The Intruder - Survival Horror Game with Continuous Time
1,082 replies, posted
[QUOTE=Ricenchicken;38025565]maybe one could be like the girl from the movie orphan
(something similar)
it looks like a little kid but its really 30~ years old, and its crazy and you can hear it talking to itself and giggling a lot like a little kid.[/QUOTE]
Didn't the girl in that movie turn out to be a [sp]psychopathic midget[/sp]? Because, in all honesty, that really doesn't sound like the kind of enemy that this game needs.
[QUOTE=Cone;38030174]Didn't the girl in that movie turn out to be a [sp]psychopathic midget[/sp]? Because, in all honesty, that really doesn't sound like the kind of enemy that this game needs.[/QUOTE]
That was don't look now
[QUOTE=Cone;38030174]Didn't the girl in that movie turn out to be a [sp]psychopathic midget[/sp]? Because, in all honesty, that really doesn't sound like the kind of enemy that this game needs.[/QUOTE]
she had a disorder that made her look like a child, and thus of my description of it "looking like a little kid but really in its 30s."
As you may have seen from The Intruder Greenlight page, one of the biggest technological leaps I have yet to make is implementing a day/night cycle.
There's so many ways to do it, all with varying complexity to develop, ease of use and aesthetic quality.
The best looking way to do it is to do it in real-time, which you see in some high-end modern engines like CryEngine.
The newest branch of the Source Engine (Portal 2, CS:GO and Dota 2) has cascaded shadow mapping, which allows for fully dynamic lighting and crisp shadows.
I don't have access to that, but I most likely will once I have a Soure Engine license (which won't happen until it's Greenlit, which is likely to happen only once I'm quite far into the development process).
So until then, I need a relatively low-tech solution using the Source Engine's baked lightmaps. This proves to be quite a challenge, which is evident by the relative scarcity of Source mods that have a dynamic day/night cycle.
Here's some of the techniques I've considered:
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[b]Double-map Teleportation[/b]
[i]Technique[/i]
I make two copies of the map, one Daylight version and one Night version. Come nightfall, I inform the player what time it is and surreptitiously teleport all entities including the player down to the night version of the map.
[i]Pros[/i]
-Makes the transition from day to night dramatic
-Keeps the player informed about how far into the game he is
-I can do whatever I want lighting-wise in the day and night sections
-Requires little to no programming
[i]Cons[/i]
-As abrupt a transition as it could possibly get
-Not realistic
-Players are likely to be caught completely off-guard by nightfall
-The entire map geometry would have to be copied twice
-Hard to maintain, annoying if you want to change something
-Inefficient use of map space
-Node graph would exist twice. Having one node graph
and moving it back and forth would be a lot of work.
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[img]http://alphastudiossoftware.nl/img/daynight_tp.jpg[/img]
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[b]Move to Alien Swarm branch[/b]
[i]Technique[/i]
Switch to the Alien Swarm branch which has an older implementation of shadow mapping that can be used to approximate what I could do with the licensed Source Engine.
[i]Pros[/i]
-It would look fairly decent
-Relatively easy to control light color and direction in real-time
[i]Cons[/i]
-I'd have to cut out a huge volume of unwanted code and content
-All the current code (and possibly assets too) would have to be ported
-I would move to an obscure branch that I'd abandon anyway when I get a license
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[img]http://endingb.net/images/articles/alienswarmlogo.jpg[/img]
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[b]Use Color Correction[/b]
[i]Technique[/i]
Use Color Correction to translate all the colours of the daylight scene into a darker, slightly desaturated and slightly blue palette.
[i]Pros[/i]
-No programming involved
-Could convince players that it's night with the aid of other effects
-Could be slowly enabled for a real-time transition
[i]Cons[/i]
-Would darken active light sources as well (which I still want to have around at night)
-I would probably have to make the map in-between day and night and color correct upwards for day and downwards for night
-I'd either have shadows that don't change direction or I'd have to generally get rid of shadows
-I couldn't get that typical night look where everything but the sky and the reach of your flashlight is pitch black
-Significantly less scary
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[img]http://alphastudiossoftware.nl/img/daynight_cc.jpg[/img]
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I now use a technique that introduces a new approach and is augmented by some of the older approaches. The transition from day to night is dynamic, and I still maintain my creative freedom over what day and night looks like independently from one another. Right now day and night are characterful and distinct. The transition of the world lighting is not perfect but it's convincing enough, especially considering that this is supposed to be a place-holder.
As of today the technology for it is done, but it still requires some new assets and configuration. When it's done I prefer to show it to you instead of telling you how it works.
This is a more technical information update than I'm used to. If people like it I may keep doing this once in a while.
