[TalC2]

Originally Posted by Axelfish

Yea, no problem.

Thanks! ^_^

[Weare6]

Originally Posted by Oscar

I was stuck for hours at the beginning because I didn't see a stick on the ground at the lake that I needed to pick up.

Ha Ha... I was too. Stuck for quite a while at the start..... but I learnt my lesson,
from then on I searched every screen just in case.

[Weare6]

Originally Posted by Axelfish

You mean like in Gray Matter, for instance, where it shows you all the labels for the clickable items on screen? Haven't found it in TWW.

Have you tried pressing the space bar. I don't use it personally but
it reveals all objects and exits.

[Axelfish]

Ha, what do you know.Thanks. I haven't actually been looking for that, but the space bar does reveal the hotspots. At least they don't stay on and don't glitch or clutter the screen with text like in GM.
I'll be using them as a last resort option.

[Axelfish]

So, I finished the game. Not without a few more peeks into the walkthrough, unfortunately. The lack of sufficient feedback on the puzzles in the game makes some of them quite hard.
A nice game, overall. I give it a 7/10. It just lacks polish in certain areas. Some of the voice acting was grating, and I felt the writing could've been better.

I liked the ending. It feels as though the story was set up for two conclusions, but only one was realized. Although given the context of the end, the alternative would have been too grim probably.

[Fien]

Originally Posted by Axelfish

I liked the ending. It feels as though the story was set up for two conclusions, but only one was realized.

I don't see that at all. I know I've said it before but I don't mind repeating myself when I'm convinced that I'm right. The story was set up for just the one conclusion.

Spoiler:

From the very first (listen again to the intro!) Sadwick was destined to destroy the world, as confirmed by that seer-woman, what's her name, and several little details. He tried so hard to change it all, and just like the player he believed that he might be able to, but in reality he never had a choice. Even the idea of choice was an illusion. There can't be a second ending, it would contradict the entire story.

[Axelfish]

Originally Posted by Fien

I don't see that at all. I know I've said it before but I don't mind repeating myself when I'm convinced that I'm right. The story was set up for just the one conclusion.

Spoiler:

From the very first (listen again to the intro!) Sadwick was destined to destroy the world, as confirmed by that seer-woman, what's her name, and several little details. He tried so hard to change it all, and just like the player he believed that he might be able to, but in reality he never had a choice. Even the idea of choice was an illusion. There can't be a second ending, it would contradict the entire story.

I see.

Spoiler:

But since the talking sphere actually represented Sadwick's father in the dream, having Sadwick destroy the world meant just this: that he wakes up, returning to the real world.

I think Sadwick could've still remained in the imaginary world. That would mean however that he never wakes up.

I'll have to play through the game some time again to see if it adds up to another interpretation.

[tsa]

Originally Posted by Axelfish

I see.

Spoiler:

But since the talking sphere actually represented Sadwick's father in the dream, having Sadwick destroy the world meant just this: that he wakes up, returning to the real world.

I think Sadwick could've still remained in the imaginary world. That would mean however that he never wakes up.

I'll have to play through the game some time again to see if it adds up to another interpretation.

I agree.

Spoiler:

The ending of Dreamfall is very fitting here. This should have been the second option.

[TalC2]

Originally Posted by Axelfish

So, I finished the game. Not without a few more peeks into the walkthrough, unfortunately. The lack of sufficient feedback on the puzzles in the game makes some of them quite hard.
A nice game, overall. I give it a 7/10. It just lacks polish in certain areas. Some of the voice acting was grating, and I felt the writing could've been better.

I liked the ending. It feels as though the story was set up for two conclusions, but only one was realized. Although given the context of the end, the alternative would have been too grim probably.

I agree with you about the

Spoiler:

second potential ending.

Spoiler:

I was depressed as it is seeing that little boy confined to a hospital bed, tubes sticking out of him. I was certain that I had the option of returning to the imaginary world, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. The appearance of the sick boy was depressing enough

As for the puzzle I was talking about, the only one I had to consult a solution for, it was the one in the

Spoiler:

astrolab, where we need to arrange the stones representing the planets. Silly, huh? I think getting the oil to lubricate the machine was much harder, but I got that without any kind of help

So how did you fare with this puzzle?

[Fien]

Anything for a second ending, just anything. So you people don't find it strange at all that you want the statisfaction of a father reading a story with a cruel and disastrous ending for his son, and could that please be the same ending as Dreamfall. How about the same beginning as Dreamfall too, that should make everything neat and tidy from the start.

Words fail me.

[tsa]

If you have the same beginning as DF then the whole story is spoiled. And about the ending: it is a bit annoying that you are presented with a choice that eventually turns out to be not a choice at all. A real choice would be more satisfying, yes. Stories with bad endings don't have to be bad stories.

