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Ice-Pick Lodge forums • Sit down to my table
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 Post subject: Sit down to my table
PostPosted: 22 Aug 2012, 23:46 
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Friends, from now on I'm here sitting in the corner.
Feel free to take a place beside and ask any question. )


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 Post subject: Re: Sit down to my table
PostPosted: 23 Aug 2012, 00:46 
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/me Pulls a chair to the table

So.....

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

The fans demand to know!


(In a more serious fashion, an introduction would be good as it will help tailor the questions better)


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 Post subject: Re: Sit down to my table
PostPosted: 23 Aug 2012, 01:33 
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A woodchuck would chuck all the wood he could if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

You won't catch me, old man! You can ask questions three.

"... What is your name? - Brave sir Robin of Camelot! - What is your favourite colour? - Blue! ... Oh no! Ye-..."


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 Post subject: Re: Sit down to my table
PostPosted: 23 Aug 2012, 01:37 
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:twisted:


I'm assuming then you are from the dev team? Welcome to our corner of the world. Tomorrow I can barrage you with questions :D


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 Post subject: Re: Sit down to my table
PostPosted: 23 Aug 2012, 01:57 
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It's a deal. ) You're welcome.


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 Post subject: Re: Sit down to my table
PostPosted: 23 Aug 2012, 17:04 
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So I will also sit and ask a question: What is Frost? :)


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 Post subject: Re: Sit down to my table
PostPosted: 24 Aug 2012, 08:32 
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Oh, if you are who I think you are:

Thank you for the engrossing game experiences!

When creating Pathologic, what made you and the studio decide there would be three playable characters? Did this influence how the town and supporting cast were designed? Were any of the cast particularly easy or difficult to write?

Pathologic Spoiler-ish question:
In the Haruspicus' ending, the Authorities are within the town rather than outside it; was this an effect of destroying the Polyhedron?


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 Post subject: Re: Sit down to my table
PostPosted: 24 Aug 2012, 08:58 
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It's a deal. ) You're welcome.

After taking a closer look, your face is familiar... if you are who I think you are, thank you very much for such engrossing experiences.

Here are a couple of questions as promissed:
  • IPL destinguised themselves by playing with our emotions in Pathologic and The Void in that is called "Russian dessolation and desperation". I think that gave IPL the fame it got. Although we still don't know how depressive Knock-Knock will be, did you ever consider playing once again to IPL strong points? Cargo was a shift in the opposite direction.
  • Out of curiosity, which game sold better, in the Russian market and European market; Pathologic, The Void/Tension/Turgor or Cargo?
  • What gives inspiration to the desperate visages we see in Pathologic and The Void?
  • The million ruble question: If KK is a success on Kickstart (and everything indicates that it will at least reach its goal), ever considered doing a Kickstarter for Pathologic retranslation? I think that would go really well with the IPL fan community after 2 or 3 (Lost count to be honest) retranslation attenpts? Sub question: Pathologic in Turgor Engine? :)
  • Given that previous games were driven by a selected beveredges, what is fueling KK? Or have you gone into hard vodka and absint mixtures? :D
  • Did I mention we need more games that instill the dread of desperation and soliture in the game market? :D :D
  • Is there any classic game that you draw inspiration? To me, The Path and Planescape Torment come to mind in rich vivid (and morbid) stories.
That should keep you sober enough for a while (or maybe not :D) to think about the questions. :lol: :lol:


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 Post subject: Re: Sit down to my table
PostPosted: 24 Aug 2012, 20:39 
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Just wanted to say thank you for the brilliant games you have made.

Question though. Hopefully Knock Knock gets successfully funded and made :)

Are we the customers going to have to jump through third DRM hoops like steam to play it though?

It's particularly iffy with their recent subscriber agreement changes and would make me reconsider purchasing in future.


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 Post subject: Re: Sit down to my table
PostPosted: 25 Aug 2012, 18:17 
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So I will also sit and ask a question: What is Frost? :)

We have been working on "The Frost" since 2008. We started designing it as an epic saga, performin a strange love story in a strange postapocaliptic civil war setting which untwists over the time of 70 years - from their childhood till their old ages when their children and grand-children pick up the baton from them and facing the same problems as Abel and Vera did, again and again.

