Broken Age - Double Fine's Kickstarter Adventure Game

[Aeschylus]

Number of animations: 6,091
Number of text strings: 4,896

That pretty much sums up the game's problems right there.

 

[Athelas]

Number of animations: 6,091
Number of text strings: 4,896

That pretty much sums up the game's problems right there.

You forgot:
Number of cutscenes: 1,181

 

[tuluse]

3 hours of cutscenes for a 4 hour game.

 

[Bubbles]

339 man months on a $3.3+ million budget? And people say the EU has expensive labour.

 

[Ninja Destroyer]

3 hours of cutscenes for a 4 hour game.

Tim Schafer is better than Hideo Kojima.

 

[Boleskine]

Number of official refund requests: 1

 

[Edifice]

How can there be 3 hours of cutscenes if it took me 3 hours to beat the game?
Or is this them admitting that the puzzles were so stupidly easy that the entire game is basically a cutscene?

Spoiler

I guess it's for the "full" game?

 

[Boleskine]

Unless I'm mistaken I think those are stats for the entire game (both parts).

For example, 4000+ lines of recorded dialogue is quite a bit, and it doesn't seem part 1 included that much dialogue by itself.

 

[kazgar]

Finally got around to playing act 1 tonight. Took about 3.5 hours without rushing through, enjoyed it enough, i only paid the minimum to get the game, will probably be worth that once its done (haven't paid attention to the videos) Story was nice, art's pretty good. Game feels pretty railroaded in points, and while none of the puzzles are really hard, I do like that none are stupidly obtuse as well.

Spoiler

The start of the boy run with all those fake missions goes on too long for mind.

Curious to see where it goes in act 2.

 

[Pyke]

I wonder if they will go back and rework arts of Act 1 before releasing the 'final game'. I personally think that if they don't they are missing out on a fantastic opportunity. Honestly, it wouldn't take a lot to expand on the current game and add in extra 'game' while work on Act 2 continues.
I'm assuming they are bringing back the voice artists at some point for the Act 2 dialogue, so having them say the expanded stuff shouldn't be a major logistics issue.

Whenever the player just gets handed an item, add in a puzzle. A classic '3 task' thing would be perfect for many of those 'get the item' times. Hell, the one where you get the egg from Jack Black was PERFECT for it and I'm surprised that it wasn't a hugely expanded section.
Need wood? Missed puzzle opportunity. Trick mom? Missed puzzle opportunity. Find Marek? Missed puzzle opportunity.

You should have had to 'break' each of the fake missions to proceed. This would have killed that monotony (it would become an active segment, not a passive one) and expanded the game.

I really REALLY hope that they use this time and feedback to build on what they have, instead of saying "Well - its locked up and done, lets move on!"

 

[kazgar]

Thinking on it a bit more, even without verbs and multiple actions, there felt like a distinct lack of stuff to click on, and surely the first rule of adventure games is click on everything (unless the game kills you a bunch of times for rogue clicks, but that's a special case)

The lack of environmental interaction hurts the length and complexity, for example

Spoiler

The spaceship key thing that's hung as art above the hipsters fireplace, if you could click on all the things in the house, record play, kitchen, etc, you probably wouldn't get around to the artwork or possibly even just think of it as environmental, but because there's so little other interaction in that room, its easy to take interest in it, and have it in your inventory long before its needed. This means there's no puzzle or effort required when you get to the spaceship/pyramid, because Id assume most people will have the exact item (that looks exactly correct) with them, when the puzzle probably would've been more about backtracking...which is a sorta shit puzzle, but not a uncommon one.

Some of what Pyke mentions above would go a long way to help that.

 

[Metro]

Number of official refund requests: 1

People are too ashamed to admit they bought it.

 

[felipepepe]

I still love how the rabid fanboy said that Double Fine giving refunds would make them go broke.

 

[J_C]

the game.

I really REALLY hope that they use this time and feedback to build on what they have, instead of saying "Well - its locked up and done, lets move on!"

I fear that they consider it a done game.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

I still love how the rabid fanboy said that Double Fine giving refunds would make them go broke.

 

[Pyke]

the game.

I really REALLY hope that they use this time and feedback to build on what they have, instead of saying "Well - its locked up and done, lets move on!"

I fear that they consider it a done game.

If that's true I think they are really missing out on a wonderful opportunity.

That said, Im eagerly awaiting the next doc episode. I've enjoyed the AF videos quite a bit!

 

[J_C]

Latest update and documentary is up.

What the heck, is the community manager on the right browsing the Codex? The colour and layout of the page is familiar:

 

[Athelas]

We all know that's you at your job as PR agent at Double Fine.

 

[evdk]

Latest update and documentary is up.

What the heck, is the community manager on the right browsing the Codex? The colour and layout of the page is familiar:

The guy on the right might have a screen of what looks like the Codex, but the guy on the left definitely has the face of somebody browsing the Codex. Horrified and unbelieving.

 

[J_C]

Oh...

Let me quote Tim's words for you felipepepe : You are a jerk. :D

 

[Infinitron]

Holy shit.

 

[Crooked Bee]

What the heck, is the community manager on the right browsing the Codex? The colour and layout of the page is familiar:

The avatars seem to be a bit too large for that to be the Codex.

 

[evdk]

Oh wow, the actual VO for this is retarded as hell. "I don't recommend it to people who do not have the affinity for the genre already, because next to the modern incarnation like the tell tale games it might seem simple an boring"

No, that's just because you fucked up the puzzle design, you boons.

 

[felipepepe]

Let me quote Tim's words for you felipepepe : You are a jerk. :D

Ohh... so I have to be respectful and polite on the forums or I get banned, but the CEO of the company can call me a jerk on his documentary... that's Double Fine for you.

 

[toro]

Is it too soon to say "I told you so"?

*Because I told you so.

Too soon, the game could still be good.