Topics

[The Journey of Iesir *Demo*]

The Journey of Iesir *Demo*

(please read below about the demo)
The Journey of Iesir takes place in a land reminiscent of the medieval ages, yet has a story that integrates ideas as old as the legendary Vikings, and as modern as the hippie movement in the 1970's.

The player takes the role of Michael, a wandering playwright among other things, and he sees Iesir and its troubles through the fresh eyes of a stranger, yet he becomes pivotal to the events that unfold in Iesir.   Seeking both adventure and inspiration for his new screenplay, under the guidance of his mysterious Mentor, Mikael seeks out a Viking called Daniel Trondhjemsfjord, who needs help with a task that seems adventurous.  What seems like a simple quest of stealing a old Viking painting soon turns out to be more then Mikael could have ever imagined...

Who is his mysterious Mentor, who has set Mikael on a path that leads him to places he never imagined?  How do the recent viking attacks along the coastline fit into Daniel's past, and Iesir's future?  Why is there a demon-possessed, moose-headed alchemist in town?  The game delivers a rich and detailed plot dealing with some hefty issues along with a a large dollop of humour. The Journey of Iesir is a tale of discovery and change on many levels.

Screenshots

About the Demo

This is a pitch demo of The Journey of Iesir, an ambitious project started 6 years ago with the intent to go commercial with help of funding. We never made it all the way but we figured we would release the demo that came out of the journey.
As it's a pitch demo and released "as is" there are some rough edges, for an example the cinematic are pure sketches.
Either way we hope you will enjoy this!
We gladly answer any question about the production, journey and experience! Just type it below!


__________________________________________________________

Download Here!

Dialogue options turn gray if there is no new text.
Mouse pointer is context sensitive - it has outline glow if new/more dialogues are available.
Press Space to highlight hotspots in the scene.

__________________________________________________________


Features
* Fun and quirky puzzles
* Vibrant and fun art in 1024x768 resolution
* Animations that bring the characters to life, full of expressions!
* Living environments with effects to enhance immersion
* Mini-games(!)


Credits Dream Cauldron
Daniel "zyndikate" Thomas - Lead artist, Animator & project manager
Dave "CaptainD" Seaman - Writer
Tino "Knoodn" Bensing - Scripting
Eric "Viking" Galluzzo - Music
Daniel Swearengin - Sound design
Albin Bernhardsson - Scripting
Yaroslav Shmelev - Programming
Bartek Wojenka - Production and Business

With additional help from
Santtu Ahola - Programming
Simon Eltz - Animator
Nikolas Sideris - Music
Ryan Timothy - Programmer
Daniel Muller - Animator
Marcus Gaigg - Writer
Geoff Hawthorne "strange visitor" - Script and puzzles
Calin Leafshade for AGSBlend plugin

Testers
Arjon van Dam
Cristopher Sacchi
Daniel Mclaughlan
Phil Normand
Robert McManus
Selmiak

[Topic:]

Topic: Ancient leftovers



Create background art for a scene that have something from the past, or even ancient. The topic is up for interpretation. It can be from a ancient civilization from our world, it can be something made up from your own game world (if so, provide a description letting us in on the story). It could be old architecture, statue or just a small object, don't feel restricted.

The voting will begin around 22nd of June.

Have fun and do something awesome, feel free to post your process as you go along.

[So my questions]

So we have been trying to get our intro movie to play smooth in AGS.
We can't use WMV since it doesn't work in D3D fullscreen, OGV seems to play so it leaves us with that.

But we're experience a lot of different problems. The main problem is that it doesn't play smooth when there is, for an example, screen scrolling.
We had some other odd behavior like sound getting out of sync.

So the first thing that comes to mind is, of course, it has to be performance related. We tried on 3 computers that was fairly powerfull, but it's still stuttering.
BUT it does play perfect in a media player, so we must assume there is something with how AGS plays the video.
We tried all kind of encoding options, very low quality, high quality, changing resolution etc. Nothing of those helped.

The only thing that helped was if we did NOT play the audio in the video, then the video played great and without problems. So we had to assume the Audio was the problem. We made sure to try and encode the audio with lowest quality etc, but same problem. The thing is, just playing the video but disabling sound (so the sound is still encoded in the video) helped.


