[MoP]

Oh my. The way this is going, I've got a feeling the Two Guys might become a scapegoat for venting if the Tex Murphy project struggles (like poor ol' Larry was when Janes KS was crawling). Another reason why I think going all at once with these resurrections is a bad idea.

[orient]

Originally Posted by Lucien21

So is this game going to end up being a glorified flash game. HTML 5 is fine for browser stuff, but not really great for high end game design.

High end game design? This is an adventure game we're talking about. This browser-based/Flash stigma needs to end. A good game's a good game, no matter how it was made. Machinarium was made in Flash, as I'm sure were hundreds of other adventures. I understand not wanting a game to be limited by technical shortcomings, but with 2D adventure games? Come on, they're about as technically complex as Bejeweled.

As for the campaign - never played Space Quest so I have little interest personally, but a demo could change that. Like others, I'm kind of hanging out for Tex.

[Agustin]

You can do wonderful things with HTML5. It's the basis of many iOS apps and I've seen entire arcade games coded with it. It's undeniably a bold and risky move, but if done right, they could be pioneering a whole new trend of development.

[Gonchi]

Originally Posted by Siddhi

Also, there is now a new $115 tier that has the physical + digital versions. So its good to see that they are listening to what people are saying.

I saw, but I'm still calling bad form. They're the first (and hopefully only) ones to do it this way, cripple the physical release to raise the cost of the digital only and then charge more for what every other major kickstarter has included without extra cost, it just feels underhanded. I thought it'd been unintentional at first, but now I'm convinced it was done this way purposely and it's convinced me to not pledge at any of the higher tiers. I think they'll probably fix it towards the end of the kickstarter in the final push for additional funds though, but I'm still very disappointed.

[Jatsie]

I like the fact that they're planning to release a demo at every $100k milestone.

As someone who was never really a Space Quest fan, I don't have that immediate urge to pledge out of a sense of nostalgia. Seeing an example of what they have planned will hopefully sway me to stick my hand in my pocket.

I'm hoping they succeed, just because I support the broader reawakening of the genre, so I'll probably chip in something towards the end in any eventuality.

Thumbs up to them for hiring the voice of Portal's Glados.

[JuntMonkey]

I'm pretty confused about what problem people have with the pitch video and the project in general. The video is fine, and it's good that they have great voice actors already lined up as opposed to the crap we get in most adventure games.

[TimovieMan]

Originally Posted by JuntMonkey

I'm pretty confused about what problem people have with the pitch video and the project in general. The video is fine, and it's good that they have great voice actors already lined up as opposed to the crap we get in most adventure games.

Well, their very first video (before the Kickstarter) was SO boring that I never got beyond the second minute and then just clicked 30 seconds forward a few times to see if it improved. It didn't. The moving cardboard thing was weird, too.

Their Kickstarter video has a few of the same problems: the Two Guys have absolutely NO chemistry in the video, I don't find the video funny in the slightest, and I don't get why the biggest selling point is the voice actors. Voice acting should be one of the LAST things to get added to the game, if funding allows it. It should not be a sales pitch.

Personally I find their pitch video uninteresting, which leads to me having little incentive to read the entire text on the Kickstarter page. It just doesn't grab me at all.

It also doesn't help that I never liked the Space Quest games in the first place, so I'm not on the nostalgia crew. Heck, the first Space Quest game is one of the main reasons why I dislike early Sierra games (SQI was brutal, unforgiving and not funny in the least).

The pitch of this campaign seems mainly focused on the nostalgia factor. Bad call. They should aim for new audiences, because the nostalgia crew will follow no matter what.

This means they should change their campaign to accomodate new players, or even players that disliked the Space Quest games. The demos are a really good start, and could potentially do wonders for my view of their campaign. But until then I remain very unimpressed.

[Lhurgoyf]

So anybody managed to play the first demo? It seems the link overwhelmed with traffic at the moment, and besides it needs Google Chrome to run it... Is it worth installing Chrome for the demo?

[SpeedBo]

Originally Posted by Lhurgoyf

So anybody managed to play the first demo? It seems the link overwhelmed with traffic at the moment, and besides it needs Google Chrome to run it... Is it worth installing Chrome for the demo?

You could use Chrome Portable

[Siddhi]

I just played it. Its just a screen done in a pencil sketch style in which you can move around with a few frames of animation and a couple of interactions.

The whole thing takes about 30 seconds to complete after which you get to hear the closing commentary, where they explain what they are trying to do with the demo, and some other background info.

If you have Chrome already you can check it out. If not, I wouldn't install Chrome just for it. Instead jump straight to the closing comments here - http://guysfromandromeda.com/finishi...ark-prototype/

[Siddhi]

By the way, I just came across this interesting link which explains why the demos are in html5 - http://martinkool.com/post/227062246...ators-kickstar

[thejobloshow]

Alright, so I went and pledged. These guys are obviously working very hard on getting this project made!

[Johnathon]

Much thanks to you, sir.

I'm glad you can deduce this. I believe it's also clear that what they have in store is quite novel of an idea, considering their approach up to this point.

