The Homestead (La Colonia) - tech demo/prologue

Started by Manu, Thu 23/12/2021 18:40:48

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Manu

Hi everyone!
I'm finally happy to present you this tech demo/prototype of a new adventure I've started to develop after the summer. It contains only the prologue of the story. I had this idea a long time ago, but it became a reality when I met a young artist who liked the concept and started working on the graphics.

It's the most complex project I've developed on AGS so far, so I'm pretty proud of it.

The reason why I'm posting it here is to collect suggestions and feedbacks. I would like to know what you think about the graphics style, the dialog system, the custom say function, the mechanics, etc. To be honest, it's a very ambitious project, so I don't know if I will be able to complete it, but every feedback will be helpful.

Where to download
If you want to try the demo, go here:
https://emabolo.itch.io/the-homestead


The story
The story is not strictly autobiographical, but it's based on actual events and places. The villa (called "La Colonia") exists, and the story about the orphanage and the therapeutic camp is real. My friends and I actually thought ghosts were there when we were kids. I know that supernatural+80s looks too much like Stranger Things, but it's totally unrelated.

Graphics
No pixel art here. We decided to go for 1366x768 because it's a pretty standard resolution. The pictures are sketched, the characters are just drawings, and the only animations are the walking frames.

Gameplay
There are no verbs or right-click of the mouse, only left-button click. The first click is usually a sort of "examine", while the second click performs an action, but it depends on the object.
There are 5 characters that you can control only one of them; the others will follow you. The idea is that each one has specific skills that will be useful to solve puzzles. You cannot switch between them during this prologue, but it will be possible in the game.

Screenshot



For more info/screenshots, open the spoiler.

Spoiler



Some more images:

First screen:


The exploration starts:


Entrance:


The first NPC:


[close]













heltenjon

I played the prologue today. I haven't seen Stranger Things, so my association goes to Stephen King stories with a bunch of kids who dare each other.

The art is looking good. The portraits in colour drew my attention, so I missed the talking animations at first. I also at first missed the animation in the window. Are you planning to colour in your art, or keep it sketch-like?

I wish I had read your post here right before playing. Now I right-clicked away to no avail. Perhaps some in-game notification to the player about controls at the start will be a good idea.

I very much like the idea of being able to swap characters later in the game in order to use their special skills. In fact, why don't you make an example right in the prologue by letting the handyman do the sawing? It's user-friendly to show the game mechanics early on. The characters all seem likable, and the banter between them is entertaining. More of that, please! It helps the player relate to the characters.

The story of the alleged haunted house may be a well-used story...but that is because it works! Almost everyone know about such a place, especially from their childhood. I had no trouble relating to the boys and how they (seemingly) walk head-first into trouble. I hope you finish this! I'd really love to see the whole story.

If there's anything in specific you want feedback about, feel free to ask.  (nod) Good work so far!

Rik_Vargard

I follow heltenjon here, the graphics look sweet. Personally I hope it will all be colorized because the portraits colors are nice.

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