that "skumring" is not meant to be the sunset itself. 

It's a term for the special light at that time (when all cats are looking gray). In german we call it “Zwielicht” and of course there is a related term about people who are/act like this (“zwielichtige Gestalten”) and that fits precisely to the story. 

-------------------

... and thanx for the cute animations 
You are on the right track.
Go on like this and we will have soooo much fun playing that game

[SeamanNaranja]

Sunset is our word for it.

Anywho looking good.

Thanks

I think that "skumring" is not meant to be the sunset itself. 

It's a term for the special light at that time (when all cats are looking gray). In german we call it “Zwielicht” and of course there is a related term about people who are/act like this (“zwielichtige Gestalten”) and that fits precisely to the story. 

Yes, this was excactly what I meant, you just explained it alot better! There is something nearly magical about that time.

... and thanx for the cute animations 
You are on the right track.
Go on like this and we will have soooo much fun playing that game

Thanks I'll add more stuff soon!

[Technocrat]

I think that "skumring" is not meant to be the sunset itself. 

It's a term for the special light at that time (when all cats are looking gray). In german we call it “Zwielicht” and of course there is a related term about people who are/act like this (“zwielichtige Gestalten”) and that fits precisely to the story. 

-------------------

... and thanx for the cute animations 
You are on the right track.
Go on like this and we will have soooo much fun playing that game

Ah, so it'd be like "twilight", then? I think that's the word in English.

Also, in the comic, the spelling ought to be "conscious" - I like the idea though, this game looks interesting!

[SeamanNaranja]

Ah, so it'd be like "twilight", then? I think that's the word in English.

Also, in the comic, the spelling ought to be "conscious" - I like the idea though, this game looks interesting!

Yeah, I guess that's right! But there's no vampires in it!

Thanks for commenting and thanks for pointing out the spelling error too. I need some help with those! 

[EchosofNezhyt]

Team Skumring!

[Stupot]

I like the style. This looks worth keeping an eye on.

To me Skumring sounds like the mark left around the inside of the bathtub, haha.

[SeamanNaranja]

I like the style. This looks worth keeping an eye on.

To me Skumring sounds like the mark left around the inside of the bathtub, haha.

In norwegian it could also mean "foam ring", so I can understand that.

Also, thanks for kind words!

[SeamanNaranja]

I have updated the first post with plenty of new screenshots and some information! I'll be working on the first trailer this weekend so that you'll get to see the game in action as well.

[SeamanNaranja]

The trailer is out!

[embed=640,480]<iframe width="640" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CboOmsBDtnU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>[/embed]

Better quality available here!
Black and white version here!

[Eric]

That looks pretty fantastic! A high-stakes thriller with a Hergé style. Is Chutney a detective? I'll definitely be playing this one.

[SeamanNaranja]

That looks pretty fantastic! A high-stakes thriller with a Hergé style. Is Chutney a detective? I'll definitely be playing this one.

Thanks! It's definitely inspired by the great Herge, his comic books occupies a whole shelf in the prettiest shelf in my apartment :-) Some of the characters, like the guard from my profile picture, ended up looking suspiciously much like a bad guy from the Tintin series!

Cooper is a detective, or at least he tries to be. He hasn't had much luck with the career path though, since he's far too kind and naive for that kind of job.

[Eric]

That's great. I love Tintin, and all of the ligne claire style artists (I also like Tintin's spiritual brother, Freddy Lombard by Yves Chaland).

I've just looked over the Skumring website, and am excited to follow the progress of this one.

[SeamanNaranja]

That's great. I love Tintin, and all of the ligne claire style artists (I also like Tintin's spiritual brother, Freddy Lombard by Yves Chaland).

I've just looked over the Skumring website, and am excited to follow the progress of this one.

Wow, I think you are the first one who has seen the website, so thank you for the attention!

Btw, I just love the style of your avatar. Where did you get it? It has a certain The Last Express combined with, well, Herge, feel.

