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#161

Critics' Lounge / Poem

Fri 10/03/2006 11:20:42

Just a little piece I wrote for an English essay. It's meant to be a kind ambulatory poem, written in strict iambic quadrameter. Being a mandatory assignment, it's nothing too personal.

CLARITY

The chilly brook behind my house
leads to a tree where ravens nest
And in the shade of solid boughs
I sometimes choose to take my rest

But not today (a day in June)
Today I need to swiftly move
By quick-paced strides I'm set in tune
and find my track, my route, my groove

For every step a thought is placed
and neatly sorted in my mind
And memories revived, retraced
allow me to in peace unwind

Some thoughts are fuelled by Intellect
- though some may need to be refined
Yet others gain from strict neglect
best left alone inside my mind

For every step another tree
- just like the rocks devoid of name -
flies by, runs by, outside of me
forgotten soon, but still the same

I pass a cottage where I stay
just briefly for a cup of tea
of camomile or plain Earl Gray
- It makes no difference to me

Then off again, to reach the lake
that constitutes my goal this day
It is on normal days opaque
from all its bottom mud and clay

But lo! Today brought clarity
as clear as thoughts and lakes can be.

---
Opinions?

#162

General Discussion / Beware Britain!

Sun 18/12/2005 12:45:09

Next semester, I'll be studying in Brighton, England, woohoo!
I'll be studying my last English course there. Then I only have one more term before I finally become a teacher. It's about time!

Of course, I don't have a place to live yet, so if there are any ags'ers out there with an extra room in Brighton, let me know! I'm a very good flat/house/room-mate, having lived collectively practically ever since I moved out of my parents house. I'm well-mannered, I don't smoke, I can converse about anything and I can play the guitar on your tea-parties.

I also expect all brits to at one time or another come and visit me, to make me feel less lonely in the misty land of bacon breakfasts.

On a related note, we also need someone to replace me in GÃ¶teborg while I'm gone. I share a big and nice appartment with a very handsome (not single though, unfortunately) blond gentleman who's always in a good mood and throws parties when you least expect it.
We will be trying to find someone among our acquaintances, but if that fails, we will simply need anyone to split the rent with, so if you've always wanted to experience the west-coast of Sweden, this is your chance!

I can come back with photos of both of us and our appartment, and our parties and friends

#163

General Discussion / About video compression

Thu 01/12/2005 18:45:30

I've been editing film using Premiere for quite some time, and I'm rather proficient with it. However, I can never manage to render material with both good quality and low size. What compressions/codacs do you use?
How can ordinary full length movies be around 700 mb, and still look almost perfect in quality, when small clips I save reach several hundred mbs and turn out crap?

#164

Competitions & Activities / BACKGROUND BLITZ 20051130-20051213

Wed 30/11/2005 19:33:09

Topic:

POST- APOCALYPTIC DINER

Guidelines:
At least once in the career of a background artist he or she is asked to paint a scene from after the great disaster, war or whatever. This can be an urban or rural scene, but there have to signs of something post-catastrophic. Obviously, there must also be featured some sort of diner.

Resolution: 320x200
Palette: Unlimited.

Voting:
Give one vote in each of the following categories:

* Best Idea - The underlying idea to the background. Doesn't neccesserily 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.

* Best Design - The style of the picture, architectural, landscape design, best mood, most evocative etc.

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

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

#165

Adventure Related Talk & Chat / Renew ACR and OYS?

Tue 25/10/2005 11:54:03

These old threads are so full of outdated posts that browsing them is just a nuisance.

Furthermore, does anybody have some info on how meaningful they are? It seems most people just complain about how nobody reads them.

Should we have separate threads for different kinds of project, i.e one thread for serious teams with AGS-experience and a clear concept idea etc, and one thread for newcomers who just want to team up because the-more-the-merrier.

Right now it's not very easy to find teammates, which is why we see people starting threads in the chat forum just to get some attention.

Any ideas?

