ECTS*2002
When AGDzine met European Computer Trade Show
FOREWORD
Every year the largest European software development and publishing
companies come together to strutt their stuff at ECTS, the European
Computer Trade Show in London. This year the event was held at Earl's
Court, a large hall that gets used for many exhibitions.
Although ECTS isn't as big as E3, it's certainly still exceedingly
popular. Luckily enough I go to go and represent the AGDzine, in search
of adventure games and adventure fans. On my visit I managed to meet up
and "hang out" with Marek Bronstring from Adventure Gamers.com, and also met
Spaff from MixnMojo. Along the way I also got the chance to meet other
people from all over the globe that were visiting the trade show, including
Charles Cecil, (head of Revolution Software, see the Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon preview)
and others, editors, presidents of companies, programmers, artists,
marketing managers, the lot.
So what was the target for my visit? Firstly to see how Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon, (BS3)
was coming along, this was afterall the premiere of the game that has not
been shown anywhere else before now. Also, I wanted to see how many other
companies were producing or publishing adventure games. After the first day
I only felt slightly satisfied, after finding only BS3 and Ring II,
but day two was a little more promising, when I managed to find Myst III:
Exile, Titanic, Danger Island, some kids adventures and a mysterious new
project that was soon to come.
The show was exceptionally good to say the least, the amount of games on
show and the amount of people that had come to see them was huge. I managed
to give my card to several different people and many others managed to give
me theirs! Getting in as press was easy too. Beforehand, it was said all
over the place that proof of publication, proof of trade etc was needed, so
this had me a little worried at first. Once I'd turned up none of this was
necessary, so after a sigh of relief I waltzed about feeling big headed.
Naturally, the first stop was the press office. Free drinks and free food
was almost as good as the BS3 preview! I think by the second day
the lady on the press office desk was bored of seeing me. Or maybe she just
wanted to sleep with me but didn't want to mention it with the security
guards all over the place ;)
So, I think it's only best that I take you through what I've seen, what I
thought of it and perhaps what you'll think of it. Before I start I just
want to thank Marek who stuck up for me at those awkard moments when people
said "AGDzine? What the heck is that?".
BROKEN SWORD: THE SLEEPING DRAGON
We all gathered in a large room set aside for the premiere of BS3. You could tell there was excitement in the atmosphere
as people spoke to each other quietly. Myself and Marek took a seat. I don't know whether Marek
knew what to expect but I certainly didn't. Before today I hadn't seen anything to do with BS3,
no screenshots or so forth.
"We really are very excited with what we have to show you"
After a couple of introductory speeches by the PR man and vice-president of Criteria,
Charles Cecil, the head of Revolution (Beneath A Steel Sky, Broken Sword 1 and 2) took
the stand. "We really are very excited with what we have to show you" he began, with a
large grin across his face. "Broken Sword is the best selling traditional adventure to ever appear
on any console" he stated, continuing by saying "In a readers poll the game was voted the fifth best
game ever for the PlayStation." He explained how Broken Sword fans are very passionate about the game,
and how there is a huge anticipation for the third part and what it will deliver.
"The point and click adventure is dead"
"The point and click adventure is dead, no two ways about it, it is no more." Cecil then began, to my
surprise the audience didn't stir and seemed to agree to this statement. My stomach certainly sunk. "However,
long live the adventure." He continued. "Adventure as a genre is extremely healthy, and has probably as much, if
not more potential than any other genre. It's one that we're very excited to continue producing games for."
"The game is pretty early in development"
"The leading platforms for Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon are currently PlayStation II and PC.
We anticipate producing X-Box and GameCube versions too." he explained. Lots of cameras flashing throughout
his speech. "The game is pretty early in development, but there has been enourmous interest which we've been
delighted by" ... "We started on the design last year, but we've only really been in production for about
six months. Quite a lenghty period since our last game because we threw away pretty much everything we had and
started again, and as such we're very proud of the technology development."
We were then shown the teaser trailer for the game. It firstly showed clips from the previous to Broken Sword
games just to show the move from 2D to 3D. We saw lots of scenes of George running about in a town like Paris, some
fighting sequences too, however we were later assured there is no real fighting in the game. A round of applause followed
the trailer and Charles Cecil continued his speech.
