THE BORE

General => Video Game Bored => Topic started by: Himu on June 14, 2012, 07:56:19 PM

Title: Dat Adventure Game Thread
Post by: Himu on June 14, 2012, 07:56:19 PM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM0NbDq10GA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2COsScXvE4

DL here: http://www.resonance-game.com/demo/

RPS article: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/06/13/sounds-good-resonance-demo/
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: Great Rumbler on June 14, 2012, 08:33:32 PM: This is by the same guys that did The Blackwell series, Emerald City Confidential, and Gemini Rue.
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: Himu on June 14, 2012, 08:43:28 PM: Hmmm. Demo thoughts.

Voice acting could use work. Like, a lot of work. It's not doing anything for me.

UI isn't my thing. I dislike having to drag items. Feels really 90's and outdated especially given modern adventure game interfaces.

Puzzles aren't bad and are pretty basic based on the demo, but it has potential. Shame about the UI though.

Seems worth playing if you like adventure games.
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: demi on June 14, 2012, 08:44:45 PM: I love dragging stuff, you're a feggggggggggggggit
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: demi on June 14, 2012, 08:45:07 PM: Also this look sstupid. Will wait for Revolution's new game.
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: Himu on June 14, 2012, 08:45:27 PM: Dragging is gay
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: Diunx on June 15, 2012, 01:48:37 AM: Monkey island 3 perfected the 2d adventure genre.
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: Bebpo on June 15, 2012, 02:45:11 AM: This looks good.
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: Bebpo on June 16, 2012, 02:34:26 PM: Ok, tried this out. It's great!

I love the interface. God, coming from Gemini Rue yesterday this is like 2 generations more advanced. Nice and clean, simple and intuitive. When you go to use the 2nd guy's cell phone and it has its own mini-cellphone OS built in...wow!

Voice acting is surprisingly good for an indie adventure game. I like the characters already.

Story seems interesting, pacing is solid. Good sprite work, music is fine.

Interest is definitely peaked. Pretty stupid though that save games from the beta don't work in the full game. Most unreplayable genre in the world and you expect people to replay 4 hours of it? I only played about 30-45 mins and that's all I'm gonna play until the full game is out next week. But definitely going to play this one. Seems a lot better than the other Wadjet Eye games I've played and the setting kind of reminds me of the last game in the Chzo mythos series so that's a plus.
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: Bebpo on June 25, 2012, 03:52:46 AM: Yeah, just finished this. Pretty disappointing.

Pros:
+Great spritework
+Really nice UI
+Excellent voice acting for the most part (Anna's acting is really stiff at times and it sounds like she's reading lines in a booth instead of reacting to what's in front of her in the game).
+Some nice sections that have that charm/spark of classic 90s adventure games
+I like how they kept in death scenes + an auto-rewind to not make it too punishing in that regard

The cons though are that the whole thing feels like a waste of potential. The story opens great, like you're going to get an interesting mystery adventure thriller about these four people and some sci-fi phenomenon. But the story really fizzles out once the four meet up. Instead you have a first half of a few chores around the city, then halfway point, then a bit of good adventure gaming and then it ends. The plot starts interesting and grounded but gets really silly conspiracy theory sci-fi channel bad by the end. Everything feels underdeveloped, whether it's the actual plot which feels slow and yet rushed at the same time, or the characters who all feel severely lacking in characterization.

And it's not like the game is super short. It's a solid length at around 5-7 hours, but it just feels so padded and so much of that time is wasted. There's really very, very little plot in the game. Probably about the same amount as your average indie 2-3 hour adventure game. But often those are episodic entries that have multiple games to further build and develop the cast. Here, even the amount of screens and locations is really really small. Wadjet Eye said it was their "biggest game yet", but maybe they were just talking about production values (which are really fantastic with the great spritework and voicework and interface).

The gameplay side of it is ok. There are some good puzzles and there are some ridiculously tedious bits. I get that you only have like 15 screens in the game so you need to take a single screen warehouse and turn it into 15-30 mins of gameplay just to pick up an item, but it really makes the pacing feel sluggish and some of the puzzles feel solely like padding to get more hours out of limited environments.

The four person system even works to the games disadvantage instead of its advantage. Having to juggle inventory between party members and make sure people are moving together and the right person is interacting with the right object just ended up being tedious instead of enhancing the gameplay. IMO the game would have been MUCH better and tighter narrative experience if the entire game was like the prologue with 4 timeframes all taking place simultaneously that you can do in any order. Going in, I actually thought that was the hook of the game, that it was an adventure game about 4 stories going on at the same time that eventually link up and interact with each other. Instead that was the prologue and then an hour in everyone meets up and it's just a traditional adventure game except you have to move 4 people at a time. Like the story premise, the gameplay (with the 4 person system) feels like a waste.

