By Quintin Smith on January 26th, 2009 at 3:00 pm.
Let’s play a little choose-your-own-adventure game. Okay, ready? You’re a small Russian games development studio located deep in the grassy guts of your enormous nation. It is dark. You are likely to be eaten by a grue. In your inventory is: Some designers. Some computers. Two jars of instant coffee. Some asshole has drunk all the milk.
You’ve just had tremendous critical success with your first videogame, Pathologic, and the time has come for you to choose what to do next. Do you:
A) Pay for a stripper to come round to the studio and, in the absence of cocaine, write “POTHOLGIC” on her back in coffee before starting work on Pathologic 2.
Б) Realise it would be quite nice to earn lots of money without quite as much thought involved. Design a truck driving sim called Hawk Angry’s Bitchin’ Rig Blowdown that features 12 different bitchin’ rigs and an all new Mowdown Showdown mode.
Г) Stay entirely focused on the future. No sequels, no cash-cows, no rest time. Come up with an all new concept for another experimental game and get to work.
Д) Decide that videogames aren’t the correct medium for your team’s grim visions, go on to sell all your computers and buy two tons of surplus hospital equipment and DIY supplies. For the next nine months nobody is seen leaving or entering your building, though the noise of welding, hammering and bestial howling continues late into every starless night.
If you chose Г you can feel smug and pour yourself a healthy shot of vodka, because that’s exactly what Ice-Pick Lodge are doing. This year should see the English version of their next game, Typrop (Which translates to “Tension“and while due to some fist-eatingly annoying copy protection I haven’t been able to play as much of my friend’s Russian copy as I’d like, I have played the first couple of hours. And oh, mercy.
Once again The Void is a first-person game about the struggle against death, though it pulls the rug out from under you in the first couple of minutes of play. See, you’re already dead. What The Void tasks you with is exploring and understanding the dark, sprawling underworld you find yourself in, communicating with the mad inhabitants, learning (and then manipulating) the strange new laws of nature down there, all of it with the aim of clawing your way back towards the light.
While there’s nothing cutting edge about the engine, the design of the world is spectacular. Barren black bluffs that tail off into nothingness, twisted islands of gravel surrounded by inky water, unnatural vast tediums of sandstone and narrow paths that curl through the air, supported by nothing. There’s human architecture in the game too, though it’s slightly more sparse and even more fucked up. Corridors are too narrow, open spaces are too open, and the only furnishing seems related to rest. Chaise longues, cots, a bath surrounded by tinctures, a mansion cut into a stone wall decorated like an Egyptian pyramid.
As far as I can tell the two mechanics at the core of The Void are colour and the Brothers. The colour’s a really interesting one. The world you’re in is overwhelming sterile, most of it either built of stone or scorched black earth, but every so often you’ll come across little spurts of colour contained in hungry creatures, weeds, mosses and so on. You can absorb this colour into various parts of your body and it acts as both your health and mana, but you’re always pushed for space.
To begin with you can only fill up your left breast and left forearm with the tiniest spurts of beige or silver, and the only use I could find was siphoning it back into dead trees and plants. In time, however, you learn to trace sigils and spells such as using your colour to influence people and fling boulders, and more body parts become unlocked for storage. I was surprised to find out that while I was gifting the trapped, exhausted women around the world with colour to make them talk to me (shut up Kieron), certain colours are deathly poisonous to certain Sisters. Soon after that I noticed that you can farm colour by sluicing it into dead trees then returning several days later. The body of the tree is still be dead but the colour you choose thrives in that time, growing up along invisible branches to create glittering canopies in the sky.
Presumably by about the half way point of The Void you’ve transformed into a terrifying, shimmering multicoloured sorcerer, twisting and bending the bleak landscape back in on itself in your quest to return on the land of the living. But I mentioned the Brothers, didn’t I?
The Brothers are strange and fearful men and act as peacekeepers of the afterlife, and it turns out if there’s one thing you are absolutely, positively not meant to do as your soul rots away it’s mess with the colour. In time your activities draw the attention of one of the brothers, who appears on the world map as a little spherical icon who starts drifting towards you. I’d just learned how to stuff rocks full of colour before flinging them around as crude projectiles, so I was naturally pretty confident. In time the Brother arrived in the same zone I was in and… the game ended. Insta-death of my fledgling soul.
