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The Life of Mr. Peebles

What do you think of the concept?

  • Cool; I'd play it ^^

    Votes: 2 28.6%
  • Eh. It's kind of...eh...

    Votes: 1 14.3%
  • WTF is wrong with you?

    Votes: 2 28.6%
  • No Opinion

    Votes: 2 28.6%

  • Total voters
    7
Well here goes my official announcement for my newest game, featuring an all star cast of adorable animals that occasionally have to beat the crap out of stuff. Enjoy.

World Development:
The world in this game is pretty much like any other. I really don't feel like explaining it all...there's a continent...and towns with people in it...and animals...and trees and stuff.
I guess if I had to pick a time period for when this game takes place, I'd guess the late 19th Century. (1800s)
The place you start out in, however, is anything but average.
Welcome to Thamian Valley, a small community in the Valic Mountain Range, home to eight
misfit animals who all, for one reason or another, have been abandoned by their masters. While other animals in this situation may start to view the world as cold and unkind, the Thamian Valley animals all have a fairly optimistic outlook on life.

Story:
I don't want to reveal too much of the story before I even release the first chapter,
but the basic story in the prologue is that Mr. Peebles has lost his bone, and it's up to you to help find it. ^^
If you don't mind a really small spoiler, the more detailed plot of the prologue is this:
Mr. Peebles is looking for his bone, and so he decides to ask around the neighbourhood. Most of his friends will say they haven't seen his bone, but instead give him advice on how to operate the game.
The last friend you talk to however, will tell you that they saw Wolfe with a rather nice-looking bone the other day. Mr. Peebles immediately decides that Wolfe must have stolen his bone.
That night, Mr. Peebles and the last friend you talked to (It's completely your choice) sneak into the East River neighbourhood, and break into Wolfe's house. (Wolfe and Vol have left the village to go hunting) They pick the lock to his safe, and re-steal the bone. Satisfied, the two return to the Westfield neighbourhood and go to sleep.
The next morning, Mr. Peebles is awakened by a loud ruckus outside-- Wolfe and the other East River animals are outside, demanding the immediate return of Wolfe's bone. They get into an arguement, and the first fight of the game ensues.
In the aftermath of the battle, Wolfe unleashes a final, earth-shattering attack, which lucky Mr. Peebles manages to sidestep. The attack however causes tremors in the earth, and the Thamian Valley animals soon find themselves falling into a deep chasm.
As I'm not a heartless jerk, the animals survive the fall relatively unharmed, though thoroughly confused. They come to a fork in the path of the cavern, and decide to split up into two teams -- the Westfield Neighbourhood Animals (Mr. Peebles, Mittens, Sir Gallops, and Cock) and the East River animals (Wolfe, Vol, Lady Milkybum and Ramses)
In the next room, Mr. Peebles and Co. spot some sort of ghostlike creature attacking something. Naturally, they rush to give aid.
A closer inspection reveals the victim of the attack to be a creature made entirely of bone. Once the bony creature comes-to, he expresses his thanks, and tells the animals that the creature they just fought was a Shade. For many years, says the creature, the Shades have kept his people in captivity; trapped underground. The creature (Who's name is Skully) had been trying to escape when he was spotted by a Shade. Skully reveals that he knows a way out, and that he just needs protection from the shades to show them. Mr. Peebles and Co. agree to the bargain almost too quickly.
After a few more dungeon-rooms, you come to a large room with a large, red Shade in the centre of it. Despite it's imposing appearance, the Shade (Phantome Rouge) seems quite childlike in nature, and even invites you to play "Four Corners" with him.
Skully tells you that the switches around the room are the only thing that can defeat Phantome Rouge, and so you set to work flipping them between rounds. Once the last switch is pulled, the group completely disregards the Phantome's rules and approaches him. As the switches activate, Phantome Rouge is dropped into an even deeper hole in the ground. Job well done, right?
At that very moment, Wolfe and the other animals burst into the room accompanied by a Shade. Wolfe wastes no time in warning Mr. Peebles about a man made completetly out of Bones. He says that the Shades have been the only things protecting the earth from the terrible evil called the "Bone King".
Of course, Mr. Peeble has killed most of the shades. He defends himself by saying that the Shades are the evil ones. Wolfe retorts by asking if he actually tried communicating with the Shades, or if he just started biting away. Mr. Peebles sheepishly confirms the latter, and the two start bickering again.
Their arguement is interrupted when Skully reveals his true form: Daddy Skullz, the Bone King.
Another fight ensues, where all eight animals join in. Once Daddy Skullz is defeated, the last remaining Shade transports the animals back above-ground, and, showing gratitude, fixes the large chasm in the middle of the neighbourhood.
At the end of the prologue, Wolfe and Mr. Peebles decide to split Daddy Skullz's carcass, thus settling their earlier dispute.
And they lived happily ever after, until weeks later when the valley is visited by a certain Butterfly...
WIthout spoiling too much of the plot...Eventually, yes, you do have to save the world. Like in every other freaking RPG. But, other than the fact that you're a dog, the difference between all the other RPGs is that in this
game, the saving the world thing kind of takes a backseat to all the Character Story Arcs.
(i.e. helping Cock get back at his previous owners while trying to win the heart of his
lady-love, helping Ramses out of a rather troubling obligation, helping a narcissistic Businesswoman reshape her hometown...helping Lady Milkybum create new flavors of...milk...XD)


