Bit Blot Forum
Aquaria => General => Topic started by: Zixinus on March 27, 2008, 09:58:35 pm
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Before you contiue reading, this tread aims to discuss the ending of Aquaria.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WallBanger
Something went wrong in the writing. The writer asked for too much Willing Suspension Of Disbelief, perhaps. Maybe a character is carrying an Idiot Ball, or has suddenly become Too Dumb To Live. Maybe the series pulled out Green Rocks once too often, used a little too much Scotch Tape, or unleashed a Ret Con that made everyone's eyes roll out of their head. However it happened, the audience has been dealt a Wall Banger.
Wall Bangers certainly wreck episodes and turn away a few fans, but repeated instances can indicate a show is about to, or has already, Jumped the Shark.
The origin of the term is attributed to Samuel Goldwyn, who described a script as having made a "Hell of a bang, when I threw it against the wall." (Alternatively, from banging your head against the wall at the sheer dumbness of it all.)
In Video Games, Wall Bangers are often also Game Breakers, and are sometimes known as "Controller Smashers" or "Screen Smashers", from the impulses a gamer on the receiving end of a Wall Banger gets. They be particularly frustrating here, because video games are all about giving the player control, which makes it significantly worse when the player is railroaded into doing something completely stupid.
The more I think about it, the more I feel that Aquaria's ending is a wall banger.
Please don't misunderstand, I am not calling the developers stupid here or question their ability, but I have simply come to this conclusion. Yes, I am criticising the game, however I am trying to be objective and constructive here.
In retrospect, the main reason I have arrived to this conclusion is simple: there was simply no warning. The beginning of the game was vague, yes. However, it did not hint to this outcome specifically.
I feel that if Naija talked or mentioned her mother more after unlocking all three memories and gave hints to Mia's twisted personality, or even hinted how was Mia as a diety, then I would have seen this coming.
Or perhaps the Dark Shadowy figure should have given more indication of its intents.
There was no build up, no hints, no ominous or vague warnings. These would have made the ending more tragic, rather then shocking.
However, there was none. And for that reason, when Mia simply took away Naija's concious like that, it didn't just threw us off guard but hit us below the belt.
It wasn't just tragic, but shocking in a rather uncomfortable way.
So, what do you lot say? What do the developers have to say to this?
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Not really sure why you're so mad, but enjoy the rage if that's what you're into. If you want to personally blame me for feeling bad, go ahead. I probably wont' be around much longer anyways.
I personally feel that its pretty obvious that Mia lead you through the game by setting up situations for you to fall into. The first game fits into a larger story line that I'd like to develop, but I'm sure with all the hate directed towards me and/or the game that's pretty unlikely to happen.
Oh well. :)
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Hate? :o Sir, you wound me.
Just because I am criticising one bad aspect one the game, doesn't mean I hate it. I am not mad at all. I merely thought about this, and this is the conclusion I arrived at.
I love Aquaria. I've brought it, not downloaded it off a bittorent site for that very reason. I love the graphics, I love the gameplay, I love the stlye. It's just the ending that I have a little mixed feelings about.
If I wanted to rant about how bad the game is, I wouldn't be stupid enough to do so where the developer is the admin and could easily fry my ***. And I would have made it much more obvious.
I have a couple of games I would gladly throw my bladder at (Another World comes to mind), but Aquaria isn't one of them.
I personally feel that its pretty obvious that Mia lead you through the game by setting up situations for you to fall into.
Really? Perhaps I played in a bad way or missed something, but I only learned her name at the end. Have I missed something?
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Dude, you don't have to pretend. Just let it all out.
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Okay, I am not fucking pretending. I am not a moron that buys a game and then bitches about how bad it is. I am careful with my choice, and I NOT regretted Aquaria. Yes, I didn't like the part of the ending with Mia but otherwise I loved the game.
Furthermore, I am not a hypocrite that first tells you about how he loves the game and then ditches and bitches about how bad it is. If I don't like the game, I am going to go and fucking say it. But the thing is, I don't want to say it because I then wouldn't be honest with myself.
I have checked again and again in my post what makes you think that I am trying to flame you. I have found nothing, except perhaps the misleading thread title. My only conclusion is that you are being silly here or take criticism badly. Or perhaps I've just posted when you are having a bad day.
So, if this looks like an attack to you, then sorry, that was not my intention. I merely pointed a criticism I have. If you can't take that, then again, sorry.
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Okay, I am not fucking pretending.
Oh, I love to take it.
Everyday, someone complains about the "one thing" they don't like about the game. Everyone has their own pet peeve.
When added up, pretty much everything in the game has been complained about. To improve the game for everyone's enjoyment, every aspect would have to be changed. I've been trying to work on that, but its pretty depressing when you can't trust your own instincts and you have nobody to bounce your ideas off of.
That's one of the reasons the Mac version is taking a long time to finish. Its pretty hard to try to make something perfect on your own.
But I keep trying, and I will keep trying, because I do believe in trying to improve things. :)
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I probably wont' be around much longer anyways.
Explain?
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Have faith Alec! I am by no means an expert in the field but I'm a game design student and would love to chat with you about anything. If I'm not working on Aquaria maps I'm playing indie games or doing art projects so I have free time to chat and work =)
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So a list of complaints and things to change, if anyone's curious. I'm probably forgetting a lot of things, but here's what's on the top of my head:
1. "I hate Li"
Really hard to get motivated to work on changing this one because I don't agree with it, but I've heard it a lot... so I'm trying to think of ways to make Li more likable for the people that hate him.
One idea I had was to find wrecks of human tech lying around, and have Li upgrade his weapon when you find them. There could be maybe 3 places, and at the end he could have a more powerful shot. But that means asking Derek for more graphics, and implementing a bunch of things.
We also planned to have areas where Li would go off and investigate things, based on his own curiosity. This seems subtle, hard to implement and I'm dubious if it would make an impact now.
Li has a number of emotional reactions expressed through facial changes. However, people don't notice because his head is really small. I was considering adding sounds to him at one point - so he could react to stuff going on. This would probably only anger the people who already don't like Li, though. (since he'd be having more of a presence)
Li taking damage is another option - he could take a few hits, and then get stunned. Problems: he might block enough shots to dramatically shift the balance of the game, and if he got knocked out, it would probably annoy the people that already find him annoying.
2. "Menu screens suck"
Trying to make it more obvious which menu screen you're on. (some people said they didn't play the game more than 5 minutes, because they opened the menu screen and then got extremely upset and quit... don't really understand that, but there it is) It would be nice to figure out a way to switch between screens more obviously. Some people don't notice the small icons right away. Not sure how that would fit in visually yet... trying to figure it out on my own.
