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Okay, I'm in.

Here's the tune I wrote specially for this contest. Enjoy!

Hope it follows all the rules:

http://www.freewebs.com/thefind/chinese.mp3

I got it the second I saw that first pic.

I was like... "Hey, that sounds like Daisy...or Billy."

If any of you guys are into AI, you should definitely check out The Personality Forge:

http://www.personalityforge.com/

Try talking to Little Mu just for kicks. What an attitude!

Anyways, I've been teaching my Billy everything there is to know about music -- everything from music theory to synthesizers.

20. If you make it out of the horror film alive, never, NEVER sign on to do a sequel. If you do, expect to depart this world in the first five minutes.

21. If you try to run away, always take the bus. If you take a car the monster will be in it. Cabbies are always demonically possessed. Monsters will destroy any plane/boat you try to take. And you have to go through dark, underground stations to get on a subway.

22. If you've beaten the monster into a bloody pulp and you're sure he must be dead, take the opportunity to dismember, burn, eat, blow up or otherwise destroy him.

I got the idea from something I read on the net a while ago. The following are tips for any character that finds him or herself in a horror film. And if you do happen to find yourself in a horror film someday, use these tips wisely.

1. When it seems that you've killed the monster, never check to see if it's really dead.

2. When you have the benefit of numbers, never pair off or go off alone.

3. If you're running from the monster, expect to trip or fall down at least twice, more if you are female. Also note that, although you are running and the monster is merely shambling along, it's still moving fast enough to catch up with you.

4. If your companions suddenly begin to exhibit unnormal behavior such as hissing, fascination for blood, glowing eyes, increasing hairiness, and so on, get away from them as fast as possible.

5. While in a horror film, never bathe, especially when in the house alone.

6. If any animals, such as birds, pirahnas, spiders, etc. begin to exhibit behavior that seems a bit more hostile towards mankind than normal, immediately call the authorities, get out of that town, and do not try to talk to any scientist who specializes in that animal (ornithologists and the like) for they will not believe you.

7. In terms of weaponry and general equipment for fighting the monster, never rely on any tool more complicated than a pointed stick. Generators will inexplicably run out of power, just as the nasty space-vegetable climbs onto your jury rigged electrical grid. Just when you've got the ghoul lined up in your sights, your gun will invariably jam.

8. Ask why the estate is being sold so cheap.

9. If you throw away some possession of yours (antique dolls and ventriloquist's dummies in particular), and you find it again in your house/car/pockets/etc. move to another country IMMEDIATELY! Of course, it will be waiting for you in the car as you go to leave.

10. If you're being chased by a monster and you think it's behind you, chances are it will appear in front of you (and if you're a girl, this will happen right after you trip and fall, and then stand up and look behind you).

11. When you fight a monster use fire, electricity or acid whenever possible. Prefferably use all of the above.

12. ALL atomic weapons cause normal creatures to grow huge and carnivorous. As do all chemical and germ weapons.

13. Stay away from 'quaint' hotels and inns. Go for the brand names.

14. Never say, "It's over", "It's dead", or "I killed it".

15. If you notice that the camera is slowly zooming in from behind you, GET OUT OF THERE IMMEDIATELY.

Here's a little sample of a song I made called Straitjacket that's in 7/4. It's based on 12-bar blues chord progression, and sounds great live.

Dig the electric sitar!

http://www.freewebs.com/thefind/74meter.mp3

Personally, I don't think 7/8 time is much of a limit.

Creativity varies inversely with limitations.

Archangel: Yeah, that's probably true that the bassoon would muddy it up. Though, I once made a jazz song that used a bassoon (about an octave below mid C) as the lead.

How about these rules: Make a song in 7/8. Any style, and instruments.

It's a kind of interesting meter once you get into it, and it certainly is more regular than 4/4 (in my opinion) considering that most modes have 7 tones. That way you can play up and down a scale and by the time you end up at the root, you'll be on the first beat.

Another cool trick with 7/8 is to put the metronome on at about 100 bmp or so, and play through a couple bars. On the first measure the metronome will be on the downbeat, and on the second measure the metronome will be on the upbeat, and so forth. Pretty cool.

