Taking a crack at game development

[E-Man]

So, demonic intervention point and click adventure game about spriting? Seems we could get some absurd humor out of that.
What do you think in regards to avenues the game could go?

When you put it that way, that idea sounds extremely good on paper! I'll go for it in that case! Of course, I am wondering what you mean by "avenues" in that context, though. Care to explain, friend?

Also, as for what I am, I've got some experience with Photoshop. 3 years, enough to be 1 question off from getting an official Adobe certified license unfortunately, but I digress.

I've done a lot of different things for a lot of different projects, though programming isn't one of them.

http://www.gamesprout.com/ideas/173
http://www.gamesprout.com/ideas/272
http://www.gamesprout.com/ideas/491
http://www.gamesprout.com/ideas/889

^some ideas I started that fell apart due to lack of input and my inability to program.

V some projects I've helped with that are probably dead now...
http://www.gamesprout.com/ideas/344
http://www.gamesprout.com/ideas/826

Those are some nice drawings, but not the kind of ones I would use throughout the game. I could have you help out if I ever make a doodle land or possibly have you become a tween animator, though.

Maybe you could help me out if this game has voice acting or help me write the script?


Anyway, Puggsoy, you raise a good point about not using Flash. I don't actually know how big this game is going to get (let alone one with voice acting), so programming it in Haxe sounds like a safe bet. Also, since you implied that it works on both Mac and PC, this works out even better for me! As for 3D stuff, don't worry about that. The game is going to be like older click and point adventure games, so everything has 2D graphics instead. Besides, creating CGI models is a little bit troublesome for me.

Regarding mockups, I'll create those gradually as the story progresses. You see, for this kind of game, I want to mostly focus on developing the script first, so I can know which areas to add and which puzzles I can come up with.Since I didn't develop too much of the story yet, all I have are the rough concepts of the world map (I'll add more areas later) and the HUD.

   

   


Here's the story so far. I took the inspiration from the stories found in the Rareware instruction booklets and the DK Vine website. I'll hammer out the first part of the script later.

Story so far

"Just a bit more shading here annnnnnd… Done!" E-Man let out a sigh of relief. After several days, he has finally finished off a picture of Gors in Photoshop. While the picture shows that he put a lot of effort into it and it looks a lot better than what most users on Deviant Art could starch out, E-Man was certain that it looks like a crummy doodle compared to what anyone else in the Resource, a land where sprites are a huge export and developing artistic talent is especially important, could draw. Gors might tell him that the line of action is too stiff, the hue shifting and contrast is not visible enough, or the proportions are off. Regardless, E-Man was prepared for everything and left his house to seek out Gors to deliver his gift.

After arriving at Gors' house, a modest Brazilian villa, E-Man knocked on the door to find a slender green ghost with a brown cap. His name is Phantom Killar, but everyone calls him PK for short. E-Man sometimes notices him looking a little depressed at times, but knowing too well what usually happens to him for asking about personal problems, he never really mentioned it. "Hey, PK," said the youth in a chipper voice, "is Gors around?"

The relative happiness radiating from E-Man put off PK a little bit. While E-Man is a kind and overall helpful boy who almost always means well, some people cannot help but get irritated by him. Sometimes it's his overall cheerfulness that almost feels fake and forced at times, while other times it could be how he could be clueless about a few things in life. Also, there could be times that E-Man unintentionally say something that rubs people the wrong way, and this has caused E-Man a lot of grief more than once in his life. Despite all this, PK simply let out a small smile and politely replied to his question.

"Sorry, E-Man, but Gors isn't here right now. He went to the tower to meet up with Dazz to announce some big announcement or something. I would check, but I'm stuck watching over his house while he's away. See, I made this bet with him that-"

"OK! Thank you!" is what E-Man shouted out in the distance as PK began to tell his story. E-Man didn't catch that PK was going to tell him about the interesting circumstances of his bet and he was already moving to give Gors his gift before the event started. Before PK went back inside to sort Gors' manga collection (which is actually him just reading as many issues as he can), he let out the kind of sigh a parent gives when their child is acting hyper, yet still lovable.