  
"We have non-linear gameplay, its not hard wired, but it allows mutiple solutions"
"I really think this is the future for the adventure" he stated, as some screenshots for the game appeared
on the large screen. "I like to think we have an extraordinary new graphic engine that delivers unique visual style.
So many games are moving towards photo realisim, yet in my opinion, they're lacking style. Ours, I hope, looks different.
We have a facial animation system, that creates emotion in our characters. We have non-linear gameplay, its not hard wired,
but it allows mutiple solutions, the games AI creating different oppurtunities to overcome obstacles."
"it has a strong story and non-clichéd characters"
"This is a game that will appeal to traditional adventure players, because the gameplay is cerebral, rather than
requiring manual dexterity, it has a strong story and non-clichéd characters. It will also appeal to mainstream gamers too,
as it has contemporary gameplay, driven by a sophisticated interface. This is very much an adventure with action elements,
it is certainly not an action-adventure, which is primarily an action game with a bit of story added on."
"it requires cerebral thought rather than manual dexterity"
"The narrative and the characterisation is intergral to the gameplay, but the pace is fast and furious, but as I say it
requires cerebral thought rather than manual dexterity. We feel that this occupies a space that has been dominated by Japanese
RPG's in recent years, and our hope is that we can take back some of that ground."
"Tying up the first two parts, we introduce again the Templars."
"The story of course brings back George Stobbart and Nico. George is a witty American, he's never afraid to confront danger,
he uses his charm and humour to befriend those around him and disarm his opponents. Nico is a tenacious French photo-journalist,
she's proud, she hates injustice. These characters are interesting and non-clichéd, their personalities compliment each other, and as such
creates an interesting relationship between themselves."
"We start the game with George flying over the Congo jungle to visit a professor who plans to patent a petrol engine machine.
Although the whole idea is very cranky, it's much more exciting than his normal legal work back in America. Meanwhile, on the
other side of the world, Nico meets a computer hacker. He tells her to come in quickly because his life is in danger, she agrees
and then shoots him three times. Tying up the first two parts, we introduce again the Templars." (please note that isn't the real Nico!)
"George and Nico are drawn into a terrifying conspiracy, orchestrated by a meglomaniac who threatens to re-awaken an awesome power, the sleeping
dragon. A power that nearly brought about the extinction of man ten thousand years ago. From the jungles of the Congo to the calm of the English country, from the underground pyramids of Egypt to gothic castles, time is running
out for the Earth and only George and Nico can save it."
  
"mutiple options and possibilities"
"We've designed a simple yet very powerful interface, which allows enourmous gameplay opportunities. It is of course direct control, and as the player character
approaches an object it can interact with, available actions appear as icons in the bottom right hand corner. What's really nice about this is that it allows mutiple
options and possibilities and really frees us as designers."
"unique and exciting gameplay"
"In regards to gameplay elements, we have the detective work, solving the conspiracy by talking to people and using evidence. Exploration within the 3D environment
with the ability to climb, shimmy and drop off walls, so we're really using the fact it's a 3D environment rather than a 3D game in a 2D environment. We have stealth,
to creep past guards, and the real beauty is that we can combine all these to come up with really unique and exciting gameplay. Ultimatley what this means is that because
you're in a world that reacts to you as a player, it means that there are mutiple ways to get through puzzles and obstacles."
"we put the player under pressure"
"Finally we have what we call action events. Action events are where we take the oppurtunity to up the pace, and what we have are scenes which become very exciting, and
then we return back to the actual gameplay itself. We put the player under pressure so they have to decide quickly what to do. We feel this adds to the whole favlour and the
style of the game itself."
"the adventure revolution"
"This, I can say, is the game I've always wanted to write, and it's certainly the best I've ever designed. I believe it represents twenty years that I've spent writing
adventures, from the ZX81 through to now. We have an exceptional team both in terms of creativity and talent. It's certainly the strongest we've had in our history.
As such we're enourmously excited about this game, and we hope you'll share our enthusiasm."
BS3 introduces a new character, Petra
With that, a satisfied round of applause filled the room. Even the JustAdventure guys clapped. We were then invited to ask questions, one of which was "how strong is the puzzle solving" to which
Charles Cecil replied: "One of the problems with point and click adventures was that there was a grammar, that was developed by people.
