The Adventurers' Guild

Tuesday, 23 October 2012

Kickstarter Alert: Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption

Most of you would already be aware that Lori and Corey Cole have a Kickstarter project up for a new game called Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption. I could try to describe what it is they're up to, but instead I want to encourage you all to pop over and check out the video, details and huge range of rewards on offer. It should be quickly apparent that Hero-U will be more RPG than adventure game, but then that was always Lori's interest to begin with. Despite Hero's Quest being one of my favourite games of all time (we'll soon see if it stands up to my nostalgic memories), I'm happy to see the couple making the game they want to make today rather than the one they know for certain that their fans would want.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1878147873/hero-u-rogue-to-redemption

For those of you that are not aware, Corey gave up his time a few months back to answer a bunch of questions here at The Adventure Gamer. I say we head on over to Kickstarter and thank him for his generosity by helping fund his new project. Now who's with me!?

These guys played a huge role in a lot of our early gaming lives, and are a massive reason why this blog exists in the first place.

Below is a post Corey recently put up on adventuregamers.com. I'm sure he won't mind if I repost it here.

"Would it make more sense to make a game “much like” Quest for Glory? Hard to say. In any case, between the original Hero’s Quest and Quest for Glory 5, development budgets ballooned from $250K up to over $2.5M. Even if it was “only” $1.5M, that’s too much to ask on Kickstarter.

You can’t step into the same stretch of river twice. The Quest for Glory games were a unique combination of Lori’s and my background with the tools we had available at Sierra. If we had been working for a company with different tools, we would have made an entirely different game.

In fact, when I designed Castle of Dr. Brain - using those same tools - I would argue that *it* was an entirely different look and feel from Quest for Glory. Based on reviews and comments, people seem to think it was just as fun. Did lightning just happen to strike twice in the same place, or did I actually know something about designing games? A little of each, I’d say.

We tend to look at games, films, etc. with the unique perspective of being able to see the finished product. Will Hero-U be as much fun to play as Quest for Glory (pick your favorite number)? That’s impossible to tell. Filmmakers all think they’re making great films, but only in hindsight can we find out which ones were right about which of their films. Peter Jackson did an amazing job with Lord of the Rings, but I found his King Kong disappointing. Am I looking forward to his take on The Hobbit - knowing that he’s changed a lot of things? You bet I am!

What Lori and I will promise is that we are putting the same work and dedication into Hero-U as we put into each of our other games. We still have the same “gamers sensibility” that we applied as a yardstick each time. Hopefully we’ll be funny. Hopefully the dialogue will work as well as it did in Quest for Glory. Is it possible we’ll get this one wrong? Sure it’s possible - but I don’t think it’s the way to bet.

Of course, you can always “wait and see”. But then the game might not happen at all. It’s pretty much up to you, the players, to determine the fate of Hero-U. If you want higher production values, support at a higher level and get more of your friends to support the project. For now, we’ve designed a minimalist style that can be implemented within a reasonable budget. It’s more important to make sure that we can complete the game than to promise a level of polish that we won’t be able to fund.

It’s all about the story… and the puzzles… and the characters… and the game mechanics… and the play balance. :-) Those are where we’ll be spending our time. In the meantime, the only promise we can make is that we will work hard to create the best experience we can. Really, that’s as much as anyone can promise."

Sunday, 21 October 2012

Game 25: Codename: ICEMAN - Vacation Cessation

Johnny Westland Journal Entry 1: “Damn it! Can’t a guy have a well deserved vacation without the whole world going to hell?! There I was lounging in the sun in Tahiti when Russian-supported terrorists decided it was a good idea to take the U.S. Ambassador to the Middle East hostage. That’s understandably pissed the president off, who’s ready to press the big red button if the ambassador isn’t released unharmed. General Braxton has called me back on duty to help resolve the issue, so I’ve not choice but to head back to Washington for further instructions. I get the feeling I’m going to need another vacation after this is over!”

