Indie

Downfall Interview with Remigiusz Michalski

Martyn Zachary 8 Comments

We recently talked to the very accessible Remigiusz Michalski about some of the more burning questions relating to his horror adventure game, Downfall. In our interview, we touch on his feelings about being an indie developer – including how Steam had shockingly outright rejected the game as unfit for their audience – and how the game’s style and structure really came about. Michalski also clarifies how the game relates to the adventure game genre all the while gently jabbing poor Guybrush.

The interview additionally contains never before seen side-to-side comparisons of development sketches and exclusive versions of backgrounds – including unfinished art that never made it to the game – to allow readers more insight into Michalski’s development cycle.

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Here at the Slowdown, we also noticed how some players have been on the fence with the amount of gore in the game, so we wanted Remy to clarify the true nature of the horror present in Downfall. In turn, we also learned how some of the game and its locations are really reality-based.

Finally, we intend to publish our complementary review of the game, with more in-game screenshots to go, in a matter of a few days; If you’re interested in the game, the easiest way to read the forthcoming review is to subscribe to us on Twitter or to our RSS feed. Downfall is currently available on Direct2Drive, and our thank you goes to Mr. Michalski for taking the time to answer our questions.

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Natural Selection 2 Teaser

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Unknown Worlds have recently put up a brand new website for the forthcoming Natural Selection 2. The previously Kotaku-exclusive teaser trailer is also viewable on the site as of today. I’ve included the trailer in YouTube format after the jump, but you can find the teaser in glorious 1280×720 on the website.

For an indie game developed by as few as four people, obviously NS2 is nothing short of a miracle of economy. While we probably won’t be covering the game as much (due to its move from Source onto a proprietary engine), an interesting facet of their current presale methodology hit me.

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Blackwell Cartoon Shorts

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Wadjet Eye Games, having fiendishly teased its fans for a good while now, have just published their first cartoon short for the Blackwell game series:

This might be completely uncalled for, but the way poor Rosangela is played for comic relief in the first episode feels slightly off-register. Not to complain about free laughs, obviously, but in my very generic understanding of the series, the depth of the cast goes far beyond what is on display here, and in that sense, Blackwell newcomers might be somewhat confused as to where the ‘true’ register of the game series lies.

While the assemblage of characters in the series does seem to contain some influence of the American sitcom tradition, I’m not so sure that situational comedy, at this point in time, is the best way to deepen the characters, especially since we are – forgive the worn-out turn of phrase – not laughing with Rosangela, but at her.

I’d love to hear what others think of the cartoon short, though (for all I know I might be wrong about this) and obviously for now I’ll have to hold my judgement in anticipation of the subsequent episodes. In any case, I believe the cartoon is a first for indie adventure gaming, and it’s always delightful to see an ‘extended’ universe at work!

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Zeno Clash 2 Announced

Martyn Zachary Leave a comment

Straight from the horse’s mouth, ACE Team have just revealed a post-launch Zeno Clash trailer to “celebrate the announcement of ACE Team’s next project; Zeno Clash 2”.

The sequel is to continue directly where its predecessor left off, with both Father Mother and the mysterious Golem making a return alongside an extended cast of characters. Glorious! It’s certainly uplifting, from our perspective, to hear that Zeno Clash has done well enough to warrant itself a sequel. If only ACE Team’s apparent success at capitalizing on the small-scale format did not rather vividly remind us of earlier failures of the similar kind, with the likes of Sin Episodes failing to grow into a full-fledged franchise.

In relation to Michael Russell’s post on Sin Episodes above, one might surmise that a fair portion of the success should be owed to the collective goodwill and support ACE Team managed to accumulate over a relatively short period of time, with developer Carlos Bordeu going so far as to reach out to torrenters in the comment section of a torrent for the game, and with project leader Andres talking often and directly to the likes of ModDB. The game’s unique look must have also contributed to the game standing out from the crowd.

Ultimately, what propelled the game upwards in the sales ranks was the company’s decision to aggressively utilize various guerilla discounts to produce interest and word-of-mouth. Finally, the team never overreached, even choosing to scrap an earlier project of much larger scope in favour of a more concise experience that prudently focused on doing one thing – FPS melee – well.

In retrospect, it’s quite fantastic how Andres’ earlier remarks, that “the unconventional has been the safe thing to do” 1)http://www.moddb.com/games/zeno-clash/features/zeno-clash-interview-part-1, came to be sagacious instead of inauspicious.

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Downfall

Martyn Zachary 2 Comments

Remigiusz Michalski’s new 2D horror adventure game, Downfall, is the latest AGS-based indie project to make it gloriously over to the retail market. The game, designed to attract those craving “…for an intellectual adventure that puts complex storyline and immersive dialogues before the polygon count”, and features “scenes of violence and gore, sexual content and strong language and it is suitable only for persons of 18 years and over”.

From the Harvester Games website:

“Quiet Haven Hotel was supposed to be just a one night shelter for Joe and Lucy Davis. But things soon start to go wrong. Lucy’s panic attacks get worse and soon she disappears. And in the morning hotel changes too. Nothing is what it seems anymore. Joe is left alone, trying to understand what is happening, trapped between reality and the nightmare.”

While the game is obviously another testament to Chris Jones’ fantastic adventure game platform, it’s also a delightful example of perseverance: Back in 2007, Downfall was a mere batch of relatively clumsy, gorey screenshots posted over at the AGS forums. In fact, an early demo version(!) is still available for download in case you’re the kind of person to obsess over a game’s entire production curve. Here is a comparison, of the “old” and “new” Downfall, to really drive home the amount of improvement that’s gone into the project:

At this juncture, the game looks fierce, and sports an interesting, aesthetically cohesive look and feel. The game will be sold, for the modest price tag of $9.99, at Direct2Drive.

Update:

A demo has been released for the game and is currently available on FilePlanet.

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