errrm, spoilers? I just completed that scene so I wasn't affected, but it would be cool to not read that prior to getting to that part,
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Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs |OT| - This Little Piggy Cried AAHHH All the Way to Hell
- Thread starter CheesecakeRecipe
- Start date
errrm, spoilers? I just completed that scene so I wasn't affected, but it would be cool to not read that prior to getting to that part,
Me and my friend played it together last night, it was scary, of course, not amnesia-scary but tense and deeply atmospheric.
I appreciated The Chinese Room much more than i did with Dear Esther, a "game" that fitted the medium "videogames" just as good as printing random images from a movie on paper makes a good comic. It retains the fake "i'm oh so smart, so i can pretend basic writing lessons don't apply to me" style, but this time it works on improving the horrific experience, and it's quite more interesting thanks to the morbid themes.
As a follow up to amnesia it doesn't fully deliver, but that's expected: Amnesia was pure audiovisual terrorism, while A Machine for Pigs feels more like a calmer and pretty take on the formula. Some omissions (madness effects) are baffling, but i didn't miss searching random puzzle items or the quite pointless tinderboxes/oil mechanics. I do find laudable that they went on their own way instead of producing a carbon copy of The Dark Descent, though. I'm definitely up for theirs (and Frictional's) next game.
I appreciated The Chinese Room much more than i did with Dear Esther, a "game" that fitted the medium "videogames" just as good as printing random images from a movie on paper makes a good comic. It retains the fake "i'm oh so smart, so i can pretend basic writing lessons don't apply to me" style, but this time it works on improving the horrific experience, and it's quite more interesting thanks to the morbid themes.
As a follow up to amnesia it doesn't fully deliver, but that's expected: Amnesia was pure audiovisual terrorism, while A Machine for Pigs feels more like a calmer and pretty take on the formula. Some omissions (madness effects) are baffling, but i didn't miss searching random puzzle items or the quite pointless tinderboxes/oil mechanics. I do find laudable that they went on their own way instead of producing a carbon copy of The Dark Descent, though. I'm definitely up for theirs (and Frictional's) next game.
jacksepticeye
Member
There isn't that many jumpscares in the game to be fair
I think the game plays with the player a little bit. I am certain some doorways appeared/disappeared after having passed by them. That some dead-ends are deliberate. And that some puzzles require you to do the wrong thing first.
I'd like TheChineseRoom to have a post-mortem or to discuss their way of developing this game. I'm not even saying anything about the actual, subjective, quality of this game, but I feel there is some clever design going on behind the scenes, that is maybe too subtle for its own good.
Or I may just be over-thinking things.
I'd like TheChineseRoom to have a post-mortem or to discuss their way of developing this game. I'm not even saying anything about the actual, subjective, quality of this game, but I feel there is some clever design going on behind the scenes, that is maybe too subtle for its own good.
Or I may just be over-thinking things.
I was pretty certain that in the
trophy room the bird was in another corner on the way back
Yeah. You're not alone.
CheesecakeRecipe
Stormy Grey
I absolutely noticed a hallway which
Was a brilliant mindfuck, that.
forced me through a few rooms in an L-shape and dropped me off back where I started, when I turned around the hallway was gone and everything in the rooms that led up to the L-shaped hallway had things missing or moved.
Was a brilliant mindfuck, that.
FlyingSaucer
Banned
Just came home, I launch the game and the game reset my progression at the beginning...
May be related to a recent update.
Thankfully, I was able to reload an older file from the auto-save.
Anybody else experimenting the same problem ?
May be related to a recent update.
Thankfully, I was able to reload an older file from the auto-save.
Anybody else experimenting the same problem ?
CheesecakeRecipe
Stormy Grey
Amazing plot summary, makes you realise how deep it goes
http://www.frictionalgames.com/forum/thread-22974-post-259691.html#pid259691
http://www.frictionalgames.com/forum/thread-22974-post-259691.html#pid259691
dark_inferno
Member
I kind of liked the idea behind all this. The disturbing images, disturbing music, scenery even the text was disturbing. And people rush trough the game without reading the damn good notes and say story is shit etc.
Chinese Room didnt wanted to compete with Amnesia 1. Because they would clearly fail if they tried. So they did something different. And they did what they can do best. They should continue with making games like this.