People in the club understood what the grammar was, people from outside didn't understand it. Puzzles became even more obscure, and to the vast majority
of people, the games became boring. When you have a point and click, there's so little you can do, basically you can pick up and object, give it to someone,
talk to someone, and then you throw in a timing puzzle as well and that's about it. To stop the player from progessing too fast you have to make it difficult
and sometimes obscure. This game does have puzzles, but we don't want the player to be frustrated by pluzzles, so if they don't get the puzzle after a certain
amount of time, we'll probably give them the answer if they want. We have so much more than we ever had in a point and click adventure."
INTERVIEW WITH CHARLES CECIL
After the demonstration and trailer myself and Marek were confronted by a rather nervous editor of a Czech online magazine called BonusWeb.cz, who wanted a cigarette to calm his nerves before talking to Charles. Marek and myself managed to get a five minute slot with him and ask him some questions.
bold is Marek & myself, regular is Charles Cecil.
Myself (left) & Marek (middle) talk to Charles Cecil (right). The man next to Marek is PR.
Thanks to BonusWeb.cz for the photo.
Why was GBA mentioned on the BS3 website but not here?
The GBA version will be very much secondary. The projects arriving for the end of next year, and the GBA will certainly arrive later than that. The GBA version I would imagine, will be 2D.
Would you say the atmosphere of BS3 is going to be a little bit darker than the previous games?
Yes it is, but it's not super dark. There are so many games that are really dark, this is not one of them. We have the humour, we have dialogue that makes you laugh, but we want it to be a more intense experience. To an extent it's related to the action elements.
Have you read concerns from fans that George looks a bit like Indiana Jones?
[laughs] Yes I have and they're absolutley legitimate concerns. However, because we're very early in development, George starts at the Congo, and then he wears that outfit. But when he's in Paris he wears normal clothes, so he doesn't actually wear that outfit very much at all,
but because this is the only model we have of him it makes him look like Indiana Jones in Paris! It's a big concern but it's only because we haven't got round to modelling him in other outfits yet. He will have lots of outfits as will Nico.
Will you be able to control Nico?
Oh yes, very much so. George is the main character, but you can control Nico as well, you swap between the two.
Will there finally be sex in it?
[laughs] No, sorry. We want this to be targetted at the same age group as Indiana Jones, we want it to go across a broad range but we don't want to offend anyone. This is good family entertainment. We're not afraid of violence, but not strong violence.
How does George earn the money to go around and save the world?
[laughs loudly] I tell you what, a very good, legitimate complaint was that in Broken Sword 1 when he has to go to Syria he has to get fifty bucks, but a plane ticket would have cost him y'know, thousands! But we don't worry about the money, he's a very succesful lawyer, so he has no money troubles.
Is a Beneath A Steel Sky GBA going to happen?
The market at the moment for the GBA is very difficult, and so we're waiting for it to become more vibrant. So at the moment we're doing nothing. Broken Sword I for the GBA got great reviews, Broken Sword II for the GBA will be coming out soon, so if that gets good reviews we may go back to GBA.
Broken Sword II GBA has started development?
Oh yes.
When can we expect to see that?
That will be available probably next March.
Will you create more adventure games with this new engine?
I hope so yes. We have great confidence and feel this is very much the future. The adventure had a huge following a few years ago, but we felt the demand for this kind of game, it was the point and click interface that was holding it back, and by changing all that, we'll realise the potential we have.
And also the puzzles help too?
Yep. The thing that makes me cross is that it's so easy to come up with bad puzzles, it really is! Y'know, there's a guy going out the door,
if I could unclip this and throw it like a frisbee and knock him out, anyone can come up with puzzles like that! What also makes me slightly
cross is that a lot of people think they can write and design adventures, that's because anyone
could come up with those rubbish puzzles, but if you want to come up with puzzles that are
intergrated into the plot then it really is very hard work. We review our puzzles again and again,
we work out what's believable, what works within the environment, if its difficult how we can provide
a clue for the player. We take that aspect very seriously.
Are you aware of an indie scene of adventure developers?
Is there? No I wasn't.
Finally, were you aware of someone making a Broken Sword 2.5?
Really? [laughs] I didn't know that.
