Werewolves of Wilvern: A Shivers Mystery (Work in Progress)

[Carri]

Werewolves of Wilvern: A Shivers Mystery.  This is some early game dev footage I'm working on.

http://youtu.be/oHgZgCWiewQ​

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I'd appreciate feedback on how easy the game dialog is to read in the video?  I took it off the HUD because it seemed to be harder to read with it, but now I'm seeing it may actually be easier to read if I put it back.  The video framerate might be alittle slow.  I have an awful screen recorder software at the moment.​

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This game is the first in a series of Shivers Mysteries.  It's more like a prequel to the original Shivers game from Sierra.  There is a rich back history about the Ixupi and my series will have many adventures based on them.  The Ixupi are evil spirits who haunt elemental objects, like the Metal Ixupi may haunt Weapons or Coins.  An Aztec like society imprisoned the Ixupi into all these special Pots.  And in each Adventure, they get loose.  The player's goal is to capture the Ixupi and put them back in their proper Pots so they can no longer haunt the world.  Each of my games will take place in a different time and area with new mysteries to explore. ​

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In Werewolves of Wilvern, you play the game as Caleb Prescott, a soldier in the King's Army.  Caleb's brother was the official Monster Hunter.  He went missing in a nearby town and Caleb has been ordered by the King to find out what happened.  If Caleb is successful, he will become the next official Monster Hunter.  Along the way, he not only encounters monsters, but he finds himself facing the deeper mysteries of the Ixupi. ​

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The footage in my video is not final.  It's still in development.  This is part of the Ixupi Temple room.  There are thirteen Ixupi with their corresponding Pots.  So the player will have thirteen Ixupi to Capture, as well as trying to solve the mystery of Caleb's disappearance.  My Ixupi battler, I'm still trying to decide on if I want to make it different for each element it represents.  This is just a preliminary I have now. ​

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I actually had to restore three of the Pots by hand.  And I created tilesheets for them.  In the original Shivers game, three of the Pots were already used up before anyone got to play.  I'm the first person in twenty years to restore the full set.  I was on the Shivers 3 Development Team, so I have permission to use old resources.  The Shivers series is close to twenty years old now.  Only two Shivers games were ever released, the first featured The Ixupi, the second one featured Prayer Sticks.  After that, the company never did another and eventually Sierra was sold and pretty much died off.  A few of us tried for years to get the third game made, but even though we had created 3D models of the Pots, and even done some set designs, it just never got off the ground.  I'm so grateful for a program like RPG Maker so I can now bring the series back to life. ​

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Some of the tiles shown are from Candacis's wonderful Jungle tileset.  The music is actually the original Shivers Ixupi Exhibit theme, and the battle music is from an old game called Hexen.  The credit list will be huge.  I have tons of scripts and resources in this game. ​

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No idea when I will release it, but it will be a free release.  Thanks for reading all this and watching the game footage. ​

 

[Alkorri]

I honestly find the dark green text hard to read against that background. The phrase 'the Ceremonial Chamber and Complete' is almost unreadable too.

That aside, I like the menu design at the top, with the face, weapon and stats. I'm not convinced that the text colour of HP, MP, TP etc looks good with that biege background.

 

[Carri]

Thanks.  I'll have to put it back on HUD again.  The green was to make it alittle different.  Basically, I wanted to make this game look very different from the generic RPG Maker games and make it look more Retro.

 

[TMS]

It certainly does look retro, almost dated. I can't really comment much on things beyond that since I'm unfamiliar with the feel of the original series. The text should probably be changed, I think. The last (fourth) line of the text box is always very hard to read.

 

[Carri]

I think I need a better font.  I've been fighting with this font for awhile.  I tried a few, but I still haven't been able to find one I'm happy with.  And I know that a pretty game means nothing if the player can't read the text.  Before I ever release it, I'll work on getting a better font. 

 

[Amysaurus]

I agree about the font/font color having some issues. I think a bigger problem than the font's color is the size of the status menu (whatever you call it) it's on. The font is hugging the edges of it, and the comparative darkness of the background makes it even harder to read. If you don't end up changing the font, I'd just enlarge that menu just enough to surround the edges. As well, I also have some difficulty reading the game dialogue because of the color, so I would suggest experimenting with adding the HUD back in like you mentioned.

I'm not sure how much this will help since it's still in development, but I would suggest adapting your characters and those pots into a style more similar to the RTP at some point, just to make the map feel a bit more cohesive. There's nothing wrong with the style of them, but the game will look much cleaner if the style of graphics is consistent. 

 

[Alkorri]

I admit to having never heard of the Shivers game, but I like the amount of effort in this project so far. I also think the font itself is fine as it is; I would indeed pay attention to readability

I'm not sure how soon it is to comment on this project since you're obviously still in development, but including your pots, I see three different styles including High Fantasy and RTP. Like Amy says, you might want to aim for a more consistent look The drawings(?) on white paper could also blend a bit better with the wall.

