RagnarTornquist.com

I agree that tv has episodic content if we’re talking about shows like
Frasier, Ghost Whisperer or CSI tv-shows or Gilmore Girls.

However, a tv-show usely features a nice wrapped story that can be delivered in 1-2 hours setting much like the (new) Sam & Max games,
which sort of are perfect for these things since Sam & Max are, kind of,
a pair of (unofficial) detectives anyway…

In Girlmore Girls and in Ghost Whisperer there seem to be a flowing story arc building around the main character’s background. This seems more to me, though, as a sort of ‘let’s take this main character and put her in
this story environment and see what happens’ than it seems like ‘ok, let’s make a story about this, and then put the people in the story.’ (I hope you get what I’m trying to say).

As for the 3D environment I for one is fine with it. I have just given up playing a demo of recently released (or soon to be released) game, since it featured what I call ‘the slide show’: You can only move in the screens the way it was intended by the (level?) designer, and the Point & Click interface in said game felt very old and long overdue, meaning that your couldn’t click on anything you wanted, but you had to click on the things that the designer thought was interesting while making the game. It also meant that you could only turn in the directions that the designer wanted you to do, as well as it meant only being able to solve the puzzles in
a certain way; the way the designer intended it to be.

TLJ was never that way, thankfully. But I do think that the adventure game community needs to re-think their sometimes sharp stance against 3D in adventure games. I agree that the 2D backgrounds in Secret Files: Tunguska works very well, but please remember that this game is a different game than Dremfall: TLJ.

I would also like to re-state here what I have said in another post earlier:
Please do not make any combat sequences in Dreamfall: Chapters if you can’t be sure to be doing these sequences correctly.

And pleae make Dreamfall: Chapters have the feel of an adventure game, not the feel of an action game. (and by that I mean that your protagonist in the game really shouldn’t be forced into hurrying, since an adventure game to me is slow paced, and you have good times to think and to solve the puzzles in the game).

NB:
Oh, and a great TILLYKKE (Congratulations) on winning the Gulstikka Award…

I just want to say the follwing to Terry Mesnard:
Well said. I completely agree.

Remember, if you don’t like episodic content you don’t have to buy the episodes. Just buy it all at the end and it will be a single game.

Episodic content boils down to delivering a game to its fans as the content is built by the developers. If you prefer the feel of a regular game then wait until they finish all the content.

Yep. And if you can’t wait; that’s part of why they’re making it episodic!

Hmm, I think a little more free roaming in Dreamfall: The Longest Journey Chapters: Chapter 1 would be great, to slow the pace, and give some time in the middle to take few breaths, look around, before the few hours per episode of gameplay ends, in order to appreciate it more.

- About piracy: the ONLY way to stop it is to make MMO, and even then, if game is an adventure and doesn’t require interaction with other players, there are gonna be pirated servers and really, believe, don’t try to stop it, because it’s impossible. There has been no game in history that hasn’t been cracked. NOT A SINGLE ONE! Even WoW is played on pirated servers. So focus on GAME and not on security because it’s a waste of time.

Indeed. Allow us to take a look at the two most successful anti-piracy measures ever:
1) Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords – NO COPY PROTECTION. DRM drives piracy. It’s as simple as that. The only way to get on a pirate’s good side is to show him that you want to help the little man out. Hence? No boycotts. There’s one increase in sales. A sympathetic response. There’s another increase in sales. A happy average consumer who doesn’t run into problems. There’s free word of mouth, which is the superior form of advertising, which will also lead to more sales. =)

2) Half-Life 2 – Steam Digital Distribution. No DRM. It’s Steam. It’s just an account tied type of thing. Why does this work? For one, it would get very lonely on the emulated servers when hundreds of thousands of people are playing Counter-Strike legitimately and not playing with you. Two, Steam really is just that good, and allows you to purchase a game in less time than it would take to drive to the store, avert installation times (it’s already there), and unlock it the minute it’s released. Furthermore, there are automatic patches, a higher percentage of profit that goes to the developer, and the biggest of big ones: 100% OUT OF THE “BOX”, LEGAL, EXTREMELY EFFICIENT NO-CD EFFECT! All complimented by the best server browser in existence. Not that it makes a huge difference for singleplayer games.

So the moral of the story? If you make a great product, price it well, digitally distribute it (which you’re already doing) through a reliable service, and don’t attach any strings… Well then you just might hit the top seller list for striving to be different & work for the customer.

Trying too hard to beat th pirates tends to hurt the honest people more than the actual pirates.

