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Irony Curtain: From Matryoshka with Love

Total Posts: 11

Joined 2018-11-15

PM

It’s me again and some more details about our current style! I do hope you’ll find it useful. Smile

Some time ago we showed you how Irony Curtain looked in the early prototype phase and how it looks like now.

Today we’d like to talk a little bit more about the reasons behind the change and the whole creative process. It’s no doubt that Irony Curtain came a long way from the times when it was just a prototype called simply ‘Matryoshka’.

There are three main reasons why we’ve decided to simplify the art style:

1. The previous style looked great but it didn’t play well

The ‘before’ screenshots we’ve shown are undoubtedly the ones that look brilliant – detailed backgrounds, vibrant colours and original characters. And that’s the whole point. It looked awesome on static graphics but the puzzles and navigating through the level seemed frustrating just BECAUSE of all those things. When everything is so detailed every object fights for your attention so it feels like pixel hunting all the time. It is crucial for us to have the best possible gameplay without any frustrations – and unfortunately, the previous style caused a lot of it.

One of Irony Curtain’s minigames: the very detailed BEFORE (left) version and simpler AFTER (right) version

2. We’ve changed the way we animate characters

The characters in the early prototype we’ve were made with a technique called cutout animation, a form of stop-motion animation that uses flat objects (think about the paper theatre that you’ve probably played as a child) . Right now Evan and other characters from the game are animated in a traditional stop-motion way that requires simpler textures on the models. And simpler textures mean simpler art style everywhere in order to keep the project consistent.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

3. We want the art style to be a part of how we tell the story

When Evan first arrives at the Leader’s Heart Hotel, he’s overwhelmed by its monumentality and splendor. The location should reflect that, so we’ve decided to add a lot of empty space and make the character look really small in comparison to the building. There are locations in the game that didn’t change that much though (e.g., Evan’s bathroom in the hotel room), we’ve only adjusted them to the current style of the game.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

In the next episode of Behind Irony Curtain, we’ll show you the creative process behind creating the locations in Irony Curtain. Stay tuned!

     

Total Posts: 11

Joined 2018-11-15

PM

Hey! A couple of words from our steam annoucement on the easter eggs in Irony Curtain:

Before we announce some more details about the Irony Curtain: From Matryoshka with Love (which you can still add to wishlist by the way), we have something very special for classic adventure games fans!

Although Matryoshkans love potatoes the most, there’s also one more thing close to our hearts. It’s eggs. Easter eggs to be exact.

Irony Curtain is set in the 50s, but we did our best to spice it up a little with pop culture references from modern movies, comics, games and classic point & clicks. It’s kind of mandatory thing when creating the classic adventure game.

Overall, we keep the balance between the story and the references, and there are places you will have a hard time finding them, but sometimes we literally go crazy with Easter eggs in some locations.

Just look at the screenshot below and try to find all the references we’ve hidden there. There’s also a hint under spoiler below:


ANSWERS:
1. key in the shape of Sauron’s Eye
2. shape of the island from Monkey Island
3. sketch of a key game from Machinarium
4. crow from Enigmatis 2
5. Pirates of the Carribean key
6. Konami Code

The medals are more monothematic because they are all inspired by the works of one studio. Can you guess what every one of them refers to?

     

Total Posts: 11

Joined 2018-11-15

PM

Creating dialogues in Irony Curtain

Irony Curtain: From Matryoshka with Love is a game full of different characters talking to each other. In fact, some puzzles can be solved only by choosing the right dialogue option. That’s why in today’s episode of Behind the Irony Curtain we’d like to tell you more about the process of creating dialogues in our game.

Writing dialogues is just the beginning of the process. There are over 5471 lines of text in Irony Curtain and every one of them needs to be properly inserted into the game, to make sure all characters say exactly what Game Designer wants, in the exact time and place.

Here’s how it looks in Irony Curtain:

1. Every game character usually has more than one dialogue line. One of the ways to operate it is to use logical TRUE/FALSE flags. These flags helps us determine the state of knowledge of a specific character or whether an event of which the character speaks has already taken place.

2. Each dialogue is built in the editor as a separate „tree” consisting of successive „nodes” connected with each other by lines defining the order in which the dialogue of the character appears.

3. To be honest, „writing” dialogues is just filling the form fields. It looks more or less like this:
      * Create a new dialogue in the editor and give it a name. Then inform Level Designer about the circumstances in which it should be launched (e.g. when Evans checks on the Prisoner);
      * Create the first Node (a red dot on the editor screen) and enter the necessary information (into the form on the right side of the screen):


   
1.  Who is talking
      2. The Dialogue text (or several dialogues if they should be drawn)
      3. (Optional) The Dialogue text when repeating the talk
      4. (Optional) If the dialogue happens not on the location but on zoom-  whose head and on which side should it be displayed
      5. (Optional) Text display time (it’s useful when testing the game without recorded Voice Overs which determine the text display time in the finished game)
      6. Where the text should appear on the screen (e.g. over the character or over the radio speaker)
      7. (Optional) Actions to be made before or after the dialogue (e.g. acquiring an item or activating a logic flag „character X already knows about Y”)

      * Create another dialogue node and fill it in
      * Connect the first node with the second one
      * Rinse & Repeat Wink

4. After creating the entire „tree” for all the dialogues we generate so-called „keys”. Keys consist of the location number, dialogue name, text position in the tree and the first letter specifying the character.

5. Thanks to this we can assign a specific Key to a Node, and not just the text. All texts with Keys can be saved to a shared Excel sheet with different languages. As a result, the different language versions of the game have the appropriate dialogues.

