Scene 1 Look and Feel

This is the look and feel of Scene 1.

(click on image to view larger version)

Art Mk.2

Wrapping things up with the caravan cart.

Art!

Finally to the fun stuff!

I just started working on some art for the wasteland scene where the Idea is born.
Work is still in 3D, once I get it done and imported into Photoshop then the real details will start showing up! :) Funfunfun!

So For nowI've got the frame of a caravan cart
and a basic topographical view of the wasteland.

Interactive Story

On the site http://okaydave.com/ Dave (the owner of the site) amongst others is creating a project called "Cadence of Seasons" which brings static stories to a new level. He has a basic story that he wants to tell but the user can still click around on the environment and get additional information and even chose what areas he wants to visit. So while some people might want to go for the main story, others might want to explore the surroundings first, take a trip to the mountaints, etc.

Combining this with the interactive navigation from the previous post along with adding my story to it seems to be the perfect solution for my Thesis.

A decision!

The adventure game engine was a let down. I downloaded their jewel game
Al Emmo (http://www.himalayastudios.com/alemmo/) and it proved to be an utter dissapointment in terms of graphics, story and game mechanics. Also the main character was incredibly annoying. They were aiming at creating the "lovable looser" character and they succeeded with everything but the "lovable" part.

I searched for some time the net and then to the rescue came something that I found absolutely amazing:

http://somniumorbis.com/

It is a flash based project about "exploring alternative ways to progress through an other-worldly scene." The feel of the project is amazing and I think if it was following a story it would be grand.

The decision is made then, I will stick with flash, no player avatar and so far no real "menu." I am quite happy with this because I didn't really want to make a game but an interactive narrative.

So I have started sketching out different scenes that can go with my narrative and am looking for different flash project that deal with innovative ways for the user to interact with the presented environment (from puzzles to mouse movement.)

User Interface

This is the basic user interface.
Depending on if I will have the character available or not some things might change, but in general the mouse will be the main way to navigate, the cursor will change if there is anything of interest and the main menu will be hidden by default but will appear on screen if the user rolls over it.

Each area will be bigger than what the user can see and he or she can scroll at the sides of the screen by moving the mouse cursor to the edge of the visible area.

Standart click-and-move will be used to navigate the character (if I decide to stick with using a character.)

A late start

The Idea - Thesis Project

As they say better late then never. But then again, who are they and how come they know so much?

This is my first posting for Stuio-I and my preparation for my thesis.

The initial idea was quite vague and it involved appealing graphics merged with a strong message. After some research on that, it evolved into creating an interactive narrative using Flash. I have listed the basic story at the end of this blog entry.

For the interactive narative, the following link illustrates in a way the user interaction I was aiming for:
http://hollywoodrecords.go.com/polyphonicspree/questfortherest/desert.swf


After looking at some project and trying to figure out a way to present my narrative without boring the user to death the possibility for creating an adventure game appeared.
The idea of adding an isometric view and changing the narrative into an adventure game is still quite fresh, but from the research I've done the following engine seems the best solution so far (being free and all):
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/

As for games that have been designed already, Al Emmo and the Lost Dutchmine's Mine
http://www.himalayastudios.com/alemmo/ comes close in terms of look and feel. The demo is quite big to download, so alternatively the following game (even though a bit crude) illustrates well enough what the engine can do:
http://www.monochrom.at/suz-game/

Alternatively, I met an interface designer (Clifton Barnhart, http://offchild.com) who created a simple flash adventure game using an isometric view and showed interest in some collaboration work. I will try to meet with him soon end explore this possibility too.

For now I am trying to get as much information as I can to narrow down the medium I am going to use for my thesis. Along with that I will start creating basic graphics and sketches to nail down the look and feel of the project.



The story of the project is as follows:

₪ The Idea ₪
By Vladimir Neykov

₪ Story Summary ₪

A man is brought into existence. He appears naked in a wasteland without knowing his own name or why he was summoned. He is lost, angry, scared and sets off to search for a meaning in his life. Through exploring and interacting with his environment and different people he encounters, the man has to find out why he was created and decide the course of his life.
He eventually finds out that he had existed before. The man gets summoned as the Idea and catalyst behind a cycle to end an age and bring about a new chapter of existence, much like a wildfire that is needed to cleanse the forest. Within his last existence he interacted with people and even fell in love with one. He still pursued his course of action and through destruction ended an age, but the feeling of guilt never left him.
Now he is created again, but feeling a regret he can not explain, the man is born with a human side which will grant him the choice to overcome his predestination and choose the course of his life.

₪ Prologue ₪

Oblivion…
Then there was a thought. A wish, no, a command! I was called. I had to go somewhere. It was an order.
I felt that I had hands. I reached out but found nothing. There was nothing. Not yet.
I needed eyes. As the thought crossed my mind I felt my eyes. I opened them and saw nothing. There was nothing. Not yet…
…
..
.

A sudden light. Many thoughts at once. Memories… joy, pain, pleasure, sorrow…guilt. A desire – first vague but then growing stronger and stronger. A single word. It seemed familiar; it seemed right. But something was different. Another thought came. It was strange and yet very powerful. It was new. It formulated itself into a word. The word was new too. It was different. There was a contradiction.
…
..
.

Conflict. I was in conflict. Pain pierced me like a thousand needles and then a different kind of oblivion overcame me. It was cold and dry and made my whole body ache. A feeling of profound sadness like something was lost… or maybe gained? I opened my eyes…… and saw that it was dark and I was alone. I looked around me and made out a wasteland devoid of life. The cold wind hit my body with great strength and made my teeth chatter. The feeling of loneliness did not leave me; it just kept growing stronger. Something had gone wrong; this was not meant to happen. I tried to remember, tried so hard to recall anything but failed in my every attempt. Where was I? Why was I here? Who was I? I felt my despair mix with anger, I felt my blood boil and it made my cold skin tingle. I stood tall and screamed out, screamed until I ran out of air and my lungs began to burn. And it was then when the first rays of dawn appeared. They bathed the horizon with a warm light that slowly spread across the landscape. The sun rays fell on me and like a mother’s embrace warmed both my body and my soul. Mother? I stood captivated by the sight. I knew I had seen the dawn before, but not like this; never like this. This was new, for it filled me with both profound sadness and sheer joy. It was cruel and it was beautiful; it was human. The dawn reduced me to tears, I began to sob and then fell on my knees weeping like an orphaned child. Only I never had the memory of being a child…