1st screenshots of my RPG

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MyGameCompany
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1st screenshots of my RPG

Post by MyGameCompany »

Hi gang,

I've been quietly working on my own RPG for several months now, and I finally have a couple of screenshots to post. I've hired a professional artist to do the artwork, and we're in the process of establishing the overall look of the game. I know a lot of RPG fans hang out here, so I'd like to hear what you think of the game's visual appearance.

Some caveats:

1) this is a work in progress, and we're still making adjustments to some of the art (for example, the grass isn't quite right yet). But it's enough to give you a good idea of where we're going with the overall look of the game.

2) I tend to like bright colors (probably from my love of comic books and cartoons), so we're looking to go with a more "painted" look for the scenery - similar to Torchlight.

3) Ignore the stick figures and the plain gray wall with a door (near the bottom middle of the screen). Those are placeholders for character and building artwork that hasn't been done yet.

The first screenshot is the game's dialogue screen. I know you probably can't read the text in this reduced screenshot, but that's ok - it's just temporary text anyway, and not worth reading. The empty frames on the left side will eventually contain the portraits of the character you're talking to and your main character's portrait below.

Image

The second screenshot is the merchant screen. Please ignore the items in the inventory - I don't have any icon art yet for the game's inventory items, so I borrowed some of the art from my Dirk Dashing games. I promise there won't be any tranquilizer dart guns or first aid kits in my fantasy RPG. :P

I liked BW's merchant screen design, so I'm doing something similar. It's offset to the right a bit to leave room for the portraits of the party characters, which will be on the left (similar to what Spiderweb Games does with their RPGs). Like theirs, you'll also be able to click the portraits to switch to another character's inventory. I've also left room for the in-game toolbar along the bottom, which will contain some quick use slots.

Image

One thing that's different about my merchant screen from the one in the Eschalon games is that I've added an explicit "Identify" button, rather than right-clicking to identify an unknown item. (I'm trying to look ahead toward the day when this game might run on tablet devices.) Basically, you'll left click the Identify button and then left-click on an unknown item in your inventory to pay the merchant to identify it for you.

For the character art, we're planning to use super-deformed (SD) characters similar to Final Fantasy Tactics. It will greatly reduce the animation cost and still look pretty good. And I think it will fit with the "painted" look of the scenery. Here's a pic of what those kind of characters would look like:
http://blog.rpgmakerweb.com/wp-content/ ... ection.jpg

So what do you think of the game art so far? Love it? Hate it?
Troy
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Check out my Book III mods: The Mystery of Rockhammer Mine and Expedition into West Mirkland
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Vroqren
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Re: 1st screenshots of my RPG

Post by Vroqren »

I really like it. I remember playing and enjoying Dirk Dashing, and look forward to this one as well.
The artwork looks good. While I don't think I would use the bright colors, I don't mind them, and they were well done.
Keep up the good work!

Check out my walkthroughs:
Character: here
Book I: here

Book II: here
Fathamurk: here
Book III: here
SpottedShroom wrote:There's evil and then there's just being contrary to your own best interests
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Re: 1st screenshots of my RPG

Post by deathknight1728 »

So ok, I have a few questions/responses as rpgs are my only genre :mrgreen:

1-Seeing as this is a party game will it be like baldurs gate where you can pause or more turn based like eschalon? Its really hard to define this as eschalon is turn based but operates somewhat fast in combat when its just 1 vs 1.

2-I'd like to know more about the game like what will be the setting and what not that makes it unique. Im not sure if that is this point but just asking.

3-Are you looking for any help? I just finished a job/intern for a computer game company in NY. Let me know how I can contact you if you are looking for minor help. Im really just looking to add more experience to my resume :)
"As long as 60% of the things you do are good, it doesnt matter what the 40% is."-PQ

His face turns a twisted grin. Its a little disturbing. "Vicious vermin, I'd like to strangle every one of them."-Captain Johnson, Avernum
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MyGameCompany
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Re: 1st screenshots of my RPG

Post by MyGameCompany »

Thanks, Vrogren!
deathknight1728 wrote:So ok, I have a few questions/responses as rpgs are my only genre :mrgreen:

1-Seeing as this is a party game will it be like baldurs gate where you can pause or more turn based like eschalon? Its really hard to define this as eschalon is turn based but operates somewhat fast in combat when its just 1 vs 1.
It will be turn-based, and will be something of a hybrid between Eschalon and RPGs by Spiderweb Games. From the Eschalon games, I like the way BW implemented character movement, lighting, day-night cycles, merchant interaction (and stores that restock every 7 days or so), and lots of other things I can't think of right now. For "Avernum: Escape from the Pit" (representative of Spiderweb Games RPGs), I like tactics involved when you have a party of specialized characters, the intrique and ability to choose sides in a wider conflict, and the way you can develop skills to acquire powerful, specialized attacks (something Eschalon Book II did with "feats", but much more elaborate in Avernum and Avadon). For both games, I love the large, open worlds that allow you to go anywhere at any time, the way they're packed with hidden areas and tons of side quests, and the excellent writing.

So you can imagine that for my RPG I'm going to attempt to combine all of the things I like from both sets of games.
deathknight1728 wrote:2-I'd like to know more about the game like what will be the setting and what not that makes it unique. Im not sure if that is this point but just asking.
Good question. I'm not ready yet to reveal anything about the story, but I can tell you a little about the setting. It's definitely a fantasy world with a Tolkien-like feel to it, complete with wizards, dragons, and such. I have a detailed map of the world and about 50 pages of notes, including a detailed timeline for the world's history and complete histories of nearly every city, village, castle, and ruin on the map) - so the world should certainly feel like a real place, and everywhere you go, there's a story/history behind that place so it makes perfect sense in the grand scheme of things.