Actually after having finished "The Void" we were offered to make "a game with a structure very close to Pathologic, but with a big worthy budget" by some people from Atari Europe (it was still alive in 2008). So from the very beginning we designed The Frost as quite a big game. I doubt that we'll be able to make it for peanuts.

But we still like the idea very much. Despite of "70 years period" and "~100 original characters" the design is quite realistic. It can be really well done.
I still want to make it at any cost.


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 Post subject: Re: Sit down to my table
PostPosted: 25 Aug 2012, 18:26 
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When creating Pathologic, what made you and the studio decide there would be three playable characters? Did this influence how the town and supporting cast were designed? Were any of the cast particularly easy or difficult to write?
Nothing. This "trio" came to my hand just in a moment (the whole game idea did, actually). It was like a short and clear outbreak of memory (or "vision") of the whole situation. Like a picture. The following work was recovering and understaing it. Like trying to reconstruct your dream.

Yes, it was difficult to write. It was not a work of a writer (I'm not a professional script writer at all), much more a work of a medium. I was writing the replicas word-by-word doing all my best to feel whether this one is true or false.

I hope we'll update our site soon with a story of our studio including three postmortems. I'll tell there more about designing and making each of our games.
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Pathologic Spoiler-ish question:
In the Haruspicus' ending, the Authorities are within the town rather than outside it; was this an effect of destroying the Polyhedron?
Yes. )


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 Post subject: Re: Sit down to my table
PostPosted: 25 Aug 2012, 19:15 
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After taking a closer look, your face is familiar... if you are who I think you are, thank you very much for such engrossing experiences.
Thank you, Throdax! I'm glad to meet you, because now I remember that I've also heard about you before from The LxR.
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Here are a couple of questions as promissed:
  • IPL destinguised themselves by playing with our emotions in Pathologic and The Void in that is called "Russian dessolation and desperation". I think that gave IPL the fame it got. Although we still don't know how depressive Knock-Knock will be, did you ever consider playing once again to IPL strong points? Cargo was a shift in the opposite direction.
You are right. Nevertheless "Cargo!" was also an experiment. We were trying to design a comedy, but it turned out that fun is not our strongest point. :lol: Actually I can talk just for myself. "Cargo!" was not my original idea. It came to Ayrat's head - but Ayrat was mostly carried away with its construction and physical capabilities, leaving the world and atory to me. You know, too many cooks spoil the broth. As for me, I could not work as a pure "proffesional". I could not make a deep game out of some predefined setting. So it was just... a try to prove myself worthy in a comic genre. Anyway, I don't think that Cargo! is a fail.

Moreover - I was very glad that another man from our studio comes with his idea and his own understanding of "the deep game". We are a guild, not a princedom. As for me - my next projects will continue the same way. But still I'm proud of dissimilarity of all our projects. We're not only a guild, but also a creative laboratory, and we must keep experimenting with different forms and genres!
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[*]Out of curiosity, which game sold better, in the Russian market and European market; Pathologic, The Void/Tension/Turgor or Cargo?
It were publishers who were selling them. I don't want to say that I don't beleive their reports... but we don't have the exhaustive information. I can say that The Void is the only game which still brings us some humble royalties. And what is the real reason to call "Cargo!" an epic fail is the marketing strategy (the absence of it) of bitComposer. Thanks to them. :evil:
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[*]What gives inspiration to the desperate visages we see in Pathologic and The Void?
As I said to Aneuron - I don't know. Anyway each visage is the result of my cooperation with the lead artist who creates the final image. I'm doing my best to explain its sense and meaning, to discover it as a symbol in the texture of the plot and game idea. I'm yelling, waving my hands, bringing the references, singing songs or starting music, sometimes I even try to make some drafts myself. Artist patiently waits untill I finish, and then makes it the way he wants. ) That's the technology.

