tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post7752751342269458151..comments2024-03-29T05:52:53.051+11:00Comments on The Adventurers Guild: Game 36: Hugo's House of Horrors - Final RatingThe Tricksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01419316208187255801noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-69837996102503313822016-09-25T21:38:21.633+10:002016-09-25T21:38:21.633+10:00I wouldn’t rate Puzzles category so low. There are...I wouldn’t rate Puzzles category so low. There are games for different audiences: easy for kids and beginners, medium for regular players and hard for genre-addictive hardcore gamers. Looks like this one suits the former.qwertyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16747798871196421602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-36697013007852938212013-10-23T07:22:01.122+11:002013-10-23T07:22:01.122+11:00Not sure you can plagiarize artwork, and it's ...Not sure you can plagiarize artwork, and it's also in the public domain (not sure if it was at the time). What he should have done is continued to fill his game with prefab art, or hired an artist (but then he'd have to pay for that).Zenic Reveriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16441583549326102945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-1863059622681537602013-10-22T21:07:25.675+11:002013-10-22T21:07:25.675+11:00Well that explains a lot! I was wondering why that...Well that explains a lot! I was wondering why that first screen had much more detail than all the rest. It was outright plagiarism!The Tricksterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01419316208187255801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-48258785356591168672013-10-22T13:21:58.699+11:002013-10-22T13:21:58.699+11:00You mentioned an inconsistency in graphics quality...You mentioned an inconsistency in graphics quality and singled out the opening shot of the house exterior. I was reading through Saturday crapshoot and they pointed out something interesting.<br /><br />Look what happens when I click on the first link after searching google for free haunted house clip art...<br /><br />http://www.clipartpal.com/clipart_pd/holiday/halloween/hauntedhouse_10438.html<br /><br />TBDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13815382857422719383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-46724547092152724142013-10-21T11:28:25.083+11:002013-10-21T11:28:25.083+11:00WooHoo, shooting up the CAPs ladder one point at a...WooHoo, shooting up the CAPs ladder one point at a timeDraconiushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06261641328136220239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-12560327613815620922013-10-20T10:28:45.145+11:002013-10-20T10:28:45.145+11:00Well, I don't play adventure games much, but t...Well, I don't play adventure games much, but thinking about it I don't like trivia problems:<br /><br />1) They are either trivial or impossible. Think about it; Either you know the answer, can google it or you are done and don't have a way to go on. There isn't an in-between way where there is a clever way for you to figure it out. This is sort of like a lot of bio and the multiple choice sections of history tests: You either know it or you don't. I prefer good chemistry, physics and computer science type tests; You may not know it, but there are clues you can use to figure it out, or at least get part marks. <br /><br />2) They break immersions in most cases. Why is there someone asking me these things? This goes double if it is trivia in a world that isn't normal earth, say a fantasy game. <br /><br />3) Technical issues: Windows has major problems alt-tabbing between full screen applications. I like to run games full screen, so it is a pain for me to access my browser during the game. I should not have to save and quite your game to solve a puzzle. <br /><br />I have seen a couple of these points done well: The Sherlock Holmes meets Cthulhu game I have (I forget the name and need to get back to work, sorry) has question segments where Sherlock asks you stuff like what country you should be headed to. This is all in character, and based on clues you've seen. Now, the problem with that was there was a clue involving n angvbany synt, naq jryy, V qba'g xabj Rhebcrna syntf ng nyy, naq nf fhpu, qvqa'g erpbtavmr gung pyhr NF n synt so I had to use a walkthrough. So it can be done in character, but still can have problems. Now this could have been improved if gurer jnf n cynpr jvgu n ohapu bs syntf vapyhqvat gur bar lbh fnj, fb lbh pbhyq znxr gur pbaarpgvba, be vs gurer jnf na ngynf ninvynoyr, be fbzrguvat yvxr gung. So I think it CAN be done well, it is just rare and hard to do. Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-86888424210770584132013-10-20T10:18:09.999+11:002013-10-20T10:18:09.999+11:00Well, I'm catching up to one person, and falli...Well, I'm catching up to one person, and falling behind the leader. Intresting. Wheeeee flying squirrel! Also, I think the sugar glider does the same thing, but it is called a glider in its name...