The Knobbly Crook: Full Game (FINISHED)

[Bavolis]

At the Fish Gates.


Or are they squids?


An invading rock Bogold warrior trapped in paper bindings.

The last time we joined O'Sirus, he was desperate to turn around the legendary Draft Horse and follow the spooky voice's call to the Knobbly Crook. Now we finally join him on the shores of the Crook and O'Sirus is going to have to convince the locals that he's worthy of visiting the upper city, where the spooky face attached to the spooky voice lives. Along the way, he will find out more about his people and earn himself a name, but there will be much trouble-making along the way. 

Update: DONE! Uploading the final build now.

LINKS:

The Knobbly Crook: Chapter I - The Horse You Sailed In On (STEAM) - http://store.steampowered.com/app/378300/
The Knobbly Crook Official Site (Coming soon - I'm switching hosts)
Chapter I Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01AHYg27DuQ

[MyEakinBack]

Boy, these images just blow you away! What fantastic work you do Bavolis.

[Bavolis]

Thank you!

[Bavolis]

Here's the slide room. Coogal clones are placeholders for three other Knobbcrookians I have yet to draw, just to get an idea of layout.

[NickyNyce]

Freaking beautiful. How do you come up with these patterns and colors?

Keep up the great work. I can't wait to see what you do next.

[Bavolis]

I don't really plan anything. I just draw chaos, which works really well when your game is about chaos

[AnasAbdin]

I don't really plan anything. I just draw chaos

AKA art Great work buddy.

[kconan]

Distinctive and stunning art in those screens.  Love it!

[Cassiebsg]

You just blow my mind every time you post some new art.
Keep it up!

[Bavolis]

Thanks! This community is a nice kick in the ass to keep me working on these.

[Bavolis]

The Puppeteer, who is always willing to share Knobbly Crook lore if you're polite:

[AnasAbdin]

That is one masterpiece Man your colors are flawless.
can I use it as my wallpaper?

[Bavolis]

Thanks! I'm not going to stop you, but I'd advise against using one of the great totems as wallpaper. Who knows what kind of cutlery curse that might bring.

[Ibispi]

Looks horrifyingly awesome. Keep up the good work, Bavolis!

[Bavolis]

The Blackfeather Pope:

[AnasAbdin]

A serious and honest question: how many years does it take to draw one of your amazing backgrounds?

[Bavolis]

It takes about 3 weeks on average. The big ones tend to go just over a month. I reeeeally need to speed up. I said end of year for Chapter II but the math isn't quite working out so far...

[Frikker]

your imagination must be an amazing place to hang out

[Bavolis]

It gets loud in here sometimes.

[fischkopf]

As always, your backgrounds are simply mindblowing. How does anyone come up with this crazy stuff. 

[Blondbraid]

Yes, It looks awesome, like a cross between Gaudí and Max Ernst!

[Bavolis]

Thanks for the kind words!

[Bavolis]

Here are three new Knobbcrookians, their core ideas from my Patreon donors:

   

[Bavolis]

A Knobbcrookian banker. It was a terrible idea to go with paper currency, considering the Knobbcrookians eat paper. This probably explains why their economy is struggling.

[cat]

Since playing the first game, I'm looking forward to the next chapter!

[Bavolis]

Thanks, cat! Oddly enough, I think today is the first day I've ever tried to draw a cat. Obviously, W.I.P.

[selmiak]

Cool! The Face of the Face of the cat!

[Cassiebsg]

I'm just glad this is a game and no actual cat suffers for the making of that "picture"... right!?
That is insanely realistic cat you have there!

[Bavolis]

It's a tiny bit of a spoiler, but it's actually a taxidermy cat that has been warped back to life with animation magic. It's complicated. So there's no cat suffering here, she just is what she is.

[cat]

Awesome!

[Bavolis]

The Deep Purr:

[AnasAbdin]

Man that's awesome. I love cats and ags

[SilverSpook]

Freaky!  That cat reminds me of the Red Dragon boss from the DnD arcade game Tower of Doom.  Like he might shoot flaming hairballs and toss mice bodies at you.

Hopefully it's not quite as tough to beat!

[Bavolis]

I remember that dragon - in the arcade, they almost begged you not to go fight it. Great ref!

