Will there be anything like unlockable minigames? I'd die for a Twisp and Catsby minigame, or even just some random PA interludes from other worlds. Although, that would probably kill the mood of the game. Also, will you guys be including cheat codes? No offense, but I really think those tend to ruin games, but of course that's your prerogative to include or not include them. Hrm, although a radioactive scorpion cheat wouldn't totally suck....
Finally, will we see other members of the PA staff? I've only caught glimpses of them from the ping-pong tourney and I have no idea who they are or what they do. Just wondering.
Oh right, one last thing, will there by any sort of online gameplay? Or maybe just trading high scores or characters?
No comment on the mini games.
not sure about the codes.
the rest of the staff here at PA isn't really a part of this continuity.
It looks like the 3D graphics are at least partly inspired by games like Grim Fandango, which I think is fantastic.
I have two question. One, is the game driven by dialog? By which I mean, will the choices you make in interactions with characters in the game push the story foreward, possibly branch it out? Or, is it a more linear exploratory sort of game?
Secondly, what can you tell us about music in the game?
What made you two decide to make a game (out of curiosity)? I have to say, that when I saw the 2d intro I haven't wanted a game so much in I don't know how long.
It looks like the 3D graphics are at least partly inspired by games like Grim Fandango, which I think is fantastic.
I have two question. One, is the game driven by dialog? By which I mean, will the choices you make in interactions with characters in the game push the story foreward, possibly branch it out? Or, is it a more linear exploratory sort of game?
Secondly, what can you tell us about music in the game?
It might be good to think about the story as a comic. We're telling a story and we're doing it with a lot of dialogue and you do get to interact with a lot of characters. This isn't KOTOR though, you will not be altering the outcome of the story based on your actions.
Probably another unanswerable but will the game feature an inventory with equippable items? If so, do you suspect there will be some manner of weapon that resembles a thick paper cylinder, perhaps?
I'd also like to throw in a vote for Twisp & Catsby. But no Merch. The Merch does not deserve cameos.
Will there be any gamepad functionality? I've got an xbox 360 controller for XP and this game screams kick-back casual super fun-time.
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LibrarianThe face of liberal fascismRegistered Userregular
edited March 2007
How much pressure are you guys putting on yourselves with this project?
Do you see this as a test of what you can do and try to keep your expectations low(in terms of sales and accessability of the finished product) or do you expect to create something truly awesome that will write video game history?
What made you two decide to make a game (out of curiosity)? I have to say, that when I saw the 2d intro I haven't wanted a game so much in I don't know how long.
edit: and thanks for answering some questions
The game is just another way for us to tell a story and in our opinion it makes more sense than an animated series. Our readers (you guys) are gamers. hopefully you'll enjoy participating in this story more than you would enjoy just watching it. Also we thought it would be fun.
If you had unlimited resources, is there anything missing or seemingly impossible from this game that you would like to incorporate or include?
If I had unlimited rescources I would move to Hawaii and divide my time between reading star wars books on the beach and playing video games in my underwater castle.
Probably another unanswerable but will the game feature an inventory with equippable items? If so, do you suspect there will be some manner of weapon that resembles a thick paper cylinder, perhaps?
I'd also like to throw in a vote for Twisp & Catsby. But no Merch. The Merch does not deserve cameos.
I've got a question surrounding Hothead's choice of game engine. Would Hothead be open to considering a different engine if it makes their lives easer? From what I understand, Torque was chosen as the engine. This is presumably because it supports both PC and Mac executables. However, there might be a better choice for cross-platform development. I mention this because Gabe stated that cel-shading had not been implemented yet, and the 3D work was very early.
This is a screenshot from one of my own projects which uses cel-shading:
I used a game engine called Unity, which makes deployment to both PC and Mac extremely easy. Adding the toonshading to my project was trivial as well. I simply had to select the toon shader from the shader library. Unity handled all the rendering for me, and even included built-in fallbacks for 3D cards that do not support cel-shading. Torque has minimal and crappy support for Mac development. It also has other deployment options, such as web players, and even the Nintendo Wii.