I tell you what, after the last couple of months, I'd kill to go to some tropical island like this one

I’ve played over an hour of Codename: ICEMAN so far and there’s already much to tell. Not so much in the way of progress, although that has been fairly constant, but in the way of technical details and plot development. I’ve already mentioned it in the introduction, but I’ll repeat here that I very well could label new technical features as the first time they appeared in an adventure game, when in fact they had already appeared in games released earlier on in 1989 that I haven’t played yet due to the alphabetical nature of my list. I’ll also mention straight up that I haven’t yet reached for the manual once, which has put my initial concerns about Codename: ICEMAN at ease. I assume that will all change once the submarine sections arrive.

Doing so in a retro adventure game will have to do I'm afraid

The game begins with a brief intro describing the peaceful and beautiful island of Tahiti, where Lieutenant Commander John B. Westland (that’s me) is currently enjoying some well deserved leave. I then found myself in control, lounging on the beach. The very first thing I noticed was a magazine sitting on the small table next to me, so I picked it up and read it. In it was an article about the North African country of Tunisia, and how it was suddenly of interest to numerous countries due to a global oil shortage. The second thing I noticed was a blonde in a bikini smoothly strolling along the beach. Of most interest was the way my character’s head turned to watch her as she walked past, which I assume was scripted, but the whole scene reminded me of Leisure Suit Larry when I’d been expecting Police Quest.

I can't say I wouldn't have had a look myself, but our hero needs to learn the art of subtle perving

After standing up, I discovered that I was fairly ripped, so if Codename: ICEMAN does indeed have any similarity to Leisure Suit Larry, I’m bound to have more success than the little battler. The comparison was made even more obvious when I looked at the next girl that walked past, only to be shown a close up of her in a love heart, with “whew, what a hot lookin’ native girl!” splashed across the screen. I found a shirt on the back of my chair, so rather than waltz around showing off my abs, I decided to put it on and go check out the hotel. It was then that I discovered something that I’m pretty sure hasn’t been in any game on the list so far! I could walk diagonally!

If it wasn't for the word ICEMAN at the top of the screen, I might have thought I'd loaded Larry III instead!

You might be thinking that all Sierra games have given the player the ability to walk diagonally using the number pad keys 7, 9, 1 and 3, but in Codename: ICEMAN this action is visually represented by Johnny actually walking on a diagonal angle rather than appearing to walk horizontally while moving diagonally. Unfortunately, and I’m not sure if anyone can help me correct this, this new feature seems to cause some significant problems when using the directional keys, at least it does through DOSBox. Often when I press the up arrow key, Johnny walks diagonally, randomly selecting either NW or NE directions. I can’t see any pattern to it, but I've not choice but to use the mouse for movement rather than the keys (which is fine, but thought I'd mention it).

One small diagonal step for man, one giant leap for adventure games

I noticed a newspaper machine outside the hotel, but since I didn’t have the fifty cents (don’t they use the French Pacific Franc in Tahiti?) required to purchase one (or any possessions at all for that matter), went inside instead. Inside the hotel was a counter with a native woman behind it and a few noticeable signs. Here I discovered yet another technical feature of the game. I tried typing “look”, the way I always do in every room of every Sierra game. If this command doesn’t give me a description of my surroundings, then “look around” normally does. In the case of Codename: ICEMAN, typing “look” gives you a description of whatever item is in the line of sight of Johnny. So when I was facing the counter I was told about the “beautiful native girl behind the counter”, but when I was facing the small table at the front of the room I was told that there was “a flower centrepiece on the table”. That's cool I guess.

While these close-ups served a different purpose in Larry games, I do find they help to give more character to those people I can interact with

Typing “look around” did give me a description of the room at large, although it was a very simplistic one. “This is the Hotel Lobby”. It seemed I was going to need to use a combination of the two, and that I would be able to look at specific things without having to type the full sentences all the time. Why type “look at sign” when you can just make Johnny face the sign and type “look"? Anyway, that’s enough technical discussion; let’s get on with the game. I wasn’t able to get into a conversation with the local girl, but I was able to get my room key from her. The only other interesting things I noticed in the lobby was a sign with a phone number for Nosinkhy Dinghy and a door leading to a bar called The Chi Chi Bar. I thought I’d take a peak in the bar before trying to find my room.

6969? Seriously? Al Lowe wasn't involved in this?

