First Impressions and Hima-direction

[Tom Lewandowski]

We do have some interesting ideas for the soundtrack, as well as other game goodies...but nothing's been finalized at this time.

[Legolas813]

I contacted an Admin at GameSpot about the game and they were kind enough to put up a gamespace.

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/adventure/alemmoandthelostdutchmansmine/index.html

I encourage you guys to contact other major gaming sites.

[Angelus3K]

Last time I checked IGN had listings.

[Legolas813]

So are you guys planning on releasing a downloadable demo?

You could always have sites like Gamershell, 3Dgamers, GameSpot, and Worthplaying host it for you.

Whenever any adventure game has a demo, it is almost always downloadable from those sites.

[MusicallyInspired]

Errr....that page that Gamespot put up says "Al Emmo is a third-person, point & click adventure game by three of the King's Quest developers.". I think they should be properly notified.

[GameDevBrit]

Hey guys!

Thanks a bunch for contacting GameSpot, Legolas!  We do plan on releasing a downloadable demo, which is roughly 1/9th of the game! We're adding some final touches to it at the moment.

As for the comment "Al Emmo is a third-person, point & click adventure game by three of the King's Quest developers"--it is, in a way, accurate, if you consider Chris, Daniel Stacey, and I to be the three designers...and we did all work on the KQVGA remakes.

If you guys can think of any other good sites to promote the game, just let me know...

Thanks again.

[Legolas813]

When the demo comes out, definitely contact sites like Gamershell, 3Dgamers, GameSpot, Filefront, and Worthplaying and have them host it for you.  Not only will this save you bandwidth, but the demo will give you major exposure by being on so many major sites.

I don't know how all of this works.  Just making suggestions.

[NightShift]

I can definitely see why Musically Inspired thinks that it should be changed.  It makes it sound like Roberta Williams and crew created Al Emmo.  Might piss off the wrong/right people.

[coroloro]

I think that at this point, advertising the game would not be too soon- or just 'hype'. I cannot say when it will be released- I have no idea- but after playing the game somewhat myself, and seeing how the development is going, it seems like the only things left to do now are do some double, triple, etc checking.

Unlike hype where game companies, such as games like "Horizons" (if anyone remembers that one- a great game that was just never fully completed even when released, and had years of hype)... this game IS done, just being tested for complete, total wholeness and cranked clean of most foresee-able bugs. I mean, I am sure some will pop up- absolute certainty with all the machines available out there- but these guys are doing SO much to iron out kinks, I can say personally this will be more bug free than many Sierra games were on release. Why? Because Himalaya seems far more concerned in a top quality product that will shine at its best than just making the money. Sierra, early on, was like that. I'm proud to work with them in beta testing.

In my long history of pursuing game design and enjoying games- I grew up with Sierra myself, wanting to one day work for them (shattered, of course, when they fell into something very un-Sierra like)- I have seen two types of game companies and those in between. One is "entertainment"- like movie companies, their goal is entertainment, making something that will entertain and sell. Many turn into companies a lot like big movie production companies.

Then there are those that are "artistic entertainment"- oh, maybe a popular fiction style is them unlike "elite art" that freaks a lot of average joes out and entertains only the more eccentric I think. But their idea is- "entertain, and enjoy making money doing what we love, but NOT at the expense of an inferior result we are not proud of". I feel, personally, that EVERY person on this team- that I have heard of at least- is PROUD of their game, and when things come up to compromise this, they do all they can to refine it. Himalaya has certainly started its time out as an "artistic entertainment" company and I hope that the success I am SURE it will generate will strengthen, rather than seduce as it did Sierra, the company towards higher and more incredible things.


I digress. This game is currently more playable than most Sierra games were right off in the early 90's- ten times more so than the infamous QFG4. Ha ha! So, advertising the game now is a little like movies being talked about and advertised in the month or so before their release- it's basically done and being refined for complete satisfaction. After all, I was beta phase 1- and they seemed to have done in alpha testing what MOST game companies do in beta.

