CaptainD's PC Gaming Blog

CaptainD Interviews Ben Chandler (designer / artist of many games including Awakener and Feather Weight)

2009-12-01T21:10:00.003Z

Thanks to the joy of private messaging on the AGS Forums, I caught up with Ben Chandler whose recent games Awakener and Feather Weight both impressed me. I asked him about making games, playing adventure games, etc...

1/ What made you start making your own games?

I used to play a lot of games (mostly demos) as a kid, and also loved reading about games in computer magazines and so by the time I got to high school games were something I felt quite passionately about. I would always come up with (bad) ideas for games when walking to the bus stop, but didn't really know how to start building games. When I got my hands on my first graphics calculator I taught myself how to build basic programs and starting building a few very simple games on that. From there I read about AGS and so moved to trying to build games on my PC.

2/ You've also done a lot of work on other peoples' games - how many have you worked on so far in one way or another?

I honestly could not say, especially as I've worked on a couple of non AGS games as well. A lot of projects (both my own and other people's) have been abandoned to never see the light of day, and there are others that are planned for eventual release but won't see the light of day for some time yet. If the number of projects I've contributed something to over the years at some was significantly less than 50 I'd be most surprised.

3/ Why do you focus on short adventure games in particular?

There are a number of reasons. These are the ones I can remember at the moment:

- I am still quite new to making games. New writers should start with short stories, inexperienced illustrators should start with little sketches and beginner musicians should start with simple chord progressions. This is the crawl before the walk.

- I like playing short games that other people have made, often more than long games. As a game designer, one generally tends to try and producing that suits their tastes as a player - therefore my games are short in length.

- The stories I think of are short and concise. I don't come up with enormous backstories or huge stumbling blocks between the beginning and then end of a story. I like to keep my stories concise and focused at the moment, and I try to avoid extending games by putting heaps of filler content that doesn't really fit (though am guilty of it here and there, of course). This means the games are short.

- I like trying out new things, and by keeping each game short in length I can effectively see how well these new things work without having to invest too much time and effort into something that may be completely bland or frustrating. I try to make sure the games are long enough to satisfactorily explore the concepts, but short enough to ensure that I haven't wasted months of effort if an idea is no good.

- I have a short attention span, and this is my hobby. It's what I do for fun. Making short games is more fun, so I do what I enjoy the most.

4/ Out of all the games you've made, which one are you proudest of?

Shifter's Box - Outside In. A game is a relationship between a number of elements - the visual, audio, story and interactivity elements all have to work together well in order to create a satisfying experience. Shifter's Box is one of the rare occasions where I feel I actually succeeded in getting the interactivity element (ie, how 'fun' it is) to a point where I'm actually satisfied with it.

5/ You have a very distinctive graphical style - did that develop because of being involved in game creation, or had you developed it before that?

I'd been drawing fairly odd pictures for several years before working with AGS, but the style has definitely changed drastically over the years. Being involved in games has led me to steer my graphics towards a more functional and atmospheric style - I have learned to use low resolution as it enables me to animate and draw much quicker, and creating an atmospheric environment is essential in order to immerse the player in one's game world.

6/ What are your favourite commercial adventure games?

They've changed over the years as my tastes have changed, but I'll try to focus on the few that really stick in my mind:

Sam & Max Hit the Road - As a kid who was brand new to games, this was like a magically playable version of a cartoon. I'll never forget how much enjoyment I got out of walking around seeing the silly animations and laughing at the jokes.

Monkey Island series - I remember trying Sierra adventure games after hearing how wonderful these things were and getting frustrated and giving up very quickly; and then all of a sudden there was Monkey Island. No stupid deaths, more enjoyable graphics and music (for me, anyway) and they appealed to me as a kid because they genuinely made me laugh.

Simon the Sorcerer - I only got around to playing this a couple of years ago. The puzzles drove me insane (I'm still working my way slowly through the sequel). The graphics, however, drove me to try and draw a lot better.

Dreamfall: The Longest Journey - The original The Longest Journey started out nicely, but the slow pace and tedious puzzles quickly eventually defeated me and I gave up. The sequel, however, was much more how I prefer my games - a story where you get to be some of the characters.

Indigo Prophecy: Again, a lack of the tedious walking around using items and verbs on hotspots that is so common to adventure games meant I really enjoyed this one. Some people hated the action sequences and cheesy story developments. I loved them.

Full Throttle: I only actually got around to playing this one a few months ago, and it now stands as my current favourite adventure game. Great story and graphics, rockin' music and interesting and not annoying gameplay. This is how adventure games should be!

7/ What are your favourite freeware adventure games?

Again, I'll try to not go on too long and only list the ones that stick in my mind.

The Apprentice series - This is how I found AGS, so there is no way I am not going to love them forever. What helps is that they are actually really nice games as well!

Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy! - You cannot love this game. I dare you to try to not love it!

Reactor 09/Cedric and the Revolution - Bernie's games gave me a clear goal to aspire towards. I admire his many talents very much.

