The first ever SoG thread!

[Ionem]

Be happy. My partner, Evega, is a member of lots of forums for game development, from GW to RMXP and probably everywhere in between. He was planning to make this post on RMXP.net today (because we need to ask there for someone to help with the scripting), but their forums are down.

So as of now, the PokéCommunity is the only forum among many with the thread for this game. Yay.

Anyway...

Pokémon: Shades of Gray

The game takes place forty years before Red and Blue (Green). That's right, before. You won't find any "omg dis gaem feetures 200 new pokemans!!" In fact, it will probably include less than 150.

That doesn't mean it will be bad. Our plan for this game is to really make it feel like a true solid pokémon game on RMXP.

Planning has been intense. We have planned out all the areas on paper, including pokémon appearance charts and ratios (and the levels). We've designed our gym leaders, what pokémon they will have, what levels they will be, etc. This is all on paper, too.

We've begun mapping the actual game, as well. Our plan is to get every graphical aspect working before diving into the actual programming and events. That way we feel there will be a far lesser chance of the project being abandoned.

So far, we have mapped (the outside maps, no insides yet), eight of the ten cities. When all the cities are finished, we'll be doing the routes, then the sea routes, then the caves, and then the insides, and then finally we'll be adding in extra places.

THEN we will be implementing the pokémon and the battle system (which, again, we hope to get help with from someone on RMXP.net).

Anyway, I'll post some screenshots for viewing pleasure. Note that the hero sprite is not final. The actual hero's sprite will be original. These are from the little area demo we've made for ourselves, of all the cities connected.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v167/Evincar/screen1.gif
This was taken in Amethyst Village. The hero's jumping off of one of those cliffs. We've gotten that little aspect of the game down perfectl. I did that part. ;)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v167/Evincar/screen2.gif
Just Crimson City, our region (Gakuen)'s answer to Celadon and Goldenrod.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v167/Evincar/screen3.gif
Cedar Villa, about to talk to an NPC.

Our goal is not to make the best Pokémon RMXP fangame ever. It's to make one of the most solid, most loyal, and hopefully most memorable ones.

[Prof Plum]

That's a good plan. I also planned my game, Pokemon Purple out a few months in advance, before I started to make it. This looks like it will be a very good game. Good luck on this project!

[Peekimon]

Wow, this sounds nice. Good planning, indeed. And, I wish you good luck on completing this.

[Raccoon]

Sounds cool, nice screens, nice plans...
Nice game.

Wishin' ya luck with completin' this!

- Raccoon

[Jayje]

hmmm..... this sounds like a great game. gotta see how you put a spin on this

[blueguy]

Looks very nice and thoroughly planned out, unlike some other threads... *cough* You look like you have been very conscientous in getting everything in order and ready before posting a mediocre thread with no substance. *claps* I really like your mapping. One point though... Crimson City's buildings don't suit its name - at all. I suggest changing either the name or the buildings. Perhaps since you're using Emerald Chips you should use the houses from Petalburg and Lavaridge. Then again... those look too common for an equivalent to Celadon... I'm rambling now... ... ... I also reccomend making a custom hero. They're really not too hard to do. Yay. Pixely goodness.

Yes...
...
...
I'm done...
...
...
...
N - n - n - no - no - now.

;)

Overall it looks to be a very nice game.

EDIT \\ After rereading your post I noticed you said the hero sprite was not final. Oops. My bad... ... yep... here I go again...

[Ionem]

I just made an animated banner for this.

I'm posting it mainly because it shows what the trainer's sprite will be. I admit it's basically just a recolor, but I like it, because it fits with the theme and doesn't strive to be too original.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y263/ionem/sog.gif

Edit:

Photobucket likes to resize things. Here, my partner hosted it on his website.

http://www.epochalypsegames.com/images/sigs/sog.gif
http://www.epochalypsegames.com/images/sigs/sog.gif

[Superiority]

dont use photobucket...ever
http://www.imageshack.us

[MatiZ Master]

may i ask question?
if this game is going to take place 40 years before R\G\B, so don't you think that the pokemart in the thrird screen looks too... futuristic?
that's only my opinion

[Kaiser]

forty years in the past...is that far enough to have Kabuto and Omanyte appearing as wild pokemon instead of just being fossils?

[Eon-Rider]

I'm no expert at these things but it looks nice!

[Datriot]

This game looks really good! I hope you have fun making this game!

[MatiZ Master]

forty years in the past...is that far enough to have Kabuto and Omanyte appearing as wild pokemon instead of just being fossils?
for this, it would had to have place million years before R\G\B O_O

[nickw1101]

looks nice mate, id make your little custom hero but i stopped making sprites for the most part >.>

[Ionem]

may i ask question?
if this game is going to take place 40 years before R\G\B, so don't you think that the pokemart in the thrird screen looks too... futuristic?
that's only my opinion

That's a good point.

But I used my creative liscense to decide that shops and things actually look just like they do in FireFred/LeafGreen/Emerald.

Why? Because I don't want to spend all summer redoing the graphics. Lol.