I sound more negative than I mean to be. It's a solid little C+/B- indie adventure game with great presentation and a story that is entertaining (the prologue and the 2nd half are very enjoyable even if the story is kind of dumb in the 2nd half). I think it's a good try for a new developer's first major adventure game, and I can see them shaking off some of the amateurish faults for their next game and maybe making some really great. I'd still recommend it, and it's priced right. But I'd be lying if it wasn't a game that could've and should've been something a lot better and more interesting than what it actually turned out to be.

The prologue is actually the best part of the game and it's the demo. Go figure.
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: Timber on June 25, 2012, 06:28:15 AM: Got this off GOG but haven't got around to playing it yet. A lot of your complaints (few screens, padding, story that underwhelms) also apply to Gemini Rue, which I played a while back and enjoyed regardless. I guess I'm okay nowadays with playing mid-tier adventure games as long as they look and feel nice enough, which is pretty much what the Wadjet Eye catalogue seems to do.

Bebpo what are your fav modern adventure games?
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: MrAngryFace on June 25, 2012, 10:04:24 AM: Dark Eye Chains of Satinav is fun lol
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: Timber on June 25, 2012, 10:15:30 AM: Quote from: MrAngryFace on June 25, 2012, 10:04:24 AM
Dark Eye Chains of Satinav is fun lol

It's 36 euros. What.
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: Bebpo on June 25, 2012, 01:05:38 PM: Quote from: Timber on June 25, 2012, 06:28:15 AM
Bebpo what are your fav modern adventure games?

I really liked all the games by Amnita Design: Machinarium, Botanicula, Samorost 1&2. They all felt like substantial adventures with good puzzles and nice little stories. Gray Matter was great outside some wonky animation. Yahtzee's Chzo Mythos games are great. I really liked Ben There, Dan That (more so than the longer and more substantial sequel of Time Gentlemen, Please).

I'm probably forgetting a couple but those are really the only adventure games in the last 5 years that I walked away from fully satisfied and really loved like I did the 90s classics. I find that most adventure games I play these days end up falling into the "decent, but unremarkable w/weak stories" category like most of the Telltale stuff. There's a lot of adventure games out there these days, but I think more than not they are showing that you actually need some good talent to make a good one.
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: Himu on June 25, 2012, 01:15:09 PM: anyone get the new nancy drew game
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: Howard Alan Treesong on June 25, 2012, 02:28:24 PM: Time to correct Bebpo:

Time Gentlemen, Please > Ben There, Done That! That said, they're both great and will be $2.50 for both this week in the Steam Sale.

I do not like Amanita Design adventure games AT ALL. They are some serious pixel-hunting, designer mind-reading artwank. That said, Botanicula is a major step forward for them in terms of design; I'd start with it and if you like it, check out Machinarium.

Gray Matter is fine if you want a "new" mid-90s-style Sierra adventure; no more, no less. Its magic system seems interesting, but it's so "follow the checklist" that it loses a bit of its luster in practice.

I also like Chzo Mythos titles.

Bebpo, you talked me out of returning to Resonance. Sad face. :(
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: Himu on June 25, 2012, 03:00:12 PM: I tried Machinarium's demo and loved the idea but was pixel hunting half the time. Ugh.
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: Bebpo on June 25, 2012, 06:00:36 PM: You could call Amanita gameplay pixel hunting, but at the same time because their games tend to lack inventories and keep puzzles to a single screen, I actually find them very easy to progress in and don't see that as an issue. The pixel hunting tends to be a bit obvious too since the cursor will turn into a hand on objects you can interact with.

Quote from: Howard Alan Treesong on June 25, 2012, 02:28:24 PM
Bebpo, you talked me out of returning to Resonance. Sad face. :(

Well, some people really like it, so if you're enjoying it you might as well keep going. It's fairly short and there's only about 2 puzzles that are really tedious and I would never want to do them again.