Ace Starkiller in: Hillbilly Burger Bastards - I'm not really supposed to mention this one, and it's not actually available for download. Still, some of the ideas in this really made me think "Hey, there's so much unexplored potential in adventure games still!"

Life of D.Duck series - Let's face it, if you're going to make something with children's drawing you're asking for people to ignore your game as a silly beginner's game. Sadly, this has meant that these games have been sorely under appreciated. I vowed to put more effort into animations and start using sound effects in my games after playing as that manic texta scribble.

Death Wore Endless Feathers: Disk 1 - It's very rare that the world created by a freeware game really grabs me, and yet this is exactly what happened in DWEF. It's remarkable how much more enjoyable a game can be when the setting is so intriguing.

8/ Has anyone particular in the gaming industry influenced the way you make your own games?

Tons of people, but not many that I can actually single out.

Obviously guys like Ron Gilbert and Tim Schafer have design philosophies that appeal to me both as a player and a designer. Other guys - like Chris Avellone and Warren Spector - are inspirational because they tried new things and did them well (specifically in this case, Planescape: Torment and Deus Ex respectively).

There are a couple of others who I consider very inspirational, however they are not in the gaming industry, so I'll refrain from mentioning them.

9/ What advice would you give to anyone thinking of trying to make their own game?

Stop thinking about trying to make your own game and start making it. Stop making excuses about why you can't do something - treat your weaknesses as things you are actively trying to improve instead of reasons why you can't make a game. Don't be too ambitious at first. Don't expect a lot of people to sit up and take notice when you make your first few games. Make sure you always have fun when you're making your game.

10/ Do you think that episodic games (such as TellTale Games' Tales of Monkey Island, Wallace & Gromit, Strong Bad and Sam & Max) are the future when it comes to adventure games?

I have no idea. Episodes work for television, so I see no reason why they cannot work for games. However, we still have many, many movies being produced, so I have my doubts that the current mainstream approach to games will ever be truly outmoded. Personally, as long as games are getting released, I really don't see a problem with any method of delivery, provided that it is relatively accessible to the majority of potential players.

Thanks Ben for the interview and your interesting answers!

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

First Thoughts - Stronghold 2 Deluxe

2009-11-30T23:10:00.001Z

Lots of variety in this game - two main campaigns, peacetime (pretty much a city builder sim) and a conquest mode where you not only build castle but knock them down too (not your own, of course). There are multi-player and free play modes as well - a massive game and well put together. It's an RTS based around controlling your castle community and surrounding estates.

Had a couple of problems running it under 64-bit Vista until I got all the latest patches installed - UIC was probably the problem there - and the graphics, though not bad, used extremely bright colours in the game to the point that it made seeing anything difficult. You could of course change the brightness level on your monitor, but weirdly the cut-scenes are fine - just the in-game graphics that are painful on the eyes. Music's good and voice acting is fun - quite comical and every peasant seems to have something to say for himself!

Will play through both major campaigns before reviewing (probably - controls sometimes seem a little fiddly right now, but I'm confident they won't render the game uncompletable!). Looking good so far apart from the strange colour scheme.

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

Too Competitive?!?

2009-11-30T19:57:00.001Z

It occurred to me to wonder just why I'm so competitive when it comes to computer games - two games in particular recently, New Star Soccer 2010 and X-Kings, have hundreds or thousands of players and I'm ranked around 20 in the world for both of them. But am I satisfied with that? Hell no... I should be number 1!

Just when does this sort of obsession become unhealthy? :-D Come on admit it, I'm not the only one whose twisted mind works like this... right?

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

PC Game Review - New Star Soccer 2010

2009-11-30T19:42:00.005Z

If you want more basic information on the gameplay etc, please see my review of this game's predecessor, New Star Soccer 4. This review focuses mainly on the updates from that version.

Simon Read of New Star Software has already taken us into the world of being a professional footballer 4 times before this, with two text-based games and two graphical games. New Star Soccer 4 was a phenomenally addictive and detailed game which was very challenging but also very rewarding. NSS2010 follows this same pattern - if you want to be a fantastic player straight away, forget it (well for most people this will be the case anyway) - but if you want a game that will continue to challenge you for weeks, months and quite possibly years to come, New Star Soccer 2010 is it.

The major enhancements over NSS4 are:

Quicker team / fixture / result generation - the waits could be a bit of a killer before, they're now much shorter.
The match engine has been improved, it's much less predictable and thus more realistic now (which can make the game more challenging than NSS4), and there is an extra view option which enables you to see much more of the pitch than previously.
A few major bugs from before like international team selection and interacting with your children
The teams are much more dynamic - I even managed to win the league with Liverpool and the FA Cup with Reading! I don't think either of those would have ever happened in NSS4, where winning anything at all seemed virtually impossible if you weren't at a Big 4 club [and frankly, Liverpool were never going to win the league... much like real life then really1! :-( ]
On-line rankings

There are a few other tweaks and updates, but those were the ones that stood out to me. Otherwise it's much the same game as before - very challenging, extremely addictive, but the steep learning curve and long period before you can get some of your stats up to a useful level will still make it somewhat inaccessible to some game players.

