Topic: Dreamfall Chapters

[MysterD]

NEW -> 8-15-2014:
Destructoid -> Dreamfall Chapters will be on the PC first and also a "timed console exclusive" to the PS4

OLD:
Youtube -> Dreamfall Chapters footage begins at around 18 minutes in until 28 min 36 sec from Rezzed 2013 Developer Session.
PC Gamer -> Ragnar Tornquist creates new studio Red Thread Games; Funcom lets him use license for TLJ; Dreamfall Chapters re-announced.Looks like Dreamfall will have its own Episodic content, probably picking up from where Dreamfall left us hanging.

[idolminds]

Well...adventure games seem to be suited to episodic releases. Or at least so far they work the best.

[MysterD]

Well...adventure games seem to be suited to episodic releases. Or at least so far they work the best.

Well, this is definitely true -- as TellTale has been setting the example for this.

Hell, Episode 4 (for Season 1) of Sam And Max is due out soon, isn't it??

EDIT:
Actually, you can see the other thread -- demo for Episode 4 of Sam & Max is out now.

[iPPi]

I still haven't tried Dreamfall.  I want to, but the game uses Starforce if memory serves correct.

[Xessive]

I still haven't tried Dreamfall.  I want to, but the game uses Starforce if memory serves correct.

I'm not sure about SF in Dreamfall.. I played the UK version, and it definitely didn't have SF. It's possible that the UK version doesn't have it, but the US version might.

[Quemaqua]

Wait... a Longest Journey MMO?  Where the fuck did that come from?  And what do they mean by online-only?  I understand online distribution, but we don't need this shit tied to the internet.  We just don't.

Still, Julia will be super juiced to hear that there's going to be more.  She figured there would, but both of us were always nervous about the state of the franchise since Dreamfall apparently didn't sell that well.

[MysterD]

I'm not sure about SF in Dreamfall.. I played the UK version, and it definitely didn't have SF. It's possible that the UK version doesn't have it, but the US version might.

The Limited DVD Edition you can basically only buy directly from Funcom contains StarForce (what a screw job -- especially if you pay S+H!).

The Euro versions DO have StarForce, as far as I knew....

The US Regular Edition did NOT contain StarForce. My 6 CD Edition (from publisher Aspyr) doesn't have it on there.

Here's the StarForce list, which Dreamfall resides on for the Euro and Special Editions.

Oh -- I should note that Dreamfall is also a member of The Steam Club....you can buy it from Steam if you like dealing w/ Steam, these days and age...

[MysterD]

Wait... a Longest Journey MMO?  Where the fuck did that come from?  And what do they mean by online-only?  I understand online distribution, but we don't need this shit tied to the internet.  We just don't.

You know, every franchise-name these days has to eventually get an MMO....it's the newest and greatest thing, these days and age..... *eye-roll....*

I guess if Myst Uru (one adventure game) can have one, TLJ must (another adventure game), too.

Yuh, I'm sick of name-brands becoming MMO's -- it's getting sickening. And a growing trend, too. Just make some brand new IP's MMO's, please....

Still, Julia will be super juiced to hear that there's going to be more.  She figured there would, but both of us were always nervous about the state of the franchise since Dreamfall apparently didn't sell that well.

Any clue if it has sold any better since and from its Steam revenues?

At most retail stores, Dreamfall is $20 or less normally, if you can find it....

[Xessive]

Hmm, I'll have to double-check the version I have (well my cousin's version).. It's got the traditional European DVD-style cover, so I doubt it's the Americano version.

I don't mind episodic content for Dreamfall, but I'm with Que on the MMO thing.. I know it's the "hot trend" now, but it's stupid. What's next? Syberia MMO?

[MysterD]

Hmm, I'll have to double-check the version I have (well my cousin's version).. It's got the traditional European DVD-style cover, so I doubt it's the Americano version.

I don't mind episodic content for Dreamfall, but I'm with Que on the MMO thing.. I know it's the "hot trend" now, but it's stupid. What's next? Syberia MMO?

I think UbiSoft bought out Microids, so it's possible.

[MysterD]

PC Gamer -> Ragnar Tornquist creates new studio Red Thread Games; Funcom lets him use license for TLJ; Dreamfall Chapters re-announced.

Marvellous news for fans of Ragnar Tørnquist’s Longest Journey series: there will be more of it! Ragnar teased the announcement on Twitter and it’s been officially announced in a press release on the Funcom site. It sounds like it’ll remain true to the original games. “#Dreamfall Chapters won’t be an online game,” Tørnquist tweets. “It’s going to be a single-player PC/Mac adventure game through and through.”

With the Secret World out, Tørnquist has stepped into an advisory role as “creative director,” which now gives him the chance to follow up from Dreamfall, released in 2006. It’s taken a bit of rights wrangling to get the project greenlit. Funcom have agreed to license the Longest Journey IP to Tonrquist’s new studio, Red Thread Games, in return for a share of the eventual profits. Red Thread have to fund production themselves, but have apparently already received a sum from the Norwegian Film Institute to support pre-production.

“I’m very excited to finally have the opportunity to continue the ‘The Longest Journey’ saga,” Tørnquist says in the press release. “Ever since we ended ‘Dreamfall’ on a nail-biting cliffhanger, players have been rightfully demanding a sequel, and my deal with Funcom will finally make that possible. I’m extremely grateful to Funcom for this unique and exciting opportunity, and I can’t wait to dive back into the universe I helped create more than a decade ago, and continue the story players have been waiting for these past six years.”

