So for a while now, I have been working on an prelude to Nightmare House I/II, which was made by WeCreateStuff.com. Its a java based game, top down, with a nice dynamic shadow engine, and a fun scripting engine as well. You can play it at this site I use to host, and for some libraries that are useful:

http://greenfootgallery.org/scenarios/2017

tell me what you guys think!

Awesome game On my computer I experience painful lag sometimes, but I've heard that my computer kinda sucks, so... *shrug* Seems really cool, and I assume we will eventually have to attack the... whatever it is with our cool axe, right?

Yeah, the game is pretty heavy on CPU unfortunately I'm working on optimizing parts of the engine, maybe add a frame skip as well. And yes, there will be monsters

Progress?

Progress is slow on this game unfortunately I have been working on this one level for several months now. More progress should be faster since I have all the technology in place, but thinking up the level, spriting the tiles, creating the tilemap, and writing the script takes quite a bit of time

I just realized I haven't updated this thread in a while! I thought it would be appropriate with the new updates that were just released. I have been working steadily (if slowly) on this, and there have been quite a few upgrades to the engine, as well as more content in the game itself.

The engine now supports limited soft shadows, multiple static light sources, dynamic soundscapes, and constant upgrades to the scripting engine! The gameplay itself has seen several new areas added on, as well as several new enemies that have recently brought online.

For those of you who have played Nightmare before, the newest content can be seen my pressing L+6 while ingame, which will jump you to the beginning of the new areas. For those of you who don't have Java working, or your computer refuses to cooperate with you, I have a small screenie as well:



The link to the page where you can play the game is still in the main post, but you could also click Here!

Whoa, that looks beautiful! Minus five points for Java, but plus ten points for great-looking atmospherics. At the risk of committing a faux pas, how much of that engine is your own work?

Indeed Java has been more of a pain than helpful during development, but it's a bit too late to turn back now, so I'm just going with it and making myself promise to learn flash in the future!

The engine itself is basically 100% my own code, I use one library called Greenfoot, which simply provides basic methods for displaying images, reading from the keyboard, reading from the mouse, and playing sounds. I wrote the tilemapper, shadow engine, scripting engine, bone armature system, drew my own sprites, and pretty much everything else

I just played it to the end again. It has great graphics and game play.

Could you make it stop hiding the mouse cursor so it's easyer to right click on objects? Or make a mouse cursor that fits the theme of the game.

Are you not able to see the custom cursor? There is supposed to be a custom cursor that replaces the normal one.

I don't see a cursor. When the mouse hovers over the applet, the cursor dissapears.

Try again, I changed some things and uploaded a new version. You may need to clear you Java cache. If it still doesn't work, try pressing Escape to visit the main menu, and then press Play to go back to game and see if the cursor shows back up.

now it works

Excellent As for the gameplay, are there any parts you think were out of place or needed changing? Which parts did you especially like? Anything you found difficult or counter-intuitive?

maybe you should ignore input in the cutscene of the earthquake. You can still walk during the cutscene, and if you walk to the other side of the yoom, you'll get stuck. The gameplay is good, and I especially liked that part with the 3 wire puzzle, becouse there is a lot of action on that part (you need to connect wires, but you also have to keep the monsters away from you). But sometimes it's a lot of walking. Some parts ware a bit difficoult, but none too difficoult. Also, I really like those scary cutscenes once in a while, and those stuff like seeing monsters trough glass, then they dissapeared when you get there, and reappear right behind your back.

this game is amazing, definitely good with atmosphere

I'm glad you liked it JoeYoung! Which parts did you especially enjoy? Which parts would you think need to be improved? And that is a good observation ben_g about that cutscene, I will have to make sure to put some additional safety measures in place to make sure the player can't get stuck.

Bump with a new update! Several new areas have been added, and a new monster is in development! You might be able to catch a glimpse of it in the last area if you are vigilant! I have also been working on adding additional content and detail in the already released areas. New content includes additional detail such as scenery, gore, and extra props. I am also working towards adding more scares in each area, but in a unique way. Each area will have a certain number of pre-programmed scares, while only a select few will be randomly chosen each playthrough, making the scares more unexpected for repeat players.

For those of you who have been playing, to access the newest areas use the code 'maintenance'.