Blackwell Epiphany

Started by Dave Gilbert, Thu 24/04/2014 15:26:43

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Dave Gilbert







Buy it now $14.99!

The story
A dead man's soul cries out against the force of a ferocious blizzard. He cries for help. He cries for answers. Then he screams as he is torn apart like damp tissue paper.

This wasn't the first time, and it won't be the last.

The police are powerless to stop it, so the duty falls to the only who can. What force could be so powerful - and so malevolent - that it would destroy the very core of a life in order to get what it wants?

Rosa Blackwell and Joey Mallone mean to find out, even if it means risking themselves in the process.

Screenshots

Rosa fortifies herself with coffee. The dead don't sleep and neither can she.


Joey talks to a ghost in an abandoned building, who makes the usual amount of sense.


The Blackwell homestead - now seen from a different angle!


Sam Durkin returns.


The void between worlds.

Team
Written and programmed by: Dave Gilbert
Background and Character sprites by: Ben Chandler (ben304)
Character portraits by: Ian Schlaepfer
Music by: Thomas Regin
Abe Goldfarb and Rebecca Whittaker as Joey and Rosa

FREE DEMO HERE!

For more details, check out the Wadjet Eye Games website!

----
And on a personal note, Blackwell Epiphany is a game that has taken me two years of full time work to make, and is the final installment of a series that I began almost a decade ago. This series kickstarted my career, and everything good in my life resulted from that. I don't post as often as I used to, but it means so much that everyone in this community has supported my work from day one. It has been an absolute pleasure making these games, and Blackwell Epiphany in particular. I hope you enjoy it.

-Dave

nihilyst

Congratulations on the release. :) Have played the first installments with joy and buy the last one as soon as possible. Will it be available on Steam soon?

piperhcombs

#2
YES!!! :grin:

Heh...can't wait to play it!

Just grabbed it off GOG.com. Steam has a listing for it, but it's not available to buy yet.
:cheers: + :claps:

Temperance&Booth  Sydney&Vaughn  Nadia&Weiss

Ilyich

Yay! Much congratulations to Dave, Janet, Ben and everyone else involved! A momentous occasion in AGS history, this! Looking forward to finally finding out whodunit! ;-D

ThreeOhFour

Just a quick note to say how much I enjoyed working on this game, and what a cool group of people I got to work with; Dave, Thomas, Ian, Ilyich, Janet and, of course, all the voice actors. I'm super proud of this game and glad to see it released. Hope you guys enjoy! :cheesy:

CaptainD

Congrats on the release guys!
 

AnasAbdin

Congrats on the release! So many AGS games too little time 8-0

Andail

Congrats, Dave, and good luck with the launch!

Radiant

Well done! I remember seeing this back in London, and now it's even cooler!

arj0n

Congratz to the whole team! Looking very very nice!

JSH

Congratulations on this huge release, Dave, Ben, and everyone else on the team! Super psyched to finally play the series finale. :)

Ryan Timothy B

Nice to see this being released.

One thing I'd like to suggest is that you rearrange the screenshots on Steam. It's showing the empty hallway and spirit world (?) first, which in my opinion, really undersell the overall first impressions of the game (lovely backgrounds, yes, but they just appear a little boring in the gameplay department).

Vince Twelve

Congrats guys!  Amazing to see this series grow and change and finally come to an end!  Big accomplishment for all involved.

I'm going to have to replay through all the other games before I get to this one, but I'm looking forward to the ride!

AprilSkies

Congratz on this release guys!
A lot of amazing games to play these days!

www.apemarina.altervista.org

GarageGothic

Congrats on the release, Dave. Your writing is eloquent and your meaning pure, you've been a great inspiration throughout the Blackwell series and commentaries. Just replayed Blackwell Deception with commentary on, and now past the first ghost in Blackwell Epiphany. Looking forward to the release party live stream.

gingersnap

yes Yes YES! Bought it on steam :) I am almost afraid to play it because then it's over...

Congrats on the release. I've really enjoyed the whole series so far, and I'm really looking forward to playing this one.


Stupot

Congratulations Dave and co.
I can't wait to play this. It's top of my payday shopping list. Already some great things being said about the game, so double congrats.
I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys do next. X

Tabata

              Great news!
             
