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Proteus |OT| A Game by Ed Key and David Kanaga

Zia

Member


"Proteus is a game about exploration and immersion in a dream-like island world where the soundtrack to your play is created by your surroundings. Presented and controlled like a classic first-person shooter, the primary means of interaction is simply your presence in the world. The procedurally generated islands are home to creatures natural and imagined, tranquil valleys and ruins with magical properties. Think Doom meets Brian Eno."

Developer: Ed Key and David Kanaga
Platform: PC, Mac and Linux (coming Spring 2013)
Price: $9.99 (Humble Store)(Steam)
Release Date: January 30, 2013

Videos:

Proteus Official Beta Trailer
Proteus (Official Launch Trailer)

Awards and Recognition:

"Indiecade 2011 - Winner: Audio" Los Angeles, 6 October, 2011
"A MAZE Indie Connect - Winner: "Most Amazing Game"" Berlin, 26-27 April, 2012
"Independent Games Festival 2012 - Finalist: Nuovo Award" San Franciso, 4 December, 2012
"GameCity 2012 - Shortlist, GameCity Prize" Nottingham, UK, 23-28 October, 2012
"MoMA - Selected for MoMA Studio's "Common Senses" exhibition" New York, 24 September - 19 November, 2012
"Lunarcade Shanghai 2011 - Official Selection" Shanghai, 2-4 December, 2011

Reviews:

Edge

With a defined beginning, four distinct seasonal environments and an affecting, surprising conclusion, there’s no question that Proteus is a game. But if there’s one concern, it’s whether this is an island that’s worth revisiting once you’ve seen all it has to offer. In a way, its lack of progression – the absence of skill trees, difficulty levels and save points – works in its favour; you won’t dive back in to mop up the last few achievements, or to climb leaderboards, but simply because you want to play Proteus. Because you want to open your eyes and be up to your waist in seawater, to walk to shore and wander through fields that sing. And that’s an itch only Proteus can scratch. [8]

Rock, Paper, Shotgun

I’m very aware that some will come to Proteus, wander around for a few minutes, and argue there’s nothing to do. Technically, sort of a bit, they’re not wrong. There’s no challenge, no overt goal, no secret to uncover, nor story to hear. Those people will think the above ludicrous twaddle. And that’s fair enough. But there will be the others who find their own connection to its world, and embrace the three quarters of an hour it takes to go from the beginning to the end. And I’d be astonished by anyone among them who doesn’t then play it again, and then again, and then demand someone else sit down and play it while they watch over their shoulder, and then play it again.

I come away from it feeling elated. And that makes Proteus feel very special to me. It’s such a pleasure knowing it will be the same for so many others.




 

V_Ben

Banned
I've never played anything like Proteus, such a fantastic exploration game. Every time, I find new things to discover, and each time, I lose hours to it. Wonderful stuff.
 

ultron87

Member
I'm one of those uncouth people who played for ten minutes and then was like what the fuck is this.

I'll probably give the full version a shot at some point.
 
I think I'm going to play the final build before I check out the reviews. There's definitely something to be said about discovering this game. Picked up the beta version just 'cause it looked unique and it definitely delivered. I can see why a lot of people found the beta unsatisfying, though. Will report back tonight/tomorrow if things have changed wildly.
 

Misguided

Banned
I've had the beta for about a week, had to put it away to not get weary on the game before the final release. This game is really great, you should all check it out.

EDIT: Also, for those who don't know, David Kanaga is also the man behind the music for Dyad, which, if you've played it, should basically be a selling point for you.
 

thelatestmodel

Junior, please.
I thought this was out already? Or was it a Minecraft-like beta thing and this is the official release? I don't remember.

Anyway, this has been on my radar for ages and I can't wait to have it in my Steam library. And what's more, unlike most of my Steam games, I will probably play it!
 
Oh man, this comes out today? Saw the trailer a few months back and loved it. I'll pick it up on Steam when I get home from work.
 

Zoibie

Member
Seems like the minimum specs have been lowered a bit since the beta, hope that means it's been optimised enough for my hobbit of a laptop. Oh God I want it now!
 

Inkwell

Banned
This looks pretty interesting. I've never heard of it before. Is it worth the price? I'm tempted to pick this up, but I worry I've seen everything this has to offer from the trailer.
 

Coconut

Banned
Played it last night was blown away, immediately made other people play it. Any word on when they will be giving out steam keys for those who bought the beta?
 

pelican

Member
Waiting for it to pop up on Steam today. Still not available to purchase on the UK store despite it launching today.
 

epmode

Member
This non-game is pretty neat!

