Episode 1: Feedback and Thoughts

[Say]

Helloooo and welcome to the forums! I was the one who emailed you for the Thanksgiving Giveaway

Göran is one of our winners! (So is Stika around here). So glad to see some Steam frands around here


Thank you so much for your detailed feedback - I absolutely loved the idea of the facial expressions. And I completly agree with Katie, I see some of the goodies for the next episode and Cognition team just keeps getting better and better by the day. Hope you heard the good news and do know that we're releasing Episode 2 on January 30th!

[GrahamRocks!]

I know I said this already, but after watching Toegoff's LP of Cognition, I am VERY impressed with everything! The visuals are comicbook-like, the voices are really good, the puzzles are clever, the humor is good (especially terence using the Thief Sign from QFG. I loved that!) and when it gets serious I can FEEL it! For example, the opening prologue in the graveyard, in both the livestream demo Toe did and the LP itself, I could feel my heart pounding as the scene progressed, especially since during the livestream, because my internet kept cutting out on me, leaving me in suspense (especially when I saw the reactions to what I didn't see in the comments).

And I'm just watching a Let's Play. In ONE SITTING no less! It was nearly midnight by the time I was done and I was exhausted, but it was ALL WORTH IT!

I have TWO questions however: [spoiler]
1. When Erica is training her powers to reach back into peoples memories and help recover them, we see a scene from her own memories where she's seeing Scott in "that stupid striped jacket". The one thing that confused me about it was the image used for Scott- it's his gentle smile... during the "Bad Ending" (which I actually DID see in the livestream, and actually let out a saddened "Oh..." at) and Erica says tearfully that he "knew that I'd failed". Only... Erica technically DIDN'T fail! In the ending where Erica manages to solve the puzzle, she unties him and they hobble out and Scott dies a few minutes later in her arms. We never saw that gentle smile "panel" in the ending where they get out, so... does that mean the "Bad Ending" where he DOES get stabbed by the trap is actually the CANON way to go?

2. Toegoff didn't save Davies in his LP, and both he and I were wondering is it actually possible to save Davies?[/spoiler] 

[KatieHal]

Well...

[spoiler]1) In the Bad Ending, she does fail. You get that one if she doesn't disarm the trap; that's what she's referring to. In the Good Ending, we don't see that precise panel, no, but to help the player there, Erica has an email from her father talking about those last moments--so while it's not seen, the idea is that she did see a calm look on his face before he died still.

2) No, it's not possible to save Davies. [/spoiler]

[GrahamRocks!]

Oh, you mean when they show the "Don't worry Scottie, we're gonna get out of here!" panel?

[KatieHal]

Yeah, around there, since we know the look comes when he's still on the table.

[GrahamRocks!]

Okay, one more question.

The Eclipse. I read somewhere on here that it would be important, and I was wondering how that would be so, since it appears frequently in the ads for Cog 1. It was there in the prologue, but unfortunately, Toegoff never looked at it which bugged me as I was wondering what it said and significance it had.

[MikPal]

Okay, one more question.

The Eclipse. I read somewhere on here that it would be important, and I was wondering how that would be so, since it appears frequently in the ads for Cog 1. It was there in the prologue, but unfortunately, Toegoff never looked at it which bugged me as I was wondering what it said and significance it had.

Icecream?

[NinjerTartle]

I just finished Episode 1 after downloading it last night, and let me start by saying "Thank you!".


I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and even if there might be one or two small "buts" on my list I still found it to be quite refreshing on the whole. First off, the narrative is very solid. And the fantastic backgrounds and somber, yet beautiful, soundtrack helped in creating a game that I very much want to continue playing and see where the story gets me. It might just be the point-and-click adventure game geek in me, fueled by a sense of wonderful nostalgia towards the scene, but it actually felt so good to get a story-driven game like this in front of me for a change. Granted, there have been similar games produced every now and then, like Gray Matter, but this was probably the first in a long time to give me that "authentic" feeling of The Good Ol' Days as we nostalgic bastards probably like to call it. So on the whole, thank you very much indeed!

Then on to some brief pointers;

-loading times: Yes, they might have been on the longer side of the spectrum (probably cause I played it on my laptop that is about to go to the Great Component Pile in the Sky any day now, and barely has what it takes to run this game), but they were by no means as frustrating as they have been in some other games. And sometimes taking it slow is not only not gonna kill you, but might actually add to the atmosphere. A slower paced game (even if it to some extent is caused by time taken to enter/exit menus and scenes in the game) can be rewarding and even help you get into a sort of calm that helps you come up with the solutions you need for a puzzle. At the very least it didn't get me all riled up.