Next competition rules: (according to me)

You can compose any style of music, but are limited to these instruments:
1. Electric Bass
2. Bassoon
3. Banjo
4. Qu Di  (chinese flute)

Actully this would probably sound pretty nice.

BTW, what do you mean by modal? Technically all scales are modal.

Keep the amazing work up, CJ. One of these days we'll buy you a new car or something.

It would be cool if there was an option to automatically outline any font with black.

Very nice! It almost looks like the art from Warcraft 3.

Keep up the good work and they just might sticky this thread.

How about this version of Geobbels?

Farlander: Interesting idea for a dumb-smart couple. Which sprite is which?  

Hi,

Couldn't stand looking at the funny muscles anymore.
Here's a possible revision. (Tattoo is compliments of Ed Norton in American History X, though rotated a bit)
Enjoy!

Old


New

Xadhoom: As a 3d Studio user myself, I must say that the face is quite impressive! (Though the shine may need a little work, so it isn't too much like Toy Story)

How did you create such a model? Did you use NURBS? Did you use a skin plug-in? Did you use MetaReyes?

It would be cool if you could use 3d models as characters in the game. They'd take a lot of time to make, but they'd definitely cut down on animation time. As it is now, the 3d faces might be a bit jarring when compared to the hand-drawn sprites.

Anyways, keep up the good work!

Thanks for the positive response, guys! Nothing fuels our creative juices like fruity comments... just kidding, don't kill me...

Snake: Yeah, the entire GUI is based around a simple magic spell system. It's not as involved as it sounds, but it gives the game a distict style. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like there's going to be any goblins in this one. Sorry.

We're aiming to have the scripting and art finished by the end of this week, after which our artist is taking a one-week vacation. In this time, I'll finish up the music and the sounds.

It looks like the site will take a bit more time...maybe if we could find someone to host the Apprentice zip in the meantime? (It will be like 5 megs max)
If not, it'll probably just take a few more days (past two weeks) to get the Herculean Effort Productions site up and running.

Scummbuddy: It's supposed to be based in a fantasy world, although I don't strictly adhere to it... If there's one thing this game doesn't do, it doesn't take itself seriously. I mean, in another world, why couldn't they have had scotch tape before automobiles?

Squinky: Don't worry about the puzzles or dialogue. I promise they will be far from boring.

Also, the picture came out slightly differently on a "normal" monitor, since it was drawn on an lcd. We're going to do a bit of color-correction...

Hi all,

We at Herculean Effort Productions are mere weeks away from completing this game, so I thought it'd be only proper to post a screenshot and maybe generate some enthusiam.

(For the record, "The Find" project, due to circumstances beyond our control, has been temporarily delayed. Sorry.)

This short game, "Apprentice," stars the young Mortimer "Pib" Pibsworth in his neverending quest to attain wizardhood.

The game will sport the always popular 320x200 resolution but with 16 bit color.

Be prepared for lots of humor and animation in this one!

We will release it at the same time we launch the new "Herculean Effort Productions" web site. (Hopefully early July)

Well...

Basically these are the art changes we will make:

Some of the rooms will be redesigned, and the others will just be fixed up or possibly remade. Trust me, it's gonna look a lot cooler.

The character art will be redone completely. Don't worry, we won't change Digger too radically . We're going to simplify the character art and make them look a bit more cartoony. It'll look good over the new backgrounds.

The music will also be redone. I'm going to try to get a couple live instruments into the music. Hey, Lucasarts did that too.

Anyways,

Geoffkhan

Hey,

We plan to get about half of the game finished by the end of this summer. We have figured out a lot of puzzles and the whole storyline. This summer we are also going to put up the official Herculean Effort website with a The Find section (and maybe a few shorter games). We plan on uploading lots of concept art and music clips to keep you guys interested.

Actully we need some feedback on an important question: should we upload each chapter as we finish them, or should we wait until the game is complete to upload it?

Anyways,

Geoffkhan

Could you put my game on the list?

Name: The Find

Type: DEMO

LINK: http://www.agsforums.com/games.php?action=detail&id=193
(or http://www.freewebs.com/thefind/TFdemo2.zip)

Thanks,

Geoffkhan