I don't think that we use some outer things for inspiration. If Meethos wouldn't be such a hermit, I would summon him to this post. But he usually keeps away from communications.
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[*]The million ruble question: If KK is a success on Kickstart (and everything indicates that it will at least reach its goal), ever considered doing a Kickstarter for Pathologic retranslation? I think that would go really well with the IPL fan community after 2 or 3 (Lost count to be honest) retranslation attenpts? Sub question: Pathologic in Turgor Engine? :)
Actually we're thinking of using the Kickstarter for Pathologic total rremake. Yes, it must be retranslated. But if we start changing the game (to prepare it for uploading at http://www.gog.com, for example) we won't be able to stop. We'll start fixing the bugs, then tuning the awful fighting system, then rebalancing the economics, and in the meantime we'll start updating the models... that's we way it will be.
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[*]Given that previous games were driven by a selected beveredges, what is fueling KK? Or have you gone into hard vodka and absint mixtures? :D
This is a myth. Yes, we were drinking really hard when only starting our studio with Pathologic (young, naive and enthusiastic students, you know). Some of us were keen of absinth drinking culture (as a token of the epoch we were inspired by) in the middle of Pathologic development. But we never declared any special beverage while developing Tension (Turgor) or The Void. So for the KK let it be tea or coffee... to keep vigil till dawn!
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[*]Did I mention we need more games that instill the dread of desperation and soliture in the game market? :D :D
You should talk to Mushroomer (our sound producer) about it. He has an interesting theory of "discomfort needs" in the modern world-2.0 :wink:
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[*]Is there any classic game that you draw inspiration? To me, The Path and Planescape Torment come to mind in rich vivid (and morbid) stories.[/list]
It's hard to beleive, but we were never inspired by PS:T. I respect it greatly, but I started playing it only in 2006-2007 (because everyone was telling me that I'm influenced by it). The main game I was inspired by when deciding on my career is Thief - The Dark Project. It made a great impression on me when I first saw it.


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 Post subject: Re: Sit down to my table
PostPosted: 25 Aug 2012, 19:19 
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Are we the customers going to have to jump through third DRM hoops like steam to play it though?
It's particularly iffy with their recent subscriber agreement changes and would make me reconsider purchasing in future.
Hicks, thank you for the reminder! We'll try to make as user-friendly DRM system as possible. I'll summon Ayrat to the post to comment my words more specifically.


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 Post subject: Re: Sit down to my table
PostPosted: 25 Aug 2012, 20:15 
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This a round table, so cut the seriousness or get out :P (I'm just kidding please don't do out).

We are a small comunity on the English side of the forum, and I belive everyone one of us wants you fell at home an ease with us.

I knew that Aryat was the mind of Cargo! (I had some insider information while LxR was still there ;) ) but I would not consider it a failure. Like I said it was a departure from what we knew but I think we all understood the critic of FUN that Cargo brough to the table, so on that, well done.

You are right, trully IPL is guild and I knew that the contributions of Mushroomer with whom I've had some talks also, the talent of Methoos and Kaelte along with your vission and everyone effort was what created Pathologic, The Void and even Cargo!

Just a humble advice, if you allow me to do so, if IPL manages to remake Pathologic (the RPS guys will freak out when they hear this), carefull with the visuals. Part of what makes Pathologic so good is the sense of desperation and dread, too clean visuals would destroy all that ;)

Thank you for answer, now please less serious with us :( we are not press just fans, so bring the booze to the table and enjoy it with us :)

As for me, I'll continue all my efforts to make sure IPL gets the recognicion it deserves in the sea of bland games that is the industry in these days.

(Do I get a reward when I reach 1000 posts? :D)


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 Post subject: Re: Sit down to my table
PostPosted: 25 Aug 2012, 20:52 
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It's a shame Cargo! didn't reach a wider audience. I think it was the type of game that no matter how it was marketed it would find its own audience rather than be marketed. There was a warm and unusual charm to Cargo! that was very noticeable. The voice acting in particular never failed to make me smile. :D


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 Post subject: Re: Sit down to my table
PostPosted: 25 Aug 2012, 21:02 
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Thank you for answer, now please less serious with us :( we are not press just fans, so bring the booze to the table and enjoy it with us :)
(Do I get a reward when I reach 1000 posts? :D)
Well..... 'tis a bargain! Be sure that I become less serious when you reach your 1000!