I dont often find something on FP that gives me the impulse to post but this game gave me a hard on!
I hate scary games, got through about 20 minutes of Amnesia. However, this (like nightmare house 2) looks just too damn fun and interesting not to play.
Looks like a lot of hard work is going into this on your part and thats really commendable.
I'm also glad to see you're not overstretching yourself with features. Games should really be good games before they worry about all the shit they can list on a features page.
Keep it simple n keep it sweet. So gassed for this games release!
[QUOTE=some_hobo;38037971]I dont often find something on FP that gives me the impulse to post but this game gave me a hard on!
I hate scary games, got through about 20 minutes of Amnesia. However, this (like nightmare house 2) looks just too damn fun and interesting not to play.
Looks like a lot of hard work is going into this on your part and thats really commendable.
I'm also glad to see you're not overstretching yourself with features. Games should really be good games before they worry about all the shit they can list on a features page.
Keep it simple n keep it sweet. So gassed for this games release![/QUOTE]
Thanks! Glad to hear you're looking forward to it. Your comparison to Nightmare House 2 brings me to another thing I've been wondering about recently.
Since The Intruder's inception I've been trying to watch more horror films (and films in general) to try to get a better grip on conventional horror techniques and new ideas for locations or gameplay elements.
I've especially been on the lookout for a movie that has a similar premise to The Intruder, which I haven't quite found yet.
If one of you just saw a really good horror film, or you remember one that really left an impression, I'd really like to hear about it. Your combined memories are probably much more formidable than my own googling and looking at IMDb lists.
[QUOTE=Mister Royzo;38038361]Thanks! Glad to hear you're looking forward to it. Your comparison to Nightmare House 2 brings me to another thing I've been wondering about recently.
Since The Intruder's inception I've been trying to watch more horror films (and films in general) to try to get a better grip on conventional horror techniques and new ideas for locations or gameplay elements.
I've especially been on the lookout for a movie that has a similar premise to The Intruder, which I haven't quite found yet.
If one of you just saw a really good horror film, or you remember one that really left an impression, I'd really like to hear about it. Your combined memories are probably much more formidable than my own googling and looking at IMDb lists.[/QUOTE]
I would look into the movie "The Strangers." If not the entire movie, this trailer [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1TBlPelvbE[/url] . The 2nd half of the trailer has a music cue that could potentially freak people out.(i'm only pointing out this particular trailer because of that music in the 2nd half)
It has that feel of people watching you, you know it, and they are going to get in.
Can we have a Major's Mask clock thinger in the bottom of the screen
Please
[QUOTE=Liem;38039428]Can we have a Major's Mask clock thinger in the bottom of the screen
Please[/QUOTE]
The day/night transition screen was actually the first solution I came up with for the day/night cycle in the 2007 branch.
I was going to have it just like that, with white text on a black background. One thing I also wanted to do is not clearly announcing the transition beforehand (Majora's Mask had the bells ringing) and have quite an abrupt musical cue play.
I figured that the transition was going to abrupt anyway, might as well bash you across the jaw with it.
[QUOTE=Ricenchicken;38038578]I would look into the movie "The Strangers." If not the entire movie, this trailer [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1TBlPelvbE[/url] . The 2nd half of the trailer has a music cue that could potentially freak people out.(i'm only pointing out this particular trailer because of that music in the 2nd half)
It has that feel of people watching you, you know it, and they are going to get in.[/QUOTE]
I swear to god I've heard that broken record bit before. It might have been in the Majora's Mask LP creepypasta, but I'm not sure.
[QUOTE=Cone;38040076]I swear to god I've heard that broken record bit before. It might have been in the Majora's Mask LP creepypasta, but I'm not sure.[/QUOTE]
Was it that "No Through Road" thing (or whatever it was)?
OH god holy fucking christ if you add that No Through Road/TS sound file where the music goes wee-wo-wo-weeeeeng I will love you so much
Everytime I hear that noise I spontaneously burst into chills and my eyes start to water. I don't know why, but it'd make this game so much fucking creepier.
Royzo please.
What I think would be beyond amazing is that if you implemented some sort of musical device/thinadong that you can carry around/rests in some place in your house broadcasting short musical bits and then when the Intruder is fighting you/within a determined distance the music thing will go wee-wo-wo-weeeeeng
You should totally have a phone in the house that plays messages from people every now and then. Like, when you go out of the house for a while, you come back in and check your messages, and there are one or two that have been prerecorded and randomly selected out of a hundred or so. Maybe have some of them generated to point you in the direction of items - like, "Hey, just got your message. You're probably just paranoid, man. Oh, and I think I might've left my lighter at yours when I was over last week, in the kitchen maybe? But yeah, call me back whenever" or something like that.
