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It seems that I am going to this con as a speaker/panelist. 

So, um, see you in Vegas?

I received this note on my message board today.  Is there any way to make this work or should I tell him not to bother?

Hi, I just wanted to inform you that playing this game with a touch screen (touch screens were made for point and click adventures) does not work! When I click the screen the mouse will park itself in the top left corner. Using a mouse works fine though, so its still possible to play it fine.

This is obviously a bug with the underlying engine so its not really your problem in that sense, but you might bring the word to the authors of that engine and have they test this on UMPCs which are really great for playing these kinds of games since they dont require such a powerful computer.

Pretty cool!  I've met the host (Heather Chapman) a few times, and she ran into me at GDC to tell me that she mentioned Shivah on her segment, but I had no idea she was giving it such play. 

I just wish she didn't have to choose MY scene.  Ugh.  Had I known this was going to get so popular I probably would have given it a better performance.

Ugh, I know.  Google insists that something on my site is harmful, yet I've had the ISP check and recheck the server and they've found nothing wrong.  I'm not sure what to do about this.  Apparently there's some warning you get via Norton when viewing the site under Internet Explorer, but I can't find it.  I get no such warnings myself.  I have a feeling it has to do with the wordpress software (which is a spam magnet, and why I've disabled comments).  If anyone knows why this happens, I'd be happy to know!

Howdy all!  Greetings from San Francisco, and the Game Developer's Convention.  The Choice Awards were held tonight, and while Wadjet Eye Games was nominated for "Best New Studio", we didn't walk away with the award.  However, this whole GDC thing has been a fantastic experience so far, and I've been dutifully keeping a log about the various goings on.  If anyone cares to read about it, click the link to me blog: www.davelgil.com

I had emailed James (listed on the site as director of sales) but never heard back from him.  I instead emailed Randy and he was much more prolific and forthcoming about answering my questions.

I might be attending this con as a speaker or panelist, depending on what they decide.  Alot of the content is a bit up in the air, which is actually quite normal from what I've seen.  I was asked to speak at GDC in January, a whopping 3 months before the con itself.  This adventurecon thing won't happen for 6 months, so they have time to get their stuff organized.  One hopes.

Despite my feelings about Howard I do hope this succeeds.  I'm willing to help, within reason.

Randy Sluganski is a co-founder?  That makes a little bit more legit, but I'm surprised that Randy's name isn't anywhere on the adventureCon site.

more?

I'd say so, since Randy is someone who promotes adventure games as a whole, while Howard is, well, Howard.

[Randy Sluganski]

Hm.  I found this on gamedailybiz:


"This is a fantastic opportunity for the world-wide adventure community to show its support for gaming's oldest and most popular genre," says Randy Sluganski, owner of Just Adventure, the Internet's most popular adventure game site, and AdventureCon co-founder.

Randy Sluganski is a co-founder?  That makes a little bit more legit, but I'm surprised that Randy's name isn't anywhere on the adventureCon site.

Regardless, do adventure game creators, almost exclusively indie-based, need to pay for this kind of exposure to, let's face it, people who probably already know about them?

An excellent point, fish.  The people who are interested enough in schlepping out to Vegas for this con probably already know about the games that are available there. 

Howard Sherman organizing this thing isn't bad per se. What irks me is that his self-promoting instincts are kicking in full swing again.  He mentions his name, or his company name, or his products, on every page of the site.  If he were truly serious about organizing this and pushing the adventure genre, he'd remain behind the scenes and not promote himself. When I go to a con, I rarely know who is organizing it, nor would I care.  I discovered Malinche's involvement after 5 seconds of looking at the site. 

The literature on the site is sophomoric at best, with lame references to Zork that wouldn't have been funny twenty years ago.  The site's been up for only 8 days and he's already changed the date of the con.

I wouldn't mind paying the money for the space costs, assuming that I get something for it.  What kind of exposure would an indie developer hope to get at this sort of thing?  I am curious as to what kind of press plans on coming.  I can't imagine that the mainstream gamign press plans on being there.

Most industry conventions are for meeting your colleagues, scheduling business meetings, going to lectures or speeches, and in general to "be seen".  This con could possibly offer those things, but as of now I don't see it happening.

The consensus amongst the IGDA crew is "This sounds sketchy." I might go, if the site improves or if there is some significant media buzz about it, but not as an exhibitor.  Failing that, I'll wait until the con is over and if it turns out to be a hit I will go next year.

I've asked around, and while I haven't heard from alot of people, but I've heard a few bits of good advice.

The main question that came up was "Will there be a large turnout?" True, Jane Jensen and Al Lowe are big names, but who outside of the adventure community (which is itself quite small) would be willing to travel all the way to Vegas, book a hotel, and buy a con pass to see them? By that same token, who WITHIN the adventure gaming community would do the same?  It's a tough question.

The other issue is Howard Sherman himself.  His reputation is, shall we say, kind of mixed.  My opinions on the man are documented (and he might not want me there as a result!), but it's the main reason why I hesitate.  His marketing campaigns are heavy-handed and egocentric and (from the little I've seen) I see the same tactics being used on this adventurecon thing.  An Adventure game convention is something I'd want to support, but Howard always makes me feel icky. 