<br /><br />Aren't some of these critters native to your part of the world Trickster?Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-48122514826147284562013-10-19T18:24:04.142+11:002013-10-19T18:24:04.142+11:00Actually, taking look at the list of possible ridd...Actually, taking look at the list of possible riddles in Camelot, there's one in particular that seemed a bit out of place in a medieval setting (I'll ROT13 this, because Trickster hasn't got there yet). Evqqyr vf "Yvtugre guna jung V nz znqr bs, Zber bs zr vf uvqqra Guna vf frra" naq gur nafjre vf vproret. Rira vs vproretf jrer n pbzzba fvtug va zrqvriny Ratynaq, V fbzrubj qbhog gung crbcyr xarj zbfg bs na vproret vf npghnyyl uvqqra haqre jngre.Ilmari Jauhiainenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01655841880034965950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-77611313715360601902013-10-19T17:37:42.270+11:002013-10-19T17:37:42.270+11:00But those riddles in Camelot are much easier and m...But those riddles in Camelot are much easier and more gratifying to solve, because they reference mundane, common things that everybody knows (and make sense in a medieval setting). There's also a similar moment in Conquests of the Longbow.Laukkuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16258625692586860655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-32096836169316348052013-10-19T13:34:14.620+11:002013-10-19T13:34:14.620+11:00Yeah, you guys are echoing the same thoughts I'...Yeah, you guys are echoing the same thoughts I've had. Hugo should've at least had a bookshelf or something you could peruse; a way within the game to find the answer. Random outside knowledge that you either have or you don't is no fun when it's a barrier.<br /><br />I haven't played it since I was a teenager, but I thought Conquests of Camelot had something similar. One of the challenges had you solving riddles. You could go on if you were unable to solve the riddles, but you couldn't get the best ending. That was especially tough because you couldn't Google nor could you find riddles in a reference book/encyclopedia.<br /><br />Another question, was Hugo even released in Europe in 1990? The author might've been targeting an American audience and never expected a Jester's Cap in Australia to be playing it 23 years later! :)<br /><br />But yes, I love pop culture references in my adventure games except when they bar the way forward.Cush1978https://www.blogger.com/profile/09176113111548747865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-66141366444911077102013-10-19T13:28:06.006+11:002013-10-19T13:28:06.006+11:007th Guest and 11th Hour were recently added to Ste...7th Guest and 11th Hour were recently added to Steam as well.Cush1978https://www.blogger.com/profile/09176113111548747865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-41500856173591705682013-10-19T12:08:58.578+11:002013-10-19T12:08:58.578+11:00CAP Leaderboard UpdatedCAP Leaderboard UpdatedThe Tricksterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01419316208187255801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-5816191081493564652013-10-19T11:59:32.397+11:002013-10-19T11:59:32.397+11:00CAP Distribution UpdatedCAP Distribution UpdatedThe Tricksterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01419316208187255801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-60267182439071305142013-10-19T11:50:58.181+11:002013-10-19T11:50:58.181+11:00In that case, I'd like to offer it to Schide, ...In that case, I'd like to offer it to Schide, since I know they want to play along and don't have a copy. If you see this Schide, send an email to theadventuregamer@gmail.com and I'll reply with the code.<br /><br />It might as well go to someone that has never played it before. :)The Tricksterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01419316208187255801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-28866763903175930872013-10-19T05:26:54.982+11:002013-10-19T05:26:54.982+11:00Furthermore, I'd say trivia questions need not...Furthermore, I'd say trivia questions need not be bad - all one would have needed here is one poster of Roy Rogers and Bullet in some background art (surely some of the monsters were Western fans).<br /><br />And just because some trivia question can make a bad puzzle, it doesn't mean that there could be bad puzzles of other sort. Bank of Zork is notorious, of course.