| 20 MAR 2011 at 2:21pm |
DonaJourneyman
Posts : 801
Joined: 19 MAR 2005
Status : Offline | Then it's your problem you dislike point and click. P&C in this game is no different than P&C in any other game. You can also turn on item/location/character labels if you don't feel like searching for things to interact with.
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| 22 MAR 2011 at 1:18am |
HalcyonSchattenjger
Posts : 1653
Joined: 17 NOV 2006
Status : Offline | Yeah, I did say it was me having a problem. Still do. I don't mind pixel hunting, but I've been playing so many other games not based on P&C that I think I'm spoiled. The movement in this game is stiff, too, a lot like Lost Crown, but actually not so bad.
I'm beginning to feel evolution taking over. If adventure games are threatened, this may be one reason -- other action games are so far ahead in many respects.
Also, I'm increasingly feeling that I have to be PC on this site where adventure games are concerned. Am I wrong?
Don't get me wrong, my favorite games--for over 20 years--have been adventures. I've been involved in beta testing for amazing online games. I'm not seeing the next TLJ to take it to the next level, which Gray Matter was supposed to be (in our minds).
I'll get the full game and eventually report back.
_________________
Exercise your vision.
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| 22 MAR 2011 at 1:57am |
DonaJourneyman
Posts : 801
Joined: 19 MAR 2005
Status : Offline | Yeah, characters were a bit stiff, everything that game went through definitely shows. It's a shame. I do enjoy the slowness of p&c games, so no complaints from me, although running back and forth did feel tedious at times (plus some areas took longer to load :/)
Most adventures are made for PC only, but I don't see why anyone would have a problem with you playing adventures on Xbox or iPad or whatever else. I have been obsessed with Nintendo DSi since January and tbh it's a bit sad there's no-one else here who plays those games. That little console has some of the best adventures I've ever played.
Games like TLJ happen rarely. Syberia was probably the closest thing to being as iconic and even that came out ten years ago. I guess I liked Gray Matter as much as I did because I had no expectations at all. I still haven't played Gabriel Knight games therefore I cannot tell if it's done in 'classic' Jane Jensen style or not. It's a fairly short game (one of the Xbox achievements is to finish it in under 5 hours :|, but with an enjoyable plot, characters and music. Especially music
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| 23 MAR 2011 at 10:21pm |
HalcyonSchattenjger
Posts : 1653
Joined: 17 NOV 2006
Status : Offline | Games like TLJ do happen: reamfall, virtually all the Myst games, and many others, including certainly Syberia and Sherlock vs Jack IMO. Just none have come around lately.
Good point, Dona, about the leisurely play of P&C games. I have to say I do enjoy that, and some of the P&C games are immensely involving (again: Myst games and a lot of the A+ games). It's funny, though, Syberia was so involving that I don't even think of it as P&C, yet for the Lost Crown, as good as story as it is, my overriding memory is of the robotic characters with their floaty movements.
Oh, it's probably neither here nor there. I'll play any good game, over and over, P&C or not, if it is great.
_________________
Exercise your vision.
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| 30 MAR 2011 at 10:41pm |
eaglesIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 62
Joined: 19 MAR 2008
Status : Online | Stiff movement and a few glitches are enough to ruin a game like this.
If it froze constantly than I can see all the complaints but it doesnt.
The story is good enough to keep you interested and intrigued to get to the end.
The first 2 chapters I admit are very slow.. but it picks up and now that I finished it.
I miss those characters.. I wont play the game again for another 4-5 months.. let my mind forget a thing or two about the game before playing again!
great game!
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| 9 MAY 2011 at 10:58am |
| Deleted User | I completed Gray Matter just recently, it was yesterday evening... And quite a number of things were left unclear to me. However, the members of this forum explained an awful lot, and I am very thankful for that. [smiley=thanks.gif] So, here's what's still vague to me:
1. Did Angela fuse the gas pedal to the car?
2. What's the deals with David's face?
3. And a few more question, but I have to go now, I hope will continue in the evening. [smiley=wave.gif]
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| 9 MAY 2011 at 7:27pm |
DonaJourneyman
Posts : 801
Joined: 19 MAR 2005
Status : Offline | 1. She had the power to create fire (loosely explained by that story of shaman who could do the same), so the answer is yes.
