Thanks for sharing this. I just posted this in the ‘what games have you been playing topic’ (since it’s so relevant to the trailer, I hope nobody minds me posting it again here):
Thanks for sharing this. I just posted this in the ‘what games have you been playing topic’ (since it’s so relevant to the trailer, I hope nobody minds me posting it again here):
I just played the wanderstop demo and I have never had a game hit me so hard in so little time. I played about an hour and it has been one of the most profound and beautiful experiences I have had while gaming. That will of course be personal. But if the premise of the game - a burned out fighter unwilling to relinquish - resonates with you in any way: do yourself a favor and pick up the demo.
The writing is excellent. A bit on the nose but combined with the freedom in the dialogue options , it worked for me. If I’m correct, it’s written by the creator of Stanley’s parable. The music, by the Minecraft composer?, is also perfectly attuned to the experience.
I’m just raving here, sorry if I’m being incoherent, but it feels good to share this somewhere.
I just played the demo finally and omg I really feel this comment now. I feel like just me as a person, who struggles with perfectionism and the anxiety and fear that comes with falling short of...
I just played the demo finally and omg I really feel this comment now. I feel like just me as a person, who struggles with perfectionism and the anxiety and fear that comes with falling short of expectations has been shaken already. I'm ready to play this game, I can't believe my next 3 weeks are gonna be Monster Hunter, Split Fiction, and Wanderstop.
Same here. Whenever I chose to ‘go on’ in the woods I actually felt that same grinding sensation within me when from when I push myself (too) hard irl. Sort of like scratching a mosquito bite: It...
Same here. Whenever I chose to ‘go on’ in the woods I actually felt that same grinding sensation within me when from when I push myself (too) hard irl. Sort of like scratching a mosquito bite: It hurts, but at the same time the pain brings relief.
I also like how the game understands your reluctance to acknowledge the problem it tries to address. And handles that reluctance with respect. It’s that respect that really made me feel connected to the creator of the game and it me so hard. I just know they went through the same thing, and they’re coming at me with compassion.
Split Fiction and Wanderstop are the two unreleased games at the top of my (sorted by expected release date) list, good taste :D (No trailers, demos or spoilers for me, but I'll get to them sooner...
Split Fiction and Wanderstop are the two unreleased games at the top of my (sorted by expected release date) list, good taste :D
(No trailers, demos or spoilers for me, but I'll get to them sooner rather than later!)
To be honest: I’m a bit bummed out my ‘progress’ won’t carry over and I’ll have to replay the intro again. But I totally understand the eagerness to play it :).
To be honest: I’m a bit bummed out my ‘progress’ won’t carry over and I’ll have to replay the intro again. But I totally understand the eagerness to play it :).
I played about an hour of the demo last night. I knew pretty quickly that it's going to hit me hard. I never really got into the cosy game scene, but this might just be able to do it. The writing...
I played about an hour of the demo last night. I knew pretty quickly that it's going to hit me hard. I never really got into the cosy game scene, but this might just be able to do it.
The writing is definitely a lot more heavy handed than Wreden's previous work (especially compared to The Beginner's Guide), but that may end up being in the game's favour. It's not really something I can judge fairly after only one hour.
C418 nails it with the music again. If you only exposure to them is through Minecraft I can definitely recommend listening to their other albums (especially Excursions).
I think this is probably an appropriate forum: How do we feel about Annapurna Interactive? The entirety of the staff walked out at one point but I haven't heard much since?
I think this is probably an appropriate forum:
How do we feel about Annapurna Interactive? The entirety of the staff walked out at one point but I haven't heard much since?
Difficult… billionaire’s daughter’s play toy publishing gems that likely would never have seen the light of day without her support. I’m also curious to find out over time how important the...
Difficult… billionaire’s daughter’s play toy publishing gems that likely would never have seen the light of day without her support. I’m also curious to find out over time how important the owner’s voice has been in the selection of games.
About the entirety of staff leaving: it’s definitely not a good look.
Specifically, purely for me, I can't seem to find a "post-mortem" of the walkout or any resolution to the walkout and that bothers me. It takes a lot of a whole staff to walk out (even if they...
Specifically, purely for me, I can't seem to find a "post-mortem" of the walkout or any resolution to the walkout and that bothers me. It takes a lot of a whole staff to walk out (even if they tirelessly talk about it) but then there aren't (that I have seen) specific complaints out there over the why they walked out.
Regardless, I too find them difficult. They published my favorite game of all time (Outer Wilds) and publish so many touching, soulful, and emotional games that, I agree, may have never seen the light of day without Annapurna.
To grossly oversimplify from memory: AP Owner was fairly hands off and paid some talented people to publish high quality, niche games. There was a disagreement in leadership and one key member...
To grossly oversimplify from memory:
AP Owner was fairly hands off and paid some talented people to publish high quality, niche games.
There was a disagreement in leadership and one key member leaves.
When the post-COVID bubble is at its peak, owner pops into the office. Says they need to become a AAA scale publisher.
AP team knows that's stupid. Makes it known. Lots of drama.
AP team and Owner start negotiating a split into separate indie and AAA companies.
Owner is playing hardball and lots more drama.
Owner secretly hires the guy that left in point 2 and he is negotiating AAA scale contracts without AP team knowing.
AP team figure its a bad faith negotiation and leaves to do their own thing.
