Wayward Manor: Neil Gaiman making an adventure game?

Gribbler · Fri 26/07/2013 09:19:45

http://whohauntsneil.com/welcome/

He seems to care a lot about storytelling so I assume it's not some platformer. But still, no gameplay or screenshots have been shown so... What you guys think?

Retro Wolf · Fri 26/07/2013 21:19:56

I love Neil Gaiman's stuff, the Sandman series sits proudly in my collection.
If he's involved with making a game, sign me up!

dactylopus · Fri 26/07/2013 22:31:51

He's a very talented writer, and I'm sure the story will be good.

Unfortunately, I'm not keen on the art style used.

Gribbler · Fri 26/07/2013 22:40:33

Quote from: dactylopusUnfortunately, I'm not keen on the art style used.

It reminds me of The Cave a little which was a very crappy game in my opinion.

miguel · Sat 27/07/2013 00:39:21

I guess you can't be really serious with that art style. But there's room for dark comedy and suspense in my opinion.
And a good story is always a good story, so...

Radiant · Sat 27/07/2013 14:06:31

Speaking of Neil Gaiman, I'm a big fan of his work, but I found that the later issues of The Sandman were really ruined by the art style (whereas the first issues are great). I would not like seeing something like that happen again.

Anian · Sat 27/07/2013 17:40:08

There was a period (since 2006.) where he was mostly writing children stuff (not that I mind stuff like Stardust, it's some things that are really for kids), but this year there are signs of him writing for adults again with "The Ocean at the End of the Lane" (on my "to read list") and such.

I think this almost might be a thing Double fine would find great (with a famous name to support it as well). Too bad.

Snarky · Sat 27/07/2013 18:10:04

Quote from: Radiant on Sat 27/07/2013 14:06:31
Speaking of Neil Gaiman, I'm a big fan of his work, but I found that the later issues of The Sandman were really ruined by the art style (whereas the first issues are great). I would not like seeing something like that happen again.

Madness! Marc Hempel's illustrations forThe Kindly Ones and Zulli et al.'s work on The Wake are some of the best art the series had. (A Game of You is probably the weakest in the series, art-wise, but the very early Kieth-drawn issues aren't great either.)

Radiant · Sat 27/07/2013 18:20:08

Quote from: Snarky on Sat 27/07/2013 18:10:04
Madness! Marc Hempel's illustrations forThe Kindly Ones and Zulli et al.'s work on The Wake are some of the best art the series had.

Really? I found them so abhorrent that these are the only two books in the series I could not bear buying.

Gribbler · Sat 27/07/2013 19:35:30

By the way, I know the author but I never read any of Gaiman's novels and I always wanted to. Could you recommend one of his books? Which one is the best? Which one defines his work? Preferably no kid's stuff.

Anian · Sat 27/07/2013 19:39:41

Quote from: Gribbler on Sat 27/07/2013 19:35:30
By the way, I know the author but I never read any of Gaiman's novels and I always wanted to. Could you recommend one of his books? Which one is the best? Which one defines his work? Preferably no kid's stuff.

"American Gods" if you like novels (urban fantasy stuff, brilliant stuff), "Sandman" series (10ish books) if you like comics, "Smoke and mirrors" if you like short stories. Oh, and "Good Omens" (with Terry Pratchett) if you want comedy.

Ilyich · Sat 27/07/2013 19:40:53

Neil Gaiman + games = me interested. Doesn't look like we should expect anything medium-changing, but there's a good chance we'll get a nice story-driven game made from a fresh perspective, which is more than good enough for me.

Quote from: Snarky on Sat 27/07/2013 18:10:04
Quote from: Radiant on Sat 27/07/2013 14:06:31
Speaking of Neil Gaiman, I'm a big fan of his work, but I found that the later issues of The Sandman were really ruined by the art style (whereas the first issues are great). I would not like seeing something like that happen again.

