Mythos Adventures - The Case of Charles Dexter Ward

[Terrormaster]

Hello, some of you may or may not know me. I am Terrormaster of Digital Necropolis. We have been on and off in the Maker scene since 2001. We are in the process of starting back up on Maker projects with the launch of our first project that falls under the banner of Mythos Adventures.

Mods and Admins, I apologize if this thread is in the wrong forum or I may have broken the x screenshots per project post rule. I come from over 15 years of software design and development background and will be the first to say that, while this is strictly a hobby, we at Digital Necropolis follow a lot of professional methodologies. The project presented below is in early design. Due to this, our philosophy that development does not begin until design is complete, and the specific talent resources we're seeking noted below, you will see no screenshots until we are confident in design, art direction, and script. In essence this is really a talent recruiting post. As I could not find such a topic area, this board felt most appropriate.

Digital Necropolis is proud to announce Mythos Adventures, a new series of adventure games set in the classic 1920's Lovecraftian universe. So what set's games in the Mythos Adventures series apart from other Lovecraftian projects? Presentation and a relentless faithfulness to the writings of H.P.Lovecraft regardless if it's an adaptation or an original story. Each adventure is rendered in a beautiful but saturated pulp style backed by an original score and a story that's character and plot focused.

Our current engine of choice is none other than Enterbrain's RPG Maker XP retrofitted with nearly all of the combat elements stripped down and many of the internals reworked to function like classic adventure games from the early days of Sierra and LucasArts. Each scene rendered with attention to detail unlike any game developed under the platform.

The first two games in the series are adaptations of two of my all time favorite Lovecraft stories -- The Case of Charles Dexter Ward; and At the Mountains of Madness. Early design work has already begun on the former and we are seeking talented individuals with a love for all things Lovecraft.

BACKGROUND AND CHARACTER ARTISTS
The style and look we're aiming for is early American pulp comics with attention to detail and an edge of realism. The color style should be saturated and have an almost water color like quality.

MUSIC AND SOUNDS
I will most likely be handling a majority of the sound mixing and musical direction. However I'm looking for a talented musician who will compose and help define the overall score. The style is somber, foreboding, and dark. More ambient than orchestral. Light piano, strings, and chorals (especially in scenes of conflict).

WRITING AND EDITING
Much like music and sound, I will be handling a lot of the writing tasks. However I write terrible dialog. And the problem with Lovecraft's dialog is it's usually at one end of the spectrum or the other -- either very little or overly verbose (anyone who's read Charles Dexter Ward knows where I'm coming from in regards to this). So, what I'm looking for here is someone who's talent lies with writing believable dialog that doesn't stray far away from the source material.

So if you feel you can contribute any of the above then by all means drop me a PM with a sample of your original work.

As stated above, we are in early design phases so no real development has begun and won't until script is complete and all team members are aboard.

The best I can do at this point is show off our completed splash screen animation demo. The music is by no means a representation of that which will appear in the game. If anything it sets the mood.

http://boards.digitalnecropolis.com/ind ... lip_cocdw1

NOTE: I've had some reports that flash video player that camtasia uses wasn't working in FF... Try IE (shiver), Chrome, or Safari.

 

[Jason]

That Splashscreen you have there is pretty impressive, I'd make an animated Splash Screen, but I really can't be arsed, haha.

From what I've read on this topic it seems like it's going to be an interesting game, maybe one that I'd play when you release a playable demo, or even the full release.

 

[Nearly Infinite]

In my best Alucard, "I'm interested in this."

While encouragement is well and good, its infinitely more encouraging to talk thoughtfully about what interests you about this project so that the OP can use that feedback usefully in his development process. So please in the future just leave more thoughtful comments. Its nothing personal but we're trying to reduce the amount of ILU spam to increase the ratio of quality responses to project topics.~Killface

 

[Terrormaster]

Thanks NI. Considering the number of places I've posted about this outside of the RPG Maker community with little to no response, it can be discouraging. But adapting this particular story in some form has been a driving force for some time now.

Right now I'm mainly concentrating on events within Curwen's necropolis and have already drawn up a nice little map that pretty much holds true to what's described in the novel.

The two passages east and west of the central chamber I added for expansion as the novel indicates Willett circled at least half the chamber before finding the second vaulted corridor that led to Curwen's laboratory. There are numerous doors that were not explored in the context of the story and he never really found that passage which lead back to the door near the river.

Outside following the events of the novel verbatim and in a linear fashion I'm looking for meaningful things for Willett to do in the necropolis that would advance the plot and provide entertainment in the sense of gameplay. While not in the story, some form of puzzles must be added and creative license granted or the player might as well just read the book.

One of the things Dreamcatcher did with Necronomicon that I did like are some of the puzzles in the Necropolis which includes having to revive a talking brain in a jar which hinted at Great Race activity and a solution that had shades of Herbert West. There's also a generator that needs to get powered up for additional lighting. And lastly the piecing together of the formula to bring up Hershell's (aka Curwen) nemesis.

Also, if anyone here has played the first game in the Gabriel Knight series (Sins of the Fathers), another fantastic game, you'll recognize the conversation piece as I have some concept art for that:

The design for the above system is coming along good and I'll probably use the two character sketches above as place holders while testing out the system once I start coding it.

