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things we lost in fire

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never mind the title of the thread. Laughing

  I am expressing my sorrow and longing for many adventure companies that were supposed to fill in some void spaces at the genre, released some promising adventures we loved and so we were attached to its name watching it as another good source of creating the adventures we enjoy, with the void of companies (with that sorta trademark of quality as LucasArts and Sierra) we wished them to continue while keeping up the quality..  but out of the blues they were lost and we have never heard from them again.

I was replaying Pendulo Studio’s Runaway and City Interactive’s Art of Murder lately and could not believe how amazingly their production was, and at those times; how we took their adventures for granted as the usual or everyday adventure, never thought that this kinda production and the work behind them soon (as now) could be hardly seen (as the current scene). kickstarters were given and lot of money have been collected and spent for games like Her Majesty’s SPIFFING or Broken Age (just examples) but i can hardly see at them the same kind of quality of animations or the represented art made at the mentioned older games, supposedly after those were given (almost a decade ago) the values of production grew bigger and better, but sadly you look at the adventures made in 2016-15 as if time had stopped the days when Lucasarts and Sierra disappeared or as if nothing have ever changed or grew better.


Anyways my heart goes for City Interactive, Future Games (Unknown identity), Deck13, and Pendulo Studios(the real independent one)
what other companies i have forgotten or you may be longing for, today?

     
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A 7.2 according to IMDB. Might check it out then…

     
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Origami - 09 March 2017 01:15 PM

A 7.2 according to IMDB. Might check it out then…

LOL..
keep it coming about Movies here Laughing

     
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And an amazing record by Low. If you like slowcore, it’s superb music.

     

Currently translating Strangeland into Spanish. Wish me luck, or send me money to my Paypal haha

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Also a song title by Bastille… Smile

     

“Look behind you, a three-headed monkey!”- Guybrush Threepwood

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Laughing
ok, im changing the thread’s title to nothing else matters

     
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Advie - 09 March 2017 12:27 PM

... kickstarters were given and lot of money collected and spent for games like Her Majesty’s SPIFFING or Broken Age (just examples) and i can hardly see at them the same kind of quality of animations or presented art made at the mentioned older games, supposedly after those were given (almost a decade ago) the values of production grew bigger and better, but sadly you look at the adventures made in 2016-15 as if time had stopped the days when Lucasarts and Sierra disappeared as if nothing have ever changed or grew better.

Er, the simple answer is budget. Adventure games do not make enough of a return for publishers to finance the way they did in days of yore. Games are much more expensive to make now because getting visuals to make the most of current hardware is hell’a time consuming. Even the money Double Fine raised for Broken Age (nearly $3,400,000 odd) is a drop in the ocean compared to a typical AAA. Also, you mention our game, Her Majesty’s SPIFFING, I mean, Double Fine literally raised 100 times more money on Kickstarter than we did! We’re not playing in the same league, heck, it’s not even the same sport! Cry

Simply, if you want to see more adventure games, see better adventure games, buy more new adventure games!.. And make sure you get everyone you know to do so as well or you won’t see any new ones in the future… #CapitalismInnit Money Mouth

PS, we hand animated all the lipsync animation in our game, they didn’t do that in Monkey Island! ;P

     
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Thanks, WillBarr for your answer.
‘you want to help adventure gaming, buy more adventure games’ Smile ... exactly.

     
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WillBarr - 09 March 2017 08:02 PM

Adventure games do not make enough of a return for publishers to finance the way they did in days of yore.

Wouldn’t the simple answer to this to focus less on visuals? Adventure games have never been about fancy visuals but story, dialogue and gameplay.

I would rather play a long and complicated story filled with lots of puzzles and challenges than a short piece of eye candy that looks great but not satisfying, just like for a meal I would rather eat a big plate of steak and chips than a tiny morsel of cavier and duck rillette which I know won’t satisfy my appetite.

Dave Gilbert said once that he compromised on graphics to get more quality in other aspects of his games, I agree with this.

