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Thanks a lot!
Skadi and the Captain are my favourites. I even hypothesized a Skadi adventure game...

G'day!

Sydney, star of  Sydney Finds Employment and Sydney Treads the Catwalk , is being featured as a guest this weekend on Dumm Comics.

Dumm Comics is a collaboration of some of the funniest people working in television animation at the moment. They're dedicated to bringing "daily dumms for every ones." I'm really grateful to be asked to do a comic for them and I instinctively turned to Sydney. Hopefully this will mark a new series of Sydney comics and perhaps another game or two. 

Remember, you can add Sydney as a friend on Facebook (name search "Sydney Claywood" ) if you want to keep in the loop with future Sydney related events.

Cheers!

[Kaputnik:]

Kaputnik: Damn, you're right about the setup. I'll upload a new version. In the meantime, go ahead and rename the file if you need to go into the setup.

[NOTES FROM THE AUTHOR:]

Barnstable Loftus was a great inventor. He had been credited with the creation of the steam operated player piano and the fire powered ice cream refrigerator. What would become his most acclaimed and most dangerous invention, however, was yet to be revealed.

But this game does not follow the story of the great inventor Loftus, rather the story of his adopted daughter and loyal assistant Inessa.

Inessa is woken by the smell of smoke and burning chemicals. She races down the stair case to discover her Master’s workshop torched and no trace of Loftus.

The townsfolk are convinced that a dragon must be responsible or that the crazy inventor must simply have blown himself up- but Inessa believes otherwise.

Isn’t it a little suspicious that Loftus would be targeted on the eve of presenting his new invention? The miraculous flying machine known as the Sky Cap, which had consumed much of Loftus’ career, had to be involved somehow.

Reveal clues, solve the mystery, explore vast environments and interact with colorful characters in this fantasy adventure game.

Music and sound by Jake Craig.



Download Now


NOTES FROM THE AUTHOR:

This is my fairly blatant attempt to cash in on the popularity of Hayao Miyazaki's films. I went through a lot of dramas in the production of this game, but I'll refrain from divulging them unless you're absolutely interested.

I'm not completely happy with the game, but I've decided rather than sit on it any longer, I should release it "as is" in the hope that some find joy in it. The story is incomplete as the game was intended as the first in a four part series. Please ignore the "CHEEKY CHIC DESIGN" splash screen. I thought it sounded cool at the time.

There are some slightly ambitious things about this project that I am proud of.
1. The nearly completely customised GUI, including a saving system, a main menu, an inventory, an objectives panel and an actions panel.
2. The inclusion of special hidden "star dust"  that allows the player a chance to buy clues.
3. The excellent sound track by Jake Craig (I know, I can't really take credit for this, but I'm still really proud of his efforts).

Okay, enough jabbering. Enjoy the game!

The next four pages of the Sydney comic are complete, if you'd care to check them out here:

http://ivandstuff.blogspot.com/2008/05/sydney-and-request-for-eternal.html

Not sure if there's a better way to let people know.
Oh and while I'm here, here's a mock-up of a new look I've been experimenting with for the next game, Sydney Vs The Human Race:



And here's a 3D Sydney and Terrence I've been working on (just for fun):

The main site link should be functioning at the moment, sorry for the inconvenience.

Spoiler

There in lies the humour.

[close]

Thanks Nostradamus. Regarding the puzzle you don't like...

Spoiler

The whole idea is that the boxer WON'T just fight Mel for a glass of water, but by giving him several he will need to go to the bathroom. He gives you a clue to this in his responses, 'It will take more than A glass of water' and 'it will take more than TWO glasses of water.' I wanted to think outside the regular square of 'use item on character.' The puzzle is non-linear, in the sense that you achieve a different outcome than intended.

I can understand why walking back and forth might frustrate. But the puzzle would not have worked as well if you only had to give him one glass, or even two. He gives a unique response after the second glass which should be a clue to repeat.

Now I'm rambling. I just really like the puzzle is all.

