We hope you enjoyed the April Fool’s Day post, I know we did!

Anyway, on to a real update.

Ryan has actually set up a production schedule of sorts and the project seems to be on-point with that schedule right now.  11 of the 26 puzzles have been re-programmed in the new game engine.

The Gallery, Library, and Crypt are on the schedule to be re-worked in the new engine this month.  Last I heard, everything on the modeling side is on schedule, along with the programming side, which is great news.

I know what everyone is thinking, “A production schedule means they have an estimated release date”.  Unfortunately, that is not true.  The production schedule is a rough outline of when the team would LIKE to get things accomplished by.  However, other commitments do come up and progress can be slowed.  Conversely, one of the developers might get REALLY ambitious and exceed the production schedule expectations.

To those who have been following the project for years, the team understands your desire for a release date.  However, the game simply is not in a state where making that kind of concrete promise would  be prudent or wise.  Rest assured that as soon as we are comfortable and know, you will all know.

-Chris

Click Here to Visit the site for Real Zombie World.

Did we get ya?

Over the years we have had many talented individuals working to make The 13th Doll a reality and we are hoping to continue to work with these individuals in order to produce unique and entertaining games beyond and outside of the 7th Guest universe.

We are currently sketching out plans for a multi-platform first person shooter and would like to share some of those ideas with you.

For starters, we would like to break some new ground in FPS technology.  The Android, iPhone and Windows Mobile platforms have changed the gaming industry and allow for new ways to approach traditional gaming.
One of the ways this can be done is through GPS driven location-based services and through the use of the on-board cameras on these devices.  Using these technologies an augmented reality first-person shooter can be created. Our goal is to create an immersive game which operates largely in the real world through the use of the above technologies.

We decided that zombies would be a great subject for this game.  A user simply needs to look at their phone or smart device to see their world transformed into a post zombie apocalypse.  The game’s AI will render live “zombies” running out from behind existing buildings, running and/or trudging (depending on zombie type) toward player strongholds and giving the player the ability to pick up weapons and ammo along the way.  The game will also incorporate real locations such as hardware and gun stores as supplies for weapons.

Platform and PC characters create a virtual character which will be visible to live GPS players, allowing players to interact, either as survivors or as zombies.

We have also been granted unprecedented access by Google to the API for their yet-to-be-released Google Glass product!  This will allow us to more fully explore live GPS and augmented reality as a gaming platform as well as giving us the ability to use location-specific ads within the game.

Feeling hungry after encountering a horde of zombies?  A player simply need to walk by their local snack or pizza shop to be presented with an in-game discount coupon for their services.
Of course, as part of our agreement with Google, we will be tracking every movement, page view and action taken on players’ phones, computers and tablet devices.  This will include but not be limited to, live GPS location, purchases made via other applications, Facebook friends and contacts, phone contact, direct dial capability and WiFi HotSpot scanning.

This data will allow us to build a more realistic in-game world and will also provide for the best advertising experience.  The game will be free through the use of ads.

We will also have special in-game micro-transaction power-ups and weapons  available for players to purchase.  These will include chain guns, grenades, and the cute pink bunny rabbit of DOOM.  That isn’t to mention the clown crusher and chattering false vampire fangs which launch at zombies and penetrate their skulls.

We may throw in some alien zombies for good measure.  Why not?  The possibilities are ENDLESS.

Obviously we have created a separate website devoted to this project, along with its own forum in order to get further suggestions from potential players and applications for developers.  Those who are interested can simply click the link below to visit the site and register on the forums.

We hope to see you there!

Click Here to Visit the site for Real Zombie World.

-Chris

Ah, it has been too long, much too long, since I have made a visit to my friends here at The 13th Doll.  It would appear that they have been resting on their laurels, or perhaps it is that I have forgotten to supply them with the needed encouragement for their task.

Oh don’t worry, you shall not see such procrastination and neglect from the likes of these people any time soon.  Let’s just say that I have given them a permanent reminder that I will not tolerate failure.  They won’t even miss the small piece of their brain matter, it wasn’t necessary for them to perform their duties anyway.

I also have decided to visit an old friend of mine, Rob Landeros at Trilobyte.  It seems that we had made a deal some time ago which, due to a series of unfortunate accidents, did not come to pass.  As I mentioned earlier, I am not one to forget deals that I have made nor promised services that have not been rendered.

I could not be so drastic with Mr. Landeros, after all, I need his brain to stay sharp and his intellect quick.  How could he possibly conceive of an appropriate way to entertain me otherwise?  This isn’t to say that I didn’t have other methods of persuasion.  I have come to possess many unique talents over the past century or so.  Let’s just say that Mr. Landeros and I will be of one mind and soul on the topic from now on, shall we?

My friends, if I were you, I’d keep a close eye on Trilobyte’s website and Facebook page in the near future.  Big things are coming!

As for my minions here at The 13th Doll, I have impressed upon them the seriousness of their task and expect that it shall be completed according to my specifications.  Granted, they might not have the time or resources that Trilobyte has but, I refuse to accept failure regardless of circumstances.

I have enjoyed our little chat, my friends but, alas, my time here has grown short.  While I might have an eternity, there are so many minds to torment, so many wills to break and so many screams to savor.  One lost soul, such as myself, only has so much time to enjoy such things.  But, I will see you again soon, my dear friends, and rest assured, it will be a meeting you will never forget.

-Henry Stauf

First, I wish to apologize for the lack of updates directly on the website. Please rest assured that The 13th Doll project is still moving forward and still planning to re-visit the Stauf mansion. I will attempt to post an update every month or when some significant event occurs relating to the project.

