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Oh, a Bake Sale(tm) you say?

Sounds delicious.  Or delightful.  Or other 'd' words.

...

Yeah, my first post in forever and this is what it comes down to.  

OH!  In other related news, you may thank (or write nasty hate mail) to Dualnames for poking me to include some sort of treat (which will remain a mystery for the time being) in this wonderful package.  Well, and Ponch.  

...

Yeah.  I'll be over here.  Carry on!

I was going to post a new teaser shot or two...but, I'll do something better later.

The 'public showcase' I mentioned is happening later tonight.  Roughly about 5 hours from my post.  I'll be taking pictures/video of parts of the event, as I'm sure others will.

So, expect a few random shots by tomorrow.  Or links to them.

What happens when a bunch of bored IRC AGSers get together and demand to make an hour game competition out of the blue?

Why...

AN IMPROMPTU HOUR GAME!

..of course.

This week's theme?  Public Service Announcements. 


And no forum-goers, you didn't miss out on your opportunity to participate.  Afterall it was impromptu.


Anyone who participated, feel free to toss your entries up here.

Voting until Wednesday.  Or Thursday.  Of this week.

Cheers!

I have to agree with Domithan, who agrees with Xenogia, who agrees with ProgZMax, as well, in addition to.

And thanks SubSpark and RetroJay.   I may post another preview image tomorrow, but felt like responding since I was on the forums.

Richter Belmont : Die monster! You don't belong in this forum!
Dracula : It was not by my hand that I am given so much attention. I was called here by posters who wish to pay me tribute.
Richter Belmont : Tribute? You steal men's intellectual properties, sprites, music, videos, and make them your slaves!
Dracula : Perhaps the same could be said of all game's.
Richter Belmont : Your words are as empty as your soul! Forumkind ill-needs a creator such as you!
Dracula : W-w-hat is a game creator? A miserable little pile of secrets! But enough talk...have at you!

Shame on me for not posting on this thread earlier.  GRANDIOSE shame.

I realize a lot of people were having trouble with the transputter puzzle, but in all honesty, it's worth pushing past it.  Whether you end up looking online for help through it or not.

Multiple endings.  Various paths.  Plenty of replay value.  A lot of bang for the download.

Fun graphics, great story with interesting characters, great writing, and a great soundtrack.

Trust me, don't give up, play it through, you'll likely enjoy it and possibly play it again to try to find another ending.

I suppose I'll toss a big hearty thank you out for the comments thus far.  Greatly appreciated.

Well...except for the perverted misconception, but hey, it happens.  I understand.

Still a thumb.

Wow.

That broken glass SURE looks familiar.

Wonder where you stole that from.

Seriously though, looking good.  Interested to see how it all fits in!

Thanks for the kind words everyone.

Just updated the post.  Figured it'd be more appropriate to remove the second screenshot, since it was depicting something from later in the game, and wasn't really 'relevant' overall.

Probably more screenshots/info this week, since my 'deadline' is approaching.  With any luck, maybe I can pull together a video teaser soonish...we'll see.

I've been mulling over whether or not to post something about this for about a day or two now, and considering it comes up far too much in my conversations with others (by their choosing, not mine), I figured I'd finally put some of my opinions and thoughts of this game down in text, on the thread.

Please note, these are merely MY opinions, MY thoughts on things, MY constructive criticisms.  By looking at this thread, I'm sure most of you, a great majority, will not agree.

That's fine.  You're entitled to your opinion.  That said, because our opinions likely differ, please do not tell me that I'm wrong.  It's my opinion.  You have yours.  This isn't me trying to convert anyone to my opinion, I just want to express myself, and hopefully some of the constructive criticisms I post can be used to better the future creations of the creators.

If anyone has issue with anything I say in this post, feel free to PM me.  I'm more than happy to discuss any of these points at length.  In fact, I would even welcome discourse directly with the creators, should they deem me worthy of their time.

Anyways, enough of the preface, let's get down and dirty.  Now, as you've probably guessed, I am going to write a lot.  If you don't like reading, skip my post now.  Please.  Because this is going to be, in most likelihood, a long post. (yes, I save my words for posts like these, which is why I don't have many posts)

So, I'm not really sure where to start with my opinions, so I'll just start from literally the very beginning.
Off the bat, overall, regardless of the 'scene' in the game, the artwork by Ben304, was utterly fantastic.

