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Idle Thumbs have newsed this too, with some awesome original art and a link to an interview they did with him

www.idlethumbs.net

Er sorry that sounds like blatant advertising... but we were sorry to see him go and I figured you might like to see the art/interview , t'was before I ever wrote for the Thumb.

Do you already have ideas concerning what this demo or episode will be like (basic tone/feel, serious/comedic, play style/genre, etc.)? Could you provide examples of games that are similar to what you're planning to do? I'm curious about what kinds of art and music you might need. Or would just about anything be appropriate?

So far, the game is going to be something like Beyond Good & Evil as regards control, interface, etc… that's the closest example I can think of. I don't want to try and do anything too remarkable or amazing for the first (and maybe only), small demo/episode… I don't want to aim too high and then we all end up being disappointed by the end result. I think it would make far more sense to aim for something fun, achievable, and not worry about it sporting some amazing new never-seen-in-a-game-before features or technology or something.... which is a completely unrealistic goal anyway, considering the size and experience of our team

But when we have a team that we feel we're ready to move forward with, then we'll obviously all discuss together what we feel we can achieve, using our various areas of expertise to judge what is and isn't possible.

One thing I'm certain of is that I want the game to be whimsical, magical and for it not to sport realistically proportioned human characters. I've chosen cartoony, exaggerated graphics for two reasons: firstly, it's unlikely that the team will consist of the worlds most amazing animators and coders and animating realistic humans is a massive challenge which we really don't need because (and secondly), the game has a very cartoonish, fantasy story, and so would be better suited to a more cartoonish style.

The story is based in a world where the light of the moon drives people insane, so you'll never see a house in the middle of nowhere, without any shade. Instead, one group of people for instance, have built a village in amongst the trees of a great magical forest (something along the scale of a massive redwood forest), where they're safe in the shade of the trees at night. So there are pubs and shops and houses carved out of the inside of trees, and knotted up in the great roots of this awesome forest, and wooden bridges leading from great tree to great tree.

This should give you some idea of how the game will “feel”.


(I have some reference material for that forest actually, http://blueforest.com/ ...  take a look, it's some impressive stuff )

Moderators, feel free to move this thread if it's in the wrong forum or something… I realize you're not supposed to start threads asking for help, but this is a very kind of specific thing so… er… yeah…

As some of you may know, I'm lucky enough to work in the games industry. Myself and a group of close friends (fellow games industry folk) have decided to try our hand at creating a small 3D demo or episode of a game, doing everything from scratch â€" design, art, music, coding etc.

One of my friends is a programmer for Konami and is going to have a shot at making a 3D engine. We also have a 3D artist who's been doing animation for the games industry for 9 years now who says he can help, and if all goes well, the sound guy in the office ten feet away from me can be convinced to help...

It's not going to be an entire game, it's going to be a demo or episode that will showcase the individual talents of each person who contributed, and if it all goes swimmingly then we may decide to make it into a full-length game. Another close friend of mine at Sega has a job which includes basically talent-scouting â€" he says if we make something vaguely decent, he can provide some amount of industry recognition for it etc etc blah blah I'm boring myself.

I don't want the team to be massive, but I don't think we should get started until we know we're not just wasting each others time. That's why I'd like if some talented 3D artists, concept artists, programmers or musicians could come forward to help.

This won't be for profit at all… in fact, the main reason we're all doing this is to put on our CVs, to talk about at job interviews, etc. I work in the games industry and you wouldn't believe the amount of things that get recognized that you'd think big games industry folk wouldn't notice… I've seen people at work playing Fountain of Youth and absolutely loving it. I've seen one of the head guys at a major MMO publisher playing it, even. If Mark or any of that team applied for a job in the games industry with FoY under their belt, man, that is such a great thing to have.

