[Environmental, small] Remembering the City

Yikes, I've started yet another level! I must be crazy! (That's four running projects, now... arrgh! Though, thankfully, two of them are really small, and one is only medium - if a bit tricky - so the only really huge one that will take ages to complete is Falling Water.)

Oh, and the City in this is not the same City as the one in Falling Water, even though they're both capitalised. The City in FW is capitalised simply because it's the only city in the entire world. The City in this new level, on the other hand, is perhaps related to... the Platonic idea of a city. Or perhaps you could say it's the ghost of a city.

No screenshots, because I want it to be a surprise. Also, there's only one screen so far, plus a neat (or so I feel, anyway) concept.

This level will be a gentle post-apocalyptic science fiction poem in pictures, vaguely inspired by stuff like Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou and Always Coming Home. Depending on how pretentious I feel, I may have to try to entice a poet to write a haiku for the intro screen.

Actually... here, have a *small* screenshot from a concept screen that may or may not make it into the level:

OMG I'm having so much fun with this one!

17 screens now; about halfway done, I'd say.

ETA: Mini-screenie.
ETA: 'nother one.
ETA: Improved version of the second one.

Right, at the speed this is going (24 screens now...), it'll be done in a few more days. Which means: I need beta testers! Any volunteers?

Wow, the screenshots look very promising! I'd be happy to beta-test it

Wow, the screenshots look very promising! I'd be happy to beta-test it

Okay! One down, a couple more to go...?

Got one more screen done just now; a secret area.

I think I need some night sounds... crickets, maybe?

I think I need some night sounds... crickets, maybe?

You probably know of it, but just in case, freesound.org is a good resource for that sort of thing. E.g. here are some crickets at night:
http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=1053

Awesome! Thanks!

I did know the website, but I hadn't done any systematic searching there yet. :-)

28 screens done now, 5 to go. Plus ambiance, intro screen, and music, and a tiny bit of dialogue. I think this'll be ready for testing on Monday.

Beta beta beta beta

Can I test?

Beta beta beta beta

Can I test?

Of course!

I just finished it. Well, except for music and ambience. But the screens are all done, as is the intro, and the info screen, and the (minimal) dialogue, and the (single) shift scene.

It's 34 screens. :-)

Here's the - utterly unrepresentative (as you can probably guess, since you've seen the screenshots above) - info screen:

Because I only just noticed this forum today, I only just found this thread... :facepalms:

This level will be a gentle post-apocalyptic science fiction poem in pictures, vaguely inspired by stuff like Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou and Always Coming Home. Depending on how pretentious I feel, I may have to try to entice a poet to write a haiku for the intro screen.

You had me at 'Hmpf' -- but Always Coming Home? Seriously?! That is totally one of my top three favourite le Guin novels (along with The Telling, and ...well, I keep changing my mind about which one is #3, actually.)

I am totally excited about this now. And I will happily compose haiku for you!


You can see I have the poetry 'chops' for it. It 'scans' so long as you pronounce "inspires" -- as I do -- as two syllables, in-SPYRZ, rather than three, in-SPY-urz. Alternately the middle line could be falling water prompted my, but I like 'inspired' better than 'prompted' for the verb. Ah, writingcraft. (I love haiku, incidentally. Once upon a time in the internet I even had a little haiku site, sort of like a blog but before there were blogs.)

May I beta? Pleeease? I promise to feed you all the poetry you can eat...


P.S.

Yikes, I've started yet another level! I must be crazy! (That's four running projects, now... arrgh! Though, thankfully, two of them are really small, and one is only medium - if a bit tricky - so the only really huge one that will take ages to complete is Falling Water.)

