Al Emmo

[HIddenSanctum]

I always like to ask this question when talking to developers.

Al Emmo has been out for a while now. In retrospec, is there anything you would have done differently that you hadn't forseen during beta testing, but became an issue after getting feedback from a much wider audience?

[Stijn]

A lot of stuff that came up in public was already pointed out by the beta testers, actually.

One thing I personally would have changed was the trial at the end where you had to answer the talking door. It was one of the less fair puzzles in the game.

[axelkothe]

There are two things I didn't like in Al Emmo:

- The 3D cutscenes. ugly
- The voice of Al. I don't like it, it's maybe a bit too extreme.

On the other hand I absolutely loved the narrator and the humor of the game.

[WriteOh]

I compulsively re-write everything. If I had my way, I'd still be re-writing now and no-one would see the game until 2037!

We have received a healthy dose of constructive feedback since the release of both demo and game. As for that which relates to me, I've learned a lot about what works when the text on paper is given a "voice". Its always a surprise to hear how the voice actor interprets what's in your own head at the time of writing.

As for what I would do differently, I think its better to look forward to the next project, take what you've learnt from the previous, and push yourself even further. For that reason, among others, I'm looking forward to working on the next one.

In terms of what I was particularly happy with this time around, some of the many highlights for me include: Al's and the Narrator's characters (good double-act going, I think), those wonderful in-game cutscenes, every single second of music, the background art, the act transition titles (they were far too much fun to come up with - collaboratively - at 2 o'clock in the morning!), the clues for the next game...

... and being involved in creating a brand new adventure game!

[HIddenSanctum]

Well, that's been beat to death Axel and no point in beating it some more.

I was more curious about things like certain puzzles, maybe some possible interface issues, distribution methods, etc.

[Disco]

I have to agree to an extent :-\.

The writing and sound design (excluding the some voice acting) were simply SUPERB. I can't say enough good about the character and narrator dialogue. My favourite sound bit was the beating heart when Kevin came from behind the bar and was approaching Al, while seeing through his eyes. I was almost crying of laughter .

That said, just about everything that was 3D brought the overall experience down a bit :-\. Not just in the 3D cutscenes, but in character sprites/animation as well. The background art is still beautiful despite, so it wasn't all bad. My only wish is that Himalaya either go completely 3D or 2D (preferably 2D ) in their next title, as the dimensional fusion games tend to either hit or miss in my book.

[HIddenSanctum]

I compulsively re-write everything. If I had my way, I'd still be re-writing now and no-one would see the game until 2037!

LOL, I hear ya! There is always 'something' to improve upon, but eventually you have to force yourself to stick a fork in it and call it done.

Hands down, Al Emmo is a huge achievment. Successfully managing a team scattered all over the world is huge in itself. You can really tell a lot of passion from many sources went into creating it.

[Stijn]

We were kinda lucky that the "exit-arrows"-thingie was fairly easy to script and test...I can see how some exits were difficult to spot. (and it eludes you as a game maker) Other than that, I didn't really remember many complaints about the interface. Some people will always claim we had too many icons, some people will always claim we had too few icons, but I think (given the audience the game was aimed at) the interface did the trick well.

We haven't really had a lot of complaints either about the puzzles, so I guess they were fairly balanced. One thing I did hear was that people often had trouble getting past the skeleton chase scene. That's an interesting thing to keep in mind for the future...(although I thought it was a nice wink towards the old positioning puzzles in Sierra games, like evading the giant in KQ1)

[HIddenSanctum]

Some people will always claim we had too many icons, some people will always claim we had too few icons, but I think (given the audience the game was aimed at) the interface did the trick well.

Its a tough call on things like that, especially when it comes to peoples personal preferences. The best you can hope for is that you will find a happy medium between the two and keep the majority of players in the neutral area.

[Noone]

One thing I did hear was that people often had trouble getting past the skeleton chase scene.

This scene reminded me the goat puzzle in Broken Sword 1. And AFAIR a puzzle with the giant in KQ1 can be solved in two different ways, nope?

[GameDevBrit]

This is a good question. I am happy with how Al Emmo turned out, but being a perfectionist, there are definitely a lot of things that I would like to have done differently. I was actually in the treasure room last night, working through the lever pull puzzle, and I have to admit it was bordering on frustrating. In a way, I am impressed with how the scripting, artwork, and animations all worked together to make a pretty complex puzzle. Yet, at the same time, I feel that if the player becomes too frustrated, it can take away from the experience. I think an additional nudge in the right direction may make the puzzle a little more tolerable; the challenge is good, because it leads to a lot of confidence once the puzzle is solved. But if it's too challenging, that's not good either.

I would have liked to have replaced the 3D cutscenes with 2D comic book cutscenes, and I probably would have replaced Al Emmo's voice with one that was easier to accept by a wider audience. I think Chris did a fantastic job acting the part of Al Emmo, and I think most people found the voice great once they played the game for a long enough period of time. But, the voice initially grated on a lot of people, causing them to not give the rest of the game a chance. So, perhaps a more typical, lower pitched, New Yorker type of voice, like George Castanza, would have worked well.

Also, I would have structured the business differently as well to make it easier to manage. I'll continue thinking about this and see if I can come up with any other things I would have changed.

[HIddenSanctum]

Well, I guess I'm one of the few that liked the 3d cutscenes even though they didn't quite 'fit' graphically with the rest of the game, although I probably would have cell shaded them so they wouldn't stand out as different as they did. :-\

[GameDevBrit]

I actually liked the animation as well, and thought the animation was very well done, but didn't care as much for the fact that it took the player out of the 2D world and brought them into a different 3D environment.

[HIddenSanctum]

Ok, so who wrote the "I'm your Gal" song. (yes, it is still stuck in my head months after first hearing it.)

[Stijn]

Daniel wrote the lyrics. The music's polly wolly doodle, I think. It's an existent melody we based the song on.

[aegnor]

Is there any chance to box version published in Poland?
Adventure games are quite popular here, and Al Emmo looks very nice.

BTW how long was developing process of AE?

[Stijn]

We're still looking into localisation possibilities.

The process of Al Emmo's creation (as the game currently is) took about 3.5 years, but Britney had already laid the foundations long before that time.

[GameDevBrit]

Hey Aegnor,

Thanks for your question. Believe it or not, I just emailed a Polish publisher a moment ago, so there is definitely a chance we may work with one. Please keep an eye on our official sites (www.alemmo.com and www.himalayastudios.com) and forums, where we'll be sure to announce any news of a Polish localization.

Also, if you know of any good Polish publishers, please do let us know.

[aegnor]

Believe it or not, I just emailed a Polish publisher a moment ago, so there is definitely a chance we may work with one.

Great news, I'm happy to hear it.

Also, if you know of any good Polish publishers, please do let us know.

No problem, we have about 5 publishers, I'll find theirs emails and let you know on your home forum or I'll send you by mail.

[GameDevBrit]

Thanks a bunch