But as for Time, Gentlemen Please! Eh, I appreciated that it was longer and more of a game, but I didn't think the humor was as clever. Ben There, Dan That was surprisingly sharp and witty.
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: Howard Alan Treesong on June 25, 2012, 07:18:06 PM: I feel the opposite - Time Gentlemen, Please! was one of the funniest games/movies/tv shows/whatever I've ever experienced, while Ben There, Dan That didn't really have any jokes to speak of. At least none I can recall.
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: Timber on June 25, 2012, 07:20:59 PM: I loved Time Gentlemen, Please! but they need to be a bit more economical with their jokes. They turn just about every line - and there's a LOT of them, every action and item combination has its own dialogue - into a gag, and as a result the genuinely funny stuff gets buried beneath a lot of strained not-quite-humor. That said, I can't remember the last time a game has made me laugh as hard as "I fucking love spanners."

The big meta-puzzle spanning two games within a game in Time Gentlemen is probably one of the best point & click puzzles ever made. I'm not sure what that means, though.

I might check out Grey Matter.
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: Himu on June 25, 2012, 08:14:27 PM: this is now the modern adventure game thread. post awesome modern adventure games :D
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: Bebpo on June 25, 2012, 08:24:54 PM: Well since I already listed the ones I liked and some of what I've disliked, I'll just list a few that seem good but until I play them I will not know for certain:

The Dream Machine

(http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/images/11/jan/drea3.jpg)

It's clay + cardboard animation. The interface is really nice and it's supposed to be really great. 3 eps of 5 are out so far. I think you can play the first ep through flash here (http://www.thedreammachine.se/)

The Sea Will Claim Everything
(http://www.abload.de/img/tswce2nmd3h.jpg)

It's supposed to be awesome. I played a little of it and the writing seemed quite clever and witty. Like a Terry Pratchet or Douglas Adams game. Review quote:

"At first glance, the game’s cutesy, cartoony graphics and simplistic interface give the impression that this is a juvenile game designed for small children. However, it soon becomes apparent that the game is in fact a deeply political, philosophical, and even academic narrative that defies easy description. It is to adventure games what Umberto Eco’s Il nome della rosa is to murder mystery novels."

Website: http://landsofdream.net/games/the-sea-will-claim-everything/

The Journey Down

HD remake of an indie adventure game that got very good reviews. Art style and theme is based on African culture.

Original version: (http://www.google.com/url?source=imglanding&ct=img&q=http://www.slowdown.vg/images/The-Journey-Down-Over-the-Edge-03.gif&sa=X&ei=AgHpT-TBLOHD2QWJirXtDQ&ved=0CAwQ8wc&usg=AFQjCNGo0OP6LC3986Fjv7NEyKJgUfHgzg)

HD remake version:
spoiler (click to show/hide)
(http://skygoblin.com/the-journey-down/bilder/tjd1.jpg)
[close]

Website: http://www.skygoblin.com/the-journey-down/

At least those are the next adventure games I'm gonna give a shot this year.
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: Bebpo on June 25, 2012, 08:29:02 PM: There's also this game J.U.L.I.A. that came out this year that I've had my eye on. Got some good reviews (though a lot of mediocre adventure games get good reviews until I play them, so that's why I'm no comment until I actually finish adventure games):

http://www.juliathegame.com/?page_id=33

It seems like a space/planetary exploration game with pre-rendered planets to explore? I don't know much about it tbh. Might check it out at some point.
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: demi on June 25, 2012, 09:37:17 PM: Quote from: Stringer Bell on June 25, 2012, 01:15:09 PM
anyone get the new nancy drew game

wtf the new one is out. i totally forgot. will get now.
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: Joe Molotov on June 25, 2012, 09:37:49 PM: The Dream Machine was pretty cool. The writing had that odd "not originally written in English" jank and it was pretty easy, but I liked it. I played the first three chapters of it a few weeks ago.
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: Himu on June 26, 2012, 10:37:41 AM: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/06/19/wot-i-think-resonance/
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: Timber on June 26, 2012, 11:58:12 AM: Revolution has all but officially announced Broken Sword 5. 2D, NO BLOCK PUSHING.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=39253097&postcount=42
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: Great Rumbler on June 26, 2012, 12:56:46 PM: WHY IS BENEATH A STEEL SKY: REMASTERED NOT ON PC
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: Fifstar on June 26, 2012, 01:24:24 PM: Isn't it largely the same game, just a new intro and outro?
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: Himu on June 26, 2012, 04:11:36 PM: Quote from: Timber on June 26, 2012, 11:58:12 AM
Revolution has all but officially announced Broken Sword 5. 2D, NO BLOCK PUSHING.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=39253097&postcount=42

omg
Title: Re: Resonance - 2d sprite adventure game for pc
Post by: MrAngryFace on June 26, 2012, 04:51:24 PM: (http://media.gamerevolution.com/images/games/pc/the-dark-eye-chains-of-satinav/the-dark-eye-chains-of-satinav_001.jpg)
Title: Re: Dat Adventure Game Thread
Post by: Joe Molotov on June 26, 2012, 07:25:50 PM: Quote from: MrAngryFace on June 26, 2012, 04:51:24 PM
(http://media.gamerevolution.com/images/games/pc/the-dark-eye-chains-of-satinav/the-dark-eye-chains-of-satinav_001.jpg)