Best thing about it is that you could get more people involved, write up a list of messages, ask loads of different people to record the lines and send them back to you, which then has the knock-on effect of people saying "I'm in this game, you should check it out!" and because you get random messages, it might take a few playthroughs to hear a certain message, increasing the number of playthroughs people do drastically! :v:
And then there could be one or two messages out of that entire list where it's something really, really fucking creepy. Like, you play them back at night, and it's just one of those fucking creepy droning noises. But they're incredibly rare, and you know that the messages could help you find stuff, so you're encouraged to play phone roulette and risk being creeped the fuck out.
Also because I want to record a message and be in the game, because that would be freaking awesome.
[QUOTE=evlbzltyr;38040776]phone[/QUOTE]
Isn't there something similar to this in Underhell?
[QUOTE=fear me;38040885]Isn't there something similar to this in Underhell?[/QUOTE]
I don't know, I've never played it. Is that the one where practically every let's play of it is the player hiding in the closet for days waiting for the bathroom door to open, or is that a different one?
[QUOTE=evlbzltyr;38040776]You should totally have a phone in the house that plays messages from people every now and then. Like, when you go out of the house for a while, you come back in and check your messages, and there are one or two that have been prerecorded and randomly selected out of a hundred or so. Maybe have some of them generated to point you in the direction of items - like, "Hey, just got your message. You're probably just paranoid, man. Oh, and I think I might've left my lighter at yours when I was over last week, in the kitchen maybe? But yeah, call me back whenever" or something like that.
Best thing about it is that you could get more people involved, write up a list of messages, ask loads of different people to record the lines and send them back to you, which then has the knock-on effect of people saying "I'm in this game, you should check it out!" and because you get random messages, it might take a few playthroughs to hear a certain message, increasing the number of playthroughs people do drastically! :v:
And then there could be one or two messages out of that entire list where it's something really, really fucking creepy. Like, you play them back at night, and it's just one of those fucking creepy droning noises. But they're incredibly rare, and you know that the messages could help you find stuff, so you're encouraged to play phone roulette and risk being creeped the fuck out.
Also because I want to record a message and be in the game, because that would be freaking awesome.[/QUOTE]
I disagree because a huge scare factor is being cut off from any civilization, which is dampened when you can send/receive texts.
[QUOTE=evlbzltyr;38040902]I don't know, I've never played it. Is that the one where practically every let's play of it is the player hiding in the closet for days waiting for the bathroom door to open, or is that a different one?[/QUOTE]
Yes, that one.
[QUOTE=Zombie man70;38040909]I disagree because a huge scare factor is being cut off from any civilization, which is dampened when you can send/receive texts.[/QUOTE]
Oh, okay. I guess that's a good point. I just thought it could be pretty cool if some people got to actually be part of a game mechanic. And it might add some sort of depth to the world, or something. But yeah, makes sense. If it was like, say, two or three messages at most, with most playthroughs having no messages at all, and some having just one or two every now and then, perhaps if the player was struggling, or even if the messages were on phones in other houses, so they're not even really meant for the player, it could still keep up the idea of isolation?
[editline]15th October 2012[/editline]
[QUOTE=fear me;38040978]Yes, that one.[/QUOTE]
Ah, okay. Yeah, haven't actually played that one. Is it any good?
[QUOTE=evlbzltyr;38041005]Ah, okay. Yeah, haven't actually played that one. Is it any good?[/QUOTE]
It's alright. A new chapter and a remake of the first chapter is coming out sometime soon.
[QUOTE=fear me;38040184]Was it that "No Through Road" thing (or whatever it was)?[/QUOTE]
yeah that was it
[QUOTE=Mister Royzo;38037867]
[img]http://alphastudiossoftware.nl/img/daynight_tp.jpg[/img]
[/QUOTE]
If there must be text, might aswell be:
[img]http://i1.cpcache.com/product_zoom/378892813/what_a_horrible_night_to_have_a_curse_large_mug.jpg?side=Back&height=160&width=160&padToSquare=true[/img]
I think we are coming across a point that we expect so much from the game that our dear Royzo is going to be developing this mod for years.
I am content with the basic content of first release, then move on from that with updates.
Welp, looks like we'll find out if the game gets greenlit or not today.
[QUOTE=MrBond;38044912]Welp, looks like we'll find out if the game gets greenlit or not today.[/QUOTE]
I was kind of hoping I could show the day/night transition already to boost awareness, but that didn't really work out.
There were some personal issues so I couldn't work on it as much as I wanted to. On a lighter note, Dishonored was released which helped me forget about it for a bit and probably ruined work efficiency of small businesses everywhere.