[Chicky]

Looks like a lot of work has gone into this SeamanNaranja! Great job with the graphics, the objects and characters fit in very nicely. Pretty website too, that banner image ties it together nicely. I wish you the best with your release!

[SeamanNaranja]

Looks like a lot of work has gone into this SeamanNaranja! Great job with the graphics, the objects and characters fit in very nicely. Pretty website too, that banner image ties it together nicely. I wish you the best with your release!

Thanks a lot for the kind words You'll soon be able to play it.

Bumping this because of a update in the opening post.

[SeamanNaranja]

Added two new screenshots to the first post!

[SeamanNaranja]

Added a playable demo of the prologue! You can download it HERE (144 MB .RAR file/874 MB unpacked).

There appears to be a problem on some computers with the full screen mode. You can toggle full screen and windowed mode in the setup file.

[Sslaxx]

Not entirely sure what I did, but I appear to have triggered a bug with the game where you can't move, and any messages you see when trying to do things disappear immediately.

Game not running full-screen, either...

[SeamanNaranja]

Not entirely sure what I did, but I appear to have triggered a bug with the game where you can't move, and any messages you see when trying to do things disappear immediately.

Game not running full-screen, either...

I'm not sure what is causing these problems! This is the first I've heard of problems with moving and disappearing messages. The full screen thingie is a problem on my computer as well, but I have no idea what's causing it! Some of my beta testing buddies haven't encountered problems with it, so I thought it might just be my lousy computer.

Does the first bug happen every time you run the game?

[Sslaxx]

Not entirely sure what I did, but I appear to have triggered a bug with the game where you can't move, and any messages you see when trying to do things disappear immediately.

Game not running full-screen, either...

I'm not sure what is causing these problems! This is the first I've heard of problems with moving and disappearing messages. The full screen thingie is a problem on my computer as well, but I have no idea what's causing it! Some of my beta testing buddies haven't encountered problems with it, so I thought it might just be my lousy computer.

Does the first bug happen every time you run the game?

Going to try running it again and see if I can replicate the issue.

[SeamanNaranja]

Going to try running it again and see if I can replicate the issue.

Thanks! I really really REALLY appreciate the effort 

Edit: I tried to rebuild the game from scratch and selected Direct 3D instead of Direct Draw. I also selected full screen as default. The game works on my computer. This appears to fix the full screen issue.

The new version of the demo is HERE.

[OG]

Hi SeamanNaranja,

Downloaded it, played it, completed the demo. I have to say I do see a lot of potential here, so congrats on the good job mate. I like your art style, as do I like your choice of music (even if it did get a bit nippy after a while), it provided a kind of calm ambience. Would like to see music for the intro screen too.

I have to say though, many times I felt like dragging the main character out of the screen, by the scruff, and giving him a good bitch slap... He is even more impatient than I am! What a prick! Haha, but hey, I guess that is the intention. He is a bit of a knob-end.

One thing that put me off a few times was, that while trying to beat the puzzles I found my self constantly reverting to try 'item a' with 'item b' and so forth. Just my opinion, but you would expect the first puzzle to be a little less arbitrary. That's just my opinion and hope I didn't offend you. Watch out for the typo's as well ie dont't.

I will definitely give the finished product a go.

[SeamanNaranja]

Hi SeamanNaranja,

Downloaded it, played it, completed the demo. I have to say I do see a lot of potential here, so congrats on the good job mate. I like your art style, as do I like your choice of music (even if it did get a bit nippy after a while), it provided a kind of calm ambience. Would like to see music for the intro screen too.

I have to say though, many times I felt like dragging the main character out of the screen, by the scruff, and giving him a good bitch slap... He is even more impatient than I am! What a prick! Haha, but hey, I guess that is the intention. He is a bit of a knob-end.

One thing that put me off a few times was, that while trying to beat the puzzles I found my self constantly reverting to try 'item a' with 'item b' and so forth. Just my opinion, but you would expect the first puzzle to be a little less arbitrary. That's just my opinion and hope I didn't offend you. Watch out for the typo's as well ie dont't.

