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Does 7th Guest count? I loved that game, and the soundtrack.

The 'lunatic' look though is actually in keeping with Johnny's character - I've seen the pilot episode and lets just say he's not all there. The portrait is actually pretty good in that regard.

First up happy birthday!
Second - need to fix your screenshots, links seem to be broken
Third - having already seen a screenshot I'm really excited about this, it has a great style to it. Good luck finishing it, not long to wait

Correct!

[Closure]

This competition  was an absolute blast, well done Baron.

It was exhausting though - I didn't publish any episodes at the weekend because, while I thought the effect of the weekend interrupting a weekday serial publication would be good, the honest answer is I needed the weekend to make a headstart on the rest of the episodes!

You can vote up to twice per category if you just can't decide between your two favourites.

I will utilise this happily because it really was very hard to pick winners!

Closure:- YES - I'm selfish and want to know what happened. NO - I respect Stu as an author, he must not be coerced into finishing something he was not happy with... (yes he should). Same applies to JudasFM!
Best Character:- Sinitrena & Ponch - There were lots of well written characters across the stories, but for me Sinitrena's murderer and the way in which we experienced her outer and inner personalities was nicely done. Tahoma Tommy was also very well written, but for me there was one scene stealer in Ponch's piece... Pierre 'the middleman' Lecocq. As the kids would say, he had me lol-ing.
Setting:- Ponch - Ponch created a diverse and expansive world which combined real world detail and geography (the phantom reefs were a nice touch) with fantastic invention. Over the course of the story it progressively darkened in atmosphere and character for the finale.
Plot:- Ponch & Sinitrena -  Ponch and his, what I call, 'kahki noir' was a real homage to pulp fiction. It started slow, hinting at something dark but restrained itself, before ramping up the tension to the point where even I felt uncomfortable about our heroes landing at PÃ,,“ Niho, the final two episodes superb, then that ending! I was hooked on Sinitrena's piece from the prologue, it was so strong it just sucked me into it from the off. Loved the inner thoughts of killer at the end of each part, holding it together on the outside while unravelling on the inside, and the 'twist' ending in the epilogue.
Word Choice:- Ponch - Again this was extremely close, and I almost tied it, but what swung it for me was how much Ponch was able to convey within the confines of the word limit. What on paper were short exchanges of dialogue revealed detail after detail about characters, plot, location, atmosphere etc purely through word choice. The first person account of the whole thing was also very believable. Like my cooking, extremely well done.
Overall "couldn't-wait-for-the-next-episode" bonus point:- Stupot... i'm still waiting! (Sinitrena & Ponch)

Mine too - like you say, for what is essentially a B movie it's amazingly well put together!

EDIT - I say B Movie - I guess it's more of a homage

Yep! I knew it would be easy! Do you want to reveal the name?

I KNEW IT! Fantastic work Sinitrena.

That was fun - and exhausting.
Now, time to read the other entries.

Apologies for stealing in - but here's one that should be fairly obvious for fans, and no it's not Indy 5:

On the back of the update above I played through this, and wow the atmosphere is fantastic.

Interested in how you achieved the snowfall effect at the start - it's incredible! Is it video based? Anyway, very well made, real professional feel to it - especially the voice acting.

Stupot - You can't leave us dangling like this! There's a missing child out there! I thought your first entry was great, the intro was awesome and it finished on a nice cliffhanger.

Sinitrena - Yay! I can't wait to find out if Aphrodite will get her buttons?!

[DEEP SEA DANGEREpisode 60 â€" Deep Sea Deity]

DEEP SEA DANGER
Episode 60 â€" Deep Sea Deity

The metallic pinging of mast rigging flapping in the breeze chimed the descent of the evening sun. It was still incredibly hot for this time of day. Certainly too hot to be working his brain muscle this hard thought Larry. Especially given he'd only regained consciousness thirty minutes ago.

“So, let me get this straight.”

Larry's brow was ruffled with confusion as he lounged on the deck of the Golden Bilge.

“You expect me to believe that, right now, I'm sat here sharing a beer with - ” He perched up on his elbow and leaned in towards Doris who was lying next to him, his voice dropped to a hush.

“A bona-fide Goddess?” His stubbled jaw hung open in disbelief while his eyebrows twisted into right angles above his ever squinting eyes.

Doris continued to stare at the sky.

“Yes,” she replied after a long pause.

Larry spread himself back out on the deck, his rolls of flesh melting outward like a stick of butter left out in the heat for just a little too long.

“Well.” He said thoughtfully. “Wait until I tell the boys down at MacGrory's* about this!”

