Dreamfall Chapters: TLJ Kickstarter [$1.5 million funded]

Wonkers the Watilla might be coming back, they're hinting with the Mac and Linux teaser and USB stick.

They showed some new prototype gameplay, super early stuff but I like the UI:

This update contains the very first footage from our in-development playable prototype, including an early look at the game's controls and user interface.

Keep in mind that this is still very early prototype footage, and as such does not reflect the final quality of the art, animations, frame-rate or UI. Zoë is a placeholder model still dressed in her old Dreamfall clothes, and the geography, trees, buildings and assets are also temporary, and will change a lot in the months ahead.

(Riverwood is, after all, a magical, fairy-tale forest, and right now it's not looking particularly magical or fairy-taley, but this will change.)

The prototype is mostly a tool for us to work with in order to tweak and adjust the game controls, user interface, and gameplay experience. In other words: things are far, far from finished.

That said, enjoy the show!

Funded!

Can't wait for it, but I should replay both precursors before the release as I only have vague memories of the story... Oh well, it is enough time before it's actually released...

Oh how I wish they'd just make regular video updates. I don't like this "uplifted/spirited/magical" atmosphere they're trying to portray of the development situation and the team. I'm getting TSW flashbacks from some of this stuff and it while I love that this is happening the video updates could have been approached in a more down to earth manner. That's of course just my personal view of it.

I just finished TLJ yesterday, and now 2 hours into Dreamfall. DO IT!

@assinass: Wow nice, what did you think of TLJ? It isn't a new game so I guess it is dated in some if not most aspects.

Loved it all the way. Took me 20 hours. Totally get now why this is as loved as Lucas Arts or Broken Sword games in terms of classic adventure games. It's really the most epic adventure game I've played, going from cyberpunk Newport to magical Arcadia and then some other locations. Gorgeous locations, the prerendered backgrounds really help it from aging.

I loved how incredibly progressive it is, even now with one of the best female protagonists in games where you get to know her likes/dislikes/hopes/fears/motivations/mundane thoughts all done with a believable amount of sarcastic wit. All the profane language, like Burns Flipper. Also liked how it's nonchalant about sexuality where you have a lesbian couple for landlords where there's no fuss or how it deals with sexism in that ship captain who won't allow women on board.

And it's just funny.

I think that they shouldn't have invented Zoe Castillo and gone the way of making Dreamfall when they could have just created TLJ2 and continued with April as the main protagonist. The combat in Dreamfall also doesn't work for me, that's certainly not why I play these types of games.

• UPDATE: And the guys reveal that they will be hosting a LIVE play-through of Dreamfall: The Longest Journey this coming Friday. They will play the game from beginning to end (unless they pass out from exhaustion) and offer commentary, reply to questions and interact with the audience. The time and details will be announced in the next couple of days!

Oh fuck, better go through the game quick myself before I hear commentary on it. Really liked when Tim Schafer did this for Full Throttle and Day of the Tentacle for the DFA kickstarter.

UPDATE: One. MILLION. Dollars.

We'll be back with more during our LIVE TwitchTV Dreamfall playthrough, which begins at 1800 Central European Time (5PM GMT/12PM EST) right here: http://www.twitch.tv/redthreadgames

1 and a half hours until the stream. It WILL be archived.

I'm thinking of jotting down notes of important insight they dish out about the development of the game.

Great!

Nice going Red Thread. Interesting shoes, Mr. Bruusgaard :)

Ugh :P

Damn, I didn't even know about this. I'm going to give 250. I absolutely loved The Longest Journey and kind of gave up any hope for another Dreamfall.

And we're live! It'll be a marathon stream, probably 10-12 hours XD

http://www.twitch.tv/redthreadgames/new

That's fan service for you; director's commentary. Dissing their own mouse controls apparently, hehe.

They're ridiculously honest, they even dissed the combat pretty hard in one of the updates.

Super excited for this! I super loved The Longest Journey and Dreamfall. Now all I need Beyond Good and Evil 2 and I'm good!

Hnngggg

Lol at the Anarchy Online book in Zoe's room. I've played this game and never noticed.

"Who wrote that?" "Some hack..."

Spoilers for Dreamfall Chapters opening: someone will be in underwear.

No combat, no dying in Dreamfall Chapters. Confirmed!

Taking callers now on Skype. 3 callers so far and they all were okay people. A guy from Ukraine, a girl from the US and a guy from Israel.

