[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by EvoG

Hehe, I think you're expert enough to know what you like, and by that frightfully high post count, you talk about it too!

Nah, I just have waaaay too much time on my hands.

Just to answer to one major question you asked, I'm making the game for myself, and for old school adventure gamers period. The talk of combat, TB or RT is just that, talk. If it was included, it would be to bridge the gap between pure AG and RPG. More, dare I say, mainstream gamers might be interested if we had some dynamic elements to lure them, those new gamers might rally around AG's they otherwise might have shunned to to misguided preconceptions. The combat could entice and encourage them to try an otherwise full AG. I'm not proposing anything more than even what KotoR offers; really no bolder than the small lengths BG&E took their action combat to, which was subtle compared to the adventuring elements.

This is why I was asking you who exactly you want your game to entertain. Many gamers have pre-conceived notions of the conventions and limitations of certain game genres, and mainstreamers have theirs, no matter how accurate or misinformed. Believe me, they WILL instantly try to pidgeonhole any given game based on their perceptions. It's their psychology.

I don't consider myself a hardcore adventure gamer (I only started playing games intensively 5 years ago), and am not interested in labelling myself as such. I have a weakness for good storytelling and gameplay that's very tightly integral to it. I'm more open and receptive to anything that'll excite me, as long as it has a good, compelling story to tell. Others may just play a game for its puzzles or something else, and that's okay.

I think Rags Tornquist is the one to watch out for. After being frustrated by loud-mouthed fans bothering him about the action bits in Dreamfall, he finally just threw his hands up and declared that the game has gone beyond being an adventure. Which finally freed him to do whatever he wanted. If the fans got upset, well, they got upset. However, it doesn't necessarily mean that Dreamfall would be any less good, right? IMO, the freedom Tornquist finally allowed himself opened up a great wealth of possibilities formerly oppressed by the genre and its fans.

Really though, I miss the days of Lucasarts and am really saddened that no game yet IMHO has matched the intelligence and sheer artistry of Grim Fandango. Playing through it again after many years, you forget just how charming and bold the characters are. The evocative music...the epic feel of the story. I want to recapture that. I honestly dont' see why AG's need to be Myst clones or murder mysteries when they can be so much more colorful, so much more imaginitive. I realise I sound like I'm patting the hell out of my back, but being a professional animator and my partner being a brilliant fiction writer, AG development just makes too much damn sense. From a technology standpoint, they are much more forgiving and from an art content creation standpoint, less demanding. We get to exploit what we do best and thats pretty damn exciting.

What you're describing of Grim Fandango is that elusive 'magic' that has been missing from the genre. You might want to read this transcript of Gamespot's interview with Tim Schafer.

The reason I jumped in at this time was your thread question. Considering what we're venturing to do, I figured after a year of 'spectating' here, it was time to start participating. You guys were always a breath of fresh air, as your posts always included, not excluded all gamer types and types of games. I dont believe I read one flamewar or even mildly seething argument, and thats rare compared to the forums I've been to...especially the RPG/Fallout forums *cough*.

Oh, we fight alright. Just not like other communities.