Discworld

HotOnTheBlock · 10-20-2003, 08:08 PM

British humor has always been something of a strange thing. From Monty Python to Blackadder and The Goodies to Harry Hill, it's always had that offbeat, zany feel. It is this same curious brand of amusement that Discworld is based upon.

Inspired by the novels written by Terry Pratchett, Discworld is a fantastic adventure game by Pyognosis that while released eight years ago, still rings with charm and jokes that a are as funny as they were back then. The cast comprises of little more than five vocal actors, all adjusting their accents and voices to match the characters they play, but the two that stand out in particular are Eric Idol (Monty Python) and Tony Robinson (Blackadder) the former of which provides a full commentary for the beloved wizard Rincewind and the latter of which takes on what can't be any less than 70% of the voices you'll hear.. they really must have wanted to get the most out of his studio time.

As Rincewind, you must take on a variety of tasks, the first of which set by the Arch-Councellor involves you tracking down a dragon, and disposing of it. With the assistance of luggage (a dog-like suitcase with twenty or so legs) that follows you everywhere, you must traipse around the medieval-like city, collecting inventory items in all manner of bizarre ways and use these to track-down the flame-throwing beast. The puzzles in Discworld are just as ridiculous as the characters (one involves you pick pocketing an old man for his oversized pink bloomers) and most will have you reaching with sweaty mitts for a hint book.

The music that accompanies the game is very enjoyable, and adds a"ye olde mystical" feel, and though it tends to follow the usual quiet clumsy feel that alot of adventures fall victim to, there's always a new tune for each locale and most often are memorable (just take a listen to that startling catchy midi rendition of The Girl From Ipanema!) and while they aren't as robust as Lucasart's iMuse system, they all blend along in a beautiful way.

The graphics are fantastic for it's time, and use hand-scanned backgrounds that truly capture the magic of the book cover art. Cobbled streets, thatched houses, gleaming castles, old rustic inns and even a seedy brothel are thrown into this middle centaury masterpiece. The animations for the characters are pretty good too, albeit a little jerky in places and sometimes conveys the action a little slower than one would wish. The characters also tend to suffer from the Sierra-coined "jaggy edges" although this doesn't distract you from the atmosphere too much.

The vocals, as I mentioned are great from Eric and Tony, however there are few of other actors in the game, and unfortunately they just don't quite cut it. The discussion with the cheeky street urchin or man-hunting amazonian woman may send your index finger running for the nearest period key, while Windle Poons senile-but-funny dialogue will probably send you to sleep before you finish the game.

With these minor gripes on the art and vocals out the way, there have been reports of buggish activity regarding doors.. in the sense you can walk through closed ones. You may also find Rincewind pulling faces in the middle of a conversation, thanks to bad coding. Rincewind's voice will often change actor, and almost always the volume of conversations will vary in volume. Apart from these few problems, I couldn't find too many other bugs with this otherwise fine game.

Another thing I love is the way the jokes are thrown at you in all manner of entertainment. For instance, in the castle grounds, you can clearly see a man try and scale the moat without much success. A small mouse who walks around the fruit stall in the square gets hit by a falling tomato. The tax collector in the stocks who was thrown into them by one of the old men. Even the Dunny King in the alley has something entertaining to say. I can't think of many games that are this funny, and as I said the humor is very British, so be prepared to jump up for your dictionary now and then.

Some way into Act II you'll find yourself having to travel back in time to the evening before the day you just played. After this quick trip (via following a thief in the library) you'll find yourself in night Ankh-Morpork, and I must say the art was handled very well. Every area is transformed into evening with new items ready for your disposal, making the re playability for the game even better since you'll be going around looking at the same areas in a different light, so to speak.

The game is huge. Absolutely huge. You'll be playing it for months and months without hints, due to it's incredibly difficult puzzles and vast locations. Later in the game, you can even explore outside of Ankh-Morpork and explore the rest of the disc (even venturing to the very edge of the world, complete with the for elephants). Even though the urge to cheat will beckon you alot, I'd advise that you try to resist, because it really is a reward once you've figured out an incredibly difficult task on your own.. even more so than many other adventure games. One thing that may contribute to the difficulty might be the amount of places you can visit at one single time, and their immense detail.

