The Trader of Stories

Almost there...

2012-01-12T10:10:00.000-08:00

We are slowly coming to an end in our new project "A Grain of Truth". The whole scenario is constructed, the dialogs written (special thanks to Maria Barć), the graphics drawn and the music composed. But it is no time to rest as there is still a lot of work ahead. As we are making the game in HTML we (and by we I mean brother Martin) need to write the whole code from the scratch. Fortunately Martin is a skilful programmer and therefore the progress bar reaches 90%.

How it all began...

2011-11-28T05:27:00.000-08:00

It all started with a train journey. When I returned home from college by train the travel stretched for ages. During the ride I read, drew, and ... I let my imagination loose. At some point, from this idleness, the idea of the Big Old tree that Dreams came up. Although at that time I gave him the title of Vigne Virge (with an error as I learned later, it should be Vigne Vierge, which in French means the Wild Vines). In the beginning there was the ash, with it roots reaching the Yggdrasill from the Norwegian mythology, who much later became the Great Oak. Around him different lands grew, inhabited by various characters. At first I thought of the world of the Big Old Tree only as the background of my comic book. But for a long time I just took pleasure in the creation of the world, its geography, culture and people. Years passed and the world of the Great Oak survived three unfinished comics, several short stories and, recently, computer games. And although in the meantime in my head and on the pages of my sketchbook many different worlds were born the world of the Big Old Tree that Dreams is the closest to me. Maybe it's because I met that tree during a walk? It was huge, dominating over the others. And it was old. You could sense it, not just by looking at its twisted branches, roots winding deep inside the earth, the cracked bark, but also by the attitude of the surrounding trees, which rose around him as if with respect. There was something mystical about him, metaphysical. I imagined that he was dreaming. What can an old, ailing oak tree dream about?

The progress bar for "A Grain of Truth" reaches 85%.

Launch page

2011-11-06T01:40:00.000-07:00

The game "a Grain of Truth" has now its own launch page.
It is also on facebook and twitter.
Follow us and be in touch!

Music

2011-10-16T14:21:00.000-07:00

Since I've started working on the first Trader of Stories game I knew that music is a very important part of the game. It builds the atmosphere of the game, like an additional background but on a whole new level. Therefore I'm very excited that for our newest project "A Grain of Truth" I was able to invite to cooproation a great music composer: Sergiu Muresan. He created four tracks illustrating the changing environment of the game. Thanks to him the game sounds really amazing and the progress bar hits 80%.
Once again - thank You Sergiu!

Last location

2011-09-16T00:05:00.000-07:00

I have just finished the last location for the game thus achiving 68% of the game progress (the game contains 22 full screen locations and 14 closeups). What is left? Puzzles, cutscenes, music and programming, so pretty much, but we are working on full speed and the finish line is getting closer.

Sketches

2011-09-08T10:01:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy working on the game that I have forgotten to update the progress. I’m almost finish doing the backgrounds for all location. The inventory is up and running as well as the map that will allow for fast travel during the gameplay. And the progress bar hits 60%.

Below I present some rough sketches for the game.

Why HTML?

2011-08-25T07:50:00.000-07:00

Have we said that we do this amazing thing all in HTML? Yes it is true - we are so excited about the possibilities and the whole creation process that we can't wait to show it to you. We used it for prototyping but we quick discovered that it's powerful enough to create the game we love. HTML is open source, completely free and really fun to use, and it's perfect for 'Myst' like type of game. When we see an adventure game we want to touch it and we want to be able to play it on mobile screens (iOS, Android) too. Now we can - direct from browser with no lack of good game experience. And we plan for even more…

Of course HTML5 has it own issues with older browsers like Internet Explorer and to play it we will need modern browser - and only it.

By the way the process bar hits 49%

Back from vacation

2011-08-19T07:23:00.000-07:00

I'm back from vacation and working on the game. Myosotis climbs up just as the progress bar that hits 40%.

A Grain of Truth - A Valley of Floating Rocks

2011-07-18T03:29:00.000-07:00

In the last post I have written about the main hero of the new story. Now I would like to present the location in which the story will take place. For those who have played the demo it will look familiar as it is the home of the Wiseman, located among the plains of endless grass. The concept of the place has changed however as I have returned to the original idea of floating rocks (if You don’t believe please check the first post on this blog when I have presented the page form my comicbook).

The main task of our heroine will be to solve the riddle of this place, so I will not write anything more to not spoil the puzzle.

I’m going for a vacation so there will be no new information for about a month.

And the progress bar goes to 35%.

A Grain of Truth - characters

2011-07-08T00:34:00.000-07:00

The main character of the "A Grain of Truth" game will be Myosotis, known from the "Trader of Stories". I wanted to start witch this character for two reasons. First of all because this is how the whole story begins, it is an introduction to a much larger story, in which Myosotis plays only a small (but important) part. And secondly I wanted to make a more smoothly connection with the previous games. In the next chapter the main character will change. The plan is that each chapter will have it's own hero/heroine. But it does not mean that we will not meet Myosotis again. She will play her role but as a non playable character.

