Page 1 of 3

[DUNGEON]- Lost Ships of Sir John Franklin-[WIP]-Help Wanted

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 5:04 pm
by pinnguaq
Hello community. I've been a long time lurker, thought I should make my precense known and introduce myself. I'm reaching a point in Dungeon creation where, in order to produce the best possible dungeon, I'm going to need some help and I'm hoping I can start to bounce some ideas around to get feedback.

I live in Nunavut, Canada and am a longtime gamer with a mission to get as much gaming content into Inuktitut, the Inuit language. At the same time I have an interest in seeing "Northern" content developed. Add to all of that, I'm a massive fan of Legend of Grimrock. When the dungeon editor came out, I was super excited and have started work on my first Dungeon.

Story
Sir John Franklin travelled the Northwest Passage in 1847 with two ships, the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror. They dissapeared and to this date no one has ever found the boats. It is the subject of much mystery in Canada and searches are often government funded and come up mostly empty.

My story will start in Nunavut, a group of hunters out on the land who suddenly get caught up in a snowstorm. They stumble for shelter and come across a cave, which once entered, locks behind them. They have entered the tomb of Sir John Franklin and the discovery is going to be terrifying (but entertaining for Legend of Grimlock players).

As the players explore the tomb they will discover that John Franklin's final resting place is home to his undead crew and a variety of Northern monsters and puzzles.

Playing Style
Like most dungeons, my empahsis is puzzles first with a balanced lay out of weapons/upgrades and increasingly difficult monsters. My puzzles will be "northern" themed with empahsis on the Franklin expedition and Inuktitut language (with no prior knowlege of either required). My "cinematics" will be hand drawn by an acclaimed Inuit artist (I am fortunate to live in an art heavy community and work in the arts myself), and I will use voice overs in Inuktitut, with English subtitle translation.

Current Status
I have the entire 3 levels of the Dungeon mapped out on paper and the first one nearly fully designed in the editor. (My emphasis is a quick, entertaining story and play experience as oppose to a long grind).
My scripting skill is slightly above par, my level design I'm happy with. I've been fortunate to have the incredible community here and have borrowed heavily from the scripts and models you've posted. I'm currently using the "ice/fog" designs, the "ice archer" and the "ice slime" that have all been posted here, to name a few. I've modified the Ice Lizard from the game and a few others to fit in with the "northern" theme. Naturally the skeleton warriors will be my undead Franklin crew.

Help Needed
In a perfect world I'm looking for help with the following:

- Northern Tileset. I'm picturing using the existing Dungeon tileset.. but replacing the green moss with white/blue ice/snow. Seems simple enough.. Except I suck at graphic design. Just making that tileset look "colder" is my hope.

-A Polar Bear. This is a big one.. but I will worship/slave for whoever can help me pull this off. I want to replace the Ogre with a polar bear. I love the actions of the Ogre, they fit perfectly with a bear. Even the sounds work. My hope is just to replace the entire animation set with a Polar Bear. I imagine it pacing a room, spotting the player, letting out a growl and charging. Instead of swinging his club, he swings his paws to attack. It excites me typing this. :)

I know that based on the model kit we have so far, this is maybe a longway off.. I'm using the Ogre as a placeholder right now and will simply work to "Ice-him-up" if I can't figure this one out.. But if someone is looking for a challenge and the eternal gratitude of a person from Nunavut.. Let's talk.



My emphasis is on a story-first dungeon with a distinctly "cold" feel. The rest I'm open to.

Anyway, I'll stop here. I'm glad to get this out.. as even just the knowledge of it being public will force me to work hard on it. :) Any suggestions/ideas for ANYTHING. Puzzles, story, characters, enemies.. I will greatly appreciate. I'll do what I can to contribute to the conversation here as well.

All the best,

Ryan

Links for those interested:
Nunavut: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nunavut
John Franklin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Franklin
Pinnguaq: http://www.pinnguaq.com/

Re: [DUNGEON]- Lost Ships of Sir John Franklin-[WIP]-Help Wa

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 6:52 pm
by Komag
Sounds like you have well thought out plan!

you could reskin an ogre to be an ice ogre or something that resembles a polar snow monster

Re: [DUNGEON]- Lost Ships of Sir John Franklin-[WIP]-Help Wa

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 7:42 pm
by pinnguaq
Agreed on the Ice Ogre. That's my backup plan. I remember seeing a post a few days ago by someone who had skinned the Ogre to be mostly blue, so I know that won't be tough. Who knows.. maybe I'll pick up some 3D software and make a Polar Bear. It'll be so deformed it will look like it belongs in a horrifying northern-themed dungeon. :)

Re: [DUNGEON]- Lost Ships of Sir John Franklin-[WIP]-Help Wa

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 11:32 pm
by Daniv
I had a go at modifying the dungeon textures, and I rather like the way they turned out.
Is this anything like what you're after? If so, I'd be quite happy to carry on and finish the set.

Image
Image
Image
Image

Re: [DUNGEON]- Lost Ships of Sir John Franklin-[WIP]-Help Wa

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 11:47 pm
by msyblade
That tile set is absolutely gorgeous. Love the floors too. Great job so far.Would love to use them as a resource if ya finish!

Re: [DUNGEON]- Lost Ships of Sir John Franklin-[WIP]-Help Wa

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 11:49 pm
by Neikun
I like the way that tile set looks a lot!
Holy moly.

Re: [DUNGEON]- Lost Ships of Sir John Franklin-[WIP]-Help Wa

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 12:05 am
by Phitt
Those textures look really nice, Daniv! Great work!

Do you really live in Pangnirtung, pinnguaq? I looked it up because I was unsure where it is...seems to be quite a lonesome place.

Good luck with your mod, I read 'The Discovery of Slowness' (great book) and would be quite interested in finding out what really happened to John Franklin. ;)

Re: [DUNGEON]- Lost Ships of Sir John Franklin-[WIP]-Help Wa

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 12:34 am
by msyblade
Daniv, I found your High Temple Wall Set also.

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=3522

And you are officialy the Tile set king.

Re: [DUNGEON]- Lost Ships of Sir John Franklin-[WIP]-Help Wa

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 1:55 am
by pinnguaq
Daniv- That is absolutely amazing! Exactly what I was looking for. Please, do what you can and share here. Can't thank you enough.

Re: [DUNGEON]- Lost Ships of Sir John Franklin-[WIP]-Help Wa

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 2:04 am
by Batty
that looks better as icy dungeon than it did mossy dungeon!