[Cassiebsg]

Scaryyy!

[selmiak]

awesome!
Though I expected the cat's tongue to have more of this weird texture that is found everywhere else...
Texturing the cat's tongue could be a riddle though.

[Bavolis]

Good point! I'm going to texture the tongue more.

[Bavolis]

The Knobbcrookian bank uses the strongest vault technology. Will that stop O'Sirus?

[AnasAbdin]

Wow! My imagination is teased Now I really want to see O'Sirus break in the vault

[selmiak]

totally awesome. I love all these forms and the nice contrast!

[Gurok]

Beautiful, as always, Bavolis.

[Bavolis]

Thank you!

[Bavolis]

Here's the new room in progress. It should be the last large, vertical room in Chapter 2. I wanted to give the whole island the feeling of tall peaks and mysterious depths, so expect some grappling hook action in there somewhere, too. I've started filling in details at the very bottom and I have a long climb ahead on this one!

[Bavolis]

And er... a month later. Here's the final version!

[Cassiebsg]

Your art is just surrealistically beautiful!!!

[AnasAbdin]

Just to let you know, from a background painter to a background artist: I appreciate every little single detail in your work and I feel the effort and love you give.
Thanks for sharing an incomplete background like this. It just gave deeper perspective how long it takes to complete.

[Mandle]

What AnasAbdin just said, as well as:

I'm amazed by the consistancy of your artistic vision. Considering the amount of detail you are putting into every single scene I would get so bored and screw the game up by throwing in new styles at every turn which would confuse and annoy the player who is experiencing the game over 1/100000th the timescale that the game took to make, or more...

I want to use a better adjective than: Amazing....but...

[Bavolis]

Thanks everyone, it means a lot coming from the community that has kept the genre going. The truth is I wasn't originally sure I could handle a point and click because I wasn't an environmental artist. I mostly only worked on characters and cheated the backgrounds. This is the first time I've really had to get in there and put in the full detail and that's why I'm so slow at it (learning as I go!). I find the best way to keep me moving is to put some bad horror movies on Netflix (the worse, the better) so I can half-pay attention on both things. Once I get the perfect unity of click-drawing thousands of rocks and sideways watching really bad actors say really bad lines, progress is made! Thanks again, I really do appreciate your feedback

[Cassiebsg]

Who would have guessed that bad horror movies would ever provide such a good muse?

[Blondbraid]

I must say that your backgrounds are very beautiful and imaginative, but they also fit seamlessly with the characters and everything really looks like they are the same style and part of the same world. It really bugs me when games and animated movies have inconsistent design, like exaggerated cartoon characters against realistic backgrounds or half the characters are caricatures while the other half looks like uncanny valley. These screenshots however, are some rally great work, an that ort of detail you could stare at for hours on end!

[Bavolis]

I totally agree with you there - a good style match is key to creating an immersive world, unless the contrast is part of the style itself (Toonstruck?). Thanks!

[SilverSpook]

That's reeeeeal tasty! 

Man a month!  I thought I spent a while on my backgrounds when they were taking a week.  That's hardcore, man.

[Rocchinator]

Wow a month. I got to tell you awesome and unique talent here.   

[cheatcakes]

I just discovered Knobbly Crook and played through Chapter I - after seeing the in-progress work for II, I can't wait for it to be complete!  Looks amazing!:-D

[Cerno]

I downloaded part I on Steam yesterday, it'll be the next game I'll play.
It just looks so awesome, and the from what I've seen you created a great world conceptually and visually!

I'm just wondering, all the love towards chapter II and all the positive responses to part one and not a single review/comment on the game page?

[Bavolis]

Thank you, folks!
My guess is Episode I is weird enough that people don't know what to make of it yet. I think once Episode 2 is out, I'll get a lot of people going back to catch up. It does have a lot of reviews on Steam and sits with a "Very Positive" rating, so I can't complain.

While I'm here, I should point out that the official blog is finally up at http://www.gnarledscar.com!

[Bavolis]

A couple of new things! First we've got Tarsus Twotalk's Toxic Shack. Note, his sprite is a placeholder for now.