I want to point that out, even though everyone else did, because personally I feel that the greatest part of Eternally Us is the artwork.  I find it to be very colourful, very lively, the animations are delightful, and every 'screen' is a visual treat.  A 'sexual escapade for the eyes', as it were.  Now, I realize that I'm heaping loads of praise on the artwork, and maybe it's not without its flaws.  HOWEVER, even as an artist, if there were any flaws I didn't immediately notice them, due to how well everything artistically was put together.  Anyone can nitpick artwork, but I for one am not one of those people.  I find if something looks good, it looks good, and generally, that's fine.  (Ben, your art and style look quite above just 'good' or 'fine').  Oh, also the logo?  Nice touch.

Audio wise, I really have no complaints here either.  Why?  Because I don't compose music.  Because I don't compose music, I really only know what I like, not necessarily what is good.  That said, the music in Eternally Us, to me, seems fitting for most of the scenes.  It's appropriate, has good volume levels, and due to the nature of the game, isn't overly catchy, or memorable.  Which I appreciate, because if it was, that would miss the entire point of what you were trying to do with the game.  I would never sit down and listen to the Eternally Us soundtrack (hopefully you're not planning one), because I feel that the music really shines in conjunction with the scenes its in.  This is not a negative comment, for anyone looking for something negative in my words.  I sincerely do appreciate the fact the soundtrack is suited only towards the scenes its in, and only while playing the game, because that shows that care was taken to craft the tracks specifically for the game, and not for generic purposes or easy listening.

Oh, as for voice acting?  Generally well done, although a number of the male voices sounded far too similar to each other, and I did end up surprised that it was three different people, which speaks muchly to each of their ranges.  Kudos to them.  And both VAs for Amber and Fio did a bang up job with what they had to work with.

So you're all likely wondering why I'm writing so much, and why I feel my opinions differ, when they seem to be quite similar so far to everyone else.  This is where the real meat and potatoes of Eternally Us comes to the forefront.  I'm talking about the story.  The writing.  The progression.  The puzzles.

While I understand that the common opinion (at least in this thread), seems to be that Eternally Us can do no wrong, and is an emotional journey, I will be one of the few (if not only) to differ in opinion on that.  While I can certainly understand the journey, and did so while playing, I feel it fails to create an appropriate emotional tie to allow it to reach the intended reaction that the authors desired.

POTENTIAL SPOILERS...

Spoiler

Allow me to explain.  From least irksome to me, to most irksome.

Least irksome: Puzzles.
Why do I find them irksome at all?: I'll be honest.  There is a clever one or two.  The squirrel and the acorn?  I found that to be clever.  Most of the others?  Well, they fit the scenes well enough.  However there was one that I feel was wasted potential, and leads into one of the things that I found most irksome about the game.

The bird feeding puzzle.

Likely not surprising to some people, although my reasoning may differ.   MY reasons for finding the bird feeding puzzle irksome are two fold.  The first of these, regards the 'puzzle' itself.  Why is it irksome?  Well, because it's kind of unnecessary.  What do I mean?  I mean there's 4 options, only 2 are valid, and unlike any of the other puzzles in the game, it doesn't quite relate to the scene.  It becomes a puzzle that some people may struggle on, if they don't realize the crumbs need to be tossed at the path, but beyond that there is only one solution, and it doesn't further the character development of Amber and Fio.  I find a puzzle of trial and error, where you have A, B, C, and D, but C and D have no use whatsoever, and any combination of A, C, D or B, C, D will not yield results, doesn't help anything.  Granted, that's a puzzle design irk.  And my views on puzzle design are likely different than others.  So, that's likely REALLY personal opinion.  Still, to me there's an even greater reason I found it irksome/bothersome...

And that reason also ties into what I found most irksome about the entire experience.

Most irksome: Lack of character development/attachment/emotional tying to characters.

What's that AC?  No character development?  No emotional ties?  What are you talking about AC?  That's crazy talk.

