Messages

Sorry 'bout that.  :'( on AGS it works because the characters are automatically centered on bottom so the head moves.

I think you're right. The spitting has to go.

Before i get cracking on the next game, I thought my character art skills needed some definite sprucing up.Ã, 

This is the main character for an unconventional sci-fi comedy starring a tough-as-nails grandma as the heroine.

Here we go, zoom 2x:





After some of the problems I ran into on Return to Civilization, I decided to go for a low-res art style.

What needs to stay, and what needs to be fixed?

[never]

I've played through the downloadable section of Bone, and got to the end. I really wouldn't classify it as shareware. Only a few rooms, and two characters grand total. Not what I would consider a self-sufficient game.

Good shareware has always been a self-sufficient game on it's own, and thus buying the remaining chapters you can continue and finish the story. Hugo, Serious Sam, and Dare 2 Dream are good examples because they are really poor games to begin with, and would absolutely never sell in the traditional market.

I'm not even saying this idea would work, I just think it might be a viable option to the old-fashioned storefront, which really hasn't worked for adventure games since the early '90s. By putting adventures in places like game crazy and ebGames, I think we're reaching the wrong market.

[hours]

Point taken on the game length. You're right. 15 hours is overboard.

But I have to respectfully disagree on the rest. I think that the shareware model is different from the demo software currently in vogue. Back in the day, I spent hours on the first Commander Keen, and it was very much a self-contained game, with it's own levels and bosses. The commercial adventure game demos I download now consist entirly of a few rooms, with only a couple of characters, and that's it. Bone is a good case in point here.

If an adventure game marketed as shareware was really good, I think it would be a success. If a single episode cost the same as a double-shot mocha, nobody would balk at purchasing it.

Hey, you guys remember how apogee and epic used to release their shareware?

Put out one chapter of a really good three chapter game. Let everybody download and share the first chapter, get blown away by it, and sell the last two chapters to continue the story.

Has anyone ever tried this for adventure games? Make three chapters of one long game. Each chapter would be about 15 hours of gameplay time. Sell the next two chapters for dirt cheap (say, $5 each) and let those who want complete the story keep going.

I'm not advocating an end to freeware adventures. I just say that with the market the way it is, maybe adventure games should be sold in a bit of a different way. If you keep the crew on each game to a smaller size and make the graphics and music decidedly retro, it could work.

Spoiler

click the undeployed parachute on the lava.

[close]

Im thinking of throwing a few new story ideas on the critics lounge to get everybody's thoughts on what I wanna do next. I want to do something with some different characters though.

Sorry if the spoiler text on the compass bothers you  . I'm afraid this next part is something I have to hide:

Spoiler

Take the pills out of the garbage can near the trade outpost and put them in the quicksand. If you're unclear on this solution, show Dinh inside the outpost the pills and he'll talk about them.

[close]

One little thing that should be mentioned, just to clear things up about the compass...

Spoiler

Oswald won't start flying away for home until he has the compass. Hence, the game is unwinable without it.

[close]

There may or may not have been some confusion on this point. Hope this helps!

Thank you, Wretched.

Spoiler

Use the camera to take a picture of the whistle hanging in the back of the trade outpost. Then bring the photograph to Monique.

[close]

this is way off topic, but i couldn't find this anywhere:

does anybody know how to display a spolier (so it is selected text) on the forum?

thanks for playing. did you get the camera?

Coming in at 23 colors, we have a medieval trumpet person.Ã, 

Pass the mead!

Im not sure i understand you. All I did was to put a bug-fixed version of the game on the tripod site. By archive, I meant zip file.

Thanks!

Well, I guess this is just pretty whacked. But I like the way the socks turned out.

Is anybody having trouble with the tripod site? I haven't heard of any troubles.

Davis, I'm glad you like the game, and I'm sorry you hit a glitch  :'( . As much as the beta-testers and myself chugged away, I still missed quite a bit.

Thanks for playing!

Okay, let's try tripod for awhile!

http://returntoca.tripod.com

Tripod site seems to work great. Go ahead and check it out here, until I run out of bandwidth again.

I also just uploaded the new version to the AGS archive. Note that returnto12.zip is the new version with the bugfixes. ReturnTo.zip is the ugly old buggy version. Yuck!

okay, got the bugs fixed. Thanks guys!

Will post it (as soon as i have bandwidth again).

New zip version is ReturnTo12.zip

that was quick! crumb, i thought these people would be good...

anybody have a recommendation on a decent server?

Return to Civilization is finally done!   

Download it here:
http://www.freewebtown.com/misterskipperdoo/files/ReturnTo.zip

Thanks to Mats Berglinn and attack_seal for contributing to the final product.
And thanks for playing!

Check out the official website at:
http://www.freewebtown.com/misterskipperdoo