[funcroc]

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/adventure...ml?sid=6151288

E3 06: Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express Impressions

Murder is afoot yet again in this latest Agatha Christie novel adaptation for your PC. We take a look at the game via the Adventure Company's E3 2006 display.

Last year's Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None was the Adventure Company's first foray into the concept of translating the world's most famous mystery novelist's works into the PC adventure game genre. While not entirely successful, And Then There Were None had its moments, and the publisher, along with developer AWE Games are making their second attempt this year with Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express. One of (if not the) biggest mystery novels of all time, Orient Express will receive a similar treatment to the plot that And Then There Were None received. You won't play as the famous detective Hercule Poirot, but rather Antoinette, an employee of the Orient Express who fancies herself something of a mystery buff. As the story will go, Poirot is injured in the avalanche that halts the eponymous train, and is bed-ridden through the whole story. Poirot will act as your guide throughout the game, helping you to solve the murder.

Murder on the Orient Express will feature 20 different characters to interact with, as well as a number of unique environments. Yes, you are confined to a train through much of the game, but you'll also be able to interact with the train station area at the beginning of the game, as well as areas outside the train post-avalanche. The developers are targeting the game at around 25 hours of gameplay, total.

One neat tidbit for Christie buffs is that the Adventure Company is currently hard at work at securing voice work from Poirot star David Suchet. Suchet played the famous Belgian detective throughout the A&E series' run, and the publisher believes adding him to the mix will give the game a great air of authenticity.

Murder on the Orient Express is currently scheduled for a November release. We'll bring you more on the game in the coming months.

[RLacey]

DAVID SUCHET!!!!

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


*ahem*

They'd better get him, because he's fantastic.

[the gnome]

Seems it will be quite an improvement over And Then There Were None...

[Dale Baldwin]

Well, it might be. Hopefully AWE will have taken into account some of our opinions of the last game though.

[kuddles]

I enjoyed the first game, and now they have a better understanding of what worked and what didn't, so hopefully this'll turn out good.

[Scott Nixon]

I'd love it if we could get a list going of what exactly people didn't like in ATTWN and what improvements or changes they would like to see in MOTOE. Things like an improved/lengthened beta test cycle are a given, as are better character models. Some of these comments may be related to design and thus fall outside our domain, but really, the more the merrier. All complaints will certainly be taken seriously...

[fov]

Hi Scott. Thanks for asking.

I mentioned this during our meeting with TAC at E3 last week -- my number one complaint about ATTWN was that the other characters just stood around doing nothing while Patrick investigated. It was worst right after a murder -- I can't imagine ten people just hanging out waiting for Patrick to question them with a dead body lying on the floor in front of them -- but even as Patrick walked around the house, parts like the two guys who said "Leave us alone, we're playing billiards" while they just stood there not doing anything really brought me out of the game. I got the feeling the other characters were just props.

It would also be nice to have some more direction as to what to do. It sounds like the role of Poirot in this game will help with that issue.

[Stoofa]

Originally Posted by RLacey

DAVID SUCHET!!!!

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My thoughts exactly!

[skurken]

Please, oh please let us have the option to double click to get between screens (a la Curse of Monkey Island/ Black Mirror). All this walking/running around in recent adventure games is driving me nuts (Keepsake was the worst). Pretty please?

[rtrooney]

There were some inconsistencies, such as how could the voice on the ham radio be who he says he is, if he's dead, and if it isn't that person, how could the voice know what he knows?

Agree with FOV. The supporting characters really didn't have much of a role other than to provide clues and die.

A mapping feature would be wonderful. Once a location is visited, it shouldn't be necessary to walk to it every time it needs to be revisited.

[Leo]

What I would like to know is why is Hercule Poirot not the main character in the game? I am a little disappointed that we won't be controlling him since, in my opinion, he is an integral part of agatha chistie stories. Oh well the game will hopefully still be good.

[Ariel Type]

I hope they left Lee Sheldon as a writer/designer. Scenario in ATTWN was very good. It was the work of artists/musicians/animators/actors that ruined the atmosphere..
Now it looks much better. And with David Suchet.. Just great

EDIT
Oh, what I am talking about, of course he did! From official site:

On 2/22/06 I delivered the design document for the second video game based on an Agatha Christie novel. 531 pages in four weeks! Still no official press release, so I can't talk about it yet. This time I'll be working closely with the developers through the entire development cycle.

Exellent.

[Scott Nixon]

It would also be nice to have some more direction as to what to do. It sounds like the role of Poirot in this game will help with that issue.

Yeah, this is definitely one of the big plusses of having Poirot as a character you interact with, as opposed to a character you control. I knew some people would take issue with not playing Poirot, but I personally would rather interact with him (and he is the character you interact with most, by far) than be him - the Holmes through the eyes of Watson analogy (which was mentioned in another thread) is apt.

