Messages

1

Support / Re: How to Download the Latest Version: 1.1.1

« on: February 26, 2009, 05:06:32 pm »

So, um...is it safe to try and get this update now?  It still says on the first post to wait until thing are cleared up.  But that was two months ago, and I'd really like to play Aquaria again.

2

General / Re: You guys should totally enter Aquaria into the PAX 10!

« on: March 02, 2008, 09:05:39 am »

Maybe, but it's their group of "50 industry experts" who decide which 10 games make the cut, not Gabe and Tycho.

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General / You guys should totally enter Aquaria into the PAX 10!

« on: March 02, 2008, 01:03:30 am »

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/27819

The PAX 10 is a showcase of independent games to be exhibited at the Penny Arcade Expo. Taking submissions until May 7th, our group of 50 industry experts will cull the selection of games into what they collectively feel are the ten best in regard to gameplay and overall fun-factor.

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU MAKE IT INTO THE PAX 10

A. Announcement on Penny Arcade as being selected for The PAX 10!
B. Announcement on the Penny Arcade Expo site as being selected for The PAX 10!
C. Four Exhibitor Hall Badges for PAX 2008, giving you access to everything exhibitors receive.
D. A kiosk in the PAX Exhibition Hall for you and your team to demo your game to tens and thousands of gamers, media and industry-folk. This kiosk will include a monitor and speakers however will not include any additional hardware for your demo to play on.
E. The chance to win The PAX 10 Audience Choice Award, to be announced on Penny Arcade following PAX.

4

General / Re: Aquaria on XBLA or PSN?

« on: February 28, 2008, 10:13:57 am »

Yeah, something not a lot of people know about the big console manufacturers, they all have really strict requirements for people to develop for their systems.  Nintendo, for example, requires that your company have a business license, an official office, and proof that you have the money to guarantee a quality game.  And on top of that, you then have to pay a couple thousand dollars to buy a dev kit.  If you can't do all that, they usually just tell you to get lost and find a publisher.  Oh, and then on top of that, the game has to fit a bunch of strict standards too.  And it came out recently that even Nintendo's "Wiiware" system still has every single requirement that a standard console developer has, so isn't really friendly to indy developers.

5

General / Re: I really want to play this game however....

« on: February 08, 2008, 09:29:08 am »

What I did was burn the installer to a CD, as well as a text file with the registration email.  But I'm still gonna buy that collector's edition

6

General / Re: The Widescreen Thread

« on: February 08, 2008, 09:24:21 am »

You should get the game now anyways   I played the entire game on my widescreen TV, at 1366x768 (you can edit a file to get any resolution you want).  Yeah, it was stretched a bit, but it still looked amazing.

7

Gameplay / Re: I finished.... sorry about the spoiler

« on: January 18, 2008, 12:48:08 am »

I know *I* explored a whole lot more because I got stuck - never thought of what to do with Li when I first cornered him.  If that hadn't happened, I'm sure I wouldn't have gotten the full ending the first time through.

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Gameplay / Re: Kid-friendly? *SPOILERS*

« on: January 14, 2008, 07:16:11 am »

Some people consider the "good ending" (which you unlock by finding all three of Najia's memories and then beating the game) to be disturbing...dunno if a kid would understand it enough to be disturbed, but if you want to be complete, info on that ending should be added to your list.

9

Gameplay / Re: Yellow Creature in Kelp Forest drops Hot Borscht

« on: January 10, 2008, 02:06:14 am »

I totally missed out on red-bulb foods, because I used all mine early on in simple foods   Didn't realize they were special until I had gone 10 hours without finding any more... I think I even used up a Special Bulb that way.

10

Gameplay / Re: Kid-friendly? *SPOILERS*

« on: January 09, 2008, 12:38:01 am »

I still disagree, unless you are talking 4 or 5 year-olds or something (at which they probably wouldn't make it very far anyways).  It's not like a horror movie, with it getting dark and quiet and something jumping out, making loud noise and trying to scare people.  A "spooky" atmosphere isn't bad for kids at all.  And as I said, when I was 8 games were WAY harder than this one (just try the original Metroid!), yet I played through them and had a very fun time.

