Incline Strangeland - new adventure game from Wormwood Studios

[Chaotic Lulz3r]

I think our abandoned (perhaps some day to be returned to) project Cloudscape might have had what you're looking for.

So, a game that propably cattered to his taste for ironic themes was in the early stages of development, but has been abandoned. For anyone that is still unclear about the meaning of the word, that is ironic.

On a totally unrelated topic, fewer words, more game releases, kthxbye.

 

[baud]

I like MRY's words, delivered either here or in his games, so I'm happy to wait.

 

[Zombra]

Jesus christ, that's 3 dipshits and counting - who probably have never accomplished tying their shoes, much less shipping a completed video game - telling one of the most prestigious and consistently fascinating posters on the Dex to stop posting because they want their bottle. The others I understand but Latelistener I thought you were better than this.

 

[MRY]

I took it as encouraging taunts, not criticism.

 

[Maxie]

Jesus christ, that's 3 dipshits and counting - who probably have never accomplished tying their shoes, much less shipping a completed video game - telling one of the most prestigious and consistently fascinating posters on the Dex to stop posting because they want their bottle. The others I understand but Latelistener I thought you were better than this.

MRY is a game developer (with an obscure lawyer hobby), not an e-maiden a stalwart knight like yourself must defend against vile naysayers

 

[Darth Roxor]

i'm surprised zombra doesnt have mry on ignore

in fact i'm surprised zombra can even see posts of as many as 3 dipshits

 

[Latelistener]

The others I understand but Latelistener I thought you were better than this.

That's an impostor.

Thanks for letting me know though, I didn't know MRY had another game in the making.

 

[Zombra]

Oh shit

Latelistener I didn't even read the name - obviously

Carry on

 

[bertram_tung]

Jesus christ, that's 3 dipshits and counting - who probably have never accomplished tying their shoes, much less shipping a completed video game - telling one of the most prestigious and consistently fascinating posters on the Dex to stop posting because they want their bottle. The others I understand but Latelistener I thought you were better than this.

quoted and bolded for emphasis

 

[Starwars]

Release this. Right now.

I need a good new adventure game to play.

 

[Whisper]

When is Fallen gods release?

 

[MRY]

We are just recording the last VO pickups now. Once that is done, we will do another round or two of testing. Hopefully a late April, early May release.

We rushed Primordia's release slightly, and the game suffered from it (though we were all burned out at that point, Vic especially, so perhaps more time wouldn't have helped). I think Strangeland is going to be much stronger from a technical standpoint on release. Whether it's going to be good or not, who knows? Victor Pflug has produced even better art, and Dualnames has performed exemplary feats of coding from (UI/UX, visual effects, save system, precaching system, etc.). If it falls short of Primordia, mea culpa.

 

[MRY]

When is Fallen gods release?

Who knows? I have basically not moved the ball on it since SL crunch began half a year ago. I need to dust myself off and get back to it. I feel like six months of really sustained focus could get it done, but given the demands of my life, there will never again be a period in which I can give even six minutes of really sustained focus.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

MRY Has Strangeland changed scope since it was announced? IIRC it was initially positioned as a smaller, shorter interim or “side” project between Primordia and Fallen Gods, but it seems like development has taken longer than anticipated. Is that just because of the nature of creative projects or has the tale grown in the telling?

 

[MRY]

MRY Has Strangeland changed scope since it was announced? IIRC it was initially positioned as a smaller, shorter interim or “side” project between Primordia and Fallen Gods, but it seems like development has taken longer than anticipated. Is that just because of the nature of creative projects or has the tale grown in the telling?

It grew dramatically. At the outset, it was a for a game jam and we planned to finish it in two or three weeks, but we missed the deadline and then had nothing to constrain us. When we were basically finished with the smaller scope game, we ran afoul of a bunch of Salieri testers who keep telling us to make it bigger, our own natural impulses of plus ultra, and a certain stone soup thing mentality ("Yes, but what if we had just one more puzzle..."). On top of that, while I think Dualnames's personality and life circumstances have changed from Primordia in ways that allow him to get much more done on Strangeland in a week than he would've on Primordia, the opposite is true for Vic and (perhaps especially) me. So the project has had a few stretches where anything dependent on me or Vic simply halted.

If I recall correctly, I don't think Primordia had any very significant redoing of existing areas -- we changed stuff as we went, but generally before we got there. I think we messed around with the Dunes a little bit (replacing a door code puzzle to enter the bunker with the bomblet requirement), but it wasn't a major overhaul. By contrast, based on our core testers' feedback and own misgivings, we basically tore apart the middle of the game, changing most of the puzzles and dialogues and adding new areas and characters. It wasn't like a complete redo, but it was a heavy lift, and it was really disheartening at the time, so I think it took much longer than it should've.

The core problem was that the middle part just had you doing things because it's an adventure game, so of course you do them, but effect didn't really follow cause -- even accounting for the dream-like nature of the game -- and there wasn't even any reason for the player or character to view the path he was taking as one that would lead to any meaningful goal. So we had to really rethink that part. I think it works pretty well now, but who knows?

 

[Maxie]

Is it whatever flies dream realism or consistent enough to be pieced together without any Lynch type copes

 

[MRY]

I guess "whatever flies dream realism." It's not set in the real world (I guess that's a spoiler, but I would hope that most people would recognize that from the art, etc.), so unlike Lynch, it's not proposing that these things are happening in reality. I have tried to be extremely consistent within the parameters of the game's premise.

 

[baud]

I know the announcement isn't much, but that dagger looks cool

 

[MRY]

Looks like a mid-to-late May release. The game is basically done now except for testing.

 

[HoboForEternity]

 

[Daedalos]

I N C L I N E

I'm always on the prowl for good old school adventure games like this.

April/May/June is looking EPIC in terms of good releases

 

[Dualnames]

I have personally put so much effort into Strangeland, like picturing how much it has been, it's has been a herculean task. Essentially whereas I could replace something being drawn with it being coded, it has happened. And yet despite all these hours, I feel like it could be better, and that explains why more and more time is spent on Strangeland, on my end. I coded a controller plugin, that ended up being the way of Unavowed being ported to switch, because for 2 days I was convinced that Strangeland needed controller support. It's been a very growing journey, slowly we've reached the end. I cannot be anything but thankful.

 

[MRY]

James is like a powerful immune system; suitably challenged, it performs marvelous feats; left without foes to slay, it runs utterly amok.

 

[agris]

Spoken like a manager with some experience.

 

[MRY]

James is really the closest thing SL had to a manager!