A Prelude to an Adventure

[Hobo]

Hey! If you got about 5-10 minutes, then come and help an adventurer to prepare for a mysterious trip to the Land of the White Elephants.
A Prelude to an Adventure is a little interactive experience with light puzzle elements, tons of animations and catchy music.

You can jump in and out of the hammock!



Catch some fish!



And of course pet the fox!



The original version of A Prelude to an Adventure was made during the first two weeks of August for the Lowrezjam 2020, where it got the first place in the graphics category and finished 13th overall. It can still be downloaded from here.

Then it got updated and fitted to the August 2020 MAGS theme. Updates included a bigger native resolution, some additional animations and interactions and a new credits scene. This can be downloaded from here.

And finally, version 1.0 adds more interactions and animations, few additional puzzle elements and a fleshed out fishing mini-game.


DOWNLOAD HERE

[Pogwizd]

I think this goes without saying - your game is absolutely beautiful.
I really enjoyed your other game, Don't Ice Your Cool, so I'm really looking forward to playing this one when I've got a moment.

[Laura Hunt]

What a lovely little game! The art style caught my eye immediately, so I just had to give it a spin and I'm glad I did. Beautiful visuals, fitting music, and a fox! That you can pet! What more could I want?

(Interestingly, I thought it looked better at 4x than the default 8x. The text was definitely easier to read!)

My only gripe is, of course, that it's too short. Hope you give us the whole adventure some day

[Matti]

Yes, it really is a lovely game, nice work (as usual).

I played the original version yesterday and this one today, and I like how you made the game fit the MAGS theme . It's also nice to have a slightly larger resolution.

I gotta say, I really like all of your games, Hobo, and I'm always glad to hear you made a new one 

[Hobo]

Thank you, Pogwizd, Laura Hunt and Matti!

@Laura Hunt:
I can totally understand about the size and scaling, zooming anything more that 4-5 times often makes it extremely pixelated and hard to read and getting a more or less readable font working was pretty challenging, especially in it's original 64x64 size.

And yeah, I would really like to get a longer AGS game done at some point, but it still feels like such an intimidating task. I have a couple of projects that have been dragging on for years and I think I can finally keep the artstyle consistent enough for the whole duration, but designing a good variety of solid puzzles that combine well with the narrative and world, that's just so hard to do.

@Matti:
Always glad to hear, that people are having a good time when playing my games. It's been two years since the last one, so I'm pretty happy to get another game released again. Hopefully it won't that long for the next one.

[Laura Hunt]

And yeah, I would really like to get a longer AGS game done at some point, but it still feels like such an intimidating task. I have a couple of projects that have been dragging on for years and I think I can finally keep the artstyle consistent enough for the whole duration, but designing a good variety of solid puzzles that combine well with the narrative and world, that's just so hard to do.

It is hard indeed! But let me remind you of the comment you left on my own game (a comment I agree with 200%, btw):

A well crafted narrative that worked perfectly with the visual style and music to create an immersive experience. I'm personally a bit unsure about that one central puzzle, didn't really seem to fit with the rest of it and I probably would have preferred to play this simply as interactive fiction.

Sometimes it's worse to shoehorn a puzzle where it doesn't fit than to not have a puzzle at all, and if you don't think you can pull it off (or it's simply not what you're most interested in), why not play to your own strengths and go for a more narrative/story focused game with light puzzle/task elements instead? It might not be the most popular approach in these forums, but there's definitely an audience out there for this kind of experiences

[Hobo]

It is hard indeed! But let me remind you of the comment you left on my own game

Ah, an insightful lesson from past Hobo, love it 
But yes, this is probably a direction that I'll explore in the future as it allows me to focus on the things I enjoy most about game development: drawing, writing and world creation.

[selmiak]

of course a longplay of this great game exists! Really well done Hobo!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGn9trAUlBw

However, for everyone watching this, I would like to point out that this video features the older version of the game, the current MAGS version has some updates and a whole new resolution.

[milkanannan]

Awesome work, Hobo! I really loved this little game. The whole thought bubble approach was very creative.