As for what makes it unique, that's harder to pin down. It's tough to do something that hasn't already been done before by somebody, but one of the things I want to do with my game is to really allow player choices to impact the gameplay and the way events in the story unfold. For example, in my game you will have opportunities to choose sides in a wider conflict between competing factions (or not choose sides at all), and your decision will affect how you're treated by various NPCs you meet, open up or close off certain areas in the game, etc. That's just one example, but I have a number of ideas for ways that to allow players to shape the gameplay by their decisions.

Unlike Avernum, your party will not be static. During the course of the game, other characters will join and leave your party. They are not necessarily interested in your quests or goals and will instead pursue their own goals. Their paths may coincide with yours for a time, and they'll gladly help you and accept help from you. But they may eventually leave your party when their job is over or when your journey takes them too far from their own goals. Some of them may also choose sides in the wider conflict, which means your decisions may eventually put you in a situation where you are betrayed by someone from your own party.
deathknight1728 wrote:3-Are you looking for any help? I just finished a job/intern for a computer game company in NY. Let me know how I can contact you if you are looking for minor help. Im really just looking to add more experience to my resume :)
Thanks, but I don't really need help at the moment. I've got an artist and a musician on board, and I'll be wrapping all the programming within the next 2-3 months. At that point, I just need to build the game world and write all the dialogue and story.
Troy
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Check out my Book III mods: The Mystery of Rockhammer Mine and Expedition into West Mirkland
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Re: 1st screenshots of my RPG

Post by Painted Lady »

It looks like you have put a lot of thought into what could be a terrific game. It sounds like something everyone on this forum would love to play. My only concern is that the figures could look too "comic-bookish" to fit into the fairly complicated and serious story line you have described. Otherwise, so far so wonderful......
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Re: 1st screenshots of my RPG

Post by Sslaxx »

Looking interesting! First screenshot made me strongly think of Eschalon. And as for being original? So long as it's done well, that's what matters more. Hope this works for you! More indie RPGs can only be a good thing as far as I am concerned.
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Re: 1st screenshots of my RPG

Post by BasiliskWrangler »

I think it looks great. I like the trees. I battled with the idea of either going "more realistic" or "more stylistic" early on. I went with the more realistic look, but I like how yours is more down the stylistic path.

Keep at it, and keep us up-to-date.
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Re: 1st screenshots of my RPG

Post by MyGameCompany »

Painted Lady wrote:It looks like you have put a lot of thought into what could be a terrific game. It sounds like something everyone on this forum would love to play. My only concern is that the figures could look too "comic-bookish" to fit into the fairly complicated and serious story line you have described. Otherwise, so far so wonderful......
Thanks! I had the same concern initially about the character art, until I realized that many JRPGs use that style and have serious stories, as well as games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre GBA. I think I can make it work - my concern was whether or not the RPG fans here and those who enjoy other indie RPGs would like it.
Troy
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Check out my Book III mods: The Mystery of Rockhammer Mine and Expedition into West Mirkland
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Re: 1st screenshots of my RPG

Post by MyGameCompany »

Sslaxx wrote:Looking interesting! First screenshot made me strongly think of Eschalon. And as for being original? So long as it's done well, that's what matters more. Hope this works for you! More indie RPGs can only be a good thing as far as I am concerned.
Thanks, Sslaxx!
Troy
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Check out my Book III mods: The Mystery of Rockhammer Mine and Expedition into West Mirkland
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Re: 1st screenshots of my RPG

Post by MyGameCompany »

BasiliskWrangler wrote:I think it looks great. I like the trees. I battled with the idea of either going "more realistic" or "more stylistic" early on. I went with the more realistic look, but I like how yours is more down the stylistic path.

Keep at it, and keep us up-to-date.
Thanks, BW! And thanks again for letting me post about it here. :D
Troy
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Check out my Book III mods: The Mystery of Rockhammer Mine and Expedition into West Mirkland
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Re: 1st screenshots of my RPG

Post by IJBall »

Yeah, this looks interesting. I would definitely be interested in picking this up when it comes out.
(I've been meaning to get to Dirk Dashing too, but I haven't been doing much gaming over the last year... hopefully, Book III's release will be the catalyst that gets me back to gaming more.)
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Re: 1st screenshots of my RPG

Post by MyGameCompany »

IJBall wrote:Yeah, this looks interesting. I would definitely be interested in picking this up when it comes out.
(I've been meaning to get to Dirk Dashing too, but I haven't been doing much gaming over the last year... hopefully, Book III's release will be the catalyst that gets me back to gaming more.)
Thanks, IJBall!

No worries about Dirk - he'll be around awhile. Sometimes life takes precedence over other things - even gaming!
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Check out my Book III mods: The Mystery of Rockhammer Mine and Expedition into West Mirkland
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Re: 1st screenshots of my RPG

Post by Vroqren »

Speaking about Dirk: Would you change your avatar after this new game comes out? Not that I don't like your current avatar, but seeing as he's the character from your game, perhaps it would become a character from this new game?

Check out my walkthroughs:
Character: here
Book I: here

Book II: here
Fathamurk: here
Book III: here
SpottedShroom wrote:There's evil and then there's just being contrary to your own best interests
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Re: 1st screenshots of my RPG

Post by MyGameCompany »

Vroqren wrote:Speaking about Dirk: Would you change your avatar after this new game comes out? Not that I don't like your current avatar, but seeing as he's the character from your game, perhaps it would become a character from this new game?
Probably - once I have a portrait I can use. :D
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Re: 1st screenshots of my RPG

Post by CrazyBernie »

Looks pretty slick! Are you planning on doing the "Character Train" style of movement (a la Spiderweb), or having a single character representing the party (say, like Final Fantasy), or just having individual character movement?
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