And a WIP of the Hemochingineer's festival. On the left, you'll find a hemochingineer in his blood-powered strongsuit lifting a blood-fueled transportation device. Behind him, paper balloon-pop! Oooh. Prizes. On the right, the beginnings of an ultra-spooky spirit house, also fueled by blood. In the middle... a total placeholder head! Woo woo! You also get a glimpse of the folded paper wall that protects the Knobbly Crook's fortress against stone bogold invasions.

[Mathias]

You've got some great stuff going with the artstyle. Keep up the great work!

[CaptainD]

Your artwork is absolutely incredible.  It actually jumps out of the monitor screen at you!  (Especially the Toxic Shack.)

[Bavolis]

My general art rule is if it doesn't pop out enough, MOAR SHINY

[Bavolis]

Room finished! As much pain as I put into the paper wall, it looked a bit more sci-fi than I wanted. My abstract style is already a bit jarring for some people, so I figured a simple foresty look would help pull attention to the objects in this room. I think having the paper wall gone will help me on the story side, too. We've got a Knobbcrookian conundrum here. Rock beats scissors... how are those scissors stuck into the rock? This hemochingineer is determined to find out.

[CaptainD]

This is so shiny it's making the photochromic lenses of my glasses darken.    Mind blown!

[Bavolis]

Don't look directly at it! Aaagh!

[Bavolis]

The paperkin of The Fold don't take kindly to a (scissor) person from the Knobbly Crook. In fact, they may be inclined to violently twitch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE2peiAOAdo&feature=youtu.be

[Bavolis]

It's been a while since I've updated, but the game is still going full-steam ahead. I've completed a few more backgrounds and I'm currently trying to finish up this huge W.I.P. monstrosity (which will be a boat area):



It's been a busy year with Watch Dogs 2 announced and headed into stores in a couple of months (lots of overtime!), but I'm determined to keep my little weirdo-project moving.

[AnasAbdin]

Is it me or is your W.I.P. background looks amazingly usable? 
Every time I see an update from you I get goosebumps  <3

[SilverSpook]

True artistry over here.  Stop making us look bad, man.  (JK)

I'm very intrigued by the concept of a sea of wax from a melting candle (what I gather at first glance from the image).

Keep it up, mate!

[Bavolis]

Is it me or is your W.I.P. background looks amazingly usable? 
Every time I see an update from you I get goosebumps  <3

Thanks! I wish I *could* use it like this. I'm itching to move on to characters/writing now. This should be the last big background before I can switch over. Knowing me, though, I'll add a couple more as I go.

[Bavolis]

True artistry over here.  Stop making us look bad, man.  (JK)

I'm very intrigued by the concept of a sea of wax from a melting candle (what I gather at first glance from the image).

Keep it up, mate!

Thank you! I hadn't thought about the candle contributing to the lake but that's a really cool idea (I've been calling it "Ale Lake.") I may try to show some of the melt and see how that works

[Bavolis]

I've added a thread to the AGS HELP WANTED section looking for a Mechanical Puzzle Designer. If that's something you can (and want) do and you're willing to put together a prototype, please let me know. I'd love to have you aboard.

http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=53924.msg636543224#msg636543224

[Bavolis]

I found a mechanical puzzle designer on twitter and the Knobbly Crook now has Rock, Paper, Scissors combat. But it's not random - the enemy has "tells" that you may have to learn before the fight if you want it to go smoothly. You'll notice sometimes it's clear that he does a specific tell and the move is predictable, but others might indicate he's changing the pattern of his selection.

The background and opponent are currently placeholders:

Rock Paper Scissors Combat Video

[Bavolis]

Now that the room art is done, I've started putting everything together. Here you can see the Fish Gates room with smooth, multi-layered scrolling (hurray community devs) and even a finished example of the Rock, Paper, Scissors game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLbcpmrjDj0&feature=youtu.be

[AnasAbdin]

Oh man that is just awesome! I think games like yours bring AGS to another level

[Bavolis]

Oh man that is just awesome! I think games like yours bring AGS to another level

Thanks! I think mine brings things into an unusual, surreal place, but there are plenty of way more talented people making AGS games (some even making a living at it!).