You know, you're all right.  I am crazy.  I'm the sort of crazy that happens to enjoy a well told story.  In my opinion, I feel the authors were aiming to create a story that takes the spectator on a emotional journey through the stages of loss.  Where the player starts thinking they have something or someone they care about, and then working through the various stages of loss until they find acceptance.  In turn, they wanted to add the twist, of having the player wonder what exactly they had lost, thusly revealing in all its glory, that Fio had in fact died, and had been dead the entire time.  Most player likely realized Fio was dead well before the end, but Fio's death wasn't the focus.  The journey of loss ending in acceptance was.

Now, while I applaud what they were aiming to do, I feel it fell short of their goal.  Again, as I've just established with my 'crazy talk', you all likely disagree.  I understand.  It's fine.  You don't need to remind me, or even explain your point of view.  I can clearly see your point of view, however I don't share it.

So, how did it fail?  Why would I say that it failed to do what it set out to do?  Now, I could be wrong in so far as what they were trying to do.  I could be.  Based upon everyone's reactions however, I'm thinking I'm not.  That said, and out of the way, we fail to have any sort of insight into either Amber or Fio before the wonderful journey begins.  The most we learn before the 'game' or journey, or emotional rollercoaster, or whatever you want to call it starts, is that, unless I'm remembering this wrong, Fio likes the smell of cut grass.  I also, unless mistaken, got the impression that Fio had some degree of compassion for small animals.  That's about it.  Oh, and the vague impression that Fio and Amber knew each other.  Whether they were long time friends, lovers, enemies, rivals, sisters, mother/daughter, aliens from the planet Wazoo, neighbours, cousins, what have you, we never really get a full impression of until the end.  But I'm not at the end yet.  I'm still at the beginning, so bear with me here.

Let's back up a moment, faithful reader.  Remember when I spoke about how the bird puzzle bothered me?  Well, it also bothered me because it was a perfect, prime, ripe opportunity for us to learn more about Amber and Fio.  To get to know them.  To learn what makes them so close.  Two things that would have 'helped that' here.  One?  Maybe having three or four 'similar' scenes of them in the park, talking to each other.  Maybe some dialogue options.  Let us get used to the characters, then toss her being gone at us.  We'll have been attached by that point.  Emotionally invested.

Two?  Okay, don't do those scenes, but why can't Fio and Amber talk while Amber is throwing around the bread crumbs?  I think that would've been a great way for us to become more emotionally invested in the characters.  Maybe they just reminisce.  Maybe they talk about any number of things.  It'd still make us more involved.  The longer you'd try to solve the bread crumb puzzle, the more you'd learn about the characters, almost as if trying to spend more time to Fio.  To hold on to her as long as you can.

To me, that first scene was almost a wasted opportunity to get the player/viewer/reader REALLY attached/involved/tied to the characters on some level, be it emotional or not.  In fact, had the writing merely lent itself to providing us a better glimpse into the deep relationship between Fio and Amber PRIOR to Fio disappearing, I feel that (at least for me) I would have been more emotionally invested throughout the journey, and may have felt something for the characters, as opposed to, well, nothing.

Other wasted opportunities for furthering the ties, came in each scene.  In no scene are we treated to any reasoning for Amber to search after Fio, except that they were close.  Or something like that.  In fact, nothing is really mentioned about their relationship or why they were so close - even the snippet we get of their relationship at the end doesn't serve enough information to us.  The information we get is too little, too late, even if nice.  I mean, sure, nice to know they had a sleepover, and there was a star shaped flashlight.  It didn't bring me any closer to caring about either character though.  

In every scene, Amber seems to fight so hard after Fio, one way or another, but, again...no dialogue explaining it.  No, "I have to find Fio!  We grew up together!  Etc. etc. etc."  Just, "Need to find her, where is she?  Help me find her."

Which brings me to a minor thing.  The whole 'non-interactive' Amber going through the door and following what I assume was the character 'Hurt'.  After thinking it through, I find that it was only necessary for it to be non-interactive because the player, at that point, has no reason to follow.

Hear me out.  We know nothing of Fio.  Or much of Amber.  There's an open door.  As a game player, we might follow due to it being the only exit.  Otherwise?  Not really.  There's no reason or context to 'follow 'Hurt'.  There's not reason or context to travel in the random door from thin air.  At least to me.  If there was more to attach the viewer to the characters, then going through that door would feel natural.  If there was more character development/progression in each scene, learning about why Amber would CARE so much about Fio, and why we the player should care about Amber and her plight.  Not to mention her ever increasing journey.