I will definitely give the finished product a go.

Hi Onker! Thanks for trying the game!

I have to say, I basically agree with everything you said. Cooper is a bit irritating, but the intention was to make him like that, much like Nicholson in Chinatown and Bogart in The Maltese Falcon. There's a fine line between nonchalant and irritating though!

I'm going to make the first puzzles easier, especially the one with the bottle. And I'm removing a hotspot or two on the first location as well. The puzzles later in the game are easier, and I realize that it might put people off as it is now. When it comes to typos, I need a lot of help!

And I'm not offended at all. I'm so happy you thought it had potential, and I'm so happy you played it. You really made my day!

[OG]

In hindsight, I think maybe I was a bit too hard on the guy (main char). He's a bit of alright, I don't think we could share a pint of lager, but still.

Whatever you do - don't make the game easy! I like a challenge, indeed. I just thought I should tell you that about the first puzzle. I think what most people expect, these days, expect a subtle introduction to a game and it's mechanics (Broken sword 2 aside ofcourse), before it really gets to the real nitty gritty. Especially when it the first game of, potentially, many. I hope many!

P.s - if you need more testers/typo nazis' I'd be glad to help!

Best of luck.

[SeamanNaranja]

In hindsight, I think maybe I was a bit too hard on the guy (main char). He's a bit of alright, I don't think we could share a pint of lager, but still.

Whatever you do - don't make the game easy! I like a challenge, indeed. I just thought I should tell you that about the first puzzle. I think what most people expect, these days, expect a subtle introduction to a game and it's mechanics (Broken sword 2 aside ofcourse), before it really gets to the real nitty gritty. Especially when it the first game of, potentially, many. I hope many!

P.s - if you need more testers/typo nazis' I'd be glad to help!

Best of luck.

I always need more testers and definitely typo nazis'! None of the testers has english as their native language. I'll PM you the link for the latest beta - after I've fixed some stuff.

[Shadow1000]

Finished the demo (I think? I got to a screen that says Act 1).

This game is very, very polished and thoroughly enjoyable. Puzzles are just right and environment is superb. Looking forward to more...

SHADOW

[SeamanNaranja]

Finished the demo (I think? I got to a screen that says Act 1).

This game is very, very polished and thoroughly enjoyable. Puzzles are just right and environment is superb. Looking forward to more...

SHADOW

If it says Act 1 you finished it.

Thank you for your kind words and that you played it! Hope the rest of the game lives up to the prologue as well...

[Narushima]

So, "sailor orange", when can we expect a release?

[Darth Mandarb]

So, "sailor orange", when can we expect a release?

After you've read the Forum Rules.
Even though this has, now, been unlocked... please do read the forum rules to prevent this from happening again.

SeamanNaranja - if/when you're ready to update this thread yourself let me know and I'll unlock it straight away.
PM received... update coming!

[SeamanNaranja]

So, "sailor orange", when can we expect a release?

Somewhere between late february or early march. Updating the first post now with new information! The only thing left is wrapping up voice recording and the last testing phase!

After you've read the Forum Rules.
Even though this has, now, been unlocked... please do read the forum rules to prevent this from happening again.

I'm sorry for the problems, it won't happen again! 

[SeamanNaranja]

Because of a minor hiccup with the soundtrack and the very confusing copyright rules surrounding music in general, I have changed the soundtrack drastically. This means the game will be pushed back one or two weeks. Based on this I have set the release date to some time in april. I'm VERY much ready to get this thing released, but there are still a few big fixes before it can be done.

[SeamanNaranja]

The game is 99,99% finished. Implementing the last sounds and fixing the last bugs this weekend. The release date is sunday 28.04.13.

[Armageddon]

Woo, excited. Game looks great.

[Eric]

Hooray! I'm really looking forward to this one.

[SeamanNaranja]

Released!

[Darth Mandarb]

Congrats on finishing!  I have updated the first post (also) with the link to the completed games thread!