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[NOW.]

Luck I'll need  Thanks guys!


THURSDAY 18.00 pm
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I have everything I may want in the next hours. Lots of DIN A3 sketch pads, cheap printer paper, a notepad and a box of ink pens, pencils, copy pencils, erasers and whatever else could be useful in a pinch. I've set up a playlist, I have sandwiches and candy, water, juice and soda, and a list of menus from pretty much every food joint in my vicinity. The moment I phone them they will bring me food and that is a nice thought. And I have time- no urgent business tomorrow, so I can really focus on the task at hand.
Which is to create a comic. In one day. I just realized how long it has been since I made an attept to draw more than three pages of consistent plot. But no worries. This can either fail or work out, at least I'll have tried.
Just 18.00 pm. Pencil hits paper.

NOW.

There is a popular dare called the 24 Hour Comic Challenge. And I am going to do it.

The thing started in 1990 when Scott McCloud challenged a friend to create a "full comic within a day". Visit http://scottmccloud.com/4-inventions/24hr/index.html to read the full story (together with the first official 24 hour-comic, and the official rules). The 24HCC has since then become a popular event; there are even official 24HCC days where large groups all art the hell out of themselves. But technically everyone can do it anytime.

The dare is extremely simple:

* Create a complete, 24 page comic book- in 24 continuous hours.
* NO sketches, plot summaries or any other kind of direct preparation can precede the 24 hour period; Indirect preparation (assembling tools, reference materials, food) is fine.
* Story, finished art, lettering, color (if applicable), paste-up, EVERYTHING must be done within the 24 hours. Once pen hits paper, the clock starts ticking.
* The 24 hours are CONTINUOUS. You can take a nap, but the clock keeps ticking.
* Pages can be any size, any material. Computer-generated comics are fine too, the same rules apply.


I've wanted to try my hands on that dare for quite a while now, mostly for the fun of it but also because it sounds like some hilarious rite-of-passage stuff. I know that I am usually best when under a cruel deadline, so yeah, I'm doing it. I'll go for the traditional approach, too- I am still NOT very comfortable with my tablet and using it will result in a lot of lost time. So it's going to be lines on paper, with words.

I thought it would be fun to put a small thread up here, again mostly for the fun of it but also because this feels pretty close to the hourgames and MAGS competitions we do: The hobby under exreme conditions, as you might say. And hell, maybe someone's reading this and wants to join, that'd be pretty awesome.

I'll be busy stocking up on paper and stuff today, and I'll try and get a good rest, but either tonight or Friday morning I'll start my 24HCC. I don't know at what exact time but I'll mark it here, and then I'll post a small heads-up each hour, hopefully with photos or a small scan every now and then. That can't take THAT much time.

NOTE: Since I'm in Germany my timing will be awfully OFF for some of you, resulting (if I make it) in a comic that is finished IN YOUR FUTURE. Consider this an additional level of awesome.

__
I made it, and the comic can be downloaded here in fully zipped PNG glory, because I have no idea how to pronounce GIF:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/q46nrhv0aiuuv0m/SliceOfAfterlife_24HourComic.zip

Guys, keep suggesting me and I will inform you about my opinion when I'll listen them.

Heavy Horses by Jethro Tull. Top-grade melancholy awesomeness.
Lautlos by dunkelbunt is pretty moody, too.
I also must suggest Nellie the Elephant by the Toy Dolls, but that's a wacky silly punk song. Nothing bad about that, though.

The more you show, the less horror. Almost every horror movie I can remember manages to build up at least some tension and atmosphere- as long as it doesn't show the thing that we are supposed to be afraid of. As far as I am concerned horror in every medium works best when it relies on sound, visual hints, and moody environment, and it fails the most when it relies purely on graphical horror (be it gore, gross stuff, or the lowly jump scares).

Case in point, "Under The Bed", a recent movie that deliberatey attempts to recreate the atmosphere of 80s monster/horror/teen flics (Probably NOT the best place to start. I am looking at YOU, The Gate!). Spoilers: It's a movie about a monster under the bed. And initially it works quite okay, with a subtle soundtrack, lots of empty space where something *could* be and the protagonists dealing with something they can't understand. Then we see the monster. Which actually looks kinda scary but... well, shown is known. And from then on there is no more tension. We've seen it. We deal with it.
Clowns are an exeption; clowns are always scary.

Maybe this has something to do with us usually knowing we are playing a game/watching a movie, and we rely on visuals the most. Everything you see in a video game is instantly "distant" and safe. It can gross you out but it's not part of the actual world; a good game will pull you in but there's always the safety net of it being fictional. But we're more vulnerable when it comes to sound because that actually COULD be outside of the game/movie. Could well be.
Again, this does NOT apply to clowns.

