Gray Matter Cover Art. Thoughts? Game coming this fall!!

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Re: Gray Matter Cover Art. Thoughts? Game coming this fall!!

#26 Post by DrJones » Thu Jul 08, 2010 7:31 pm

It has to be dark, because adventure games are played by women now, and chicks are soooo into vampires and werewolves. :D

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Re: Gray Matter Cover Art. Thoughts? Game coming this fall!!

#27 Post by Blackthorne519 » Thu Jul 08, 2010 9:20 pm

DrJones wrote:It has to be dark, because adventure games are played by women now, and chicks are soooo into vampires and werewolves. :D
Haha. Seriously.

Ugh.


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Re: Gray Matter Cover Art. Thoughts? Game coming this fall!!

#28 Post by Brainiac » Thu Jul 08, 2010 10:45 pm

MusicallyInspired wrote:Well then. Things have really changed since I first heard about it, then. When Jane first announced this years ago she described it as a sort of psychic detective/x-files-ish type game.
It may still be that. I'm just saying that, at the moment, all that is known for certain about the fields of Sam and David are they're a magician and a neurobiologist, respectively. Now, the mental research Dr. Styles will be working involving Sam and her so-called "Lamb's Club" will likely result in some paranormal activity, but as far as I know, no one in the game starts off psychic. The game, while having a similar vibe to the GK series, is designed to be slightly closer to reality than Jane's previous work.

And Bt, your crochety old man schtick is getting a bit thick.

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Re: Gray Matter Cover Art. Thoughts? Game coming this fall!!

#29 Post by pbpb33 » Fri Jul 09, 2010 1:06 am

Blackthorne519 wrote:I couldn't be less interested.

Himalaya, hurry up and make a new game, will ya? And please don't feature some Goth chick or some lame "dark" story, because I'm so sick of dark. Dark doesn't not equal mature and/or unique.
The game's themes may not be your cup of tea, which is fine, but I don't think it's very fair to dismissively and indirectly suggest that this game isn't original/unique, especially considering the themes of the majority of commercial adventure games over the years. Here we have an adventure with an original story, two playable characters (one a female magician, the other a neurobiologist apparently involved with various brain experiments), with both science and supernatural themes in a game that promises mystery, suspense and lots of puzzles. All this from a talented writer with a distinguished track record of designing standout original interactive fiction.

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Re: Gray Matter Cover Art. Thoughts? Game coming this fall!!

#30 Post by MusicallyInspired » Fri Jul 09, 2010 1:43 am

Yes, it could very well be a hit (whether to adventure players or gamers in general is anyone's guess right now). Or it could be a boring flop like the rest of Adventure Company's games. But I'll hold out some hope for Jensen. She is a great writer. KQ6, PQ3, and GK1 were all well written (even if PQ3 was flawed in a few ways).

Is Gray Matter still being published under The Adventure Company? I remember way back Jane was talking them up as the last great hope for adventure games on the market...

EDIT: Looking at the cover, apparently not...

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Re: Gray Matter Cover Art. Thoughts? Game coming this fall!!

#31 Post by pbpb33 » Fri Jul 09, 2010 2:03 am

I believe that, although she may have been a contributing writer on Police Quest 3, Jim Walls was that game's designer. Gabriel Knight 1 was the first game where she was both the solo designer and writer.

As for the idea that anyone considers a game "mature" or unique solely because it has "dark" themes, I think that's absurd. Gabriel Knight, for example, is a special game not because it simply has "dark" or "gothic" themes, but rather because of the expert and intelligent way those themes are handled in the game's writing and design.

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Re: Gray Matter Cover Art. Thoughts? Game coming this fall!!

#32 Post by Blackthorne519 » Fri Jul 09, 2010 2:28 am

It's really not a crochety old man "schtick" on this one. This game really holds little interest to me, and I don't think it's some kind of second coming for adventure games.

I also recently played Gabriel Knight 1.... and only found it to be so-so. It didn't suck, but it didn't stir the ole cockles the way some people talk about it. I dunno, I guess I just don't have a real THO for Jane Jensen.

Sometimes, honestly, I think games are going to complex these days. People demand so much "immersion" and backstory, that every detail has to be filled. One of the glorious things about early Sierra games is how damn simple they were. King's Quest? King calls his best knight. Get three treasures. BAM. Space Quest? Janitor on starship accidentally becomes a hero. Leisure Suit Larry? Man with polyester penchant seeks poon. BAM.

Whatever, though. All of my thoughts are my own speculation based on what I've seen and what I've read. There's nothing concrete at all in my opinions here, but I really feel it on this one.


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Re: Gray Matter Cover Art. Thoughts? Game coming this fall!!

