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hippie, do us a favor and don't REPLY to yourself. Please EDIT your previous post so you don't needlessly bump your topic up to the top of the list. Thanks.

Cool screenies so far!
One extremely minor crit - Milon the Lizard in his game sprite form looks suspiciously reminiscent of a TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLE! I think if you kept his skin tan like it is in the concept art, it would look better. (You could also heighten the contrast between his skin and his shirt.)
But like I said, minor detail. Great work so far!
Do you use a tablet for the backgrounds?

Oh, come on.
Hidden, maybe. Dark, naturally. But moist???
Our assistant janitor, Geoffkhan ensures the cleanliness of our dungeons, every Saturday need it or not.
Anyways, I wrote the walkthrough/hint sheet, so if you find any mistakes, be sure to let me know.
The only thing the walkthrough does not cover is the *SPECIAL HIDDEN SECRET BONUS PUZZLE,* which you must either solve for yourself (yeah, right) or peruse forums (either these ones or the Herculean Effort ones).
Have fun with it!

I liked the game overall, especially the "dynamic" feeling to the mansion (characters moved to different rooms, etc.) but there were a few story things I think that could be improved.

It would really build tension if you suspect everyone else in the house. If you catch them doing something shady; anything to mislead the player. This could be build up until the player practically starts every time he sees another person in the house. Also, the characters would have to be killed off slower, as not to reduce the pool of suspects.

The whole spirit thing would be a surprise, especially because it controls people (including the player) in the house.

The idol should be more of a central piece to the game. It would tie in really well with that whole Africa bit, and maybe it acts as a home to the malovent spirit of the murderous son. Or something.

Coupled with some creepy atmospheric music (especially for the dream) and sound effects (creaking wood, wind down the chimney, doors opening and closing, etc.)

Also, how does the fire in the fireplace burn for five days?

Just my two cents.

Oh crazy, man. I just checked the link and it looks like Angelfire busted you. Sorry, buddy. We all have our lows.

Ooh, I'm going to have to kind of...disagree with you on that one.

I think the black lines add a great deal of charm to the background (or maybe I'm just a sucker for Dr. Seuss).
Very nicely stylized trees.

I like what you've done with the reflection in the pond and the way the detail diminishes in the distance.

I do have a few suggestions. Something needs to be done about the edge of the pond. The color abruptly changes from blue to green. Maybe you could try outlining the pond with black....

Also, I don't particularly like the short black lines for the blades of grass in the lower portion of the drawing. I think if you drew them as squiggles (like the grass outlines in the upper left corner of the background)
they would look much less random.

I'm not too sure about the bridge either. It looks rather oddly constructed, like the wood is unattached and floating. The individual boards themselves look flat since they're drawn as rectangles rather than as three-dimensional objects.
The bridge could definitely use some rennovating.

But the overall stlye of the background definitely fits with that "princely" sprite I helped you with.

Just out of curiosity, did you use some sort of tablet to draw that background?

Anyways, keep up the great work!

Yeah, I talked to Azure. It looks like she'll be really good as the voice of the piratey fisherman's daughter in Apprentice 2, but her voice didn't really strike me as fitting for the farmgirl in Apprentice 1 (maybe it was the sample I heard?).

Great work! Reminds me of a cross between the Simpsons and a high-res DOTT. One thing, though. In the first screenshot, I'd make the foreground (pots and pans) darker so it doesn't confuse the background as much.
Keep up the good work!

Ok, we're down to three more spots for voice acting in the first Apprentice!

crystal ball (yes, you can talk to it) - I'm thinking it should be a silly, eccentric voice (we can put echo or effects on it later). Surprise me.

highwaywoman - a gruff female voice (preferably slight British accent). I mean, just look at the sprite!

farmgirl - generic (British accent optional)

Once we fill these three spots, we can start recording the dialogue. I'm excited!

EDIT: We've filled all the spots except for the two female roles. Ladies, send your samples, please! I want to get this show on the road.

You could die in MM. Didn't you ever nuke the mansion before?

The problem I had with Sierra games was not the content or the game design (though dying sucks, and being able to unknowingly screw yourself over does, too).

I didn't like the "feel."

This may sound petty, but the sprite movement in Sierra games (all the ones I've played, KQ, Longbow, GB1, QFG1, etc.) was far too sluggish. The characters seemed to painstaikingly struggle across the screen and there was no way to adjust the speed.

Also, in many Sierra games, the player has no way of telling the hotspots from the background. In some of those beautifully detailed scenes, some of those tiny objects are game objects, while some of the larger ones exist only as art. However, even as early as LEC's (then Lucasfilm Games, I think) MM, you could use the "look" command to scan the screen for hotspots.

