Awakening of the Sphinx DEMO v1.2 (Updated 29 June 04)

Started by SSH, Tue 30/09/2003 22:04:58

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SSH

LATEST: (29 June 2004)

Finally getting some work done on this since the demo. Have been consulting with various people on the story (thanks to you guys, you knwo who you are!) and now got some work on our hero's love interest progressing:

I think the story for the whole game is now complete, so here's some of what's on my todo list:

Characters: Akhenaten, Smenkhare, Tutankhamun, Boat Captain, Quarry workers, VIllage women, Priestly scholar, etc. etc.
Backgrounds: Quarry, Nile dock, Nileside village, Temple of Amun, Place at Amarna, Overview map, Desert landscape, etc. etc.
Dialogues: Millions of these to do!

LATEST: (29 April 04 5.30pm BST)

Bunch of bugs fixed in v1.2 (check about box... no version number means v1.0)... download link is the same.

(28 April 04):

Yes, the DEMO IS HERE! The moment that you've all been waiting for!

You can download it as 4.1M Zip or 3.7M RAR

or check out the blurb on the website website

Here's a screenshot to whet your appetite:



OLD UPDATES:

(27 April 04):

Well, the demo is very nearly ready. I've got a few descriptions left to add for some hotspots, which are already written but not typed in yet (and I left that bit of paper somewhere else ::)  )  but we have music, SFX, savegames with screenshots and lots more all ready.

so, hopefully... DEMO release tomorrow (Tuesday!)... its only 2 months later than I told Vel in the ezine!



27 Jan 04:

Well, now I've finished with the FOREGOs, I'll give you an update on the game progress.

Firstly, Vel has spoken to me about a preview in the AGS ezine. Hopefulyl that can be appearing soon. I have given him some exclusive screenshots, but I won't steal his thunder by posting them here.

Hopefully I can have a demo out by the end of February, although I don't promise. So far I've got the GUI nearly completed (just save/load boxes to do, but I'll leave them fro when I've got bored writing dialogues) and all the backgrounds for the demo are loaded into AGS. I think all the sprites are loaded too, but there always turns out to be two or three more that you need when you come to implement these things.

Most of the remaining work is going to be writing dialogs, I think. The way the icon-based dialog system works means that tehre will be a heck of a lot of dialog. I doubt that I'll have time to do a voice pack before end of February, or to finesse the music but there will be some music in there and hopefully some sound FX.

Also, Farlander has said that hes going to try and help me out with some cutscene GFX which is great. However, if anyone with 3D skills wants to PM me, I've got an awesome custscene that would look great in 3D. Also would liek to hewar from potential  voice actors for Ay (Old Grand Vizier), Maya (Helpful adjutant) and the Sphinx (booming deep voice)...

PREVIOUS:

Woot! At last I've got a walkcycle for Horemheb done. Thanks to PureGhost for the improvements to the character.


So, now that my wife has agreed to let me work on a serious game rather than a Princess Marian game, here's what there is so far:

PLOT:
The 18th Dynasty of Egypt is one of the most eventful. Tuthmoses IV had a dream as a boy that if he uncovered the Sphinx he would become Pharoah. Later in the dynasty, Akhenaten rejected the traditional polytheistic religion of Egypt and turned to workship Aten. He built a new capital at Amarna and the period of him and his two successors is known as "The Amarna period". Many, however, were angry at this blasphemy against the old gods and seceretly fought against it.

The game starts as our character, General Horemheb, a lowly born man who has worked his way up through the army, talks with Ay, Lord Vizier to the Pharoah, but secretly against his new religion. Horemheb also has covert feelings against "Aten" as the religion was involved in the death of his first wife. They discuss their feelings
and Ay mentions that if the Pharoah was got rid of, he would become regent of the heir, Tutankhaten (Tutankhamun's name at the time) and could make Horemheb more powerful and grant him nobility if he helped him. Horemheb also wants this as he is in love with Mutnojdmet, Ay's daughter, but out-of-reach to him as she is a member of the aristocracy.

So, with this in mind, he returns to the army cmap near the Sphinx and goes to sleep. In his dream, he has a vision of getting up and the Sphinx talking to him, just as happened with Tuthmosis before him. The Sphinx tells him that the power of the Great Pharoah Khafre, a great magician and builder of the second pyramid of Giza, will be his to command if he does as the Sphinx says. The Sphinx says that it is angry at the blasphemy of the Pharoahg and wishes to destroy him. It tells of a secret chamber in the second pyramid, never found by any thief who long since stripped the main chamber bare. So the adventure begins as Horemheb sets off to find the secret chamber and the secrets of power that lie within..

