FG - Welcome!

[frictional_Thomas]

Greetings to the Frictional Games part here on the forum. My name is Thomas Grip and I am lead programmer at the company. Attending here also are Jens Nilsson who is the sound engineer (among other things) and artists Anton Adamse and Emil Meiton. If we are lucky Mikko who is composing all music and Tom who is doing all writing might also show up.

So who are Frictional Games? For starters we are a small indie company located in the cold and snowy Sweden. We are currently developing "Penumbra: Overture" which is a follow up on the http://frictionalgames.com/penumbra"]Penumbra tech demo[/url] that we worked on while studying. The technolgy demo became a huge success and has so far been downloaded half a million times.

Now for some information on our upcoming title "Penumbra: Overture".

The game is a first person horror game featuring cutting edge graphics and advanced physics. The story revolves around Philip, who travels to Greenland in order to find out what happened to his long lost father. There he is trapped inside a strange underground facilty and needs to escape and at the same time figure out what is going on.

"Penumbra: Overture" will be realsed worldwide 2007 as 3 episodes and is published by Lexicon Entertainment who might also be joining us here.

Check http://www.penumbra-overture.com/ for more details.

Some teaser Screens (larger versions available at site):

[Davero]

I've recently downloaded and started to play Penumbra tech demo. It's really not bad. It looks good and it sounds good. It has an atmosphere... But it seems to be rather action-adventure with insist on action not on adenture part. Is it true? Will Penumbra: Overtue be more action than adventure game?
Is there a relation between Penumbra tech demo and Penumbra: Overture at all?

Will the Penumbra engine be used in any other game? Are you negotiating with someone?

[frictional_Thomas]

"But it seems to be rather action-adventure with insist on action not on adenture part. Is it true?"

Depends on how you define action. A lot of people that have played the demo have thought there was too much adventure I would call more adventure than action but suppose it depnds on how you look at it. Some reflexes are needed so it is more action then the average point and click adventure.

"Will Penumbra: Overtue be more action than adventure game?"
There will be some action but for the most part it will be an adventure game.

"Is there a relation between Penumbra tech demo and Penumbra: Overture at all?"
They both feature the same story and the base gameplay mechanics. Penumbra: Overture will feature alot of fixes, upgrades and addtions. Also the tech demo has almost no ingame story at all, Oveture will feature alot more story.

"Will the Penumbra engine be used in any other game? Are you negotiating with someone?"
Right now there is missing alot of documentation and stuff like that for the engine so it is not in sellable state. We have not even deced if will sell it all.

[frictional_Thomas]

"Looks good! How come you wanted to release it in episodes? Is it because it's big or becasue there is different story in each episode..?"

The 3 episodes tell the same story.We have however tried to make them somewhat selfcontained so that it feels like an accomplishment to complete each episode.

The reason for going episodes is mainly because it makes it possible for us to get higher production values for the game. We also wanted to be able to get feedback from players between episodes and ensure a higher quality for the game.

[Isak]

Ok. thanks for the answers.
I dunno, I must have deleted my reply accedently.

[frictional_Thomas]

"Ok. thanks for the answers.
I dunno, I must have deleted my reply accedently."

Good thing I quoted you then

[PolloDiablo2]

Hmm, I usually don't play action-adventures because I am too slow with the controls and have very bad reflexes and hand-eye-coordination. If I see an enemy, it takes me too long to aim, find the proper keys to use a weapon and actually do so. I always die before I can shoot even once. I'm sorry to say I have lost much of my interest in this game now... I prefer to play games with my brain and take as much time to solve puzzles as I like without dying all the time.

It looks fantastic and the tech-demo's with the Physics are amazing and impressive, but it's not a game I think I would enjoy much.

[frictional_Thomas]

PolloDiablo2:

There will be an easy mode wher enemies are really simple and you can focus on puzzles instead. Also the game relies on sneaking and avoiding rather than confrontation. The game awards careful and slow players more than those that just want to fight. I am hoping you will give the game a chance and at least play the demo (when we release it)

[PolloDiablo2]

Oh, that's good to hear! The puzzles won't be easier in this mode then? Kind of like Silent Hill where you can use a slider to put the focus on puzzles or action?

[frictional_Thomas]

"Oh, that's good to hear! The puzzles won't be easier in this mode then? Kind of like Silent Hill where you can use a slider to put the focus on puzzles or action?"
Difficulty will only have impact on the action moments. You will be able to turn on and off personal notes though, which acts a hint system.