[Fien]

Originally Posted by tsa

If you have the same beginning as DF then the whole story is spoiled.

Well of course!. What the f... is Dreamfall doing here? What's the point of dragging a totally different game into it, like that supports your argument when it doesn't.

And about the ending: it is a bit annoying that you are presented with a choice that eventually turns out to be not a choice at all.

It wasn't annoying to me at all. Very satisfying, in fact. In the context of *this particular game*.

A real choice would be more satisfying, yes. Stories with bad endings don't have to be bad stories.

Daedalus isn't afraid of bad endings and dying people. You're looking at it from the outside, as a player who feels cheated because the game promised a choice that turned out to be no choice at all. If you look at it immersed in the story it makes perfect sense.

[Axelfish]

Originally Posted by TalC2

So how did you fare with this puzzle?

Oh, yea, that was a hard one, and the instructions to it were obscure. I had to look up the solution.

Another hard one for me

Spoiler:

was obtaining the royal blue mosaic tile. I got the blue paint, but forgot the chalk in the astrolab to make it into white paint.

The sliding puzzle was also pretty hard, but I managed it on my own, and assembled the first half in several moves. The other half took a lot of shuffling though.

[Ninth]

Originally Posted by Fien

It wasn't annoying to me at all. Very satisfying, in fact. In the context of *this particular game*.

The ending is was logical and satisfying, but what was the point of letting the player choose when the choice ultimately comes from the main character.
It does feel like the player is tricked into believing this game is another multiple-ending game (and I'm no fan of those, by the way), when in truth the outcome is already decided.

That said, this game was amazing, and I'm surprised it doesn't get more buzz.
It's beautiful, refreshing and not taking itself too seriously... And it has some very original twists in story and gameplay (Spot for example is a great idea puzzle-wise). That's what I like in an adventure game.

Then again if the english voices are as irritating as I keep reading that's certainly a good reason to dislike the game. More and more I believe bad voices (or voice-overs?) are the bane of many good adventures.

This time around the french voices seem to be better than the english ones, which is a relief... In any case I liked them, and felt a certain fondness for Sadwick.

[Fien]

Originally Posted by Ninth

The ending is was logical and satisfying, but what was the point of letting the player choose when the choice ultimately comes from the main character.

To emphasize the fact that there never was and is a choice for Sadwick, even though he thought he could choose.

[Axelfish]

Originally Posted by Ninth

That said, this game was amazing, and I'm surprised it doesn't get more buzz.

Well, a self-deprecating protagonist isn't everyone's cup of tea, and I was also initially put off by this premise, but after some time, I grew to like Sadwick.
I found Sadwick's English voice oddly charming, but there were some others that were just terrible:such as Bobby, the Chaski. Ugh, what a shrill creature.

[diego]

Originally Posted by Ninth

(Spot for example is a great idea puzzle-wise). That's what I like in an adventure game.

I completely agree with this. Out of many good things in game, i'm especially fond of design of two main characters and their cooperation. If i was to name my favorite adventure games in terms of main characters and their sidekicks, that would be Toonstruck, Torin's Passage and The Whispered World.

[rayvio]

Spot was definitely a highlight of the game. it's always a great thing, in my opinion, when developers try to step away a little from the usual style of puzzles and do something a little different. sometimes it doesn't quite work out great (see Omikron: Nomad Soul for a great idea with somewhat flawed implementation or Dreamfall for something similar to a lesser degree, both excellent games though despite those flaws) but when it does it pays off, and when it doesn't it usually doesn't do too much harm so long as the game is otherwise strong

[Adventure Games Forever]

Originally Posted by Metagames

Hi again,

there will be definitely news for all fans of The Whispered World this summer. Maybe at the gamescom 2011 in Cologne. Sorry, i can't tell you more now.

Best regards

Metagames

Any news on this?

[Stuart]

What a stunningly beautiful game this was. As a lover of Studio Ghibli I found the feel of this very similar to those of Ghibli films... whimsical, charming, eccentric in parts, and a little bittersweet. I didn't expect this game to be so good but it really does stand tall as one of the finest adventure games of the modern era, comparing well to the classics we all love.

Gameplay, graphics, and sound were all excellent. At first when I heard Sadwick's voice I cringed and yet by the end of the game it was familiar and likeable.

The storyline was (on the surface although there is a big twist at the end) very simple, a traditional fantasy tale of an unlikely hero tasked to save the world, but the colourful cast of characters and locations made it a joyous journey.

Much of the game has the usual inventory combining but there are a few puzzles that can be quite challenging, including a dreaded slider puzzle (although I had no trouble with it). The inclusion of Spot, Sadwick's cute pet, added something unique as you could use him and his various forms as an inventory item.

The worst part of this game is that it had to end.