Bioshock Infinite is like Amnesia AMfP : Less scary, more story, less complex gameplay. And everyone is like "OH GOTY". Hell even Gone Home got better reviews even trough its like Amnesia without the creepyness and without the length.
I dont understand all this shit. All these Artgames get 10/10 while this game gets 6/10 because it has Amnesia in the title.
I think that's mostly guesswork. And some elementary mistakes in it too.
Why do you think that?
I dont know man... I'm in the area with the pistons and I'm scared shitless like I was in The Dark Descent. I have two screaming pigs running after me in a dark room and I don't know what to do. I had to take a break.
AuthenticM
Member
Just finished the game.
What a grand disappointment. Holy shit.
you summed up perfectly my thoughts.
What a grand disappointment. Holy shit.
you summed up perfectly my thoughts.
Bluemercury
Member
just finished dark descent and saw two different endings...will start this next.
I don't know how people consider this story better than TDD (and the story in TDD wasn't exactly Shakespear either). I think people are mixing the concept and potential of the story with the story that actually took place, especially with how it was presented.
I have never seen so many horror cliches bundled into something that wasn't a parody. Like I said though, the concept of what MFP is great, it's incredibly dark, but it's hardly a "new" story about this kind of thing. It even becomes laughable at various times when you consider there are
. At least in TDD we were strictly Lovecraftian, and with that it allows for whatever supernatural or cosmic horrors that it presents, whereas MFP seems to want to "horrify" you with the "reality" of a particular situation then ruins it with things like that. It just feels so goofy and badly done.
I didn't think much of Dear Esther either, but I was willing to give it a pass since it was trying this artful approach in a time where everyone was whining about shooters and sequels, but if The Chinese Room feels the need to ruin more games by turning them into linear corridors and removing the gameplay in favor of forced, relatively boring storytelling, then I would respectfully suggest that they consider switching to another industry.
I have never seen so many horror cliches bundled into something that wasn't a parody. Like I said though, the concept of what MFP is great, it's incredibly dark, but it's hardly a "new" story about this kind of thing. It even becomes laughable at various times when you consider there are
invisible pigmen, with electric footsteps no less, running around
stuff like "compound X" induced so many eye rolls etc.
I didn't think much of Dear Esther either, but I was willing to give it a pass since it was trying this artful approach in a time where everyone was whining about shooters and sequels, but if The Chinese Room feels the need to ruin more games by turning them into linear corridors and removing the gameplay in favor of forced, relatively boring storytelling, then I would respectfully suggest that they consider switching to another industry.
Well, the game is cheap as hell and isn't meant to be some big event. So imo you didn't have the worst time ever. For me I will be playing this with a controller with max graphics and having a good time for a couple hours.
A piece of shit interactive novel for 2.50. Wow, that is just pretty insane. You were obviously expecting the world for 2 fucking dollars and 50 cents. Nice. We all do sometimes. I had a great time with Dear Esther. I think too many people honestly just don't have any clue what the hell they are getting into when they buy things.
jacksepticeye
Member
Aw come on, that's completely unfair towards them. They were given an opportunity by Frictional to do another Amnesia game and they took it, they didn't set out to purposefully ruin anything and it's an extremely hard task to do a sequel to such a beloved game in such a hard genre while still trying to put their stamp on it.
The story is actually really good when you get into the nitty gritty of it and analyse it a bit more, the problem is the game side of things is almost non existent.
The biggest problem this game has is having Amnesia in the title and everyone as a byproduct of that just comparing it to the original game. If they released it just as a game called "A Machine for Pigs" people wouldn't have been so disappointed. People set their expectations too high
What they've done with MFP is display that they don't respect the gameplay behind a game and that they believe that their own storytelling is good enough to supplant it. I said I was willing to give Dear Esther a pass, even though I consider it pretty much a "non game" (and yes, I knew exactly what it was going in. In terms of narrative based gameplay I consider "The Stanley Parable" to be king in that realm).
