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Topics - Zylos

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Now that I have your attention~


Recently on RMRK, we held our ninth "Game in a Week" contest. This here is the full, completed version of my GIAW 9 entry: Nightmare. It is the spiritual successor to one of my earliest game projects called Shadows, combining elements of a puzzle solver and a psychological horror game and making this perhaps my first successfully completed experimentation with the idea of a surreal "dream versus reality" setting. My aim with this game is twofold: to strike a sense of unease into the player, unnerving them if not outright causing them to jump, and to allow the player to try to unravel the strange story behind the game for themselves.

Nightmare was fortunate enough to snag the first place spot in the contest, and I've been busy adding to it and improving on it since then so that even the judges of the GIAW will enjoy going through the game once more. The puzzles range from being simple "find this item, use this item here", to being gruesome challenges that really make you stop and think. It's only about 40 minutes to an hour long, but every minute is jam packed with heart-pounding excitement and scares around every corner. Considering this was my first time using VXA, I'm really happy with how it came out. I put a lot of heart and spirit into making this, so I hope you enjoy it!








Notes and Tips:

  • Choose wisely! There are three difficulties to the game: Timid (Easy Mode), Normal, and Brave (Hard Mode). Timid Mode gives the simplest forms of all of the puzzles while providing many hints, and slows the shadow down and making her appear less often. The best ending is easiest to acquire in this mode. The Normal Mode is the average playthrough, neither too difficult or too simple. It has the shadow at normal speeds and appearance rates, the original contest versions of the puzzles with little to no hints, and a slightly more difficult path to find the best ending. Brave Mode, however, ups the stakes considerably by providing more complicated versions of some of the puzzles, increasing the shadow's appearance rate, having the requirements for the best ending better hidden, and giving you a limited number of continues while disabling save files. Be sure to take on the difficulty best suited for you!

  • Explore! As you may have guessed, there are two endings to the story based upon your actions in the game, one good ending and one bad ending. Getting one ending over the other can dramatically change the entire interpretation of the game, so pay close attention! It's not difficult to find the good one if you take your time a bit, examine the environment around you and follow every lead you're given. Even if you get the bad ending though, don't worry; there'll be hints provided in game for what may help you on the right path.

  • Run! Holding down the shift key while moving will allow you to sprint and give you a decent speed boost. It's useful for making a quick getaway or dashing past dangers. But keep in mind that you are only human; running for too long will cause you to get winded and need to slow down again to catch your breath, and the last thing you need is to slow down right when there's something behind you...

  • Listen! Can you hear the sound of your own beating heart? It means that the shadow is nearby, slowly closing in on you! You may not always be able to see her, but you can always listen carefully to determine if she's close by or not. So when you hear the sound of a heart, stop and look around to see where she's coming from before making a run for it!

  • Think fast! The shadow will pursue you relentlessly and often block your path forward, but if you're smart there are ways to get around her. Try luring her to one side of the hall or to where you have more space before sprinting around her, or if the hall is too narrow you can try to duck into a nearby room until she's gone. Be careful though, she might be waiting for you when you re-emerge from the room and can be faster than she looks at times!

  • Check your inventory! Every time you pick up an item or a key, pause for a moment to examine it in your inventory so that you can have a better idea of where to go next or how to use the item. Oftentimes the item's name alone will be enough for you to figure out what to do with the item.

  • Use your map! After acquiring a map of the hotel, pull it up now and then to get an idea of the hotel's layout and where you're going. There won't be any direct "YOU ARE HERE" indicators, but it's usually not too difficult to discern where you on the map based on your surroundings. Just pay close attention and bring the map up when you need to know where a certain room is or what puzzle is where and what doors you've already tried.




