Gabriel Knight Remake

Stupot · Tue 08/10/2013 17:30:43

So, apparently Jane Jensen's Pinkerton Road is doing a remake of Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers to mark the game's 20th anniversary.

http://www.gabrielknight20th.com/

Does this scene look familiar to you?

Gribbler · Tue 08/10/2013 19:14:53

Holy cow! That's great. I hope she won't change anything in the plot and just updates the graphics. I hated her last game...

Azure · Tue 08/10/2013 19:59:25

I'm not wild about the 3d Gabriel, but those backgrounds are lovely.

qptain Nemo · Tue 08/10/2013 20:45:41

Quote from: Gribbler on Tue 08/10/2013 19:14:53
I hated her last game...

You hated Gray Matter?..

Stupot · Tue 08/10/2013 20:51:16

The only problem with those otherwise lovely screens is the aspect ratio :/

Snarky · Tue 08/10/2013 20:53:27

Though the lighting in the bayou background suggest New Orleans has two suns...

Gribbler · Tue 08/10/2013 21:04:14

Quote from: qptain NemoYou hated Gray Matter?..

Yep. Something about this game was terribly off putting for me. I didn't like the dialogues, too. I just couldn't play this game. In the back of my head I always had the thought "you're just wasting your time" instead of "Gee, I wonder what happens next". I remember I waited for this game for years, following its slow production. And when I finally bought it and played it... It was a huge let down. I didn't finished it, maybe there something great later in the game but I just gave up.

Grundislav · Tue 08/10/2013 21:06:22

I probably have the unpopular opinion that this looks awful. I get what they're trying to do, but the backgrounds just look plastic and soulless. I don't get what the need is to remake all these classic adventures. It's not going to pull in a new audience, and it can only lead to disappointment from the fans of the original. I have DOSBox and the original on CD, I'll stick with those, thanks.

Also, in the spirit of Ben304's fury at the Monkey Island 1 remake and its lazy art, I've made my own grade for Gabriel Knight:

qptain Nemo · Tue 08/10/2013 21:14:02

Quote from: Gribbler on Tue 08/10/2013 21:04:14
Yep. Something about this game was terribly off putting for me. I didn't like the dialogues, too. I just couldn't play this game. In the back of my head I always had the thought "you're just wasting your time" instead of "Gee, I wonder what happens next". I remember I waited for this game for years, following its slow production. And when I finally bought it and played it... It was a huge let down. I didn't finished it, maybe there something great later in the game but I just gave up.

You, sir, are wrong about everything ever.

Quote from: Grundislav on Tue 08/10/2013 21:06:22
I don't get what the need is to remake all these classic adventures.

I can't agree more that it's unneeded from the player and artistic perspectives BUT come to think of it it's not such a bad stepping stone for Jensen to firmly establish her new studio and hopefully gain some resources for the future projects. Besides, she claims on the site she couldn't stop thinking about GK, so, eh, her call.

Gribbler · Tue 08/10/2013 21:25:52

Quote from: qptain NemoYou, sir, are wrong about everything ever.

My math teacher used to think so too when she was checking my homework

DazJ · Tue 08/10/2013 21:47:17

It's clear that Jane's been influenced by Calm Waters

Azure · Tue 08/10/2013 23:05:13

From Eurogamer:

QuoteOne thing that will be replaced is the audio, which unfortunately means the protagonist's voice-over by Tim Curry is no more. Why is that, you ask? As it turns out, the original audio files simply weren't available

Oh

I don't really see the point then. Why not do a new game?

JoshuaSmyth · Wed 09/10/2013 00:42:07

I love GK, and will probably pick this up.

But I'm not sure what to think of the backgrounds. A couple of them look good, like the Crypt. But some of the others look a bit plastic-ky.

Personally I think I would have preferred a more illustration style. Something like the Preacher comic series.

Igor Hardy · Wed 09/10/2013 19:01:22

Quote from: JoshuaSmyth on Wed 09/10/2013 00:42:07
Personally I think I would have preferred a more illustration style. Something like the Preacher comic series.

Thank God that didn't happen. I hate the Preacher art style.