2. I thought his face was badly damaged, as they said in the game. But then forum members pointed out it looked normal in the last cut scene, so it's likely that he only imagined the scars. However, the cutscene artwork is very inconsistent and obviously done by different artists, so there's no way to be sure if he has scars or not. The scars are visible in the shower scene (the only other scene where you can see his entire face), so... your guess is as good as mine :[
Also note that he wears a leather glove on his right (damaged) hand, but not his left.
And because I'll use any excuse to post screenshots:
Spoiler AlertDavid in the shower. Black represents scars or something D:
[img]http://i.min.us/inkpG0.jpg[/img]
How he sees himself in the mirror. This scene didn't make much sense to me because they play ~*dramatic*~ music as he wipes the mirror to see the reflection, then... you just see this. :|
[img]http://i.min.us/infZ00.jpg[/img]
And the ending scene. Nice blush, Dr. Styles. Note that it's done by a different artists.
[img]http://i.min.us/inkn8s.jpg[/img]
He wears mask in all the other scenes, even when he's sleeping -and- in the FINAL final scene when they put pieces back together, after Sam had seen his face.
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| 9 MAY 2011 at 8:14pm |
| Deleted User | Hmm...... Yeah, I noticed that too.... About the artist, Sam and Styles looks rather differ from cut-scene to cut-scene, she is (and he too, I guess, but I'll leave that to some female to judge) quite good looking in some of them, whereas in some they are rather unattractive. [smiley=hair_pull.gif] That puzzles me a lot, but I think that a development team as serious as that wouldn't allow themselves such a mistake, so I'm guessing that it must be a plot element... Because, you only see the injuries through his eyes, but when you play as Sam, nothing is there. The question is- Did his face suffer only minor burns and/or scratches, or was he imagining it from the start? Also, where was Angela at the time of the accident? Her energy is seen on the pic from the dinner, so, did she follow them? Also, since she did have a crush on him, did she killed his wife on purpose and saved him? Or did she simply caused the accident... well, accidentally? [smiley=huh.gif]
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| 9 MAY 2011 at 8:58pm |
DonaJourneyman
Posts : 801
Joined: 19 MAR 2005
Status : Offline | It's hard to say because Gray Matter went through a lot of financial trouble. It was supposed to be released in 2001/02, but they changed several developers and two publishers. In-game art was done by French studio Wizarbox while cut-scene art was done by Vietnamese company Phuong Hoang ENIX. They pretty much stitched the game together and it's very possible that they re-used some older artwork or something. Or they simply got what they paid for :
You ask some good questions about Angela, but I don't have an answer. Her powers were never explained and it's hinted that she didn't have much power over them (she killed her father by accident). It's clear she was jealous of Laura, but whether she intended to kill her... I don't know. Here's the conversation about the accident:
Spoiler Alert[img]http://i.min.us/inkwjo.jpg[/img]
Maybe she just pushed the car down the road in her anger, intending to hurt, not kill. But that doesn't explain why the other car didn't burn at all. We need to get Mrs Jensen here right now D:
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| 10 MAY 2011 at 10:09am |
| Deleted User | You are right, lots of question are left unexplained there... But anyway, the possibility alone to make all this assumptions shows us that the story is quite good, novel like, which is rather rare these days... I mean, let's face it, we couldn't debate this much about the story of "Singularity", now could we? Yeah, we definitely need Jensen to clarify everything! Too bad I don't have her on speed dial... [smiley=sorry.gif] Yes, why didn't the other car burn is another mystery to me.
I was unaware that the developers had that much trouble with releasing the game... Still, I think that David's face was made life that on purpose. Say, you really like taking screenshots, don't you? [smiley=laughing.gif]
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| 10 MAY 2011 at 10:13am |
| Deleted User | Oh, and I forgot to ask. Is there any way to get the other members that were posting on this topic involved again? [smiley=huh.gif] I know it has been a few months since the last post, and that I'm lucky that anyone has answered me, but still, they could shed some new light on things...
