Vapourware Asylum (from creator of Scratches) - coming March 6th

[Whisky]

So, this still isn't out...

Yep...

Funny enough, Cordes seemed to be trustworthy when this first started. Not sure why I felt that way in hindsight, but I felt that way.

Probably the only Kickstarter I got really fucking burned on.

 

[Barbarian]

The guy used time and part of the funds(he woud deny it off course) to make a tranny apology adventure game. Hard to take him seriously with the game delayed as it is and with that in mind.

 

[Darth Roxor]

serves y'all right for giving money to developers of shit games

 

[Boleskine]

Any Codex people going to GDC?

 

[A user named cat]

This guy is a clown. The latest update I could even find for this game was him horking about adding in visual effects. Yes, all this time later and this is what is considered a major update.

https://talk.senscape.io/t/new-visual-effects-in-glorious-hd/1095

 

[Boleskine]

There was a more recent Kickstarter update last month. I didn't post it here because there wasn't much news in it, just a look at a 3D model of a cage and a related puzzle.

The environments in Asylum have been completed for a while, and VIP backers have had the opportunity to visit nearly the entire building. The most consuming work at this stage is introducing the game logic, namely the challenges and stuff you can interact with. Puzzles are by far the trickiest aspect; they must make sense, feel intuitive, be consistent with the controls of the game, and of course be as bug-free as humanly possible or, worse even, (Cthulhu forbid!) avoiding dead ends.

For this demo, the idea we had in mind is to let backers solve a particularly complex puzzle completely by themselves – no disclaimers, no instructions or help. Just you and the game. To get to that point, all the machinery of the adventure must be in place and working together: navigation, interface, books, characters, dialogue system, inventory, etc. I’ve been discussing each one of these aspects of the development within the plethora of previous updates, but never a global vision of how everything comes together. Here, I’m going to focus on the creation of a puzzle that (hopefully) is both challenging and entertaining.

It's worrisome that four years later the game logic and puzzles are mostly unfinished. All of the campaign money has surely been spent, so how is the rest of development being funded? Scratches isn't available on Steam or GOG anymore, either, which means there'd be no revenue stream.

Release in 2017 is definitely not happening. Is 2018 even a possibility? I still think this game can be good but the development has suffered due to the ambition and size of the game environment. It will be a shame if many of the locations within the asylum are not integral to the story or puzzles.

 

[Barbarian]

In other words the team completed the artwork for the building and all else is mostly undone.

Yeah, Im not sure how he can actually finish. Argentina has the benefit of cheap labor and a very favorable exchange rate for the U$ dollar, but at this point he must indeed be out of funds.

 

[Boleskine]

This makes me wonder what would have happened if the other Kickstarter for the The Case of Charles Dexter Ward had been successful. Assuming the same issues, engine changes, and delays with Asylum, it's possible both games would have still been unfinished at this point. At the time of the second Kickstarter, Cordes said the art and writing for Asylum were done and that those people could work on the new game while the programmers finish Asylum. But as we see now much of the programming (and possibly design) for Asylum is still not done.

Maybe the extra money would have helped to finish Asylum, or there might have not been any other option but to finish quickly and move to the next game. It's difficult to look at Asylum's development and not think the project has had poor management. Also, there have been countless first person horror adventure games in the last couple years. If/when Asylum comes out it will have a much tougher time gaining attention that it would have if it came out 1-2 years ago.

 

[Boleskine]

Another non-update. It's backers-only but there's no discussion of development progress, just an excerpt from a story outline of the game from 2009.

 

[Boleskine]

