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[denzgd]

-- MELYZENTRUM --

A 2D Surreal Murder Mystery Thriller in the vein of Se7en and Yume Nikki

CURRENTLY ON HIATUS

This project was in development for over a year, and despite our hard work and progress, we are not in a state to continue working on it right now. I intend to come back eventually and finish this game, when I can. It's the kind of game I would like to play, and I hope you guys would, too. Maybe I'll just release it for free one day.

As for right now, I am working on another, unannounced project, which I will reveal when I feel it's in a presentable state. I am hoping to learn enough to be able to make Melyzentrum, and other games, entirely on my own. Anyway, here's the DevLog.




Story:

So the story revolves around Melyssa, the game's protagonist. Melyssa is a high school student with an interesting ability: she can enter the Dream World, a network of people's thoughts and dreams, as well as fears and nightmares. But when police discover the site of a grisly murder, people become restless. The Dream World begins turning darker, and more sinister. Melyssa sets out to restore the town, and the Dream World, to their once peaceful states.



Gameplay:

Melyzentrum is a murder mystery game, featuring mechanics for gathering clues and information, following leads, and interrogating suspects. However, there is also a puzzle-solving aspect to it - especially in the Dream World. In the Dream World, players wander through representations of thoughts and memories which, much like actual dreams, don't often seem to make sense. Players must navigate the many surreal areas presented to them, gather information, and try to put things back in order.



Right now, I'm designing the game to be very flexible. For example, you don't need to get every piece of evidence to solve a mystery - using your own sense of logic and critical thinking abilities, you can compensate for it. Although, having as much evidence as possible helps, those looking for more of a challenge can try to figure things out on their own. Say you're interrogating a suspect, and they slip up and allude to a person or location - if you figure it out on your own, you can end the interrogation, and move on.


News:
http://melyzentrum.tumblr.com

Website:
http://melyzentrum.com

[Sean Raia]

So essentially Jw and bartosz are assets to the team that you dont need.

Im going to say something that may sound harsh but in my experience its true: trim as.much excess off of your workflow as possible.
This means keeping your team the minimal size it needs to be.

This looks to be a game that a solo/two man team would develop.

Idk just my two cents.

[Sean Raia]

sean this is for you. you know input from many sides is a blessing and its hard to find peoples invested in what your invested in every idea is all the more stimulating creatively nourishing i suck at everything but the art and maybe the codes i would shed tears if someone told me stories and another gave me guidance it takes years to be good at any of those things going solo is like stroking a reluctant cat until it purrs finally then it latches itself on you with its constant purring and rubbing itself climbing up your back as your working some kind of awkward sexual fervent between man and tiny lion doing that thing early in the morning as your half sleeping where they nudge your neck over and over again.  you and your cat.  you and work. same

That was very hard for me to understand. Perhaps youre saying no one is the jack of all trades?

I agree with that.

Four people working on one personal game is overkill. This is just.my opinion so take it with a grain of salt.

[denzgd]

So essentially Jw and bartosz are assets to the team that you dont need.

Im going to say something that may sound harsh but in my experience its true: trim as.much excess off of your workflow as possible.
This means keeping your team the minimal size it needs to be.

This looks to be a game that a solo/two man team would develop.

Idk just my two cents.

I appreciate the advice. However, your assessment that JW and Bartosz are assets that I don't need isn't entirely accurate.

Melyzentrum is a game driven very much by the characters and story, as noted previously. And while I have yet to post much about the story, JW has proved invaluable to its development. He offers his own experience with visual arts, which when combined with mine, yields some incredible results. As for Bartosz, he is great for bouncing ideas off of, and offering input on things in the builds which may need improvement, or minor tweaks. But while his role in development is small, compared to the rest of the team, he still contributes to the game's development, and it wouldn't be very cool of me to not mention him. And due to the peripheral nature of what he offers, he does not interrupt our workflow.

- DZ

[FamousAspect]

Game concept sounds interesting being narrative driven, very content heavy. My advice (if you haven't already) is to make a vertical slice of a single encounter, bringing it up to "release quality" in art, writing, code, design and audio. The effort it takes to completely finish this one dialog encounter or quest will give you a way to measure the effort it will require to finish your intended game, and you will likely end up cutting the story down as a result.

