Topic: Truth be Trolled - a fantasy detective story in glorious 1080p!

[Honza]

TRUTH BE TROLLED

The Story:

When an attempt on her life is made, princess Mirabelle realizes there is no one she can trust. Except, perhaps, a troll. Widely regarded as the missing link between a human and a broom, trolls are the latest fad in the kingdom of Glenmore. Buy a troll egg, boil it, and you get the perfect servant.  With their sturdy constitution, efficient brains and none of that “free will” nonsense, trolls make ideal cleaners, cooks and clerks - and, as Mirabelle is out to prove, investigators.
And thus Mirabelle’s troll enters the messy world of humans. He has to search for clues and ask uncomfortable questions, all while being treated as a glorified home appliance. He has no power here, but he has a sturdy constitution, an efficient brain, and maybe even a tad more of that "free will" nonsense than anyone suspected. Feathers will be ruffled, secrets uncovered. Truth will be trolled.

Mirabelle's cat is acting suspicious.	Behold the kingdom of Glenmore!
A bit of world-building.	As medieval toilets go, this is a fancy one.
Deep in the forest, in a secluded hut, a man knows what others don't want to know.	The local journalist is all about the naked truth. Expect some cheeky parallaxing.

Features:

• A fantasy detective story revolving around white lies, sinister truths and the sneaky ways in which we try to control each other. The tone is somewhat comedic, but overall the game takes its plot and characters seriously.
• Princesses, journalists, voodoo priests, mad scientists and demonic cats! (alright, just one of each of those)
• 1920x1080 hand-drawn graphics
• Lots of traditional pointing and clicking – inventory puzzles, branching dialogue, you know the drill

Also:
a 16-direction walkcycle with stopping frames:



Detailed hand-drawn animations + jumping mechanics:

Development Status

Um... let's say "early stages". After working on this on and off for two years and more or less full-time during COVID, it's clear that I've bitten off more than I can chew by myself in terms of intended production values. So currently the plan is to release a short demo and then start spamming the recruitment section . Stay tuned!

[dactylopus]

The art and animation look fantastic!

The story sounds interesting, too.  Kudos on using your quarantine time for something useful!

[CaptainD]

Plot sounds fascinating and the visuals are out of this world!! REALLY looking forward to this one.

[sthomannch]

Agree, looks absolutely fantastic and sounds interesting!
Wish you success and lot of energy

[Ilyich]

Looking excellent! Loving the tons of flavour in the decidedly hand-drawn artwork and animations, really impressive stuff! Looking forward to seeing more, best of luck!

[rongel]

Wow! The graphical style and the animations look just amazing. Really like the detective stuff too. You must have put a lot of work into it... I mean 16 direction walk cycle! Good luck with the demo, and hopefully you get more people working on it!

[Pogwizd]

I am just going to say what others already have - these graphics look absolutely stunning! Really looking forward to playing the demo when it's out

[Crimson Wizard]

I'm frankly afraid, wondering how this game will run in AGS...

[Honza]

Thanks everyone for the positive feedback and encouragement! Feels good to finally have something to show - people were starting to give me weird looks when I claimed I was spending weekends "making a game" for two years .

I'm frankly afraid, wondering how this game will run in AGS...

I was worried too and it does seem to be on the edge of AGS capabilities, but so far it runs okay (only lags a bit here and there) as long as I close other applications and preload bigger animations. I tried Visionaire for a bit but couldn't get used to it, so I decided to go with AGS and hope for the best. We'll see what happens once the game gets bigger - worst-case scenario I release a downgraded low-res version and make a "remastered" one in another engine. Hope it doesn't come to that though, AGS has served me well so far .

[Cassiebsg]

Looking absolutely lovely. Very unique style indeed.   

[Durq]

I like the premise, and the art is breathtaking! I'll definitely be looking forward to the demo.

[Ali]

You had me at 16-direction walkcycle. Looks great!

[CrashPL]

Absolutely adore these animations and the general art style and setting - best of luck with the production!

[Grundislav]

This looks amazing! Always nice to see more high resolution AGS projects.

[selmiak]

absolutely awesome! Please keep posting more productions screenshots

[Blondbraid]

This looks great, the graphics are a real work of art and reminds me a lot of Macinarium in the colors and level of detail, and the plot sounds interesting too!

[Olleh19]

Keep it up! Looks fantastic buddy! 

[Yanek_Crispbread]

This is a work of genius. Beautiful art.

[Monsieur OUXX]

OK but we will finally discover exactly what is the Schnibble of Azimuth?

More seriously : Now that's what I call a true high-resolution game. Gorgeous in every way.

[Honza]

Happy people like the graphics, thanks everyone! I was taking snapshots while drawing one of those backgrounds to see how much time it actually takes me, so here's a bit of making-of: