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[andy wolff]

I had the idea to make a QAB  (Quick Adventure Box)  which when you play several really short storyventure things as though you were flipping through channels, much like in WarioWare (StoryoWare!). The only problem I would have with doing this would be getting some stories to scriptscenify.

So, this topic is asking TIGsource to write some short stories which could be put into such a QAB. They can be any sort of story, as long as they remain short and animate-able.

Also, if people wanted to, they could do something like this:

(1:00:45 PM) andy: Declaration the First: everyone with the time and ability to do so will try to, by the end of this weekend, make a short cinematic 'game' with a story, for the simple reason that there is a severe and detrimental lack of such games
(1:01:04 PM) andy: and such
(1:01:37 PM) michael_: what do you mean by cinematic?
(1:01:49 PM) andy: heaviliy story-based
(1:02:17 PM) C418: unlike left 4 dead
(1:02:42 PM) andy: and doesnt really necessarily have anything to do with being a game, could be more like a little pixel-movie with few animations
(1:02:50 PM) andy: like a machinimation or something

[Xion]

I don't get it. Could you explain a little more?

[medieval]

I think what he's trying to do is to put several mini-IFs in a package.

[andy wolff]

I think what he's trying to do is to put several mini-IFs in a package.

No, not really. I was thinking more like several miniature adventures in a  small package game. What I mean by miniature adventures is small (graphical and animated) scenes which portray a small story, with gameplay or without. Sort of a hodgepodge of small tidbits of games.

I'll see if I can't do one to show you guys what I mean as an example.

[shig]

If I did understand it correctly, it's like a game with many different small plots with probably no relation to each other. And the game switches from story to story in a frenetic rate similar to WarioWare.

That's a lot of work.

[N]

If I did understand it correctly, it's like a game with many different small plots with probably no relation to each other. And the game switches from story to story in a frenetic rate similar to WarioWare.

That's a lot of work.

Well, I understood it like that too.
It's really cool idea (and a lot of work).

[agj]

Sounds like a lot of work indeed, but if the resources were pooled, and there was a single, very simple engine to use, it could be manageable. I suggest going for a super low-res style with tiny pixel graphics with choppy (but expressive) animations, like two-frame walk cycles. A few characters with different expressions and general use sprites could be drawn, and the rest could then be made by other people, imitating the style of the originals--all these would be made available to everyone. There could be the stereotypical nerdy guy, the stereotypical athlete, the stereotypical hot girl, and stuff like that, to make the sprites versatile yet maleable by context. The only question is how to make it easy to create these brief game stories. Maybe some kind of script system?

Yeah, pretty great idea, andy. I'll definitely contribute if this takes off.

[DjangoDurango]

If you need simple sprite templates, you could use ShowKaiser's Half Kaiser templates. He's posted a good number of different body styles and there are other poses (sitting, running, etc) available for the more general ones.

I could contribute stories, though I'd need to know more about the gameplay. Would these be, like, point and click adventures or what?

[andy wolff]

Sounds like a lot of work indeed, but if the resources were pooled, and there was a single, very simple engine to use, it could be manageable. I suggest going for a super low-res style with tiny pixel graphics with choppy (but expressive) animations, like two-frame walk cycles. A few characters with different expressions and general use sprites could be drawn, and the rest could then be made by other people, imitating the style of the originals--all these would be made available to everyone. There could be the stereotypical nerdy guy, the stereotypical athlete, the stereotypical hot girl, and stuff like that, to make the sprites versatile yet maleable by context. The only question is how to make it easy to create these brief game stories. Maybe some kind of script system?

Yeah, pretty great idea, andy. I'll definitely contribute if this takes off.

Thanks. Yeah, I was thinking we'd go the choppy pixel route. I have a very versatile engine in GM for dialogue, and I'm both willing and capable of making different types of gameplay engines. Depending on what each individual story requires, I can do a good deal of the graphics, and other people can contribute all that they want. I can take care of a decent amount of animations, as well, and can probably whip something up to make dynamic pixel animations generated in real time, if need be.
I was thinking about making a sort of level editor / scene editor which allowed for animations and dialogue, as well as console command type things. This would probably be the best way of going about such a project. In combination with the abovementioned dynamic (appendage?) animation system, this could provide for a wonderfully wide range of possibilities.

If you need simple sprite templates, you could use ShowKaiser's Half Kaiser templates. He's posted a good number of different body styles and there are other poses (sitting, running, etc) available for the more general ones.

I could contribute stories, though I'd need to know more about the gameplay. Would these be, like, point and click adventures or what?

Well, my original idea had gameplay as individual to each story. It would probably all have to be 2d, but other than that it could be anywhere from a point and click adventure to a shmup to a cave story ripoff.

So I'm willing to put a lot of work into this, but as I've said I'm really not much of a story writer. So if you guys think I should, I can start making that scene editor while you guys write short stories for it.

It does sound pretty ambitious, but I think it'd be really cool once it got started.

[GregWS]

Well, now that all those Indie Brawl/Balding's Quest threads are nice and organized away, it seems gems like this thread float to the surface! 

So, is anything happening with this?  Because I think the concept is absolutely fantastic, and I may be able to contribute a bit, probably with a few pixels or a couple stories.

[andy wolff]

thanks

nothing is happening with this at the moment (due mostly to my other projects like SOS and some other stuff), but I still tentatively plan to do it eventually. probably over the summer unless people insist that I masochistically work on it earlier.

furthermore, I'm currently only capable of writing programs in GM, and this is unlikely to drastically change in the near future. so I dunno how it all is going to go down.

[Fuzz]

probably over the summer unless people insist that I masochistically work on it earlier.

I insist! No, not really, but it does sound really cool.

[andy wolff]

yeah actually I've started messing around recently with an ingame animation editor with similar features to that of Flash (keyframes and what Flash calls "motion tweening") which could end up being used in an editor for QAB

I'll share it if my shenanigans produces anything usable

[Dunam]

I could definitely write one or two compelling short stories, if you give me a little bit more to work with. I write better if I write for games directly so if you can tell me the freedom and the constraints it would be easier to write.

If you are aiming for a specific audience, writing again becomes easier.

Without knowing anything here are a few story ideas that I could expand on:


1. An artificially intelligent robot is sent by humanity to communicate a truce with an alien race known for their cunningness, selfishness and xenophobia, but also for their complete honesty.

2. An old, dying, powerful wizard watches over his three students, yet unsure which he will appoint to his place as protector of the land. One bright but brash, One coolheaded but ruthless, One creative but whimsical.

3. A scrawny nimble kid from the streets of Rio de Janeiro has to safely get to school, get the groceries for his grandma and figure out how to do this without being robbed, killed or arrested.

[Dunam]

Send me an e-mail if you're interested.

[shig]

3. A scrawny nimble kid from the streets of Rio de Janeiro has to safely get to school, get the groceries for his grandma and figure out how to do this without being robbed, killed or arrested.

no

[MrChocolateBear]

3. A scrawny nimble kid from the streets of Rio de Janeiro has to safely get to school, get the groceries for his grandma and figure out how to do this without being robbed, killed or arrested.

no

The first two aren't bad though!