Decline Dreamfall Chapters - Console Immersion Action Decline Kickstarter [Spoilers]

[Boleskine]

New Kickstarter update

It's a long update, but among other things they had some people alpha test the game.

We're right in the middle of evaluating our alpha milestone, and as part of that we had our first alpha version focus test this past Friday — the second is set for this coming Friday, with a third and possibly fourth test scheduled for late June.

Friday's focus test lasted almost three hours, and participants played through the opening parts of the game — chapters one and two — from Storytime through Europolis, something that appears to take well over two hours.

With the feedback from this test, we hope to improve the opening parts of the game, the controls and game mechanics, the dialogue, puzzles and the overall flow and pacing of the narrative.

So how did it go?

Well, aside from some delays and unfortunate technical issues, it went pretty well. There was some praise, there was constructive feedback, and there was much to criticise — but nothing we can’t fix.

We won’t share all the feedback, but we can say that our biggest challenge right now is making the player feel in control of the storyline...and that’s something we’re actively working on.

You will hear more about our alpha version later this month, as we start showing the game to more people and giving hands-on time to press.

 

[Boleskine]

Hands-on preview from RPS

The shadow of The Walking Dead looms large. Tørnquist tells me that Chapters is “far closer to a Telltale game than it is to The Longest Journey”. Indeed, while I’m told that the puzzles become more complex as the story progresses, the first areas only require a minimum of ‘adventure game logic’. At one point, a bug in the build I was playing meant that I was left without a vital inventory item. Not realising that anything had gone wrong, I tried to find a solution by rummaging through memories of the previous games. I fully expected a convoluted mix of backtracking, abstract item combinations and inflatable ducks.

Not the case. As soon as the problem was fixed – in a matter of seconds once someone became aware of my plight – the solution was obvious and, despite requiring an item, based in dialogue. There are a few inventory-based puzzles in the portion I played but every object has a credible reason to exist in the place where it Is found and seemingly incidental lines of speech provide clues to those paying attention.

 

[trustno1code]

 

[Keshik]

A key goal, for this and future games, is to explore ways to build an interactive experience in which the process of playing is structured around narrative and characters rather than puzzles and roadblocks. In Chapters, occasional hurdles require intellectual prodding but, based on conversations with the team and the time spent with the game, the main challenge is to integrate emotional responses into an interactive narrative.

Well, this isn't too much of a surprise. Disappointing anyway.

 

[MicoSelva]

This is interesting, as I believe Funcom holds the license to The Longest Journey.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkai...ces-raided-delisted-from-oslo-stock-exchange/

I think Tornquist himself holds the rights to TLJ and Dreamfall, not Funcom.

I never hoped for Chapters to be another TLJ, but if it turns out to have even less gameplay than Dreamfall, I will be disappointed. Although I will still play and probably enjoy it, because I like Tornquist's style of writing and world building.

 

[Name]

Walking Dead is like a plague... turning Adventure games into zombie games...

 

[Jaesun]

I think Tornquist himself holds the rights to TLJ and Dreamfall, not Funcom.

Word Mark THE LONGEST JOURNEY
Goods and Services IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: computer game software, programs and cartridges. FIRST USE: 20001117. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20001117
Owner (REGISTRANT) Funcom Oslo AS CORPORATION NORWAY DRAMMENSVEIEN 167 NO-0277 OSLO NORWAY

 

[PlanHex]

Walking Dead is like a plague... turning Adventure games into zombie games...

Meh, take all the combat/stealth out of Dreamfall and it's basically the same thing. Not a big stretch in any case.

 

[MicoSelva]

I think Tornquist himself holds the rights to TLJ and Dreamfall, not Funcom.

Word Mark THE LONGEST JOURNEY
Goods and Services IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: computer game software, programs and cartridges. FIRST USE: 20001117. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20001117
Owner (REGISTRANT) Funcom Oslo AS CORPORATION NORWAY DRAMMENSVEIEN 167 NO-0277 OSLO NORWAY

That's quite a bit surprising. I would have sworn he said he owned the right during Dreamfall Chapters KS campaign, I must have misremembered.

 

[abnaxus]

I learned that Ireland has become a feral state, with limited technology and a single daily ferry from Liverpool as its only contact with the outside world.

So nothing has changed then.

 

[DalekFlay]

I finally tried Walking Dead last week and hated it, so not good news.

 

[Jaesun]

I think Tornquist himself holds the rights to TLJ and Dreamfall, not Funcom.