I can't imagine ten people just hanging out waiting for Patrick to question them with a dead body lying on the floor in front of them -- but even as Patrick walked around the house, parts like the two guys who said "Leave us alone, we're playing billiards" while they just stood there not doing anything really brought me out of the game. I got the feeling the other characters were just props.

I agree. I could give a bunch of reasons/excuses why this was the case, but I won't - except to mention that there are a bunch of reasons/excuses why this was the case. Additionally, the circumstances surrounding this story are so different this time around, I don't think this will be an issue.

Please, oh please let us have the option to double click to get between screens (a la Curse of Monkey Island/ Black Mirror). All this walking/running around in recent adventure games is driving me nuts (Keepsake was the worst). Pretty please?

This was one of the first things implemented!

There were some inconsistencies, such as how could the voice on the ham radio be who he says he is, if he's dead, and if it isn't that person, how could the voice know what he knows?

I remember we got into a debate on this. There is no logical inconsistency here, the only issue would be where is this transmitter and how did the killer disguise his/her voice. I remember you said something about the voice being Archibald Morris, which isn't the case. The voice was supposed to be Owen.

A mapping feature would be wonderful. Once a location is visited, it shouldn't be necessary to walk to it every time it needs to be revisited.

We thought about this quite a bit, and for several reasons it would be prohibitive to, say, go straight from a car at the back of a train to a car at the front. I can't go into reasons, but there is a compromise we are working on where tearing through the train cars will be very quick and simple.

What I would like to know is why is Hercule Poirot not the main character in the game? I am a little disappointed that we won't be controlling him since, in my opinion, he is an integral part of agatha chistie stories. Oh well the game will hopefully still be good.

Poirot is still the most important character in the game. Having him as the lynchpin NPC allows a more accurate representation of his character. Christie likely introduced Hastings as a person the average reader would identify with (he was, in fact, the narrator in her very first novel.) As I'm sure every Christie fan knows, Poirot isn't a fan of legwork, he prefers to listen to people and arrive at a solution through psychology and deduction. The method worked out in this game allows that dynamic to remain intact. Could you really see Poirot rustling around in a musty baggage car getting his spats dirty? Again, I think the analogy of Holmes through the eyes of Watson applies.

I hope they left Lee Sheldon as a writer/designer. Scenario in ATTWN was very good. It was the work of artists/musicians/animators/actors that ruined the atmosphere..

This is an over-simplification of the circumstances surrounding the development of ATTWN. It suggests we received a flawless design doc and proceeded to muck it up, which is a bit insulting.

[pointandcliklover]

david suchet yay
ATTWN i liked it graphics in background i thought were great but ur right with inconsistences.

[Orange Brat]

I thought ATTWN was a fantastic game, and I didn't personally have any problems with it. Great graphcs, audio, and acting all around(and I liked the way the music was handled, too). I expect this new one to be even better.

[Ariel Type]

Scott Nixon

This is an over-simplification of the circumstances surrounding the development of ATTWN. It suggests we received a flawless design doc and proceeded to muck it up, which is a bit insulting.

I didn't mean to insult anyone. But as you make a game based on such complex novel, you have to take in mind two main factors: a) story that could be easily ruined and b) atmosphere, that also could be easily ruined.
Sheldon succeeded in writing a good scenario: the 11th guest has his own storyline, which doesn't interfere with the original novel. As for atmosphere, which (for the most part) is the work of artists/musicians, - it just isn't right. Plain and uninteresting characters, awful design of mansion (all those identical rooms, stairs and balconies), pictures without any background movement (there was a wind, even a storm - but no, all the backgrounds just remained the same, exept for the beautiful water), simply bad music - several boring compositions that even didn't change with a new murder! All that made the game into a pretty boring experience, without a spirit of the original.
I'm not saying that everything was bad - the pictures were beautifully drawn. But they were lifeless. The original atmosphere was lost, and that's a big minus.

[saucyminx]

I'm a big Agatha Christie fan, but tbh I feel a bit let down by the premise. No offense, but playing a mystery-buff maid? Poirot injured? It's great that David Suchet is playing Poirot in the game, but for me, I don't think that's enough to get me all enthusiastic. Plus, Murder on the Orient Express is a masterpiece, I can imagine the complicated process of translating the book into a game.

To be frank, I'd feel cheated to have to play the maid, who never existed in the book in the first place. I know that the first game, the makers made some liberal changes, and those liberal changes bothered me... a huge Christie fan. Why not utilize Poirot's good friend, Inspector Japp or Captain Hastings, instead and have Poirot guide them in his usual "exasperating" way (as described by Hastings)? In Sherlock Holmes: The Case of The Rose Tattoo, players played the role of Dr. Watson, and it was great. It really put the character "on the spot", as Agatha Christie used to say in her books. Is it really necessary to have Poirot sidelined by injury?

The essence of Agatha Christie is that she focused a lot on details and atmosphere. I hope to expect that a lot of attention will be focused on details and atmosphere in this game.