Funcom say that “Red Thread Games will release more details about ‘Dreamfall Chapters’ in the coming months.”

[Quemaqua]

Huh, that's unexpected.

[MysterD]

Huh, that's unexpected.

My thoughts are more along the lines of..."It's about freaking time!"

[gpw11]

Dreamfall had a completely Bullshit ending and fixing that is a necessity for sure.  I'm pretty pumped.

[iPPi]

Looking forward to it... it's been way too long.

[iPPi]

For some reason I thought about this game today as I was digging through some old music and found my Dreamfall soundtrack.  Anyway, I looked it up and apparently this game got $1.5M in funding through Kickstarter and is slated for a November 2014 release.

[MysterD]

Youtube -> Dreamfall Chapters footage begins at around 18 minutes in until 28 min 36 sec from Rezzed 2013 Developer Session.

[MysterD]

Destructoid -> Dreamfall Chapters will be on the PC first and also a "timed console exclusive" to the PS4

[idolminds]

I am looking forward to these.

[gpw11]

I don't know if I honestly give a shit about these anymore.  I remember really wanting to know where the story went, but now I can't even remember it.

[Pugnate]

Yeah who cares after all this time. If it is a good game we'll see at the time.

[MysterD]

RockPaperShotgun -> "Wot I Think" - Their thoughts from Rock Paper Shotgun on Dreamfall Chapters: Book 1.

[gpw11]

It's out?!


It's out

[MysterD]

It's out?!


It's out

Yes, on the PC.
Came out yesterday.

[Xessive]

It's different.

It looks good but I'm still exploring the game. Only the first chapter is out, so we can get back in the story, finally.

I am dreading prospective cliffhangers though.

[idolminds]

I need to check this out.

[gpw11]

I don't know, I was pumped about this for years, but I have this feeling it's just going to be another huge "fuck you" cliffhanger...followed up by five more and the whole thing never being finished.

[iPPi]

Wow... there appears to be no marketing for this at all.  I didn't know it was released.

I will pick this up, but I might wait for a few more chapters to be released first (and hopefully there will be a price drop as well).

[MysterD]

PCG -> Richard Cobbett on the worlds in the TLJ series + especially Dreamfall Chapters

[gpw11]

Game is $40 here, which isn't bad, but I'm guessing that's for all the chapters?  If they're going to do episodic content, it would  go a long way to take the Telltale Games road and offer to at least sell the first episode separately.   I don't want to take the risk.

[gpw11]

Bought this in the sale for half price.  I guess four of the five chapters are out.   I'm about 2.5 hours in and don't really know what to think but I have a couple of thoughts:

-The story summary they provide in the main menu is shit.  It doesn't cover The Longest Journey at all, very briefly goes over Dreamfall, and then starts (I assume) talking about the episodes released before the most recent one.  I say I assume because it really looked that way so I shut the video down.  TLJ came out like 15 years ago: I need  fucking recap.  Dreamfall's recap was fine, I guess but it probably could have been more indepth because I really don't remember shit all about that game.

-Your character walks slow and runs slow.  Great

-Both the graphics and the design of the game are very pretty so far.

-I have a feeling I'm going to get lost a lot.

-Puzzles so far have been very simple, which isn't bad really.

-Choices seem to matter more than in the Telltale adventure games.


So, I've checked out some steam reviews and a lot of them seem to have 25+ hours to the end of Book 4. I have some reservations about the game but I'm going to stick with it for a while (honestly, it seems good but I have a feeling a point is going to come where I'm lost in a city and just get frustrated and quit, opting to read the rest of the story - it's that kind of game). I have about zero interest in exploring and finding extras with this one so I'm going to try to just blast through the story, as that's really the strengths of these games.

Has anyone played these yet?

[Xessive]

Yeah, been playing it since Book 1 released late 2014. The engine stability, performance, and visuals have improved a great deal since they upgraded to Unity 5.

I don't recall much of the recap except that it definitely focused a lot more on Dreamfall and not TLJ.

Overall I'm enjoying the experience but I totally agree that the characters move so damn sluggishly. This will get particularly annoying in the later game when you come across much larger areas to explore.

I haven't finished Book 4 yet but I'm getting close.

[Xessive]

I finished Book 5, thus finally completing the journey.

Technical stuff out of the way first: the latest update revamps the entire Dreamfall Chapters. The game looks and plays better overall. There are a lot of significant engine improvements, better lighting, rendering, and they tweaked in particular with Book 1 to improve performance in Europolis. Apparently, they also reworked some scenes in Book 1 to improve gameplay and the way the story unfolds.

With regards to the story, it was an interesting journey to say the least. It had a few surprises and some nods to the earlier games. It was nice but not groundbreaking in anyway.

A lot of the game's story felt like with each episode the developers played on the fan reactions rather than staying true to their original intentions, which is not necessarily a bad thing. It's nice to see something evolve over the course of two years playing it. That said, the episodic format didn't really do it for me. Waiting several months between Books (episodes) really killed the story's excitement. I suppose I could have just waited until all Books were released before I started, but c'mon, Book 1 was released in 2014!

If anyone has been holding out to play, now's the time. The game looks great and runs so much better. Plus now you can binge it rather than wait months between episodes.

[iPPi]

Thanks for your review Xessive.  I have been holding out for all the books to be released.  It's now at a decent price as well.  I'll probably pick it up during this year's Steam summer sale.