     
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There are other developers going down the low budget path. Christopher Brendel (formerly of Unimatrix Productions) has just made an engine which allows interactive storytelling with minimal graphics needed, just one small picture for each scene. He is planning on doing multiple games per year, I believe. I don’t think it’s for everyone, but at least it will allow for much bigger and more expansive stories like the good old days.

     
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WillBarr - 09 March 2017 08:02 PM

Er, the simple answer is budget. Adventure games do not make enough of a return for publishers to finance the way they did in days of yore.

Except that Advie is talking about companies that are/were active after the “golden age”, perhaps at the time when adventure games were even more “niche genre” than today.
I agree with Advie that there was more production quality in average in let’s say, 2000-2010, than 2010-today (a theme of which I already spoke here and here) - I’m speaking solely about the graphics/music/sound… quality, not about the games’ overall quality. And we must also acknowledge the fact that it’s rare today to see a (non-indie) company which is both active and long-running, like LucasArts and Sierra in 90s - lets add Kheops Studio to Advie’s list, with plenty of other examples (Silver Style, House of Tales…) that promised to be “big” shots but closed its doors. Seeing a game like Runaway 1 today is nothing short of a miracle, which is, absurdly, in total contradiction to the fact that adventure genre is having a “second youth” (yes, I’m sure about it). Adventure games are currently in the phase of a mass production, that was previously seen only in the middle of 90s - that alone is enough of a sign of a rising popularity. Like I said, the production values does not follow up with that trend, but instead, what we have is a vast number of companies being able to deliver their ideas (which is another great thing), albeit not to take big risks with graphics and music production (Daedalic, Frogwares, new King’s Quest… being the rare exceptions).

     

Recently finished: Four Last Things 4/5, Edna & Harvey: The Breakout 5/5, Chains of Satinav 3,95/5, A Vampyre Story 88, Sam Peters 3/5, Broken Sword 1 4,5/5, Broken Sword 2 4,3/5, Broken Sword 3 85, Broken Sword 5 81, Gray Matter 4/5\nCurrently playing: Broken Sword 4, Keepsake (Let\‘s Play), Callahan\‘s Crosstime Saloon (post-Community Playthrough)\nLooking forward to: A Playwright’s Tale

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Sorry diego but i wanted to strike at some several great points you have made with clear out points:-

diego - 09 March 2017 09:14 PM

1.there was more production quality… in 2000-2010, than today.

2.it’s rare today to see a (non-indie) company which is both active and long-running.

3.plenty of examples (Silver Style, House of Tales…) that promised to be “big” shots but closed its doors.

4.Daedalic, Frogwares, new King’s Quest being the rare exceptions.

5.Seeing a game like Runaway 1 today is nothing short of a miracle, which is, absurdly, in total contradiction to the fact that adventure genre is having a “second youth”.

6.Adventure games are currently in the phase of a mass production, that was previously seen only in the middle of 90s ....(but) production values does not follow up with that trend.

 

     
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diego - 09 March 2017 09:14 PM
WillBarr - 09 March 2017 08:02 PM

Er, the simple answer is budget. Adventure games do not make enough of a return for publishers to finance the way they did in days of yore.

Except that Advie is talking about companies that are/were active after the “golden age”, perhaps at the time when adventure games were even more “niche genre” than today.
I agree with Advie that there was more production quality in average in let’s say, 2000-2010, than 2010-today (a theme of which I already spoke here and here) - I’m speaking solely about the graphics/music/sound… quality, not about the games’ overall quality. And we must also acknowledge the fact that it’s rare today to see a (non-indie) company which is both active and long-running, like LucasArts and Sierra in 90s - lets add Kheops Studio to Advie’s list, with plenty of other examples (Silver Style, House of Tales…) that promised to be “big” shots but closed its doors. Seeing a game like Runaway 1 today is nothing short of a miracle, which is, absurdly, in total contradiction to the fact that adventure genre is having a “second youth” (yes, I’m sure about it). Adventure games are currently in the phase of a mass production, that was previously seen only in the middle of 90s - that alone is enough of a sign of a rising popularity. Like I said, the production values does not follow up with that trend, but instead, what we have is a vast number of companies being able to deliver their ideas (which is another great thing), albeit not to take big risks with graphics and music production (Daedalic, Frogwares, new King’s Quest… being the rare exceptions).

