[Ascovel]

Originally Posted by Thello

It's a trilogy that will never be finished.

I think it's a two-parter rather than a trilogy. The second chapter is also funded by Crimson Cow and is far underway in the production process. The worst thing that can happen is that the two A Vampyre Story games will be the only games from Autumn Moon, but from what Bill revealed about having made deals with several companies, the prospects seem to be looking good.

[Fien]

Originally Posted by rtrooney

Always nice to know that people are tracking my posts.

Yeah? Too bad you have such a bad memory...

[chapter11studios]

Originally Posted by Thello

I feel sorry for Bill Tiller. He's somewhat a product of a bygone era. He has such talent, but nobody is willing to make use of it.

Seems like an odd thing to say considering that he just had a new game released...

[Melanie68]

Originally Posted by rtrooney

Always nice to know that people are tracking my posts.

Originally Posted by Fienepien

Yeah? Too bad you have such a bad memory...

If you need to continue this discussion, please take it to PM.

[rtrooney]

Originally Posted by Fienepien

Yeah? Too bad you have such a bad memory...

I'm 60 years old. I'm allowed. My guess is that I've been playing games longer than you have been alive.

[rtrooney]

Originally Posted by Melanie68

If you need to continue this discussion, please take it to PM.

I would be happy to take it wherever you want me to take it. I didn't start it. My comment was on the value of demos vs. the cost of the game.

Specifically, in this thread, I didn't think the AVS demo would justify a buying decision on my part. And, I gave examples of other game demos that also did or didn't justify a game purchase decision.

If I got a price point wrong, (which I don't think I did,) so what?

It's not an issue I plan to pursue.

[Thello]

Originally Posted by chapter11studios

Seems like an odd thing to say considering that he just had a new game released...

From a studio he founded.

The guy said it himself not long ago: he couldn't find any work as a 2D background artist, even despite his abundance of talent. The problem is that Bill is quite clearly not a writer, and it shows in A Vampyre Story.

[Iv4n]

I guess I'm one of the few who likes the voices. IMO you all should be more respectful to Bill Tiller and co. Personally I'm enjoying this game very much. I don't have any complaints whatsoever. I've also found a lot of references (from MI to LOST). For me it's simply the best adventure for this year. I don't remember when I've enjoyed a game so much. Thanks Bill for bringing this masterpiece

[Fien]

Originally Posted by rtrooney

I'm 60 years old. I'm allowed. My guess is that I've been playing games longer than you have been alive.

I'm 60 years old, just like you.

[Thello]

Originally Posted by Iv4n

IMO you all should be more respectful to Bill Tiller and co.

Just because I think his game isn't very funny doesn't mean I don't respect the guy. I just feel that he took a mis-step somewhere in trying to be so much like the games that came before him. Wacky sidekicks, pop culture references, and "tee hee, we're in a video game" nudges are so tired.

[ozzie]

Well, I hope that he will recognize the weaknesses in his writing or that he will hire someone that can write better.

[ncf1]

I agree completely with Thello. The word "tired" came to me many times whilst playing the game, there really was nothing at all original in the game. The whole Froderick/Mona partnership was really almost identical to that of Sam and Max's and it seemed from the start that this game was simply attempting to take the best bits from past classic adventures and tie them all up into what would certainly then be a new classic in itself. That whole methodology is just wrong - there's nothing worse than being unoriginal and I think that the main reason Monkey Island for instance is such a classic is that they wrote much of it on-the-fly and tried things that were never attempted before, which made it fresh, original and in the end even timeless.

Unfortunately though this benchmark has been seen as the ultimate and the whole MI thing has turned into a horse than has been flogged to death. Sure, it's nice to see an adventure crafted in the way of the old classics but a tired, boring rehash is just not on the cards; and if it has to be a rehash then at least get a great script because a classic script alone can make for replayability. The AVS script is just rubbish, to be totally blunt.

It just really is a shame that such a work of art has to be a largely forgettable gaming experience.

[chapter11studios]

Originally Posted by Thello

Just because I think his game isn't very funny doesn't mean I don't respect the guy. I just feel that he took a mis-step somewhere in trying to be so much like the games that came before him. Wacky sidekicks, pop culture references, and "tee hee, we're in a video game" nudges are so tired.

One person's "tired" is another's "charmingly retro."

Edit: Sorry, that came across as snippy. What I meant to say, basically, is that it's probably a matter of taste. Me, I'm bored with the new breed of adventures that have been coming out lately and I'm really happy to see an adventure that's such a loving throwback to a different era of gaming.

