Sorry your browser is not supported!

You are using an outdated browser that does not support modern web technologies, in order to use this site please update to a new browser.

Browsers supported include Chrome, FireFox, Safari, Opera, Internet Explorer 10+ or Microsoft Edge.

Geek Culture / Seventh Crystal Of Theia - Adventure/puzzle game created in Leadwerks Engine.

Author
Message
The Slayer
Forum Vice President
15
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 9th Nov 2009
Playing: (Hide and) Seek and Destroy on my guitar!
Posted: 2nd Jan 2013 18:44 Edited at: 2nd Jan 2013 19:01
Link
Hi everyone,

Firstly, a very Happy New Year to you all, a good health, lots of cool game creation, and all the rest you might desire.

Since a few months ago, Roland Strålberg (a very nice and good friend of mine) and me (Chris Van Wijmeersch) started working on a game, called S.C.O.T. (Seventh Crystal Of Theia), which we're developing with the Leadwerks Engine.
Let me tell you a bit about the game.
It's about Celly, a young woman who has been chosen to save the world from the evil grasp of Chronos, an Elder God, who stole the Seven Crystals of Theia (Goddess of Light). Celly will need to retreive these seven crystals, and bring them back to Theia, in order to defeat Chronos, and restore the world.
These seven crystals are hidden in various worlds (also called themes, such as desert, ice, water, etc...)
Each world (or theme) has a few levels in which Celly will have to solve puzzles, explore, fight monsters and find each hidden crystal to go further in the game. These puzzles will have plenty of variation. As an example, think of puzzles found in movies like Indiana Jones, etc...
Celly will have a few items/weapons at her disposal to conquer monsters/creatures, but there will be NO BLOOD in this game. Imagine weapons with a humorous touch.
The two first levels of the Desert theme will be totally free to download. If the player then likes what he/she sees, he/she can buy these themes for a small price, and play the full game.
Now, time for a few screenshots, plus a small ingame video to show how it loox like. Enjoy!
Note: the vid has no sound. Must be something with the screen recording software, or some kinda setting. Sorry about that.
Also, the actuall game runs twice as fast. The fps in the vid is half as low as the actuall thing, due to recording and running the game at the same time.

Screenshot taken three weeks ago (old Celly model, and older atmosphere/mood settings):



Another screenshot (old Celly model, improved atmosphere/visual settings):



Most recent screenshot (new Celly model, and improved atmosphere/visual settings):



And finally, an ingame vid of the game:



Comments and suggestions are welcome. Hope you'll like it. Thanks.

EDIT: Just realized that the title of the thread has a small typo. It should be Crystal, instead of Crytal. Could a MOD please adjust that? Thanks!

Back to top
Profile PM Email
RUCCUS
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 11th Dec 2004
Location: Canada
Posted: 2nd Jan 2013 19:03
Link
You've got a good consistent graphical style going for the game. You said its an old character model seen in the video, so this may not matter anymore, but I found these issues with the character used in the video:

- She combs her hair back way too often
- Her running animation does not line up with the speed at which she runs. The animation looks more like a jog, yet the speed she moves at is a full out sprint.
- I would recommend adding some head locking in to give her a sense of awareness (what I mean by this is when an enemy comes near, have her turn her head to look at the enemy until she or the enemy gets further away. Possible cancel any hair-combing during this as well, as she should seem more worried about the enemy than her hair at this point).
- Spread her arms out to give her more of a ready stance. As it stands, her arms are so close to her thighs in combination with her hair combing that the only feel I get from the character is somewhat of an airhead blonde frolicking around a beach as opposed to a main protagonist focused on a specific goal.

But as I said since you said the model was temporary much of those criticisms might not even apply anymore. Still, good job on the overall visuals, and goodluck.
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
The Slayer
Forum Vice President
15
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 9th Nov 2009
Playing: (Hide and) Seek and Destroy on my guitar!
Posted: 2nd Jan 2013 22:58
Link
Thanks a bunch for the comments/suggestions, RUCCUS! We appreciate it.
About the character model, the one in the video is the current model.
She does comb her hair way too much, but that's because we only had this 'idle' animation implemented in the game when I recorded the vid.
The speed of the running animation (or any other animation), can be tweaked really easily. We're using SQLite for (almost) everything in the game, so we just have to alter a few parameters here and there, such as the animationspeed, smoothing, etc...
Maybe the animation isn't really like running, but we're still working on getting the animations better and better. I'm using iCLone for animating, and it's really easy to work with.
Currently, we already added a bunch of idle animations, and they are played at random.
The sense of awareness, is a nice suggestion. We're thinking about it, and there's chance that we'll implement it.
And, the spreading of her arms, is another good comment. Thanks!

Cheers

Back to top
Profile PM Email
MrValentine
AGK Backer
14
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 5th Dec 2010
Playing: FFVII
Posted: 3rd Jan 2013 04:24
Link
Very Nice, kind of reminds me of the Prince Of Persia games of recent...