More than anything I think the reason this game excites me is it’ll be a chance for all the people who tried Pathologic but couldn’t stomach it to experience Ice-Pick’s handiwork. The Void might be a little obtuse and the atmosphere kinda stifling, but compared to Pathologic it’s a full-body massage. Discovering how the world works and winning over the Sisters is immediately rewarding, and there’s no sense of pressure for quite a while as you wander round, get lost and experiment with colour.
There’s a collection of fun stuff on the site if you want to whet your appetite a little more- music, screenshots, a couple of trailers and some writing from the developers. I’m not sure I’d recommend any of it though. It’s a little early to call it, but I’d say this is a game that’s built around the concept of exploration. I reckon you want to go in having seen as little as possible.
The Void will be coming to the West in 2009. We’ll have an interview with Ice-Pick next week
26/01/2009 at 15:05 The Archetype says:
This looks like a game that benefited from amazing art direction (The 2nd and 3rd shots in particular). I am very excited to see where it goes.
26/01/2009 at 15:10 Bobsy says:
Oh, not another “power of colour-boobs” game.
26/01/2009 at 15:16 Ian says:
Speaking of when, when is Hawk Angry’s Bitchin’ Rig Blowdown actually out?
26/01/2009 at 15:18 monchberter says:
Your ‘Russian’ ‘C’ is in fact a cyrillic ‘G’.
Language Pedant.
Aside, a great write up.
26/01/2009 at 15:27 dhex says:
the idea that they might be able to marry the craziness of pathologic with the coherency that was completely missing from pathologic is very exciting!
26/01/2009 at 15:39 Dain says:
Need more games with weird and wonderful art design!
26/01/2009 at 15:46 Markoff Chaney says:
After the stunning gameplay offered to us by Pathologic (the effects of which can be measured on one’s brain by observing the effects of a Pan Glalactic Gargle Blaster on a carbon based life form) I can only wait with baited breath for their next masterpiece. Yes, I am predicting its phenomenal nature and otherworldlyness before I can even sample it based solely on their prior works. I am ever grateful the button below says “Opinion away!” and not “Fact away!” or I would post much less around here…
I am curious as to how this playing of a role with, what appears to be, a statless system (with possibly more of a metroidvania explore/upgrade system in place) fits in with our latest RPS hivemind What is an RPG? exploration concept. However, maybe I’m totally wrong and one has to get their beige or silver to +50 before moving on to acquiring the Fuchsia thigh of much Godliness +2.
Innovate away, Ice-Pick Lodge. Keep redefining the FPS (or FPE or FPA or FPP or whatever) genre and make me grin with unabashed love and gratitude for making me feel/act a certain way. Thrust me into that role. One thing I beg of you, though: Know it’s a little easier to get immersed when I don’t have to re-translate every single sentence from English to English.
I can’t wait. Even if it’s fundamentally flawed and broken. Sometimes the best gems are those diamonds in the rough. What I catch in that one organic edge of the crystal may be significantly more fulfilling than that finely polished 17th iteration perfectly cut diamond. I can’t wait. But I will… Thank You.
26/01/2009 at 15:54 The LxR says:
2Markoff Chaney: Will do. :) Tension was already translated inhouse with quality in mind, so don’t worry. Also, we’re still thinking about re-translating Pathologic, thoug doing it non-funded kind of… sucks, so can’t say anything for sure right now.
26/01/2009 at 15:54 Ginger Yellow says:
Sounds like Ubik viewed through a Russian prism. Which sounds awesome.
Can I download the Russian version anywhere? I can’t find a download link on their Russian language site, only talk about buying it at Soyuz stores.
26/01/2009 at 15:57 Alaric says:
It’s not АБГД, it’s АБВГ. =]
Anyway, this sounds somewhat interesting. Back in the day I was sent an alpha of Pathologic and frankly it was way too ugly for me to enjoy. I understand that I may have missed out on a good game, and normally I am not overly too fussy about the visuals, but that one I really didn’t like. So maybe this time around…
26/01/2009 at 16:07 Morph says:
So it’s Pathalogic mixed with Limbo of the Lost?
26/01/2009 at 16:15 James G says:
Sounds interesting, I recall seeing a trailer some time back on RPS. Never played Pathalogic though, so I know nowt about the general quality of the developers.
