Adventure Gamers - Forums

I realise watching a game isn’t the same as playing it, but like I said, I’m going to buy it and play, so I’m not quite sure what you’re upset about. Secondly, I can think for myself—their comments are not warping my perception of the game.

orient - 22 June 2012 09:45 PM

I just watched Giant Bomb’s Quick Look as I’m unable to download the game at the moment. It looks really impressive—super high production values for an indie adventure, great attention to detail with some interesting gameplay and puzzles.

After reading the Adventure Gamers review and various impressions, I think I had higher hopes for the writing (and voice acting, though that’s less of a concern of mine). I was expecting a noticeable jump in quality over the frequently compared Gemini Rue, but I didn’t see it. The writing occasionally seems to veer into cliched territory, which the Giant Bomb guys were quick to point out, especially the lines between the detective and his partner.

Still, I’m looking forward to experiencing it for myself as a whole.

I didn’t have as high expectations as everyone else, mainly because I didn’t think Gemini Rue was as brilliant as most people thought it was, but Resonance still comes across as an indie game - not just because of the graphics which are great for low-res. Like you said, there a lot of cliches like the detective, and the main character’s personality isn’t very well defined. I haven’t finished it yet but I’d say 4.5 stars is definitely pushing it given certain scores in other AG reviews of better games.

The best thing is probably the variety of responses you get from your actions. There’s no “I can’t do that” or “that doesn’t work”.

Fien - 23 June 2012 12:41 AM

I don’t care whether you’re going to buy the game or not. I care about you judging the game based on someone else’s playthrough of a small part of the demo. The only way you’re perceiving the game is by watching THEIR clicking, THEIR puzzle solving, THEIR use of objects and memories, THEIR everything. So please don’t tell me THEIR comments are not warping your perception of the game, that’s nonsense.

You’re acting like I’m being overly negative on the game. Did you even read my initial comments?

orient - 22 June 2012 09:45 PM

It looks really impressive—super high production values for an indie adventure, great attention to detail with some interesting gameplay and puzzles.

Are my positive comments tainted by Giant Bomb, too, or just the negative ones that you don’t agree with? Instead of trying to disprove my opinion, why not make your own argument as to why the writing and voice acting is better than in Gemini Rue?

I understand that games are experiential and are often more than the sum of their parts, that’s why I want to play it for myself, but I don’t think my opinion on the writing is going to change.

Oscar - 23 June 2012 01:40 AM

I haven’t finished it yet but I’d say 4.5 stars is definitely pushing it given certain scores in other AG reviews of better games.

That is a rather BOLD statement, considering you didn’t finish it, as you said, and that you recently asked for the wrench hint, which puts you in the first 10% of the game.

@orient

Don’t worry about the writing, it’s top notch. I got unfuriated with some of the reviews, as they tend to distort that.
The story line with it’s interwoven themes and topics is the most mature I’ve seen in any game for the last 15 years.
I will comment on that in detail once more people have finished the game.

Resonance just demands very close attention & observation and use of ‘real world’ logic. It’s really not a game you can play on the side while doing other stuff.

And it’s one hell of a ride!!!

Kurufinwe - 22 June 2012 10:34 PM

Glad to see I’m not the only one who didn’t get that one. I’ll try to get back to it, but I really didn’t understand what the “rules” were.

That’s easy, “the rule set” you get by ‘right click observation’ of the lower row of indicator lights (...and that’s not even a spoiler!).The difficult part is the execution! (pen & paper or a very good memory are essential here)

I wasn’t able to solve the wiring puzzle in the demo, or the replay of the full game but did make a save which I went back to. I did eventually work it out - once the penny drops on what you need to do & how to get started you realise what a good puzzle it is!  Yep! Pen & paper essential!

Tramponline - 23 June 2012 03:19 AM

Oscar - 23 June 2012 01:40 AM

I haven’t finished it yet but I’d say 4.5 stars is definitely pushing it given certain scores in other AG reviews of better games.

That is a rather BOLD statement, considering you didn’t finish it, as you said, and that you recently asked for the wrench hint, which puts you in the first 10% of the game.

You may have a point. I wouldn’t presume to give it a score before I’ve finished it, so I’ll see if my opinion changes when I’m done . Though the AG review was a day after release, I’m wondering how the reviewer finished it and wrote a review in less than a day.

Oscar - 23 June 2012 01:40 AM

...the main character’s personality isn’t very well defined…I’d say 4.5 stars is definitely pushing it

Actually I am in complete agreement with this score and I believe Resonance is so far the best adventure game this year. As for the main character’s personality, I can’t go into much detail without major spoilers, but I can say this. The game has 4 main characters and they are all equally important. I don’t think anyone can say one character is more important than another, the game is very balanced that way. You can’t have progressed much in the game if you think there is only one main character.

orient - 22 June 2012 09:45 PM

The writing occasionally seems to veer into cliched territory…

That may be true. However I think it is very much intentional, as the game uses these very cliches to subvert them and turn them on their heads. In the last third of the game, the plot takes an extremely shocking twist that goes against players expectations up to that point. If you haven’t reached that point prepare to be very much surprised… and be careful not to see any spoilers about it before getting there. It’s a twist equally game-changing to the one in Gemini Rue and personally I found it much more emotionally involving.

Tramponline - 23 June 2012 03:19 AM

The story line with it’s interwoven themes and topics is the most mature I’ve seen in any game for the last 15 years.

