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Broken Age |OT| A Double Fine Adventure! [iPad/Ouya Act One out now]

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duckroll

Member
Yeah I don't think it looks likely that they'll release it this year. A bunch of stuff aren't even in Alpha yet. I never expected Part 2 to come out this year ever since they announced they were splitting the game into two. Tim is always way too optimistic about release dates. :p
 

Doopliss

Member
It's good to hear that it's shaping up to be at least as long as Act 1. It would've sucked if i was just a 30 minute epilogue or something.

I wonder if they'll give backers early access to the game again. I'd guess probably not given the fiasco that turned out to be last time. Actually it would be total BS for people that regular-bought Act 1 so I guess there's no chance of it happening.
 

Haunted

Member
Watched the last episode, dat obvious ending spoiler even with the attempted pixellation :D

Also, I know the series is a couple weeks behind actual development, but there's no way they make 2014. No way.
 

Morfeo

The Chuck Norris of Peace
Finally started this yesterday. I went in expecting I wouldnt like it at all, since I didnt really like the style they went for, and Ive had some friends who thougth it was meh, but I must say, the game is really enjoyable! I mean its not the new coming of point&click or anything, but the pacing is good, story is interesting, dialogue funny, and I think the two scenarios works really well togheter. The puzzles have been a bit easy for now (but I still havent completed it), but i guess its better to do them too easy than do them Sierra-style. Anyways, very enjoyable, and really hope it wont be too long before part 2!
 

PaulloDEC

Member
New production update from them on Act 2. Still early next year as a release date. Playtests indicate 8-12h gameplay length.

Great news on the length, especially given I already got a solid 5 hours out of Act 1.

And just to be clear for anyone who hasn't read the update, that's 8-12 hours for Act 2 alone.
 

Fuu

Formerly Alaluef (not Aladuf)
Very interested in how Tim ultimately dealt with the easy puzzles criticism. I personally didn't mind the puzzles but I wouldn't oppose more robust ones either. I'm guessing those who miss pixel hunting and obscure illogical solutions won't be satisfied either way though.
 
And just to be clear for anyone who hasn't read the update, that's 8-12 hours for Act 2 alone.

Wow, that's awesome. Honestly expected something along the lines of 3-4, 5 at most hours. Hopefully this gives they the opportunity to really explore some more complex and taxing puzzle challenges. I did enjoy the character moments in act 1 but was a little disappointed by the straightforwardness of the logic pyzzles.
 
Wow, that's awesome. Honestly expected something along the lines of 3-4, 5 at most hours. Hopefully this gives they the opportunity to really explore some more complex and taxing puzzle challenges. I did enjoy the character moments in act 1 but was a little disappointed by the straightforwardness of the logic pyzzles.

I would have been satisfied with 4-5 hours for act 2. That would have put act 1 and 2 in 10h, which is the same that Broken Sword 5 had, and that game felt just fine in terms of game length.

I'm sure 12h for their tests can mean 6h for some people, but even that is very good for the second act.

Very interested in how Tim ultimately dealt with the easy puzzles criticism. I personally didn't mind the puzzles but I wouldn't oppose more robust ones either. I'm guessing those who miss pixel hunting and obscure illogical solutions won't be satisfied either way though.

I think they're striving for the middle ground, so a step up at least. I only minded the puzzles where you had the solution in your hand when you encountered it, which was 2 or 3 of them.
 

duckroll

Member
8-12 hours for Act 2? I'll believe it when I play it. Considering that I managed to beat all of Act 1 in pretty much a single sitting with a short break...
 
8-12 hours for Act 2? I'll believe it when I play it. Considering that I managed to beat all of Act 1 in pretty much a single sitting with a short break...

How long was a single sitting for you then? Steam logged 4.5h for me for the first act.

But 8-12h for them will surely mean 5h for those in a hurry, and even that is a pretty reasonable length for it.
 

duckroll

Member
How long was a single sitting for you then? Steam logged 4.5h for me for the first act.

But 8-12h for them will surely mean 5h for those in a hurry, and even that is a pretty reasonable length for it.

Took me about 3 hours iirc. I started on Shay's story, beat it in a sitting, took a break, played Vera's story and beat it fairly quickly too. I wasn't rushing through it or anything. I tried to interact with as many things as possible, but there just isn't much to play with. Everything was really simple and straightforward for an adventure game.

If they've greatly expanded on interactivity and complexity of puzzles for Act 2, that'll be good.
 

dofry

That's "Dr." dofry to you.
Shiiiiiiiiiiit. I bought on some Steam sale and I didn't know this was in two parts. Was happily clicking along and suddenly the end, wait for part two. Dammit! I need to read on games properly on the net. Sucks to be left hanging like this, but at least it wasnt Wolf Among Us cliffhanger type deal.
 

jett

D-Member
Updates!

New documentary episode up for backers!
Their goal is to get the game to beta by late February, they're targeting Spring for final release on all platforms.
 