26/01/2009 at 16:18 Fox1 says:
Morph says: So it’s Pathalogic mixed with Limbo of the Lost?
Wouldn’t that just be Pathologic mixed with Oblivion, Silent Hill 4, Painkiller, Return To Castle Wolfenstein, Diablo 2, Rune, Thief 3, Pirates of the Caribbean, Crysis, Spawn, BioShock, UT2004, and Baldur’s Gate?
26/01/2009 at 16:20 Jonas says:
I’ve heard the US version of the game will be censored (and easier), do you know if it will be possible to pick up an uncensored version of the game in English?
26/01/2009 at 16:21 IvanHoeHo says:
Actually, I’m so looking forward to this game that I’ve already (illegally :() obtained a Russian version of this game. But without a real understanding of the game mechanics, it is currently no more than a very pretty screensaver.
Man, they’d better not screw up the translation!
26/01/2009 at 16:24 Markoff Chaney says:
Fantastic! I cannot wait… I do hope Tension does well enough to allow you all to revisit Pathologic and do a better translation without hurting financially. All of this, of course, while having another team make yet another innovative,mind-bending game. Thank You!
26/01/2009 at 16:33 Pags says:
Listening to Fugazi really gets you in the mood for this. Just thought I’d point that out.
26/01/2009 at 16:35 Anothermike says:
Anyone think this has a chance of ending up on steam?
26/01/2009 at 16:42 Citizen Parker says:
@Anothermike Is there a Russian game that has come out on Steam yet? I can’t think of one, but then again there’s a thousand games on Steam I’ve never heard of. (Mayhem Intergalactic?)
I have to stick with Impulse or Gamersgate for things of that nature.
-Scott
26/01/2009 at 17:00 Markoff Chaney says:
I was just reading through Ice-Pick Lodge’s forums and I came across something that startles and saddens me. It was posted by LxR, so I assume it is true, but disconcerting. It was in a discussion regarding “A few questions about Tension”
“I, on the other hand, must note, that we won’t be getting any money from the English release, so if you want to support us – this is a good option.”
So, in order to support you developers, I should buy the Russian version? You get nothing from the Atari distribution deal? I dislike it when my money goes primarily to a publisher, I want it to go to the developer. Can I just donate directly via PayPal or the like?
There’s a little more explanation further down the post regarding one time payments and such, but I still want to give YOU money for YOUR game. Put it on Steam or Stardock or self publish for Direct Digital Download from another site. Let me pay YOU! Please!
Also, as a final note, please do include the original Russian audio as an option for the English release. Playing back through the Witcher in Polish is quite enjoyable. I like reading! I prefer to enjoy works in as close to their native presentation as possible, language included. Thank You!
-EDIT- I can’t format stuffs.
26/01/2009 at 17:05 yhancik says:
Also it should be released here as “The Void”, not Tension.
@Jonas:
according to the forum, it shoud be “re-balanced“, but not censored.
Btw there are a lot of gameplay vids here : http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=Throdax&view=videos
26/01/2009 at 17:08 Chris Evans says:
Yeah it is being released as The Void as I revealed here.
26/01/2009 at 17:36 crumbsucker says:
@Citizen Parker
Is there a Russian game that has come out on Steam yet?
Full Pipe is russian AFAIK, it’s a wonderfully quirky (and funny) little adventure game. It’s only 5 EUR, and there is a demo. Actually I’m puzzled by the fact that I haven’t seen a post about it on RPS yet. You guys seemed to like these kinds of games.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/4600/
26/01/2009 at 17:36 The LxR says:
2Markoff Chaney: I think we’ll open a PayPal account for this reasons, but, I must note that buying the game from a western publisher also pays off, but not in money – it proves to the western publisher our ability to make a well-selling game. Also, I suspect the game will have a very nice gift edition, based on the stuff me prepared for the Russian one. Expect a bonus DVD with a lossless soundtrack (112 track including unreleased tracks and poetry from the game), all the videos, art in print quality and much more. In fact, check out the torrents – they should have the Russian bonus disk. And… We’re already working on a new project. ;)
2Citizen Parker: Full Pipe has. There is a chance, but can’t say anything for sure yet.
