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The Royal Archives => TSL General Archives => Topic started by: Ikzai on July 13, 2010, 05:00:45 AM

Title: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: Ikzai on July 13, 2010, 05:00:45 AM
http://kotaku.com/5584586/the-silver-lining-episode-1-micro+review-absence-makes-the-heart-grow-colder?skyline=true&s=i

Gotta say I disagree overall but they did raise a few good points such as King Graham's lack of pathfinding ability. Yes, yes it was short. Yes virtually no puzzles.

Hell no at bad voice acting. And the narrator was great. The music was grade A. They were completely wrong there but it's just a matter of taste I suppose.
Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: Baggins on July 13, 2010, 06:17:10 AM
 I think the voice acting is hit and miss. The actor who does Graham's voice is excellent. I think the narrator did a decent job, although I don't think she was the best choice for that part. Some of the easter egg messages are rather bizarre imo (I mean the kind of messages you'd expect out of Space Quest not really King's Quest games).

The voice actor who did the voice of Shamir was off, imo... The actors who did Azure and Aeriel were excellent. I think the one who did the voice for Hassan did a great job as well. Their Saladin is decent, not as good as the original, but passable.

I think I pretty much agree with Kotaku's opinion of the narrator. I disagree with their opinion of the actor who did Graham. I don't think TSL team could have done much better (except for stick with Josh Mandel for nostalgia sake). Their actor is better than Josh Mandel as far as acting is concerned.

As for pathing, ya, I got stuck on walls a few times. Was kinda annoying, but could get around it.

My opinion of the music? I think it's good, but no where as good as the soundtrack to KQ4 (generally considered the best of the series), KQ5 or KQ6 (probably my favorite soundtrack). I don't think there has been anything particularly hummable or memorable just yet. The main theme sounds more like the music from Metroid Prime series (with all that digital "ahh" choiral sound). I'm hoping that my opinion changes by the end of the series, I'd like to hear something memorable, rather than more ambient stuff that exists so far.

I think they present a good point about the mainstream concerns, about the game's lack of interactivity and puzzles as well. They make a good point that first impressions are important, and this may distract from all but the hardcore KQ fans from playing the game. Hopefully it doesn't. Hopefully it doesn't give people who have never played a king's quest game or an adventure game, bad first impression of the genre as a whole either. They might find all the talk, and next to no gameplay boring, and make them think that all the games in the genre are like that. I think that's what Kotaku is warning about. It seems they would like to see something a bit more mainstream that could potentially bring more fans to this series, and possibly give Activision a reason to continue the series in the future.

Yes, while I understand that your game wasn't necessarily meant to be for the "mainstream", but more for hardcore KQ fans, Kotaku caters more to the mainstream, so there reviews are going to reflect that part of the community.
Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: wilco64256 on July 13, 2010, 08:43:46 AM
Heck I know real people who can't find their way around half as good as Graham does in this game.
Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: Rick_Florez on July 13, 2010, 10:21:16 AM
Its funny that people keep complaining about there being 0 path finding in this game.  As a matter of fact there is pathfinding in every screen except the IoC Mainhall and certain places in the innergarden due to technical issues caused by overlapping areas (places where you can walk under another level).

If you'll notice Graham is fully capable of navigating benches in the garden, he knows how to walk around bushes in the castle entrance and crossroads and knows how to walk from 1 door to another without you telling him in the village if you click hand on the doors or any other things in that scene.

Unfortunately the first scene you play is the Mainhall so people notice the glitches there and fail to notice that its not in the entire game.

The path finding algorithm efficiency has always been an issue and one we want to try and improve at some point.  We are also discussing implementing keyboard walking so make walking in the scenes a little easier
Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: MangoMercury on July 13, 2010, 10:26:55 AM
If you do implement keyboard walking, pleeeeeeease don't make it the only method of control.  Keyboard walking is a total and utter chagrin of mine in a point and click game - it's a bit like the Special Edition of Monkey Island 2 having to have "direct control" as well as point and click.  Kinda takes away from the whole concept of pointing and clicking, but as long as that option is there, I'll be fine.
Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: Baggins on July 13, 2010, 10:30:36 AM
The few path finding glitches, didn't even bother me much actually.
Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: dark-daventry on July 13, 2010, 12:23:03 PM
Why are a lot of these reviews so negative? A lot of them seem to forget one simple thing: It's a fan game. We don't have the resources of a commercial company. G4's review was bad too. Perhaps the future episodes will get better scores. One can only hope...
Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: Baggins on July 13, 2010, 12:32:39 PM
How did their reviews compare for say the other fan releases like KQ1VGA, KQ2VGA, KQ3VGA, etc?

Maybe they were expecting something substantial like those?
Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: dark-daventry on July 13, 2010, 12:34:45 PM
Quote from: Baggins on July 13, 2010, 12:32:39 PM
How did their reviews compare for say the other fan releases like KQ1VGA, KQ2VGA, KQ3VGA, etc?

To be honest, I don't think they did review them. TSL is the only fan game that I know of to have gotten mainstream gaming recognition.
Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: Baggins on July 13, 2010, 12:40:20 PM
Hmm.