And always remember that golden rule. I cannot be beaten. I can only be won over. And now I own both games and both soundtracks. (mind you I’m one of the weird guys who buys almost all of my games anyway, but I just like to have the No-CD version as the one I actually install)

Now more on topic, I’d like to apologize to Ragnar (even though I keep my worry shield up). I just saw Band of Brothers sitting on my shelf. That’s a damn good Dreamfall Chapters comparison if you ask me. And it can be done. Of course, I’ll still worry anyway… >_>

In any case, I imagine we might have 2 or 3 chapters per release. One in Stark and one in Arcadia, to keep us up to date on both Worlds. (or perhaps in entirely different places – possibly one chapter following Zoe, then one with April, then one with Kian; maybe with the last two combined later on) Ragnar, I’m 100% okay with that. I’m just fine with it, as long as it doesn’t do anything to break up the perfect pacing you’ve managed to have so far.

But HBO is definitely giving me hope where current episodic gaming can’t.

On the other hand, I do find this post disturbing either way:

Apparently, no one here watches TV. TV is full of episodic content. That’s what TV is. And that’s what makes it big. That’s why you have millions of people talking about the most recent death/addition/change in Heroes or have people glued to their chairs for the next episode of 24. So why is it such a stretch to use that mentality when looking at video games, especially a video such as Dreamfall where the story (much like hour long dramas) is key. Don’t go complaining over something when you haven’t seen it yet or make sweeping generalizations.

Unless it’s comedy (Seinfeld & Whose Line? – two best TV shows ever), real (Man vs. Wild, History Channel stuff, Mythbusters, etc.), or just extremely awesome anyway (Monk, for example, although that’s still just Phoenix Wright or Sam & Max – not anything serious or continuous) then no, I truly don’t watch TV. I barely watch those things over TV itself. I prefer to buy things on DVD.

HBO is really the only TV argument you can make, and a mini-series is more of a really long movie anyway. And yes, the reason is quality.

As a proud classic movie fan, I scoff at most mainstream TV, and I like a well paced story without fancy, fluff filler. And especially without any segments of low production value.

Could it be possible to buy the game in a store, and then download it from the net? I feel sorry for those around the world who don’t have broadband. Many fans of TLJ and DF are NOT from the US or western Europe.

Personally, I think that downloadable Dreamfall Chapters on Xbox Live would be fantastic. As it is, people are readily spending $5 – $15 for Xbox Live Arcade games like PacMan, so a $10-$15 Dreamfall “episode” which is so rich and complex is something I’d think would work well.
I am not at all sure where the bulk of Dreamfall fans fall in terms of where they play their games, but a dual PC-360 release via Steam/XBox Live would cover both sides. Factor in that 360 development would be so much cleaner and faster as there are no worries about differing video or sound peripherals, driver revs or chipset issues as there are with PC development.

Also with regard to piracy, I’d think that the more ‘closed’ nature of the 360 would make it difficult for ‘casual’ pirates (nothing will stop the more determined), which is really the bulk of pirating I’d guess.

My PC has become more of a workhorse rather than a playground now that I have an HDTV and the newer consoles. GoW looks fantastic blown up to 55″ and I just finished Dreamfall (purchased new) on my 360 and it’s so nice to have Zoe up there on the 55″ HDTV while I kick back on the couch. (Yes, I know, PCs can hook up to TVs too, but most consoles tend to be hooked up to TVs, whereas PCs are *usually* connected to much smaller monitors).

BTW, I’m not a 360 fanboy, just see that the Live network is far more mature than the other two console options.

Ragnar, all cool with me as long as you guys stay away from anything resembling rootkits, DRM and silly copy-protection schemes (that the cracker groups break in 24 hours anyway and which people can find patches for if they just know how to use a torrent tracker), it only alienates us, the real and true fans who fight over collector’s editions!

Similar pricing to Sam & Max and I’d be checking your site every day to grab the latest episode the day it’s released!

Thinking of it, maybe advertising like you did in AO would be a working financial model, I wouldn’t mind if it was done tastefully!

I hate episodic content.

I would rather wait longer and have the whole thing released at once then get parts of it earlier. This is because I can’t take suspense. I watch an entire season of TV shows within a few days to a week. I don’t like going one episode per week.

What will end up happening is, the episodes are too short, then we have to wait a long time (a month or more) before we get to play the next 30 mins. I don’t care how long it takes, but I want the whole thing at once. I don’t mind waiting, just as long as I can play it continuously without breaking up the pacing.

