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I threw together a quick 3D render. I think one of the main problems is the bottom beam on the railing. There would be no way to attach it. I took screenshots from a couple different angles so you could maybe see if you'd like another angle better...







Note how you could use simple lines to make them more 3D looking like in the third image...that may help alot...

Hope this helps!
Trisk

Wow! That looks really awesome, ProgZmax! Thanks a ton! That is perfect. Yes, he is a bad guy, and yes, he is supposed to be fat. Note I called him "pudge-ums" in the post.

Sigh...yes, his legs aren't quite right. It is HARD trying to do perspective when someone is wearing all black...As for the roundness of the legs, I was trying to make him fat, so they are supposed to be round. Is that not the kind of round you mean? It's also hard to make someone look fat when they are wearing all black. :b

(How did you do the double sized display of the image, ProgZmax?)

Again, thank you very much!
Trisk

Hey artistic type guys! I'm having a TON of trouble drawing this character's eyes. I'm doing the animations in the SIERRA style, so they need to look like something Sierra would've done. I've tried EVERYthing I can think of to make pudge-ums' eyes look decent...but I'm still not happy with this. If anyone could make a suggestion, or better, fix them up for me...I'd REALLY appreciate it.



Note the skin tone pallette is limited to the colors you see on him, both on his face and hands. This is a 256 color game. :b

I don't know how to make the image display double size...sorry 'bout how small it is. Import it into your favorite graphics editor to get a good look at it.

Thanks a ton!

Trisk

Hey everyone! I'm looking for someone who can draw who would be willing to do a couple of finished, inked drawings of some character closups for my game, (working title, Realm of Darkness.) Check the game out in the AGS game announcement forum.

I will be doing the coloring in photoshop, so finished inks are all I need, and there will probably be around 5 needed. If you can draw human characters well, please PM me or preferably Email me at real_trisk@yahoo.com with at least one example of your work.

Thanks tons in advance!
Trisk

---April 12th update---

Several posts ago I mentioned I was trying to line up a band to get some professional music into my game. I'm pleased at last to make the formal announcement:

The Australian band "ShadowPlay" has given me permission to use several of their tracks in the game! When I approached them, I figured I only had a snowball's chance in hell of getting their permission. They are SUCH good musicians. It turns out they are a really nice bunch and gave me the go-ahead to use their music! They even offered to help in any way they could!

Now trust me, folks...if you haven't heard ShadowPlay, you NEED to. They have the most hauntingly beautiful goth metal sound I've ever heard. The melodies stick in your head forever once you've heard them. Go right now to their website at http://www.theshadowplay.com. Go on...I'll wait for you here.

As for the game, progress continues to be made. I'm doing lots of code heavy things right now, as well as going back and getting images and sounds I've been meaning to. I'm racing to get the first part of the game up to alpha-quality level. There are now 45 sound effects, and 13 music tracks in the game. This number will continue to grow.

Peter Thomas has agreed to join the team! Welcome, Peter! His insite has been invaluable.

Now:

Kristjan and Ozzie-
The sprites look just fine in the game. The reason Jacob appears to stick out like a bright blue sore thumb is because I hadn't yet rendered light levels in that room yet. I chose to take the screenshot there so that he would be clearly visible...but I can see it also makes him appear pasted on. This was a bad decision on my part, I guess. Trust me on this: nobody I've shown the game has had any problem with the sprites, and I'm confident that when you play the game you won't either.

Heyya! Just played your demo! Doesn't look too bad! The little red thing main character is cute, and the music sets a good mood! The graphic style isn't bad either, actually. Couple of things I'd work on:

Look text! I know it is booring, believe me, after doing hundreds of look texts myself, I'm sick to death of doing them, but you can add ALOT of humor to the game, as well as give it a better sense of place and style by adding look text. Without it, the game world seems kinda static and empty.

The game crashes if you click "interact" on Red Hoody, complaining of a missing globalmessage.

You can use the pick repeatedly on the rock on the beach, and get as much gold as you want. Maybe you want this, but I kinda doubt it. If the rock is an object, just turn it off with an ObjectOff command after giving the player the gold.

Finally, make sure you run through the game sometime before release to clean up typos. Whether or not they bother you, they make the game seem very amateur and cheesy to the player.

