I've tried it briefly, yes. It was a good concept, but lacked in a few areas - the controls were awkward, the maps were disjointed, and the objectives weren't really clear. Granted, this was a few years back, so it may have matured some since then.
You might also want to check out Aaron Bishop's later project, SoulFu, if you're just looking for a fun dungeon crawler to play. Difficult as hell, but more polish to it - better class system, more continuous maps, and far better controls. Not sure if it has a native Linux version, but I had no issues running it in Wine.
@bart: I've updated the Attribution Instructions as per DreadKnight's request, so it should be all set.
@DreadKnight: Thanks again for the heads-up, and please let me know if any further updates are required to bring this inline with CC-By-SA attribution requirements.
I do see the utility of a reference sheet/video of this sort, but I agree with Guyome41 that it's not a usable game asset in and of itself (especially since the download is a video file). Not saying it should be removed, but perhaps it'd be better categorized under Documents than 2D Art.
That aside, I think future reference vids would benefit from the actor wearing lighter, single-color clothing, since the black pants and plaid shirt make it hard to clearly see the outline of individual limbs where they overlap. Might also help to be against a single-color backdrop (for example, closer to the white wall in the background, and shot from a lower angle to minimize the grass in the field of view). Overall, though, it's very interesting work!
@RedShrike: Agreed about the piecemeal feeling. The background tileset especially seems to be a mix of varying styles and qualities; the variation could just be stylistic differences between contributors, but it'd be nice to have clarification from the project lead on what the origins are of each asset.
@Sanglorian: Proceed with some caution - there are pieces in there with potential license issues. For example, in the IRC channel we found that some of the sound effects appear to be from audiosparx.com. Their license is fine for including the assets in a game or other work, but it prohibits redistribution of other sorts (making it incompatible with the allowed licenses on OGA). Likewise, there are images used as templates or patterns in some of the battle sprites which are also of questionable licensing (the 'gecko skin' image used as a pattern for the Centipede sprite is one good example). Again, I think clarification on the source of various assets from the project lead would be greatly beneficial.
Lastly, a lot of the art assets are in .TGA and .BMP format - it'd be a good idea to convert them to a more usable format like .PNG before uploading.
I agree with cemkalyoncu - CC-By is pretty explicit about not adding restrictions. However, I think he meant it as a request/courtesy rather than a binding condition, and just phrased it a bit confusingly.
Some clarification on Downdate's part would be beneficial. I'd suggest maybe adding an "It's not required, but we would appreciate if..", removing the "You may then use it under CC-By 3.0" (since that could be read to imply that you can't use the asset under CC-By until you've met that requirement), and moving the notification request from the Attribution Instructions to the general description.
Cool stuff, and glad to see someone found a use for the comm terminal (and thanks for the nod in the credits - much appreciated :)! Worked flawlessly for me on Ubuntu 10.04 - ran smoothly once I got pygame installed, and the config file is nicely structured and easy to use.
Might be a nice feature to be able to specify an alternate config file as a CLI arg, so that you can run separate documents at different points in a video, such as:
"After 20 years of existiance, things become public."
Needs clarification. There are three major areas of IP protection:
- Patent: Covers specific processes and methods (e.g. gameplay). Under US law, patents expire 20 years after date of filing.
- Copyright: Covers mainly unique works of 'artistic expression' (e.g. text, art, audio); this includes code, documentation, artwork, etc., but not the rules of gameplay (so someone can't copy your instructions manual for their own game, but they can make a game with identical structure and paraphrase the rules). Under US law, copyright expiration is 'life of the author + however long Disney can milk it'.
- Trademark: Covers specific phrases or logos used for marketing or other product identification. Under US law, does not expire as long as the Registered Trademark holder actively uses and defends it.
Also, what hc said. Copyright is automatic and doesn't require registration like the other two (though registration can help if legal action is ever necessary), whereas patents are insanely tricky to navigate and difficult/costly to defend.
I've tried it briefly, yes. It was a good concept, but lacked in a few areas - the controls were awkward, the maps were disjointed, and the objectives weren't really clear. Granted, this was a few years back, so it may have matured some since then.
