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Wow, thanks to everyone for their replies.

I'll probably be getting in touch with people shortly, but I want to leave it open for a little bit longer so I can see who else shows any interest.  I'm sure I can find a place for anyone and everyone who wants to help out!

- Bryan

ya know, i actually realized it was jake after i did it, but i had already flattened the layers and saved as a .gif, so i was too lazy to go back, haha.

- bryan

threw this together in about 20 minutes.  borrowed keifer's head, some random guy's body (which happened to have a tan trenchcoat, not a dark grey one), and brad pitt's sunglasses.  i meant to add a background and such, but i got tired of working on it and thought i should get back to more important things.  well, not like i actually have anything important to do, but i thought thats what i should be doing anyways.

- bryan

the artwork looks good, i think the character looks pretty good against that background.  a few minor things though.  first, the character should maybe have a little more bounce or up and down motion when he walks, it looks a little too static.  also, it looks as if he is gliding a bit when he walks, maybe turn on the "anti-glide mode" or whatever its called in AGS.

oh, and i hope you're planning on an english translation of this

- Bryan

well, i was sorta going for "goofy."  the exaggerated proportions and slightly distored features make him look a bit more silly and oafish, which is the type of character he is.  besides, look at two of the most famous characters, larry laffer and guybrush threepwood.  larry had a gigantic head and guybrush (in MI3) had some very distorted features.

but anyways, i wasn't really going for realistic.

oh well, may not be everyone's cup o' tea i guess, but I like it and thats all that matters, right?

- bryan

This is definitely meant to be a humorous game.  I love Monkey Island style puns and wordplay as well as the Al Lowe LSL/Freddy Pharkas style humor and intend for the game incorporate those sort of jokes.

The hero saving the world bit does seem like a bit of a cliche of course, so if you have any better ideas, I would LOVE to hear them.

Thanks.

- Bryan

I've got two general ideas about ways this story can play out, but neither is fleshed out really well.  What I really need are some specifics, something my mind seems unable to come up with right now.

Idea 1:
The wizard (I still need a name, dammit!) tries to cast some complex spell which goes horribly wrong (a la the Mickey vs. brooms sequence in Fantasia, albiet on a grander scale).  Instead of doing what it was supposed to the spell threatens the safety of the whole world (or kingdom, or whatever) and it is up to him to stop this disaster.  Through a series of misadventures, our hero sets out to right his wrongs and save the world from a disaster he brought upon it.

Idea 2:
The wizard accidentally stumbles upon an evil plot (to dethrone the king? to block out the sun?).  Since the wizard is known to be a bit of a nut, no one really takes him seriously, and besides, all the good wizards are too busy to help out.  So it is up to our reluctant hero to haphazardly save the day.

Well, these are the two basic ideas I have for where I want this story to go.  And of course, I DO want to leave room for a sequel  

So if you (Bob the Hun) or anyone else has any ideas, let me know.

- Bryan

if that's going to be used as a loop, you should smooth out that transition between the head up and down positions.  it looks a little awkward.

- bryan

Great!  

I've managed to fix it so the GUI has both the save/load buttons and the spell/inv buttons.  Couldn't have done this without your help Scorpiorus!  Thanks!

Oh, and let me know via private message how you want to be credited when I finish my game

- Bryan

Thanks for the advice everyone, I'll get to work on a new animation shortly.

Ben: The proportions are supposed to look like that.  I realize they aren't realistic, but I was going for an exaggerated, cartoony style, thus the oversized head.

- Bryan

Hey,

Well, I'm currently starting work on a new game titled (probably) SpellBound.  This game is going to follow the misadventures of a bumbling wizard as he accidentally stumbles into a quest to save the world.  As you can tell, the story isn't too fleshed out, but I have an idea of where it might be going.  

Anyways...I'm assembling a small team to help with story, scripting, and maybe some artwork/animation.

