Gorlami

Lots of swearing and drug and sex references ahoy. You've been warned. I wrote the first two chapters for this after coming back to it after a year or so. It feels really, really good. It's looking like it's gonna end up as a multiple narrators with a very disjointed and confusing timeline. The setting was initially a really, really big deal for me until I realised recently that really, the setting is in these character's heads and it's very interesting to approach writing these characters with that in mind. So here are the first two opening chapters for two characters, Thomas & Art. 01: Thomas 01: Art

I've been wanting to share this for a little while, but here's the first chapter of my finished dissertation (don't worry, uni's over now) that I'm planning on turning into a longer, more full work. Just wanted some opinions on it. It's a big ol' sci-fi existential stream of consciousness crazy read. That said it has swearing, drug references, sex references, suicidal references and just a genuinely 'ick' factor to it, so heed that in mind if you happen to be 11 (in which case what you doin' here). I'm also, when I have waaaay more free time and Onny's done, considering making this into a project, but that's a glimmer of a longshot right now. I can post more chapters if you happen to like it~ But yeah, let me know what you think, and enjoy! It's fairly lengthy at around 2600ish words, but if you fancy going into the mind of a rather depressing guy/environment, then have fun (I copy pastad from MS Word, so apologies if the formatting's a little wonky)

@Harmp - throw in some more flowers and things and it'll really add to it. Here's a rest stop~

@Lihinel - use the scatter brush mang. Get that snow tile you're using as a pattern, and scatter it around the path. It looks a bit like it's floating in mid air right now. Big ol' picture from me. This is a little campsite underneath a ruined overpass.

@EvilPumpkin - I'd put more details on the ground. It looks a little bare right now. Trippy dream sequence map ahoy~

@marie - I'd shift the target thing a little more to the right. It looks a bit off centre to me. I have not been playing Limbo, I promise.

Apologies for the necro. Is there any chance of making this script compatible with Yanfly's event window? Rather than the message box appearing, can this script simply forgo that feature and revert to the default popup Yanfly's script uses to display a new item being received? As it currently stands nothing shows up on the popup when receiving a new item, regardless of the script's position in reference to the Yanfly one.

Story In the sleepy town of Fleetswood in the USA, a plague has destroyed all traces of civilisation and human life, leaving few survivors. There are those who hid from madness, biding their time in solitude until resurfacing and rebuilding their lives, slowly but surely. Yet, there are those that were infected, becoming monstrous creatures neither living nor dead, dark shadows of their humanity remaining. The plague-ridden hide in dank, dark hallways and skulk through Fleetswood at night. There is no safety or society left, only bleak, endless darkness. Dorian awakes atop a high mountain in the Red Arrow National Park. Below him and within the mountain lies the Panopticon, an old 1940's prison built into the rock. You don't know how he got there, why he is there, or much about him at all. The only clue is an envelope by his waking body, with a letter inside that reads 'Meet me in Shimmering Falls'. You have no direction. There is a picture of your son and a fire marshal's report in a ruined wallet, and all you can remember is bitter, biting flames. In a world where reality and imagination is entwined, and your friends are just as likely to be your enemies, you must find the secret to unlocking your memories and free yourself of torment. You must survive. Characters [from left to right] - Dorian A father, a husband, a drug addict and a convict. Dorian's enigmatic past is locked under layers of waking amnesia, with small details of a particular week being the most that he remembers. He recalls climbing into a car with a woman after taking a hit in a nearby club's bathroom, playing with his son in the park, and an intense fire at his home. Aside from the odd letter he found as he awoke, the fire marshal's report and his son's picture, there is little to no background to his crime or how he got to the Panopticon. All he knows is that the letter's handwriting looks suspiciously like his son's, and he must find a way to venture back into the plague-ridden Fleetswood to find this 'Shimmering Falls'. - Henry A young, playboyish man who could often be found prowling clubs and bars before the plague hit Fleetswood. Rather intimidatingly opinionated and brash in his discourse, Henry has a very strict and cynical world view and believes that everyone should share it. Since the plague, Henry has drifted between various places in Fleetswood, not entirely set on leaving the town behind completely. He is quick to anger, fiercely protective of his privacy, and seems somewhat familiar. Perhaps his greatest weakness comes from his overwhelming fear of the infected, as symbolically, their decaying bodies and endless lives are everything he stands against. He claims to know of some kind of vaccine, but is reluctant to share any details. - Victor A complex, reserved individual. Victor spent much of his pre-plague times working in homeless shelters and charities. Having ran into Henry on more than one occasion, he maintains a level of distrust towards the man for untold reasons. Since the plague hit, he has remained solitary in the abandoned church of Fleetswood, helping lost stragglers and defending his safehouse. He holds no religious beliefs but is rather fond of the calming atmosphere within. He has no desire to leave Fleetswood on account of helping those in need, yet for all his benevolence, there is a certain mystery to Victor that one cannot always grasp. He often speaks in riddles and remains silenced for long periods of time. Something happened in his past, but it's unclear as to what it was. - The Surgeon An enigmatic doctor, whose origins and motives are unknown. She seems to appear from nowhere, and instigate bizarre and curious events. She shares no common knowledge of the other survivors, but has a great deal of information regarding Dorian and his past. Henry swears she's a product of imagination, yet Victor remains open to her existence. Real or not, she is of valuable help in threading together vital parts of Dorian's memory. - Dahlia A fierce and dangerous survivor of the mysterious plague. Constantly looting the abandoned homes and stores for supplies, she maintains an incredibly primal outlook of the entire situation - kill or be killed. She will stop at nothing to protect herself, yet behind her bravado lie some unspoken secrets. She seems to know almost every survivor, Dorian included, and it's clear that she's lost someone very dear to her. Peeling back these layers however may prove something of a challenge. Her strength and resolve shape a powerful ally, yet establishing some form of trust may take Dorian down a road he can't come back from. Setting Screenshots Features - A game very much centred around survival. Dorian will require food and drink and proper sleeping cycles if he is to be in his best condition. Rather than this being a tacked on gimmick, I want this to be an important aspect of the game in which everything else revolves around. If your hunger rises you may feel weaker, which may affect your pushing strength in various puzzles. To this end, crafting your own meals and scavenging for food will become a vital aspect of your exploration. - Exploration will also be a major gameplay focus. Ammo will be sparse, nourishment will be sparse, human contact will be sparse. Exploration will be adequately rewarded. - Multiple endings and open-ended gameplay. Hopefully I can get in some rather grey moral choices that will affect your ending. These choices will be based around the survivors you meet. The endings will remain the same in terms of how everything came to be, but the different endings will primarily effect the outcomes of the plot rather than shifting it entirely. And with open-ended gameplay, everything is up to you. Perhaps you just don't like how Henry talks to you. You're welcome to kill him. - An intense, atmospheric setting. The setting is probably the most important thing to me in this game and I want to make sure I nail it completely. It's very much a Bioshock/Silent Hill hybrid and I want to capture that feeling of solitude. That being said, I'm also doing my best on researching the USA to make sure that Fleetswood is appropriately and realistically conveyed as a small, American tourist town. - This game will be very centred around solving puzzles and exploration, but with that said there will be fight or flight style combat. I'm yet to settle on an ABS because every one of them does something I need but not all of them do everything (o.O), but once I figure that out I'll get to the combat. With the day and night cycle, enemies will be more commonplace during the night hours. To that end, there may be times when you'll have to barricade your sleeping spot for the night unless you want to be woken up by plague-infested corpses at the door. - Like Blood Shard this game'll have fully custom artwork and soundtrack (save for some real life tracks). Ronove is doing some excellent character artwork, and I'm slowly plodding away at the music. Sprites are also being done by the excellent Digital_Raze, and will have lots of poses and stuff for some more fluid looking characters. Demo I can't promise too much but I'm intending on getting some form of demo out in the next three weeks, Let's say the 20th of July. We'll see how that goes. Updates 23/10/2012 - Project thread created. 29/06/2013 - Thread updated (lol) Credits