Best of luck with the game. I'd love to play a demo.

[denzgd]

Game concept sounds interesting being narrative driven, very content heavy. My advice (if you haven't already) is to make a vertical slice of a single encounter, bringing it up to "release quality" in art, writing, code, design and audio. The effort it takes to completely finish this one dialog encounter or quest will give you a way to measure the effort it will require to finish your intended game, and you will likely end up cutting the story down as a result.

Best of luck with the game. I'd love to play a demo.

Thanks! I appreciate the suggestion!

Right now, we're piecing the game's mechanics together bit by bit, but I think the next step would be that "vertical slice" you mentioned. From there, once we have a better idea of how the game will be, I'd like to make a sort of demo - not like a finished piece, like you might find with many retail games, but more a proof of concept, and something interactive for people to try out. I'll be sure to post it here, once we get to that point.

- DZ

[wccrawford]

I love the sound of this so far, and the art is pretty nice, too. 

I obviously don't know any of you, but I think calling any team member unnecessary is harsh.  Story is *very* important in some games, and it seems the case here.  If y'all work well together as a team, don't break it up!  Just keep up the good work.

[denzgd]

I love the sound of this so far, and the art is pretty nice, too. 

I obviously don't know any of you, but I think calling any team member unnecessary is harsh.  Story is *very* important in some games, and it seems the case here.  If y'all work well together as a team, don't break it up!  Just keep up the good work.

Even from the beginning, I wanted to make a game that has a great story. At the rate I was originally going, I'd probably have accomplished less than half of what I have with JW. Starting out, I didn't even think I needed a writer, but collaboration with him has been really amazing, as well as with the team in general.

[Secretmapper]

I like how the idea of the game. Definitely keeping tabs on this.

[denzgd]

Figured it was about time for an update!



I'll start off with a walk cycle. For anybody following the Tumblr page, this is old news, but it hasn't yet been posted here.



Next up is UI! This is the most recent concept for the game's dialogue UI. You can find many more variants on the game's Tumblr page. There are also variants of the inventory UI, although they aren't the finished product. Regarding that, we are currently working on theming it like the dialogue UI, and adding features as well.



Here's a better look at the room in the background. It's the protagonist's bedroom, which is a modified version of the image currently at the top of the page. This room may not look like much, but it actually plays a very important role in the game, which I will explain in more depth in the future!

[denzgd]

Just a gif!

[SolarLune]

This sounds interesting. I like mystery / detective games, and I like the simple pixel art contrasted with the detailed portraits. Nice work so far!

[denzgd]

I've started working on some logo concepts, and so far this is my favorite.



Here's the dialogue UI without the options. I'm considering going to one of my earlier designs, and putting the options above, since they aren't persistent.

[Ouren]

What's this being written in? :D

[denzgd]

What's this being written in? :D

Most recently, it was using Monogame, but we've parted ways with our programmer, and are currently looking to fill the position. Unfortunately, we have to start from scratch, so it will be programmed in whatever the next programmer is familiar with.

[Ouren]

What's this being written in? :D

Most recently, it was using Monogame, but we've parted ways with our programmer, and are currently looking to fill the position. Unfortunately, we have to start from scratch, so it will be programmed in whatever the next programmer is familiar with.

That's a shame. You should shoot me an email.

[email protected]

[denzgd]

Production is picking up again, with the talents of our new programmer, Javier. The screenshot above is part of the scene we are currently working on. It introduces a new character, Lukas, who I'm excited to work on. Because he's a new character, we don't have everything fleshed out for him, but you can expect more information later on in development!

Here's his current walk cycle.

[Jubjub]

Hi! I'm going to be doing all the programming from Melyzentrum from now on, and to get us started, here's a gif of what we've been working on this week:

I'll be using Scheme, and a engine written from scratch that I've been working on for a couple of months, which has already helped me write the basic mechanics of Melyzentrum very quickly.

[Jubjub]

I've finished implementing mirror reflections using the stencil buffer.

I will probably use a subtler version of this effect on any reflective surfaces, like the airplane's windows.

[denzgd]

Working on fixing up these plane environments, right now. I'm in the process of creating a first-class cabin, and we also have a spoiler-filled flight deck. I'm really excited with the progress we've been making lately!