Pentiment - Josh Sawyer's historical mystery narrative-driven game set in 16th century Bavaria

[rusty_shackleford]

I think people severely underestimate just how long modern credits will get if they try to be "accurate" and include all contract workers and everyone who contributed in some form.
If a game makes use of a code library, do they include all the credits of the people who worked on that too? If not, why is a line being drawn arbitrarily to include some but not others despite them all contributing in some way? Hell, shouldn't unpaid contributions be prioritized?

Have you SEEN how long the credits in capeshit are nowadays? You have 15+ minutes of them on a 20 minute episode. As long as you can skip them people don't care, it's just something for the people that worked on the product to be able to point at and have proof that they did work on a project.

And that's before they start dumping in tens of thousands of names of people who tangentially worked on the product.
What's the point?

 

[Late Bloomer]

I enjoyed credits in Sacrifice. I don't think I've ever seen a more unique credits.

What did it do?

 

[KVVRR]

I think people severely underestimate just how long modern credits will get if they try to be "accurate" and include all contract workers and everyone who contributed in some form.
If a game makes use of a code library, do they include all the credits of the people who worked on that too? If not, why is a line being drawn arbitrarily to include some but not others despite them all contributing in some way? Hell, shouldn't unpaid contributions be prioritized?

Have you SEEN how long the credits in capeshit are nowadays? You have 15+ minutes of them on a 20 minute episode. As long as you can skip them people don't care, it's just something for the people that worked on the product to be able to point at and have proof that they did work on a project.

And that's before they start dumping in tens of thousands of names of people who tangentially worked on the product.
What's the point?

They already do. They already put in every person that worked on every single localization, VFX, SFX, etc.
That's why they're so long.

 

[AN4RCHID]

How could they?

https://www.pcgamesn.com/pentiment/credits-localisers-and-translators

After it was flagged in the credits for Pentiment, the latest RPG game from Fallout: New Vegas developer ...

 

[Infinitron]

I think people severely underestimate just how long modern credits will get if they try to be "accurate" and include all contract workers and everyone who contributed in some form.
If a game makes use of a code library, do they include all the credits of the people who worked on that too? If not, why is a line being drawn arbitrarily to include some but not others despite them all contributing in some way? Hell, shouldn't unpaid contributions be prioritized?

Have you SEEN how long the credits in capeshit are nowadays? You have 15+ minutes of them on a 20 minute episode. As long as you can skip them people don't care, it's just something for the people that worked on the product to be able to point at and have proof that they did work on a project.

And that's before they start dumping in tens of thousands of names of people who tangentially worked on the product.
What's the point?

Some Kickstarted games will list high tier or even all of their backers in the credits. I remember at least one game whose credits screen had an integrated fast-forward function because of this.

 

[Modron]

Ingame credits should be something you access from the main menu and in a format that can be parsed quickly such as slideshow which would allow you to find specific information faster and serve as a better companion to resumes. After all videogames are an interactive medium, why pretend to be a movie?

 

[Alienman]

I hope they include the cleaner from Mexico that cleans up after Sawyer every day in the credits.

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

And all the sex workers that provide Josh with inspiration.

 

[Atlantico]

There are so many different and interesting topics one could choose to use as the foundation of a game set in XVI century HRE. The HRE is perfect for intrigue and plot, history and relics. It's basically a D&D setting.

So in order to "make it interesting" Sawyer chooses to "subvert" authentic history for liberal Amerilard modernist garbage. Nothing could better highlight the creative bankruptcy of these people. Pathetic.

 

[HeroMarine]

There are so many different and interesting topics one could choose to use as the foundation of a game set in XVI century HRE. The HRE is perfect for intrigue and plot, history and relics. It's basically a D&D setting.

So in order to "make it interesting" Sawyer chooses to "subvert" authentic history for liberal Amerilard modernist garbage. Nothing could better highlight the creative bankruptcy of these people. Pathetic.

Looks like he did a "Name of the Rose" for redditors and SA goons.

 

[Harthwain]

What did it do?

Spoiler

 

[Duraframe300]

Grounded remains the best Obsidian release in a decade.

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Infinitron]

Historical inaccuracy to avoid offending a cultural minority (aristocrats):

 

[luj1]

Literally who gives a shit

 

[KVVRR]

I've yet to finish it but I'm on the last chunk of the game and while I think that some more polish overall would help out the presentation a lot (specifically the music, it could really use some more of it, I don't mind reading but please don't make 90% of the game's audio pigs, birds and sheep sounds) I actually kinda like it. The visual style stopped bothering me almost inmediatedly and it's actually a lot more competent in it's animations that I thought it'd be, I was expecting some Darkest Dungeon 1 sidescrolling tier stuff. The main character's actually quite expressive and the animations for running and turning around are quite decently done.

But it feels like as you push on more and more through the game the more rushed content is. The fadeout to what I'm assuming is the last chunk (after you resolve the murder) is so abrupt that I just let out a laugh. Earlier on you have these three voices in your head talking to you inciting you to pick different options but that seems to go away fairly soon too. The first day took me a good 2 hours to finish (I think?) but the rest felt like it took me half of that. Maybe I need to do a second playthrough later though, there seemed to be a lot of optional content that I might've missed.
The story's okay. I got spoilered that

Spoiler

that you can't actually accuse the right person

so thought I might as well just enjoy the characters and throw the book at whoever I thought was the worst person in town but... It's kinda obvious who they would like you to choose. I found four main suspects and two of those they pull the "actually didn't do nothing wrong" with the only reason you'd pick them being you being an asshole and one of the other two leaving town (meaning you can't pick them) and the other one being actively antagonistic towards you. So I felt kinda let down on that regard. Again though, it could very well be that I just missed stuff. There was a few other stuff that I didn't investigate even though the game wanted me to.
The characters are okay too - none of them really stood out to me that much but I liked what was there so far. There does seem to be some consecuences to your actions through the game so that's always neat. The game has this system where you can choose to share a dinner with one group/family each day which I found a quite wholesome way to establish a connection with them.
I'll be back once I've finished the game properly but I'll say this - even though it's an obvious self insert by Joshy boy a lot of what the MC says he went through on that last chunk and his feelings on the matter ring quite true for someone like me who's been through a sort of similar situation. It's a lot more interesting than how he first started, I kinda wish they would've used that background for the start even if it would've meant changing the story around somewhat.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Literally who gives a shit

The Bavarian Defamation League

 

[Irxy]

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Fuck Sawyer, what a faggot.

 

[Hellion]

A friend of mine also played the game and claims that due to the choices he made, in his ending the gypsy was burned at the stake as a heretic. YUGE if true.

 

[Roguey]

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Fuck Sawyer, what a faggot.

Not his call. No MS games can be sold to Russians.

 

[†††]

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Fuck Sawyer, what a faggot.

Not his call. No MS games can be sold to Russians.

It's time. Feel the call of duty (not the video game).

 

[purupuru]

Just started. I like how the dialogue options tagged by your background choices can very well be "the wrong choice." The pillars should have been more like this.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Just started. I like how the dialogue options tagged by your background choices can very well be "the wrong choice." The pillars should have been more like this.

your character is german, everything related to your background is the wrong choice

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Heroic Liberator]

Talk about being self-aggrandizing. Yeah, I'm sure that Soyer would've gotten sued by some random guy for unflatteringly depicting a fictionalized version of his ancestor. Modern courts treat calumny of 16th century ancestors very seriously, you know.