I got a new PS3 in the US and my PSN is now mckziggywigs do it

Ah it's a shame it's not your thing, but thanks for reading! I will admit it's a pretty heavy area to get into, the whole 'this man isn't who he says he is and wants to kill himself and thinks life is worthless' narrator is a pretty tough one to follow sometimes. That and the subject matter isn't particularly cheery, haha. Thanks for the complement though~

@Shoya - I like it! Just be sure to add lots of detail, the rooms look a little big and with the size of the map as whole it might feel a little boring. @P3RRIN - I'd add lots of rocks in that lava, some bridges connecting everything too. Neat concept though. Ignore the map/rain for some reason, just testing out my messageback. I quite like it so far.

The Last of Us is the best game I've ever played. Still think Dark Souls is waaay better than Demon's is (I played DkS first) however.

@ZombieBear - it's actually a partially flooded prison hallway, haha,

PSN - mckziggy

@Cecilia - no windows? Haha. I like it a lot though. I'd maybe use a different wood tile though, it's a little oversaturated looking compared to the rest of the map - and maybe make more of a contrast between the raised area with the rest of the floor. @Miroku - I like it! Nice and simple, but functional. Here's another of mine. I need to redraw a few items now that I have new sprites (like bottles being half the size of a human) but they look pretty good with the rest of the tiles.

Whoops, sorry for the lack of updates, all the character artwork is done now~

@ZombieBear - I'd say brighten it up just a little, and perhaps add a few more colourful things - flowers, etc. It looks a little dark atm. @Hytporsche - that's super cool! I really like the windows. Here's mine. I don't know if I like it much.

Oh wow, it took me a while to notice this. Than you for the review! The characterisation has been touched upon by a few people that've played it (though others have said it's fine, need to find a balance there). Few niggles that I feel like I need to explain - A lot of features were left out a little because of the insane rush I had releasing this for RSW (which was subsequently pushed back for more time -.- ), and tbh I never had the time to go back and fix a lot of the stuff. That's why the NPCs were pretty much non-existent at least. A skill system I had was also in the works, but not finished in time for the demo, which led to there being no EXP awarded for fights in the game. So that stuff'll all be changed. And, I actually did most of the music myself xD pieces that weren't mine were the one when Arcontana starts to blow up, a few scenes in there, and the scene when Riffolk comes back. All the rest was mine though :3 I agree with you on needing some form of tutorial for the battle system though, so that'll be first on the agenda anyway (as well as touching up on skills and balancing issues and whatnot). Thank you for the review though! I'm glad you played through it.

I'm not really too fussed about people stealing my music given most of it is public anyway, but this is pretty neat!