Now, perhaps the execution of the concept isn't as good as it could have been (I don't know because I can't play it till my new PC arrives in a few more weeks), but I don't think the atmosphere as you describe it sounds tired at all. I think it sounds refreshing, actually.

[dumping]

this game is definitely among my best ones in 2008, and one of the best AG I played in the recent years.

So thank you for it! I'm sure as hell gonna play the sequels.

[thriftweed]

Has anyone found an English review for this game yet? I have checked all the links thrown up by Google but nothing.
It's weird.. I would have thought there would have at least been one by now.

[chapter11studios]

Does anyone have a listing of the game's required specs, i.e. graphics card, RAM, etc.? I don't see the info on the AVS website or here at AG, either.

[Ascovel]

Minimum requirements

* CPU: 1.6 GHz, Windows XP / Windows Vista
* 512 MB RAM
* 256 MB video card GeForce FX-generation or ATI Radeon 9500 DirectX 9.0 compatible
* DirectX 9.0 compatible sound card (also onboard)
* 3 GB hard disk space

Recommended

* CPU: 2 GHz, Windows XP / Windows Vista
* 512 MB RAM
* 512 MB video card GeForce 6 or ATI Radeon 9800 DirectX 9.0 compatible
* DirectX 9.0 compatible sound card (also onboard)
* 5 GB hard disk space

[chapter11studios]

Thanks, Ascovel! A friend of mine is interested in buying this too but wasn't sure if it would run on her computer. Now we know.

[GarageGothic]

I think those minimum requirements are a bit exaggerated. I understand that they don't want guarantee that all antiquated hardware will be compatible, but I'm running it with a 64MB GeForce 4 MX video card, and it's working fine (had to use Drawken's workaround for turning off the anti-aliasing though). Room loading is somewhat slow and I get increased audio glitches the longer I play, so sometimes I must quit and restart the game, but this doesn't seem related to the video card.

So far I'm not all that impressed with the game. Sure, the visuals are lovely and the voice acting is generally pretty good. But the puzzles and their structure feels quite old-fashioned and sometimes even lazy. Seriously, I just solved an extended puzzle that consisted entirely of repeating actions and running back and forth between two of the most distant parts of the castle.

[mill]

I for one loved the game in many ways. I just finished the game, and for those of you who haven't gotten your fangs into this game yet, let me summarize it like this:

It's probably as close as you can get to the old classics* from the golden years.

The game and the dialogue is actually funny, and not just trying to be funny like Runaway or Broken Sword was. Also, the backdrops are beautifully hand drawn, and even though the characters are in 3D, they actually have a hand drawn look and feel to them (which is not the case with the newer Sam & Max games).

I was very dissappointed in the new Sam & Max games, atleast graphic wise. It was probably my own fault -- I wanted it to be the old Sam & Max game I remembered and loved. In other words, it had to be in 2D! Asking the developers (Telltale), it is simply too expensive to make a game in 2D -- it is much cheaper to make it in 3D, simple as that.

So, when you see the backdrops in this game, and you grew up with games like MI 1 and 2, Full Throttle, the old Sierra classics etc, you just automatically love a game looking like this. And yes, I know you miss the good old games.

The puzzles were also pretty good, some logical, but most of them are wonderfully weird and Lucas Artsy, which is good in my book.

The voice acting is actually good. I dunno what happend to the demo though. The high pitched voice is pretty good actually.

To sum it up:
+ graphics, of course
+ story
+ puzzle design
+ user interface
+ the humour
+ music and sounds
+ references to the old classics (thingamabob, yay!)
+ Mona's side kick (rip-off from Sam & Max, more or less)
+ good re-use of locations (in the first part anyway)
+ the tab and space, a good way of making the game easier for not so experienced adventurers (no, internet is the worst thing that happened to adventure games, way too easy to find walkthroughs)
- The pre-rendered cut scenes look waaaaay worse than the game itself, which is a bit odd. What on earth happened to them?!
- The character models were a bit low-poly (even I could have drawn a better looking see monster)
- Did I mention the cut scenes were horrible?
-

Spoiler:

- The game is very very short, and you'll probably think "what, is it over? wtf?!"

This is, of course, my personal opinions, but if you liked Monkey Island etc, you'll probably like this game as well, even though it is not as nearly as good as MI (which is probably impossible).

* = That is if you like Monkey Island 1 & 2, Sam & Max etc, ie funny comic looking games.