[scribeswindow]

Well I had a few games to play. Tunguska; Nancy Drew; Sherlock Holmes; Broken Sword Shadow of the Templars and Still Life. I had also bought Dreamfall. I loved TLJ so I kept this one until the very last.

I am so angry I could scream!!! I can't even move the characters properly. I've read all about how it's been made for an Xbox console, but quite frankly I don't care. I have gone online to see if I can manipulate the characters a bit better. Still no good. I have read the manual (which isn't really all that helpful), still no good. I paid good money for this game, and I'm left with something that is unplayable.

Anyway, I needed to vent really badly. So thanks for listening.

[Keregioz]

A lot of people had complaints about this game... but I don't recall the character movement being one of them. Personally I though the character movement was just fine. I played it with the keyboard.

[Hammerite]

i really hope you weren't trying to move the characters with the mouse.
yeah, i felt it was quite easy. my complaint was the lack of actual gameplay.

[Thaurin]

Okay, here goes... again.

BUY A GAMEPAD!!

There. I said it. You can play games with gamepad on a PC. It's not weird, or anything. It works. It fits into your USB slots. Better yet, there are really cheap ones, too!

There are so many more adventure games that play perfectly with a gamepad that it's really worth investing in. Grim Fandango, Escape From Monkey Island, Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars, Dark Earth, Fahrenheit, etc. You're not less of a person if you play PC games using a gamepad. If you still feel embarrassed about it, I promise I won't tell!

Trust me, playing adventure games from your comfortable couch is a very relaxing way to go about it.

Furthermore, I've heard many people say that they had no problems playing the game with a keyboard. I wouldn't know, because I was happily thumbing my analogue sticks.

As for any lack of gameplay, I feel that games like this need to exist as well as games with more puzzles and difficulty. For what it's worth, I enjoyed that a lot. Some may have different tastes, but I for one hope for more games like this.

[Terramax]

I haven't played it yet, but I own it. I waited about 6-12 months for the price to go lower than £9 but it stayed at that price on Amazon for months so I picked it up at that.

I looked on Amazon yesterday and now it's going for just £2!!!

And yep, buying a gamepad is a good thing. I've got a ps2 usb adaptor so I play AGs with my playstation pad. It doesn't feel weird at all. Or there are xbox or probably gamecube versions out there. It's worth a shot scribes.

[noknowncure]

Originally Posted by Thaurin

I wouldn't know, because I was happily thumbing my analogue sticks.

There's got to be a better way to say that.

[Bagpuss]

Yeah, I found keyboard movement fine, though in combat it seemed unresponsive. I often used the mouse to fine tune the direction, or to try and keep a side-on view to watch April's cloak billow in a cool way.

[Orange Brat]

What's so difficult about moving the character? You move the mouse to move the camera and press a button to move forward. Really difficult stuff there. More like typical and standard. If you can't learn how to control a direct control avatar I suggest you learn like the billions of other people who have.

[Thaurin]

I'm guessing it's possible that this person is only familiar with playing point-and-click adventure games and isn't very experiences with using a computer otherwise. I mean, a lot of the stuff we do on the computer comes natural to us, but have you ever watched an elderly person start with using a computer! It's so frustrating! (Sorry, mum) So where this person might have expected a classic point-and-click interface, he or she might have been confronted with differing controls that are completely alien. It's possible to learn, but it might have a steep curve.

On the other hand, it's also possible that there's a lot of whining going on on the internet.

[Crapstorm]

Originally Posted by Orange Brat

What's so difficult about moving the character? You move the mouse to move the camera and press a button to move forward. Really difficult stuff there. More like typical and standard. If you can't learn how to control a direct control avatar I suggest you learn like the billions of other people who have.

This is similar to asking a person who doesn't like reading a particular book, "what's so hard about reading this book?! You just scan your eyes over the letters on the page, recognize the words and then turn to the next page." It may not be the case that the person can't do those things. Probably he or she finds the task burdensome and not worth the payoff.

[scribeswindow]

Originally Posted by Thaurin

I'm guessing it's possible that this person is only familiar with playing point-and-click adventure games and isn't very experiences with using a computer otherwise. I mean, a lot of the stuff we do on the computer comes natural to us, but have you ever watched an elderly person start with using a computer! It's so frustrating! (Sorry, mum) So where this person might have expected a classic point-and-click interface, he or she might have been confronted with differing controls that are completely alien. It's possible to learn, but it might have a steep curve.

On the other hand, it's also possible that there's a lot of whining going on on the internet.

Just out of interest Thaurin, could you please specify what you do that comes 'natural' to you?

[Melanie68]

Originally Posted by Orange Brat

What's so difficult about moving the character? You move the mouse to move the camera and press a button to move forward. Really difficult stuff there. More like typical and standard. If you can't learn how to control a direct control avatar I suggest you learn like the billions of other people who have.

Please keep the rude tone out of your responses please. Not everyone is comfortable with direct control.

[DustyTrail]

Originally Posted by Thaurin

I'm guessing it's possible that this person is only familiar with playing point-and-click adventure games and isn't very experiences with using a computer otherwise. I mean, a lot of the stuff we do on the computer comes natural to us, but have you ever watched an elderly person start with using a computer! It's so frustrating! (Sorry, mum) So where this person might have expected a classic point-and-click interface, he or she might have been confronted with differing controls that are completely alien. It's possible to learn, but it might have a steep curve.

On the other hand, it's also possible that there's a lot of whining going on on the internet.

How silly do you feel now, dear?

[Thaurin]

Originally Posted by scribeswindow

Just out of interest Thaurin, could you please specify what you do that comes 'natural' to you?