https://talk.senscape.io/t/why-i-am-so-happy-asylum-is-taking-so-long/918/26

sixthscentsBacker
26d

Are you STILL happy Asylum is taking so long? Seriously?
The thing is you mentioned Obduction saying it was buggy. The backers have continued to work on this with even support for the Mac. I backed the game and got it on release. So... maybe some people had bugs but mine played fine. I enjoyed the visuals, the puzzles (though wow a couple were kinda hard) and the rest. All in all a great game from the creators of MYST and URU. I don't think that any of the bugs were game breakers, they mostly were long load times, etc. but like I said I didn't experience them.
In any case the Kickstarter for Obduction was started in October of 2013. They estimated the release for November 2015 and it was actually released in August of 2016.
Asylum was announced in July 2010, Kickstarter in January of 2013 to "accelerate the game's development" and as of April 2017... seven YEARS from the start... nothing.
Yeah.. if you are "so HAPPY" that Asylum is taking this long still.... well I won't say what I think because it would be impolite. The last "estimate" I saw was Q4 of 2016, and then because of "Steam sales dates", they didn't want to release it then supposedly. So now it is Q2 of 2017 and there are still messages being sent about the wonderful progress being made. People have started college and graduated with a doctorate in the time that has passed making this game.
AAA titles that have huge amounts of gameplay have taken less time. Good lord STAR CITIZEN has taken less time... and it's kind of revolutionary. This is a point and click puzzle game. I am really doubting ANYTHING that is posted anymore by Augustin. I have heard excuse after excuse and release date estimate after release date estimate. I am glad you were happy... I am sure you can be counted on to back Augustin's other projects then too. Good luck with that.

AgustinCordesSenscape Team
25d
sixthscents:
AAA titles that have huge amounts of gameplay have taken less time.
I sincerely can't believe you're still comparing us to big budget AAA titles. I'm sure Star Citizen will take less time with 140 million dollars. Our budget is still around 200k (that's a 0.14%) with Kickstarter and money from my own pocket. It's no secret we grossly missed the mark, but the true and only reason it's taking so long is because we're attempting to do the equivalent of a AAA adventure game, both in terms of content and quality. Some people intimately familiar with the project suggest that, while not revolutionary, Asylum will leave its unique mark in the adventure genre.
And I definitely take the blame when it comes to estimations -- it's the problem when fans are anxious (which I understand) and they demand a potential release date. I don't want to pull an "it's done when it's done", so I do my best.
Games take time. Some take more time than others depending on the scope, budget, and vision of the project. Even some expensive productions will even take several years -- The Witness, released to critical acclaim in 2016, cost 6 million dollars and took 8 years to complete. We're still not taking that long

I sincerely can't believe you're still comparing us to big budget AAA titles.

we're attempting to do the equivalent of a AAA adventure game

Also, Braid was released in August 2008 while The Witness came out January 2016. That is 7.5 years of development if you assume Blow began working on The Witness immediately.

Asylum was first teased in late 2009 or early 2010, then formally announced in mid-2010. Depending on how you view that it's been at least seven years, so Asylum has already taken as long as The Witness.

AgustinCordesSenscape Team
20d

I can see how fans may perceive there's been little progress since Asylum was Kickstarted as we're intentionally drip-feeding news from the game. I want to keep its storyline as mysterious as possible, and yet we've already shown too much for my taste. I don't need to summarize every update (about 50) thoroughly detailing the development and decisions we've been taking. You mentioned that you supported many Kickstarters -- I honestly ask you, how many of them will post entire articles chock-full with screens, videos and insightful details? I also backed 160+ projects and still receive updates worth three sentences.
But I don't mean to compare ourselves to other campaigns. My point is, there has been notable progress, from completing all the environments in the asylum, all interactive characters, the lengthy cinematic intro, reinventing the interface with great results, new visual effects, not to mention a huge demo of the game just for backers. Just to name a few key areas where we made progress. Again, it may be a matter of perception, but "from the start... almost nothing" doesn't cut it either. Sorry.
As for your other points -- asking for more money isn't simple. You might be inclined to do so, other backers may not. I agree the second Kickstarter was questionable. It seemed like a good idea at the time and I'm not sure I'd do it again. I would have loved to do Charles Dexter Ward, though, and you won't believe how many people are still encouraging us to relaunch that campaign (which we won't).
I know the situation is not ideal but believe me, we are making solid progress, we care about Asylum and we care about our fans. I wouldn't be here if that wasn't true.

He doesn't get it. Over four years after the Kickstarter campaign the game seems no closer to completion than it was back then. Two engine changes and countless visual facelifts are one thing, but if the game content itself (puzzles and logic) has not really been implemented then there is still a very long way to go. This is like painting one wall in a house hundreds of times, then when someone asks you why you haven't painted the rest of the house you say, "But look at this wall! I painted over it so many times - that's progress!"