[SilverSpook]

Glad to hear you've found that puzzle designer!  I'd pitch in but I'm fairly swamped finishing my own project at the moment.

Good luck!

[Bavolis]

Glad to hear you've found that puzzle designer!  I'd pitch in but I'm fairly swamped finishing my own project at the moment.

Good luck!

Thanks! Definitely wouldn't want to pull you away from Neofeud... looks like you're full-steam ahead on that one and it's looking great. 

[Bavolis]

Small update: The writing/scripting is progressing fast. I ran into a place where the transition felt really weird (a cave entrance that leads to a cave exit with no cave) so I figured I'd do one quick little passageway through the bowels of the Knobbly Crook. Of course I never manage to do anything "quick," so I ended up with this weird thing:

[Andail]

Good gracious, now that's a proper piece of art.
If you don't end up making games, you could always start selling posters...

[CaptainD]

Your art is absolutely incredible.

[BiggerJ]

"Whoops, need to add a quick transition screen." (creates work of staggering beauty)

This explains and justifies every single delay. Please never stop.

[Cassiebsg]

I'll join the chorus, and just say amazing!

[selmiak]

Let me join too! Great artwork!

[Bavolis]

Thanks, everyone! I never thought I'd get praise for a hallway, but I'll take it!

[AnasAbdin]

Late to the party
You never seize to amaze me! This will be my desktop background

[Bavolis]

Only death-death awaits you in the Crook-Crook.

[Cassiebsg]

You are INSANE!
In the best possible way, mind you.

[SilverSpook]

Art like that is totally why I joined up with AGS, no lie.  Inspiring stuff, man!

[Blondbraid]

Awesome artwork, as always!

Man, those eyes behind that mask... 

[Bavolis]

Thanks everyone! Yes, there is madness to my madness. Errrrrm. There is madness to my method. Errrrrm?

[selmiak]

This is just awesome

[Bavolis]

Featured in this room:

- The Captain of the Royal Guffaloon
- The Wall, who dual-wields potato peelers and, could he speak, would mutter his catchphrase, "Pin 'em and Skin 'em"
- Havus the Hatchet, who has the most magnificent beard you'll never see.
- The Anvilope.

[CaptainD]

This is going to give people beautifully drawn nightmares!!

[SilverSpook]

Better than my worst LSD overdose, dude!  Love the anvilope character.

[Blondbraid]

Oooh, trippy! 

[Bavolis]

I'm starting to wonder about the lingering impact of LSD myself

[AnasAbdin]

Did you stitch the groung?
Man I love finding little details in your backgrounds

[Bavolis]

Somebody had to stitch the ground... there was a big crack.

[Blondbraid]

Stitches? Now I feel stupid, I thought those were staples!

[Bavolis]

I suppose they could be either!

[Gilbert]

For people's interested, Bavolis was just recently interviewed(as Ethan Petty in the article), though not really adventure game related(the article did mentioned a bit about Knobbly Crook near the end).

[Bavolis]

Bloodlust should have made a point and click adventure. Although some of the gore/weirdness does carry over to the 'Crook.

[Ghostcat]

It's like Rick and Morty on crack. Big fan of this.

[Bavolis]

Enter the Judgement Wardens. Hipster Knobbcrookians, gah!



If you happen to be a Judgement Warden yourself, don't worry--I'll be poking fun at the K.O.C.A. (Keep Our Crook Amazing) group as well.

[AnasAbdin]

As usual, your backgrounds are rich in details and the colors are just ummph!
One little thing though, your previous backgrounds always quenched our thirst to little details, this one seems a little different. If this is your aim then I totally respect your artistic eye And not to set Darth alert, I am asking is this background complete?

[Bavolis]

It's since had some extra layers added for multi-level scrolling. It looks quite nice in motion now - a very deep and spooky cave. I've become addicted to the Smooth Scrolling and Parallax script. I can't get enough

[Bavolis]

Test run of the scrolling in the Temple of the Birthday Boys. The Templars are not in there yet. Also a small preview of one of the conversation puzzles. Youtube doesn't much like the window grunge I put in the foreground, but it looks pretty nice in the game.