Overall, thoroughly recommended to all footie fans!

Rating: 8/10

See also:
- New Star Soccer 2010 - "What's New" Video
- Interview with Simon Read of New Star Games

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

Online Game Review - The West

2009-11-30T16:16:00.004Z

The West is a slightly different MMORPG that's based in, of course, the Wild West and puts you in the role of a cowboy. After a short tutorial you start the game proper, which is a little boring at first to be honest - much of it consists of merely finding jobs you can do, accepting them for a set time period, and once that time period's over seeing how much money and experience you got. As you level up you allocate attribute and skill points, and can take on more jobs.

After a while though things get more interesting - you can begin to accept more challenging quests, join a town and help to build it, and at Level 10 choose a character type. While things are a little slow on the whole the town-building community aspect of the game is nicely implemented, and there's plenty to do once your character is capable of it. Duelling, horse-riding and more will open up to you after a while.

As with most games of this type, the game is free to play with helpful extra abilities should you decide to part with some hard-earned money. It's not exactly an enthralling game but it does offer some undemanding fun, and after a few weeks I'm still playing it - the game makes very few demands on your time so it's perfect for those who like their online gaming in snippets.

Rating: 7/10

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

Wrong Ratings?

2009-11-30T16:05:00.002Z

It's become clear to me recently that a lot of the games I've become really hooked on and played for hours are, in fact, games I've given fairly modest ratings to while some which I've rated highly have pretty much been left on the shelf to gather dust. One reason is because some of the games are quite hard to get into, but these usually represent by far the better long-term challenge.

So, fellow reviewers and review readers a like, my questions to you are:

Just how long should you play-test a game before reviewing it?
Should games be rated down just because they may be too difficult for a lot of players?
Should ratings be changed retrospectively if you've played a game to death after giving it a relatively low rating? (Conversely, should games that impress you at first but which you lose interest in some time after you've reviewed them receive lower retrospective ratings?)

I await your comments with interest!

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

PC Game Review - Tales of Monkey Island Episode 4: The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood

2009-11-26T18:07:00.003Z

I'm not going to go into too much detail here, because many things I can say about this game I've said before - naturally it has many things in common with the previous Tales of Monkey Island episodes. In particular the graphics are very good, the voice acting and music superb, and the controls are fine apart from an unnecessarily awkward walking mechanism.

In Episode 4: The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood, we are back on Flotsam island where Guybrush has been betrayed by Morgan LaFlay and handed over to the Marquis de Sange. Guybrush ends up being saved by the inhabitants of Flotsam island, but only because they want to put him on trial for many crimes he committed (or is thought to have committed) on his short visit to the island back in episode 1. Having to defend himself in court, he will later have to face a pox-ridden Elaine, the possibility that the Voodoo Lady has been behind all his problems right from the start, the end of his budding friendship with LeChuck, and facing up to manic salesman Stan who is Attorney for the Prosecution (albeit not a very good one).

The puzzles are good and pretty varied, though there is definitely a lack of any real mind-bending puzzles that will have you scratching your head for hours. The estimated completion time for this game seems to be 4-6 hours, though like the previous episode I completed it in about 3 and a half hours. Still for an episodic game that's not bad, and again this episode is a blast to play.

The storyline is decent, it's often very funny, and for fans of the Monkey Island series of games there are an amazing number of in-jokes packed into the first half and hour or so of playing time.

Tales of Monkey Island has turned out to be a great series, (perhaps not quite as good as Sam & Max, but still great) and this episode maintains the high standard we've come to expect. There are a few twists in the story, some expected (seriously, who thought LeChuck was actually going to remain a nice guy all the way through?!?!) and some rather less expected.

Rating: 8/10

Reviews of the other Tales of Monkey Island series:

Tales of Monkey Island Episode 1: Launch of the Secret Narwal - 9/10
Tales of Monkey Island Episode 2: The Siege of Spinner Cay - 7/10
Tales of Monkey Island Episode 2: The Lair of the Leviathan - 9/10

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

First Thoughts - Awesome Soccer

2009-11-23T15:56:00.003Z

After a quick play test (which mixed results - some success but not overwhelmingly so!), I'm happy to say that Awesome Soccer plays rather like an updated version of Kick Off 2. It has a completely different look and feel, and it's not actually trying to be a clone of any sort, but the controls will instantly be familiar to fans of Anco's classic footie game.

There are some nice touches in the game, a few little niggles that are still being ironed out so I'm going to wait until the patch comes out to review it in full. Fans of old school soccer games are definitely going to enjoy it.