Simply from the perspective of easing development problems, I would recommend that Hothead at least investigate Unity. The Unity website is http://unity3d.com
You can also see the full version of my pictured project, the "Neko Factory" at http://www.nekofactory.com. It will require you to download the Unity plug-in, which is just like the Flash plug-in. Any other aspiring game developers out there may want to take a look as well!
Edit: I should also add that this was my first solo 3D project. I learned how to do the modeling, texturing, and scripting as I went. I did everything (including the music) in 3 months. I had some minor help with textures from an artist, but 99% of what you see was all created by me. So this should stand as evidence that a team of professionals should be able to get the most out of this tool
How accurate are the Lovecraft references? I mean, is it just Cthulhu or are you tossing in some Starspawn and Dagon/Deep Ones/Mother Hydra, or is a lot of it going to be "non-canon"? Not asking for names here, but just want a clue.
And I know I must have missed it somewhere, but... what platform(s) is this coming to? PC obviously, right?
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Yue FairchildThe Ace of HzPhiladelpha, PARegistered Userregular
edited March 2007
Hey Gabe. Thanks for taking our comments and for this game in general.
I have a MacBook, and most Mac versions of games don't work for me because of the graphics card being 64MB of shared VRAM. Can you give us any kind of word on system requirements?
How much pressure are you guys putting on yourselves with this project?
Do you see this as a test of what you can do and try to keep your expectations low(in terms of sales and accessability of the finished product) or do you expect to create something truly awesome that will write video game history?
That's a good question. I will say that the production of this game is really pushing Tycho and I to the limits of what we're able to produce. I've been creating a ton of artwork and Tycho is writing pages every day. I am not going to say that we're making something that will go down in history. We're trying to make the best thing we can and we hope you like it. That's all we've ever done with any project, including the comic itself.
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HardtargetThere Are Four LightsVancouverRegistered Userregular
edited March 2007
I'm just rolling with everybody else's question but I wanted to say Thanks Gabe for doing this QA, it's pretty awesome so far
1. Is this series of Penny Arcade Adventures games all called the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness or is that the title of the first episode?
2. Will future PAA games explore some of the other universes that you and Tycho have created such as Sand or the John Woo-inspiried action serial that were featured in the comic collections?
How accurate are the Lovecraft references? I mean, is it just Cthulhu or are you tossing in some Starspawn and Dagon/Deep Ones/Mother Hydra, or is a lot of it going to be "non-canon"? Not asking for names here, but just want a clue.
And I know I must have missed it somewhere, but... what platform(s) is this coming to? PC obviously, right?
Well the Lovecraft references relate to the horror aspect of the game. Dark Gods, magic, devils from the deep. You may not see all these things in the first episode but they are a part of the story.
First off my hat's off to you sir for taking the time and energy to answer these questions from your fanbase.
Second off, a minor question. Will the player character have dialog or will he/she(I assume female is an option) be a silent protagonist ala Link and Crono?
Hey Gabe. Thanks for taking our comments and for this game in general.
I have a MacBook, and most Mac versions of games don't work for me because of the graphics card being 64MB of shared VRAM. Can you give us any kind of word on system requirements?
GarageGames will soon release Torque X, which is an interface for the XNA framework, to develop for Windows and the XBOX360 (via the Creator's Club). Any chance of a port in the future ?
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I make indie games for Xbox360/iPhone, under the nickname Epsicode
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(Please say it is Jack Thompson.)
No comment on the mini games.
not sure about the codes.
the rest of the staff here at PA isn't really a part of this continuity.
this is a single player game.
I hope so, I really like them.
hmmm let me look through what I have here.
yes there is a major villian and yes he has appeared in the comic and no it is not Jack.
