Ben Jordan Case 5: Release Date - When It's Done

[Grundislav]

I've begun working on Case 5. I know I said I was taking a "long" break from game-making, but you know how it is when inspiration strikes.Ã,  At any rate, this one will probably take a bit longer to release since it's more art-intensive.Ã,  On to the good stuff:

PLOT: After the events in London, Ben has returned home for a much needed break from paranormal investigating.Ã,  One day, he gets a conference call from his friends Simon Booth and Alice Wilkins.Ã,  It seems Simon has found out about some strange murders going on in the city of Osaka, Japan, and he suspects there is a paranormal edge to the story.Ã,  Ben, Simon, and Alice travel to Japan to investigate.Ã,  However, once they arrive and start looking into the killings, they realize there is much more to the story than they first thought.

FEATURING:
- No more annoying cellular phone!
- Graphic overhaul: More realistic sprites, backgrounds, and character portraits.
- The closest to full-length Ben Jordan game yet.
- Another fine soundtrack by Ghormak.

SCREENSHOTS:

Ben and Alice at the gates of the village of Asuka.


Ben consults with Inspector Yoshi.


Simon reveals a rather disturbing secret.

[The Last To Know]

This is great! Just finished your previous 4 games. Looking forward to the 5th!

[Ubel]

YEAH! This looks awesome! As I have already said, I think Ben Jordan games are the best AGS ones I've played. And I'm totally waiting for this one. Good luck!

-Pablo

[jetxl]

Looking forward to it.

[Snarky]

Awesome! I have a lot of respect for the way you keep raising the bar in different ways with each installment in the BJ series.

Can I make a request while this is still under development? It would be very cool if the notebook was actually used throughout the game this time. In the previous games, it's almost as if you had forgotten about it after the first couple of puzzles.

[Mozesh]

Yay
Ive played the other 4, they were all great.
Im really looking forward to this one.
The backgrounds and character portraits look indeed much more realistic. I like it

[ildu]

Looks and sounds great. I don't mean to bitch, but isn't that clearly Chinese architecture in the first screenshot and not Japanese? Looks like it's done from a photo of the Shaolin Temple gates. Correct me if I'm wrong, but certainly the symbols on the sign aren't Japanese. I don't know if these kinds of things bug anyone else, but I've been coarse about people mixing up Japan and China, since the general misconception that ninjas are chinese  . Dates back to my ninja turtle times.

[Grundislav]

Can I make a request while this is still under development? It would be very cool if the notebook was actually used throughout the game this time. In the previous games, it's almost as if you had forgotten about it after the first couple of puzzles.

Yes, this has been a criticism I've taken to heart.  In this case, the notebook serves two purposes: its usual role as a reminder for important details, and also as an inventory item so you can write down things or drawings that might come in handy later.

I don't mean to bitch, but isn't that clearly Chinese architecture in the first screenshot and not Japanese? Looks like it's done from a photo of the Shaolin Temple gates. Correct me if I'm wrong, but certainly the symbols on the sign aren't Japanese. I don't know if these kinds of things bug anyone else, but I've been coarse about people mixing up Japan and China, since the general misconception that ninjas are chinese .

Is it? If so, blame Canada! I made that background referencing (read:tracing) a photograph of a "Japanese Garden" in Montreal.  The symbols aren't accurate, since the photo was kind of blurry to begin with and it got more blurry when I resized it.  Far be it from me to confuse China and Japan! (It certainly bugs me when that's done).  And as a side note, there will be no ninjas in this game.

[Vel]

Will the plot be non-linear this time as in case 3? Whatever the answer, I am sure that this game will rock.

[Grundislav]

Will the plot be non-linear this time as in case 3? Whatever the answer, I am sure that this game will rock.

No, there won't be path branches this time around.  It's difficult to do them and not mess things up in the scope of the whole series.  However, I can tell you that the final case in the series will be the mother of all non-linearity. 

[deadsuperhero]

This is so awesome! I can't believe you're already making another one after just finishing the last one! I've always loved the series! Bloody well done.

[fovmester]

Great! I really love that Japanese  house!

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Very impressive looking, Grundi.  Very impressive indeed.  And you're right, the portraits do look considerably improved.  And what does ben have to say about it?  Let's ask him...

[Abisso]

You're a perfect example of how gaining experience can raise the quality of game-making.

BJ1 started at an above-average standard, that's true, but BJ4 was high above average, and this BJ5 looks even better!

[Gord10]

I've just finished Case 4 and liked it much. Looking forward to play its sequel

FEATURING:
- No more annoying cellular phone!

Yes, this will be very good. The cellular phone was the only thing I didn't like in Case 4.

[Mr. Mozzarella]

This is the best news I got today 

I love to see Alice appearing in the plot. After I realized that Alice Wilkins is a young student from America as well as an old Scottish lady who's buried at the Smailholm cemetry, I was wondering what kind of person she is and whether there are more secrets that have to be revealed :p

[Grundislav]

This is the best news I got todayÃ, 

I love to see Alice appearing in the plot. After I realized that Alice Wilkins is a young student from America as well as an old Scottish lady who's buried at the Smailholm cemetry, I was wondering what kind of person she is and whether there are more secrets that have to be revealed :p

I'm impressed that someone spotted that! Good job!  Unfortunately, there is no deeper meaning to it, other than an odd coincidence, since I guess I had the name "Alice Wilkins" floating around in my subconscious.  I myself didn't realize it until I played through BJ3 and noticed the name on the grave.

[Snarky]

Hmmmm... I smell a cover-up! 

If this was indeed just a coincidence, may I suggest you build something out of it? Some of the most inventive plots in fantasy fiction have come out of attempts to resolve inconsistencies and explain coincidences.

[Grundislav]

None of that 6th Sense stuff here!  Alice Wilkins isn't exactly a unique name, it could have been a coincidence.  I've seen my name on a grave in a cemetery, and I'm not dead...am I?

However, I did realize that there's another Wilkins mentioned someplace else in the series that could very well be used as a plot device...

[Mr. Mozzarella]

I'm impressed that someone spotted that! Good job!Ã, 

Unfortunately, there is no deeper meaning to it, other than an odd coincidence, since I guess I had the name "Alice Wilkins" floating around in my subconscious.Ã, 

I myself didn't realize it until I played through BJ3 and noticed the name on the grave.

I've got the habit of looking at every grave I can find in an adventure game

At first I also thought that Alice Wilkins is probably the name of some relative or friend of you and that this is why you used it twice. But it could have been intentionally. (Probably Alice is one of the Smailholm witches that died and then ressurrected again and now she's here to bring evil to all the paranormal investigators out there and only you, Grundislav, don't know about it, yetÃ,  :o ...)

What about Otto? Will he appear again sometime? I think he's the most unknown character from BJ4, all we know about him is that he has lost his wife and children but I don't remember him saying anything about what he has to do with paranormal things ...
[/speculating]