Maybe apply variants or lower the border around the shrubbery?

The Light Rays are built into the engine by default right? can you modify the intensity? I think with it coming over distance ridges or mountain tops it would look pretty awesome!

Back to top
Profile PM
Ortu
DBPro Master
17
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 21st Nov 2007
Location: Austin, TX
Posted: 3rd Jan 2013 04:44
Link
the art style and mood is great. for the walk animation, her hips have a nice sway but the shoulders should swing more, upper body is very stiff right now.

looking forward to seeing more of this

Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Thraxas
Retired Moderator
19
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 8th Feb 2006
Location: The Avenging Axe, Turai
Posted: 3rd Jan 2013 05:38
Link
Looks pretty cool. I'll be really interested in seeing this develop.
Back to top
Profile PM Email
The Slayer
Forum Vice President
15
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 9th Nov 2009
Playing: (Hide and) Seek and Destroy on my guitar!
Posted: 3rd Jan 2013 18:49
Link
Quote: "Very Nice, kind of reminds me of the Prince Of Persia games of recent..."

That's a very nice comment, MrValentine! Much appreciated, man!
We aim it to look comic/fairy tale like, and the cartoon shader we're using does a good job of it.
Made a few recent changes to the shader, to make the grass/vegetation look less 'dirty'.

Quote: "Maybe apply variants or lower the border around the shrubbery?"

Not a bad idea. Vegetation models are still being modelled, so it's just a matter of time to get more variation.

Quote: "The Light Rays are built into the engine by default right? can you modify the intensity? I think with it coming over distance ridges or mountain tops it would look pretty awesome!"

Yep, the light rays are built in, or rather, it's a shader, which can be modified. There's already light beams or rays that come over the top of the mountains/ridges, but the intensity is low atm. Could raise it a bit more, though. Will play around with that.

Quote: "the art style and mood is great. for the walk animation, her hips have a nice sway but the shoulders should swing more, upper body is very stiff right now.

looking forward to seeing more of this"

Good suggestion! We're refining the animations, and it's getting better already. We're also using mixed moves, combining two animations to create a new one. As an example, a walk animation combined with an animation holding a torch, for instance.

Quote: "Looks pretty cool. I'll be really interested in seeing this develop."

Thanks! We do intend to finish this game. It's just a matter of time (isn't it always? ). We hope to have the two first levels completed in a few months, but there's no guaranty of course. We're a two man team, so it's not always easy.
Oh, and thanks for fixing the typo in the title of the thread!

Note: We are looking for someone to join our team (best would be someone who's both a good coder, and a decent artist) to work on this game. Here's what we are looking for:

- You MUST have a Leadwerks License.
- Good knowledge of C++, or Lua, and/or a good overall programming knowledge.
- Artistic skills, good at 3D modeling, and 2D art.
- Motivated...

If you're interested, please leave a comment, or contact me. Thanks.

Cheers

Back to top
Profile PM Email
Phaelax
DBPro Master
22
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 16th Apr 2003
Location: Metropia
Posted: 3rd Jan 2013 20:25
Link
I agree with all the points Ruccus made.

"You're not going crazy. You're going sane in a crazy world!" ~Tick
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
The Slayer
Forum Vice President
15
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 9th Nov 2009
Playing: (Hide and) Seek and Destroy on my guitar!
Posted: 5th Jan 2013 20:18
Link
Thanks for the interest, Phaelax!
Most of RUCCUS' suggestions are either worked on, fixed, or being discussed.

Latest update: the cartoon shader has been altered to make vegetation look less 'dirty', and the godrays shader has also been changed a bit, to make the rays a bit more intense (suggestion by MrValentine ).
Been working on music for the desert theme lately. Oriental music (not my usual kinda music ), but so far, it sounds awesome, I think.
Also working on the second desert level, which is starting to look cool.

Back to top
Profile PM Email
Hodgey
15
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 10th Oct 2009
Location: Australia
Posted: 5th Jan 2013 21:02
Link
Looking really good The Slayer!

Quote: "Note: We are looking for someone to join our team "

Interesting.

Quote: "- You MUST have a Leadwerks License."

Depending on the outcome of the ADG comp I might get one.

Quote: "Good knowledge of C++"

I get by.

Quote: "Artistic skills, good at 3D modeling, and 2D art."

Damn it! You know my art is rubbish. . Oh well, I hope you find someone.

Back to top
Profile PM Email
The Slayer
Forum Vice President
15
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 9th Nov 2009
Playing: (Hide and) Seek and Destroy on my guitar!
Posted: 6th Jan 2013 15:16
Link
Thanks, Hodgey!

Quote: "Depending on the outcome of the ADG comp I might get one."

Well, I hope you do.

Quote: "I get by."

Good, good.

Quote: "Damn it! You know my art is rubbish.."

Well, you don't have to be good at coding AND art. One of them is enough. Both would be better, but it's not a requirement.

