Forest Soup - Short horror game project releases at the end of October

UPDATE: 11/6/2013




Hey everyone. This is my final update for this game. Just wanted to say that "Forest Soup" is now also available to play on Kongregate in your web browser. So no download required.

Play:
Forest Soup on Kongregate

So the game is now available for Windows, Mac, Linux and Webplayer.

And with that, I am done. Thats it for this project. Time for me to move onto my next game ideas and projects

See you in the future.

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UPDATE: 11/1/2013
Forest Soup Version 2.0 Released!





Hey guys. Just as promised. I have went back and fixed these major issues that were making the game unplayable. For those of you who have already downloaded and played the game I am sorry about the constant falling down bug that made the game very annoying. I hope you will give my game another chance and try out the new and improved version


Forest Soup - Windows - Version 2.0

Forest Soup - Mac - Version 2.0

Forest Soup - Linux - Version 2.0

Bug Fixes:
+Fixed constant falling down on your face bug. No more tripping and the game is actually playable again.
+New and improved camera for skydiving level. Now it is easier to see what is below you and where you need to go.

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UPDATE: 10/31/2013 12:20 PM
Game is finished and Released!



Just as promised a couple hours ago. My short horror game "Forest Soup" is finally finished and out now just in time for Halloween!
The game is 100% free and available for Windows, Mac and Linux users.

I hope you give it a try and let me know your feedback after playing.

Downloads:
Old Links removed. Download new and improved version "Forest Soup" version 2.0 from above update.

Note:
I have not tested the Mac or Linux versions of the game so I am unaware of how those will run. If you run into any problems with those versions please let me know. I only say this because once again I never tested those versions but they should run just fine and have no problems. But yeah let me know of any issues encountered just in case.


Big thank you to Unity and its community, the people behind Playmaker and Blender3d.

Hope you enjoy my latest game and have a Happy Halloween!


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UPDATE: 10/31/2013 12:35 AM
Game is finished and will be released for free in a couple hours stay tuned. Check out the latest trailer and screenshots in the meantime. See you soon

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Hello again unity community. Maybe some of you have seen my other thread around here called "Almond-Hill : Silent Meow". If you have been following that thread, 11 days ago I said I would be putting that game project on hold so I can begin working on a new short horror game project for Halloween. Well after being gone from the forums for 11 days and working on my short horror game project in secret I think it is finally time to show what I have been crafting. I already posted all the info on my blog so here is a quick summery.

My short horror game is called "Forest soup". I plan on finishing it and releasing it for free on PC, Mac and linux around the end of this month just in time for Halloween.

Teaser Trailer

Story:
"Forest Soup" is a game about this boy named Oliver OliveTree and his magical flying pet creature named Fogo. Oliver and Fogo become hungry as the day nears its end. The two characters decide to make forest soup for dinner, a legendary soup that has a taste that is out of this world. The two eventually realize that they do not have the ingredients to make this soup. Fogo tells Oliver that all the ingredients can be found at a place called "Black Cloud Island". Fogo takes Oliver to the entrance of the island where the game begins. Take the role of Oliver OliveTree and skydive down below to this mysterious place called "Black Cloud Island" in search of the ingredients for the so called Forest Soup.


Characters:

Oliver OliveTree:


Fogo the magical flying creature:


Like my all my other project I am working on this game solo. I am using playmaker to create it and my goal is the same a my Almond hill project. That is, create a unique horror game.

Hope you look forward to it. I still have more work to do if I want to reach my deadline by the end of this month. I can't wait to complete the project. Stay tuna!

 

Screenshot monday!



Thats a screen of the forest I have been working on today for the project. Its not complete yet but just to give you an idea. The screenshot might be a bit to dark. The game itself will be dark in some areas, (Like the forest) However you will be able to get some sort of light source. It wont be a flashlight though. Ill show that real soon in another post.

The Forest itself will be the main part of the game. Its a really big forest. My goal is to create this big mysterious area to explore and a forest is perfect. You will explore this big forest in search for the ingredients to make Forest Soup (The goal of the game is to find all the ingredients)

The forest itself will not just be trees and bushes but there will be a lot of mysterious things going on in it and it will have a lot of areas to explore. So the main goal of this game is all about exploration. (I feel like I said that already a lot)

As for the quality, since this is a big forest I am working on and there is a lot of trees, bushes, etc the quality is not all that great. Its very low poly but acceptable. (Kinda like a n64 game). So the character is much higher quality compared to other things in the scene such as trees and what not.