And for some reason I’m expecting to be charged more all up for the complete series than I would if it was a $50 standalone game.

And what about people who usually buy games at stores and don’t have access to CC or other online payment instruments ? Usually the cost of bank transfer for amall amount is equal or greater than the amount itself.

Awesome news!! I’m almost a week late, but I’ve had sort of a rough day at the office, so this definitely brightens my evening up! I am very optimistic for the future and trust Ragnar and his team at FunCom will do a great job continuing the best damn PC game ever!!!!

Great :D:D:D:D:D:D:D
Of course it’s a bit scary to try something new (episodic gaming) but I fore one have faith in you.
Keep up your good work
Ps. Jeg håper virkelig at det hele kommer ut på norsk.
Oh, and another thing, please allow the episodes to be played in one go once they are downloaded.

Hi Ragnar,
Hello everybody,

Here’s (only) my opinion:
It’s rather bad news than a good ones.
I can explain why.
1. Remember Ritual and their SiN Episodes?…
2. Recall Half-Life episodes… Are they as popular as the main game? How do you think why is it so?…
3. And of course, we all must mind the MILLIONS of players in the countries with DIAL-UP as default web-access. Do you really believe they’ll able to download the D-Chapters?…
Somehow I’m sure that DC will be eventually available in stores as Collector’s edition…:)

AWESOME! I was almost enslaved by dreamfall TLJ’s gameplay and engaging world. It was amazing, I swear I was addicted lmao. I cant wait to see what you guys have in store for us with Dreamfall Chapters.

Woo! So glad to hear. While I think some things do poorly episodically, I don’t think Dreamfall is one of them – for me, the best part was the end, because of the suspense.

I was just about to replay Dreamfall, too – maybe I should wait? Maybe not.

I am a little dissapointed about episodic content. With half life or sin episodes it takes forever for new episode to come out. It doesn’t make it faster. But during these months of waiting for the next episode you loose that vibe of the game, you loose that connection to its characters, to the world, I can’t imagine this with Dreamfall. I was playing it for 2 days non stop and it would be tormenting to play it for several hours and than wait. I would prefer to buy a complete game instead of waiting. Please take your time and release it all at once. As for sam and max, it’s not true that it’s safer that way, there are cracks out there. Don’t make the same mistake. Good luck anyways and yes…. please return Zoe

oh I forgot to ask, Ragnar, do you need official model for Zoe ? (like the ones they have for Tomb Raider and Bloodrayne) I would have done it for free! Please let me know ok? And please come to the next Dragon Con! you guys are amazing

Now that there’s (a little) talk about a Dreamfall MMO, I thought I’d bring up something that I suggested to Funcom a while back, but never directly to you (I’m not sure if you had a blog then, but if you did, I didn’t know about it). In addition to an MMO, I think a pen-and-paper Dreamfall RPG might be a really good idea. If you’d like to discuss it further, please let me know… I have some RPG design experience, and I’d love to be involved if you decide it’s something you might want to do.

My emotions are still all over the place. Dreamfall was the best game I have ever played. While I am somewhat dissapointed over the recent news (I’m not fond of the “chapters” idea) I am still excited that the story will not end. Honestly. I am finding it hard to express how touched I was by Dreamfall.

Will there be a new character introduced in the third or does the player continue as Zoe mainly…I am in favor of playing as Zoe more.

I have been a long time fan and follower of TLJ & Dreamfall and am extremely excited about the great news! I think it’s a great idea and look forward to hearing more about it. Without a doubt, I know this will be a huge success based on all positive comments I’ve read about. Thanks for keeping it alive! Take care

I have just, about an hour ago, finished Dreamfall for the first time. Wow, it’s a damn cool game (and that is an understatement). After finishing it, I was left hanging and immediately started searching the net to see if a sequel is coming – I then stumble across this great news (and great blog).

Thanks for bringing me hours of fun and a gripping storyline to life. And don’t worry about the naysayers who say a chapter approach won’t work – I’m sure it will. I’m tempted to give Sam and Max a go now…

I just this moment finished Dreamfall TLJ after downloading it from steam on there new offer and I have too see that I for one cannot wait for the episodes to come out. If they prove to be anywhere as involving and immersing as Dreamfall was for myself then they will most definately be worth it.

“This is not an attempt to squeeze more money out of you, but to ensure that we can continue the saga in a timely manner without losing out to piracy – which, unfortunately, is rampant. How do we plan on preventing piracy?”

