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this reminds me of some of the short stories of the collection ficiones of  jorge luis borges. good read, by the way.

It sounds good! Really!
Games / Interactive experiences has so much potential for other means of storytelling.
Keep at this idea!

I'm not too fond of the artstyle, or better say the colors. It's just my personal taste, though. I would get more colors into it, not just grey/blue/red. You can still make it minimalistic, but give the world a little bit more life - or is it a digital 'matrix' world?

I really like your esthetic,  as a pure3D fanatic, i'd do without the textures,seems so un-neccesary with all the geometric oomph. (but hey i'm weird that way,and you shouldn't listen to me, ever)

But great character and very original, much enjoyment was had just scrolling through your post.

I'd advice to have a good look at what works and what doesn't, I love the shots without a landscape mesh the best,just your art floating in a white haze. It brings out the geometry and the lonliness, where as having a consistent floor and landscape, just makes the setpieces less stand-out,If you can't fill an entire world with the same consitency, then leave out the world...

I really love the visual style!  

Wow ! I am glad you picked up on that. Our first build ( the one we are currently working on ) alludes rather directly to one of Borges stories from fictions called, "Approach to Al Mutasim" The writing for the game draws strongly from the works of Italo calvino ,Sukumar Ray, and Luis Borges of course.

also I agree about the minimalism of art style though I am unsure about changing colors ? but most of the screens are iterations and experiments that are not quiet there yet. The last few screens are from the current build, and the ones that come closest to a surreal game space.

Thank you for the wonderful feedback.
We will be releasing a build in a few days, do give it a try !

Thank you !
that surely is pertinent feedback for anybody and especially for a small team on an ambitious project.

We have gone back and forth over the art several times, combining textures with flat color, and a simplicity in texture does hold a form of surreal appeal especially with the low poly terrain. most of the game's art is still a little bit up in the air as we work on these small builds, and try to figure out what form of art serves the narration best.

the four screens at the bottom, are from the build we are working on at at the moment. I will be updating with some screens that show the crafting of the same

Thank you ! Zaphos. We do appreciate the interest.

work in progress ! a quick demonstration video from the build we are working on.

There have been  several changes to the environment since this video was recorded, and the
stealth systems have seen refinement as well, but it is still rather indicative of the game's experience.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post2/videoLinkTIG.jpg) (http://oleomingus.tumblr.com/post/72326008240/january-4-2014c-from-oleo-on-vimeo)

the image above links to the video on our Tumblog. Will post an updated video soon.

What a cool looking game!  :ninja:

  Thanks !

So much to like here. Really intriguing premise and beautiful style.

# update one




We are close to completing the small build (loopGaloop) that we have been working on,
the images below chronicle some of that process.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post2/StealthGui04.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post2/Skup07.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post2/Skup06.jpg)



loopGaloop (working title !) is narrated across three acts & three characters.
with both the narration and the Gameworld looping upon themselves in the third act or movement.

the script for the build contains numerous allusions to the story, "The Approach to Al-Mu'Tasim" by Luis Borges.
for those interested this story can be found in a collection called  Fictions.
 
The story is a wonderful exercise in nested narration and overlapping characters.
a structure and form of writing decidedly suited to our game.


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post2/dialogue01.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post2/tigUpdate.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post2/Saturday02.jpg)


while not overtly theatrical, the writing for Somewhere is anachronistic for this medium.
the narrative within loopGaloop, is told through a continuous quatrain rhyme, broken into individual dialogue.

"
there are stranger places than this room,
and this room is not a strangers place,
I leave for places stranger still
though strange enough I find this space.  "


excerpt from a dialogue within the game.


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post2/Skup02.jpg)


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post2/loopDialogue4explained.jpg)


.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post2/Skup00.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post2/Skup08.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post2/dialogue03.jpg)


the Gameworld is crafted in Sketchup (make) and the Game itself built in Unity (indie).


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post2/Skup10.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post2/SecondGloop14.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post2/SecondGloopEditor.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post2/SecondGloop09.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post2/SecondGloop08.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post2/SecondGloop12.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post2/01Painting02.jpg)

  Thank you !

I'd love to give it a try =)
I see you found me on twitter, just hit me when the build is ready.

I didn't mean you to change them. Just add a little variety, like another unsaturated color (like the brown in the house). the red/blue is sometimes a bit too strong in my opinion. the house for example is fine, the brown is keeping the blue from being too strong.

also, the scenes in the open where you see the sky could benefit from an actual sky, not just whiteness. You don't have to put clouds and birds in it, but a bit of a grayscaled bright gradient would help to give the world a bit more life.

i think that's what missing: life. it can still be minimalistic, but people live (or have lived) there. even if it is supposed to be a bit of an gray atmosphäre, of an abnormal and abstract place, give it a bit more atmosphäre, and in my opinion through the colors.

but that's just my opinion.
it's not bad at all, and I don't think I could do it better in 3D.

___
i liked the gameplay video by the way!

i looked at a screenshot of mirror's edge (since the color scheme is reduced, too) and tried to point the difference.

http://www.ngohq.com/attachments/screenshots/1659d1231959694-mirrors-edge-screenshots-mirrorsedge-2009-01-14-20-44-59-39.jpg

they are using only two prominent colors, orange and blue. But they are using a lot more shades of grey ( :biglaff: ). More shadows, dark spots, better values. the dark areas are blue-ish white, while the bright areas are yellow-ish white.

____

by the way what's with that?
http://25.media.tumblr.com/4a8d643e2f49ad60aa218c1ede8ed8d2/tumblr_mylaxmcdHs1ri8dvho1_1280.jpg
looks good too!

OH I WANT THIS SO BAAAD
As a man of strange tastes, I really like the dominance of red/slate and I think it makes for a strong art style.

lovin this. I'm such a sucker for anything surreal though.

I think you need to turn up the contrast. idk how, but it looks like you never hit pure white or pure black. I'm totally cool with the minimal colors, minimal life and such, but I think the dark parts should be darker and the bright parts should be brighter.

wow ! That is great feedback. I completely agree, the world often feels much to static, even alienating, and it's inert quality seems rather obvious when you point it out ! ( the mirror's edge screen articulated the difference splendidly ). I believe we need to strike a balance between the surreal, alienating spaces and having them appear 'lived in'. while I am not entirely sure color is the solution here, you do make a point with the mirrors edge screenshot, and their gradating use of colors.

- - - - -


the screen on tumblr is from a smaller game we Kickstarted last yer. It is a simple strategy game. Glad you like it !

Thank you Chis. strange is a perfect definition for the game !

you should be able to play the game in a few days. we have almost completed the build that we have been working on.

* oh ! and carousel, looks really wonderful, especially the animations ! *

Glad you like it !

tweaking contrast shouldn't be too difficult, you are right we never really hit the black or white extremes. Though for the most part that is a deliberate choice, keeping the world foggy and monotonous.

It's been said already, but never hurts to hear it again: Nice style! My first reaction on seeing the initial screenshots was to want to explore the world more, so you've got that going for you. Obviously will need a lot more content to make it more worth exploring aside from the visuals alone, but you're working on that part ;)

# update one and a half


the image below links to a video on our tumblr, demonstrating modifications made to the sneak mode.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post03/video02.jpg) (http://oleomingus.tumblr.com/post/73750319258/a-demonstration-of-some-modifications-made-to-the)

A bulk of our recent work has centered around the design and implementation of an interface to the sneak mode. An interface that does not detract from the first person experience, while providing the stream of
ancillary data that a stealth game requires.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post03/completeSaturday6.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post03/completeSaturday8.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post03/completeSaturday10.jpg)

we did contemplate, not articulating, the awareness state of the character being sneaked upon. or at least
not overtly suggesting the same. But the foggy condition when a player is uncertain about detection,
made sneaking rather imprecise.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post03/completeSaturday3.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post03/completeSaturday2.jpg)

This distinction in character states is, at the moment, rather simply crafted. 
The characters go from detecting the player’s presence. to being suspicious ( and therefore more alert )
and finally being unaware of the player’s presence ( when the character commences walking around )

over subsequent builds we will add, greater complexity to the ai, making sneak harder, with variations
in the character’s behavior during each state.

for example, upon becoming suspicious a character’s range of vision will be extended, and the character will become susceptible to the slightest noise. moreover once detected a character will permanently be aware of your presence in that environment, unless some dialogue convinces the character otherwise.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post03/completeSaturday.jpg)

Thank you ! I am glad you like the Gameworld so far.

We are working on a robust narrative framework to build the game upon, and given that Somewhere is primarily an experiment in alternate structures of storytelling in videogames, the storytelling within game will be a predominant component.

Really interesting & arresting style, particularly the use of colour.  :beer:

Thank you ! gambrinous.
we really went back and forth with the colors. especially for the second environment.


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post04/Gloopleaf08.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post04/Gloopleaf03.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post04/Gloopleaf012.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post04/Cloop13.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post04/telegalloop3.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post04/telegalloop2.jpg)

and this is what we now have in the game !

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post01/T%20(2).jpg)

Wow. The latest screenshots are what would have resulted if Salvador Dali had heard about procedural rendering.

The universe is absolutely mesmerizing, really pulling you to other frontiers, borders and dimensions. The only thing I find a bit disappointing is the placeholder name but despite this it's a big large quadratic +1 overall.

Thank you so much ! really appreciate the kind words.

were you referring to the placeholder name for this build, loopGaloop ? or Somewhere itself ?  Give what the game has developed into, you are quiet right, 'Somewhere' is an almost trivial moniker, but we have been associated with the name for so long now, that changing it at this stage might simply prove cumbersome !

I'm in love with the aesthetic myself.  Looking forward to where you take this, and the significance of those giant old timey phones.

Thank you, really glad that you like the art. and those phones do hold some rather bizarre significance  !

# Releasing playable build for Somewhere !



(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/launch/Link%20image.jpg) (https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/fictions_Oleo.zip)


fictions, is the first build from Somewhere.
It is auxiliary to the main game, and is in-itself a complete story.


It is also a build, created to test our first draft of the game mechanics.
So we have deliberately curtailed the storytelling and interaction to a linear form (for now).



If everything works as it ought to, we will, over subsequent builds, make several additions to stealth,
and create a Gameworld where you can go bonkers with the character flip !

---

This build contains numerous allusions to the story, “The Approach to Al-Mu’Tasim” by Luis Borges.
this story can be found in a collection called  Fictions.

Borge’s story is an examination of a fictional book called ” Approach to Al-Mu’Tasim “,
This fictional book was written in Bombay by an imaginary author called Mir Bahadur Ali,
and features an unnamed protagonist who travels through India
in search of a mythical man called Al-Mu’Tasim.

I do recommend that you read it for yourself !

---

The game uses a standard fps control set : W A S D movement and Space to jump.
There are also additional controls, which are explained as part of a brief tutorial
at the very beaning of the game. - Do go through the tutorial ! -

Included in the build folder is a text document, with a script for the game's dialogues.
If you need help following the narrative, or would like to revisit the same - the script should help.

Also our work on this game has turned us into avid entomologists.
so if you find any bugs lurking in our build somewhere, do let us know !

---

If you like the game, do help us spread the word !
we would like as many people as possible playing, discussing and critiquing our work.

trailer

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/launch/videoImage2.jpg) (http://oleomingus.tumblr.com/post/74072046893/a-trailer-for-fictions-fictions-is-the-first)

# update two


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post06/GubbleTele01.jpg)


Some very early screens from, color and space experiments, for the new environment.
(for now these are only skeletal volume blocks, without detail )


With this second build, we are prototyping a hypothesis of storytelling, that relies on the distinction between
narration and enactment of a story. Our game worlds are theatrical sets, and we are experimenting with
turning the actors into audiences.


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post06/GubbleTele11a.jpg)

Traditionally stealth games, exist within hostile game worlds, The omniscience of dread, especially in games
meticulously crafted, is very real. In these worlds breaking stealth, often results in violent repercussions.

Game worlds are therefore designed to both reflect this hostility and allow the player to function within it using
a combination of entropic and redundant spaces or in more physical terms, hiding and open spaces.

Distinction of this sort defines clearly, the manner of interaction a player might expect within a particular space.
This predictability makes the hostility of the rest of the game world solvable. For example :
out in the open space the unpredictability of detection is countered by the safety of your vantage point which
allows you to study guard movement patterns.

Creating an environment with a deliberate distinction of spaces, places structural restriction on storytelling.
Spaces here, cannot be inhabited, but have to be navigated. A hiding space is bereft of other characters,
and therefore cannot be used to further stories, while the open space is now hostile !

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post06/GubbleTele%20Skup01.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post06/GgVolumeBlock15.jpg)

The architecture isolates the player from people who populate the game world. And the more comfortable a
player becomes in navigating this system of spaces, the more they alienate themselves from ‘people’ who create
and populate the rest of the game world.

For example : the supernatural abilities in Dishonored, or your propensity to crawl through vents in DeusEx
or even simply the ability to crouch in every stealth game, which sets the player apart from other characters.

This distinction of the player character is beneficial to most videogame storytelling. Because most videogame
stories are a ‘hero’s journey’ - the story of a singular person, or at least a tightly knit group of people.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post06/GubbleTele10.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post06/GubbleTele07.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post06/GubbleTele10.jpg)


We understand, the advantage of identifying with a singular character. Continuously allowing the player to
distinguish themselves from other people and funneling player agency through the interface of a
sympathetic person with the game, works wonderfully when used in tandem with clearly defined architectural space.

But if you open up the game world, and attempt the narration of a different form of story, then the construction
fails. It is not a construction conducive to telling stories about multiple people, without isolating someone.
It is also a construct that fails without there being narrative repercussions to breaking your role as the character.

So why would we try and narrate a nuanced communal story within a stealth game ?

Our game world is not hostile. In a story tightly knit, a violent repercussion of the slightest form would
reverberate throughout the game, affecting all it’s characters. And in a game where the player can become
every character in the game world, it is a repercussion that we simply cannot sustain !

So again, why would we try and narrate such a story in a stealth game ?

Because for us, Stealth is a way to drag the player into our game world.
Not the player as a particular character, but the player in person. You.

The player can become anybody in the game world. And as that character the player can interact with people,
and navigate the game world with rectitude.

But with any person that you inhabit, you can ‘Sneak’. You can crouch and enter stealth mode, where you can proceed to
enter peoples personal spaces, overhear conversations, lock doors and peek into windows.

Stealth allows you to perform a small set of peculiar activities which ( as the player ) allow an insidious intrusion
into portions of the game world and people’s lives. Access that your character would otherwise not have.

And then upon being detected it is not the player who is endangered through violence, it is the character that
the player inhabits who is endangered through social exclusion.  Because when the other people see you
sneaking and skulking, they recognise you as the character you inhabit - a fellow actor, and they find your
behavior odd. Never realizing that you are also the audience, and that you can just as easily
become another actor and continue the charade.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post06/GubbleTele12.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post06/Conversation06.jpg)

Our game world is not hostile and our spaces are not traversal binaries. We are trying to create a small but
detailed set of inbetween spaces, courtyards, and passages or alcoves that can be opened into walkways or
closed into rooms.

Spaces where a person might hide and interact at the same time. Where the character that the player embodies
does not distinguish oneself from others, and where sometimes, and in secret, you can enter the world and
unravel the story.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post06/Conversation07.jpg)

# update two point one


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post06/21%20(7).jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post06/21%20(9).jpg)

Work in progress. Exploring geometric details with a quick lightmap, and some hastily crafted textures.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post06/21%20(1).jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post06/21%20(3).jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post06/21%20(10).jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post06/21%20(6).jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post06/21%20(4).jpg)

# update two point two

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post07/GubblePest05.jpg)

Some in process screenshots demonstrating the construction of a portion of the environment.
Both from within Unity and Sketchup.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post07/GubblePest21a.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post07/GubbleSkup02.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post07/GubbleSkup03.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post07/GubbleSkup04.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post07/GubblePest28.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post07/GubblePest26.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post07/GubblePest24.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post07/GubblePest25.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post07/GubblePest23.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post07/GubblePest27.jpg)

Everything about this is absolutely and utterly fantastic. I wish I had time to play your build now - but since I haven't, it'll have to wait for one of the next days. Hopefully tomorrow. Brace for feedback.

:-*

Looks great! Those guys look like they'd be very hospitable.

Thank you @TobiasW ,Yes that quote is one of the more interesting portions of dialogue from our first build. We are glad you like the game !

I am really looking forward to your feedback, once you have had a chance to play the build.

@ARRD-ART  Thank you !

We are well on our way towards building the second pre-alpha. Where we explore a more complex version of
conversation systems, and the stealth is made more intricate. It will also be a longer build, both in terms of scale of explorable environment and dialogue.


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post07/4.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post07/2.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post07/5.jpg)

# update two point three

A bunch of quick screens, articulating some strange additions to the environment.
Still very much a work in progress of course.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post08/GubbleToothbrush03.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post08/GubbleToothbrush11.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post08/GubbleToothbrush14.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post08/GubbleToothbrush15.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post08/GubbleToothbrush16.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post08/GubbleToothbrush18.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post08/GubbleToothbrush19.jpg)

Feedback of any kind is much appreciated !

You guys are back! Astounding architecture and level design.  :tearsofjoy:

Hey oleomingus! I finally got around to playing your game. And since nobody here commented on the build at all (and that's a damn shame), I thought I'd try to make amends for that by giving you a video walkthrough of me playing your game (http://youtu.be/DK7o4DfxYRM). Sorry if I sound a little emotionsless and tightlipped, I'm tired - and playing and reading and talking at the same time is surprisingly hard, haha. Not sure if the video is any good, it's my first time doing that. Maybe it's useful for you. Maybe a little. Anyway... :giggle:

I liked the game a lot, even if that's not coming across in my audio commentary! A short self-contained story featuring it's own author AND how the story came to be? Clever. I mean, your descriptions kind of prepared me for it, but "experiencing" it is a different beast. The architecture is strange and intriguing (albeit at places a little bit too minimalistic for my taste) and the dialogue is lovely. Will there be choices later on? And it's such a pity there likely won't be any voiceover, this being no-budget indie and all.

(And I just checked out your release notes. If I still had the microphone on, you'd hear more laughter :D)

I'm looking forward to the next prototype!

Thank you ! @ephoete. Our update cycle is certainly a little tardy, but we will be posting some interesting
stuff over the next few weeks !


Wow ! Thank you. @TobiasW  We really really appreciate the wonderful play-through video.
It is amusing and rather instructive watching someone play through one's game. There were parts I believe
where the numerical distance counter caused some confusion, and it was interesting to
see you walk through the levels trying to figure the pathways.

I am really glad you enjoyed the game and the narrative intrigue of the game writing itself !

We did go back and forth over dialogue choices and branching dialogue.
But eventually we decided to keep each conversation linear. We are making several additions to the
conversation system, where the distinction between an overheard conversation and a dialogue become
fundamental to solving the game. We will also make conversations dependent on several parameters, which would tweak
the inherent dialogue and make it somewhat adaptive, and take into account the player's association with
other characters.

Voice-over is rather expensive !  And while the theatrical dialogue would definitely benefit from a voice-over,
we are going to stick to text for the time being. Though we are working on music and sound, which we will add to
the next build. You can listen to a wonderful track by the music composer we are working with :

http://oleomingus.tumblr.com/post/80159156875/strangers-walk-upon-my-road-they-do-not-tell-me (http://oleomingus.tumblr.com/post/80159156875/strangers-walk-upon-my-road-they-do-not-tell-me)

---

# update two point four


Giant.tooth.brush.trees. Early screens from the second environment for our next build.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post09/ToothbrushTrees02.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post09/ToothbrushTrees08.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post09/ToothbrushTrees09.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post09/ToothbrushTrees11.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post09/ToothbrushTrees07.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post09/ToothbrushTrees15.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post09/ToothbrushTreeSkup04.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post09/ToothbrushTreeSkup01.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post09/ToothbrushTreeEditor01.jpg)

A small addition to the last update. Images from the first foliage test.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post09/ToothbrushTrees17.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post09/ToothbrushTrees20.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post09/ToothbrushTrees21.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post09/ToothbrushTrees22.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post09/ToothbrushTrees24.jpg)

so far all this reminds me of a weird dream, a Dali painting or the movie "the Cell".
Awesome! =D (subscribed)

Thank you ! @Calined . Not familiar with the movie though the environments are certainly inspired by the scale and form distortions found in surrealist work. There is in fact a rather overt reference to René Magritte's paintings in our previous build.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/Untitled-1.jpg)

Regarding the movie "The Cell": it's dark (about a serial killer), but director Tarsem Singh is the modern master of surreal filmmaking, and you'd almost certainly enjoy and be inspired by his work.  And his other films (The Fall, Mirror Mirror, and to some extent Immortals) are much less morbid than The Cell, and feature a greater amount of surreal imagery.

Here's a quick montage of his films (you might want to mute the audio, the background song doesn't fit the imagery at all, but it's the only "summary" video I could find on youtube):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rglien_0JEc

That aside... I like everything about this game so far, very disorienting (in a good way!) and surreal world and art style.  I can't wait to see the finished product!  Good luck!

@acatalept  The brief introduction to both the director and his movies, is rather helpful.
And the short montage looks really bizarre and alluring. Thank you !

# update two point five

Reworking details and colors.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post09/GubbleGram03.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post09/GubbleGram05.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post09/GubbleGram12.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post09/GubbleGram04.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post09/GubbleGram07.jpg)

I tried it, but probably wouldn't have commented except for your prodding. :P

I just don't have much to say that seems useful. As a first level of a game it would have been extremely disappointing, but I assume it's meant as a demo to show the writing and the mechanics, and it does that just fine.

And I liked the overall mechanic and mood, so...what is there to say? Keep up the good work?

I guess I do have a couple of specific things:

It was jarring that Ali ends by saying that he "[the stranger's] broken journey will amend." but then he sends you right back to where you started. At first I thought the fading to black meant I had failed, and I went around the loop two or three times before I realized that was how it was supposed to go. I'd like to see that changed somehow; either in the dialogue, or make it clear that he has changed his mind (or was just humoring the crazy person when he said he would fix it). Maybe show him scribbling and then fade into his page to go back to the beginning?

The level design needs a little tweaking. If you try to do something other than follow the story it becomes painfully obvious that the game only lets you do what it wants you to. In this first build there are a few ways this can happen:

• In the first environment, you can go into the clock room, shut the door and go to the far end and hide. Then you can go back in, sneak around Mir Bahadur (and they maybe need to be more alert? It's really weird to be able to "sneak" right past in front of someone in a reasonably well-lit room). But it doesn't let you switch. If you try, it grabs the clock (even though the clock is way over in the other room). Very disconcerting.
• And another attempt to possess Mir Bahadur. Pick up the clock, carry it over into the room where you start the game, and then drop it. You can now edge out into the doorway and get the distance counter down to zero when he walks by, but it won't let you possess him.
• As Ali, if you go away and hide and then sneak back up on the stranger, you can't switch back (I was trying to open the door with Ali and then go back and switch and go through with the stranger). So then I thought maybe you could only possess people from the stranger's body, but that doesn't make any sense.

