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The Island of Freedom

Discussion in 'Works In Progress - Archive' started by Gobla, Jun 16, 2013.

  1. Gobla

    Gobla

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    This is a smaller project I'm doing. The name is currently just the worktitle. For this project I was mostly existing assets to create the game to speed up the game, however this changed now.
    It is basically an interactive story (like Dear Ester). However I'm looking for more interaction than Dear Ester and for about 1-2 hours of gameplay. So think of it as a crossover between a point click adventure and Dear Ester. I hope I can finish this game before my Unity license expires.

    Story
    You are stuck on a floating Island in the sky without any memory of how you got there. For the time you spend on the Island you try to keep alive by the natural resources and those of the previous inhabitants. As far as you know you have been alone on this Island the whole time. You don't really know why you are there, how long you have been there, and why there is such a thing as a floating island.
    There are a few things that keep you sane of which are most important: your daily routines and an ever fading memory of the girl you one knew: Sasha.

    At a certain day, long after the second "accident" you wake up, ready to get on with your routine. When you walk outside, a huge bull's skull is on the tip of a stake in front of your house. There are no bulls on this island, and you most certainly not put that there...

    Preview
    I am no voice actor. Most likely I will find a better suited (native EN speaking person) to do the voice overs. This is an early WIP.






    Warning: Do NOT play the webplayer before the game is finished if don't want any spoilers of the game!

    You can try it if you want to do Chapter 1. As long as you don't parcour your way trough the level (meaning you only get there were a simple logical jump is in place and don't try to get everywhere) the webplayer is spoiler free.

    Controls:
    WASD to move
    Mouse to look
    E OR Mouse1 to interact
    L to equip lantern (if you have one)
    Q Shut op Monologue

    Webplayer: http://minitankbattles.com/IslandOfFreedom/ (~120mb)

    Please do tell what you think.
     
    Last edited: Oct 15, 2013
  2. KheltonHeadley

    KheltonHeadley

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    Looks fantastic!
     
  3. Gobla

    Gobla

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    Thank You KheltonHeadley,

    Now lets hope the story will be fantastic as well.
     
  4. Tesla-Coil

    Tesla-Coil

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    Great work so far Gobla,

    Nice to hear the voice of the man behind the project, and think it is not a bad thing to have a different accent for the character than native English.

    Looking forward to future updates!
     
  5. Gobla

    Gobla

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    Thank You Tesla Coil,

    For the initial version I'll be do the voice overs myself (since that is the fastest way to get the game done). After that I'll check if it is necessary to change the voice over with a native EN speaking person.
     
  6. Liggles

    Liggles

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    The screenshots look really nice, will you be updating this thread as you progress with the games development? I'm interested in how it will turn out :)
     
  7. Navezof

    Navezof

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    The map is kind of nice, it missing some more details. More trees, objects, furnitures in the house, but I guess you plan to implement them later. (I only saw the demonstration on the web player, so maybe it is not the most recent version)

    Is this project still running? If yes, will you make update about the game progression?
     
  8. Gobla

    Gobla

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    @Liggles, @Navezof,

    First of all: Thank You!

    I'm most certainly going to update this thread. However since it is exploration based and holds a story, I must be careful of what I post and what I don't post to avoid spoilers.

    It is indeed that the web player is already heavily outdated. I've started to add furniture, more plants, trees (random/quest/story) objects. Two more (big) sub-Islands have been added as well and some game mechanics for the first chapter have been started to be implemented.

    The next webplayer update will be done when the full 1st chapter is done. I think I can safely upload the game (in alpha) chapter by chapter without much spoiling. So in between I'll be uploading screenshots and concept art.

    Warning: Do NOT play the webplayer before the game is finished if don't want any spoilers of the game!
     
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2013
  9. Gobla

    Gobla

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    The latest version is uploading right now (+/- 5 min from NOW it is done). It holds some more outline contents (so no additional details have been added). You can now see the castle island from the outside (and perhaps the inside if you are good at UNITY3D parcour since I haven't blocked all entrances yet), as well as the start of the fourth Island.

    I am aiming for having the first chapter (mechanics) in Beta tomorrow (and blow your minds).

