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Anyone remember Republique? The last episode is out and boy does it sh*t the bed

S

spindoctor

Member
grandwizard said:
I was following it and it would have failed if the games press didn't start collectively pimping it on social media because of Payton.
Click to expand...

All I remember about this Kickstarter is how much the games press went to bat for this project. Twitter, podcasts, articles everything. To this day I don't think I've ever seen a crowdfunding project pushed so hard by game journos.

That and how the project creators insisted that their artistic vision could only be realized on mobile platforms. They kept reiterating that right until the moment they announced a PC version as well after figuring out that they weren't going to get enough money.
 
M

Mr. RHC

Member
Cool, will pick this up as soon as I can!

Also congrats to everyone at Camouflaj! Really looking forward to whatever comes next, best of luck!
 
S

Schlomo

Member
I also backed it and was always waiting for all episodes to be out before I'd start playing it, but with the reception it's been getting I don't feel very motivated to try it at all.
 
V

vocab

Member
Im still waiting for dream machine to finish..

Ya, this game seemed crappy from the pitch. It being mobile too was a red flag.
 
M

Mr. RHC

Member
Ovek said:
Still waiting for my Kickstarter rewards...
Click to expand...

giphy.gif



I'm feeling you, bruh
 
M

Mr. Tibbs

Member
Stumpokapow said:
The Republique KS probably shouldn't have happened. When it launched there was a very strong signal that there was not demand for this product from this team. The team mounted a VERY aggressive campaign including lots of promises that materially altered the scope of the project (especially the PC port) and tons and tons of networking to get famous people to promote the thing
Click to expand...

From the outset, the developers made a fatal mistake of pursuing a project that people weren't all that interested in playing in the first place. Through the Kickstarter campaign and the exclusive media announcements, no one seemed to care about Republique beyond the developers. When Payton appeared on Weekend Confirmed and Up At Noon, it reminded me of Dyack promoting Shadow of the Eternals exclusively on IGN. Red flag after red flag!
 
AHA-Lambda

AHA-Lambda

Member
sarcoa said:
I just finished episode 5.

I don't know if the ending was poorly constructed, or if my memories of the characters and their respective motivations was deluded by two years of time and hundreds of other games but I have no idea why anything happened. The game went to being a stylish ode to dystopian literature to an hastily assembled mash up of science fiction and questionable storytelling decisions. It probably would have been better, or at least more effective, had I consumed it all at once, but I'm not even sure the game's worth a second look.
Click to expand...

Thank you, it's not just me then :-/

FWIW, looking at some of the discussion threads on steam now (namely my spoiler filled rant) some may have gotten more out of it than me.

Like I said a lot of details are in the collectibles (devs, stop doing this!!!) and there may or may not be alternate endings.
There is a branching moment at the start of Ep 5 but anyone who has described their ending got the same fake choice ending moment I did.

spindoctor said:
All I remember about this Kickstarter is how much the games press went to bat for this project. Twitter, podcasts, articles everything. To this day I don't think I've ever seen a crowdfunding project pushed so hard by game journos.

That and how the project creators insisted that their artistic vision could only be realized on mobile platforms. They kept reiterating that right until the moment they announced a PC version as well after figuring out that they weren't going to get enough money.
Click to expand...

And then a ps4 version :p

Fwiw, I remember this being one of the first "big" kickstarters after Broken Age, so it doesn't surprise me to see journalists pushing it, as inappropriate as it is >_>
You don't get that now at least.
 
A

Ambitious

Member
I can only agree with the general sentiment in this thread. After playing episode 1 for about thirty minutes, I called it a day because I was so incredibly bored. I never launched it again.
 
G

glaurung

Member
Still waiting for my phone case and hardcover art book, you fucknuggets.

This is the one Kickstarter that I regret backing the most.
 
J

jimboton

Member
I remember the Kickstarter campaign was very off putting to me from the beginning. All the focus on bringing AAA to mobile at a time when most people backing things were there because they craved stuff different from the usual AAA offerings.
 
C

Caspel

Business & Marketing Manager @ GungHo
Here is a Steam code for anyone who wants to give it a try:
HKIQN-D4NE2-0AZV? -- ? = the fifth letter of the publisher
 
AHA-Lambda

AHA-Lambda

Member
For my thread of ranting about the game to have a rep of the publisher come in and give out free keys

Yeah that's an I treating turn to me :p
 
F

Flandy

Member
deriks said:
I bought the first chapter, played like an hour or somthing and stopped because it's boring as hell
Click to expand...

Same. Didn't finish the first chapter because of how boring it was. Didn't help that it took them ages to release the rest of the episodes
 
W

William Bonney

Banned
Caspel said:
Here is a Steam code for anyone who wants to give it a try:
HKIQN-D4NE2-0AZV? -- ? = the fifth letter of the publisher
Click to expand...

Whoa, I was not expecting it to still be there. I redeemed it, thank you!

As a fan of stealth games and cyberpunk themes i have to at least try it. It has been on my wishlist for quite some time now.
 
B

Bane

Member
BiggNife said:
One of the few kickstarters I genuinely regret backing. Played like half of the first episode and was bored to tears.
Click to expand...

Same, except I haven't even started it yet. The first episode looked so boring, and the overalll level of mobile games has risen so this doesn't really seem that special anymore.
 
