This blog post will serve as a way to inform my readers what I've been up to, and as a place to link to from external sites (such as ModDB), for those who want more details on the mod. In addition to a few official news updates on ModDB, I will continue posting on here with tidbits on what I'm working on, thoughts on the development process, etc.
So yes, this game will be a mod based on the Half-Life 2 engine...more specifically, the Episode One version, as I wanted it to be accessible to those who don't own Episode Two. For those who aren't familiar with the term 'mod', wikipedia is your friend: Mod.
So what is 'Discourse'? My vision for the project is such: to create a short, intimate story located in the Half-Life 2 universe...a story that is related to, yet not dependent on the HL2 storyline. In 'Discourse', you will play as Sam, a 17 year old boy, who is now the sole survivor of his family. He lives with two other families in their cramped apartment, contained in their resident cage by their oppressors. I don't want to give away too much of the story line, as it will hopefully be adequately expressed in-game. And because it's based on the HL2 universe and most of the players will be familiar with that already, the general story of these 'rebel' families is already known. This game is meant to dive into that aspect, to show just that sliver of the universe in more detail, to bring the feeling of it to life. As such, this is by no means an epic combat mod. You won't be battling Striders with RPGs for 4 hours on top of a mountain. This is a much more down-to-earth, nitty gritty experience. Much of it will be dialogue-driven, though there will be combat.
Development thus far: the development team currently consists of my beloved laptop and myself. I started working on this mod shortly after arriving in Taiwan. My mission was two-fold: A) since arrving in Taiwan, I've been doing a bit of a tour of creative skills, dabbling a bit in several forms, learning and loving each one. This mod gives me a reason to continue to try out and work on these skills and bring it all into something. B) I've always been interested in game development and modding has always seemed like a great way to start getting my hands a bit dirty. So why Half-Life 2? It's based on HL2 for pretty simple reasons: it comes with Hammer, a fairly easy editor, a solid engine (Source) that is accessible by many people, and I love the game and universe of HL2.
But right, back to the mod's progress...so far, I have done maybe 60% of the level designing (see screenshot above, it's a modified version of a pre-existing hl2 map), with a lot more work on lighting, scripting, etc. to come. I've worked on importing a new weapon into the mod which is nearly finished. The plot, characters, and script is finished, save for a much-needed revision...all of which was completed during trips on the MRT (the subway here). Currently, I am trying to round up a few voice actors to fill the remaining roles. Once the dialogue is all recorded, I can begin scripting the characters' animations (lip-synching, postures, etc.) and plugging the choreographed sequences into the game.
Oh, the release date I'm shooting for is sometime in December, at the end of my trip.
Well, that's all for now. Continue checking in for the occasional new media, status update, rant, etc. Cheers!
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