    If you have enough of me talking in the game. Hit Q to make me shut up ^^.

    And again: Do NOT play the webplayer before the game is finished if don't want any spoilers of the game!
     
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2013
  10. Gobla

    Gobla

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    A bunch of screenshots. I've also completed the first chapter minus the monologues. I've never thought it would be this time consuming to (somewhere near properly) record these monologues.

    Enjoy the screenshots:









     
  11. superme2012

    superme2012

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    That looks really interesting. Do you have a project website so I can keep upto date with your developments?
     
  12. Gobla

    Gobla

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    I will keep this thread here up to date since this a side project / goodby project.
    If this might get big, I will first have to consider to get a new Unity license and a website after that (and most likely a title change since the name is WIP name).
     
  13. Maklaud

    Maklaud

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    Really like the graphic staff, looks nice! And the story is interesting, don't remember anything like that before.
    Like the name of the girl - Sasha (quite Russian name :) ) Why have you chosen this name? :)

    What about the gameplay? I followed your advice - didn't play the webplayer. I meat, how does the main hero survive? How does he make food, what else does he do on the island?

    I also see the night on the screens above. What is the time scale in compare with our real time? E.g. one game minute is one real second?
     
  14. Gobla

    Gobla

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    Thank you Maklaud!

    Sasha is being used for having a certain meaning (you can look it up if you like ;) ) and being a fairly common middle/eastern European name.

    During the story you have certain tasks to get food and other supplies to survive, so during gameplay you will find out. The other moments are filled with other tasks. You can think of meditation, investigating new area's of the Island. Since this is a island in the sky, you will always have to be careful not to fall down during one of the investigations.

    The time scales are a bit variable. E.G. in the first chapter you start in the evening and you will end during the night, while the second chapter starts during the morning and progresses until the night. So there are fixedand free time transitions to assist the story. The free time has about 15 - 30 mins for a 24 hour transition (I have to test this what is reasonable to play). Dynamic weather is also being used. Based upon the weather and time, you might get little side tasks to cope with the new conditions (where I am not going to spoil too much). But be sure that later on in the game, things will get harder and it is better to NOT stay out at night.

    So at first the game will give you lots of moments to learn more about the Island, while later on, things will get difficult.
     
  15. Maklaud

    Maklaud

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    The only thing I've looked up is - this is a name of one president's daughter :)

    This is great and interesting! Because at first I thought you would make some kind of "fence" (e.g. mountains) around the island, so as not to let player fall. But lack of fence makes this game more interesting, more challenging.

    I don't use this word often, but now I must say - WOW! This is great! I just assume what kind of "things" the player will have out and I can't even describe what I feel now :) Will be veeeery interesting!
     
  16. ClassicChloe

    ClassicChloe

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    The visuals are amazing, very impressive.
     
  17. Livvy

    Livvy

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    Looking forward to some gameplay as the visuals seem to just be the scenes from the environment pack from the asset store, although I love them.
     
  18. virror

    virror

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    Very cool demo, the intro talk was not bad, i could absolutely feel some emotions : p
    The blur was really annoying though, way, way to much for my taste but i did like all the flying rocks and trees, a neat effect : )
    Looking forward to a demo with some actual gameplay : )
     
  19. Gobla

    Gobla

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    Thank you for the positive feedback. In an hour or so you can play the first chapter (in alpha). It is fairly safe to play since you can't (if you don't parkour :mad:) create spoilers for later on.

    I should contact morgan freeman for the voiceovers... its damn hard work and I am not that good at it.

    I'll post that version once it it done.
     
  20. FBTH

    FBTH

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    I thought this was going to be a mediocre game, but it wasn't. It felt really complete, the voice acting was great, I wanted to hear more. And when I fell off the island it was cool to find out the ground is an actual ground not just a picture. Keep it up, Id love to see more, I dont have much to complain about except for that I didn't get to go back to the island once I fell off.
     
  21. Gobla

    Gobla

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    Thank you. It is hard to keep the emotion of the main player. Also not professionally recording makes for differences in volume, pitch, etc. which are noticeable with the other recordings.

    There is a mechanism that teleports you back to the Island for the upcoming test version, I will see if this will be kept for the entire game and that it isn't exploitable or game breaking.

