Wadjet Eye Old Skies - time travel adventure game from Wadjet Eye, now 2D again

[MRY]

For what it's worth, MRY, I enjoyed your previous advocacy for 3D while it lasted, however unconvincing. You were a good sport.

Happy to back WEG down whatever path they take. I infer from this that Unavowed is doing such good business that Dave is willing to postpone his 3D dream a bit longer.

 

[WallaceChambers]

Mixed feelings about this because on one hand I respect the decision to abstain from a lofty goal that's beyond your means and could ultimately hurt your art. Yet, at the same time they're still doing 3D for Technobabylon 2. So is WEG capable of making a competent 3D game or not? Because if you aren't then why make that decision for Tech 2? I get that there's a difference because Technobabylon is a Technocrat game published by WEG. But a big part of nailing the 3D transition would be the same since Ben Chandler is WEG's only full time visual artist (as far as I know).

Obviously I don't know the particulars so this is just a gut feeling. It's possible that fidelity wasn't the issue (even though early Tech 2 screens are pretty yikes). It's possible that Dave just felt like he wasn't getting enough of a handle on Unity 3D quickly enough and that's why 3D development wasn't feasible (or any other number of potential reasons). In which case James' involvement in Tech 2 would be the difference maker since he's handling that (although by all appearances Dave was a pretty quick study in Unity).

So, yeah, I don't really know and can't know since I don't have any real information. But at face value it just feels off to say "Yeah we're switching back to 2D because 3D was the wrong move but ayy btw Technobablyon is still 3D bois." Doesn't really give off the idea that things are going well for their first 3D game.

 

[MRY]

It's like Holmes and the falls. Dave thought 2D was definitively dead, and then Unavowed sold so well, he had to bring it back.

 

[ItsChon]

I mean here is downtown New York for $80 ( https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/slug/downtown ), or a subway station for $17 ( https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/slug/subway-station ). Just those two packs alone could make enough varied environments at a fraction of the cost of a dedicated 2D artist. If you wanted a day night cycle, or weather changes, to do that in 3D, from an art perspective, is cheap. In custom 2D art... it's MUCH more expensive.

Yeah but both of those two examples you listed look absolutely disgusting. Can someone point me to a 3D adventure game that

A) Doesn't look like absolute shit
and
B) Wouldn't look just as good if not better if it was done in 2D

And I understand the difficulty behind finding good artists and all that jazz, but it's not as if WE is a new studio. They've made several games all with fairly decent 2D art. Primordia still has the best art hands down out of all their games. MRY Which artist did you use in the making of Primordia, and what's stopping WE from just using him/her/them?

 

[Anthedon]

Now if Unavowed only had hard(er) puzzles all would be well.

 

[MRY]

And I understand the difficulty behind finding good artists and all that jazz, but it's not as if WE is a new studio. They've made several games all with fairly decent 2D art. Primordia still has the best art hands down out of all their games. MRY Which artist did you use in the making of Primordia, and what's stopping WE from just using him/her/them?

It's really more like that artist, Victor Pflug, used me. He had started the project a couple weeks before he brought me on board. I think Vic's methods (which are more Disco Elysium detective than by-the-book) are not what Dave wants. But, as noted, Dave has Ben Chandler on "staff" at this point, and Ben's an excellent artist, too.

 

[almondblight]

Now if Unavowed only had hard(er) puzzles all would be well.

I only played the first two Blackwell games, but I didn't think the puzzles were good. Gilbert focusing on other things might be for the best.

 

[V_K]

Now if Unavowed only had any puzzles all would be well.

FTFY.

 

[Boleskine]

Here's the first posted video from DaveGilbertCon aka AdventureX in which he discusses his flirtations with 3D and return to his 2D roots.

 

[Boleskine]

 

[V_K]

Holes of Etenity would be a better option.

 

[MRY]

Blackwell was originally called Bestowers of Eternity. BOE would definitely have been the best joke.

 

[Curratum]

 

[SausageInYourFace]

Not quite. Dontnod Entertainment, the Life is Strange devs, are a more successful Telltale than the actual Telltale.

How did their games actually sell after the first LiS was success? Cause I feel like they didn't do all that well after, not even with the LiSs.

 

[Infinitron]

Not quite. Dontnod Entertainment, the Life is Strange devs, are a more successful Telltale than the actual Telltale.

How did their games actually sell after the first LiS was success? Cause I feel like they didn't do all that well after, not even with the LiSs.

Vampyr sold well, though of course that was an action-RPG. Life is Strange 2 maybe not so much. Still, apparently they've done well enough that they're making two more games like that: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dontnod_Entertainment#Games

Like I said, it helps to just not overextend yourself to death like TellTale did! What was wrong with doing one or two games at a time?

 

[SausageInYourFace]

So what will Dontnods next adventure game be about?

The game is centered on twins Alyson and Tyler who travel to their childhood home in Alaska and must come to terms with events from their childhood, particularly for Tyler as he has transitioned to male since then. The story involves how their childhood situation influenced Tyler's development and effects on their mother. Dontnod stated that Tyler is the first transgender playable character from any major studio, and they had worked with GLAAD to make him an "authentic representation of the trans experience"

Hmm.

 

[Dodo1610]

Spoiler

I thought he wanted to do 3D adventures?

 

[Infinitron]

Oh, so that's why he brought it up again.

I thought he wanted to do 3D adventures?

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads...t-eye-now-2d-again.128416/page-3#post-6375529

 

[WallaceChambers]

Background looks really good. I'm curious to see more of the time travel powers when the game is further along.

 

[CyberWhale]

Wadjet Eye's 3D attempt looked awful and dated before it even released. If they ever decide to go the 3D route again, I hope they stick with Broken Sword 5 style - highly detailed 2D backgrounds with cell-shaded 3D character models.



The latter do look a bit stiff in comparison to actual 2D sprites, but I think they are a decent budget alternative.
Also, despite being 7 years old, it still looks decent enough for a PnC adventure title and I don't see it changing in the next 7 years either.

 

[WallaceChambers]

Wadjet Eye's 3D attempt looked awful and dated before it even released. If they ever decide to go the 3D route again, I hope they stick with Broken Sword 5 style - highly detailed 2D backgrounds with cell-shaded 3D character models.

[he latter do look a bit stiff in comparison to actual 2D sprites, but I think they are a decent budget alternative.
Also, despite being 7 years old, it still looks decent enough for a PnC adventure title and I don't see it changing in the next 7 years either.

Funnily enough the latest WIP content from Technobabylon 2 has been going in that direction and it looks about 100x better than the initial screenshots. I'm pretty sure the environments are still full 3D, though. Which I'm cool with as long as it doesn't look like total ass.

 

[Dodo1610]

Some more early WIP screenshots with placeholders

Never thought he would switch to HD "comic look"

Though he also tweeted this


Publishing Point and Click adventures must work well for him if he can afford to spend 2 years without knowing what game he will make next.

 

[HoboForEternity]

i like the first one. looks kinda like early 90s anime

 

[ghostdog]

i like the first one. looks kinda like early 90s anime

looks like the early broken sword games, which is a great style (much better than nu broken sword) *if* you can also pull off the fluidity of animations, which is the hardest part I think.

 

[WallaceChambers]

i like the first one. looks kinda like early 90s anime

Dave did mention, on Twitter, that they landed on studio ghibli for visual inspiration.

looks like the early broken sword games, which is a great style (much better than nu broken sword) *if* you can also pull off the fluidity of animations, which is the hardest part I think.

Agree with this. How fluid the animations end up being will make or break the look imo. But if random studios like Whalestork can do it, why not Wadjet Eye?