How much does it cost to make a new game?

I thought we had enough of that in the other thread.

Ohh... you meant her being killed... Aha...

-Fred

Jim the old guy wrote:And, let us not forget the high cost of employing quality big name actors. That is why FMV may not be doable.

Yeah if you want to bring like these "big name" actors - for no apparent reason.

The story line and the actual game is what makes things big.


Seriously besides the nice "graphics" of something like HEAVY RAIN for example - people were DEEP INTO IT because of the STORY! not because you can do cool "controller jiggles" six axis randomness - to get the player to do something.

I think if they use what they've been doing in the past - they got Chris Jones and then a bunch of random people no one REALLY knows. It's about the acting and the story =/.

That is certainly true, CS.

AC wants to deliver to us, the fans, a game that will rival if not surpass Pandora... And lets face it, it will take quite a bit to do that... Granted we all say we'd be happy with second rate actors, but would we really once it was finished and we played it??? Possibly, but would it sell and make a profit??? Sure, us die hard fans would be happy with a Cartoon Tex, as long as it is playable and New... But Chris and Aaron can't cater to just us die hard fans who will take anything as long as it is Tex... They need to make something that will sell to many, not just a few... And in order to do that, you need to make it Good, which costs money...

I'm about to say something that may enrage the rest of you. While I would certainly buy another Tex, I don't feel as though I need it anymore. The franchise stands well on it's own.

It only took you ten years to get on the wagon, eh?

Chance, Polarity and Trance would make you fall off again so fast you wouldn't even know where the wagon went.

-Fred

I can see what FreeP is saying, but at the same time I feel we deserve closure for having stood by patiently for so long... Even if it were to be done in the Radio Theater or if AC just put a Novel out closing it all out, closure in some way is needed...

Yes I need closure. I feel like one of those wives who's husband went off to war during World War II. He never came home, and they never found his body. What happened to him? I just need to know. Then I can die in peace.

I would agree with Freep if they had ended the series with Pandora. But since they purposefully left us hanging, we deserve to hear the rest of the story either with cartoons, a novel, or whatever. Heck at this point I'd even settle for hand puppets.

But Baf is right, if they do make a new game it MUST be a commercial success. They should do their best to make it spectacular.

reiterating the closure sentiments.

I really really really would enjoy ALMOST a novel Aaron Wrote as much as the game (IFFF they decide the game track may not work!)

BUT i seriously though

think they're underestimating the game itself.

That it has to be THAT grand.

Has anyone SEEN the numbers of how many copies Under a Killing Moon has sold? much less Pandora?

It's caused people to make THIS schnazy website i mean for crying out loud.


I think it's a heavy underestimate that even if Big Finish Games were to judge how well they do based on how 3 cards series did. TOTALLY different bandwagon!


I think it's safe to say if another Tex ANYTHING (game, novel, tele tubbie Chris Jones cameo appearance) comes out - US the 'die hard fans' are going to market it 1000x more than we did for 3 cards.

I mean that's the reality.

I'll get like 14 people do buy it on my own - and that's me not TRYING to even market it.
So what about the amount of people that "go through" this site - lament to themselves - never register and still check back to see if anything is out?



haha - hopefully this isn't just a lament fest -


but i think at the VERY, VERY least

anyone HERE who at least is in touch with AC - can put us in regular loop and we can offer motivational criticism as well as ideas that they may not see from their side because they're crunching the numbers (i TOTALLY understand "making a living, not just a game")

I mean do we have maybe like every 4 months a CHAT or a Phone CALL IN, or SOMETHING to see that there's some realistic headway.




I don't know.

I am just disgruntled fan, haha. I know everyone has their share of it as well. And people are really polite - my intention isn't to be a rebellious teenager to the parents. I really am thankful to AC, CJ, for making these games.

Hopefully this is taken in appreciation of that.

Me personally, I have just put Tex on the back burner.

I don't think about it and don't hope too much.


At least this way, I will be totally blown away and surprised when it comes out.

It's like Fred said. When it happens, I'll lose the wagon, but for now am riding on it comfortably, although maybe not as comfortably as FreeP.

I still want to know what happens.

I can pretty much promise you that if the Tex Trilogy is made into a reality, that AC will release the Novel forms for them as well, no doubt there...

He has already said that he basically has the stories already written out... Money is just the issue... I mean 12 million dollars for a game isn't exactly the easiest thing to come by... Especially when the market is screaming for Bang-Bang-Boom games or Hack-N-Slash games...

Over 80% of people don't want to THINK anymore, they just want to DO... And that is why Tex Murphy finds itself on the lower rungs of the ladder...

Like the rest of you I am not holding my breath, but I still keep the faith. But I also think that if they do make another Tex Game it would have to surpass Pandora, in order to preserve the series in my mind. I would have to be disappointed in any way, when I am already pretty satisfied with the current quintology.

-Cub. =o)

Over 80% of people don't want to THINK anymore, they just want to DO... And that is why Tex Murphy finds itself on the lower rungs of the ladder...

That's a never-ending spin of the market though, and I don't really buy it.

People play what they're massively fed, like they tend to watch what's mass-produced. I honnestly don't believe in the market as this self-aware entitity that obeys its own laws.

The problem with a game like Tex is that on its own, in our current industry, it wouldn't stand a chance to be viable. If some of the current big studios were to suddenly aim for this specific genre, Tex could find himself a niche good enough to be relatively self-sufficient, or at least limit the losses. It's a lot more a question of timing than it is one of market.

How many times have I heard that people don't have time or the attention span anymore to follow a long game, even a long shooter, when World of Warcraft tops the charts with a few million users spending as much time a week as I did playing Fallout 2 in high school? Amd just wait until Starcraft 2 comes out, then try to convince me people don't play as much as they did before.

RPG's were agonising in occident before Baldur's Gate brought them back to life, and who in the market could have expected that an hybrid like Deus Ex would lead the path to the plethora of action-rpg shooters we have either now or in production? Even DX itself is being resurected today, with the upcomming Deus Ex : Human Revolution, produced in Montreal. Five years ago any fan would have told you there was no place for such a game on the market. With Mass Effect, Bioshock and a few other rpg-light successes, it's suddenly viable to invest in it. The same studio is also producing Thief 4, still in pre-production. That's one title I never thought I'd see again, considering the so-called market.

And while there are efforts to bring out some adventure titles, the problem with each and everyone of them is that their production value is way bellow anything else that's mass-produced. Call of Duty 4 may be a nightmare for someone who hates that genre, but its production value is through the roof, and that game is enjoyement in a can for anyone who gets a kick out of shooters. So to me the effort is like Indie cinema. We all like some of their crazy ideas, but the majority of them are terribly pale when put up against the big machine. And sadly, I think that's why Big Finnish didn't stand much of a chance on its own, as an isolated entity, despite the crazy amount of people who downloaded their free demos. Production value is simply too low, even if the quality is there.

I can see what you're saying there Frank, but tell me this then... Why did companies stop Mass-Producing Adventure games then??? Now they trickle out one or two here, another there, and they take forever to make them as well, just look at Gray Matter or LA Noire...

I still think it falls largely on the consumer... Usually only about 30% to 40% of Gamers remain gamers, while the other 60% look at the rest and point saying "Grow Up"...

Like you say, yes they play what they are Mass-Fed, which is shooters, but why??? Most of the old games that I've shown my Son he has enjoyed, MegaMan, Sierra's Quest games, among others... His only problem with them is that they look like crap... And you can't really argue, with the Advances made in Graphics and Special Effects, who can blame kids for wanting something that looks good...

So what is it that would make them Mass-Produce Adventure Games again???