Thanks to Charles Cecil for his time, BS3 certainly looks interesting, even if it's not a point and click.
RING II
Another interesting development was Arxel Tribe's Ring II, the sequel to
their former hit Ring. We were told that Ring had been very popular across
most European companies except the UK, where no-one had heard of it. So, they
decided to show off Ring II at ECTS so that people got some idea that it
existed. I noticed a Personal Computer World reviewer behind me whilst myself
and Marek were given the presentation.
Norns' Den
The guy explaining about the game started firstly with their research. He
told us that they found that 90% of Myst players ended up using a walkthrough
at some point. He also pointed out that 60% of these people only ever got off
the first island! He explained how he wanted Ring II to be easily playable,
worth going back to and not having the problem of getting stuck. He said the
game was to be targetted at family gamers.
Siegfried
Ring II looked very impressive, the cut-scenes and the in-game graphics.
When I first saw it, it reminded me of Dark Earth, a third person adventure that included a lot of action elements.
However, thankfully the guy explained that the action elements came second
after the enigma's and puzzles. He explained that the game was only going to
have around twelve hours of gameplay at the most. Also, because there is a
lot of raoming available, the developers have made sure that younger or less
experienced players will not get stuck. If there's a puzzle that isn't that
obvious to start with, it will then become more obvious through the use of
other characters and so forth. The example we were show was at the start of
the game. You might not know where to go, so one of the other characters with
you (a dwarf) will eventually walk in the right direction, if the engine
sees that you're stuck.
Kuperan's lair
You play Siegfried during his lifetime. You get to experience his life cycle, from
child to teen, adult to an old man. The game is split up into six different parts.
We were assured that the game play will not be too linear to bore you. It didn't look it either. The puzzles certainly
seemed challenging, but never taxing. "This game may not appeal to hardcore
gamers" we were told. But that's probably a good thing, because at least it
will help bring people to the genre.
It may not be a point and click, but with other 3D adventure games coming out
at the moment, it certainly looks like a treat. Ring II will be in the shops
around mid to late September.
Arxel Tribe is a Franco-Slovenian company specialising in all forms of production of digital images.
Very much a part of the world of video games for a number of years now, Arxel Tribe has always set itself apart by a constant regard for quality graphics and by a content requirement which gave it a strong identity from its first productions (Pilgrim in 1997, Ring in 1998, Faust in 1999).
Now numbering more than 80 people spread over Slovenia, France, Italy and Canada, Arxel Tribe has in addition become a privileged partner of Universal Studios, with whom they have developed an adventure game based around Alfred Hitchcock; and they are preparing to adapt Hannibal, the character created by Thomas Harris and immortalised on the big screen by Anthony Hopkins.
www.arxeltribe.com
MYST III: EXILE
I wasn't that interested in entering the "Playstation Experience" at ECTS,
but once I found out it was free I took a wander round. The only adventure
game I came across was the first person adventure Myst III: Exile. Making it's
debut on PlayStation sometime this year (the exact date was not clear). One
man said "September", another said "within the next few months".
Not a huge fan of first person adventures, Myst III looked like your run of
the mill Myst game (well, obviously), but seemed to have come to the PS looking quite nice.
The controls for the PlayStation version
are exactly the same as the other Myst games for the PlayStation, so anyone
who's played will be instantly familiar. Although as always the game looks
fairly stunning with its 3d rendered backgrounds, some of the animations and
cutscenes were a little blocky and pixelated. Whilst having a quick go I
stumbled across a lady with a baby. To me, footage of real actors seemed a
little out of place with the backgrounds.
Still, Myst has a huge following, the first two games being very popular for
both the PC and the PS. Myst III for the PS will undoubtedly make its money. I later
found the PC version too. Admitedly, I had to ask someone at the Ubi-Soft
stand who developed Myst III: Exile. "Presto... I think." they told me.
THE SECRET WORLD OF SANTA CLAUS - Montparnasse Multimedia
"This year Guzzlebeard wants to prevent the Christmas gifts from being distributed. Will Santa Claus
be able to foil this nasty plot? Will all the children find their gifts under the tree?"
Thats the story to this new childrens game pack. Although it's not specifically an adventure, there is
a 45 minute interactive cartoon, which has point and click elements. It looked pretty nice too, and I'm
sure it'll sell well to children around Christmas time.
