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The perfect trailer!

Total Posts: 34

Joined 2012-08-23

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How would you want a good trailer for an adventure game to be?
And, do you have any favorite ones? (doesn’t have to be pure adventure as long as they are story-based rather than mostly show combat)

Personally I find it to be a fascinating topic because the tempo of adventure games are so different from the intensity needed for a good trailer, yet sometimes they manage!


I’ll start:
My own preferences:
Break it up intro pieces.
The first 30 seconds of Heavy Rain Trailer 3 is AMAZING to show the deep character emotions, but then it just stays on that same stock music forever gradually raising the intensity; after 3 minutes I just get so bored and my ears fatigued.

No singing!
I would have loved Ben Jordan 8 trailer if it weren’t for the American Pie-style singing in the background!


My own favorites:
Grim Fandango
I’m not a huge fan of the structure of this trailer, but having such a “cinematic feel” to the game translated pretty well into a trailer.
I just really wish they had cut all the random clips from it, I understand that they want to show as many locations as possible but IMO it ruins the flow.

Resonance
Really managed to capture that feel of urgency that the world is about to go under and there’s no time to lose!

Gabriel Knight: Sins of Fathers
Not really an intensive trailer structure, but I can’t deny that it makes me think “must buy!” as it successfully shows the darkness of the game.

     
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Total Posts: 54

Joined 2008-04-03

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This one:

Buried in Time had some great if often partially static image based ones.

But the best I remember was the trailer for Grim Fandango.

EDIT: The Broken Sword 1 trailer I have on my BS2 disc is very good too - very cinematic with strong narration.

     

www.hardydev.com - blogging about indie and underground adventures

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Total Posts: 8471

Joined 2011-10-21

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My preferences for trailers:

- trailers should use in-game material only. Rendered trailers give the impression that graphics are far more advanced than they actually are, and I consider that cheating, even if the trailers are awesome (like some of the Mass Effect 2 and 3 trailers).

- trailers should be maximum 3 minutes long (including company logos). Trailers that last too long lose momentum (that Heavy Rain trailer in the first post is a good example).

- trailers should provide minimal plot elements. Everybody hates spoilers!


These last two points apply to movie trailers as well - especially that last one!


Good recent trailers:

STASIS trailer
Reset trailer

     

The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka

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Total Posts: 51

Joined 2011-07-11

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Good adventure trailer starts with good background music. So my favorites are:

This for Atlantis II
E3 trailer of Silent Hill 2 (trailer) or Culpa Innata, Bad Mojo and especially Myst III trailers.

Quite interesting is also Obsidian advertisment.

     

Currently playing: Ever 17, The Space Bar

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Total Posts: 974

Joined 2007-02-23

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Depends. Is it a gameplay-trailer or a regular trailer to get me excited? If the first, keep it strictly gameplay, no cheating with any sort of better visuals than what will be present. If it’s a regular trailer to hype the product, then it should be fast paced and thrilling - all the most interesting parts of the game etc. They shouldn’t be too long either - 2:30 is about the longest until it starts getting bothersome.

     
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Total Posts: 444

Joined 2012-03-30

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this popped in my mind cause of your avatar Ascovel Smile

I like trailers which recreate the feeling and the atmosphere of a game. Giving away the interesting parts of the game is a killer of fun for me. I don’t mind some parts of cutscenes in it as long as there are normal gameplay scenes as well so we won’t get fooled. It’s good when a trailer don’t make a resume of the game but has a story of its own.

     
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Total Posts: 21

Joined 2011-10-09

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My favorite is for Stil life game.

Interesting, with good music and of quality as game itself. I hate when I see a good trailer but after it turns out that the game sucks.

     
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Total Posts: 54

Joined 2008-04-03

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badlemon - 23 August 2012 05:48 PM

this popped in my mind cause of your avatar Ascovel Smile

Glad you like it, badlemon! Grin

I never hear from people if it made them play the game, or rather turned them off. Possibly in part because those who were turned off never commented on the game. Wink

     

www.hardydev.com - blogging about indie and underground adventures

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Total Posts: 26

Joined 2012-08-18

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I find this one pretty good even if it is actually a teaser.

