So whens the sequel? :p

[Archeus]

Sorry if this has been asked a million times and what not. Played and finished the game and can honestly says its probably one of the best (if not THE) game i have ever played. Not to mention alot of depth and meaning if you dig a bit.

So the only thing I wish to know is: When is the sequel? A game this good, i hope will be given its closure.

Anyway, first post. Nice to meet you all.

[Chibi]

Huge post right here ... I compiled everything Alec said about a sequel:

There will be a sequel (at least it is planned), but atm is Bit Blot working on improving Aquaria AND making another (unrelated) game. Right, Alec?

Yeah, I'm working on those. Derek is doing his own side projects now.

I have plans for two other Aquaria games that I'd love to do, but I wouldn't want to do them without Derek's involvement - in some form.

We'll have to see what happens!

In the meantime, working on something new will be a lot of fun... and it'll be with a somewhat different team too.

Aquaria Trilogy FTW!  xD

Will the monkeys be in the sequel? (If you're planning on one, that is)....

You play as a monkey in the sequel.

Hilarious. 

I think there's some confusion here ... lol

Yeah, if you're talking about a possible sequel, which we're totally not working on right now, but maybe at some point in the future... then yeah, there are some ideas where it would take place. (the secret ending hints at part of it)

Mysterious ...   

In terms of energy projectiles, they are based on the same energy as souls. They exist in both worlds, but are only vulnerable to another spirit with the appropriate power.

Red crystals = memory crystals
Blue crystals = spirit crystals

More on that kind of stuff in the sequel. (if it ever happens)

Rather cryptic, Alec - gameplay in the spirit world against enemy souls? *drools* 

I really want to make it. We have plans for this whole storyline and where it all goes. I don't think we'd work on it right away though, have something else in the works atm.

Also its kinda interesting, we planned the "to be continued" ending to only happen when you collected certain things that we thought would be hard to collect. But apparently not, a lot of people are getting that ending first. I was thinking that people would play with the shorter ending first and then the hardcore players would find out that we were hoping to make a sequel and some hints on what it would be about.

My 2 cents:

Right now I don't think we could handle working on a sequel, because we really just feel like working on something new.

That said, the sequel would be quite different from the original and involve a number of new ideas and game play concepts, so I don't think it would feel like a rehash either.

I also think it would benefit the sequel if we waited a while and came back to do it at a later point in our lives when we have a different perspective on things. (no idea when that would be) It would be interesting thematically, we could kind of challenge our old ideas.

Looks like Alec would be willing to do a sequel if Derek is, the upper limit of sequels will be two, and there will be several new gameplay ideas and other innovations / storylines that will distinguish the sequels from the original. I can't wait. 

[Archeus]

Oi.. i hope they are planning on making one. Would be a travesty for them not to at this point. Such a masterpiece without closure would be bad.

Heres to hopeing.

Ah, and Alec.. would you all be willing to take more people for this project or is it simply a duo?

[Archeus]

And one more thing... is the music cd out yet? i would like to buy it to support you guys.

[Chibi]

It's not out yet - BTW, there's a handy little "Edit Post" button that's preferable to double posting. Thanks! 

[FaeDyne]

Huge post right here ... I compiled everything Alec said about a sequel:

Thank you for all the work, Chibi!

I still think the theme he has for the game he's currently working on is similar to Aquaria. Young female protagonist, formerly manipulated, rebels against her creator, and has body-altering powers.

Will the monkeys be in the sequel? (If you're planning on one, that is)....

You play as a monkey in the sequel.

I bet he's not kidding either. Humans are monkeys. Maybe you get to play as Li.

I think there's some confusion here ... lol

Yeah, if you're talking about a possible sequel, which we're totally not working on right now, but maybe at some point in the future... then yeah, there are some ideas where it would take place. (the secret ending hints at part of it)

Seeing the flying castle, I thought right away about flying forms. That would be fun. Maybe for the 3 games we'll have water, earth, and air. It would be nice if we get a mod-able engine at some point that allows us to make use of all the systems from the previous games. Swimming, flying, and walking, or whatever they end up being.

My 2 cents:

Right now I don't think we could handle working on a sequel, because we really just feel like working on something new.

That said, the sequel would be quite different from the original and involve a number of new ideas and game play concepts, so I don't think it would feel like a rehash either.

I also think it would benefit the sequel if we waited a while and came back to do it at a later point in our lives when we have a different perspective on things. (no idea when that would be) It would be interesting thematically, we could kind of challenge our old ideas.

I'm sad that it will be so long before we get to see more, but I hope Derek intends to return to it as much as Alec does, and I'll be waiting for whenever it happens. I guess it will also give them a chance to improve and learn new things to apply to a new game.
I'm also waiting for the hard-copy game to come out to buy it. I gotta have pretty box art on my shelf. It'll go with my Ryzom and Myst boxes. (and WoW. hahah) Not sure about the soundtrack, but I am interested and do like to support my favorite artists.

[Alphasoldier]

I bet he's not kidding either. Humans are monkeys. Maybe you get to play as Li.

Spoiler Post:
Actually, I'd guess you'd play as Lucien, the kid you see flying away at the end, which would be a half monkey.

I actually wonder what happened to Li though, I mean, you see Naija in the crystal on the main screen, that's what happened to her, but what about Li? Did he die of old age? Or did he drown because Naija wasn't around anymore?

[Chibi]

Interesting issue; however, Li could just retrieve his helmet from the save room.

If a sequel is in the works, I'd love the same swim / fly / burrow capabilities Faedyne suggested. An expedition to find the remnants of the flying city would fit the bill. 

[Titch]

Flight wouldn't be that hard to mod in, y'know. Among the many things I want to try once I get to good grips with doing custom forms is adding a flight form.