NOTE: Yes, for those who haven't read the novel, the protagonist in the story is in his 50's.

 

[Nearly Infinite]

To Mr. Killface: I humbly apologize for the lack of content in my previous response. Spam is a terrible thing; godspeed you on your quest to diminish it.

What I should have said is, "Yes! I have a predisposition for darker fantasy, with a special love for Lovecraft and his works, and would be immeasurably pleased to help this project see fruition. If I can lend my services as an author I would be tickled pink. I am somewhat familiar with the English language, at least it says so on my diploma, and dialog is no trouble for me whatsoever. I'll have to reread this particular Lovecraftian tale, but, I'm sure I can disentangle the cyclopean horrors of Gordian proportions Lovecraft so often passed off as common speech."

I also like puzzles, so after rereading the story (and some of my other mythos stuff) I'll see if I can conjure anything up worth your time.

 

[Terrormaster]

@Mr.Killface: thanks for stepping up to the plate in general. I've just been having a hard time pulling together interest in this project beyond "cool, can't wait for this to be done." I've posted about it in Lovecraft boards and other game dev boards and have gotten ZERO response so far in the way of constructive input. I have had a couple compliments from those who've read the story indicating that the map is 100% right on, so that's a good sign and a definite boon.

@Nearly Infinite: My apologies, hope I didn't come off snappy NI, wasn't until I read your second response that I realized the bit in red was a mod edit and not part of your original message (not used to seeing mod comments in that style). I am greatly interested to hear any and all input you may have in regards to this project. The story in question is actually in the public domain and can be found anywhere online, just google "the case of charles dexter ward pdf" and you should find it. It's about 127 pages in paperback so not too terribly long either.

Thanks,
-TM

 

[Nearly Infinite]

The story in question is actually in the public domain and can be found anywhere online, just google "the case of charles dexter ward pdf" and you should find it. It's about 127 pages in paperback so not too terribly long either.

I thought I had a copy, but apparently my Mythos shelf is without. No matter. As an English Teacher it is my duty to buy more books, because the more books an English Teacher has on his shelves the smarter he must be. It's in the Hippocratic oath I think, and I read it on the internet so it must be true. Anyway, I should have it read by Monday. You can contact me anytime at the email that is my name here (no space) at yahoo dot com. Just don't tell anyone else, because, like Mr. Killface, I also hate spam.

 

[So fist]

Outside following the events of the novel verbatim and in a linear fashion I'm looking for meaningful things for Willett to do in the necropolis that would advance the plot and provide entertainment in the sense of gameplay. While not in the story, some form of puzzles must be added and creative license granted or the player might as well just read the book.

Horror games are all about atmosphere and the good ones are investigative in nature. In the search for that truth that ultimately bewilders and destroys us is a motif in every Lovecraft work I've ever read. But to put it succinctly find ways to reward your player for going the extra mile and exploring every nook and cranny of your setting. Fill it up with interactive obects that tell its story in subtle ways.

As far as artistic license is concerned, game adaptation is a true artform. I think one game that did it well was Rockstar's The Warriors. Instead of stretching out movie events into over-embellished levels (this was done, but it wasn't the crux of the game.) It started you ninety or days before the events of the movie which in turn allowed the characters to have a bit more personality (not that they were deep mind you.) With that said consider what loose-ends could be explained in some way that creates resolution or makes further frays. Consider what stories are mentioned but not told. Really the best way of making this a game and making it your own would be to find those creative spaces in the text. That would prolly be the most authentic way of doing it without it seeming out of theme as it were.

All this leads back to exploration this special kind of could be your reward for some of your puzzles and exploration. The bewildering truth for the inquisitive mind as it were.

I thought I had a copy, but apparently my Mythos shelf is without. No matter. As an English Teacher it is my duty to buy more books, because the more books an English Teacher has on his shelves the smarter he must be. It's in the Hippocratic oath I think, and I read it on the internet so it must be true.

I bet I'm smarter. I'm out of shelf space. Also it is part of the oath, it's watermarked on our degrees.

 

[Nearly Infinite]

Well, it's Tuesday already, and I'm still tarrying. Don't take this as lack of interest! It's merely incompetence on my part (that and I'm getting ready for the next horde of freshmen who are forced to enroll in my class because they never learned how to write an essay in High School). I'm not one of those fancy professors who gets to teach Malory or anything, I'm the English department's whipping boy so I get 101 and 102.

Feel free to drop me an E-Mail at that address with any bits of dialog that need "Un-Lovecrafting." The first week of class will be a breeze, so hopefully I'll have that damned novella read before Saturday.

@Killface: Indeed! (Gives secret handshake) Although, about the shelf thing, you can always build or buy more shelves (and thus become exponentially even more smarterest). IQ is directly proportionate to shelf-space vs living space. If you have more shelves than you have room to navigate, you automatically can get away with Faulknerian craziness and people will assume you're a genius beyond their comprehension. But, that requires lots of shelves. If they're full shelves, that's even betterest.

 

[Terrormaster]

Thanks for the interest - Mr.Killface, excellent choice of words and I've been re-reading the story with exactly that intent.

Anyone who's interested should head over to http://mythosadventures.com and check out the project about page for details on joining our team.

-TM