About Prominence

[Mike Morrison]

Prominence is a first person, panoramic adventure game in a science-fiction setting, with a story that is told through audio logs, physical clues, data archives, and the player's interaction with the central computer. It is the first game being developed by Digital Media Workshop, Inc.

Features include:
- Inventory, GUI, and environmental puzzles
- A compelling story featuring original intellectual property
- 3D pre-rendered environments with animated effects
- Gameplay that is story and task-based
- Two different endings, offering separate content
- Puzzles may have more than one solution
- Original soundtrack by an award-winning composer
- Professional voice-acting
- A multi-level, high-tech facility for the player to explore
- First-person viewpoint

[Noone]

Hi Mike, Kevin.

You said that there will be two endings in the game. Are they both of the same length? How early in the game will the story divide?

[Agustin]

Hey there! Best luck with the project - I'm really looking forward to it as I'm an avid fan of sci-fi. Hope the game does very well!

It does seem to have a classic feeling. Would you say the game was inspired by sci-fi stories? If so, which writers?

[Mike Morrison]

Zdravstvuite Alex!

Thanks for stopping by. The story divides about 2/3rds of the way through the game, and each branch has unique content of similar length.

[Surfcruiser07]

Is Prominence a game that can be played by any skill level or is it only for experienced adventurers?

[Mike Morrison]

Hey there! Best luck with the project - I'm really looking forward to it as I'm an avid fan of sci-fi. Hope the game does very well!

It does seem to have a classic feeling. Would you say the game was inspired by sci-fi stories? If so, which writers?

Thanks, Agust�n. Have your fingers have recovered from all the action over in the Nucleosys forum?

While Prominence isn't inspired by a particular author or story, it's definitely inspired by an amalgam of science-fiction stories and films from our childhood. We grew up in the '80s, and it was a huge decade for sci-fi.

Kevin and I are both avid NaNoWriMo fans as well, so we had written quite a bit before this project, too.

[KevinMcGrath]

Hi, Agust�n. Thanks for coming!

There were some other influences on Prominence, namely a few real-world social issues. The concept of keeping one's culture alive in the face of overwhelming adversity is a particularly strong theme in the game. We found it compelling to have the game in the realm of science-fiction and yet grounded by some issues that concern us in the real world.

[Noone]

You've also said that some puzzles in the game will have more than one solution. Will the player be somehow rewarded if he choose the one you thoght more interesting (difficult)? Maybe some kind of score system?

Will the puzzles with different solutions be easy or complex like:
1) you can use object1 or object2 to solve puzzle1;
2) you can use object1 or object3 to solve puzzle2,
3) but if you used object1 on puzzle1 it will become unavailable (or broken) and you should use object4 instead (while if you used object 2 to solve puzzle1 you'll never see object4)?

[KevinMcGrath]

Hi Surfcruiser07,

Is Prominence a game that can be played by any skill level or is it only for experienced adventurers?

We designed Prominence to really be for any skill level adventurer. Our design philosophy was to have puzzles and obstacles that could be reasonably solved without extreme leaps of logic or unbelievability. We want to challenge you, not make you smash your head against the wall in utter frustration.

[Agustin]

Thanks, Agust�n. Have your fingers have recovered from all the action over in the Nucleosys forum?

Barely ;D
But this year was certainly more forgiving... last time it was really hectic.

Kevin and I are both avid NaNoWriMo fans as well, so we had written quite a bit before this project, too.

First time I hear of that community! That's very interesting.

Few details are know about the Prominence story yet... I take it has something to do with the sun?

[Agustin]

There were some other influences on Prominence, namely a few real-world social issues. The concept of keeping one's culture alive in the face of overwhelming adversity is a particularly strong theme in the game. We found it compelling to have the game in the realm of science-fiction and yet grounded by some issues that concern us in the real world.

Hhmmm... do I sense a religious side to the story?

[Mike Morrison]

Hi Surfcruiser07,

Is Prominence a game that can be played by any skill level or is it only for experienced adventurers?

We designed Prominence to really be for any skill level adventurer. Our design philosophy was to have puzzles and obstacles that could be reasonably solved without extreme leaps of logic or unbelievability. We want to challenge you, not make you smash your head against the wall in utter frustration.

