Dream a little dream(fall) for me
Have I used this headline before? I must have. My imagination runs in perpetual circles and my memory is shit. I come around to the same conclusions and phrases repeatedly, thinking, hmm, that’s not bad, that’s new, but NO it isn’t NEW, it’s the same bloody headline I used two years ago.
Anyway. The dream of Dreamfall is very much alive, and it’s more than a dream. A lot of people – a lot of people – have asked about the status of Dreamfall Chapters. Not everyone checks the archives, which I would encourage. As I’ve said before, when there’s news you’ll be the first to know. Honestly. It’ll land right on top of this page and it will stay there a good while. To read whatever there is to read on Dreamfall Chapters, just click the little Dreamfall category link. That will point you in the right direction and provide you with whatever information is available. Nothing is omitted. It’s all there.
But I guess it’s time for an update regardless, so here it is:
Nothing major is currently happening on Dreamfall Chapters. The people who will be involved when it does happen – myself included – are tied up in other projects, primarily The Secret World. TSW will continue to be my (and their) primary focus for a while longer…but that doesn’t mean nothing at all is happening with Chapters. It just means that it’s not (at least not officially) in production – for now.
It’s still very much on my list of priorities, however, and while I can’t make any promises regarding time frame, it is going to happen. There are just too many people asking too many questions for the project to lay dormant for long.
To repeat what I’ve said before (and add some new titbits – and keep in mind that this is not official in any way, shape or form; I don’t speak for Funcom here, only myself):
There’s already a story – or multiple stories, to be more precise – in place. It’s going to pick up right where the last one ended. (It will even rewind a bit and take a look at the events in Dreamfall from a different perspective.) It will follow several different characters, both old and new, and there will be more overlapping paths and storylines.
Chapters will mix puzzles and exploration and conversations and mini-games and action, though the combat will be completely revamped and won’t feel like typical action-adventure combat (or be completely broken). I have some cool ideas that I think you’ll all approve of (even those of you who abhor fighting; mixing puzzles, problem solving and good, old fashioned violence – and avoiding QTEs). It will look and play and feel like an adventure game, but a modern one: it won’t be point-and-click but it won’t use the focus field either, at least not in the same way. It will be third person. In terms of controls, it will be like Dreamfall, but with tons of tweaks.
Yes, it’s going to be episodic and you’ll need to be online to get it and possibly to play it (sorry; piracy is an enormous problem for us and Dreamfall suffered massively because of it). As well as being available for Windows (and I would hope, at least in the long term, Mac) I’d love to see it distributed through Xbox Live, PSN – the Wii Store, if at all feasible. It’ll be the kind of game that can and should appeal to a diverse audience and thus would benefit from broad distribution in all channels.
And yes, it will have a proper-and-final end to it (sort of) though you may have to wait for The Longest Journey 2 (Dreamfall, at least in my head, wasn’t TLJ 2) for the conclusion to every single storyline. I hope Chapters can keep running for a good while, since there are tons and tons of stories we’d like to explore before wrapping up that part of the TLJ universe. Big stories and small stories from every corner of Stark and Arcadia…and beyond.
But like I said, for the time being, there’s no (big) (official) news regarding Dreamfall Chapters.
Stay tuned.
I must echo Trevor’s sentiment. There is a population of “payers” and of “pirates”. For the most part, the pirates live hand-to-mouth and if you made a game “pirate-proof” I doubt that even 20 percent of them would opt to pay the $40-50+ for the ligitimate package – they would simply find a different game to play. I think the “Payers” are a much larger population – they want the lithographed CD with the jewel-case and color brochure, and know full well that they support good game development through their purchases. I seriously doubt that 10 percent of the Payers would opt for a free pirated copy if it were available.
These considerations convince me that the issue with revenue here is one of marketing, hampered (perhaps) in part by the silly imposition of Victorian-Era morality on the slightest use of “colorful” language.
I CRAVE good adventure games. Having worked through Morpheus, the entire Myst constellation, Sokol’s Syberia I and II, and more, I searched and for a time thought that there were no other decent “story-strong” adventure games being produced. I only happened upon TLJ and Dreamfall via “Amazon”, and was very surprised to find the stories and game qualities to be outstanding. I would happily have paid twice what I did for the games – and I think there is a huge untapped body of “payers” who would do likewise, if only they KNEW what was available. I often purchase “PC Gaming” magazines, and do not recall having EVER seen an advertisement (no less, a full page spread), nor even a preview or review of TLJ or Dreamfall in any major magazine. If I am correct, this is the biggest cause of failed revenue, and a real shame considering that these games are every bit as professionally crafted as the best on the market for this genre.
Still hoping for a major turnaround on the TLJ/Dreamfall saga …
Cheers! PsyTek.
I love these games hopefully you don’t give up on them. I might have to take a hit out on you if you do!(Kidding)