OK, maybe this is a slight exaggeration, since I can think of a few other recent games with surprisingly mature topics (like LA Noire, Gemini Rue, A new beginning, not to mention several RPG titles, like The Witcher series), but in general I couldn’t agree more.

As for the comparison with Gemini Rue, personally I liked Resonance much more for two reasons. One, I found the plot and its main twist much more interesting and emotionally involving than in Gemini Rue (granted, this is a matter of personal taste). And two, (which is not simply a matter of taste) gameplay is vastly superior in Resonance. Most adventure games nowdays seem to have adapted a mechanical sort of gameplay. You can actually sort of sleepwalk through their plot and their puzzles by clicking mechanically on hotspots and mindlessly using and combining inventory items, except for the occasional spots where you get stuck and actually have to think yourself out of a more difficult puzzle. Although Gemini Rue is one of the better adventure games of later years, it doesn’t escape this mechanical clicking altogether. Not so in the case of Resonance. While playing it, I was constantly thinking and making smaller or bigger decisions, even in the easiest parts of the game (and it’s not that difficult of a game really). I was constantly making decisions on which characters I would use for each puzzle and which items in the environment could be suitable for keeping in my short-term memory inventory. Long-term, short-term memory inventory is actually ingenious groundbreaking stuff, that brings control of characters, dialogue and decision-making back to the player in ways we have not seen since the adventure games of yore and that is perhaps the main reason I find Resonance a much more interesting game than Gemini Rue. Mind you, I’m not saying Gemini Rue isn’t a great game with a fantastic plot (which it is). I am merely pointing out the reasons I believe Resonance to be a much more ambitious and important game altogether. Had it been given the AAA treatment, i believe everyone would have been ecstatic about its innovations and clever game mechanics. In my opinion, a certain lack of inspiration in the art design (which is also present in most retro-styled games, including Gemini Rue) is the only serious drawback of this amazing game. By that I mean that in a purely visual level I don’t find the imagery striking in any of these retro-styled games, which was not the case with the older games they are trying to invoke, some of which were actually quite unique or even beautiful to look at (hardly surprising considering they were the AAA titles of their time, with huge amounts of talent invested in them).

Oscar - 23 June 2012 03:53 AM

Though the AG review was a day after release, I’m wondering how the reviewer finished it and wrote a review in less than a day.

You’re right that’s (almost) impossible.
Press copies of Resonance have been sent out roughly three weeks ago.

@Castledoque
I was more refering to a denotative sense of the word “mature”, as in a metaphor for recent historical global events & their consequences, dealing with contemporary issues and ESPECIALLY no easy answers or overly simplified and patronizing moral conceptualisation.
While at the surface being a simple (though intelligent) science-fiction story.

But as I said, I’d rather elaborate on that at a later point in time.

Tramponline - 23 June 2012 04:11 AM

I was refering to a denotative sense of the word “mature”, as in a metaphor for recent historical global events, dealing with contemporary issues and especially no easy answers or overly simplified and patronizing moral conceptualisation.

If you are referring to what I think you are (I guess I’ll know when you decide to elaborate more), you should definitely give the “New Beginning” a try. It shares many common themes with “Resonance” and features similar moral ambiguities, though they are not as central to the plot and gameplay mechanics. (However you will have to suffer some lousy voice-acting.)

Fien - 23 June 2012 04:32 AM

But I do care that *you base your opinions on someone else’s perception.

I don’t. Like I said, I can think for myself. I’ve seen Nazi propaganda, so why don’t I hate Jews? Because I’m not an idiot—I can separate other people’s opinions from my own.

Of course playing the game yourself is the best way to get a sense of it, but if you don’t have the opportunity to make that investment of time sight unseen, clips of it will at least help give you some idea of what the game is about.

Adventure games have a pretty good “passive player” experience anyway, since the controls aren’t such a tight and visceral part of the game; you mainly just guide the characters around the story and the puzzles, so following along mentally is more important than moving the cursor around. You can totally play an adventure game without even picking up the mouse, watching over someone’s shoulder and backseat driving by offering puzzle solutions and option selections.

I will say, though, that the UI (once you learn it) is easier and more natural in action than it probably looks.

For myself, I had played a chunk of it already (and liked it a lot), but watching the trailer made me even more excited, because it promised that the story was going to take the premise in the most dramatic, high-stakes direction.

I’d love to talk more about the game, which is my favorite since Gemini Rue (I haven’t decided which one I like better), but I can’t think of much worth discussing. Except to say that the degree of detail and polish is absolutely mind-blowing. There’s a ton of effects animation (clouds drifting, smoke blowing, birds flying, cars driving, lights flickering, reflections, etc.), a half-dozen functional in-game computer interfaces, and plenty of mini-games and logic puzzles, each one completely unique. I mean, just that locker key puzzle must have been a ton of work to implement in AGS. Did Vince or Janet write their own physics engine, or what?

Just as another forexample, when you die, the game actually rewinds to let you try again. It doesn’t just fade to black while loading some hidden autosave, it really does play back your actions in reverse! I’ve no idea how they made that work. (I seem to recall from the developer diaries that this mechanic was originally intended as a bigger part of the game, but in the final version it’s just a neat bit of eyecandy.)

After a brisk nap - 23 June 2012 06:25 AM

I can’t think of much worth discussing.

Actually I think there’s quite a lot worth discussing about this particular game both in terms of plot and game mechanics, but the problem is how to do it without giving away massive spoilers.