Doris laughed. She didn't mind if Larry believed her or not. He was a salt of the earth and always worth having along for the ride.

“What I find hard to believe, D,” continued Larry, “is that you actually punched a tarantopus in the face! A tarantopus! I mean, come on, what do you take me for?!”

As if to answer his own question, he guzzled down the rest of his beer before cracking open another bottle with his teeth.

“You mean Curly?” replied Doris, fondly remembering her eight limbed underwater stallion. “It turned out he wasn't that tough. In all honesty, I think he was just a little bit lonely.”

And definitely on heat she thought to herself. It had certainly been an eye opener, watching Curly mount the Iron Turtle and subject it to what could only be described as a passionate act of love. She smiled as she recalled the look of absolute horror on the Baron's face as he witnessed the monster aggressively going to town on his ‘attractive' submersible.

“So where's that bastard Baron now then?” asked Larry, almost reading her mind.

“I decided he and Curly needed some alone time together” chuckled Doris, “if I'm in a good mood tomorrow I might go and collect him, spare him any further tentacled advances. Fancy a whiskey?”

The speed of Larry's drinking suggested he was recovering well. He chugged back his bottle, giving it one last shake over his outstretched tongue to avoid wastage.

“Does a sea sponge shit in the sea?”**

Doris descended below deck, into the cramped confines of the Golden Bilge's living quarters. Making sure Larry was preoccupied, which he almost always was, she unlocked the padlock on her wardrobe and stood admiring her latest treasure.*** Neptune's trident glowed as supernatural power coursed through its body, a power Doris was now connected to. She thought of Hamish McStaven. He had abused the trust of the gods, using the power of the trident for his own immoral desires. Ultimately he had paid for it with his life, for what the sea giveth, the sea can taketh away. Locking the trident safely away again, she grabbed a bottle and headed back to the deck.

“There's a chap here to see you,” advised Larry as she tossed him the bottle.

Doris jumped down onto the pier where a young man was waiting.

“Miss Doris, my boss sent me to collect you.”

Well it was about time, thought Doris.

“Larry, I hate to leave you at short notice but I've got an unmissable appointment,” she shouted in the direction of the Golden Bilge, already making her way along the pier to the waiting vehicle. “Don't wait up.”

Pierre and his ‘middleman' better be ready, this goddess still had needs!

Settling back onto the deck, Larry gazed out over the ocean. The sun was now half submerged behind the horizon. Was Doris really a goddess, he pondered? Swiftly he concluded that he must be sobering up. Grabbing his bottle, Larry contemplated the night's agenda. Like every night, this would be one to remember!****


*Most of the patrons of MacGrory's already worshipped Doris like a deity, but then those old fools were a sucker for a woman who could knock them out, and not with her looks.
**This was actually a heavily contested debate within the scientific community but, the way Larry saw it, anything that went in, had to somehow come out.
***The need for Doris to padlock her wardrobe originated from Larry's belief that skimpy lingerie benefited the curves of his body. “It just holds everything together,” he'd protested to Doris upon discovery, giving her an unwanted demonstration.
***Within two hours Larry would be unconscious again, having lost a heated argument with a coconut.

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

This serialization was taken from the novel ‘Angel of the Deep' â€" an approximately factual third person account of the real life adventures of deep sea diver Doris Von Girdleshaft.

Note from the author â€" “For those who have questioned the accuracy of the novel, let it be known that I consulted with leading medical, underwater and mythology experts across the country in this particular area of expertise in order to verify the facts behind the wonderful life of Doris. Following this unofficial research I can confirm that a massive 54% of those we actually asked were in general agreement that there was a remote chance that the validity of the tales retold in the novel could, give or take a few [major] editorial adjustments, be considered theoretically sound and almost plausible. That certainly puts those arguments to bed.”

Join us next week when we begin our serialization of the next chapter of this almost best-selling novel â€" Revenge of Baron Tarantopus: The Dangers of Deep Sea Splicing
[Excerpt: The Baron laughed maniacally, adjusting the monocle with his tentacle. Unintentionally he released a cloud of brown and yellow ink. “Urgh,” he sighed quietly, “I really need to see someone about that.”]

This is what Downton Abbey should have been! MURDEEEER! I love it! But does this mean we'e reached the end! :O Or will the Doctor be getting a cell visit from a stabbed up amateur dentist?!

Really nice teaser of a game. Looking forward to seeing where it's going next. Loved the way the cursor clicked when I did!
Didn't find the increase walk speed option until after I'd finished, but that was due to my incompetence and the length of the game

I wouldn't advise anything more frequent than 24 hours - not because I think it's against the rules, because it's burnt me out, my creative juices are spent!! If you have the stamina, go for it! You could do hourly mission reports - an update on the status of the rescue mission every hour starting at midnight tonight... running through to competition end!! AMAZING! I look forward to it

I just watched it - excellent movie.

