About Prominence

[KevinMcGrath]

You may kill a guard, using the rifle, or you may live him alive (come on, he is just a young boy taken for war). So are these variants equivalent?

Well, something like that... except we pride ourselves on being a science-fiction game that doesn't require shooting anything.

Returning to "real-world social issues". Will there be any psychological dilemmas?

Well, there is that one HUGE psychological dilemma... oops.

Actually, the game poses an interesting psychological / moral dilemma, which forms the basis of the branching storyline... but I've probably said too much already.

[Becky]

Hi Kevin -- so if a person solves puzzles one way and continues on to finish with one ending, about how much of the alternate gameplay will she have missed? It sounds like a replay would bring significant new content.

Is there a way for the gamer to know where alternate solutions exist and where to look for the branching that brings the alternate ending? In Dreamfall, for instance, there were several puzzles with different solutions, but you only knew this if you happened to go back to try out dialog options that you didn't exhaust the first time. A lot of people then complained that the game had insufficient gameplay, because they didn't know where to look to try out the different puzzle solutions.

Do you know what I mean? (I'm not sure if I'm making sense here.)

[mc77340]

Thanks, Mike! I guess that means I can't steal what I need to solve the puzzles. ;-)
I am intrigued by Kev's descriptions. Is there anything outsiders can do to get this puppy birthed sooner!?
Mare

PS to Becky - Excellent question!

[BetaGuyinFL]

Mike & Kevin,
I've been reading the posts & find Kevin's last comment interesting . . .

Hi Surfcruiser07,

Is Prominence a game that can be played by any skill level or is it only for experienced adventurers?

We designed Prominence to really be for any skill level adventurer. Our design philosophy was to have puzzles and obstacles that could be reasonably solved without extreme leaps of logic or unbelievability. We want to challenge you, not make you smash your head against the wall in utter frustration.

Kinda reminds me of a certain Dell. :


Beta Guy In FL 8)

[Agustin]

The story of Prominence centers around the idea of a people trying to preserve their culture and way-of-life against the threat of forced assimilation into another culture. Throughout history, there have been many cultures that strived to protect their own way of life, and we felt this was a great foundation on which to build an adventure game story.

All this sounds very interesting and highly original. The story looks like it'll end with some cool discussions. Can't wait to hear more!

[KevinMcGrath]

Hi Kevin -- so if a person solves puzzles one way and continues on to finish with one ending, about how much of the alternate gameplay will she have missed? It sounds like a replay would bring significant new content.

Is there a way for the gamer to know where alternate solutions exist and where to look for the branching that brings the alternate ending? In Dreamfall, for instance, there were several puzzles with different solutions, but you only knew this if you happened to go back to try out dialog options that you didn't exhaust the first time. A lot of people then complained that the game had insufficient gameplay, because they didn't know where to look to try out the different puzzle solutions.

This is a great question!

Concerning the branching storyline, I understand that in some games, there are times where you make a decision and this alters your ending without you actually knowing that you've changed your destiny (so to speak). In Prominence, when you get to that point, you'll KNOW you're making that decision. We wanted to make sure that you KNEW you were going to change the game after that point. So, the decision you make at that point is most certainly a conscious informed decision.

In terms of puzzle replayability in the rest of the game, there isn't a whole lot of content that would get missed by solving puzzles one way or another, only different ways of overcoming an obstacle. But the bulk of the content should remain available for an adventurer regardless of how they solve puzzles.

[Mike Morrison]

Kinda reminds me of a certain Dell. :


Beta Guy In FL 8)

;D

[Noone]

So will it be really interesting for the gamer to go through the remaining part of the game once more if he'll see, lets say, about 75% jf what he saw previously?

[Becky]

Thanks Kevin -- it sounds great. Putting in a request for plenty of save slots so I can go back and replay the alternate ending, etc. to my heart's content.

[Quill]

Hi Kevin and Mike, bit late getting here but eventually made it (car broke down, dog ate my homework, etc. etc.)!

This sounds great - a more mature storyline definitely appeals. The screenshots look the business as well. Would you say that any particular films are of influence to either the story or the visuals (e.g. 2001, Solaris, etc.).

Can't wait!

[KevinMcGrath]

So will it be really interesting for the gamer to go through the remaining part of the game once more if he'll see, lets say, about 75% jf what he saw previously?