With all due respect sir, you ARE infact, trying to squeeze every last penny out of us.Dreamfall and TLJ were fantastic games , but i for one am not going to buy the thrid part in ‘episodic formats’.

Thanks for selling out the one game that i truly loved.

P.S “Don’t lose sight of the big picture, guys (and girls)”

Mind telling me what hte big picture is???

Will Kian be included? I dislike him, it ruins the experience in my opinion. At least we know who Zoe is and attach to her but then we play as a total stranger and to be honest I don’t want to know anything about him. April died… So I think Zoe should have her own games with no other players. Is that how things will be? When playing Dreamfall (favorite game) I didn’t much care about April and totally hated playing Kian. I was so anxious to finish with them so I can play Zoe again.

Finally, the news I’ve been waiting for! Sequel Confirmation!
But…
Although the production times will obviously benefit, I can’t help feeling it’s a shame to break it down into an episodic release. There will be far less to get stuck into each time a chapter is released and I guess it somehow feels like breaking one of those universal laws – the law of “The Trilogy”.

Still, it’s a return to one of the greatest story-driven driven games I’ve ever played! I can’t complain. =)

Mr Tornquist, I’ve never played a game in episodic format.
But I adore TLJ, and I adore Dreamfall… so, I give a little importance to the format you’ve chosen, I just wish I can play again soon, and dream again…

@DreamRaider: I love both Kian and April quite more than Zoe, and I hope to see the whole continue of their story

Very nice to hear about a sequel!

Do you plan to make a Mac version of the game?

Wow.. , great news.. finished.. & loved dreamfall, definetly my favorite adventure game so far. I played it straight through beginning to end, and wow what a great game! If you guys make it.. you can be sure, ill be playing it! Keep up the great work! And please bring back zoe!

Just finished playing Dreamfall on PC, thank you Steam for revealing this lost treasure. Throughly enjoyable experience. Good writing, art, characterization. A thing of beauty, a memorable and enjoyable experience.

Like others above I arrive here searching for news, any news, of continuing the adventure. So little information to be found. Maybe one day, hopefully soon.

Thank you for the magic. To the future.

Fantastic!! Can’t wait for the best adventuregame I’ve ever played to continue. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD AND THE UNIVERSE make it Geforce 7600 GT compatible, otherwhise I’ll die!!

Well a bit late but since the blog is still open, why not post a reply I guess

Here’s a quote from Gamasutra.com from an older interview

Gamasutra: Is it a planned three-part series definitely?

Ragnar: No, this game ends, it has an ending. I can’t say too much but there are going to be story threads left open because I never like to close everything. I like to leave some mystery and some second guessing to the players, but yeah, I have a lot of paper with the story of Dreamfall 2 or Longest Journey 3, or whatever you want to call it, ready. So yeah, if this game is a huge success then I’m ready to go! After my next game of course.

Im so seriously gonna dislike the ragnarguy if he doesn’t at least ”finishes’ the story.. or at least a bit more..
at dreamfall they just cut the story away right at the moment the action was about to happen..
It kinda reminded me to the remake of war of the worlds where as soon as the humans were to strike back, ‘millions of tiny little creatures’ killed the aliens -_-..

Why not immediately say : We’re bored and don’t want to finish this movie/game so we make a crappy end.

No really, A lot of other gamers and I, I think we’re all mad and frustrated about Dreamfall. At first we had to run errands all the game long, then April died, suddenly about everybody died, and then we get stuck with one of the MOST CRAPPIEST GAME-ENDINGS EVER :@

So Fuck the next game and its production team if they don’t make a decent 3th sequel.. I hope they’ll never make any game at all again then..

Im sorry for my tight upset reaction but that is what you get for making a crappy sequel to one of the best games ever

Greetings,

Icecreamvamp

TLJ was a best game ever! I bought Dreamfall with hope and joy. I enjoyed Zoe, the old locations ane April again! But then she died and i was very sad, bud then died everyone else, Zoe too and i was andry a even more sad. Still dont know who was that guy protending to be Reza, why was Zoe killed by her own mother and what happend to Raven, Brian or White dragon.

Mayby is good have some secrets in story (small one). But this keeping me thinking about it all the time. Pls tell me there will be smth (another sequel or anything) that will explain at least some things… still cant believe April is dead. She cant be! I hope you find some way to bring her or zoe back (alive). Because there was too meny dead people, too many needless sacrifices.

ps: its true in my version of game (TLJ) was that old lady called April! And the Raven was there with her! So how you explain this? You just forget on that and let April die and now you have excuses like “No April died it was not her!” or you just try to divert our attention??

