New RPG project - building a demo

[Marcuz]

Dear EAB,

[edited: cusses of the moment more or less motivated, amended]

[second edit: the game proposal, which is a bit different from the demo making that runs in this thead below, still stands, if some of you is interested! ]

i want to propose you a bit of a game.
as the game involves a bit of work on my part as well as yours, let me be upfront with it: i'll have a bit of free time for let's say a couple of months max, after which, i would like - but it's still a project - take a decent vacancy from EAB, internet and computer in general.
so, if you are willing to play, please know there's a kind of deadline.

The proposal is as it follows:
you provide me a draft or a concept with some sketch of a monster: it can be a sci-fi or a fantasy one, it should have some written detail about how big it is, what kind of attack it does and how it moves.

As a template for such details, think of the monsters from Eye of Beholder or Black Crypt.

then i would render it in size, colour palette and style to be useable in Eye of Beholder 2.

what's the goal? well EOB2 engine and data is pretty much disassembled: if some chaps comes around making a streamlined tool to implement custom graphics (for instance, for the players faces is already possible) and a maze/scripting tool, we could have -not really difficultly, EoB 4, 5, 6 etc...)

I would ask you though, preferably, that it was sketched in pencil and paper, to make it funnier to me to render it.

i will then upload one by one the monsters IFFs to the zone so that you could even use them for Dungeon Craft or other games, (i would not deal in the technicality of it, someone else please do, if interested)

anyway, i think i can at least do 3 or 4 a week, if nothing goes in the way and even try some wallset too.

so: is anybody interested?

[TCD]

Hmm, that sounds cool EOB 4? Now that would be something Give me some time to think of something, make a sketch () and provide it. I hope you'll find some more folks to give you something to work on and that there will be at least a 'hacked' EOB 2 with the new monsters

[Marcuz]

that's the spirit mate i know that if i start sketching, i would end with Eye of Beholder in black and white... uhm. that would be cool actually...

[Selur]

"...then i would render it in size, colour palette and style to be useable in Eye of Beholder 2"

hello Marco
May i ask what you exactly mean?
If I understood, you gonna make full animated 3d object and render it in some 3d graphics program?

[Marcuz]

Hello Selur,
no i meant render in the sense of transpose it from concept or sketch to a fully drawn sprite useable in the game: just like the monster that there are alredy in the serie

i would tidy it, and pixel drawing / colouring in some graphic program: be it Photoshop or the like, then adjusting it in Deluxepaint or viceversa.

[Selur]

Uhm now i understand what you mean... and will PM you.

[Marcuz]

This is an easy mummy.

Since i was idle tonite i drew this one. 3 hours of work, still to be polished.
i'll do all the polishing (i.e. complete re-pixelling and palettes adjusting) when i'll eventually have a bunch of designs done.

however, the size of the sprites and movement serie is more or less correct (need to know the exact useable size for sprites in EoB: prolly i have to tweak the lateral views)

So are you guys interested or i'll trash this thread?

As i was having a look at this Egyptian' art book today, i was wondering if this project could be thematic... a complete EoB with ancient myths only... mmm...

Also i was wondering...
what do you think it is better: a pixel art one or (as it is in this case) a - large size sketch that it is resized - one? the former is more readable, the latter is more deep... i've probably to make you an exemple. i will do it in the next hour...

[Marcuz]

here, at the end of the image, a more pixelled version in 5 colours. it's not perfect, but i'm a bit dozy now...

[gimbal]

excellent work marco. You see? You can do pixel art just fine

If more people are interested I will surely contribute in some way to this project, perhaps in the tool department. I've been working on a new and improved version of MapMaker, which I for now have given the working title "LevelBuilder". See some details here:

http://www.xs4all.nl/~gimbal/projects/levelbuilder.htm

When I port over the "meta data" support (IE binding values to elements in a level) I'm sure I can create a map exporter for EOB games.

[Marcuz]

hey thanks for the support mate
MapMaker, if it could draw 2D top down maps then to be exported in 3D mazes could be cool, or even if it would be used for an external to EoB game engine: i wouldn't mind in doing something like but not quite EoB game

[Shoonay]

Hey, nice work Marco!
Even though that... "thing", looks more like dancing some Waltz then being scarry and wanting to get me, I appreciate the pixel work

[TCD]

I like the mummy, even if it's not that scary Maybe DH can add an evil Eddie touch to it
I've made a sketch (very lousy ), but my neighbours scanner is broke right now, so you'll have to wait a bit

[Marcuz]

you guys are right in it being not scary enough. i'll prolly redo it. it's interesting to do, but, you know me, it's also too tiring to me... i would like some input from you, not on the single monster, but as i said on the whole project... as it is it's not even a project...

is there anybody here able to code a new engine, not necessarily EoB-esque? i have a bunch of ideas for graphics, interface and part of the game mechanics to throw in...

[gimbal]

engine engine, can we just code a game please. We are not building a car. Even the "quake engine" is just the game that other developers have to adapt to their own game.

I'll stick to tools, I've already got my own game efforts

[Marcuz]

well i've given some kind of deadline in the first post. if ideas come forth before that, i'll work on it

[gimbal]

as for the scary factor of the mummy, a group of pixels is not going to look scary on its own. But put it into the proper context with music, sounds, a dark and gloomy environment and the mummy that marco drew might just do the job a whole lot better. Personally I think it is fine the way it is, but more mummies are always welcome

[Shoonay]

I shouldn't have sad that thing about the scary part, because my main point was suppose to point at the poses themselves that look like The Zombie's making some Waltz twirl

[gimbal]

pish and peshaw, the mummies from Dungeon Master look like they are wearing pajamas

[Marcuz]

hehehehe...

[Marcuz]

blah blah blah...

so i was thinking... is there anybody wanting to code a one level demo ishar/eob game running on windows or amiga more or less with the sizes in the mockup screenshot?
no interface required at the start, just the dungeon.




amiga pros:
- well it would be amiga.
- i could be excused if i would use 8 colours!

windows pros:
- tons of different graphics, like walls, furnitures etc.
- speed.
- more colours.
- portability?