I will have more soon. Time is ticking and I need to have this finished and out.

 

big googly eyes and horror dont really mix...

Looks more like a kids adventure than a horror game... why have you decided its going to be a horror?

 

TAKE IT BACK! Its no kiddy game!

haha kidding.
I like horror games but I also like stylized type characters and graphics. Yes it is kiddy looking. And to be honest I am making this all up as I go and the game doesn't really take itself to seriously. (I mean a horror game about finding ingredients to a soup? ha)

But yeah it will be a horror game though despite my style (At least I will try to make). I want to try something new and unique for the horror genre. I mean all horror games have this dark griddy look and feel so why not try something new and mix horror with more toony type characters? And yeah my game isnt go to be this gory bloody creepy game but it will be something.

Im just making this project for fun and my goal is to make a horror game during this month and release it by the end.

Also, I dont feel like the graphics are really what drive horror games but more the atmosphere and sound effects. I dont know, I will see how this project turns out while I am making it

 

Screenshot Tuesday!

 

I think you should consider branding it with spooky if you really wanna take the 'horror' path, because horror really is that.. dark/gritty/bloody/scary/not cutesy in any way, however, spooky doesnt imply its trying to be something its not.

 

But the word spooky sounds kiddy to me.

(But snowconesolid your game looks kiddy in every single way)
Yeah thats true to and you are right.

But hey, its better if its more "cutesy" looking isnt it? Why?
This way, the game totally catches players off guard. As they play the game they will be like "wtf!? I thought this was a horror"

And at that moment just when the player questions the game, you attack them with the horror (ha! you mean even more cutesy stuff). This way, by the end of the game the player will be saying "wtf did I just play and I was not expecting that". (well thats what I hope will be the reactions)

So I guess this can be considered an experiment for a unique horror in some way?

Ok. More horror news about this game. I have decided that the player will not have a flashlight but instead they will be able to put a glowing pumpkin on their head and use that as a light source instead which will be equivalent to using a flashlight.

 

Expect hunting

 

Looking nice so far : )
But i have to say that i don't look like horror, but i'm always up for surprises : D

 

haha fair enough then! I've added my 2c!

 

Thank you virror. Hope you give it a chance JamesLeeNZ

Out of place

So anyway, in the forest, as you search for the ingredients for this legendary soup armed with a shotgun you will come across many out of place things. All of these things do not belong in the forest such as this school bus you will come across.



Non_Linear and Replay value
I am going to try and create my first non-linear game with this project. but not going to guarantee this. All my previous projects have been very linear and each new project I create I always try to do something new that I have not done yet. So this is a very different game than the previous ones I made so far. Its a short game but I think if I set it up right I can make it a fun game that would be nice to play more than once. So with this non linear game play and all of these other things I never talked about I think the game could have a lot of replay value like other short horror games such as slenderman. So in this forest you will come across different things that could lead to different outputs. Again I am not guaranteeing this but I will try to do it right.

I really have not revealed anything at all about this game because I want it to be a surprise. The trailer I have up has clips only from the beginning of the game. All the action happens when you get to "Black Cloud Forest" which is where all the mystery and weirdness goes on.


offtopic-sidenotes
So far I really like what I have come up with for this game concept and gameplay wise and I might consider remaking it with much better quality and more content down the road after I finish and release this one and see what kind of reactions it gets. I am trying to work really quickly since I only gave myself a 1 month time frame to finish it so I limit myself to time on modeling and attention to detail. But yeah I think this short project is a big step up for me compared to my older game projects.

 

this game is turning out weird

 

yes that is some type of kitchen you will find somewhere in the forest. Again with the whole "Out of place" concept I am going for with this project

in the screenshot there is some icons that say "Press E Key" that will appear when it is something you can interact with. There is a lot of intractable objects in this game. Its all about exploring.

