Who wants to live forever? (Update: New music pack released)

[GarageGothic]

Bobbin Threadbare traded jobs with Manny Calavera? Now, that's an interesting plot twist

Anyway, I enjoyed the game Vel. I didn't at all mind the lack of interaction. In fact, some of the few "puzzles" in there almost detracted from the story (looking at the bookshelf etc.) It reminded me a bit of my current favorite adventure - not of all time, but of those released within the last couple of years - Shadow of Memories. If you haven't played it, you really should. It's excellent, and very heavy on story telling and emotion.

If you DO choose to continue in this style however, you should work mork on the characterization and motivation. The gold heart scene didn't really work for me. It seemed too "easy". I loved the character of the woman who gives you the address in the park. She added so much to the story. And the ending was excellent. I wish you'd explore something similar in a longer game with more complex characters.

The graphics were naive in style, but very nice. Reminded me a bit of Bestowers of Eternity. Maybe the contrast between the red and the green in the gradients on the trees were too much though. At least when compared to the rest of the scenery.

Looking forward to your next game! I hope you'll continue in the same vein.

[Vel]

Thanks, GG! i will take note on your criticism. Most probably I wont make a game in the same style soon. My next project will be a game heavily inspired by Gabriel Knight (I'll Post a thread about it soon enough), which will have much more puzzles and a better plot(250 pages of research done so far). Thanks again!

[big brother]

The first GK was the bomb! Then I found out they used digitized photos for the backgrounds. Still a great game, though.
I like the way each game in the series focused on a different aspect of lore (voodoo, werewolves, vampires). Will your new game have a similar theme? (I'm prying here)

I haven't played "Who Wants to Live Forever" yet, but I definitely will soon. I remember that bridge background being up in the C&C forum.

Also, what's the deal with the new Indy fan game that's on your website? Is that actually in development now or are you still looking to put together a team?

[Vel]

The indy game was in development for a while, but the team broke up and now Im looking for artists and animators( the backgrounds you see there are made by me). My next game will be mostly like GK3, concentrating on many aspects, including some supernatural ones.

[Nostradamus]

I played it for a while and it looks interesting.

I need a little help:

Spoiler

I called Dona and she was not helpful. Now I can't read the notebook again for another number. I tryed clicking on everythong and nothing happened. What do I do next?

[close]

[Vel]

Keep on clicking

[Nostradamus]

Would you be more specific?  You're not helping!

[Vel]

Spoiler

Try looking at the bookcase again

[close]

[Harvester]

OK, since I played the game, I think it's my duty to comment on it.
First of all, the only thing I didn't like was the game's length. It was too short. However, I shouldn't complain about that, since you said that it's less then an hour of gameplay.
The idea is nice and the atmosphere is brilliant. Some (not many) of the dialogues could be improved, but the writing in general is very good.
The music is GREAT. I have listened to the non-digital soundtrack but it still rules.
I don't mind the lack of puzzles at all. The story is plot-driven and the plot is interesting enough to compensate for that.
And finally, the thing I like the most...
BACKGROUND ART! I really really REALLY loved it! It fits with the atmosphere so well and even on its own it is brilliant.

So, what you should do (in my opinion) is to make a full length game (or movie) with similar (or the same?) characters, story and definitely the same style of drawing. And add some up-down walking cycles.

[MrColossal]

is it just me or did the right turning button for the safe puzzle not work right away...

i clicked and clicked and the left turning button worked and made a click sound but right did nothing

i enjoyed the diary it was nice though it should have played a larger roll. It wouldn't even have to be more puzzles just let me turn the pages so i can explore the world more. let me turn the pages so i can feel like i'm uncovering this character's past. you wouldn't even have to add it into the actual story but at least i'd get to read his journal if i wanted to learn something about what happened to this guy.