Anyway, great game TLJ and Dreamfall too!!!! Thanks a lot for that. But still iam verry sad that Zoe and April died. Wish to had a opportunity to save them! I would do anything to save them. Pity there wasnt a second alternate ending (a better one – happy end for people like me ).

Wow! Finished Dreamfall this morning. What can I say? Absolutely astonishing! Beautiful graphics, excellent music, great characterisation (a rarety in video games) and THE best storyline ever.

The main reason I am writing this post, however, is this: Many people may have found Dreamfall’s ending disapointing due to its inconclusiveness (is that a word?) but I would have been disapointed however the game ended because I didn’t want the game to end! It was so utterly thrilling. In fact I felt the ending was perfect as it makes you hungry for more.

Moreover, after playing both TLJ and Dreamfall, I have total faith in you to create a suberb follow up that will not fail to deliver. I, like many others, am saddened to hear that the project is delayed, but I know that true art is worth waiting for and feel that the longer the wait, the better the final product will be.

All the best,
and pleasant dreams!

Seriously you guys need to make this game!! lol, Ive been playing games for forever mostly shooters and strategies some muds (I know you gamers know that oldschool stuff), and I bought this game out of something to do, played it 40minutes once, never gave it a chance, me not liking to waste money, I came back at it, I played it all the way through and was enthralled, the story was awesome, game style matched the story, a rare gem and fully a rich game. This being said, cost or otherwise I would buy the next installment, keep up the good work, and toss us some info!!!

well this is bad news. because if it is episodic content it will become an everlasting project like halflife 2. they said they would end the halflife 2 episodic content by 2007 and now they say it will be out by fall 2010. lol seems the story will be left unfinished.

ah and i realy doubt zoe is dead eggwood.The meaning of the name Zoe is ‘Life’.

theeman:
As for Zoe…Ragnar said “I intend to continue both the story of Dreamfall (and Zoë)” (June 1st, 2008 )

Waiting….tap…tap….waiting….. growing gloomious with delayed gamer gratification. Anything from you Ragnar, this tookat longs for intelligent game design, whether by chapter and verse or transubstantiation.

I’ve played Longest Journey four times now and am reloading Dreamfall for the third time. Almost finished replaying Am McGee’s Alice, consideringreturning to the world of Myst. This artist/woman/healer/shaman prefers an adventure with substance…but loved the fight additions to Dreamfall. I lng for intelligent alternate worlds, challenging play AND quality artwork. The last three games I played…I will refrain from direct Flamage, juvenile…and I know the game designers tried…but q’uelle disapointment. Too many limitations on what objects could be choosen and how to use…. too much simplicity….oh…gee….you mean there is only one way to play this….I don’t have to save and go back to earlier versions in order to attain an outcome?

Ah the thrill of playing a game for alterate endings! Anyone remember Ripper? Or am I revealing my Vintage. Yes… over fifty persons to indulge in Gaming….even female ones!

Save me Ragnar…I will not die of boredom as long as good filmakers and authors exist…but publishers…of both books and games have been dumbing down the world. Almost every television show I have REALLY liked…thought the show was both thought provoking and used all the goodies in the cinematic goody bag….including references to past film, tv or literature…has been killed off!

Too many of the “Best games” of categories are being relegated to first person shooters…drivers…whatevers…..Goodstuff..but all about the THRILLS and techno skills with the console…..I demand a script!

Please continue the Journey in all its permutations. Carry on with many, many chapters and let us know the fortunes of Zoe, April and their friends and foes.

Help keep the collective brain of humanity vibrant…alive…thinking…challenged on ALL levels. Use it or lose it they say……

Dreamspace…..lucid dreams….I am so intrigued to see if someone on your team is a channel or a lucid dreamer….a past Lemurian….. a devi, an ascended master reborn? Worlds divided between the magic and mundane…..and needing to be united….Majick exists in this world….but we have much work to do to raise the level of akashic vibration so that high Majick can once again be performed by Sage and Shamman and wonder return to this plane of existance.

Help us Ragnar….help us
Kate the tookah….channel, healer….gamer..LOL
=^.^=
( )J
**
and her dragonz..and the rest of the channeled gang…too numerous to name.

First, sorry for my bad english, because i`m russian gamer. In Russia we very love “The Longest Journey”, “Dreamfall”, and April =)
I`m wait “Dreamfall: Chapters”, and…
…Save Her. Please =)
Sorry for my bad English =)