[chapter11studios]

Originally Posted by Sik

Adventure games were big business back in the early 90s. Those flashy 256 color VGA graphics with detailed animations really showed off the PC as a gaming platform on par with consoles and the Amiga. A few gems came out, but it was much easier to cash-in on a weak adventure game with a lot of bells and whistles back then.

To release a polished adventure game today takes a lot of dedication and love for the genre, as the same amount of resources could be used on a safer investment than making an adventure game. The final product does have to justify the costs by selling reasonably well, though. More often than not, that means sticking to what has been done before. No matter how much love went into the development, the final product will seem like a "sell-out" to some people because it has to appeal to a broader market than just adventure gamers.

Excellent analysis, Sik.

[QuestVR]

I hate that the most popular thread about Vampyre Story has the current title. I was very excited about the game and am having a blast playing it. CMI was one of my most memorable gaming experiences and this game seems to have that sort of feel so far!

[Udvarnoky]

Originally Posted by Sik

No matter how much love went into the development, the final product will seem like a "sell-out" to some people because it has to appeal to a broader market than just adventure gamers.

But seriously, A Vampyre Story is about as traditional and old school as you can get. I really don't see this game appealing to anyone besides adventure gamers. The game's interface is nearly identical to that of CMI. Identical. It features hand-painted backgrounds. It's so perfectly obvious that Autumn Moon was shying away from reinventing the wheel here, looking backwards rather than forward, and that they were squarely targeting adventure gaming die-hards, banking on them by delivering the type of game they claimed they wanted to see. I just find it hilarious (but not in any way unexpected) that now that the game's out, it's immediately a sell-out, moneygrubbing product for the masses because it uses 3D models for its characters.

If A Vampyre Story can be construed as anything but an old-school, traditional, classical styled adventure game, then 2 + 2 = 7, and adventure gamers are officially impossible to please. It makes it pretty obvious why certain adventure making gods from the days of yore have opted to evolve the genre rather than pander to nostalgia - because no matter what they do, the same segment of the populous is always going to find something wrong with it.

[chapter11studios]

Originally Posted by Udvarnoky

It's so perfectly obvious that Autumn Moon was shying away from reinventing the wheel here, and that they were squarely targeting adventure gaming die-hards, banking on them by delivering the type of game they claimed they wanted to see. I just find it hilarious (but not in any way unexpected) that now that the game's out, it's immediately a sell-out, moneygrubbing product for the masses because it uses 3D models for its characters.

Me, personally, I haven't been this excited about a computer game in at least a decade. Probably not since CMI came out. I'm actually buying a new computer just to play this game, since my current laptop can't handle it. That's how excited I am, and how much I want to support what Autumn Moon is doing. I'm so grateful they've made a game like this.

Originally Posted by Udvarnoky

It makes it pretty obvious why certain adventure making gods from the days of yore have opted to evolve the genre rather than pander to nostalgia - because no matter what they do, the same segment of the populous is always going to find something wrong with it.

Unfortunately, this is just what happens in every genre, not exclusive to adventure games or even games in general. Maybe I'll buy two copies to make up for Guybrushwhereareyou.

[Sik]

Originally Posted by Udvarnoky

But seriously, A Vampyre Story is about as traditional and old school as you can get. I really don't see this game appealing to anyone besides adventure gamers. The game's interface is nearly identical to that of CMI. Identical. It features hand-painted backgrounds. It's so perfectly obvious that Autumn Moon was shying away from reinventing the wheel here, looking backwards rather than forward, and that they were squarely targeting adventure gaming die-hards, banking on them by delivering the type of game they claimed they wanted to see. I just find it hilarious (but not in any way unexpected) that now that the game's out, it's immediately a sell-out, moneygrubbing product for the masses because it uses 3D models for its characters.

If A Vampyre Story can be construed as anything but an old-school, traditional, classical styled adventure game, then 2 + 2 = 7, and adventure gamers are officially impossible to please. It makes it pretty obvious why certain adventure making gods from the days of yore have opted to evolve the genre rather than pander to nostalgia - because no matter what they do, the same segment of the populous is always going to find something wrong with it.

Oh, I agree with most of this, so maybe my "appeal to a broader market" comment was a bit off. What I meant was just that quite a few people not familiar with the genre might buy the game based on the disneyesque artwork, and light-hearted theme. That's already a "sell-out" by some people's standards.

On the other hand, as you say, the gameplay is as traditional as point and click adventure games get. That'll alienate a few people who value innovation and creative storytelling highly. Overall, though, they probably gain more sales by having an attractive packaging than they lose by not re-inventing point and click adventure games.

[chapter11studios]

Originally Posted by Sik

On the other hand, as you say, the gameplay is as traditional as point and click adventure games get. That'll alienate a few people who value innovation and creative storytelling highly. Overall, though, they probably gain more sales by having an attractive packaging than they lose by not re-inventing point and click adventure games.

I DON'T think a point-and-click interface and creative storytelling are mutually exclusive.

[AndreaDraco83]

Originally Posted by chapter11studios

I think a point-and-click interface and creative storytelling are mutually exclusive.

I totally disagree. Point & Click is an interface, thus a medium through which convey a story and/or a meaning. It has nothing to do with how a story can be creatively, masterfully told or how much groundbreaking it may be. In the hands of a mature, expert storyteller even the most contrived medium can become an effective and creative way to tell a story.

[JohnGreenArt]

Originally Posted by AndreaDraco83

I totally disagree. Point & Click is an interface, thus a medium through which convey a story and/or a meaning. It has nothing to do with how a story can be creatively, masterfully told or how much groundbreaking it may be. In the hands of a mature, expert storyteller even the most contrived medium can become an effective and creative way to tell a story.

I may be mistaken but I don't think Chapter11 meant "mutually exclusive" as the phrase is defined.

Just to clarify, "mutually exclusive" basically means if you have one, you can't have the other. So, Chapter11, your statement means you think that because it's a Point & Click game, it CAN'T have creative storytelling.

Am I correct in thinking that's not what you actually meant?

[Ascovel]

I think Chapter11 was just being sarcastic.

[chapter11studios]

Originally Posted by Ascovel

I think Chapter11 was just being sarcastic.

I think I typed too fast. I meant to write: "I DON'T think a point-and-click interface and creative storytelling are mutually exclusive." Just updated the original post to reflect that.

Originally Posted by AndreaDraco83

I totally disagree. Point & Click is an interface, thus a medium through which convey a story and/or a meaning. It has nothing to do with how a story can be creatively, masterfully told or how much groundbreaking it may be. In the hands of a mature, expert storyteller even the most contrived medium can become an effective and creative way to tell a story.

Well said. I agree!

[Sik]

Sorry about that. I used the terms "innovation" and "creative storytelling" in a thread that didn't have "The adventure game genre is dead!" or similar in the title. :p

For the record, I meant "creative storytelling" in the "tell a story in a way that hasn't been done before" sense. Reverse chronological order and stuff like that. (Yeah, I know, that's nothing new, but I'm not a creative person.) Sometimes, I think I should come with my own personal thesaurus when posting on the Internet, but then again, that goes for most people.

There are certainly no limits in the point and click interface in regards to storytelling. Anything unique is risky to market, though. After choosing "adventure game" as the medium, potential profit is already low. The last thing a developer needs when looking for a publisher is bringing more risk to the equation. A good story is always a pro, of course, but telling it in an unusual way may not be.

[adfegg]

Hello, I'm curious about this apparent Collector's Edition. What extras do we get in that then?

[ozzie]

- Statues of Froderick and Mona
- A Soundtrack CD
- A puzzle
- A postcard from Traxsylvania

Apparently the manual should have some nice concept arts, but some people who bought it say otherwise. So, I don't know. Maybe, maybe not.

[Melkor]

A few questions:

1. Are the annyoing white 1-pixel line around the screen still present in the full game (guessing it's AA-related)?
2. What kind of options does the full game have in terms of resolution (if they stick with whatever was in the demo, I'm flabbergasted, because it seemed to be something like 800x600)?

As for the demo, sadly, I wouldn't buy the game after just playing the demo. I think the puzzle was convoluted (but by no means horrible); the idea system simply didn't work at all; and the sound quality was strangely low.

It's not that Mona's voice is bad, it's that they seem to have compressed the sound worse than any old LA CD-ROM game. And in combination with having the levels all at 100, it sounds horrible (lower the voice level a bit, and it gets somewhat better). It's a couple of strange choices, really. It's not like you'll gain a lot of space by compressing sounds heavily. And not mixing the levels at all doesn't make any sense.

I will most definitively buy the full game, but the demo wasn't all that. I hope the sound is uncompressed in the full game. I'm sure the idea system is still in, but I guess I'll just have to deal with that (even though I think it's something Tiller should have scrapped at the idea stage, because it makes NO sense whatsoever (at least the way it's used in the demo)).

[Thello]

Originally Posted by Melkor

1. Are the annyoing white 1-pixel line around the screen still present in the full game (guessing it's AA-related)?
2. What kind of options does the full game have in terms of resolution (if they stick with whatever was in the demo, I'm flabbergasted, because it seemed to be something like 800x600)?

1) Yes, at least on my system.
2) There are none.

I'm not really sure what to think of this game. I'm only an hour in. The art is beautiful, but that almost seems to be the only thing I'm really enjoying out of it. It just isn't funny, unless you happen to love puns. Mona's giggling at every lame joke Froderick makes is grating. And speaking of Froderick, I think the game would be about fifty times better if he just fucking died at some point.

This game has a habit of taking a gag that would be funny and then extending it through another minute of unnecessary dialogue. Their writers don't know where their own punchlines are.

[Snatcher42]

I have those white lines in every game that uses AA. It's a graphics card issue, and I don't think something the game developers can fix. Both the demo and full game are fixed at 1024x768 resolution, but the sound is much better in the full game.

[Squinky]

Originally Posted by chapter11studios

"Guys" like Roberta Williams, Lori Cole, Jane Jensen, and Christy Marx, you mean?

They can be honourary guys.

[aries323]

I've played the (english) demo. Had to use a (german) walkthrough to get out of the door.

The puzzle was logical enough, but why of why can't I (or rather my character=Mona)

Spoiler:

just fly out the door's window, or pry the door open with the pickaxe. I had to do all kind of stuff which in itself was ok, but in the end the puzzle felt a bit silly to me. It was logical enough that you had to go out the chimney when the door is blocked since the chimney is the only other way out.

This is exactly why I dislike some adventure game puzzles...

I haven't seen enough of the game to make this or must buy or not...

[Melkor]

Well, the lines are a deal-breaker for me. I don't care who I need to call to fix it, but I'm not playing with it. I guess I'll be turning off AA in the meantime.

Why they're going for 1024x768 (fixed) is completely beyond me. My aperture grille CRT from over ten years ago had a larger «native» resolution than that (and aperture grille CRT's had smaller native resolution than the rest, mind you). It's not like it's a problem with fill-rate, as I'm pretty sure any card capable of storing the textures are capable of rendering it at resolutions far beyond this.

Strange tech decisions. Very strange.

[Henke]

Does the game really need higher resolution? It's not like you see big ugly pixels in 1024x768. It feels like it's a rather sane choice to have fixed resolution in a game with 2D backgrounds.