I've heard the Banner Saga multiplayer is a piece of shit pay2win cash shop game.
:rock Grim Dawn :rock
Planetary Annihilation -- I wonder if GPG's recent canceled Kickstarter was a result of Uber approaching them for collaboration. My hat would be great!
I've heard the Banner Saga multiplayer is a piece of shit pay2win cash shop game.
Basically, yeah, but it's not required, at least.
Planetary Annihilation -- I wonder if GPG's recent canceled Kickstarter was a result of Uber approaching them for collaboration. My hat would be great!
Wildman wasn't getting funded at its current pace, but it would be nice if GPG was collaborating on that.
instead we've got loli, tsundere, goddess, and cutesy-dark girl with eyepatch.
Is this another one of those communication problems or are people just being assholes?
I'll get Larry on sale.
ehy GR,could we have a list of kickstarter that are actualy out in the OP? i think it would be nice to have
Less keen on new Larry after this nightmare scenario described to me:
http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2013/06/leisure-suit-larry-reloaded/
SolForge collectable card game is now in early access beta on Steam:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/232450/
A Note from Tim
Hello, Backers of Adventure!
Those of you who have been following along in the documentary know about the design vs. money tension we’ve had on this project since the early days. Even though we received much more money from our Kickstarter than we, or anybody anticipated, that didn’t stop me from getting excited and designing a game so big that it would need even more money.
I think I just have an idea in my head about how big an adventure game should be, so it’s hard for me to design one that’s much smaller than Grim Fandango or Full Throttle. There’s just a certain amount of scope needed to create a complex puzzle space and to develop a real story. At least with my brain, there is.
So we have been looking for ways to improve our project’s efficiency while reducing scope where we could along the way. All while looking for additional funds from bundle revenue, ports, etc. But when we finished the final in-depth schedule recently it was clear that these opportunistic methods weren’t going to be enough.
We looked into what it would take to finish just first half of our game—Act 1. And the numbers showed it coming in July of next year. Not this July, but July 2014. For just the first half. The full game was looking like 2015! My jaw hit the floor.
This was a huge wake-up call for all of us. If this were true, we weren’t going to have to cut the game in half, we were going to have to cut it down by 75%! What would be left? How would we even cut it down that far? Just polish up the rooms we had and ship those? Reboot the art style with a dramatically simpler look? Remove the Boy or Girl from the story? Yikes! Sad faces all around.
Would we, instead, try to find more money? You guys have been been very generous in the tip jar (thanks!) but this is a larger sum of money we were talking about. Asking a publisher for the money was out of the question because it would violate the spirit of the Kickstarter, and also, publishers. Going back to Kickstarter for it seemed wrong. Clearly, any overages were going to have to be paid by Double Fine, with our own money from the sales of our other games. That actually makes a lot of sense and we feel good about it. We have been making more money since we began self-publishing our games, but unfortunately it still would not be enough.
Then we had a strange idea. What if we made some modest cuts in order to finish the first half of the game by January instead of July, and then released that finished, polished half of the game on Steam Early Access? Backers would still have the option of not looking at it, of course, but those who were sick of waiting wouldn’t have to wait any more. They could play the first half of the game in January!
We were always planning to release the beta on Steam, but in addition to that we now have Steam Early Access, which is a new opportunity that actually lets you charge money for pre-release content. That means we could actually sell this early access version of the game to the public at large, and use that money to fund the remaining game development. The second part of the game would come in a free update a few months down the road, closer to April-May.
So, everybody gets to play the game sooner, and we don’t have to cut the game down drastically. Backers still get the whole game this way—nobody has to pay again for the second half.
And whatever date we start selling the early release, backers still have exclusive beta access before that, as promised in the Kickstarter.
I want to point out that Broken Age’s schedule changes have nothing to do with the team working slowly. They have been kicking ass and the game looks, plays, and sounds amazing. It’s just taking a while because I designed too much game, as I pretty much always do. But we’re pulling it in, and the good news is that the game’s design is now 100% done, so most of the unknowns are now gone and it’s not going to get any bigger.
With this shipping solution I think we’re balancing the size of the game and the realities of funding it pretty well. We are still working out the details and exact dates, but we’d love to hear your thoughts. This project has always been something we go through together and the ultimate solution needs to be something we all feel good about.