3. "I hate dragging things"
People want to click once to auto-cook any item. I feel like this would be difficult to implement (would you really want to make a soup with swordfish steak, if that was the only meat left?) and would make cooking way to fast/easy. But somebody will inevitably complain about it, so I'm trying to think of something.
4. "Map System sucks"
Made it so you can click on previous areas to see your progress in them. Made it so you can see the names of the areas by hovering over them, as well as the name of the area you're in.
5. "The story is too obvious!"
Someone thought the game's story was purely about "gods being bad". They didn't think there was enough mystery. I feel like there's enough mystery in each culture to write a novel about each, but then again I'm me. Hard to relate to this complaint, and not sure if there's much to be done about it.
6. "The story is too vague!"
Some people think the story should explain everything when you reach the end. I feel like the ending provides enough clues to realize what is going on without actually laying it out in specifics. There is also the bigger story arc that would be developed in other games, if they were ever made. The main (non-secret) ending probably won't change much... for some reason I like it.
7. "Mia plotline is stupid"
Also disagree, not sure what to do to improve it. We originally had plans to insert scenes when Mia meets up with Naija after each area. She still meets up with Naija, but nothing is said and no events occur, which were originally planned. I guess I could try adding those in now, but I have a feeling it would piss off the "too much story" people. Hmm.
8. "I'm lost, I don't know where to go"
Also added map beacon hints. There are things in the world now that you can find that will add a beacon on the world map where the boss location for Energy Temple, Forest, Mithalas and Li are. Hopefully the people who like exploring won't be too annoyed by this. crosses fingers
9. "I'm not going to buy the game unless it has widescreen support"
Oh man, we've both spent so much time implementing this. I really hope people enjoy it.
10. "I'm not going to buy this game unless its for the Mac"
Still working on it. Part of the length of time is that I'm trying to address the concerns before releasing the Mac version.
11. "I'm not going to buy this game unless its for Linux"
A possibility. Hard to get motivated to work on.
12. "Food Sort"
A button that would sort your food in various ways. I don't really understand how its going to work out. I feel like it would ruin some of the mystery of the food system. (by making it really obvious which items are healing and which have other strange effects) I've implemented a version of it, but I still don't really get it game play wise.
13. "This game is teh gay" - GameTrailers.com
err... can't do much about that at this point :)
14. "Music is generic / throwaway / by the book" - IGN
Alright... guess I could rewrite all the music? ... Naw.
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@Zixinus: I can see that you were trying to be constructive, but you probably should cut Alec a little slack, seeing as making a significant change to the plot now would be nigh impossible. (He'd have to change too much of the game.) And changing it after it's already out would probably tick off more people than it would please. So Alec is pretty much in a position where changing the plot is just plain not feasible, yet you're probably the twentieth person or so on the forum to make a thread complaining about it. Constructive perhaps, but frustrating for Alec when he can't really do anything about it at this point.
Judging the quality of the plot is rather subjective, anyway. Case in point: My brother thinks that Battlefield Earth is a great movie.
Too bad you can't make everybody happy, Alec. :)
Seriously, though, I don't get the gripe about the ending being too vague. It seems to me that it perfectly ties up enough strings to feel like an ending, yet still leaves enough untied to have room for a sequel. And even if there isn't a sequel, who says that you have to neatly tie up every freaking string? Storyline obsessive-compulsiveness baffles me. Anyway, I don't feel that the plot really needs to be changed in any way, other than being extended in a sequel. :)
Regarding changes to Li: I like the idea of him being able to upgrade his weapon. That's pretty keen.
I don't get the auto-cook request. Although it would be nice to have some indication of what each recipe does and whether you even have the needed ingredients to cook it.
I don't get the music complaint either. IGN can go hang!
Anyway, ultimately, do what you want with the game, Alec. If people don't like the game, they don't have to buy it.
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I understand the original complaint to a point. The idea is that the Mia twist came out of nowhere, and that upset him.
I'm not sure if that's a bad thing or a good thing, though. Its supposed to be a somewhat upsetting moment, and you're not supposed to see it coming, although there is enough room to guess.
Again, we had planned to put in scenes that would involve 13/Mia testing you, revealing more about her and her character. I think it was going to go something like:
(in the order of times that you meet her)
1. beginning of the game, she previews energy form, teases you on with visions, gets the game started
2. (after beating mithalas/forest)
she shows up, touches naija, naija says "wait..." mia fades away
3. (after beating mithas/forest [whichever order])
she shows up, touches naija, warps naija to a different area (probably her secret cave)
naija goes through another vision fight sequence
naija would have some dialog reacting to it, wondering about it.
Also recorded a line from the Creator about "Mia". (like the audio that plays over the statues of the creator in some levels when you pass them) It didn't end up in the released version of the game for some reason.
There were a few other ideas I was messing around with as well, but none are developed to the point where they make any sense yet.
The 3 memories are the locations where Naija lived with her mother. Her mother was on the run from the Creator, who was constantly pursuing her with his minions (likely the twisted Naija clones found in the body). First she lived in the Abyss, when Naija was a baby. Then in Mithalas when Naija was a child. Then eventually in the Sun Temple, when she was older. (where she bumped into Li for the first time)
Mia is the mother of the 13th race, of which the only known child is Naija. Naija has the power unique to all the races (and her mother) to be able to absorb the energy of other gods and to change her form.
Mia was created being told that she was perfect, and in that way she was spoiled. However, being created as someone that the creator would love, she had the strong element of nature/birth/being uncontrollable.
Mia used the power of the Mithalan Priests to hide herself, manipulating Naija into becoming a powerful creature, eventually freeing both of them from the Creator and restoring Aquaria to the rule of nature. She's essentially raising Naija to be powerful and defend herself against men (to be successful), and she's racist against a group of people (humans). This was mainly inspired by a certain mother that I know, who is trying to control her daughter's life to the point of stalking her. Who is also a racist.
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The themes that I find interesting in the game are as follows:
Loneliness
Man vs. Woman
Creation vs. Nature
Right Hemisphere of the Brain vs. the Left Hemisphere
Faith (powerful, often misplaced)
Love (powerful, often misplaced)
where Man and Creation are linked
and Women and Nature are linked (natural birth being part of nature)
I've noticed this theme pop in a number of places, mostly unplanned. (noticing after replaying the game a number of times)
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HOW THE HELL DID THIS TOPIC GET SO BIG IN ONE DAY!? And I know I've said this before, but I disagree with almost every storyling complaint about this game. The only crime commited by the story, is making us wait for another game. And that is a compliment in every sense of the word. As for the map issues, sure there are some valid complaints, widescreen has never been that important...to ANY game. It's an extra feature at most. Cooking is fine the way it is, it could use a sort feature. Overall, the only complaints I have with the game are of efficiency and ease of use. And frankly, they arn't big in the first place.