All that added up to a feeling of "there's no reason for me to be playing this: I might as well be sitting here just watching." You can't change the order of anything and the only thing you can skip is the dialogue with Ali (as the Stranger).

But as I said, I'm not sure how useful any of that is. You probably are already aware of it, and the build is just to demonstrate the basic mechanics, and the game will be great when it's done. I'll be keeping an eye on this.

--Josh

Thank you. @jgrams for that wonderfully detailed reply !

The possession was kept deliberately linear, though I completely understand that forcing linearity within a stealth game can become frustrating, especially when you are meant to try and explore the environments.

We kept the storytelling very controlled and the level design linear, since this was a pre-alpha build, a test of our basic premise. The build we are now working on extrapolates from this basic template in almost all aspects. In subsequent builds, there is no enforced linearity, neither is the flip restricted to a singular person, you can flip between characters as many times as you like, and amongst as many characters there are in the scene.

Still, I do appreciate your meticulous cataloging of the major flaws from our previous build. Thank you again for taking the time to write about and play the game !

# update three


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post10/GubbleGram40.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post10/GubbleGram17.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post10/GubbleGram39.jpg)

Completed the second smaller room for this first draft of our environment.
Added some furniture in trying to make the space unkempt, dark and crowded. A dilapidated resthouse.

A bulk of progress this week though, was the completion of a first draft of the new conversation system.

We now add eavesdropping to your insidious repertoire !


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post10/GubbleGram48.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post10/GubbleGram49.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post10/GubbleGram56.jpg)


While best explained through video, the changes to the dialogue mechanic now allow the player to overhear
people’s conversations while in sneak. Conversations that would otherwise change were the player’s
presence detected by the characters.

---

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VK6l1okI61s&feature=em-upload_owner

---

The conversations now exist within the game world rather than as an overlay.
This allows multiple characters to talk to you at the same time, and even with text it is now possible to simulate,
in part, the noise of a quick conversation amongst a group of people.

But most importantly it allows you to listen in on people while they are talking. eavesdrop !

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post10/GubbleGram51.jpg)

While getting detected will feed into how difficult subsequent sneaking in that space becomes,
it also causes the characters to remark upon your presence and hastily change the conversation,
obfuscating from the clumsy player their private conversations.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post10/GubbleGram15.jpg)

Wow. Just WOW!  :blink:

Thank you !

# Update four. a Story Update


A lot of the writing we create outside the game world and writing that influences the form of the game feeds directly into the lore of Kayamgadh.

Kayamgadh is a mythical town of storytellers. Our game is built around the search for this town. In each portion of the game you investigate a path into Kayamgadh. You accumulate stories, myths and falsehoods about Kayamgadh when you change characters and navigate their lives. Characters who are all of them looking for Kayamgadh.

The largest repository of writings about Kayamgadh come from the notes of a British surveyor, who claims to have returned from Kayamgadh after having lived in the city for seven years. These are excerpts from his Journal.



from the diary of the protagonist
Kayamgadh  1953



It rained. And Kayamgadh was created.

The city was born of nothingness and it’s existence was not wondered at. The people of Kayamgadh were born with it, they emerged from the rain, onto the washed streets of a city that was always there. They were born without a history and they had no wonder in them at the marvel of their existence or at the existence of their marvelous city.

They felt a simple pleasure when the rain blurred their faces, and when it blurred the outlines of their streets. But they never wondered.

In their books Kayamgadh was pictured unchanging, an unmoving bastion. And in their temples and murals Kayamgadh was always there, never to be wondered at. Their stories never told of the birth of Kayamgadh, and their poets never wondered at the beauty of their being.

In the multitude that lived and toiled within the walls of Kayamgadh there was a contentment. A faith in the perpetuity of their city. They knew that to think about the birth of Kayamgadh would be to question it’s eternal form. So they continued to stare through the rain, and marveled at nothing. Wondered at nothing.

And when the rain stopped they did not remember Kayamgadh in the rains, they could not recall the overflowing fountains, and the paper boats in the gutter. They could not remember the gust of moist wind and the desperate streaks of water on their window panes.

They would remember nothing.

And every time they looked upon their fair city, it was with the faith that only this was Kayamgadh. Unchanging. Born the very moment they would look upon it.

.   .     .    .

Somewhere is not an absolute story. It is an exploration of how the unchanging truth of Kayamgadh tears the reality of the people who are searching for it. It explores the painful process of disillusionment whilst looking through the lens of it’s most ardent believers.

Kayamgadh does not exist, but there are stories about it. Kayamgadh cannot be reached but people will travel and will try and reach Kayamgadh. Kayamgadh offers no answer, but people will turn to it for salvation. And nobody can return from Kayamgadh because they were never there, but people will claim and even believe that they have been to Kayamgadh. And in doing so they will create a city of their own,  a city that would truly be a city of storytellers. An untruth, yes. But no less real to the believer, than the actual city. The one that does not exist.

Gubble ( our current build ) is an exploration of these themes. But most of all it is an exploration of the act of creating an illusion. A magic trick. And exploration of how the storyteller might realise the myth, he most firmly believes in. and how one might create out of absolute nothingness, something marvelous. Like the city of Kayamgadh.

I just checked out the initial pre-alpha. Really impressive stuff. I will say I struggled with the dialogue in verse. What you just posted, about the origins of Kayamgadh, was interesting to read, and I like the overall atmosphere of what you're creating. But verse is really hard to pull off. It's simultaneously infantile (nursery rhymes) and pretentious (bad poetry).

So... think hard about how crucial verse is to your project, and how you might make it easier to handle, is I guess what I'm saying.

But this is incredible work, and I look forward to seeing more, verse or no verse!   

OH MAN! I got to play an earlier build... your game escaped my radar for a while. This is a really twisted and fun concept with great great art!

@Giaddon  Thank you for playing fictions ! and the wonderful feedback.

I completely agree, that our first iteration of dialogue was rather heavy handed ! The restrictive verse, limited both storytelling and the complexity of the narrative itself.