In a short while, E-Man finally arrives at the VGR Transmissions Tower, a large structure that sends all sorts of sprites and other video games assets all over the world. While some members get the privilege to set inside this tower on multiple occasions to send off numerous submissions, other members (including E-Man himself) only step inside this tower once or twice. E-Man would have made frequent trips to the towering structure, but his habit of trying to get the sheet absolutely perfect before submission and how he prefers drawing over spriting prevent him from churning out another sheet. Assembled at the foot of the building is a large group of members of the resource. Some of them are who know E-Man pretty well and vice-versa, while others are ones E-Man hardly ever thinks about. E-Man scans the crowd and lets out a sigh of relief. "Good, they're not here," E-Man thinks to himself. E-Man, of course, wasn't referring to Gors or anyone who frequently hangs out at the Resource. Instead, he was thinking about a couple of individuals who caused him a fair share of problems in the past. Realizing that fighting through the crowd just to get to Gors would be foolish and Gors himself isn't that good of a friend to E-Man yet to accompany him on stage, E-Man took his place among the users at the outside edge and decided to wait until the assembly is over to give Gors his drawing.

In a short while, a tall man with a blue floppy hat steps out of the tower. His name is Dazz and he is the man in charge of all of the Resource. With his laid back disposition and his overall helpful attitude, he is a popular and beloved administrator. Though there has been talk that he drinks one beer too may on occasion and not all of his decisions and opinions are appreciated, everyone in the Resource, including E-Man, holds a great deal of respect towards him. "Hey guys," Dazz shouted over the crowd. "Thank you all for coming! Without further delay, my pal, Gors, has something he would like to announce."

As if on cue, a small green creature emerges from the building. This is Gors and, much like Dazz, is another respected admin. He might act and talk a little rough, but Gors has a good head on his shoulders (so to speak due to his lack of a defined head) and has a heart of gold. Even though E-Man himself was a victim to his tough love (for lack of a better word), E-Man understand that Gors actually cares about him and knows that he is trying his best to be good for the Resource and everyone on it.

"Thanks, buddy," said the walking bullet. "Anyway, I know that in the past there has been some talk about the Resource going downhill and how the number of members is nowhere near as big as it used to be. Ill just say that those are only rumors and the site is still as strong as ever. Of course, just to show that we're still thinking of ways to attract more members and put that kind of talk to rest, I've got a surprise that would get this place jumping again!"

Chatter about what this could be erupts from the audience as E-Man thinks about what Gors could mean by this. "Maybe it's that comic section Kosheh and I wanted to see for some time now," E-Man said in his head. Since his original goal online years ago was to be a successful web comic owner, this could be his big chance to fulfill that dream once and for all. Admittedly, he was close to it during his original Smack Jeeves days, but that went to pot through a series of problems involving one of his least favorite users, a mod by the name of Cutething, and a bunch of angry Kingdom Hearts fans (it is a long story). Before E-Man, got the chance to fully indulge on his web comic fantasy, Gors removed the tarp off of a large canvas placed above the door of the VGR Transmissions Tower. The focus of the entire audience was on the images seen on the wide canvas. Several of the members let out cheers of approval, while a few others let out a groan or two. As for E-Man, unfortunately, his mouth made the shape of a big O and his eyes filled with horror.

Decorating the canvas are images of Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Bowser, Popple the Thief, and Fawful. These were not ordinary images, but rather sprites of them in the style of Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, a game that is said to be the most popular Mario RPG yet. "I have to admit that this sprite style helped a lot in making the Resource the sprite supplying powerhouse that it is today," said Gors sheepishly. "Not sure why you guys like 'em so much since custom sprites are a lot better, to be honest. Still, if they can get new viewers lining up to create accounts, it's worth a shot, right? Anyway, Dazz and I are announcing a big M&L3 project that anyone can participate in. Make as many characters in this style and win fabulous prizes! Also, to sweeten the deal, I've managed to contact all the guys who ripped the sprites from the M&L3 games and they are more than happy to come over and lend a hand! I bet you know who that includes, right guys?"

