Adventure Gamers - Forums

i recently played the Abbey and the style bonded quite well with the story.though the scenery felt very desolate at times all in all it was quite good.my problem with it was that i had a problem with resolution and that cut away pieces of the screen and i got stuck in the game a couple of times because of the parts that were not visible.i also happened to have two monitors on at the time(for my work) and it seems the game didn’t handle it that well.first time i played it i got stuck after half an hour and thought it was a bug..left the game for 2-3 months and then i replayed it because i couldn’t remember why i didn’t continue the first time.anyway found the problem after a while and fixed it….it was the first and last game for that studio and while it had potential it didn’t go that well.and i thought the voice acting was quite good too.at least it appealed to me.

lewuz - 27 October 2012 05:43 PM

True, Monolith. Graphics are big part of atmosphere, like also audio. My choice of words didn’t reflect everything I meant. Nevertheless, the graphics are not the 1st thing I base my opinion of how good a game is.

Coming back to topic - sometimes I’m skeptical over art directions. I’m really interested how chosen art style works out in 1954 Alcatraz with its serious topics. And there is also a murder mystery The Abbey in my “to play” list. I’m curious to see how the cartoony look suits with the theme.

Well it goes like this. Gameplay > Graphics > Audio

Audio is only as powerful as the visuals it accompanies. You can have amazing audio, but the visuals may not perceive the quality of the audio. Unless you’re playing those ‘Blindman’ games where you close your eyes and play the game relying on audio.

On topic - I played the Abbey when it first came out. Couldn’t get past the first 15 minutes. The character movement was horrendously slow and you couldn’t run, on top of large environments and going between many scenes. I don’t know if the game has changed, but I went it hoping it was awesome. Sadly, it was awesome but the movement mechanics crippled the game for me.

you could go places fast through the map.at first before i found the resolution to be cutting pieces away it was the way i found to get unstuck…..i was stuck at the cemetary with no way to go some place else until i found out about the map.you can use it to fast forward to the place of your choice,as long as it is an area/building.inside the building it’s the usual way.

maybe you’re right about the games…..but when i had the problems with the Abbey i couldn’t find them in order to get their customer support..site(at least a site i had found for the game which seemed to be from the developers) was closed and no trace of ways to contact them.maybe i caught them at a bad time,like the site was down for some reason but i remember searching and not finding anything.i just assumed it was their last.or at least as alcahofa soft.truth is i was searching mostly with the game’s name but i tried both Murder in the abbey and The Abbey…..zilch.though i see they have a site for the studio.

Monolith - 27 October 2012 05:26 PM

Well, you can’t have atmosphere without graphics. Graphics are EXTREMELY important for atmosphere. Graphics are meant to complement the game, not hide hideous gameplay or to overshadow the brilliance of it.

So, a text adventure by definition has no atmosphere???
Games like To the Moon have little to no atmosphere because of the graphics???

I’m sorry, I just don’t agree with this at all. Atmosphere and graphics are two entirely different things, and they often have little to do with one another, imo…

actually no…if there are graphics and sound they do have everything to do with atmosphere…it’s just that their existence is kind of optional.if they don’t exist they either don’t have anything to do with atmosphere,that is if the game itself is written in a way to compensate for that,or the game suffers from their absense if it’s not written so well.

check Cypher for example,it’s a text adventure with both visuals(although not in the standard sense) and audio.and the result in atmosphere is very good in my opinion.the visuals are not that much for the game to be considered a graphical adventure.and again in my opinion the game benefits very much from their existence.at first they had some problems with the english translation which to a text adventure is not a good thing,but the rest saved the day since they established a good enough atmosphere to make people continue playing.

yes but playing is different than reading.it’s like saying that sweating like a pig is the same to getting drenched with water.you go at it with a different mindset.in books the atmosphere is 95% controlled by the author,but even then people have their own ways to amplify that.some like to sit in a comfortable chair with semi-low light in the room or in front of a fireplace and it instantly raises their immersion which is the 5% i’m talking about.sometimes it is even less if the writer is so good that no matter where you are you get sucked in.but in games you can’t write the same way and you have to account for interactivity.and especially in text adventures which are revered for their freedom levels you can’t have such high control over things,it’s certainly not easy to get a 90%.

anyway,my point is that when they(audio,graphics) are there they can help immensely if properly done(Cypher,Scratches) and if not the game suffers(me and DMH or most of you with Nina from Secret Files).if they aren’t there it all depends on how well the story and writing is.i never used the words necessary…

Oscar - 27 October 2012 08:45 PM

If you’ve played Lurking Horror or Anchorhead (both text adventures) you’d agree that graphics aren’t necessary for atmosphere.

I agree, absolutely. When there are no graphics. But bad or lacklustre graphics (as in To the Moon) do detract from the atmosphere. 

Text adventures aren’t a major form of gameplay in the industry anymore. Its completely niche. My opinion was relevant to gaming now. Lets talk about pong. OMG, the boop sound totally ruined the atmosphere of the two paddles warring over a ball. Last I checked this thread was about visual gaming, no?

Back on topic.

lewuz - 27 October 2012 05:43 PM

Nevertheless, the graphics are not the 1st thing I base my opinion of how good a game is.

Did I not put Gameplay in front of graphics?

TimovieMan - 27 October 2012 08:09 PM

Monolith - 27 October 2012 05:26 PM

Well, you can’t have atmosphere without graphics. Graphics are EXTREMELY important for atmosphere. Graphics are meant to complement the game, not hide hideous gameplay or to overshadow the brilliance of it.

So, a text adventure by definition has no atmosphere???
Games like To the Moon have little to no atmosphere because of the graphics???

I’m sorry, I just don’t agree with this at all. Atmosphere and graphics are two entirely different things, and they often have little to do with one another, imo…

While you may be right in principle, I’m not sure many players were even alive during the text-based gaming era. They pretty much ceased to exist over thirty years ago, so a person would need to be in their mid-40s to remember them.

I am older than mid-40s. A fair bit older in fact. I remember them. Not with the fondness of some. I was not upset when the graphical interface entered the arena.

We both loved To the Moon. The graphics aren’t state of the art, but neither did they distract from the gameplay. On the other hand, I have played games where the graphics were so bad than no amount of “atmosphere” would get me interested in the game. So on that point, I tend to agree with Monolith.

rtrooney - 28 October 2012 12:06 PM

While you may be right in principle, I’m not sure many players were even alive during the text-based gaming era. They pretty much ceased to exist over thirty years ago, so a person would need to be in their mid-40s to remember them.

Sigh…

I’m not going to let you get away with that. Someone under 45 might believe you! The IF community is alive and kicking. There are still lots of very good text adventures around, just not commercial ones for the most part. 

We both loved To the Moon. The graphics aren’t state of the art, but neither did they distract from the gameplay.

They most certainly distracted me. The ugly graphics, the uninspired conversations and blah jokes, the lack of interesting gameplay were the reason I stopped playing after 20 minutes. After reading dozens of positive comments I decided to give it another chance in the near future.