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A New Space Adventure


Spybreaka

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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.

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I liked the Dynamix game "Rise of the Dragon", which contained some of the concepts you described. I also agree with your value systems comment. That's another thing that made the SQ games great. The Orion's Belt Bar in SQ6, for example, I was there the other day- it's the same as a bar on Earth present day, sort of, but the customs and the reality is very different.

 

Also love the poliical intrigue comment. How many JRPG's have been considered 'timeless' that essentially used this as the underlying plot motif. Chrono Trigger and Radiant Historia especially spring to mind.

 

I'm excited you're doing something- keep us posted, I'd love to read a rough draft or a plot summary.

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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 :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

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..

post-975-0-42973200-1338985629_thumb.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...

Wow, Spybreaka, I'm gobsmacked... that looks brilliant! I wish I weren't so extended between work, family, and a few fan efforts I'm involved in here, and on Kickstarter, I'd volunteer to do whatever I can. I write code, and could write dialogue... but, busy as I am, I feel you'd be disappointed with my commitment.

 

That said, I see that you're using Unity3D. Recently, they announced a Linux export feature in version 4.0. I'd love to test it there if you choose to bring your game to my OS. :)

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Vangelis and Tangerine Dream. Good stuff. I actually was attempting to make the SQ2VGA soundtrack in that style, but then my time was limited and more composers were brought on board to help pitch in so I scrapped the idea. Maybe when I finally get around to making SQ2SCI I'll go that route.

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I had no idea you were contemplating doing SQ2SCI as well. Would definitely love to hear you going Vangelis or TD on that. The thought is positively mouthwatering, actually. Any chance you can get started on that project sooner? ;)

 

Spybreaka, I forgot to mention that, should you be interested, you can hear some of my own non-game music here, and my band's debut album can be found here, though apart from writing one track and co-writing another, I primarily did the guitars, along with some minor synth work. My contributions for the "Space Quest: Incinerations" soundtrack are also available for download here, but there are only three tracks on it that fit the genre I mentioned. "Bugs In the System", "Explorers" and "A New World." Check it out, and let me know if you're interested in my services :)

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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.

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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..

 

Very nice piece there. Very nicely composed. :y:

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  • 4 weeks later...

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):

 

Posted Image

 

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:

 

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