#166

General Discussion / A confusing intermezzo

Sun 09/10/2005 19:03:16

Lady Lost

It's just before noon and I'm on my way to the gym. The weather is pretty nice and I think happy thoughts as I approach the bridge which leads over the highway, not far from my home.
On a small street just before the bridge an old lady has stopped her car, blocking the traffic and causing angry drivers to honk their horns and overtake her with upset gestures. She seems mildly confused and looks rather desperately in my direction.

The time I spent working in the nursing home has implanted in my reptile brain an instinctive readiness to assist the elderly, so I cross the street and ask her what's wrong.
- I'm looking for OmvÃ¤gen, she says after having wound down the window.
I start describing the rather complicated route to OmvÃ¤gen, which is a small street in the middle of another student area. After having repeated the way some three or four times without the slightest sign of mental clarity in this aged woman's face, I realise that OmvÃ¤gen is actually on the way to my gym, and I offer to go with her and direct her. I even propose that I drive her there myself, assessing her driving ability as slightly challenged.
- Oh yes, I'd really appreciate that, she responds gratefully. So I put my bag in her trunk and sit down in the driver's seat, with my knees almost touching my chin, and start to make my way through the rather busy traffic. In the backseat lies a huge dog, watching his new driver with a limited interest.
The lady chats merrily during the entire ride, and regularly makes small comments like:
"Yeah, I recognise that petrol station", "ahh, that building seems familiar", "this is probably the right way".

After some fifteen minutes of slow traffic we finally reach the area where OmvÃ¤gen is located, and I start looking for a good parking space. Then, like a hammer blow, it hits me. I've confused the streets. The street I had in mind was OmgÃ¥ngen. One moment later I realise that OmvÃ¤gen is actually just a few blocks away from where I had found the woman. So for fifteen minutes I have achieved nothing more than bringing this lady several kilometers farther from her goal.
- I seem to have mixed the streets, I admit.
- Really? Well, I thought it seemed a bit wrong, she mumbles. For a brief moment of bad cosmic energy I actually contemplate leaving the car, the dog and her to their fate, lost in some remote area without any hope of ever reaching their destination. At least I have come more than halfway to my destination. But of course I cannot do this.
- However, I continue, I remember now where your street is, and I will take you there.

This strikes the lady as an even greater act of benevolence, even though it is in fact just a matter of repairing the damage I had done. Still in a surprisingly good mood, she converses about weather and politics until we finally reach the point of our first meeting. She doesn't display any special sign of recognition, but appear generally content with whatever happens. I have a vague idea of how to get to the final destination, and to my great relief I manage to find the street just minutes later, merely a few blocks away.
- This is it, I say and stop the engine. - Sorry for wasting your time.
But the lady obviously has not realised fully the pointlessness of my efforts, for she is unabatedly grateful and simply in great awe before my magnanimity.
- There will be a place in heaven for you, my dear, God bless you!
- But....ah well.

So I take my bag from her trunk, say good bye and start walking towards the gym, which is now, after some forty minutes of time and petrol wastage, even farther away.
Some time is lost. But I earned a place in heaven!

#167

Critics' Lounge / The madrigal, old song in a new suit

Fri 07/10/2005 13:55:01

Here's one of my very first more or less finished songs, which I rather recently made a new version of (the lyrics is typically old for me, being very bitter-sweet and sentimental).
Written, arranged and performed by yours truly.

ogg, about 4 mb
http://www.nolore.com/madrigal2.ogg

#168

General Discussion / Some stuff regarding inspiration

Mon 26/09/2005 11:57:21

I've noticed some threads dealing with this mysterious force called Inspiration, so I thought I could share my experiences of it.
I'm a person who more or less live on my inspiration, it's what keeps me from unhappiness, it's what helps me make it through any really dark, cold and lonely period.
Inspiration comes in different shapes, depending on my activity. When I write, I need that kind of sedative, long-term, stimulating inspiration, which I can obtain by drinking alcohol or coffee, or just by taking long walks, and even by working out at a gym.
Painting is nurtured by a more explosive inspiration, when you feel the creativity burst through your veins like liquid fire, and letting out this force is an eruption comparable with, well-you-know-what. It can put you in a trance which you will leave mentally empty, but happy.
Music? More automatic, instant, the inspiration can slap you in your face while you sit on the toilet, or wake up abruptly in the morning, or almost hear a melody although you can't really interpret it. Just like I imagine mathematical inspiration, or similar.