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| 10 MAY 2011 at 10:14am |
| Deleted User | And one more thing, but it's unrelated with Gray Matter. Can I change my avatar picture and quote?
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| 10 MAY 2011 at 1:25pm |
DonaJourneyman
Posts : 801
Joined: 19 MAR 2005
Status : Offline | I wish other members would get involved. I'm still a bit crazy about this game. I always take a lot of screenshots when playing games... and I played Gray Matter twice. I have almost 1000 screenshots and nowhere to post them :'D
Yep, you can change avatar and even your name in User CP: http://justadventure.com/yabb/YaBB.pl?action=mycenter
And feel free to use "Modify" button on your posts so you don't have to make several posts in a row
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| 10 MAY 2011 at 6:52pm |
| Deleted User | Oh, so am I. It left a really great impression on me, "moved" me I guess, which many other games failed... I guess it felt so powerful, different and alive. And I usually play shooters, RPG's, action and stuff like that. So, am am not really experienced concerning the point and click genre... Except for a few classics (for me at least) like: Black Mirror 1 & 2, Dracula: Origins, Broken Sword: The Angel Of Death, Sam and Max(the 3D ones) and other that did not impress me so much, mainly because the puzzles were too illogical. [smiley=angry.gif] So, if you know any good games in that or similar genre, feel free to suggest. [smiley=beer_buds.gif]
Say, bud, where you from?
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| 14 MAY 2011 at 11:20am |
| Deleted User | [font=Impact]Anyone, heeeeeeeeeereeeeeee?
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| 14 MAY 2011 at 12:00pm |
TravellerGuild Master
Posts : 4040
Joined: 3 JUL 2010
Location: US
Status : Offline | I actually have no idea about the face and scar thing. It did irritate me a bit that the art was done by so many different people, and especially on the the character model of David Styles.
However, whether his scars were perhaps improved over time, or it was his imigination or what, I wouldn't know.
Perhaps we should ask Jane here.
I do find his face much more attractive in that very last scene though..
* * * Just call me Trav. * * *
“Despite my ghoulish reputation, I really have the heart of a small boy. I keep it in a jar on my desk.” - Robert Bloch
"They are not reciprocally sublated--the one does not sublate the other externally--but each sublates itself in itself and is in its own self the opposite of itself" (Hegel, from The Doctrine of Being)..."
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| 14 MAY 2011 at 12:12pm |
JKingSchattenjger
Posts : 2350
Joined: 4 MAY 2008
Location: 0
Status : Offline | I would suggest that the damage to David's face is quite real. Perhaps it has healed, but I find it hard to believe that Mrs Dalton would tolerate him having such an affectation if they were somehow just his imagination.
You can't kill someone in a studio.
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| 14 MAY 2011 at 12:18pm |
TravellerGuild Master
Posts : 4040
Joined: 3 JUL 2010
Location: US
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Child_Of_Dunwich (10 MAY 2011 6:52pm)
And I usually play shooters, RPG's, action and stuff like that. So, am am not really experienced concerning the point and click genre... Except for a few classics (for me at least) like: Black Mirror 1 & 2, Dracula: Origins, Broken Sword: The Angel Of Death, Sam and Max(the 3D ones) and other that did not impress me so much, mainly because the puzzles were too illogical. [smiley=angry.gif] So, if you know any good games in that or similar genre, feel free to suggest. [smiley=beer_buds.gif]
If you like RPG's, why not visit us on the "other games" forum? http://justadventure.com/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=OtherGames
Say, bud, where you from? &&I just thought I'd mention that Dona is a girl. Her avatar is one of her favorite AG characters, Gus from Still Life and Post Mortem. Before I realized it was Gus, I used to think it's a pic of her, in case that was what you were also thinking.
If you like WASD, and you liked Dracula Origin, you might like some of the other games by Frogwares, such as Sherlock Holmes and the Silver Earring, SH the Awakened and SH Nemesis, and SH vs Jack the Ripper. (Some are dual WASD/P&C)
Also, have you tried Dracula Path of the Dragon? You might also enjoy Still Life.
