Broken age initial release date3/30/2023 ![]() ![]() Splitting the game in two was one of the many controversial aspects of Broken Age's development, one of the loudest signs things weren't going as planned. The second act, grander and more interesting, makes the first feel like a demo. Oddly, it's an aspect completely absent from Broken Age's first part. While its universe isn't as grand as some of Schafer's LucasArts releases, it demands a similar spatial attention that draws you in. It's one of the most endearing things about Broken Age. But it's probably something super deep and artistic." You're a shared intuition, and who knows what that means. In this case the intuition is passing between Shay and Vella. They have an urge to pick something up, and when they won't they'll say why, like they're answering to their intuition. ![]() That's why adventure game characters act that way. ![]() Who is the player? What we've always used as a metaphor for that in adventure games is that the player is the intuition for the character. ![]() "It made me think about who the player is," said Shafer. What's special about Shay, Vella and their world is that the two are often miles apart, and it isn't inventory items or typical cause and effect they share but knowledge, small clues, an odd remark or a photograph, that solve the other person's mystery. Broken Age takes place in two environments, one a space vessel full of deceptive yarn-covered secrets, and the other a fantasy land divided into themed kingdoms, a little like Adventure Time (in fact Pendleton Ward voices one of the locals of Meriloft, a city of bird nests). Grim Fandango was a noire Mexican underworld, Psychonauts set in a summer camp for telepaths, and Brutal Legend took place inside a Mercyful Fate album cover. One of Schafer's other signature touches are vivid, quirky worlds. The original release date was October of 2012, that same year, which was long, long ago in case you haven't seen the calendar lately. The original funding goal, $400,000, was immediately reallocated toward producing the perk prizes for backers. But the execution and timeline of the game, which would become Broken Age, turned into a source of stress for Schafer. Today, Double Fine Adventure remains one of Kickstarter's most successful game projects. It quickly earmarked the site as a new creative model, risks and all. This was Kickstarter's first huge bonanza- the first campaign to break a million had it not been for an iPhone dock shortly before. It was even a new experience for Kickstarter. You feel like, of course! I should have gotten it the whole time." Then there's a big 'ah-ha' moment where it all clicks together in your head. There's a period of confusion, but it's kind of pleasant, because you know you should be able to figure it out. And then there is a space where you can explore solutions to it, but the most obvious doesn't work. "You have to have a really clear problem, like trying to get over a gorge, and a clear motivation, like there's a bag of candy over there, or a bag of money," Schafer said. Schafer describes these puzzles, where instinctively doing the obvious is the fastest route to a dead end, as requiring "lateral thinking"-a term he throws around like a catchphrase. Taking a cue from a previous Schafer game, Day of the Tentacle, there are many puzzles that cannot be completed by only sticking with one character. It is a game about Shay, a lonely boy determined to tear away from his monotonous environment, and Vella, a hot-headed girl driven to seek vengeance against a gigantic monster. Broken Age is an adventure across two acts-the first of which came out last year, and the second part, which was released today. ![]()
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