Spybreaka

After some (inevitable) project delays, we've reconsidered using Unity and will be sticking with Visionaire Studio. Depending on how things progress that potentially allows us to release for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android.

Fair point! I think Babylon 5 is a better example of what I mean - from memory though, Star Trek TNG had some bigger story arcs that took place over the course of a few episodes didn't it? In any event, the concept I was trying to convey is clear enough :)

Also I thought it might be worth reposting a comment I made over at the Adventure Gamers forums when asked about the reasons behind going with an episodic format - ...what I am trying to create is a universe that will work well in an episodic format. Think of Star Trek TNG and the way in which each episode has a self-contained story arc but also contributes to a broader overarching story. The ideas and concepts that can be explored within the boundaries of an adventure game are enormous. Ideally there will be enough momentum for this to become a series that continues for years as I have a lot I’d like to explore in the within the medium of the game. There's a game mechanic that makes sense within the story that will allow Kayla to gradually explore various regions of the galaxy, where short stories will play out - self-contained but ultimately each will contribute to the broader story. Each short story will instill personal growth in your character - Kayla will learn more about life, existence, and the universe - and hopefully so will the player. Good science-fiction gives us pause for reflection. Great science-fiction makes that experience awesome and cathartic. That’s what I want Exogenesis to achieve.

Thanks guys! Character art won't be ready for preview for a little while yet, but watch this space :)

Hi Sarien Sanitizers, Pre-rendered backgrounds which are modelled in 3dsmax then painted over by hand, full HD resolution. Characters will ideally be 3d models, though this is currently something we're working through.

Hi everyone, I just wanted to let people know about a game that we’ve been working on for the last couple of years. I made a post quite a while ago about it but the project has changed significantly since then. It was a little slow to get off the ground but we’re finally at a point where production is really ramping up. We’re aiming for a December 31st release date for Chapter 1. Heavily inspired by Sierra & Lucasarts games of old, Exogenesis: Cryospore will be true science-fiction, exploring both the universe and the human condition. The first Chapter will see us introduced to Kayla, a 22-year-old biogenetics student who is on vacation visiting her father on the Cryospore, an ageing military ship that has been re-purposed for deep space research in the middle of the Vela nebula. One of the ship’s navigation instruments has a calibration problem and her father has asked her to check it out as he’s busy in the lab. I don’t want to ruin the story so I’ll stop there. This will be a 3rd-person point-and-click adventure game, and ideally we’ll release on PC, Mac, Android and iOS. Please visit our website for more screenshots - http://www.exogenesis-adventure.com/a-new-space-adventure/ Ask away with any questions you may have! :)

Sorry for the lack of updates. My SO had a health scare which put the brake on things for a short while, but all is good now thankfully so time to get the show back on the road :) Also, we've actually had to change lead artists (but still retained the old one as a finishing artist) as he simply did not have enough time to dedicate to the project.. Anyway, here's a work in progress piece by our new lead artist (more details on him coming soon): I can also announce the working title of the game - CryoSpore. Only concern surrounding this title is the potential for legal trouble with EA over their trademark for "Spore". Waiting on professional legal advice for this but feel free to throw your two cents in :) Aaaaand, the lead musician working on the game is Christopher Leary. Also known as Ochre, he's a brilliant English musician who's released a number of albums over the years. His style is electronic / chill / glitchy / ambient, although we will be toning down the glitch for the game's music. You can listen to some of his previously released music here:

Thanks for all the comments and offers of help everyone! Regarding music - I was actually not familiar with Vangelis or Tangerine Dream, but they sound quite similar to what we are going for (in some areas of the game anyway) and your tracks sound great, Frede. That said, we actually selected a musician (& sound designer) for the game a couple of days ago. We'll announce who they are once the paperwork is sorted. If anything changes, I'll be sure to let you know Frede! Sent you a PM, Troels.

Hey s_d, nice to hear you like our art direction, I've sent you a PM :) Just a small update also - here's our latest character concept for one of the two playable characters in the game. Her name is Kayla.

A small update :) The story has been fleshed out further, and we're getting closer to achieving the art direction we are after. If anyone is up for getting involved, we could definitely use some help. People with interest / skills in any of the following (and more) would be welcome: - Puzzle design - Dialogue writing - Coding knowledge (we're using Unity) - Artistic skills of any description - After Effects Skills - 3d Animation Skills - Sound design - Music (Please note that I'm primarily talking about unpaid (but credited) involvement, as the budget can only support a few key roles) Post a reply or PM me to further that discussion. Otherwise, I'd be interested to hear people's thoughts on the artwork as we're trying to nail the right style. Keep in mind that the piece is not quite finished and is a little rough in areas..

Hey Spikey, thanks for the kind words! I've been very busy getting the right people in place to move the project forward on the artistic front, as well as sorting out an engine and so on. It's been tiring, but rewarding :) I don't want to reveal too much plot-wise, but I'll give you a bit of a description of the starting location of the game. You live on a small space station - a science outpost situated on the edge of explored space next to a large nebula. You've lived there your entire life with your father, an ageing scientist. You seldom receive visitors, save for the occasional supply delivery of spare parts. Your father is somewhat eccentric and obsessive, and the station is a little run-down. You pass the time playing with your small robot companion, gazing out into the stars, and tending to the plants in the hydroponics lab. One day, the spectrometer records an unusual signature and sounds an alarm. A strange object in the nebula is detected drifting through space. You activate the tractor beam and draw the object into the holding bay... I best stop there :)

In my experience, these are few and far between. Thankfully, this looks like it’s about to change, with the (hopefully) upcoming Space Venture by the Two Guys from Andromeda and that rather awesome looking project called Stasis. Aside from these, if a new game were to be made in this genre, what would people like to see incorporated into the game? I’ve tried to distil down some ideas, and have come up with the following points that I would like to see implemented: - Characters and a story that makes you feel emotionally invested in the outcome (duh) - Strange and eery environments punctuated by the familiar - A sense of control over where you go (i.e. less linear design than other adventure games, space is about freedom) - Modern futurist concepts are a rich treasure-trove of ideas just waiting to be realised in a new space odyssey (see graphic novel Transmetropolitan) - Don’t treat adventure gamers like kids, because they probably aren’t - Political intrigue is always a rich topic because it is timeless. The same fights have been going on for centuries - power corrupts. - There seems to be an implicit assumption that the value systems by which we live will not have changed that much. Looking at the last 50 years, we have seen enormous changes, thus we should expect wildly different notions to be the norm a couple of hundred years from now. Alien races are likely to have wildly different concepts and motivations than we do. Similarly, artificial intelligence shouldn't be pigeon-holed. I am interested to hear what else people here think. And yes, I am in the process of writing a story and organising the first steps toward building a self-funded adventure.