So whens the sequel? :p

[Chibi]

Answering your second point: if Naija were a hummingbird, the issue would be solved. Otherwise, Alec could just have the wings cut out after a certain amount of time / distance then have Naija splash back into the water.

[Particlese]

You could also turn her into some blocks of aerogel or something, and then she'd have no problem gaining altitude.  The problem then would be submerging herself for swimming.  Come to think of it, that sounds like a really mean thing to do to Naija.    Maybe she could switch back and forth with some singing.  Or you could try to blame the flying on the Verse.  Ever play NiGHTS?  The character in that game flies with no problem using magic, and it plays really well.  The movement is restricted to 2D, but that plane bends around the 3D world in a set way.

[silverflagon]

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. :>

Magic is used throughout the game so using it to limit her should be no problem, but how about large volcanos or Rocs?

[Grahf]

The ending and the plot in general seemed shallow, predictable and forced. I think the design team would do well to take the smooth and dynamic game play and apply it to a better written storyline. Perhaps hire some writers. ;-)

[Nava]

The ending and the plot in general seemed shallow, predictable and forced. I think the design team would do well to take the smooth and dynamic game play and apply it to a better written storyline. Perhaps hire some writers. ;-)

I think a lot of people would disagree with you on this. Both the plot and atmosphere of Aquaria are a very personal reflection of feelings and ideas shared between Alec and Derek. From a developer's point of view, where is the fun in creating a world that is not actually your creation? The smooth and dynamic gameplay and the evocative atmosphere of the game are derived from the developers' emotional investment in the project. Hiring writers to tell your story takes that emotional resonance out of the developers' hands; it moves the project further from their personal values and emotions, the end result being a flatter experience, a game bearing no imprint of the "hearts and souls" of the designers, so to speak.

Besides, many of the members here have expressed a love for the story and an appreciation of its depth and beauty... speaking for myself, as someone who knows Alec very well in real life, I see a lot of depth, meaning, and philosophical implications in the character of Naija and the challenges she faces within the frame of the story.

What is it about the story, precisely, that disappoints you so much?

[Alphasoldier]

I think a lot of people would disagree with you on this.

Correct.

Like... the only thing I obviously saw coming after Mithalas was more destructed races and of course that the creator was the big evil. But further? The story amazed me.

If you're talking about the cheesy, evil guy, hero/heroine, love of hero/heroine who meet and then get departed, casualties of races kind of story... Yeah, sure, but that's in every good story. I think you want it even more unique.

[silverflagon]

The ending and the plot in general seemed shallow, predictable and forced. I think the design team would do well to take the smooth and dynamic game play and apply it to a better written storyline. Perhaps hire some writers. ;-)

Perhaps you would prefer to play ninja fighting games instead, they have really brilliant story lines.........

[Chibi]

The ending and the plot in general seemed shallow, predictable and forced. I think the design team would do well to take the smooth and dynamic game play and apply it to a better written storyline. Perhaps hire some writers. ;-)

To each their own, but very few humans are not touched in some way by the story.  Maybe it's the issue described in the first part of this thread?    I found the story quite deep (pardon the pun) although you have to read between the lines to truly appreciate it.

Perhaps you would prefer to play ninja fighting games instead, they have really brilliant story lines.........

He probably would - and enjoy it more than Aquaria. Ignoring the fact that Bit-Blot is roughly .01% the size of most other developers in the genre (Action/Adventure),  still manages to maintain a higher level of quality, and developed the game in two years over the internet ...

[Align]

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.

Depends on the means of flight. Super-hero style, which just ignores any inconvenient physical laws, would work much like swimming.

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.

Well, there was no soul to save in the Body for their race, so I'm not so sure.



As for story... While I love Aquaria in many ways, the story was cheesy at best. (also voice acting; Mithala made me cringe)

[Alec]

I'm confused as to why some people think the story is cheesy, actually.

[Chibi]

Just ignore them. Their vision of the perfect game is incompatible with Aquaria. 

[Particlese]

Maybe because it's different from the stuff coming from some of the big guys...it's not completely saturated with machismo, angst, and boobies.    And maybe pixel shaders are part of the story, too.  Who knows?

[Align]

It's just not terribly original.
Girl (usually boy, admittedly) with amnesia is brought out of her everyday life by specific event, goes on adventure, finds out about her past, encounters love at first sight (very bad in a videogame because of the difficulty in building character and tension) who proves crucial to adventure, but is kidnapped (often killed, in stories), goes on to kill a god(-like being)...
Grossly oversimplified, but the cliché parts stand out. A lot. Amnesia in particular is something I no longer accept as possibly being part of a good story.

[Chibi]

Why don't you accept amnesia as part of a good story? Had Aquaria first had amnesia in a story, would you like it better?  I suppose it's all because of one thing - Aquaria's perceived faults stand out sharply against everything else. 

[Alec]

I think a lot of people have trouble with the Li storyline, but the main problem they have is that they read it as if the game is saying:

"li and naija met each other, now the game is telling me that they love each other completely forever"

i.e. They find the notion that someone could find true love at first sight silly, and since the game seems to be saying that that is TRUE, then they're like... "that's stupid".

However, the game leaves it an open question as to whether that was actually true love or just teenage fascination.

Naija certainly believes its true love, but first love often feels like true love ... until it ends.

What we know about the characters is that they were both very lonely, and both felt disconnected from their backgrounds. The odds of them falling in love as a way to feel better would be pretty high.

Whether that love would survive beyond them trying to start a family is another question.

There's actually a hint in the ending dialog that Naija isn't very happy with the home life... she thought it was the ideal that she wanted, but she misses the adventure. I think that points to Naija not being content with being tied down to Li and the baby. (generally this also mirror's the player's motivation - wishing there was more game to experience)