If you get hopelessly stuck, you are more than welcome to ask for hints or help in this thread as long as you use spoilers for anything story related. And if you really enjoy playing this game, you can always check out some of my other projects too, such as the original Shadows or the new remake of Midnight. ^^
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New Projects / [XP] Midnight Remake (Demo)
April 28, 2012, 12:33:20 am



Hey guys, do you remember this back when on RMRK? No? Well, mid-2007 when I first started into RPG Maker, I made a Resident Evil tribute game simply entitled Midnight. It seemed well liked enough, but frankly it kinda sucked because of how new I was to the world of game creation. I never even got around to finishing it, like so many other new people with their first projects. There was just too many difficulties and bugs, especially since I was designing a manual ABS system and used no scripts except for a message system. But then about two years later, I was invited to make a quick "sequel" of sorts in a contest for the BlizzABS script, and I managed to put together Midnight: Genesis Project as a non-canon spinoff. It was MUUUUCH better, and got me to thinking how the original would look if I used the same system I did for Genesis Project.

This is the a portion of the result of that experiment. It's a complete makeover of the original project's demo, upgraded in every way I could possibly manage with the knowledge I've gained over four years of using RPG Maker. I've tried to keep it as similar as possible to the original while changing things I had envisioned adding the first time around but couldn't due to inability at the time. RMRK members from back when I first joined their site might find a number of familiar elements along with the new features and thrills, and even those who haven't seen the original will still likely find this to be a fun game to play.

All that said, here's the remake of my favorite project, Midnight. ^^









"Devil's Island...

It's been in the news quite a bit lately. Over the last few weeks, apparently people have been going to the island and just... disappearing from the face of the earth. Some are saying that it's the fault of the dangerous reefs in the sea around Devil's Island that have been tearing large holes in the hulls of boats. Others are saying that the people who went to the island were carried away by the spirits who reside in the 'haunted mansion'. Naturally, the police have searched the island in their investigation into the disappearances, but so far they have turned up nothing.

Now it's my turn though to visit the island. I've been commissioned to search for one of the people who went missing on the island, and the only place where I'm going to find any clues is on the island itself. I've heard that there's one last boat leaving for the island tonight, some group of film students or something, so this will be my only chance to make it out there. If everything goes well, I should be able to confirm for sure whether my target is on the island or not before midnight tonight.

Then again, I might be in for a long night. I feel like there's a storm on the horizon..."









Spoiler: ShowHide

You will have no fear of the darkness, but rather what lurks within it. Use your lighter
to explore the dark hallways of the mysterious mansion and face the evils within it.


Your trusty handgun will be your greatest asset against the hordes of the undead that stalk you.
Be on your toes with your trigger finger ready at any moment to draw your weapon and fire.


The old mansion is filled with danger, but you don't always have to face it head on.
Remember, fighting isn't the only way to survive this nightmare.


Even if your gun is out of ammo and all the odds are against you, never give up!
Use your combat knife for quick melee swipes when trapped in a tight spot.


If you're in need of firepower, switch to your shotgun to blast the undead monsters to pieces.
A single point blank shot will almost always kill any normal enemy you face against.


You will be part of a intricate story with many alternate paths. The choices
you make will affect who will live and who will never leave Devil's Island again.


Complex puzzles and locks will bar your way, but using your wits, you can easily
overcome every obstacle before you to continue on your quest for survival.


Deadly traps are hidden around every corner, waiting to darken the daylights of the slow.
Think fast and act even quicker if you wish to avoid an unpleasant death.













WARNING: This should be obvious, but if I was ESRB, I'd be rating this game a definite M for Mature. It contains blood and gore, strong language, and intense violence. This is all 2D though, so if you can't handle it, you're probably not old enough to be on these forums in the first place.


Download Here


The demo is approximately 50mb and last about an hour and a half to two hours depending on your skill level (not including the number of times you die and restart from the last save point, haha). I've included all resources and the drivers so it should be playable whether you have RMXP or not, with no need to download/install extra RTP or fonts. Enjoy








If you're having problems or find that you are dying way too often, here are some general tips about Midnight and survival horror games overall that might help you to survive a little longer:

Spoiler: ShowHide

  • SAVE OFTEN. Nothing sucks more than to complete a large section or challenging puzzle, only to get your head sliced off in an instant death trap without saving. So do yourself a favor and search for save rooms before anything else. They'll be marked by special doors and calmer music, so you'll definitely know when you've found one.