     I will enjoy this game for sure!

       
... for this very special release to you and your team!

jwalt

+1 to those congratulations!

You might want to take a listen to the music track in the gym. I'm getting a tick-tick-tick-tick sound when it loops, at least on my system. It might even be intentional, a part of the track. Music throughout the whole series has been really good.

Is there "only" one possible ending? If so, I can think of two possibly better endings. I have completed the game, but I want to go through the commentary track before I visit the complaint department.

It is was a wonderful series.

piperhcombs

Just finished the game, and all I have to say is...Wow. :shocked: That ending. Just...:shocked:
:cheers: + :claps:

Temperance&Booth  Sydney&Vaughn  Nadia&Weiss

dactylopus

Congratulations on the release, it looks beautiful!

I should probably start at the beginning and work my way to this one.  I bet it will be a while before the whole collection comes bundled together, though.

selmiak

Quote from: dactylopus on Sat 26/04/2014 05:27:35
Congratulations on the release, it looks beautiful!

I should probably start at the beginning and work my way to this one.  I bet it will be a while before the whole collection comes bundled together, though.

My thoughs exactly, but I guess I'll just wait for a complete collectors edition bundle or so and now avoid this thread to not get spoilered :P

GarageGothic

Amazing game! Played through twice, once with commentary. It's sad to see the Blackwell series over, but it was a rewarding finish. Great work, Dave!

thomasregin

Quote from: jwalt on Fri 25/04/2014 19:45:12
You might want to take a listen to the music track in the gym. I'm getting a tick-tick-tick-tick sound when it loops, at least on my system. It might even be intentional, a part of the track. Music throughout the whole series has been really good.

Thanks for the kind words, Jwalt. None of the tracks on the soundtrack are supposed to loop. All looping tracks from the game have been edited to include two whole iterations on the soundtrack and then they're fading out. I know that there are a few minor cracks on a few of the songs on the soundtrack (not in the actual game), because I was in a slight hurry to compile the 34 original songs and made a some minor mistakes here and there. If Dave's up for it, I may re-edit those and submit a "patch". :-)

Thomas.

jwalt

Quote from: thomasregin on Sun 27/04/2014 18:51:13

Thanks for the kind words, Jwalt. None of the tracks on the soundtrack are supposed to loop. All looping tracks from the game have been edited to include two whole iterations on the soundtrack and then they're fading out. I know that there are a few minor cracks on a few of the songs on the soundtrack (not in the actual game), because I was in a slight hurry to compile the 34 original songs and made a some minor mistakes here and there. If Dave's up for it, I may re-edit those and submit a "patch". :-)

Thomas.

It isn't worth worrying about. It's a segment of eight or so "ticks," and may well be what you intended. It just sounded out of place, and I thought something might be up when the basic tune returned. That's why I thought it might be looping. I have a copy of Jamie's song on my desktop and listen to it quite often. (nod) It was perfect for that scene/place.

Blackthorne

My congrats to Dave, Janet, Ben and the whole crew... it's been a journey with these games.  I mean, I know I can trace my own life back through this series, and it's been amazing.  It's a beautiful, amazing, wonderful and engaging game - and I can't wait to beat it! I've only managed to get in a half hour here, half hour there, but I love it - and it's certainly inspiring as a fellow game maker.

Actually, it's a great reminder of where AGS (both games and the community) have been and where they are now and where they'll go in the future.  Some of us have been here for a good chunk of our adult lives, and there is a certain kind of magic, and warm memories attached to games like this.  Well, sappy blabbering done for now.  Can't wait to see what the future brings for you at WadjetEye.


Bt
-----------------------------------
"Enjoy Every Sandwich" - Warren Zevon

http://www.infamous-quests.com

m0ds

Congrats Dave and team! Kudos for undertaking all that development... I totally see now that developing duties and publishing duties in the same time space do not mix well. I'm sure B.E. will be a success!

Snarky

#27
So I played the final Blackwell game. Great job, Dave & Co.!