* * * Just call me Trav. * * *
“Despite my ghoulish reputation, I really have the heart of a small boy. I keep it in a jar on my desk.” - Robert Bloch
"They are not reciprocally sublated--the one does not sublate the other externally--but each sublates itself in itself and is in its own self the opposite of itself" (Hegel, from The Doctrine of Being)..."
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| 15 MAY 2011 at 11:43am |
| Deleted User | Oh yeah, definitely, the cut-scene thing was done a bit unprofessionally, if you ask me. But Samantha is rather pretty in most of them. [smiley=cool.gif] And I'm gettin' the idea that Styles was imagined as a handsome character too. Say, that is the official blog of Miss Jane? Can you ask her questions 'bout the game? Or does she just write stuff on her own?
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| 15 MAY 2011 at 11:49am |
| Deleted User | Oh, now I see... There is a little female icon below her avatar... And there is one next to you too... So I'm guessing you are a female too? But, you know what they say: All women on the internet are actually men, and all the kids are cops [smiley=happy.gif]
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| 15 MAY 2011 at 11:53am |
| Deleted User | Originally Posted By JKing (14 MAY 2011 12:11pm)
I would suggest that the damage to David's face is quite real. Perhaps it has healed, but I find it hard to believe that Mrs Dalton would tolerate him having such an affectation if they were somehow just his imagination.
That might be a solution to this mystery too, but then, why didn't anyone tell him that it has healed? Samantha or lady Dalton? it is possible that, if he knew he was not hurt in the accident, he could not bear the guilt. Let's not forget that it was Angela who caused the accident, and she was in love with Styles and probably jealous of Laura. Maybe she protected him from the crash and injury.
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| 15 MAY 2011 at 11:58am |
| Deleted User | Thanks, Trav, I'll check out the other games tread. I did play Dracula Origin and i loved it, and I also played the path of the Dragon, loved it on the beginning, but it absolutely pissed me off later on with it's dumb illogical puzzles and what not. I had to finish the game with a guide. The same deal goes with Scratches. I'm glad I didn't pay for it. I noticed that all those first person point and click game are much, much worse and of lower quality than the third person ones. I've never played a Sherlock game, i always wanted to check them out.
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| 15 MAY 2011 at 12:07pm |
TravellerGuild Master
Posts : 4040
Joined: 3 JUL 2010
Location: US
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Child_Of_Dunwich (15 MAY 2011 11:49am)
Oh, now I see... There is a little female icon below her avatar... And there is one next to you too... So I'm guessing you are a female too? But, you know what they say: All women on the internet are actually men, and all the kids are cops [smiley=happy.gif]
You can take my word that I am female, but there are certain gaming websites where I purposely pose as a male, and not least the site where if you reveal yourself to be a female, the other members immediately want to see nude/topless pictures of you to prove that you are female.
Ah, the chauvinism of the gaming world... :
Anyway, at these sites nobody even suspects that I am female. I wonder how many females similarly pose as males (or at the least don't reveal their gender) on gaming sites? I think the worst discrimination is on sites that favor shooters luckily I'm not really into shooters) but believe me, one gets your share if you love RPG's and strategy games too.
Male adventure gamers tend to be very tolerant towards their female co-gamers, thank heavens, which is why I prefer to chat about RPG's on this site, although there are not all that many hard-core RPG'ers around here. There are even less strategy lovers, though we have one or 2 who really love their strategies.
* * * Just call me Trav. * * *
“Despite my ghoulish reputation, I really have the heart of a small boy. I keep it in a jar on my desk.” - Robert Bloch
"They are not reciprocally sublated--the one does not sublate the other externally--but each sublates itself in itself and is in its own self the opposite of itself" (Hegel, from The Doctrine of Being)..."
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| 15 MAY 2011 at 12:55pm |
TCPrivate Detective
Posts : 688
Joined: 14 NOV 2005
Status : Online | Not to mention the even more widely spread phenomenon of males posing as female.
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