The Drunken Lizard Pub

A few years ago a rep from Atari came to my school to recruit visual artists for a project he was working on, and during the Q&A he allowed the audience to suggest where they might like to see games taken in the future. I said I would prefer to see games with a heavier reliance on story and character than on topnotch visuals - mentioning that I still enjoy Baldur's Gate more than Neverwinter Nights.

He was a delightful and eloquent guy. His position summed to recognizing that A) they're not mutually exclusive and B) he agreed that narrative was often given short-shrift, but that "old school" RPG wasn't in the cards for a large developer like Atari, since it amounts to a niche market. The isometric perspective (from his perspective) was already mouldering in its 2D-and-a-half grave.

Just wanted to thank you guys for developing this kind of game. You're making a product that's both desired by fans and impractical for the big boys. I'm looking forward to playing it.

Go Indie! And good luck!

Thank you, and welcome to The Pub.

I've got a special bottle of Mickey's Ice waiting for the release of this game. Come on mac release.

CRPG's are definitely a niche market, similar to a meaningful independent film. They may not make sacks of cash, but they have a far greater impact on the viewer than the popcorn-summer movies.

The thing I think a lot of the mainstream game designers forget is that just because it's 3D doesn't make it "better". Games don't have to conform to any one style of perception. The industry was healthier on a whole when 3D environments were difficult to implement, because designers placed less importance on appearance.

The way I see 2D perspective, either isometric or bird's eye, is that the emphasis of the game isn't on what you see in the distance, it's what is in the vicinity. 3D games have beautiful vistas of landscape that invoke strong emotion. 2D games have an abstract perception of the world, but much greater depth in details, such as NPC's and narrative.

I'm SO looking forward to this game.

Adam

The large gaming companies have become huge corporations and huge corporations are really hurting the american way of life in so many areas. (Sorry i think i just got political).

macdude22 wrote:I've got a special bottle of Mickey's Ice waiting for the release of this game. Come on mac release.

Well thanks to a generous donation of some PPC hardware, we should have the Mac version coming along shortly after the PC release!

Mario called me to let me know that my game is in, so I'll be busy for a while. And Avernum 5 and Mass Effect. I probably won't have time for this for a couple months so it's not so bad anyway.