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I plan to keep any of my games (yes, they exist even though I've released nothing in 6 years) free for a few simple reasons:

1) if you charge for the project you'll have to offer 'support' of some kind (tech support, complaints, refunds, etc)
2) if you charge you need to report the income (which usually necessitates opening an LLC or similar (not sure how it works outside the states!))
3) if it's free, and you grow bored of the project, you can just walk away from it and, while people will/might complain, there's nothing they can do about it

There are other ways to generate some revenue from the game as opposed to flat-out charging for it. 

In-game Advertising is my favorite method.  Nothing that interrupts the game-play ... but think of a sign in one background that has an advert for Nike shoes (not practical for an indie game of course, as Nike isn't likely to be interested, but you get the point!)  Or maybe the character orders a Coca-Cola (again, Coke wouldn't buy into an indie game but again, just an example).  I had the notion at one point to have an area in a game that is repeatedly visited ... and there's big sign in the background that (through a connection to the 'net would pull in and place dynamic ad content on the sign) so there'd be different ads periodically as players played through the game.

Also, the website could have advertisements (paid or Google, etc).  Though please, no pop-ups or forced commercials before video(s).  Just normal side/top mounted ads are okay.

Donations (which you already have).  For some reason, as Mark eluded to, I am more likely to donate than buy ... because I feel I can pick the donation amount based on my own sense of what the game/project is worth to me rather than somebody else dictating that.

Just my thoughts!

Maybe we should throw this into the c&c forum?

Yes.

This got quickly out of hand in here!  Which I understand, the screenshot is amazing!

But please post in the CL if you want these kinds of opinions but to the rest let's stay on target!

I combined the two threads. Not sure if you did that on purpose or accident but two threads aren't needed for the same game so a-merged they became!

I may be blind but I fail to see the totally awesome similarity...

> Pirate/Sailor
> near bow of ship
> red/white striped shirts
> large mast on left side
> rigging/ropes
> color palette

That's about it I guess.

I, too, was going to mention Empire of the Sun due to it's greatness.

I can't say I am in the same boat with some of your choices.  The Goonies is a movie I have nothing but love for (not saying it's my "favorite" but I think it's a great movie!)  It might be nostalgia as I grew up with it.  Same with The Lost Boys.  I can't stand Haley Joel Osment and rank him right up there with Jake Lloyd.

Here are some suggestions (in no particular order):

The Horse Whisperer (1998)
Featuring a young (and less buxom) Scarlett Johansson.  A tad slow, but a drama, though not really about kids I think she stole the show (and it has Robert Redford in it, so that's saying something!).

Hounddog (2007)
Featuring Dakota Fanning (who I think is destined for many Oscars) ... it's very disturbing, but definitely a drama.  This kid can act more with her face than most adult actors in the biz.

Explorers (1985)
Does have a previously mentioned name (River Phoenix) but also a young Ethan Hawke.  Not sure it's "drama" enough, but an enjoyable movie

White Squall (1996)
Bunch of young kids supporting each other (and their captain) ... not the greatest movie, but it's got the Dude in it and is directed by Ridley Scott.

The Good Son (1993)
Does have Elija in it, but also Macaulay Culkin.  It's another surprisingly disturbing film, but is worth watching.

I could keep listing them off ... but I'll stop with just these few.

I find the over-all palette a little boring (just a bit) but I don't know the context of the scene so it might be the "mood" you are going for.  I get a feeling of bleakness.  Or maybe that something 'bad' is about to happen.  Might be what you're going for?

My major issue is the lighting.  Judging by the shadow the character is casting the light is coming over/across the starboard bow.  Yet the inside of the wall on the bow itself appears to be illuminated.  I'm assuming there's a lantern on the front side of the mast that is just invisible in the scene!






Also, this may be just a wild coincidence (and I'm not accusing/suggesting any foul-play) but check out this image on Pixel Joint:



When I saw your pic here I was instantly reminded of that piece from the joint!

Did you see this pic and take inspiration (or vice versa). 

If not; what a totally awesome coincidence!

Not a problem!  It's your world to create

[GrimReapYou]

Before this degenerates into an off-topic discussion about ... anything ...

GrimReapYou - don't be discouraged (by IRC or lack of responses) just keep making your game!  However, if you want I can lock this thread if you're not going to contribute to it anymore!  It's your choice, just let me know!

I know you're probably sick of hearing about the "fade out" at the top but it's really the only thing left that jumps out at me...

How about something like this?



It's very rough as I just copied, pasted, flipped and manipulated a bit (so you can see the 'wall' extending above the actual line of the wall) but you get the idea!

I'm lovin' this man ... good stuff.  I like seeing it evolve (CL is good for that!)