<br /><br />And finally, my original comment was made tongue firmly in cheek. Yes, I know there's plenty of more hairbrained puzzles waiting in store during this year.Ilmari Jauhiainenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01655841880034965950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-7079228560473376192013-10-19T05:03:56.409+11:002013-10-19T05:03:56.409+11:00I actually love that sort of trivia hidden within ...I actually love that sort of trivia hidden within a game - I am an avid fan of Marx Brothers and it was just hoot to get to speak with Chico and Groucho in the second Quest for Glory. Trivia becomes a problem only when it stops one entertaining the rest of the game. In case of Hugo, it's just not the datedness that is the problem. Like Player's Bill of Rights (http://tenzil.3d-digital-wasteland.com/fw/viewtopic.php?t=90) says: player should not need to be American (or more generally, of any particular cultural heritage) to understand hints. Roy Rogers and his career would not have been that well known in Europe even in nineties, so the question would have been almost impossible to solve.Ilmari Jauhiainenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01655841880034965950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-42173866491713145322013-10-19T04:58:28.725+11:002013-10-19T04:58:28.725+11:00I love cultural references in games as long as the...I love cultural references in games as long as they are done tastefully and unobtrusive. Take Space Quest for instance, where you have references to Star Wars, Star Trek, Van Halen, Terminator etc. If you don't recognize the references it doesn't hurt the game or your playing, but if you do it adds another layer of fun to the game. The setting works, and it doesn't break character.<br /><br />The LSL questions also has some semblance of function, as they were meant as a weak sort of age-check. Not the best of course, but at least it had built in slack as you could miss a question and still get in.<br /><br />The Hugo puzzle though is the last "big" puzzle of the game though, and if you didn't know every answer you were blocked just before the final scene. And in 1990, you couldn't just Google the answer either.<br /><br />It might be a bit harsh to call it worst puzzle of the year, but I truly find these kind of mandatory puzzles unforgivable.<br /><br />Making logic puzzles fair and generally solvable is really, really hard, but considering the world wide audience of games these days coming up with trivia questions that's as fair to a 18 year old Californian guy, a 30 year old Japanese woman and a 45 year old Indian guy is no easier I think.Lars-Erikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17853818944579785754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-2962882170241249592013-10-19T04:44:56.660+11:002013-10-19T04:44:56.660+11:00Lori just looked over my shoulder and added that t...Lori just looked over my shoulder and added that trivia puzzles are more fair than many adventure game puzzles. They have a distinct answer that the player might know and can certainly look up or get from a friend. When there is a single right answer, it's easy to get the parser to recognize it. (Of course, variations should be programmed in as well as the expected answer.)<br /><br />In contrast, some adventure game puzzles are completely within the context of the game, but also completely ridiculous. You can solve a trivia question with general knowledge or wikipedia, but you can't solve a puzzle that makes no sense. Cat hair mustache, anyone?<br /><br />My personal hardest puzzle was the shimmering blue curtain at the Bank of Zork - You need to come up with phrasing that you don't normally use, or the parser will not let you by. It is still probably a fair puzzle, but it was a game stopper for me. I got the answer about three years after playing the game and getting stuck. In contrast, even in those ancient pre-Internet days, I could have looked up the answer to almost any trivia question.<br /><br />Riddles have aspects of both - You usually need some outside knowledge to guess them, and they are often ambiguous. If you do not pick the answer the game had in mind, it will tell you that you're wrong even though your answer might make as much sense as theirs. And of course if the riddle isn't really a riddle... "What do I have in my pockets?" indeed! :-)<br /><br />So a trivia question may cost someone CAPs, but someone else gains them. :-) In some ways, trivia is fairer than many other types of puzzle.Corey Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16772474266362396768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-10480477955692806682013-10-19T04:29:01.346+11:002013-10-19T04:29:01.346+11:00That might be a little harsh. If there had been a...That might be a little harsh. If there had been a Star Trek original series puzzle, many of us would have felt challenged and amused. For many people, Roy Rogers was once much more popular than Star Trek.