I'm looking forward to this edition and hopefully a 3D GK4 afterwards, but of course the definitive GK1 will always be the original floppy version, without the awful voiceovers, the sloppy hi-res paintovers or compression artifacts in the superbly graphic novel like cutscenes.

Babar · Wed 09/10/2013 19:06:29

Quote from: Azure on Tue 08/10/2013 23:05:13
From Eurogamer:

QuoteOne thing that will be replaced is the audio, which unfortunately means the protagonist's voice-over by Tim Curry is no more. Why is that, you ask? As it turns out, the original audio files simply weren't available

Oh I don't really see the point then. Why not do a new game?

Butbutbut...surely anyone with the original game's CD and a copy of SCIStudio VGA can get all those things? I am certain you can rip graphics using it...that isn't possible with sound? Or is it a legal matter?

Monsieur OUXX · Wed 09/10/2013 19:09:23

After seeing the first screenshot in the thread, I was about to post "I sense bad-taste 3D" (even though it wasn't obvious)
...And then I saw the screenshot posted by Grundislav, and it became crystal-clear: this 3D is AWFUL!

Snarky · Wed 09/10/2013 19:09:44

Quote from: Babar on Wed 09/10/2013 19:06:29
Butbutbut...surely anyone with the original game's CD and a copy of SCIStudio VGA can get all those things? I am certain you can rip graphics using it...that isn't possible with sound? Or is it a legal matter?

I think it's a matter of sound quality. The compressed files used in-game don't really cut it.

Quote from: Grundislav on Tue 08/10/2013 21:06:22
I probably have the unpopular opinion that this looks awful. I get what they're trying to do, but the backgrounds just look plastic and soulless. I don't get what the need is to remake all these classic adventures. It's not going to pull in a new audience, and it can only lead to disappointment from the fans of the original. I have DOSBox and the original on CD, I'll stick with those, thanks.

Also, in the spirit of Ben304's fury at the Monkey Island 1 remake and its lazy art, I've made my own grade for Gabriel Knight:

I think you're a bit harsh. The quality of the screens in the gallery varies quite a lot, and while this, the Bourbon St. exterior and the church are a bit plasticky, the St. Louis cemetery, the bayou and to an extent Gabriel's shop look quite a lot better.

Of your specific criticisms, I'm not sure what you mean by "poor matte", and I don't see why it's a problem that the lights and the trash cans in the park (Jackson Sq.) are all the same design. Isn't that what you'd expect (and what it's like in reality)? And the shadows are inconsistent, sure, but that's true of pretty much any pre-rendered 3D (or 2D!) game.

Ali · Wed 09/10/2013 19:27:24

Quote from: Monsieur OUXX on Wed 09/10/2013 19:09:23
After seeing the first screenshot in the thread, I was about to post "I sense bad-taste 3D" (even though it wasn't obvious)
...And then I saw the screenshot posted by Grundislav, and it became crystal-clear: this 3D is AWFUL!

Exactly! I think the problem with Grundilsav's awful screenshot isn't just to do with the SIMs-esque saturation and lighting. The problem is the camera angle. It's exactly the same as the low-res original, which was framed like that (if memory serves) because scrolling wasn't possible and because at some point Gabriel looks at the park from a distance. The detailed 3D reveals the horrible long-lens-to-the-point-of-isometric flatness of the original frame.

I think translating it into 3D without re-evaluating the camera angle is a mistake.

EDIT: That said, this one is OK. The texturing is massively better than the others, and they've managed to avoid adding rainbow lighting effects. The camera is still to high, and the frame too 4:3 for my taste. (Why are they remaking it in 4:3!?)

http://www.gabrielknight20th.com/

Grundislav · Wed 09/10/2013 22:01:26

Snarky: When I say poor matte, I'm referring to the fact that they've clearly taken a texture/photograph and pasted it in with no effort to make it look natural. That screenshot in particular looks like a bad hidden object game.

Also, I'm being harsh because GK1 is one of my favorite games, and seeing it redone this way just makes me sad.

Gribbler · Wed 09/10/2013 22:20:20

Guys, you can contact production team via their site, write email or something, and point out all those background mistakes to them. The game is still in development, maybe there still a chance to address those issues and save the game, so to speak. Maybe they'll listen to the fans.