Almost everyone became excited when Gors hinted at which spriter is going to show up for the M&L3 party as the guest of honor; however, E-Man reacted completely different to this news. His mouth closed tightly to the point where his teeth are bearing and he accidentally bites the inside of his left cheek, while his eyes flared up with rage. "Those turtles…" he snarled under his breath. As his whole body was welling up with anger, he felt that he couldn't stay at the assembly without lashing out at someone. With this in mind, he quickly ran away from the assembly, but not not without a few of the members turning their attention on him. They were confused and a bit concerned that the normally upbeat and gentle E-Man suddenly went through this violent shift in mood.

On his way home, E-Man was still fuming. Blood filled his mouth from the cut he accidentally made, but he dare not spit it out considering how unnaturally toxic his blood is. He didn't want to risk killing the grass or make himself a little queazy by swallowing his own blood, so he had to spit his blood out at home. This long walk home gave him plenty of time to think about his circumstances.

"How could this be a good thing," E-Man aggressively asked in his own head. "This situation is just going to make those two become more popular than they already are and result in nothing but trouble for me! With the respect they'll gain from all this, they could probably turn every member on this web site against me and put me out of business if they really wanted to! Besides, they got away with a lot of things in the past, while I usually get into trouble when I act not even as mean spirited as they do. I've got to do something about this problem before the get the chance to drive me into doing something excessively spiteful that would end badly for me!"

E-Man thought this over for awhile. Trying to get the two members he was thinking about to like and respect him may as well be impossible. He tried many times before, so he did not want to fancy his chances unless he knows for sure it would be different. He couldn't take them out in a fight either. Besides one of them using his retractable blades from his shell to cut him up and the other one using his Jelly Jiggler-like powers to get the upper hand (or he could be using Marx or Galaxy Man abilities now due to his character redesign), he would be at the risk of getting banned even if he won the tussle. He already had close encounters with getting banned before on two other web sites, so the risk was not worth it. As they are now, E-Man could not hold a candle to these two members.

After a long moment of thought, the youth was hit with inspiration from Gors' speech from before. "A more popular style! That's it," E-Man thought with his mouth widening into a grin. He might not be able to deal with them directly, but if he could look for another sprite style to make more popular than the M&L3 style, it would at least prevent the two users he had on his mind from gaining a huge advantage over him. He wouldn't be directly attacking them and also promoting a more obscure style, so there is no way he could get into trouble for this. After punching the palm of his hand out of determination, E-Man sets off home to clean his mouth out and put his plan into motion. After all, if it is one thing about E-Man, it is how he is headstrong and willing to put his all into any task that interests him.

Is it any good, or did it leave a bad taste in your mouth?


Also, I would like to go over a handful of other things before I wrap this up.

- E-Man has an item called the Star Rod in his inventory. While it is a powerful magic item, E-Man doesn't want to use its powers unless he really has to in order to avoid god-modding. While it could be used for a handful of puzzles, E-Man would have to solve the rest of the puzzles with other solutions. In other words, the Star Rod would work like how Manny's scythe works in Grim Fandango.

- I plan on not having any situations where E-Man dies or badly messes up to the point where there is a puzzle he cannot solve. I might have alternate solutions to puzzles and overall different puzzles for E-Man to solve in case he blew his chance on one, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. Also, I'm thinking about adding multiple endings to this game, but should I stick with only one for simplicity reasons?

- I would like to have more than one character to play as. Obviously, E-Man is playable, but I think I would like to have one or two additional characters to play as. Starsock is my first choice, but maybe you could think of others I could choose?

- Regarding characters that appeared in other games (such as Doopliss), I was wondering if I could role with that. If I can throw a few in (and maybe make one of them playable), that would be good. Otherwise, I'll just stick with members who are part of this site.

- In several Lucas Arts adventure games, you could make the character walk around on the screen and you use a few buttons to interact with the environment. For Humungous Entertainment games, the character is usually stuck in one place and if you click on an object, you automatically interact with it in the manner the game wants you to. Which style should I go for?