Richard & Alice :: Help us get on Steam, pretty please?

Started by Lewis, Thu 21/02/2013 08:08:05

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Lewis



8/10 - Destructoid        **** - Digital Spy

"Incredibly moving" - Rock, Paper, Shotgun        "A powerful tale" - Edge


[More reviews]

Buy it now for just $5.99!
(Or download the free demo.)

Richard and Alice are prisoners. Both their cells have a leather sofa and a state-of-the-art computer. But only Richard's has a TV.

Outside, the snow falls. It has done for some time. Elsewhere, they say, parts of the world have been rendered an inhospitable desert, the earth parched and cracked.
People live in the zones now. The lucky ones, anyway.

Richard and Alice have secrets.

A mystery story about family, desperation and the weather, set to the beat of an indie adventure game.





Out now  --  www.richardandalice.com
Returning to AGS after a hiatus. Co-director of Richard & Alice and The Charnel House Trilogy.

Blackthorne

I bought it on GoG.com this morning.  I've had my eye on this one a while.  Congrats on the release of your game - and I look forward to playing it!


Bt
-----------------------------------
"Enjoy Every Sandwich" - Warren Zevon

http://www.infamous-quests.com


Lewis

Thanks folks! Here are the reviews we've seen so far...

"A poignant, well-told tale, exploring themes of hope, despair and morality. And that's not a thing you can say about enough games."
- Rock, Paper, Shotgun

"Richard & Alice presents [its] bleak setting in an absorbing manner through a real sense of loneliness." - 4 STARS
- Digital Spy

"Richard & Alice takes some very adult themes and situations and rolls them into an emotive and engaging experience." - EDITOR'S CHOICE
- Dealspwn
Returning to AGS after a hiatus. Co-director of Richard & Alice and The Charnel House Trilogy.

m0ds

Well done! And an impressive development duration too I must say. I hope it's successful and I will get a copy soon! Can I get it on Desura? Do I get a Steam key? Is there a CD audio? I can't get paypal to work, can you help me? Only joking.. ;)

an Urpney

I played the game and enjoyed it very much. Some of my thoughts under spoiler tag:
Spoiler

First of all - I've seen only two endings (Richard knocked out by Alice and Armed Alice killed by unarmed Richard) so I might be missing some explainations.
- I don't think slavery would be that common in this frozen world. Slaves need food and food seems to be one of the most important resources. Soldiers \ mercenaries? Sure, those are always useful. Acts of cannibalism? Probably. Slavers gangs? Not so much.
- Who and why runs the prison? It seems that outside the zones nobody cares about law and there is no police to put anybody behind the bars.
- Don't know what happened in the prison near the end. Who \ what killed the guard? Why did the other guard killed himself? How did Alice know the code from looking at Richard's picture (I'd guess she could've figured out his past based on the notes she found, but the code?)
Maybe another playthrough will clear some things up for me...
Now, the only real criticism I have:
- Hanging guard's animation is... well, not that great. Maybe if the rope was moving with him...
Anyways, thanks for an enjoyable afternoon!
[close]
Born to the sound of marching feet,
Trained as a military elite.
Each of us drilled and singled out to be,
An Urpney.

Lewis

Hello! Really glad you liked the game. I'm going to go over your points one by one in the spoiler text below, but what I will say is that answers to all of your questions are available in the game - if you did want to play through again and answer them yourself, I wouldn't want to spoil it for you!

On the endings...
Spoiler
Yes, there are more than two endings. Just a note on one of the ones you did see - the idea there was that Alice had killed herself in front of Richard, not that Richard had killed her. There's a reason for that. Again, that's something you can decipher from the game.
[close]

On the nature of the frozen world...
Spoiler
Slavery was just one part of it - the main thing to take away was that they were using people's lives as a bargaining tool. While they were there, they may as well put them to work. The Polars, though, were one of the main reasons for the shortage of food, supplies etc - it was them who had the monopoly on that stuff, so they could afford to offer their people food and shelter while actually keeping them captive and using them as bargaining tools with the corrupt government. Which links into...
[close]

The nature of the prison...
Spoiler
Did you watch the TV near the start of the game? There's a short infomercial-type-thing that explains that, especially when combined with the conversation you have later on about the handbook. From these optional snippets of info, it's possible to surmise what the 'Typhon Project' really is - a huge network of underground accommodation facilities designed to house the richest and most important people in the world as the weather continues to get worse. Their use as prisons is a temporary measure, a sort of nasty situation where dispensable prisoners are being used as guinnea pigs. If a prisoner dies, all it means is that UGPT Research know they'll need to tweak the system before Typhon opens up for public purchase. As for the policing on the outside, there are a few references to that too, but the main thing is that the Polars basically control the cops these days. Alice was unlucky to get caught, though, certainly.
[close]

The ending...
Spoiler
Something had gone wrong, clearly. There are a few hints dropped as to what exactly went on, but we wanted to leave that intentionally vague and allow people to draw their own conclusions from the hints that are given. So I won't say too much about that.