Current Progress:
As for overall progress on the game I think I stand in pretty good position and will meet my deadline of having the game complete and released by the end of this month. I might even finish a couple days early. I think if I continue to work at the current pace I am working I might have the game done in about 3-4 more days.

Anyway, I am looking forward to having it out there soon. I have not really shared any real info on the game so I think it will surprise you when you play it.

 

This is so weird....I simply had to subscribe to thread

 

Oh yeah its very weird. Probably the weirdest thing I ever made so far. And thanks for the sub

This isnt an in game screen shot but more something cool to look at I thought during its development


So that screenshot is pretty much all of the in game menus I created overlapping each other. I just thought it looked interesting and it kind of shows you how menus work behind the scenes of a game. Of course in the final game you will not see this at all and each menu is separated. But all of the game menus are pretty much on the same area (in my game at least) I find it easier to manage.



More soon. Hopefully I will have a new trailer up before I release the final game. Still working on the final level and what not.

 

Just keep looking more and more strange and interesting : D

 

It does not look like a horror game at all. In my opinion it looks like an adventure type game. Perhaps you fancy changing the genre because it just does'nt do it.... The cartoony 3d graphics with bright colours don't compliment the genre that you have put in the description Most horror games are first person as well. This is because first person horror games give you that thrill down your spine, it makes you feel like you are the character in game. Now I am not saying a third person horror is a bad concept idea. My point is you make your game scary. Unless you decide on changing the genre. Do you have a game design document? Or are you doing this from the top of your head?.

I think you have done a great job making a game like this,my only concern is that it is more of a children's game than a horror game.

 

Virror thank you again.

@TheUnityCritic, this is definitely a horror game despite its childish appearance. As I mentioned earlier I have not actually revealed anything about this game. All I showed was a few clips from the opening. I want it to be a surprise and I think it will surprise many who play it. I understand your comment and expected the cartoony graphics to put off that horror feel of the game. JamesLeeNZ said something similar to you.

as for a game design document, like all my other games I start making them randomly just off the top of my head. At the beginning of this month I just wanted to create a 1 month horror game project. This time, I really wanted the game to be crazy and unexpected. So I decided to just think of all the random weird stuff to throw into the game and then later on I will decide how to tie all of those random things in with a simple storyline. I came up with "Forest Soup" and now I have a solid understanding of what I want this game to be like and how it will play out as a horror game.

So that is the way I work. I start with random thoughts and then create them. As I progress through my games development I begin forming a more understandable game near the end that makes sense to me and will make sense to players. So yeah, its almost the end of the month and I am almost finished working on my game and will have it out soon. At this point I am no longer making up things but piecing together the things I planned on while in my "random thoughts" phase.

Anyway, I hope you give it a chance @TheUnityCritic. I really want to see what people think or feel about this game after actually playing it. All comments, positive and negative will be welcome. Or any feedback for that case actually
what I want to see and or test out is if the horror feel can actually be present in a game even with its graphics style. My belief is that feel does not come from the graphics but the sounds, suspense and atmosphere.

Also, about first vs third person. I always liked third person over first and I dont think the type of view effects the game really. Third person games can be scary. As a matter of fact most major horror games are third person not first. Silent hill series, resident evil series (The newer ones are more action but still the classic RE games where among the first in the horror genre), Dead Space, Clock Tower games, etc

 

Your game is aimed at children right? I mean those graphics and the title suggest so...

 

Nope, not aimed at anyone specific. No need to judge a game by its graphics

now feast your eyes on the horror of this pumpkin! which gives light when the character puts it on his head


ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhh!!!!!

Anyway, As mentioned earlier I am counting this as a experiment game project. If it does well and people like it I will definitely start making more horror games with "kiddy graphics" and make that my thing.

This is a good feedback you guys are giving me and I thank you.

 

Again not saying anything about the game itself. Here is some dev screenshots I took to get you wondering what is going on.




Progress
The game is near completion and I am satisfied to have reached my deadline goal. I am finalizing it as we speak. Gameplay wise I would say the project is done. all I am doing now is creating menus, testing and working on the ending.

Expect the release trailer and some real game screenshots to be up by tomorrow.