Please tell me you can play this with a controller

Unless something changed from a few betas sgo, it has native 360 pad support. I prefer it like that.

Alright, that didn't answer my question.

It did! Everyone that purchased directly from the website was given a Humble link to one of the later betas. Check your email or send a message to the guy.

(the Humble page now includes a Steam key)
 

HoosTrax

Member
Someone on my friends list already owns it, so while someone apparently forgot to feed the hamsters powering the Steam store, I think the Humble Store keys are already redeemable.
 
I'll buy this on Steam and play it tonight with some headphones and a drink. Looks really relaxing, something that I could go for right now.
 

Snuggles

erotic butter maelstrom
Ooh. Can anyone tell me the file size? I don't have internet at home right now but I could download the DRM-free version and put it on a USB stick.
 

CheesecakeRecipe

Stormy Grey
Eagerly awaiting payday so I can pick this up. Really love this kind of "experience" rather than having to put up with game-y stuff in the background.

Ooh. Can anyone tell me the file size? I don't have internet at home right now but I could download the DRM-free version and put it on a USB stick.

Store page says ~100MB but those are often a little over so I'd expect between 50-75MB.
 

Coconut

Banned
Ooh. Can anyone tell me the file size? I don't have internet at home right now but I could download the DRM-free version and put it on a USB stick.

80.1mb or something based on the beta I for last night a little larger for Mac for some reason.
 

Zoibie

Member
It's up on Steam with a 10% discount for the first week.

Edit: can't play it yet though, just a pre-load apparenly...
 

CheesecakeRecipe

Stormy Grey
Steam page just updated a few minutes ago with the buy button. Go go go!

EDIT: Heh, this is what I get for leaving a tab open. Nothing from their twitters about the unlock problem. Did you guys try restarting steam after purchase to "require" your licenses?
 

Zia

Member
Steam page just updated a few minutes ago with the buy button. Go go go!

EDIT: Heh, this is what I get for leaving a tab open. Nothing from their twitters about the unlock problem. Did you guys try restarting steam after purchase to "require" your licenses?

Yeah, it won't unlock. Now to wait. Some more.
 

The Real Abed

Perma-Junior
Bought it a few days ago. So awesome looking but I haven't played much. I did notice that the so-called Mac version is just the Windows version in a WINE wrapper like that MegaMan x Street Fighter game. So I just downloaded the Windows version and run it in Parallels. Runs great.

Gonna have to sit down and do some exploring tonight.
 

Zia

Member
I'd like to hear what those coming in fresh think of it. Me, I think I'm going to start my days with a little Proteus from here on out.
 

JoeBoy101

Member
I'd like to hear what those coming in fresh think of it. Me, I think I'm going to start my days with a little Proteus from here on out.

Bought it cold and, damn. Its like the anti-Amensia. Throw some headphones on, turn off the lights, let the soothing beginning and the stress leave your body.

I really loved everything about it. I liked how the the comparison in length of the seasons was similar in proportion to the real-life versions. Putting winter at the end was a well thought out move, as it made me appreciate the activity of summer (though felt like all the activity made more sense in spring).

I like the graphics and the concept but the music and sound was what sold it for me. It fit so well with every activity and environment.

Definitely recommend it.

Also, dat ending.
 
D

Deleted member 22576

Unconfirmed Member
Cool. Just redeemed my steam code.
Yeah I like this game very much, I play it once about every two weeks or so. Curious to see whats new/different in the 1.0 release. I think I've been stuck on the same build since like October. The last time I played I was actually getting a little bored since I feel like I've seen most of what the game has to offer, and uncovered some little events and such. I actually would REALLY like to have some "spoiler" discussion with other adventurers.


Things like
the bees/flies. when they speed you up if you're able to find another group they'll chain together so you can move at warp speed for longer, and then if you manage to chain together a few groups of them and run past the bass stones they fire at faster pace and it gets totally nuts.
I imagine there are quite a few other little things like this that I have yet to think of.
 

Lord Error

Insane For Sony
Purchased it. Let's see how it goes. I wish more games would sell in this DRM-free form, it's especially nice on a Mac to not have to wait for Steam to launch to play games.
 
D

Deleted member 22576

Unconfirmed Member
So I just did a playthrough, quite a bit has changed! More than I had anticipated! :eek:
 

Inkwell

Banned
I just played through it once. It was kind of enjoyable, but I wish there was a little more to it. I'll probably play it a couple more times though.
 
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