[Legolas813]

Anybody read the interview? Look at this part:

"HomeLAN - After the release of Still Life, what are Microids’s plans for future games?

Mathieu Larivière - We are currently working on next generation adventure games. We will add more action elements to our adventure game titles. We are presently working on two titles."

That statement has gotten me kind of worried. But, I guess they have no choice other than to evolve to the current market. Hey, Dreamfall is doing it. I just hope these "action elements" are done right.

BTW, I just realized Still Life comes out on the same day as Jade Empire, my other most hyped game. I don't know what I'm going to do!

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Yeah, as long as they're done in a way that is sympathetic to the player. I don't want a huge amount of action, but a few here and there, and only if it emerges naturally from the plot, and is very forgiving (i.e., the game prepares you for it).

[squarejawhero]

What Trep said.

Bearing in mind my recent conversations over at JA+, I can't wait to see what happens with this one...

[Erkki]

Originally Posted by squarejawhero

Bearing in mind my recent conversations over at JA+, I can't wait to see what happens with this one...

Could you give us a link? I don't visit the JA+ forums often, and I'm scared to enter it through normal means because I could accidentally notice an unrealted interesting thread or two and they would probably be at least 7 pages long...

[squarejawhero]

OK, don't say you aren't warned -

http://www.justadventure.com/cgi-bin...num=1105966238 (as they say in Spaced, "skip to the end")

http://www.justadventure.com/cgi-bin...num=1106704859

http://www.justadventure.com/cgi-bin...num=1106972026

http://www.justadventure.com/cgi-bin...num=1107009979

http://www.justadventure.com/cgi-bin...num=1107230629

HAVE FUN!

[Erkki]

Oh... I thought they were about Still Life (developers). As much as I read from a 2-3 of those threads, seemed similar to what we had here. So I'm not going to bother

[squarejawhero]

... and I wonder why I do. Wahey!

[Marek]

It seems there could be some equation where a certain level of production values demands action elements As always, time will tell.

[gillyruless]

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

Yeah, as long as they're done in a way that is sympathetic to the player. I don't want a huge amount of action, but a few here and there, and only if it emerges naturally from the plot, and is very forgiving (i.e., the game prepares you for it).

I'd pay a developer a good money to make me a game that has nothing but action. No story, no character, no puzzles, just action, action, action all the time. Once I have the game, I will force Trep to play it nonstop for weeks in an attempt to get him to be completely sick of action in any game. Maybe, then he will stop preaching for more action in adventure games and leave me alone with my adventure games.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

When does that action game come out?!! WHEN WHEN WHEN?!!!

[Wormsie]

Originally Posted by gillyruless

Maybe, then he will stop preaching for more action in adventure games and leave me alone with my adventure games.

You can still have those adventure games of yours. Your AGs will be different from Trep's AGs - or maybe you play the same AGs, but in a different way? *feeds gilly a chocolate truffle*

Of course, adventure game developers have this issue with trends. First Monkey Island -clones, then full motion video, then Myst -clones, now Syberia -clones... Things have always normalized, though. Before that, replay the classics and wait for a better tomorrow!

[gillyruless]

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

When does that action game come out?!! WHEN WHEN WHEN?!!!

It's in develpment now. It's scheduled to be released in 2Q 2006. Its tentative title is: Action Trepsie:Why There Shouldn't be any Action in Adventure Games.

Both funcom and Microid have a track record of developing quality games so who knows maybe they will somehow create a game that will not only satisfy people like Trep but also cause someone like me to scratch his/her head and say "I guess I might have been wrong all along".

[crabapple]

Originally Posted by squarejawhero

OK, don't say you aren't warned -

http://www.justadventure.com/cgi-bin...num=1105966238 (as they say in Spaced, "skip to the end")

http://www.justadventure.com/cgi-bin...num=1106704859

http://www.justadventure.com/cgi-bin...num=1106972026

http://www.justadventure.com/cgi-bin...num=1107009979

http://www.justadventure.com/cgi-bin...num=1107230629

HAVE FUN!

Why did you put the link for the Microids discussion last? (just wondering)

I thought what Randy had to say there was interesting:

Fact - adventure games on pc are not selling in big numbers. This is thanks in large part to adventure gamers who won't even pay $20 for a new game and are instead content to wait for the price to drop.

Fact - Sony & Nintendo will not publish a pure adventure game on console. Xbox will do so if you pay tons of money upfront, ie Ubisoft and Myst IV on Xbox. Also, Xbox games sales are not even half of PS2 game sales, so Xbox has been publishing genres usually not on console in an attempt to attract new gamers

Fact - Sony (PS2) has told developers/companies that the only way they will allow their adventure games to be on PS2 is if they include action elements. Don't believe me, ask the heads of Dreamcatcher, Quantic Dreams, Microids and numerous others I have spoken to.

I don't know when Sony would have decided this. The Playstation 1 versions of Myst, Dracula Resurrection, and the first two Broken Sword games didn't have any more "action" in them than the PC versions, did they? Does the Channelwood elevator count as "action?"

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by gillyruless

It's in develpment now. It's scheduled to be released in 2Q 2006. Its tentative title is: Action Trepsie:Why There Shouldn't be any Action in Adventure Games.

Both funcom and Microid have a track record of developing quality games so who knows maybe they will somehow create a game that will not only satisfy people like Trep but also cause someone like me to scratch his/her head and say "I guess I might have been wrong all along".

And what about things like action or reflex based challenges, you ask? Hey, it's not like every single adventure game from the dawn of mankind contained a requisite action bit every five seconds, right? Historically, action bits haven't been an incredibly vital element in adventure games - categorically they didn't need it, at least as a prominent feature. The extreme focus on narrative and challenges for the brain instead of the fingers and thumbs itself acts as enough of a filter to minimize action bits, if not eschew them altogether. There are, of course, some adventures that include them in very small doses, for better or worse, as a tool to conjure up suspense through a sense of immediacy. And that's okay!

- excerpt from The Cold Hotspot, AdventureDevelopers.com

[Legolas813]

Originally Posted by crabapple

I don't know when Sony would have decided this. The Playstation 1 versions of Myst, Dracula Resurrection, and the first two Broken Sword games didn't have any more "action" in them than the PC versions, did they? Does the Channelwood elevator count as "action?"

Syberia was made for Playstation 2.

[Leonard Shelby]

As long as Still Life remains a "pure" adventure mystery, I will be fine with this statement

[BoyToy]

Originally Posted by crabapple

This is the way to go, in my opinion.

I don't know the contracts independent developers have to sign, nor the rules you have to match to get the PS2 logo on a game.
But from my understanding of common laws, Sony can't dictate gameplay-restrictions on other developers and publishers. Sure they can try. And Sony can certainly decide not to publish action-less games on their own labels SCPS, SCUS, SCES. But everyting above that, would be an illegal attempt to restrict free competition/trade [don't know the pofessional term], I'd think.

Certainly, it would be easier if you had their support.

Originally Posted by Trepinator

When does that action game come out?!! WHEN WHEN WHEN?!!!

It's called "Space Invaders", you space alien.