[Slasher]

The video graphics looks a lot better than when I played the game on my pc using various settings...

[Hobo]

of course a longplay of this great game exists! Really well done Hobo!

Hey! Thanks for the play, selmiak, watched it already when you posted it after the Lowrezjam. There seems to be very few youtube channels that play free AGS games, so I do try keep my eye on yours to get my dose of future vintage AGS playthroughs.

However, for everyone watching this, I would like to point out that this video features the older version of the game, the current MAGS version has some updates and a whole new resolution.

Awesome work, Hobo! I really loved this little game. The whole thought bubble approach was very creative.

Thanks! I had very little space to work with, so the bubbles were pretty much the only way to depict conversations, but it seemed to work well enough.

The video graphics looks a lot better than when I played the game on my pc using various settings...

That's a bummer to hear. Could you specify? Was the scaling blurry or the screen stretched?

[selmiak]

oh, nice, there is even a new version. Is this the final version or are there more updates to expect?

[Hobo]

oh, nice, there is even a new version. Is this the final version or are there more updates to expect?

I do want to add a fishing mini-game for sure, mainly to see if it's something that I can even script and design in AGS. The current idea is to have fishopedia page in the diary that fills up when you catch different fish and I'll probably add some weird easter eggs as well that you can pull out. But other than that, I think it's pretty much done.

[newwaveburritos]

Holy smokes, those animations look really good.  And so many!

[Hobo]

Holy smokes, those animations look really good.  And so many!

Thanks, newwaveburritos! Animating pixel art is totally my zen activity, always so enjoyable and fun to do, so I tend to go overboard with them 

[KyriakosCH]

Great gfx and animation. Very aesthetically pleasing game!!!

[Hobo]

Great gfx and animation. Very aesthetically pleasing game!!!

Thanks, KyriakosCH!

Meanwhile, I've been working on the extra fishing stuff:

Spoiler

[imgzoom]http://tulevik.eu/ags/mags/Prelude/FishopediaZoom2x.png[/imgzoom]

[close]

I'll probably release the update some time after the MAGS voting, so late September or early October.

[The Great Underground Empire]

Aw, super cute! Rif is so expressive for low-res animations, very well done!  I got so excited at the end, then remembered the title and wished there was more!

[Hobo]

Aw, super cute! Rif is so expressive for low-res animations, very well done!  I got so excited at the end, then remembered the title and wished there was more!

Thanks, PlayPretend! Well, there'll be a little bit more content soon, I'm still on schedule to release the planned update in a couple of weeks. I am however doubtful that I'll have the time or ideas to expand it into something bigger than a prelude in the foreseeable future, but I might return to this project in a year or two, so we'll see.

The voting for the August MAGS has also ended, huge thanks to everyone who played the games and voted for their favourites, hopefully all of you find the time to support and enjoy the upcoming MAGS competitions as well.

[heltenjon]

Aw, super cute! Rif is so expressive for low-res animations, very well done!  I got so excited at the end, then remembered the title and wished there was more!

Thanks, PlayPretend! Well, there'll be a little bit more content soon, I'm still on schedule to release the planned update in a couple of weeks.

The fishing mini game looks very good! My son was very interested in the fishing part, so I guess we'll be revisiting this little world together.

I am however doubtful that I'll have the time or ideas to expand it into something bigger than a prelude in the foreseeable future, but I might return to this project in a year or two, so we'll see.

The (not?) obvious way to follow up this great title probably would be to make "Interlude and/or Postlude to an adventure". I think the idea of making a game out of the preparations is very good, making the game stand on its own quite nicely.

[FormosaFalanster]

I played it. The art style is really lovely. It reminds me a bit of what Cocktail Vision was doing in the early to mid nineties (speaking of which, that's an underrated videogame studio).

The little interactions you can have with the environment such as bouncing on the hammock help connecting with the character. Also, it is actually a fantastic idea to explore, having an adventure game with no text but symbols to communicate instead. It helps immersion and communicates through gameplay.

I can't wait to see the fishing game. It seems you intend to have the story revolve around the river, plenty of themes to explore, that sounds very promising.