Temple of the Birthday Boys

For reference, I'm left-leaning and my general life approach is that you must listen to the "other side" if you want any hope of coexisting, so I'm using the game to poke fun at both extremes of the current culture wars. I've been accused of being a libtard, a snowflake, a cuck, a Gamergater, an MRA, an Alt-Righter, and "literally a pile of human garbage." I am none of those things, but I do tend to side with freedom of speech (freeze peaches) because I was a horror fan in the 80s when the morality police went after pretty much everything I loved. In this case, I like that O'Sirus is just this amoral little troublemaker who wants to make as little effort as possible to get by. That gives the player permission to raise an eyebrow at anything they face. With that said, two of the factions you must bypass in your quest are:

Birthday Boys - Xenophobic hatemongers who control through terrible catch phrases and irrational fear.
Judgement Wardens - Holier-than-thou witch hunters who control through constantly shifting rules and exaggerated outrage.

[SilverSpook]

Love the Birthday Boys / Judgement Wardens concept, and totally agree about the gonzo-level cultural warfare nuking the planet from orbit right now.  This is my jam!  As if there wasn't already enough reason to love this game!

[Bavolis]

That's what I like to hear! You'll probably understand the "gonzo-level" conversation he has with the Wardens, too:

Meet the Wardens

[Cassiebsg]

Bavolis those movies are just ....
Amazing job!

[Bavolis]

Bavolis those movies are just ....
Amazing job!

Thank you

[AnasAbdin]

Wow! great to see game-play videos
Music, concept, details... I'll probably connect my laptop to a big TV to enjoy every little pixel

[SilverSpook]

The Wardens Conversation is spot-on satire!  Man this game is a true gem!

[Bavolis]

Wow! great to see game-play videos
Music, concept, details... I'll probably connect my laptop to a big TV to enjoy every little pixel

I don't think it's going to look very nice on a big TV You'll have to let me know.

[Bavolis]

The Wardens Conversation is spot-on satire!  Man this game is a true gem!

Thanks! A lot of this stuff writes itself. So far the trick seems to be to go so heavy-handed with it, it becomes ridiculous. Kind of the opposite of what I'd want to do at work

[Bavolis]

Here's a video showing the rather large and yellow Ale Lake. The compression kind of kills the water ripple effect, but there is one! I wanted to use one of the cool reflective effects people here have made, but they didn't seem compatible with the shape/size of the background I had made.

Ale Lake via Youtube

[Bavolis]

Don't worry, he doesn't b--well, on second thought, he probably does.

[Tycho Magnetic Anomaly]

Only stumbled across this today... I am really in awe of your art style.
Would you happen to know of the works of Robert Steven Connett? Your style reminds me of his stuff,  high detail, strong contrast shading, colors, surrealism..etc

[Blondbraid]

Wow, that last image is both hilarious and absolutely terrifying!

[AnasAbdin]

Every time I open the forums and find an update by you I have to prepare myself emotionally before opening the thread. AND STILL I get shocked no matter what

Wow, that last image is both hilarious and absolutely terrifying!

I totally agree. I feel his fingers are touching my monitor from the other side.

[Bavolis]

Only stumbled across this today... I am really in awe of your art style.
Would you happen to know of the works of Robert Steven Connett? Your style reminds me of his stuff,  high detail, strong contrast shading, colors, surrealism..etc

Thanks! I remember somebody comparing my work to him before and seeing some definite similarities. It would be really interesting to see a game done in his style--much more surreal than mine

Wow, that last image is both hilarious and absolutely terrifying!

It's only because he believes in the ancient Knobbcrookian art of face-wrapping. He's really a very handsome guy under all that squeeze.

Every time I open the forums and find an update by you I have to prepare myself emotionally before opening the thread. AND STILL I get shocked no matter what

Might I suggest a calming Knobbcrookian face-wrap next time?

edit by Darth - triple-post combined

[Hobo]

Yikes! I dare people to use this pic as a desktop background!
You do have an uniquely amazing style, feels both creepy and captivating. Can't wait to play the second chapter.

[SilverSpook]

Wow that guy is super creepy! But fantastic job on the artwork.

[selmiak]

this guy is so cool, looks a bit like my neighbour. Keep it up!

[Bavolis]

Yikes! I dare people to use this pic as a desktop background!
You do have an uniquely amazing style, feels both creepy and captivating. Can't wait to play the second chapter.