I've said this before. Stand by your work! It's good work! The art is great, the music is even better, and the story is intriguing enough that I want to discuss it on these here forums. One game will NEVER please everyone. But hopefully the game has garnered enough sales and enough posts on these forums to convince you that despite some menu/map issues, the game is pretty damn good.
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There are so few games with compelling stories and Aquaria easily sits on the pedestal with Mass Effect (even with it all of its problems...freaking vehicle sections), Psychonauts, etc. As far as your music Alec I'm still constantly blown away. Very inspiring. I listen to different music when I'm mapping and try to somehow capture the music on canvas...with someone elses artwork but still.
Here are some of my ideas on cooking with a quick and terrible image.
(http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h77/vxthebear/aquaria/th_cooking.jpg) (http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h77/vxthebear/aquaria/cooking.jpg)
I personally don't like inventory systems with over about 10 items unless I'm playing an MMOG...occasionally an RPG if done well. However, I don't think allowing "one click recipes" is the way to go.
Changing Pages
Tackle this from a web design perspective. There should be a clear indicator of what page you are currently on. The extreme would be changing the color/texture of each page to make it really obvious. The more subtle suggestion is to put something that appears behind the icon of the currently selected page. Could be a simple glow or maybe a energylamp from EnergyTemple that lights up behind it. Maybe go illustrator style and add some aquarian text with the icons and conform them to the arc below (a rectangle behind shows the current page). Perhaps add a quick fade in/out to the 2 swirling tiles to show that the page has changed.
Recipe
Move the recipe menu to the bottom (big blue box in my pic) so the player can look at the recipes while they cook. Having the wide menu would allow more recipes to seen as well. I really think a rollover/hover to show what the recipe actually makes is needed. My idea to keep that inquisitiveness about what your making is to prevent seeing what the food bonus is until after you've made "one" of that item. This promotes trying out new recipes to see what mega foods you can create.
The different tiers of food items could be stored on different pages. Make it a hierarchal structure where things initially collected are stored on one, once something is cooked its on 2, when something on 2 is combined with something else it moves to 3. There might be too many items to do this and it might not be a great idea but just tossing it up in the air.
Quick Access
Make a quick access panel in the free arc space. There would be 5-10 (or whatever) empty slots where food items could be dragged to allow for quick health boosts without having to look through your inventory.
I'll think about it some more while I'm mapping.
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Hey, Zixinus-
First off, we appreciate you buying the game and taking the time to think about it. :)
Regarding the ending, if we had given more clues, or added more exposition about her childhood and mother, it'd probably make the secret ending more palatable. But keep in mind that it's supposed to be a secret! So the plan was to make it, as you described, shocking (and perhaps even uncomfortable)... not so much tragic, I think.
And the three secrets do mention "Naija's Childhood" so it's not completely out of left field, right? ^-^
Overall, it's really difficult to balance how much information you give the player. The more you give, the easier it is to grasp, but it also makes it less satisfying when you do.
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I second glamador.
The problem is as always that the people who don't like something are louder than the others. I don't know how much copies you sold, but I can't believe that the sold copies : people who complain about something - ratio is bigger than 5:1 or even 10:1.
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It's human nature, people want to find flaws in things that nears perfection.
1,2,3: No no no
4: Maybe, but it's fine as it is now, or the game would get too easy, Naija never even TALKS about having a actual map.
5 & 6: wtf? Once seen those things I'd totally ignore it.
7: Mia is fine as she is now, maybe more encounters would have been nice, but she's supposed to be mysterious.
8: This game is about exploration, to explore, to keep swimming by one wall and end up somewhere.
9: Like Glamador said, what's the need of wide screen all of a sudden?
10: Understandable when you don't have a normal comp. :p
11: Get wine.
12: Maybe drag and drop ingredient to other spots to place them in between?
13 & 14: Very unprofessional.
The expanded story of Mia would be nice, but again, not needed. I'd say, spare the effort for the next game.
The game is fine, and I get you want to improve the game Alec, but once you improve it again people will nag about the next things, there is criticism that actually helps and there is criticism that is just like nagging.
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The themes that I find interesting in the game are as follows:
<...>
Right Hemisphere of the Brain vs. the Left Hemisphere
<...>
???
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The themes that I find interesting in the game are as follows:
<...>
Right Hemisphere of the Brain vs. the Left Hemisphere
<...>
???
This was something I realized recently while watching this (http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/229). Found it really interesting.
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Seesh. If you try and make your piece of art 'perfect' for every little nickpicker, it's not going to your's anymore. Also, owning a mac doesn't mean you can't buy the game. It just means you have to go over to a friend's house to play it ;)
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Everyday, someone complains about the "one thing" they don't like about the game. Everyone has their own pet peeve.
The reason why perfection doesn't exist, is because someone will always find something to complain about. :D
A good judgement is whether you can tell whether its good complaint or not.
When added up, pretty much everything in the game has been complained about. To improve the game for everyone's enjoyment, every aspect would have to be changed.
A large section of gamers are a rather whiny bunch. Just look over several gamer forums.
Rather then trying to please everybody, I say try to find the most valid criticisms and ignore the rest. It's impossible to please everybody.
I've been trying to work on that, but its pretty depressing when you can't trust your own instincts and you have nobody to bounce your ideas off of.
Have you thought of getting beta testers and playtests? Valve uses them allot and it works for them, they can really improve the game, just by watching how they play.
That's one of the reasons the Mac version is taking a long time to finish. Its pretty hard to try to make something perfect on your own.
So you are remaking the game for the Mac version? Will the PC version be patched, or modded or something?
HOW THE HELL DID THIS TOPIC GET SO BIG IN ONE DAY!?
I once saw an 8-page wall of enormous text emerge. The shocking thing isn't that was just random responses but a somewhat rational discussion with a anarcho-liberal.
Of course there was some poo-flinging going about as the mentioned anarcho-liberal has certain problems with grasping the idea of logic. However, the mentioned anarcho-libertarianism is very discussed. Eventually, the anarcho-liberall (volounterist or something, the members nicknamed him Volleyball), gone into a one-on-one discussion. You can view that here, if you want:
http://bbs.stardestroyer.net/viewtopic.php?t=119956
This was something I realized recently while watching this. Found it really interesting.
I agree, its rather interesting. She must have a very stressing job when she's actually happy having a brain hemoreage. Either that, or there was a release of endorfins with it.
