A Garden Lost

[Marcus]

A Garden Lost

Genre: Adventure/RPG

Story
Within the frozen tundras and chilly forests of a faraway land is a cabin where an old scholar is searching for a missing link in history; a Paradise that was sealed away from man's selfish will. With the disappearance of the scholar, the secrets lay unguarded to those willing to brave the harsh cold.

A stranger approaches in the darkness, clad in a cape and cowl, armed with a sword, guarded by a horse, and readying her wits to find the paradise at any cost... even the destruction of those she loves.

Characters

Spoiler

Stranger
http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/3039/strangerog8.png[/img]
-A traveler from a far away land who seeks the lost paradise for her own personal reasons.

Kurjus
http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/7044/kurjusqy2.png[/img]
-A foreign messenger and cartographer who was caught in a blizzard and sought refuge in the cabin. He's very wise and knows the layout of the land.

Hobukastan (Kastan)
-Stranger's chestnut horse. Strangely immune to the cold and very loyal.

Vaim
-Stranger's sword; a rare blade of antiquity.

Willing Well
-A well that speaks with a powerful voice and gives clues for a handful of copper coins.

Gameplay

Spoiler

You collect clues to find the keys that break the seals to Paradise. There are several artifacts hidden in the game that can help you solve the puzzles of this frozen land. According to legend, they are:

-Ogre Gauntlets: Contain the strength of an ogre; allows Stranger to move heavy objects.

-Feather Boots: Lets Stranger run and jump long distances.

-Forest Cloak: Allows Stranger to pass through thick foilage unhindered.

-Animal Pinion: Makes animals follow Stranger. Some animals have useful skills like a dog's nose or a bird's flight.

Screenshots

Spoiler

http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/3469/letterxa2.png[/img]
Reading a poem that contains several clues.

http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/3582 ... arydh9.png[/img]
The legendary path to Paradise. It's locked away by four magick seals.

http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/9120 ... picys4.png[/img]
The magick Willing Well which gives clues for a small bit of coin.

http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/9784/travelme3.png[/img]

Credits (so far)

Spoiler

Scripts:
Dubealex

Graphics:
RTP
Euphony
Smartguy_L649
eternal_magus
kitty_f
Tana
ccoa
erk

Questions, comments, and criticism are greatly appreciated. I'm trying to make a finished game so I keep shooting smaller and smaller so anything you might have to say will help motivate me.

 

[ryanwh]

"I'm trying to make a finished game so I keep shooting smaller and smaller so anything you might have to say will help motivate me."
You and me both. I think you could hit the right balance here. I wouldnt shoot for more than 3 hours in playtime if the primary goal of this project is to just finish something for the sake of finishing a game. I dont really care for that 'different but the same' akumin, like adding a 'k' to magick, stuff like that makes me think of commercials that change a single facet of something to avoid copyright and royalties.

 

[Draken]

Hrmmm... I like this. The mapping is good, I like the whole gameplay approach.

Well done!

Another thing I noticed, for your Kurjus character, your using the same sprite as my Leon :P
Oh well, he's subject to change.... hair at least

 

[Marcus]

"I'm trying to make a finished game so I keep shooting smaller and smaller so anything you might have to say will help motivate me."
You and me both. I think you could hit the right balance here. I wouldnt shoot for more than 3 hours in playtime if the primary goal of this project is to just finish something for the sake of finishing a game. I dont really care for that 'different but the same' akumin, like adding a 'k' to magick, stuff like that makes me think of commercials that change a single facet of something to avoid copyright and royalties.

I added a 'k' because magick is the spelling used in reference to wiccans and neopagans. The game's very "natural" and I'm trying to include as few characters and references to civilization as possible. But yes, I'm shooting for a short game just to say that I've finished something... because I have nothing to claim.

Kurjus' sprite is temporary until I search through the massive 400 sprites on this site or decide to make my own customs. I'm stupidly working on 3 other projects so I plod around at random speeds.

But thanks anyways, comments keep me working.

 

[ryanwh]

Oh, Im not a pagan or a witch so I guess Im out of the loop on that lingo. Carry on.
PS I was actually thinking of making a contest here just called "finish ANYTHING" where the goal is just to finish a game in 2 months, and EVERYONE who finishes who meets the minimum requirement is rewarded. Cus a lot of people are in this situation, I mean damn really, its sad that the number of complete games for rmxp, after practically a year and a half of being out, can be counted on 3 fingers is just bad. But I digress.

 

[Despain v.1]

Incredible. Marc is working on a game that looks like an RMXP RPG!

Good luck. It's nice to se you keeping it realistic.

 

[Marcus]

Oh, Im not a pagan or a witch so I guess Im out of the loop on that lingo. Carry on.
PS I was actually thinking of making a contest here just called "finish ANYTHING" where the goal is just to finish a game in 2 months, and EVERYONE who finishes who meets the minimum requirement is rewarded. Cus a lot of people are in this situation, I mean damn really, its sad that the number of complete games for rmxp, after practically a year and a half of being out, can be counted on 3 fingers is just bad. But I digress.

If you get something like that running I'd gladly join.

 

[Anonymous]

Here's to hoping. You've got a lot of talent as a game designer, I'd love to play one of your concepts and not just read about it. ^_^

 

[DESIRE]

The game looks really good; can't wait to see a demo posted.

 

[Jstreet]

I don't think you set the translucent property for your shadows man.

I love your writting abilites. You are truely talented in that depart.

I can't say I'm a fan of your mapping though. It's not "bad," but just not my style. It kinda brings me out of my comfort zone.

 

[Marcus]

The opacity is set to 180 if that's what you mean. Why, does it look wrong?

 

[Despain v.1]

Not enough random get-in-the-way clutter for you, J-Street?

 

[Marcus]

Oh the trees. Thanks for pointing that out I was doing a few random importing so I forgot about it. It's fixed now, thanks.

 

[Zoom]

Like them colors!

Instead of shooting smaller and smaller, you should realize that true willingness to work on a project comes from the project being any good, and your own willpower.

My project goes back six years and three restarts, but I'm going to finish it if it's the last thing I do! There, that's the attitude to take. (Of course, in my case it probably will be the last thing I do.)

 

[Marcus]

That's the thing, I don't have any willpower. My skill relies on making ideas, not actually making them come to life.

But with that said, I think this is one of my more interesting ideas so I'm really going to try and finish this. I'm going to make atleast one map a day. So long as something is done each day, it'll eventually get finished... someday.

I love logic!

 

[ryanwh]

Like them colors!

Instead of shooting smaller and smaller, you should realize that true willingness to work on a project comes from the project being any good, and your own willpower.

Number of complete games=zero.

 

[Zoom]

Number of complete games=zero.

It's also "Number of full RPGs that have been started since 2000 = One". Or did you mean Marcus?

 

[Jstreet]

Not enough random get-in-the-way clutter for you, J-Street?

Actually, I've gotten much better about that Ser. It's the blocky use of autotiles, and from the looks of it a lack of technique. The maps look like they were made through a generator (no I don't know of one) . Something just iches me about them. I can't put my finger on it...:-/