Enter the Story: Hamlet is Out, and It's Free

Hamlet is the newest story in Chris Tolworthy's ambitious project, Enter the Story, which aims to turn the world's classic literature into choose-your-own adventure style video games. This game, based on William Shakespeare's play about Prince Hamlet seeking revenge upon his uncle for murdering his father, is completely free.

If you enjoy this game, the rest of the Enter the Story games, including the original five original adventure games for Windows created with Adventure Game Studio, can be purchased in a package deal from the Enter the Story website.

Pledge Quest - SpaceVenture Kickstarter Fan Game

PledgeQuest is an adventure game for Windows and Linux created by a group of fans at the Space Quest fansite The Virtual Broomcloset to stir up interest in the SpaceVenture kickstarter. The game is a single room adventure game created with Adventure Game Studio starring a woman named Bea (named after Roger Wilco's love interest Beatrice). The goal is to get Bea to visit the SpaceVenture kickstarter page to pledge support to the Two Guys From Andromeda's SpaceVenture kickstarter campaign.

The the SpaceVenture kickstarter is currently at 72% of it's goal of $500,000US, and there is only 5 days left to go. If you liked the Space Quest games, pick a pledge tier. The game may not contain the Space Quest name, but it contains all of the Space Quest humor and charm.

SpaceVenture Playable Prototype Demo 3 Is Out

The SpaceVenture Kickstarter has been updated with a third playable prototype demo, that is not restricted to just Chrome this time. It's playable in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and iPad. Note that the full game won't require a browser at all. Only the prototype demos are designed that way, so they can be developed quickly and released each time the kickstarter meets another $100,000US goal.

Replay Games' Paul Trowe Sabotaging Kickstarters?

If you're not aware, Paul Trowe of Replay Games (the company who started the Leisure Suit Larry kickstarter) sent out a message to the press that he wanted to sue Wisecrack games for using Al Lowe's name and the Leisure Suit Larry name on their kickstarter. Al Lowe reponded to the message saying that he didn't intend to sue and that he gave his permission to use his name and wishes Wisecrack Games luck on Sam Suede.

However, some posters on the Adventure Gamers forums have dug up something rather concerning. According to this post by Adventure Gamers poster supaplex, a person called "gamespygeek" has been trolling the Sierra related kickstarters. There is a profile on Myspace also under the name gamespygeek that looks like Paul Trowe. Additionally, the name on the Myspace page "Jiminy Drambuie" is friends with Paul Trowe on Facebook, and both Paul Trowe and Jiminy Drambuie are listed as living in Austin, TX.

Also, an Adventure Gamers forum user by the name of Siddhi noted some similarites between Gamespygeek's trolls and Paul Trowe's own posts.

Gamespygeek wrote on SpaceVenture kickstarter:

I don’t know who the heck this guy Chris Pope is, but I believe in Scott & Mark and their ability to make a game after all these years. I originally dropped my pledge to $1.00 because of the technical screw ups but I don’t think that’s The Two Guys’s fault…I blame that on the Chris guy…he’s leading this effort.

Paul Trowe wrote:

Ask them why they didn’t join up with the folks at Replay Games to create Sierra 2.0 and instead chose some guy they’ve never heard of, Chris Pope, to run a company they don’t own.

All of this evidence does seem like Paul Trowe, or a friend of Paul Trowe, is trying to sabotage other Sierra related kickstarters. And if that is indeed the case, it's incredibly poor sportsmanship and reflects poorly upon Replay Games.

Enter the Story: Othello is Available Now

Enter the Story, Chris Tolworthy's ambitious project to turn the world's classic literature into choose-your-own adventure style games, has received its newest title. This time it's one of William Shakespeare's most famous plays: Othello. The play is about a Moorish general named Othello who is going to marry a Senator's daughter, but the Senator is against the marriage due to Othello's race.

Half of the game is available to play for free on the Enter the Story website. The whole game can be purchased as part of a package deal that includes the other choose-your-own adventure games created in Javascript, as well as the original five Enter the Story adventure games created with Adventure Game Studio.