[silverflagon]

Swimming is not much different to flying in a game, no gravity unless you programme it in lol

[FaeDyne]

Interesting issue; however, Li could just retrieve his helmet from the save room.

If a sequel is in the works, I'd love the same swim / fly / burrow capabilities Faedyne suggested. An expedition to find the remnants of the flying city would fit the bill. 

I was thinking more traditional walking as far as "earth", rather than burrowing. Burrowing would probably take up a lot of info to keep track of the altered map. Maybe you could gain some wall-sticking powers or something.

Swimming is not much different to flying in a game, no gravity unless you programme it in lol

Yes, gravity is more pronounced in flight than in swimming. or at least faster-acting. It wouldn't be the same at all.

I bet he's not kidding either. Humans are monkeys. Maybe you get to play as Li.

Spoiler Post:
Actually, I'd guess you'd play as Lucien, the kid you see flying away at the end, which would be a half monkey.

I actually wonder what happened to Li though, I mean, you see Naija in the crystal on the main screen, that's what happened to her, but what about Li? Did he die of old age? Or did he drown because Naija wasn't around anymore?

Oh, is that ... Li and Naija's son? I didn't remember the ending that well. It's been a while. All I remember is a human boy in an airship. I thought maybe it was Li. I also thought there was a more Naija-like girl that I thought was their daughter, but I forget if we ever got info from the source on who she was.

[Alphasoldier]

The other one is I believe Lucien's girlfriend, or maybe in some very twisted way Li's ne girlfriend.

Either way, she's somebody's girlfriend, it's how she's called. =p
I'd guess she's from Mithalas

[surt]

Looks like Alec would be willing to do a sequel if Derek is...

If Derek doesn't want to front the full workload of the art for a sequal, and is just willing to take on a design/oversight role, I'm sure based on the strength of the first game, there'd be bucket-loads of artists willing to slave over the drudge work for peanuts.

Yes, gravity is more pronounced in flight than in swimming. or at least faster-acting. It wouldn't be the same at all.

As they are both just propulsion through a fluid they are physically essentially the same thing bar a few variables.

Oh, is that ... Li and Naija's son? I didn't remember the ending that well. It's been a while. All I remember is a human boy in an airship. I thought maybe it was Li. I also thought there was a more Naija-like girl that I thought was their daughter, but I forget if we ever got info from the source on who she was.

According to the gfx directory the girl is "luciengf" which I presume is Lucien's girlfriend.
When I saw the ending I too thought the girl was Naija and Li's daughter, but I thought the boy must be her son (Naija's grand-son) as he looks much younger than the she does.

[Align]

Hmm well, Prince Rask was brought back to life like the other leaders (except for the sun worshippers, poor guys got left out), and the other leaders got other race members greeting them - it seems implied that the Mithalans were brought back too, only they were left off-screen. Possibly because none of them figured they should go to the throne room.

So I guess the gf being Mithalan wouldn't be farfetched.

[FaeDyne]

Looks like Alec would be willing to do a sequel if Derek is...

If Derek doesn't want to front the full workload of the art for a sequal, and is just willing to take on a design/oversight role, I'm sure based on the strength of the first game, there'd be bucket-loads of artists willing to slave over the drudge work for peanuts.

Well, let's not put words in his mouth, but I would like to know if Derek has an interest in doing this eventually, or if he's indefinitely disinterested.

Yes, gravity is more pronounced in flight than in swimming. or at least faster-acting. It wouldn't be the same at all.

As they are both just propulsion through a fluid they are physically essentially the same thing bar a few variables.

But there was no gravity put in place in the swimming in this game. (Other than when you left the water or immediately upon entering it.) If the controls were the same for the air, it would be strange. I think moving upward should be slower. I mean, you gotta flap your wings or catch an updraft to rise in the air. Maybe you could do loop-de-loops, but you'd lose some altitude when you did it.

Mmm... you know what would also be awesome? semi-3D air/water movement. more than 2.5D though. Maybe if it was 2D but instead of limited layers, you would have full control but still view it from the side.  :> hmm... or maybe more like 2.55 dimensions, where you could at least rotate in 45 degree increments. I was thinking enemies on other layers should be limited to moving parallel, but what's the fun in that? seeing them fore-shortened would give you enough clues that they're heading towards you. hm, but you wouldn't be able to tell exactly where they intersect with your layer... :S

Boy, air travel would be difficult to limit without "caging the bird". or don't limit it. or set unexplained barriers when you get too far away from stuff to interact with. heh. if you didn't limit it, you could put a secret in another continent after you fly for a few days across the ocean, assuming you're character is not prone to weakening from hunger. watch there be no limits and people try that only to find there is nothing, or it loops back to the other side. hahah. :>

Oh, is that ... Li and Naija's son? I didn't remember the ending that well. It's been a while. All I remember is a human boy in an airship. I thought maybe it was Li. I also thought there was a more Naija-like girl that I thought was their daughter, but I forget if we ever got info from the source on who she was.

According to the gfx directory the girl is "luciengf" which I presume is Lucien's girlfriend.
When I saw the ending I too thought the girl was Naija and Li's daughter, but I thought the boy must be her son (Naija's grand-son) as he looks much younger than the she does.

Ok, thanks.

Hmm well, Prince Rask was brought back to life like the other leaders (except for the sun worshippers, poor guys got left out), and the other leaders got other race members greeting them - it seems implied that the Mithalans were brought back too, only they were left off-screen. Possibly because none of them figured they should go to the throne room.

So I guess the gf being Mithalan wouldn't be farfetched.

If the Mithalans were brought back off-screen, couldn't the same have happened to the sun worshipers? Boy, I don't remember what happened in the game or why.