Bobs Big Boy

Bobs Big Boy

Member
Genuinely believe in the people making this and thought it had the opportunity to be something special.

Would love to read a post mortem type piece on its development.
 
M

Man Called Aerodynamics

Member
I was interested in this game primarily because of the voice talent-- it stars Jennifer Hale and David Hayter IIRC?

It is very weird how this game was covered/previewed a lot in the games press, and then met with absolute indifference by players. Not even anger or disappointment, just indifference. No one would even have noticed had it been quietly cancelled instead of finally coming out.
 
T

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
Sounds like a Ryan Payton game alright.
I'm still salty about how MGS4 turned out and that's due to him forcing Kojima to do a bunch of different things for "WESTERN ACCEPTANCE!!!!!!"
 
M

Mr. RHC

Member
TheSeks said:
Sounds like a Ryan Payton game alright.
I'm still salty about how MGS4 turned out and that's due to him forcing Kojima to do a bunch of different things for "WESTERN ACCEPTANCE!!!!!!"
Click to expand...


LMAO, this is taking me way back. The shitstorm was real. MGS4 had the best controls in 4 ever tho.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
No_Style said:
I backed this and it was one of the titles that just soured me on Kickstarting games. The first episode was such a let down that just didn't give a damn about the rest.

Now, I only back established devs and no more rag tag groups.
Click to expand...
A shame. Many of the best indie games are debut projects. And just because a game may be that studio's first project doesn't mean the devs aren't established/experienced (i.e. Camouflaj has members who worked on MGS 4, Halo 4, etc.)
 
I

iammeiam

Member
I backed this, played through it a bit when the first episode hit, then stopped to wait and see if it was ultimately worth continuing with.

Sounds like no, which is disappointing. I liked the concept but the base gameplay just seemed kind of... There. was really hoping to hear the story/world was strong enough to carry it.

I don't regret backing, and they did ultimately deliver a game (though I think I backed for some physical thing or something), still sad to hear it ended up poorly.
 
B

border

Member
Stumpokapow said:
How did Amplitude console turn out?
Click to expand...

The final product is exactly as promised, as far as I'm concerned. Plays great, looks great.

It's still hard not to be disappointed that there's only about 20 songs, there's no licensed music, and that there will likely not be any DLC tracks.
 
E

eFKac

Member
Would have bought it on the Vita (paging Greg Miller).

Not sure if I'll buy a mobile game port on the PS4, too much good games to play right now.
 
R

randomlee26

Member
I feel genuinely baffled by the ending. I wish the explanations were just a tad less obtuse. After all, there have been year-long gaps between episode releases.

What was Hope referring to when asked "Is that America?!"
 
E

El Sloth

Banned
Stumpokapow said:
The Republique KS probably shouldn't have happened. When it launched there was a very strong signal that there was not demand for this product from this team. The team mounted a VERY aggressive campaign including lots of promises that materially altered the scope of the project (especially the PC port) and tons and tons of networking to get famous people to promote the thing. It just barely made its goal in the end--something that almost always means it undershot the actual amount of money the team needed. The damning thing isn't that the game took so long to be made, but how little reaction there was from the very beginning. It seems like many people who were interested during the KS either never played the game or played a few minutes of the first episode. The feedback is not negative, it's just indifferent. The resulting PC launch really hasn't moved the needle at all. It's a bummer, but I think this is maybe one of the reasons why KS's all-or-nothing funding model can actually be good: by signalling the developers that their project needs a rethink or they need more experience. I can think of a few other KSes that have similarly had to pull out all of the stops to brutally slog to the bare minimum goal, and most of them have had bad development trouble (Indivisible is one that seems to be a bit of an exception).

How did Amplitude console turn out?
Click to expand...
I think the difference with Indivisible is that the goal they slogged to hit was the actual real amount they needed to make the game they envisioned + funding from a publisher. Camoflaj didn't have any sort of publisher support did they?
 
T

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
henhowc said:
forcing?
Click to expand...

"Kojima-san!!! You gotta change up the controls! It's 2008! Western Gamers won't accept the control scheme you've used for three games now!!"

Etc.

Mr. RHC said:
LMAO, this is taking me way back. The shitstorm was real. MGS4 had the best controls in 4 ever tho.
Click to expand...

I place the blame of MGS4 squarely on both's heads, but a lot of the gameplay design decisions that Payton pushed for are the worst things for the game, IMO. But this is derailing from his failure of a game thread. So, I'mma gonna drop it. But suffice it to say, I'm not surprised by how his marquee game designer game turned out and how little people cared once they played it (IF they played it).

At least the setting sounded kinda interesting, but his name and how he designs stuff turned me off it completely.
 
J

JoeyJungle

Banned
El Sloth said:
I think the difference with Indivisible is that the goal they slogged to hit was the actual real amount they needed to make the game they envisioned + funding from a publisher. Camoflaj didn't have any sort of publisher support did they?
Click to expand...

Yes they received outside investment.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
eFKac said:
Would have bought it on the Vita (paging Greg Miller).

Not sure if I'll buy a mobile game port on the PS4, too much good games to play right now.
Click to expand...
Depends on the game and changes made, really. Like Simogo bringing Year Walk to Wii U, or Super Impossible Road having overhauled graphics and multiplayer
 
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