Al Emmo & the Lost Dutchman's Mine Enhanced

Started by AGD2, Wed 06/09/2006 10:59:20

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Fapster

Hey there.  Just played through a bit of the demo.  I like it in some bits, and in others... Not so much.

The backgrounds look great!  Animations, only saw a few, but they are nice.

Character models, though, just them walking around and sitting there, they look quite bland.  In the cutscenes and character portraits, they do look quite nice though.

The voiceacting.  Some are great, I especially like the Mayor, he sounds just right for that slow out-in-the-desert life.  Al Emmo and the Narrator though... The first thing I thought when I heard both was: 

"I'm going to have to listen to these guys for the rest of the game?"

I haven't seen too many of the jokes or puzzles, the first ones in the demo (so far) seem somewhat predictable, but other parts made me laugh.

I am glad to see some more 'commercial' type games coming out in the future for the Adventure Genre, so keep up the good work guys.

I probably won't be getting this game at $30 a pop, but I hope others do so that you can become more profitable and make more games!

Drowps

Someone has a review of the finished game?

AGD2

The only review I'm aware of so far, is here: 

http://www.quandaryland.com/jsp/dispArticle.jsp?index=774


JustAdventure also had a review of the game, but their link seems to be dead now.  ???

charliechuck

How long is the game, I mean how long will it take an average person to complete?

Erpy

Difficult to say. Its length is about the same as your average Sierra game. (the later ones) It depends on whether you strictly adhere to the obvious path or if you try to click on everyone and everything in sight to see what responses you get. I'd say about 15 hours or so.


Rd27

#25
There is also a guite impressive review in Adventurelantern:
http://www.adventurelantern.com/Reviews/AlEmmo/AlEmmo.htm

I have myself tried the demo just a littlebit, but can't say anything yet. I will try the demo today again and post my feelings after that.

Edit: I played the demo a bit more now. I like to say, that the game itself has been nicely done in all the technical way, but I just don't really like the game overally. I like Westerns, but not this kind of westerns and Al Emmo is annoying person if you ask me.

I really hope that this game is going to be success so it would show that AGS games can make commercial success.

Barbarian

Hey everyone. Some of you were asking about a "review" of this game.
Well, having been a part of the first "Beta Testing" team for this game, after I played through the game I have posted up some of my thoughts about the game over at the Himalaya Studious forum a while back. I thought I'd share my little "review" of this game over here at the AGS forums in case anyone was interested.

==================================================
Having now played “Al Emmo and the Lost Dutchman's Mine” graphical adventure game, I am quite impressed with the overall quality and playability of this game. The game kept me “addicted” from beginning to end, and it left me wanting to see more “Al Emmo Adventure” games for the future. I think this game can soon become one of the “Adventure Gaming Classics” of adventure gaming fans everywhere.

From first watching the introduction movie, I could get a sense that an interesting, and humorous, story was about to unfold. The main character, Al Emmo, reminded me a bit of “Larry” from the well-known lead character from the (in)famous games of the “Leisure Suit Larry” series.Ã,  However we quickly find out that although Al may seems to be similar to Larry in some aspects, that in fact Al is a quirky, eccentric and memorable adventure-gaming “hero” in his own unique way.

Visually, the in game art is beautifully done, and brings me back to the “good ‘ol days” of when the background art was made with love and care which was painstakingly drawn “by hand”, as compared to many of today's 3D'ish-computer-generated-graphics. That being said, I see that this Al Emmo game also does make use of more “modern” computer graphic techniques in which some of the movies that the players are treated to appear as 3D-modeled computer-generated graphics, along with the characters in-game appear as 3D'ish as well. However, this is not a bad thing, in fact it an interesting way of seeming to combine “old style 2D hand-drawn art” with today's more modern “3D computer-generated art”. So, I guess in a way the game might be considered 2.5D (or two-and-a-half dimensional), which does seem to give this a somewhat unique look and feel to a point-‘n-click adventure game. Overall the graphics seems to blend well together and almost seem “alive” as Al explores his surroundings and interacts with various people and things.

The various character animations are fantastic, and I can tell that a lot of imagination, time and effort were put into making them. There are so many humorous animations that happen throughout this game when Al performs certain actions or interacts with certain things; Example: many a “jab” seems to be taken at traditional point-n-click adventure games in the sense of where the players wonders how the character can walk around with some big cumbersome items or where such items are carried on the character, it will often times show Al stuffing said big-cumbersome-items into his trousers or vest and with very funny resulting animations.
The animated close-up “speaking portrait pictures” of the characters when they talk also help to add depth and life to the characters.

The many “pop culture” references sprinkled throughout the game had me smiling and/or laughing many times, and are a nice surprise. I think one of my favorite events in this regards was when Al
Spoiler
tries to talk with the Lamp-Post near the Train Station and breaks into song and dance reminiscent of a famous scene from an old classic movie.
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The in-game “comic-strip” style “cut-scenes” that appeared a few times I feltÃ,  was a great way to relay the progressing storyline to the players, as well as having the feel of a “treat” or “sense-of-accomplishment” for the player for having completed an important stage of the game. The artwork for these “comic-strips” is beautifully drawn, and really captures the attention of the viewer.