The verse did serve the purpose of obfuscating the difference between dialogue and narration, something we had not wrapped our heads around at the time, but we have now shifted to normal dialogue.


We are working towards releasing an alpha build at the end of the month. It will be a stand alone build but with about eight characters, that you can can flip between, and an intricate narrative of it's own. A bulk of the storytelling for this build is dependent on changes we have now made to the dialogue mechanic, including dialogue boxes or the ability to overhear conversations when sneaking. This build is also an experiment in narration based on how dialogue is written for the theater, and how stories might be told without narration.

Thanks again for playing ! I am really glad you enjoyed the build.


@Minion Studios  Thank you ! Hopefully our just gets more twisted as we build further !

# Update four point one. 


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post11/Gubbleeshwr08.jpg)


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post11/Gubbleeshwr05.jpg)


Images in this post are from a single room. A chamber within the Sarai ( resthouse ) where the game is set.
This room forms a fulcrum around which the player navigates the smaller personal spaces of the individual characters.

Having volume blocked our way into the first draft of the space we are now working on
intricate spaces, pendentive domes and vaulted ceilings.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post11/Gubbleeshwr04.jpg)

We have also been experimenting with textures. Here there is a deliberate shift from the bold flat pallet
previously explored in fictions to a broadly painted but somewhat detailed imagery.

We are still getting used to the process so the screens are very much a work in progress.


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post11/Gubbleeshwr02.jpg)


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post11/Gubbleeshwr01.jpg)


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post11/Gubbleeshwr12.jpg)

Getting me more and more wordless here, verily.

@ephoete  Thank you !


Making some changes to the floor. ( wip ).

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post11/add%20(1).jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post11/add%20(2).jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post11/add%20(3).jpg)

Love the visual style here, will check out the build when I have a bit more time.

@mirrorfish  Thank you ! Looking forward to your feedback on the previous build.
We will also be releasing the alpha build soon. It is a much more intricate example of the game's systems and our storytelling capabilities.

# Update four point two.

People from Gubblepur. Character sketches from our current alpha, still work in progress.


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post12/BhriguA.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post12/TimurA.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post12/Caretaker.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post12/KedruA.jpg)

Given that this is a somewhat early attempt at sketching humans ( and funny ones at that ) would really appreciate feedback.

Hey this looks great, I have nothing negative to say about it as it stands, and I think you know your project best by the images - so just keep at it!  :)

The previous pages are amazing, and very inspiring!

You guys have the same workflow as me (SketchUp to Unity), but you've managed to get a much cooler atmosphere than what I have so far, while still keeping a somewhat low-poly look. I might have to re-evaluate the direction of my own project now, or at least do some more experimenting with style...

Looks very interesting!

But please design another character. It just looks silly and detracts from the vision and the beauty of your world.

@SamLewisJones  Thank you !


@eobet Appreciate your kind words regarding the art for the game world ! I just played a portion of your game, and the low polygon tunnels look wonderful ! I suppose our art differs a little bit with the addition of textures, lightmaping and a reliance on geometric architecture that Sketchup is particularly well suited to handle, compared to the organic spaces from your game world. Good luck with your game !



@Michaël Samyn  Really glad you like the game world ! I think you might be right about the characters though, they do seem to tend towards caricature. A feature that the game world itself does not reflect. I was hoping that bizarrely crafted people in a game world that is otherwise surreal would work, but these integrations might just be a little too cartoonish to sustain a serious narrative.  We might even tone the caricature down while turning them in to three dimensional meshes.

Thank you for the feedback, it certainly helps to reevaluate major game aspects form time to time !

# Update five point one.


Work in progress ! Creating the rest of the Sarai. Images from the central courtyard. ( First rough lightmap )

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post13/GubblePur54.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post13/GubblePur63.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post13/GubblePur60.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post13/GubblePur56.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post13/GubblePur47.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post13/GubblePur62.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post13/GubblePur58.jpg)

---

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post13/GubblePur19.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post13/GubblePur36.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post13/GubblePur24.jpg)

Sketchup

Pretty! Making me nostalgic for when we were playing with Middle Eastern architecture in 8 (http://tale-of-tales.com/8). Beautiful work!

Wow, really lovely work.  Looking forward to walking around in that space :)

@Michaël Samyn  Thank you ! The Sarai used to be a British outpost so we are using using a lot of Indo Saracenic architecture as reference. Revival architecture simplified the Mughal forms from which it derived most of it's geometry and this suites our bolder color pallet and lack of intricate surface detailing.
8 looks wonderful ! Some of your screenshots remind me that the use of jalis /intricate geometric screens, add wonderfully to the sense of a semi enclosed space. Going to try that out.

@Zaphos   We are trying to complete this build by the IndiCade late deadline so we ought to have a playable build complete in the next ten days or so. Really glad you like the game !

# Update Six point one.

We are working on a new movement mechanic that lets you walk into the images in your inventory.
The video below ( on our Tumblog ) describes it best.


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post14/Tag2.jpg) (http://oleomingus.tumblr.com/post/87902774246)

---

We are also reworking fictions for our IndiCade submission and the new mechanic is a predominant part of the rewrite.
Here are some wip screens from the reworked build.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post14/LoopGubble9.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post14/LoopGubble16.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post14/LoopGubble10.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post14/Character01f.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post14/LoopGubble.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post14/LoopGubble25.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post14/LoopGubble11.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post14/LoopGubble17.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post14/LoopGubble21.jpg)

Every update makes this look better and better. I cannot wait to play it.

@Panurge   Thank you ! We are slowly inching towards completing a playable build. Should have something soon.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post14/LoopGubble29.jpg)

Experimenting with a main menu, superimposed on a live scene.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post14/MainMenu4.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post14/MainMenu8.jpg)

Okay so we only have one or two character models to work with. But at least we can turn them blue !