<br /><br />The trivia puzzles at the start of the original Leisure Suit Larry are just as dated. Most people in 2013 could not be expected to answer them without looking up the answers. Back in the 1980's, they were a reasonable test of "Do you know what is going on in the rest of the world?" Sort of. :-)<br /><br />We put Firesign Theater, Monty Python, Laurel and Hardy, Marx Brothers, and other now-dated references into Quest for Glory. In fact, many of them were dated when we wrote them - They were a reflection of the trivia we knew rather than anything most players were expect to "get". The difference between those and Hugo was that we used them as gags rather than puzzles. Our idea was that only a fraction of our players would actually recognize any given reference, but that most players would recognize enough of them to be amused.<br /><br />To some extent, we were inspired by "Silverlock", by John Myers Myers. I recommend it highly. Several fans wrote a booklet, "The Silverlock Companion", just to explain many of the little-known literary references in Silverlock; Amazon now includes it when you buy Silverlock. But the book itself works because you can enjoy the story without recognizing a single reference. It just goes to another level once you start saying, "Oh, that's from Beowulf. And that part over there is Shakespeare." Etc. We bought Benet's "The Reader's Encyclopedia" partly so we could untangle some of the references.<br /><br />Anyway, my conclusion is that abstruse trivia can be fun, but it's painful when used as a "gate" to exclude people who can't answer the trivia.Corey Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16772474266362396768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-12445390500811917582013-10-19T04:03:01.582+11:002013-10-19T04:03:01.582+11:00I foresee Roy Rogers as a great candidate for the ...I foresee Roy Rogers as a great candidate for the year's worst puzzle -award.<br /><br />BTW Trickster, in your opinion, are in-game hint/spoiler mechanics considered assistance, when placing bets? Think carefully what you'll answer, because it will hit you in a couple of games ;)Ilmari Jauhiainenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01655841880034965950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-48625477027425355222013-10-19T03:48:07.179+11:002013-10-19T03:48:07.179+11:00In Windows-version the dog even runs - or at least...In Windows-version the dog even runs - or at least there's some movement with the feet.Ilmari Jauhiainenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01655841880034965950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-33668345080245776942013-10-19T02:37:41.984+11:002013-10-19T02:37:41.984+11:00Some details about Loom:
1/ It's a short game...Some details about Loom:<br /><br />1/ It's a short game. I finished it in about two hours a month ago (it wasn't the first time), I think Trickster will have it done in 3-4 hours. It does not feel too short though.<br /><br />2/ Part of why it's a short game is that you can't lose. No deaths, no dead ends. I didn't even bother saving last time I played it.<br /><br />3/ There's no inventory, there are no action menus. Moving and selecting/looking at things is done through clicking. Everything else is done through 4-note musical pieces, called "drafts" or "patterns"<br /><br />4/ There's no inventory of known patterns. They must be written down somewhere or memorized. And with two exceptions they vary from game to game (between ~3 possibilities).<br /><br />5/ The difficulty level does not change the content of the game (even the fabled extra scene in expert mode is something minor in the middle of the game). It only changes the interface. So either you can do everything by ear and you use expert mode (it's what I do :-) or you can't and you use practice. In both case I recommend the keyboard for typing the notes instead of the mouse clicking on the staff.<br /><br />I really like this game in any case.<br /><br /> OG.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11175909724273576190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-55412618468715844832013-10-18T23:52:34.798+11:002013-10-18T23:52:34.798+11:00Pretty low score... and I don't think it'l...Pretty low score... and I don't think it'll be much higher when you get to the sequel.<br /><br />Never played Loom, so I'll be giving it a go to see what I've missed all these years.Andy_Panthrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18231815646876343380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-65635635021893423582013-10-18T23:51:34.731+11:002013-10-18T23:51:34.731+11:00Woohoo. I won!
I already have a copy of Loom tho...Woohoo. I won! <br /><br />I already have a copy of Loom though so feel free to give it to the next highest guesser or something. <br /><br />But the 10 CAPs are mine! All mine!TBDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13815382857422719383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-34401237155872936752013-10-18T23:35:10.751+11:002013-10-18T23:35:10.751+11:00I can confirm the phenomenon. I tried the whistle ...I can confirm the phenomenon. I tried the whistle several times in my 2.0 DosBox playthrough and I was witness to many instances of butt-dragging. :-)Charleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04860506019349657883noreply@blogger.com