I hope the hype is building up- because, even as a person who really hates western themes, I'm really hyped about it some myself and I haven't even finished it yet (my focus has been demo testing- and what a demo it is! You guys have a real treat ahead!) Be assured when you get your hands on the demo, and then the full product, you will get a game worth more than what you paid for it. I don't even know what the end price will be, but I am sure of that much.

-Patrick

[doggans]

I've been lurking here for a bit, and I decided to finally register and post.

First, just a little bit about myself. My name is David, or Dave, or doggans, or That Babbling Idiot, or whatever you choose to call me. I'll answer to just about anything. I'm in college, an amateur filmmaker/actor/voice actor/comedy writer/guy with too many hobbies. I've always loved adventure games, and have many childhood memories of getting up early in the morning trying to get past the latest King's Quest puzzle I was stuck on. (Heck, when the Brothers Chaps at Homestar Runner released their Peasant's Quest parody two years back, I felt like a kid again.)

I came across the AGDI KQ remakes a while back. I was entertained with KQ1, and I enjoyed how it updated the "official" remake with better graphics and sounds. Then, like so many others, I was absolutely blown away by KQ2. I loved just about everything about it, from the graphics to the voice acting (hearing Josh Mandel as Graham again in both of the remakes was a real treat), but what I loved most of all was the way it was set up to surprise players of the original, with Macguffins (the wooden stake, etc) that ended up being used in completely unexpected ways. Plus, the flash-forward sequence gave me a better appreciation of Mask of Eternity.  

So after playing the games, I decided to poke around the site some more, and discovered the link to Himalaya Studios. I looked at the site and checked back every once in a while to see if there were any updates. When the demo for Al Emmo was released, I played it, and loved every second of it. The graphics were wonderful, the voice acting top-notch, the humor very clever and entertaining, and the gameplay was just plain fun. I knew I would enjoy it as soon as I started playing, especially when one of the first things I found in the game was an Easter Egg, and a parody song at that!

So, now that I've rambled on for probably a bit too long, I'll summarize: I love your games, and eagerly anticipate the release of the full version of Al Emmo, which I'll preorder as soon as I have a bit more money.

And, uh, most likely all my future posts will be a bit shorter than this one.

[GameDevBrit]

Welcome Dave!

Thanks for your thoughtful words about our games.  It's always great to meet another adventure gamer, and I am glad to hear you've enjoyed our work

Great to have you around!

Brit

[GameDevChris]

Hey doggans, thanks for the comments and the compliments. I'm glad you enjoyed your experiences with the demo!

[Blackthorne]

Tasstimes In Tone Town was freakin' awesome.  I played that on my cousin's IIgs all the time.


Anyhoodles, I can't wait to see how things go for this game.  I'd certainly like to see more adventure games developed.


Bt

[GameDevBrit]

Ditto to that, Blackthorne.  Long live adventure games

[Sartori]

Indeed.. long live, long live..


Resurgance is what I desire. Let us please become of it. You have my full aid in all respects.

[Poki]

Yeeeeha.

Finally I found my way into this Forum to post the following comment:  Adventures belong to storywriters, that's the point. When you look hard enough, there is a lot of adventure-producing going on in the gameindustry. But when you look again, you recognise, that there is almost no adventure-writing going on. All the stories seem to revolve around the same lame pseudohorror-mediummystic-scenario without any sense of humour or dramaturgy. But - wow! - Britney, you are surely a heck of a writer! You don't need better computers or faster renderalgorythms to create a narrative computer game. You need a story and characters you can sympathise with. Al Emmo is a great project. Go, Britney, go!

And - oh - I liked that last slogan: Long live adventure games. But just when brains live long either.

[Poki]

Something I forgot: Above in the thread I have read some inspirations and discussions about future himalaya-projects - I would like a sequel of Al Emmo, where the Narrator is the main character  :rolleyes:  Wouldn't it be fun, if he had to learn, that it is not that easy to be under control by a demented computergamer? Hihihihihihihi.


sry. just an idea.