  • Conserve your ammo! There is only a limited amount of ammo in the game, so if you're running low and don't have to kill an enemy to get past it, don't bother to waste your shots. Similarly, conserve the medicine from the save rooms, as you might get screwed if you run out of them. Try to only take a pill when you're in either the "Caution" or "Danger" levels.

  • Oppositely, don't constantly avoid all of the enemies too much. In some areas, more will come around later on and join with whatever you've left behind. If you leave their number unchecked, you might find yourself needing to get through an area that has too many for you to handle.

  • Make sure you reload whenever you get the chance to, such as when the enemies are far enough away or you've cleared a room. You could have over a hundred bullets, but they won't do you any good if you're going into battle with only two loaded into your gun, and reloading while under attack can cost you valuable time.

  • Obviously, your bullets cannot pass through solid walls. It CAN, however, pass through enemies to hit ones behind them, so use this to your advantage! Try to line enemies up so that you can hit multiple ones with one shot. This is one of the easiest ways to clear rooms while saving bullets.

  • Your shotgun is a powerful weapon that can knock an enemy further away from you and take most down in two hits. It's even more useful though when used up close to an enemy. The shotgun provides an additional spread that can hit enemies to the sides as well as in front, and will almost always kill the average enemy with one single point blank shot.

  • Try to use your shotgun sparingly though. There is very little ammo for it, and it will be your best friend when facing any larger enemies or against the headhunter rather than single enemies. Try to save it for only when you absolutely need it, like when surrounded by a crowd of monsters or up against the tougher baddies.

  • Your knife is a pathetically weak weapon that cannot drive back any of the enemies. It can, however, be good for saving you a few bullets now and then if you can get the hang of using it properly. Try using it to finish off an enemy you've shot about four or so times to save you an extra few bullets. Even a few can make a difference when ammo is tight for you.

  • Explore each room thoroughly. Even if you think you already know where to go, take a closer look around. You might find a key item you didn't notice the first time, or a spare clip of ammo or journal. Plus, taking your time to look around a bit will help you to orient yourself with the layout of the mansion so that you spend less time wandering around aimlessly.

  • If a puzzle has you stumped for how to solve it, double check all the items and files in your inventory. There might be a clue on how to solve the puzzle in one of the documents you've found, or perhaps one of the items you found is actually the key you need to proceed.






It's not perfect yet, there's a bug with the BlizzABS that I've yet to figure out. But, I hope you enjoy what you see!
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Projects / Games / [RMXP] Star Quest (Shooting Game)
November 20, 2009, 04:52:36 pm
Foxfire Productions Presents








SO! Some of you from RMRK might remember when I tried this game idea out last year with VX. This here is a first person type of arcade shooting game, controlling the crosshairs on the screen with the arrow's and pressing enter to fire. It was a success last time I created it in VX, and I wanted to see if I could do it again from scratch in XP, admittedly to show off what I can do for the RMRK Awards. I intended to make this for a Game In A Week back at the beginning of October, but alas, school and general life drama did not play fairly, and I didn't have nearly enough time to complete a suitable demo. But with a bit of added time, I was able to play and experiment in my spare time until I was satisfied. The result is a completely revamped system made almost entirely with events. The only scripts used is a custom title screen and ccoa's UMS. Everything else that you see is all done with events and graphics.

This is just a demo, and the game itself will be slow coming due to other obligations such as Requiem of the Broken Soul, but make no mistake that I intend to finish this game too. The story reminds me a bit of a combination of the Veldt and Phantasy Star. :3









STORY

Spoiler: ShowHide
The world of Vigrid was once a humble planet with simple people of all races. They had no television or computers, their form of entertainment was either the books or to pull out a ball and announce that a game was to begin. They had no government or leaders, each community was responsible for themselves and often wove a deep thread of friendship between each person in the area. They had no money or taxes, no organized financial means, they worked only in trade, giving what they worked hard to make in exchange for what they sought to own. It was an entire planet full of simple village life, and the world remained calm and happy.

