Messages

Sweet. I gotta get a copy, if it's not to late.

[I]

Thanks for the kind words.

But at the time you had a vision of turning SOCKO! into something more, I admired that.

I did have some grand plans. Well, I guess I'd rather be a failure at something I love than a success at something I hate. I don't think the game would have turned out any different if it hadn't been commercial. I made a game I wanted to make. A 320x200 old school true adventure game. Well, perhaps it wouldn't have had the voice acting. I'm quite proud of the game itself.

I'm a little surprised that it seems to have completely turned you off from game-making. I would have thought Fatman would have given you ways to make it better the next time round.

I did try just that. After Fatman was turned into Freeware I went about trying to release another commercial game. I started working a few more hours at work in order to save up some starting cash. I started hunting around for team members. I took some art classes. At one point me and Shawno were almost going to make a commercial Rodekill game. Then one day I suddenly realized I wasn't enjoying myself anymore so I just up and took some time off. My love of adventure games not to be quelled, I came back about a year later and started up a Space Quest fangame. However, that too quickly became a chore as people expect a certain level of quality from a fan-game.

So guess what I'm trying to say is ... I'm not turned off from game making, but my god I sure am burnt out and I can't help but think that is because I spent 2 years full steam making Fatman commercial.

You see the thing about making Fatman commercial means I had to setup a company. I had to design a website to take orders. I had to setup emails for orders and emails for customer service. I had to do my own taxes, mailing, shipping, ordering etc... Let me tell you that is the part that gets old quick, very quick. There is nothing more depressing than reading email after email of people that claim they sent me a check and I never got it ... (I actually had to stop taking check orders through the mail because of this.) ... or emails of people that thought my game should be free ... or finding out that the printer you dropped $500 on can only print about 25 cds before its out of its ink.

So I guess the bottom line is don't make your game commercial, unless you're ready to deal with the repercussions of such a decission. It's all fun and games ... until you add a price tag.

[never]

And when he finally released the game for freeware, people who had previously paid for the game complained about that.

Listen to this man, he knows what he's talking about. I've already said it in a post prior but it bears repeating. I wish I had never released Fatman as a commercial game. There is a reason CJ doesn't charge for AGS and he's smarter than me, I had to learn the hard way.

I espically love games that make you really need that documentation (like Zack McKracken, it had a newpaper in it and I think an acme catalouge....It was awesome, I have a sweet idea for a game that comes with a tabloid giving hints to the player....but it will probably never happen).

Already been done my good man.

Space Quest 4-6 all had a tabloid paper that gave hints about the game. It was mostly a copyright protection gimmick, but it had some funny stuff. Space Quest 2-3 had comic books and even Space Quest 1 had a few coupons. I wanted to include a comic and have a boxed game of Fatman, but the costs are insane. The reason is you have to order in bulk and that's a large hunk of cash to lay down on the line if it doesn't sell.

... boy I'm quite the pessimist eh? Mr C. is right lets dance!

*Ionias does the jig.

I have, and probably most of us, have thought of making a commercial game. It's just one of those childhood dreams really...If i ever tried it I would do it knowing people would be bitchy with me, and I would almost go so far as to release it under an alias...

You see this is just the problem. You add money and people start moaning, yet they'll glady plunk down hard earned cash for McDonalds or a trip to the movies.

I'm all for commercial games myself. I know that was my dream all along. The one you've mentioned above. Yah know? Make money, maybe even enough to support yourself or your dream doing what you love. It may even be possible, who knows. Don't give up if that's what you really want, but just remember ... when its a job its a lot less fun and lot more work.

Appreciated, but . . . Merry Winter New Year! It was the community support I was going for and I've got the actual product (since acquired ISO) so everything's square.Ã,  I hope the experience didn't squish your adventure game making spirit, because I'd love to see another game or sequel.Ã, 

Cool.

As far as making another adventure game goes. I must admit the wind has been taken out of my sails. I've been limping along with my last idea for a fan game for a few years now. Heh, but someday, someday it will get finished.