Characters:
Below are the Characters. I included their "Relative Class". i.e. The game doesn't really have classes, but if it did, the characters would be similar to that class.
Mr. Peebles
Peebles%20Face.png

Species: Canis Canis Lupus
Relative Class: Fighter/Apprentice

+The Hero of our story. Seven years prior to the Prologue, Mister Peebles was
separated from his master. After a bleak period of confusion and heartache, Mister Peebles
abandoned his search for his master, and settled into the Thamian Valley, alone, where he
struggled to make a decent life for himself. Shortly after
Wolfe spotted Mr. Peebles out in the rain one night, and offered him a place to live.
Although Mr. Peebles and Wolfe are constantly at odds and ends, they still share a common
bond of fellowship. Somewhere beneath all

Mittens
Mittens%20Face.png

Species: Felis Felis catus
Relative Class: White/Black Mage

+Not much is known about Mittens' past, as she rarely speaks about it; yet Mittens
is still an integral part of the Thamian Valley community. She's always cooking new and
elaborate meals for the other animals, and is normally the life of the neighbourhood. Mittens
is fairly easily excitable, and is always the first to speak her mind.

Cock
Cock%20Face.png

Species: Gallus Gallus (Rooster)
Relative Class: Black Mage/Thief
+This unfortunately-named rooster is called Cock.
When Cock first came to the valley, Wolfe had him in charge of waking the other animals in
the mornings...however his morning cry is so horrid that the following day, Wolfe banned him from Cock-a-doodle-do-ing forevermore. Now, Cock helps Mittens by gathering herbs in the valley from time to time, so she can
use them in her meals. He's sort of the younger brother in the community, and can be headstrong and annoying at times.

Sir Gallops the Third
Gallops%20Face.png

Species: Equus Ferus Caballus
Relative Class: Heavy Knight

+Sir Gallops is probably the most relaxed member of the community. Being the easy-
going horse that he is, Sir Gallops is the village's peacemaker; he's often the one who arbitrates for disputes. Wise and sometimes Taciturn. Also, Mr. Peeble's best friend.


Wolfe:
Wolfe%20Face.png

Species: Canis Lupus
Relative Class: Fighter/Knight
+Wolfe is the founder of the Thamian Valley community, and regarded as a role model by most of the other animals.
There is some dispute regarding Wolfe's gender, as you'll find out...but regardless of Wolfe's gender, Wolfe acts very masculinely.

Vol:
Vol%20Face.png

Species:
Relative Class: Thief
+Vol is Wolfe's Right-Hand...hawk. In th village, Vol is chiefly in charge of providing
the village with fresh meat. He and Wolfe regularly go out hunting
Vol is unique in that he had no owner. In fact, he still has a family somewhere, though he
won't tell anyone but Wolfe the reason why he never visits.

Lady Milkybum:
Milkybum%20Face.png

Species: Cow
Relative Class: Healer/Heavy Knight
+Lady Milkybum is basically the mother-figure of the community, which is quite Ironic
as you'll find out in Chapter One or Two. (And before this even crosses your mind: no it's
not ironic because Lady Milkybum isn't really a lady. She's a cow for crying out loud. Cows=
Female)
Lady Milkybum and Sir Gallops have a very good friendship.
Aside from her job as mother of the village, Lady Milkybum also supplies the village with
fresh milk daily. ^^

Ramses:
Ramses%20Face.png

Species: Ram
Relative Class: ...eheh...