Until one day, it came crashing down onto the planet.

It was a spaceship, something that the people of Vigrid had never seen before even in their wildest dreams. The alien crew had all perished in the crash, but every piece of equipment and electronic that they brought with them remained intact. The curious people of Vigrid began to take apart and study these mysterious contraptions, and had unknowingly planted the seed that would grow into a terrifying new world.

Now, 300 years later, the planet has been completely reshaped into a modern new era of machines and civilization, the name of science and progress leading the land to new heights. Cities can be seen far and wide, democracy stepping forward into the role of leadership for the people. Cars fill the streets below and ships fill the scare, robotic units everywhere in between. It seemed to be a paradise filled with technology, but as the people filled their lives with the complexities of the machines, they gave way to shadows and darkness.

A terrorist group known as the Jotuns begin to violently make war upon the land, acting as deadly pirates in the skies and even going as far as to attempt to lay siege to cities. No one knows why, for they have made no demands of the people other than deaths. The Vigrid Air Force has been called upon to stop this menace once and for all, and you, as one of the top fighter pilots, are being called to duty.

Choose one of two characters to play out a side to this action roller coaster. Play as Angelo, the lone survivor of one of the Jotuns biggest bombings, or play as Maria, the tomboy daughter of the Capital City's former governor. Combine both together and perhaps you will see just how deep mystery behind the Jotuns gets.





SCREENSHOTS

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GAME NOTES

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A simple look at the screenshots below will tell you this is no ordinary XP game. This is a kind first person shooter like what you would see at an arcade or something. I suck at mapping, and had been dying to do something with just images rather than small pixel sprites. No maps to walk around with, no aggravatingly difficult sprites to make, just pre-rendered cutscenes for story mode and an open field to shoot ships in for mission mode. And before you ask, yes, most of the character's are anthro. It shows the world better as a fantasy world rather than just a futuristic world.

The concept is pretty simple. Aim your crosshairs and shoot at the enemy ships until they go down. Each laser shot costs 4% of your maximum energy as is shown in the bottom right hand corner. Every now and then your allies will send you some supplies in the form of a random balloon. Green balloons repair damages to your ship and raise your Photon-Armor by one, while blue balloons restore your Energy Pack to 100% maximum capacity. Red balloons, though exceedingly rare, will give you a random temporary weapon upgrade.

If you're out of energy in the heat of battle, you're screwed. There's only two ways to get your energy back in time to save yourself. One, you could shoot down a blue balloon pickup and get a whopping 100% energy back, but balloons won't always come when you need them. The other way to get your energy back is by activating your Power Booster and charging it up manually. Just by holding down the button, the energy will come by in increments of 8% per second, but you cannot do anything while your finger is on that button, so use it carefully!

You can't just shoot at someone and expect to get away with it, the enemy forces are going to be firing back with all of their might. The warning signal in the top right hand corner will alert you when the enemy is attacking, and the ship will usually start to glow red just before they fire at you. You have three Photon-Armor energy units (which act as your health meter), so if you lose all three and get attacked, it's game over. There's only two ways to avoid being hit once you're locked onto: One, you can destroy the ship before they can pull off their attack, and two, you can raise your Photon-Shield up in time to defend yourself. Your Photon-Shield is an outer shield you can pull up in a moment's notice to block almost any type of attack save for crashing into a mountain. It costs 4% of your maximum energy to put up, and will be your greatest asset right next to your trusty cannon.Whether to deploy a better offense or defense is up to you.