Sam Suede is Now on Kickstarter

Sam Suede in Undercover Exposure is the newest game on kickstarter. The game is a comedy adventure game by Wisecrack Games and coded by Wizarbox (of Grey Matter and So Blonde fame). The game design was created by Al Lowe (creator of Leisure Suit Larry) and Ken Wegrzyn of Wisecrack Games in 2006, and still remains in tact. Al Lowe is no longer involved in the project, and he stresses that his comedy writing is not present, but his game design is still present.

Thankfully, Steve Ince (formerly of Revolution Software (he was director of the first three games in the Broken Sword series), and creator of Mr. Smoozles Goes Nutso and So Blonde) is involved, so the comedy factor should be handled very well. He also did the art design of the games he worked on, and was the art designer of Beneath a Steel Sky. So, the game is in capable hands.

Like the other adventure projects on Kickstarter, there are multiple tiers to choose from, each with their own goodies, including a physical copy of the game at $125, along with the game bible and an art book. So, if you like comedy adventure games, choose a pledge tier at the Sam Suede Kickstarter.

The Journey Down Chapter One Review

The Journey Down: Chapter One is SkyGoblin's high definition remake of their free low definition adventure game, The Journey Down: Over the Edge. It is the first part of a four chapter adventure. It's an episodic game akin to The Dream Machine, as opposed to Telltale's episodic games, in that both games are made with a small team (a team of four core members in The Journey Down's case). As such, the future chapters do not have any set release date, and this chapter is going to have to leave a lasting impression on those who decide to play it before all four chapters are released. Thankfully, it does manage to do just that, for the most part.

The story is interesting, but it's clear this first chapter is meant as an introduction for things to come.  The game's main character, Bwana, and his brother Kito run the bayside Gas & Charter.  The problem is, they haven't had a flight chartered in twenty years, and the gas business is so slow the company can't pay their electric bills.  Luckily, a mysterious woman named Lina shows up one night looking for a mysterious book and wanting to charter a flight out of town.

The puzzles are centered around finding the book and then fixing the plane so they can take Lina where she wants to go.  The puzzles are pretty interesting, and they are centered more in the classic adventure puzzle mold. So, they do need some more thinking than an episode from Telltale Games, but never as much as a LucasArts or Sierra adventure.  The difficulty level lies somewhere in-between, which should sit well for people looking for more of a challenge than is usual in modern adventure titles.  Being a modern adventure game though, there are, thankfully, some modern additions.  If you take too long to solve a puzzle, Bwana will say something to hint at what you should do next.  These are subtle hints, similar to those said by the characters in Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures, and fit within the context of the game's world without drawing you out of it.

Where the game really shines is in the art design and music categories. The game's style is reminiscent of the LucasArts classics, particularly Grim Fandango.  Where the latter game used Mexican calaveras as the inspiration for it's game's characters, The Journey Down uses African tribal masks as its influence.  It works really well, and helps add to the African theme of the adventure.  The music also is wonderful, with a Caribbean style soundtrack that really sets the mood for the game.

The voice acting is also well done, for the most part.  Bwana and Kito sound great, and the voices really fit their characters.  Lina is also voiced well, although her performance is a bit flat at times.  The latter is true for the rest of the characters as well.  They are voiced well for the most part, and fit their characters, but their performances are lacking at times.  Thankfully, this is better voiced than most independent adventure games by a small team, as. although the performances are hit and miss, the voices don't grate on you enough to want to turn them off.

The first chapter of The Journey Down does a nice job of setting up things for future episodes, while being entertaining on its own.  The art and music really shine, and help set the mood for the African theme of the adventure.  The game ends on a cliffhanger setting up the next chapter, but the abundant puzzles and interesting story so far should leave you satisfied enough while you wait for Chapter Two.  The voices of Bwana and Kito are excellent, but the other voices are hit and miss.  They fit their characters, but the performances can be a bit flat.  Thankfully, this is just a small blemish on an excellent game.

Update: June 26, 2012: Since I first posted this review, the game's price has been reduced by half. I definitely recommend this game now at this price. It's a reasonable price to pay for one chapter of a four chapter game.  Plus, it does go to help a small team, and the game is well designed and fun, so you'll likely feel like you've gotten your money's worth.

Final Verdict:

4 out of 5

Chapter Two Review