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Feedback from a Student of Game Design.

Started by Kaanin, December 11, 2006, 03:29:45 AM

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Kaanin

Hey im currently in college for a BA in Game Design, and if I wasn't so involved in all my own projects I would definitely offer any help I could offer to this project, but sadly I am too stretched thin on free time as it is.

EVERYTHING AFTER THIS POINT IS MY OPPINION AND I DONT CLAME IT TO BE CORRECT OR FACTUAL.
The Good.
* Model & Level Design - This is probably the thing that impressed me the most when I played. When I first exited the castle I instantly recognized where I was and that it was recreated perfectly in 3D I almost wet myself. As I explored on it only got better, I must say you have it nailed.
* Atmosphere - You really caught the Kings Quest Atmosphere very well, the game is very comfortable to play and be in.
* Voice Acting – Voice acting can be a pain to get right and you guys did an awesome job! Some of the characters could sound a little more lush but I would be more then content if it didn't change at all.
* Interface - Looks crisp and detailed, plus the design of the whole thing is not only ergonomic but looks good too.
* Music/Sound - Nothing that blew me away, but it was done well and  tied the whole experience together into a nice bundle.

The Bad
* Game Pacing - Maybe I'm just a vet but the game seems to drag, walking from place to place can be a drudge. The second time playing through I forgot to get the bag of coins from the castle, and walking from the docks all the way back to the castle and then back to the docks was just torturous, I can only imagine that on the large scale of a full game.
Also conversations seem to be drawn out and have too much to them, players will only endure so much talking unless the conversation is really riveting. If the conversation doesn't hold there interest they will skim the text box, get the general idea, and right click to skip the voice acting, and that's worse then just compromising for shorter more concise conversations Personally from a design perspective I would give short, fast, and important information at first, giving the player what they need right from the start, then give room to dig further into characters, history, and plot if the player chooses to do so.
* World Layout – Obviously this isn't a make or break thing, but, I'm pretty sure just about everyone who played the previous one tried to visit all the old locations, like the side of the castle, and the house in-between the docks and the market. It kind of breaks the whole wondrous revisiting of the old game when those areas are left out, even if they have no scripting, events, or plot points, the fact you can revisit these places I think would really hammer in the feeling of being back again, however if its not within the budget or time schedule, then don't bother.
* Characters – The characters feel a bit shallow, the voice acting is there, but just the script and the way its all carried makes the characters feel shallow and unrealistic. Maybe I'm just a big jerk but it feels like bad acting to me instead of real characters that are really broken up about the incident.
* Cliche - The storyline, acting, and the whole concept has a deep rooted cliche feeling, I mean theres a level of cliche that i think is to be expecte, and loved in KQ games but theres a limit to where it can become distracting to the storyline an gameplay. I feel that that boundry is crossed a little bit. I mean in the orcal scene the whole ULTIMATE EVIL NAMELESS BADGUY feels overused in so many fantasy storys, and the whole lightning blowing things up, all the shops being closed and everything going to hell in a hand basket feels overdone. I mean if it were just rain and the key characters being upset it would feel real, yet fantasy, but the whole universe being flipped on its ear by this event takin place is like a shot of pure sugar, its too much.


Lastly I got some questions.
How much of the game is set in territory that is unseen in other KQ games? I only ask because I only saw a little bit that wasnt based off of the previous title.

Is this a majority of the content you guys have, just to show what you guys have so far or is this only a fraction of the content you guys have and your just releasing it to get the fans all riled up?

All n All im very excited and this looks to be a very good KQ title. My only real worry is I get this harsh cliche fantasy feel vibe going on.

TribeHasSpoken

Quote from: Kaanin on December 11, 2006, 03:29:45 AM
Is this a majority of the content you guys have, just to show what you guys have so far or is this only a fraction of the content you guys have and your just releasing it to get the fans all riled up?

Definitely the latter. This demo is actually an abridged version of the demo we created for Vivendi in November 2005. We released this publicly for a few reasons:

a) To give the fans a taste of our work as well as assurances that work was actually being done on the game

b) To get feedback like that which you have provided in order to improve the gaming experience for the final product

c) To test the engine's compatibility across different systems to ensure that the final product should be virtually bug-free on most system configurations

I'll leave the other questions and comments to those with more specific knowledge and expertise of those areas. I can tell you that as well as new areas of existing locations, there will be entirely new locations featured also.
Once the votes are read, the decision is final. The person voted out will be asked to leave the Tribal Council area immediately. I'll read the votes...


Petter Holmberg

TSL is a very "talky" game, with an epic plot that may be considered cliché by some, but it is deep and emotional to a degree that the brief gameplay of the demo doesn't give justice.

The conversation system has been improved, as I wrote in the journal, with more expressive characters and dynamic camera use. This should help to make the longer dialogue bits more interesting to watch. There will still be a lot of dialogue to listen to, that's just the way the game is designed. But you'll often have the option to select the topics you want to listen to, and which ones to skip. Of course, it may not always be obvious what you need to hear to progress in the game, but revisiting characters to listen to previously skipped dialogue will at least be something to do if you get stuck.

As for missing areas, it's a limitation we have been forced to accept. All areas in the game are there because they are important to the plot. Places like the castle throne room, basement and the castle side on the outside were cut because they aren't needed. Instead, we're adding new areas that you weren't allowed to visit in KQ6. I understand that the nostalgic aspect is important for many of our fans, but we cannot please everyone and have to focus on what's the best for the game.