With a LEC game (besides MM), I know that the character will move at the right speed, that I'll be able to skip cutscenes with the ESC key, and dialogue with the . key (I can even adjust the dialogue speed, imagine that). It was almost that every LEC game came with an implied guarantee of quality, while Sierra games varied wildly depending on their designer.

Naturally, both companies were very creative, and their games featured many unforgettable characters (Sierra: Larry Laffer, Gabriel Knight, Laura Bow, etc. LEC: Bernard Bernoulli, Ben Throttle, Guybrush Threepwood, Manny Calavera, etc.), and comparing them on this scale is totally subjective.

I'm sure you'd have trouble making a game using these backgrounds. Using the works of "real" artists without their permission is not only unethical but illegal, since you do not own the rights to someone else's intellectual property.

I'm actually shocked that someone on this forum would shamelessly post another's work without AT LEAST giving credit. (I'm aware you didn't actually SAY you made them, but you did mention Photoshop, so we all assumed...)

Make your own game, draw your own art, and compose your own music (that's the whole point behind an amateur game). Until you do that, you disrespect not only the people who drew those backgrounds, but also the people in this community.

We should save this bug (and also a walk-behind problem that's been posted on the Apprentice thread under the Completed Games Announcements) so that eventually we can make another update (a version with voice, hopefully)...

Ok, couple of things.

Voices are not urgently needed, although it would be nice to get together a bunch of people for the original Apprentice (as we could start recording that now).

We probably won't record the voice for Apprentice 2 until it's finished...

Ian

P.S. Gregor, you wouldn't make a bad Pib. I just want to see if anyone else can do it better.

EDIT: There's still spots open for voice acting in the first Apprentice (there were only 7 to begin with)! We need a man with a deep voice, Pib, the highwaywoman, and the farmgirl...

On a side note, can anyone do a good imitation of Charles L. Charles (from MI 4)? That Shakespearian style would really work for a certain character...

Hey guys,

Just stumbled on this thread today. I haven't really played Flashbax yet, although I probably will, since it's so controversial.
But seriously, Foz, what's with the little jab at Apprentice? You didn't like the music? You couldn't care for the main character? Come on, you DIDN'T like Pib? Not even a little?

You're breaking my heart.

I know that my Apprentice philosophy probably ran contrary to yours. I wanted to make a cutesy game in a Lucasarts style, something that could appeal to people of all ages (except for the sheep part, I'll admit I got a bit carried away there).
From what I hear about your game, it sounds like you intended to make a controversial game from the get-go, correct me if I'm wrong.

I don't really have a problem with violence or bad language, as long as it really fits the theme. What does bother me is when that crap is thrown in a movie (for example) just so it can get a PG-13 or R rating. Frankly, that's just jarring.

Other movies, like "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels" or "Fight Club" do more than feature these elements. They are a part of the movie, which can't really be separated. You can make a PG (or G, maybe) version of "Rush Hour," but good luck trying to do that to "Pulp Fiction."

IMHO

Ian

Thanks, bro, for the updated pic. Did you fix the eyebrows? Can't really tell from this angle....

Vel-

Sorry, dude, haven't heard the samples yet. The truth is, my comp's internet is still clustermucked. Sometime in the next few days, the network people will clear things up. For the time being, I'm either using a friend's comp or a lab computer. I don't feel comfortable installing software (winRAR) on these systems.

Anyways, when I said British accent, I don't care if it's upper-class or cockney, either is good. (Actually, I kinda like some of the accents in "Lock Stock" or "the Mean Machine," where they say "wif" instead of "with")

Gregor, you should post the latest version of Percy (without the mesh and flat shaded models behind him). I wanna see it, too!

For Apprentice 2 (and a special version of the original), we would like to include voice acting.

Herculean Effort Production may have a variety of talents, but unfortunately, voice-acting is not one of them. If you're interested in helping out, please read the instructions below.

If you want to be considered for a part in either Apprentice or Apprentice 2, please record a sample (with your own microphone) and send it to
ifs104@NOSPAMpsu.edu (taking out the NOSPAM part, of course).

Here is the script for your audition wave files:

Hallo, where did everybody go?
I thought you might like some help with your sales pitch, sir.
I'll get blood all over your driveway!
There is no glory on the battlefield for me.
With all due respect, sir, I think you watched too many Tarzan movies as an impressionable child.

I'm looking for a variety of accents, especially British (but please be the real deal). Also, some female voices would be very appreciated.

Thanks!

Ian