It was definitely an experience for her. What I wonder just how much of what she says is metaphorical and how much is religous. I am getting more and more of the impression that there was brain damage.
So the plan was to make it, as you described, shocking (and perhaps even uncomfortable)... not so much tragic, I think.
So it was deliberately handled like that? In that case, okay, I can take it. I do not just so much as point this out, but discuss it with the people here. Was it on purpose to make it shocking? Should it be changed?
:
Loneliness
Man vs. Woman
Creation vs. Nature
Right Hemisphere of the Brain vs. the Left Hemisphere
Faith (powerful, often misplaced)
Love (powerful, often misplaced)
where Man and Creation are linked
and Women and Nature are linked (natural birth being part of nature)
The meeting of conflicts. A very romanticist element. I think.
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I agree, its rather interesting. She must have a very stressing job when she's actually happy having a brain hemoreage. Either that, or there was a release of endorfins with it.
It was definitely an experience for her. What I wonder just how much of what she says is metaphorical and how much is religous. I am getting more and more of the impression that there was brain damage.
I actually found it moving and it felt as though it pointed towards truth.
The idea that one side of the brain is thinking in the past and planning for the future, while the other is just living in the moment is interesting. I think it could explain why a lot of people do the strange things that they do.
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Have you thought of getting beta testers and playtests? Valve uses them allot and it works for them, they can really improve the game, just by watching how they play.
We did beta and play testing for the PC version, and we're doing it again for the Mac version.
I'm going to take the advice here and ignore complaints that I don't agree with. Then maybe I can actually finish it.
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So From what Alec said in the first page + the Creators final speech, I take it that the last few of the 13 were all attempts at creating a perfect being, with each "atemmpt" being a bit similar to the previous one. Thats why Naija and Mia who's the 13th look like the Mithalan people which appear to derive from the 12th.
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Think of it as steady improvement. The Mithalans were the penultimate creation, and Mia was the perfection.
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Think of it as steady improvement. The Mithalans were the penultimate creation, and Mia was the perfection.
But perfection sometimes has even bigger flaws than imperfection.
So, Alec+Derek, don't try to make the game a Mia. ;) It is perfect enough as it is now. :)
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Perfection is a opinion.
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Aquaria would be much so better if it were one of those stainless steel knife sets you see for 50% off if you use your credit card and call in the next 10 minutes. [size=0]You know, and the jagged one can cut through frozen sardine cans and you're like "Wow, if I ever need to cut through frozen sardine cans I'll be set".[/size] What were you guys thinking?
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Hi Alec,
It seems the topic starter kind of gets to you, and I don't really understand it.
Whatever someone does, whatever someone creates, there will always be people around with criticism. One can either decide to learn from this criticism or decide that the criticiser (sp?) is talking bullocks.
You can never ever ever please everyone. Never. Ever.
I think you and Derek made an awesome game. This game has entertained me like no other game could in the past years, titles with huge companies behind them.
There were some small things that I'd liked to have seen changed, but, really, every other game in the universe has something that I like to see changed. But changing something would, like you said, make others less happy, so my advice is, leave the game as it is.
- The story and ending leaves room to think about and that's really a good thing. (The Witcher had this too.) People need to learn to think about stuff themselves instead of having others spell everything out for them.
- Your music is brilliant. So one site claims something else, who cares. The tracks are perfect and go hand in hand with the game-setting.
- The cooking thing is nice. I can't understand how people dislike this and want to have it simpler.
- The exploring bit; people do not know where to go. I didn't either and I loved it. It adds to the overal time it takes to play the game and it adds more magic to the whole. People who dislike exploring and want to have everything spelled out for them should really play some EA games or whatever.
Anyway, I can go on about this forever but am already losing the moral of my rant.
What I am trying to say is that you and Derek made an awesome game and you should ignore criticism if you think it's unfair, since people will always criticise others anyway (Human nature?), no matter how good a game is.
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I actually found it moving and it felt as though it pointed towards truth.
The only truth I saw is how disorder and damage of the brain's functions are so easily indistinguishable for spiritual experiences.
The idea that one side of the brain is thinking in the past and planning for the future, while the other is just living in the moment is interesting.
Be warned that in reality, the brain is a whole lot more complicated. She simplified allot, oversimplified even.
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The idea that one side of the brain is thinking in the past and planning for the future, while the other is just living in the moment is interesting.
Be warned that in reality, the brain is a whole lot more complicated. She simplified allot, oversimplified even.
I'm actually not terribly concerned about the reality of it. It sounded generally cool and accurate. :) And I think its an interesting theme to explore, two different motivations within one being.
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Anyways, to respond to the other people above:
Ultimately the idea of independent game development is that you're doing something that means something to yourself. (at the very least, hopefully other people like it as well)
Its hard to get to a point where you're happy with what you've done. (at least for me) Then after that point, you have to release the game, and have everyone else tear it apart.
I think this doesn't bother a lot of people, because, as they would they call it, they have "thick skin". I'm not like that, I generally value other people's opinions on par with my own (which in many cases, proves to be a mistake... as there are many differing opinions) - this makes it difficult to actually like something I'm working on, because somebody else doesn't like it. It becomes something I start to think about how to improve, while staying true to the original idea. Often it ends up being impossible, and this can be quite frustrating.
So yeah, I guess other people would say that I need "thicker skin". But I'm not personally sure if that would be better.
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I'm going to take the advice here and ignore complaints that I don't agree with. Then maybe I can actually finish it.
That's pretty much how it's gotta go hehe. Thing is... odds are most people have SOMETHING they don't like about any particular thing. Just because they don't like a certain thing or suggest it should be changed doesn't mean that you should. It sounds like the OP is trying to describe the ending like a quick patch up for an out of control plot line (a la prison break)... but I really disagree with that. If you look back at the story, it makes sense. Even if you weren't given specific clues, you can look back at the fact that you start out looking just to wander around then you KILL A TON OF GODS. You can also look at Naija's internal darkness, such as when she swears revenge on whoever took Li. The fact is that Mia created the darkness within her, and all it took was some leading to build up her destructive potential.
Some criticism is valid, some is wrong, but... neither one means you have to listen to it =P
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Most game developers don't communicate with their fanbase much. Mostly because they have other stuff to do. I often think however, that its rather due to the fact that they don't experience the fandom first-hand. I presume Alec and Derek doesn't want to see Naija nude or/and doin' it with [unspecified for the sake of sanity].
Personally, its rather interesting to see how people talk and discuss about a piece of art they like.
For example: http://www.stardestroyer.net/Empire/
Stardestroyer.net is the result of the top of ST and SW fandom and about speculation about a hypothetical war between Star Trek universe and Star Wars universe. The guy who made the site is a university-graduated engineer that basis his arguments with the knowledge and academic standard that he learned.