The bar scene was all too familiar. A bunch of tourists seated at the bar having a drink and nice looking women invitingly sitting alone at tables. It screamed Larry, and I couldn’t help but go through the same procedures I would have had this really been an Al Lowe created game. The blonde at the bar seductively said “Hi big fella, sit and join me. I’m drinking Mai Tais.” as I walked by...so of course I did! Unfortunately she paid no attention to me after I bought her a Mai Tai, and I’m not even certain how I did that given I had no money on me at all. I then focussed on the blonde and the brunette, who were both sitting alone at tables.

The Test: Does he like blondes or brunettes?

As soon as I tried to chat up the blonde, she informed me that her husband would arrive shortly. He did too, taking a seat at the table. This left only the brunette to trial just how much Larry had really been injected into this game. The answer seems to be "a lot!", as I was given a close up glamour shot of the girl, complete with animated sparkling smile. I tried to sit in the vacant chair in front of her, but no matter where I was standing or what I typed, I kept being told “You’ll have to find a seat.” I attempted every angle I could until suddenly, despite being positioned absolutely nowhere near the table with the blonde, her husband got up and belted me for trying to pick up his girl. Game over, and I had a feeling I was wasting my time trying to seduce women in a Jim Walls game.

At this rate it may take more than daring mockery to make me restore too many more times

Still, I couldn’t help but wonder what the bar scene was for, so I had one more attempt at achieving something. I asked the brunette to dance, and was then a spectator to one of the funniest eighties throwbacks ever, with both man and woman busting out every move that you haven’t seen since Rick Astley was high in the charts (and I don’t mean YouTube charts). Once it was over, the brunette and I walked off the dance floor and reassumed our conversation-less positions at the table. Intrigued as to how far I could push it, I tried kissing her, only for her to slap me and leave the bar. By this point it was becoming more and more obvious that this was all a distraction. I’d received no points at all for any of it, and it just didn’t feel right that I’d be bedding women in this game. I left the bar behind and went in search of my room.

Why is this in the game?

There was nowhere else to go within the hotel, so I went for a stroll up the beach, assuming that my “room” must be some sort of hut, away from the main building. It didn’t take me long to come across a bunch of them, and each hut appeared to be numbered. Which was mine? When I looked at the key in my inventory, it had a clearly marked number 6 on it, so I used it to enter hut number 6. While there were numerous things to look at in my hut, there were very few that I could have any meaningful interaction with. The drawer next to the bed contained an ID card and some loose change, which I eagerly picked up. There was a phone on top of the drawer too, but the only number I’d come across so far was on the Nosinkhy Dinghy advertisement. I tried calling it, but there was apparently no-one in the office at that moment.

Great! Now how do I know which hut is mi....oh...never mind!

Within the closet I found my clothes, but any attempts to put them on (or even pick them up) were met with “It’s much too hot here for a suit”. I figured they weren’t there for nothing though, so I typed “look at suit”. “It’s a nice dark suit with 2 front pockets” was the response, and further investigation of the pockets revealed a little black book in one of them. I picked it up and looked at it, discovering two phone numbers within. The first one was for a General Braxton, while the second was for Gigi Boloni. I quickly walked back to the phone and dialled General Braxton for no particular reason. He wasn’t home, so I dialled Gigi. There was no answer there either. Hmmmm...the only thing I could think of that I might now be able to do was go back to the hotel and buy a newspaper with the change I'd found in the drawer, so that’s what I did.

I wonder how many players failed to check the pockets? It's not completely obvious!

I inserted my fifty cents into the machine and collected my newspaper. Reading it revealed...well...an awful lot really. To summarise...the cold war between the USSR and the United States is getting nasty, with a Russian-supported terrorist group called Jaharah Khommini Sieb Abdul having taken the United States Ambassador to the Middle East as hostage. They’re demanding ten million dollars ransom or the Ambassador will be killed. The U.S. has responded to Soviet naval build-up in the Mediterranian (sic) by ordering its 7th Fleet into the area. The U.S. President has vowed to take an aggressive military stance if the Ambassador is not released unharmed. I’m guessing that I’m going to have some role to play in a rescue attempt!

The "cold" war is "heating" up? Oh I get it!!!!

