AdventureX 2015: Part 1 – The Games

Lancelot’s Hangover

Myth and legend are full of tales of knights sent out on holy quests. It is fair to say that the new quest bestowed on Lancelot by God himself is a little out of the ordinary. He is on a quest for that most sacred of items, the Holy Booze. Clad only in a chain-mail coif and a pair of red underpants, Lancelot sets out on his most politically incorrect quest. Starting at a gay bar in France (where the game alleges all men are gay and all women have hairy armpits) there is no doubt that this quest is going to be a most unusual one.

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It would be fair to say that Belgian developer Jean-Baptiste de Clerfayt is not aiming for the family market with his first game. Lancelot’s Hangover is a solo project, with the exception of some help with the music, and has a planned release date of summer 2016. The overall graphic presentation is done in the style of medieval illustrated manuscripts. The characters do feel like pictures from those manuscripts come to life, though some of them would surely have been out of place in a religious text. The intention is that no text will be used in the final version of the game, the story being conveyed by graphics alone. A Kickstarter is planned for February 2016, though other sources of finance are also being investigated.

Those wishing to find if this most irreverent game is their cup of booze can download the free beta demo at the game’s official website.

Paul Pixel

Gamers have dealt with many disasters over the years. Everything from alien invasions to zombie apocalypses has been conquered by brave adventurers. In Paul Pixel, your objective is to thwart the aliens whose invasion has triggered a zombie apocalypse.  Starting off in his flat in the city, our blocky hero must initially flee the carnage taking place there. Fixing his psychedelic VW van is just the first of his problems as he starts out on his cross-country quest. With giant saucers overhead and the highly infectious zombie plague sweeping the nation, can this ordinary man even survive?

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Despite being one of the most pixellated games on show, the exhibitor of this game, Xoron, chose the largest television possible to demonstrate it on. (In future years I must remember not to turn up early and offer to assist bringing exhibitor gear in.) Bright contrasting colours have been used, so the limited art detail does not prevent players from recognising what they are looking at. The game has a decidedly surreal tone to it, such that both a hotdog vendor and a man running a costume shop seemed surprisingly relaxed about the burning car and rampaging zombies nearby. The repair of the van in the opening scene requires typically lateral thinking. Having played through several subsequent scenes as well, it would appear that the game has been split into relatively small chunks. Each scene, such as a gas station and a stretch of open road where the van broke down, consists of less than half a dozen locations. With the game touted as being a “retro adventure for the Apple generation” this may be a move to appeal to gamers that only have short play sessions available on the move.

Release of the game is fairly imminent, and more information can be found at the Paul Pixel website.

Meeting

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Unfortunately no demo for Meeting was available at the convention, but lead developer Rosa Carbo-Mascarell discussed the concept behind Meeting, and it’s an intriguing one: Two people are trapped and separated from one another. The intention is that two players sit in the same room, using different computers to control one protagonist each. These are linked together, but should be set up so that neither can see the other screen. Each player manipulates their own room, with actions taken affecting the environment of the other player. Communication of these changes is therefore key to success for both players. The first level of the game was released as part of the Global Game Jam earlier this year, and has received positive feedback. For those wishing to have a go themselves, the necessary files can be downloaded from the Global Game Jam website.

Meeting

Reigns

The King is dead, long live the king!

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Unfortunately, as the new king you might not actually live that long. As people bring you various problems, your decisions for and against constantly change the balance of power within the kingdom. Provide a group with too many resources, and they may become powerful enough to overthrow you. Treat them too badly and they may rise up in revolt instead. To maintain your rule you must walk a fine line, but just how long can you keep it up?

Described by French developer Nerial as “a cross between Tinder and Game of Thrones”, Reigns has simple gameplay which proved surprisingly difficult to master. The game presents you with a succession of cards showing minimalist portraits of individuals, such as a military leader. Each of these also bears a statement requesting approval, such as suggesting a pre-emptive strike against a neighbouring kingdom preparing for war. Playing on a tablet, you swipe left or right in a manner akin to the Tinder app, depending on whether you agree or disagree with the request. Moving the picture partially to either side will show you how that choice affects four main statistics: Religion, Population, Military and Cash. If any of these reaches either 0 or 100 your reign ends. Most decisions affect at least two of these, so careful balancing is required. Playing the current edition at the exhibitor table, I had several religious cards early on. Subsequently focussing on bringing my religion stat back down, I inadvertently made the military powerful enough to execute a coup.

In a demonstration talk, we got a behind-the scenes look as François Alliot showed how the random selection of cards is achieved. We also found out about hidden effects beyond the bare statistics. Each card has a weighting to determine how likely it is to come up, and a turnlock, ensuring a minimum gap before its reappearance. Many responses to your decisions also create new hidden factors, such as a secret conspiracy plotting against you. These unseen elements make additional cards available and can lead to endings not based on the visible statistics if you are not careful. When the current king is removed, he gains an epithet related to your actions (e.g. Brian the Greedy if you concentrated on cash) and a new king ascends to the throne to start the game again.

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