Are you not afraid the interface will limit you a bit? A single click makes it hard to build lots of puzzles, don't you fear it may become too easy game to complete or getting too similar? Unless you have other gameplay options coming up later? Or you have another plan to keep it exciting?

[Hobo]

Thanks for the comments, heltenjon and FormosaFalanster.

The (not?) obvious way to follow up this great title probably would be to make "Interlude and/or Postlude to an adventure". I think the idea of making a game out of the preparations is very good, making the game stand on its own quite nicely.

That actually would be rather unique, to make a game or series of short games that revolve around a big adventure, but only depict the preludes, interludes and postludes of that adventure. So that the actual adventure takes place somewhere in the background and the "filler" or slice of life content is pushed forward. Like camping and cooking food in the evening, gathering supplies between trips or recruiting new companions.

Are you not afraid the interface will limit you a bit?

I mean, the two-click interface has been a standard for a long time now, one-click isn't that much different, considering that one of those clicks is usually reserved for looking and inspecting. I do agree that a text parser or multiple verb interface gives more opportunities for devs and creates extra challenge for players, but it's probably still more down to good puzzle design than the interface itself. I can still use inventory or environmental puzzles, play around with time or physics based stuff, utilize teamwork with companions or compliment the gameplay with additional exploration and mini-games. Also, regarding repetitiveness, even if I do decide to resume to this project at some point, I seriously doubt it'll be a long 10+ hour commercial release that requires a fully developed world and tons of variety. It's more likely going to be a freeware hobbyist thing that lasts an hour or two, but as I said, it's very possible that this little prelude is all that it will ever be. And besides, there's nothing wrong with easy and simple games, there's a reasonable audience for it and I don't consider them any worse or lower than the hardcore puzzle ones.


Also, I would like to tone down people's expectations about the fishing mini-game. It's still going to be very simple and basic, because I don't really have the scripting know-how or time to create something more complex and advanced 

Oh, and as a little visual treat, one of the first things I animated were run cycles for the main character, but they didn't make it into the game, because the current walkable areas were too short and small:
[imgzoom]http://tulevik.eu/ags/mags/Prelude/Movement.gif[/imgzoom]

[FormosaFalanster]

Thanks for your answer, it is interesting! I really admire those who can make an interesting game with a minimalist GUI, because I am a chicken who needs plenty of options to make it interesting  so it is really valuable advice for me to see what you can acheive with a single click.

Now that I think of it, I just compared you work to Cocktail Vision's, and in fact they also used single click interfaces in some of their games, so maybe I should play them again.

[heltenjon]

Thanks for the comments, heltenjon and FormosaFalanster.

The (not?) obvious way to follow up this great title probably would be to make "Interlude and/or Postlude to an adventure". I think the idea of making a game out of the preparations is very good, making the game stand on its own quite nicely.

That actually would be rather unique, to make a game or series of short games that revolve around a big adventure, but only depict the preludes, interludes and postludes of that adventure. So that the actual adventure takes place somewhere in the background and the "filler" or slice of life content is pushed forward. Like camping and cooking food in the evening, gathering supplies between trips or recruiting new companions.

I've always liked this kind of story when it pops up in tv series or comic books. There it usually involves talking and character development/motivation while the action is somewhere else. (And there're always some reader/viewer who comments on the lack of action, so clearly this is not everyone's cup of tea.) But I've never seen a game series about it, only small joke games.

[Hobo]

Finally updated the game. I actually completed the fishing parts already a few months ago, but since I was planning to add some more stuff, it kind of kept dragging on and on. So, I decided to simply draw a line and release what I have and leave it at that, I consider this game completed and done now. The latest 1.0 version has some new interactions and animations, few additional puzzle elements and a very basic fishing mini-game.

[selmiak]

oh, it was fun to revisit this game and see the small changes. The fishing game is even better now!

[Hobo]

Thanks, selmiak! And a huge thanks to everyone who nominated the game for the AGS awards, getting two nominations was certainly a surprise, considering the amout of great and enjoyable games last year.