Related Links

Awesome Soccer by Red27 Studios

One of the nice touches mentioned is something I don't recall seeing before - when a player is booked or sent off, the reason for the refereeing decision is given, as seen in the screenshot below:

Divinity II - Ego Draconis

2009-11-22T19:31:00.001Z

This is a new release from Mastertronic, £24.99 as a download and a tenner more for the boxed version. Looks like a game I might try sometime, here's the blurb:

Many years have passed since the Damned One was defeated and banished from the world of Rivellon. But while mankind enjoys its first days of fragile peace, Damian breaks free from his bonds and returns, lusting for vengeance. With him come the Dragons…

You are the only one who can make a stand against evil. In this new instalment in the award winning Divinity series, you must face your destiny and become one of the world’s most mysterious and powerful beings- a Dragon Knight.

Embrace Your Fate
Discover the secrets of the legendary Dragon Knights and use the ability to alternate between human and Dragon forms to maximize your tactical advantage.

Rivellon Awaits You
Delve deep into this epic tale of conquest and write your own saga as you quest throughout fabled Rivellon. Your choices will determine the fate of all.

System requirements

Processor: 1.8Ghz Dual Core Processor (2.6GHz Dual Core Processor recommended)
RAM: 1GB RAM for Windows XP); 2GB RAM for Vista / Windows 7 (2 GB RAM recommended)
Graphics card: Graphics card with 256MB memory supporting direct 9.0C and shader model 3.0 (NVidia 8800 Series/ ATI 3800 Series recommended)
Windows: 7 / XP / Vista
Sound card: Supporting DirectX 9.0C, Direct X9.oc (XP), Direct X10 (Vista / Windows 7),
Hard drive space: 9GB

Click here for more information.

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

Awesome Soccer by Red27 Studios

2009-11-21T21:12:00.002Z

I'll be able to give you a full review soon(ish), but in the meantime all you footie fans might want to know about an Indie game called Awesome Soccer. Costing just $9.95 at the moment (introductory price, not sure when it will revert to the normal price of $14.95), this looks like a bit of a throwback to the some of the great football games of the past - hopefully more Kick Off or Sensible Soccer than Peter Beardsley's International Football or Gary Lineker's Soccer Skills though! :-D

About the Game

Awesome Soccer takes it's inspiration from the genre defining soccer games of the last decade, blasting them into the 21st Century with the graphical realism, features and polish that today's modern gamer demands and expects.

Teaser Trailer:

For more details visit http://www.red27studios.com/

First impression, review and interview with the game's author coming soon - stay tuned!

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

GUYBRUSH THREEPWOOD, MIGHTY PIRATE … REST IN PEACE?

2009-11-19T19:25:00.001Z

Mysterious Happenings Plague the Caribbean as Denizens Anxiously Await Answers in "Rise of the Pirate God" on Tuesday, December 8

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. -- November 18, 2009 -- Telltale Games and LucasArts today are reporting the purported demise of Guybrush Threepwood, one of gaming's greatest heroes and the Caribbean's mightiest pirates.

Details are sketchy and authorities have not named any suspects, but unconfirmed reports suggest that the recently reformed pirate LeChuck may somehow be involved. Investigators have not been able to locate the former demon pirate, or Threepwood's wife Elaine Marley-Threepwood, for questioning.

As the chronicler of Threepwood's recent exploits in Tales of Monkey Island, Telltale Games assures the masses that answers to many vexing questions will be revealed in the grand finale episode, Rise of the Pirate God, which releases on Tuesday, December 8 at http://www.telltalegames.com/monkeyisland.

During his eventful lifetime, Guybrush stepped in as the Caribbean's savior on many occasions, vanquishing his arch-rival LeChuck (in ghost, zombie and demon form) countless times. However, it was his uncanny ability to hold his breath for 10 minutes straight that truly set him apart from his pirate peers.

"He wanted what every young man wants - to loot, pillage, and sail the high seas in search of further looting and pillaging opportunities," said Dave Grossman, veteran Monkey Island game designer and writer. "It's a great tragedy to see such a productive life seemingly cut off prematurely. And I'm not just saying that because he owes me money."

In honor of Threepwood's heroic and adventurous life, Telltale is now offering the first four episodes of Tales of Monkey Island for individual purchase at http://www.telltalegames.com/monkeyisland. Each episode is priced at $8.95 USD each.

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

PC Game Review - Neverwinter Nights Platinum Edition

2009-11-16T21:16:00.002Z

Neverwinter Nights is an old but still very good RPG which is now out in a "Platinum Edition", which includes two expansion packs for the measly sum of ten pounds (about $16.50 at the current exchange rate). [In the UK this was released as Neverwinter Nights: Deluxe Edition, but I've checked and it's exactly the same package apart from the name and front cover.] Set in the city of Neverwinter, the main game has you battling to save the city first from a deadly plague, then a sinister cult, and finally from creatures beyond the known world...

Character creation is relatively simple but there's an enormous range of classes and races to choose from. The skills progression system is very well implemented with a great deal of customisability as you level up. I have to admit that levelling up seems quite slow - you'll probably complete the original game at about level 16-18 if you start with a level 1 character - but the upshot of that is the fact that when you do level up, it feels like a real achievement! Your character's appearance and temperament can also be predefined, which will influence the dialogue options available later in the game.