The earlier games were fine, but in this one all the elements really seem to come together into one great package. Very satisfying to see the series realize its full potential. I also appreciated that you got back to some of the darker elements of the original concept, with Bestowing having driven the earlier Blackwell women mad, etc. We finally get payoff on and explanations for things you set up in "Bestowers of Eternity" 11 years ago! (Since I didn't replay the earlier games, there were a lot of things I only remembered very vaguely, particularly with regards to the various series villains, or what happened with Madeline in previous games.)

Could you (or anyone who has a clear idea) comment on the timeline? I know some of the games take place closer in time than the gap between their releases, but Blackwell Epiphany is apparently set this past winter (amazing how you predicted the Polar Vortex! :-D), so does that mean that Rosa and Joey have been doing this thing for eight years? Or is this "comic book time" where you continually fudge past dates so that the story always takes place around the near present?

I experienced a few smaller bugs:
Spoiler
There's a game-logic bug around finding out Maggie Fielding's identity. Long before I ever ran into her, I tried combining Peter Fielding and the Karth house list clues, giving me her name as a possible relative of Peter's. Then when I first knock on her door, "Maggie?" comes pre-populated as a possible option, and choosing it gives a conversation that assumes we've talked before.

Only later on did I send in Joey to snoop, finding the paper with her case file number. But by this time the Karth house clue has disappeared, and there's nothing to combine the file number with. You're stuck with it for as long as you have your phone. Dialogue around it, e.g. discussing the clue with Joey, assumes you don't know who she is, even though she's already told you.

It's not game-breaking or anything, but it makes the whole interaction illogical and pretty confusing.

Also, when Madeline is stuck on the other side after Contis leaves, the whole screen darkens except for one particular square section around where the portal was, which stays bright.

And if you're fixing cosmetic things, it would also be nice if you could make sure Rosa's reflection in the floor of the lobby below Ostin's apartment disappears when the elevator doors close (presumably the easiest way to go about this would be to have the doors cast a reflection as well).
[close]

faerieevenstar

I actually cried when I finished it and am playing them all from the start again.. *whimper* It was a beautiful ending, and though a part of me didn't want it to ever end at all, but it was a beautiful finish, and it had to end while it was still awesome. I have been mourning the loss of the series ever since though... :~(

Dave Gilbert

Hi everyone! We've been on vacation so I haven't kept up-to-date with this thread as much as I would like. So happy you all have been enjoying it! (mourning and crying nonwithstanding)

-Dave

Snarky

Quote from: Dave Gilbert on Sat 17/05/2014 17:51:45
Hi everyone! We've been on vacation so I haven't kept up-to-date with this thread as much as I would like.

That's OK. Only, since you weren't posting, we all decided to pirate the game. It's only fair, right?

faerieevenstar

Quote from: Dave Gilbert on Sat 17/05/2014 17:51:45
Hi everyone! We've been on vacation so I haven't kept up-to-date with this thread as much as I would like. So happy you all have been enjoying it! (mourning and crying nonwithstanding)

-Dave

Hah I'm just such a goth. *clamps hand to forehead dramatically* I have enjoyed all the games so much, it's just the same as that feeling when you finish a really good book and you realise you can't read it any more because there IS no more, so you just start again! It's a sign that you got me truly emotionally involved with the characters, and I cared what happened- that's a GOOD THING (I think!!)

I can't wait to see what you'll come up with next :wink:

Dave Gilbert

Quote from: faerieevenstar on Tue 20/05/2014 17:15:44
I can't wait to see what you'll come up with next :wink:

Heh. Neither can I! :)

We're publishing two other games next (Grundislav's "A Golden Wake" and Technocrat's "Technobabylon") but I'll be working on my own thing in the interim. What that will be yet, I am not sure!

CaptainD

Quote from: Dave Gilbert on Fri 20/06/2014 22:13:59
Quote from: faerieevenstar on Tue 20/05/2014 17:15:44
I can't wait to see what you'll come up with next :wink:
I'll be working on my own thing in the interim. What that will be yet, I am not sure!

Altogether now...

