ThimbleCon '87
Jan 07, 2015
Once Ron and I established we'd be developing a title that harkened back to Maniac Mansion, we started playing around with the look and tools.
The most obvious being photoshop which is kinda the workhorse of the 2D art industry. I've been using it mainly for my comic book pages and other project coloring since I'd been primarily drawing on paper, scanning my finished inked black and white pages and completing them digitally to add color and text.
In the case of Thimbleweed, the style really lends itself to just drawing everything digitally from the start. Although I still spend time figuring out my initial concepts and layouts as rough sketches or storyboards.
Here's one of my first exercises as we're rapidly coming up with a wide cast of characters...
For the concept of ThimbleCon, we want to have some events happening in town that bring a number of interesting and unique characters into the mix.
People might wonder given the size of the Edmund Hotel some of what's going on to help keep it in business. The short answer is a bunch of small eclectic venues. Given the hotel was originally built during the town's heyday, now long gone, there's an incentive on the part of the last vestiges of Thimbleweed's founding fathers and mothers to not go quietly into the night (you'll find out more about all that later).
In any event, by hook or crook the hotel's struggling to stay in business by any means possible and its a perfect venue for a small local sci-fi, comic and gaming convention in the 80's - additionally having started my professional career in the comics industry in the 70's and 80's it takes me right back to my roots.
- Gary
REGISTRATION FOR THIMBLECON 87- to be held at the scenic Edmund Hotel in downtown Thimbleweed Park will be open soon: Last year we had a record turn out of 62 paid attendees - and are hoping to surpass that - With booths from Stan's Toys & Comics, Comp-u-venture (formerly 3 guys computer games, formerly 4 guys computer games) and a sales rep from a major distributor. We'll also be holding our traditional costume contest. Look for registration forms at Stan's and at the Edmund West Willow Ballroom. Remember snacks and refreshments will be served by Chris Sprouse's mom while they last- so get there early.
"The Real Programmer is capable of working 30, 40, even 50 hours at a stretch, under intense pressure. In fact, he prefers it that way. If there is not enough schedule pressure on the deal Programmer, he tends to make things more challenging by working on some small but interesting part of the problem for the first nine weeks, then finishing the rest in the last week, in two or three 50-hour marathons."
NOW!
The Kickstarter had an animated gif with the hotel scrolling up and later it was changed to a static picture. I wonder if something forced you to change that
Also, I removed the scrolling .gif because it was huge and slowed down the Kickstarter page load. Trust me, if anyone told me to stop doing something, you'd hear about it. I don't go quietly. :-)
http://images.thimbleweedpark.com/edmond_hotel.gif
I guess you can fetishize even the simplest thing, but people who go to conventions dressed as dragons are well-known perverts. I understand you can't please everyone, and that sometimes the most innocent thing can be misconstrued.
That said, I'm sorry. I won't play this if there are the equivalent of furries in the game.
Seriously, are you that much of a prude that you won't play a game because it depicts something that some incredibly tiny number of people might fetishize?
I guess you won't play any games that have feet in them (i.e. any game with people, ever), because some people have fetishes for feet, too.
I would understand your point, and I don't think I'd play either, if it depicted a guy in a dragon costume engaged in lewd acts. Still, if it was presented in an appropriate context (I.E. as commentary, or satire) I would probably still play.
You know what? Don't play. I don't actually care, as long as I get the game exactly as Ron and Gary intended.
I hope you fill the game with awesome funny details like that!
I think this is the wrong place for it but I need to write it somewhere.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
We all will wait all time you need to finish this Game (and of course to start with it ;) )
And we waited so many years for something like this to happen.
In my opinion dead ends woud be no problem, because they would couse a longer playtime.
But PLEASE don´t make a short game. Make a real real long Storyline with as many as possible puzzles.
Of Course dead Ends are annoying, but I think they made a big part of the very long playtime.
Of course you can solve Maniac Mansion or ZacMcKracken in a few hours or shorter if you know everything and it will be the same with Thimbleweed Park. If you know everything it´s always fast to do everything, but PLEASE do some hard Puzzles. Not the ones that have no logic and can´t be solved without an walkthrough. But hard ones.
Working 50 hours at a strech? Maybe this can happen to you. Butt it would be better to get an Game with 50 hours playtime.
Of Course this is too much, but I hope you know what I´m trying to say.
To wait this long time and then finishing the game in less than 6 hours would be a big disapointmend in my eyes.
Please excuse my bad english. I had not enough sleep the last days an can hardly concentrate. (Thanks to my 4 moth old daughter, I love you.)
So, I think I said what I mean.
PS: ...Stan's Toys & Comics, Comp-u-venture (formerly 3 guys computer games, formerly 4 guys computer games)... this is so f+cking great, I´m just laughing my a++ of.
PPS: Ron, I´m with you, I can´t see any Batman, or Stormtrooper too...or a Mr. Spock or something else :D
I´m so happy I contributed to this. I´m just sad I didn´t had the balls to back for the Boxed Version. That would have been the heaven. I stimm have several original boxes at home. But I wouldn be able the enjoy it, cause my wife would carry my balls in her purse from now on -.- ... women... will never understand :D
he wouldn't by any chance be younger version of someone we may have seen before - I remember someone a bit chatty...? and *quite* articulate with his body language...? with deplorable taste in clothes...?