Spoiler

as for the story, i feel it was all over the place, there were like 3 different stories in there that didn't match up especially the thing at the end, what was that about?

dying guy, check, lost love, gotcha, this makes sense. then we have the whole backstory to the main character that he keeps bringing up but i didn't really care, the best use of it was when he meets the Rosa look alike in the park and she tries to talk to him about it and he declines. Then we get the reflection turning younger and his constant references to wanting to turn back time i thought we'd get this time travel story where he goes through his memories or something reliving his past. And then the lost love kills herself? what? i didn't buy it at all. then death comes in and you really lost me. nothing in the story before that really gave reason for this spiritual/mythical twist to appear at the end. There are three endings but they're all the same as in they're just endings. They're all the same length and they all end with credits.

i don't mind a lack of puzzles but if you're going to take out 50% of an adventure game you better make sure the story can take over for that lost half. Personally I feel it didn't, more connection between the stories or at least drop one of them [the death thing] and focus on the main character and the dead guy. flashbacks [heh] to them as children, them meeting their girls, them in the past. This would, in my opinion, make the title reflect the story more [living forever through memories] and help for me to understand the characters and sympathise with them more. Cause at the moment we are thrown into a story that were learn little about and with characters that i personally cared little about.

[close]

i hope this helps

eric.

--edit--
There's a time and a place

EDIT 2: that was harsh, eric.

Edit 3 - I fail to see the relevancy of Bulgaria's alignment in the second world war.

[Vel]

@Harvester: Thanks, man. I'm gathering a crew for a full-length Gabriel Kinght-like epic now.(If anyone'd like to join, contact me. At the moment I need everything except for plotwriters, programmers and puzzle designers)
@Eric: You do have some point, but I think that you played the game either when you were drunk or when you were too cheery to enjoy a drama game. Anyway, thanks for the criticism.

[MrColossal]

hi vel how are you i'm fine...

first off i don't drink and secondly this game may be a drama but the story is so all over the place that it makes no sense.. for all the reasons i listed...

that's all you can say to my post that i may have been drunk or too happy? ooooook... fine.

Spoiler

i could have been the most depressed person in the world and i still would have no idea why the grim reaper would appear out of no where to the main character and offer a choice to be a grim reaper. it just makes no sense in the story.

[close]

[Vel]

I said that you do have point, I just dont agree with all that you said. And, whether you drink or not is completely your problem. No offence.

[DGMacphee]

I don't get it: you're saying he does have a point, but you don't agree with what he said.

In other words, you agree that he's right (i.e. he's got a point), but you don't agree with him.

LOL!

As fior the game, I didn't understand the Grim Reaper bit too, but maybe if you explain why you put him in there, we'd all understand.

[Vel]

Very well.

Spoiler

I agree that he has a point about the Grim Reaper not properly connected to the plot. I tried to do it with the leake reflection movie and some references, but it did not work very well. I put him in there because the personality of Andrew deserves to be the chosen one. With all his friends dead and he not being blessed with a child, there had to be some compensation - the chance of living forever. The current Grim Reaper in the game has been a human once too, and he wanted to compensate Andrew's mishappiness. Why him, you may ask? Because he deserves it - his books are one of the biggest achievements in literature.

[close]

Hope that explains it.

[DGMacphee]

So, by that logic, Mother Teresa is now the Grim Reaper.

[Vel]

Not quite. Though she was good, her mental abilities were far from Andrew's character.

[DGMacphee]

But how much mental ability does a guy need to be the Grim Reaper?

All you do is walk around in a hood and swing a large metal object at people when they die -- it's not the most taxing job in the world, like spinning the letters on Wheel of Fortune.

I mean, are we to believe you need to have a Stephen Hawking-level IQ to operate a scythe?

I don't think so.

[Harvester]

@Harvester: Thanks, man. I'm gathering a crew for a full-length Gabriel Kinght-like epic now.(If anyone'd like to join, contact me. At the moment I need everything except for plotwriters, programmers and puzzle designers)

Then there's no job for me. Unless you need a crappy "funny" dialogue somewhere.

[MrColossal]

but that confuses me

Spoiler

if he deserves to be grim reaper and the current reaper is doing it out of compassion why does he call the main character a fool for not taking him up on the offer? if i'm offering someone something out of the kindness of my heart i'm not going to insult them if they don't take it. and if he deserves to be grim reaper as some sort of justification for him as in not being grim reaper would make his life terrible... well chosing the other options are better endings than choosing the grim reaper option. he either writes books that become awesome or he dies and meets up with all the friends and family he lost. and just cause his books are big achievements in literature means he deserves to live forever and take souls away? maybe that's where J. D. Salinger is... But again, his books are huge and then he goes off and writes even bigger books if he turns down the grim reaper so wouldn't he deserve it even more? i'm terribly confused

[close]

and i'd vote for Martin Luther King Jr. over Mother Theresa, at least he was assassinated and didn't just die of being awesomely old