20: The Gateway

[Gazza_N]

The Myst series is hit-and-miss amongst gamers. Most just don't gel with the concept - get dumped in a world with no idea what to do, explore, and gradually work things out through observation, trial and error, and the gradual interpretation of little clues that are scattered everywhere. Not surprisingly, these games are legendary for their difficulty, and most gamers get bored quite quickly. Me, I love 'em, and the Myst puzzle paradigm is perfect for this comp.

The Gateway is like Myst. Explore an environment using nothing but your mouse cursor to move and manipulate. Solve puzzles through trial and observation, not "OH GEE I HOPE NOBODY FINDS THIS NOTE WITH MY SECURITY CODE UNWISELY WRITTEN ON IT!!1!!". Best of all, there are no written cues or clues anywhere. ;)

I'm looking small-scale here, because my time is limited. This will be a slightly expanded "escape the room" type scenario, with only two or three major puzzles, where the player is dumped into a mysterious (and small) sci-fi lab complex and must find their way out again. I'll also be replicating Myst's pre-rendered frame approach for the graphics using Blender, because it means that I can produce decent-ish art relatively quickly. After all, MSPaint just won't hack it here. :P

NEWS!!! The Gateway is up for download! (15.5 MB)


MORE NEWS!!! Final version up! (18.5MB)

[Kensei]

Sounds awesome, Gazza_N and doable.

Will it be 3D or 2D?

[Cleric]

That sounds great. I assume you'll be using Myst style 2D pics to show a 3D world?

[Gazza_N]

2D slides of pre-rendered 3D locations, exactly like Myst did it. I'm looking at doing panoramic renders, so that the player can "look around" a location, almost like in Myst III and up, but not a full 360 degrees. That approach also means that I have to render less slides, but don't tell anyone that I'm cheating like that. ;)

I'll be the first to admit that copying Myst's style probably isn't the most original of ideas, but it works well with the comp concept, and I'm hoping that the puzzles and locations themselves will make up for the lack of inspiration gameplay-wise. ^^;

[Fengol]

there had better be giant robots!

[cairnswm]

Think of using Bryce or Vue Esprit for making your scenes.

(I have a copy of Vue Esprit 6 Pro Studio if you want to see :) )

[Thaumaturge]

Ooh, this sounds very promising! (Admittedly, I'm rather a fan of the Myst series. ;))

Do you plan on leaning more towards Myst, and logic puzzles and exploration, or "escape the room" games, and hidden objects in sometimes-inobvious places?

By the way, have you heard that someone is apparently working on creating a Myst movie, apparently with Cyan's blessing?

Originally Posted by Gazza_N

I HOPE NOBODY FINDS THIS NOTE WITH MY SECURITY CODE UNWISELY WRITTEN ON IT!!1!!

You mean that that's not what one's supposed to do? :( ;P

Originally Posted by cairnswm

Think of using Bryce or Vue Esprit for making your scenes.

Am I not correct in thinking that those would be better for outdoor scenes than the indoor scenes that Gazza seems to be describing?

I remember an old Vue de Sprit demo that I had once upon a time (and probably still have amongst my cover discs) - I seem to recall that it was pretty good for outdoor scenes. ^_^

[cairnswm]

Originally Posted by Thaumaturge

Am I not correct in thinking that those would be better for outdoor scenes than the indoor scenes that Gazza seems to be describing? I remember an old Vue de Sprit demo that I had once upon a time (and probably still have amongst my cover discs) - I seem to recall that it was pretty good for outdoor scenes. ^_^

Can also do indoor scenes. But its true power is the outdoor scenes as it has procedural generation for outdoor objects. Indoor objects needs a bit more work in the modelling department, but its still easier than trying to do everything in a 3D modelling package (unless you know a 3D modelling packege quite well....)

The best tool to develop a game in is the one you know best :)

[Thaumaturge]

Originally Posted by cairnswm

Can also do indoor scenes. But its true power is the outdoor scenes as it has procedural generation for outdoor objects. Indoor objects needs a bit more work in the modelling department, but its still easier than trying to do everything in a 3D modelling package (unless you know a 3D modelling packege quite well....)

