Resonance - Now on Steam!

[Miguel R. Fervenza]

Spanish review: http://indiefence.blogspot.com.es/2012/06/resonance-xii-y-wadjet-eye-games-2012.html

[Vince Twelve]

Interesting question, Stu...  I might release my design doc at some point.  I'd have to think about it.  It's so personal!

Thanks David, I'll have to try and struggle through a Google translator interpretation of that review later!

[ddq]

Just bought it on GOG, looking forward to playing it!

[Vince Twelve]

I'm going to be interviewed in about ten minutes live on http://vognetwork.com So, if you're into that... join in!

Edit: It's done.  I guess a recording will be put up at some point.

[FrancoFranchi]

As I missed out on the Gemini Rue big box, I had get in on the ground floor with this one and am very happy I did!  So much to praise about the game and it's all been said, but the bit I was most impressed with was:

Spoiler

The Subway Map clue giving Ed away (and the reveal of why he chose the crappy apartment) - excellent plotting!  Love when a clue is hidden in plain sight like that.

[close]

Would love to see a design document, though maybe that should wait to be a reward in a Kickstarter for the next game?   As a total AGS amateur, it's both impressive and daunting to see such a quality product.

Constructive feedback below in the spoiler-tags of some of the incredibly minor things that bothered me (or I didn't get!):

Spoiler

The Use of the Soundtrack: While there's some fantastic music here, a lot of the best tracks seemed to play over quick timed sequences (e.g. Anna's nightmares) or one-off dialogue sequences (e.g. lots of the main theme variations).  The problem was that much of my time in the game was spent in areas with some of the weaker tracks - especially the hospital.  As that location had so many rooms and so many puzzles throughout the whole game, with the same muzak every time, I kept having to mute the whole soundtrack to stop the repetitiveness.  I'm used to doing this in situations like the 'puzzle box' where I'm stuck doing a logic puzzle for far too long (due to my own stupidity in most cases!) but it's the first time I remember doing it in a game outside of that - especially in a game with a good soundtrack!  Thinking more about adding variety to the music in the areas where players will spend the most time would be great, but letting the music be muted without silencing the dialogue would be very welcome.

No compelling reasons to save the vault: Considering the middle part of the game seems to hinge entirely what to do with the vault research, this seemed very lop-sided.  As a player, we've already seen how the technology can cause worldwide panic, we've seen it kill a likeable character and we've heard many warnings about what it could do.  The only reason to save it is...SCIENCE!! (in the form of a one line comment about how it could be used for good).   If we'd seen any kind of potential positive impact of resonance, this would have been a much more thought-provoking decision.  It might have also made Ed's desire to save the research a bit more authentic (also, I didn't really understand why a rational guy like Ed trusted XI more than Morales.  As a "mathematical" thinker, it seemed odd he'd believe them whole-heartedly.  It didn't come up in my playthrough, but did they tell him Morales was a murderer? )

Minor Quibbles:
- The plot-point with red herring letters incriminating Bennett/Ray was the only weak story beat in the whole game (except maybe Batra doing his own burglary, though I could ignore that).  It seemed like a cop-out to have them both explained away as being planted by an eeeevil all-powerful organisation, with very limited reason except to add some suspense to the plot.  The story was strong enough that this could have been taken out entirely and replaced with a better reason for Ray to attack Bennett (on that point...)

- Ray seemed a bit of an afterthought compared to the other three; a bit like he was dropped in just to be a red herring and wasn't really fleshed out enough.  We don't really learn anything about him apart from his job and his only 'contact' is Ozzy, who was more of a wacky comic relief character like Saul/Tortoise who doesn't shed any light on Ray (unlike Reggie and the guys from the station, who helped humanise Bennett).  I kept thinking his "infiltrate the group" comment in the notes would hint at something bigger from him but it never came.

- Why is the bad guy always British? :p  I know Batra said his mother was from Newcastle, but I hope that wasn't an attempt at a Geordie accent!

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[Snarky]

Spoiler

- The plot-point with red herring letters incriminating Bennett/Ray was the only weak story beat in the whole game (except maybe Batra doing his own burglary, though I could ignore that).  It seemed like a cop-out to have them both explained away as being planted by an eeeevil all-powerful organisation, with very limited reason except to add some suspense to the plot.  The story was strong enough that this could have been taken out entirely and replaced with a better reason for Ray to attack Bennett (on that point...)

[close]

Spoiler

I don't think there are any letters incriminating Ray? And the notes/letters pointing suspicion at Bennett weren't planted by Antevorta, I don't think. "Don't trust the police" was probably planted by Ed, or if genuine it might have referred to the chief, who was involved in the conspiracy. And the "instructions" to get rid of the journalist turned out to be a personal letter to Bennett.

[close]

[FrancoFranchi]

Spoiler

- The plot-point with red herring letters incriminating Bennett/Ray was the only weak story beat in the whole game (except maybe Batra doing his own burglary, though I could ignore that).  It seemed like a cop-out to have them both explained away as being planted by an eeeevil all-powerful organisation, with very limited reason except to add some suspense to the plot.  The story was strong enough that this could have been taken out entirely and replaced with a better reason for Ray to attack Bennett (on that point...)

[close]

Spoiler

I don't think there are any letters incriminating Ray? And the notes/letters pointing suspicion at Bennett weren't planted by Antevorta, I don't think. "Don't trust the police" was probably planted by Ed, or if genuine it might have referred to the chief, who was involved in the conspiracy. And the "instructions" to get rid of the journalist turned out to be a personal letter to Bennett.