And it wasn't even a clubfoot!

[DEEP SEA DANGEREpisode 59 â€" The Eye of the Storm]

DEEP SEA DANGER
Episode 59 â€" The Eye of the Storm

Despite having the aesthetic appearance of an angry hemorrhoid protruding from the water's surface, the Iron Turtle was a fairly nimble submersible. This was especially true when it came to submerging, predominantly due to the preciseness with which it mimicked a lump of metal tossed into a pool of water. Which, in effect, it was.

Within minutes the Iron Turtle had descended to the site of the Scuttling Scotsman. Baron Vaisteland folded away the periscope and eagerly pressed his pointed nose up against the porthole, watching as his own crew of deep sea divers converged on the wreck.

“I found it!” he babbled with excitement, hopping in the air. “With this discovery, I will finally be able to take my rightful place as the greatest treasure hunter of them all! No longer will I be a mere foot-note in the annals of history to all those other overhyped charlatans. People will write about me, people will write about Baron Vaistlande! No more Ethan B. Rake! Bah! Fake! Laura Kraft? Boo! Phony! Ohio Smith. Sell out! Frau… wait, I actually quite like him!” The Baron giddily rambled to himself, playing all the roles with a childish gusto. The two henchman piloting the craft glanced at each other, a clear look of this-isn't-what-I-signed-up-for etched on their nervous faces.

“But of course,” the Baron spat out “last and by full means least, the shameful stain on our profession, that sultry diving vixen, ‘Deep Sea' Doris.” He shaped each word of her name with a mixture of contempt and lust. Allowing a pause, he wiped a mock tear from his eye.

“Sadly she's one rival I won't have to worry about anymo â€" what in the blazes is going on down there?!”

The Scuttling Scotsman lit up ahead of them. Flashes of ice-blue light throbbed from deep within the rotting timber, giving the effect of a lightning storm viewed through thick low lying cloud.

The thunder followed.

A massive pulse of energy resonated from the wreck, as though the ship had taken a deep breath then exhaled with incredible force. A visible ripple of silt surged outward from the vessel across the ocean floor. As it rumbled by the Baron's divers they were thrown from their footing, scattered listlessly like a set of underwater skittles.

The Iron Turtle lurched violently as the turbulent wave of energy punched through the water around it. The Baron was sent sprawling across the floor of the sub, his face a portrait of open-mouthed shock. His dignity dented he pulled himself back to his feet, eye-balling his pilots with a look that indicated if they told anyone about this they'd be jettisoned quicker than a meat pie at a vegetarian dinner party.

Then the ocean was calm again.

The eye of the storm.

The Scuttling Scotsman exploded in an inky black eruption of ancient timber. From the darkness soared the fearsome tarantopus, its tentacles billowing and thrusting as it propelled itself forward with primitive intent, an inky black jet-stream trailing in its wake. Straddled atop it was Doris. Her suit gone, she was now a vision of supple flesh, understated muscle and flowing raven hair. Her modesty covered by a scarcely-there shell and seaweed combination. Her expression was one of stone-faced purpose, her eyes two pools of ice blue light that pierced through the darkness of the depths. With her left hand she guided the flight of the tarantopus. Her right was held aloft over her head. Within it she bore the trident.

A modern day Neptune*. Goddess of the sea.


*Post-op of course.


JOIN US TOMORROW FOR THE FINAL EPISODE OF DEEP SEA DANGER!

Danvzare - my hint would be:

Spoiler

EDIT - probably less of a hint and more of a 'this is what you're looking for'

Spoiler

All the fake bags only have two ties at the top - the original has 3. All the fake potatoes have green bits on them (dirty mould) - the original has bits that are all black

[close]

[close]

You fiend - I found all the 'originals' finally but now my eyes feel funny!

[THIS WEEK â€" DOUBLE LENGTH FEATURE!DEEP SEA DANGEREpisode 58 â€" Tarantopus Terror!]

This competition is really taking off now! More entries, more updates! Fantastic stuff.

THIS WEEK â€" DOUBLE LENGTH FEATURE!

DEEP SEA DANGER
Episode 58 â€" Tarantopus Terror!

Tarantopus (octopodes terribilis). A member of the octopodidae family, yet superior in size, power and, most formidably, intelligence. The name consequent of the black and orange pattern that adorns its skin coupled with the venomous barbs deployed within its suckers. For deep sea divers the tarantopus represents the ultimate nightmare, the monster that stirs you from your sleep, floundering in your own secretion.

