Topic: Nelly Cootalot II: The Fowl Fleet

[Ali]

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26/04/14 Sadly, I've had to shift production if this game to Unity in order to achieve multi-platform delivery & high-resolution.
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Nelly Cootalot II: The Fowl Fleet

Nelly on Twitter  |  www.nellycootalot.com  |  Nelly on Facebook

Nelly Cootalot: The Fowl Fleet Kickstarter!

The Story
Pirate heroine Nelly Cootalot is on the trail of Baron Widebeard, from the South Seas to the icy north. The nefarious Baron has kidnapped a fleet of birds and hypnotised them to do his bidding. What is he planning? Can he be stopped? In what way is a frozen volcano involved? These questions may or may not be answered as Nelly uncovers the secret of William Bloodbeard's final voyage.

This game is a sequel to Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy! It will be a commercial release, bigger than the original with richer graphics, more remote islands to visit and many outlandish characters to meet. It will also be both pointier and clickier.

In this game, Nelly will heroically:

• Race aristocrats for fun and profit
• Be immortalised in folk song
• Join the Merchant Navy *shudder*
• Pilot an airship.
• Uncover Bloodbeard's Lost Treasure
• Take advantage of a short-sighted old man
• Lie to strangers with no consequences

Crowdfunding Campaign
In order to complete this game, I am throwing myself bodily upon the crowdfunding bandwagon. The campaign is now live: Nelly Cootalot: The Fowl Fleet Kickstarter! I'm now working on a playable demo, so watch out for updates on Nelly's website, and by following Nelly on Twitter and Facebook.

Screenshots

Nelly washes up on Vogel Island and meets Sebastian the Coot


In the workshop of Rackham the Birdman


On the trail of Captain Rehab Sea Shanty Town


Looking for something special in Lady Chang's Junk Shop

Progress
Plot & Puzzles: 80%
Background Art: 80%
Character Art & Animation: 50%
Scripting: 25%
Voice Acting(?): 0%

History
I released the original Nelly game in 2007, if the word 'original' can be applied to a pirate-themed adventure game. Back then no one on the AGS forums could grow a beard and 640x480 was considered hi-res. These days the forums are thronged with facial hair, and 640x480 is still considered hi-res.

Since 2007 I have been gradually working on this sequel, beset by jobs and distracting noises. Now I feel like I have reached the point of no return. I'm hoping a crowdfunding campaign will give me the push I need to complete the game, and stop having to think up nautical puns on the bus.

Please let me know your thoughts!

- Ali

[Haggis]

This looks absolutely stonking (good way)!

Love the detail and the speech bubbles look great. Is that a tree or a mast in the first pic?

[CaptainD]

This looks very, very, very good!  I remember playing the original game several years ago.

[miguel]

This does look fantastic. The first one had a very professional feel like no other AGS title back then. And those screenshots look awesome!
Good luck with this!

[Stupot]

Looks beautiful, Ali. And the website equally so. Good luck mate.

[LTGiants2000]

Amazing Graphics, I must say...wow. This looks very promising!

[Grim]

Are you making use of that lovely parallax/smooth scrolling module you'd made for the first game? 

[cat]

Looking great! Is there going to be a soundtrack as great as the first game's one? Also, hooray for voice acting!

[Armageddon]

Lovely looking work.

[Snarky]

Gosh!

Keep working and take my money!

Love the graphics. Though we've seen some WIP art over the years, it's clear that these screens are much more polished. The crown of that palm tree in the first screen is so cool! (There are more screens on the web page, for those who didn't visit yet.) There's no way we can talk you out of that shadow effect around the corners, is there?

And of course, the writing, which just in this announcement beats that of many games. There are too many promising AGS projects out there to say that this is the one I'm looking forward to the most, but secretly it is.

[Mouth for war]

Awesome screenies dude!!!

[Bulbapuck]

Wow. These screens look amazing!
Loved the first one, know I will love this one

[Tramponline]

They look absolutely gorgeous, Ali!
Is there any chance of seeing some short in-game footage, or isn't it at that stage yet?
Much energy for this ambitious project!

[Igor Hardy]

Great to see some new stuff and hear you're still working hard on the game. I was worried because of not finding any Nelly news at the forums for a while (besides the cameo in appearance in AdventureX 2012 logo).

[Ali]

Thanks for the feedback! To answer your questions:

Is that a tree or a mast in the first pic?

It's a mast supporting a cable car in the screen above.

Are you making use of that lovely parallax/smooth scrolling module you'd made for the first game? 

Yes, I'm using the smooth scrolling module. And I'm working on tweaking it to create a seasickness inducing undulation for when you're on a ship.

There's no way we can talk you out of that shadow effect around the corners, is there?

No! But you will be able to disable it in the menu. I love the way the vignette works on scrolling backgrounds, but perhaps it's too strong on the beach screen...

Is there any chance of seeing some short in-game footage, or isn't it at that stage yet?

That stage is not far off. I'm hoping to release a short demo in the not-too-distant future.

[Chicky]

Fantastic Ali! This all feels mighty adventure-y!

This screen specifically reminds me of the shop you visit at the start of SoMI, intentional?

http://www.nellycootalot.com/wp-content/gallery/nelly_2/nelly2_08.jpg

[Andail]

Ahoy, this be looking phenomenal!

And arrh! my own game has now dropped to the twentieth-something most anticipated AGS game of 2013... what's up with people announcing all these awesome projects lately :/

[Tabata]

That stage is not far off. I'm hoping to release a short demo in the not-too-distant future.

YAY - great news
Eagerly awaiting the demo to see this nice pics "in motion" - looks pretty cool 

[Grundislav]

Looking really nice!  Glad this is progressing and will see the light of day.

[Ilyich]

It would be stating the obvious to say that the art design is utterly splendid, but it so is! Beautiful, detailed, unique. And I like how it retains many of the cool visual quirks of the first game, while seriously improving upon every aspect. It would be wrong not to charge people for a game that looks like that. Best of luck with the game and it's forthcoming money-grabbing campaign, looking forward to both!