In the meantime, I’m hoping you are enjoying the documentary and like the progress you’re seeing on Broken Age. I’m really exciting about how it’s coming together, I can’t wait for you to see more of it, and I feel good about finally having a solid plan on how to ship it!
Thanks for reading,
Tim
Rumbler, explain.
I should start a kickstarter then. My hopes and dreams are as big as the universe. So basically I need all money in existence.
Oh look Doublefine's running out of money and their adventure game isn't even half-done.
Rumbler, explain.
Asking a publisher for the money was out of the question because it would violate the spirit of the Kickstarter, and also, publishers.
QuoteAsking a publisher for the money was out of the question because it would violate the spirit of the Kickstarter, and also, publishers.
Yeah, those damn suits! They'd actually force us to work within our budget and penalize us if we spiraled out of control! Fight the power! The indie revolution is here!
Hollywood gaming lost to Kickstarter. :smug
i hope you'll be okay the day kickstarter crashes to the ground
Keep on dreaming that dream.
QuoteAsking a publisher for the money was out of the question because it would violate the spirit of the Kickstarter, and also, publishers.
Yeah, those damn suits! They'd actually force us to work within our budget and penalize us if we spiraled out of control! Fight the power! The indie revolution is here!
That also bugs me a bit. All these indies talk about how the man publisher is keeping them down. And there is some truth to that. But then when you are on the other side you see the complete picture. All these devs are innocent little angels who are being screwed. Until they also fuck up. Waste money. And then go back hat in hand to ask for more money.
But I digress...
QuoteAsking a publisher for the money was out of the question because it would violate the spirit of the Kickstarter, and also, publishers.
Yeah, those damn suits! They'd actually force us to work within our budget and penalize us if we spiraled out of control! Fight the power! The indie revolution is here!
That also bugs me a bit. All these indies talk about how the man publisher is keeping them down. And there is some truth to that. But then when you are on the other side you see the complete picture. All these devs are innocent little angels who are being screwed. Until they also fuck up. Waste money. And then go back hat in hand to ask for more money.
But I digress...
I thought you'd worked in dev, Stoney. I mean, there's some truth in there, but the experience I've had with publishers is that, by and large, they're less capable of building a feature set, schedule it, then stick to it than anyone doing the actual work. They're the ones most likely to come back with an idea for "a great new feature" with absolutely no idea how it can be implemented, and no concept of how it will affect the schedule to which they've already agreed and signed off on, in the contract. However, they're the first ones to resort to extortion against milestone payments if their ideas are not allowed to be shoved straight up our ass.
Hollywood gaming lost to Kickstarter. :smug
i hope you'll be okay the day kickstarter crashes to the ground
Keep on dreaming that dream.
:smug
I should've listened to demi :snoop never trusting Tim Schafer again
lol "if"
you expect that literally the first time they'll ever be on-time, on-budget with a game is when they *don't* have a publisher watching over them?
you're a funny guy bebs, that's why i loves ya
Wait a second THAT is what broken age looked like? WTF, tim schafer swindler total.
Kickstarter was never going to be the land of milk and honey that people made it out to be and that was obvious from the get go. You only have yourselves to blame if you funded anything.
lol "if"
you expect that literally the first time they'll ever be on-time, on-budget with a game is when they *don't* have a publisher watching over them?
you're a funny guy bebs, that's why i loves ya
Because they raised 4 million and considering the graphics i think they will make it.
Have these been posted?
(http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2013/06/Eternity4-610x344.jpg)
(http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2013/06/Eternity5-610x344.jpg)
(http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2013/06/Eternity6-610x344.jpg)
(http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2013/06/Eternity7-610x344.jpg)
(http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2013/06/Eternity8-610x344.jpg)
(http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2013/06/Eternity9-610x344.jpg)
(http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2013/06/Eternity11-610x344.jpg)
(http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2013/06/Eternity3-610x344.jpg)
(http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2013/06/Eternity2-610x344.jpg)
(http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2013/06/Eternity1-610x344.jpg)
project eternity looks awful zoomed in. Rumbler thinks that looks good? That looks terrible. Is that how it looks at full res? Because :yuck
Oh fuck, Broken Age looks like Magic Negro in game form. Here is a depressed, suicidal white guy who has all the technology in the world; here is a happy black girl who is attune with nature! Can she help him love life?!