No doubt much effort has been put into Asylum. It simply appears that the direction and scope of the game have been poorly managed given the resources.

 

[iZerw]

All indies are deranged.

 

[ortucis]

"Let them create their masterwork.", said the guy who never wasted money on any Kickstarter or pre-order, ever.

So yeah, let them. I really do wanna see what ground-breaking adventure game they'll come out with, after Syberia 3's ground breaking.. stuff.

 

[Boleskine]

https://talk.senscape.io/t/why-i-am-so-happy-asylum-is-taking-so-long/918/29

Thanks Bob, I truly appreciate your support and willingness to back the game again, not to mention everybody's patience while we fulfill this project. It means the world when backers are willing to put more money into the game, even if it doesn't feel quite right to me.

Not entirely ruling out the possibility, I guess, since many are insisting so much, but there's been an interesting development which has improved our financial status. I can't comment on this just yet, but it's definitely good news for everybody.

So I'm determined to deliver more timely and thorough updates as progress in Asylum is picking up a good pace. Real sorry that I still can't provide a tentative release date, but we're slowly getting there and there's cool stuff happening behind the scenes which I can't wait to share with you.

Again, thanks all for your support and understanding!

https://talk.senscape.io/t/why-i-am-so-happy-asylum-is-taking-so-long/918/31

Bugs aren't the problem right now, as we're still working on the game logic, but still releasing a game with bugs isn't acceptable. I made that mistake with Scratches (twice, even!) when publishers rushed me, and the result was utterly frustrating for players. It's certainly something I don't want to do again.

Also, this comes up often because both games share the same setting, but Asylum is the polar opposite of Outlast. I just don't think Outlast II, III or IV will make any difference

(though I truly expect to release Asylum before Outlast V)

 

[Boleskine]

Any Brazilian codexers attending this? Maybe Agustin will give an update on Asylum's progress.

 

[Boleskine]

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...ror/comments?cursor=17470659#comment-17470658

We're currently working on one of those epic updates with glorious new content and great news. I'll try to post it later this week -- stay tuned.

 

[Jasede]

100% Thal.

 

[iZerw]

This thread was created in 2012, 5 years later we still have no game. At least the development and releasing of Grimoire is a great show in itself.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

This thread was created in 2012, 5 years later we still have no game. At least the development and releasing of Grimoire is a great show in itself.

 

[Boleskine]

 

[Jaesun]

Hopefully it won't take 20 years.....

 

[Boleskine]

New backers only update

One fan in particular is extremely passionate, to the point that he’s (probably like you) losing his mind while waiting for our masterpiece. Thus, he has graciously provided additional funding for the development of the game so we may finish it ASAP and nobody gets committed to a real asylum. This is a much-needed break we needed for the project, which has allowed us to recruit a super-talented programmer and reorganize our planning in a sensible, realistic manner.

This is an overall idea of the features we must implement to get the game done. Some like Exploration are practically ready, while others like Books and Characters are in advanced stages. Overall, this is the closest we’ve ever got to achieving the magical vertical slice, a playable chunk of the game featuring all the components we need to finish Asylum. Beyond that point, we’ll be able to estimate a release date and of course share the demo with you.

This makes more sense now:

https://talk.senscape.io/t/why-i-am-so-happy-asylum-is-taking-so-long/918/29

Thanks Bob, I truly appreciate your support and willingness to back the game again, not to mention everybody's patience while we fulfill this project. It means the world when backers are willing to put more money into the game, even if it doesn't feel quite right to me.

Not entirely ruling out the possibility, I guess, since many are insisting so much, but there's been an interesting development which has improved our financial status. I can't comment on this just yet, but it's definitely good news for everybody.

 

[Jaesun]

 

[Darth Roxor]

waiting for our masterpiece.

 

[Explorerbc]

So after all these years of troubled development they eventually hired a crackerjack programmer to help them out.

How do they still not have all the mechanics in place. A vertical slice ? You should be finishing the whole game by now.

 

[Barbarian]

I hope the sucker doing the extra funding now has rights to some royalties at least. Maybe get his money back eventually.