[GameDevBrit]

Hey Poki!

Great to see you around the forums

[Poki]

I must say though, that I am only responsible for part of the writing--the basic story and creation of the characters.  I also worked alongside Chris on this.  The true magic really came out when Daniel Stacy, of King's Quest II VGA fame, transformed each of these characters into a really interesting, living, breathing entity and added some awesome humor to the mix!

Okay. I can see, that this was not fair of me. Chris? Daniel? Where are you? You get the golden Poki-medal of excellent storydevelopment as well.  

Nontheless - I feel it's time that the title of "director" should be applied more prominently to the work of the executive dramaturgist of narrative computergame. I have worked as director of two shortmovies and I have developed an adventure game. I know the parallels. Watching the camerawork of the Al Emmo introsequence shows that it helps to think in cineastic lines (if you choose to think in lines at all - and not in wiggles). I really mean the following sentence: The camerawork of the Al Emmo intro is much better than in many cutszenes of Monkey4. Leaving aside the skills of 3D modelling, LucasArts could learn something from you.

[navynuke04]

Heh... The models were developed by quite a few different people. The actual animation was done by Charles Hutchings. He's very talented. Chris was very precise in the camera angles and such that he wanted, so the camera work of the cutscenes is really the result of both of their talents.

[DasWheel]

Mm...On the subject of the art and model work if I may, (which really fits the game wonderfully, BTW) Did it take a while to settle on the style of the chars. and backgrounds, or was the art decided on from the get-go? And, following that, was it difficult to put the designs into action as models within the game in terms of which ways they would move, etc? Forgive the little mini-inquisition in your craft, I guess I'm just curious about that aspect of the work, is all. Odd, considering my field of interest lies at the opposite end of the spectrum.

[GameDevBrit]

Hey DasWheel,

Thanks for your kind words regarding the artwork in the game.  Initially, we were actually going to use 2D character animations.  We ended up receiving an email from a character modeler and animator during the development process, and he submitted some of his work.  We were really impressed with the fluid and complex animations that were made possible by using 3D animation, and his ability to create characters that were caracturized.  This animator basically set the animation style, and we sought other modelers and animators to mimic this style.

The background art was painted in acrylics, and then over time, was increasingly detailed through pixel editing in Photoshop.  We strived to make the backgrounds as detailed as possible, to correspond nicely with the detail found in the 3D models.  The 3D models were also created in a fun, caracturized way, to correspond with the 2D, drawn/painted backgrounds.

There were a LOT of animations in the game, and creating the massive amounts were challenging, but our lead programmer Chris volunteered in the animation department, and with a massive amount of dedication, was able to bring that task closer to completion.

Chris has a real talent for understanding movement--this probably was solidified while creating so many 2D animations for previous games at AGDI.  The jump to 3D was exciting for him, in my opinion, because it suddenly gave him a lot more freedom when creating movements.  I think for him, more than being a challenge, it was a great artistic experience that he just had fun with.  He made a lot more animations than were even necessary...he was always creating fun little Easter egg type animations:)

[The Avatar]

Wow.. five months go by pretty fast, huh?  

The range of topics on this thread is vast.  From What Himalaya's next game should be, to pizza , to good ways to market Al Emmo, to a bit of 'how'd they do that' designer commentary..

This team has always struck me as more the humorous type.  They all have a fantastic sense of humor and it shows in their games' dialogue, animations, characters and numerous easter eggs.  So I guess my question is for the main designers Chris, Daniel, and Britney.  How would you feel about side-stepping comedy for an adventure with a serious and more dramatic undertone?

I'd just like to add that I'm not stating my own preferences about the 'style' of an adventure game yet.. I'm really curious to hear where you stand though.    I am, I might add, thorougly enjoying this vegan pizza..  these constant deliveries to this forum are amazing!

[WriteOh]

How would you feel about side-stepping comedy for an adventure with a serious and more dramatic undertone?

I see comedy as an aspect of drama, but if you mean more "serious", then sure... I'll try my hand at just about anything!