Well, in ways, I would think so. Since the first time you play, you'll start out having little idea of what's going on and why, it might be interesting to replay it again with this knowledge in hand, much the same way that certain movies benefit from a replay after you've learned the ending. People may also wish to try working out puzzles differently from when they first made their way through the game.

Even if that weren't the case, since you know when the decision is for the branching storyline, it's always possible to save the game at that point, and then go back, restart the game from that point, and choose the other choice. In this way, it's not really necessary to replay the game all the way up to that point again. Hence another good reason why we like the "we're going to tell you where the game branches" approach.

[Mike Morrison]

So will it be really interesting for the gamer to go through the remaining part of the game once more if he'll see, lets say, about 75% jf what he saw previously?

I'm one of those adventure players who would go back and play through the second ending -- just to see what happens. So that would offer new puzzles and some new environments to see. And the idea of trying to find all possible solutions to a given puzzle may intrigue some adventurers, too.

Aside from that, we're packing a lot of little story bits and details into areas throughout the game. Players that want to breeze right through may not find everything, but the relentless adventurers may find all kind of interesting little extras, insights and even easter eggs if they look hard enough.

[Noone]

How much of the game is complete now? Are there any estimations on the release date? Have you already found a publisher?

[Mike Morrison]

How much of the game is complete now? Are there any estimations on the release date? Have you already found a publisher?

Prominence is currently in full production and we're busy working on a publisher demo. We are targeting a release for Q4 of 2008. (Insert your favorite developer "release date expectations" disclaimer here. ) We are currently in talks with several publishers at the moment.

[Mike Morrison]

Hi Kevin and Mike, bit late getting here but eventually made it (car broke down, dog ate my homework, etc. etc.)!

This sounds great - a more mature storyline definitely appeals. The screenshots look the business as well. Would you say that any particular films are of influence to either the story or the visuals (e.g. 2001, Solaris, etc.).

Can't wait!

You know, that's a really interesting point that you brought up about the story line. Kevin and I had long discussions about the story. We built Prominence as much for ourselves as we did for the marketplace, and we really wanted to make something that was a bit more mature -- but not in the "Rated M for Mature" kind of way.

I think Agust�n asked about films as an inspiration for story earlier in this thread, but visually...hmmm! Good question! Prominence is definitely inspired by plenty of films -- from 2001 and the first Alien movie all the way up to films like Solaris and even The Island. One of the interesting things we ran into in the early art stages was the need to light scenes practically because the player has a 360-degree panoramic view most of the time. So I began to do a lot of research watching films as much for lighting as for the production design. It was quite an education!

[Quill]

Yeah, I think if your heart is in the story then it filters into all areas of the game (or movie or whatever) much more.

If you haven't seen it yet then I definitely recommend the movie Sunshine by Danny Boyle - one of the more mature sci-fi's in recent times and looks great on the budget they had.

What 3D package (or any additional software for that matter) did you use for the scenes? (I'm guessing C4D due to it's panoramic friendliness!)

[Mike Morrison]

Yeah, I think if your heart is in the story then it filters into all areas of the game (or movie or whatever) much more.

If you haven't seen it yet then I definitely recommend the movie Sunshine by Danny Boyle - one of the more mature sci-fi's in recent times and looks great on the budget they had.

What 3D package (or any additional software for that matter) did you use for the scenes? (I'm guessing C4D due to it's panoramic friendliness!)

I remember seeing the trailer for Sunshine, but must have missed it's theatrical run. I'll definitely check it out on DVD when it's released.

The art for Prominence is being developed in LightWave 3D. Animations are being edited in Premiere Pro and composited in After Effects. Stills are being composited in Photoshop, which is also used extensively for texturing.

[Quill]

Definitely check Sunshine out - should already be out on DVD I think.

Sorry, the nerd in me always enjoys the techy stuff!

[Imari]

Johnny-Come-Lately here, again... sorry to have missed this forum, but I've enjoyed reading through the folders. The more I read about Prominence, the more I'm interested in playing it. Wonderful artwork and a very intriguing premise. Best of luck with the game. I look forward to learning more as your work progresses.

Thanks also, everyone, for the great suggestions for other sci-fi movies and IF. (My personal favorite sci-fi writers are C. J. Cherryh and Gene Wolfe.)

[KevinMcGrath]

Not to worry, we're still lurking around here, and glad to hear that you enjoyed the threads!