[close]

Spoiler

Sorry, I meant the "get rid of the journalist" instructions - I assumed this was a letter from Antevorta.  There was that specific bit of evidence pointing at Bennett, so it could have been Ed who planted it, but I'm not really sure why he'd need to (there's not really any logic behind why he'd need to frame them once they got down to the vault already, as the murder was unplanned).

Always like a good that encourages speculation regardless - makes a change from most game plots

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[an Urpney]

Spoiler

Sorry, I meant the "get rid of the journalist" instructions - I assumed this was a letter from Antevorta.  There was that specific bit of evidence pointing at Bennett, so it could have been Ed who planted it, but I'm not really sure why he'd need to (there's not really any logic behind why he'd need to frame them once they got down to the vault already, as the murder was unplanned).
Always like a good that encourages speculation regardless - makes a change from most game plots

[close]

Spoiler

You can learn what the letter was about if you do certain thing in the vault - it has nothing to do with current plot, it's something from Bennet's past - something that he wants to keep secret for his very private reason.

[close]

[kconan]

  Just bought the digital version, and will have time to play next month.  Looking forward to checking it out, as it looks like a ton of effort went into this one.

[Sektor 13]

Hey, i tried a DEMO and got very excited.

I have a question - do you need Steam for the full version even if you don't buy it on steam ?



best regards

[Sslaxx]

Nope. If you brought it via Wadjet Eye Games, you should've been given direct download links as well as a Steam unlocking key. You can also forward the receipt to them to receive GOG download links (this is what I did).

[selmiak]

Spoiler

You can learn what the letter was about if you do certain thing in the vault - it has nothing to do with current plot, it's something from Bennet's past - something that he wants to keep secret for his very private reason.

[close]

Spoiler

but if he wants to keep it secret why is taking a five year old letter with him?
...but I was not fast enough to read it all...

[close]

[Tramponline]

Spoiler

but if he wants to keep it secret why is taking a five year old letter with him?
...but I was not fast enough to read it all...

[close]

Because it's sender was very, very dear to him! Interestingly, one player posted on the Wadjet Eye Forum today, that Johnsen
gives a fairly good (however subtle) clue about Bennet during their initial conversation. So subtle actually
that I didn't get that hint (not even in 7-8 playthroughs!) while testing Resonance.

Spoiler

The commentary mode grants a very interesting insight into Bennet's character and that letter.

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[Sslaxx]

Spoiler

I'm not sure I buy that Ed shot Anna just because he had no time to do otherwise; he'd have had to dispose of her anyway (and Ray and Bennet) if he'd been able to act on his true plan.

[close]

[selmiak]

Spoiler

and bennet works together with Ed. Or why would he have Ray guess around about Ed going out of his way and not instantly tell him what he found out and so save anna ...

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[Sslaxx]

Spoiler

and bennet works together with Ed. Or why would he have Ray guess around about Ed going out of his way and not instantly tell him what he found out and so save anna ...

[close]

Spoiler

If that was entirely so, then while Ed was disposing of Anna wouldn't Bennet be doing the same with Ray?

[close]

[LTGiants2000]

Ok, finally got to buying Resonance. I have to admit I contemplated torrenting it but what a hypocrite I would be, developing games myself and not giving back to the hard work and sweat put into it. I have to say this is going to be $10 well spent, thanks Vince Twelve.

[Pierrec]

I bought Resonance yesterday, played it for two hours, and must say I'm really impressed by its awesomeness (impressed, not surprised  )
Congratulations. I'm still wondering how some of the GUI were made...that's another puzzle for me ^^

[Ali]

I had to resist posting before I'd finished, because this is a really terrific game. It has the feeling of a classic adventure, but without being nostalgic. It's fresh in a way GK1 was fresh when it was new. I was also dazzled by:

Spoiler

The helicopter footage, and the damaged Whitehouse in particular. The news anchor voice was also spot on!

[close]

I absolutely love STM, and the memory based puzzles. It improves upon what Discworld Noir and the Blackwell games have done with clue-based puzzles.

However, because Nelly* and I loved the game so much, I feel I have to mention a few negative points for balance. I feel like STM is one game away from being perfect. Perhaps it would work better in a game without inventory items, because it becomes a little cumbersome at times. Especially when I'm trying to drag an item from the background onto a character, but the STM window scrolls down and gets in the way!

While the writing and puzzle-plotting was mostly excellent, there were a couple of stumbling blocks for me:

Spoiler

Like other people, I was also very confused by how to get to the cemetery.

I felt the threads of finding Morales's financial records and his vault plans were too interrelated. I tried to get the vault plans first, and got to the point where I needed his will, without knowing that such a thing existed in the game. I couldn't understand why Bennet wouldn't just ask for his own birth certificate, or any other document, in order to cheat the system.

And it's a small point, but the magnet pixel-hunt didn't quite match the quality of the other puzzles.

[close]

The only other quibble I had was with character swapping. I frequently wanted to be able to make others follow my current character by double clicking, or shift-clicking their icon - something to speed it up. I also wished I could summon other characters instantaneously. Especially when I'd trekked across several screens long way only to realise an object was in someone else's inventory!

To end on a high point, we loved both J.P. Tortoise and Abe Goldfarb's very nearly convincing Mancunio-Liverpudlian English accent!

*Nelly is my girlfriend's nickname, I'm not crazy.

[Dave Gilbert]

To end on a high point, we loved both J.P. Tortoise and Abe Goldfarb's very nearly convincing Mancunio-Luverpudlian English accent!

Abe was basically impersonating the ninth Doctor Who.