:yuck
project eternity looks awful zoomed in. Rumbler thinks that looks good? That looks terrible. Is that how it looks at full res? Because :yuck
They're low quality screencaps that weren't officially released.
I haven't kickstarted a single game. :pacspit
project eternity looks awful zoomed in. Rumbler thinks that looks good? That looks terrible. Is that how it looks at full res? Because :yuck
They're low quality screencaps that weren't officially released.
why'd you post them when they look like shit?
(http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2013/06/Eternity6-610x344.jpg)
Sup Cosmo Canyon.
(http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2013/06/Eternity8-610x344.jpg)
Sup Temple of the Ancients part where you avoid the tumbling rocks.
project eternity looks awful zoomed in. Rumbler thinks that looks good? That looks terrible. Is that how it looks at full res? Because :yuck
They're low quality screencaps that weren't officially released.
I think the project eternity shots look great for a budget isometric wrpg.
/shrug
I think the project eternity shots look great for a budget isometric wrpg.
/shrug
everyone should be HAPPY the game looks like that
it means it might actually SHIP
idiots
It's pretty clear now that Schafer didn't have any sort of design in mind when he started this. Like any.I don't really think this is a problem because Tim didn't really know if the Kickstarter would even succeed, let alone grow much larger than they anticipated. However, this still doesn't excuse Tim's inability to scale a project to its budget. He's been in this industry his entire fucking life and he still does this?
Yeah Himu, thats kinda way different(http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2013/06/Eternity6-610x344.jpg)
Sup Cosmo Canyon.
(http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2013/06/Eternity8-610x344.jpg)
Sup Temple of the Ancients part where you avoid the tumbling rocks.
What are you on about?
I kickstarted Wasteland and Shovelknight.
Steve, I guess I didn't want to believe that he had absolutely no idea before this Kickstarter, but sadly you're probably right :-\
:lol saying those screens ripped off ff7. IT'S A FUCKIN CAVE
:lol saying those screens ripped off ff7. IT'S A FUCKIN CAVE
:lol :smug
I'm just messing with Rumbler by going the Magus-chan route.
Tim Schafer @TimOfLegend
Double Fine is NOT asking for more money. We are fine, financially. We are using our OWN money to deliver a bigger game than we Kickstarted.
:lol saying those screens ripped off ff7. IT'S A FUCKIN CAVE
:lol :smug
I'm just messing with Rumbler by going the Magus-chan route.
:comeon
I am going to make the bold prediction that the Leisure Suit Larry and Spaceventure games are never coming out
GR, did you bookmark and hold onto that for nearly a year? :rofl
Without a doubt, Moebius feels like a Jane Jensen game. From the opening sequence to the game’s nearly-obsessive attention to historical detail, this game is unquestionably a return to form for one of the adventure genre’s pioneers. At E3, I had an opportunity to sit down with Jane herself for a preview of the preliminary build that was about to be released to the supporters of her Kickstarter campaign. It was a rare chance to hear the design philosophy behind the game, which, when it is finally released later this year will be the first from Jane’s Pinkerton Road Studios.
Moebius certainly has a lot of pressure on it. In addition to being the first "real Jane Jensen" adventure in 13 years – while she wouldn’t say it directly, it’s clear that at least some of the failings of 2010’s Gray Matter resulted from the lack of Jane's full creative control – it will also be one of the first high-profile Kickstarted adventures to be released. The question that kept running through my head throughout the presentation and my own later playthrough of the first two chapters was whether Moebius was going to be too old school for today’s gaming audience – would Jane be able to innovate in a medium that has advanced considerably since cat moustaches? (And yes, I know that wasn't one of Jane's own puzzles.) That’s a question that won’t be answered until the final game is released, as I found my early exposure raised more questions than it answered, though from what I did see Moebius looks incredibly promising,.