I couldn’t help thinking at this point about Canageek’s recent comments on how silly the plots have been in the majority of these retro games. If the plot continues in the sort of fashion hinted at so far, then this game might have the serious tone and storyline he’s been looking for (if you ignore the sexually focussed elements). We’ll have to wait and see! Reading the newspaper gave me some information that will no doubt become relevant soon enough, but I was still standing in front of my hotel in Tahiti, wondering how I was going to get myself into a position where I could be of assistance to my country. All I could think of is that I needed to call either General Braxton or the dinghy hire company, and that one of those calls would lead to me getting off the island. I went back to my hotel and tried both with no success. Hmmm...was there something I was supposed to do in the bar after all?

I really hope my January month off work doesn't end up like this!

As I entered the hotel on my way to the bar, the woman behind the counter called out to me: “Oh, Mr. Westland, I have an urgent message for you!” I can’t say I love this sort of plot progression tactic, where the player has no real logical motivation to do anything or be anywhere, and instead is required to walk around until they’re in the right place at the right time. I guess in the game’s defence in this instance, there are really not very many locations that you can visit, so you’re bound to be where you need to be at some point. The message was: “Call immediately! General Braxton.” Given I’d already called the guy twice, including an attempt made just a couple of minutes ago, I was none too pleased to read this. Sure, I understand that adventure games often contain this sort of linearity, but a little bit of flexibility wouldn’t hurt would it?

Can you send this back to General Braxton? Message: "Answer your bloody phone!"

I rushed back to my hut and called General Braxton, who answered this time of course. He apologised for cutting my leave short, but told me to get my ass back to Washington ASAP. Due to the sensitive nature of the scenario, I was given no further information before he hung up. Let me guess...now is the time to call Nosinkhy Dinghy? Too right! I informed the hire company of my situation, and they told me to meet the dinghy in front of the hotel entrance. Taking my leave from Tahiti seems to be a fitting place to take leave of this post. I realise that I’ve spent a long time describing what has resulted in only 15 out of 300 points, but now that I’ve covered off the initial technical details, things should progress much quicker from here. Wish me luck in Washington!

Next post: Tahiti airport. See what I did there?

Session Time: 1 hours 00 minutes

Total Time: 1 hours 00 minutes

Note Regarding Spoilers and Companion Assist Points: I've written a set of rules regarding spoilers and companion assist points. Please read it here before making any comments that could be considered a spoiler in any way. The short of it is that no points will be given for hints or spoilers given in advance of me requiring one. Please...try not to spoil any part of the game for me...unless I really obviously need the help...or I specifically request assistance. In this instance, I've not made any requests for assistance. Thanks!

Wednesday, 17 October 2012

Game 25: Codename: ICEMAN - Introduction

I can't help but notice it says 1990 on the bottom of the title screen, but every site I go to suggests it was released in 1989.

If there was any doubt that 1989 would be another year of Sierra adventure games, let me squash that right now. While 1988 had five games from the genre giant, the year ahead will have no less than six, with Codename: ICEMAN being the first cab off the rank. There’s something I should mention though before I begin my usual introduction, and it relates to the order in which I’ll be playing the games. As it can be very difficult to find out exactly when games were released, particularly when they were released in pre-internet days, I’ve been playing through each year’s games in alphabetical order. In this instance that means I’ll be playing Codename: ICEMAN first when it was actually released last. Here’s a list of the SCI engine Sierra games in (from what I can tell) was the order they were released to the public in 1989:

Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon
Hero’s Quest: So You Want to Be a Hero
Leisure Suit Larry 3: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals
The Colonel's Bequest
Codename: Iceman

The more observant among you may have noticed there are only five games in that list, and that’s because Manhunter 2 was also released in 1989, despite still being built on the old AGI engine. I have no idea what month that game came out and therefore have no idea where it really fits into the timeline. Why do I mention all this? Well, since quite a few Sierra employees are connected to many of the above titles in various ways, it’s safe to assume that there would be some sort of progression in the application of the technology. With that in mind, I guess it would have been nice to play the games in chronological order. I may incorrectly state that Codename: ICEMAN was pioneering in some way, only to find out later that one of the games created earlier had already included that element. When I reach the next “The Year Ahead” post, I plan to at least attempt to put the selected games in chronological order rather than solely alphabetical.

