A post-mortem for Amnesia is now up on The Escapist. You can read the whole thing here:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/features/9011-The-Terrifying-Tale-of-Amnesia
While not short, the article is a bit edited and does not go into details on all events. Still it should give a pretty good overview of how Amnesia came about.
It's nice to know purchasing it helped out, also another reason to love the Humble Indie Bundle, indie games rock! I bought all your games in one go when Amnesia was released, and not as a pre-order, I thought it was way cheap for such an atmospheric game! :) Keep making scary games with insanity for Linux, I love it!
ReplyDeleteFantastic postmortem and I can honestly say I love the amount of good old Swedish "diskbänksrealism" with all the gritty details about unstable finances and cutthroat decisions.
ReplyDeletegood for you frictional ! I just came home to Croatia from Gavle.. nice country indeed :)
ReplyDelete"The entire Mario 64-like hub design was scrapped and we focused on a more linear experience. We could not redesign everything, of course, and reused as much of what was done already as possible."
ReplyDeleteI actually really liked this part of Amnesia, after Back Hall there was no clear distinction between safe and dangerous. For some reason this actually made the game more scary.
I never knew Frictional Games was having such financial difficulties early on. If I'd of known about you guys sooner I would have bought penumbra earlier (I got it after Amnesia), just to help support the production of such great games. I'm glad Amnesia helped put Frictional on the map, so to speak. Here's to hoping that you guys don't have to worry about finances ever again and keep making great games :).
ReplyDelete"We were pretty fed up with creating Penumbra games though" This part was a bit suprising, why were you fed up with it? (and here I was hoping a Penumbra sequel). Amnesia was a really great game, but storywise I loved Penumbra more. Combine the technology of Amnesia and the setting of Penumbra and the most terrifying experience will be born (for me at least). Though an Amnesia sequel would probably be better saleswise. I already knew a few bits of your financial issues, though I didnt it know that this was this serious. I'm really glad you guys didnt give up and made great games (you're partly the reason why I fell in love with the horror genre). You're awsome Frictional Games, keep up the great scares!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. Are there any studies about marketing models similar to this one? I mean, the way I see it, you've (or your games have) already had some kind of reputation among the player/buyer population, which I think enabled you earn significant income through various discount-based promotions. Even with drastic discounts! Really interesting. And I've definitively had some luck.
ReplyDeleteThat aside, I wish the postmortem had more space to concentrate on lessons learned about game design, rather then mostly on financial acrobatics, like what exactly were the mechanics tried, why it did or didn't work, what were some of the good ideas you've had to scrap because they didn't fit, why the original writer felt that the new direction wasn't interested enough, how you've cooperated with the artists, and stuff like that.
All the best.
P.S. When can we expect Scripting Overview Part #2?
ERRATA
ReplyDelete"And I've definitively had some luck."
I mean: And you've definitively had some luck.
No studies that I know of, would be very interesting if there was!
ReplyDeleteRegarding design on game, this might be of interest:
http://schedule.gdceurope.com/session/5266
:)
And Script #2 is out!!
@Thomas
ReplyDeleteBut that costs money. D:
Well, maybe one of the mysterious beings that lurk in Frictional Games' cellar will upload a video of the speech on YouTube. :D
ReplyDelete(Hm... Is that legal, after GDC ends? I don't see why not...)
Please remember to do a " One year after Amnesia's release" blogpost on the 8th of September.
ReplyDeleteWould love to hear how the sales are going so far!
Just rented the game during the summersale on Steam.
(Yepp, I say rented because I guess when the Steamservice collapses I can't keep playing the game.)
Um ótimo jogo Amnesia, fico pensando se nas próximas versões ou histórias, a inclusão de uma possivel jogabilidade em multiplayer, digo seria algo inovador para o ramo de games de terror, e eu e muitos iriam adorar jogar com outros jogadores uma partida contra o game, ^^.
ReplyDeleteA great game Amnesia, I wonder if in future versions or stories, including a possible multiplayer gameplay, would say something innovative to the field of horror games, and I and many would love to play with other players starting a game against , ^ ^.
Hi there
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to say that u guys made 2 of mine must have titles. Penumbra was Great and Amnesia was even better. I know for sure i will preorder Your next project just like i did with Amnesia. So Best Wishes from me and I hope that soon I'll be able to play another of Your Awesome games =)