This one was an adult. A big one.

Doris stared into the glassy unblinking eye of the beast. The beast stared right back, its expressionless gaze betrayed by the eight spiraling tentacles frantically searching for an opening into the ship and to its prey. With a burst of delicate power it crawled across the stained glass window, each movement creating a kaleidoscopic dagger of light that stabbed into the darkness of the Captain's cabin.

She stood deathly still, watching as the tarantopus stalked her. The situation was, to be optimistic, grim. It had been five minutes now since Doris had noted the growing staleness of the oxygen in her helmet, but that issue had to take a backseat. There seemed to be a methodical process to the way the tentacled beast was now moving across the glass panes. “What are you up to,” she thought, watching as the tarantopus settled on the central pane. Slowly it extended its eight limbs, reaching them out until they formed an eight pronged star enveloping the window and creating an underwater eclipse within the cabin below.

The penny dropped. Doris broke out into the closest thing to a run given her burdensome diving suit, the underwater environment creating a natural slow motion effect.

The tarantopus paused, seemingly for ominous effect. Then it propelled itself violently away from the ship, its tentacles tearing away the entire rear section of the cabin. Back it came almost instantly, gliding with speed and power through the silty debris like a gelatin rocket. It poured into the exposed cabin behind Doris, unfolding its black and orange mass in a terrifying orgy of snaking tentacles.

Doris felt the tentacle wrap itself around her ankle. She pulled her knife and spun to face her frenzied aggressor. The beast bound itself to Doris, embracing her in an eight tentacled grip of death. Its razor sharp beak excitedly snapping in voracious anticipation. Doris was shocked by the crushing strength of its jelly limbs, its suckers hungrily trying to penetrate her suit*.  She retaliated, punching it in the face with her knife**.

The tarantopus hadn't expected that. It discharged a thick cloud of obsidian ink and released its grip, thrusting a tactical retreat across the cabin to assess its wounds. Doris, sensing an opportunity, turned to flee the confines of the cabin. Murphy's Law, whatever can go wrong will go wrong. The cabin floor gave way beneath her, its already questionable resilience fatally compromised by the dramatic entrance of the beast.

Doris sank through the newly gaping hole in the floor. Below her, through the cloud of wreckage and ink, emerged the ruins an extravagant four poster bed, the rusted metal frame the only feature still relatively intact. Where there had once been bedding of luxurious and exotic fabrics there was now a blanket of seaweed adorned with a vibrant constellation of anemones. Beneath the partial cover of the foliage lay a skeleton, the empty sockets of its skull fixated on Doris as she drifted down towards it.

“Hamish I presume,” murmured Doris, a cold chill dancing down her spine. As if in acknowledgment, the skull slowly turned itself away from Doris, fastening its stare on something else secreted away within the weeds. Doris followed its line of sight. The seaweed billowed in a hypnotic arch, momentarily revealing the object sharing the bed with the eternally slumbering Captain. Doris gasped.

“I should have known,” Doris exclaimed, “you bloody well slept with it!”

A tentacle reached over her shoulder and latched onto her armpit. With a powerful tug the tarantopus twisted her around to face it for one final struggle. It locked onto her just as she nestled into the skeletal arms of Captain McStaven. Using her left arm to shield her body from the sustained attack Doris reached out for the item in the leafy foliage. Her fingertips agonizingly brushed its shaft, serving only to knock it further away. Murphy's law was enacted for the second time. Freezing cold water poured into Doris's diving suit, courtesy of the Baron's devilish handiwork. The sudden change in pressure caused her head and lungs to throb with pain as the crushing weight of the ocean bore down on her tiring body. The tarantopus, encouraged by the signs that its prey was in trouble, coiled a pair of tentacles around the copper helmet and squeezed, plunging Doris into darkness.

Freezing wet, deprived of oxygen and increasingly crushed by the sudden change in interior pressure and the embrace of the tarantopus, Doris put every ounce of energy she had into one last anxious grab. She trusted in herself. She trusted in the legend.

In that second, the tarantopus, which had never really known true fear, emptied its bowels.


*It was fairly common for Doris to find herself in situations where ‘jelly limbs' and ‘hungry suckers' were trying to penetrate her attire, usually on a Friday night down at MacGrory's. Every single one was dispatched in the same way, with a broken jaw.

**No tarantopus specimen has ever been caught dead or alive so very little is known about the internal framework of these terrifying sea beasts, but you can rest assured that if they had jaw bones, this one's would have been smarting something fierce.