A fairly inviting cover, but who thought putting blue writing on a blue background was a good idea?!

Enough small talk, let’s get on with the show. Codename: ICEMAN is certainly not one of the most well known Sierra efforts, and from what I can tell, it’s also not one of the most loved. I’ve not played or even seen it before, so I can only hope that it connects with me in a way that it didn’t with players of the day. It’s probably most renowned for being Police Quest designer Jim Wall’s first attempt at making a game outside of the series he brought to life, and also for having a large portion of the game take place in a submarine. Just like the previous game’s Jim had worked on, Codename: ICEMAN takes a semi-realistic approach, demanding the player follow strict protocol if they are going to be successful. It appears to be the submarine simulation sections that left players feeling disgruntled, so it will be interesting to see how my experience is affected by them.

No that fine looking action man is not Bob Stewart. That be me!

Most interestingly, since Jim had no Navy experience to go with his vast Police force knowledge, he called on Naval Officer Bob Stewart to make sure the details and protocol were as close to reality as the game mechanics would allow. Programming was handled by Pablo Ghenis (who was one of the designers of the SCI engine), J. Mark Hood and Doug Oldfield, all of whom would go on to have a hand in many future outings. Jeff Crowe, Gerald Moore, Kenn Nishiuye and Cindy Walker were all part of the graphics team, just as they were on Hero’s Quest earlier in the year. Finally, Mark Seibert once again handled the music, which is no surprise since he seems to have done so for just about every game the company developed in this era (including Space Quest III, Hero’s Quest and Leisure Suit Larry III , all made in 1989).

Speaking of fine looking gentlemen...well...they can program!

I’ve got my hands on the game (which I’ll be playing through DOSBox), the original manual, as well as a submarine navigation chart that came with it. It’s all pretty scary to be honest, and it doesn’t fill me with confidence that I’m going to enjoy this much. The manual launches straight into detailed protocol that I assume must be followed precisely, and the submarine control panel descriptions seem incredibly complicated. If I have to know even a quarter of this stuff to play the game I’m going to have my head in the manual almost permanently. There’s no mention of my character’s background or any events that have recently taken place, so I assume everything will be revealed once I start playing. Finally, I uncovered one page of a Codename: ICEMAN comic online, but I’ve not been able to uncover the rest. If anyone can do it, I’ll be generous with the CAPs. “Attention on deck!!!!” Oh crap, I’ve gotta go!

This is the sort of thing I expect to find in simulator games, and it's also why I don't play them.

Note Regarding Spoilers and Companion Assist Points: I've recently written a set of rules regarding spoilers and companion assist points. Please read it here before making any comments that could be considered a spoiler in any way. The short of it is that no points will be given for hints or spoilers given in advance of me requiring one. As this is an introduction post, it's an opportunity for readers to bet 10 points (only if they already have them) that I won't be able to solve a puzzle unassisted (see below for an example). If you get it right I will reward you with 40 points in return (it's going to keep going up until someone beats me)! It's also your chance to predict what the final rating will be for the game. Multiple readers can predict the same score, but will be rewarded a decreasing amount of points if it turns out to be correct.

Example Bet:
Bet: "V nz erq, V nz qrnq, vs abhtug ohg urnq fubhyq or pnyyrq qrnq.
Qb abg fyrrc, va ubhfr lbh perrc, whfg pyvpx zr sbe gur uvag V xrrc."

Gur punyyratr vf frg: 20 PNCf

Extra Note: Once again, Lars-Erik will gift the next readily available game on the list to the reader that correctly predicts what score I will give this game. So, if you predict the right score (or are closest), you will get 10 CAPs and a copy of the Quest for Glory collection from GOG! Good luck!

What's Your Story? - Andy_Panthro

It's been ages since I published a What's Your Story post. I still have a bunch in my mailbox to get through, although there are a few in there that I haven't heard from in a long time. I can't be sure whether they're still reading, so let's find out! Calling on The Mad Gamer, Killias2, Troy, HunterZ and Crash. There's also an entry from someone whose name I won't mention as it appears to be his real name. The initials are JLM. Apologies if you have commented recently and I overlooked it, but please let me know if you're still around.