It was funny, too. Because Fatman probably would have been praised if it was free, but god forbid you attach money to it.

Indeed. In hindsight I really really wish I had NEVER tried to sell the game. I got a lot of hate mail and forum bashing for trying to make a buck. The cash just isn't worth it. So if anyone wants my 2 cents, don't bother. Just do it for fun or don't do it.

Didn't Adventure Gamers give Fatman a bad review as well?

Yes. Yes it did, and the game didn't sell but maybe one or two copies after that.

Well, I guess in hindsight I should have known better than to bother with trying to sell a game. The fact is to make a game of commercial quality it takes either years, a good team or both. Fatman sucked about two years out of my life. I'm glad I made it and all but from now on I'm sticking to just having fun.

Sorry, you never got your copy YakSpit. Give me a pm w/ your address and I'll see if I can dig up a cd-r with it eh?

Wow. That's pretty cool.

I use mods, also known as Mark Lovegrove.

How did the X-Men 3 thread turn into talk about Spiderman?

Myself, I found Spiderman 1 a great movie, but Spiderman 2 I found kinda ... lame. The sequel didn't seem to have the same heart as the first movie. However, with X-Men I loved X2 even better than the orginal. They really amped up the action and story. I can't wait for #3, even if Brian won't be the director. I also can't wait to see the Superman movie. I love my comic book movies!

Hmmm, I could host it at adventuredevelopers.com. Do I have permission to use the installation on the official CD-Rom I bought? (I assume it's not different from the download at Underdogs?)

--Erwin

Do as you please my good man.

hey fatman creator! Your link to your game is broke or something, it was a while ago I suppose, has it been fixed yet? I wanna play it!

I have no idea where you could find the game online if the underdogs site doesn't work for you. Even without the voices its still a sizeable download, nothing I could host.

Hey my game was never on any shelves.

But nonetheless a good read.

Ah, that's one of my favourite games all time. I still dream about those backgrounds. The characters were a bit too flat, yes, especially the female protagonist, who kept looking old and ugly because they used lines in her face instead of shades, or something like that.

I loved Space Quest 6, still do. Indeed, those backgrounds are true works of art. The characters are god awful! I mean honestly, despite how much animation needs to be done for an adventure game. They could have done better. Far better! Especially considering the quality of the backgrounds.

Man, I'd love to help, but last week I joined a team to create the second greatest adventure game of all time.Ã,  Guess I should've held out.

ROFL! You too eh?

Ok, I have a question. How in the world did SIERRA do this style of dithering?



This is a screenshot from SIERRA's Space Quest 6. I love the style! Did the artists truly do this pixel by pixel?

8. When you are always konking folks on the head saying, "HELLO! McFly!"
9. When you try and fuel your car up with a banana peel and some leftover beer.

Oh man these movies are the best.

I like the new version. Being able to see that right arm is a vast improvement. I still think the neck is a little on the long side. Here is a quick edit to give an idea of how the cape should hang. This is just a fast edit, but it should give you an idea of how to give the cape some life.

Frank Miller? I'm there. He's a bit of a hero of mine. Having turned Batman from that campy crap comic to the Dark Knight and all.

I'm a comic book movie whore. I'll go see anything, and I must say this movie is looking good. I seen the trailer on the big screen the other day. Most of the time main stream movies, big budget thrillers tend to lose the spark somewhere along the way. Batman and Batman Returns were great movies IMHO, but then they kept making sequels.Ã,  But then there is something to be said for just sitting back and shutting off your brain and just enjoying a big budget film.

Wait. I take that back. I didn't go see Catwoman.

First off let me say that this is an awesome background. I like the style and the layout. The room feels cozy and warm, pleasing on the eyes. If you wanted some ideas of what to fill the room up with here is a quick edit:



As far as suggestions on how to improve the current look. I think if you fill the room in with a few more objects and follow helm's highlights idea this background will be perfect.