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Hmmm.... Since I'm Grim, I guess I should experiance this quest, right?

Just remembered what this idea reminded me of!

There's a song by Nine Inch Nails that goes like this ( and similar to my interpretation of your story... which you didn't like;) No mention of badges here but it sure strikes a familiar note) :

See the animal in his cage that you built?
Are you sure what side you're on?
Better not look him too closely in the eye...
Are you sure what side of the glass you're on?

See the safety of the life you have built?
Everything where it belongs...
Feel the hollowness inside of your heart
And it's all right where it belongs...

What if everything around you isn't quite what it seems?
What if all the world you think you know is an elaborate dream?
And if you look at your reflection, is that all you want to be?
What if you could look right through the cracks?
Would you find yourself... find yourself afraid to see?

 Hey, I'm a big fan of coffee!!! If there was  no coffee left... that'd be the real apocalypse. Looking forward to this one;)

Looks really good, but I would suggest to increase characters walking speed. Remember how fast Guybrush was walking? That sort of speed. Good luck with the game!

Jetpack Sam is out?!?!? Great!

[WHAM]

WHAM: If everything goes well- in about three months...

[Mr Dream]

Mr Dream: haha this must be some optical illusion, because this character's view is built in Maxon 4D Cinema using flat textures and a set camera angle for all her animations. I assure you the size of her head is exactly the same on both image #1 and #2. If I drew each frame seperately then yeah, it could've happened, but basically her head is a 3D object (well, a plane, but still)  

SquirlyGirl: That's great! When Downfall was released few years back I always suggested to people who got in touch with me that I would really appreciate if they spread the word... for a simple reason that I could never afford to spend money on advertisement;) There's a film called "Pay it forward" with that little boy from the Sixth Sense, what's his name... Anyway, it was about doing good deeds and in return asking people to do something for others and spreading the word around. The idea of 'paying it forward' was something I always liked and hoped that perhaps could be adapted as a PR model for a small developer like myself. I don't know if it works... Probably just on a minimal scale;) But it was still worth the effort, I guess.

One day in the future I will get a billboard.

But until then, thanks for telling your friends about the game and posting it on your fb page. Every little helps. It's people like you the 'underground' is built of!

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On a different note, I don't know whether I mentioned it already or not ( could scroll up and check? -nah...) I often think these days what's gonna happen when this game is finished...
   Susan Ashworth, the Cat Lady, has been in my life for nearly 3 years, always there when I needed to hide behind her. It's been a shit year. Bad things happened. Sure, we all take punches, we recover and carry on, but it's good to have something to fall back on, this constant thing in your life that makes you think it's gonna be alright...

Well, if it wasn't for Susan I don't know how things would have turned out. It's odd. It's like I've got some switch in my head; I can flip it and think about the game for some time and distance myself from other problems. Without sounding like Ann in S.King's Misery  (who used to run to her 'happy place' when things were going wrong) Susan has been my escape, and a friend of some sort. Though she is just a game character, being such a big part of my life made me care about her. There's going to be a big empty space in my heart when I'm finished with her, I guess.


But until then. when I go out for a smoke, I'll still think a bout things like: " So how is Susan going to cut through that damn electric cable?... And will I let her have a happy ending, or should she be denied that luxury, like all great heroes of our time?... "

Ok, thanks Chrille and Duals. You have given me an idea of how to go around it... If the cable is cut while the meter is turned off there will be no explosion or shock, right? I think I'll have the player turn it off first and make it a timed thing, so if the cable's not cut on time someone turns the meter back on. This way, even with blunt scissors, she can cut through it, because she doesn't have to succeed at first cut, it would be altoghether more realistic and also add an additional layer to the puzzle;)

[Mr Dream]

Mr Dream: Thanks;) I too hope you can understand the game! If it's any help, there will most likely be different translations available. German and Russian for starters. I'm looking at these screens trying to see if the heads are too big... and I don't know, maybe  they are? But at this point I could never change it, because so much work went into all the sprites. Unless of course, you meant the head character, as in main? ...