Right, today we welcome to the microphone...Andy_Panthro!

Andy_Panthro: I'm really not sure what I'm looking at here. Perhaps Andy can explain?

My home country is… England, The North: Living and working in and around Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

My age is… 29 and a half (Ed: he may very well be 30 by now!)

The first adventure game I played was… King's Quest I: Quest for the Crown. I'd played a few games by that point, mostly stuff like Monster Math and Alley Cat, on my Dad's Amstrad PP16. That would be in about 1988, so I was around 5 years old, and we got a lot of our games second hand (which is why they were older ones) and through... other means. For much of my youth we were living in places were legal games retailers didn't exist, and you couldn't get much in the way of postage either. But my Dad was very interested in new technology, and games were often the best way of testing the limits of new computers (still are I guess).

Where it all started for many of us

My favourite adventure game is… There's two I'd mention here, both from Sierra and both from the same era. I've played through them numerous times, but only once with the voice packs: Space Quest IV and Quest for Glory IV. I tried to decide which one I preferred most, but they both have different qualities that set them apart. SQIV had it's time-travel plot, sci-fi humour and some really great artwork. QFGIV had it's Lovecraft-themed horror-parodying, great characters and of course the variety of class-specific content. I really feel I'm under-selling them both, but to praise them too much would lead me into spoiler territory for the blog, so I'll wait and comment at length on them in the future!

Space Quest IV: The first SQ game on the list that I haven't played. Looks great!

When I’m not playing games I like to… There are a few things I could say here, but I suppose the main one would be film - to say I've watched a lot would be understating it a little. Of course, I'm not quite into hardcore film critic territory, but I'm working on it!

I like my games in (a box, digital format)… I used to say "box", but it's been a rather long time since we got the likes of the Ultima big boxes, which came with little tokens, cloth maps, proper manuals and the like. These days it's hard to get around the convenience and price of digital distribution, and I tend to visit GOG, Gamersgate and Steam with perhaps a little too much regularity!

They don't make them like this anymore!

The thing I miss about old games is… Not sure I miss that much really, since the majority of the games I played when I was younger are still available (in one way or another) today. There was a certain spirit of adventure back then, when it was so new and boundaries were being pushed all the time, and it would be nice to revisit that. However, indie gaming and smaller publishers (like Paradox) do seem to be taking that place.

The best thing about modern games is… Graphics/GUI: While modern games can sometimes be lacking in many respects, certainly the graphical improvements of the 3D era are impressive. But it's the GUI that gets the big mention, these days it's often far more clear what everything does and you generally get less clutter. As much as I enjoy the Ultima Underworld interface from a visual point of view, it's massive restriction of the viewing area would never be tolerated these days!

The one TV show I never miss is… In the past it's been Babylon 5, LOST, House (and more, I watch a lot of TV!), but at the moment it's Game of Thrones. I'm constantly tempted to read the books, but I don't know if I'd appreciate the differences between them and the TV series. The only thing that bugs me about it is the constant deaths of interesting characters! I got into it slowly, only really watching for Sean Bean, but now I'm hooked. Very much looking forward to the big season 2 finale.

Lost: I'd like to watch this series one day, but I've heard the ending is crappy

If I could see any band live it would be… I listen to a lot of music (couldn't face my commute to/from work without it), but I'm not really one for live music. I'd quite like to see OK GO though.

My favourite movie is… Amazingly difficult question, every time I think of one film I can think of another I like just as much. I'm just going to say Total Recall (obviously the classic Arnie one, haven't seen the new one yet). It's got some great action, comedy and a really interesting plot. There are plenty more worthy films out there, but Total Recall is one of a group of films I've seen so many times I could probably re-make it from memory.

Arnie really did rock when I was a kid!

One interesting thing about me is… I'm the creator of an Ultima-themed Minecraft Texture Pack (available at http://inspired.ultimacodex.com/andy-panthros-ultima-textures-for-minecraft/ ) Shameless plug I know! It all began because I didn't like the clay texture (wasn't visible enough), and then I decided to replace other textures and items, and decided on the Ultima theme, as it's always been a favourite series of mine.

