Messages

First, I think DarkComet is/was working on a game which took place on a yacht and which didn't care much about RON consistency and rules. But it was clear that it was part of an alternative reality of RON and that this episode shouldn't have an impact on the overall timeline. So, character may have died, but this wouldn't have stood in contradiction.

Not me Chief. I'm currently working on The Exorcism of Julian Lapis and a multi-part serial, Dawn of the Dayists - all of which is set firmly in the canon.

Are you thinking of Kunafits? He was planning something like that, lots of character deaths and whatnot.

Oh, and that window thingy is meant to be the skylight from Apocalypse Meow. I snuck it in when I did that revamped background which took the best of everything and merged into one uber-Town Square.

[Long arc-based games]

I like the idea of distinctions. Something like:

1. Long arc-based games, high quality (Night of the Kittens, The Tapestry)

2. Standalone medium length games, high-medium quality (Purity of the Surf, Defender of RON)

3. Short couple-of-room/one room type games, medium quality (Lunchtime of the Damned, Cold Storage)

4. Random games that don't fit into the RON canon, or games that are just generally not that good (won't cite any examples, but there are plenty)

5. Miscellaneous Quiz games, arcade games, just other fun stuff.

Sounds good, but isn't quality independent of length? What about short, high-quality game, or excellent games that don't fit into the RON canon?

Point. I was trying to stick to 5 catagories. Besides, quality is subjective... maybe it should be based only on length?

Arc based games, Long singles, Medium Singles, Short Singles, Randoms?

Two words.

Myst Online.

Did you Frobozz his Wizard?

Did you Puzzle over his Flesh?

[Long arc-based games]

I like the idea of distinctions. Something like:

1. Long arc-based games, high quality (Night of the Kittens, The Tapestry)

2. Standalone medium length games, high-medium quality (Purity of the Surf, Defender of RON)

3. Short couple-of-room/one room type games, medium quality (Lunchtime of the Damned, Cold Storage)

4. Random games that don't fit into the RON canon, or games that are just generally not that good (won't cite any examples, but there are plenty)

5. Miscellaneous Quiz games, arcade games, just other fun stuff.

I don't really want to see RON close up shop yet - mainly because I've been beavering away at it as my first AGS serialised project for quite a while, and to see it being prounounced dead and shipped off to oblivion, thus rendering all my efforts in vain, would be very much a kick in the teeth.

There's a very simple solution to get RON going again - Release More Games. That's ALL there is to it. A few small episodes, utilising the more updated graphics, would be all that's needed to get it back in the spotlight again.

A RON wiki complete with character bios, individual and arc-based episode guides, and general trivia/design notes seems like the best way to go about introducing the series' background for those interested in starting their games.

Hell, I'd love to add to something like that. It's not something I'd be able to do single handedly though. Dave? RI? Rui?

RON certainly isnt dead. Me and Flibble have been brainstorming something special for RON for what must be about a year now, and it's finally starting to come to fruition. I wouldn't count on this funky little concept keeling over and dying yet...

... TOPIC NECROPHILE AT TWELVE O'CLOCK.

MANOS THE HANDS OF FATE.

INVASION OF THE NEPTUNE MEN.

MONSTER-A-GO-GO.

SATAN'S SLAVE.


These films... require no explaination as to their hideiousness.

I think you will be doing a greater service to the franchise if you carried on the series that would have began with Grand Inquisitor. Apparently it was going to be the first of a new trilogy, with the ghost of Mir Yannick bringing about the Magic Wars that pitted the Eastlands against the Westlands.

Now that WOULD be an achievement. A whole new story set in the Underground that remains faithful to the series' roots and style, and continues it.

Biscuits. Jam.

BISCUITS AND JAM.

If it were my game, I'd certainly send them a fake cease and desist from my made-up lawyerÃ, 

I thought I was your lawyer, Flibble... 

*gears up for some spicy hot legal action*

Rui: I do see what you're getting it. It is something of an ominous note, I guess I'm always a sucker for closure though. I tend to view the whole final chapter as an extended ending (kinda like FT).

Having said that, I would have liked to have gone back to that mansion. That last shot implied there was still something else inside... one of the reasons Phantas II made me angry.

I do agree it was a difficult piece of acting to pull off, that walk away - I like to think Adrienne's actor pulled it off well, I got a shellshocky vibe from her. Others say she just looked bored though. There's a fine line...

Phantasmagoria. 'Nuff said.

Zork: Grand Inquisitor, the last in the series, used it. But I think it was more of a homage than anything else, as Eggie implied.

Huzzah, Master Gilbert!

Myst has a VERY deep and complicated backstory - I would recommend reading the companion novels, as pretty much everything in the games are as a result of things featured there. For example, the intro of Myst is very ambiguous, but makes perfect sense if you know the story.

Riven is the pinnacle of the entire adventure game genre I believe, certainly from an artistic and development perspective. Every tiny shred of Cyan's vision is on screen, undiluted by publisher's needs or costs. It's probably the last adventure game to be made for a while with the creative and artistic freedom of the authors entirely intact and uncompromised.

Zork Zork Zork ZORK.

Just a quickie - Reality-on-the-Norm is in the middle of it's own 'Release Something' period, where people post tiny snippets from their WIPs.

If you're working on a RON project and want to show it off, no matter how big or small it is, now is the perfect oppertunity to do so along with the rest of us.

Head on over, it can be found HERE.