That is all in this episode of Behind the Irony Curtain. We hope you enjoyed it and don’t forget to add Irony Curtain to wishlist!

Irony Curtain Steam

     

Total Posts: 11

Joined 2018-11-15

PM

Agents!

Today we have a top secret, exciting message from our on headquarters! When we first announced Irony Curtain, we promised – no elevator music! That’s why we have established a Matryoshkan collaboration with an extremely esteemed, experienced agent: Peter McConnell.

All fans of classic point and clicks will recognize that name – such hits as the Grim Fandango or Monkey Island series would not be complete without the splendid soundtracks that enhanced the adventures of the wacky, weird heroes. The enormously successful composer collaborated with Arkadiusz Reikowski - best known for his work on Layers of Fear, Kholat and AM’s My Brother Rabbit - on the OST to Irony Curtain, which resulted in an larger-than-life Original Soundtrack. Peter created the Main Theme, which inspired Arkadiusz’s further work on the OST - the effect of their endavors is available on Soundcloud[soundcloud.com] and Bandcamp[arkadiuszreikowski.bandcamp.com] as we speak!

Irony Curtain from Matryoshka with Love is the satirical, classic p’n’c adventure about espionage and a bizarre, communist Matryoshka, full of no-nonsense riddles, politically incorrect jokes and vivid, intense characters you’ll be dying to meet.

Click one of the links above and go listen – then let us know what you think on twitter or facebook!

Check out the whole video:

     

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Total Posts: 72

Joined 2017-03-27

PM

This is looking better and better with each update. Are you still on track for a Q2 2019 release?

     

Total Posts: 11

Joined 2018-11-15

PM

We’re very happy you like it! The release date will be announced soon and it’s Q2 2019 Smile

     

Total Posts: 11

Joined 2018-11-15

PM

16 May 2019 marks one of the most importantest events in the country of Matryoshka! The Great Leader will be celebrating his birthday – and for this reason the Enlightened Father of the Nation has decided to bestow Irony Curtain: From Matryoshka with Love to the Matryoshkans! The game will be available on Steam !

The Department of Propaganda prepared a short teaser introducing the citizens of the West to the details of Evan’s visit in the bestest country in the world: 

Irony Curtain: from Matryoshka with Love is a satirical point and click adventure game set in the weird, totalitarian country of Matryoshka. It’s the backdrop of the misadventures of the lowly pen-pusher Evan who accidentally becomes a pawn in a spy war between two powers. 

Irony Curtain will be available on Steam on May 16th 2019. 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/866190/Irony_Curtain_From_Matryoshka_with_Love/
https://www.gog.com/game/irony_curtain_from_matryoshka_with_love

Mod edit: Fixed video embed and removed email addresses which I don’t believe you meant to post.

     
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Total Posts: 416

Joined 2018-03-07

PM

Picked this and Guard Duty up recently. Played through the very beginning of it and I’m impressed so far. The game feels very polished and the VA and cut-scenes have been well done too.

Hope the rest of the game is as good as the start.

     
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Total Posts: 72

Joined 2017-03-27

PM

I bought this game today but haven’t tried it yet. I’m glad to see your take on it, PlanetX.

     
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Total Posts: 416

Joined 2018-03-07

PM

Man, I just finished chapter one and I’m absolutely loving the game so far. Minor quibbles about some of the animation aside I love everything I’ve played. The game goes for that irreverent satirical tone that so many LucasArts inspired AGs attempt but actually pulls it off. The protagonist full of personality and it’s reflected in the type of puzzles you do.

I’ve just arrived at the titular destination and I’m hoping the game continues to be this good.

     
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Total Posts: 84

Joined 2014-07-12

PM

Ok, so i felt from the start of the game that i will like it but did not want to comment until i get further into the game. Now i can say that it is one of the better adventure games i played lately. I really like the art style, it is its best quality imo, the puzzles are ok, not difficult and i also like its sense of humor. SO yeah, enjoyable game, i think every fun of traditional adventure games will like it.

     

Total Posts: 86

Joined 2013-03-10

PM

Just bought game and so far I’m loving it.Graphics remind me a lot of Daedalic deponia series and gameplay is like a milder cross between deponia and monkey island.
I’m only on chapter 2 so all depends on how long game is for me to really recommend.
I

     
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Total Posts: 8720

Joined 2012-01-02

PM

while playing it i was so impressed with how it seemed to me that its developer must be one bad-ass adventurer that knows the genre inside out and decided to move it to its highest level.

a very impressive and detailed adventure, strong on every traditional aspect Thumbs Up

     

Total Posts: 100

Joined 2009-02-07

PM

It could be much more. The adventure has the technical foundation to be great but it falls short at achieving anything more than an “ok, playable”. The main problem with the game is that nothing is spectacular, except maybe the design of the art and the outline of the story. The puzzles are either extremely easy or uninteresting (and a couple are kinda nonsensical if the in-game help system isn’t used), the characters are usually boring and banal with their dialogues and monologue being often extremely predictable and the details of the story not that great, for the most part at least.
In general, all in all, the game is “just ok”, nothing is totally terrible, nothing is totally great (expect maybe the aesthetics of the art and the big picture of the story) but for the most part it’s mediocre for what a great adventure really needs: great story details, great characters, great puzzles, a captivating story.
Would I recommend it? MAYBE to die-hard adventure game fans but it’s definitely not a great game to introduce someone else to point and click games.

     

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