26/01/2009 at 17:46 The LxR says:
Oh yeah, and visit the forums for more info: http://forum.ice-pick.com/
26/01/2009 at 17:46 Markoff Chaney says:
Please let us know when you get that link. I don’t think I’m the only gamer who would like to make sure you fine people get properly rewarded for your work. I’ll buy it from the publisher and give you money as well. If I can figure out how to order it from a Russian site, I may buy it twice, just as I got to with the Witcher. I don’t mind buying something more than once, especially if it helps y’all put out more amazing work.
I may check out that torrent, too (a Dev saying “check out the torrents”. Words can hardly … Nope. They fail me…) but I really want to be surprised. I do so hate spoilers and even a glance at some artwork can tell a whole story I would rather have revealed through the magic of interactive storytelling.
Thank You for caring for us gamers. Thank You. I hope we can show You our gratitude properly.
-Edit- Heh. Joe #1 from Repeater +3 just came on random. How odd, Pags…
26/01/2009 at 17:49 Arzar says:
What would be really cool, would be to have the english script of the two conferences about game design given by the lead developper of Tension, which can be found in the russian bonus DVD. I was quite amazed to find them, along with some powerpoint about game design !
26/01/2009 at 17:50 Youatemycheeto says:
Is there any word about the Pathologic translation patch? I read through the features that you wrote on it back in April and it looks pretty amazing.
I was thinking about how you had Quintin mentioned how he had had an argument about whether a game can be good if it’s not fun. I’d really never put much thought into this before, but it’s a really good question. A lot of my favorite movies and books would be hard to describe as “fun to watch.”
I wouldn’t call Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road” of my favorite books but it comes to mind because I read it a could weeks ago. By no means is it a fun book. You might call it an exercise in despair and desolation. But I was oddly compelled to continue, even though I had a pretty good idea that it wouldn’t end with anything approaching “resolution.” It’s a beautiful book that’s tough to read.
I guess that’s something that most game developers have stayed away from. Games are still a fairly undeveloped medium and I imagine that it would be tough to take a big risk like that from a financial point of view. Writing a book doesn’t cost a lot of money and if it’s good, it will have a much bigger audience than a dark, difficult game like Pathologic.
26/01/2009 at 17:51 crumbsucker says:
I haven’t been this excited about a game since years. The screens look amazingly surreal and beautiful. Finally a proper game from the artists who created Pathologic. (By “proper” I mean: with up to date engine/technology, and hopefully not bug-ridden and badly translated).
26/01/2009 at 18:02 Ginger Yellow says:
I second the call for including the Russian audio in the European release. I know you’re listening, Atari.
26/01/2009 at 18:03 Candid_Man says:
As someone who totally got Pathologic, to the point where I’m a bit giddy with it and consider it should be one of the defining elements in any “games as art” debates, I’m saddened to hear that our version of Tension will be altered or re-balanced in any way from Icepick’s original vision. After the landmark statement of Pathologic’s ending (even though it was translated for the most part with a meat cleaver), I have the utmost respect for Icepick’s work and fear the “balancing” could possibly compromise the atmosphere they were going for.
For example, I feel that Pathologic would not have been the same without its singular difficulty curve: if you didn’t constantly fight against your own internal clocks of hunger, fatigue, health, reputation, sickness, narrative unity (!) and others, as well as evaluating your various entries into many layers of economic exchange with the different factions of the village… The sudden break in all this internal-external “hardcore-gamer” management in the very last part of the game would not have had the same impact for me without the unrelenting curve that preceded it. The difficulty of Pathologic was very much part of its storytelling process.
Also, it’s really sad that any money us gamers spend on Tension will go in the publisher’s pockets and not toward Icepick’s next project. Gloomy news, all that.
26/01/2009 at 18:05 blacktick says:
Been waiting for an english version of this since the beginning of last year. Pathologic was one of my favourite game…
And the music simply blows me away. :)
Was annoyed to hear the english version not giving money to the devs,since if I remember correctly they were screwed with pathologic too in that department.
I’m not a rich man,but I will also buy this game twice,russian and english versions…just to get more great games in the future from an awesome dev(just like with the witcher and the enhanced edition) who communicates with potential customers. :D
26/01/2009 at 18:08 The LxR says:
2Markoff Chaney: OK, here it is – I’m new to this, so, if anything is wrong – don’t hesitate to tell.