As for Alice knowing the code, well... do you remember the scene midway through the game, where Barney gets the machine working and it starts spouting out some numbers? He makes Alice write all the numbers down. "There," she says. "There was an old photo in the back of this book - I've written it all down on here." Later, as Alice and Richard escape, Richard stops, grabs the photo, saying, "I can't believe I almost left this behind AGAIN." The idea here is that Richard's family photo was in that book in the church. He left it behind, and had to return to get it, before he went to jail. By the time he got it back, Alice had scrawled down the door code on the back of the picture, without even realising. (There's a tiny bit of foreshadowing at the start of the game when Richard first shows her the photo. "Wow," she says, pausing. "This photo..." before composing herself and saying, "your partner is beautiful."

The idea being, of course, that Alice knew Richard's identity from the very first time they met.

At the end, Richard explains that the gangs had people radioing through security codes and making them sound like something else entirely. This is what they were doing: radioing through meteorological reports, in which they encoded codes for the prison for when they had to access it.
[close]

Thanks for the feedback on that spot of animation - I know that isn't perfect, and if we get the chance I'd like to patch in something better there. Sadly we couldn't afford to spend too much on art. But I really hope the storytelling shone through. Once again, thanks for playing, I'm really glad you enjoyed it - and I hope the above info sheds some light on your questions.
Returning to AGS after a hiatus. Co-director of Richard & Alice and The Charnel House Trilogy.

Xionix

So, you are the mastermind behind Masked, congrats on releasing your game, I have to give this one a try in the future. I really liked Masked, it was a bit short but it have some kind of impact. This looks a bit different though. For what I can see its getting a lot of good feedback, you must be proud of your little child there. Now lets see if I can make a game before I reach my 50s.

gspit1124


Lewis

Xionix: We're incredibly proud. It's amazing to log into GOG's forums and see people frantically trying to work out how many endings there are, and how they all reached different conclusions to the story. Great reviews so far, too - really glad people are prepared to look past the basic graphics and get to what we really focused on, which was telling a compelling interactive story.
Returning to AGS after a hiatus. Co-director of Richard & Alice and The Charnel House Trilogy.

Xionix

I do not think graphics will be a problem, they are many fans of retro stuff (myself included). I not even play those AAA like Dishonored (yeah, there is something wrong with me). Your game seems like a very good product, I have read reviews and is something I will like to play. The indie community need games like this, that show that no graphical power can compete with emotions and a good story (Im saying for what I have read of the game) and I think its encourage other people to also make games, its show that you only need imagination and talent, not graphics. You tend to forget graphics when new technology keeps arriving, but a good story, that stays with you. I will sure buy this when I have the time to play it.

PS: Do another freeware like Masked ;)

SarahLiz

I agree, the story and gameplay was so immersive that the graphics were not an issue at all...in fact I quite liked them.  Definitely more "cutesy" than the tone of the story that's for sure...but I enjoyed them a lot, and the game as well.  Two enthusiastic thumbs up.  :)

Lewis

Thanks to everyone for their feedback so far! Interested parties may be - uh - interested to know that Richard & Alice is available for just £1.99 / $2.99 this weekend. So if you're searching for a game to play, why not grab this one? We think you'll like it!

Head here to find out more: http://denbyraze.com/2013/03/21/richard-alice-half-price-for-the-end-of-winter/

I've also updated the OP to reflect some of the lovely reviews we've been getting. So chuffed! And now I'll stop rambling.
Returning to AGS after a hiatus. Co-director of Richard & Alice and The Charnel House Trilogy.

Stee

Quote from: Lewis on Sat 23/03/2013 09:35:55
Thanks to everyone for their feedback so far! Interested parties may be - uh - interested to know that Richard & Alice is available for just £1.99 / $2.99 this weekend. So if you're searching for a game to play, why not grab this one? We think you'll like it!