Of course equipment is also vitally important in an RPG and there is a veritable plethora of different items to be used and abused in Neverwinter Nights. In the great tradition of RPGs useful items can be found in the most unlikely of places (for instance barrels seem a popular place to keep gold coins in), and rummaging through someone's house for plunder - even when they're standing right in front of you - rarely seems to cause offence. However on the whole player interaction with NPCs is fairly good - they are a little too stupid at times, but the dialogues are relatively convincing.

The storyline in the original game takes a while to get going, it's pretty basic, standard stuff to begin with and at times feels too generic; once you get a decent way into the game, however, it starts to get much more interesting. You can have an ally to fight by your side and there are several of these to choose from, and each of these has their own unique back-story - there are also many books that you can find in the game, some essential to solve certain puzzles, others purely giving history of the world you're exploring and its history. This sort of things along with nicely detailed and varied environs gives Neverwinter a lot of atmosphere and a feeling of being a real place.

The graphics aren't that great by modern standards but this means that very few PCs will be unable to run it, and ramp up the detail levels to maximum if you have a decent system and the game still looks pretty good. The near isometric viewpoint is a little troublesome, in that ceilings have to be invisible for you to see what's going on in the game, but despite some quirks and the occasional mad camera angle moment, it works very well. You can zoom in and out easily, which is a real help, though sometimes during a battle the zoom refuses to work until the battle finishes. There are a lot of atmospheric sound effects and the music is good, often very moody, and the majority of the speech in the game is voiced. The voice acting is pretty good, though not excellent.

The interface does take quite a bit of getting used to, but it becomes pretty intuitive after a while, along with being impressively thorough and versatile. There are a myriad menus, though admittedly not all of them are particularly necessary in a single-player game, and getting to them is a logical process. The only real problem is sometimes clicking just slightly away from where you meant to and setting off something you didn't mean to - however this is easily rectified.

With plenty of creatures to battle, to me it was important that the narrative and puzzle elements of the game were strong, as a simply hack and slack type of game really doesn't appeal to me much. Happily Neverwinter Nights succeeds in both areas - good storytelling and some great puzzles. Throw in a handful of oddball characters and situations, occasional humour, a massive game world and a genuinely challenging game, and you have a real winner.

Neverwinter Nights has an estimate completion time of 60 hours, which is probably about right. If you like the game it's certainly worth playing through at least twice with different character types, as the first run-through probably only uncovers about 60% of what's possible in the game (maybe as little as 40%). Playing as different character types can, if you do it properly, have much more than a superficial influence on what's possible in the game.

When you've completed the original game there are two expansion packs to get through; both of these have an estimate completion time of around 20 hours. The first one, Shadows of the Undrentide, has you playing a student whose master has just been attacked - and found powerful artifacts taken. It feels a little too similar to the original game at first (where your first important mission was tracking down 4 creatures necessary to cure the plague that's hit the city), but it soon gets going and has a really good storyline once you get into it. This expansion focuses heavily on developing the story and characters, and has several very good puzzles to solve. It took me considerably less than 20 hours to complete, mainly because I imported the character I'd taken through the main game and thus already had good stats and some powerful equipment. (Incidentally you can export your character at any time, which can be a really useful feature.)

The second expansion pack, Hordes of the Underdark, doesn't have a great story - at least for the first half of the game. Once you get past the first bit, which is basically a massive dungeon crawl, and start to find out what's behind the events threatening the land, it does get a lot more interesting. Much more reliant on battling your way through hordes of tough enemies, this is a less interesting but more challenging expansion than Shadows. Both expansions are very well put together and bring a few new features to the game as well as additional content. Like the main game, your actions can lead to you becoming good or evil, and there may be more than one possible ending to the game depending on the course of action you've taken.

Then you have other modules, both professional and amateur - the game comes complete with a toolkit to create your own adventure. While I haven't really tried that feature out, I've had a look at some of the other modules available on the net - there is a huge number of these, often short quests designed for single or multi-player games, some large and complex. There are mods based on classic RPGs such as the Final Fantasy and Ultima series, on movies like Labyrinth, fantasy fiction, AD&D BBS games, or just people's imagination. Some are admittedly very amateur, but others are extremely impressive. Effectively this means that Neverwinter Nights doesn't merely plunge you into a whole new world, but opens up whole new worlds. The sheer potential scope of game play is quite staggering.

Even with all that you're only just touching the surface. Many believe that while the single-player game is good, Neverwinter Nights truly come into its own in multiplayer mode. The ability to add custom content means that NWN has a larger active user base than any (or at least almost any) game of a similar age (it was released back in 2002). Again, the sheer amount of content available is mind-bending.

