NEW
I have gotten the first part of the next section done and have added it to the beta.
I have made several other changes including these:
~ added special cursors to allow the user to know that the cursor is over a clickable item
~ added a jump animation and sound to the robot for when he jumps down to lower levels
~ added the ability to lighten the ambient light for those who don’t like the dark feel (use “l” to lighten, “d” to darken again - NOTE: This will only work once the robot is turned on and has completed a certain task)
~ removed the esoteric poem from the intro (it will reappear in a less obtrusive place)
Again, any comments or suggestions are very welcomed!
(from beta build #2)
Here is the SECOND beta build in Universal Binary.
~Added an optional hints screen to help people through the beginning steps.
~Blocked clicking on a part that was confusing at the beginning.
(from original post)
“So technologists observe, a robot
Hath smaller robots that on him dwell,
And these have smaller robots that reside on 'em,
And so proceed ad infinitum.”
Just a teaser line to start off with. More info and screenshots coming soon…
Thanks. I have certainly been inspired by Myst and I think a big challenge is to make a game that has “an air of Myst” while being a unique vision on its own. I’ll appreciate your input on how well it succeeds at that to you.
I’m enjoying watching this come together too. I also really like that your presentation of the game to us incorporates some of the mystery of the game itself – that is marketing right there
It will be interesting to see this when there is some interaction incorporated, because what you’ve shared are stills that create such a strong sense of mood. Your gameplay will either support that mood and you will have a real contender on your hands or it will shatter the mood completely.
You seem like you are spending a lot of time on visual details and style – and for this game that is probably important, but I would encourage you to get things that are playable and get it in the hands of testers as soon as possible since that is an area that will be so critical. I would hate for it to be a fun game to look at rather than a fun game to play.
These are all very good points. As many of you have guessed, this is an adventure game, somewhat similar to Myst. As such, the goal for the user is not repetitive-style gaming skills but instead uncovering the mystery and solving the puzzles. Because of this, I want the first build I put out to not be roughly hacked together but to have as much of the kind of gameplay that I am aiming at present in it. I highly value the input of the pros and experts and also fellow amateurs that are part of this community and realize that there is a good chance I will need to rethink things upon getting feedback but if the feedback is based on a premature view of the game, it might just be distracting.
I am developing gameplay at the same time I build up the scenes but to be honest the level I am on now has required a bigger sidestep into assets than I had expected. Once I get this level done, I will do some testing and fixing up here and get a build up before proceeding.
So, thanks for the sage input and being willing to point out the possible dangers so frankly.
And feedback like this is really important for all of us AU 2008ers that are sharing, so keep them coming!
Thanks. Actually my next screenshot will probably take things a bit of a step away from the Myst feel and reveal a little more about the gameplay (and the whole weird teaser poem at the top of this topic).
