A Hardy Developer's Journal – as written by indie adventure game developers

So, I have come to the end of my Back to the Future adventure at last. A little behind schedule but not outatime. I have been disappointed, and then drawn back in by Telltale’s latest periodic more times than I can count; but has the fifth instalment succeeded in ending my experience and leaving a smile on my face? Read on to find out.

(more…)

When I heard about Enter The Story, I was immediately excited. This ambitious one-man project, with a bit of help from others, aims to turn classic literature into adventure games, combining two of my favourite things. Although I have great enthusiasm for classic books, and the 19th century is quite possibly my favourite century, I am a slow reader, and there are still many books I have yet to read.

(more…)

Let’s break for a moment from the usual indie adventure games’ reviews for a different kind of indie. The thing is VVVVVV is such a perfect game to write a concise opinion piece about – the powerful main concept defining its gameplay is as simple and sharp as its title. Basically, VVVVVV is a platformer in which you can’t jump, you can’t shoot, you don’t use any power-ups, but instead, regardless of where you are, you can always switch the source of gravity from what’s beneath you to what’s above you et cetera and vice versa!
(more…)

I was a little bit disappointed with episode 3 of Telltale’s ongoing Back to the Future story but their latest offering has managed to drag me back. This is why:

(more…)

It’s time to dust off your old school books and brush up on your Latin and Greek mythology, because we’re going to play a game that closely follows the story of Ulysses as related by Homer’s Odyssey, in a faithful retelling of the epic.

Or so it would seem at first glance.

(more…)

Flicking through the episode descriptions on the launcher program, Citizen Brown was always the installment of Back to the Future: The Game that appealed to me the most. But did it live up to my expectations?

(more…)

In 2006 when Scratches came out I couldn’t be more uninterested in it. The simple, reddish cover art, the cliched premise of a haunted house (no twists on the theme apparent), and in-game screenshots showing interiors devoid of any living soul – made me ignore it completely. I don’t think I even paid any attention to the reviews. It feels strangely appropriate then, that after having played the game I consider it an experience that under no circumstances should be missed. And not only by the likes of me or you, dear adventure games fan – it should be a required play in particular for horror genre authors - game designers or otherwise. There’s something primal within Scratches – a lesson in delivering an elusive, but essential aspect of horror, that storytellers rarely have the opportunity to test the full impact of.
(more…)