System Specs

CPU: Pentium 2 450MHz minimum, P3 3.8GHz recommended
OS: 98.XP/Vista (ran stably in Vista 64-bit)
RAM: 128Mb min, 256Mb recommended
DirectX: 8.1+
HDD Space: 2Gb
DVD-ROM only

Age Rating: 12+ [/Teen] for violence (gore can be turned off, thankfully) [

**TIPS ** If you have trouble with the game crashing on start-up, wait for the loading screen to come up; if you can still see your taskbar at the bottom of the screen, Alt-Tab out of it and then again to go back to NWN. The game should then start up fine.

Make sure you save your game regularly. Also don't rely purely on the quick-save feature - I did this and my savegame file corrupted, resulting in the loss of 6 hours' worth of progress in the game!

If you're really not sure if something is a good idea, save first, then try it - you can always go back to the savegame if it turns out not to have been such a good idea after all!

Some enemies will whip your behind severely if you don't use a Potion of Clear Thought before you jump into the battle - Fear turns you into a gibbering wreck incapable of defending yourself. Don't forget to give your henchman a potion too!

Rating: 9/10

Related Links

Bioware went on to use a version of the NWN game engine to produce the immensely popular Knights of the Old Republic and its slightly less well-received sequel, The Sith Lords.

Other RPGs worth trying are:

The Bard's Tale
Sacred Plus
Beyond Divinity
Might & Magic VIII: The Day of the Destroyer
Spellforce: The Order of the Dawn

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

Interview with a Game Designer - "Auriond" of "The Marionette" fame

2009-11-16T16:04:00.003Z

What, you mean you haven't played (or at least heard of) The Marionette yet? Shame on you! See my review for more details on one of the best freeware adventure games of 2009.

Otherwise, read on...

Auriond and Team Effigy put together The Marionette, and since I liked the game so much, I thought I'd do an interview.

1/ What was the inspiration behind the storyline for The Marionette?
That's an interesting question. I can't quite remember myself how exactly I came up with the storyline. But I can tell you that Martin was an existing character of mine, and the Marionette concept that later made an appearance in the conclusion of the game was an integral part of him. Later I took that character and concept and came up with a storyline leading up to that climax.

2/ Did you always intend to achieve the graphical style that the game has, or did it develop into that style during development?
Character-wise, that's the only way I know how to draw people! I've tried various other ways but it always seems to come back to this. The backgrounds were developed along the way. I started out painting over photographs, and then tried to draw rooms from scratch. I discovered that I'm hopeless with perspective and vanishing points. Then someone introduced me to the miracle called Google Sketchup, and suddenly I could design rooms effortlessly! I still painted over the bare Sketchup skeletons by hand though. [This link will take you to Google SketchUp - there's a free version and a "professional" edition which has more features but will, of course, cost you money...]

3/ Who (or what software houses) would you describe as having the greatest influence in the way you develop games?
For this game, Sierra's old Gabriel Knight games and Jane Jensen were the biggest influences. Konami's Silent Hill (at least the Team Silent installments of the game - see where I got Team Effigy from?) also made itself felt in more than one way, I think.

4/ How long did The Marionette take to develop, from initial concept to finished product?
Four years. I know, it's ridiculous for such a short game! But it was all made during our free time, and in between I got married and moved into my own place and everything. Other members of Team Effigy also had significant life-changing events happening to them. So actually I'm amazed we even finished it at all.

5/ The game has a cracking music score - was every piece composed for the game, or did some just happen to fit the mood of the game?
Every piece was composed for the game by my brother Kieran. I have to say that his music determined the direction of the game. He would write music and I would listen to it and draw a scene to fit it. For example, I would tell him: "Okay, so the protagonist has just woken up in front of a strange house he doesn't recognise. I need some music for that." And a few days later he'd pass me this mp3, and I'd draw the house while listening to it. It was even more involved in the cutscenes - I would time the scene changes to the music. Or sometimes I would even change a whole scene to fit the music.

6/ Which puzzle in the game are you most proud of (without giving away the solution to people who haven't played it yet, obviously!)
The drawing mannequin puzzle in the first area of the game! Everything else was pretty weak compared to that one. I get a lot of compliments on it. Oh, and the one puzzle at the end which required some serious artificial intelligence (you'll know it when you see it). But I can't take credit for that one because it was Cristina and Gabriel (the scriptors) who came up with it. I wouldn't have even thought of making a puzzle like that with AGS, though I should know better - AGS is an incredible piece of software. Chris Jones is a genius.

7/ Have you started planning your next game already, or are you taking a well-deserved break first?
Both. I'm taking a break from The Marionette and catching up with real life, but there is already another game in the works and Taunia (co-game designer) is doing most of the planning work at the moment.

8/ If you had to pick just one, what adventure game do you rate as being the best ever made?
Seriously? Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within. I am such a sucker for interactive stories.

9/ What games written in AGS have particularly impressed you?
There's always the ever-brilliant Trilby series by Ben 'Yahtzee' Croshaw, and more recently Downfall by Remigiusz Michalski (Grim Reaper). I also enjoy Marina Su-Chong's games (like the delightful A Cure for the Common Cold) for their sheer cuteness and eye-candy. I have not bought Dave Gilbert's Blackwell series yet, but I remain impressed by what I have seen of that.