It contains only in-game footage,no cgi which always gives wrong impressions about a game,it shows just enough so you can speculate what can possible be happening without spoiling anything at all,it builds up tension with its music and sound effects making you believe that something big is going to happen and despite being a trailer for a horror game it doesnt include any “jumpscares” which I hate because I find them boring,predictable and without inspiration.

I dont find it perfect by any means but I believe it is quite decent espacially for a teaser.

     

Now Playing:Zork Nemesis,Dragon Age GOTY,DOTA 2,Alter Ego
Next In Line:Tex Murphy:Under a Killing Moon,Tex Murphy:The Pandora Directive,Tex Murphy:Overseer,Fallout 1,2&Tactics;
Recently Finished:Runaway 1&2,Barrow Hill,Legend of Grimrock
Looking Forward To:The Last Crown: Haunting of Hallowed Isle,Bioshock Infinite,Amnesia:A Machine For Pigs

Total Posts: 23

Joined 2006-01-31

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Some of my personal favourites:

Dark Earth

Grim Fandango
Ripper (with Blue Oyster Cult’s song)
Black Dahlia

Yoomurjak’s Ring (Hungarian promotional music video, NOT the English trailer)
The Naked City (L.A. Noire case)
Most trailers for The Testament of Sherlock Holmes are great
Dear Esther (more exploration than adventure but the trailer is brilliant)

Ascovel - 23 August 2012 03:37 PM

The Broken Sword 1 trailer I have on my BS2 disc is very good too - very cinematic with strong narration.

There is a also a very similar trailer (with the same narrator) for Broken Sword 2. Of course You probably know about that already. Smile

     
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Total Posts: 236

Joined 2006-10-06

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Ascovel - 23 August 2012 03:37 PM

EDIT: The Broken Sword 1 trailer I have on my BS2 disc is very good too - very cinematic with strong narration.

Agreed. And the music too… That trailer is one of my favourites! Laughing

     
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Joined 2011-04-01

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My perfect trailer:

No ‘story’ nonsense, just pure anticipation. What’s behind those doors? You won’t know until you play. What will you encounter in the game? You have no idea, but you can be damn sure it will be pants-wettingly good, puzzley bliss.

     

Total Posts: 34

Joined 2012-08-23

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Before writing this thread I bulk-downloaded the first 200 youtube results for “adventure game trailers” so I wasn’t expecting to learn of any new ones, but you guys are full of surprises! Smile

I’m loving that Dark Earth trailer! (and not just the 0:34-part like Elum)

Pretty funny how Oscars’ perfect trailer = my worst trailer, how frikkin annoying is that “trailer”!?! Grin

I read somewhere that they sometimes make different trailers for US vs Europe; that the Europeans wants to know the plot while the Americans only want the mood (or was it the other way around?), might explain why I dislike trailers like Reset and Rhem, I’ve been tricked into buying far too many products that turned out to have no story, so for me a trailer needs to demonstrate that there’s a solid story in there.

     
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Total Posts: 236

Joined 2006-10-06

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I like this trailer too…

     
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Total Posts: 532

Joined 2009-06-07

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I want a trailer to at least do two things: show the atmosphere of the game and tell something about the basic storyline. And as goes without saying something has to happen in it. Some devs think it’s interesting to watch people walking around in a location. Well it’s not, it’s downright boring! Also another thing I don’t like with trailers is when they’re using footage that won’t be in the final product. I so loved the Lost Horizon trailer and though I immensely enjoyed playing the game (as well as both replays) more than half the stuff seen in the trailer is not in the game.

A recent trailer that I like is the one for “The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav” (liked the game too btw)

And yes the BS1 trailer is absolutely awesome as well.

And even though I’m talking about this game far too often lately. Let me share with you the wonderful trailer for Overclocked:

     
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Total Posts: 5034

Joined 2004-07-12

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Interesting to see all the YouTube trailers mentioned. Which is a bit problematic as many of the trailers posted were created well after the games, themselves, were created. How is that possible? <G>

     

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