[QUOTE=evlbzltyr;38040776]You should totally have a phone in the house that plays messages from people every now and then. Like, when you go out of the house for a while, you come back in and check your messages, and there are one or two that have been prerecorded and randomly selected out of a hundred or so. Maybe have some of them generated to point you in the direction of items - like, "Hey, just got your message. You're probably just paranoid, man. Oh, and I think I might've left my lighter at yours when I was over last week, in the kitchen maybe? But yeah, call me back whenever" or something like that.
Best thing about it is that you could get more people involved, write up a list of messages, ask loads of different people to record the lines and send them back to you, which then has the knock-on effect of people saying "I'm in this game, you should check it out!" and because you get random messages, it might take a few playthroughs to hear a certain message, increasing the number of playthroughs people do drastically! :v:
And then there could be one or two messages out of that entire list where it's something really, really fucking creepy. Like, you play them back at night, and it's just one of those fucking creepy droning noises. But they're incredibly rare, and you know that the messages could help you find stuff, so you're encouraged to play phone roulette and risk being creeped the fuck out.
Also because I want to record a message and be in the game, because that would be freaking awesome.[/QUOTE]
I'm still looking for ways to involve the community in the development of the game, and that sounds like a fun way to do it.
I agree with Zombie man70 though, it might interfere with the sense of abandon. I do like it as a juxtaposition though.
You're scared and alone and you haven't spoken to anyone in a while, and then you hear from a friend who seems to be doing absolutely fine, and you as a player have no way to respond.
Even better would be if you were in the finale event and you were being chased and someone was yapping away about mundane stuff in the background.
On the topic of random messages telemarketers.
Intruder breaks in and goes to tear your arms out of the sockets when suddenly "How would you like to buy an intruder alarm?" :v:
For an action/tension soundtrack ( if you're still developing one or haven't decided on how to make them yet ) I'd suggest No More Room in Hell's 4 action tracks, developed by ThoughT from their dev team.
each of them make me try to make things as short as possible ingame, and since i have the wildest dreams...
imo the first track would play when the Intruder opens a door, detects you, and then starts going after you ( time being slowed down for the first riff to adjust to the door opening )
the second one would be something that'd you get when the Intruder succeeds in busting a door and starts a really angry hustle towards you, initiating a chase scene. ( when the drum riff begins is when the door should fly open and the chase scene should start. )
the third one didn't fit anything since I didn't actually dream about it, but I'm guessing it could be used for when the finale begins and instead of fighting, you decide to run away. Some players might, and this could add to the general helpless feeling. The frills that play near the ending would be good spook factors.
the fourth one rings a certain bell for short hallway chase scenes, where the way you're supposed to take is straightforward and all the Intruder does is walk with swagger towards you.
you'd also be giving a shoutout to the best multiplayer mod of hl2! the best!
[QUOTE=Mister Royzo;38046480]I agree with Zombie man70 though, it might interfere with the sense of abandon. I do like it as a juxtaposition though.[/QUOTE]
Maybe if every message is really mundane or sombre in tone?
"Hey there, Sandy's aunt is having a dinner party next Saturday at six. Don't bring Charlie this time, though. Bye."
"Haven't heard from you in weeks. Are we going or not? Call me, bye."
"Hey! Could you pick up some eggs for me before I get home? I'm baking a cake tonight. Thanks."
"Skeletons bwooga wooga love you bye."
And so on. Basically, with messages as uninteresting and uninclusive to the player as those, it might create a sort of immersion out of the boredom and enhance the feeling of amnesia the player has. Although some messages could have clues as to where different items could be, like maybe your friend borrowed something and tells you where they left it, or maybe even a mention of rain or something coming later during the day cycles.
Just sayin'. Like all of us.
if you were to make messages, you could add them in a way that doesnt seem to make players interested in them while at the same time slightly grounding the hero even as he goes insane, kinda like the video messages from dead space,
first message would be like
"hey dude, its charlie, call me back sometime you dick,"
second would be
"hey its charlie again, look if you dont want to talk anymore i get it"
then the third would be like a rant
"dude its been like 4 fucking weeks,your fucking rediculous, dont call me again"
fourth would then pull people away from the messages
"dude i'm done, dont ever call me again"
and tht would be it.
well GL, on greenlight, hope it works out for you
also might i suggest trying to make the textures all fit one another, if your going for a smooth look inside the house, go for a smoothish look outside, or vice versa, (i know that trailer is just a proof of concept) but textures are what makes TF2 different from CS:S and different from HL2, taking smooth textures from say tf2 for the inside but using grass from hl2 for the outside clashes