So, if anybody is interested then let me know. And I'm afraid that you'll have to be very talented… no 12 year olds who are kinda good at sprite animations who want to help. This is a serious project that a bunch of people want to end up being awesome and kickass so we can get game industry jobs and in ten years, maybe I'll be able to afford a mortgage in Brighton. Hah! How I make myself laugh.

I understand that truly talented people don't want to waste their time on the many failed or half-ass attempts at games out there. Truly talented people usually have jobs and lives and don't want to spend their free time making artwork/programming for lazy people who do nothing with their work. So if you want to just talk about the project and know a little more about it, that's great, I would love to tell you more about it. I don't want people on the team who are going to only contribute a little bit and then disappear, either. So let's talk and discuss and everything. It could be totally awesome

So PM me if you're interested, or ask questions in this thread, and for those that want to help or think they might want to, I can give you my IM details and we can talk more there.

Haha.. it was being left to rest until you replied... LGM's reply was days ago...

The 12 year old is the only thing getting boring here, I wish people would stop getting all huffy about the fact people don't like assholes... yes if an asshole is being allowed to roam free, people are going to get annoyed about it... the only people that could POSSIBLY want someone like TVD on these forums are paedophiles... yum yum come here little child sit on my lap give santa a kiss...

You offer good advice and the spoiled brats cry "NO!!! THAT'S NOT WHAT I WANT! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!"

Let's see. I try to be nice to people and the obsessive freaks cry "NO!!! I HAVE NO ARGUMENT! LET'S JUST COMMENT ON STUPID STUFF!"

randomly PMing people and being abusive, and/or being a thankless, impatient asshole... and you wonder why people are getting annoyed about it. So you're abusive, thankless, impatient, a jerk and stupid? nice.

how I wish you would explode.

alliance, don't I remember something about somebody making a sequel to Beneath a Steel Sky?

Seems to me that moderators don't really seem do an awful lot to stop people like TVD, and while this kind of thread is kind of immature, I absolutely understand why people feel the need to go and start something like this. It's very frustrating to watch people like TVD get away with being a complete ass, with nothing more than a "please try to behave" or something.

He's too young to be here. He's sending people obnoxious or spammy PMs, and he's adding people to him MSN contacts to harrass them further. He's breaking forum rules and acting like an idiot. Yes, I understand that regular users of the forum get frustrated about that, and yes it's sad that regular users get to this point of frustration where they have to start threads about somebody who is annoying them.

If the admins are going to be so lax about dealing with people like TVD, then they should turn a blind eye to threads like this. If they don't want threads like this, then they should deal with people like TVD. Sorry, I don't mean to be rude but I think the little brat is getting away with murder...



TVD, I hope you understand that the reason people are slagging you off is because you're frustrating them with your behaviour. Stop getting on a high horse here, accept that you've been an ass and driven people to really hating you because of your own terrible behaviour.

He sent me a message saying "Will you work on my game? Don't worry, I've sent everybody else on this forum the same message!"

It immediately made me want to work on his game!

Would you guys believe that this little cretin found one of my posts from... I don't even know when it was, probably a couple of weeks ago... that said I liked "Ringu" and decided to shoot me a nasty PM to tell me it was a crap movie for no apparent reason? I'm sure you would, given his track record.

I believe you. He randomly sent me a nasty PM too!

TVD I really suggest that you take a computer class, seeing how you apparently have no idea how to use one....

Brighton is a lot of fun... very artsy, by the sea, lots of cool unusual shops and weird places to check out, good food (some really good Sushi places too, if you like Sushi...)

Also visit the museums in London, they are amazing. Natural History museum, Science Museum etc...

Try seeing a show at the West End... I recommend Avenue Q. It's Sesame Street but with sex and racism and homosexuality!

If you're in Brighton, check out some of the local gigs and maybe try the Komedia if you like stand-up. There are a lot of pubs in Brighton, and some are even themed... there's a vampire themed pub somewhere in Hove where the toilets flush with blood-coloured water and stuff like that...

