Liveblogging from the first "Meeting of the Minds"

Well, demo release is delayed again for some massive changes. Realized a very horrible similarity between our story and a certain other game that will not be named. SOOOO...we got an assistant writer, and we are meeting now about some changes to the story. Trust us, the game will come out, and with the talent behind it, it will be more than I could have first imagined. Stay tuned!

Still Alive

Just posting to keep the blog alive. Work is still going at a medium pace on the demo. We are about 3/4 of the way through the demo. I got inspired by Final Fantasy 4's dungeon design, so it has kinda held up the process just a little. We are also waiting on a few art assets, and some music still needs tightened up, but all in all, I am happy with the project as it stands. Hope to have the demo out before the end of the month.

Inevitable Delay

In this, the week before the supposed release of "The Fountain" demo, I am forced to announce it's delay. It's been a crazy couple of weeks, and I haven't gotten much time to work on the game. However, in this week, I hope to make a bunch of progress, maybe even getting the story pieces I wanted to show off in the demo. But there is so much more I want to show, so until further notice, the demo is delayed. Instead of a demo release, I will try to keep the blog up to date with progress reports more often. This game is quickly becoming my favorite brainchild, and I want it to be as good as it can be when it is finally unveiled. Bear with me. We'll get there. :D

Here it is! The Teaser for the demo. Excessive, yes. Necessary? Maybe. Fun? You bet!
The voice acting sucks, but bear with it for now. The demo is being worked right now, and should be ready on time. Look forward to it! Enjoy!

5/28/08

We are currently working toward an earlier deadline than initially planned. We hope to get a teaser trailer for the game out by 5/28/08, a full month before the demo releases. Look forward to it, it will be amazing!

Technical Difficulties?

I started working on the demo today. Well, actually started designing it yesterday, started implementing it today. Didn't get too far...too distracted, and the weekend's are too short. Either way, I did notice one thing. We have this huge first town, filled with events. And me, being the crazy person I am, decided to put a crap load of butterflies in the town. Problem is, it seems to be clogging up the game...too many events == bad.

I have two choices. Take out the butterflies, or cut the map back up into 6 sections. The latter will probably be the solution, cause I like my butterflies :P

So, a weekend goes by, and all I get is a design for the demo, and two new maps. Actually...I'm pretty happy with that.

First Song Sample

This is a sample of one of the pieces Adam is making for the game. This song is called "The Journey Begins" and for the moment is being used as our title screen music. The logo is by Oscar Sweatman.

More Screens

This is a local restaurant in the first town, Liore.

This is one of the interiors of the main town. It is the home of one of the main characters, Kelsey.

Maps

This is the first world map. Since this game has a dual world aspect, there will be two fully unique world maps. None of that cop out dark world/light world crap. The second world hasn't even been started yet, as it doesn't come into play in the story for a little while.


This is the first town, now tentatively named Liore. I think it may be a bit big, after walking around in it, but I hope a few NPC's and interesting little sidequests will make it feel a little better.

Right now, I am working on some interiors for Liore. I have most of the main buildings complete, and hope to finish up the homes this week. I will post pictures of a few of them next weekend.

The Fountain

The idea came to me about 3 years ago. It was more or less a product of a creative overflow I had after coming up with my first story idea. Though that game has never seen the light of day (and won't until I have the appropriate resources to create it), I immediately started coming up with multiple stories and worlds to fall back on and "practice" my craft before delving into my first, and dearest, creation. That's where "The Fountain" came from.

The first premise of "The Fountain" was very basic, and looking back at my journal entries at the time, I really had no idea where the story was going. The fundamental idea driving the story was a dual world, each one home to a fountain, the Fountain of Life and the Fountain of Death. Polar opposites. The idea of every action has an equal and opposite reaction was the basis of these two worlds. My first ideas were scattered mentions of weather related catastrophes in one world being caused by vicious battles in the other. This story stayed on the back burner for quite some time, up until a few months ago.

It has now evolved into a comprehensive story based in Norse mythology. It is a story about a journey to another world. I will surely post more snippets of story as time goes on, but for now, I wish to keep it classified between myself and my team of extremely talented musicians and artists.

The project is getting its legs using the RPG Maker VX game creation software. I will be using mainly RTP graphics, but hope to have custom sprites, battlers, and monsters, which are in the works at the moment. Music is a big part of this game, and every piece is custom composed by my cousin and good friend.

I am an industry professional, currently working at a game development studio in Alabama, so I don't get as much time as I would like to work on this project. However, I am dedicating every waking moment with which I am not at work, or playing games, to the development of this game. Our current goal is to get a demo ready for mid to late June. I will keep this blog up to date on the progress of the game as much as possible, posting screenshots, and hopefully some audio clips from our soundtrack. This may take a while to take off, but be assured, I have a strong passion for making games, and I promise you it will be worth the wait.