So with that in mind, if they think that their storytelling is so good that it replaces most excuses for gameplay then this is the wrong medium for them. Even if I considered the story to be good, the method of conveying it to the player is incredibly rote, finding notes everywhere that just happen to be conveniently relevant, or "voxophones" in the oddest places containing dialogue between people that have you thinking "why the hell did people record this particular segment of conversation"
like that odd recording just sitting in some alcove in the wonderfully cliche sewer level
I agree with you, to make a follow up to Amnesia would have been no easy task, but in this instance I feel the Amnesia title is giving it a greater impression than it would otherwise. Had this just been called "A Machine for Pigs" I get the feeling people would have no problems calling it out on how bad it actually is.
jacksepticeye
Member
A big reason for all the stuff being there is
because Mandus is insane and it's not actually there. They're memories he's recounting at different parts of the game. That's why everything is so conveniently placed. That's why it's so weird that the voxophone is just sitting there weirdly completely out of place. Didn't you suspect that when you saw the same pig mask following you around?
I really think people should understand something a bit more before completely ripping it apart like that. That's why I said the story is deeper than what it might seem at first
You miss the point. The reasons for the notes and voxophones being there is irrelevant, it's that they are a horribly mundane way of telling the story they want to tell. From a gameplay perspective walking around occasionally finding these little nuggets of story adds up to be a very boring experience if you aren't finding the story to be completely engaging at every step along the way. In that case these little things just feel goofy and out of place
even if the explanation is that the person is a bit crazy
That is why I meant in regards to superior storytelling. If they want to make sure that the strength of their story is being told as best as it can be in a video game medium, they need to make the methods of uncovering that story magnitudes more interesting, otherwise, all these little nuggets just look like, as I mentioned, conveniently placed notes and oddly placed voxophones.
I will admit though I probably have ripped into it a little too much. I'll mull it over a bit more before posting further.
We made one of our first Let's Play videos for the site. Decided Amnesia AMFP would be a good place to start. Would love some feedback
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pubuYalTcrQ&feature=share&list=UU6ZZe3jMTn53oB3VzZpMEvA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pubuYalTcrQ&feature=share&list=UU6ZZe3jMTn53oB3VzZpMEvA
Just beat it and loved it. I also enjoyed Dear Esther for what it was if that made any difference.
I enjoyed this much more than Outlast (which, to be honest, I haven't gone far in at all due to the corny stealth AI).
The puzzles were weak sauce, but aside from that it was great.
The Chinese Room are A+ top notch.
I'm super looking forward to their PS4 title now big time.
I enjoyed this much more than Outlast (which, to be honest, I haven't gone far in at all due to the corny stealth AI).
The puzzles were weak sauce, but aside from that it was great.
The Chinese Room are A+ top notch.
I'm super looking forward to their PS4 title now big time.
Wow, that's pretty damning and unfortunate. Haven't finished the first Amnesia because of how legitimately frightening it was. Will still be grabbing it in a Steam sale because I love TCR's work on environmental design.
AuthenticM
Member
So how many encounters with enemies are there, total ? Man, unless my memories are messing with me, I'd say they could be counted on the fingers of one hand only...
Goddamn this game is disappointing. It bears the name "Amnesia"; it should have been better.
Goddamn this game is disappointing. It bears the name "Amnesia"; it should have been better.
For what it's worth, I can't think of many more in the original.
AuthenticM
Member
Oh I can. There are quite a bit more enemies in the original game. There is a definite lack of enemy encounters in Amnesia 2. On top of that, by the end of the game, it had lost its horror aesthetic, even in the presence of enemies.
It's just weird how they messed things up. It's as Maragidyne said: it's as if The Chinese Room was so in love with their story that at some point, they forgot that they were making a video game.
sigh
I guess I see your point and this game was more expensive but I wasn't planning on getting this for anything but like 5 bucks at most. I guess people who paid 20 have some concerns that seem legit.
Also, I need to finish Amnesia and Black Plague.
Yeah, TDD had much better enemy encounters. But in pure quantity terms, it's not a big gap. Especially seeing how AMFP is decent bit shorter.
I understand the disappointment. This feels more like a pretty custom scenario than an actual sequel that builds on its predecessor, expands and improves it.
finished it tonight, I thought it started strong but by half way it was a trudge. towards the end I was rushing through the areas because the game had lost its appeal and there's little sense of horror once you figure out how simple the game design is. I think The Chinese Room is a bit too in love with their story telling, there's some good meat in there sure but also a lot of by-product. not a good horror game or that great of a game for that matter.
Words cannot express how disappointed I was with this game. What needed to be said was already said in the quoted post, but I didn't even think the story was that impressive, as most of it was something you could figure out from the first few notes you read and the first few phone conversations.