Purity of the Surf 2! 8-)
 

Crimson Wizard

Quote from: Snarky on Fri 02/05/2014 18:01:21
I experienced a few smaller bugs:
Spoiler

Also, when Madeline is stuck on the other side after Contis leaves, the whole screen darkens except for one particular square section around where the portal was, which stays bright.
[close]

This was also reported as an issue in AGS repository (see my comment below):
https://github.com/adventuregamestudio/ags/issues/159

Basically, there's some difference in how software and hardware gfx drivers handle this fading. Maybe there is a way to script the way around this.
It's not a big problem for Windows, where you can use Direct3D9, but AGS linux ports do not have any other drivers except for software one yet (just a note).

AndyfromVA

I loved the entire series and I found the ending satisfying, in a complicated, real-life sort of way (if anything involving the supernatural can be considered real-life).  For your next series you may want to ditch the supernatural stuff and focus on human relationships - maybe a love story/mystery combination?  Oh and please continue having Ben Chandler do the art - his work looks like an impressionistic painting.

ThreeOhFour

I now work for Dave full time, so that is extremely likely (thank you). :cheesy:

arj0n

Good news ben. Your artwork is, as always, top notch.

ThreeOhFour


Mandle

Just finished the whole series and I just have to say that I'm so glad I spent 40+ hours or whatever I did on the Blackwell saga instead of watching 20+ Hollywood movies...

The story was much better than what passes for a story in Hollywood these days...

But! NEVER let Hollywood get their hands on this gem of a story!!!

They already tried something similar with R.I.P.D. and it sucked!!!

Unless you're strapped for cash of course and they offer you a couple mil...Then you guys at Wadget can keep bestowing upon us this kind of quality for eternity...

vertigoaddict

#40
I had just bought Deception and Epiphany (did I spell that right?) via steam a couple of days ago (at least, I think it was a couple of days ago, or maybe it was yesterday? I'm sure the sun had come up and gone, it feels like two or three hours went by but that's impossible). I completed both of them, I only had to play Epiphany once to go through the whole thing, it was so immersing (immersive?).

I still have to go through Epiphany again though, 'cause I'm sure I've missed a couple of things (those achievement trophies are brining out the OCD in me).

Love the game, congratulations on completing the series, I'm definitely sad to see it end, but it ended with a really sweet note.

racy742

Wow that trailer looks epic! good work guys :=

Crimson Wizard

#42
I finally played this game, and really enjoyed solving it; however I must confess I did not like the ending... at all.
Spoiler

I know that's a personal view, but I found it overly melodramatic; and yet the irrealistic events in the final (universal catastrophe, saving all ghosts in the world, plus Joey becoming living person... how???) killed all the drama and left me sitting still with one brow raised till the credits...
I know you were trying to make up the end of the series, but that all was too much.
[close]

Also, there were couple of things that were never answered, unless I missed something.
Spoiler
1) Why did Durkin send Rosangela to the Karth House in the beginning?
2) Why was George Ostin there, and who was the mysterious killer?
[close]

vertigoaddict

To answer Crimson Wizard.
1
Spoiler
I just wanted to say I loved the ending, and I could understand why some would find it a little too melodramatic; it kind of reminded me of that Doctor Who episode where Rose Tyler looked into the heart of the Tardis and became this superbeing who saved the day, she even ressurected a dead person, and well, Doctor Who is meant to be over the top
[close]

2
Spoiler
1. In past games Rosangela and Joey would go to areas where they hear about "disturbances" (like in convergence intro) to check out if there's a ghost, I guess it is inferred that this time Detective Durkin helps with finding areas like these? Despite not really knowing what Rosa does. Kind of a 'Don't ask, don't tell' situation.
2. I think George Ostin going there was a coincidence (or not, it maybe that Madeline lured him there by using the priest). The priest (Madeline's new host) was the mysterious killer, Madeline was not able to help free ghosts (or so she says) but she was able to control his mind to make him murder some of his friends so she could take in their spirit energy, also, she mentions that although he doesn't remember killing them there, subconciously he still felt the guilt.
[close]

paolo

#44
Congratulations to everyone involved in this game for cleaning up at the AGS Awards last weekend! You deserved it, guys. Well done.

Dave Gilbert

Thanks Paolo! Despite me not posting as much anymore, the support and encouragement we get from this community still means a lot to me. :)

CyberUncleCat

#46
Dat ending.

No seriously, this series is great. They should make TV series out of this because Joey and Rosa are perfect duo and setting is so good.

And

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