Is some of the dialogue pretentious, flowery, over-wordy?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  It doesn't bother me.  I know what the writer is going for.  Problem is, it almost seems like the author is trying TOO hard to let us know that they're smart.  That they know how to write something.  What this does in the case of Eternally Us, is it robs the spotlight from time that could be used to show us more of the characters.  Instead, it highlights the situation.  The situation has little weight without insight into the characters.  We (and I guess I mean I) don't feel involved with the characters, so working through the stages is like looking at a series of postcards.  Overly pretty, interesting to interact with, but it's like the backs are blank and waiting to be filled with personality.  

I could keep typing, and could keep providing ideas for alternate ways of going about things, but I don't want to make this long post EVEN longer.

[close]

END OF SPOILERS.

...yep.  I wrote a lot.  Thank you if you read the whole thing.  I did cut it short, but hopefully my points and views were made, and you can understand where I'm coming from.  If not, that's fine.  I respect you and your opinions, your views.  I think everyone who has played this has some sort of opinion on it, and I think that's a good thing.  Hopefully the creators will learn from this experience, and whatever they do next will build upon this, and become even better by sheer virtue of improving on the story/interactions.

So, yeah.  Wrote a lot.  You just read a lot if you got here.  It's just kind of unfortunate, that in a way, you've likely learned more about me, my opinions, my views, maybe even my writing and thoughts, than we as players learned about Amber and Fio throughout the entire play through of Eternally Us.  Which is unfortunate.  I really wanted to get to know Amber and Fio.  They seemed like a pleasant pair.

P.S. BTW, I don't like the smell of cut grass in the summer.  Oh, and I never had a star shaped flashlight as a child.  Just FYI.  Small animals are okay though.  I also have a cat and a dog.  The dog is a cockerspaniel named Moka, the cat is a tabby named Ginger.  Oh, and I have a sister, who is three years younger.    THE MORE YOU KNOW!

Hooray I just finished a tournament without losing in the semi final and saw the final screen.

Rawr  8)

You truly are, a Space Pool Ace!

T.O. Noir
-----------

Background:
T.O. Noir was conceived over the weekend of April 23-25th 2010 during Toronto Game Jam #5.  As such, everything that was done on the game thus far was done over the course of a weekend.  That said, it has held enough promise to continue progress wise, and there is an upcoming 'showcase' the Toronto Game Jam Arcade coming up for the end of May, after which the game will be released for everyone (or at least a version).

The theme of the Game Jam was 'missing', and this little adventure deals with a missing fellow, and the twists and turns not only involving his disappearance but his current whereabouts.  Dealing with the people who his life had some sort of impact on.  In short?  It's a noir'ish PI tale, with some 'oddness'.

...also, the image of a goat on a pole was a required image for the 'Jam', before anyone asks.

Screenshots:






Current Progress/Credits:
Without putting %s...
a 'rough' version was completed over that Jam weekend, with roughly about 10ish+ minutes of game, and around 3 ways of 'ending' the game.  However, parts were rushed, cut, etc.
That said, the 'jam edition' has been given to a few people for feedback, and anyone who has one of those versions, please feel free to share impressions here if you'd like.
At this point, I'm adding back in all the content that was planned, plus adding some more content.  Voice acting is in the works.  Etc.

Audio deserves a special shout-out, as during the Jam it was done by Harry Mack (who has worked on a number of excellent games, and does some incredible audio, both sfx and music), and for this upcoming 'Arcade' will hopefully continue to be added to by him.  I'll put a link to his site in here soonish.


So, all that said...this is a GiP thread.  You can expect a fully playable downloadable game likely for some time in June, with it being finished by the end of May.  2010.  Possibly video/previews/teasers during the month.

And...yeah.  That's all for now.  More updates soon.

UPDATES:
5/5/10 - Edited the screenshots, as one was from a 'later point' in the game, and revealed elements that were unnecessary to reveal.  Instead, put up an image from earlier in the game.