You can download the demo here: http://rmrk.net/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=35654.0;attach=18459

The demo goes up through the opening tutorial of Angelo's side only; Maria is not yet playable (as you may notice when nothing happens when you select her in the character selection screen). The game may lag on really slower computers, so if you have any issues feel free to PM me and I'll see what I can do. Otherwise, just enjoy the game, and remember me if you plan to go vote in the RMRK Awards. [/shameless plug]


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I'm still pretty bad at scripting, but this should be an easy enough one for me to do. Replacing the standard sprite bitmap on a save file with one particular actor's name (which will be used as chapter names rather than a character name, easier to change that way). Unfortunately, no matter what I do I cannot get it to work right. I can get rid of the sprite easily, and can put in the text exactly as I want it to be if I were to type the text in directly, but it simply will not take the actor name itself no matter what I do. I wanted to be able to get it on my own, but it clearly there's something I'm missing. Anyone able to give me a pointer?
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     Let me take you behind the scenes real quick. A year ago, I was working on a good, Resident Evil inspired, survival horror game simply entitled Midnight. In the game, you played as private investigator Garrett MacIntyre and were trapped on a lonely island called Devil's Island in the midst of a zombie outbreak. Unfortunately, due to technical errors in the ABS system I'd made, I was not able to finish the project and for all intents and purposes, it was scrapped. However, I've learned a lot in the past year. I learned to use GIMP instead of MS Paint, learned to script a little bit, learned how to edit music and create sounds, even learned some things about RMXP that I hadn't known before. I'd been recently considering starting again on Midnight using some serious system improvements, and when G_G's BlizzABS contest came along, I saw this as a good chance to test out the system idea I had been toying with and prove that I'm just as good as my partner in crime Namkcor.

     18 days later, you have the final product. Midnight: Genesis Project, a short 45 - 60 minute long "non-canon" game in the world of Midnight. I stress that this is non-canon. For those of you who remember the original demo on RMRK, this is very similar except that it's a full game that takes place in a much more modern setting. It's still the same level of graphic violence and corny dialogue, but with a darker feel and attitude (as reflected in the language of the game, which contains more swearwords than in the original). The game does contain some spoilers, but not enough to ruin the original game should I ever get a chance to start again anew on it.

     So enjoy the game, and cross your fingers that I win the contest whenever G_G finally gets the scores.








"It's been two years since I returned from Devil's Island. Two years since the nightmare had started, and two years since I began my campaign to bring GENETECH, the corporation behind in the incident, to justice for their crimes. So many people died because of what they did, and as the only known survivor it was my duty to make the truth known. But, with no proof of my claims, my accusations fell on deaf ears and eventually the blame was turned onto myself instead. I became GENETECH's scapegoat, and was arrested for the murder of those who had died on the island. My lawyer and I put up the best defense that we could, but it was no use under GENETECH's influence. I was found guilty and sentenced to death. I became a "serial killer" in the papers and in the eyes of the public, though the real criminals were sitting in corporate office chairs hundreds of miles away.

Now, I'm due to be executed by lethal injection here tonight at midnight. However, I feel dark winds in the air, as though evil itself has other plans for me. Lady Luck has always gotten me through in the past, but tonight, only time will tell what fate awaits me..."








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WARNING: This should be obvious, but if I was ESRB, I'd be rating this game a definite M for Mature. It contains blood and gore, strong language, intense violence, and even a little mild nudity (two naked genderless zombies, lol). This is all 2D though, so if you can't handle it, you're probably not old enough to be on the forums in the first place.


Download Here


Two things you MUST know first. One, you have to copy the font I included into your regular fonts folder. Otherwise, the opening is going to be really messed up for you. Two, I'm too lazy right now to include all of the RTP resources and drivers, so you have to actually have RMXP in order to play the game. I'll probably make a seperate version later that includes the RTP.





Spoiler: ShowHide

Game Created By:
BAYARD ZYLOS

RPG Maker XP By:
ENTERBRAIN

Resources By:
DERTT
ETORIE
FAYFOREST
FREESOUNDS
MICHAEL JACKSON?
NEMESIS THEORY
NINESAGES
PARTNERS IN RHYME
RESIDENT EVIL (CAPCOM)
SITHJESTER
SOUNDSNAP
ZANYZORA

Scripts By:
BLIZZARD
DUBEALEX
MOGHUNTER

Special Thanks To:
KUME AMETA
NAMKCOR
RAMI
RASSE (I promised him to name a character after him ^_^)
ZEICHWOLF

Though every effort is taken to make sure that proper credit is given for all resources, it is sometimes impossible to accurately identify the creator of certain resources. For this reason, I ask that if you know someone that I have neglected to properly credit, please send me a message and I shall amend the situation quickly.