Given that it's a large game, it doesn't install all it's guts on your hard drive.. in fact, it only put saved games and config files there, and despite this, I didn't have any load problems or scene changing delays. The menu systems is fun too, and uses a font that is actually alot better than alot of rival adventures, with glorious glowing buttons to enhance the chore of saving or loading. Yes my friends, there is alot of eye candy here and it truly does make the experience alot more authentic and enjoyable.

To round things up, despite a few voice problems, door opening bugs, graphical glitches and characters voices changing now and then, it's pretty much flawless. When it was released it gain critical acclaim and was regarded as an excellent game for it's time, and is in my opinion far superior to the sequels. The second game seemed to take after King's Quest's cartoon style graphics, whereas the third looks like a blatant attempt to recreate Grim Fandango. The best bet is to start with this little gem.. thanks to this game, I'm now an avid fan of the books and the whole Discworld universe.. who says computer games aren't be aren't educational.

Pros: Hilarious situations, great cast, magnificent graphics and massive game play.
Cons: Some poor voice acting, alot of bugs, some near-impossible puzzles and some animation problems.

remixor · 10-20-2003, 08:17 PM

I've been meaning to get my hands on this game for a while. Nice Review

Except...

Quote:

Originally Posted by HotOnTheBlock

the third looks like a blatant attempt to recreate Grim Fandango.

No.

DomStLeger · 10-21-2003, 12:03 AM

Nice review HotOnTheBlock, I agree with you almost entirely. The puzzles were especially difficult in thie game. But very satisfying as you say. And it was a long game, with a great end scene

I take it from your concluding paragraphs you haven't had a chance to play either of the other 2 games? Discworld 2 is more of the same, but easier. A very fun game to play with lots of great moments.

Discworld Noir... ah discworld noir... Grim Fandango clone, no. But one of the best adventure games ever made? - imo yes. It's a brilliant and innovative gem of a game. Very atmospheric and with some very good plot twists helping push this game to the top. It's got a new character, Lewton, not based on anyone in Terry's books but who works very well. Definately check it out, it's back out on budget in the UK (in a cool DVD case made to look like a little like a Discworld book)

Sadly Noir didn't do as well as Discworld 1 or 2, which were both huge hits. The only reason was that the company that made it, Perfect Entertainment, went bankrupt soon afterwards due to some legal mess. So it was never patched and was quickly forgotten. A massive shame.

Becky · 10-21-2003, 01:16 AM

Superficially, Discworld Noir is like Grim Fandango. Noir atmosphere. Locations in a bars and a casino. Obvious echos of Casblanca. Quirky characters. A character who functions as the Grim Reaper. Tongue-in-cheek humor.

I thought the games were similar at first.

Once you've played partway through Noir though you realize that the games are really not much alike. Grim's locations are far more varied. Although there are some great one-liners, snappy one-liners are only a part of the mix. Grim is also more linear. Grim has a wider variety of puzzles. Grim takes you on a wide-ranging quest.

Noir takes place entirely within one map (the city of Ankh-Morpork). It has many more references to popular culture. It has much more dialogue. Snappy one-liners are constant. Noir is non-linear to the extent that you are often unsure what to do next. Almost all the puzzles are pixel-hunts or inventory/notebook based. Noir asks you to solve a mystery. Then a mystery within the mystery. Then a mystery within the mystery within the mystery.

Whereas Grim is a journey, Noir is an investigation, peeling back layer after layer.

They do each have a particular brilliantly funny over-the-top sequence. Grim -- during the strip search. Noir -- the conversation with the creature in the sewer.

remixor · 10-21-2003, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Becky

They do each have a particular brilliantly funny over-the-top sequence. Grim -- during the strip search. Noir -- the conversation with the creature in the sewer.

Oh man, Grim's whole "metal detector" sequence was one of the funniest parts of the game for me. It was totally gratuitous, and the game milked it for all it was worth.

Becky · 10-24-2003, 07:53 PM

It was like trying to stop a runaway train. I loved it.

Captain Blondebeard · 08-10-2004, 11:10 PM

I had a very hard time sitting through the horrible dialogue but the game was fun. This game went way overboard in the humor dialogue but the gameplay was fun. Above average overall.

remixor · 08-10-2004, 11:29 PM

Gadzooks, how'd you dig this one up?

Captain Blondebeard · 08-11-2004, 10:00 PM

Im still catching up on this sites content. I really love this place.

