Topic: What's going on in the world of RotN?

[Retro Wolf]

Did you know that as of this post it's been 1 year 8 months 19 days 17 hours 4 minutes 17 seconds since there's been a finished RON game!

It would be interesting to know if there are any AGSers out there working on something, it's a shame we don't see more content.

[DeviantGent]

I am currently working on a rebuild of Lunchtime of the Damned that is taking shape very nicely. Uses the most recent backgrounds and sprites, neew arrangements of the music, and fully voiced characters. I'm aiming for a release around mid-December, if not sooner.

I also have the blessing from the wonderful Dave Gilbert to give The Postman Only Dies Once a similar treatment.

More ambitiously, I still have the design document for the first part of the five-episode "Back to Reality" re-pilot I brew up with RI and others. Planning on revisiting this in the new year.

[[delete}]

RotN is fascinating

[CaptainD]

I keep threatening to do a RON game sometime. But I don't know when...

[Retro Wolf]

I can only take so much credit Amy.



The left one is the Krysis original, the right one is my edited version.

I'd like to know more about this "re-pilot"!

[DeviantGent]

I'd like to know more about this "re-pilot"!

Ask and ye shall receive!

Back to Reality was brainstormed as a five game story, taking place on the same day from the perspective of five different characters. Each game runs parallel with each other - mostly different locations and characters, but some overlap, with events and actions bouncing forward and back across each game, with all the narratives converging at the end of each game with a major event (think League of Gentlemen season 3). The idea is to set it some distance in time from the previous games (similar to what Helios did with Affair of the Weirdo - in fact, that period in the chronology would be ideal), allowing for some growth in the characters due to the interim period of time if desired.

The main idea behind the mini-series is to recap some of the previous running stories, kick off new ones and generally allow contributors to have a new jumping in point where they can do new games without necessarily having to play through the 90-odd games currently in the library to get an idea about where the characters and stories currently are.

The original plan was for each game to be handled by a different person, but developed in parallel so that the narratives/characters used can properly sync up. Right now, myself and Renegade Implementor are attached to it, with room for three other developers to do one each. I'm still very much up for seeing it happen, I'll probably be looking at my own one again in the new year once I've got LotD and the Postman rebuilds under my belt.

[Renegade Implementor]

First off, nice updated sprites there Retro Wolf.

As to what I'm working on: I've got some ideas bubbling away on the back burner and I'm also a part of the Back to Reality project that DG mentioned.  I'm also working on getting my own old projects recompiled to the most recent version of AGS and this will include the various reconstructions I did back in 2007.

In fact, "The Repossessor" is done!  Go to the RoN site and download it now.  Your kidneys will thank you... probably .

[DeviantGent]

It's coming together...

[Renegade Implementor]

So I created sprites for a character, based on a favourite author, for RoN University's Dean of Literature.  I've still to get the animations done but when I do, he'll be added to the appropriate packs.

x1 x2 x4 x8

I'm still working on debugging Stuck at Home, however Cold Storage is finished and is up on the site for download.  I'm also redoing the beach backgrounds as they need updating.

[Eggie]

I drew a Davy 'n' Elandra just now

Stop the presses amirite?!!
EDIT: And Mika

[Renegade Implementor]

It's been a bit quiet since Eggie's awesome art so here's what I've been up to.  After finishing the 2014 reconstruction of "The Repossessor", "Paranormal Investigation" & "Monty on the Norm" soon followed.  In June of this year (2015) "Cold Storage" was updated & uploaded.  I've also spent time working on the wiki and have gotten the character pages created and the character info transferred from the RoN site.

Today I uploaded the updated, recompiled "Stuck at Home" to the RoN site.

[Stupot]

This month's MAGS is a special RON edition. Now's as good a time as any to make a RON game.
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=53185.0

[jwalt]

I tried for another Music Video using the RoN assets.

Link:

http://www.mediafire.com/download/44t39i9ecebbscg/couldItBe.zip

Guess it's okay, if you don't mind peanut butter on the roof of their mouths to get their lips moving. 

Odd ball question: Did the original intent of RoN actually involve a canon, or any sort? I initially thought it was offering up a group of "actors" that non-artistic folk, like me, could use to build games and tell stories. Seems like the "canon" is interfering with that, now. I'm not up to speed on the canon, and since some of the games are no longer around/runnable, there will always be holes in my RoN universe. I think, maybe, we should fire RoN's canon, and begin treating the assets as assets.

[Retro Wolf]

There's no reason why you couldn't steal the assets to make something completely unrelated to RotN, but you also don't have to play all the games to get the canon. Take the wiki for example.

[miguel]

I am finding that the Ron universe is interesting enough for people to develop their own stories based on what already has been made.  There's a good weird vibe about it. I somehow relate it to David lynch movies. There's something "wrong"  with the perfectly clean look of the town and the people who live there.
Also, many secundary characters are waiting for being developed and made interesting.

[jwalt]

It bumps into some pretty strange things: a Zombie mayor, Death as a political advisor and sand castle afficianado, a pistol packing chicken, aliens... There is a place for stories involving them, and I guess I could just avoid using them, but seems to rub folks wrong if it goes too far off-canon. In the OSD universe, alternate realities seem acceptable, but they're weirdos, anyway.

Just played Spoons and Ron-Rock as research into Jackie Furlong. Didn't see anything that indicated she worked at Dominatrix, so I guess I gave her a job, whether she wanted one other than musician with The Spoons, or not. Found the Ron-Rock game very interesting. Doesn't appear to have completed the series it had in mind, unfortunately. Worth a look.

[Danvzare]

Odd ball question: Did the original intent of RoN actually involve a canon, or any sort? I initially thought it was offering up a group of "actors" that non-artistic folk, like me, could use to build games and tell stories. Seems like the "canon" is interfering with that, now. I'm not up to speed on the canon, and since some of the games are no longer around/runnable, there will always be holes in my RoN universe. I think, maybe, we should fire RoN's canon, and begin treating the assets as assets.

Like Retro Wolf said, there's nothing stopping you from simply ignoring the canon.
Personally though, I think nuking the canon would be a bad idea, since people will no doubt be attached to it. A better idea would be to create a whole new RoN type series. Although that might be a bit difficult to do in terms of assets.

[jwalt]

Like Retro Wolf said, there's nothing stopping you from simply ignoring the canon.
Personally though, I think nuking the canon would be a bad idea, since people will no doubt be attached to it. A better idea would be to create a whole new RoN type series. Although that might be a bit difficult to do in terms of assets.

I've run into a little Spoon conundrum. While trying to educate myself about The Spoons, I found a discussion about canon/non canon games already on the boards. I'll have to read through it (them) unless RI has a condensed version available.

If interested, my Spoon conundrum involves a discrepancy in who plays drums in the band. Spoons indicates Nick Landers is lead vocal and drums, with Chris Furlong on guitar. Rock has Chris on the drums, and Nick Landers standing in front of the band with nothing in his hands. Spoons (apparently like Rock) was a trilogy that doesn't appear to have been finished. Spoons II was intended to be a "lost game." Fairly detailed layout for Spoons III on the boards.

In a way, the games represent the different approaches mentioned. Spoons stays with reasonable actors. Rock involves a pirate, Mr Pickles, and Death. Both were interesting enough games, but Spoons requires less bending of reality.

[Renegade Implementor]

The original intent of the series was that would tell stories that could build upon ideas presented in earlier works.  As time went on and with more games, things started to get overwhelming for newcomers which is why the classifications of: Canon, stand-alone, non-canon were devised to attempt to sort things out into something more manageable.  At end of the day, if you've got a story idea go for it.  If you questions about characters, locations or the series history, don't hesitate to create a forum post and ask.

Re: Jackie working at Dominatrix, she didn't until both you and DarkWater decided she did... in two separate games without talking to each other about it, I'd wager.  Also, it's easy to claim that Nick had sprained wrists & couldn't play drums in "Rock" which is why Chris played them (rationalizations are fun )

Back to the topic on hand, yay more content, downloading now.

[jwalt]

@RI, regarding Jackie's new job -- something strange going on here. Spooky.



Irishrichy, according to his profile, was last active in 2009. Similarly, Brentimous was last active in 2010.

Irishrichy made the following post:

http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=37781.msg496581#msg496581

It lays out his vision for Spoons III. (Spoons II was to be a "lost game.") It's a fairly well constructed "outline." Been wading around the web, way past my bedtime, and, in my sleep deprived state, beginning to wonder if Brentimous' Doh-mii could be David Bowie? If David Bowie was the musician who signed The Spoons to their record contract, in view of Bowie's recent death, it would make a suitable lead-in to RoN-Rock, effectively connecting the two stories (before and after his death). I noted Let's Dance was the song The Spoons mangled, and resulted in Doh-mii's rant near the end of Rock.

Irishrichy asks about a celebrity as a minor character. He mentions thinking about running with Brentimous' idea of Richy as a "pederast" (Doh-mii actually said pedophile). I note that Michael Jackson dies in 2009, which opens up some possibilities along the lines of a companion for Dead Bill Cosby as well as someone that only Richy can see as a result of the mugging. (I make no judgement of Michael's guilt or innoncence -- just sayin'.)

Irishrichy had a secondary concern to explain Scid's Bar on the Beach and how George Watstatts could be in two places at the same time. How about: he's got a twin brother Arnold Watstatts (identical down to the stains on the apron -- clever reuse of sprites, as well).

Don't know who Irishrichy planned as the player character, but I'd like to do something with Jackie. In view of the mugging of Richy, she might fit the bill. I'm wondering what is the proper protocol for running with someone else's ball, as it were?

Edit: Been thinking about what Scid's at the Beach might look like:



Rough idea, so it's just a jpg image.