Topics

[NIGHTCLUB]

As the title says, this time the topic of the BB is NIGHTCLUB. Doesn't matter if it's outside, inside, or in the back alley, dirty or high class, pole or can-can dancers, make it neon bright or low lit as you want, your pick (there's a "that's what she said" joke in there somewhere).
Please try to follow AGS resoultion sizes restricions though.

Work submission lasts from October 2nd, 2013 till October 13th, 2013. If you need a day or so extention, please notify me day or two before the deadline.

Good luck and BOOM-CHA DISCOTHEQUE!

[On my way - interior in transport]

On my way - interior in transport

Backgrounds are not just about castles, meadows and far off planets, you have to get there...even in a game.
To be more specific - interior scenes from cabins or cargo vagons on a train, ship cabins, cockpit on a plane, inside a space pod, back seat of a bus, underground train or a tram carriage, maybe inside a horse drawn carriage as well...basically small spaces in transport locations and NOT stuff like restaurants on a ship or a bridge on a space ship etc. Look at the screenshot above for an example and feel of it. It would be very nice if there was a walking area, but space is limited and maybe cramped.

Keep the resolutions standard, but you are more than welcome to make the space smaller than the actual background (again as in example above).
Deadline is January 10th, should be plenty of time but since there's the whole NY celebration thing and holidays and such, ask for an extension if you think you're not gonna make it in time.

Hope this is challenging and fun enough for everybody. Good luck.

EDIT:
VOTING OPEN
VOTING ENDS Jan 16th!

Categories:
Idea: Was it an original/creative interpretation of the theme?
Atmosphere: Was an interesting world created? - Did the scene evoke a feeling?
Design: How well the individual elements are designed, from clouds to doorknobs.
Composition: How well the elements are combined to create a pleasing whole, and lead the viewer to the points of interest.
Functionality: How well it would work as a game background, with clearly defined entries and walkable areas, as well as a good viewing angle (this also includes introductionary shots of an area as long as a player character can be present in the scene). (this can be little more losely judged since I left the theme a bit open to interpretation I guess)
Technique: How well it's rendered (within the chosen style!), in no way meaning the more elaborate the better.

[What would be the basics:]

OK, I don't really know how I'm gonna handle this, but here we go. Little background to why I'm doing this: I have this plethora of ideas for cyberpunky story, but I wanted to get my beak wet first, so before Halloween I decided to make a vampire game (think "A Vampyre Story" type of thing, in fact a lot like it in tone at least). Well of course I won't finish this before Halloween, among other things because I can't really round up a story the way I wanted it, even though I've been thinking about it for a week or so. But I still want to do it.
It should be a short (like MAGS/first time) game, 10 rooms tops.
I'm asking for help and opinions, plus it might be a good exercise/tutorial that other people might find helpful (how to develop your story beyond initial idea and adapt it to an adventure game, that sort of thing) and that's also why my thought was to I put it in the Critics' Lounge and not Recruitment or Adventure talk. Not really expecting for somebody else to write a story for me, just pointers and helpful advice and critique. It's more about writing than this specific story.

What would be the basics:
We find out about how Maximillian (Max) became a vampire from an intro that goes on inside a coffin. Cutscene would be with finger/hand puppets (drawn). Shorter version: a prince Max was happily in love with a princess, until a Stranger came into the land  and charmed the princess with stories of heroism etc. Max decides to kill a monster in the haunted castle that's plaguing the land and of course it turns out it's that Stranger and he is a vampire. He bites Max and shuts him into a coffin and leaves him there to suffer knowing what will happen to the princess.

Max being weak, because he just became a vampire, can't open the locked coffin, but is still "alive" and preforms this intro with puppets that he made out things that were in the coffin. In one of the performances (the one in the intro) is cut off by voices of teenagers, who break the chains (with pliers or something) and open the coffin. Teenagers would be 90s goth kids who were in this basement of the caste, summoning demons etc. (candles and a pentagram on the floor) and trying to look into the coffin.
So apparently centuries have passed since Max was trapped in the coffin and now he wants two things - maybe a snack (but I'd like to keep the goth kids at least as zombies if not alive) and find out what happened to the princess.

Throughout the game Max uses the dolls to hypnotise a guard for example (so there's an established mechanic/option for a solution) and in the end "battle". Turns out that his princess has become a vampire and doesn't really remember Max or has become cold and heartless, so Max will preform the puppet show for her which will make her cry/remember and boom happy ghoulish ending.
-----------

What I'd like is some ideas for the middle part (and I know it's a big part, but that's kind of the point for learning). Game starts of in a castle, so I thought maybe the castle is being demolished or something and princess is behind (she became and exec of a big corporation or something), but I really can't fit that into a small game somehow...or can I?