Late nights this magic force can put me in a mood of excitement, mixed with the sense of seeing things, both mental and physical, in a much clearer way, more true, more stripped.

I know I'm dangerously close to getting addicted to mind stimulations; not because I will become literally dependant on the substances (my body just doesn't work in that way; I don't get truly addicted to anything), but because it helps me to reach this state of divine creativity which I enjoy more than anything else.

Is this all good? Well, it consumes a lot of time, and it makes me less capable of doing things which need structure and discipline. I now study art, which require little or no real studying, but soon I will change to other subjects, and I know that might be hard.

My rescue is to force myself to do things regularly, I work out on regular basis, I take walks, I work one weekend a month.

hm, gotta go now, I'll return to this thread later. See ya

#169

General Discussion / Real life game

Mon 19/09/2005 19:16:35

Time for brainstorming, me hearties. I have an idea for a real life game.
I'll plant out clues throughout my town, on various weird places. Small cards with cryptic messages. On each card is also an internet address, leading people to an anonymous site with an introduction and a forum. The whole atmosphere will be simple but secretive. There will be no obvious goal, but in order to collect more cards, you will need to solve the clues on the ones you've got, and often combine them.
The cards will respawn irregularly, so there will be duplicates. You can trade duplicates for clues you haven't found.

As the game progresses, the clues will be harder to obtain. Some may demand that you speak to people (who have been introduced in advance) or even enter forbidden areas a la urban exploring, or at least areas very difficult to access.

This challenge may have been done before, but I haven't heard of anything similar set in a real city, and I'm sure there's room for one where I live.

Now, I need your help to turn this from a concept idea to a functional game. I need help with everything from individual clues to the overall design.
What do you think, can this be interesting?

PS
The key concept of this game is the secrecy. As opposed to scavenger hunts or commercial games, this will have no advertisement, no invitations, just these clue cards which you need to find by chance.

#170

Competitions & Activities / Hall of Fame

Mon 05/09/2005 12:49:54

Winners of the running competitions will be listed here.
Hall of fame listing started 5:th of September, 2005.
(Because of the ever expanding results, this thread is a bit difficult to read and maintain, so starting from 18th, January, 2006, the Hall of Fame was splitted into posts, each holding the results of one activity).

GRAND SLAM WINNERS

Records will be added continuously by moderators.
If you spot mistakes, use the report-button.

#171

Competitions & Activities / Voice acting competition, deadline September 4:th

Tue 30/08/2005 09:32:53

The rules are easy. Record this text using only your own voice. The winner will be decided by vote.

This round's text is a transcript from the fellowship of the rings, the movie.
You only read the dialogue (double brackets), not the descriptions.
This may be a very difficult part to read (although I avoided Gandalf to make it a bit easier) but just make your own interpretation and it'll be fine!

Transcript

<<Gimli: I have taken my worst wound at this parting, having looked my last upon that which is fairest. Haugh, henceforth I will call nothing fair unless it be her gift to me.>>

<<Legolas: What was it?>>

<<Gimli: I asked her for one hair from her golden head. She gave me three.>>

<Legolas smiles.>

<The Fellowship passes out onto a larger branch of the Anduin beneath sheer cliffs. The Uruk-Hai march along through the forest as the three boats carrying the Fellowship float along.>

<It is getting dark. The Fellowship rests on a small island. Boromir looks out from behind a large rock, silvery webs of lights reverberating from the water. He looks worriedly at a log floating in the river. Small hands clutch it, and the top of a head is barely visible over the logâ€˜s edge, where eyes glint softly.>

<<Aragorn: Gollum. He has tracked us since Moria.>>

<<Voice: Golllllluumâ€¦>>

<<Aragorn: I had hoped we would lose him on the river. But he's too clever a waterman.>>

<<Boromir: And if he alerts the enemy to our whereabouts it will make the crossing even more dangerous.>>

<Frodo hears them. He looks worried.>

<<Sam: <sitting beside him> Have some food, Mr. Frodo.>>

<<Frodo: No, Sam.>>

<<Sam: You haven't eaten anything all day. You're not sleeping, either. Don't think I haven't noticed. Mr. Frodoâ€¦>>

<<Frodo: I'm all right.>>

<<Sam: But you're not! I'm here to help you. I promised Gandalf that I would.>>

The deadline is one week. Present your recordings with .ogg or .mp3.