-the puzzles: I have seen it argued that the puzzles were both too hard and too easy. Personally I guess I'm lucky enough to hang out in the middle of the ground; Some of them were very easy indeed, especially I guess if you're familiar with the genre. Some on the other hand gave me more of a challenge, but I think they were all logical and there were no "give that monkey a brick and a bottle of ketchup so that he breaks into a musical number that's needed to open the door you didn't realize was behind the cupboard" type of puzzles you sometimes see. One of my favourite puzzles in the game was probably the interrogation room scene. I also think the use of Reed's powers opens up for some very interesting puzzles, and I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't used more. But perhaps in the coming episodes there will be more?

-the interface: on the whole I liked the use of the mouse, even though I might agree with the people who got frustrated over the amount of clicks needed to do certain actions. Also, with later generation games in this genre, like this, the cursor/mousey-interface/whatever sometimes reveals too much. Or well, perhaps not "too much" but it gives vital clues, even when you don't want them. For instance, after a certain point in the game when you talk to the forensics guy, you don't have the option to use/give items. Therefore, you know that if you find a clue somewhere, you're not supposed to bring it to him. It's a bit of a shame, since it might make some of the puzzles too easy, even. Not sure if I can explain what I mean clearer than that.

-bugs/glitches: I think I managed to avoid all the known major bugs, so no complaining about that for me. Sometimes the walking animation bugged and hopped around a little, notably in Rose's store, but that might have mostly been caused by Ol' Lappy, as mentioned earlier.

-other: The game did feel a bit short. Yes, it's only the first episode, but it still felt like there should have been a little more to play. It sort of felt like you got cut short just when you started to fully get into the atmosphere. And after Longmore's apartment and the Meeting House puzzle, the end felt a bit abrupt. On the other hand, I guess that's a good way to ensure that we get the next episode(s) too. =)

-for the future: I will definitely get the next episode, but like someone mentioned earlier I was also curious if there might be something like an "upgrade" season pass for those of us who got the first episode? The interface could maybe do with some light tweaking too. And for the love of all that is holy, don't under any circumstance feel obligated to put one of those "impossible maze" puzzles that makers of adventure games have loved to torment gamers with. Nobody likes those. Nobody. Not a single soul on this planet has enjoyed one of those puzzles. I'm looking at you, The Legend of Kyrandia.

Aaaanyway, that was my 2 cents in the form of a novel. Keep up the good work, and I'm looking forward to the next episode!

[KatieHal]

GR: The eclipse was important in the game that we acquired assets from, which were then used to create Cognition. That game, ("We Are Darker"), had a plot that revolved around it that did not fit into our game. But the eclipse looked really pretty in some of the scenes, so we kept it in a few places for artistic reasons.

NinjerTartle: Welcome to the forums! Love your name!

And thank you for the detailed feedback! Yeah, loading times will definitely relate to your computer's specs and the setting you play it on, we've done what we can to streamline it though. Haha, and while manny would call the streets of Boston itself an insane and impossible maze (bah!), there are no plans to include actual mazes in this game.

We do plan to have some kind of pricing for 'upgrading' to a season pass, but what that price will be has not been set just yet. Keep an eye out for it as we get closer to Episode 2's release, though! 

[MikPal]

artistic reasons

Or symbolistic (it's literally an eye at some points).

[MakeMonroe]

I must be honest. I pirated the first episode after hearing it's bit similar to Gabriel knight games but because beginning of the game was already so amazingly good I bought the whole season from gamersgate. It was also my first downloadable game that I have ever bought so couple of hours just went searching information about how I pay downloadable games and reading about my rights if something happens.  I'm always been a huge fan of Gabriel knights series and also loved grey matter so i had to support you guys and buy the game. It should also tell something that I bought whole season pass right away and not only one episode. I truly hope that this will be a success and you'll make another season.  Another reason why I bought this was because I got scared that what if people don't buy this great series/game so I felt that I truly need to support you guys with my money and hope also that the others do the same and later because of our support we can see another amazing season. Thank you so much what you have done and sorry about that I first pirated your game. eh.   I'm about halfway to finish the first episode now so second episode will come just in time : ) . Finnish Fan.

[stika]

I must be honest. I pirated the first episode after hearing it's bit similar to Gabriel knight games but because beginning of the game was already so amazingly good I bought the whole season from gamersgate. It was also my first downloadable game that I have ever bought so couple of hours just went searching information about how I pay downloadable games and reading about my rights if something happens.  I'm always been a huge fan of Gabriel knights series and also loved grey matter so i had to support you guys and buy the game. It should also tell something that I bought whole season pass right away and not only one episode. I truly hope that this will be a success and you'll make another season.  Another reason why I bought this was because I got scared that what if people don't buy this great series/game so I felt that I truly need to support you guys with my money and hope also that the others do the same and later because of our support we can see another amazing season. Thank you so much what you have done and sorry about that I first pirated your game. eh.   I'm about halfway to finish the first episode now so second episode will come just in time : ) . Finnish Fan.