10-20-2003, 08:08 PM	#1
HotOnTheBlock Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 5	Discworld British humor has always been something of a strange thing. From Monty Python to Blackadder and The Goodies to Harry Hill, it's always had that offbeat, zany feel. It is this same curious brand of amusement that Discworld is based upon. Inspired by the novels written by Terry Pratchett, Discworld is a fantastic adventure game by Pyognosis that while released eight years ago, still rings with charm and jokes that a are as funny as they were back then. The cast comprises of little more than five vocal actors, all adjusting their accents and voices to match the characters they play, but the two that stand out in particular are Eric Idol (Monty Python) and Tony Robinson (Blackadder) the former of which provides a full commentary for the beloved wizard Rincewind and the latter of which takes on what can't be any less than 70% of the voices you'll hear.. they really must have wanted to get the most out of his studio time. As Rincewind, you must take on a variety of tasks, the first of which set by the Arch-Councellor involves you tracking down a dragon, and disposing of it. With the assistance of luggage (a dog-like suitcase with twenty or so legs) that follows you everywhere, you must traipse around the medieval-like city, collecting inventory items in all manner of bizarre ways and use these to track-down the flame-throwing beast. The puzzles in Discworld are just as ridiculous as the characters (one involves you pick pocketing an old man for his oversized pink bloomers) and most will have you reaching with sweaty mitts for a hint book. The music that accompanies the game is very enjoyable, and adds a"ye olde mystical" feel, and though it tends to follow the usual quiet clumsy feel that alot of adventures fall victim to, there's always a new tune for each locale and most often are memorable (just take a listen to that startling catchy midi rendition of The Girl From Ipanema!) and while they aren't as robust as Lucasart's iMuse system, they all blend along in a beautiful way. The graphics are fantastic for it's time, and use hand-scanned backgrounds that truly capture the magic of the book cover art. Cobbled streets, thatched houses, gleaming castles, old rustic inns and even a seedy brothel are thrown into this middle centaury masterpiece. The animations for the characters are pretty good too, albeit a little jerky in places and sometimes conveys the action a little slower than one would wish. The characters also tend to suffer from the Sierra-coined "jaggy edges" although this doesn't distract you from the atmosphere too much. The vocals, as I mentioned are great from Eric and Tony, however there are few of other actors in the game, and unfortunately they just don't quite cut it. The discussion with the cheeky street urchin or man-hunting amazonian woman may send your index finger running for the nearest period key, while Windle Poons senile-but-funny dialogue will probably send you to sleep before you finish the game. With these minor gripes on the art and vocals out the way, there have been reports of buggish activity regarding doors.. in the sense you can walk through closed ones. You may also find Rincewind pulling faces in the middle of a conversation, thanks to bad coding. Rincewind's voice will often change actor, and almost always the volume of conversations will vary in volume. Apart from these few problems, I couldn't find too many other bugs with this otherwise fine game. Another thing I love is the way the jokes are thrown at you in all manner of entertainment. For instance, in the castle grounds, you can clearly see a man try and scale the moat without much success. A small mouse who walks around the fruit stall in the square gets hit by a falling tomato. The tax collector in the stocks who was thrown into them by one of the old men. Even the Dunny King in the alley has something entertaining to say. I can't think of many games that are this funny, and as I said the humor is very British, so be prepared to jump up for your dictionary now and then. Some way into Act II you'll find yourself having to travel back in time to the evening before the day you just played. After this quick trip (via following a thief in the library) you'll find yourself in night Ankh-Morpork, and I must say the art was handled very well. Every area is transformed into evening with new items ready for your disposal, making the re playability for the game even better since you'll be going around looking at the same areas in a different light, so to speak. The game is huge. Absolutely huge. You'll be playing it for months and months without hints, due to it's incredibly difficult puzzles and vast locations. Later in the game, you can even explore outside of Ankh-Morpork and explore the rest of the disc (even venturing to the very edge of the world, complete with the for elephants). Even though the urge to cheat will beckon you alot, I'd advise that you try to resist, because it really is a reward once you've figured out an incredibly difficult task on your own.. even more so than many other adventure games. One thing that may contribute to the difficulty might be the amount of places you can visit at one single time, and their immense detail. Given that it's a large game, it doesn't install all it's guts on your hard drive.. in fact, it only put saved games and config files there, and despite this, I didn't have any load problems or scene changing delays. The menu systems is fun too, and uses a font that is actually alot better than alot of rival adventures, with glorious glowing buttons to enhance the chore of saving or loading. Yes my friends, there is alot of eye candy here and it truly does make the experience alot more authentic and enjoyable. To round things up, despite a few voice problems, door opening bugs, graphical glitches and characters voices changing now and then, it's pretty much flawless. When it was released it gain critical acclaim and was regarded as an excellent game for it's time, and is in my opinion far superior to the sequels. The second game seemed to take after King's Quest's cartoon style graphics, whereas the third looks like a blatant attempt to recreate Grim Fandango. The best bet is to start with this little gem.. thanks to this game, I'm now an avid fan of the books and the whole Discworld universe.. who says computer games aren't be aren't educational. Pros: Hilarious situations, great cast, magnificent graphics and massive game play. Cons: Some poor voice acting, alot of bugs, some near-impossible puzzles and some animation problems. Share Share this post on Twitter