#33 Post by MusicallyInspired » Fri Jul 09, 2010 3:16 am

pbpb33 wrote:I believe that, although she may have been a contributing writer on Police Quest 3, Jim Walls was that game's designer. Gabriel Knight 1 was the first game where she was both the solo designer and writer.
Yes, Walls was the lead designer and creative director and all that but Jane Jensen wrote the story not him. Same thing with King's Quest VI with her and Roberta. I know GK1 was her first game she headed herself, but she had remarkable influence on the games she worked on beforehand. Except with PQ3 I think Walls stunted it a little bit. But you could really sense her hand in it. The story did strike me as very engaging but somewhat lacking and I was surprised to learn that Jensen penned the story. I figured that there were some forces in play that forced it into a direction away from its potential.

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Re: Gray Matter Cover Art. Thoughts? Game coming this fall!!

#34 Post by pbpb33 » Fri Jul 09, 2010 7:51 am

Blackthorne519 wrote: I also recently played Gabriel Knight 1.... and only found it to be so-so. It didn't suck, but it didn't stir the ole cockles the way some people talk about it. I dunno, I guess I just don't have a real THO for Jane Jensen.

Sometimes, honestly, I think games are going to complex these days. People demand so much "immersion" and backstory, that every detail has to be filled. One of the glorious things about early Sierra games is how damn simple they were. King's Quest? King calls his best knight. Get three treasures. BAM. Space Quest? Janitor on starship accidentally becomes a hero. Leisure Suit Larry? Man with polyester penchant seeks poon. BAM.
Do you think LSL3 lacks immersion? Has nonexistent backstory? To the contrary, I would say the game is quite immersive with a nicely planned story. The success of the LSL games, in my opinion, wasn't the result of a simple man seeks sex scenario. It was the humor, which required clever writing to come up with entertaining dialogue and outrageous plotlines. Do you not think LSL7 (one of the best, most entertaining adventure games ever, IMO) is vastly superior to LSL2? The added detail made all the difference. Games like the original KQ were more like scavenger hunts and, while fun, put so little emphasis on the story, dialogue and characters. What dialogue was there was usually rather banal and forgettable.

Now I agree with you about lots of unnecessary, uninteresting details having the potential to bog down gameplay and bore the player. However, if used properly, the added detail can enhance the experience and sometimes provide clues about what to do next. Sometimes I like having the option to examine a scene as much or as little as I like. One thing I always preferred about Sierra games over LucasArts games was that they offered greater ability to explore and examine the virtual surroundings. It seems the challenge for game designers is to strike just the right balance in deciding how much scene-setting detail to offer.

Jane Jensen seems to be an adventure gamer's game designer. She was a big fan of the games herself before designing, and she seems to delight in creating very original, compelling stories, believable characters and solid puzzles. It's fine if people are contrarians about highly regarded games such as hers. However, when I played her Gabriel Knight games I could really feel how much care and thought was put into the story and puzzle design for the benefit of the player. I get the clear sense that she respects her audience. There are not many other games where I've had this same reaction... but there have been several games where I felt like the designers cut corners or half-assed it on the gameplay, dialogue, etc. I admire and respect her obvious talent and excellent track record of creating well-written and challenging games, and if that is having a "THO" (I'm assuming that stands for what I think it stands for), as you call it, then so be it. :p

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Re: Gray Matter Cover Art. Thoughts? Game coming this fall!!

#35 Post by Blackthorne519 » Fri Jul 09, 2010 3:24 pm

Word. I hope the game lives up to your expectations, then.

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Re: Gray Matter Cover Art. Thoughts? Game coming this fall!!

#36 Post by pbpb33 » Sat Jul 10, 2010 7:33 am

Yeah, but I'm a bit nervous. I just want the game to be a hit so we'll start getting even more new original games of this sort. It kind of irks me when I watch new adventure game reviews and the reviewer spends a large portion of the time bemoaning the lack of "action" or the fact that you can't kill random characters. It would be like reviewing a music CD and complaining that there aren't any visuals to go with it. Anyway, it seems like a lot of today's gamers don't "get" these kinds of adventure games (if they are even that familiar with them at all). It would be nice to see some more adventure games break out and receive wider attention.

Guys, check out this alternate Gray Matter poster art hanging on the walls here. From what I can see, I think I might like the top half of this poster art more than the previously posted box art:
Image

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Re: Gray Matter Cover Art. Thoughts? Game coming this fall!!

#37 Post by Lady Pyro » Sat Jul 10, 2010 1:52 pm

DrJones wrote:It has to be dark, because adventure games are played by women now, and chicks are soooo into vampires and werewolves. :D
I thought we liked ponies and cooking? Dammit now I'm going to have to trade in all my games!

and cancel my pre-order for Pony Cooker 5

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Re: Gray Matter Cover Art. Thoughts? Game coming this fall!!

#38 Post by Brainiac » Mon Aug 23, 2010 4:09 am

Well, anyone not following GamesCom in Germany over the last few days may not be aware that the game is actually coming soon...

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Re: Gray Matter Cover Art. Thoughts? Game coming this fall!!

#39 Post by pbpb33 » Mon Aug 23, 2010 10:57 am

Wow, I'm so happy to see this!! This game looks like something special. I think I read somewhere that Jane Jensen's stepdaughter wrote and performed some songs for the game. Her voice sounds beautiful in the trailer! It's also cool to see that Jane Jensen's name did end up on the cover, after all.