#172

General Discussion / The unsolvable puzzle of aging

Thu 21/07/2005 09:54:51

This is a rather lengthy causerie, and some of its content should not be read while eating.

I have recently grown more and more concerned about my own age. One reason might be that the human body has a biological clock which tells you that if you haven't accomplished anything tangible after 25 years of living, while still being of the conviction that you will one day recieve a certain amount of reckognition for the art you've drawn, the music you've composed and the texts you've written, you had better shift to a higher gear pretty soon.
Ã,Â Ã,Â Another reason might be that the nursing home where I work - presently and during all long breaks and holidays (for the sole purpose of surviving, since the only other profession which I can handle, namely teaching, is impossible to practice during said breaks and holidays) - is engulfed with so much negative life energy that if you weren't age concious before, you'd undoubtedly end up being. The only way to successfully deal with it is to surrender and accept that you're just minutes - allright, years - from sharing their destiny, and take the whole thing with a pinch of salt.

Ã,Â Ã,Â It seems I can't do this.
Ã,Â Ã,Â It seems my method so far has been that of a child; ignore the process of aging and pretend it only happens to other people, pretend that the elderly is of a different race which probably never were young, at least not the way I am young, and a lifetime is such a long time anyhow.
Ã,Â Ã,Â But some of them hags are hellbent on letting me know how quickly a life is over, and how they - just like me - thought they would never get old, and while they duly pitied the aged, they could never phatom just how terrible it would be.
Ã,Â Ã,Â Well, I have a good imagination. I can't shake it off like the veterans do (those matriarks who've spent twenty years on the ward dealing with elderly of all sorts), instead I suck it up like a wet sponge, and late nights it all comes to me, the image of the terrifying woman who was about to climb out of her bed, with her nearly numb legs over the bed-fence, with her diaper ripped out and spread over the bed, screaming in pain and most of all anger - directed at me, being alone this evening (like many other) - and while I lifted her like you lift an infant to position her back in bed she peed all over my arm, and the stench of infected urine didn't strike me as more annoying as a hair in my soup would. At least not when it happened, that's what it's like being experienced, and I couldn't get angry, firstly because I'm not entitled to, this is my job and I get paid to endure these trials, and secondly because it would just worsen her confusion and rage.

Ã,Â Ã,Â The image of another woman, she roams restlessly up and down the corridors, and she's one of those who don't respond well to neuroleptica, and let me tell you, brothers and sisters, you don't want to respond badly to neuroleptica when you're in her situation.
Ã,Â Ã,Â A veritable ghost, perpetually tormented by inner demons, so deep into the whirlpool of Alzheimer's that her memory is merely seconds long, but still not deep enough to make her unaware of it, on the contrary she is painfully aware of it, every waken second, and the angst caused by this insight is among the worst I've seen (and I've dealt with her kin for about six years).
Ã,Â Ã,Â A couple sits on the balcony, and all they say is "time flies" and synonyms and variations to this truistic sentiment, non-stop, as if they - by this chanting - propelled time itself, and would halt the earth's rotation if they ceased.

Ã,Â Ã,Â What is it with old people and time? Why do they all persist to decorate their rooms with all these huge clocks, which tick and tack and toll and tell just how rapidly time passes, second after second, for clocks not only tell how much time has elapsed, but also how much you have left to live.
It's a perversion.