10-21-2003, 12:03 AM	#3
DomStLeger Whinging Pom Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: London, England, UK Posts: 1,032	Nice review HotOnTheBlock, I agree with you almost entirely. The puzzles were especially difficult in thie game. But very satisfying as you say. And it was a long game, with a great end scene I take it from your concluding paragraphs you haven't had a chance to play either of the other 2 games? Discworld 2 is more of the same, but easier. A very fun game to play with lots of great moments. Discworld Noir... ah discworld noir... Grim Fandango clone, no. But one of the best adventure games ever made? - imo yes. It's a brilliant and innovative gem of a game. Very atmospheric and with some very good plot twists helping push this game to the top. It's got a new character, Lewton, not based on anyone in Terry's books but who works very well. Definately check it out, it's back out on budget in the UK (in a cool DVD case made to look like a little like a Discworld book) Sadly Noir didn't do as well as Discworld 1 or 2, which were both huge hits. The only reason was that the company that made it, Perfect Entertainment, went bankrupt soon afterwards due to some legal mess. So it was never patched and was quickly forgotten. A massive shame. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Dom Currently Playing Tex Murphey - Under a Killing Moon (YAY GOG.com!) Recently Completed Broken Sword Director's Cut Still Get Mozilla Firefox! Forget that Chrome and IE rubbish!

10-21-2003, 01:16 AM	#4
Becky Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Stony Brook, New York Posts: 68	Superficially, Discworld Noir is like Grim Fandango. Noir atmosphere. Locations in a bars and a casino. Obvious echos of Casblanca. Quirky characters. A character who functions as the Grim Reaper. Tongue-in-cheek humor. I thought the games were similar at first. Once you've played partway through Noir though you realize that the games are really not much alike. Grim's locations are far more varied. Although there are some great one-liners, snappy one-liners are only a part of the mix. Grim is also more linear. Grim has a wider variety of puzzles. Grim takes you on a wide-ranging quest. Noir takes place entirely within one map (the city of Ankh-Morpork). It has many more references to popular culture. It has much more dialogue. Snappy one-liners are constant. Noir is non-linear to the extent that you are often unsure what to do next. Almost all the puzzles are pixel-hunts or inventory/notebook based. Noir asks you to solve a mystery. Then a mystery within the mystery. Then a mystery within the mystery within the mystery. Whereas Grim is a journey, Noir is an investigation, peeling back layer after layer. They do each have a particular brilliantly funny over-the-top sequence. Grim -- during the strip search. Noir -- the conversation with the creature in the sewer. Share Share this post on Twitter Last edited by Becky; 10-21-2003 at 03:13 AM.

10-24-2003, 07:53 PM	#6
Becky Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Stony Brook, New York Posts: 68	It was like trying to stop a runaway train. I loved it. Share Share this post on Twitter

08-10-2004, 11:10 PM	#7
Captain Blondebeard Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Tornado Alley Posts: 1,541	I had a very hard time sitting through the horrible dialogue but the game was fun. This game went way overboard in the humor dialogue but the gameplay was fun. Above average overall. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Glad to have my old username back. GhostPirateLechuck no longer.

08-10-2004, 11:29 PM	#8
remixor A search for a crazy man! Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 3,987	Gadzooks, how'd you dig this one up? Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Chris "News Editor" Remo Some sort of Writer or Editor or Something, Idle Thumbs "Some comparisons are a little less obvious. I always think of Grim Fandango as Casablanca on acid." - Will Wright

08-11-2004, 10:00 PM	#9
Captain Blondebeard Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Tornado Alley Posts: 1,541	Im still catching up on this sites content. I really love this place. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Glad to have my old username back. GhostPirateLechuck no longer.

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