    Edit: Uploading, it's about 120 mb now...
     
    Last edited: Jun 25, 2013
  22. Gobla

    Gobla

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    Upload is done. You can all now safely play the first Chapter (Part of the introduction). As long as you don't try to parcour trough the level.

    If you have questions and you don't want to spoil anything. Use the quote block and make the text the same color of the quote block like this:

    The color name is "light grey". It does not perfectly merge with the background, but it will prevent accidental reading.

    Some of the recordings will be done again since they where recorded with another mic in another room making them sound a bit out of space with the others. Also a lot more music and ambient sounds will be added and much more objects will be intractable (for future chapters).


    Please do tell what you think and if you are able to finish the first chapter.

    Controls:
    WASD to move
    Mouse to look
    E OR Mouse1 to interact
    L to equip lantern (if you have one)
    Q Shut op Monologue


    Try the alpha of chapter 1 here:

    http://minitankbattles.com/IslandOfFreedom/
     
    Last edited: Jun 26, 2013
  23. Gobla

    Gobla

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    By feedback on some tests, I can give you the following hints if you get stuck.

    Spoilers
    Select the text in the qoutes to see the spoilers.

     
    Last edited: Jun 26, 2013
  24. Maklaud

    Maklaud

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    You can't imagine how it's difficult not to play right now! I'm reading all the posts here, everybody likes your game, but I don't want to hurry, I want to play a bit ready game (e.g. full instruction, at least) :)
     
  25. Gobla

    Gobla

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    By some feedback on the first chapter I will change the following:

    Walking speed will be slightly upped and there will be an option to shortly sprint.
    Depth of field distance will be increased.
    Interactable objects will glow a bit if you get near them.
    Better hints will be given of what to do next, or a small log will be made where you see what you have done and what you must do.
    Fix some spelling errors.

    Some voice overs will be done again, I am not sure if I will do that right away or later and if someone else will do the voice overs.

    So far thank you for those who have tested it. After these changes I will start on the second chapter: The Castle.

    I will post it when these changes are applied.
     
    Last edited: Jun 27, 2013
  26. Gobla

    Gobla

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    I was experimenting with an interactive main menu. It is still an early version, but please do tell what you think:

    http://minitankbattles.com/IslandOfFreedom/Menu/ (Safe to open, no spoilers).

    Using the door is going to be exit.
    The bed is going to hold the load menu.
    The glowstone is going to hold the options menu.
    The blue light is for continue last game/new game.

    Hotkeys will be available as well.
     
    Last edited: Jun 30, 2013
  27. Gobla

    Gobla

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    Some sceenshots of what I am working on:

    Main menu shots:




    Sneak preview of a dream level:
     
  28. Gobla

    Gobla

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    So the game will have something that I will call "ghost world" for now. I still have some issues with them of trying to get it to work in deferred lightning.

    But here I have an example of what a test scene looks like in forward rendering:
    http://www.minitankbattles.com/IslandOfFreedom/IoF_Web_Ghost/



    For simplicity I make a difference between the "ghost" and "real" world. The ghost world is encapsuled by the mesh in the center of the scene.The mesh is shaking due to this effect I was trying out. This is normal.

    Extra info:
    • The towers only exist in the Ghost world.
    • The red lined spheres only exist in the ghost world.
    • The blue-ish lined spheres exist in both worlds.
    • The purple lined spheres exist only in the real world.
    • The wall only exists in the real word.
    • The floor exists in both worlds.

    Why this ghost world is in the game you will learn during the story. What I can say is that it becomes fully intractable and you will be able to (fully and partially) interact and walk into the ghost world and back.

    Also if anyone knows how to get this working in deferrerd lighting, please help me here: http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/190866-Deferred-lighting-breaks-depthmask
     
    Last edited: Jul 16, 2013
  29. Gobla

    Gobla

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    So I've renewed my Unity student license for another year. Yet again no commercial version since those are way too expensive for me. But this means that the projects I'm working on can continue development for now.

    Also I've been able to fix the deferred rendering problems with the ghost world and the real world. However no the image effects are ignored in the ghost world for now. I will see what I can do about that.
     