PaulloDEC

Member
Sounds like things are wrapping up nicely. Interesting to hear about the hold-up with Vella's VA (who I had no idea wasn't a kid, incidentally) and the physical distribution deal with Nordic.

A few neat things in the latest email too, including the PS4/Vita release and this little bit about Act 2:

We’ve been playtesting the game a lot starting from the beginning and allowing players to switch characters throughout. So far we’re seeing exactly what we were hoping! Playtimes of just Act 2 complete with the finale have ranged from 9-13 hours, the puzzles seem to be providing a good level of challenge, nothing is really standing out as needing to be heavily re-worked, and most importantly people are laughing a lot and seem really pleased with where the story goes. YAY!

I like what I'm seeing/hearing/reading.
 

Haunted

Member
oy vey the latest episode

  • new producer
  • tim not accepting development realities and pushing for unrealistic scheduling (though after a certain point, clearly in jest)
  • Vella's VO not available, bottlenecking the whole production
  • a publishing deal with Nordic Games leading to a completely new VO done in a second language

I wouldn't call this "wrapping up nicely", sounds like it's a pretty bumpy ride, actually! Though removed from the scheduling and production problems, the game's quality doesn't seem to be impacted negatively, and that's the most important thing.
 

PaulloDEC

Member
oy vey the latest episode

  • new producer
  • tim not accepting development realities and pushing for unrealistic scheduling (though after a certain point, clearly in jest)
  • Vella's VO not available, bottlenecking the whole production
  • a publishing deal with Nordic Games leading to a completely new VO done in a second language

I wouldn't call this "wrapping up nicely", sounds like it's a pretty bumpy ride, actually! Though removed from the scheduling and production problems, the game's quality doesn't seem to be impacted negatively, and that's the most important thing.

I guess I'm getting used to the bumpy stuff by this point... the project as a whole has been a textbook example of a bumpy development process, really. By the standards of Broken Age though, things seem like they're coming together now. VA is under control, new platforms and a wide retail release have been announced, they're past Beta moving into Alpha. Things are coming together, I think.
 
oy vey the latest episode
tim not accepting development realities and pushing for unrealistic scheduling (though

He is, but as he says in the episode, it's his job to keep the team going at a steady pace. You have to set a date for everyone to have something to work towards, otherwise people will loose momentum, and start spending extra time on things to get done. You have to set these kind of milestones, even without a publisher. What Tim does is really nothing different from bosses I've had myself.

The team leader will push for a date, even if you as a part of team don't really believe in it, it will push you to work faster and move on the tasks assigned assigned to faster then if there weren't any set date.
 

fallout

Member
You have to set these kind of milestones, even without a publisher.
Well, as Tim noted, he has to especially do it in this case because there is no publisher. With a publisher, they become the ones setting the dates for milestones, which can come with some big punishments if not met.

And the tricky thing about game development is that you're never really done. So, without the pressure of those milestones, it can be easy to fall into an endless cycle of polishing.
 
Sounds like they're rounding the final bend of development.

(Public!) Brief video update: http://youtu.be/mnY0TdkXZwI

And for the video-averse, a summary:

-All dialog is written
-All English voice is recorded
-All German voice is recorded
-All dialog and voice is implemented
-PlayStation 4 and Vita are up and running
-Gameplay programming is locked
-External QA testing has begun
-Nordic Games retail box art by Cory Schmitz is done, looks awesome, and is at the printers
 
Sounds like they're rounding the final bend of development.

(Public!) Brief video update: http://youtu.be/mnY0TdkXZwI

And for the video-averse, a summary:

-All dialog is written
-All English voice is recorded
-All German voice is recorded
-All dialog and voice is implemented
-PlayStation 4 and Vita are up and running
-Gameplay programming is locked
-External QA testing has begun
-Nordic Games retail box art by Cory Schmitz is done, looks awesome, and is at the printers
I forgot if they announced some rough schedule or date before, but it seems like it's still going to take a while

The good news is that we’re already excited about what we have, and these next few months of polish and bug fixing should allow us to ship something we’re super super proud of.
 

inm8num2

Member
Excellent. Three years have passed since the crowdfunding campaign launched, and it's been quite a journey. The documentary series has been especially worthwhile and insightful.
 
Tim has posted a question for the backers on Double Fine's forum, if we think it's ok for them to now release all episodes of the documentary for everyone, for free, to help those negative to the project understand the descisions they have taken during the project.
 

Haunted

Member
I think releasing the documentary on Youtube is fine.

Backers get a boxed set and it was a privilege and a real journey to get to follow the development as it happened.
 
Latest Production update about Act 2 - The game is done.

Greg Rice said:
Soooooooo, we’ve got something exciting to tell you all. WE JUST LOCKED THE BROKEN AGE RELEASE CANDIDATE!! After a solid month of pure bug squashing we have a build that’s looking super duper polished and ready to roll.
 
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