I doubt that this style is really so unpopular, but maybe you are right to a certain extent, as the style is not very detailed.
I believe you in terms of the popularity of 3D graphics. Also, there must have been a reason why so many of the more recent adventure games have been 3D. On the other hand, I’m not sure if the graphics from Deathspank would be cheaper, because Ron would probably need to create an entirely new engine. Furthermore, it’s difficult to make 3D models and 3D animations look appealing. 3D can turn out to be a can of worms.
I was indeed thinking about “bad” 3d (low detail, bird’s eye view), thinking it might cost less and yet sell more than pixel art. But of course I can’t know that.
What a pitty and a huge mistake. They miss a really beautiful Game. In terms of graphics, gameplay/puzzles and story.
I´m mean just look at it, it just looks awesome. How can anybody skip it because of it´s look?
People can see the art style on the cover and screenshots. They would not buy it if that would be the problem.
A friend of mine and myself have bought this game exactly because of the nostalgic style and verb-inventory interface, but first we did not know that we both got it. The friend has played TWP for about 2h and then discontinued it. When I found out that he also has played TWP, he said it was boring. And I agree with him that sometimes it is boring. I think there is not enough element of playful experimenting (like in first room in ZakMcKracken) and too much choosing the right dialog. Another problem is the story. We both agree that we do not really care about the crime story. The reasons I continued playing was because it was announced that “A dead body is the least problem in a town like TWP”. I expected that the story will be about something much bigger like in ZakMcKracken and loved the game only after I found Chucks diary - which is very late. I have then told to my friend, that there is something really unexpected and bigger coming on later (he is also a Matrix fan). He trusted me, and now he also loves it.
This exemplifies the issue I think. Most of the people that buy games nowadays will not have this nostalgia, as they weren’t born, or were very little when lucasfilm/arts games were at their prime. For TP to be very successful it would have needed to appeal to people that don’t feel nostalgic about that, and maybe the look and feel that evoke nostalgia are detriment to the rest of the potential players. Considering that Lucas games never really sold much in the good old days, it might be that TP as a nostalgia evoking game is as good as it gets.
Now only need to find what would get other people to play it.
I was trying to think what would be a solution to this problem. The game itself is excellent, has great reviews, but ended up costing too much to produce which makes it harder for coming up with another one. Ron mentioned before that these games may have a very long tail. So maybe in the end they will recoup their investment (being underpaid for 3 years is an investment). One question would be how long would it take to get to that point. And more importantly is whether it will actually make any profit. Looking at the numbers alone, investors usually want to know how much will they be able to gain from the investment. Blade Runner 2049 is a great movie, has great reviews, but I don’t see anyone going to invest in another sequel any time soon.
Porting to game to multiple platforms is a great way to extend the profits and the potential of the long tail. This increases the potential market, and also some of the people that already bought the game would potentially buy it on other platforms (I know I intend to buy it again on the Switch). Adding languages is another way (Japanese? Korean?), however, seems to me that without voice the appeal of the game might be limited. It would be interesting to know how much LucasArts games sold in the different countries.
Another potential revenue that I have in mind can be by creating more content based on what was developed for the game. Thinking of the SpaceX blueprint here. Building those games is a huge investment that most of it (well, except for the engine) goes to waste once the game is done. Being able to reuse much of the of material would allow leveraging the investment that was already made into generating more revenue. Something like a Thimbleweed Park short, a prequel, a day in the life of Ransome the Clown, etc.
Also, I don’t assume merchandise is the panacea for this problem? Just curious whether it puts any dent in the revenue (having bought myself a lot of stuff I would hope that it helps a bit at least).
There are some extensive dialogs indeed, but I was okay with them. It’s a matter of taste. I think, your point of view is typical for those who love Zak more than MI. And, that’s okay.
In my opinion, TWP begins similar to MI 1 & 2, in which the first chapter was not so strongly connected to the subsequent ones. Though, (spoiler!!!) in MI, the most relevant characters get introduced in the first chapter, unlike TWP, which contains some twists in this regard.
I’m not sure about what impaired the success of TWP most. I assume that a lot people don’t like pixel art. When I think about pixel art, some great games come into my mind. But, there are also people who don’t have such nostalgic feelings (even if they really enjoyed some of the SCUMM games back in the 90s), but would have liked TWP if they hadn’t had such prejudices.
I wouldn’t focus too much on searching for a “main” culprit because the causes of the current situation can be many.
Some people didn’t like the look and feel of the game, but my impression is also that some (many?) of the potentially interested buyers have just no idea that the game exists.
Yeah, the data on BoxOfficeMojo are disappointing indeed. I haven’t watched this movie yet, but I read that it was a really good sequel to the first Blade Runner movie. If so, an overhasty sequel to 2049 would be a shame. There have been so many bad sequels and reboots over the recent years that I would advise to think twice about doing any further sequel to any successful movie and also think about completely new ideas as well.
You may be right. Hopefully, most of them will get to know about TWP soon. I’m afraid that many of them don’t have enough time to read up on new adventure games.
By the way, I remember that I was interested in Edna & Harvey: The Breakout shortly after it was released. But, I postponed it for years, because I had other priorities, and I eventually bought it only a few months ago. Sad fact. Though, the game is not perfect. I won’t play it seriously, until I have finished a few other games.
As @chet wrote above, it may have been too difficult to attract younger audiences. Though, I’m not even sure if younger gamers were accessible enough for point & click adventure games. Sadly, those games are a niche - even if they provide 3D graphics.
Pro for a BR2049 Sequel: It kinda sorta sets itself up a bit for a sequel, going into details would spoil to much, though.
Con: That particular story is complete and satisfyingly resoluted. And Denis Villeneuve most certainly wouldn´t be avilable for a sequel and I´d hate for some one third rate to step in at this point.
The fact that this movie performed poorly while people rush in hordes into Madea movies makes me weep for humanity.
Maybe he would like to make some different movies until he would be interested in another sequel, or he just bargains for a better salary. However, I don’t think that this disappointing revenue would legitimate a second sequel in the near future.
Wow, this is interesting! The novel Dune has been one of the novels which are known to be very popular, but whose film adaptions were rather disappointing. Hopefully, Villeneuve can change this! I look forward to it now.
bad 3D…please no!
there is nothing worse than ruin your game with any bad art.
2D or 3D cost bunch of money, its also very comparable price wise. Its just about a person practices and experiences…
I know 2D and 3D artists that can make a super quality image in a day, just because they know the tricks and they are using all tools for years over and over again.
3D artist can also use bunch of packages that can be modified in minutes to make them look different, it save days and money.
Today, I am Lead VR/AR artist on interactive projects and I have bunch of guys sitting in next room doing CGI only.
I did CGI in past too and if I did their job today again it would take me a 2 days compare their experience that would take them a day. On other hand, CGI guys cannot do any gaming / interactive stuff because they dont have experience with unwrapping, rigging, skinning, texture sheets, animations… or very little. I have to do everything.
So, I would prefer to hire a gaming 3d generalist that does everything, instead of paying for cheap bad 2D/3D art, or bunch of other people with limited skills.
The advantage of 3D are animations! Instead of re-drawing each frame, re-painting any problems, and frames limits…you have a rigged character that can have tons of smooth animations with a little memory effect and its super easy to fix them or add new stuff.
