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[ephoete]

How can the most simplistic introductory post lead to such beautiful footage?


Greeeat!

[eblomquist]

@ephoete - lol I should probably add a bit more to the header, eh? 

[eblomquist]

Hey all!

I have been working on adding life to the environment starting with the foliage. All the trees and grass have been updated/replaced with textured/animated versions. There are now moving clouds as well. I also decided to change the type of shadows from a cartoon hardedge - to softedged. I feel that it blends well with the hardedged style of the meshes in the environment.



Next step is to add creatures! 

(Does anyone know how to create super high quality GIFS?)

[sakuyo]

I know licecap and gifcam are pretty popular, but I can't offer any tips other than to play around with framerate capture and so on.

The art is excellent everything seems very consistent, even the water which I find in a lot of games to be jarring/inconsistent with the rest of the style.

[Scott]

Anyway your gifs look great. They do have pretty specific limitations after all

[eblomquist]

@Sakuyo I really appreciate that. It took a long time and a LOT of experimentation to get it where it is today. 

@Scott Haha well that's good! 

[eblomquist]

Hey everyone,

It's been about a million years since I last updated in here. I've been going through some major story re-writing and designs. Right now as we finish up the script and puzzle design - I've been locking up all the mechanics/art workflows and placing them into a debug scene. 

Most notably developing these animated portraits. I used hand-drawn frame by frame animation using Toon Boom and importing them into Unity using a 7x7 texture grid - which will pop up during dialog and change when the characters emotions change.

The goal is to have the first chapter completed for Steam by October next year - and PS4/WiiU before 2016.

[Eldan_Knight]

Astonishing visuals! I love that hand painted textures   The idea of an adventure game in which social bounds affect the story is really nice. One question, is there any action rpg elements in your game?

[eblomquist]

Thank you!

That's a really interesting thought - what type of RPG elements specifically?

[Eldan_Knight]

Fights with sword / bow or other archetype weapons of fantasy, magical objects that reveal new areas and secret zones... All kind of Zelda stuff, you know 

[eblomquist]

So a big tenet for this game is solving problems through non-violent actions. In games - we're always overcoming obstacles by taking out enemies in droves. I thought it would be interesting to be in a dangerous, volatile environment and facing these challenges with compassion. Wrong choices could result in death. 

That being said - there will definitely be a lot of magic and secrets! I love being rewarded for exploring worlds.

[WildFactor]

Oooh wow... the art is gorgeous *O* your concept is very interesting as well, I'm intrigued by the non-violent solutions, and the overall feelings you want to convey. I can't wait to try the game *stalks on indieDB*

[eblomquist]

@WildFactor Thank you so much - while compassionate solutions are a major part of the game. Sometimes life's decisions can be a bit more complicated than that....

[ephoete]

Apparently I didn't mention it but the soundtrack sounds promising btw!

[eblomquist]

Thank you! We have a super talented composer. There's even better stuff (IMO) on the way!

[eblomquist]

Hey I made a promotional poster!

S07 HYPE! 

[eblomquist]

While the writing is nearly completion - to retain momentum in the project - I've been working hard on the intro cinematic. It's sort of akin to the style of Journey, Lunar 2, and Wind Waker, with a heavy influence from The Dark Crystal. The piece takes place along the outside garden walls of an old temple. I did some timing tests with the VO and reworked the sequence and layout. I find as a designer it's incredibly rewarding to do many tests and research for any sequence or concept.

At first I thought it would be low - mid relief sculptures on the interior walls of the temple. But as I looked at it as a whole - the layout didn't make much sense. It looked fine close up (which is the only view the player would see) but I believe that consistency and flow goes a long way.

Here's the original design and animated storyboards. (Password : password)







Here's the evolution (nothing final, still just the testing phase. A lot more detail will be rendered in the final)







Cheers!

[Caravaggi0]

Very visually striking.  Have you tried unlocking the camera?  Would it break any puzzles or result in extra required assets to be able to rotate he camera at will?

I take it from the description it's similar to A Tale of Two Sons then?  I really liked that game for the inventive situations but it did kind of have a problem with replayability.  Is that something you're concerned about at all?

[eblomquist]

I actually really like locking the camera for a couple of reasons - mainly for artistic value. When I build each moment the player walks through, I know what they will see each step along the way. I have the ability to do everything I can to make that particular moment as beautiful as I can. I always loved the environments in the PSX Final Fantasy's, so those are a pretty big inspiration.

If the camera is unlocked - I would have to that from every angle.

Replay value in an adventure game is tough. While there aren't multiple endings, there are different ways to solve every puzzle. Which may alter how certain elements play out.

[Peltast]

This looks really beautiful.  And that 2D animation....jesus.

Just curious, what are the puzzles like?  Is there some kind of unifying mechanic?  I saw some dialogue and inventory stuff in the trailer, not sure if there's more.