Feel free to pm me although I think it'd be nice to have the thought process displayed for other people to learn from it. How to actually form a short game story.

All this talk about sierra style backgrounds made me wanna try things out, not much to see in here as is. There would probably be a dying mystical aquatic creature in the middle of the screen that got beached after the damn was broken and the lake spilled, but I just didn't have the time to draw it. Also a stab at small resolutions and again I stand amazed at how many deatils can actually be cramed in.

So...yeah, I'm kind of satisfied with the design. I was going for Thief/Altair style and the feel, but still kind of remaining original for a steampunkish/fantasy thief type in a creepy dark fantasy game. There's actually a whole character desgin and the cloack is an overlay...but later on that. This is still a wip as you can see.

What I am having problems is shading and I think color palette kind of lacks contrast (at least I need another opinion to be sure). General criticism is welcomed as well.
 

I am stuck, thus I need hints, I know it's brand new but maybe author or somebody who got further will help, help with any of these will be appreciated:

Spoiler

I got the mouse trap and loaded it up with cheese, but where do I need to use it, I think I'll need the mouse for the cat in the casino...or something

[close]

(these next hidden questions don't have any real spoilers I think, but still i put them up just to be polite)
In the casino:

Spoiler

The cat in the casino keeps making me lose my bet, and I think this is the only way I can get some starbucks

[close]

Engine room

Spoiler

I want that key, do I even need it yet?

[close]

Medical bay

Spoiler

where can I find the code for the medicine locker, I hope it's not somethign the doctor said cause he's in drunken sleep

[close]

[Translation:]

I hope I'm not stepping on any toes, but I feel people should have their competitions regularly. So here goes:


...character, legend, hero, lover, heavy hairgel user, but what do we really know about his world? More tributes should be made, build more characters, entourage, creatures and monsters...or even Dennis himself.
More info on history: HERE and HERE

Translation:
I thought this might be a wide theme sprite challenge, take your inspiration from those classic worlds inspired by pop Japanese and other Eastern cultures. The ones that fill the worlds of games like Final fantasy, Persona, Pokemon series and other anime quest fantasy themed series. Weird and great imagination is encouraged.
Please put with it/he/she a name and a short description (habitat, it's role in the world as friend or foe etc.). Make it as close to AGS usable as posible.

Ends on May 29th at midnight, GMT. That's 2 weekends so should be plenty of time for your spritey glands to work.

VOTING ENDS at 2pm GMT June 2nd

WINNER - Mad

p.s. there's been some...issues with the last jam so if there's any trouble with the theme or deadlines etc. - I won't be online for the next 4 days, so admins feel free to modify if there's a problem.

Uff, I don't think I ever opened a topic on this forum, had to look for "open new topic" button.  

Anyway, mid progress sprite, that started out as practice of face drawing in PS (that's why the body is kind of strange, mainly why hands are missing). I'm basically looking for some obvious stuff I probably overlooked and shading is not my beest side, so I tried to keep it very simple.
Supposed to be a blond female, steampunk pilot...

   EDIT1:    EDIT2:
(stupid GraphicGale, for some reason doesn't wan't to save frame transparency setting or delets color...  : )

[Theme: FACTORY]

Theme:   FACTORY
Indoor (ie assembly line) or outdoor (like a factory yard, loading dock...). Any style fiction, reality, SF, fantasy, horror, cartoons and so on. Doesn't have
to be very cost or power efficient of course. The power source or combination of them can be anything from steam, water, fusion, coal, nuclear, magic,
kittens and small children, hamsters in a wheel... It can produce anything from dragons, dreams, babies, boxes, ACME components, pop songs, monsters
under the bed, adventure games or whatever your mind can think of.

Restrictions: None formal, but if it's AGS resolution friendly (or scrollable) all the better.

Categories (not too restricting I hope):
Atmosphere - feelings and moods evoked
Design - look of things like furniture, vehicles, architecture etc.
Composition - the art theory component, perspective, position and relation of elements, colours and how things work together in general.
Functionality - so that you don't make a poster or a painting, how well it would work when adding sprites, walking areas and solutions, a good angle for
character sprites, and exit or two etc.

End date: Midnight (GMT) June 14th

Hope the theme is fun enough to get your imagination going. Respond to the last blitz was poor, so come on people, activate your little grey cells and your move
your mouses/pens!