One of the big attractions for Brighton are the Laines... lots of narrow cobbled streets with cool shops and stalls to check out. Also, if you're there, check out Snoopers Paradise... it's a massive shop full of antiques, and you can find old games and consoles there, old books, cool old clothes, etc...

Cornwall is very beautiful and has some amazing coastlines and cliffs, art stores, an art museum (The Tate), and some nice fish restaurants. Last summer we rented a cottage down there, went down to the beach and picked Mussels from the rocks and cooked them, caught crabs... we bought live lobsters and the freshest fish, caught that morning, from the seaside shops.




Since I live in Brighton, I can tell you now that you won't get stabbed - people here are very friendly. Just don't go on West Street or London Road, and you'll be fine.

I hope this isn't an issue for your friend, but I thought I'd ask. Is it possible he's using alcohol or another drug as an escape? I have a friend with linked addiction problems and depression, it's a big mess sometimes.

hey Sparky, thanks for the reply

The answer is yes, he does use alcohol (not drugs ever, though) to 'drown' his sorrows...  he claims he might as well just drink to drown his sorrows as 'it's the same thing, using mind-altering chemicals to make yourself feel better'. But of course Alcohol is a depressant and I've tried explaining that to him, but he pretty much doesn't seem to care or listen to what I'm saying.

I don't understand his absolute refusal to take medication. He says he wants to feel better, and yet he won't even try meds... even though I've ever-so-clearly explained what they do...

I was gonna post Christopher Walken too!!!

I adore Christopher Walken, man

the point is, he's not even trying any of this stuff...

To me the point is that if you or anyone else suggest something bogus to him and he does try it, it's not helping anything and never will. It doesn't help, he gets disillusioned to medication thinking that if taking some random herb that a lady down the street suggested doesn't work what could actual medication do?

I'm just trying to express the point that "home remedies" and "alternative medicine" is 99% of the time complete crap. Homeopathy, herbal "remedies" and all this crap is a waste of time and money. Sure, change your diet, eat healthier, have more salads whatever, but don't take sugar pills said to contain the vibrations of healing herbs.

I don't think they work either. The reason I suggested them to him was because he does. And I could be wrong you know, they might work, even if it's only a placebo effect.

He refuses to try things he believes will help him (such as alternative medicine), let alone 'real' medication, etc.

My point is that he's in a place, in his head at the moment, where he doesn't even want to try to help himself.



Akatosh... I don't know what kind of medication you're talking about. I'm talking about simple anti-depressants. I have two friends (christ I sound like I hang out with a bunch of emos...) who are currently taking meds for their depression. It certainly does not have this effect you've described... making them lose their personality, etc. It just helps regulate the serotonin levels in their brain, which is being depleted due to their depression.

[Klytos]

Me or the other guy who mentioned it?

I don't know much about Alternative Medicine, to be honest... my boyfriend and his mum are both into it though. I don't think my boyfriend has ever had an antibiotic in his life (dirty hippy ) I personally don't believe in an awful lot of it, but the point is, he's not even trying any of this stuff... he's content to just be a miserable ass... he won't even do a simple thing like try changing his diet.

Klytos, I may have made it sound like it in my posts, but I honestly don't believe he has a crush on me... I think it's just jealousy that I'm in a stable relationship and he wants that.

I feel kinda bad just letting him sort himself out, but I guess it's all I can do.

Thanks everyone for your very helpful, informed replies

I agree with Limpingfish... although in some cases it may be different of course, in the case of my friend, he even takes encouragement the wrong way. Even things such as girls showing an interest in him/making him feel wanted, he uses it to make himself depressed over how they're not his ex...

Le Woltaire: I have asked him to go and see a doctor, he won't do that. I've asked him to changed his diet and try alternative medicine, he won't. I've asked him to take medication or try counselling, he won't.

So I guess you're all right, I'll have to just leave him be until he snaps out of it or reaches a point where he wants to recover.