So right now we only have 3 bad options.
1) One would be to play the video and audio separately (Video from OGV and audio from a sound clip), problem is it WILL get out of sync as soon as the computer can't render/play everything at perfect performance.
2) Play the video as it is, with the imperfections of AGS resulting in a stuttering video. It doesn't feel good and is kind of taking out the experience - I think you all know how it is to play a video and you get slow buffering.
3) Use WMV, but restrict the game to not be played in Fullscreen. This is a bad solution as I think a game should be experienced in fullscreen to get the best immersion.

So my questions, do any of you had similar problems? Found any solutions? Know any in depth knowledge about the AGS code that can be causing this?
Any tips is appreciated!

[Theme:]

Theme: A big world (or a tiny you)

Make a background where the world seem much bigger in scale then the possible player character.
It can be just a kitchen that is feels really large, or it can be a living room made out of small things like matches, pens etc. A big fantasy world, or just a kitchen owned by a mouse.
Making the sprites/characters 2pixels tall wouldn't be a practical solution, so try and make sure the world feels large in scale for a normal sized sprite.

Rules: AGS compatible

Deadline: 23 October

[Topic:]

Topic: Art
Make a scene where at least two different kind of art is hinted. Music, painting, martial, home design(?).. Be creative and make some interesting combinations.
Could be a scene with oil painted objects inside of a drum, or just something like a class room with instruments and painting equipments.

Rules: AGS compatible.

Voting start 20th of August.

[Project:]

Project: The Journey of Iesir

Details: You can read more about the project HERE.

Positions Available:

Animator - You must be able to animate 2D characters (using whatever your preferred tool is) and have a good and solid understanding of animation and drawing. Flash type animations are OK.
Sound engineer - You have experience with editing and creating sound effects for games. You ideally also have experience with post effects, working with voice acting files and AGS.

Deadline: No specific deadline, but we are aiming to finish the pitch demo by the end of this year.

Comments:
Interested parties can either reply to this thread or contact me via PM - please include your portfolio to showcase your skills in the relevant area.Please do understand that this is a serious project and will require that you are active and motivated. If you know that you won't have time for this project, please do not seek any of the position. There is a possibility that the game will go commercial, so it will require that you are a serious candidate.  However no payment or promises can be made at this stage.

Please also note that this project has been worked on for some time already - you will not be jumping aboard a project that is in its infancy.  We simply need extra help at this stage to take what we already have to the next level.

[Topic:]

Topic: Music
Make a scene that brings your mind to music. It can be a stage, music shop or even a fun composition with clear rhythms and movement.
As the topic is music I would suggest people to take the chance reading up on Rhythm in pictorial composition. I think that can inspire for some creative solutions to the topic, if not atleast you are aware of the principle.

Voting: October 14

Restriction: AGS compatible.

Good Luck people!

[Topic:]

Topic: Misplaced in time

Something that has been misplaced in the wrong time/era/age. It could be a Super-laser-gun-tower on a castle, A catapult as a ship-turret or just something in the museum.
Be creative and crazy.

Voting: August 16

Restriction: AGS compatible.

Good Luck people!

[Topic:]

Topic: A Location of Knowledge

Any place that you would associate with knowledge. It Could be a school, library, brain.. Use your imagination.

Voting: July 10

Restriction: AGS compatible.

Good luck!

[Topic:]

Topic: High up
Description: A location placed somewhere high up in the sky/space or what ever is high up in the world you create. It can be inside or outside location, it can be a mega structure or a small cave etc.

Techincal Restriction: AGS compatible

Voting: starts 25th of January, unless someone wants extension.

Have fun!

[Topic:]

Topic: A wonder of the world.
Description: Create a background with/inside/on top etc of a wonder of the world.  It can be a real wonder, a parody, inspired by, or your own creation.
If you create your own wonder, make a little description of it for our reading pleasure.

Techincal Restriction: AGS compatible

Voting: starts 16th of January, unless someone wants extension.

Have fun!

[Background Blitz]

Background Blitz

Topic: Green
Anything you would associate with the color green, could be forest, bottle factory, Ninja Turtles hideout. etc etc. Be creative.

Rules: AGS compatible. Feel free to include character-sprites and such, but include a link of the background by it self.

Voting: Starts December 03 unless someone asks for extension.


Posting process images and WIP's are encouraged, but keep it in the same post!

[The Journey of Iesir]

The Journey of Iesir

The Journey of Iesir takes place in a land reminiscent of the medieval ages, yet has a story that integrates ideas as old as the legendary Vikings, and as modern as the hippie movement in the 1970's.