All in all, looks like an cool idea! I'm interested to find out what happens next!

Talk laters,
Trisk

Hey! I really actually like this background alot! I WAS raised during the 80s, so I played alot of games that looked like this. I'll give you my two cents, see what you think of this, and if it makes sense to you:

Nowadays, when you go for a 16 color game, you obviously aren't trying for state of the art. I felt Sierra's graphics always looked best when they didn't dither so much. A little is good, a lot just makes the picture look dirty. I would suggest EMBRACING the 16 color pallete, and make the game look more flat and cartoony, just adding a bit of dithering to the sand to simulate...well...SANDINESS, and maybe a bit here and there on the rocks to simulate depth.

I honestly think that the cleaner 16 color artwork of Space Quest 2 looks more realistic than the dither-happy graphics of Quest for Glory 1 EGA- even though Space Quest 2 was a 160x200 AGI game. Another advantage of this is that you won't spend 10 hours per picture dithering by hand, and could spend that time adding little details like reflections in the water, clumps of grass sticking out of the cliff here and there, maybe even some shadows...and more crabs! I love crabs.

I dunno. Food for thought anyway...and I DO like the picture, and would love to play another EGA game with graphics like these! Go for it!

Trisk

nihilyst and Peter Thomas-

Yes, Realm of Darkness is a working title only. I briefly thought about actually calling it that, but decided fairly quickly that this was going to be a stone cold serious story, and would need a better title. See my post in the game announcement forum, even when I announced the title, I said specifically that that would NOT be the actual title. What will it be? Sigh...good question. I'm not good with titles. Again, Peter, if you will permit, I would like to PM you about a few more details that I don't want to disclose publicly yet.

Again, as for a novel...for now, issa game only. I really do think the story is good though, and I can guarantee it will take you places you NEVER expected from the introduction. It will make a good game, or novel, or TV miniseries, I think... Anyway, it is really unique in the realm of games...

Peter Thomas-

on the storming off...yes...I see what you mean. Jacob is generally non-combative, but he should be more cheesed off with his brother. My brother and I will bang our heads against it and see what we can come up with. Mike storming off is an interesting idea...I'm trying to think if that would fit with the story, however. Doing something like that might totally turn Jacob away, making him unwilling to help Mike when the going gets tuff. Well, anyway, we'll talk about it. I see what you are saying with this being problematic...makes Jacob kinda spineless and a lifeless character. Need...more...conflict... :b

-on the amulet, again, can I PM or email you about this? I'm not willing to make the function of the amulet public knowledge.

-on the light in the woods, yet again, can I PM or email you about it? Again, I don't want to give too much away on a public forum. This story is my baby, and I don't care if only 3 people ever play it, they aren't gonna get to know what happens before it happens. ;b

Thanks again to both of you!
Trisk

Whoa! Hey, thanks for the excellent responses, guys! I'll answer in the order it was sent my justifications for doing what I've done.:

Peter Thomas:

On the subject of Mike running off with the inheritance, this is one of those situations where truth is stanger than fiction. This exact situation happened in my extended family not just once, but TWICE: When my Mother's aunt died, her will split the inheritance between her two children. However, her son had been caring for her when she passed away, and as she distrusted banks and kept all her money in a safe, he took all the money and ran off to Califonia. His sister was understandably crushed, as she was left not only dealing with the death of her mother, but now her brother pulling this on her. Her reaction was to do nothing. She has left it in the hands of the lawyers, and the case has dragged on for over 3 years now...and since my story takes place 2 years after the death of the parents, I think it is actually a very reasonable scenario. Even if Jacob did go after his brother for it, it would take alot of time...I could get more into the details of this, and the other time it happened in my family...but I think that is enough. :b The point is, I didn't suck this plot element out of my thumb, but out of my family history.

As for his storming off from the meeting...Jacob was loathed to even go to it, but his fiance convinced him he probably should. When he gets there, his brother refuses to explain himself...just gives him an amulet and tells him to come looking for him. He also blows off the inheritance thing to a degree, which pisses Jacob off even further...Ultimately though, I had to stop the scene at some point, because due to what happens later in the story, (which you'll understand when you play the game) there was NO WAY Mike would have told him anything, no matter what. So what could Jacob do? Beat his brother to a pulp? Mike still wouldn't have told him...so Jacob just gets mad and leaves.