26/01/2009 at 18:10 The LxR says:
Looks like the link was cut. Let’s try again…: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=ZKUL737WGUJZU&lc=GB&item_name=Ice%20Pick%2dLodge¤cy_code=USD&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF%3abtn_donateCC_LG_global%2egif%3aNonHosted
26/01/2009 at 18:13 blacktick says:
Oh I’m so donating. :D
26/01/2009 at 18:18 Candid_Man says:
“Currently PayPal accounts in Russia are only able to send payments. This recipient is not eligible to receive funds.”
Donating is not possible, it would seem…
26/01/2009 at 18:18 Markoff Chaney says:
Anger at corporations Rising… Rising!
“Currently, PayPal accounts in Russia are only able to send payments. This recipient is not eligible to receive funds.”
Curses! Foiled again.
Mark my words, Ice-Pick Lodge. You will get my money. Oh yes, you will. One day… :)
-EDIT- Jinx! I owe you a coke…
26/01/2009 at 18:19 The LxR says:
OK, don’t bother then. ;) We will survive anyhow :)
26/01/2009 at 18:21 Muzman says:
“Hawk Angry’s Bitchin’ Rig Blowdown”
RPS, here is your new heading text.
26/01/2009 at 18:22 Markoff Chaney says:
I just want you to survive while coding new games on top of a pile of money wearing solid gold robes of leisure while eating bon-bons.
26/01/2009 at 18:22 The LxR says:
2Markoff Chaney: Don’t worry. :) Actually, think about it – we won’t get sufficent funding on donations anyway. It’s just nice to know that our work is appreciated. :)
26/01/2009 at 18:35 Steve says:
Damn,
I suspect this means I’m going to have to ask my ex for the graphics tablet I loaned her.
I prefer ‘Turgor’ more than Tension for the name though…
P.s.
Buying the russian version was a pain in the arse, I tried when it was released and was foiled by crappy web shops and regional limitations.
26/01/2009 at 18:59 Wolfgang Walk says:
To avoid a distorted picture as the producer of the tiitle for Atari I have to say that Atari pays money for the title – and not just a few bucks.
But of course the contract partner for Atari is the Russian publisher of the game since they own the rights. Thus the money goes to the publisher – and only from there it goes (partly) to IPL.
But as TheLxr stated: this might become the door-opener for IPL to big western publishers.
As for the story: we re-wrote it completely for the English version, hiring US game author Mark Barrett for the editing job. Be assured this version is in the best possible hands.
26/01/2009 at 19:06 The LxR says:
Just as Wolfgang (BTW, he’s the man behind the Settlers series, Incubation and many other great games – he’s doing a lot to help make the game better!) said, this shouldn’t stop you from buying the game – it’s a popular model to work with and we’re getting our profit from it. ;) Don’t let Atari down, they’re paying for your game!
26/01/2009 at 19:10 Wolfgang Walk says:
The Lxr is overstating my role with mentioned games, but yes: Atari is doing its best to help making The Void the great game we all want.
26/01/2009 at 19:12 blacktick says:
When a dev tells you to buy their game…i’ll buy their game. granted of course that it’s good. :)
I have no doubt that the english version is in good hands,I just hope we won’t have to wait too long for it.
26/01/2009 at 19:25 Markoff Chaney says:
I absolutely will be purchasing this game when it is released stateside. I endeavor to support the game in it’s released incarnation. Those numbers let you publishers see I want more games like the one I just bought. That is needed from a financial forecasting perspective. I totally understand that. I just like making sure my dollars help feed the minds that envision such twisted worlds.
I love the communication we have going on here. Developers, Publishers, Critics and Consumers all sharing together. This makes me anticipate the interview, and any other news, all the more.
Thank You.
P.S. – I wonder if this is the same Mark Barrett – “Irreconcilable Differences: Games vs. Story”
26/01/2009 at 19:52 solipsistnation says:
Oh boy. I can’t wait for this.
I hope it’s actually, you know, playable.
26/01/2009 at 20:05 DonaldDuck says:
Fantastic. I wish western game developers were this brave.
26/01/2009 at 20:23 Qabal says:
Western developers are the equivalent to Hollywood now, all flash, little substance, with few exceptions. That’s why I’m looking forward to more games form other countries as well as independent developers far more than the AAA titles from western companies with massive budgets. It’s nice to play games that make you think again.
26/01/2009 at 20:59 Erlam says:
I second that ‘western’ developers are, for lack of a better word, cowards. Unless it’s been done before, they wont do it, which is really really sad.