Madness! Marc Hempel's illustrations forThe Kindly Ones and Zulli et al.'s work on The Wake are some of the best art the series had. (A Game of You is probably the weakest in the series, art-wise, but the very early Kieth-drawn issues aren't great either.)

Art in "The Kindly Ones" is possibly my favourite from the whole series - I found it more individual and evocative than in most of the other arcs, despite not being as technically impressive and, arguably, not as suitable to the writing. And "The Wake" is quite exceptionaly drawn. Although Sam Kieth's layouts are some of the most interesting I've seen in a mainstream(well, more or less) comic book - there's something about almost every Sandman artists, and that's part of the beauty of the series, I think.

Quote from: Gribbler on Sat 27/07/2013 19:35:30
By the way, I know the author but I never read any of Gaiman's novels and I always wanted to. Could you recommend one of his books? Which one is the best? Which one defines his work? Preferably no kid's stuff.

American Gods. Or Sandman, if you would prefer a comic book.

Eric · Sat 27/07/2013 19:52:56

Quote from: Radiant on Sat 27/07/2013 18:20:08
Quote from: Snarky on Sat 27/07/2013 18:10:04
Madness! Marc Hempel's illustrations forThe Kindly Ones and Zulli et al.'s work on The Wake are some of the best art the series had.
Really? I found them so abhorrent that these are the only two books in the series I could not bear buying.

Hempel's art is notoriously divisive. I side with Snarky. I dislike the early Sam Kieth stuff and found it a chore to get through, but I LOVE The Kindly Ones, especially because of Hempel's art. That's my favorite of the books, actually.

Radiant · Sat 27/07/2013 20:04:50

Quote from: Gribbler on Sat 27/07/2013 19:35:30By the way, I know the author but I never read any of Gaiman's novels and I always wanted to. Could you recommend one of his books? Which one is the best? Which one defines his work? Preferably no kid's stuff.

Neverwhere, hands down. Also, Stardust is very good, and Good Omens of course.

Quote from: Eric on Sat 27/07/2013 19:52:56Hempel's art is notoriously divisive. I side with Snarky. I dislike the early Sam Kieth stuff and found it a chore to get through, but I LOVE The Kindly Ones, especially because of Hempel's art. That's my favorite of the books, actually.

I guess the main lesson is "don't change artists in the middle of a work".

dactylopus · Sat 27/07/2013 20:43:41

Any Sandman art is far superior to what he's going for here.

Gribbler · Sat 27/07/2013 23:41:16

Quote from: Radiantand Good Omens of course.

Good Omens sounded familiar. I just found out that I have a brand new unread copy of this book among various Pratchett books that I have in my collection. I remember someone gave it to my as a gift few years back and I put it away "to read later" cause it wasn't Discworld. Great!

Eric · Sun 28/07/2013 00:36:44

Quote from: Radiant on Sat 27/07/2013 20:04:50I guess the main lesson is "don't change artists in the middle of a work".

Wait...I don't think that's the lesson at all...?

Fitz · Sun 28/07/2013 08:48:43

Quote from: Gribbler on Sat 27/07/2013 23:41:16I remember someone gave it to my as a gift few years back and I put it away "to read later" cause it wasn't Discworld. Great!

Big mistake!

I have a collection of ~40 novels by Pratchett -- and Good Omens is in my Top 3. Though most of his non-Discworld works are young adult novels -- including the Nome Trilogy (a.k.a. Bromeliad Trilogy), the Johnny Maxwell trilogy, etc. -- they are all quite intelligent and funny.

"American Gods" was a great read, too.

Anian · Sun 28/07/2013 13:41:23

Good Omens is not Discworld, but it's the same humor with added interesting deep characters that Gaiman often concocts.

Gribbler · Sun 28/07/2013 14:51:34

I read a non-Discworld Pratchett book recently and I didn't like it that much, it was "The Long Earth". He co-authored it with Baxter.