You might also want to check out Aaron Bishop's later project, SoulFu, if you're just looking for a fun dungeon crawler to play. Difficult as hell, but more polish to it - better class system, more continuous maps, and far better controls. Not sure if it has a native Linux version, but I had no issues running it in Wine.
Wow - this is fantastic!
@bart: I've updated the Attribution Instructions as per DreadKnight's request, so it should be all set.
@DreadKnight: Thanks again for the heads-up, and please let me know if any further updates are required to bring this inline with CC-By-SA attribution requirements.
I do see the utility of a reference sheet/video of this sort, but I agree with Guyome41 that it's not a usable game asset in and of itself (especially since the download is a video file). Not saying it should be removed, but perhaps it'd be better categorized under Documents than 2D Art.
That aside, I think future reference vids would benefit from the actor wearing lighter, single-color clothing, since the black pants and plaid shirt make it hard to clearly see the outline of individual limbs where they overlap. Might also help to be against a single-color backdrop (for example, closer to the white wall in the background, and shot from a lower angle to minimize the grass in the field of view). Overall, though, it's very interesting work!
@RedShrike: Agreed about the piecemeal feeling. The background tileset especially seems to be a mix of varying styles and qualities; the variation could just be stylistic differences between contributors, but it'd be nice to have clarification from the project lead on what the origins are of each asset.
@Sanglorian: Proceed with some caution - there are pieces in there with potential license issues. For example, in the IRC channel we found that some of the sound effects appear to be from audiosparx.com. Their license is fine for including the assets in a game or other work, but it prohibits redistribution of other sorts (making it incompatible with the allowed licenses on OGA). Likewise, there are images used as templates or patterns in some of the battle sprites which are also of questionable licensing (the 'gecko skin' image used as a pattern for the Centipede sprite is one good example). Again, I think clarification on the source of various assets from the project lead would be greatly beneficial.
Lastly, a lot of the art assets are in .TGA and .BMP format - it'd be a good idea to convert them to a more usable format like .PNG before uploading.
I agree with cemkalyoncu - CC-By is pretty explicit about not adding restrictions. However, I think he meant it as a request/courtesy rather than a binding condition, and just phrased it a bit confusingly.
Some clarification on Downdate's part would be beneficial. I'd suggest maybe adding an "It's not required, but we would appreciate if..", removing the "You may then use it under CC-By 3.0" (since that could be read to imply that you can't use the asset under CC-By until you've met that requirement), and moving the notification request from the Attribution Instructions to the general description.
@qubodup: Maybe rebrand it as "Scions of Strength and Sorcery", then? Still gets the point across with synonyms, and has a nice ring to it..
The ampersand in the filename messes with the download link - may want to rename and reattach the file, so OGA handles the link properly.
Regarding the artwork itself, exquisite as always! :)
Cool stuff, and glad to see someone found a use for the comm terminal (and thanks for the nod in the credits - much appreciated :)! Worked flawlessly for me on Ubuntu 10.04 - ran smoothly once I got pygame installed, and the config file is nicely structured and easy to use.
Might be a nice feature to be able to specify an alternate config file as a CLI arg, so that you can run separate documents at different points in a video, such as:
./auto-typist.py gameplay.json
<show gameplay Level 1>
./auto-typist.py editor.json
<show Level Editor usage>
"After 20 years of existiance, things become public."
Needs clarification. There are three major areas of IP protection:
- Patent: Covers specific processes and methods (e.g. gameplay). Under US law, patents expire 20 years after date of filing.
- Copyright: Covers mainly unique works of 'artistic expression' (e.g. text, art, audio); this includes code, documentation, artwork, etc., but not the rules of gameplay (so someone can't copy your instructions manual for their own game, but they can make a game with identical structure and paraphrase the rules). Under US law, copyright expiration is 'life of the author + however long Disney can milk it'.
- Trademark: Covers specific phrases or logos used for marketing or other product identification. Under US law, does not expire as long as the Registered Trademark holder actively uses and defends it.
Also, what hc said. Copyright is automatic and doesn't require registration like the other two (though registration can help if legal action is ever necessary), whereas patents are insanely tricky to navigate and difficult/costly to defend.
(disclaimer: IANAL, etc.)
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