Thanks Ben;) Reading up about RCBs now....

Another thing- would scissors actually be strong enough to cut through electric cable? We're talking decent sized scissors and a cable that's about... the thickness of... a guitar cable?

I have a question related to one of the puzzles in my game. The main character at some point has to cut through the electric cable ( coming out of electric meter that provides electricity for the apartement). As it fits with the storyline ( and all animations and interactions already made) she does that with a pair of scissors. I figured that since scissors have a plastic handle she wouldn't get an electric shock... 

Then a friend of mine comes over for a coffee ( in real life,  not in game ) and as I remembered he trained as an electrician few years back, though never worked in that profession, I ask him what would happen if you did that. He says, -of course-, an electric shock and a big flash of light.... I'm thinking: shit. Gonna have to make some changes... But is he REALLY right about this? Anyone knows? ( I'd appreciate if you think he's wrong, so I don't have to change anything, but I will also listen to the truth... )

So this is what Chris Jones looks like? But where's the halo?

Also,

... solving logical puzzles, brain teasers and mini-games ...

That kills all adventure games for me. It sure killed Machinarium...

I think the ceiling is too low.

Nice. Good idea. I only wish characters were more realistic, but it might work;) Good luck!

Thanks for all your kind comments! And just to reassure everyone the work is still very much in progress, I'm giving you 2 new screenshots. It's not long now before TCL is finished.... Then testing and voice acting, which I still am on the line about- should I do it or not...? There is soooo much text in the game it will be a massive job. If I get it wrong, it will actually make the game worse... and even if I get it right, it will still look odd without lip sync. If only I had a million dollars...

There are currently 145 rooms in the game, and over 3400 sprites.
I'm pretty sure it will be, at least size-wise, one of the biggest games ever done with AGS. The story takes course over a few in-game weeks and features a cast of over 40 characters and varied locations (and colour palletes:)) There are over 100 inventory items... and a very cool control system that Dualnames has created for me. We have polished it massively over the course of the last 3 years.

Well, just to say, I am hoping the 2012 will be the year of the Cat Lady!!!





EDIT: Rare updates mean I try to focus on making the game rather than on talking about it.... But today I felt this update was long overdue anyway;) Hope you like the screenies!:)

I'm going to quote my girlfriend here: DIE 2011 DIE!!!

Now, let's have a lovely 2012.

Probably the deepest line ever, in a game. I think it's just bloody perfect.

"You wake up in a gas station. You remember everything."

Seconded! This single line (well, two sentences, really) had convinced me to play the game better than a million dollar trailer would;)

Also, thanks for bringing up Grim Fandango quotes. Sweet nostalgia....

Interesting... I think, for me it would only work if characters were presented as humans wearing some kind of really lame animal costumes with badges on them, instead of real-looking animals. That would add a great layer of abstract weirdness to it.

Oh, and I'd place it in a zoo.

The main character, stuck behind bars, one day realizes that he is in fact a human and therefore shouldn't be held captive in form of an exhibition. But nobody believes him. The only thing that keeps him from insanity and reassures him that he needs to break free is that badge, that has a very normal name on it, a name you wouldn't give to an animal. Something like Brian, or Steve.
   When he eventually manages to communicate with a gorilla in a neighboring cage, it turns out his name is Bob, and he has known about all this for a while now... But maybe if they work together, there is some way they can convince everyone there's been a mistake and they don't belong in a zoo?

  Animals can get mental illnesses just like humans. This would be an interesting premise to explore that. Especially in a place like zoo, where they are surrounded by people, they can sometimes (perhaps) start thinking they are actually humans. Home pets do that, I'm sure. In fact, since it's really against nature to keep animals at home, most pets suffer from some bizzare dellusions...

... I think I actually agree with that guy... But I only read every other word   . My point is: I hate those Facebook games and shitty little apps

Oh. Small AGS games are fine, because they're all made with  l.o.v.e.