Messages

1

General / Re: Some thoughts after finishing [spoilers]

« on: May 22, 2010, 06:36:01 am »

There's nothing wrong with the performance of Mia's part, but it just pales next to the performance given by Ms. Sharpe

Surprise! Jenna Sharpe did Mia's voice as well.

"2007, Voice Over, Naija & Mia, AQUARIA, Bit Blot, Alex Holowka & Derek You" Source

Ha! Serves me right for being pedantic!

I love how her profile lists her weight in stones; silly Brits

2

General / Re: $1 million on the HIB! Open Source Aquaria FTW!

« on: May 21, 2010, 06:44:37 am »

2DBoy are party poopers

Yeah, but World of Goo is definitely the second best game in the bundle, I think.

I felt kinda bad about the fact that the only game I really didn't like at all was Lugaru - the one by the company that put the whole Humble Bundle thing together in the first place

3

General / Re: $1 million on the HIB! Open Source Aquaria FTW!

« on: May 21, 2010, 06:21:22 am »

Massive budget games and film seem to be becoming more and more obsolete. Of course there are always exceptions (MW2, Avatar respectively) but those are fewer and further between than ever before - Well, at least the ones that make money.

MechWarrior 2?

(Slightly unrelated, but I would not even know this game existed except that it was a part of the bundle. Now I think that it's value was more than the other games combined)

I am of exactly the same mind.

4

General / Re: Aquaria fanart [spoilers]

« on: May 21, 2010, 06:15:19 am »

I'd suggest looking at the picture on this page.

I love that picture, she looks so engaged

5

General / Re: Finally finished Aquaria... now what? Any other similar games available?

« on: May 21, 2010, 04:36:11 am »

Loom was great, I agree.  It's really very hard to fully appreciate PC games from that long ago as much now, though.  One of the things that makes Aquaria special is that, although simple, it really is beautiful.  That just wasn't an option back then - except for us Amiga users - but because we were comparing it to everything else prior to its arrival, it sort of took a grander place in my memory than it otherwise would.

That's the danger with all of those sorts of euphoric recall types of things.  You ever make the mistake of going back and actually watching some of the Saturday morning cartoons that so fascinated us as kids?  With very few exceptions (old Looney Tunes, for example) they were just utter crap, but I remember them as magic. 

Going back and watching the original Knight Rider now makes it obvious why the relaunch failed: it was WAY too much like the original, and the original was, frankly, awful.  I *worshiped* Knight Rider as a kid, and my memories are still extremely positive, but I went back and watched some episodes on Hulu recently, and... WOW.  Without nostalgia, that show was terrible.

6

General / Some thoughts after finishing [spoilers]

« on: May 21, 2010, 04:24:05 am »

I just finished Aquaria, and I wanted to share a couple of thoughts about the game.

First of all, I assume that by finding all of Naija's memories, I saw both the "regular" ending as well as an extended sequence (the bit with the spiral tunnel and the conversation with Mia).

The standard ending was just beautiful.  The story in general was extremely well done, but you can often see the true value of a story by the way it is completed, and this ending was wonderful.  The in-game story was compelling enough to make you want to find out what happens next, and although everything isn't explicitly explained at the end, the end was very satisfying.  Granted, the "monster was just a misunderstood child imparted with too much power" idea is hardly new - off the top of my head I can think of at least 5 analogous stories, including "Akira" and an episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" - but even well worn stories can be very powerful if they're done well, and Aquaria definitely was.  There's a reason some stories are retold again and again, and it's usually because there's something intrinsically moving about them.  For example, how many stories and movies have sprung from the deep fascination people have with the idea of the re-animated dead?

I won't insult the creators of the game by saying that they "lucked into" a great voice actress for the role of Naija; I'm sure they didn't pick Jenna Sharpe because she was the first one to walk in the door.  I will say that they made an excellent choice, and considering the number of mediocre voice actors doing work for much larger budgets, I think luck might have played a little part.  The final conversation at the end of the extended sequence between Naija and Mia is a perfect demonstration of the subtle but profound difference a talented voice actor can make.  There's nothing wrong with the performance of Mia's part, but it just pales next to the performance given by Ms. Sharpe, both here and in the rest of the game.  It's a little like seeing a competent actor working next to a great actor.  The movie "Training Day" springs to mind: Ethan Hawke did a fine job, but he was just completely outdone by Denzel Washington.

The music is another area that was extremely impressive for an independent game, but even though I'm new to the forum, that's obviously been gone over in so much detail that I don't really have to go into it.  The fact that there was enough demand for the release of a soundtrack is proof enough.

This obviously isn't the place for a full game review, so I won't write one here.  But I did want to say how impressed I was by Aquaria, and that I greatly look forward to the possibility of a sequel, or to whatever Bit Blot has to offer next.

7

Gameplay / Re: Aquaria Treasure Hunter's Maps [Mad Spoilers]

« on: May 18, 2010, 06:16:08 am »

It is a great site for personal use, I never said otherwise, just a fail for not having something as simple as direct linking for free.
And seeing there are loads of free hosting sites, I might as well go for the best one.
WHFF was great and I bet/hope there are sites alike.

Drop.io is a fabulous site for free file sharing, and the uploads don't expire for up to 1 year after the last time it was viewed.  I don't know if there's any hidden issues, but I've never run into any problems.

BTW, I also got Aquaria via the Humble Bundle, and I too am now obsessed with it.  What a fabulous game!

- Morgan

8

Gameplay / Thorn jump

« on: May 18, 2010, 06:02:08 am »

I tried out the thorn jump after reading about it in a bubble-cave help topic, and the first couple of times I did it I was amazed - it seemed like I was launched practically into the stratosphere.  Then I tried it about 1,500 more times, and just got bumped up a tiny bit.  Is it the kind of thing that only works once or twice?