Well, yes the amulet is a problem. It will be important for Jacob to have it, but it isn't innocuous like what you are thinking. He'll need it right away in the story, and will need it frequently throughout. But I agree with it being kind of corny. Can I maybe PM you on this further? Maybe we could come up with something better.

As for the light in the woods...yes you are right in some ways...I probably overstated the issue in my little write up, but note that this is a LONELY section of road. No houses, nothing. Just a pine forest. There shouldn't be lights out here... In the game, Jacob doesn't know that it has anything to do with Mike, but he goes to investigate and finds...well, he finds it IS related very, very soon. But why didn't the police find it? (play nervous music in your head here.)

As for the tragedies, his parents died in a car accident, and his brother ran off with the money! That is kind of tragic, I should think...again, I probably overstated the issue for the write up, but still...it'd be like loosing your whole family in one day! As for his being short, that was just part of the character bio I've written for him...the game never even states that he is short, it is just something you can probably infer if you look at his size relative to other characters. ;b

Yes, he's had 2 years to deal with it. And he's dealt with it by trying to forget, not face the problem...so this whole thing reopens the wounds for him...wow, this is getting way more detailed in his motivations than the game will probably ever show! But these are his motivations as I see them.

Hopefully that answers some of those issues, let me know if you still find them problematic...I'm trying to get this kind of stuff across in the game script...which is hard, because the STORY of this game is ultimately about Mike. That's kind of a weird way to make a game, I know, but you'll have to play it to see why.

THANK YOU so much for the detailed thoughts! I really appreciate it very much...and I will try to go back into the game and make a few of those things more clear.

stuh and nihilyst-

This is a quick DESCRIPTION of the intro, not the actual SCRIPT of the intro. The actual script has Jacob narating all this stuff to the player himself. As he does, flashbacks show the most important parts of the story. A novel? Well, this game is going to have a deep story with alot of twists...but I don't think that precludes it from being an adventure game. If you don't agree, go play Longest Journey or Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within.

nihilyst-

The parents ARE indirectly involved in this story...VERY indirectly involved. As for is Mike alive or not, and is he trying to involve Jacob in it...well, you'll have to play the game to find that out... > MWAAHAHAHaahaa!!! Seriously, Mike's motivations and actions are at the epicenter of this plot.

InCreator-
Again, read what I said to Peter Thomas on the seeming unreality of the situation... Thanks for the kind words, though!

Everyone, THANK YOU for taking the time to respond! Your battering at my plot will help me know if it is strong enough to stand UP to it, or if you'll point out plot problems that'll collapse the whole thing. I really, really appreciate your taking the time to think on this stuff...ultimately, if I don't hook the player early on, I'll loose 'em. If you have any other thoughts, LET ME KNOW!!!

Hey! I'm trying to really make this intro special and unique, so I want it to really get the player intrigued. Can you read through this and tell me if this interests you to find out what happens next? Thoughts, opinions, and questions are welcome, though I may not answer if it violates the carefully guarded secrets of the story... ;b

---------------
Jacob, the main character, gets a call from his brother. They haven't talking in years...in fact, they haven't talked since their parents died. Jacob had been out of the country researching a book, and Mike took all the inheritance and ran off with it.

So when Mike calls, and what's more sounds scared, Jacob is more than a little stunned. Mike asks to meet with him, and hangs up suddenly. Jacob is unsure, as he is still very angry with Mike, but he also loves his little brother and decides to go.

Mike is somewhat incoherent at the meeting, talking about a religious order that he's become involved with. He makes Jacob promise to come looking for him if he should dissappear, then hands him a golden amulet of some sort. Jacob gets upset at Mike's continued evasions to his questions, and storms off.

A few weeks later, the police contact Jacob and tell him they found Mike's car abandoned on a remote section of road near a thick forest. There are no clues whatsoever reguarding the reason for it being there, or Mike's whereabouts. Jacob remembers what Mike told him, about needing Jacob to come after him if anything should happen. A bit nervous himself, Jacob heads to the place where the police found the car.