The many in-game character voices is nothing short of amazing for this kind of game, and the so very many responses throughout the game of when Al explores his surroundings, interacts with other characters and things he finds, keeps the player wanting to try and “poke around with” just about everything and everyone Al finds.
Though I must admit, at first, Al's voice got on my nerves a bit, however, after a while his voice sort of “grew on me”, and once I became familiar with his character it seemed to match him quite well. The voices for the various characters in the game seem to match just about perfectly each character in the game, and as far as I'm concerned, the main character of the game is not just “Al” but also the “Narrator” as well. It's the often playful and very humorous bantering, and bickering, that occurs between “Al” and his alter-ego, the “Narrator”, that truly helps to give Al a deeper and more interesting personality, and also helps to keep the player rooting for “underdog Al” the whole way through the game
Spoiler
(though towards the end when the Narrator “leaves” Al, I certainly missed having the Narrator around, and was hoping, wishing, he would come back. The way that the Narrator makes his surprise return after that is really terrific and had me feeling like Al and the Narrator were “real” people that I wanted to know more about them).Ã, 
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Ã,  My hat is off to “John Bell” for doing such an awesome job on the Narrator's voice, as well as his many other character voices he's done throughout this game. He's truly a master voice-actor as far as I'm concerned.Ã,  Of course all of the voice-actors did wonderful jobs too, just perhaps I was most impressed with John Bell's voice, range of voices and characters he did, and the tone of humor and sarcasm that he seemed to easily and naturally inject into the lines he spoke. The voices in the game also help to bring more “life and personality” into each character as well.

The music, what can I say? WOW! Amazing job. It's probably one of the best sound-tracks I've heard for any adventure game (and I'm an “old fart” who's played a lot of adventure gamesÃ,  Ã, The music set the mood and the feel of each scene and area of the game perfectly and added such a “natural” flow to the pacing of the game and various scenes. Myself being an amateur harmonica-player, I can much appreciate the obvious skill and effort that went into creating the many varied musical scores within this game. As the game is set in a “Western” style setting, and myself being a fan of old “Western movies”, the music gave me a “sense and feel” of being in a real “Western” setting. Depending on what was going on at the time in the game, sometimes the music would change accordingly, example;
Spoiler
Al is about to meet Rita for his first date with her, we have a soft melody playing which sets the mood nicely.Ã,  And later, when Al is in certain dangerous situations, the tempo and upbeat music that plays adds a sense of urgency and excitement.Ã, 
[close]
I'd say that the music was like a “main supporting character” in this game as well (almost like the Narrator in that sense), and also help to give this game a much more satisfying gaming experience.

The story, characters and puzzels were well thought out, the artwork and various graphics were a treat for the eyes, the voice acting was first rate, the music was wonderful, the humor throughout the game kept me smiling and laughing many times. Overall, this was one of the most enjoyable gaming-experiences that I've had in playing a computer game, and I look forwards to seeing more future games likes this from Himalaya Studios. I hope that this game will help to show gamers out there that the Adventure Gaming genre is still alive and perhaps help to spark off a whole new generation of “Point n' Click Adventure Games”.Ã,  Ã, 

I feel honored and happy to have been a part of “the team” for this game. I hope I was of some good help. I gladly offer my services for any future projects you may work on.Ã,  Ã, 

Good luck and best wishes,
--- Don “Barbarian” McPherson.
Conan: "To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women!"
Mongol General: "That is good."

Blade of Rage: www.BladeOfRage.com


skyfire2

#28
$30? DO THESE PEOPLE THINK I'M MADE OF MONEY?!!Ã,  >:(

On a more serious note, I like to congratulate Himalaya Studio on their third adventure game release. Congratulations guys and keep up the good work! 30 american dollars is pretty expensive and I can think of a lot funner games to play with that money. I'll just have to wait until it becomes free.

Peder 🚀

$30 is alot!

though I did buy it, I even bought the collectors edition as I really liked the music so I wanted the soundtrack cd.


but its still not that bad.
I pay $60 for a new game here in Norway. (can sometimes be more to).


I still have to play it though, it wont work on my computer here cause I dont have enough space for 1GB, and on the other computer I got no AGS games work:@. so I will just have to wait...

Drowps

Hmm... When is Quest for Glory II VGA coming out?

Candle


Drowps


Nikolas

I'm really interested to this talk about the price. That's why I keep replying to these threads. The reason? I plan on making money out of games, and plan on selling my music to game developers, and sountracks as well. And I'm wondering this:

I don't have the cutting edge studio, or the amazingly done machinery and equipment, yet I do think that my sounds ok, and professionally done. So: Should I ask 10-15$ (don't know the average price) for my soundtracks? Or not? Where is the line? That I didn't have philharmonia in my doorstep for two months to record the CD? Why? BUT: Am I capable of judging for myself if the music is professional enough? Well actually the people Iwork with, say that it is, and never have complainted, so... it does mean something to me.

