Diamonds in the Rough - AWARD

[alkis21]

EDIT: The game is out, my friends. Go to our web site if you wish to order it.

Dear friends,

I'm happy to announce that the making of our game is over. The production of the CDs has started and before long the program will be available for sale from our web page.

Diamonds in the Rough is a 'traditional', 3rd person point & click commercial adventure game.

You play the role of a 20 year old American called Jason Hart. Jason is a high school dropout who works as an office boy. All that is about to change in the beginning of our story, when he is approached by a mysterious man who seems to know more about him than Jason does himself.

The man claims to represent an organization that recruits people who are believed to have "special abilities". Those abilities could be telepathy, telekinesis, or other extraordinary powers. Jason has had such an ability all his life, fearing to admit it to himself, let alone others. He accepts the job offer for this organization, which is called "Diamonds in the Rough".

The story begins as soon as Jason moves to a town in the Midwest, where he will be employed doing this mysterious "work". He will soon start to wonder who he is really working for, and what the purpose of the organization is.



I'd like to thank Chris Jones, all my associates as well as everyone who believed in me, especially those of you who helped me with AGS scripting. Never forget that this is a title made by a gamer for gamers.

[SSH]

Will there be a d/l-able demo?

[Vince Twelve]

Haha, SSH
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=27489.msg440266#msg440266

Congrats alkis.  I'm looking forward to trying it out.

[Dualnames]

Good job, alkis. Read your interview in PCmaster and played the demo as well...
Looks like someone was working way hard and I think it's gonna pay off. i'm planning to buy this one.. Is there a deluxe version?

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

Well, er...

...well, do let us know when the game is actually released.

ANd with a link to the game.

And a link to the website.

Oh, and there will be a download for sale, too, right?

EDIT - BTW, not to be mean or anything, but, from the rules -

1. There MUST be a finished download of your project available.

Forgive me if I sound cranky, but you see, you got my hopes up with this thread, and then you dashed them, because I am really looking forward for this game...

[Nikolas]

Rui! I guess Alkis got excited because the game left his studio and went to the factory for pressing

To reply to your thoughts:

1. www.atropos-studios.com is the website
2. http://www.atropos-studios.com/demo.html is where you'll get the downloadable demo.
3. No, there won't be a download option, at least for now, as far as I know and like Alkis has mentioned in the development thread:

Ever since I started this, I've been doing things the way I've always liked them to be in the gaming world: 3rd person game, multiple cursors, challenging inventory puzzles etc. The same thing goes for distribution. I like my games to be in a proper box, or DVD case at least, so that's what I'm doing for Diamonds in the Rough. My opinion is that the shipping expenses are not considerable and people will appreciate it. I don't want to sell an 'invisible' product, and I certainly don't want to bug people with DRM or other security constraints. Digital distribution may be the future, but I don't think it's the present yet. Most people are used to getting something solid when they pay for it. All in my opinion of course, we'll have to wait and see whether I'm right or wrong.

[alkis21]

I see your point Rui, I just thought that the particular rule does not apply to commercial games that are sold in boxes. Otherwise I'll never be able to post in the "Completed Games" section.

Forgive me if I sound cranky, but you see, you got my hopes up with this thread, and then you dashed them, because I am really looking forward for this game...

No worries, it's only a matter of days now.

Dualnames, I'm not sure what you mean by 'deluxe version'. 

[vertigoaddict]

Dualnames probably means a version which has extra features or levels and the such, a 'director's cut' perhaps?

I would love to play this game...but sadly I'm not in control of my bank account and honestly I'm not sure the CDs could be packaged to Brunei; I don't know, could they? Not a lot of people know that Brunei even exists...

[alkis21]

Director's cut! It's too soon to talk about such a possibility, especially considering that the 'director' (me) will be sleeping 16 hours per day for the next month to make up for all those all-nighters. To be honest, there are no such plans, although we will seriously considering releasing the soundtrack as the music quality is exceptional.

That's a weird thing to say, why wouldn't the CD be shipped to Brunei? Have you had trouble with your post office in the past? And of course I know where it is, I've never been there but I've been as close as Singapore.

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

Shipping only? Damn.

Ok, you just lost a costumer. :'( Still, whenever the CD is out let us know, I'll add the info to the Commercial Games thread.

[Nikolas]

Shipping only? Damn.

Ok, you just lost a costumer. :'(

Would you be willing to explain why, exactly? Alkis explained his case (in the quotes above), and I wouldn't imagine that you've never bought anything physical off the Internet, for this to be a factor.

EDIT: by all means, I didn't mean anything by the above. Just curious, nothing else. Sorry if it came the other way...

[alkis21]

There is no need for an explanation, everyone has the right to select what they buy and how they buy it. No worries!

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

Well, for the record, I don't like to handle physical purchases from the net unless it's absolutely necessary. The extra fees of shipping and, in the case of a game, a box cover I could do without, and maybe some unexpected costums charge (I once had to pay 4 times the value of the book I ordered! I sent it back at once and ordered it through my local FNAC bookstore), are merely the financial bit.

It also unsettles me that my purchase may or may not arrive at the designated time, which will still be longer than a download - I prefer to purchase solid stuff, ayuh, but only if I can have the product in my hand immediately. And what if something went wrong with the shipping? What if the article is damaged? Not to mention the dreadful post office in my neighbourhood that consistently sends packages (not letters, just packages) somewhere else entirely...