Below is the portait of the Myosotis and one of the characters she will meet along the way.

The progress bar goes to 30%.

A Grain of Truth - beginning of a new project

2011-06-24T04:02:00.000-07:00

At this time I have planned to release the second part of the Trader of Stories Flash game (Bell's Heart). However, due to some delays on the part of the scenario we had to postpone the work on the game for some time.

So, together with my brother Martin, we began to work on another project. Many years ago I have written a story that gave the birth to the world The Old Tree that Sleeps (the world of Myosotis). All other stories I have written later, including the story of Myostis I have told in the Trader of Stories are parts of that larger tale. I have tried to tell that story in different ways, like writting in a form of a book or a comicbook. Finally I decided that I will try to do it in the form of a game. The first chapter of this story will be presented in a game entitled:"A Grain of Truth." The nature of the game will be similar to the "Bell's Heart". I will write more about it in the next post.

So far the progress is about 24%.

Below are two screenshots from the game.

The Trader of Stories, Bell's Hearts - finished!

2010-10-03T09:30:00.000-07:00

The game is finally over. The guys from Pastel Games had made an excelent job in programming, animation and music. It's amazing to see it all work together. I hope you will enjoy playing it as much as I have enjoyed drawing it. You can find the game with the given links:

http://www.kongregate.com/games/Pastelgames/the-trader-of-stories
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/549940

sketches from the game

The game was shortened a bit from the originally scenario. Below you can see one location that was not putted in the final game. Who is the guy on the left with the cigarette? If you read the whole blog you will surely guess.

Who is the man with the cigarette?

A game in cooperation with Pastel Games - almost finished

2010-05-29T14:26:00.000-07:00

It took longer then I have expected but the game is bigger thea I have assumed at the beginning. It composes of 40 screens in comparison to 20 that were planned. The working title of the game is "Bell’s Heart." Below the progress bar of the main game (the Trader of Stories) I have placed another one corresponding to this new game. My part as a graphic artist is done. Now the guys from Pastel Games are putting it all together. Therefore I’m setting the progress bar on 90%. I will surely let You know when the game shall be launch online.
Bellow are some sketches for the in-game locations and one screenshot form the cutscene.

Be aware - Myosotis is watching You!

Thirtsy after long travel - step right in! Have a drink!

A house with a view.

Cooperation with Pastel games

2010-04-14T23:34:00.000-07:00

Like you could notice, I have taken a short brake from the game. But it is not because I’m lazy. It is Pastel Games has asked me to make them a short Flash game. Well, the game illustration themselves will not be actually made in Flash, but it shall be operated through the internet browser. The best thing is that they wanted me to create the game based on the same world and the same idea as the “Trader of Stories” adventure game I’m working on. And so the game shall also be about Myosotis and it will place between the visit at Adalbert Library (the fragment I’m currently working on, after the visit in Myosotis home) and her travel to the Mountains of Glacial Butterflies. Myosotis will have to discover a story behind a little village in the shadow of the Butterflies Mountain. Buy now I have created about 33% of the game graphics and I hope I will finish it soon (maybe next month). Below are some drawing from the game.

Adalbert's private quarters

2010-03-06T11:04:00.000-08:00

Another scene from the library. This time it is Adalbert’s private quarters. Like you can see he is REALY into books. Boy, I really would like to get out of this library.

Adalbert's private quarters

Myosotis workshop - new location

2010-01-31T14:51:00.000-08:00

Still working on the library. I swear it’s the last time I made myself a location so bizarre to program (for an amateur like me). During the work I added a new scene for Adalbert Library By now it composes out of 6 backgrounds (I’m drawing the last one) and so I had to recalibrate the counter. Below I present you one of these scenes, which is Myosotis workshop. As you could find in the demo Myosotis had studied in art class. Thanks to this the counter reaches 18%.

Myosotis workshop

Death

2009-12-20T10:39:00.000-08:00

I like to present you a new character from the world of ForestBed. His name is Porteur and he is Death. He lives in the Land of the Dead, which is called the Roots, and as one can guess is place below the ForestBed between the roots of the Great Oak. In this picture You can see how his morning looks like. He is prepering for his work reading his ToDo list.

And yes, he is smoking, and yes, he knows it is not healthy. But he is death in person. How worse can it be?

Oh, and he hates his job.

death's todo list

Adalbert's library - inside

2009-12-15T10:34:00.000-08:00

I have made myself a little break from the game as I had some jobs to finish but now I’m back. I’m working on the interior of the Adalbert’s library. And so the counter moves to 15%. Later I will add also a corridor and two rooms.

