When Downfall got released it surprised me that a lot of people felt like sharing their thoughts about it. And not only between us, AGSers- we must feel by nature inclined to comment and criticize because... because most- if not all of us- make games. We're in the same business, really, so it is easier for us to understand how things get done. When we play AGS-made games we see more than the maker would want us to see. It's not just about the story and the graphics. It's about scripitng tricks, work-arounds and pushing what the editor is capable of, testing its boundaries. I felt it strongly while playing Dave's latest Blackwell game. I felt that sometimes, if even for a brief moment, I was almost inside his head, understanding why and how events were happening...
So, my point is, and I'll better get to it before I get completely stuck in my track(
), that we share something in common here, but it is also quite interesting what people from the "outside" feel when playing AGS games.
I'm really glad I had this opportunity to get feedback from the broader audience. In emails I received upon releasing Downfall few issues kept getting back to me constantly.
DOOR TO ROOM 666- a lot of people wanted to know if it can be entered. I was reluctant to give the answer... because it was a little experiment I had done there. It's the only door within the hotel you can't open. And yet, even though there is absolutely no reason to go there, everybody wanted to! I've learned something there- you can play with people's minds easily. And this joke was on me.
CHOICES- everyone enjoyed being able to make choices in Downfall... and yet regretted it in the same time, because it was so easy to make a wrong one. Not all of them affected the story, but they all affected how people felt about themselves somehow...
CAT- I couldn't count how many times the bloomin' cat came up! Was it really so shocking? It's a game, after all. I killed over 55.000 zombies in Left4Dead( and even got achievement for it!), and felt nothing. Nothing! And yet, a single black cat stirs so much controversy? Why is it so? Are we, as players, not used to killing animals? What about Lara Croft killing tigers? Or spiders? Or whatever other animals she bumped into.
So, before I'll get told off for not sticking to this thread's topic, I'll better draw to conclusion. These issues I mention above, are some of the lessons learned from my previous project and they are in one way or the other will affect The Cat Lady. If there's a door, does it have to opened? Or is it better to make player forever think that they've missed out on something? If making choices is popular with the players, should the game be based on them? Where do you draw a line between videogame violence and bad taste?
But, spending a lot of time thinking about these and other aspects of game development, I'm pretty sure I know what I'm gonna do...
Just as before, I'll do as I like. I don't give a damn if some pussycat lovers get offended. It's a story, and in a story anything can happen. Hundreds of people across the world killed that damned cat, and if they felt sorry for it... then good for them. But I'll continue making games where young girls get offered cigarettes and pussies are stabbed. Not because I'm a nasty person, but because I love this feeling of being in control of the world I created, telling my actors what to do and say and pulling all the strings. If I was a god I guess I would be a scary Cthulhu kind...
Well, I'll keep posting my thoughts here, 'cos I've got no one else who'd want to listen about this stuff. It might as well be my little dev's blog. I posted another screen on top of this to attract your attention to all this text:) It's a good example of what I'm doing- a mixture of photography, digital painting and rendering. Playing with colours. It's actually an object from the game. I've never quite mastered colours, but I'm getting there... Maybe 5 games from now I'll be able to make candylike fantastic worlds full of vibrant colour... But not yet. Besides, I guess it works at the moment.
As for now, shut your doors and shut your windows, as no pussy cat is safe while I'm around...