Also, to those who said that the story is great, can you really explain the story of the game to me? A lot of things were left vague and some plot threads were dropped, and several notes were downright contradicting each other. I didn't think the writing was that great. Going even further, and this was kind of a problem with the first game too, I really dislike the "story is entirely told by notes full of exposition that you find lying around" way of storytelling. When that happens it makes me feel like the devs wrote a story on paper, made a game, then crammed the story in there without actually putting too much thought into how to make the story an actual part of the game.
AuthenticM
Member
I think it is a big gap. As was said, AMFP had only
four
Yeah, this game is utterly disappointing. I had broken my rule of never preordering games for the first time in years. I guess that'll serve me right.
edit: I mean, christ, remember the part in TDD where you're searching for an item and
you have to open a door and BAM there's an enemy right there in your fucking face !?
Fuck this game. I am so pissed right now.
So you're writing off a game because it doesn't have ridiculously obvious jump scares? Go play something with less soul then.
No, he has a point. There was a lot less creativity in the actual enemy encounters. For instance, TDD also had some moments where you need to distract enemies with food or by throwing rocks. There is some actual depth and strategy involved. AMFP's enemies are basically just incentives to run away.
boredJonathan
Member
This. I came to TDD a few years late, but when I played it I ended up being more annoyed by the monsters in that game than scared of them. Especially once you see what they look like up close. They sucked ALL the tension out of the original game and made what were some really stunningly spooky environments things you simply had to run past.
I've been thinking about this on and off ever since I finished the original game, since so many people loved that aspect of it, found it so terrifying, and I can't put my finger on why I didn't.
I only just started AMFP last night, and have really enjoyed these early moments.
Now, count how many times an "enemy" or ghost child fleets past the end of a corridor before disappearing, taking with it every potential payoff in horror the game may have had. You will be amazed at the discrepancy between that number and the number of actual enemy encounters. So much potential squandered on lazy design.
AuthenticM
Member
I'm writing it off because not only was the main selling point of its predecessor absent from this game, but it managed to completely strip out any gameplay mechanics, to the point where the game had you hold down W, open doors and pick up notes on the floor. That's it. That's what the player does in this game. A Machine for Pigs is the The Walking Dead of horror games.
And on top of that, The Chinese Room straight-up lied to us with false advertising ! Remember the first trailer that we got last year ? This one ? Notice how it presents the viewer a very familiar scene of the player hiding as the monster was destroying the door and searching for him ?
WHERE THE FUCK WAS THAT ?? CUZ I DIDN'T SEE IT NOWHERE IN THE GAME.
edit: I need to chill, but goddamn. This has got to be the most disappointing thing this year. It beats out the Mass Effect 3 fiasco from last year. Man. I really hope that Frictional acknowledges, silently or not, the game's faults and makes sure their next game isn't like that.
You can also see in the video that the sanity effects was still there (wall bowing).
But I guess that's why this game was delayed for almost a year, it needed time to remove gameplay features.
AuthenticM
Member
Yeah, but to me, the wrongness in this trailer goes beyond the content of what's being presented. The scene at the end of the video is the only gameplay moment in it (and if I recall, probably the only thing we got before the game launched). What it says to the viewer is very comforting: "Hey, remember Amnesia ? This is more Amnesia but with seemingly more terrifying monsters which happen to be humanoïd pigs." That's what the trailer was telling us last year. At least to me; that's what I got from it. I was extremely excited.
And now I realize I was lied to.
This game should not have been called "Amnesia". This should have been its own stand-alone thing made by the Dear Esther guys and marketed as such. People would have still been excited as The Chinese Room has its fanbase and they would not have all flocked to the game with the same expectations, only to be let down.
Oh wow, the pig-man hunting you isn't in the final game? I've only played through the first area so far, I was looking forward to that. :-\
I find it pretty funny you meant this as an negative.
He is actually.
I can't say I agree with the criticism at all. The Chinese Room clearly made their own spin on what an Amnesia game is, playing to their strengths as a developer. Which I actually find more interesting than a typical more of the same sequel.
He's probably like me and finds TWD incredibly boring. (The game, not the show)
OK, cool.
I like what I've played so far -- it's still creepy/tense enough that I find myself closing doors behind me, keeping my back to the wall, not using my lantern much and peeking around corners. That's what makes it "Amnesia" to me, this sense that there's something more to the world and whatever it is, it ain't friendly.