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Author Topic: Aquaria on Jay Is Games!  (Read 8242 times)

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Offline Xenonym

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Aquaria on Jay Is Games!
« on: December 24, 2007, 10:34:33 am »
Here: http://jayisgames.com/archives/2007/12/aquaria_bit_blot.php

Where do I send my congratulatory cake pastry?


Offline AtomixIGN

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Re: Aquaria on Jay Is Games!
« Reply #1 on: December 26, 2007, 09:26:24 am »
He's right about the caves for the sake of caves point.  There were a few times I actually said out loud "come on Derek, give me a little open ocean to play with" as well as the point that Naija doesn't animate as fluidly as I would of hoped.  Otherwise thats a fantastic review and congrats.  I hope Bit Blot grows into an actual studio with actual employees.  Even the mighty Nintendo would benefit from artists like you leading a 20 man dev team. 

Offline Hiro

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Re: Aquaria on Jay Is Games!
« Reply #2 on: December 26, 2007, 10:33:23 am »
Eh? I thought Naija animated beautifully...

And for an underwater cave world, removing the cave would be kinda funny. XD
My site is: http://www.therathole.co.nr/
Where I put pictures and blog posts and stuff..

Offline songster

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Re: Aquaria on Jay Is Games!
« Reply #3 on: December 28, 2007, 10:21:14 am »
I assume Atomix was referring to one of the comments  ("That said, it seems like there's an awful lot of tunnels for the sake of having tunnels, which, coupled with the speed of movement, is reeeeeally annoying really quickly.")  rather than the main review, as the main text didn't have that critique.

That comment was me.  Hi. :)

And what I meant by it wasn't tunnels vs. open ocean, but rather the distance between Point A and Point B being made arbitrarily lengthy.   There was a lot of "ok, so you go down this tunnel, around the corner, past three armored fish, around another bend, down a long hall, around the hair-pin turn and... dead-end at a door you can't open yet.  Return trip time..." where it could have been simply "ok, so you go down this tunnel, around the corner, past three armored fish and dead-end at a door you can't open yet."    In another game, where the scenery was less compelling, that kind of rather pointless distance would be a major drawback.    In Aquaria, it's an annoyance but one that can be lived with.

Offline Xenonym

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Re: Aquaria on Jay Is Games!
« Reply #4 on: December 28, 2007, 03:31:26 pm »
Hi songster and welcome!

I think that aspect kinda increased the 'I am alone' feeling.

But then again, I agree. It got a bit boring.

Offline songster

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Re: Aquaria on Jay Is Games!
« Reply #5 on: December 29, 2007, 03:55:33 am »
Thanks for the welcome. :)     

It does give a certain atmosphere to the game, which is great.   But it can be very frustrating too, especially when you're ready to put down the game for the night -- because there are save points, you can't just stop.  You have to go swimming all over creation or face redoing things the next time you play.    Or when, as I said, you find that your progress is blocked because you lack a skill and you have to retrace your steps.     If exploration is going to be the main focus of a game, then retracing your path shouldn't feel like a chore, y'know?   

Ah, well.  I'm leaning towards buying the game anyway -- it's really great, and I suppose every game must have its drawbacks.