Really? It has, I'll admit, been a long time since I used Vue de Sprit last, I think, and that was a demo version - what does it offer that would make indoor scenes easier? I remember it being able to import external models, create primitives, work with heightmaps and create vegetation. (It also had a pretty good material system, as I recall, but that's not really relevant to the modelling side of things, I don't think.)

Originally Posted by cairnswm

The best tool to develop a game in is the one you know best

On this I concur. ^_^

(Well, with qualification, at least - all other things being close to equal, that's true. Otherwise one might argue that we should never learn the use of new tools or engines. But that's rather besides the point, after all. :P)

[Gazza_N]

Originally Posted by Thaumaturge

Do you plan on leaning more towards Myst, and logic puzzles and exploration, or "escape the room" games, and hidden objects in sometimes-inobvious places?

A little of both, actually. The puzzles I have in mind are mainly your standard Myst "figure out how this machine works" fare, but I'll have one or two items that the player is required to find to progress.

Originally Posted by Thaumaturge

By the way, have you heard that someone is apparently working on creating a Myst movie, apparently with Cyan's blessing?

:O

YAY!

@cairnswm: While Vue Esprit looks like it could produce some very nice stuff (I like the procedural tree and cloud generators in particular), I think I'll stick with Blender for now. It's purely on the basis that I know Blender, and I know how to achieve what I want to with it. That said, I wouldn't mind giving Vue Esprit a look. ;)

[Thaumaturge]

Quote:

A little of both, actually. The puzzles I have in mind are mainly your standard Myst "figure out how this machine works" fare, but I'll have one or two items that the player is required to find to progress.

Aah, fair enough - it sounds pretty good, then (depending on just how inobvious the hiding-places are, and whether there are any clues to them, I suppose ^^; ). ^_^

Oh, and I forget to link to the website of the project behind that Myst movie. I think that I found it via TVTropes.

It looks as though they're pouring an incredible amount of time and energy into the project, from some of what has been written in the blog - this could be something well worth seeing, should it come to fruition.

[Gazza_N]

It's time for a status update! Wheeeee!

Development on The Gateway is staggered, but happening. The puzzles have been finalized, the world has been constructed (this took a little time), and I have a prototype up and running, so the code is in place to slip everything into. All that remains is some puzzle artwork, and then comes the arduous task of doing the final renders of all the frames I need, as well as writing the puzzle code.

I'll try and post some screenies tonight, although I appreciate that a working game would be much better. :p Who knows, at this rate I might actually submit my first complete entry for months. Here's hoping! ;)

[Thaumaturge]

Excellent - I'm glad to hear it. It sounds as though you're well on the road to getting this finished, and I'm looking forward to seeing the result. ^_^

[Gazza_N]

As promised, screenies:





I'll probably be polishing them up a little before final release, so consider them very advanced WIP.

You may mock my 3D skills in 3... 2... 1...

[Thaumaturge]

Ooh, that's actually looking very pretty, and very in the vein of old sci-fi adventure games, I believe. I particularly like the lighting, especially in the second screenshot.

(The sci-fi setting aside, this is giving me Isis flashbacks...)

All in all, I like it! ^_^

[Kensei]

Holy crap!

That looks fucking awesome, Gazza_N :D Reminds me of the Interactive Fiction era of adventure games (like Dark Side of the Moon and Ripper)

[Gazza_N]

Thanks guys. My 3D work still leaves a lot to be desired, but I'm glad that the final product isn't resulting in mental illness for the player. :p

With luck (WITH LUCK) I'll have the game finished this weekend, or at least very close to completion.

[Aval4nche]

Looking great! I can't wait till it's done.

[Kensei]

Originally Posted by Gazza_N

Thanks guys. My 3D work still leaves a lot to be desired, but I'm glad that the final product isn't resulting in mental illness for the player. :p

They keep saying I have this 'men-tal ill-ness' and putting me in padded rooms, and I am not sure they appreciate me shouting 'I AM a BISCUIT' all the time...

[Thaumaturge]

Quote:

but I'm glad that the final product isn't resulting in mental illness for the player.

Similarly, is it really wise to make that assumption from a lack of change in me? :P

To (probably badly mis-) quote Dr. Cranium: "Mad? Mad?! I'm not mad! A little annoyed at the general situation, perhaps, but not mad..." :P