At first, he finds nothing, just as the police found nothing. But as night falls, he can make out a light twinkling through the trees. Somehow, he knows this must have something to do with what happened to Mike...it is just strange that the police didn't mention it didn't they know about it? Jacob strikes off into the forest and the game begins...
---------------

A word about Jacob: He is a writer, an author of history books. Not very popular history books mind you, so he is sort of a starving artist. He is somewhat short, a fact that Mike, his younger (and taller) brother used to tease him about mercilessly. He is engaged to be married in a couple of months, and is hoping to escape the tragedies of his past. This entire situation has dredged up alot of bad memories for him, and will create its own share of bad memories too, before the story ends.

Let me know how it all strikes ya!
Trisk

---April 1st update---
I'm deep into working on act 2 of the game! Act 2 will be the hardest part to complete, so I expect to be cranking on it for quite a while. I have nearly all of the 3D rendering completed for it, however, so alot of the work is just plugging the graphics in...that and coding. :b

EDIT:

I'm changing these controversial screenshots to stop this weird trend of bashing the game's sprites. I can guarantee that you won't have a problem with how they look in motion once you see the game. I've showed the game to literally DOZENS of people at this point and NOT ONE has said anything other than that they sprites and animation looks great. The screenshots I had up here were poor because I hadn't rendered light in those shots yet, and were therefore a stupid representation of the final game.

If you want to see how the sprites look, go play Prodigal 0!!! it can be downloaded from

prodigal.lilgryphmaster.com




This is an early concept drawing I sketched out on my Prodigal Notebook (TM) representing one of the game's final areas. I'm no real life artist, but this shows a fairly accurate representation of the tusks surrounding cliffs that make up some of the end of the game.


Get used to seeing this symbol alot! Figuring out artistic styling to go along with the peoples and story we wrote was very hard, but the Aegis sort of popped into my mind just as it appears here. I like its design because it has a plethora of hidden meanings relating to the story of the game, as sharp players may notice...yet they are never pointed out by the game. You can just draw parallels from it if you think about it. Or maybe I'm the only one that'll see the connections. Awe, who cares? I like it anyway! ;b

My brother and I are still thinking up cool new elements for the story! The result, however, is that I have to IMPLEMENT all those cool elements into the game, which means more rendering, more animating, and more coding. Still, I think the end result will be worth it.

One of my friends, who is a very talented musician, as well as the most sought after violist in Minnesota, is doing some music for me! As I stated before, this game won't have alot of music per se, but there are times when I need tribal drums or a very nervous kind of rhythmic sound...stuff that is beyond my ability to do as a guitar player and foley artist. That is where he comes in! I may put up a couple of audio tracks in the critics lounge, if I can figure out a place to put 'em that I can hotlink to them.

Finally, I suddenly realize I hadn't yacked about the story yet! So here is a synopsis of the introduction:

-------------------
Jacob, the main character, gets a call from his brother. They haven't talking in years...in fact, they haven't talked since their parents died. Jacob had been out of the country researching a book, and Mike took all the inheritance and ran off with it.

So when Mike calls, and what's more sounds scared, Jacob is more than a little stunned. Mike asks to meet with him, and hangs up suddenly. Jacob is unsure, as he is still very angry with Mike, but he also loves his little brother and decides to go.

Mike is somewhat incoherent at the meeting, talking about a religious order that he's become involved with. He makes Jacob promise to come looking for him if he should dissappear, then hands him a golden amulet of some sort. Jacob gets upset at Mike's continued evasions to his questions, and storms off.

A few weeks later, the police contact Jacob and tell him they found Mike's car abandoned on a remote section of road near a thick forest. There are no clues whatsoever reguarding the reason for it being there, or Mike's whereabouts. Jacob remembers what Mike told him, about needing Jacob to come after him if anything should happen. A bit nervous himself, Jacob heads to the place where the police found the car.

At first, he finds nothing, just as the police found nothing. But as night falls, he can make out a light twinkling through the trees. Somehow, he knows this must have something to do with what happened to Mike...it is just strange that the police didn't mention it didn't they know about it? Jacob strikes off into the forest and the game begins...