And how could Najia's fears about being corrupted scare a child?  Would the child even understand?

11

Gameplay / Re: Expansion pack...

« on: January 08, 2008, 04:48:40 am »

Towards the end of the game (when I wasn't constantly farming everywhere I went), I actually swum around a lot in the normal form, because of the costume that lets you get healed when hurt a certain amount, and using the shield I could just ignore most enemies.  I must say, I'm glad the shield even blocks the last boss's shots - in most games, your very first abilities are useless later in the game.

12

Gameplay / Re: Kid-friendly? *SPOILERS*

« on: January 08, 2008, 04:42:02 am »

I just finished the game (for the expanded ending), and I saw no content unsuitable to a kid.  There's no blood and guts violence, no guns, no sex/nudity, and the only "drug" is rainbow soup   The only thing that might disturb some kids is the ability to kill (and eat) some really cute sea creatures.  Whether some kids would understand the story or not, is a different matter, but you don't need to understand every detail of the story to have fun playing the game.  The game has some rather challenging parts, but then when I was eight I was playing games WAY harder than this on the NES.  If this were to be ranked by the ESRB, I don't think it would even get an E10+, probably just an E.

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General / Re: Portable Possibilities

« on: January 06, 2008, 07:38:34 am »

Yeah, Aquaria would be damn cool on DS, but it would take a lot of work to be just as balanced and fun as the PC version, because the resolution is so much lower.  Imagine trying to play Aquaria at a resolution of 256x192...  Much easier to design a new game around the system.  Still, I'd love to try to cram Aquaria in there

14

Gameplay / Re: Not Buying and Here's Why

« on: January 01, 2008, 07:49:25 pm »

The problem with this thread is, the OP for some weird reason thinks he is giving constructive criticism, when in fact he's saying "I don't like that genre, please redesign the entire game".  Because the genre (shared with the Metroid, the recent Castlevania series', and Zelda to a certain extent) is ALL about exploration and backtracking.  That's the gameplay.  It's good you enjoyed the graphics, sound, and swimming/fighting mechanics, but the game is about exploring.  You mention that you are spending most of your time going from point A to point B, but it's not that kind of game.  You generally do NOT have a point B to go to.  You are exploring, and trying to find new places to go to, new things you can do.  New plants you can pluck, new creatures you can harvest for ingredients.  New treasures to find, new abilities.  If you are following a Walkthrough, then yes, I guess it would be really boring sitting there swimming from point A to B following it.

Also, the game *does* deal with travelling to places you've been to before, speeding up travel.  For example, you say you finished the demo - did you note that it gave you a nice shortcut from the end of the temple where the boss was back to the beginning?  That way you didn't have to travel back through the entire temple to get out.  There are a number of those shortcuts throughout the game, and more of them as you progress.  For example, the game world really opens up and becomes HUGE after you finish the demo area - but the game starts giving methods of "warping" around the world from extreme places.  And as has been mentioned, there are foods which temporarily increase swimming speed, some which combine that with extra defenses and stuff, and there are a couple new abilities you get (not too far into the game past the demo) which allow you to travel faster anytime you want.

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General / Re: Sell to Walmart

« on: December 29, 2007, 04:19:59 pm »

Most retail stores deal with videogame distributor companies, not directly with publishers or worse developers.  Wal-Mart might be different, not sure, but their process of getting a new product to their shelves is a difficult one, involving going down to their headquarters and competing with hundreds of other small companies doing the same.  And then Wal-Mart (being who they are) would probably require that the game cost like $10 or $15, giving the developers like $3 per game sold, including covering manufacturing costs.

Unfortunately, the usual, easy way to start dealing with publishers or distributor companies used-to be at E3, but the new E3 isn't for new game businesses anymore, as you have to be *invited* to go, and distributors aren't invited anyways.