#173

Critics' Lounge / Technical art questions and discussions

Wed 25/05/2005 19:46:07

This is the collective thread for all your questions and discussions regarding
graphics
* programs
* perspective issues
* resolution/colour depth
* animation
* 3D
* techniques
* material, tools
etc
music
* programs
* Harmonies, chords, notes
* MIDI
* MP3 vs OGG
* recording
* instruments
etc
writing
* script writing
* grammar
* language
* style/genres
etc

So if you want to chat about any of these areas, but don't have anything to show, this is the thread for you.

#174

Critics' Lounge / background for potential game

Wed 04/05/2005 21:48:06

I'm trying to work out a good style for a game I've been planning to do lately. I'm aiming for half cartoon half realistic, with both outlining and smooth shading.
x2:

different tinting:

(sketch and linework by me, btw)

Which do you prefer?
There'll probably be more details, as it is a bit lifeless at the moment.
Whatyathink? A style worth pursuing?

#175

Critics' Lounge / Cave Tomb (Gah, another rejected background)

Thu 14/04/2005 17:38:48

Not much to say. It's rather wide, so I linked it instead of publishing here in the thread.

http://www.nolore.com/illustrations/bcr10.png

It's scrollable!
15-20 hours, pen tablet, photoshop.
Note; The background is based on a sketch drawn by chapter11studios.

My homepage is also more or less functional, please drop by and write in my guestbook!!!
http://www.nolore.com

If you have comments about my homepage, I guess it could go here as well. I'm quite a beginner when it comes to webdesigning, so I won't be able to change that much

#176

Competitions & Activities / ATC winners announced

Fri 01/04/2005 08:29:27

As most of you know, only two teams made the deadline for this edition of the Adventure Team Challenge. As some of you might have guessed, it feels a bit petty picking just one as the better, so I've decided to announce them both as winners!

The winning teams are:

Old school point 'n click
With the remaining members:
Barbarian
Eigen
Hillbilly

and

Creative minds
with the remaining members:
Neccy
ProgZmax

[applause]

I'm in deepest respect and awe before your great achievements! With all the hardships and strokes of plainly bad luck - as well as my often faltering response to your questions - you have managed to meet the deadlines and deliver two impressive creations.

You will have to publish these games by yourselves, since I don't have so much space available on my server. You don't have to publish the documentation or the walkthroughs, though.

So, cheers to our new ATC champions!

#177

Critics' Lounge / Work sample; desert background

Thu 17/03/2005 12:55:21

A work sample, potentially letting me paint some comissioned backgrounds for chapter11studios.

I might take the opportunity to say that I still have time for more comissions. PM me for payment details etc.

Cheers!

#178

General Discussion / Mittens 05

Sun 13/03/2005 14:21:23

Hm, we're discussing Mittens here.
The location might be changing from Australia to Greece, and I've announced Sweden as an alternative place if greece won't happen. Just as long as we have it somewhere, right?

#179

Critics' Lounge / A witch's cottage (Abandoned background) with tutorial

Wed 23/02/2005 09:03:40

Hello all, this is your good old forum patron speaking.

Earlier this week I did a sample-background, a comission-piece, for Nexic, who offered money for music/art.
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=19243.0

Well, after ten hours of hard labour, it appeared his budget couldn't afford a background artist anymore, so my piece still isn't sold.
If you know somebody who's doing a serious, commercial game project, let me know and I can still try to be hired somewhere.
I will of course do some researching myself. Too bad it's an awful market for these things....

Here's the piece:

it's a bit dark and has low resolution, so you might want to crank up your brightness/zoom in.

Step by step:
perspective grid sketch, outlines
http://www.nolore.com/witchcottagetut1.jpg

walls etc, basic textures
http://www.nolore.com/witchcottagetut2.jpg

starting to furnish:
http://www.nolore.com/witchcottagetut3.jpg

not much here:
http://www.nolore.com/witchcottagetut4.jpg

more details, passepartout:
http://www.nolore.com/witchcottagetut5.jpg

Cheers!

#180

Critics' Lounge / traditional pastel house

Fri 04/02/2005 10:42:58

Pastels with some touching up in photoshop. I guess I could work with it some more in ps to improve it; for now it will be some sort of concept picture I guess.

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