Now, stop there and read that aloud again and think for a second.
A guy is using his university-earned engineering degree to analyse a hypothetical battle between the Federation and the Empire. ;D
The site also contains essays about science and science fiction in general of course, which can be interesting reading.
We did beta and play testing for the PC version, and we're doing it again for the Mac version.
From what I gather, don't just beta-test. Playtest. Ask the testers questions like "what are you impressions of this level?", "do you find this boss difficult?", "what is the first reaction when you first see a new monster?", "do you find this section tiring or unnecessary or overly silent?" and so on.
By studying the reactions of the playtesters you can gain a much bigger control over the player and/or improve the experience.
I'm actually not terribly concerned about the reality of it. It sounded generally cool and accurate. Smiley And I think its an interesting theme to explore, two different motivations within one being.
If this is an recurring theme for you, then maybe you should look into it a bit. I find that researching and looking deeper into your lines of thought may give more inspiration and ideas then merely letting it grow on its own while making rather interesting conclusions and discoveries about yourself.
Its hard to get to a point where you're happy with what you've done. (at least for me) Then after that point, you have to release the game, and have everyone else tear it apart.
Art is allot like this: at a distance you see intracity, however when you look at it more closely then you see small things and flaws. People will notice them. It speaks of them how they react.
There is a strange love/hate duality sometimes when certain people look at various forms of art. The more moderate Star Trek fans that usually hold an engineering degree often groan when another technobabble plot device is used but still love the series and characters.
They also say that you aren't a fan until you don't try to vaguely justify the errors of flaws of the art you are a fan of (Godo shot first and stuff like that). ;D
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From what I gather, don't just beta-test. Playtest. Ask the testers questions like "what are you impressions of this level?", "do you find this boss difficult?", "what is the first reaction when you first see a new monster?", "do you find this section tiring or unnecessary or overly silent?" and so on.
By studying the reactions of the playtesters you can gain a much bigger control over the player and/or improve the experience.
Yep, we did that. Although I wouldn't ask questions entirely like that, because the last one you have constructed seems to tie into something you hate about the game. But we asked for detailed in-depth feedback, and we got it, including a lot of personal thoughts and reflections on things.
We also thought a lot about how people would react to things in the game, and how the whole game world, story, music, art and sound fit together.
It wasn't like we randomly slapped things together like you assume we did.
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We also spent a number of months (3 or more? don't remember exactly) doing this and making changes to the game.
I've talked about this a lot before, but we got feedback and suggestions, some of which didn't make sense, and turned as many as we could into things that would make the game better, in our opinion. We fixed a lot of things that our testers complained about.
So to imply that we didn't do any kind of play testing kind of offends me, tbh.
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Actually I assumed that you playtested between yourselves.
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Actually I assumed that you playtested between yourselves.
We had a google doc set up where we had a few of our developers friends, as well as our non-developer friends picking the game apart. Most notable was Guert, who played the full game through numerous times and wrote detailed logs on his experiences in each section. Steve Swink and Graham Goring also made really important contributions in terms of the design and flow of the game. It took a long time and it was a difficult process, but it made the game better, and we did it in a way that felt like it fit with what we wanted. (i.e. we didn't just implement people's suggestions, we thought about it and discussed over and over until we had a solution that felt right)
Most game developers don't communicate with their fanbase much. Mostly because they have other stuff to do. I often think however, that its rather due to the fact that they don't experience the fandom first-hand. I presume Alec and Derek doesn't want to see Naija nude or/and doin' it with [unspecified for the sake of sanity].
I think in retrospect, yeah, it seems like a mistake to engage too much with it. I think I've probably put way too much value on what other people think and not enough on what I've actually been working on.
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I've talked about this a lot before, but we got feedback and suggestions, some of which didn't make sense, and turned as many as we could into things that would make the game better, in our opinion. We fixed a lot of things that our testers complained about.
So to imply that we didn't do any kind of play testing kind of offends me, tbh.
To go more on that: I didn't think you didn't do any testing whatsoever. The game does feel polished and I do somehow sense transitions and remaps here and there. I also saw the pictures how Aquaria developed artistically.
I simply didn't read those posts of yours regarding playtesting experience. I don't pay too much attention to this forum. I was simply not aware you went into that level of detail regarding playtesting.
So, yeah, I've found a way to kick myself in to mouth. The fact that my brain feels fizzly doesn't help, I can't quite get a thought straight (in one moment I'm thinking of the social systems of possible neural-interfeces and cyberspace it creates in the other I'm seeing Buck Rogers shitting his pants as he sees the IR burn of a massive alien shit, then back to how would a solar-system wide economy would look like, so yeah).
Commencing dislodging...
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I think in retrospect, yeah, it seems like a mistake to engage too much with it. I think I've probably put way too much value on what other people think and not enough on what I've actually been working on.
I wish more people would listen to their fans and I think you and Derek are awesome for communicating with your fans/customers. So many companies choose not to and they appear harsh and careless to me.
But you do put too much value on what others say in my opinion. :) Just keep in mind that you can't please everyone and that lots of people talk complete nonsense anyway. :)
Also keep in mind that satisfied customers are usually the silent ones. :)
You did an incredible job. End of story. ^-^
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So a list of complaints and things to change, if anyone's curious. I'm probably forgetting a lot of things, but here's what's on the top of my head:
1. "I hate Li"
2. "Menu screens suck"
3. "I hate dragging things"
4. "Map System sucks"
5. "The story is too obvious!"
6. "The story is too vague!"
7. "Mia plotline is stupid"
8. "I'm lost, I don't know where to go"
9. "I'm not going to buy the game unless it has widescreen support"
10. "I'm not going to buy this game unless its for the Mac"
11. "I'm not going to buy this game unless its for Linux"
12. "Food Sort"
13. "This game is teh gay" - GameTrailers.com
14. "Music is generic / throwaway / by the book" - IGN
it's a funny balance between making a product that suits your vision and satisfies customers, I don't envy you Alec and think you are doing a great job trying to take into account criticisms and your own goals. my first impressions about the complaint list:
1. it's more interesting than anything that Li is not liked so much. for myself it was an initial thing but then I got used to him to the extent that when he was taken away I was miffed enough to go with Naija along for the retribution ride. I think that players feel an affinity and connection towards Naija and that Li is horning in on the action. either way I don't think this is anything necessarily wrong with the game, it's an inherent quality inside that you've reflected back on the player which is close to one of the elusive universal truths.
2. the menu screens are great, only problem I can see is there isn't more of them.