I got it downloaded, will start playing it tonight.
Title: Re: Dat Adventure Game Thread
Post by: Great Rumbler on June 26, 2012, 07:27:21 PM: That's the Dark Eye adventure game, right?
Title: Re: Dat Adventure Game Thread
Post by: MrAngryFace on June 26, 2012, 07:34:31 PM: yups
Title: Re: Dat Adventure Game Thread
Post by: MrAngryFace on June 26, 2012, 07:51:13 PM: From a post of mine from another place:

It's really solid so far- while performance is occationally a little weird when loading a scene, the game animates well, the art is a treat for the eyes, and the voice acting is consistently above average. In terms of mechanics it isnt doing anything new- like say, Gemini Rue, Resonance, etc...- it has more in common with the older Sierra games- observing/finding items/combining them/breaking them down/repairing them. All of the puzzles have been common sense so far, and I think the biggest challenge has usually been finding the item I need to use- this was made easier once I realized what the magnifying glass icon was for. They also do a great job burying hints in conversation between folks in the scene- so MOST of the time if you pay attention to everyone you'll have a general sense of what needs to go on.

One somewhat new convention that's worked its way into the game is the inclusion of a dialogue wheel of sorts during some conversations allowing you to pursue an outcome using a conversational stance of your choosing. Since this is my first playthrough I can't say for sure how much, if at all this affects the outcome. There was an especially fun conversation where I got an NPC to do what I want by playing on his sympathies for my companion- getting my companion all worked up emotionally.

You also can't die from what I can tell- narrative barriers are in place to keep you from venturing into dangerous areas before you've solved what you need to in order to overcome whatever is putting you in danger. Some may see this as a minus but it was clear that this was a game for me- something I can fire up shortly before bed with a hot cup of decaf and progress until I hit a good stopping point. The main characters are charming- and while the writing isn't going to rival sayyy Steven Erikson, its REALLY solid- and its supported well by everything else (visuals, voice acting, etc).
Title: Re: Dat Adventure Game Thread
Post by: etiolate on June 27, 2012, 03:32:09 AM: If anyone hasn't played Syberia yet then they SHOULD. I really love the ending to the first game.
Title: Re: Dat Adventure Game Thread
Post by: Himu on June 27, 2012, 03:52:03 AM: The Cave sounds amazing :(

http://www.adventuregamers.com/articles/view/21426
Title: Re: Dat Adventure Game Thread
Post by: MrAngryFace on June 27, 2012, 11:46:36 AM: Quote from: etiolate on June 27, 2012, 03:32:09 AM
If anyone hasn't played Syberia yet then they SHOULD. I really love the ending to the first game.

Syberia was great- www.gog.com has it these days
Title: Re: Dat Adventure Game Thread
Post by: cool breeze on June 27, 2012, 12:03:57 PM: Quote from: MrAngryFace on June 27, 2012, 11:46:36 AM
Quote from: etiolate on June 27, 2012, 03:32:09 AM
If anyone hasn't played Syberia yet then they SHOULD. I really love the ending to the first game.

Syberia was great- www.gog.com has it these days

It'll actually be on sale tomorrow for $6. The Longest Journey will be $4.

http://www.gog.com/en/page/2012_summer_promo
Title: Re: Dat Adventure Game Thread
Post by: MrAngryFace on June 27, 2012, 01:07:49 PM: The longest SNORE more like
Title: Re: Dat Adventure Game Thread
Post by: Timber on June 27, 2012, 01:09:24 PM: OKAY I'm playing Resonance. Really loving it so far.
Title: Re: Dat Adventure Game Thread
Post by: Himu on June 27, 2012, 01:11:40 PM: Quote from: MrAngryFace on June 27, 2012, 01:07:49 PM
The longest SNORE more like