The player takes the role of Michael, a wandering playwright among other things, and he sees Iesir and its troubles through the fresh eyes of a stranger, yet he becomes pivotal to the events that unfold in Iesir.   Seeking both adventure and inspiration for his new screenplay, under the guidance of his mysterious Mentor, Mikael seeks out a Viking called Daniel Trondhjemsfjord, who needs help with a task that seems adventurous.  What seems like a simple quest of stealing a old Viking painting soon turns out to be more then Mikael could have ever imagined...

Who is his mysterious Mentor, who has set Mikael on a path that leads him to places he never imagined?  How do the recent viking attacks along the coastline fit into Daniel's past, and Iesir's future?  Why is there a demon-possessed, moose-headed alchemist in town?  The game delivers a rich and detailed plot dealing with some hefty issues along with a a large dollop of humour. The Journey of Iesir is a tale of discovery and change on many levels.


The Journey of Iesir plays like a typical point and click adventure computer game, and hopes to immerse the player in this unique world through its story, character and game play elements. With its combination of drama and humor, the Journey of Iesir will always provide something for the player to look forward to.

Screenshots
(everything is WIP)

We're currently working on Chapter 1 and half of the backgrounds are complete. Much of the graphics and animations have place-holders and you can already starting to get a great feel of the world of Iesir. We produce with high ambitions and aim to get a high quality game that we later might try to pitch to a publisher.


__________________________________________________________


Features
* Fun and quirky puzzles
* Vibrant and fun art in 1024x768 resolution
* Animations that bring the characters to life, full of expressions!
* Living environments with effects to enhance immersion
* Mini-games


Current Team
Daniel "zyndikate" Thomas - Lead artist, Animator & project manager
Dave "CaptainD" Seaman - Writer
Tino "Knoodn" Bensing - Scripting
Santtu Ahola - Programming
Eric "Viking" Galluzzo - Music
Daniel Swearengin - Sound design

With additional help from
Simon Eltz - Animator
Nikolas Sideris - Music
Ryan Timothy - Programmer
Daniel Muller - Animator
Marcus Gaigg - Writer
Geoff Hawthorne "strange visitor" - Script and puzzles


__________________________________________________________

Help Wanted
READ MORE HERE

Contact
zyndikate@hotmail.com

Publicity:
IGM The Journey of Iesir Interview

[Sprite Jam - Classical [ends 24th]]

Sprite Jam - Classical [ends 24th]

Make a character and incorporate something classical, its up to you what you think is classical - it can be the classical suite, a character from a classical film etc.

Restriction: As long as its workable with AGS, and is reasonable to animate(any kind, pixel, hand drawn, cut-out)

Ill start the voting the 24th of February, unless someone asks for extension.

Good luck and have fun!

[Opposites]

Theme: Opposites

Try to get two opposites in to the background. This is practically done by itself when making a piece of art, but try to be creative about it!
It can be opposing objects like statues of god and devil, it can be a some attribute of the background like opposing colors, it can basicly be anything.

I realise its a busy time for many people, I hope there will be entries anyway - and for extension of time you can priv-message me.


---------------------------------------------------------

Voting starts 4th Jan 2009, unless more time is requested.
The voting will be done in these categories:

Idea - The underlying idea to the background. Doesn't
necessarily have to coincide perfectly with the theme of the
week, just strike you as interesting/amusing/inspiring; a place
you'd really enjoy visiting within a game.

Atmosphere - How well the image manages to evoke a certain feeling or mood.

Design - How well the elements in the image are designed,
such as landscapes, buildings, decorations, clouds, doorknobs,
etc.

Composition - How well the elements in the image work
together/are positioned in relation to each other.

Functionality - How well it would work when adding sprites,
including appropriate walking distances, a good angle for
character sprites, clever walkway solutions, easily understood
exits, etc.

Technique - How well the ideas are executed in form of
rendering.


Good luck!

Topic: Castle/stronghold/fort - May it be old/new/modern/future, an entrance to one, a paitningof one, one made out of sant or inside one.

Rules: AGS restrictions

Votes starts 2nd May unless someone asks for more time.
Have fun and good luck!

There has been some people asking for a tutorial on how im making backgrounds, while I have been planing doing one and even started one a year ago or so I still dont really have time to finnish it yet.

But what I want to ask is: Is there any interest for me setting up a topic where people can post thier backgrounds and let me have a go at it, I would try to explain what I did and most important _why_ I did it. People would ofcourse be free to discuss my changes. I would mostly concentrate on the compositional part and not try to alter the makers style. This would be one of my daily compositional-excercises and hopefully others can gain something out of it.
Note though that this isnt homework help where I try to make you a ready background but more of the helping along the way.