+Not much is known about Ramses, though for a completely different reason than
Mittens. He's always changing the story of his origin. One day he says he's wanted for
the murder of seventy men in his hometown. (Though one look at his face dispells THAT rumor...)
On another occasion, Ramses says he simply got lost. If Ramses didn't always seem so spacey,
one would begin to think of him as a suspicious character...


Screens:
Thamian%20Valley.png

Thamian Valley

Tut%20Scroll%20Get.png

Mittens giving Mr. Peebles a Tutorial Scroll

Item%20Tut.png

My personal favourite screen XP

Jumping.png


Happy%20Gallops.png

Sad%20Gallops.png

Demonstrating the Multiple Emotion Balloon set Feature

Features:
+Animals! Freaking-Adorable Animals!
+100% Ralph-free ^_^
+Multiple Balloon sets means a wider range of visual emotion
+Get on with the main storyline or take a break and play through Side Stories
+Did I mention there's animals?
+A helpful Tutorial-Scroll system (Kind of like a Help File). In the beginning, you get mostly obvious Tutorial scrolls (see above screenshots) as I'm making this game mainly for my friends, some of whom don't even know what the Legend of Zelda is. O.O; but as the game progresses, you'll get tutorial scrolls for things semi-exclusive to my game.
+Evented Boss-Battles
+Evented Minigames
...and much more! </corniness>


Planned Episodes:

Prologue: Mr. Peebles and the Lost Bone
Chapter One: Mr. Peebles and the Secret Guild
Chapter Two: Mr. Peebles in Captivity
Chapter Three: Vol and the Page of the Sky Duke
Chapter Four: Vol and The Sky Duke
Chapter Five: Mr. Peebles and the Fire Squire
Chapter Six: Mr. Peebles and the Metal Lord
Chapter Seven: Mr. Peebles and the Astral Prince
Epilogue

Planned Releases:
1. Prologue + Chapter One
2. Chapter Two and Three
3. Chapters Four Five and Six
4. Chapter Seven and the Epilogue

Any feedback you have is greatly welcome!
 
I think a story told from the perspective of animals is pretty cool. It allows for a lot of nifty story-telling techniques and you can get really creative when you show how the animals interact with the human world. It's somewhat tricky, though, because sometimes the animal characters can become stagnant if they act too much like humans or don't show a certain "wild side". Be careful you don't fall into this trap, or your players will become bored.

Something confused me about the plot:
In the aftermath of the battle, Wolfe unleashes a final, earth-shattering attack, which lucky Mr. Peebles manages to sidestep. The attack however causes tremors in the earth, and the Thamian Valley animals soon find themselves falling into a deep chasm.
Do the animals have superpowers or something? If they're regular animals then why does this happen? @_@

Also, be careful about planning out all your chapters before you actually create it. Often, when you're creating the game, even if you've made a specific outline for your project. Just don't restrict your creative liberties because you've already named your chapters! :]

The first thing that jumped out at me from the first screenshot was the amount of green. There's a lot of empy space there that could be used to create some interesting features. Right now it looks very empty and boring - spice it up a bit! Make some hidden areas or something. I'm not saying fill it in with random foliage and such - just just try and make it seem like a living, breathing world. Immersion is key!

Might want to vary your houses there, too. Six houses with the exact same shape and size is boring. Real houses are really varied, depending on where and how they're built. Experiment with different shapes to make your towns more interesting.

I look forward to seeing where this goes. Good luck on your project!
 
Thanks for the advice atticus-- I'm a pretty bad mapper but with direction and criticism I can be much better ^^
Oh and I've named the chapters already because I've filled up twenty something notebook pages detailing what happens in each chapter-- I know basically everything that's going to happen already except for some minor things near the end...

To clear up the confusion with Wolfe causing a chasm in the earth...
I was just planning on not explaining why animals have crazy super human strength and leave it to the player to think "oh, it's just a game..." Kind of like how some RPGs make it believable that a bands of 13 year olds can summon fifty foot monsters, or that somehow people don't mind if you loot their houses. But if it really seems that odd in comparison to other RPGs, I can try to fit some explanation in...
 

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