TITANIC - Idigicon
"Experience the gripping excitement at the bottom of the Atlantic as you use your skills and abilities to solve the mystery of the Titanic."
This 3D first person point and click adventure looked pretty much like your run of the mill, cheap product. What struck me first was the fact most people already know the truth about the Titanic!
However, it's not an expensive game, under ten pounds and i'm sure children and first time adventurers will enjoy it.
www.idigicon.com
DANGER ISLAND - Idigicon
"During an expedition in an unexplored area of South America, disaster strikes. A Research team has disappeared in mysterious circumstances. Your client, a genetic engineering company, wants answers. Your task is clear: Protect the research and save the team!"
It may sound like someone who didn't win the rights to Jurassic Park merchandise, but Danger Island looked fairly tidy for a first person adventure with 3D rendered backgrounds. Remember Lost Eden? It's got lots of dinosaurs in it like that did.
The game also boasts "cinematics with professional actors", but mysteriously doesn't name them anywhere on the box. Again, cheap and cheerful, something for the kids.
www.idigicon.com
MAKENSHAO - Midas Interactive
I didn't find out much about this other than it will be a 2D Manga adventure where your character gets older as you play.
UN-REVEALED GAME... - LifeMode Interactive
Looking in the ECTS programme I found that LifeMode Interactive were under
the "adventure/rpg game" section, so I walked over to their booth to see what
they had to say. Unfortunatley it was fairly disappointing, because they
couldn't tell me much. Not because they hadn't made anything, but because
they didn't want too. All they wanted to tell us about was the software they
were using to create the characters for their games. Sadly, I wasn't
interested. On their computer screens they had some 3d characters moving in
different ways, it looked to me like it was probably going to be another
third person Ring II style game. I asked them "Will it be an adventure game?"
and they replied "Yes, probably." Then I asked, first person or third person,
to which I was told they couldn't say. All they said was that "It will be an
innovative adventure game." It is their first project.
INTERACTIVE FICTION GAMES... - ELSE
A lady stopped myself and Marek outside the press office to explain to us
that a newly formed company called ELSE were in the process of creating
online games. We weren't interested at first until she mentioned some of them
will be Interactive Fiction. This took our interest, and we asked a little
about them, but it seemed she'd forgotten she'd even mentioned IF and didn't
talk about them any further. ELSE's short press pack didn't mention them
either, so we're a little sceptical that we'll ever see any IF or online IF
games from this company.
ROOTS - TechLand
Had only just started development, and so there was not much available to
see, other than a short trailer from the intro of the game. It looked
interesting, certainly, and whatever it will be it will be 3d. I asked if
it was in the style of Dark Earth again, but all I was told was that "It will
be a third person adventure with quite a lot of RPG elements". I asked if it
would be more puzzled based than action, but the promoter was unable to tell
me because the game had literally only just started the developement process.
The company were still perfecting the storyline, (so why had they jumped in
and made an intro sequence already?!).
OTHER NEWS...
Warriors of Might & Magic (PS) is soon to come, an adventure with some RPG elements.
So is Heros Of Might & Magic (PS), an RPG with some adventure elements.
Idigicon are happy to publish games made with Blitz Basic.
JustAdventure reporters didn't seem to be enjoying themselves.
In Cold Blood is out now on PS
Idigicon told me "Our adventure compilation pack is one of our best-sellers"
Theres even a computer game charity that helps the poor. Cool!
Ring II is expected to have a mere 12 hours gameplay
BS3 is only expected to have 15 hours gameplay
Idigicon may be interested in compiling a freeware adventure CD
CONCLUSION
I didn't think I'd find many adventure games, but there were certainly a few
there being shown for the first time and some that have recently finished
being developed and are now for sale. It's true that the companies don't
seem to believe there's a market for 2d adventures anymore, and thats why
there was so few of them. ECTS*2002 was enjoyable though to say the least,
and I'll certainly be there next year. I strongly recommend if you get the
chance then you come along too, and you'll be able to find AGDzine,
AdventureGamers.com and more in our own little booth, where we promote point
and click adventures and prove that all though they may be commercially dead,
they're certainly still a strong genre in the underground independant scene.
- Mark "m0ds" Lovegrove
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