5/15/10 - Figured I'd provide an update here, so that there are no misconceptions about the game, and provide everyone with the most up to date information as I can.  First off, the 'early June' date will be for a full fledged demo version.  Not the final full game.  More details on the final full game either closer to the demo release or shortly afterwards.  Since I have a deadline of the 31st of May to get the 'demo' done, I will do my best to pull together a video teaser or the like by then so people can get better impressions.  Sorry this isn't much of an update, but more within/over the next 2 weeks.

I haven't taken the time to look at any of the entries yet (besides the ones I was a part of), so this post is less commentary on everything, and more commentary on my role in this month's MAGS.

Why?  Because I can.

Anywho...I suppose in order of 'release'.

Space Pool 'Alpha'
Role: Portrait Art, Special Art, basically
Commentary:
This was a fun project to be involved with, with all the variation, and the challenge of doing a series of ports in a confined 20px x 20px space, and attempting to make them recognizable to their 'fictional counterparts'.  That said, I look forward to hearing about people beating Space Pool to see the little surprise that was tossed together.  Other than that, was great working with Steve, and I hope to work with him more on other projects.  (any questions or behind the scenes stuff, feel free to ask...I'm more than happy to share)

Hard Space
Role: Beta Testing, sounding board, all around guy of guys (so, not much)
Commentary:
Another REALLY fun project to assist on behind the scenes.  I have to say, ProgZ outdid himself with a few of these puzzles.  Very well thought out, great story, the whole kit and kaboodle.
THAT SAID!  If anything doesn't work?  You can totally blame me.  There are a number of things ProgZ is already aware of, BUT, overall?  It works.  It's great.  It's a complete experience, an enjoyable one, and one you may end up playing more than once to see different outcomes.

Beyond that, the other entries look good, but I haven't taken a look at them yet.  Will do so, and will comment on them.  I know for me, it'll be an interesting voting race.  Loads of quality.

belated: after the expected or usual time; delayed

My 'Belated' Hour Game Non-Entry:
http://www.mediafire.com/?jtlmmizymyy

I recommend not playing it.  It features nudity.  Mild language.  Almost no story, plot, or redeeming features (unless you stopped reading at nudity).

I am not proud of it.  Or this.  But I have been forced to post it.  So I have.

Now...I guess back to game work, Doctor Who sprites, and who knows...

NOTE: To clarify, due to the fact that it was completed outside of the timeframe allowed for the HG, it is not an entry that can be validly voted upon.  Thank you.

I was going to type out a proper response, but instead have opted to merely say I support the idea of a collection, and would like this to move beyond mere discussion. 

Not sure why I didn't reply to this earlier, what with my deep deep adoration for Doctor Who (which I will not extoll at this venture....just because).

That said, I would gladly offer to help out with things...it'd partly depend on the Doctor being used for it, but heck, nobody ever said multiple Doctors were out of the question.  Happens almost all the time.

Allons-y!

After being poked and prodded a bit, I'd figure I'd do a bit more semi-regular updates regarding this...

...just in case anyone was wondering.

Yes, it's still in production.  No, I'm not dead, yet.  Yes, I will attempt to show/explain some of the stuff that has been worked on during the silence.  No, not right now.

Also?  A shoutout to 'Stee', without whom, certain issues would not have been noticed.

...and yes, the tutorial is totally optional. 

@Helme:

What exactly have you done so far?  That'd help determine what you need to do.

I'm going to keep things as spoiler free as possible.

@FireOrange:
I understand you're stuck in sick bay.  Sick bay is quite a useful place on any starship, being that equipment needs to be stored in cupboards, computers on hand to diagnose certain ailments and provide treatments, and the like.  Take a second look around the sick bay for where your mouse triggers certain hotspots.  I'm sure you'll find something.

Failing that, David did mention something handy.  If you've got a bunch of stuff, but not sure how to proceed, maybe take a few moments in the rec room.  Relax.  Pull up a chair.  Maybe read a book.

@Helme:
If by Deck 1 you mean, say, getting to the bridge...
Well, Starfleet ships are funny things, being that they require a crew to be fully operational, not to mention all the power relays, conduits, control panels, and the like.

...if those hints are a tad too vague, and you're still stuck, let me know.

Sorry about that Darth Mandarb.  I didn't look at the posting date.  I was just referring to the topic today by the topic creator, so felt compelled to comment on it.

Next time, I'll pay closer attention to the date.