Devs were sort of left hanging.
Owner has bonkers money and goes on a hiring spree because there's a lot of floating talent.
My hope is that the owner probably got a bit of a reality check with not just the walk out, but the entire AAA space ripping at the seams. She is likely going back to being hands off again. And the people who left have a hell of a resume but the industry is pretty broken at this point. Anyone with an inde division would be lucky to have or fund them.
As for the company, I do think they're in a better direction based on this showcase. Granted its likely the last of what the old team worked on so that can quickly change. My biggest complaint about them was that they very much overshadowed the devs and emphasized the Annapurna brand. I genuinely thought that they were the developers of Outer Wilds for a while.
Judging by the presentation, looks like they putting a bit more emphasis on the creatives and devs. And while I inherently distrust billionaires, that fact that it's an individual and not shareholders gives me a bit more faith that there can be meaningful change.
Thanks for the suggestion! Unfortunately I didn't enjoy the demo's gameplay very much (it seemed very tedious), but I love the idea overall and loved listening to Boro. I'll have to check out some...
Thanks for the suggestion! Unfortunately I didn't enjoy the demo's gameplay very much (it seemed very tedious), but I love the idea overall and loved listening to Boro. I'll have to check out some reviews to see if there's much to it if you don't want to do much planting. I think I could handle a bit of tea-making, but not much in the way of planting. Growing things IRL is so much more satisfying, and doing much of it in-game seems like a chore.
Thanks for sharing this. I just posted this in the ‘what games have you been playing topic’ (since it’s so relevant to the trailer, I hope nobody minds me posting it again here):
I just played the demo finally and omg I really feel this comment now. I feel like just me as a person, who struggles with perfectionism and the anxiety and fear that comes with falling short of expectations has been shaken already. I'm ready to play this game, I can't believe my next 3 weeks are gonna be Monster Hunter, Split Fiction, and Wanderstop.
Same here. Whenever I chose to ‘go on’ in the woods I actually felt that same grinding sensation within me when from when I push myself (too) hard irl. Sort of like scratching a mosquito bite: It hurts, but at the same time the pain brings relief.
I also like how the game understands your reluctance to acknowledge the problem it tries to address. And handles that reluctance with respect. It’s that respect that really made me feel connected to the creator of the game and it me so hard. I just know they went through the same thing, and they’re coming at me with compassion.
Split Fiction and Wanderstop are the two unreleased games at the top of my (sorted by expected release date) list, good taste :D
(No trailers, demos or spoilers for me, but I'll get to them sooner rather than later!)
yes! i also want to get into it so I'll be playing the demo tonight, hopefully i'll enjoy it as much as you have!
To be honest: I’m a bit bummed out my ‘progress’ won’t carry over and I’ll have to replay the intro again. But I totally understand the eagerness to play it :).
I played about an hour of the demo last night. I knew pretty quickly that it's going to hit me hard. I never really got into the cosy game scene, but this might just be able to do it.
The writing is definitely a lot more heavy handed than Wreden's previous work (especially compared to The Beginner's Guide), but that may end up being in the game's favour. It's not really something I can judge fairly after only one hour.
C418 nails it with the music again. If you only exposure to them is through Minecraft I can definitely recommend listening to their other albums (especially Excursions).
I think this is probably an appropriate forum:
How do we feel about Annapurna Interactive? The entirety of the staff walked out at one point but I haven't heard much since?
Difficult… billionaire’s daughter’s play toy publishing gems that likely would never have seen the light of day without her support. I’m also curious to find out over time how important the owner’s voice has been in the selection of games.
About the entirety of staff leaving: it’s definitely not a good look.
Specifically, purely for me, I can't seem to find a "post-mortem" of the walkout or any resolution to the walkout and that bothers me. It takes a lot of a whole staff to walk out (even if they tirelessly talk about it) but then there aren't (that I have seen) specific complaints out there over the why they walked out.
Regardless, I too find them difficult. They published my favorite game of all time (Outer Wilds) and publish so many touching, soulful, and emotional games that, I agree, may have never seen the light of day without Annapurna.
To grossly oversimplify from memory:
My hope is that the owner probably got a bit of a reality check with not just the walk out, but the entire AAA space ripping at the seams. She is likely going back to being hands off again. And the people who left have a hell of a resume but the industry is pretty broken at this point. Anyone with an inde division would be lucky to have or fund them.
As for the company, I do think they're in a better direction based on this showcase. Granted its likely the last of what the old team worked on so that can quickly change. My biggest complaint about them was that they very much overshadowed the devs and emphasized the Annapurna brand. I genuinely thought that they were the developers of Outer Wilds for a while.
Judging by the presentation, looks like they putting a bit more emphasis on the creatives and devs. And while I inherently distrust billionaires, that fact that it's an individual and not shareholders gives me a bit more faith that there can be meaningful change.
It's the Laika of gaming, no?
Don't launch trailers usually come out on the launch date?
Thanks for the suggestion! Unfortunately I didn't enjoy the demo's gameplay very much (it seemed very tedious), but I love the idea overall and loved listening to Boro. I'll have to check out some reviews to see if there's much to it if you don't want to do much planting. I think I could handle a bit of tea-making, but not much in the way of planting. Growing things IRL is so much more satisfying, and doing much of it in-game seems like a chore.