Thanks, it's going to be the second-and-third chapters in one - the complete story!

Wow that guy is super creepy! But fantastic job on the artwork.

Thank you. I think he's kind of cute.

this guy is so cool, looks a bit like my neighbour. Keep it up!

I think your neighbor needs a hug! Just not too hard because you might pop out his eyes.

[Bavolis]

The Gouger gouges!

Big progress lately on the puzzles. There is an end in sight.

[SilverSpook]

Amazing work as always! Interesting weapon he has there also.

[Creamy]

The Gouger gouges!

It reminds me of a Pixies' song.
Could you tell him to get that spoon away from our eyes?

[Bavolis]

It's a carving tool which he primarily uses to make dolls... however, there may come a time towards the end of the game where we see the Knobbcrookians defend themselves. 

[Bavolis]

Mandatory Labor Day Budgie Test!

[Bavolis]

Augustus the Combustus has some O'Sirus-caused chest pain. The white part will be ultra-jiggly, which is why it has less detail.

[SilverSpook]

Amazing design as always! Are those question marks on his beard-like area?

[Bavolis]

Amazing design as always! Are those question marks on his beard-like area?

They're parts of the Knobbcrookian flush swirl, a symbol for bankers.

[Blondbraid]

Wow, the eyes of the last character looks simply mesmerizing!

[milkanannan]

Was just thinking to myself these graphics remind me of the Bloodlust game in my youth when ... it's the dude himself! That style is unmistakable. New game looks amazing, dude.

Random Bloodlust memory: guy upside down with a funnel up his ass while it's raining nails. Ah memories 

[Bavolis]

Random Bloodlust memory: guy upside down with a funnel up his ass while it's raining nails. Ah memories 

Ahh the good old days of making super-cheapo mini-games with Troma. Gutter dev has never been more fun.

[eri0o]

Dude, your art is pretty and crazy, it's amazingly consistent and I just watched the youtube videos from your channel. I am intrigued. And I like you like colours. Your game is very colourful. I like green. And your characters they look a bit like made from offscourings, from a scrapyard, I don't know if it's the intent, I feel it is, which is cool and they would make cool toys.

[Bavolis]

Dude, your art is pretty and crazy, it's amazingly consistent and I just watched the youtube videos from your channel. I am intrigued. And I like you like colours. Your game is very colourful. I like green. And your characters they look a bit like made from offscourings, from a scrapyard, I don't know if it's the intent, I feel it is, which is cool and they would make cool toys.

Thanks! The junk theme is completely intentional - the Knobbcrookians are basically "junk golems" and all have some element of metal since they're the "scissors" in rock, paper, scissors. That lore will be explained in the upcoming chapters. I agree that they would make cool toys and it would be a dream come true if I had a shelf full of these guys. One can dream!

[Bavolis]

Here's a walkthrough of Chapter 1, which shows off all of the new visual additions (including major color corrections using a monitor calibrator, smooth scrolling, multi-layers, Snarky's world bubbles, etc...) and some player-friendly changes. A few bugs still to fix!

If you've been interested in the art but aren't sure what the heck this thing is all about, I'd suggest watching a few minutes of it and seeing if it's your speed. Chapter 1 is 100% free and the next content updated (the final 2/3 of the game) will also be free. I'm doing this for fun:

Knobbly Crook Playthrough on Youtube

[Bavolis]

The (mostly) complete Knobbly Crook is now in Beta Testing mode and looking for victi--er---players. Details in the recruitment threat here: Testers Needed!

[Wiggy]

G'day Bavolis!

I am having a lash at the beta, awesome graphics, story and animation! I'm only 730/960 at the moment, but have found a few issues - I'd better hide because I'd hate to spoil for others this great game. So..

Spoiler

1. The mouseover exit slider doesn't move. When operated from show to hide or vice-versa, the effect actually happens - when back in the game they're there or gone as ordered and when you open the slider again it has assumed the commanded position. It just doesn't slide with the cursor.