Keep pushing the boundaries, former Soviet Union!
Hey, it worked for Stalker, right?
26/01/2009 at 21:03 Rich_P says:
Atari has lots of games on Steam, so you might be seeing it there.
26/01/2009 at 21:12 Shazbut says:
Thank you for working so hard to bring this to a Western audience. This is literally the only PC game coming out this year that I’m looking forward to. That you are already working on something new, as you claim, makes you a continuing oasis of hope in a desert of lowbrow.
Oh and you’ll get your money, even if I have to come over there and stuff it in your pockets.
26/01/2009 at 23:01 Throdax says:
As a self proclaimed self supporter, fan and trying to religious spread the word around about this work of art, it makes me happy to see Tension finally get a little attention here and there.
From someone who has played the entire game in Russian, I can tell you one thing, this game define art as a medium in games. Every set is carefully though, every noock and cranny it is a pleasure to the eyes, a pleasure that most of you will not be disappointed.
Don’t be afraid of the rebalance made by Ice-Pick Lodge, some of the brother fights are insanely hard.
Really I don’t have words to expresses the beuatifull sight this game is, but you can check some gameplay fotage made by me in: Youtube (Thank you yhancik for already posting the link).
Regarding support, if you really whant to support Ice-Pick Lodge directly you can by the digital distribution Russian version of the game at
Gamedep.ru
After that hit me up on the Ice-Pick Lodge forums if you need help activating the game.
27/01/2009 at 00:00 sana says:
Hot damn, developers and publishers are leaving comments on RPS? Oh wow.
27/01/2009 at 00:38 Grandstone says:
Their last game got its best publicity from here. Of course they’d post.
27/01/2009 at 01:46 malkav11 says:
I really can’t wait for this one (or, for that matter, the Pathologic retranslation – the fractured English did in some ways enhance the mood, but I think I’d rather have something coherent, in the end).
And yeah – it would be nice if Icepick Lodge got royalties from the US version, but keep in mind that buying it in droves will still go a long way towards ensuring that any future games from them will see English release, and more generally help prove an audience for that sort of thing.
And yes, there are Russian (or at least former Soviet bloc) games on Steam.
27/01/2009 at 05:43 Joseph says:
Wow this looks/sounds really good. I missed out on the Pathologic craze but reading over the first article on that, wow. Interesting. *waits for this*
27/01/2009 at 06:35 WhiteWind says:
And yes, there are Russian (or at least former Soviet bloc) games on Steam.
Yeah. At least Full Pipe (Russia) and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (Ukraine)
27/01/2009 at 14:59 Wolfgang Walk says:
“P.S. – I wonder if this is the same Mark Barrett – “Irreconcilable Differences: Games vs. Story””
Yep.
27/01/2009 at 16:05 Horatius says:
Hawk Angry’s Bitchin’ Rig Blowdown? That is possibly THE BEST title I’ll ever hear. I am completely stoked to try out the all new Mowdown Showdown mode.
27/01/2009 at 17:20 Ian Dorsch says:
I am all kinds of stoked for this game.
27/01/2009 at 19:18 moebius says:
I’m curious… I’ve seen some Tension gameplay vids on gametrailers.com… The vids show english subs for the Russian version (at least i think it’s the Russian version and not a promo for the upcoming English one)… so my big question is can i play through that one and be able to figure out what’s going on? or should i hold out for a few more months…
here’s the link to the vids if anyone’s interested…
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/301808.html
27/01/2009 at 19:35 Jed says:
The Russian version doesn’t come with English subtitles. You’d have the ask the developer for them.
The subtitles reportedly play too fast and are out of synch, so you might want to just wait for the English version.
27/01/2009 at 19:46 Heliocentric says:
I was hoping for a motown hodown.
Will wait til it is anglified but know this dev’s i’m quite willing to buy this game off your site and give you more cash paper than miserly publisher men.
27/01/2009 at 20:40 The LxR says:
2Ian Dorsch – Great to hear it. BTW, you seem familiar – di you have something to do with Zero Punctuation? :)
27/01/2009 at 21:02 Dominic White says:
Ah, a question for you, LxR:
Will the English version of The Void/Tension/whatever include the original Russian voice track? I found the intro to the game on youtube, and even if I don’t understand the language, it just sounds *right*. Unless you have a very high budget for dubbing, I can’t imagine any replacement of the voicework being an improvement.
