Messages

[much]

stepurhan -

A friend of mine told me about a web site called http://AdventureGamers.com last Friday.  Yesterday I had some free time and checked it out.  I was shocked to find I was already there.   It brings whole new meaning to the phrase - "getting ahead of yourself."  Also, they've done a better job of describing the game than I ever did!

I just checked my webstats - I've now cleared 2100 downloads!  Pretty good if I do say so myself.

EDIT: I just re-read your posting and realized you were the one who posted 9H2D on Adventure Gamers!  Thanks for the gorgeous write up.  8)



faerieevenstar  -

Short Answer: If Jack isn't there, things go very badly for everyone he left behind.

I still have spelling and grammar errors?  I would have sworn I hunted every last one down.  I am married to an English teacher after all.

The game was short, after all it is my first game.  I wanted to learn the subtleties of AGS and see how my style went over before I dove into the larger story.  Additionally, I needed to find a couple of beta testers who I could work with.  Finding good beta testers proved to be much harder than I anticipated.  (Thanks guys!)

Finally, yes, I have ideas for two sequels.  The story I originally had in mind was too big for a first game, and now I've broken it into two separate games.  In addition to the reasons I've already mentioned, "Nine Hours to Dawn" helped flesh out Jack's background.

- Cgoliostro

[must have feature]

Pslim:

The compliments:
When I started off, my goal was to create a game that was heavy on atmosphere and story, I'm delighted to know this came through!  Especially since the story development was done "on the fly" while I was writing the scripts in AGS.   (I had an entire plot written out, but abandoned all of it except the characters and the way they got stranded in the woods.)

The mistakes:
Jack / Gary Stu: I can't tell you how much this observation bugged me, not because I disagree, but because it's so dead on and I didn't see it coming?!  My problem with graphics was accidental and the super-cave knowledge skill can be dialed way back.  However, even without those points, Gary Stu is still there somewhere and I'll need to address it further.  The art discrepancies largely reflect how much I improved with my tools during the year I was making the game.  A map is a must have feature in all future games.  It was starting to bug me near the end, and that should have clued me in that it was going to bug everyone else too.  Suffice to say, all of your comments are appreciated and are being given careful thought.



Valentijn:

I'm glad you liked the introduction.  I felt it was important to know who was doing what and why.  Otherwise you find yourself asking; why is the main character leaving his truck behind to chase a stranger through the curiously abandoned town?  Without the backstory it seemed pointless.  However, pslim is right, there's something wrong with the introduction.  I used inspirational quotes to set the tone for a game about supernatural horror.  WHAT WAS I THINKING?!  That had to kill the sense of dread and fear more than anything else. 



Secret Fawful:

You thought the game game was almost entirely "one cool idea after another"  WOW!  I can't image much higher praise than that.  There are future games in the works.  It's my hope that people would play *THIS* game, be convinced that I could actually design a decent game, and then agree to help out when I sent out a request for animators or graphic artists on my next game.  Incidentally, the title will be "Bone Island".


- Cogliostro

Barbarian -

This game *really* showed promise, you managed to pull off great atmosphere, graphics, and sound.

- Cogliostro

DAVID -

1) I left the options menu available, including the part where you can increase the speed of the play.  That may have been the cause of the problem with the wolf on the thrid screen.

2) Losing Inventory Items -- When I lose the key out of my pocket, I don't realize it immediately.  So, when the character loses something, the player won't notice until they go and look for it.  This is my take on it.  However, this sits badly with most of the players, so in the future, inventory items will not vanish without some comment.

3)  Points 1 & 2 are related:

Spoiler

I intended to make the Escape from the Wolf mini game hard.  So hard that you couldn't just wait for the right time and run for it.  You were supposed to have to throw the dead flashlight and the shears to distract the wolf and get by.  But, you're right, in one sense the shears were needed for somethine else so, this brings us to point 4.

[close]

4) The necklace can also be taken apart by using it on Jack.

5) Sal / Run back and forth to the cave.... Yeah, during some hours there was a lot of running, that's why I left the game option on to increase the speed.

6) Opening the Gate:

Spoiler

The game was unbelievably long, and there were dozens of variables controlling the sequence of action.  I left some "skip ahead easter eggs" in the game to make beta testing bearable.  If I changed so much as ONE sprite, the old saved games could not be used.

Using the COMBO was only one of three such easter eggs.

[close]

VERTIGOADDICT -

The main character's face would change?  LOL!!  I was *attempting* to give both Jack and Astrid different expressions.  When you see the flesh stripped off a human body, some sort of change in expression seemed merited.