Here are some examples of work already done for the game:





As you can see from the above screenshot, I have completed (most) of a GUI with custom graphics including a neat multiple inventory system (coded by Scorpiorus - many thanks to him!) which organizes both a standard inventory and a spellbook (much like that in Zork: Grand Inquistor and any other game that involves magic, really).

Oh, and that background was just a quick little thing I threw together, not too good really.

But if you're interested, respond here on this thread, private message me on the boards, or email me at drmoruth@yahoo.com.

Thanks!

- Bryan

UPDATE:

Rincewind is going to be doing the background art for my game.  As of now, I'm still looking for some voice talent and programmers.  If I haven't gotten in touch with you yet and you've posted to this thread, I'll get on that as soon as possible.

Right now, I DESPERATELY need animators for this project.  I'm doing all the original character art myself, but I really need talented animators who can animate walk cycles and the like.

I should have some new screenshots shortly, so stay tuned!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Well, here's the character I'm creating for my upcoming game...

UPDATE:


I DESPERATELY need an animator who can animate some quality walking animations for this character.  I posted this over in T&C too, but haven't gotten too much interest in animation.

Anyways, here's his finished talking animation (thanks in part to N3TGraph)...



Let me know what you think of the character.  I'll update the thread with any new pictures of him I come out with.
- Bryan

while i think there is probably a time and a place for everything (including gradients), i think it doesnt fit well with the rest of this picture.  that may just be my opinion, but i am entitled after all.  this picture shows definite promise, so keep up the good work!

- bryan

it looks like you used a gradient to make the sky.

if my assumption is correct, i shall give you the following piece of advice:

NEVER EVER EVER USE GRADIENTS!

EVER!

Really though, they generally come out looking pretty crappy.  If you went back and did the sky by hand with a little more texture (and maybe some light clouds?) it would look a lot better.  The rest of the picture looks nice though.  Maybe add a little more texture (i.e. waves, etc.) and color to the water to make it look a little more realistic.

- Bryan

Scorpiorus -

Thank you!  That's amazing!  Now, just a few questions...

Is there any way you could make it so the default inventory button doesnt exist and only the spell and inv ones are there, or would that cause some problem?  I tried to see if I could fix it, but only ended up making things weird.  Is this harder than it looks or am I just retarded at GUI scripting?

Actually, that's about the only question I had.

Thanks a lot, let's see if we can get that one issue sorted out and I may have quite the game on my hands.  

- Bryan

oh, and you will, of course, get programming credit for my game when its completed.

i think overall it looks pretty great.

a couple points, however:

1) the bricks shouldnt all be lines up like that.  usually each row is offset by a half-brick length from the row before it

2) the box on the right looks too close to the wall to have any depth.  the other seem like they would be a bit shallow as well.

and finally,

3) the papers on the ground (especially the right by the light of the door) and the poster on the far left wall look a little cheesy with just lines for text.  try to go for a little more of a realistic effect. or at least straight lines so they don't look so fake.

other than that, looks great.  keep up the good work.

- bryan

if anyone can write up a GUI script and send me the compiled script file, that would be AMAZING.  and of course, you'd get programming credit for my game.

- bryan

edit: and PLEASE test it first to make sure it works.  wow, if anyone does this, they will be my best friend forever.

ok, apparently im too retarded to figure this out.  i need some people to help me script this thing.

- bryan

yeah, spyros, that was the problem i was thinking would come up.  ill try it out tonight and see if it works and post back here when i figure out what happens.

- bryan

hmm, thanks for the ideas.  i think im going to try mr.colossal's idea of the invisible second character.  it just looks easier than attempting redrum's idea.  but i guess i can always try that out if the other doesnt work.  thanks for your input.

- bryan

edit: well, ive been thinking, and if i have an invisible second player character who is set to follow the main character, then this just might work.  i still have to decide if i want a separate function on the GUI or have the spellbook inventory accessible from an icon in the main inventory.

of course, there is also the problem of when to switch back to the main player character.  but i guess ill have to get that sorted out.  <sigh>  if anyone has any major scripting experiences with stuff like this, i could sure use a hand.