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 Post subject: Re: Sit down to my table
PostPosted: 25 Aug 2012, 21:05 
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The voice acting in particular never failed to make me smile. :D
Oh my... :shock: Was there any?.. I certainly missed something in debugging the game...


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 Post subject: Re: Sit down to my table
PostPosted: 25 Aug 2012, 21:14 
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Thank you for answer, now please less serious with us :( we are not press just fans, so bring the booze to the table and enjoy it with us :)
(Do I get a reward when I reach 1000 posts? :D)
Well..... 'tis a bargain! Be sure that I become less serious when you reach your 1000!
It is a deal then. 1000 Posts here I go.

Let me think about more questions.....

About Knock Knock. Nah... I'll keep the Knock Knock question to its own thread.

Share some insight on the visionary process about IPL. A few month ago I got some information that you guys ran out of rubles for office rent and were working on someone house. I doubt that finance has been stellar otherwise we wouldn't have the need to a kickstarter, but are you guys at least holding up? I would hate to see my favorite developers do down under finalcial woes. :(


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 Post subject: Re: Sit down to my table
PostPosted: 25 Aug 2012, 21:20 
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You should have heard that Russians are used to harsh surviving, so they can suffer sustained deprivation? That's not true.

We don't suffer. We do LOVE it! :wink:


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 Post subject: Re: Sit down to my table
PostPosted: 25 Aug 2012, 21:23 
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Thanks for the answer. Hope you will make it faster than Duke Nukem Forever was created ;) I'm not sure if I can ask such a question, but, what budget do you need to work with the Frost. If it's secret - ok.
Not a secret at all. When Wolfgang Walk proposed us to design the concept he suggested that Atari can provide €2 mln (of course we could not beleive our ears when we heard about existing of such numbers). Last year when we pitched The Frost at GDC in Cologne Robert Wallace suggested that we must make such a game for $6-7mln for it could explode the market. I guess that his budget included also the marketing expences, that's why the starting sum doubled. :lol:

Now we're working on the way to turn the concept inside out to make it possible for a nut. Necessity is the mother of invention. :idea:
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And one more question that bothers me since I've finished translating Pathologic: Is the Void/Tension story about Simon who fights with Sand Plaque and trying to return to Polyhedron?
I've never suggested it and never thought about it when making The Void. But who knows what was Simon thinking about... I know for sure that it wasn't me who invented The Void. So why not Simon?.. :wink:

EDIT: I respond my own questions? :D


Last edited by jakubcjusz on 25 Aug 2012, 22:51, edited 2 times in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Sit down to my table
PostPosted: 25 Aug 2012, 21:26 
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You should have heard that Russians are used to harsh surviving, so they can suffer sustained deprivation? That's not true.

We don't suffer. We do LOVE it! :wink:
Next you'll be telling me that in Russia harsh survives you. :lol: :lol: :P


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 Post subject: Re: Sit down to my table
PostPosted: 25 Aug 2012, 22:06 
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Next you'll be telling me that in Russia harsh survives you.
No. Such a situation used to be in Soviet Russia! Don't forget that we're a free country now... :wink:


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 Post subject: Re: Sit down to my table
PostPosted: 25 Aug 2012, 22:27 
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Touche Mister Dybowski, Touche.


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 Post subject: Re: Sit down to my table
PostPosted: 25 Aug 2012, 23:03 
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This is a great thread; all of these questions are really interesting!

For Knock-Knock, which seems divided up into "Nights" that must be survived, will the story be portioned out to the player after he lives through a segment of gameplay, or will portions of the story need to be sought after(maybe in the form of documents or journal pages?) like in Pathologic and to a lesser extent The Void?

(For example, in Pathologic every character has something to say even if you don't need to interact with them, and in the Void filling a sister's hearts up with their Brother still alive will make them comment on the sister before challenging you to a duel)


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 Post subject: Re: Sit down to my table
PostPosted: 25 Aug 2012, 23:13 
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Aneuron, I don't know... Still working on it, still working on the story.
The situation is too bizarre. I say, I cannot afford a pure creation - it's an investigation actually. So I change the story as long as I continue thinking about the core material.


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