Head here to find out more: http://denbyraze.com/2013/03/21/richard-alice-half-price-for-the-end-of-winter/

End of Winter? Have you seen the weather? Walking through a blizzard yesterday to get to work in the middle of march, this game was the first thing that came into my head. That and several curse words as I had to walk against the wind. We should really burn you at the stake for your witchcraftery!!!

If anyone is sat on the fence about this game, let me just tell you that in terms of story and emotional grab, this is probably one of the best AGS games I have ever played
<Babar> do me, do me, do me! :D
<ProgZMax> I got an idea - I reached in my pocket and pulled out my Galen. <timofonic2> Maybe I'm a bit gay, enough for do multitask and being romantical

Lewis

Quote from: Stee on Sat 23/03/2013 10:27:56End of Winter? Have you seen the weather? Walking through a blizzard yesterday to get to work in the middle of march, this game was the first thing that came into my head. That and several curse words as I had to walk against the wind. We should really burn you at the stake for your witchcraftery!!!

If anyone is sat on the fence about this game, let me just tell you that in terms of story and emotional grab, this is probably one of the best AGS games I have ever played

That is so lovely to hear, thank you!

And yeah, I woke up this morning to find that it is snowing again. Despite now being officially Spring time. Bah!
Returning to AGS after a hiatus. Co-director of Richard & Alice and The Charnel House Trilogy.

cat

Just finished the game!

I played the demo last December on AdventureX and was fascinated by the atmosphere and looking forward to the full game. I have to say my high expectations were fully met.
This game has great story telling and dialog. It was very atmospheric, also with the music and sounds
Spoiler
The scene in the church when you are down in the cellar is amazing tension-wise.
Also the scene upstairs - I knew there would be something terrible there, but I was still shocked when I saw it.
[close]

The graphics vary in quality, the speach portraits were great, but Richards sprite was very poor, he looked a bit like a dwarf :P
The backgrounds were ok, the snow effected and sound added a lot to build up immersion.
A bit more animation would have been nice, like
Spoiler
Using the ladder to get the box on the lake, for example
[close]

Thanks to your spoilers above in this thread I understood a bit of the ending, which was a bit to quick for me
Spoiler
I still don't fully get Richards role in this, what he was doing with the Polars and why he was in jail.
[close]

I got the ending where
Spoiler
I kill the boy and both adults survive.
[close]
What were the other endings? Was this triggered by dialog choice? I wouldn't know were I could have acted differently...

The puzzles were very well integrated with the story. However, sometimes I wish that there were more breaks in the dialogs, to get another look around, do something myself, explore, or simply save and quit playing.

You should add this game to games database so it will be eligible for next years AGS Awards.

PS: The DVD is great - Thanks a lot!

Lewis

Hello! Just a quick update to let everyone know we have a very small number of super limited edition boxed copies for sale!

Only 50 of these exist anywhere in the world. They were produced to give to backers over a certain amount during our crowd-funding campaign, as well as contributors to the game. Those people covered, we had about 30 left, so we thought we'd open them up to the public.

You can get hold of them for £7 plus shipping. They look like this:



You can get hold of them from www.richardandalice.com. We aim to ship within 24 hours of purchase by standard class, so they should be with you within 3-5 days in the UK, about a week internationally.

Also...

***

We're three months on from Richard & Alice's release, and we've been absolutely thrilled with how everything's gone. With fantastic reviews from Edge, PC Gamer, Destructoid, Rock Paper Shotgun, Digital Spy and more, we really couldn't have hoped for a better response. I can reveal that we've sold approximately 1,000 copies of Richard & Alice to date, which is fantastic, but of course more sales means more ability to make bigger and better things in the future - so any help spreading the word would be phenomenally well appreciated!

By the way, in the next couple of weeks we're going to be revealing something we think is quite exciting. Our new game, perhaps? Wouldn't that be fun...

Cheers for all your support so far!
Returning to AGS after a hiatus. Co-director of Richard & Alice and The Charnel House Trilogy.

david

Congratulations on your massive output, guys.
I hope that I helped you letting some youtube guys know about your game like Daveosity and Cry, etc...I'm glad that panned out quite nicely
you deserve it :)

cianty

Heck... I totally missed this! Well, it seems I came back just about the right time: Just got myself a super-duper limited boxed version of the game. Can't wait!
ca. 70% completed

Lewis

Just a quick update to let everyone know we're in the latest IndieRoyale bundle, along with Primordia and some other awesome indies. So if you want to check out the games at a low low price, head on over to www.indieroyale.com.
Returning to AGS after a hiatus. Co-director of Richard & Alice and The Charnel House Trilogy.

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