  30. johnb2

    johnb2

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    This looks beautiful.
     
  31. Gobla

    Gobla

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    @johnb2, Thanks!

    I've been working on the different world systems and I am nearing the end stage of how it should work.
    In the following test scene you have two "dimensional abnormalities"/"tears"/"portals" connecting the ghost world and the real world.
    The blue one is for visualisation only, and the orange one can be used to travel between the worlds.

    The test scene isn't completed yet and contains bugs, but I call quits for tonight since I've been working on this for way too long today.




     
    Last edited: Aug 18, 2013
  32. Gobla

    Gobla

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    Anyone has any comments, considerations, idea's or feedback on the portals I've posted in the previous post?
    I'm trying to poll if the idea's I have for the portals match mine without spoiling too much about the game.

    You can look trough the blue portal and look AND travel trough the orange portal.

    Edit: More info can be found here: http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/19...al-Gate-Portal-for-Unity3d-(Pro-amp-Standard)
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2013
  33. ambitious_sound

    ambitious_sound

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    The first chapter of gameplay was great! really nice voice with emotion to it, and the captivating weather change according to what the player is feeling.
    really well done!
    I look forward playing the full game.
     
  34. Deleted User

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    Guest

    This looks fantastic, I'm really loving the portal effects too!
     
  35. Aspiring_Failure

    Aspiring_Failure

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    Goodness. I've just started playing but this game has so far been above and beyond what I typically expect to see. You've done an absolutely magnificent job.
     
  36. Gobla

    Gobla

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    @ambitious_sound, @DavidStrife7, @Aspiring_Failure

    Thank you for your comments. This encourages me to keep on developing. I hope I can bring out the dream part of the first chapter and the second chapter soon.
     
  37. pixelsteam

    pixelsteam

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    For some reason when I go to watch the first chapter...my browser crashes stating Unity plugin crashed. I have tried 3 times, including deleting browser cache...hmmm.
     
  38. Gobla

    Gobla

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  39. Gobla

    Gobla

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    After just testing I found out that I've already have a better chapter 1 version (highlighting, running and walking, etc). I'll upload that later.
     
  40. primus88

    primus88

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    Very nice work.
    Can you tell me please what assets you used to design the levels ?
    Also do you have some tips / documents you can point me to, regarding level design in unity ?

    I'm working on a project, different from yours and I'm struggling to make the scenes look good.
     
  41. AMDAndrew

    AMDAndrew

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    Could you please reduce the depth of field effect ? It kind of messes up my brain
     
  42. Gobla

    Gobla

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    I am using the big environment pack and Unistorm. I've modified some textures and most shaders. I will point out some details about the level design I do since I am answering from my phone.

    This is fixed in the version I'll upload later.
     
  43. Gobla

    Gobla

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    I've just re-uploaded the first chapter with some general improvements:

    • Increased DoF (blur)
    • Intractable items glow if you get near (sometimes they glow before you can interact, working on it)
    • The chapter now has a pre-menu where you can setup your settings.
     
  44. Gobla

    Gobla

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    Some sceenshots of a very early version of one of the buildings in the game. I've started to create this building from scratch since there are no assets that are suitable for what I need for the game. I've added in some placeholder textures to give an impression. Also the definitive storyline has been written down and I am pretty exited to finish the game. However it will take a while.

    Any latin expert, that knows how it should be written, please shout out :).


     
    Last edited: Aug 7, 2013
  45. Gobla

    Gobla

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    This takes me longer than I wish to admit, but here is another preview of the lobby of said building. Not all textures have been properly mapped, and some geometry is missing, but it gives a good impression of how it will look in the end. No optimization what so ever has been done, so it cold run slow on certain pc's.



    You can check it out here: http://www.minitankbattles.com/IslandOfFreedom/Lobby/

    Edit: Also I've tortured my wallet a lot and got the pro license of Unity (and still a year student license), so I can finally bring out games.
     
    Last edited: Aug 10, 2013
  46. Tesla-Coil

    Tesla-Coil

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    Great progress so far and great news about the license! So far i really like all your work!
     
  47. drcool

    drcool

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    Keep it up!

    Graphics look amazing