10/ What advice would you give to anyone thinking of creating their own games for the freeware or indie sectors?
I'm in a position to give advice? Erm, just go ahead with it. Thinking too much just slows you down. Even if it's a flawed product (like The Marionette), get it out there with your name attached to it. In the AGS community the biggest disappointment is often some brilliant-looking game whose authors lose interest or become too busy and abandon the project. So if you manage to finish a game, I'm thinking it's already a plus point.

11/ Sorry, gotta ask - any plans for a sequel to The Marionette someday?
To be honest, I don't see where I could do a sequel to The Marionette, story-wise. So, no, I'm afraid. But I have a habit of revisiting old characters and worlds, so this may not be the last you see of these characters!

Thanks to Auriond for agreeing to the interview, and thanks also to Team Effigy for creating such a good game (and for not charging us for it!)

All smileys are Auriond's, don't blame me. I didn't even realise they'd show up in Blogger.

Click here for more game designer interviews.

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

Feather Weight - this lightweight freeware adventure game packs a serious punch!

2009-11-15T22:24:00.005Z

In the fight against the machines, featherweights play a minor role - scouting, recon and spying. Considered as mere data collectors rather than true warriors, they're untrained in combat and ill equipped for any encounters with the enemy. However, when Thadd, a young featherweight, sees a fellow featherweight captured by the enemy and taken to their base, he decides that he will sneak into their compound and help her escape - even if he has to do it all by himself.

Using your left mouse button (Walk, interact, select items) and your right mouse button (look, deselect items), guide Thadd in his daring attempt to break his fellow featherweight free!

CaptainD's Verdict:

Feather Weight is a cracking little game from Ben Chandler, creator of Awakener. Ben's unique graphical style is superb and both the visuals and funky futuristic music score suited the game down to the ground. Despite being a short game it's no pushover - you'll have to get those grey cells working if you want to solve some of the trickier puzzles - and the game just drips atmosphere.

I love epic adventure games but I'm getting a taste for these short puzzlers as well. I'd guess that this will take most people 30-45 minutes to complete - not long, but you'll have a blast while it lasts. Highly recommended for casual and serious gamers alike. Ben and his small team of talented mind-controlled slaves have once again done a great job (and I'm kind of hoping this might be the first in a series?!)

Download Feather Weight

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

Freeware Adventure Game Review - The Marionette - a truly superb freeware adventure game

2009-11-13T16:29:00.005Z

It's a very long time since I've been this impressed with a freeware adventure game. The Marionette has you playing the part of an artist, who receives a mysterious message and then finds himself trapped in a nightmarish scenario which seems to be somewhere between a dream and reality. The story is skilfully developed as you progress through the game via a number of atmospheric cut scenes, along with well-written narrative and dialogue.

The graphics are superb, having a slightly dream-like quality that suits the game perfectly. There's a good level of detail in both the aesthetic appearance of the locations and the number of interactable objects. Whether in the main game or during the cut-scenes, the graphics are beautifully evocative. The music used for the game is eerily beautiful too. The game is played in the first person though the cut scenes often revert to a third person perspective.

The interface is elegantly simple and works very well, and the puzzles, while not mind-bendingly difficult, offer a decent challenge for seasoned adventure gamers. All the puzzles are logical and, if not immediately apparent, once you've worked them out they make sense. There is a nice variety to the type of puzzle, with a fair number of logic puzzles along with traditional inventory-based puzzles. Perhaps the one slight weakness of the game is that, scraps of paper with notes on them (or similar items), there aren't a huge number of inventory items in the game - however this is more a result of me actually trying to find a weakness in the game, not something that bugged me as I played it.

There are only a few different characters in the game, but since they're very well developed and the taut atmosphere is maintained throughout the game, this really isn't a problem.

Okay, there is one other weakness - if you start playing it late at night, you may not get enough sleep - I loaded it up at 11:30pm and after two absorbing hours decided that I'd probably better go to bed! Still hadn't completed it by that time, but since I had to get up for work the next morning... well, the same morning... you know what I mean!

Considering that the story of The Marionette is a genre that I'm really not keen on usually (horror), the fact that I was so engrossed by it is testament to the very strong writing in the game. There is a bit of gore (again, something I'm not a fan of), but it seemed appropriate for the game. Those with weak stomachs may be best to avoid it! In fact the game's author gives it a 16+ rating for disturbing images, adult themes, mild language and depiction of heavy violence. Nothing comes across as gratuitous but the plot development is certainly not light-hearted.

Overall The Marionette is a cracking game and proof to any doubters that freeware games can be just as compelling as their commercial big brothers.