Similar to Jane’s Gabriel Knight series, Moebius is a paranormal thriller which stars a very unusual protagonist. Malachi Rector is the newest hero, and while he may not be a chosen schattenjager, he certainly possesses a number of traits that set him apart from his fellow man. Players are treated to an electronic comic at the start of the game which provides Malachi’s backstory: in a nutshell, he’s an uber-genius with an IQ north of 175 with a fractured and difficult family history. In addition to his smarts, he possesses a photographic memory and the ability to quickly measure up situations and people – often analyzing them against the limitless database in his cranium. He’s a modern day Sherlock, who also happens to pop Xanax pills like Skittles.
Watching the opening to Moebius, I was struck by the obvious similarities to Sins of the Fathers. After the e-comic which introduces Malachi, we have an opportunity to get a little acquainted with his home base. While he’s in New York City instead of New Orleans, Malachi’s antique shop is eerily similar to Gabriel’s bookstore. And Malachi’s cheeky female assistant Gretchen could be a body double for Grace Nakimura. The fact that Malachi also has a tiny office off his main shop is another detail that provided a sense of deep déjà vu.
The way the gameplay begins is also in the classic Sierra adventure style. Moebius is played in third-person perspective, and players will point-and-click to send Malachi to different locations, inspect and interact with objects within each location, and open up dialogues with the game’s cast of characters. Unlike Gabriel, however, Malachi isn’t a simple salesman at the start of the game – he hires his memory and deductive abilities out to bidders who wish to determine the authenticity of historical antiquities.
The adventure begins with a job assignment that Malachi must complete, and while the themes and style are firmly planted in the thriller genre that Jane is known for, a few of the gameplay elements offer some interesting experiments during this first job. The first new feature is the ability to zoom into particular objects and people to inspect them a little more closely. This allows Malachi to make deductions about specific details, such as how a woman’s hairstyle reveals something about her personality. Each time you click on a clue, you receive a little more information on the target and earn data points. Data points are Moebius's way of providing a score (another nice little throwback to the Sierra games of old.)
Even more compelling is the menu bar at the upper left of the screen which allows you to access Malachi’s smartphone/PDA. Gabriel would probably have loved to have such a tool available as he traipsed across Germany, because here Malachi is able to access the Internet for research, keep a to-do list which acts like a de facto hint system, take notes during his investigations, and most importantly, to analyze all the data he has collected. While Moebius certainly features classic adventure game logic and inventory puzzles – several are apparent in the first two chapters – using the phone to analyze data is just as significant here.
Throughout the game, Malachi must evaluate antiques and will be asked to determine if certain people are eerily similar to famous historical figures. “Malachi’s job is to determine the authenticity of historical artifacts,” said Jane. “Because of his photographic memory, he can match anyone in history.” Through his phone, he is able to compare the information he’s collected with historical fact in order to make conclusions.
In the first two chapters, this feature was more impressive for its wealth of historical information and accuracy than as a challenging exercise. I don’t think anyone can match Jane for her passion in using real world history to provide a captivating sandbox for her heroes to explore. In the first analysis you have to perform, you’re treated to fascinating backstories of Italian painters such as Raphael and Botticelli; in another sequence you have to examine each artistic element of an Egyptian Canopic chest to accurately appraise its value.
While the classic puzzles of Moebius are very traditional, these experiments are refreshing and show that the game won’t be entirely what you might expect. In total, Moebius will span seven chapters that will slowly unravel the supernatural mystery of why historical figures are re-appearing in our modern age and how Malachi figures into it. “This is a convergent point in Malachi’s life,” said Jane. “Moebius is his origin story and is designed to be an origin story for a series.”
The first two chapters are very linear. There are a few decisions that you are allowed to make (and different dialog options), but the conclusion of each chapter is nearly identical. In addition, though you can force Malachi to make incorrect conclusions from his analysis, the story won’t advance until you correct them. While the game won’t likely be as lethal as the Sierra catalog, Jane mentioned that Malachi will find himself in lethal situations that may merit a few reloads of saved games.
It’s important to note that the version I saw was simply a preview build – in many ways, a proof of concept for her backers – and as expected, there were certainly some rough edges to be seen. The graphic style and interface have been designed by Phoenix Online Studios (Cognition) and the high-definition graphics were impressive, if a little uneven (some animations are particularly strange at this point).
Malachi will be visiting a number of locations across the world, and the Venice and Cairo on display in the preview represented their exotic locales well, though the early color palette did seem a little gaudy and saturated. It absolutely looks better than you might expect from the $400k Kickstarter investment that Pinkerton Studios acquired (Jane pointed out that the first Gabriel Knight cost over a million dollars in 1993 for comparison), and touches such as the moving water in Italy and minute changes in characters’ facial expressions are welcome.
Moebius's sound elements are also a mixed bag so far. Jensen’s husband (and frequent collaborator) Robert Holmes returns to score the game, and his haunting compositions provide a compelling noirish backdrop to the mysteries. Most of the characters are already voiced, and while Malachi’s egoism and arrogance (and UK accent) were perfectly captured by the actor who plays him, dialog and character exchanges are sometimes a bit awkward. What was meant to be a humorous exchange between Malachi and a companion, for example, came off as uncomfortably forced.
The game’s tone itself feels very uneven in the early going, blending the serious and dangerous situations Malachi quickly finds himself in with some peculiar moments of absurdity. In the first chapter, Malachi is approached by a secret government agency whose acronym of F.I.S.T. is frankly comical. I couldn’t help but think that Moebius felt very much like a very personal, classic B movie. It’s clear that Jane is being playful with concept, character, and expectation, yet she made it a point to say that she wanted players emotionally invested in Moebius, and the result is clearly the work of her singular vision. “I think it’s a great story. It’s the best one I’ve ever done,” said Jane. “It’s the layers that you uncover throughout the journey that make it really feel like a true Jane Jensen game.”
It’s certainly a challenge to juggle the expectation of gamers familiar with classic Jane Jensen games with the desire to create a new and contemporary gaming experience. Will Moebius be a retro throwback or can it contribute something truly special to the medium as part of a renaissance for adventure games? It’s too early to tell, but either way it’s obvious that this game is a labor of passion and love for the genre, as well as an opportunity to show how games can tell intriguing and complex stories. It’s good to see Jane have her crayons back.
The game does not have a release date yet but has been promised for later in this calendar year. For now, it’s simply too early to tell what the final version of Moebius will be like, but I can absolutely say I’m very much looking forward to seeing how Jane and Pinkerton Road will answer the questions and mysteries that were presented in this early sneak peek.
another digital CCG funded via kickstarter has reached open beta
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1965800643/solforge-digital-trading-card-game
i've only played a game but i'm not sure what to think... it's different from the usual MTG clone but at the same time,it's maybe a little too simple
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xK-fOxgD98o
Hexagons!
Can you do shit while traveling, or do you just watch time tick down? I'd hope that you can check your inventory, work on your weapons (blacksmith for instance), go through some conversations with your crew etc.
I got an Email from the GCW-Zero guy. He might actually be shipping mine out at some point! :o
...
Never doing this shit again. Did not back Mighty No.9 or Shantae either, especially in Mighty's case- 2015 estimated release date? LOL. Will buy it normally if it's good.
I really don't see myself backing any kind of hardware on KS. A game can be glitchy and a bit different from what was originally advertised while still being enjoyable, but hardware? Just feels like a different animal entirely.
How long did you expect Mighty to take in dev? They dont even have a game...
I dunno, I just didn't think it would take that long.
I dunno, I just didn't think it would take that long.
You mean less than 15 months to develop a game from scratch?
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/huniepop/huniepop-a-dating-puzzle-rpg
(http://i.imgur.com/FJD2DAO.png)
:expert :expert :expert
I forgot to mention this earlier, but Star Command is now available [though currently only on Android, I believe, other versions should be out soonish].
Oddly enough, this failed Kickstarter game appeared in finished form on Steam today:"Finished"
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/interwave/dark-matter-1
I mean, like some people in the thread said, all they had to do was call it DARK MATTER: EPISODE 1 on the store and change that text to "To be continued..." and like Sin Ep1 and Half-life 2 ep2 they would never need to finish it if they didn't want to/have the ability to. Those changes would have taken 5 mins and fixed this whole issue.
Keys for early access to Grim Dawn just went out today.
I got an Email from the GCW-Zero guy. He might actually be shipping mine out at some point! :o
...
Never doing this shit again. Did not back Mighty No.9 or Shantae either, especially in Mighty's case- 2015 estimated release date? LOL. Will buy it normally if it's good.
I got an Email from the GCW-Zero guy. He might actually be shipping mine out at some point! :o
...
Never doing this shit again. Did not back Mighty No.9 or Shantae either, especially in Mighty's case- 2015 estimated release date? LOL. Will buy it normally if it's good.
I backed the GCW Zero towards the end of the campaign at the cheapest option and finally got it in the mail today. No shipping number or heads up :wtf
Have you been following it closely? is there a resource to get all the emulators and stuff? interface is the same as dingux. overall it seems like a super dingoo (a320). other than the worse-than-psp nub, the controls and comfort seem pretty nice.
I got an Email from the GCW-Zero guy. He might actually be shipping mine out at some point! :o
...
Never doing this shit again. Did not back Mighty No.9 or Shantae either, especially in Mighty's case- 2015 estimated release date? LOL. Will buy it normally if it's good.
I backed the GCW Zero towards the end of the campaign at the cheapest option and finally got it in the mail today. No shipping number or heads up :wtf
Have you been following it closely? is there a resource to get all the emulators and stuff? interface is the same as dingux. overall it seems like a super dingoo (a320). other than the worse-than-psp nub, the controls and comfort seem pretty nice.
Finally got mine yesterday. I'm a bit disappointed in this thing, actually- the d-pad kind of sucks (it's awful for fighting games :() and from what I have tried, it's only marginally better than what the almost nine year old PSP could do. It's awesome that FBA runs on this thing and I can load up arcade games like Afterburner and Martial Masters...
...except that these games run like poo. Hope something can be done to get things working better.
If you go to the main GCW-ZERO website, there's a link to the dingoocity forums with emulators and such. Things are pretty sparse and when people ask stuff like "will there be an N64 emulator?" The answer is "LOL NO GO BUY THIS *OTHER* RECENTLY-RELEASED HANDHELD INSTEAD." :-\
So Dingoo apps do run on this thing? So far I have Final Burn, NES, SNES, Genesis, GBA, and NeoGeo Pocket emulators on mine. I see there's also DOSBox, PCE, and some other 16-bit PC emulators, but that's really about it. Is there anything that the Dingoo has that's not listed?
A couple of hours into the pre-release version of Consortium, I realised that I was playing a version of the ‘One City Block’ RPG. The location is an aircraft rather than a collection of streets and buildings, but the philosophy holds up. Create a manageable location, a believable population to inhabit it, and provide the player with enough freedom of expression to define their role in the events that unfold. It’s an unusual sci-fi adventure game with a splendidly credible cast of characters and a strong sense of mystery.
In Consortium, a futuristic aircraft is making a voyage when disaster strikes from various quarters. The crew aren’t heading to the Bloodmoon of Nebulon Ziggurat XI though, they’re on their way to Dublin. This makes me happy.
Consortium is a murder mystery, a political drama and a heavy dose of weird science fiction. It’s the fiction that’s weird rather than the science – the technology is mostly made up of believable near-future devices, with a few notable exceptions, but the story itself is strange from the outset. Contrary to expectation, the writing creates a state of peculiarity and uneasiness by containing so much that is ordinary.
A pilot talks of his love and concern for his elderly mother, Nancy Drew books are making a comeback on the nostalgia circuits, and there are tensions, friendships and flirtations to unpeel. The craft isn’t home to blue-skinned aliens and lizard people, but the crew are a diverse bunch nonetheless. The variety of accents is pleasing, as is the quality of the voice acting, and the international make-up of the player’s colleagues isn’t just an aesthetic choice – like almost every other detail, large or small, it’s a clue.
As much as anything else – and it is many things – Consortium is a game about collecting clues. The whole story is built inside an odd framing device, placing the player in the role of ITALIC an actual player of sorts, controlling the actions of a living person in another time by means of magical technology. The puppet that the player inhabits is Bishop Six, and whether that’s a name, rank or some other designation isn’t explained outright. Other crew members have similar titles, a chess piece and then a number, and a basic hierarchy can be recognised, but the specific role of each piece isn’t clear. And nor is it meant to be.
That’s a lot of words about the setting and maybe you’re wondering what exactly it is you’ll be doing while you play? You’ll be doing first-person things, like exploring the ship, talking to people using a multiple choice interface and, occasionally, shooting people in the face. Just as in real life, it’s much more pleasant talking to people than shooting them, and aside from choices between lethal and non-lethal weaponry, combat is fairly unimaginative. It’s also optional, and the right relationships or conversation choices can keep the bullets from flying.
I’d intended to talk my way out of any violence during the first encounter but accidentally unholstered my weapon right in a mercenary’s face. He reacted as if I’d unholstered something else entirely and done a wee all over his shiny military boots. That is to say, he shot me repeatedly. Hitting the wrong button (again), I switched from my stun gun to an assault rifle and a minute of frantic shooting, hiding and grenade lobbing followed.
The crew chastised me for murdering the boarders, including their leader, because we’d come up with a plan to end the situation non-violently. They thought I’d deliberately deviated from that plan and I couldn’t seem to explain to them that I’d just pressed the wrong buttons at the wrong time. By mistake! I was glad that it had happened though. It fit with the game’s central conceit and demonstrated that the combat, plain as it may be, involves decisions and creates reactions among the crew.
That conceit, of interacting with real events using a science fiction interface, could have been a gimmick, but it becomes core to the more unsettling aspects of the story. There are awkward moments and tensions from the outset, as questions about basic functions of the craft and its crew lead to puzzled queries. You’re supposed to know these things, or at least Bishop Six is supposed to know these things, and displaying ignorance can lead to distrust. Thankfully, he’s a newcomer to the ship and his personality is a tabula rasa, to be decided by conversation choices and actions. Beyond that, there are duties to fulfil and expectations to meet, and there are no information dumps to help the player along, with the exception of an optional console that provides a huge amount of in-fiction backstory.
It’s one of the few science fiction games I’ve ever played that manages to make me feel like a stranger in a strange land, and at times the feeling is uncanny. Glitches in the interface sometimes coincide with characters doubting the sanity or integrity of Bishop Six and despite their slightly crude cartoonish facial expressions, the more inquisitive characters often feel like they’re on the verge of peering straight through the screen.
More than a gateway device, the fictional interface creates a second layer of ‘reality’ to play with and disrupt. Setting up the player’s role in this way also makes the fourth wall (or at least A fourth wall) part of the plot, allowing events to scratch along its surface, looking for a way through.
Joining the story in media res forces the player to think on his/her feet and also asks a great deal of the writers but they’re equal to the task. Consortium exists within a truly weird sci-fi universe, glimpsed through windows like Larkin’s Whitsun Weddings, but so much that is unusual in it is recognizable. The characters don’t spout exposition, instead revealing the nature of this possible future by degrees. They complain about the mundanity of their jobs, drop hints about the political situation and recent historical conflicts, make references to pop culture, both known and unknown. By sharing their own stories, piece by piece, they gradually give an impression of their world.
Mechanically, Consortium is functional rather than exhilarating. Conversations are handled well. The rest of the ship doesn’t freeze while they occur and participants recognize the player’s vicinity, to an extent, allowing Bishop Six to wander off like an ignorant sod. This doesn’t go unnoticed. Replaying sections does makes me wish I could skip dialogue though, particularly on occasions that a group conversation is taking place without a great deal of player input.
A ship defence mini-game threatens to derail the flow of the game, like Dead Space’s ponderous asteroid blasting, but turns out to be a pleasant enough diversion. Importantly, it doesn’t separate itself entirely from the narrative, with the same lethal and non-lethal choices appearing as elsewhere, lending a relevancy that would otherwise be missing.
The characters are the heart of the game though. They’re a sympathetic bunch and the writing avoids stereotypes. The fact that the player’s Bishop Six has such an influence over their existence creates tension and drama, even before the stakes rise, and deeper questions begin to surface about the nature of the Earth in their time.
There are surface similarities with Mass Effect ,and the interaction with crew and the layout of the craft with the pilot in his isolated cockpit, support the comparison. I initially thought of the game as ‘the best parts of Mass Effect’ but that’s unfair to both games. Consortium has more in common with The Last Express or even a recent Telltale release than Bioware’s space opera, and the stories it tells are both far stranger and far more believable than I’ve come to expect from sci-fi games.
Some awesome guys from BELGIUM are releasing an alpha version of their new RPG next week:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnZYMrWI4BI
depends on what you go in for for games. if you go in for super production values, goofy in-jokes, and a focus on story with simple, repeated gameplay, then all aboard. it's basically a lower-budget one-touch metal gear wannabe with a story that seems written directly after reading 1984.
if you're the kind of person who wants varied and/or interesting gameplay and don't really care about the story, though, it gets repetitive fast and somehow feels really tired by the end even though it only lasts a few hours.
i could definitely think of better ways to spend $5 on the app store in either case, though.
so the matsuno kickstarter is going to end in a week and is still 150,000 dollar shorter...
happy times for me and oscar! :jawalrus
Magus posted about it in the wrong KS thread, anyway. :wag
I wonder how Paper Sorcerer turned out. I really like the art style on that one.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/harebrainedinc/period-panties
:holeup
so the matsuno kickstarter is going to end in a week and is still 150,000 dollar shorter...
happy times for me and oscar! :jawalrus
and all they had to do was collapse half of their stretch goals into the initial budget.
i'm still pretty happy, because that alone has to hurt them. also, no alex o smith translation or console ports, so the matsuno fans are gonna be qq'ing up a storm.
Is there a list somewhere about successful gaming kickstarters that have been released?
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=786363
:ufup
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=786363
:ufup
I get such a guilty pleasure reading about Kickstarter failures like this. The level of mismanagement and incompetence these mooks display is staggering. You get fifty grand to make a game and what do you do? Rent a house and hire a bunch of people! Complain that the artist is unproductive and doesn't do any work!
If you want a lot of money, you need big names with big nostalgia. If you want a little money, you need a decent idea and to appear like you can actually execute it.
The most successful usually tie into nostalgia of some kind [a sequel or revival of an old game that people liked, or a big name who's making a comeback], but there are a few that just managed to look good enough on their own merits that they didn't need nostalgia to do well. The former is definitely favored, though.
christ that really is a weeaboo game. as in, made by weeaboos.
what in the name of shit is this doing as the #1 seller on Steam?
PC people I dont understand you.
what in the name of shit is this doing as the #1 seller on Steam?
PC people I dont understand you.
June 26, apparently. I heard it's piss-easy, which is disappointing.
Way forward :yuck
Was interested in Shovel Knight until I saw it was WF.
Himu's approaching it as a customer, though. Lots of nice people working very hard in the business, doesn't mean people shouldn't :yuck their games.
I like contra 4. :larry
PC, Mac, Linux, 3DS, Wii U.
i stopped caring about shovel knight now that mighty no 9 exists.
Eh.
MN9 looks like a literal remake of a NES Mega Man game. SK is retro but at least it's not a carbon copy.
Wanna play MN9? Then fire up MM2. :hitler Hell, I doubt MN9 will be as good as that game.
Looks more like the Zero games to me. I've already played through MM2 probably 50-60 times. I want something "new" that builds on the formula evolved over the games that followed in the 20 years after that game. MN9 has a good chance of delivering that.
But I can tell you're a real fan of MM games what with the "MM hasn't changed since MM2 hur hur" crack.
Eh.
MN9 looks like a literal remake of a NES Mega Man game. SK is retro but at least it's not a carbon copy.
Wanna play MN9? Then fire up MM2. :hitler Hell, I doubt MN9 will be as good as that game.
>:( shovel knight is a clear knockoff of late nes capcom games
ehn I'll stand by that. shovel knight's better than WayForward's usual pap, but only marginally so. inafking's a sleaze but I bet mn9 ends up the better game.
Dex
http://store.steampowered.com/app/269650/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSWjeB3-IVM
still in Early Access, but I've put in about three hours of questing, it's a fun slow-paced, sidescrolling, sci-fi, action-rpg.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/143870832/home-free-0/description
A procedural open world where you are a roaming dog trying to survive.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/143870832/home-free-0/description
A procedural open world where you are a roaming dog trying to survive.
The procedural city generator looks fascinating.