It's hard though, because like I said... I know that he's an incredibly cool and nice guy underneath his current 'emo' exterior... it's very frustrating...

A person with emotional issues cannot be strong-armed into dealing with them. If he is indeed clinically depressed (and because it seems like it doesn't mean it is true. Some people are just attention whores, or too dramatic, or they're trying to fuck their friends' girlfriend) then there will come a time when his life is so acutely unbearable that it'll come down between asking for help, or suicide. Either way, that's when things will happen, not when people explain the benefits of medication to them.

You would do best to maintain a safe distance from this person, make him aware completely and utterly that his round-about advances towards you - 'cause that's what all this emoing sounds like - are hopeless and that you're happy with your current boyfriend (which I guess is the case?) I'd further suggest to stop the endless late-night MSN conversations with him and so on. Inform your boyfriend of what's going on. He, as any other clear-seeing person will see the conflict for what it predominantly is.

If your friend needs help, you can only give it it him when he asks for it. It might be the case that dealing with him as you have so far has only accentuated the issues with his personality,  which may or may not be depression-based.

The thing is, he has never been emo before... which is why I'm giving him the time of day now. He's never shown a history of being an attention-seeker or an emo... he's always been a really nice, level-headed guy, and this transformation into being emo and attention-seeking (which he is being, now) and kind of aggressive in his attitude towards women... it's really, really sudden and weird. If he'd always been an attention seeker, I wouldn't be so concerned now.

As for late-night MSN conversations and things... hehe, they sound a bit 'dodgy'... they would usually involve my boyfriend too though. He was also very worried about him.

He's never, ever come on to me before or shown any sign, when not being drunk, that he'd like to "go out with me", but it was kind of a snapping point for me, when he started talking about that while he was drunk... he either seems to be having a go at me for no reason, or telling me that he wishes I was his girlfriend... bah.

I really don't like his personality at the moment, I find him incredibly, incredibly hard to bear... but since he has never been like this before his break-up, I can't help but care, since he'd always been awesome before that.

Um, there are some things that might help you understand how he feels a bit better... okay, he's nearly 30, and he was engaged to this girl... she left him for a guy he used to work with... and he has extremely low self-esteem (he won't let my boyfriend try and set him up with a girl because he's afraid the girl might find my boyfriend more attractive than him, and be disappointed...)

... he also has a chronic eye infection and has to wear an eyepatch. One day he'll probably have to have the eye removed. This is, I'm pretty certain, another cause of his depression... that he believes he'll never find a girl who will love him with an eye-patch... if that makes sense....

He has shown jealousy of my boyfriend over the past few months, but I'm not sure it's entirely because he wants to go out with me. In fact, I'm pretty sure he actually doesn't want to, it was just something he said when drunk. My boyfriend and I have been together for a few years and are renovating a house together, live together etc... I think he might be jealous of this relationship, but I'm not sure... he's very hard to understand

Has anybody else here been in a state of depression similar to this, or for similar reasons, or maybe known somebody in a similar situation?

The frustrating thing is, he really isn't trying to pull himself out of it. I asked him jokingly if he was going to be cheered up by the time we went on holiday in August, and he replied "no". He does not try to get involved in group activities when we all do stuff together, he does not try to look on the bright side at all. He listens to sad music instead of happy music. It's for all the world as though he is enjoying his woe... which of course I know he's not...

Thanks for all your help!

I was laughing at this:

I guess I'm just in a bit of a weird mood with all these threads being created for the sole purpose of being locked.

Yes, just like me!

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA OH THEVINTAGEDEMON YOU ARE FUNNY HAHAHAHAHAHA.

Companies shouldn't advertise on their own 404 pages because it's a problem page and is totally inappropriate to advertise on there.

That's not what I was laughing at!

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA OH THEVINTAGEDEMON YOU ARE FUNNY HAHAHAHAHAHA.

Anyway, why shouldn't companies advertise on their own 404 pages?