Are you counting the Round Robin level? Because if not, your total is five level projects, not four. If it's any consolation, I seem to have seven levels I've been working on, not counting the Round Robin. Possibly (probably?) not all of them will make it to the released-level stage, but I haven't felt like abandoning any of them yet... as opposed to just working on different ones at different times. Two will use almost entirely custom backgrounds, tilesets and objects, all of a certain visual style I haven't seen anyone else use in KS yet, so I'm still at the working-out-graphics stage; one is inspired by some public-domain music I found and will be matched screen/area-to-music rather than the other way around; one is a choose your adventure powerup concept level; one is going to be a challenge and/or maze level with a concept, or at least a conceit; and two are mainly story-driven but also partly image-driven, and in both of those -- as I believe you're going to do with 'Falling Water' -- Juni will eventually discover something unexpected about the world she finds herself in. Plus, if I don't wind up working the ideas from it into the music-inspired level, I may resurrect a fantasy-landscape 'area' I created many years ago for the Aardwolf MUD (but which was never implemented) into a standalone level. I seriously doubt more than one or maybe two of these levels will manage to be under 100 screens. ...Frell. :facepalms some more:

the Jack, you're in. :-)

And with that, I think I have enough beta testers. The level is ready and scored, btw. Will test it a couple of times myself and then send you guys the link.

(Sorry I'm not very talkative at the moment; I'll return for conversation later, when the level is finished and uploaded.)

Because I only just noticed this forum today, I only just found this thread... :facepalms:

Hahaha! I'd wondered... You were so active in the other forums, so I was curious why you seemed to avoid this one!

You had me at 'Hmpf' -- but Always Coming Home? Seriously?! That is totally one of my top three favourite le Guin novels (along with The Telling, and ...well, I keep changing my mind about which one is #3, actually.)

o.O

... I still maintain that, on the basis of our amazing compatibility of taste in fiction and art and whatnot, we need to marry. I don't care what your gender is, I'm flexible!

(I also repeat my question - from our first LJ encounter - re: Finder and The Book of the New Sun...)

I am totally excited about this now. And I will happily compose haiku for you!

Ah, actually I don't need a haiku anymore - I put the necessary bit of 'narrative' in the intro screen (instead of a haiku), because it didn't really fit in the level itself. But, thank you anyway. :-)


Nice... and yeah, that's sort of spoilery indeed - I'm not even gonna ask how you knew, because it's obvious you're reading my mind. (Maybe I have multiple personalities and you're one of them? Though I guess then we *wouldn't* be so similar... ;-)

There's not actually a lot of falling water in Remembering the City, though...

Are you counting the Round Robin level? Because if not, your total is five level projects, not four.

Nope, because I haven't started on the Round Robin yet. And by the time I will start, I'll be done with Remembering the City.

If it's any consolation, I seem to have seven levels I've been working on, not counting the Round Robin. Possibly (probably?) not all of them will make it to the released-level stage, but I haven't felt like abandoning any of them yet... as opposed to just working on different ones at different times. Two will use almost entirely custom backgrounds, tilesets and objects, all of a certain visual style I haven't seen anyone else use in KS yet, so I'm still at the working-out-graphics stage; one is inspired by some public-domain music I found and will be matched screen/area-to-music rather than the other way around; one is a choose your adventure powerup concept level; one is going to be a challenge and/or maze level with a concept, or at least a conceit; and two are mainly story-driven but also partly image-driven, and in both of those -- as I believe you're going to do with 'Falling Water' -- Juni will eventually discover something unexpected about the world she finds herself in. Plus, if I don't wind up working the ideas from it into the music-inspired level, I may resurrect a fantasy-landscape 'area' I created many years ago for the Aardwolf MUD (but which was never implemented) into a standalone level. I seriously doubt more than one or maybe two of these levels will manage to be under 100 screens. ...Frell. :facepalms some more:

Yegads, when it comes to Knytt Stories level making (how about we coin a new word for that monster of a phrase; I suggest: knytting) you're like I am with fic writing. I have never fewer than twelve fics I'm working on...

All your levels sound exciting, btw. Start posting previews!!!

ETA: I feel I should mention that the level probably shows the YKK influence more clearly than the ACH influence.

Instead of a screenshot: imagine Chezzy's "Night SE" and Quincent Cartographer's "A Walk at Night" mating and creating an offspring, and you'll have some idea of the mood and look of this level. Though I like to think that I've also added a little something of my own to the 'formula'...

This level is nearly finished, btw. I just need a couple more days to think about some stuff (and reply to the amazingly detailed comments from my beta testers, too).