I just watched the rest of what I had missed, and here's some tidbits:

• Wonkers was voiced by the same person who voiced Teddy from A.I. (Jack Angel), the inspiration for Wonkers.
• Dreamfall Chapters will take place over 9 months-1 year with more seasons.
• Victory Hotel was the movie Cortez was watching in a theatre in TLJ.
• Will see more of the zombie-like dreamers in Chapters.
• They write the script in English, and it's not done like a typical film script.
• The underground troll cave was the first location made in the game, was the prototype.
• Sales of Dreamfall were 300K in first year. Sold really well over time. TLJ sold a lot more than 500K.
• Theoretically Blind Bob inspired by Terry Pratchett and Discworld.
• April was named for the month she was born, it was spring, a new beginning. Zoe's name is also important. Castillo means castle.
• Kian is 35.
• Male nudity is made AO in USA, for retail. Female nudity is fine, which is totally biased. There was meant to be male nudity for the Guardian.
• The Azadi were a reaction to current events, religious fundamentalism, terrorism, cultural divide, Iraq invasion.
• Red Thread Games will be making story-driven games.
• Casablanca chosen, because of the movie. Essential romance to the place. Idealised, affluent version of future Africa.
• Aleksander Grondal is who came up with the playable Spider.
• Newport, Venice based on East Village in NY where Ragnar lived and other parts of America.
• Gilmore under 20 years old.
• Development: Story first, gameplay second. Gameplay has to serve the story.
• It was called Stark because of the scientific, hard nature of it. Arcadia is ideal magical fantasy, in Greek means utopia.
• Not enough time to put much gameplay in the Swamplands.

Commentary track, I must have it! Loved the commentary track in Alan Wake.

4 days left, they're at about $1.2 million.

Director's Cut stretch goal on $1.5 million

The Director's Cut will uncut a number of things we had to, um, cut in order to whittle our budget down to $1,000,000 -- including a couple of locations, some intriguing characters and conversations, a number of smaller scenes and intimate moments, a few puzzles, a bunch of minor story beats, and a hatful of funsies.

While we've never cut any critical or core elements from the central storyline -- nothing that would negatively affect the game's plot -- we had to trim down the size and length of the game in order to end up with a budget fit for our initial Kickstarter goal.

This stretch goal, seeing as it is a proper Director's Cut, will also include a commentary track, featuring creative director Ragnar Tørnquist along with other key developers!

Hear the team's thoughts on key scenes in the game, listen to amusing anecdotes, bad jokes, insights and information about the development process. Go behind-the-scenes to learn about our worlds, characters, important events, puzzling puzzles and, of course, the story itself. Every aspect of the game will be covered, from the soundtrack and voices, to the character art, location design, engine, tools, writing process and game systems.

We will bring the whole team in on the recording sessions and make this the best commentary track you've ever heard (except for the commentary track to Joss Whedon's Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, you couldn't possibly beat that).

Never gonna reach The Longest Journey Home, that really should have been a Kickstarter of its own rather than revealing it 10 days till expiry.

I made a $12 contribution, but I'm worried. They said the story picks up right where Dreamfall ended. Most of TLJ's and Dreamfall's magic came from a seemingly ordinary protagonist discovering an extraordinary fantasy world filled with interesting characters. If the story is a direct continuation then there will be no rising action centered on discovery which is TLJ essence.

What is the The Longest Journey Home?

Is that a separate game from Dreamfall Chapters?

did I miss something here?

LESS THAN 3 DAYS LEFT NOW

Also, they reached the 1.25 million stretch goal, The Spoken Word, and are cruising to the Directors Cut! Also T-SHIRTS! So please give it a look if your not already a backer. Here's the new update page: Dreamfall Chapters .

@Max_Cherry There are still going to be 3 protagonist, a new one will be announced tomorrow. So while Zoe is still the main, there may be wonder and discovery after all. I'm hoping for an Arcadian person traveling to Stark.

@slag: Yes, The Longest Journey Home is a separate game. A true sequel to The Longest Journey and April''s story, that will be a 2-D classic style adventure just like TLJ. Tornquist always said that he'd return to that after the "Dreamer Cycle." It's part of the Kickstarter as the final goal a 2million (though they will still accept paypal after the kickstarter till it's funded). So even if you're more TLJ fan than Dreamfall, this campaign could mean 2 great games. Here's the description: The Longest Journey Home, and Gamespot's feature Taking the LJH .

The new "stretch" goal is 1.5 million. With this extra collateral they will be able to make The game a much richer experience. The game is currently at 1.28 million with 65 hours left!

Was going to fund this but the nose piercing (like all nose piercing ) was physically sick inducing to look at. Definitely dont want to look at that shit for 15 hours.

@pretentioushack: I recall they said that you could actually customize the characters you control, at least a little, and that removing the piercing was one of the options that would be possible, so you're not alone in not liking piercings.

Best bloopers for a game ever?

That was pretty damn great. Stroke the cannon.

A long video of people trying to speak English. There were some funny moments, but it dragged on a bit. English is difficult if you don't practice it regularly. It takes another layer of concentration to think and talk fluently in a different language than your own. I agree the "Stroke the Cannon" comment was pretty funny, hardly a blooper moment but still. :)

They're doing a live stream on Twitch right now.

It passed $1.5 million, which is all I cared for. I love me some developer commentary in games (Valve, Alan Wake).