[Chrono-Serge]

I'll admit some possible bias, in that I am a big fan of the Space Quest games. In fact, I consider it to be my personal favorite adventure game series. I thought that the intro to the kickstarter video was quite sleek and well done, and I think that the Two Guys did a fine job in pitching their game, but people should keep in mind that they are game designers, not actors. They probably don't really have any experience in front of a camera, so maybe they don't come off as real charismatic here, but it's what they put into their games that counts, and not how they come across on video.As for the information given on the game's kickstarter page; I think that it is no less descriptive or specific than anything given in the Wasteland or Double Fine Adventure kickstarters.

Also, the game is in pre-production at this point, and that means that there couldn't possibly be much concrete information about plot and characters yet. Also, I do not see why they should be expected to expand their pitch to people who did not like Space Quest, or did not play them. Their target audience is obviously mainly people who are fans of their previous work, or more broadly, the Sierra style of adventure games. Some people do not like those games, and that is perfectly fine, but it just a matter of personal taste, and they are not obligated to change their game to appeal to everyone's different sensibilities. They should make a game that sticks to their own vision, and while their can be compromises, it shouldn't sacrifice its own integrity, in order to be attractive to everyone.

[zane]

Clear now that the "demos" will be pretty gimmicky and probably not a represenation of the game very much.
Thats not strictly a bad thing... I see them as playable update videos, a cute idea.

[Collector]

Originally Posted by TimovieMan

I don't get why the biggest selling point is the voice actors. Voice acting should be one of the LAST things to get added to the game, if funding allows it. It should not be a sales pitch.

I understand and appreciate that the SQ games did not appeal to you. There are a number of well regarded games that I personally have no use for, too. However, you have to realize that Gary Owens was the first voice talent onboard with the project. He was THE SQ narrator and big part of the charm of SQ. I don't think that you can draw too many parallels between the Kickstarter projects that are very much in the public eye and a more conventional project that much of the initial stages are behind closed doors.

I do agree that new players need to be considered, but you can't do it by completely alienating the loyal base. You do have to use the elements that made such a loyal fan base to begin with. For those that have not played a SQ game, I would suggest that you download the IA Space Quest II remake. It is free and perfectly captures the same spirit as the originals.

[Collector]

Originally Posted by zane

Clear now that the "demos" will be pretty gimmicky and probably not a represenation of the game very much

Not that there would be much developed yet to have anything like a real demo.

Originally Posted by zane

Thats not strictly a bad thing... I see them as playable update videos, a cute idea.

That is not a bad way to look at it. I would suspect that the next one will be of more substance, but again not necessarily representative of the game.

[zane]

Originally Posted by Collector

Not that there would be much developed yet to have anything like a real demo.

The big risk was calling it a demo. Peoples impressions can be tough to shake, and alot of people wont read the fine print, just play the demo and go "is this going to be a flash game... this is all they have done!? This still doesnt tell me anything about the game! Im mad and complaining!!!"
And of course no matter what engine they decide to use rumors will long persist that theyr using html5.

If you release a prototype at this stage it needs to look near-perfect, which isnt realistic. So i think they may have to explicity re-brand the demo as "proof of concept" and "interactive sketches" (which theyv said but need to say louder) and never call it a demo. Because i think theres a very significant amount of people out there that arent going to connect the dots.

[jfrisby]

I'd just like to say it's a bit disheartening to see the negativity here, and the beginnings of the "Tex Murphy vs. the world" war. Think that's a pretty bad for way long-suffering adventure game fans to come at this fundraising model.

It's pretty clear that every adventure game to launch after Double Fine is going to get labeled an "also-ran," pretty much regardless of the varied facts in the history of all of these games. I, for one, am pretty devoted to blindly pledging at least $30-50 dollars for pretty much every campaign out of some spirit of "we've all got to be in this together if the industry is actually going to pay attention to the genre" and "competition will likely improve all of these games."

I wasn't blown away by the Double Fine video, or with the whole scripted-skit-slickness of it. That really just screams "expensive marketing team" to me. Think it's pretty clear to anyone watching DFA closely that, while it's all looking great, the donated money is being used up crazy fast by that San Francisco slickness (so it's a trade off, really). I've appreciated the direct approach, since most of these people really don't belong in front of a camera, let alone whether any of them should be judged by the Kickstarter-popularity-contest, who has the coolest video thing, rather than their history.

And, personally, I think it's better for all these projects to approach Kickstarter with vague concepts. It allows some amount of all-things-to-all-people thinking, and is likely only the subject of criticism for, at most, a few hundred people in forums. On the whole a stronger stance for fundraising.

So the bar is set the highest for Tex Murphy now, renowned for it's FMV - they ought to have a better video than everyone, right? Does anyone actually think it could beat Tim Schafer's natural comic timing and insane level of charisma?

It's a pretty bad way to approach that project, and pretty bad way to think for the community in general. So, unless the Tex Murphy people are confident they've saved up enough money by not backing other projects and bashing them, I'd suggest they be a bit nicer, and inform themselves a bit more, about other games within the community.

For me, it's been 25 years too long to screw this up with this sort of crap, or video popularity contests.

[Fien]

I must say, I love the positivity in your post, jfrisby. Very uplifting.