The links that you'll need:

The Marionette official website
The Marionette download page
(The game comes in at about 90-95Mb depending on the compression technique you opt for - .rar or .zip

The Marionette Forum

Rating: 9/10

Developed by: Team Effigy

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

New Star Soccer 2010 - "What's New" Video

2009-11-13T16:20:00.001Z

Related links:

First Thoughts - New Star Soccer 2010

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

The West - Online Game

2009-11-11T21:42:00.000Z

I've been trying out this online game for a few days, thought it would be worth mentioning on the blog. You play a cowboy (or cowgirl if you want, I expect) in the Wild West, and have plenty of jobs to do to get a few bucks and keep you busy. There's a short tutorial - not too bad - and you're severely limited in what you can do straight away. I've managed to level up a little but still the more interesting features of the game - duelling, building your own city, etc - seem a little out of reach at the moment.

Not exactly an exciting gaming experience so far, but I'll keep you posted on whether it improves once more of the game opens up.

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

The Energizer - Freeware Adventure Game

2009-11-11T21:34:00.002Z

"Energizer" is set in an alternative history with England and France at war, with the discovery / creation of the object that gives the game its title potentially about to change the face of the battlefield. The English have it, the French want it, and it's being kept on a remote outpost where you are stationed, watching nothing happen for months... until one of the team is murdered.

So basically what we have here is a cross between a traditional adventure game and a detective game. It's got a quirky graphical style (that I rather liked) and moody music, and a lot of good ideas, such as an icon and text-based interrogation mode. Unfortunately I found the game to be rather frustrating (even with its built-in hint system) and didn't really get very far with it. If you are more patient than I am (shouldn't be difficult for anyone out of their teens!) and don't mind the odd pixel-hunting moment, you'll probably find it quite a rewarding game. I might get back to it sometime, but I just wasn't in the mood for it perhaps. Don't let my uselessness dissuade you from giving this one a go!

More details and download link here.

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

First Thoughts - New Star Soccer 2010

2009-11-08T18:13:00.003Z

After a quick playtest, New Star Soccer 2010 definitely seems to have a smoother game engine than NSS4 - the matches look more like the real thing, with far fewer predictable patterns observable in the way things happen. So far all looks good, though it's still a game that will really challenge you before you get much success (though I did actually manage to score on my debut this time!)

Go Solihull Moors!

Related links:

Press Release - New Star Soccer 2010 Out Now!

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

LEGO Harry Potter Years 1-4 Trailer

2009-11-06T19:23:00.003Z

Can't have too many LEGO games, I always say...

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues

2009-11-06T19:19:00.004Z

Definitely one to look forward to!

Haven't played the first LEGO Indiana Jones yet? See my review!

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

Press Release - New Star Soccer 2010 Out Now!

2009-11-06T16:30:00.001Z

Oxford, UK – November 6, 2009 – New Star Soccer 2010 is available now for PC and Mac from www.newstarsoccer.com. The award winning series has been improved in every department and features better gameplay, a faster database, online leaderboards, twitter integration and much more. Existing NSS4 customers can update for free whilst new players can save 50% by signing up to the New Star Newsletter at www.newstarsoccer.com.

About New Star Soccer 2010
NSS2010 is a football game where you must train hard, play well and live the life of an up and coming sports star. The road to success is never easy but you can achieve fame and fortune if you have what it takes! With over 90 leagues, 3,000 clubs and 30,000 players from around the globe NSS2010 puts you right in the heart of a real football world.

Trial versions will be available for PC and Mac from www.newstarsoccer.com. Please contact Simon Read for a review license.

About New Star Games Ltd.
Based in Oxford, UK, New Star Games are a small independent company with a passion for sport. Please visit www.newstargames.com for more information.

Related links:

New Star Soccer 4 Review

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

Wait a minute...

2009-11-04T16:40:00.001Z

... haven't we seen this sort of advertising before for an online game? The name "Kingory" sort of rings a bell too... and the wording of the advert...

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

Free game from TellTale Games

2009-11-04T16:37:00.002Z

To celebrate Wallace & Gromit's 20th year anniversary, TellTale Games are giving away one of the episodes from season one of Wallace & Gromit: Grand Adventures. The episode is Muzzled, which I reviewed here. (If you don't want to read the full review, basically I said it was fun but too short.)

If you want to download the game visit this page, complete a couple of questions and download away.

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

Neverwinter Nights - Hordes of the Underdark

2009-11-02T20:44:00.002Z

It's taken me a long time to get into this particular expansion pack for NeverWinter Nights, but finally I'm hooked. For the first few hours I have to admit I've trawled through it mainly to see if anything more interesting happens - due to the nature of the storyline it seems to be merely a dungeon crawl at first. If you persevere though, the story gets more interesting and you are rewarded with some interesting characters and good puzzles to be solved along the way - along with plenty of creatures to battle of course. Basically the plot is that an underground dungeon of creatures captured by a mad wizard is being used as the invasion route by even more deadly foes further beneath the surface of the city - the Drow, dark elves ruled by a power-mad queen. All good stuff...

I think I still prefer Neverwinter Nights - Shadows of Undrentide, but this one at least is worth playing. It's quite tough at first but definitely a good one for levelling up your character - don't forget to save often though, there are some tough enemies out there and sometimes they appear without much warning!

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog