The McCarthy Chronicles: Episode 1

[Danman]

I just downloaded this game and with the visual effects I am quite impressed that you could do these effects with AGS to be honest  . The voice acting of the detective does sound like a bit depressed through  :'( (but I guess that was what you where trying to do  ). The best effects I have seen in AGS for me anyway.  Very good atmosphere. But i don't like the hold left mouse thing to interact but that's just me.
But it is a very good game I am very Impressed
9 out of 10 for the Visual at least

[Calin Leafshade]

ya, i think the verb coin may go the way of the dinosaurs for epi 2. It doesnt seem very popular.

[auriond]

Haven't finished it yet, but here's another vote for the verb coin to be thrown out (sorry Calin!) It threw me off in the beginning of the game, where McCarthy was supposed to be frantically looking for a way out but I was trying to get used to the verb coin so McCarthy ended up leisurely trying to talk to everything he saw. It didn't help immersion much.

Otherwise, I have to chime in and say great game so far! I love how Sarah sounds like she's always calling from across the room. It's just too cute.

[Calin Leafshade]

Fine :p I read Vince12's excellent article on adventure game interfaces and it leads me to conclude that a 2 button interface is really the only sensible choice

[auriond]

Finished it! Lovely little game. Can't wait for the next episode. Great use of music and sound to set the atmosphere, by the way.

I don't know if it has been mentioned, but I would really like for the sprites in the next episode to have a little more contrast, if possible. The game looks really dark on my screen, and mine's a 5-year-old laptop so I can't improve the contrast any more on my end. I'm getting a new laptop next year but just in case anyone else is having the same problem as myself, you might want to consider that.

Oh, and Grovesnor is spelled correctly. Just so you know.

[Snarky]

You guys realize that there's a gamma slider that allows you to turn up the brightness, right?

[Calin Leafshade]

yeah i had the same issue with my laptop so i added a gamma slider. Also turning the noise effect down helps alot.

[Cogliostro]

First thing I wanted to say is that this game is absolutely amazing: the look, the atmosphere, the voice over, the dialog, everything!  Having said that, I thought I'd toss in my two cents about what could be improved.   (Yes, that's a bit of a contradiction, but most of the game  works perfectly so that the spots where it's off stand out.  )

The coin verb should go, of course you've already decided on this point.

The dialog... there were a few points where the word choice struck me as odd. 

When talking to his newest client he thinks she sounds breathy and *seductive* and more than a little terrified.  If she went to that church voluntarily then she should know what could happen and should be more than a little terrified and not seductive at all.  The same applies if she was *forced* to make the phone call to McCarthy. 

During the voice over on the way to the hotel, they way McCarthy spoke I was convinced that the hotel was closed  since McCarthy says: "...they haven't had guests for years." 

McCarthy's reaction to Sarah... this struck me as just odd.  *IF* his previous case had involved him trying to save a girls life, where he had failed, then he might be determined to see damsels in distress everyone and want to rescue one to make up for the sins of the past.  However, he's already determined to save her when she sounds like someone cheerfully going about her job.  Nothing fearful or desperate in her voice or in the words at all. 

McCarthy and Michael Grovesnor use similar speech patterns.  I saw nothing wrong with this, both of them have become fatalistic because they have certain doom hanging over their heads.

But the gardener spoke the same way?!  Before and after he was turned into a... zombie(?)  So did Tabitha in her diary.

You as a game developer are trying to find your voice.   Part of that is giving each of the different characters their own distinct voice, because each of them will say things differently.

Here are three different ways for a character to say they work at a book and coffee store named BORDERS:

1) "I work at Borders. Weekends. Nights."

2) "I work at Borders because I just love books and they give you an employee
discount. How cool is that? Of course that means all my paychecks ends up back in their
pocket, but that happens anyhow, so I might as well get more books out the deal.
Anyway, I like to work nights -- I'm a night owl kind of person."

3) "Whoever came up with the bookstore cafe marketing plan was a genius. People
are going to browse, so why not encourage them to cough up money for overpriced
coffees while they do it? Two addictions at once."

Any how, you might use that as a bit of advice to re-write dialog.

Finally, and I think this bears repeating, the only reason I am bothering to offer any advice is because "The McCarthy Chronicle" is just so amazing.

Keep up the good work,
Cogliostro

[Arclight]

One last bit of advice. We're throwing a whole bunch of what we consider "improvements" at you - take it all with a grain of salt. What you did the first time worked very well; don't let us push you around. If you think something's a good idea, do it; if you don't, don't - even if someone says you should.

Your ideas have served you well so far. Don't try to please everyone against your better judgment - you'll end up pleasing no one.

[Calin Leafshade]

One last bit of advice. We're throwing a whole bunch of what we consider "improvements" at you - take it all with a grain of salt. What you did the first time worked very well; don't let us push you around. If you think something's a good idea, do it; if you don't, don't - even if someone says you should.

Your ideas have served you well so far. Don't try to please everyone against your better judgment - you'll end up pleasing no one.

The game was rated 2 cups by the AGS panel.  The formula clearly needs improvement in alot of places.   

[Kweepa]

The game was rated 2 cups by the AGS panel. 

That is ridiculous. The ratings are supposed to direct people to quality AGS games. I don't see why the game not being particularly challenging should lower its rating to 2 freaking cups.
Unless... the panel is like everyone else here, throwing in minor criticisms to goad you into making part 2 even better!

[Calin Leafshade]

I'll admit the rating irked me a wee bit when i first saw it but then i became philosophical about it.

The puzzles are a very important part of the game since it is a 'game' and not a 'movie'. So if you are rating it in terms of its quality as a 'game' then 2 cups is probably a fair assessment. However if you were to rate it in term of an 'experience' then i would say 2 cups is a little low since players clearly liked the immersive aspects.

Also it means I can only get better since i doubt they would rate episode 2 as 1 cup unless i really fuck up.

I did have a look at what generally passes for a 2 cup game but its very difficult to be objective after developing a game so intensively for a couple of weeks so im not really sure where it stands.

Overall I remain positive I can improve on the errors made in epi 1.

[Scarab]

The game was rated 2 cups by the AGS panel. 

Recount!
Petition!!
Mutiny!!!


Calin, how far are you into the development of number 2? any teasers for us?

[Snarky]

While I try not to beat up on reviewers for their opinions, I have to say that I find that rating mystifying. It seems to be, well, wrong by the stated standards of the panel. Two cups is described as "A reasonable game, worth a try", falling between 1 cup ("Not serious entertainment") and 3 cups ("A good game, worth playing"). The explanation goes on to say that "the main purpose of the ratings is to help potential game players find high quality, bug-free games to play."

I would argue that by that standard, this is easily a three-cup game; a good game, worth playing. It is pretty much bug-free as far as I can tell, it's not unfinished in any way (it's not missing feedback for certain actions or interactions for some hotspots or anything like that), and it is very attractive, with production values (graphics, music/sound/voices, effects) on the high end for an AGS title. On that front it'd probably earn 4 cups if not more.

It has a clear story with obvious appeal, coherent characters and a well-established setting. It uses storytelling devices like foreshadowing, flashbacks, suspense and surprise competently. Sure, it's not groundbreakingly original, and I think the writing could be improved, but on the story front it's a solid 3 cups.

When it comes to the gameplay/puzzles, I'm a firm believer that every game has to be evaluated on its own terms. Nanobots doesn't play like Limey Lizard doesn't play like Anna doesn't play like The Vacuum, but they're all really great games with fun gameplay. Some games are easy, some are hard; in some games the puzzles are the focus (e.g. Automation), in others they mainly provide a way for the player to be involved in the story. As long as they fit into the game, aren't somehow broken or just annoying or tediously repetitive, and can reasonably be solved by the player, I see no reason why this aspect of the game shouldn't merit 3 cups.

The puzzles in McCarthy Chronicles are straightforward, logical, relevant to the story, well-balanced if not particularly challenging, and most importantly, seem to successfully provide the kind of experience the author intended. While they don't exactly excel in any particular way (like you might ask of a 4-cup game, and demand of a 5-cup one), they don't detract in any way, either. Well deserving of 3 cups, in my view.

2 cups is in practice the lowest rating you can give to any real (non-joke, non-broken, non-catastrophic failure) game. For most potential players browsing the games database, I would argue that it amounts to a "not recommended" sticker. I think that's inappropriate given the qualities of the game, and I hope the reviewer and/or the panel reconsider the rating.

[Calin Leafshade]

Calin, how far are you into the development of number 2? any teasers for us?

Not far enough to show you anything interesting. 

I probably wont even have a development thread for this one since its just an extension of a series. I do have lots of things planned for this one though :p it's going to be epic.

_{..and worth at least 3 cups}

[Leon]

That revives the discussion of the rating again...

I'd say to ban the panel rating and switch to a more sophisticated way of measuring. Why not take the download count combined with the rating the players can give. Let a nice formula calculate a nice figure (you can base that on experience with other games from the past, excluding this one then..). The panel can add comments, alright, but they shouldn't rate it.

The only thing a panel can do is review a game, not judge it. That also solves the problem of games not rated at all (because the panel's not interested) or very late. At the moment, the popular ones are rated quickly because the panel wants to play it. The less ones will be left aside until the panel finds the time and effort to play those.

Another issue here is the rating of "training games". I never understood what that meant. And when does the status "Newly added" change into short, medium or whatever? All will be resolved when you drop those functions of a panel.

To sum up: just leave the rating to the public. That will give a much better view for others who are looking for a nice game to play.

[arj0n]

maybe offtopic, but I do agree with Leon's plea.

[Calin Leafshade]

i think the purpose of the panel was to eliminate the risk of people artificially inflating their games status on the games page.

It would be fairly easy to rack up the download count and vote a couple of times.

I support the panel in principle and i even think they should stand by their rating of McCarthy if they feel it to be justified. Although i agree with Snarky in that a 2 cup rating is a "not recommended" sticker, if that's what the panel deems the game to be worth then they should stick by it.

I mean 2 cups is not *that* bad. it just means "a reasonable game, worth a try" and i would interpret that as "some of you will like and some of you wont" in a kind of 50-50 ratio and that seems to be supported by the games database since most 2 cup games have a player rating of around 50ish%

and that's not bad for a first try really is it?

[Leon]

I agree with you Calin, but is it fair to rate a game by just one or two to reflect the mass? Clearly the response you get to this thread isn't in line with "a reasonable game, worth a try". And if you want to forge the download count to change the rating, you have to go through a lot of trouble. Besides, when you don't let that be the main factor (opinion of the player is much more important), you can't change too much.

I see it as with reviewers. With some, if they have a bad day or if they just don't like what they see, you get a negative review. So when reading reviews, I always read more to get a well weighed picture of the subject. In this case, there's only one panel that you have to trust upon. Granted that they are right most of the time, I think it's a disadvantage for the less known games..

Other than that, you can have only 5 'degrees'. From 1, not worth a try, to 5, excellent (but there are only 4..). Where do you switch from one category to another? When showing the rating based on story, graphics, sound etc, like is done with the user rating, you get a much fairer image of the game.

I'll leave this off-topic rant (actually not off topic for your game) on this thread.  Just to finish my argument... your game got compared to Trilby.. One of those games got 5 cups... ? And why does the public rate you at 83% at the moment? I say: 2 cups is not fair!  Besides that, I can't match the panel's comment with the rating.

[markbilly]

I've really enjoyed the game, though I haven't finished it yet. But I don't need to have finished it to know from other peoples' comments it is at least a 3 cup game.

I think the role of the panel needs to be seriously discussed by the forum community and some change/arrangement should be agreed.

This isn't the first time something like this has happened. Also, I think the issue of the panel not being able to review every game in the same time-frame after release is a major discussion point.