Troll Song

Started by CaptainD, Wed 05/09/2012 23:40:14

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CaptainD

Firstly, I have to say that this is nothing to do with Pixel Hunt's song!

Secondly... this is going to take a while to come out.  I'm working on this with Tino (Knoodn), creator of the amazingly awesome UNGA needs MUMBA; he's doing the programming and graphics, I'm doing the writing, game design and voice acting.   Both of us are working on other, bigger projects at the moment so this one is going to take a while to come out... but we're steadily working on it.  Music is being provided by the frighteningly talented KingSeamus (http://www.kingseamus.com/).

Troll Song is a little different to most of the other games I'm working on - we're using a 5-verb interface (+Look), the verbs are very specific to a troll.  This isn't a game about dumb brutes... okay the trolls may not speak very eloquently or be extremely intelligent, but they have a definite culture and code of conduct.  (I've always felt that trolls have been dealt an extremely harsh hand in literature!)  This episodic game series gives them a whole new mythology, a creation mythos, and despite their strength and size, a very dangerous enemy...

We're only actually developed one location so far, but it is a rather large location containing a number of puzzles.  Here are some screenshots:






In Troll Song Episode 1: Completely Stoned you play as Clod, a troll who along with all the other trolls has been overpowered by a mysterious force and locked away inside a mountain, trapped by strange devices that are slowly turning them back into inanimate stone.  A freak avalanche opens up a hole into the area Clod is being held, and this reverses the process slightly - enough for him to free himself properly, save his troll brothers and start to find out who their enemy is?  That part's up to you...  As you can partially see from the screenshots, being turned to stone has left Clod a little short of abilities... before you can hope to escape, you'll need to regain your strength and get those abilities back.  (Okay I admit it, this was largely inspired by the part in Zak McKraken where you got locked in a cell by the alien mindbenders and were left with only the Walk verb active until slowly the rest returned!)

I'll post more information on this thread of course and you can also keep tabs on the game at http://www.troll-song.com/.  Once we've got a little further into development I'll probably be looking for some beta testers.  We're hoping to give this game a unique look and feel, and I think we're along the right lines so far.
 

KodiakBehr

This is a fantastic idea!  I really do like the art direction here.

selmiak

This is looking very promising already. I love how he roars at the boulder.

*secretly hopes for secret unloackable special attacks like headbutting and screenshaking*
maybe as DLC?

AnasAbdin

CaptainD never fails to surprise me! I love everything about Troll Song!
It makes me sad that it'll take a while to come out... I can only imagine the amount of fun waiting for us!

keep up the good work!

CaptainD

KB - thanks, glad you like the idea!  Tino is entirely responsible for the great art design, I just send him obscure sketches and he turns them into something good!

Selmaik - headbutts no (at least they're not planned at this stage), screenshaking definintely features though!  ;-D

Anas - glad I've surprised you!  Though... if you expect to be surprised next time and I do surprise you again, will you actually be surprised??!  Anyway, we'll get it finished as soon as practically possible, but I have to admit that both Tino and myself have other priorities right now... mainly Captain Disaster and Journey of Iesir.  But we WILL definitely get Troll Song made!  8-)
 

JSH

This looks cool, love the primitive verbs! I find something really compelling with playing a "simple" character, probably for the very same reason I sometimes enjoy playing old RPG's with extremely low character intelligence ;)

In any case, I enjoyed the games you guys have done previously and I'm looking forward to playing this one!

CaptainD

This is very belated, but... thanks Krusbert!

I can now confirm that we will have a (very short) playable demo of Troll Song at Adventure-X.
 

Fitz

Ah, I knew right away that the art style looked familiar :) And the game definitely sound and looks fun. How often do you get to smash or roar at things in an adventure game? ;) Selmiak has a point, too. There are so many fun things a troll could do. Speaking of which... will there be conversations in the game?

CaptainD

Quote from: Fitz on Thu 22/11/2012 15:57:26
... will there be conversations in the game?

Yes, although not necessarily in the first episode.  Conversations will become more part of the game later in the series.
 

