[squarejawhero]

THANKS LAURA! Sounds like Wael and his team are on their way to creating something uniquely special! I just hope they don't get done by the publisher come voiceover time. But when that's my only worry, that's pretty good.

[AFGNCAAP]

"Flying under the radar until now?" I wouldn't say so. Then again, I am the second person to post in this thread, so maybe the game is overlooked. Strange, as it looks fantastic.

The thing I like the most is how the preview stresses pure fun being the main goal designers want to achieve! I can't wait for trying all those vehicles!

[fov]

The full game will include stops in Cairo, San Francisco, Bombay and Okihama.

I knew it!

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by AFGNCAAP

"Flying under the radar until now?" I wouldn't say so. Then again, I am the second person to post in this thread, so maybe the game is overlooked. Strange, as it looks fantastic.

It's 'under the radar' because most other big gaming sites (and printed publications) are not featuring it, therefore most people beyond the adventure gaming communities don't know about it. It really depends on how publisher Focus Home Interactive is handling it. But I can more or less surmise that 'zines like PC Gamer or PC Games will not consider it feature worthy (cover worthy, lavish ten page spread, etc.), as they tend to focus more on envelope pushing games of other kinds - remember, those games featured on the cover affect the sales of printed publications, and games featured in sites like Gamespy and Gamespot are so because the publisher 'bought' the privilege.

As it stands, I see 80 Days as innovative only within the adventure game genre - think of it as the Grand Theft Auto of modern adventure games, and how many adventure games offer that kind of experience?

[squarejawhero]

Originally Posted by fov

I knew it!

Do you think it'll feature the Castro?

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Hey wait a minute! You just mentioned that you were kidding about you being gay!

[Jackal]

It certainly hasn't had a lot of press, even in the adventure community. Still, "flying under the radar" was mostly just a play on words to go with the airship thumbnail. "Take the world by storm" was, too. Everyone all caught up now?

Focus is just the French publisher, while dtp will be publishing in Germany and a few other countries. Much like so many other games, no English publisher yet.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by Jackal

Much like so many other games, no English publisher yet.

Figures.

Ah well, we'll be waiting.

[mszv]

Darn - I can't think of another "flying under the radar" analogy to apply here!

That was a great preview, and it looks like a really good game. I hope it gets a US publisher. If not, as long as it also comes out in English (the language) I know I'll be able to buy it somewhere.

[squarejawhero]

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

Hey wait a minute! You just mentioned that you were kidding about you being gay!

Who said anything about being gay? That area rocks no matter what your partiality! Great cafés too. My ex and I sat down in a diner and got served by a hugely camp waiter, who sat down (flamboyantly! I'm not joiking!) to talk with us about what to do in San Fran! Brilliant place, the Castro.

[samIamsad]

Maybe they should just call it Six Days, Seven Nights. Half the development cost, twice the name recognition.

edit:

[fov]

So, about that 80 Days preview.

I finally just watched the trailer. I must admit, I'm looking forward to the SF parts the most, esp. after seeing them in the trailer. But I have to wonder how historically accurate it is. 1899 is pre-earthquake, so some research would have had to go into the buildings, etc. of the time (i.e. there are no guarantees that what a street looks like now is anything like what it looked like then...)

But I guess if they're including the Love Boat music and guys in 70s jumpsuits with Afros, historical accuracy probably isn't all that high on the priority list.

[wael]

We made research of the pre earthquake period, but it wasn't that conclusive, I mean that on the architecture level few people would have recognized SF. We prefered to keep it as it is now, so players would have a feeling to be at "home". nevertheless, don't expect to find your favorite places in the game, just some members of various "communities" or "minorities".
For the UK and US publishing, we are discussing now with some people, but I must admit that we meet difficulties for the US that I never met before, due to the absence of PC sales points in the US. It's the first time that I think seriously about not selling a product there, it's a nonsense to go on such an empty market with no publishers at all (forget empty shell as DCI). I spoke with Microids boss today who is absolutely stunned by the decrease of sales in North America among other bad news.
The english version of "80 days" will be the first one to be ready as we assume ourselves localization, but so far I'm not sure it will be useful.

[fov]

Originally Posted by wael

We made research of the pre earthquake period, but it wasn't that conclusive, I mean that on the architecture level few people would have recognized SF. We prefered to keep it as it is now, so players would have a feeling to be at "home".

Good point... the architecture is what made me recognize it as San Francisco in the first place.

For the UK and US publishing, we are discussing now with some people, but I must admit that we meet difficulties for the US that I never met before, due to the absence of PC sales points in the US. It's the first time that I think seriously about not selling a product there, it's a nonsense to go on such an empty market with no publishers at all (forget empty shell as DCI). I spoke with Microids boss today who is absolutely stunned by the decrease of sales in North America among other bad news.

This doesn't sound good. Have PC sales declined that much? Is it that the sales are going to consoles, or that they're not staying steady / growing at the same rate as console sales?

[wael]

We sold 4 times more "mummy" than "silver earring".
I had four proposals last year with the silver earring in the US, not one with 80 days, which is really a huge paradox, when you think about the innovation an renewal in 80 days. But my situation is not unique, all PC developers meet the same, by the way you won't find big team in the US making adventure games. Even Microids sold their studio: the most popular games are not making money, even when done in Quebec (where state pays 30% of your whole cost)
I think the PC market is not decreasing, it's just being ignored (as Laura says).
But not all the games can be made on 360 and PS3, they'll cost too much and be too difficult to realize.