Messages

Good idea about the intro last.  In all my games I've done the intro first, but in the forthcoming Murran Chronicles 3, I am 80% of the way through the game, and have still not even touched the intro sequence.  It makes for a better development process in my opinion.

-Bill

Also, you HAVE TO have a gazpacho soup inventory item, or puzzle, or something.  I always found it funny that it was to blame for Rimmer's demise.

-Bill

Ever played Space Taxi back in the day?  It was a gravity-based landing game too   Looks very intriguing.

Thanks,

BIll

LOVE it!

I am one of the few people in the states who even know this show exists, and plan on playing it when done

I see the toaster...  Will there be Toaster Heaven?

I also notice the male version of Holly.  Nicely done.

Are you going to use the theme song for the intro/main screen?  If so, what version?

Keep up work on it, I love it.

Thanks,

Bill

Both my games which were nominated didn't win awards.  Maybe I will cry and stuff.  Hell, I spent about 2 hours mixing all the music vocals in Audacity for Mr. Danger's Contest.  I laid out like 10 phat beats and had to act the DJ in order to make it rock n roll.  A good thing has come of it though.  I have found my new calling.  I am leaving the IT Industry and trying to make it as an a'capella rap/DJ guy.  My wife is thrilled

Seriously though, I feel the same as the others.  Just be glad your game was nominated, since that means people liked what you've done, regardless of whether you feel it to be worthy.  I didn't expect either of my games to be nominated, but was really thrilled when they were.  Especially since the music/sound for Mr. Danger's Content was just me making noises into my computer microphone for 30 minutes and hoping nobody overheard me.  But like I said (and others too), I am really thrilled others liked it. 

-Bill

*sniff* During the ceremony I was referred to as Bill Penis when nominated.  *sniffle*

I think I am going to call a lawyer and sue someone.  Or everyone or something. 

Seriously though, if Calin can laugh at it and take it with good humor after all the stuff people said to/about him, nobody has any room to whine or complain.

-Bill

But at least when we show up we are fat, lazy and eating cheezeburgers.  Hells yeah!

-Bill

I am American, and I plan on being there.  It is only 5pm my time though.

-Bill

hmm.. THAT is an interesting idea...  I might look into that. 

Thanks!

Bill

I did what I hope to be a great trade-off.  The player can walk their happy selves all the way back to the Gaelic Shop now if they get stuck.  She (the owner) will have a dialog tree where they can get hints on how to solve the maze puzzle itself, as well as tips on beating the flag-color puzzle.  The walk back is punishment for not being able to solve it.  It is only 6-7 screens, but it's the point of having to drag yourself all the way back and ask for help that I think is good.  Gives someone a way to beat it, and isn't too tedious of a walk.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

Bill

The flag is the flag, so yes the chronology fits my game.  I am not having some kind of alternate timeline or anything, and it takes place in modern times (though some have commented on the screenshots looking kind of 1980s-ish).

Thanks everybody for the comments and thoughts on this puzzle.  I want to have something in there with the maze, since the thing you're searching for is mentioned several times in dialogs in the game, and how other people have done it in the past. 

I just need to make 100% sure I don't restrict someone in their ability to solve it.  Also, to clarify, the puzzle room itself takes place within the firist 5 screens of the maze, with a total of 9 rooms able to be walked to (including the teleportation dump-off rooms) at that point.  After solving the puzzle, there are 9 more rooms to go through on the 'correct path' and an additional 9 filler rooms.  The maze isn't huge, and at the puzzle point there isn't too terribly much to walk through.

Thanks!

-Bill

Snarky:

The maze is just a small part of the game.  It is the "path" the player takes to find.. well.. I don't want to give it away  As for it being too easy, it isn't a map per se..  It is a diagram on a wall with some letters in red.  The only things you can actually read on the poster.  The letters are L, R, U, D for left, right, up and down.  And when asked, the shop owner says something about it being the way a folk-legend in Gaelic lore travelled to find.. well.. exactly what it is you're looking for in the game (again, not saying what since it'd ruin the game).  There is indeed a reason for teleporting.  The game is heavy in magic-lore.  Its magic!  The rooms are different, yes.  In fact, each of the 3 rooms you can be dumped in have different ways of entering/exiting them (directional, not puzzles).  Thanks for the comments on MC2.  I am taking all critiques to heart with MC3, and I have (I hope) corrected most if not all of what you've mentioned in this one.  For the end puzzle in MC2, I am not sure since its been so long, but I think there was something mentioned about going back for the final info..  Not sure though without looking.