Don't know then. I know they are pretty hard on commericial games too, if they see weaknesses. Guess they treat everything at the same level.
Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: KatieHal on July 13, 2010, 12:41:16 PM
And despite the generally negative review, it is also kind of cool to be getting compared to the big boys, so to speak. :)
Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: Baggins on July 13, 2010, 12:44:07 PM
That's true, and it'll make you strive harder for the future episodes to prove em wrong, so to speak, :).
Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: dark-daventry on July 13, 2010, 12:44:48 PM
Quote from: KatieHal on July 13, 2010, 12:41:16 PM
And despite the generally negative review, it is also kind of cool to be getting compared to the big boys, so to speak. :)

I will agree with that! Just the very fact that we're being reviewed by mainstream gaming sites is fantastic! At least we're getting recognition!
Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: B'rrr on July 13, 2010, 12:45:27 PM
You can't please everyone anyways. Some tend to look at things on the positive side others negative *shrug* only have to look at the narrating, quite some seems to really like and enjoy the comments others are complaining that they are too long and not KQ-like.

There might be a few negative points, mostly the length and lack of puzzles seems to bother people. You can focus on that alone or try and keep an open mind about the game and see the so many positive points of this episode. since the length and amount of puzzles will increase by every episode anyways.
Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: Baggins on July 13, 2010, 12:47:59 PM
I think though, one way they are looking at things is, what if say Telltale games released something like this for their first outing of one of their episode games, or if say KQ7's first chapter only had a single puzzle. We would probably be complaining about that as well :p...

Its certainly a piece of art, but its not really a game as of yet. More like a semi-interactive movie. ...or as some described it a "tech demo".

As for Kotaku I seem to recall them being scathing to rpgs that got overly long winded, without much actual gameplay, or interactivity between playable parts :p... So that might help us them understand where they are coming from.
Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: dark-daventry on July 13, 2010, 12:51:49 PM
I believe it's better for these sites to hold their reviews until at least episode 2, but more preferably until all five chapters are out. That way they can review the game as a whole, and not as individual episodes. I just think it's better that way.
Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: Baggins on July 13, 2010, 12:54:42 PM
That might be wishful thinking,  since the era of episodic gaming has arrived, various places have been doing individual reviews for other episodic series like Tales of Monkey Island and such by the piece, not by the whole. So that means some episodes have higher or lower scores than others episodes in the game. So ya, you'll probably get mixed set of reviews for each episode. I wouldn't worry too much about the review for the single part. You still have time to prove the next part is more of a game.

It's also a learning experience for you, for when you start making commerical games, and have a handle how the industry critics treat games. :).
Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: Big C from Cauney island on July 13, 2010, 08:21:32 PM
I must agree, 10 people say yes, 10 say no. You can't please everybody. Mainstream sites are looking for mainstream appeal. I think TSL can do it as a whole, but the first episode was a re-introduction to the series for KQ fans.  It might have been interpreted that episode 1 is just like all the other chapters.  People who read the forums know different, but people just reading about it on websites might not.   I think it could have been communicated better to websites that it was more introduction, although I'm not disappointed in the episode.  I thought it was cool. It's a learning experience for sure for Phoenix.  But other than g4 and kotaku, the overwhelming majority of people on TSL forums are excited.  I have a feeling when episode 2 gets released and has the gameplay, it will get great reviews from websites based on what I see in this episode.  But I have to say - I'm almost 30 and played all the KQs when they came out.  I know the music by heart. The music in this game is nothing less than PHENOMENAL, and absolutely fitting, in every part of the game.  It could possibly be my favorite in a KQ game.  It definetly is a FAN game, but outsiders i believe will like it as a whole when they see it all.  Again, great game.         
Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: wilco64256 on July 13, 2010, 08:29:26 PM
Any press is good press, that's all there is to it.  For every negative review for the first episode out there you're going to see hundreds (if not thousands) of people coming to check things out and at least jump on the second episode to see how it is.
Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: dark-daventry on July 13, 2010, 10:18:43 PM
Quote from: wilco64256 on July 13, 2010, 08:29:26 PM
Any press is good press, that's all there is to it.  For every negative review for the first episode out there you're going to see hundreds (if not thousands) of people coming to check things out and at least jump on the second episode to see how it is.

That's true. Whenever I read a review, good or bad, I still always have the temptation to go out and try it for myself. I don't trust game reviews as much as I used to anyway. I've learned that everyone has their own unique tastes in life, and no one can agree on everything. This is especially true of the mainstream gaming community. While we still hold on to adventure games and cherish them, they make no secret of their love for first person shooters. Don't get me wrong, I love modern games too (I consider myself a gamer anyway), but I believe very strongly that adventure games are really the purest form of video game you can get. Modern video games tend to forget where they started. Without adventure games, we just wouldn't have what we do today. So reviews by mainstream outlets will likely to skewed and biased. I am interested in hearing what a dedicated adventure game site has to say about TSL...
Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: wilco64256 on July 13, 2010, 10:29:30 PM
I totally love the new games too, they're loads of fun.  At any given moment I typically have at least 5 or 6 things preordered from my local game store.  But nothing gives me that same feeling as a great point-and-click, questing around, puzzle solving, hyperspace-arsenal-pockets using, icon changing adventure game.
Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: dark-daventry on July 13, 2010, 10:31:33 PM
Quote from: wilco64256 on July 13, 2010, 10:29:30 PM
I totally love the new games too, they're loads of fun.  At any given moment I typically have at least 5 or 6 things preordered from my local game store.  But nothing gives me that same feeling as a great point-and-click, questing around, puzzle solving, hyperspace-arsenal-pockets using, icon changing adventure game.