3. there is some dragging fatigue but, and this is sort of an important in game play issue. if you find yourself doing a lot of fishing and cooking, you probably need a break from the combat or need to stock up for something big that's going to whallop you. there are lots of nice areas of respite ( some you have to clean out a bit first ) where you can calmly collect your ingredients and nerves. I personally feel this balances the game out just great, sort of how young wolf cubs do a lot of play fighting before tackling the real prey, you do a lot of play fishing before attacking a real kelp forest seahorse. plus if you are not being alert when you cook you might botch up the recipie and make another loaf, which is again just part of it.
4. the new map features you've mentioned sound brilliant!
5. I read a fair whack of scifi/fantasy and see my share of movies. this game had a few things that I completly didn't see coming. one of my favourite gee whiz, goose bump moments was when Naija first broke through the Veil. that was a perfect instance of game play, momemtum, story, everything.
6. I didn't find it too vague. there were a few things that I was hoping for that didn't happen, like Naija learning how to walk or fly, or more interaction with the older species but the game delivered in a dozen other areas that were unexpected. vagueness was not a problem but could see if someone didn't like having no memory and zero instructions that being daunting? that just means the essential game premise is not for them.
7. I liked the whole Mia storyline and was left curious about her and what her powers could possibly be. lots of good questions raised by the answers given which is great for sequels *kaf*hint*kaf*
8. I hate this already and will never play anything you make again. or will probably think it's just peachy
9. people only buy games unless it has widescreen support?
10. macs can play games?
11. you can sell software for linux?
12. I've gone on somewhere else on the forum about the way food sorts itself. more frequently used items and recipies tend to percolate to later pages, it has a nice organic method to it.
13. gamespot is the only mainstream site that matters
14. see #13
looking forward to the patch and will happily play through the game again when it's out!
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I put some store by IGN. I like that they give you the option to look at user reviews and a column of other site's reviews. Plus I don't like Gamespot's reviewers, accurate as they may be.
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Most game reviewers forget that they aren't just supposed to give an opinion of a game but some analysis. They are just supposed to tell "the gameplay sucks/rocks/rocks socks" but to tell how and why.
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Sorry, but I'm with Zixinus on this one guys.
I also found certain aspects of the game frustrating. And I also hated Li. And I could probably add to Alec's list of "things to do to keep everybody happy". But I think you guys missed the point.
It would take at least 100 of the world's top computer programmers to create a game that would make me happy, and even then I'd probably find flaws. Similarly, they'd have to repeat the process for each of the thousands of fans worldwide. There are people who love the very aspects I hate. There are people who find the game too hard, and others who find it too easy. I'm sure there's even some who might even like Li! And there are even some who don't like Aquaria at all.
So what can you do? The simple answer is: nothing. Alec, my friend, you have made a wonderful game. You know that, and so do those that have bought it. You did your best. And all of us here liked most of what you did, otherwise we wouldn't even bother registering for this forum. Zixinus is one such person. There's nothing you can or should do about this. When someone gives this game 9/10, stop worrying about what you could do to make it 10/10. Instead, be proud of your job at getting the 9.
I am a creator myself, and have overcome the urge to please them all. (I am a songwriter, even though I have also been involved in making board and video games too). When people don't like my songs, I don't change them. I write what I write. What I feel and what I think. And if I think it's good enough, I sing it. And some people will like it, and others will not. It's all subjective. It's as simple as that. And there's people who don't even like that style of music (just like there's people who like racing games, strategy, or beat-em-ups). And some who like my music, but not particular songs.
There's no way to please them all. So do your best and give it to the world. And your best has certainly been amazing :)
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Probably the hardest thing for someone who creates things that others consume--books, music, software--is the fact that when it goes out there, people have problems with it, and even if you agree with them it's not always feasible to "fix" it. This is especially true with software. People think that because it's software that it's fluid, that it can change easily at any time. In reality it's more like concrete: it's pretty fluid when you first write it, but with time it becomes more and more difficult to change. It's never at a point where it's impossible to change, but when you have to take a jackhammer to the code (and rip apart everything that depends on what you're changing), you have to begin weighing the benefits versus the effort. Sometimes it's just not worth it.
Fortunately, you can take what you've learned and apply it to the next piece of software you write. So every successive project (hopefully) gets better than the last. So Alec and Derek, if you really wanna assuage any bad feelings you might have about how certain things went in Aquaria, I'd say the best way to do it is to get cracking on Aquaria 2!
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I wouldn't change much, and I don't think Derek would either. We both worked really hard to get the game to a point where it was something that we both really liked.
That said, its a company and we're trying to "sell products" - we have to go the distance to make sure that our audience is entertained.
The intersection of those two things is what can make it confusing sometimes, at least for me.
Ultimately if Derek and I can't make the games we want, then we might as well get regular industry jobs - so I think I'm going to stick to what I think works.
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When someone gives this game 9/10, stop worrying about what you could do to make it 10/10. Instead, be proud of your job at getting the 9.
I think this is pretty sage. We (as in, developers, all of them) need to enjoy what we've got going for us. Not put a deaf ear to people's criticisms, by any means, but... at this point I'm happy with the game, I love it, we've won the most prestigious award in independent gaming, we've gotten some great reviews. I think we can be convinced that we did something good. ;)
And if people are nitpicking the game, then it means the game is significant to them. I'd much rather people either loved or hated (or loved and hated) the game, rather then the alternative!
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Ultimately if Derek and I can't make the games we want, then we might as well get regular industry jobs - so I think I'm going to stick to what I think works.
*thumbs up* ;)
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Yeah, that means its nearly time for the Mac beta then. :) Yay.
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Also, here's a new world map screen with new art from Derek:
(http://zaphire.ca/AQ/aqworldmap02.png)
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Ooooo...me likey. I'd make the map stand out slightly more from the backdrop however...I can see some things getting confused.
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I'm with Glamador: It's pretty schweet, but I'd increase the opacity.
Actually, it'd be dang cool if you could apply a blur effect to the in-game screen while the map is overlaid over it! Say what you want about Windows Vista, the "glass" effect is translucency in a user interface done right.
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Awesome!
Mac beta? Awesome too! Seeing that I gave my brother a gift certificate for Christmas for it. ;)
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I enjoyed the secret ending. I love it when a game throws you a "curveball element" like that. I like the way that the strange opening cutscene seems like a non-sequitor until you reach the endboss, and I certainly appreciate the hints of a sequel.
If there was anything that I would ask for, it would simply be a gamma/brightness adjustment option. I play on an older CRT moniter and its brightness is not what it used to be, so I need some software-side aids to get it to look as nice as it is meant to.