I had another idea;



I felt like the green light-bands around the perimeter would be, at least a little bit, illuminating the glass tubes.  I'm not sure about them (how they work in your game's world) so maybe they don't give off ambient light (which I'm guessing they don't 'cause the wall doesn't show it!) but I just felt like glass/reflective tubes would show it in some way!  I had the thought that only the tubes on the outer edges would catch the refraction but I did add a very subtle hint of it to the first tube in as well.

Just a thought! 

Three things:

1) In the "down" animation his left (our right) leg, when as far back as it goes, just blinks into shadow.  You should have it transition a bit smoother (like you did in the "up" animation).

2) In the "side" animation his knees severely shift up/down; his right leg, as it starts forward, gets much shorter (I think this was already mentioned)!

3) you might want to try some kind of side-to-side movement in the torso area.  The rest moves nicely (with the few nit-picks above) but the chest sits very still!

Hope it helps out (even just a little bit)!

Do you use photoshop?  I would suggest creating a brush for the leaves/berries of those plants and then set it to random and paint each tube's contents individually.  The repetitive nature of the plants now throws off the image I feel (each plant looks identical to the next).  Barring the ability to do that (if you don't have a program that can do it I mean) maybe just flip them around, some vertical, some horizontal ... anything to give it more random (realistic) feel would step it up a bit!

I like the idea of animated bubbles ... but make sure it, too, is random

Also, the glass feels a bit flat...



This was done very quickly, but was just an idea to give some more depth to the tubes!

Not being able to post two screenshots doesn't mean it's okay to disregard the rules.  When you have another screenshot send it to me in PM and I'll unlock this.

Screenshots updated, thank you. 

However, even though the file extensions say "jpg" those appear to be BMPs.  You might consider converting them to actual jpgs.  They'll load a lot faster for people that way.

[moderator [10 gallon] hat goes on...]

Awesome news indeed!

moderator [10 gallon] hat goes on...
The screenshots in the first post are throwing 404s.  Kindly remedy that would'ya partner?

Oh señor Squinky ... how I have missed thee!!

Zombies are definitely covered in shit.  I can't stand the smell of them.

Hey Ryan ... glad you're okay!  I sent some money down-under.  Let me know when you get it

In the end you, and your fam, are safe.  That's the most important part.  The rest is just stuff.  If I were there I'd totally give you my sweatshirt.

Hang in there bro.

Yeah ... that was supposed to say "aren't" used right.

However, out-dated or not, they do still have validity.  Not so much in "public" websites (as this would be) where things like external linking and SEO come in to play.  The web isn't limited to only public websites however and there are still many places where frame-sets are useful and valid.

@ Sam, you probably should have him remove the frame-set if those things (linking, bookmarks, SEO) are important which, given the content you're providing, I would have to assume they are.  You could keep the header as you have it but use the methodology I suggested (as a footer).

[dev file]

I think framesets, while maybe "out of fashion" as it were, still are very valid if used right.  In this case they are used right.  My main problem with them is that the bottom (content) area is forced to have a horizontal scrollbar if a vertical one is necessary.  I haven't used frames in YEARS but there might be a way around that, but I can't remember.

Having said all that ... I still feel this could use just a little tweaking (just a bit).



I felt that the header (as you have it) wasn't really a "part" of each site so it felt out of place at the top.  I moved it down to a fixed footer (meaning it will never move as the site(s) scroll up/down under it).  It'll necessitate putting some negative space on the bottom of each page to "push" the content up so the last of the content isn't hidden below the fixed footer.  Also, if you plan to support IE7 you'll have to use some javascript to keep the footer positioned at the bottom as IE only figured out fixed positioning in v8 (pathetic browser).

I also restructured the content to condense it a bit.  I have a very large resolution and it felt too spaced out even on my screen.  So people with lower resolutions would be scrolling for hours  

I really like what you started here and my initial reaction wasn't one of "oh this could be fixed" so that's a good thing!  I just figured I'd drop my ideas and see if they were of any value!

If so, here's the dev file (2.4mb PSD), if you want it!

Hope it helps!

What is AGS again?

I've used PayPal a lot over the years. 

WAY back in the day (circa 1998-2002 or so) I loathed them.  They had sketchy service and their customer service/support was pathetic (average wait time on the phone was about 2 hours) and even then it was 50/50 if they'd actually help you with anything.  However when eBay bought them (2002) they gave 'em what they needed (more money/staff/infrastructure) and, since then, they've been a fairly top-notch operation (for me at least).

I've still had several issues, but they've worked very quickly to resolve them and have been fair about it.

Do I trust 'em?  No ... but then I don't trust anybody (person or business) when it comes to money.

I think they're reliable though and don't have any problems recommending them.