Release Date:
I will try and have the game out by Oct 30th if I find everything is working right and doesn't need any more polishing. But if I run into some problems along the way (which I should not since I have tested countless times already) I will use up that final day and release it by Oct 31 for sure. Either way I will have it out within the next three days

see you soon

 

Building the final game as we speak!


Finally finished!

I will have the game out tomorrow.
Game will be free and released for PC, MAC and Linux

see you soon!

 

Will stand in line : D

 

The big eyes looked kinda dead and freaky when I first saw them.

 

Virror you will get the Limited edition version

Anyway, I will have the game up in a couple hours! In the meantime check out the release trailer and the newest screenshots! This game is going to be really weird and crazy but I think you'll like it!

Be sure to check back in a couple hours. I will have the game up around noon or so.

 

Just as promised a couple hours ago. My short horror game "Forest Soup" is finally finished and out now just in time for Halloween!
The game is 100% free and available for Windows, Mac and Linux users.

I hope you give it a try and let me know your feedback after playing.

Downloads:

Forest Soup - Windows Download

Forest Soup - Mac Download

Forest Soup - Linux Download

Note:
I have not tested the Mac or Linux versions of the game so I am unaware of how those will run. If you run into any problems with those versions please let me know. I only say this because once again I never tested those versions but they should run just fine and have no problems. But yeah let me know of any issues encountered just in case.


Big thank you to Unity and its community, the people behind Playmaker and Blender3d.

Hope you enjoy my latest game and have a Happy Halloween!

 

I have had the game out on my blog since the afternoon but it was not authorized on indiedb until recently
so for those of you who like to use indiedb you can now download from there.

http://www.indiedb.com/games/forest-soup

 

Just had time to try it for a short while yet but its really strange : D
The constant falling over is a bit of a pain though..

 

I was watching this game as it progressed just because it looked so odd.

Tried it out recently, I like the art style, the intro was cool, reminded me of that Neverending Story movie haha..

Couldn't really play much of the game though.. As the person above me mentioned, the character falls over on his face over and over when trying to walk around, even after the skydiving scene has ended.
That was pretty much a game breaker to me, but I'll give it another spin for sure when/if that gets fixed.. I'm a newb so I can't offer any advice on how to do so though.. good luck man

 

Virror and SinisterCookie Thank very much for the feedback. You guys are not the only ones. A couple of other people also have had issues with the constant falling issue and It almost makes the game unplayable. The thing is when I was testing the game the tripping was not so frequent as it is in the final version for some reason.

However this is an easy fix and I am working on an update as we speak. I feel disappointed that this was such a major issue and it probably gave the people who have already downloaded and played the game a bad idea about the entire game already.

So yeah I am working on a fix right now and I will have an updated version out shortly, Maybe even sometime in the next hour or two because this is an easy fix and I can fix it right away. I know what is causing the constant falling.

So hope you guys will give it another shot and I will have the update posted real soon. See you then.


EDIT: just in case you were wondering why I left the tripping in the game in the first place is because I thought it would be funny to have the player randomly trip and fall every once in a while out of nowhere during playing the game. But it turned out to be very annoying and made the game unplayable although the tripping did not happen so often when I created the game. Its like there is something that is making tripping very frequent in the actual build. Anyway I am just going to remove tripping and fix a couple of other small things like the camera in the skydiving level and I will have the updated version up soon.

 

Hey guys. Just as promised. I have went back and fixed these major issues that were making the game unplayable. For those of you who have already downloaded and played the game I am sorry about the constant falling down bug that made the game very annoying. I hope you will give my game another chance and try out the new and improved version


Forest Soup - Windows - Version 2.0

Forest Soup - Mac - Version 2.0

Forest Soup - Linux - Version 2.0

Bug Fixes:
+Fixed constant falling down on your face bug. No more tripping and the game is actually playable again.
+New and improved camera for skydiving level. Now it is easier to see what is below you and where you need to go.

Thanks your feedback is really important to me and it lets me improve my game.

 

Great!

 

Hey everyone. This is my final update for this game. Just wanted to say that "Forest Soup" is now also available to play on Kongregate in your web browser. So no download required.

Play:
Forest Soup on Kongregate

So the game is now available for Windows, Mac, Linux and Webplayer.

And with that, I am done. Thats it for this project. Time for me to move onto my next game ideas and projects

See you in the future.