On to games then:

I make a game, which garentees good laughs (ok), around 15 hours of gameplay, as they say, and an actuall DVDS, with a CD for the soundtrack for those who need it. What is it that makes this game less qualified, than Half life II? The graphics? Didn't they spent enough time to the grahpics! Heck 100 BGs (or however many), 3-d animation movies...! What else! Isn't the story interesting the least? I found it rather well made (the least again). Isn't the music great? Yes it is! And go buy the soundtracks as well! Support the composers (couple btw). Why not?

Of course the price does depend on where you live, but honestly knowing, that games cost around that price I don't really see a reason why 29.99$ is a high price. I personally found 5$ for Shivah WAY TOO LOW! Simple!

Maybe it has to do with people who have never worked as freelancers, or stake their heads on what they do. I value my time, and my hour! And that's whay Im so touchy to things like that! I cannot consider that a TESCO worker gets 10$ (more or less) and I, with all my experience and the money spent to my studio, getting less... because the game should be less...

Anyway rant over...

Sorry for the high-jacking of the thread.

Drowps

I don't think that the price is excesive, I just think that Quest for Glory II VGA will be better.

Serth

Quote from: Nikolas on Thu 21/09/2006 22:05:22
I'm really interested to this talk about the price. That's why I keep replying to these threads. The reason? I plan on making money out of games, and plan on selling my music to game developers, and sountracks as well. And I'm wondering this:

I
I make a game, which garentees good laughs (ok), around 15 hours of gameplay, as they say, and an actuall DVDS, with a CD for the soundtrack for those who need it. What is it that makes this game less qualified, than Half life II? The graphics? Didn't they spent enough time to the grahpics! Heck 100 BGs (or however many), 3-d animation movies...! What else! Isn't the story interesting the least? I found it rather well made (the least again). Isn't the music great? Yes it is! And go buy the soundtracks as well! Support the composers (couple btw). Why not?

Of course the price does depend on where you live, but honestly knowing, that games cost around that price I don't really see a reason why 29.99$ is a high price. I personally found 5$ for Shivah WAY TOO LOW! Simple!





Hi,
     I think all your statements have their logic, honestly. Nonetheless, I am still hesitant about paying u$s 30 for this game (and I live in the United States with a reasonable income). Why? I really don't know, maybe because I have other games in my play-list, maybe because there are so many good freeware games that I can still play for free (White Chamber, KQIII, Apprentice, etc), maybe because I prefer brick-and-mortar shops rather than online ones. But the thing is that I would have already bought the game if it costed  you$s 20. Maybe it's a "consumer's mental barrier" ut it certainly makes a difference for me.
On the other hand, I would really like to support these guys and I would like to give them something back for KQIVGA and KQII, which I played both thanks to them. So, maybe in the end I am gonna buy the game, but I would still consider the price a litlle steep.

Well, these were my two cents to the discussion.

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens

QuoteWhy? I really don't know, maybe because I have other games in my play-list, maybe because there are so many good freeware games that I can still play for free (White Chamber, KQIII, Apprentice, etc), maybe because I prefer brick-and-mortar shops rather than online ones. But the thing is that I would have already bought the game if it costed  you$s 20. Maybe it's a "consumer's mental barrier" ut it certainly makes a difference for me.

I'm curious, do you honestly think like this when the new Half Life or Broken Sword is out to buy--that there are plenty of free games out and the commercial ones are too expensive anyway?  If your honest answer is no then you are doing these people (and any other independent developer who wants to make a living at making games) an injustice.  If it's your opinion that the game doesn't look 'worth' $30 dollars then that's something I can understand, but your current explanation is somewhat confusing.

skyfire2

Quote from: ProgZmax on Fri 22/09/2006 00:48:11
I'm curious, do you honestly think like this when the new Half Life or Broken Sword is out to buy--that there are plenty of free games out and the commercial ones are too expensive anyway?Ã,  If your honest answer is no then you are doing these people (and any other independent developer who wants to make a living at making games) an injustice.Ã,  If it's your opinion that the game doesn't look 'worth' $30 dollars then that's something I can understand, but your current explanation is somewhat confusing.


Why do you have to? Half-Life II is made at the quality of todays standards, not 12 years ago.

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens

You might want to amend that statement to reflect your standards regarding eyecandy.  I don't happen to be dazzled by 3D and bloom/HDR but by a well-constructed, well put together game, something that will never be outdated (I hope).  I think that includes many other ags forum members as well.

skyfire2

#39
Quote from: ProgZmax on Fri 22/09/2006 02:22:45
You might want to amend that statement to reflect your standards regarding eyecandy.Ã,  I don't happen to be dazzled by 3D and bloom/HDR but by a well-constructed, well put together game, something that will never be outdated (I hope).Ã,  I think that includes many other ags forum members as well.
I have yet to find anything about half-life II that isn't well constructed. Also, you can't say that a game is bad because the graphics are good. I also seriously doubt you would say anything good about Al Elmo if the graphics were ASCII characters.

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