It looks like you put some serious effort into this. Respect!

If anyone else wants to send their answers and get 20 CAPs, please send them to theadventuregamer@gmail.com.

Tuesday, 16 October 2012

Game 24: Chamber of the Sci-Mutant Priestess - Final Rating

It's no secret that I'm looking forward to moving onto Codename: ICEMAN, but there's one last thing I need to do before that happens. It's time to rate Chamber of the Sci-Mutant Priestess. The big question is: can the game rate higher than the previous French record of 27 (Captain Blood and Mortville Manor)?

Puzzles and Solvability
I mentioned in one of my early posts that I found the puzzles in Chamber of the Sci-Mutant Priestess to be strangely satisfying. I think I have to reverse that statement after spending more time with the game. What I now realise is that it was the idea behind the puzzles that interested me, but not so much the solutions. Over time I realised that the puzzles were either solved way too easily, or required nothing more than trial and error. The item interaction system is the main cause of the simplicity, as it made the solutions too obvious. Sure, there were lots of options to choose from at times such as “eat”, “pray to”, “smash”, “throw” etc., but when you consider what it is you’re interacting with, it’s not difficult to figure out which one you’re supposed to do. I’m hardly going to eat a statue am I?!

Hmmm...should I climb on the step, smash the step or prostrate myself in front of the step?

When none of the item interaction options available had the desired result, I could resort to sci powers, and then if that failed, I could always get a hint from Gauss. As I mentioned in my posts, the only time the puzzles felt truly right were when the solution required the use of Sci Powers, but this was generally approached as a last resort to save valuable Sci Energy. It makes me wonder whether the game would have been better if sci powers had of been my only form of interaction with the world around me. Finally, the game allowed me to progress through alternate means on occasion, but this meant apparently important puzzles were totally bypassed (Who Will Be Saved? is a perfect example of this). All up, I can’t give the game any more than a 3.
Rating: 3

One of the times where Know Mind proved its potential.

Interface and Inventory
The icon based interface works well enough I guess. I never felt like I wasn’t able to get to what I needed when I needed it. The Sci Powers are pretty unique for an adventure game and without doubt the most enjoyable part of the game. There were some really good ideas that served the adventure game chassis pretty well, such as Zone Scan, which highlights hidden items, and Know Mind, which lets you know what someone is thinking and therefore whether they are friend or foe. I’d be surprised if another game somewhere down the list isn’t influenced by this approach. It did really annoy me that there was only one save game slot, but I got around that by making copies of the game files from time to time.

The interface rarely got in the way of what I wanted to attempt

Probably the biggest annoyance for me was that every time I left DOSBox (to draw a map, write a note or take a screenshot) and then came back to it, the game would act like my mouse button was being clicked a million times per second. This caused me to miss dialogue and select incorrect options from menus over and over again. Given that my character died more times than I could possibly count within the game itself, and that there were two separate game ending time limits, it’s safe to say that I restored or restarted this game more times than in all games on the list so far (possibly combined). While the DOSBox bug shouldn’t count against the game’s rating for obvious reasons, it certainly affected my enjoyment, so should be mentioned. The inventory was a very simple and visual one, which did allow for investigation and utilisation of each independent item, so no complaints there!
Rating: 5

The inventory was crude, but it worked well enough

Story and Setting
What can I possibly say about the story? The manual and background documents had me worried prior to commencing, with their obviously drug induced nonsense and strange sense of humour. I’d hoped that they were merely setting the tone, and that the game itself would make more sense, but it turned out they were a very good representation of what was to come. Chamber of the Sci-Mutant Priestess is completely bizarre from start to finish, and massively over-complicated, particular when you consider how short it is. There were way too many influences and ideas thrown into one pot, and most sections felt underdeveloped or just plain unfinished.

Well then I'm afraid pretty much nothing in this game is going to work!

The only time my interest was really captured was when Normajeen and Ash came into play, but they soon disappeared and played no further role, and the same can be said for the mummy I revived in their presence. It was the climax of the game that really took the cake though. My concept of what was actually happening changed numerous times while I tried desperately to piece it all together. The “twist” at the end was all but incomprehensible, and I still can’t say that I fully understand, despite the one line in the manual that gives a hint. Probably the most telling thing of all though, is that I really didn’t care. I just wanted it to be over!
Rating: 2

I see a...what? Oh, a flying saucer! Sorry, I thought you said something else!