I have two question. One, is the game driven by dialog? By which I mean, will the choices you make in interactions with characters in the game push the story foreward, possibly branch it out? Or, is it a more linear exploratory sort of game?
Secondly, what can you tell us about music in the game?
HAHA, uh...Gabe!
Other than the FruitFucker?
edit: and thanks for answering some questions
It might be good to think about the story as a comic. We're telling a story and we're doing it with a lot of dialogue and you do get to interact with a lot of characters. This isn't KOTOR though, you will not be altering the outcome of the story based on your actions.
I'd also like to throw in a vote for Twisp & Catsby. But no Merch. The Merch does not deserve cameos.
yes
Do you see this as a test of what you can do and try to keep your expectations low(in terms of sales and accessability of the finished product) or do you expect to create something truly awesome that will write video game history?
i hope they get referred to as 'those fruit-molesting bastards' at some point.
The game is just another way for us to tell a story and in our opinion it makes more sense than an animated series. Our readers (you guys) are gamers. hopefully you'll enjoy participating in this story more than you would enjoy just watching it. Also we thought it would be fun.
I second this question (although I'm running off a PS2 controller and an adapter).
If I had unlimited rescources I would move to Hawaii and divide my time between reading star wars books on the beach and playing video games in my underwater castle.
no comment sorry
This is a screenshot from one of my own projects which uses cel-shading:
I used a game engine called Unity, which makes deployment to both PC and Mac extremely easy. Adding the toonshading to my project was trivial as well. I simply had to select the toon shader from the shader library. Unity handled all the rendering for me, and even included built-in fallbacks for 3D cards that do not support cel-shading. Torque has minimal and crappy support for Mac development. It also has other deployment options, such as web players, and even the Nintendo Wii.
Simply from the perspective of easing development problems, I would recommend that Hothead at least investigate Unity. The Unity website is http://unity3d.com
You can also see the full version of my pictured project, the "Neko Factory" at http://www.nekofactory.com. It will require you to download the Unity plug-in, which is just like the Flash plug-in. Any other aspiring game developers out there may want to take a look as well!
Edit: I should also add that this was my first solo 3D project. I learned how to do the modeling, texturing, and scripting as I went. I did everything (including the music) in 3 months. I had some minor help with textures from an artist, but 99% of what you see was all created by me. So this should stand as evidence that a team of professionals should be able to get the most out of this tool
And I know I must have missed it somewhere, but... what platform(s) is this coming to? PC obviously, right?
I have a MacBook, and most Mac versions of games don't work for me because of the graphics card being 64MB of shared VRAM. Can you give us any kind of word on system requirements?
That's a good question. I will say that the production of this game is really pushing Tycho and I to the limits of what we're able to produce. I've been creating a ton of artwork and Tycho is writing pages every day. I am not going to say that we're making something that will go down in history. We're trying to make the best thing we can and we hope you like it. That's all we've ever done with any project, including the comic itself.
Do you have plans for any of the other PA universe to make appearances? I saw FF, but what about CTS, Annarchy, Div, Tails, Catsby&Twisp, etc.
Am I going to have to run this my stupid PC, or can I play on my MacBook Pro?
What's the target price range?
After having a baby, I've zero budget for games, but I'll make an exception for PA.
Clearly it's Guy.
2. Will future PAA games explore some of the other universes that you and Tycho have created such as Sand or the John Woo-inspiried action serial that were featured in the comic collections?
Well the Lovecraft references relate to the horror aspect of the game. Dark Gods, magic, devils from the deep. You may not see all these things in the first episode but they are a part of the story.
Second off, a minor question. Will the player character have dialog or will he/she(I assume female is an option) be a silent protagonist ala Link and Crono?
Sorry I don't have that info yet.
Not a problem, I am super happy to do it.
Multiplayer a big deal for this title?
Who's voicing the characters?
Some of us have crappy machines, but still want to play this!