[close]

Hey, if anyone uses Facebook, I've started a profile for Sydney! Search for him.

Thanks Stupot and CosmoQueen.
Sorry for the delayed response, I have not had access to the internet lately.

I'm also writing to let everyone know that the first four pages of a sixteen page planned Sydney cartoon, Sydney and the ReQuest for Eternal Enlightenment are available on my blog here:

http://ivandstuff.blogspot.com/2008/02/sydney-and-request-for-eternal.html

Here's the first page:

A new version without the bug has been uploaded. I hope there are no more problems. Enjoy.

By fixing several minor bugs I created one major one! Dangit!

I've fixed it and sent it to my server dude. Hopefully he'll update it soon. Sorry for the trouble.

All bugs reported so far should be fixed if you re-download the game.

This includes:
-Floating head bug.
-misspelling of 'alley.'
-Wrong description of rope.
-Error when re-entering fashion show entrance.

Other personal preference problems with the GUI, mouse and what not must be bared for now, I'm afraid. I will take head of these suggestions in future releases.

Nice work on the walk through, Leon. Here's a sketch, just for you:

You give the best cryptic clues, Leon.

Wow, strange visitor, that is a mother of a bug! I will see to it that it is fixed (along with a couple of other minor problems). Hope it doesn't ruin the rest of the game for you...

You guys are great beta testers!

@Rui: Might I request that you place the previous post in a hidden message? Don't want to give too much of the puzzles away to those who don't want to know. Cheers.

The next Sydney game will be the first text based musical.

Actually, I won't get ahead of myself and start planning the next game JUST yet.

@Pires: I think the Inventory button got harder to click because I realised I needed some space up the top for one of the puzzles. I honestly didn't realise the GUI was such an issue until now. I will rectify it in future instalments...or perhaps on an updated Sydney 2.
Yes, the game is more narrative driven, however I tried to include a few things that would stump people.

Spoiler

Not gross enough for you! Licking walls? Eating rats? Writing with snot? Naked, limbless hobos? Sexy runnaway models?...Well, I guess that last one isn't that gross.

[close]

@Leon: I'm sorry that the 'Quit' button confused you. I guess the GUI could use an update. Glad you like the Jean and Bernie humour. Can you guess who they're named after?

Enough bickering! : )

Download the game: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=33704.0

PS. If anyone offers to translate the game I would gladly co-operate.

[Sydney Treads the Catwalk]

DOWNLOAD NOW.

Sydney Treads the Catwalk

Sydney, a bum turned star, finds his new career in the media has hit a hiccup when his television show doesn't receive the ratings it expected. Keith Corps (head of Business Corps) warns Syd that if he can't even compete with the fashion channel he'll be forced to axe the show and throw the lovable tramp back on to the streets.

After stumbling onto a string of suspicious accidents within the fashion industry Sydney and his friends uncover a mystery that could cost them their lives or worse- their limbs!


Credits
--------
Ivan Dixon (aka iSTVAN): Story, graphics, coding
Steve Larabie (aka pixelblink): Music






This is the sequel to Sydney Finds Employment.

For more stuff, visit my website.

Ta-da!

Story_____________________100%
Puzzles____________________100%
Background graphics__________100%
Character graphics____________100%
Coding_____________________100%
Music and sound______________100%

The game is flippin' done! I'm just waiting on a web host. Expect to play the game within the week. Thanks for your support.

Wow, thanks for the warm and friendly response everyone. I could have sworn I would have been greeted with animosity or lukewarm disinterest at best.

@CosmicQueen: Yep! You'll be able to read all the pages of the comic on my blog. The cartoon is actually intended for print in a magazine, so I'm trying to only upload them in time with the publication.

@Crazy: Fixed!
PS. You'll soon realise that typos are my forte.
PPS. Yes, we do spell 'realise' with an 's' where I come from.

Part of the reason this game has taken me longer is that I've tried to include custom responses to as many combinations of objects/characters as possible. I hope this will reward you with a fuller gaming experience and greater sense of immersion. The game is also longer and more narrative driven then the first.