I'm glad you bought and enjoyed the game so much  MakeMonroe

Episode 2 is going to be launched in three days, so you'll have more Cognition goodness to play soon 

[riker1]

I loved the game as well. The only thing I missed was some good logic puzzles. I enjoy them much more than trying to figure out which objects go together or what sequence of events are needed in order to reach a goal. I don't really consider them "puzzles" of the sort that challenge the player's puzzle solving ability; they are simply hunting for the correct sequence to advance you through the game. Consider this my request for some more intriguing puzzles. Although, I thought the interrogation section was a very cool way to integrate puzzles into the story line. Very creative!

[Guyra]

I just played through the first episode, and I want to mention that I noticed all the same things as Göran mentioned in his post. I hope that some of these things will at least be fixed in future updates. In addition, I can mention a bug where Sully, when checking out the floor in Longmore's apartment, suddenly was poking about in Longmore's "bed" instead every time I visited after that. (His hot spot area was still in the correct place, though.) It was kind of funny, because he looked a bit like a creep. "Yeah, yeah, just give me some time with this ... this sweet, smelly, dirty mattress ... " But hopefully you'll figure out why this happens and fix it in an update.

Other than the things Göran pointed out, and that bug there, I enjoyed the game a lot! I do hope for more scenes as thrilling as the intro part though, because that's probably the most intensity I've ever felt when playing an adventure game, ever. And I've played a lot. With just a little more polish, some minor bugs removed, and some logic errors fixed(food for Robert, not being able to give McCoy donuts, or his lighter back, could've used stones on the pressure plate in the beginning, etc.), this could've certainly been in my top 5 list of adventure games ever. It still ranks quite high, though!

In any case, I'm looking forward to playing the next episodes! I hope for more scenes as intense as the opening scene though, which was a work of art!

[KatieHal]

Hi Guyra--nice to see you back on the forums! LOL, if that's what Sully's up to, no wonder he's having so much trouble getting Erica to commit He's got no game!

Thanks for the feedback, though, and glad you liked the game! Thank you! I hope you enjoy Episode 2 just as much (and 3 and 4 when they're out, of course).

[Guyra]

Thank you, and for your help the other day.

Hahaha, yes, indeed! I wish I'd taken a screenshot of that.

I'll probably start Episode 2 up today, and I'll let you know my thoughts on that as well as soon as I'm done.


Edit: Oh, and one more thing! I really like the characters. I become interested in them. They feel real, and you can empathize with them. This is a really important part of storytelling in any medium, so good job on getting that one down!

(Oh, and please update the application icon for Episode 1, so it doesn't use the standard Unity Engine icon. )

[darthkiwi]

Totally agree with Guyra about the characters. Although they're actually based off generic templates (Sully as the typical Boston guy, John as the stereotypical donut-loving cop) they know that they are and they love it. As a result, they feel like real characters who exist in the same world we do.

[Guyra]

Although they're actually based off generic templates(...)

Quite true! But as I've seen in various other media as well, it's all about how you use these "generic" types. Even the most cliché type of character can become a good character, if you use him or her correctly - while more uncommon types of characters are not only hard to come up with, but also even harder to use correctly. A lot of it comes down to personality details and variation. Like how Erica can act all geeky with Terence, for example. You get to see a variation from her normal behaviour, and it's just a small detail of her personality - but it's so powerful in the way it makes the player see Erica as a person. Another similar example is how Gallagher, despite being generally quite stuck up, sometimes lets her guard down.

I feel that the characters in Cognition are mostly used correctly.

[KatieHal]

We've gotten that feedback from a number of sources, actually--and it's kind of funny, because I think to us, the writers, we have these ideas of all the characters in our heads where they've totally got nuance and backstory, etc! ....but clearly we need to work on making sure more of that comes across on the screen, as it were. It's good to know for the future, though!

Though I still enjoy them all as they are, too.

[Cez]

Thanks for the great feedback, Guyra!

I know it might not be super clear, but the reason why Erica doesn't use rocks on the pressure plate is because she knows Cain is watching her (there's a camera there, and in other places as seen by the camera panels that turn on), and she knows she must play by his rules if she's going to have any chance of saving Scott. She doesn't want to risk it by trying to trick the trap, not being sure if the trap really is demanding her blood, her weight, or any other thing pertaining to her exactly.

Like she tells John when he says "that's ridicoulous, he may not even be there right now" referring to the fact that he might not be watching the cameras, Erica replies "I'm not taking that risk".