Adalbert's library - inside

Igromania, a Russian games magazine, has asked me for an interview. Here the link to it. (page 62)

News

2009-11-05T12:37:00.000-08:00

Demo updated

My friends responsible for English Proof have found tons of errors in the script. If it weren’t for them I would never find out how lousy my English is. I have also changed one soundtrack. The corrected version is ready to download.

Counter

On the right you can find a counter. It represents, in percentage, the progress of the game making.

Feedback

2009-10-28T12:37:00.000-07:00

Like before I’ve received a great feedback from the players. There were lots of comments and lots of new interesting ideas (special thanks to Xelanoimis, Tramponline and Myles Blasonato).

There was a bug in the demo that blocked the game if one of the Wiseman dialog options was chosen a second time . I’ve fixed it and updated the demo for download.

Following your advises I’ve also changed few things in the gameplay:

- the background in the inventory window was changed;

- inventory items are now without a pixel perfect mask (you can select an item just by clicking on the appropriate slot);

- right mouse click also skips dialog text;

- the mouse cursor is now hidden during the noninteractive parts of game;.

I you have more ideas how to improve the game I will gladly hear them.

Interview by Hardy

2009-10-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

Igor Hardy has recently made an interview with me abort the game „the Trader of Stories”. You can read it on his website.

New demo release!

2009-10-22T11:58:00.000-07:00

It took longer then I’ve expected but the demo is finally complete. What’s new? Pretty much. The first location with the Wiseman was extended and a new location was added. Along come two new characters to talk to, some riddles to solve and a main menu to… well, use.
Like before you can download the demo from my portfolio from the "freebies" section or by clicking directly on this link.

www.rudowscy.com/marek/files/theTraderofStories.zip

Your feedback was great and it had really big influence on the gameplay. I know I can count on more. Every comment shall be appreciated.

If by starting the demo you will receive an information about missing a file named d3dx9_34.dll you can fix it with the help of this link.

Have a nice game!

Education is the key to success

2009-09-28T15:04:00.000-07:00

I’ve planned to release the next demo by now but my beta testers (huge thanks!) have suggested me some changes which I’m trying to bring into effect. Please be patient.

In the meantime I’m working on a new location which shell be Adalbert’s library (the books Myosotis have used to persuade the Wiseman came from Adalbert). He’s a scholar and he’s living in an old library. Although a new building for the university library was erected students still prefer to use the old one. Especially that its owner eagerly serves with them advise.

Below is a conceptual sketch and the final drawing for this location. Firstly I didn’t indent to make it such a busy place but then I thought that the students would bring a little more life to it. The building itself was inspired by a library I found in Poland in the city of Jelenia Gora.

conceptual sketch

final drawing

Main menu

2009-08-30T12:01:00.000-07:00

Quick look on the main menu I was talking about previously. It will show at the beginning of the game and every time a player will hit the “escape” key.

main menu

load window

quit window

Game poster #01

2009-08-20T13:24:00.000-07:00

I’m working now on a main menu for the game which I will show in a few days. But for now, being tired of programming, I decided to make myself a brake and draw an illustration for the game, something like a game poster. I’ll probably make some more in the future.
This one presents two half faces. One is Myosotis (the main hero of the game) and the second belongs to Griffe (who was described a post ago).

Griffe

2009-08-14T08:21:00.000-07:00

He may look like an evil boss character our hero could meet at the end of the game but looks can be misleading. That doesn’t mean that he does not have anything on his conscience, but on the other hand – who hasn’t? The real reason why he’s not an evil boss character is that this game doesn’t have any. Is the world a better place without them? Not necessarily cause evil can handle itself easily without them.

So who is this guy? Well, one more mystery to solve, that's for sure.

I’m not certain how to name him. He’s original name I gave him years ago was Griffe, which means “Claw” in French. Maybe I’ll stay with that or maybe You have some ideas?

Sketches

2009-08-12T14:04:00.000-07:00

Here are some quick sketches of some characters you shall meet during the game. I’ll not give away any details concerning them by now. You will have to wait for the color version of them with I promise to deliver soon.

Vacations

2009-07-23T12:41:00.000-07:00

I’m going on a vacation so for about 4 weeks there shall be no new posts about the progress of the game. That does not mean that I’m not working on it.

Nice vacation to you all.

Neesan - older sister

2009-07-15T08:04:00.000-07:00

Neesan, older sister of Myostis, is another character of the “Trader of Stories” game. She's a shoulder to cry on but can also quickly put you in place. Being a single mother on a husk farm is a hard full-time job and requires a strong hand and even more stronger will.