2. The LOAD dialog. When first opened, the uppermost option is coloured as if has been selected, but it will not load without first being clicked upon. When it is clicked, the name (usually "stuck" in my usage ) does not transfer to the uppermost window which usually indicates a successful selection. The game loads successfully, it's just that the player has no indication during the process.

3. On the way to and from Birthday Boy island, while still on the horizontal walkway, one can "use" the gondola and go to the top of the hill - conveniently teleporting through the hedgerow.

4. After ridding the world of Judgement Wardens (I love that term for politically correct nanny-police) at the festival you can still "look" at the balloon-pop (above the balloon window) and the speaker will reiterate the Judgement Warden warning.

5. Minor spelling/grammar - "aN angler", "he's A birthday boy plant", and "machemallow" should be "marshmallow". (The CAPS in the preceding are missing.

[close]

Sorry to nit-pick, but that's what a tester has to do. Now to find out how to

Spoiler

stone-wash my pantaloons to attract the paper moths so I can distract the strongman and get the blood for the magic wand to kill the totems etc.etc

[close]

Fantastic game! Cheers!

[Bavolis]

The nitpicking is great! Thank you! I'm adding these to my bug sheet. The only one that's not a bug is the paper machemallow, because it's a play on "paper mache." I'm not sure if the font I'm using can do the proper accent to make it feel even more intentional, but I'll check!

Interesting where you're stuck, too - I could probably put a subtle hint in there that would make things a little more clear.

[Wiggy]

Hi!

Finished the beta 960/960. What a great game! Re: my last post (no spoilers here), the LOAD game bug is only in chapter 2. In episode 3 it is operations normal. You might want to standardise the nomenclature - either chapter or episode, 'coz at the moment it's chapters 1&2 and episode 3. No new bugs discovered at all, but the aforementioned other ones still exist in episode 3. You know, I didn't even think of mache being a pun - it's very good, must have had my thinking cap on too tightly. It took about 12 hours of gameplay, but that includes tea breaks, lunch, making notes, drawing logic trees etc. Puzzles were really good, and where I did trip over my own logic, I was able to backtrack and pick up missed snippets. Their non-linear nature also meant that I could progress in other areas. I did not use a walkthrough but I had played chapter 1 before, when you first released it. Congrats, and thanks for the entertainment. I look forward to the ending(s), particularly bearing in mind that the game start is a confession to the torturer, and the game is a recollection. Bonne chance mon ami!

[Bavolis]

Or I could change one of the three Chapters/Episodes to "Section" just to be even more confusing! I was worried the game was going to be too short, but it sounds like it delivers more than a couple of hours of gameplay, which is fantastic. Thanks for the followup notes - I've got a bunch of bugs compiled for me to fix tonight.

The Paincutioner stuff will be addressed in the ending, and in a spectacular way. It's currently all in my head, but I have big plans.

[Durq]

Just wanted to chime in and say the dialogue in this game is some of the funniest stuff I've ever encountered in a point-and-click adventure. I've laughed out loud multiple times, and I'm only partly through the second episode. Well done!

[Bavolis]

Just wanted to chime in and say the dialogue in this game is some of the funniest stuff I've ever encountered in a point-and-click adventure. I've laughed out loud multiple times, and I'm only partly through the second episode. Well done!

That's great to hear! Thank you

[Bavolis]

Nothing too exciting here, but I reworked the icons based on beta feedback. I think having hand icons for take and use was a misstep and this should help.

[Bavolis]

Behold... the Snips!

[Bavolis]

If you've done some testing for me, please PM me the full name you'd like in the credits! Otherwise, I'll be using just your forum name. Thanks!

[Blondbraid]

Behold... the Snips!

Wow, that guy looks scary! Is he going to be a boss fight?

[Bavolis]

He's the Knobbly Crook's Namer... you hand him something interesting, he names you after it. For example, if I handed him a pickle, he'd name me "Ethan the Pickle." They're not a super-complex species. He's definitely not your friend, but he's not a boss fight.

[AliWinchester]

I just finished playing the first chapter, and I have to say I LOVED it. I know other people have probably been waiting since 2015 for the next one to come out, but I have to ask: will the next chapter be released on steam? If so, when? (if not, where can I find it? I love this game so much, it's gorgeous and funny!)