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post14/LoopGubble45.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post14/LoopGubble47.jpg)

I love the visual style. Regardless of what the gameplay will be, I'm happy to have explore this world, when will be release.

Thank you ! The game world is rather complex and full of it's own little stories, so should certainly be fun to explore. We are a long way from release yet and the images above are largely from an early alpha build. But periodically we do release short playable builds. If I had to guess, I would say about eight months to a complete game, meanwhile we do plan to release a comprehensive alpha at the end of this month.

Love the art :)

@afilionComposer  Thank you !


# Update Seven point one.

We are posting again after a bit of hiatus and there were some environments that we were experimenting
with in the interlude that I am going to skip. Might post some images from them later.

With this specific room we are working within smaller environmental confines.
The idea to to concentrate of non architectural and context specific details. Objects that build narratives within the game world.

In tandem with a basic shift in scale I am also using this room to explore the a more saturated pallet of hues,
and sharper contrast with fewer lights.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post15/Ritual19.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post15/Ritual09.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post15/Ritual14.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post15/Ritual15.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post15/Ritual16.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post15/Ritual13.jpg)

These environments and textures are great! Such a unique style.

Thank you @dqhendricks. Glad you like the art !

# Update Seven point two.

Here are some more screens from the same environment. wip of course. I am trying to build odd volumetric paintings by placing three dimensional meshes and layered textures within window like painting frames. The portraits that are crafted like this look rather strange ! Still need to make the frame less window like.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post16/Ritual20.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post16/Ritual29c.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post16/Ritual33.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post16/Ritual24.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post16/Ritual32.jpg)

The four rooms from the first environment are almost complete. The textures and the lights need a bit of work,
and the lightmap could be better but quiet happy with the somewhat intricate result !

Compared to fictions the attempt here is to divert some portion of the storytelling to the environment.
The clocks or the levers or the papers and the books will all be interactive in small, simple and
distinct ways. These four rooms and ( still incomplete ) passages and a small courtyard form the first
environment from our alpha ( tentatively called enactment ). The build will follow closely, the structure
of fictions. Closed environment, followed by an act two in an open space and then
back again into closed environments.


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post17/Enactment01.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post17/Enactment14.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post17/Enactment02.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post17/Enactment08.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post17/Enactment15.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post17/Enactment12.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post17/Enactment09.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post17/Enactment16.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post17/Enactment11.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post17/Enactment13.jpg)


And it's construction from Sketchup

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post17/SkupRituals01.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post17/SkupRituals02.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post17/SkupRituals07.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post17/SkupRituals09.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post17/SkupRituals10.jpg)


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post17/Enactment17.jpg)

Somewhere was featured on Rock Paper Shotgun. Pleasantly surprised to see our own game on a webpage I regularly follow !

The article itself does a wonderful job of articulating our game so take a peek if you are looking for a quick introduction to what the game is about.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/07/17/somewhere-stealth-game-borges-calvino/

Yay, saw the article on RPS; it's a lovely writeup!

Also, re the earlier update: nice designs, and it's always cool to see the sketchup wireframes :)

@Zaphos  Thank you ! It is indeed great to have more people interested in the project.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post18/Enactment33.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post18/Enactment34a.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post18/Enactment38.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post18/Enactment37.jpg)

Very stylish! Can be awesome when you finish it. Though it's hard to tell anything about gameplay after trying pre-alpha, it is obviously far from completion and feels kinda obscure.
Keep up the great work!

Thank you ! @Oxeren.   Really appreciate your playing the build !

You are quiet right, the pre alpha really is only an outline at this point. We are working on a build that sort of fills in these outlines further, with emphasis on details and conversations as a means of exploration based storytelling.

Update Eight.


Moon Rhymes, stories from the game world and some wip images from the second environment from the new build.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post%2019/MoonRhyme2a.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post%2019/PaintedRituals07.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post%2019/PaintedRituals08.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post%2019/PaintedRituals15.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post%2019/PaintedRituals20.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post%2019/PaintedRituals21.jpg)


Trying to create a stage from an open space. A place of theater and enactment.
Flat painted panels bracketing a clearing of toothbrush trees.

---

From the diary of Major Subedar Connington.
Kayamgadh 1893

All the children have run away from Kayamgadh.

They have vanished with the rain clouds and the last fragmented strains of the early morning muezzin call.
Nobody knows where they have run off to, and nobody wonders.

People know that to wonder is to question. To wonder is to probe and doubt and disturb the perfect absence
of every child. They simply know that all the children have run away from Kayamgadh.

But If, upon this disappearance the traveler were to venture south of the city walls,
he would find footprints and stories of these vanished children. Here a kachori vendor
recalling their voices, and there a firki seller recalling how their little feet traced
across the desert sands that surround Kayamgadh.

And these traces would lead the traveler to another city, much like Kayamgadh. Only younger.

Where all these vanished children would be found holding their firkis and wooden tops and
fried bananas wrapped in squares of cut newspaper. And these children, would stare at the traveler,
wonderingly.  Disturbed by this intrusion in their perfect escape.
Resenting the presence of an older person.

Because they would believe that all people have run away from Kayamgadh. And only the children now remain.


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post%2019/PaintedRituals22.jpg)


Some songs from within the game world that play on the radio.

 Song one (http://oleomingus.tumblr.com/post/91456348191/the-song-that-plays-on-the-radio)

 Song two (http://oleomingus.tumblr.com/post/92496248256/another-song-from-the-radio)

This looks very very nice!  :handthumbsupR:

I don't understand why every bloody modern first person game has to be set in realistic/futuristic environment and graphics. It's stupid. You can make anything, yet people make boring realistic environemnts.
So this is just bloody awesome!

Ha ha ! Really glad you like our off-kilter interpretation of first person spaces. Thank you @Green Gospod !

I don't have much to say other than that this still looks awesome. Like Zeno Clash, but more focused.