You're right, though, but that sort of thing we're just going to have to deal with.

Let me tell you, though, that as of now there's not planned to be any pokémon/item storage, because the game takes place in the past. At least not through computers. I'm thinking of having you meet a person who owns a farm and rents you space to store your non-party pokémon, as a realistic alternative to the computer system (since Bill is only a baby in the game, and yes, you do meet him once, in a small NPC role in some random house somewhere. Figured it might be cute).

On that note, there aren't pokéballs as you know them, but the hollowed out apricorns that are talked about in Gold/Silver/Crystal. Cool, eh? You also make your own balls with the apricorns (I'm thinking of a minigame type thing where you push buttons). The practice ome obscure in recent times and only Kurt really remembers how, but back then it was commmonplace for trainers to do it themselves. How's that idea? Yes or no?

forty years in the past...is that far enough to have Kabuto and Omanyte appearing as wild pokemon instead of just being fossils?

Sory, no. The fossils aren't even in the game. They haven't been discovered yet.

[DarkDoom3000]

cool
Hope everything goes according to plan:D

[Jordan]

Looks nice. Maybe you should put Kabutops and Omastar in the game because for a creature to be confirmed extinct. It must not be seen in a few decades. 4 will probaly enough. Maybe you put only one of themeach in the game... just saying.

EDIT: old style pokeballs were reavealed in the 4th pokemon movie.

[Sorye HK]

Are you going to be working on custom tiles?

[TheAbsol]

Game looks nice...whats that place in the first pic?

[TheAbsol]

Game looks nice...whats that place in the first pic?

[Wy_Wynaut]

the game sounds cool You going to put Oak and Agatha in ?
Umm.. i didn't think bill was that old

[MatiZ Master]

Umm.. i didn't think bill was that old
so do i think
lets just think, how old can be bill in g\s\c?
25, 26, 28? Well, I think it's not enough to live 40 years before r\g\b

[Ionem]

I always thought Bill was a lot older than he seemed. Thinking that he was in his late thirties/early forties, anyway...

Maybe I won't have him in, though, if it makes people wonder.

the game sounds cool You going to put Oak and Agatha in ?

SHHHH!!!!

SPOILER

The main character's young Oak, and your rival's Agatha.

SPOILER END

[DarkDoom3000]

aha.... oak and agatha.....intresting......

[Johto Boy]

Real nice hack... I've got some suggestions. In one of the Pokemon episodes there was a dragonite that belonged to Lance's grandfather (it also said on the Fame Checker in FR/LG), maybe he could be the Pokemon league champion. Also maybe you could fight Giovanni (as a child), and he would give you some hints on him creating Team Rocket when he gets older. Also I think the boy and girl characters should be a young Professor Oak (the first preset name on the list should be Samuel), and young Agatha (just call her Agatha). It would be like Ruby and Sapphire, you chose one and the other can be your rival (it says that they were rivals on the Fame Checker in FR/LG).

[Ionem]

It's not a hack, first off. RMXP game. Heh.

You have some good suggestions, but I don't follow the TV show much, and I certainly don't want to base this around it. I already have the champion worked out, anyway, he's an original character, and more along the lines of Lance (in GSC, not RB) and Steven, he's actually in the game and plays a story role, but a rather bigger one.

Also, I don't think that I'm going to have a name choosing thing at all, and I don't think that I'm even going to call him Samuel (the name was invented in the show, never mentioned in the games. I don't deny that his name is Samuel, I do of course go along with that, but I feel it's not necessary). His name'll be Oak, and hers would be Agatha.

As for choosing a boy or girl, not possible. This game has a storyline, unlike most pokémon games, and while for the most part the story is very nonlinear and traditional, aspects of it are about the main character (Oakie-boy).

Thanks for your suggestions, though. ;)

[Ionem]

Title screen. ;)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v167/Evincar/55c59f64.png

Suggestions please.

[Triaspia]

maybe have it all one shade and the pokemon all diferent ones

from what i have seen so far it is realy good 7.5-8/10 professor scythes raiting: try posting new info on a regular basis

lol very good very good

[Smarties-chan]

Wow this is amazing hope you'll post new screenies soon.

[TwiliChaos]

Is this the year of the book Shades of Gray?

[Wolf_Goddess]

*Nods*
I like the idea. Good luck with your work.

[Ionem]

Sorry for the long wait, evrybody, haha!

I've got some updates. Minor in that I don't have everything to show, but major in progress...sorta.

As far as physical progress on the game goes, there's non, actually. But there's also some stuff beyond that that's important.

My scripter, Hazarim, has begun work on the menu systems. I spent a long time ripping him screenshots for reference and making images for him to use, so it should be prety nice when it's done.

At the moment, I'm importing tons of charasets for characters, ripped by ccc or RMXP.net. There's lots. @_@

Also, I might be making a pokémon minigame thing as a side project while I wait for Hazarim to contine with the systems. It's called Pokémon: Reporter, and I have some vague ideas, but not much of anything yet.