[Durq]

I just finished playing the first chapter, and I have to say I LOVED it. I know other people have probably been waiting since 2015 for the next one to come out, but I have to ask: will the next chapter be released on steam? If so, when? (if not, where can I find it? I love this game so much, it's gorgeous and funny!)

Bavolis was asking for testers for the next chapters here: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=56022.0

I think they are still available.

[Bavolis]

Whoops! I lost track of this thread and didn't realize there had been more feedback. Glad to hear you're enjoying it, and I have good news! The full game will be released (100% free) in about a month. I only have the sound and music pass left to do. The whole game is playable start to finish and if you're interested, I've just released a Beta v2.0 (make sure you're downloading the v2.0 .zip file and not the main game). Anybody's welcome to test it and I'll add you to the credits if you report back to me.

[Mandle]

Gotta as play as soon possible have before stroke have I a.

[Bavolis]

Just a small development update... The Knobbly Crook should be released within the week! Thanks everyone for all the help and support over the years, this is an amazing community. I'm very likely to start my next game in AGS, mostly because I know you folks are here to help make it happen.

[Durq]

Just a small development update... The Knobbly Crook should be released within the week! Thanks everyone for all the help and support over the years, this is an amazing community. I'm very likely to start my next game in AGS, mostly because I know you folks are here to help make it happen.

Great to hear!

And I'll be excited to see what your next game is. Do you have something in mind already?

[Mandle]

Just a small development update... The Knobbly Crook should be released within the week! Thanks everyone for all the help and support over the years, this is an amazing community. I'm very likely to start my next game in AGS, mostly because I know you folks are here to help make it happen.

Amazing news! I need to play the game just to marvel over how long a single pixel in the richly detailed backgrounds took to make!

[Bavolis]

Do you have something in mind already?

I may try to make the scariest point-and-click I can... I need a break from the silly. I have a couple of horror short stories that would adapt well. I also want to play with a more painted art style to speed up the process, so my next couple of weeks will be doodling in different art programs to see what I can do. If they don't look good, I'll go back to the old ways.

[Bavolis]

Amazing news! I need to play the game just to marvel over how long a single pixel in the richly detailed backgrounds took to make!

Way too long!

[Durq]

Do you have something in mind already?

I may try to make the scariest point-and-click I can... I need a break from the silly. I have a couple of horror short stories that would adapt well. I also want to play with a more painted art style to speed up the process, so my next couple of weeks will be doodling in different art programs to see what I can do. If they don't look good, I'll go back to the old ways.

Sounds great. Are those short stories published anywhere? I'd be interested in reading them.

[Bavolis]

Sounds great. Are those short stories published anywhere? I'd be interested in reading them.

Short Stories

Knee Deep is the one I'm looking at for the intro chapter. I have a concept that will allow me to go anywhere with it. Jack Steamheel is my serial novel (pretty far along) featuring Jack, who you may have met in the Knobbly Crook's Horse's Ass bar. I might end up expanding on Jack rather than O'Sirus, too. I have a lot of creative options ahead, but may take a few weeks to catch up on other people's games! 8 hours of "AAA" gamedev at work and then 5 hours of indie gamedev at home has eaten up my free time! 

[TheFrighter]

Whatever will be, we'll be glad to see realized Bavolis!

Or maybe you could adapt someone's else novel...

_

[Bavolis]

Or maybe you could adapt someone's else novel...

If China Mieville offers up the Bas Lag series to a garage-level indie point-and-click dev, I'm all in!

[Durq]

Sounds great. Are those short stories published anywhere? I'd be interested in reading them.

Short Stories

Knee Deep is the one I'm looking at for the intro chapter. I have a concept that will allow me to go anywhere with it. Jack Steamheel is my serial novel (pretty far along) featuring Jack, who you may have met in the Knobbly Crook's Horse's Ass bar. I might end up expanding on Jack rather than O'Sirus, too. I have a lot of creative options ahead, but may take a few weeks to catch up on other people's games! 8 hours of "AAA" gamedev at work and then 5 hours of indie gamedev at home has eaten up my free time!

Knee Deep was a great read!

Spoiler

I loved the surprise ending, didn't see it coming.

[close]

[Bavolis]

Knee Deep was a great read!

Thanks!