Blood in the Kitchen?!  I got so used to ignoring that, I didn't even think that it looked like blood.  My photoshop skills improved dramtically during the course of creating the game.  The ground floor of the house was done first and when I merged two different images together to create the kitchen, the floor was left bloody. 

Ornament stuck behind the tapestry...  It doesn't make a lot of sense, but there's not supposed to be anything left in the house.  It's empty and they're trying to sell it.  That's my BS answer.  The real answer was I was just getting a feel for manipulating objects when I drew that room.

The missing painting == The original story behind the game was some variation on "The Shining", the father was supposed to have gone insane and killed his family.  The painting was worked into that story.  I abandoned the idea early on, but forgot to eliminate the picture until MUCH later.



Valentijn -

The flashlight vanished from your inventory BEFORE you made it back to the driveway?  First, I've time I've heard of that problem.  I'll take a peek at the code.

"I don't know what to do about Sal." - This repeats? I'll take a look.

The ornament:

Spoiler

The idea of using a separate "Ghost logic" to solve this puzzle appealed to me.  Adding a clue when Jack refuses to show the star isn't a bad idea though.

[close]

EVERYONE -

Thanks for letting me know what you thought of the game.

If you're really hard up for laughs, try using bizarre inventory items (Like the piece of string) on the wolf or the zombie. 

- Cogliostro

Okay, it's been three days and more than 200 downloads.  Which has resulted in exactly two comments totalling 21 words with an opinion about the game.  Perhaps my expectations were off, but I was hoping for a little more feedback.  Positive feedback keeps me motivated, and negative feedback means I can fix my mistakes.  I really do want to know what everyone thought of the game.

- Cogliostro

Astrid disappeared after you gave her the crystal?  Yep, that's the bug.

I just re-tested the whole thing two hours ago, I'll upload that now.

Spoiler

If you googled the answer to the lock, the game will work normally from there.

[close]

- Cogliostro

VertigoAddict

Small Hint

Spoiler

When Astrid meet the 80's teenage ghost, the ghost said she was caught in a trap made from her own past.

If Jonathon Bellucci (the blue orb) is caught in the same type of trap.  What would scare him?

[close]

Medium Hint

Spoiler

First, when you were inside the shed you missed an item you need to solve this puzzle.

Look at the plant beds in the cave.  What was growing down there?  Look at them until you figure it out.  *THIS IS A REQUIRED STEP.*

[close]

Big Hint

Spoiler

Jonathon Bellucci was growing pot.  Like the 80's girl-ghost/Jennifer/his daughter he thinks he's still alive and the motivations he had when he was alive are the ones that effect him now.

Who would make a pot farmer want to leave?

How can you impersonate someone like that?

[close]

- Cogliostro

VertigoAddict -- It's the only one available on the server.  When you get to the opening page the version # is listed in the lower right hand corner.

Minero -- 3.2.1 refers to the version of AGS that I used to build the game.  Again, the only version on the server is working version.

- Cogliostro

[EVERYONE ELSE: Make sure you're playing version 1.3.0.2 I made a last minute change to the earlier versions and made it impossible to complete. EDIT -- This warning really only applies to people who downloaded the game during the first 24 hours it was available, by the time I posted THIS reply, I had already replaced the incorrect version with the working version.]

I'm glad you enjoyed it.  If you could go to the games page and review it, I'd really appreciate that.

EVERYONE ELSE: Make sure you're playing version 1.3.0.2   I made a last minute change to the earlier versions and made it impossible to complete. 

EDIT -- This warning really only applies to people who downloaded the game during the first 24 hours it was available, by the time I posted THIS reply, I had already replaced the incorrect version with the working version.

- Cogliostro

Loser - Sorry about that bug.   I managed to get three amazingly dedicated beta testers on my team, and I still blow it with my last minute updates.  At any rate, I've corrected the bug and uploaded that version already.  Check you PMs for the conversation that would have occurred.  It'll let you continue.

vertigoaddict - This game was anticipated?!  I love the sound of that.  Thanks!

- Cogliostro

Sorry about that bug.  New version already uploaded.

WORK AROUND: For those of you who don't have the bandwidth to do a new download, hold down the ESC key while moving away from the edge and it will eventaully unlock.

- Cogliostro

Today is FRIDAY THE 13th so I am finally releasing my first game...









During a thunderstorm in Northern California, five strangers find shelter in an abandoned log cabin.  As the hours pass, they become increasingly aware of a supernatural evil that lurks in the cabin, in the woods, and in the dark corners of their hearts.