What is so special about runaway 1? Would you not say that games like Yesterday, Night of the Rabbit, Kelvin and the infamous machine, Nelly cootalot, Book of Unwritten Tales 2, The Interactive Adventures of Dog Mendonça & Pizza Boy etcetera are “like” runaway 1? These are all recent games….

     
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Just remove nostalgia googles for a minute advie,compare the games of City Interactive, Future Games, Deck13 you longing with Daedalic,Double Fine,TTG,KING Art,Quantic,Dontnod..
you’ll see baseless presumptions about production values and enough nostalgia naiveties.

     

“Going on means going far - Going far means returning”

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Gabe - 10 March 2017 02:56 AM

Just remove nostalgia googles for a minute advie,compare the games of City Interactive, Future Games, Deck13 you longing with Daedalic,Double Fine,TTG,KING Art,Quantic,Dontnod..
you’ll see baseless presumptions about production values and enough nostalgia naiveties.

^ This. Advie’s original point saying “[they] can hardly see at them the same kind of quality of animations or the represented art made at the mentioned older games”, from a technical point of view, as a professional animator, I don’t agree with. There are exceptions but the standard you have to be to get a job as an artist in games in 2017 is light-years ahead of 1997 let alone 1987. All the examples mentioned of modern adventure games (Unwritten Tales, Kelvin, Nelly, Broken Age etc) if shown to a kid to compare with classic Serra/ Lucas adventures they’ll definitely say the modern games’ production quality is better.

However, I do think that, in the distant past, adventure games were at the bleeding edge when it came to pushing what hardware was capable of, that won’t happen again because the budget will not be made available to allow that.

     
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cyfoyjvx - 09 March 2017 11:00 PM

What is so special about runaway 1? Would you not say that games like Yesterday, Night of the Rabbit, Kelvin and the infamous machine, Nelly cootalot, Book of Unwritten Tales 2, The Interactive Adventures of Dog Mendonça & Pizza Boy etcetera are “like” runaway 1? These are all recent games….


Yesterday: Pendulo Studios graphics have been worse and worse with every next game after Runaway 1. It’s still head above the rivals, but not up to the standard of their early games. Here’s a quick comparison of Runaway 1 and Yesterday styles:


Night of the Rabbit - yes, I said Daedalic being the rare exception
Kelvin and the Infamous Machine - completely different style to Runaway:

Book of Unwritten Tales 2 - again it’s not hand-drawn but 2,5D, but nice of you to mention it: When I wrote of The Whispered World (sorry, not in English!) for the playthrough back in 2010. I “predicted” that Daedalic would be a “new Sierra” - and they did produce plenty of different titles with great production qualities, and even started as a publisher for smaller companies. King Art, then, could be “LucasArts”, but not yet, because of their thin catalogue, though without doubt they’re both - very humorous, and paying a lot of attention to details in the production.
The Interactive Adventures of Dog Mendonça & Pizza Boy - yes, you can certainly feel the “Spanish” flavor that was similar in Runaway 1, but I’d still say the graphics (and overall production) are one level below Runaway.

The Little Acre might be one good example of a new game that came close to it.

     

Recently finished: Four Last Things 4/5, Edna & Harvey: The Breakout 5/5, Chains of Satinav 3,95/5, A Vampyre Story 88, Sam Peters 3/5, Broken Sword 1 4,5/5, Broken Sword 2 4,3/5, Broken Sword 3 85, Broken Sword 5 81, Gray Matter 4/5\nCurrently playing: Broken Sword 4, Keepsake (Let\‘s Play), Callahan\‘s Crosstime Saloon (post-Community Playthrough)\nLooking forward to: A Playwright’s Tale

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