I shall give it a month and see what the buzz is before making any decisions.  I doubt that all the convention space will be sold out before then, so I'll wait.  I might go as a adventure fan instead of a developer, just to see.

A weekend in Vegas is never a total loss.  If the convention sucks, you can always go see Cirque De Soleil or something.

I'm asking around the IGDA underground to see if there is any buzz about this, and if it's worth going to and/or exhibiting at.  I'll let you know what I find out.

Thanks for the info, Scummy.

Oh boy.  It's being managed by Howard Sherman! :-/

Maybe I shouldn't go.

Actually Colossal Cave was actually based on a real series of caves, which just goes to show that it's never fun to romp around an authentic virtual version of a real-life location.

And yes, my opinion from long ago still stands.  I don't know why everybody and their pet dog wants to remake Zork.  What's the fascination?  Granted, it's the first Infocom text adventure, but storywise, it's the most boring game on the planet.  Remaking Zork with graphics wouldn't make it a better game, it would make it a ton worse.  You'd have a bunch of empty rooms with no characters in them.

The Infocom Implementors improved SO much with time.  There are tons of other text adventures that would benefit from adding a graphical element to them.  Games with lots of interesting NPCs that graphics could help bring to life.  Say, Wishbringer? Or one of the mysteries, like Deadline or Suspect?   A few years ago I would have said an AMFV game would have been impossible, but GTA and its ilk have shown that a game like that might be possible. 

Aaanyway, best o' luck Walrus.  You're not the first to attempt a Zork remake.  Maybe you'll be the one to actually make it happen.

I did fell on a some glitches and bugs, 2 even crashed the game but overall it was simply awesome. I've waited for a conclusion to Bestowers of Eternity for a long time but the wait totally worth it. However I'd appreciate if you could subtitles the DVD style commentaries the next time.

Hi Blueskirt,

Thanks!  I'm sorry you encountered some bugs and crashes.  Could you PM me to tell me what they were? 

I'm not sure about subtitling the commentaries, since they are kind of spontaneous and unstylized.  I basically plug the commentary in while I play the game (much like DVD commentaries are done while they watch the movie).  But, I can understand the desire to hear less of my annoying voice as possible.  So I'll think about it.

Heh.  Funny you should mention that in this thread.  The use of the Izanagi myth in the game was inspired by a PM conversation that I had with Dave while I was still planning Linus.  He told me that he was thinking of using some Korean mythology in a game (he was living in Korea at the time) and I thought, "Hey! I'm living in Japan, I should work some Japanese mythology into my game!"

Congrats again Dave.  The things you're doing are amazing!  Good luck!

Haha.  RIGHT.  I totally forgot about that.  A fantasy rpg inspired by the myth of Tangun.  I did about a page or two of notes of ideas and then forgot about it.  Ah well.  If the idea helped inspire YOU, it was worth it.

And Dave, I hope you'll take all that cash you're making and plough it into producing a game that looks like this!

I'm making cash?

Some of you might remember my first attempt at making "Bestowers of Eternity" commercial.  It was a collosal flop and never went anywhere, mainly due to the high resolution.  After many months of production, only one room was completely finished:



This scene was a flashback that starred Rosa's Auntie Lauren.

Ooh, I miss China so much.  I bummed around the mainland for about two months last year.  It's so easy to travel by train, especially if you take the sleeper cars.  They are like mobile hotels. 

If your family ends up in Beijing or Shanghai, Yuf, I have friends who can help them out if they need it.  It's always good to have chinese speaking folks to call in case of emergencies.

The official Press Release, for those who care:

Manifesto Games (www.manifestogames.com) is delighted to congratulate Dave Gilbert, whose development studio Wadjet Eye Games has been nominated for a Game Developers Choice Award in the category of Best New Studio. Dave's two games, The Shivah, released in the fall of 2006, and The Blackwell Legacy, released in January 2007, are both distributed by Manifesto Games.

The Developers Choice Awards are nominated and voted on by developer members of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) and are presented at the Game Developers Conference. This year, the conference will be in San Francisco and the awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday, March 7 at the Moscone Convention Center. The other studios nominated in the same category are Gastronaut Studios; Iron Lore Entertainment; Naked Sky Entertainment; and Ready At Dawn Studios.

"Dave has great narrative abilities and a true quirky originality; I can't imagine anyone else delivering a game about a Rabbi undergoing a crisis of faith, let alone one so compelling," says Greg Costikyan, CEO of Manifesto Games, the online distributor of independently produced games. "Dave's games are the best illlustration I know of that great gameplay is not dependent on glitz or graphics but on good writing and design. He deserves this nomination and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy," Costikyan continued.

"You know how people say it's an honor just to be nominated? Well it really is - my co-nominees are incredibly talented and accomplished and I really didn't imagine things would take off like this," Dave Gilbert told Manifesto. "The Shivah was my first commercial game and for while I as waiting for someone to tap me on the shoulder and tell me that the reviews and sales weren't real, or that there was some kind of mistake. I think it's great that the industry has evolved to the point where it not only accepts games like mine, but also takes time to honor them. "

Woah.  Didn't see the "Lifetime Achievement" thing before.  This is a great honor, guys.  I'm seriously overwhelmed.