You know, in the trailer it seems they don't try to hide the story-driven aspect of the game one bit... they seem to embrace it. I'm so used to expecting fast-paced, in-your-face trailers... well, this promo is definitely not that! In fact, the whole trailer seems pretty understated. I might have liked a little mention of the author's previous games (GK series)... "from award-winning author and designer, blah, blah..." just to make the product stand out a bit more. I also think the trailer could have been a bit more exciting with more memorable visuals; all that smoke is so calming and makes me feel like I'm at a hookah bar! The ending dramatic crescendo is nice, though... but compare it with GK2's trailer from 15 years ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPjKwOZg5so and the GK3 promo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ9V6xdpQWU
I think the GK2 trailer, especially, grabs you a lot more than this new Gray Matter one.

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Re: Gray Matter Cover Art. Thoughts? Game coming this fall!!

#40 Post by DrJones » Mon Aug 23, 2010 2:07 pm

I laughed when I saw the part about unveiling the secret of the mansion. It felt like having "use your mouse to click on stuff!!" as a marketing line. :rollin

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Re: Gray Matter Cover Art. Thoughts? Game coming this fall!!

#41 Post by Brainiac » Sun Aug 29, 2010 1:44 am

German Collector's Edition (via amazon.de).

Image

I WANT THAT SOUNDTRACK.

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Re: Gray Matter Cover Art. Thoughts? Game coming this fall!!

#42 Post by pbpb33 » Sun Sep 05, 2010 11:58 am

I don't see it anywhere on Amazon's American English site. Isn't the game supposed to be released next month? It says Oct 29 on that Amazon page. The game's website doesn't have any specific information about a release date. Has anyone seen any other promotions for the game? Have any new screen shots or videos been released in the last couple months? I'm starting to wonder if we'll even see the game in 2010. :x If the release is only a month away, wouldn't they have announced more specific information by now?

Hopefully there's an English-language collector's edition.

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Re: Gray Matter Cover Art. Thoughts? Game coming this fall!!

#43 Post by Brainiac » Tue Sep 07, 2010 2:46 am

I quote Betty, the Content & Community Manager for dtp entertainment AG, on their official forums:

Information will be coming soon.
Stay tuned. 8)

That was posted in a thread asking about both the US release date and the collector's edition.

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Re: Gray Matter Cover Art. Thoughts? Game coming this fall!!

#44 Post by pbpb33 » Tue Sep 07, 2010 10:49 pm

Interesting. It seems that post was from over a month ago. I guess we should be hearing any day now... or maybe there will be another delay? I'm okay with delays if it means a more polished product! They've waited this long, so they might as well take whatever extra time they need to get it right.

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Re: Gray Matter Cover Art. Thoughts? Game coming this fall!!

#45 Post by Brainiac » Wed Sep 08, 2010 1:19 pm

pbpb33 wrote:Interesting. It seems that post was from over a month ago.
No, the post was from last month. Specifically, the last day of last month. In other words, it's eight days old.

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Re: Gray Matter Cover Art. Thoughts? Game coming this fall!!

#46 Post by pbpb33 » Wed Sep 08, 2010 3:51 pm

Oops, I was looking at the wrong post. I guess it might finally be happening! Which platform do you think will be best for this game? PC? Or XBox 360?

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Re: Gray Matter Cover Art. Thoughts? Game coming this fall!!

#47 Post by Quest For Glory Fan » Thu Sep 09, 2010 7:19 am

depends on what the fuck this game is.

Facts that I know about this game:
Adventure game
Phantom of the opera mask
Magician girl
Brain guy.

This is more than most gamers know about this game.

Honestly I'll say PC simply because that's what I'll end up pirating it to if I see a good review or maybe some kind of advertisement that showcases gameplay and storyline... Some sort of trailer.

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Re: Gray Matter Cover Art. Thoughts? Game coming this fall!!

#48 Post by Blackthorne519 » Thu Sep 09, 2010 8:02 am

Yeah, exactly. I have no idea what this game is about, and nothing they've shown me has tickled any part of my fancy. With all the vagueness and posing, it makes me feel that this game is a vapid mess.


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Re: Gray Matter Cover Art. Thoughts? Game coming this fall!!

#49 Post by Brainiac » Thu Sep 09, 2010 12:49 pm

Blackthorne519 wrote:With all the vagueness and posing, it makes me feel that this game is a vapid mess.
Are you sure you're not actually thinking of The Room: The Game? Though oddly enough, it makes a much better game than a film. :D

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Re: Gray Matter Cover Art. Thoughts? Game coming this fall!!

#50 Post by Blackthorne519 » Thu Sep 09, 2010 5:17 pm

Brainiac wrote:
Blackthorne519 wrote:With all the vagueness and posing, it makes me feel that this game is a vapid mess.
Are you sure you're not actually thinking of The Room: The Game? Though oddly enough, it makes a much better game than a film. :D
Yeah, at least I know what The Room is about. The Room is intentionally BAD as well.

I still maintain that Gray Matter is going to suck.


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