Perhaps a referrence to a 1997 game called The Last Express might give you some insight on how to create a successful atmosphere on the train. Like MOTOE, TLE took place on the fabled Orient Express, as well. Although it's rather old now, the quality is unquestionable and the design work was top notch throughout. It remained to be a personal favourite with me, because the mystery was well written, the voice-acting was superior, visuals, even with limited animation, the cinematic feel and quality completely captured the period and place. Plus, the story offered branching plotlines relevant to the era. Heck, there was even a daily newspaper offering headline related to the events surrounding the era that made everything felt real.

That's my two rubles for the day. Cheers!

[Scott Nixon]

As for atmosphere, which (for the most part) is the work of artists/musicians, - it just isn't right. Plain and uninteresting characters, awful design of mansion (all those identical rooms, stairs and balconies), pictures without any background movement (there was a wind, even a storm - but no, all the backgrounds just remained the same, exept for the beautiful water), simply bad music - several boring compositions that even didn't change with a new murder! All that made the game into a pretty boring experience, without a spirit of the original.

I don't agree with you 100%, but i'm not offended. I misread what you said to mean 'everything except the game design was flawed', and that's what I took umbrage with.

To be frank, I'd feel cheated to have to play the maid, who never existed in the book in the first place. I know that the first game, the makers made some liberal changes, and those liberal changes bothered me... a huge Christie fan. Why not utilize Poirot's good friend, Inspector Japp or Captain Hastings, instead and have Poirot guide them in his usual "exasperating" way (as described by Hastings)? In Sherlock Holmes: The Case of The Rose Tattoo, players played the role of Dr. Watson, and it was great. It really put the character "on the spot", as Agatha Christie used to say in her books. Is it really necessary to have Poirot sidelined by injury?

You don't play a maid, you play an employee of the Orient-Express train company. I'm not sure what your complaint is here, you are playing a character who will be put on the spot by Poirot - that's the entire point. The Holmes through the eyes of Watson analogy has already been made... Poirot being sidelined by injury does not prevent him from interacting with you as much as you might imagine, and I'm sure you remember a Christie story wherein Poirot bet Hastings he could solve a murder without ever leaving his apartment. That is the idea behind this plan of attack.

As far as the 'who' is concerned, the holder of the Agatha Christie license (which includes her grandson) is not comfortable introducing a major character into a book where they did not already exist. I think this is understandable.

Perhaps a referrence to a 1997 game called The Last Express might give you some insight on how to create a successful atmosphere on the train. Like MOTOE, TLE took place on the fabled Orient Express, as well. Although it's rather old now, the quality is unquestionable and the design work was top notch throughout. It remained to be a personal favourite with me, because the mystery was well written, the voice-acting was superior, visuals, even with limited animation, the cinematic feel and quality completely captured the period and place. Plus, the story offered branching plotlines relevant to the era. Heck, there was even a daily newspaper offering headline related to the events surrounding the era that made everything felt real.

Everyone involved in the making of this game has played The Last Express. It goes without saying - that game is seminal.

[squarejawhero]

Scott, Mira's ill so I've been asked to reply after a chat. I don't know anything really about the license, but it should be said you did ask for opinion and she's a big Agatha Christie fan and mystery buff. I'm reiterating what she's told me.

Please don't feel the need to defend your decisions, as it sounds like you've already made your mind up about your angle in the adaptation. But please accept you DID ask for opinions. She honestly feels that this angle may make her, as a player, feel out of the loop in the context of the story as she understands it. Whilst she knows there's a need to reintepret the novel to suit the medium (to the point of a different outcome), she's unsure she'd be interested in playing such a tertiary character and is concerned towards any major liberties in such a much loved text. Seeing as Poirot is at the utter heart of the story, totally reinterpreting it in this manner leaves her feeling disappointed. She'd be interested in knowing how far the changes would go or if it is indeed a complete reinterpretation.

Of course, this is just her feeling - which you did ask for. Her other major concern is one of quality, as she feels that the last title didn't interest her due to feedback on these forums, screenshots and reviews. Hence why she wanted to push TLE as an example of a successful game in this niche. She doesn't buy many games a year (money) so they really have to grab her... being genuinely interested in this license, she wasn't particularly grabbed by the last game in this series enough to be compelled to reward it with purchase.

Please understand this isn't meant to denigrate your efforts, I'm sure you work hard (as I do in another media) and understand people won't always be happy with the final product. You can only do your best after all. But when asking for feedback, people can only go back on what they know of your previous output and from the little information you give out.

Personally speaking even looking as far back as The Colonels Bequest there are many great examples of atmospheric murder mysteries. I look forward to your next title with interest.

[squarejawhero]

Oops, re the point as to introducing a tertiary character, she really didn't intend you pull it from another story. Apparently there are enough secondary characters in the novel to justify using one of them rather than an unknown. Which was the real point, I'm afraid it wasn't worded as well as she wanted and gave another intent.

BTW if this "me talking for her" stuff is a bit odd, it's because she's my girlfriend. She's had an accident today, nothing major, but it's frustrating her efforts to put her words down clearly.