Mr. Flibble

The game is about magic and ancient lore.  That is how the teleportation thing works

GarageGothic

 I wasn't planning on having the player return.  I guess they COULD..  I might just do that.  It could help someone who missed the solutions.  The idea about cave art drawings could work..  Thanks

Anian

There is no backtracking as of now.  The maze will only be traversed once, so no going back again.  There are no dead-ends (gameplay-wise... it IS a maze ).  I am trying to have a creepy ambiance in it, not a "walk the maze" feel.  There are no timers at all in the maze, puzzle-wise or else.  The whole thing is magic..  It is kind of the entire feel of this portion of the game so I am not too worried about "real world" as far as this portion goes.  Once the player gets to this part of the game, the Gaelic and Irish lore is so drilled into them I am hoping they'd think of the flag colors.


Thanks all,

BIll

It is a onetime deal, so nobody will have to do the maze twice.

As for logic, here is the deal (if you plan on playing Murran 3 when done, forget this):

1) The game has a lot to do with Irish and Gaelic folklore.  The path to the maze is on the wall of the Gaelic novelty shop in the game.
2) The puzzle has 3 colored squares that you click on, each one cycling through 6-7 colors.
3) The plaque on the wall says that the player needs to prove themself as being a countryman and true of heart in order to proceed.
4) There are a few Irish flags on the wall of the Gaelic store, so the flag is there to see. 
5) If you roll through colors and make the left box Green, the middle box White and the rightmost box Orange, it looks like an Irish flag.

Thoughts? 

Thanks,

Bill

Hello everyone,

I am hard at work on Murran Chronicles 3, and am scripting a puzzle in a cave-maze (cliche, I know).  The path of how to get through the maze is something you are able to find during the game, so it isn't a random blind maze type thing.  Although, if you miss it, there are no death-areas, so you can just roam around forever without any penalty in the game.

With that in mind, there is a puzzle to open a door which is blocking your path in the maze.  The way I am currently looking at it is that the player goes into the puzzle, and if they solve it, the door opens.  If they get it wrong, the puzzle teleports them to a random room in the maze.  Kind of a penalty..  The key to the puzzle is another thing that you are supposed to have gotten (or rather seen somewhere if you're observant), and the puzzle even has word clues on the puzzle itself on a plaque above it.  I am hoping it isn't too difficult.

Anyway, my point being, if you were playing the game, and you had to solve a puzzle, but if you got it wrong it teleports you to some random room in a cave and you had to roam around to find your way back, would it frustrate you?  Would it frustrate you enough not to finish the game?  Keep in mind, the puzzle is logical, and any of the rooms are within 4-5 of the puzzle room.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

Bill

I vote for you to remake Willy Beamish.  Make the frog a ghost or something

-Bill

That's it for the voting.  Good luck to everyone who was nominated.

-Bill

When I was a kid I used to read a series of books called The Three Investigators.  It was initially done with the backing of Alfred Hitchcock, and was sort of a competitor for the Hardy Boys series of books.  I LOVED those books as a kid (I still have a copy of every book in the series in my storage shed as a matter of fact), and I was really overjoyed about a year ago when I found that there was actually fan fiction for this stuff.  It is different in that it is just kid stories and the quality doesn't have to be as high as if it were a Dr. Who or LOTR or something of that stature.  Knowing the characters, storylines and feel of the original is a must.  If someone doesn't have that, they shouldn't do fan fiction.

-Bill

I like the art style, and REALLY like the interface for some reason.  Very cool.

-Bill

I hadn't noticed that, but I guess it does   I was a child of the 80s (born in the 70s), so I remember it fondly.  Leather jackets, spiked hair, jeans... Yeah, its good stuff.

-Bill

Glad you like Astro Chicken  I loved playing that game when I was a kid.  Once I got the hang of it, it was a lot of fun.

I am glad people are anticipating this release, it has been a good while in the making, and a LOT of hours have been spent on this thing.  I am hoping to have Beta testing open within the next month or so.  I am working on the final portion of the game now (coding, etc).

Also, just because, here is another screenshot showcasing the character sprites that Neil (locutusofbored) has done up for the game.  Neil is a truly amazing artist, and I feel that his character sprites are going to put this thing over the edge.  In the screen below, the main character is in the jacket, the large gentleman in the purple sweater is Turner, your partner from Project Lamplight, and Gary in the background is the store clerk.  


Click for larger image


Thanks,

Bill