Paul Franzen

#9
Nice! How long before the demo hits the Internets?!
The Beard in the Mirror (formerly testgame) - Out now on Steam! http://store.steampowered.com/app/385840
Other games I've worked on: http://paulmfranzen.com/games/

CaptainD

Not sure if we're going to do a public demo - the one we have for Adventure-X is very short, and since the first episode is planned to be pretty short anyway, I'm a bit uncertain as to whether it's work releasing the demo we have (which is effectively one large room) when it will likely make up at least 20% of the total game length.

Such a short demo will work fine (I think!) for an exhibition where people will probably have limited time on a demo PC, but for people downloading it they may be disappointed by its shortness - you'll probably only take about 10 minutes to complete it in its current state.

(That said - if you want to play the build we have so far, drop me a PM.)
 

WHAM

I'm sorry, but hasn't ANYONE thought about this yet?

Troll Song

Seriously? IT WILL NEVER LEAVE YOUR MIND!

Also: Like the look of the game, I know a few people who will have no trouble whatsoever in gettin into that troll -mindset. ;)
Wrongthinker and anticitizen one. Pending removal to memory hole. | WHAMGAMES proudly presents: The Night Falls, a community roleplaying game

Fitz

That song should be the soundtrack to this game, with the trololo part playing on loop.

CaptainD

Wham - I kept thinking it must surely stop (for the love of everything good and sacred), but it just kept going!

Actually I do have a theme song in mind... maybe I'll post a snippet sometime.
 

CaptainD

The intro sequence is really coming together nicely - Tino's artwork is just perfect for this game!  We're trying to get a better demo made in time for Adventure-X than the one we already have.  I've re-voiced the main character too, it wasn't good enough before.

 

CaptainD

Feedback so far from beta testing has been very positive so far, I hope everyone who wants to gets a chance to play it at Adventure-X - it's probably only about 10-15 minutes to play through the demo we have so far including the intro. 

Also we have another musician on board - Eric Galluzo (AGS forum member Viking), who may well also be adding his voice talents to the proceedings.  He tells me that he already sounds a little Trollish...  :-D  Also Rob McManus (LTGiants2000( will be helping with playtesting, voice acting and (provided the virtual slave-driving whip is working properly) creating a trailer for Troll Song that will be on show at Adventure-X, and released on the net after that.

If anyone would be interested in joining the beta testing team, please PM me.




 

splat44

Interesting graphics and on those vebs.

Are there going some sound effects with those verbs?
That should make game even more interesting!

I know you probably will be asking for beta when the time comes and I would certain like to take part of this!
I did several test with few games as you may see it attached to my userID.

Regards

CaptainD

#17
Quote from: splat44 on Wed 12/12/2012 00:32:34
Are there going some sound effects with those verbs?
That should make game even more interesting!

Well, some will have specific sound effects - mainly Roar and Smash (sorry to Hulk fans, but "CLOD SMASH!" is going to resound in your ears soon) - but for others it will depend on whether the particular action needs a sound effect in the game.

The team is growing:

Viking has joined as musician and voice actor
LTGiants2000 has joined as playtester and voice actor
TheBitPriest has joined as playtester
splat44 has joined as playtester (check your PM, splat!)
 

splat44

Quote from: CaptainD on Wed 12/12/2012 12:57:03
Quote from: splat44 on Wed 12/12/2012 00:32:34
Are there going some sound effects with those verbs?
That should make game even more interesting!

Well, some will have specific sound effects - mainly Roar and Smash (sorry to Hulk fans, but "CLOD SMASH!" is going to resound in your ears soon) - but for others it will depend on whether the particular action needs a sound effect in the game.

The team is growing:

Viking has joined as musician and voice actor
LTGiants2000 has joined as playtester and voice actor
TheBitPriest has joined as playtester
splat44 has joined as playtester (check your PM, splat!)

Great and I got it. If any reports, I'll send you a PM!

selmiak

If you need another playtester I'd like to join the bunch.

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