[Kazmajik]

I don't know if this has been addressed, or if answering it is giving too much away (I really don't think it is) but I have to ask:

Can you die in this game?

[flamedrake]

It's been addressed a few times, and the answer seems to be no. Most recently, this interview from a Brazilian site (machine translated, sorry, but it's surprisingly coherent) brings it up.

It's kind of a shame; the GK series had some pretty clever death scenes.

[UPtimist]

I don't agree with it being a shame

Anyways, JJ also says: "I think it's basically an adventure point and click with a lot of inventory and mini-games". I hope Jane developed the minigames, as I'm afraid elseway (if that's even a real word) it'll just be the usual "there's a locked door: let's do a slider puzzle!". I'm sure Jane has enough insight to not do the usual filler-minigames. Also, maybe they're not so heavy on them as it may sound.

[Kazmajik]

Thanks, flamedrake. That was a good interview, one I hadn't seen before.

I guess it doesn't bother me much that you can't take a fatal step at any point in the game. In GK3 the only times death becomes possible are at the very end, and that certainly didn't lessen my enjoyment of the game up to that point.

I haven't read anything so far that alludes to the kind of menace in Gray Matter that would result in dying, anyway. I just was wondering, while counting the days...

[AndreaDraco83]

Originally Posted by UPtimist

Anyways, JJ also says: "I think it's basically an adventure point and click with a lot of inventory and mini-games". I hope Jane developed the minigames, as I'm afraid elseway (if that's even a real word) it'll just be the usual "there's a locked door: let's do a slider puzzle!". I'm sure Jane has enough insight to not do the usual filler-minigames. Also, maybe they're not so heavy on them as it may sound.

No sliders or the like, don't worry

When the game is released, you'll see what she meant with "mini-games", and they have nothing to do with the traditional conundrums we've seen a thousand of times already.

[UPtimist]

Yeah, what I thought too, thanks Of course I understand that a lot has to do with those magic tricks and all that...

You know, I really hope that it gets the coverage in magazines and the likes that it deserves. It'll miss a lot of potential customers if they can't even make it into reviews, or just into those little half-a-page-reviews.

[flamedrake]

Originally Posted by Kazmajik

I guess it doesn't bother me much that you can't take a fatal step at any point in the game.

Oh, it doesn't bother me by any means. I just meant the deaths in GK were pretty well-crafted and logically placed, so I would have expected the same from this game.

Originally Posted by AndreaDraco83

No sliders or the like, don't worry

How about jigsaw puzzles made out of scraps of notes with vital clues on them? There were like a dozen of those in the Women's Murder Club games.

[3rdFloor]

Originally Posted by UPtimist

You know, I really hope that it gets the coverage in magazines and the likes that it deserves. It'll miss a lot of potential customers if they can't even make it into reviews, or just into those little half-a-page-reviews.

I think most printed magazines (in North America at least) have long abandoned adventure games, both in pre-release coverage and reviews. For instance, PC Gamer only covers and writes reviews for Telltale Games now. I've been subscribed to that magazine for years, and I think the last non-Telltale AG they reviewed was Dracula 3 or something, in the fall of 2008. Since then, no Runaway, no Ghost Pirates, no Whispered World. Nothing. They simply don't bother anymore.

Then again, I see this as a very good thing, as all they did was bashing those games anyway. I still find PC Gamer magazine totally awesome for various reasons, but if it weren't for the Adventure Gamers and GameBoomers websites, and devoted communities like Mix & Mojo, there would be no press at all for adventures.

Which is to say, if I may return to the topic at hand, that I'm hoping Gray Matter will benefit from a strong level of exposure on the web, because it probably won't get any in the hardcore-dominated printed world.

[Monolith]

Originally Posted by flamedrake

How about jigsaw puzzles made out of scraps of notes with vital clues on them? There were like a dozen of those in the Women's Murder Club games.

You're comparing this game to a Hidden Object series?

[flamedrake]

It was a joke. (Jensen was the designer/writer on those games, if you didn't know, which is why I brought that up for comparison. They're not bad, for casual games anyway.)

[UPtimist]

Originally Posted by DeadWolf

... if it weren't for the Adventure Gamers and GameBoomers websites, and devoted communities like Mix & Mojo, there would be no press at all for adventures.

Which is to say, if I may return to the topic at hand, that I'm hoping Gray Matter will benefit from a strong level of exposure on the web, because it probably won't get any in the hardcore-dominated printed world.

Well, at least the major (= clearly biggest) gaming magazine in Finland (Pelit) covers pretty much all the AGs that come on retail here in Finland, which of course only means the bigger/biggest ones. And they're not very large articles of course (though not that small either - usually about a page with pictures included) but still I'm always happy to see them and they get very reasonable reviews too. And in the end, there are quite a few of them. Sometimes I've even been surprised at what they've reviewed, games I've only noticed mentioned here (of course I don't pay that much attention to games that I don't find that interesting).

Of course I realize Finland isn't that big an area, but that's just to point out that one can't say they don't get coverage at all

Oh, and I very much agree on your second point.

[Fien]

Both Mamba and amazon.co.uk are offering pre-orders of Gray Matter for only £11.71 (RRP: £29.99). Why would they sell it for such an incredibly low price??

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mamba-Games-...1374573&sr=1-1

[Intense Degree]

...by the power of greyskull!...

That actually worries me slightly for some reason.

[Fien]

It worries me too. But the low price is just one week.

[rayvio]

considering how little attention the adventure game genre gets, a low price is probably the best way to attract some attention to it. lots of first week sales should get it noticed, especially if it lives up to our expectations and all those impulse buyers go out and recommend it to their friends

[Kazmajik]

I'd buy it now if I could

[Fien]

Originally Posted by Kazmajik

I'd buy it now if I could

You can. Mamba Games ships to the US. Same low price. See the sticky discount
thread.

[PolloDiablo]

Only for the PC version though, the Xbox 360 version is still £29.99 (there is a discount, but not as much as for the PC version).
I have pre-ordered. Going to the gamescom next week, which has a playable demo of the game. I'll let you know if that demo makes me cancel my pre-order

[DustCropper]

I see that Mamba Games distributes games digitally as well. I assume though that this pre-order deal doesn't apply to digital download. Is that true?

[flamedrake]

So if you guys didn't see the news on the AG front page, the annual Gamescom trailer is out (yes I know it wasn't technically Gamescom before last year but still).

It took me a bit to notice, but the song at the start of the trailer seems to be the source of the melody that's been playing on the official site since just this side of forever, or possibly the other way around. Also, there's a bit of gameplay footage, finally, though it's still mostly cutscenes. Overall, I like it a lot, though the English translation leaves something to be desired.