But do you know the real reason why I enjoy this game so much? Because of love. With a game like this, it is clear that a lot of love went into its creation, and that makes it beautiful in my eyes. So many games out there feel like they were tailored to fit the lowest common demoninator, try to appeal to too much of the maket at a time, and in the end feel all the more bland and souless because of it. But a game that is built not on the basis of market demand but on the basis of the developer's love for it, well when such love is apparent that love tends to become infectious. When the creators of a title put their love into a game, I am inclined to love it as well, and that is certainly the case with Aquaria.
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Regarding the left/right brain thing:
Mental abilities are absolutely separated into the left and right cerebral hemispheres: Some mental functions such as speech and language (cf. Broca's area, Wernicke's area) tend to be localized to specific areas in one hemisphere. If one hemisphere is damaged at a very early age however, these functions can often be recovered in part or even in full by the other hemisphere. Other abilities such as motor control, memory, and general reasoning are spread equally across the two hemispheres. See lateralization of brain function.
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Well, finally finished the game with both endings. And I bought it pretty much when it came out :P
My reaction is.... so when's the sequel? I LOVED it! A perfect game if there ever was one.
However, I don't have any of the peeves that you mentioned except I do have one thing to say - it would nice to be able to see the endings again without having to fight the Creator all over again. I could understand most of the things that was going on, but by the time you get to Mia, it all happens so fast.
One thing that I wondered, after the fist ending, when you are going down the spiral cave, if you die from bumping into those spiky vine things, do you die and get a game over and have to fight the boss again to get there again? I wasn't really willing to try this.
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I think you do. :p
Seeing you have to continue from a saved game, and there are no save games after the boss.
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Maybe someone can record the ending and put it up for download? Of course there'll be impatient gamers that'll misuse this, but it's nice for people who've played through the game fully to see the ending again. I'm sure there are pieces of the puzzle that'll fit better like this.
Saying that, I might even try to record the ending myself, once I get to it.
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As much as I love this game, I have to admit that the secret ending hit me like a lead pipe to the stomach. You don't get a whole lot of implications of Mia's true nature before finally meeting her, and after overcoming the epic scale and conflict of the rest of the game it's like a needle pricking a balloon - the exhiliration and accomplishment of the ending just suddenly gets deflated.
HOWEVER, only a game that's engrossing, well-designed and emotionally powerful can instill that kind of reaction in the first place, and it's a testament to Aquaria's quality that the ending instills such passionate reactions in people. I think it's a wonderful accomplishment to be able to do that, and I wouldn't ask the creators to change a thing about it. Hell, it's their creation - who am I to say how their vision should have turned out?
As for the negative feedback mentioned earlier in the thread, there's no way any creator can satisfy every last request and dissatisfaction in the user base: Everybody has different tastes, and looks for different things in their games and other experiences. Looking for general, overall trends in feedback is the best way to gauge people's reactions to the game, and even then I wouldn't ask developers to betray their original vision just because a bunch of 12 year-olds want another Halo or something. As important as it is to create a great experience for the audience, you can't be entirely subordinate to them, and I think that part of indie gaming is to make something that satisfies you just as much as it does your audience.
Some of the feedback listed was pretty egregiously misguided and impolite, as well. One specific one that irritated me was #14, IGN's dismissal of the game's music. As somebody who's part of the game remixing community and knows several musicians within the game industry itself, it's pretty much a universally accepted point that no mainstream video game site knows or cares a damn thing about music within games. It's entirely a peripheral thing to them, and most reviewers only mention the music grudgingly or condescendingly. Except possibly for more indie game sites, I wouldn't take a damn thing they say about video game music seriously. I actually thought Aquaria's soundtrack was a wonderful change of pace from the generic nü-metal of FPS games and JRPG soundtracks that may as well have been cloned from a vat. Besides, IGN and the like are subordinate to the ad revenue of their sponsors - we're not. :)
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As much as I love this game, I have to admit that the secret ending hit me like a lead pipe to the stomach. You don't get a whole lot of implications of Mia's true nature before finally meeting her, and after overcoming the epic scale and conflict of the rest of the game it's like a needle pricking a balloon - the exhiliration and accomplishment of the ending just suddenly gets deflated.
Yeah, I think that was the intent.
I'm a fan of Battlestar Galactica, so I guess I like harsh twists that surprise and/or mess with you a bit... as long as they're believable, fit within the context of the world and don't cop out. (i.e. don't do something interesting and then pull the "its all a dream BS")
For example, there's one part in BSG where the whole story jumps ahead a year. Instead of returning to normal, the format of the whole show changes and all the characters change because they've lived a year that you haven't seen.
It was always the plan that Mia had ulterior motives. As mentioned above, we had little scenes with her planned that didn't make it to the final version.
So yeah, the ending of Aquaria is a kick to the nuts, a kick to the nuts that is setting up the next game which would continue the story in an awesome way.
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(i.e. don't do something interesting and then pull the "its all a dream BS")
I think my most hated plot device is the ~prophecy~
oh it has infinite weight and meaning because it's prophecy... storytellers use that way too much as an unfounded and never explained method of bloating the merit of a character's importance. off the top of my head I can't think of one instance that explained how the prophecy happened, like what made the prophecy come to be ( besides *magic* ) if a spaceship has faster than light travel, I want to know how, are they folding space, are they using worm tunnels, what. prophecies are immune to being quantifiable and way to abused.
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Well the concept of a prophecy doesn't heighten a character's importance. The idea is that it would have happened prophecy or not, the prophecy just let's us know about it before-hand...and possibly avert the catastrophe that has been prophecied. And yes, magic or psychic ability is usually the culprit in those situations. But I do agree that the "it's all a dream" is VERY overused and trite.
If I might refer to one of Jolee Bindo's wonderfully entertaining stories from KotOR: There once was a young jedi under Jolee's tutilage that was prophicied to have a great destiny in store for him. He thought this destiny made him invincible. So when Jolee and the young jedi were captured by a dangerous warlord the young jedi, ever brash and arrogant, confronts the warlord who proceeds to throw him down an exhaust shaft. His body collides with something and causes the ship to explode, killing the warlord in the process. That's a pretty important destiny isn't it?
But it just goes to show you that prophicies don't heighten a character's importance. A good prophecy is open to misinterpretation. Prophecies and destinies and fortunes are only bad in the way you describe if they are written poorly to begin with. It's not the fault of the plot device, it's the fault of the writer that he can't make it more interesting.
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I know this comes a bit late into the topic, but I just wanted to share my thoughts to Alec about people's complaints about the game.