Back to top
Profile PM Email
The Slayer
Forum Vice President
15
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 9th Nov 2009
Playing: (Hide and) Seek and Destroy on my guitar!
Posted: 10th Jan 2013 18:26
Link
Hello all,

For a change, no images this time. Those will come in a later update, so don't panic.
We all like music, right? Some are into Jazz, others love house, and some (like myself) love metal.
Music is another way to express feelings/moods, and most games have music that matches the game/level somehow.

In the previous post about Seventh Crystal Of Theia, there was no sound in the video, and that was a shame, because there are already a bunch of environmental sounds and music in the game, which add to the overall gaming experience.

That's also one of the reasons to let you guys hear the first (complete) song for the desert level(s). It's oriental with a modern touch. At least, that's how I would call it. Heheh!

I'm not used to this kind of music (mostly I'm doing metal, house, electronic, ambient, horror, arcade...), but I think it worked out pretty good. I could even call it one of my best non-metal songs I did for a long time.
Guess my classical music lessons at a young age came in handy for this.

Also, this song was done (almost) completely with Native Instruments Komplete Elements, which is awesome!

Anyways, enough talk, here's the first song for S.C.O.T., called 'Arabic'. Hope you'll like it!

Comments/suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

Attachments

Login to view attachments
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Jimpo
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 9th Apr 2005
Location:
Posted: 11th Jan 2013 05:45
Link
I like it! I was impressed with how good the song was

The song nailed the ambient, video game desert feel.

http://degorpg.blogspot.com/
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
The Slayer
Forum Vice President
15
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 9th Nov 2009
Playing: (Hide and) Seek and Destroy on my guitar!
Posted: 11th Jan 2013 19:15 Edited at: 11th Jan 2013 19:17
Link
Quote: "The song nailed the ambient, video game desert feel."

Awesome! That's what I was looking for, so guess my goal was reached.
Thanks soo much for the great comment, Jimpo! Much appreciated.
The song might change a bit the next few days, but probably not much. Maybe make it a bit longer, and get rid of the intro drums, and change a bit here and there, but nothing major.

Next will be to make a few smaller oriental pieces that will be played at specific occasions in the level.
And, after that, start on some symphonic song for another theme. Whooohooooo!

Back to top
Profile PM Email
nonZero
13
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 10th Jul 2011
Location: Dark Empire HQ, Otherworld, Silent Hill
Posted: 12th Jan 2013 15:21
Link
Looks really good. I've always wanted to do a game in that sort of style (though my plans were for a more anime-styled 2.5D game). Glad to see it implemented so well, visuals look great. Stylized things don't date as easily as regular CG so you'll prolly get a better life-span outta the game too. My only critique would be the water but that's very minor. Keep it up!

Silence is golden, duct tape is silver
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
TheComet
17
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 18th Oct 2007
Location: I`m under ur bridge eating ur goatz.
Posted: 12th Jan 2013 16:04
Link
Listened to the song. It's not bad.

The percussion beat and the lower guitar is fine. What I think could be made better is the flute that kicks in at 1:40. Check out this video (jump to about 5:40):



The flute in your song isn't following the Arabic layout of tunes, I can still hear a very "Anglo-Saxon" style. I don't know how much it helps, but here's an example from a Nintendo game of a song that reflects a desert feeling well. Note how the tunes follow a certain layout that gives it that extra desert/Arabic kick.



May I also suggest to replace the guitar with a sitar?



Just some suggestions. The game looks great so far.

TheComet

http://blankflankstudios.tumblr.com/
Quote: ""
- Randomness 128
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Isocadia
15
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 24th Jul 2009
Location:
Posted: 12th Jan 2013 22:44
Link
I noticed that the artist of your song was Chris van Wijmeersch, is he/are you dutch

Besides that, I quite like the song, though I have to agree on the flute part. It doesn't really fit the song, and at the same time it kinda does xD

Anyway, I really look forward to seeing more of this

Isocadia
Back to top
Profile PM
The Slayer
Forum Vice President
15
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 9th Nov 2009
Playing: (Hide and) Seek and Destroy on my guitar!
Posted: 14th Jan 2013 15:45 Edited at: 14th Jan 2013 19:37
Link
Thanks for the comments/suggestions, TheComet!
Oriental music is mostly based upon a pentatonic scale, and I tried to match it as much as possible. The song isn't completely 'finished' yet, so the melody might change.
Will experiment a bit more with different oriental guitar like instruments, such as teh sitar, the Luan or the Pipa.

BTW, nice avatar you've got there! Pretty funny! Hehheh!

Quote: "I noticed that the artist of your song was Chris van Wijmeersch, is he/are you dutch "

Hehhehe, yes...the artist is me, and I'm Belgian. Are you Dutch?

Thanks for teh comments, guys!

Latest update: made a fountain statue for the second desert level with dripping water. Looks sweet imo. Here's a screenshot:



Cheers!

Back to top
Profile PM Email
Back to top

Login to post a reply

Server time is: 2025-05-20 02:53:01
Your offset time is: 2025-05-20 02:53:01