Word Mark THE LONGEST JOURNEY
Goods and Services IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: computer game software, programs and cartridges. FIRST USE: 20001117. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20001117
Owner (REGISTRANT) Funcom Oslo AS CORPORATION NORWAY DRAMMENSVEIEN 167 NO-0277 OSLO NORWAY

That's quite a bit surprising. I would have sworn he said he owned the right during Dreamfall Chapters KS campaign, I must have misremembered.

It is currently owned by FUNCOM. I don't know if he is in negotiations to buy the IP and Trademark, but I highly doubt that.

That was the other reason I would not touch this Kickstarter. When the Developers does NOT own the IP/Trademark I knew this would just end up as dumbed down adventure game garbage....

 

[LESS T_T]

He licensed it from Funcom.

Red Thread Games has licensed the rights to 'The Longest Journey' universe from Funcom, and Mr. Tørnquist will spearhead development of 'Dreamfall Chapters', [...]

Red Thread Games will independently fund and produce the sequel to 'Dreamfall', and has entered into a revenue sharing agreement with Funcom as part of the licensing deal. Funcom owns the intellectual property rights for 'The Longest Journey', but due to the company’s focus on and commitment to the development of online games, the decision was made to license the rights to Mr. Tørnquist and his new development studio.

http://www.funcom.com/news/pre_production_begins_on_new_game_in_the_longest_journey_saga

 

[MicoSelva]

Jaesun, I did not back this either. I briefly considered it until I saw it will be way over its funding goal anyway. I might risk money to promote some but not for a dumbed down interactive fiction like Dreamfall, even if I will enjoy playing it when it is released.

 

[TheGreatOne]

I never hoped for Chapters to be another TLJ, but if it turns out to have even less gameplay than Dreamfall, I will be disappointed. Although I will still play and probably enjoy it, because I like Tornquist's style of writing and world building.

Doesn't Dreamfall have poorly executed combat&stealth sections and other action adventure crap? Point being that it in fact has more "gameplay" than the original. It's not like the "gameplay" part of TLJ was that good. In fact the poorly designed illogical puzzles in the beginning of the game are a detriment to it. As long as the writing, world building, voice acting, scenery and over all ambiance is as good as it was in TLJ, I don't care whether the next game has any gameplay (that is, classic point&click style inventory puzzles and not just running around, talking to people and interacting with some objects like computers and doors) at all. If it could have well designed puzzles like Day of the Tentacle it would be great, but Sanitarium style "interactive book" style adventure game is in my eyes superior to an adventure game that is so keen on storytelling that it'll force players to solve horrible puzzles just because an adventure game is expected to have puzzles and they couldn't be arsed to figure out any logical ones that actually make sense in the context of the game.

 

[MicoSelva]

adventure game that is so keen on storytelling that it'll force players to solve horrible puzzles just because an adventure game is expected to have puzzles and they couldn't be arsed to figure out any logical ones that actually make sense in the context of the game.

Well, you've just described puzzles in Dreamfall. Those in TLJ were ten times as good.

As for stealth and combat, both were there just to pad the game, there was no challange and no fun in either.

 

[abnaxus]

Interesting update

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/redthread/dreamfall-chapters-the-longest-journey/posts/879980

 

[trustno1code]

As if this wasn't shaping up spectacularly enough, they've now adopted the Broken Age episodic model (again) to generate income earlier.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/redthread/dreamfall-chapters-the-longest-journey/posts/890605

The creative process is unpredictable, however, and the story we’re telling has turned out to be bigger and more ambitious than first envisioned. We’re not on track to meet the release date we estimated a year and a half ago, and we've had to take a long, hard look at our schedule and budget.

After much internal debate and careful consideration, we’ve decided to return to the episodic format.

This autumn, Red Thread Games will release Dreamfall Chapters Book One: Reborn — the first of five episodes — on PC, Mac and Linux.

 

[J_C]

I'm not saying that I like this news, but it is understandable. They "only" got 1,5 million dollars on KS, and that is not much if you want to do a fully voiced 3D adventure game with decent length.

 

[Boleskine]

Here's how Crow responded to the news of episodes:



All Red Thread Games needs to do now is only give backers Steam keys at launch and create another kickstarter-related DRM-free clusterfuck.

 

[Boleskine]

Trailer for the first episode/book/chapter.

Warning: emotions.

 

[tuluse]

The cyberpunk parts have some nice art.

 

[DalekFlay]

Bloom attack go!

 

[abnaxus]

It looks exactly like Dreamfall. Xbox grade graphics. Story better be totally awesome.

 

[Keshik]

Nice elephant soundtrack. Stark does look kind of neat, though a bit brighter than I'd like.