We should admit, though, you won't be making moustaches or baking any cookies in Prominence. We hope that's not too much of a disappointment. And though the Letarri have a different language (which we call "Old Letarri"), you won't have to learn to speak it or write it in order to enjoy the game.

[Surfcruiser07]

Hi Surfcruiser07,

Is Prominence a game that can be played by any skill level or is it only for experienced adventurers?

We designed Prominence to really be for any skill level adventurer. Our design philosophy was to have puzzles and obstacles that could be reasonably solved without extreme leaps of logic or unbelievability. We want to challenge you, not make you smash your head against the wall in utter frustration.

We should admit, though, you won't be making moustaches or baking any cookies in Prominence. We hope that's not too much of a disappointment. And though the Letarri have a different language (which we call "Old Letarri"), you won't have to learn to speak it or write it in order to enjoy the game.

How long dio you think it would take a first time adventure player to complete the game? and how long foran experienced adventur player?

[KevinMcGrath]

You've also said that some puzzles in the game will have more than one solution. Will the player be somehow rewarded if he choose the one you thoght more interesting (difficult)? Maybe some kind of score system?

We were actually considering a score system at one point, perhaps to reward the player for coming up with more ingenious ways of solving puzzles. But two issues came up that made us abandon the idea. First, the idea of a discrete score system seemed to break the feeling of immersion that we were striving for in the game. The second issue was that we were judging solutions as some being "better" than others. In the grand scheme of things, is one way "better" than another?

Will the puzzles with different solutions be easy or complex like...

Yes, the example you provide is one of the ways that the puzzles may be multi-solutioned. But another might be something that could be solved by gaining access to an inventory item that you need (that needs another puzzle to solve), or using an interface to bypass your need for that inventory item altogether (which would be a different puzzle). In this way, if one or the other type of puzzle were very difficult for the player, they could choose the other route to solve the overall obstacle.

In addition, you could then replay the game later and try to solve obstacles in a different way...

[Mike Morrison]

That's right. We also have some puzzles that are optional in a way -- you don't NEED to complete them to finish the game, but if you solve them, they may provide information or tools that can help in later parts of them game.

So from your example, object1 + a GUI puzzle might be one way to solve something -- say, a player has some lockpicks and then they use them on a door and they get a GUI for the puzzle. Once they solve it, the door opens.

But if the player noticed something a bit earlier, maybe they get their hands on a tool that bypasses the lock completely and just gets them through the door.

[KevinMcGrath]

How long dio you think it would take a first time adventure player to complete the game? and how long foran experienced adventur player?

At this point, we anticipate an experienced adventure gamer will take 12-15 hours to get through the game. For first time adventure gamers, about 20 hours.

[mc77340]

Hi guys - I'll bet this has already come out somewhere but I will ask it anyway. Is Prominence meant to be played solo or in an online/group environment?

Thanks, Marianne

[Noone]

In the grand scheme of things, is one way "better" than another?

You may kill a guard, using the rifle, or you may live him alive (come on, he is just a young boy taken for war). So are these variants equivalent?

Returning to "real-world social issues". Will there be any psychological dilemmas?

[KevinMcGrath]

Hhmmm... do I sense a religious side to the story?

Well, insofar as a belief system is a part of a people's culture. But culture is a rather vast combination of beliefs and views and opinions that are expressed in a people's language and traditions. While religion can be a big part of that combination, it's only a part.

The story of Prominence centers around the idea of a people trying to preserve their culture and way-of-life against the threat of forced assimilation into another culture. Throughout history, there have been many cultures that strived to protect their own way of life, and we felt this was a great foundation on which to build an adventure game story.

That all being said, we did not put any overtly religious overtones into the story of Prominence.

[Mike Morrison]

Hi guys - I'll bet this has already come out somewhere but I will ask it anyway. Is Prominence meant to be played solo or in an online/group environment?

Thanks, Marianne

Hi Marianne!

Prominence is very much a "traditional" adventure game, so there is no online component or multiplayer. I've been trying to get Kevin to build a little mini-MMORPG into Prominence, but he keeps shooting me down.