.
Title: Re: Dat Adventure Game Thread
Post by: Howard Alan Treesong on June 27, 2012, 01:16:49 PM: it was the longest journey
Title: Re: Dat Adventure Game Thread
Post by: Himu on June 27, 2012, 01:21:01 PM: tlj has the most apt title for a game i've ever seen
Title: Re: Dat Adventure Game Thread
Post by: HyperZoneWasAwesome on June 28, 2012, 03:11:41 AM: is The Secret World, Funcom's new MMO the sequel to Dreamfall, or is that never, ever, ever, never coming out?

also, I'm quite looking forward to the L.A. Noire esque-kinda Sherlock Holmes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Testament_of_Sherlock_Holmes) game coming out from Atlus/Frogwares.
Euro-adventures FTW!
Title: Re: Dat Adventure Game Thread
Post by: Great Rumbler on June 28, 2012, 09:56:40 AM: Quote from: HyperZoneWasAwesome on June 28, 2012, 03:11:41 AM
is The Secret World, Funcom's new MMO the sequel to Dreamfall, or is that never, ever, ever, never coming out?

It's coming out in less than a week. It's also not a sequel to Dreamfall.
Title: Re: Dat Adventure Game Thread
Post by: HyperZoneWasAwesome on June 28, 2012, 11:45:22 AM: I could have phrased that better.
I recalled hearing that The Secret World was set in The Longest Journey's universe, and that FunCom was through making non-MMO's, since Dreamfall ends on a cliffhanger that's kind of a bummer.

so does anyone know anything about a game or anything else that will wrap up the trilogy?
Title: Re: Dat Adventure Game Thread
Post by: Great Rumbler on June 28, 2012, 11:57:11 AM: There was a rumor early one that it was going to be a sequel/set in the same universe, but that's been debunked by Funcom.
Title: Re: Dat Adventure Game Thread
Post by: Bebpo on June 30, 2012, 03:05:49 PM: So I was reading about how Steam rejected The Journey Down HD version that's in the latest indie royale bundle. And how Gemini Rue originally got rejected from Steam and only got in after some calls were made and big name dev friends got it pushed through steam.

Steam is so anti-adventure games. It's really really lame. Especially since without being on steam it's almost impossible for adventure games to get noticed by most gamers. Steam is unfortunately killing the adventure game genre. I'd like to see someone from an adventure game site interview Gabe about this. I don't know if he's even aware of this stuff as he probably doesn't play the genre.
Title: Re: Dat Adventure Game Thread
Post by: etiolate on June 30, 2012, 03:14:58 PM: The Secret World's universe is a conspiracy enthusiast's wet dream, along with a lot of HP Lovecraft and Poe inspired horror.
Title: Re: Dat Adventure Game Thread
Post by: Howard Alan Treesong on June 30, 2012, 03:17:43 PM: It does make you wonder what Steam's policy on adventure games (http://www.oldmanmurray.com/features/77.html) is.
Title: Re: Dat Adventure Game Thread
Post by: etiolate on June 30, 2012, 05:44:47 PM: Well, I've got 10 or 11 Adventure or Adventure-like games on Steam. That makes up like 18% of my Steam games. I put my cheap ass gamer dollar forth to be voiced.

Though I'm not sure its entirely Adventure games that struggle to get on Steam. I think FlingOffspring took awhile to get on Steam as well.
Title: Re: Dat Adventure Game Thread
Post by: demi on June 30, 2012, 11:09:14 PM: Scratches is on Steam. Buy Scratches you FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFuckers
Title: Re: Dat Adventure Game Thread
Post by: chronovore on July 01, 2012, 11:40:42 AM: Quote from: Howard Alan Treesong on June 30, 2012, 03:17:43 PM
It does make you wonder what Steam's policy on adventure games (http://www.oldmanmurray.com/features/77.html) is.

This never gets old.
Title: Re: Dat Adventure Game Thread
Post by: HyperZoneWasAwesome on July 01, 2012, 12:44:11 PM: I never knew Steam was so picky about what they would allow on their store. Considering that they've got a few dozen ios ports on there I didn't figure they were too discriminating.

also, I don't know if this will turn out well, but the premise is just too cool. Lucius is basically an un-official adaptation of The Omen, whereas you play the evil little boy who's knocking off all those stupid adults in your way, but not through direct violence though. Hitman meets Final Destination meets occult horror, sounds badass so far.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py-DgRzdyi0

steam gets this or I rage.
Title: Re: Dat Adventure Game Thread
Post by: Timber on August 15, 2012, 09:42:08 PM: New Wadjet Eye joint. Frauking out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBNfqwt3YyQ