So awesome man, I love this stuff!
http://www.texmurphy.com/
Sweet, a new FMV Video Game, Tex Murphy Returns
So awesome man, I love this stuff!
http://www.texmurphy.com/
I played a little bit of the demo a couple of weeks ago. Gotta love the cheesy acting and 3D backdrops like the old PC games of the 90's.
The acting was a ton less Cheesy then FMV used to be IMO. This is closer to a high end Youtube drama, or a made for TV movie. Back in the day FMV actors usually ended up being the programmer's sister or something. The in-engine rendered background intergration reminds me a lot of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (if anyone remembers that flick). Again, intergrated a lot more seemlessly then the 90s could ever manage. HD has been a real boon, not only too high quality 2D graphics, but now clearly FMV.Originally Posted by Gamevet
At any rate, I'm totally hyped for this game. Even though I'm an avide Adventure Gamer, Tex Murphy passed me by in the 90s. But after the playing the demo I'm in love with it. The May release date can't come fast enough.
New Comics for the Week of 10-03-12
I was thinking more along the lines of a game like Burn Cycle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITDb...774418C532AA9D
Sure, the graphics are a huge improvement, but you'll have scenes that are obviously filmed in front of a blue screen with the computer generated backdrops thrown in behind the actors.
The acting in the '90s TM games was about the same level as the current game has to offer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB_OBTu0lRk
Last edited by Gamevet; 04-27-2014 at 12:42 AM.
With all the retro revivals going on lately, I was hoping that somebody would get the rights to all the Digital Pictures FMV games. Night Trap, Sewer Shark, etc, etc. Imagine if they could get the original film stock, and convert it to full wide screen with much better video quality. Ground Zero Texas in widescreen, high-definition. That would be really cool. The original film had to have been shot in 35mm, which could easily be converted to high def.
On the Sega CD, you had to see super grainy video in a tiny box on the screen, but if they got the original film stock, and could redo it somehow, I'm thinking that it would be nearly full screen, and crystal clear. The sound could be remixed into 5.1 . Man, I'd kickstart that shit.
That would only work if the original aspect ratio was widescreen to begin with, or they would just be cropping the film to widescreen. Not everything was filmed in widescreen at that time, especially if it wasn't a theatrical film.
Some early FMV games were rereleased in higher quality recently, Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective comes to mind.
As for the Tex Murphy games, I actually own all of the original games but I haven't got around to play them yet. There's a lot of games I'm still meaning to play as I just don't have a lot of free time.
Here are my full thoughts about the Demo when I played it a week or so ago... Beware Demo spoilers below
Just finished the demo a couple of things immediately spring to mind...
First of all, I LOVE the gameplay section. I've been wanting to play a first person adventure game that plays exactly like an FPS for years. And while I'm sure this isn't the first, its the first I've played that really captures that. If you liked opening everything to find clues in Gone Home, you're probably going to enjoy investigating the environments of Telsa Effect.
Graphically, it generally looks pretty good. Its Unity, so its not the most advanced 3D engine ever made, but it gets the job done. Honestly the most disappointing part is the 3D graphics aren't quite as sharp as the FMV actor cutscenes. Also, lower detail made solving a few puzzles trickier then they should have been. Which I'll get into latter.
Which brings me to the gameplay itself. Its very very very VERY old school. Mostly hinging around a scavenger hunt as you search the environment for absolutely everything you can pick up. Most things have exactly one use, and then they are removed from your inventory (you actually pick up two different hammers in this one demo sequence) If you hate this kind of esoteric 'every item has one use, and one use alone' type gameplay, you're probably not going to dig it. There are also a few brain teaser puzzles thrown around. Including a 15 minute time waster of a sliding tile puzzle that very nearly killed my love of all Adventure Games ever. There's also a puzzle that unlocks a door by putting things in a certain position, and a puzzle where you have to fill a series of water pipes to the same level to flood a basement (which I clicked on twice and solved by accident).
To be honest, I like this mix of inventory puzzles and brain teasers. Never was a big fan of games that did one or the other. Sure it makes the world you inhabit convoluted as all get out. But it keeps you busy.
The writing is pretty good, I chuckled out loud at more then a few of Tex's quips. The story it drops you in the middle of is generally kind of interesting. The FMV acting is adequate, at least as good as a high profile Youtube series, or Netflix Original.
My only real negative about the demo I played was puzzle related, I got stumped for way to long looking for something to unscrew a broken cog. I went over the entire environment three or four times to see what I missed. Finally I went back outside to the poison river, with the only hint I had was Tex saying the Grab-O Arm was good at fishing things out of toxic water. Looking closely I finally managed to spot something that sort of looked like a screw driver on a lilypad. I'd walked past it a dozen times because it also looked exactly like a Typha ('Cat Tail') plant that would totally make sense in a swamp. In short, 'Pixel Hunting' has become 'Polygon Hunting' I'm afraid.
So yeah, Demo was pretty good and of decent length. You'll probably know if Tesla Effect is for you after the demo.
New Comics for the Week of 10-03-12
I attempted to grab that screw driver when I was trying to figure out a way to build that ladder.
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