Well, for things unrelated to gaming it might be typing blind and without thinking about it whereas my mother has to think about each and every key press; and using the mouse comes very natural to me; almost an extension of your limbs. It's a result of having used computers a lot for 25 years. Of course I'm going to have a different experience that someone that only casually uses a computer.

As far as gaming is concerned, the WASD + mouse thing has become pretty much the standard for FPS and third-person games. So juggling my left-hand fingers to move forward, turn around, go backwards and at the same time manipulate the camera so I keep a good view of my character and the room comes natural after you've played dozens of games that use the same controls.

I don't really remember what controls Dreamfall employed, but I'm guessing it was the classic WASD thing. So I guess I don't really have to think about steering and looking around. I just decide where to go and do it. At the same time, I can really imagine that a lot of adventure game players have never bothered with first-person shooters or anything. Maybe third-person RPG's like Gothic, which may have prepared them for such controls, but I can entirely see how someone has only played point-and-click games and feels that the controls are strange.

On the other hand, bad camera angles, collision problems and unresponsive controls do happen in games. I just don't remember Dreamfall being one of those games.

Originally Posted by DustyTrail

How silly do you feel now, dear?

No more than usual, really. Which is still pretty silly, but not so much that I'd go and feel embarrassed about it. Anyway, I thought that my post was only having a look at people's different experiences with playing games, not about "I CAN PLAI GAMEZ BETTAR THEN YOU!!1" so what's the deal?

[wycked]

I hated the character movement too, I just couldn't get into it enough to thorougly enjoy the game, so yeah, it WAS awkward. It wasn't the classic WASD, can't have been, as I'm very familiar with that and find it easy to use. I can't remember how exactely it worked but I've played lots of games in 3D environments without any problems but Dreamfall wasn't one of them. I promise it gets better though, if it hadn't I would've given up. There was one particular place later in the game I admit I gave up for a while. I had a friend, who had finished the game, help me get past the place because I was tearing my hair out :p

[Risingson]

Originally Posted by Thaurin

I don't really remember what controls Dreamfall employed, but I'm guessing it was the classic WASD thing. So I guess I don't really have to think about steering and looking around.

And you bash your opinion against the guy just basing on... guessings? You don't remember the movement but just say that if someone cannot feel confortable with it is that he/she is too old, too narrow-minded, or has not that very long experience (lol) with computer controls (lol) you have?

[aries323]

Yóu can configure Dreamfall to be a point and click game in the options menu.
And by that I mean, if you go into the options menu in the game, you can choose the mouse as the controller that makes your character go forward etc. in the game. You can also change the camera to third person.

The only bad thing about the controls in Dreamfall, to me, was the red band that you used to interact with your sorroundings. However, many people found it better to play Dreamfall using a joypad or gamepad.

[nl4m]

If it helps, the ending isn't all that great. It leaves much of the questions (raised through the game) in the dark.

Just out of interest Thaurin, could you please specify what you do that comes 'natural' to you?

Hahahahah... The first thing that naturally comes to a persons mind after buying a computer is to use it to learn and do homework

[Thaurin]

Originally Posted by Risingson

And you bash your opinion against the guy just basing on... guessings? You don't remember the movement but just say that if someone cannot feel confortable with it is that he/she is too old, too narrow-minded, or has not that very long experience (lol) with computer controls (lol) you have?

I wonder, why do you put words in my mouth? I have not said any of the things you claim I did. I'm not "bashing" my opinion against anyone. I have considered the possibility that someone can feel uncomfortable with some styles of control, and as an example I gave elderly people and how they hit their heads against walls trying to get to terms with how a keyboard/mouse works. I not once directly accused anyone of lack of computer experience. In fact, I could be totally wrong about my assertion, but should that stop me from putting it forth on this forum? Why so sensitive? I like the narrow-minded spin, though. Very creative.

Originally Posted by nl4m

If it helps, the ending isn't all that great. It leaves much of the questions (raised through the game) in the dark.

While you're right about the remaining questions, I thought the ending was very emotional and inspiring. I thought it was good story-telling. And after what I've read on some blog from a developer, I agree even more with the ending. The thing is, Zoe's story did end. There was character development and the threads that entail her life have had their conclusion. There is, however, an overarching plot that still has loose ties, but it is in the planning to release a sequel to fix that up. Apparently, the story is know to the developers and they know where they are going with this. So I have confidence that they will wrap it up eventually and it will be grand.

[Christian IV]

Scribeswindow,

I am sorry you had such a bad experience with Dreamfall, I did too, and thought the movement controls some of the WORST i have ever seen in any game, they are NOT standard WASD, they are a hybrid mongrel mix and mash and I HATE them with a passion and hope that FunCom NEVER ever uses this type of game control again. PC standard controls have a solid and honored history and should be respected, gamepads and other controls are fine for those who like them, but I feel strongly that the conventions of standard keyboard controls should be respected no matter what new fads of controling come and go, as they have, do and will.

FunCom was trying to create a new direction for adventure gaming and I am sorry to say, fell down hard with this game, the story line was a sad shadow of what it could have been with superficial and at times very hard to take parodies of characters, overly forced in emotional weight and meaning, and the game play was in some places, i.e.the combat sequences, just bad. It was very sad as I still feel the Longest Journey remains a masterpiece, one of the very best CGI games ever made yet, and the story line offers much to skilled and sophisticated development. There is hope for a sequel that may save the day.

For now, yes indeed you wasted your time and money and FunCom and Ragnar have yet to admit their many errors and failures with this game. And a final word, at times exchange on this forum can get a bit strong, pls enjoy sharing here and forgive some of the stings and arrows of outrageous fortune. thanks for sharing, and I am sorry about Dreamfall, but it is a lousy game in many ways when it should have been brilliant and has indeed some wonderfully beautiful scenes, especially Old Marchuria. Thanks again for your thread.