I agree 100%! And I can relate to having a lot of things reserved.
Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: StormSpirit86 on July 14, 2010, 04:39:28 AM
I didn't have any problems with the pathfinding... I think the review is unfairly harsh.

Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: I_am_so_nifty on July 15, 2010, 11:33:44 AM
Quote from: Baggins on July 13, 2010, 06:17:10 AM
My opinion of the music? ... I don't think there has been anything particularly hummable or memorable just yet.

I don't know, that dark part where Valanice followed Alexander kind of got stuck in my head a bit. In a good way.
Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: Fierce Deity on July 16, 2010, 03:01:09 AM
That review was like a pistol whip at a blind kid.  :-\

I liked the first episode, but like everybody else, I'm expecting an improvement with episode 2. The only thing that really bothered me was one voice actor that worked on two characters in the game. Other than him though, I don't mind the other voice actors at all. Here's to Kotaku eating their words when episode 2 comes out.  8)
Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: Hituro on July 17, 2010, 02:37:32 AM
Yeah I didn't care for the review either.  I felt like the reviewer hated King's Quest games.  I thought the path-finding was fine.  I mean... it's not like Graham was walking through a pac-man maze or something.  And yeah the voice acting could be better in spots but I mean, it's a fan made game so I'm not upset with that.  I think everything was awesome.  My only gripe about the game is some inconsistencies and the long winded narrator.  That's the only thing I didn't like, and those issues I can get over because if the story is great I won't care.  Plus, it's friggin King's Quest! :D
Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: kiralee on July 18, 2010, 01:12:53 AM
I'm afraid that I have to agree with Mr. Plunkett's assessment of the narrator, Amy Kurlyo.  Part of the great joy of playing an adventure game is to be able to click on everything, and hear little wry witticisms.  Unfortunately, Amy's wry merely came off as rude and inane.  Yes, I know that one can turn off the voice.  But I don't want to have to.  Unfortunately, after ten minutes of listening to Amy scold and berate me in an extremely uncomical way turning her narration off was the only way I could continue playing the game.  And ordinarily I love a mean narrator, because they make you laugh at yourself. 
Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: Baggins on July 18, 2010, 04:05:34 AM
I think there were few "wry witticisms" in KQ5 and KQ6 narration, except in death comments. Can anyone think of where the narrator cracked a joke anywhere in those games outside of death comments? There also might have been hidden jokes if attempting to click items on random individuals, and locations, but not in the normal hand, eye, talk, walk situations.

Well, ya most items in the pawn shop in KQ6 were nudges back at sierra (try talking to the stuffed bear), and previous King's Quest games. But other than that centralized location :)?

I can't think of one situation where the narrator talked the player character directly, or "attacked them", nor had the character break the fourth wall to acknowledge the narrator.

I know it was common in Space Quest (most narration is humor related, the narrator insults Roger Wilco often, and Wilco responds frequently) but not in King's Quest. King's Quest dialogue actually seemed to be played pretty straight and serious.

Several of the negative reviews I've read on various websites and blogged have actually pointed out this fact... well the reviews weren't necessarily negative, that was just one of their criticisms, beyond the episode being "too short".

Here is an example, http://www.avault.com/reviews/pc/silver-lining-episode-1-pc-review/.

Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: sahara on July 19, 2010, 09:13:45 AM
Oh, my.  It seems like the basis for most of the criticism in the review is issues with writing and the fact that Episode 1 had few adventure puzzle gameplay elements.  These are areas where a "fan" or indie team should not necessarily be at a disadvantage.  Even strong voice acting isn't something that would require an exorbitant budget.  How could you have possibly expected a good review when what you have so far released has next to no adventure puzzle gameplay in it?  It's a shame because a lot of the dramatic storytelling elements are in place and set the scene well.  

I think the team shot themselves in the foot with the manner of the Episode 1 rollout (perhaps people were expecting something more closely resembling a complete game?) ... but all is not lost... there's still an opportunity to get the rest right.  Lesson learned.  
Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: wilco64256 on July 19, 2010, 09:20:57 AM
http://www.postudios.com/blog/forum/index.php?topic=8733.0
Title: Re: Kotaku's Scathing Review
Post by: kindofdoon on July 19, 2010, 06:42:43 PM
Quote from: StormSpirit86 on July 14, 2010, 04:39:28 AM
I didn't have any problems with the pathfinding... I think the review is unfairly harsh.



In some places, such as the crossroads with the Sing-Sing Tree, the pathfinding works well. In other places, such as the village, pathfinding seemingly does not exist. It's hit-and-miss, from my many playthroughs.