I present here her character in the game environment (from sketch to final design), a conceptual sketch and some cutscenes with her.

conceptual sketch of Neesan

Neesan preparing a meal (in game environment)

a shoulder to cry on…

and a helping hand when needed

The game from the kitchen side

2009-07-13T04:22:00.000-07:00

A home could not exist without a cozy kitchen. And so a room with a stove, a sink, a bunch of jars, little boxes with spices and a table, which is a centre of all kitchens in the universe became a new location in my game. More interactive objects in this one and a puzzle (about which I shall speak later).

Coni - Myosotis niece

2009-07-08T02:59:00.000-07:00

"It was a long time since I last visited home. Traveling through distant lands in search for my past I often thought: what is this THING that describes a person? One’s actions? But if there is no trace of them in my memory how can I be sure who I am? One’s desires? One’s close ones?"

What a home would be without a family to share it with? And a game without NPC’s (non playable characters)?
During Myosotis visit in her home she will have the opportunity to spend some time with her family. Firstly let me introduce her niece – Coni. Once again from conceptual sketches to final drawings.

conceptual sketches of Coni

Coni making some jewelry form husk shells – in the game she is sitting in the orchard.

Coni in her dialog window.

Home Sweet Home

2009-07-04T09:10:00.000-07:00

I’m working now on a new location which shall be Myosotis home. She can be a lone wanderer but she still has a home or at least four walls and a roof. She does not live there alone and soon I shall present other occupants. For now the location from the conceptual sketch to the final drawing. Like before it composes of three separate layers which shall give an illusion of space.

Feedback

2009-06-26T01:20:00.000-07:00

I would like to thank everybody for the great feedback and support for my project. I read all of the comments very carefully and surely I shall use the gathered information in my game.

Some of you have proposed to help me in English, for which I’m very grateful and surely will need it. Alexandru Simion had written me an email with some great advises how to improve dialogs.

Basing on your feedback I decided to put some improvements in the playable demo. You can download it the same way as the previous demo.

What has been changed:

- I’ve added some little animations in the background. It’s not much, but they put some life in the scene;

- the animation for the talking scene between Myosotis and Wiseman has been changed;

changed talking animation

- some illustrations “describing” the story of Wiseman have been added.

new "cutscenes"

I know I can count on your feedback. Thank you once more!

By now I’m working on details of the story behind the game, like miniquests and dialogs. And as fascinating it is it’s not very spectacular to show.

Playable demo

2009-06-12T16:31:00.001-07:00

The playable demo is ready for download. I plan to make the game much bigger. Write me what do you think about it? Would you be interested in playing such a game? I count on your feedback. Every comment shall be appreciated.

Soon I will write some more about the world of “the Dreams of the Forest” but now let me tell you about the game.

The main character is Myosotis, better known as the Trader of Stories. She had lost her memory and now is traveling the world, gathering stories in search for her past.

The main character of the game - Myosotis

Her animation (as well as all other animation in the game) was done in traditional matter. Well, almost traditional. The paper and a pencil was exchange for a tablet and a pen, but beside that it is still frame by frame animation.

The frames building the “walking” and “playing the flute” animations

Beside her the demo is also habited by a Wiseman. He’s pretty strange but you would be too when your only occupation would be talking to lizards (especially if you can hear them talking back).

the Wiseman - from sketch to final drawing

There is also Zephyr, Myosotis trusted companion. The fact that he’s an animal with a intelligence of a sheep says much about her ability to establish grown-up relationships.

Zephyr with cart - from sketch to final drawing

The action of the demo is set in the Great Steppe. The land of grass and a mystery behind it. The location itself was constructed from several layers moving independent when character is moving from one side of the screen to another. It was hand-drawn by pencil and colored on computer with the use of a tablet.

the Great Steppe - from sketch to final drawing

And last but (hopefully) not least – the cutscenes. They compose of a series of handrawn illustrations sometimes in comicbook style.

the game cutscenes - from sketch to final drawing

That’s all for now. I hope you will enjoy the short demo. If you have ANY comments please write them to me.

At the beginning there was a Seed…

2009-06-12T15:30:00.000-07:00

The Trader of Stories is an oldsql adventure game based on one of my worlds: The Dreams of the Forest. The world was created for the purpose of a comicbook. Thanks to a great support of my friends the world grew bigger and bigger. Soon it was big enough to supply not only the comicbook but also some short stories, tons of illustrations and now – a game.

a page from my comicbook, if you look closely
you can see the resemblance with the game

Why adventure game?
I use to be a great fan of adventure games. I had that luck that my gaming years (when you left computer only in case of lack of electricity) felt on theirs golden age. When technology didn’t knew the magic of 3D and everything was so wonderful flat. I miss those carefree days and I miss these oldsql adventure games.
I always wanted to make a game and when my brother had shown me the Wintermute Engine I didn’t hesitate long. I tried to make it as oldsql as possible. So no 3D renders, no quick-button-pounding action cutscenes, simple hand-drawn backgrounds and traditional animations.