And "squick cuts"; going from a scary suspenseful scene to a mundane, lighthearted one. It's often done to create contrast and ground the horror in the real world but I think it usually lessens the impact.
But it is impossible to ruin any tension by showing a clown, no matter what situation the clown is part of.

Clowns always work.

My pogostick is feared everywhere

If ye pull it outta your *ss this fight might get somewhere! 

__
The upper-arm thrust is my finishing move!

That is exactly as intended. A game is saved "as it is at the moment of saving", so the music position is kept, too.

You can write your own function to restart the music though; one way would be to use a global audiochannel for the music and then manually reset it AFTER calling the restore command.

I really like the setup- and any game that lists shitty graphics as a feature MUST be good, right? D'loading now.

My skill is famed in song and tale!

Challenge accepted. All in good fun of course.

I've never seen swordplay so horribly bad!

Then maybe you should stop looking at that mirror, my lad!

It's ironic that you mention the Tween module in all its inefficient glory.

Gets the job done though.

frenzy: Doing that in small doses because of Moar Dakka! 

There's an announcement on Steam for the "Sorcerer's Lair" pinball table, for free. You'll need to download Pinball FX2 (which is also free) to get it, and apparently it's not quite there yet apart from the announcement, so I am waiting all eager and stuff.

edit:
Just read it up- this'll take place Friday the 21st. Will give me time to buy some beers 

I suppose when you say "busy", it's not a good kind of busy, though.

Maybe I used the wrong word. "Busy" isn't really a bad thing in my book. I like backgrounds with details, escpecially details that allow for examination. Complex backgrounds can look a bit overwhelming at first and then unravel as the player takes it all in (which is rewarding when you spot some little extra). When you draw a background it's up to you to guide the player through the stage (by making some "layers" muted or dark, by adding a single bright colour and what have you), and maybe I am just too used to people doing that: I always look for the composition even if there wasn't any 

Your two room backgrounds "drag" my eye directly to the centre because all lines lead directly there, and in the first screenshot the orange on the bed stands out. From there, however, there is no clear way to go; there are several interesting objects and apart from the bright cyan of the table there's little guidance; I feel myself just glancing around and pick my own route.

This is NOT a bad thing, just something I felt was done much better in the cave screenshot: there the foreground rocks form a window, almost all furniture offers a nice contrast to the background and the other furniture, and because of the less symmetric layout I am not automatically pulled to the centre of the image.

I'll see your Sam & Max and I'll raise you some Monkey Awesomeness! KABOOM!

Somewhere out there a Ghost is crying happy tears.

Already sounds like the coolest RoN in quite a while. Go for it, Wolf! Go!

So is that Atelier's entry for living it, or Ghost's entry for pointing out that it's a story?

Are there extra trophies for pointing stuff out? Then dibs. And may I point out the enourmous spiffines of your monocle, good sir? 

Ponch hurry up!

Not really an adventure game, but Don't Starve has suspense and tension and freaking long shadows watching you. Forever.
Really, every night in that game is tense. So tense.

[is]

I'm coming out the tail-end of exams at the moment

That already is the story of an impossible escape! 

The two room screenshots look pretty warped but I agree with Stupot, you're making it work. It looks more like an extreme "lens" than actual "DOTT" though; the image is pulled into the centre and there is more symmetry than in your average DOTT-background. The many warped lines drag the eye to the centre and make the pictures look "busy" without much going on. The shading in the first shot is done well!

My favourite is the cave location. It's really good- colours, the heavy use of "fourth-wall" scenery (the stalagmites/tites), and escapcially that little green guy. Where the room locations look busy because of their perspective, the cave has a clean, simple cartoon look and (to me) is easier on the eye. It feels more "playable", meaning I'd be willing to look at that screen/spend time there a lot longer during a play session.

Declare int soundpos at the top  of the room script, that should do the trick.

[AudioChannel *channel = MYSOUND.Play();]

That's pretty easy to do by setting up an audio channel
AudioChannel *channel = MYSOUND.Play();

and then playing with the panning property:
channel.Panning = VALUE;

-100 is left speaker only, 100 is right speaker only, 0 is "the middle". You can "move" a sound by adjusting the value:

Code: AGS

int soundPos = -100
while (soundpos < 100)
{
  channel.Panning = soundPos;
  soundPos++;
  Wait(1);
}

[edit]
You may want to include a failcheck if the sound has stopped while the "panning" is still in progress; I do NOT know if panning a channel that does no longer exist will throw an error.