technological and business questions

[soundguy]

Hey

It's the same questions i ask all the developers:

1. What game engine and tools did you use to create your game ?
Why did you choose AGS over other engines such as WME ?
Why did you decide to make the game 800x600 instead of going full out on higher resolution ?

2. how did you start up your business, and managed to finance the production of your game ?

3. How much did the production cost and what's the commercial success of the the game so far ?
In my own opinion the game is slightly over priced considering all factors like other games. are there any plans to lower the game's price overtime ?

4. any tips and advice for us independent developers and start-up game companies ?

Oded

[Disco]

I can answer the last half of #3 without even being on the team :P.

A few weeks ago the game was release on Telltale Digital at 2/3 the original price. A fair price in my opinion.

[Stijn]

I'm hoping Britney will be so kind as to pop in and answer these in more detail since they're right up her alley.

1. What game engine and tools did you use to create your game ?
Why did you choose AGS over other engines such as WME ?
Why did you decide to make the game 800x600 instead of going full out on higher resolution ?

The reason we used AGS is fairly simple...it's an engine we've been using for years and we know our way around, so we can concentrate all our efforts into making the quality as high as possible, instead of having to learn everything from scratch. The fact that the game contains hardly any bugs at all is a result of us knowing our way around the engine quite well after multiple projects with AGS. Also, AGS' creator has always been very helpful providing us with technical support and additional features. Finally, AGS is free for commercial use, which is pretty useful when starting up a company. Unfortunately, AGS is not the most efficient engine with high-res graphics. Higher than 640x400 was technically possible (but clumsy), but the game would not have fit onto one CD and the system requirements would have been a lot higher too. (while we have been aiming at making the game available to all people who had a half-way decent-to-slow system)

2. how did you start up your business, and managed to finance the production of your game ?

I'll leave the specifics to Britney, but she financed the business with family money. (which nevertheless is required to be paid back)

3. How much did the production cost and what's the commercial success of the the game so far ?
In my own opinion the game is slightly over priced considering all factors like other games. are there any plans to lower the game's price overtime ?

Again, I'll leave the specifics to Britney, but I believe that with interest, the total cost was about 35,000 dollar.

[Noone]

Who came up with the idea of collaboration between Telltale and Himalaya - they or you?

[Stijn]

Not 100% sure, but we've been in contact with Emily Morganti from Adventure Gamers for quite some time and I believe she introduced us to Telltale. (she works there now)

[Noone]

Had Telltale gave you any feedback on the game? Maybe they have given you some interesting advices for your future games? Or was it just business relations?

[GameDevBrit]

We chose AGS because we're loyal to Chris Jones and his work. He's been very good adding everything we need to the engine, and we want to do everything we can to support his great engine, that provides us with everything we could hope for when it comes to making adventure games.

We chose a resolution that would be an improvement over our AGDI remakes, yet still remind players of the games of yesteryear. We wanted to provide a classic style adventure to a niche market of gamers who would appreciate the style graphics we were offering.

We started up the business in the State of Arizona. It involved filling out a lot of paperwork, doing accounting, starting up a business account at the bank, creating and signing lots of contracts, getting funding, and more.

The production costs were a lot lower than most current games, yet a lot higher than the average gamer's budget will allow. The game has been doing well, and we will continue to watch how sales go to determine whether it was a feasible venture. Consider how much we spent creating Al Emmo, the game is not unfairly priced. We have released the game online at TellTale Games (www.telltalegames.com) and TryGames (www.trygames.com) for $19.99. For people who don't need the beautiful packaged copy, I think this is a reasonable way to get the game as a lower priced download.

As for tips for other indie developers, I would say, just stay true to your passion and learn what you don't know along the way

[soundguy]

Hey !

thanks for the answers, al emmo sure seems to have been made for a lot less than other commercial game, but still for not that little for a small self funded company.

I have truly enjoyed all the old sierra remakes, but had not yet got time to play Al Emmo past it's demo.
I wish you luck and hope you continue making nice games, including more remakes for old sierra games.

BTW have you though of re-remaking the king quest remakes for current industry standarts - i.e. 2.5D or 3d ?

Oded

[Stijn]

BTW have you though of re-remaking the king quest remakes for current industry standarts - i.e. 2.5D or 3d ?

I don't think that'll happen. We wanted to preserve the classic style for those adventures, which wouldn't be the case if they were changed to 2.5D or 3D. Also, since we don't get monetary compensation for this, it wouldn't be worth the time put into it.

[PolloDiablo]

Having just picked up the Nintendo Wii, I can't help but wonder - would you consider making an adventure for the Wii? Or convert Al Emmo for it? (assuming you would be eligible for a devkit ofcourse). Do you think there's a future for adventure games on consoles at all?

[GameDevBrit]

Hm, I have heard in the past, from a friend, that the Nintendo DS would have been fabulous for playing adventure games. I haven't actually tried out the Wii yet. hat's your opinion on the Wii as a platform for adventure games? If we did take such a route, we'd probably need to work out a deal with a publisher who could hook us up with some people who could convert the game to another platform... It definitely sounds like an interesting possibility, although we haven't spent much time focusing on it as of yet.

[PolloDiablo]

Yes, the Nintendo DS is great for adventures, too. I guess the Kings Quest remakes would work great on that.

The Nintendo Wii has a "remote control" as a controller, so you can use it to point and click. Also, it has motion sensors that not only register the direction you move it in, but also the force you use. So that would be great for all kinds of puzzles involving rotating wheels, pushing or pulling levers and ropes, throwing stuff etc...