Sound and Graphics
The first thing to say about the graphics is that they are extremely repetitive. I think part of the reason why the past few posts have not been very interesting is that most screenshots look exactly the same (or it could just be my lack of writing talent). It’s as though the designers were used to using CGA and didn’t know how to make the most of EGA, with an overabundance of blue throughout. Of more importance to gameplay though is the lack of onscreen visual change. I was often informed of things that were happening, but could see no representation of that on the screen. In some ways the game acts like an interactive fiction game with static graphics, with only minor forms of animation kicking in occasionally.

Considering it looks pretty much identical to every other wall in the game, how could I be so sure?

There are also some graphical glitches that confuse, including Qriich appearing in two places at once at a time where I was already very confused, and some very ugly characters. There’s less to say about the sound, with the effects limited to gurgles (representing speech) and clicking and grating sounds (for movement). I have to say that the music is actually quite fitting, having an alien ambiance to it that suits the surroundings. That being said, while I appreciated it the first twenty times I heard it, it soon became apparent that the same music was going to loop for the entire game. Technically, Chamber of the Sci-Mutant Priestess is pretty simplistic and this has a negative effect on gameplay, so I’m going with a 3.
Rating: 3

I can only see one thing on the ground, which is the dead guy, so it stands to reason that he must Qriich. Right? Am I right?

Environment and Atmosphere
There’s no doubt that the environment and atmosphere of Chamber of the Sci-Mutant Priestess is unique. Probably the only other game I’ve played that feels like it is Captain Blood, which had an equally bizarre and unpredictable quality. Both games also punish the player for “mistakes” and also apply pretty harsh time limits that are not really beatable on the first attempt. As Ilmari has mentioned a couple of times, the game has taken on more influences than you can poke a stick at, but it simply doesn’t spend enough time really making the most of any of them. Instead of being an intriguing world of gods, aliens, magic and mutations, it’s just a baffling wash of oddities that promising much while fully delivering on very little. Still…its Giger-esque backdrop is at least different to the normal Sierra and LucasArts fare.
Rating: 4

A lot of things in the game feel underdeveloped or really just play no role

Dialogue and Acting
I’m not sure whether to praise or punish the dialogue in the game. On the one hand it’s grammatically all over the place and at times I struggled to make any sense of it at all. On the other hand, it’s presumably intentionally that way to give the player the sense they are dealing with futuristic beings, aliens and a talking foetus. Gauss’ language is a puzzle device that I didn’t mind at all. I think it’s a pretty decent way to give hints to the player without outright telling them the solution, but then it wasn’t utilised anywhere near as well as it could have been, and the actual game mechanics meant the hints were either not needed at all or unsolvable without taking a leap in logic. I could give the designers the benefit of the doubt on the grammar and spelling, but in the end, it’s all about the player experience.
Rating: 3

You're going to remove your guilt and shame by "inseminizing" my girlfriend!?

Let's see what all that works out to be. I calculate a total of 20 points, divided by 60 equals 33.33, which rounded down is 33! That leaves the game just below Shadowgate and above Uninvited. It also means it ranks higher than the two previous French games, which feels right. You know what, I'm happy with 33 and see no reason to add or subtract my personal adjustment point. 33 it is!

So, did anyone pick 33? Yes, they did! Congratulations Mooki! You've won yourself a copy of the Quest for Glory collection. Send me an email to theadventuregamer@gmail.com and I'll reply with the GOG code. Once again I'd like to thank our sponsor Lars-Erik for his amazing contributions to the blog. It's interesting to see that my final rating was right at the bottom of the spectrum of predictions. Does anyone feel I've been too harsh?

Companion Assist Points for Chamber of the Sci-Mutant Priestess

It’s time to dish out (and perhaps deduct) some points for those that predicted things and assisted me along the way.

35 CAPs for Ilmari

* Legend Award - 20 CAPs - For playing along with me, and completing the game without a walkthrough!