Down the game here. (28.3MB)

My goal was to create a game that was heavy on atmosphere and storytelling.  As a result, the puzzles fit the story and none of the beta testers had to ask any questions to find the solutions.  In the end there are 37 rooms, 4 playable characters, three alternate endings, and one mini-game.

A few suggestions for the game.  Talk to the people around you, and expect them to have something new to say after a significant event.  (i.e.  After every hour they have something new to say.)  Also when you complete the game, watch the credits through to the end.  I give an epilogue there.

It was never my intention to create an offensive game, however, there are scenes containing profanity, violent death, and posterior nudity.

All comments are welcome,
Cogliostro

This is getting slightly out of hand!

Please take the blow-by-blow beta testing into PMs (or email, something) and the the critics/suggestions into the Critics Lounge (or also PMs, emails).  It's now a full-page now of unreadable/hidden code that makes finding information about the game difficult and is cluttering up the thread!

Thanks.

Okay, PM me your email address and we'll move this off the forum.

For the record, I have no self-control and have uploaded a version that give closure during the credits.

- Cogliostro

[really]

mkennedy -

You are now mentioned in the credits.

Sal has an appropriate comment and a clue when interacting with the poison.  Neither can he snatch the spray paint.  He also responds appropriately when looking at the fallen tree.  The lighting in the shed should move with the mouse now.

Glad you like the zombie!  And now every converstation refers to it as a zombie. Originally Jack was attacked even if he ran away from the zombie.  Apparently I lost that bit of code during one of my few crashes.  It is now back in place.

CANDLE & SALT: Thanks for double checking these things

The dialog about the police badge has been eliminated.  I *THINK* there are enough clues about what you should do.  Hoping one of the new guys comments on the difficultly of this challenge later.

Astrid now comments on the refrigerator, and will remember if she already checked the cupboard.

WOLF FIGHT:   I intend to go back and make this harder.   If you manage to get killed, then on the death screen, you have the option to SKIP AHEAD now.

Glad I was right about the "old version problem."  After I commented on that, the problem gnawed at me and I spent an hour looking through log files.



Tabata -

I spent a LOT OF TIME working on Jen's death.  I think it looks a lot more dramatic now.  If the demand is there, I could make it really gruesome without out too much more effort.

Haven't had the chance to get back to the GPS.

No further updates until Friday.

- Cogliostro

Took the weekend off, and now I'm back on the job.

Tabata -
Going through your comments and cleaning up those errors. 
  1) Yes, I "tried" to make the wolf more dangerous. 
  2) I cannot figure out why the GPS isn't responding better. 
  3) You commented on her shoe... that made me go back and check the original images and I found a problem there.  Then I decided I could make Jen work better and look gruesome when she's killed. 

Resolving problems with graphics always takes longer.

mkennedy -
Will be getting to your comments tomorrow.

- Cogliostro

IMHO:

I'm personally happier with a story that has an ending!

If the longest game arc (story arc?) in AGS history is coming to a close, perhaps the rest of us need to step up and produce something?

- Cogliostro

mkennedy -

It cannot be the game file that's at fault - not in this case.  I changed the green skeleton into a zombie.  If that *little* change didn't show up, then you somehow downloaded an old version and that means something is up with my server.

Half of your comments apply regardless of the version, and I'll get to work on those tomorrow.

- Cogliostro

So by the end of August the game itself will be released?  Right?  PLEASE!

- Cogliostro

mkennedy -

I'll probably code that in soon.  Changing the green skeleton and add a screen after the judgment are my focus currently.

EDIT

Okay, it is now only possible to take the salt, star, and woodcleaner only once.
All item interactions should have a comment
Skeleton has been graphically updated

Spoiler

You need to know why the silver star will upset the blue ghost.

If you really want to lay on the "Bad" ending, run away when the zombie comes for Gordy.  You lose more points (slightly) for cowardice than for slow reflexes.

[close]

NEW GAME VERSION UPLOADED

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

ALL NEWCOMERS (Timo, mkennedy, Old Guy):
1)  I assume I've been successful with characterization and atmosphere, am I right?
2)  What do you think of the puzzles?  (Too hard/too easy/have nothing to do with the story) 
3)  Does the wolf/mini-game offend?
4)  The new toolbar, is it over the top?


- Cogliostro

The game is years old, so I suspect this bug is a software conflict and not something within AGS, but here it is:

In the game: A TALE OF TWO KINGDOMS

I spoke to the Queen and named the right villain, went to the castle, got in, showed the gem, they were about the arrest the villain and...



Happened several times - when I replayed it from the same saved game.

- Cogliostro