So, would this be anything interesting, or is it just ignorant/arogant to think that - since the c&c-forum is exacly the same? Let me know what you think .

[Antique]

Antique
Somewhere in the background there will be hints of something old. It can be in the old Greece or such, or just one or more antiques somewhere laying around. Could be a person also if you like, but try to keep in mind its the backgrounds and not sprites that should have something antique.

Anything AGS can handle are allowed.

Voting will begin around 24th 00.00 if no extensions are requested.

Any question, just drop a PM or in here.

He knew that he had to enter the cave, but the adventurer took as small step he could in hopes to give someone enough time to appear and tell him that he didnt have to, or atleast delay what ever cruel faith was waiting for him inside. The closer the adventurer came the more did he realise that no one actually would jump out from the bushes telling him, someone that had been sitting in it, picking his backside and just enjoying his trembling from fright.
He was now just one step from entering the cave, one last breath for courage was taken before he jumped in and took his most powerfull and heoric pose, or atleast for some who was just about too wet his pants and actually had to help holding it back with every limb he could spare.
He looked up, and to his surprise... It was empty, not a sign of life.

[:: Topic - Uninhabited ::]
Uninhabited places, it can be abandoned and with traces from someone/something that have lived there. Anything from forests-caves-houses-rooms-castles, use your imagination.
Something to maybe have in mind is puzzles, have atleast something the player could have interacted with, like in the cave there could have been some hard stones needed, or metals - so its not just an empty cave. But this is ofcourse up to you

Two weeks(24th) and Ill start the voting, if enough entries and unless anyone ask for more time.

Any questions, just ask.

Rules: Anything ags can manage is allowed.

-----------------------------------------------
Voting categories:

Idea - The underlying idea to the background. Doesn't
necessarily have to coincide perfectly with the theme of the
week, just strike you as interesting/amusing/inspiring; a place
you'd really enjoy visiting within a game.

Atmosphere - How well the image manages to evoke a certain feeling or mood.

Design - How well the elements in the image are designed,
such as landscapes, buildings, decorations, clouds, doorknobs,
etc.

Composition - How well the elements in the image work
together/are positioned in relation to each other.

Functionality - How well it would work when adding sprites, i
ncluding appropriate walking distances, a good angle for
character sprites, clever walkway solutions, easily understood
exits, etc.

Technique - How well the ideas are executed in form of
rendering.

Anyone is welcome to vote, and it would be
great if all participants could provide their own.
You don't have to vote in all categories, and
if you provide multiple names in a category,
then please be clear about which one is your pick.

[extended to the 18th]

extended to the 18th
Ok, so Ill change the topic.

Theme
"As I touched the white glowing portal it sucked me in, there was no chance for me   to do anything. I don't know how long I was flying around in there, but it sure felt like forever. Now I'm standing here, which sure doesn't look like the one I left, with no clues on how to get back."
Where did he travel to? Feel free to let out the imagination. It could be everything from an unknown planet with architecture we never seen to another time.

No color limit
Keep the size to around 320x240-800x600 (not that strict)
_______________________________________________________________________

Voting
The voting starts at 00:00 GMT Thursday the 18th. It ends 24h later.

Voting categories (I cut and paste from loominous blitz, I hope you don't mind, otherwise just tell me and I remove it.)
--- CUT AND PASTE START --
Idea - The underlying idea to the background. Doesn't
necessarily have to coincide perfectly with the theme of the
week, just strike you as interesting/amusing/inspiring; a place
you'd really enjoy visiting within a game.

Atmosphere - How well the image manages to evoke a certain
feeling or mood.

Design - How well the elements in the image are designed,
such as landscapes, buildings, decorations, clouds, doorknobs,
etc.

Composition - How well the elements in the image work
together/are positioned in relation to each other.

Functionality - How well it would work when adding sprites, i
ncluding appropriate walking distances, a good angle for
character sprites, clever walkway solutions, easily understood
exits, etc.

Technique - How well the ideas are executed in form of
rendering.

Anyone is welcome to vote, and it would be great if all
participants could provide their own. You don't have to vote
in all categories, and if provide multiple names in a category,
then please be clear about which one is your pick.
--- CUT AND PASTE END --

_______________________________________________________________________

Have fun and good luck!