Plus, everyone else is offering direct downloads, and I found out it's a marvellous thing, so I kinda converted. It's not really the future - it IS the present.

These are my reasons, mostly, and if they give anyone food for thought, I'm glad. If they don't, no sweat.

BTW, I really am sad, I really would have bought this game were it being sold in a friendlier format...

[m0ds]

Indeed, I have to echo what Rui is saying. I think you'll do yourselves a lot of favours by doing a pay for download thing. I'd say we've reached the point where that is standard too, and that boxed versions are better off being collectors editions. It's also a great way of getting a second sale from someone who's already bought the game online should they like it that much. With online payments I'd imagine its practically impossible to make a loss, except maybe for transfer charges your end if it goes through something like PayPal (tho I don't think PP do any kind of pay for download system) whereas boxed versions you're going to have to cover the costs of the creation, shipping and so forth. It also means naturally that you can keep the actual cost of the purchase down, which again will appeal to more people. It sounds like you've found an outside company to deal with your boxes and stuff, which is great, because when you take that task on yourself its very likely to knock you out for a while. Take Mike who created Fatman and sold it as hard-copies. He did all the hard work, but after that he couldn't face game-making for a long time and as a result made his game freeware. Dave G on the other hand has nothing to worry about, or so it seems, because its just a matter of resolving issues online.

So, despite your eagerness and generosity to put your game, which looks fantastic, into boxes - I'd seriously think about saving your pennies and giving more people a chance to get it. One person here says they won't get it cos they fear it won't come could already echo the thought of a thousand more potential customers!

Brunei; I don't know, could they? Not a lot of people know that Brunei even exists...

My parents went to Brunei once. And their luggage went to Australia...so, you have a point

[Frodo]

I think just the opposite.

When I'm buying something, I want something phsysical that I can hold in my hands.  I LIKE having my games on cd, and I LIKE having the cd box to go with it.  I just seems more real.

So many things can go wrong with a download - especially a large download.
Suppose you pay for it, and start downloading, then you have a powercut.  Suppose the download gets corrupted somehow.  Suppose something happens to your pc, and you lose the game.  With a cd, you can easily re-install. 

8)

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

Which is why, I feel I must say as an aside, I promptly burn my net-bought AGS games. Currently they all fit into a single DVD, which is most nice.

[Emerald]

So many things can go wrong with a download - especially a large download.
Suppose you pay for it, and start downloading, then you have a powercut.  Suppose the download gets corrupted somehow.  Suppose something happens to your pc, and you lose the game.  With a cd, you can easily re-install. 

If the download fails somehow, I'm certain they would provide you with another link. And nowadays, CD manufacturers are getting more savvy, and including special software on the CD which prevents you from installing it more than a certain amount of times, or requires you to have a random, uncrackable CD Key.

Overall I would side with Rui - overseas shipping is messy, and always has certain risks. Not to mention it lacks the instant gratification of downloading or taking it off the shelf (or, at least, you can watch it download, which I find far more reliable than postal workers)


I mean, fair play, a lot of people like to have something in their hands when they pay money, but what's the harm in offering both options?

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

prevents you from installing it more than a certain amount of times

Really? People are that stupid? That's just encouraging piracy. If they're gonna limit something I *buy*, then why should I waste money? Best to get a no-limitation version off the net.

The thread is getting more and more off-topic by the minute, but hey, we have no game to comment. :

EDIT - Hang on, I must be misunderstanding something.

Goes gold? How can it go gold if it doesn't, commercially, exist, yet?

Whew. All those commas.

[alkis21]

Yes the thread has gone rather off topic.

EDIT - Hang on, I must be misunderstanding something.

Goes gold? How can it go gold if it doesn't, commercially, exist, yet?

It's an expression. When we say that a program "goes gold", it means that it is finished being made and it is sent to be mass-produced and packaged. Don't confuse it with platinum records or that sort of stuff.

[Snarky]

Ditto on the downloadable option. You can distribute it however you like, obviously, but personally I'm not interested as long as physical shipping is required.

I really only want a box and CD and all that stuff for the games I really love. Those that are almost collection pieces. But while your game looks promising, it's not like I've already cleared a space for it on my list of Top 10 favorite adventure games, you know? With a game that I'm not so committed to, physical packaging is just so much junk wasting space on my shelf.

Then there's the professional vs. indie/homemade thing. I'm a big fan of independent adventure games, but somehow, I don't particularly feel a need for all the peripheral stuff for them. Maybe it's just habit, or maybe it's the fact that a box or a manual that is anything less than professional in design, material and printing is always going to look amateurish. Tell me: If I buy your game on CD, is it going to be professionally printed (and how much is that going to cost?), or is it going to be a writable disc burned on a regular CD burner, with a sticker on it? Cause, you know, I can do that at home...

Finally, I'm not entirely comfortable giving you my home address. I don't mind sharing it with a well-established company like Amazon, but you're just some guy on the AGS Forum, and I have vague memories of some unpleasant arguments you (and quite possibly me too) were involved in, a long time ago. How do I know that you won't get pissed off about something and mishandle that private data (in any number of ways that you can imagine for yourself)? I'm sure you'll say you'd never do that, but I don't know you, so how can I know for certain?

I know that there are people who much prefer a physical product over a download (Dave Gilbert found that out when he started offering his games on CD), so definitely keep that as an option. I just think you're cutting yourself off from potential customers by not offering a download option as well. Your call. Good luck, and congratulations on making it to the end of a long production process!