Thanks ! Lo-Fi  .  Zeno Clash is certainly a strange and beautiful looking game, not a direct inspiration but I can see the similarities especially since a portion of their art is inspired by Hieronymus Bosch's incredible triptychs. 

Maybe it is our significantly reduced scope and smaller environments that helps keep some of the environments focused ?

Yeah, I think it's the smaller environments, and as far as I can tell, you have less characters. Zeno Clash is wild and crazy in a great way, but their scope is so big that it ends up being a hit-and-miss art style in some places.

A very quick post. Finished working on all the environments, just a few pesky little details left to build !
Will post a game play video soon.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post%2020/Assembly08.jpg)


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post%2020/Assembly11.jpg)


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post%2020/Assembly12.jpg)


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post%2020/Assembly15.jpg)


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post%2020/Enactment63.jpg)


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post%2020/PaintedRituals28.jpg)


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post%2020/PaintedRituals29.jpg)


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post%2020/Twit01.jpg)


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post%2020/Twit02.jpg)

I like your choice in colors.

@Savick  Thank you !

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post21/Square.jpg)


Working on imaginary books and travelogues, that fold a lot of fictional history into the game's core narrative.


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post21/Assembly26.jpg)


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post21/Book01.jpg)


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post21/Book02.jpg)


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post21/Book03.jpg)


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post21/Book04.jpg)


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post21/Assembly23.jpg)

Update Nine


A quick look at Rituals as we near completion. We plan to release the build in about a week, and have begun sending out a few test builds to check Mac compatibility and hunt down some bugs.


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post%2022%20(%20combined%20)/Courtyard%20Color02.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post%2022%20(%20combined%20)/LinkImage.jpg) (http://oleomingus.tumblr.com/post/95802445816/a-quick-look-at-rituals-the-alpha-build-for)

The video is a compilation of several fraps recordings.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post%2022%20(%20combined%20)/FullScreen01.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post%2022%20(%20combined%20)/FullScreen09.jpg)


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post%2022%20(%20combined%20)/FullScreen07.jpg)


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post%2022%20(%20combined%20)/FullScreen02.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post%2022%20(%20combined%20)/FullScreen03.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post%2022%20(%20combined%20)/naturalist01.jpg)



(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/post%2022%20(%20combined%20)/Bake16%20(2).jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/Rituals/TIG%20pageAlt.jpg) (http://oleomingus.itch.io/rituals)


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59331449/TIG/Rituals/Texture.jpg)


Also read about Rituals on Rock Paper Shotgun ! (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/09/09/surreal-sneaking-sample-somewhere-with-rituals/)

I LOVE this, it has so much character, the colors.. the models.. the.. ahh! Very unqie and brilliantly done!

Thank you !

This game makes me think of the Grand Budapest hotel. Great atmosphere in the level designs.

Thank you. @hube That is indeed a flattering comparison ! The idiosyncratic style of Wes Anderson's films, while not a direct inspiration are definitely a beautiful source of visual reference.

Oh wow, new areas!  Looks cool :)

I'm not sure if I'm 100% sold on the pixel-y grass sticking up out of the ground (the pixelation against everything else being sharp just makes it look like a bad rendering artifact to me?) but everything else is pretty neat!  I like the rock outcroppings a lot.

Thank you ! Really glad you like the new environments. 

You are quiet right the pixel-y grass is rather incongruous. It is supposed to be solid and 'grass-like'! But this being our first attempt at building grass in Unity, it seems to have turned out a little perforated! Guess I need to learn how to paint grass properly.

Starting work on an environment for the second act of figments. Still very much a work in progress.


(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/112365741/0%20_%20Forum%20Posts/INDIE%20DB/16/incomplete%2006a.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/112365741/0%20_%20Forum%20Posts/INDIE%20DB/16/incomplete%2010.jpg)

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/112365741/0%20_%20Forum%20Posts/INDIE%20DB/16/incomplete%2013.jpg)

Looks fascinating!

Explorative, historical, surreal, colourful -- I have nothing but the utmost praise! This game looks absolutely incredible! Posting here to get update notifications.

Great job already! Good luck finishing the game!

Just played Timruk! I'm still madly in love with your art style - the colors and compositions are impeccable and everything looks so polished. And I quite like the writing. At first, the scenes distracted me from reading, but soon, I was so into it that I totally forgot to check out the scenes, haha.

Looking forward to the next build!

PS: Is the curse of ImunShah a reference to forever working on a game and never being able to quite finish? :P
PPS: I had indian food today and my room was still smelling of spices. Perfect mood!

Surrealism and India -- Two things that I have a deep fondness, respect, and affinity for.

I'll be playing THIS tonight!

@TobiasW

Haha ! Yes I suppose we suffer from Imun shah's curse as well,
I knew stealing videogames from the god of death was a mistake!

I am really glad  you enjoyed the game (in accompaniment with flavorful Indian food!). It is a small excerpt from our larger game - but since we were separating it for display at a few exhibitions, we decided to sort of finish and release it as a complete build or storybook.

With any luck our next build should take lesser time to complete, as the curse wears off a little bit.
Thanks again for playing!

@M4uesviecr Thank you! I hope you enjoy our stories about mythical cities and fictional tribes of miniature artists!

Hey guys, very cool! I'll have to download the latest build - can't really tell what the gameplay is supposed to be like. Are you simple exploring the stories/settings and interacting with them? Or are there certain goals that need to be accomplished, etc?

@Hello Pixel Noise.
The new build is actually a storybook from within the larger game, so it simply has you reading through a few interwoven stories, that are strangely connected. The complete game itself, has you exploring and navigation, talking to characters and changing characters during the game - or moving through the story as different people and causing it to change. You can see a little bit of the same in our older build (Rituals, on our itchio page).

The idea is to narrate several stories associated with the search for the Mythical city of Kayamgadh, and use the trellis of their narratives to explore colonial India of the mid 1800s.

An article about Timruk, our new build on Rock Paper Shotgun! Take a look.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/12/15/timruk-oleomingus-free/