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Chat / Help Save Snow Kitties
March 07, 2009, 07:52:53 pm




Snowleopard.org has been trying to help raise money and awareness to help save the endangered snow leapords. And now, they need your help. The Kearsley fund is donating $2 to their support for every person who signs up to their emailing list. It's a worthy cause, simple, and entirely free. Plus, if you don't want them sending you anything, just make a second email account and use that.


http://www.snowleopard.org/


QuoteSign up today and tell your friends. For every new subscriber, the Kearsley Fund will donate $2 to the Snow Leopard Trust.



Help save the snow kitties! :3
This is looking at you especially, Namkcor.
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Welcome! / Hellllllllllllllllooooooooo from Zylos.
September 21, 2008, 03:45:32 pm
*hugs everyone hello*

'lo everyone! I'm Zylos, your friendly furry philosopher.

I'm a regular from RMRK, and I've come here to show off what I'm capable of and have a little fun. In real life, I'm a Film student from Chicago, and I'm currently working on a survival horror game and an Ace Attorney game using RMXP.

So, it's nice to meet y'all!
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Projects / Games / [RMXP] Shadows (COMPLETE)
September 21, 2008, 02:38:40 pm


"Darkness...
An empty void of nothingness...
You see nothing.
You hear nothing.
You feel nothing.
You don't know who you are...
You don't know where you are...
You only know that you are...
And that is where your story begins."



_______________________________________________________________________





You wake up in a dark room with a throbbing pain in your head and no memory of your past. You have no idea who you are, where you are, how you got there, or even what year it is. The only clue in your possession is an ornate matchbox with the initials "A.C." written on it. You strike a match and the room becomes bright, with the shadows and dim light gleefully dancing together on the walls.

You have but one objective on your mind now: to find an escape from this place.





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Download Link
Alternate Link




Credits: ShowHide

Game Created By

Zylos (duh)

Resources

Backwater Productions (Sprites)
Dertt (Sprites)
Dubealex (AMS Script)
Enterbrain (RPG Maker)
Etorie (Sprites)
Ninesages.org (Misc. Graphics)
PartnersInRhyme.com (SFX)
Redwyn (Sprites)
Resident Evil (SFX)
SoundSnap.com (SFX)
Zanyzora (Tileset)

Music

TheAmateurAnimator - "Down the Darkest Road", "Midnight Mystery"
Beethoven (lol) - "Für Elise"
BlizzardTears - "Lost in The Tunnels"
Darknez101 - "Ghosts of the Past"
HaloOfTheSun - "Manison ~ 2nd Floor"
MaestroSegments - "A Nasty Fear"
Monster13 - "Creepy Doll House"
SirFiNiX - "The Haunted Music Box"

Special Thanks To

Arrow, Redwyn, and NAMKCOR (Testers)
Goku-San (Special artwork)


Though every effort is taken to make sure that proper credit is given for all resources, it is sometimes impossible to accurately identify the creator of certain resources. For this reason, I ask that if you know someone that I have neglected to properly credit, please send me a message and I shall amend the situation quickly.



_______________________________________________________________________



This is a short, finished puzzle game with about 30 to 45 minutes of gameplay, depending on your simple puzzle solving capablities. There are no battles or party members to pick-up. There's just a simple "interact with your enviorment" gameplay. Additionally, there are two endings: a good one and a bad one. In order to get the good ending, you will need information found only in secret areas. I've left a map somewhere in the game that will show you where the secret passages are that will lead to the three secret areas in the game. Two of these secret areas will contain the information you need. Good luck, and if you ever get stuck, feel free to PM me and I'll drop you a hint. ^__^

Enjoy!