 

[Carri]

It's kind of supposed to be inconsistent because it's like twenty year old retro style.  I would never change the Pots, they are authentic to the original game.  I'm actually going for a weird retro blending of Shivers and Gabriel Knight games.  

Part of my HUD issues is that I've made the game screen 800 X 600, so it kind of gives me issues with resizing the HUD areas.  But they are supposed to look chunky and retro.  Games from the early 90's had fairly poor graphics, and I think I've captured that with this HUD.  Kind of think Grindhouse style but for games.   

I'll experiment with some fonts again and see what I can do with it.  A skinnier font might be easier to read.  It's just I don't want to completely take away from the feel of the HUD.  I want a chunky old retro look.  I kind of want each game area to have this sort of house of madness look, where each area is different.   

 

[TMS]

I've considered trying a mix of styles for my future dream-based game, from just using painted art in the waking world and pixel art in the dream worlds to having every dream look and feel different. The problem is that you have to convince people that it was an intentional stylistic choice and not just shoddy game-making. If you do any advertising for this game, I'd recommend stressing its old-school nature.

 

[Carri]

The people it will appeal to are fans of old Sierra games, and there is a whole cult of them out there.  The style I'm using with the mixture of graphics is exactly right on for it.  This isn't a game for people who are really into the RTP.  This is the opposite.  For years, I didn't want to work with this game engine because I can't stand the RTP.  I needed the style I'm using.  And I didn't realize I could have it with this engine.  There is so much that can be done using VX Ace.  You don't have to conform to RTP.  You can do anything.  Why limit yourself.  You can add anything from oil paintings to watercolor styles and cartoons.  You can do anything you want to.  There should never be a limit to creativity.  You can make plain point and click games with this engine and use any kind of backgrounds for your rooms that you want to.  You don't have to use regular tilesets.  I've always been about pushing gaming boundaries.  Doing the unusual.  That's true art.

Retro gamers will recognize my style.  Those who loved all those old games, The Realm, Shivers, Gabriel Knight, Laura Bow, and King's Quest.  There's a reason we still love them after twenty years.  My goal is to bring it back to life.

I don't remember if I did share the Tarot Card Readers I made with this VX Ace here.  Those are prime examples of doing something different with this game engine.  They're still up for download at my forum.

http://sims2workshop.com/index.php?page=Thread&threadID=3534

 

[Carri]

I figured out why I've been using the green font.  I forgot.  It's because of the battle log text color.  I had alot of trouble trying to change it with the scripts I'm using.  So my workaround was to use the green font.  I've darkened it alittle and I made some changes to the window skin.  I'll post an updated video sometime soon.  I think I made all the text more readable.  I'm working on my battlers now.  I am making each Ixupi look alittle different.  And I'll probably make each one cast slightly different spells.   

 

[Amysaurus]

It's fine enough if you want it to look inconsistent, we're just saying that it comes off as unappealing. And like TMS mentioned, it's incredibly difficult to make it look like a conscious design choice rather than a way of cutting corners. Even 20-year-old retro styles are consistent in their own games. And, you've got to remember: cult followers aren't going to be upset with a change in graphics, so long as they get a great game that pays tribute to a favorite series. 


As for the HUD, you totally can emulate the chunkiness of retro graphics, but I'd suggest you take advantage of the graphical capabilities of today. In general, don't try and make something that was done 20 years ago - make something pays homage to the series while wowing the fans with a newer take on it. When it comes to loving a series, graphics are only a small part of it.

There should never be a limit to creativity.

Sometimes limiting creativity is the best way to make something innovative. When you limit the medium, you get to discover new ways to take advantage of its capabilities.

 

[Carri]

No, that's the very reason all modern movie remakes suck.  And it's the complete antithesis of Grindhouse.  I'm not making a remake, I'm not making a homage.  I'm making another part of the series.  And I'm doing it right.  And I'm using my style, my way.  And when it's done, it will look the way it's supposed to look.  It's okay if no one on this forum understands what I'm doing.  I have over three hundred thousand members at my own forum, enough for a small country, and I didn't get that by playing by other peoples rules for creativity.  I know what I'm doing.  

 

[Carri]

Here's some updated footage with the cleaner, easier to read HUD.



Only special game areas will have a different style like the Ixupi Temple room. 

 

[Carri]

Just alittle raw footage of the secret basement area of The Lodge.  I fell in love with the Futuristic Tileset.  So this game area is sort of my homage to the old Doom games.
 
The Cloth Ixupi is a placeholder.  I haven't made the Electrical Ixupi yet.  And the fights will be better balanced, better weapons.  This is just a rough cut as I'm working. 
 

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