Even if there is a dub track, please provide the option to have the original Russian in as well.
Also, thanks for keeping us updated. Great to see a dev out on the front lines and spreading the word.
27/01/2009 at 22:19 The LxR says:
We’re thinking about it – the only limitation now is that it doesn’t fit one one DVD with two dubs, but better compression might help.
27/01/2009 at 22:43 crumbsucker says:
Can’t you just use a dual layer (8.5gb) dvd? Or is it too expensive to produce?
27/01/2009 at 22:44 Dominic White says:
Well, if you can’t fit both audio tracks on the disc, any chance of doing what CD Projekt did with The Witcher: Enhanced Edition and offering additional voice tracks for download? It was a great little feature, and likewise, the original Polish acting on that was just so much more nuanced and emotive than the often-monotone PC version.
I really can’t think of many games that have genuinely good dubs, let alone improvements on the original script. The ONLY one that springs to mind right now is Valkyria Chronicles on the PS3.
27/01/2009 at 23:26 Candid_Man says:
Absolutely include the Russian voicework if possible. It would be wonderful for us purists to enjoy the game as close to the original as possible.
English dubbing sucks more often than not.
27/01/2009 at 23:51 Ginger Yellow says:
Also, I’d really like to get my Russian skills back up to scratch. It’s been a long time since A-levels.
28/01/2009 at 02:17 Dominic White says:
Amending (damn lack of edit feature) my above post: Often-monotone ENGLISH version, even.. Brain-fart. You just have to briefly switch to the Polish voice track to hear the difference in The Witcher. Geralt especially has way more emotional range in the original track, wheras he’s just kinda detached and dispassionate-sounding in English.
But yeah, my point stands. Very few dub jobs are good.
28/01/2009 at 09:40 The LxR says:
Putting it as a separate download is no problem at all. Yet we’ll still think about how to fit it into the original disk.
28/01/2009 at 09:53 Throdax says:
@LxR
Better compression?. There isn’t THAT much dialogue in the game compared to other games. ;)
(To clarify, the game is NOT short on dialogue :D )
28/01/2009 at 10:16 Dominic White says:
@LxR
Great to hear it. So long as there’s at least some way to officially play it with the original audio, I’ll be very happy, and will be buying it on day one.
28/01/2009 at 12:40 The LxR says:
2Throdax: All audio takes about 1 GB unpacked. Add another 1 GB and we’re out of space. :(
2Dominic White: If you’re fine with downloading a big audio patch – you’ll surely get your Russian audio. ;)
28/01/2009 at 13:03 Throdax says:
Only the voice or are you counting the music also?
If worst comes to worst, an audio patch would be good enough also. Now a days it is easy to download large amounts of data. :)
28/01/2009 at 13:50 Nuyan says:
Hmmm. Fugazi. *puts on record*
I love these Unkown Pleasures features. Pretty unkown indeed. This seems like a game I’ll buy probably immediately, even while I still have a copy of Pathologic gathering dust that still has to be played.
28/01/2009 at 17:47 Dominic White says:
@LxR – I’m on a 10mb line. That download is nothing. Plus, compressing normally for distribution (RAR file or whatever) would probably crush that down a lot smaller if it’s raw audio data.
Thanks for going that extra mile. You’ve got my money for sure.
29/01/2009 at 15:18 Markoff Chaney says:
2The LxR : Downloading that audio as a separate patch is perfectly acceptable if it doesn’t fit on the disk. It’s worth extra effort for the complete experience. I almost want to suggest something like 7Zip (which has a better compression algorithm) over RAR. If it’s raw audio, you can save a good 70% (plus) space with lossless compression. The reason I say almost is that it will add to install times.
Keep up the great work. I don’t think I can express how excited I am for this game. Thank You and the rest of the dev team please. We can’t wait. :)
29/01/2009 at 19:23 The LxR says:
We used 7Z in our previous install, but it took up too much time to install (up to 1 hour on some machines! Opposed to 6 minutes right now) and didn’t offer that much of an advantage for some reason… But if it’ll be a download – we’ll definitely use 7Z.
As for being excited… Just wait for the interview. ;)
29/01/2009 at 22:46 Jed says:
The LxR,
If you guys (or the folks at Atari) are rewriting some, or all, of the story, won’t that be a problem with Russian audio?