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

So there ya have it! I'm gonna post this in the critics forum, so be sure to give me your opinion over there!

That's it for this update! Laters, all!
Trisk

---March 25, 2005 update---
The first act of the game is very nearly complete! All rooms are loaded, all puzzles are working and complete (though untested by anyone but me), and all sounds and music are complete. There are a few minor details that need cleaning up, but they are very small things like a couple of spelling errors and a few missing animations. 603 sprites is the final count for this part of the game! Expect this number to increase rapidly now, however. Act one features Jacob by himself most of the time...Act two will have many other characters he'll be dealing with, and act three will find him back to being by himself.

I am mildly thinking about releasting act one as a demo...I'll see what my testers think after they have played it.

Work has stalled for a few days while I play with my brand new PSP...so fun! :b But I'll be back at it again by Monday for certain. I began running a few coding tests to see how I can make NPCs walk around and use scripted movement routines...looks excellent so far. AGS is an incredibly well designed engine, as if you needed to be told that.

Niksterg- you can buy Serious Sam Gold at Walmart and other places for $10. (Plus, it has my levels on it!) You need to learn how to render in it though...it takes a while and I've been doing it for 4 years now. If you've ever rendered in 3D, it would be easy to figure out, however. I'd be glad to offer a few pointers for you if you want...

Mr. Hyde- The soundtrack is probably closest to Doom3 or Silent Hill. Not so much music as it is "Aural sounds". Groans, screams, whispers, and unearthly sounding tones are all a part of the soundtrack. There will be a couple of old blues songs throughout the game, in reference to movies like Evil Dead, and Stephen King's fascination with this kind of music. The main character, Jacob, is very fond ofÃ,  these old songs...and as an added bonus, they are public domain!:D Because sound plays such an INCREDIBLY important role in horror, all of it will be .mp3. The vox file will be included right along with the game, as it would kinda...well...stink without music. :b

Prowler- Yes, the sprites look fine. I keep the camera angles low enough that perspective doesn't become a problem.

Queen Kara- Thanks! It's great to hear that all my hard work is paying off.

Big Brother- I will see about getting some screenshots from the actual game. I modeled the sprites specifically after the style Sierra used in Quest for Glory VGA...but made them my own creations. I'm fairly proud of how they are turning out, as I've never animated before.

Well, that about does it for this time! Keep the questions coming! I'll try and get an actual in-game screenshot or two for next time, instead of just the finished backgrounds.
Trisk

---March 17/2005 Update---
Rendering work continues at a steady clip. Most locations have been completed at this point, which is half the battle for a game like this. Most of the remaining renders needed are for the intro cutscene and ending cutscene. Rendering work is probably around 80% complete. Here is a screenshot from about half way through the game:


Jacob, the main character, will have many puzzles to solve in this monolithic cliff dwelling. Many elements of the mystery will come to light here.

I've been cranking madly for over a week on completing a very polished introduction cutscene. I want it to get the story moving and the player excited about the game right away! This means I've spared no expense in trying to get as flashy an intro as I can. The intro itself is currently clocking in at over 5 megs uncompressed, which for a 256 color game with no speech is pretty massive! It's going to grow more before I'm done, too.

My brother and I have been working on polishing up various elements of the story, as well. DragonRose pointed out that the main character, Jacob, was pretty flat and lifeless. We have worked alot on fleshing out his personality, as well as his motivations for what he does in the game.

I just crossed 500 sprite frames! That feels like a milestone to me. :b However, I have many, MANY more sprites to do on the game, so expect this number to groooooOOOOWWW!!!

Finally, I'm trying to procure permission from a band to use their songs in the game soundtrack. I won't say which band unless they agree...we'll see how that pans out...if it fails, there is another band or two I will approach. Depends on how greedy they are, since I obviously can't pay them for it...but it would be a great way to advertise the band, which is what makes me hope they will agree. :b

---March 11/05 update---
I've lined up a small group of people willing to help me work on Act 1 of the game. Thank you so much to those who were willing to take the time to offer support. I'm currently working with DragonRose to build up a clean, polished intro that will start the story off with a bang, and get its hooks into the player. Thanks so much, DragonRose, you've been a big help already! Here is an early render of the main character's appartment. There is alot of work to do...those walls are much too bare:

Thanks to those of you who took the time to respond! I've got three testers now, which is enough at this stage of developement. Come beta testing time, I'll prolly be in here begging for more.