EDIT: cut out big bgs

Related threads:
Plot (this was when the player character was different, but now changed to Horemheb, but the story is pretty much the same)
http://www.agsforums.com/yabb/index.php?board=3;action=display;threadid=5530
Character C+C:
http://www.agsforums.com/yabb/index.php?board=4;action=display;threadid=6988

12

Kweepa

So the Princess Marian games were just a bribe?
Good idea!

I'm looking forward to this game.
I'm curious to see how a game set in ancient times plays out, since I'm working on something like that myself (not Egypt though)...

That main character has character! Did you consider drawing everyone side on, Middle Kingdom stylee?

Steve
Still waiting for Purity of the Surf II

Nacho

You know that I love your games... Please make me know how does the project advance.  :)
Are you guys ready? Let' s roll!

Mats Berglinn

#3
Good to hear that you for once don't make a "cute-simple-game-to-just-make-your-wife-happy" game (take it easy, I meant no offense) and it's seems promising too  ;D. The main-character looks pretty cool, it somehow reminds me of a cartoon.

I don't think those pics are crap, they're good but they can become better with some improvements. I liked the sand effect. In the tomb the crack that is between the roof and the wall of heiroglophics looks a bit strange.

Interessting plot.

SSH

Mats:
Sorry that I didn't put anything of plot yesterday: I was in a hurry! Anyway, I've updated the top post with plot now.

Steve:
The games were not a bribe: I did the first one before I ever had this idea (although I have had some inklings of this plot since I went to Egypt in 2000, but as a film... then I discovered AGS earlier this year and did the games for Marian then realised the possibilities for a game of my plot...)

I hope to produce a really good demo and then get some help from people to do some of the more complex animation and stuff that is needed later on. There is going to be a cutscene about 2/3 way through that will blow you away, if it is done right!
12

jason

Sounds great, SSH. Ancient Egypt is one of the eras that interests me the most. You should try to include some intrigue and mystery.

Mats Berglinn

When will this game come out? Or at least a demo?

Kweepa

I want mystery and intrigue too.
And sand.
Still waiting for Purity of the Surf II

SSH

Trying to overthrow the Pharoah isn't enough intrigue for you? If you want a taste for the intrigue and mystery that awaits:

What lies hidden in the secret chamber within the pyramid?
What exactly IS the power that the Sphinx is promising?
What does Ay get out of all this?
Who is the mysterious co-regent Smenkhare?
Where does the Pharoah's young son, Tutankhaten (aka Tutankhamun) fit in to all this?
12

Mats Berglinn

SSH: When will this game be finished or at least when the demo is going to be realesed? How is the process? We want to know more about your game.

SSH

The game will be finished in 2004 between January and December, probably  ;)

Haven't been able to do much recently, but update on top page now.

My problem is drawing takes me ages, so if anyone want to help animate, I'd very much appreciate it!
12

PureGhostGR

Is there a demo we can test? It sounds really good.

Sockmonkey

Great idea for a game.

I would style the characters more like this:


Egyptian art styles would create a really unique look for the game. With those big, weird eyes and both feet pointing the same way all the time. (it would also be easier to animate this way I would think)

http://www.sockmonkeygame.com

"Never hold discussions with the monkey when the organ grinder is in the room." -Sir Winston Churchill

SSH

Sockmonkey (and Steve): good idea to do the game in that style, but I'm afraid that it won't be like that:

a) I've planned many aspects of the puzzles that rely on the traditional perspective view of backgrounds etc.
b) I have enough trouble drawing characters in the style they are already. I'm no great artist, so doing that style is beyond me

Maybe if the game leads me to collaborate with a great artist who could do it, I might consider it, but until someone offers....

PureGhost: I do plan to do a demo, but I'm not sure how long it should be. The game story fits in to three parts, really, based on who is Pharoah. But the first part is pretty long, so if I do that as the demo, then it will be a long time before I release it. I suppose that I could do a first demo, second demo, etc. as I go along.

However, there are still at least 2 more backgrounds and 1 more character to draw befoer I can even start the first demo. Not to mention animating the existing characters.
12

SSH

bump: update on main page (Horemheb walkcycle)
12

sergiocornaga



sergiocornaga


AGA


Darth Mandarb

What a nice walkcycle!!

The (small) crits I would make are these:
- the toes are always in the up position.  I would make them press down on the sandals as the feet go into the back position.
- there's some small (what looks to be) pixel doubling in the shoulders at some points.


like I said ... only small crits!  

This screams of style and character!  Well done!

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