29/01/2009 at 23:24 Halfgild Wynac says:
I am sure we will record the voice over again with new texts in Russian. They are are rewritten in Russian first, anyway.
Still, it is not clear which of these two comes first and if the original language voiceover will be ready to the moment the English game is released…
30/01/2009 at 00:59 Dominic White says:
You guys are seriously going to go back and re-record the Russian voice track to match the amended English script?
Talk about going the extra mile for your fans…
30/01/2009 at 01:05 Dominic White says:
Well, not English originally, but either way, going back to patch up the voice-acting is something almost no studio would do.
30/01/2009 at 09:39 The LxR says:
2Dominic White: Actually, no extra mile here – we were planning to intrudice the enchanced verions in Russia again like “the director’s cut” edition, so it all fits. ;) Though HW is right about not making the Russian voiceover in time.
30/01/2009 at 14:20 Markoff Chaney says:
I think I can speak for virtually, if not every person here when I say take your time. Make sure it’s done first. If you miss a release window, I won’t be mad. I’d rather wait a few more months, years even, for your true vision than one that you feel you had to compromise on.
I mean, for the English Release. If the new “director’s cut” Russian audio isn’t available at NA release, just let us download it later when it is done.
And you may not think it is the extra mile, but I sure do, and I want to reward you for it, just like I did CD Projekt with the Witcher EE. I look forward to supporting your products as long as you keep making them and as long as they keep coming out in a language I can understand. Thank You. :)
30/01/2009 at 17:36 Dominic White says:
Likewise, seconding the ‘Take your time’ on this. Nothing worse than a rushed out game, and it sounds like you’re really going back to the drawing board and tweaking and tuning the game for the re-release (which includes the international launch).
So long as that rerecorded Russian voice track is available for download once it’s done, I’ll be more than happy.
30/01/2009 at 18:57 Halfgild Wynac says:
I doubt it will take much time, really. Russian voiceover, that is. Last time the process of preparation took a lot, with text being rewritten. As for the final work in studio itself, I would say it was several days. And all done then. Don’t rememember how long did it take the sound studio staff to finish working with sound files, unfortunately.
31/01/2009 at 09:08 Evo says:
I was just wondering why the story is being changed at all?
Is it because of allusions to things that a non Russian could never get, or was it thought that the original story would be unpalatable to an English audience?
31/01/2009 at 13:43 Throdax says:
As far as I’m aware the story isn’t being changed per si.
I think it will be rewritten to make some points less cryptic and perhaps a little less cliff hangar (Not that I mind both).
31/01/2009 at 17:05 Dominic White says:
@Evo – It sounds like they’re doing something roughly along the lines of The Witcher: Enhanced Edition. Going back and fixing gameplay issues, and adjusting some of the script to make it flow better.
As they mentioned, they reworked the Russian script first, THEN translated the new one into english. We’re effectively getting the v1.5 Directors Cut version of the game.
31/01/2009 at 19:17 The LxR says:
2Dominic White: Right! Only, I’d say the changes are more drastic, from what I see now: we’ve added a couple of new locations, 4-5 new monsters, the story is rewritten completly – though the same base plot is used, the new story has a lot more events happening. Then the gameplay is revised to be interesting all the time. A lot of changes – almost like an add-on to the original. But “Director’s Cut” sounds right for what we’re doing. :)
31/01/2009 at 19:31 Throdax says:
@LxR
Why aren’t we getting any of this in the official forums?
You may as well update the official page.
:D
01/02/2009 at 00:23 Dominic White says:
Seconding that. Sounds like you Ice-Pick guys are working your arses off over there. You really should look into writing up a nice english-language press release to shoot off to all the gaming blogs and new sites, as your publisher are apparently doing nothing.
I mean, it practically writes itself: “The critically acclaimed surean Russian action-adventure comes to a global audience, enhanced, extended and improved. More bizarre realms to explore, more horrible creaures to fight – ” etc etc.
A few hours work would probably drum up a lot of interest.
01/02/2009 at 00:24 Dominic White says:
“And not nearly as many typos as the above post!”
NewS sites, even.
07/02/2009 at 17:27 The LxR says:
Just for the sake of round numbers – this comment! :) And I need one more… :))))
11/02/2009 at 00:56 Shazbut says:
Done. We can all rest easy