Thanks again!

I just posted over in the announcement forum an official announcement of my game. I'd be interested to know if people like the look of the game. I hold my cards pretty close to my chest, so I'm not interested in giving out too many story details but my greatest struggle has been puzzle. I've worked on 3D shooters before so graphics, art and story aren't a problem for me, but figuring out a good puzzly way to use them is. I've read some of the puzzle theory posts of the forums, and while they are interesting and informative, I still am struggling to get enough good puzzle content going. My biggest fear for my game is that it end up like Myst: pretty graphics that you stumble through, with no puzzles to really get into.

So my question is this: is there anybody out there who can promise to be descreet whom I could detail some of what I'm doing story wise to. Someone who feels they could make some suggestions for good puzzles.

You'd get in the credits for the game, of course, and would be sent a current compile of the game to take a look at and brainstorm for puzzle ideas and offer other suggestions. I'd also sketch out the overall story to you to see what you think.

I don't really feel like I can adequately express my vision for this game in just a few forum posts, which is why I'm hoping I can get a nibble from someone who'd be interested enough to take some time and play through what I've got.

***Person must be over 18!!! This will be an M rated game for violence and gore. If you were OK with Pleurghburg, then this game won't offend.***

Thank you very much to whoever takes the time to read all of this!

Yours,
Trisk

What forum would it go in then? I'm asking for someone to critique a current compile of my game...isn't this the best place to find one? 

I just posted over in the announcement forum an official announcement of my game. I'd be interested to know if people like the look of the game. I hold my cards pretty close to my chest, so I'm not interested in giving out too many story details but my greatest struggle has been puzzle. I've worked on 3D shooters before so graphics, art and story aren't a problem for me, but figuring out a good puzzly way to use them is. I've read some of the puzzle theory posts of the forums, and while they are interesting and informative, I still am struggling to get enough good puzzle content going. My biggest fear for my game is that it end up like Myst: pretty graphics that you stumble through, with no puzzles to really get into.

So my question is this: is there anybody out there who can promise to be descreet whom I could detail some of what I'm doing story wise to. Someone who feels they could make some suggestions for good puzzles.

You'd get in the credits for the game, of course, and would be sent a current compile of the game to take a look at and brainstorm for puzzle ideas and offer other suggestions. I'd also sketch out the overall story to you to see what you think.

I don't really feel like I can adequately express my vision for this game in just a few forum posts, which is why I'm hoping I can get a nibble from someone who'd be interested enough to take some time and play through what I've got.

***Person must be over 18!!! This will be an M rated game for violence and gore. If you were OK with Pleurghburg, then this game won't offend.***

Thank you very much to whoever takes the time to read all of this!

Yours,
Trisk

Download the completed game at
prodigal.lilgryphmaster.com

---March 06/05 first announcement---
Hello, everybody! This is my first post on this forum! So what an excellent time to let everybody know about the new game I'm working on! It currently doesn't have a name other than a working title which will NOT be its final name, so for now it is called "Realm of Darkness". I'm rendering the 3D graphics using the Serious Engine, then scaling down to 320x200x256 for input into AGS. Once scaled down, I'm cleaning up the image and adding extra effects using Adobe Photoshop. The end result is excellent looking graphics as you can see here:




(Hopefully the links will work! Never done that before. Thanks, Neole!)

I rendered the picture up to 640x400 so you can see it a little better, but that should give you a good idea of what the game looks like. The sprites are going to be in the grand tradition of Sierra games, and should be similar to King's Quest 6 or Quest for Glory 1 VGA. I've been working on it for around a month now, and have about 40% of the graphics, sound and "look" text in, less than 20% of the sprites, and less than 10% of the puzzles.

As for story, I'm working out what I think will be quite a unique horror/thriller story that will be a bit unlike anything else you've ever read/watched/played. Closest adventure game equivalent would be the first Gabriel Knight. It will have a huge twist ending in the grand tradition of movies like Sixth Sense.


Yours,
Ã,  Ã, Trisk