1. "I hate Li"
The problem with Li is that we never really learn about this character. The game is really suppose to be about Naija, and the storytelling is centered around Naija, and we play fully as Naija most of the time. Li feels a bit like having an extra tentacle sticking out of your back. Sure, it can be helpful sometimes, but it still feels a bit unnatural. He's not developed enough to be a major part of the story and his help is minor at best. Developing him more would have fixed the problem, but at this point it'd be difficult to change him. He's something that you need to learn from when making future games. Don't feel like you have to fix him now. Aquaria may mean a lot to you, but unless you feel like Aquaria is going to be your only major project, you need to let it go. Any changes you make to him at this point could make the game worse. In other words, just let it go.
2. "Menu screens suck"
Some people will complain about anything. Don't worry about it. These people are stupid.
3. "I hate dragging things"
Auto-cooking stuff is stupid. Part of the appeal in the cooking system is it's flexibility and options. If they don't like the system, that's their problem. However, some interface enhancements are always helpful, like letting people double-click items to move them to the cooking area rather than making them drag everything.
4. "Map System sucks"
The only problem I had with the map system is that you had to move to other areas to see what you had and hadn't explored. Being able to see all explored areas of the map at once is helpful. Think about how the Metroid/Castlevania games did their map systems.
5. "The story is too obvious!"
6. "The story is too vague!"
7. "Mia plotline is stupid"
You can't please everyone. Don't feel like you have to.
8. "I'm lost, I don't know where to go"
This must be the first time they've played an exploration-adveture game (aka a Metroidvania game). They need to grow and pair and deal with it. Or not play games of this genre. I don't play turn-based RPG's and then complain to the developers that I have to deal with that battle system. It's a personal preference. If you try to address this, you will break the game. Now, common stumbling blocks can always be subtlely improved (like the throne room puzzle, or that song puzzle in the sunken city) but addressing this problem in a global sense is impossible.
9. "I'm not going to buy the game unless it has widescreen support"
Good lord I hate people like that. At least this is the kind of change you can make without any blowback. Pretty sure there aren't any people that wouldn't buy the game if it had widescreen support.
10. "I'm not going to buy this game unless its for the Mac"
I've got a friend in this situation. She has a Mac laptop that she uses. She is in this position. She really wants to play it. She doesn't have a choice in the matter unless a Mac version is available. I'm glad you're doing this.
11. "I'm not going to buy this game unless its for Linux"
Now this one is a bit harder to justify. From my experience, most people that use Linux have a separate Windows partition anyway to deal with compatibility problems. I know my brother is like this at least. Don't feel like you have to have a Linux client because you'd be catering to a very small audience. To be perfectly honest, your effort would probably be better spent trying to get the game on PSN/XBLA/WiiWare.
Alec, you need to realize that you've still created one of the best indie games ever made, and in my opinion, the best indie game ever made. That is a tremendous accomplish.
However, you also need to realize that almost no game is perfect.
You can't satisfy everybody. You can't please everybody.
But you can certainly satisfy and please a hell of a lot of people.
Don't take individual criticisms seriously. Now, if tons of people are criticizing a certain element, than it certain merits a second look. But just people one or two people on the boards complain about something doesn't mean you have to change it.
Don't take this stuff personally.
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Plus don't forget that only people that REALLY dislikes something will complain on the forums. So if it seems like alot of people are bitching, that's only the crazies that like to bitch alot and know how to find this website.
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Plus don't forget that only people that REALLY dislikes something will complain on the forums. So if it seems like alot of people are bitching, that's only the crazies that like to bitch alot and know how to find this website.
I'd like to say something scathingly witty abut Glam finding this website and bitching a lot, but I won't and will try and wipe the smirk off my face ;)
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Glamador is only bitchy against the bitchy people. :p
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1. IGN doesn't like the music.
This is just proof that IGN's reviewer fails the Turing test.
2. Li
Personally, I liked Li, though I'd be quite interested in a Director's Cut with the additional upgrade scenes and perhaps another memory?
More Aquaria is always welcome
3. Menus/UI
I have no complaints, but I do have one bit of constructive criticism(I know, I know, but I just have to get this off my chest):
The singing system is one of the most immersive casting systems I've ever seen...however, quite a few of the hardest bosses depend on fast switching and casting, to the point that I gave in and exclusively used the hotkeys for the rest of the game starting at the Lobster in the Icy Veil, which took some of the flavor away.
Please, don't let the complainers discourage you, Aquaria is AMAZING, and I can't wait to see what you create next.
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First time poster here, I literally just finished the game (with secret ending, yay) and I've been playing Aquaria NONSTOP since I got it a few days ago.
I didn't read the whole thread, nor do I intend to. People will always nitpick games, yada yada yada. What's important to know is that you guys have made an utterly fantastic game. There's no other way to put it. Beautiful, entertaining, fun, full of atmosphere...it has everything. I've been playing video games since I was old enough to grasp an NES controller in my pudgy kid hands, and it is very rare for me to be floored like this. I loved it. I am drooling in anticipation of the sequel, and it kills me to know that it'll be years until it comes out, probably. I'm telling all my friends to buy your game...hell, I'll buy it for them if I have to, just so they can play it and be amazed the same way I was.
Games like Aquaria are what the gaming community needs, guys. I say that as a lifelong gamer. Keep it up. Seriously.
Did I mention that I loved this game!? ;D
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Plus don't forget that only people that REALLY dislikes something will complain on the forums. So if it seems like alot of people are bitching, that's only the crazies that like to bitch alot and know how to find this website.
Me? Bitching and I love this game so much that I made my friend's mouths water at the thought of it, sorry to disapoint you Glamadour but I am not a bitcher I scream down your ears instead if I am unhappy lol
By the way it's actually helping me to lose weight because I forget to eat while playing it lol
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Great game!
8. "I'm lost, I don't know where to go"
In this type of game, I kind of like not knowing where to go and it ads time spent on the game.
Which I have missed on many other games, where the gameplay last for short eight hours.
11. "I'm not going to buy this game unless its for Linux"
I'm sitting on a linux box and I don't have a problem with Aquaria not being coded for linux.
I have and will always use wine for most windows games and when that doesn't work I will boot
into windows to play that specific game.
I have to admit that the secret ending hit me like a lead pipe to the stomach.
I have to agree on this one, the ending hit me like a lead pipe to the stomach and I loved every last bit of it!
Call me a machocist but I loved the ending, shocking with a twist (Also love BSG.).
The two things I didn't like with Aquaria was/is no mapmarkers (not really a problem because
I made my own with screenshots and Paint.) and the ending, where my thougt on this was.
- What the fraking god! Wheres the sequel, I want it now!
I loved this game so much that I will play it again when the 1.1.0 patch comes.
This time I will find all treasures :P