Next, I also want to let everyone know that the Attic Door team is extremely excited that Trilobyte has announced the potential coming development of an official The 7th Guest 3 through various blogs.  This project was created to fill the void left when Trilobyte died and to hopefully inspire someone to take up the torch by demonstrating how alluring Stauf and his mansion can be.  I also want to let everyone know that we are still planning to complete The 13th Doll and hope that we can release it before Trilobyte releases the official game in order to drum up additional interest for Trilobyte and to avoid any confusion between the two projects.

Our developers are continuing to plug away at the program code and visual elements on the game.  We did switch game engines back in the fall which resulted in a lot of re-coding and re-porting of the graphics.  The reason for this was to improve overall game performance and to increase the flexibility of potential devices that the game can be played on.  It must also be mentioned that the original game development engine was top-of-the-line 7 or 8 years ago when the project was started but, has long been out of date and caused many problems, including tripping up virus scanners in test builds!  Obviously that kind of “bug” would not be acceptable in a final release and no such behavior has been observed since the change over.

Speaking of viruses, there had been some reports of our website being flagged by certain anti-virus software.  This was caused by an attack on the site some time ago which we thought had been fully corrected.  Unfortunately, the attacker left one small piece of code in one of our site files which the in-site anti-virus and malware scanners skipped over.

That has since been corrected and new security has been put into place in the hopes of mitigating any further incidences of bad code being entered into our site.  Obviously there is nothing that is a silver bullet to these kind of attacks but, we are hoping to be able to better manage and prevent these attacks from happening going forward.

To persons inquiring about a release date, no, we still do not have one.  Our focus must continue to be the creation of the best game possible with the volunteers that we have.  We are not going to push people who have families and day to day activities and who give up their nights and weekends to do this in order to push the game out the door.  We are also unwilling to release a game filled with bugs and technical problems rendering it unplayable.

Again, we would like to get the game out some distance before the “estimated release” of Trilobyte’s The 7th Guest 3 in order to avoid confusion between us, as a fan project, and them, as the original rights holders.  However, even their project currently has an indefinite time frame and needs to be funded in order to continue.

Speaking of which, everyone please keep your eyes open for a Trilobyte Kickstarter coming in the next few months.  There is no better way for us to encourage the development of the official game than to put our money where our mouths are.

That is all that I have to report at this time.  Please keep your eyes here for further updates and I think I speak for the whole team when I say that we are truly thankful for everyone who supports us and who have supported us over the years.  We couldn’t do this without you!

-Chris

Our apologies for a lack of update on the status of the project. For the record, we are not dead, despite our employer being so, and we are still chugging along on the project.

Secondly, the site did get compromised for a brief period of time. That has since been corrected and shouldn’t happen in the future. Let’s just say our employer prefers not to be associated with any viruses of any sort and has taken some aggressive actions against the perpetrators.

We are currently focusing on tweaking some of the models and textures to ensure the best possible player experience. Some of the aspects of the models, textures and even some of the lighting just need to be re-worked a bit. There were parts where inconsistencies were causing some distraction from the game environment which would distract a player from the experience of the game.

The second major thing we are working on is streamlining the code in the various puzzles throughout the game. This will result in less delays during puzzle play and, again, will result in a more enjoyable and frightening experience.

Truthfully, our goal is to provide everyone with the best possible visit to the Stauf Mansion, especially after the years of work and development that have gone into this project. We want to make sure that it is a game that we, ourselves will enjoy playing and looking at, even after all of the work that has been put into it. We want the experience to be unforgettable and to be thoroughly enjoyed.

Please don’t be too worried about us. We are busy at work and will continue to ensure that every dusty relic and coffin in the house is as it should be. We aren’t going anywhere. Our employer has made one thing quite clear. He wants it to be a game to DIE for.

-Chris

Things are going pretty well here at The 13th Doll project.  The Kitchen area is pretty well buttoned up.  We have some isolated rooms and renders that need to be completed and several that only need to be added into the game engine itself  In terms of programming, we have 2 or 3 puzzles that are to be finished.

The script is pretty much finished, although, it is not yet “finalized”.  Basically, the script has been through multiple revisions and our project leader just wants to go through and make some final changes to fit his overall concept of the project.  Obviously Mt Stauf has his “influences” as well.

The filming of the live action sequences is still being planned at this point.  Our project leader has been speaking with some potential directors but, no casting has been done and no filming locations or schedule have been set.  Obviously the filming is going to be a very important and technical process so, everyone wants to be sure it is done in the best possible way with the highest possible quality.

Lastly, there have been some minor updates to the website here.  There are now links to the Good Old Games and Dot Emu versions of The 7th Guest and The 11th Hour.  There is also a link to the iOS version of The 7th Guest.  I am also debating adding links to The 7th Guest: Infection and The 7th Guest: Book of Secrets, which was recently updated with the solutions and the script for The 11th Hour.

That’s all for now folks, but stay tuned.  Hopefully there will be more frequent updates in the future as rooms/renders are finalized and the puzzles are polished.  We’re all pretty excited here about seeing the end of the tunnel in the distance.  But, we need to make sure not to trip over anything along the way.

-Chris

The two games that revolutionized the PC gaming industry in the 90s have now come home in an official and supported manner.

While those who still have the original game discs can choose to run emulators to play the games, these official releases will enable those who no longer have their game discs and/or were never exposed to the games will finally have access to these classics.

The DotEmu site has already been updated and the games are available for purchase now.  At the time of this article, GOG.com has yet to make any official announcement, though sources clearly point to the release coming soon.

From all of us here at The 13th Doll project, we congratulate Trilobyte on their return to the PC market, and look forward to seeing what the future may hold for Stauf and his puppets.

Sources:

http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20120202%2FBIZ%2F202020304 - Mail Tribune

http://www.dotemu.com/en/dotemucom-re-launches-the-7th-guest-and-the-11th-hour – DotEmu.com official announcement