To be clear: I am not advocating skipping the game. The gameplay itself may still be excellent. (I just need to see how far it actually evolves beyond horticulture.) But if I end up enjoying it on the whole, it will very much be in spite of those "portraits." As for main character animation, just look at that of the plants at the very beginning of the game: surely it could/should have been at least equal?
Am I the only one who doesn't like the app icon? I know it's such a small thing to complain about. I already bought the game and it's loading now. I'm just a little OCD with my apps and I don't like ones that look kinda crappy, I tend to delete the app after I beat it.
Well, the plant animation is all procedural physics-based stuff, so it has a very dynamic and natural feel. The player animation, on the other hand, is traditional flipbook-style sprite-based animation -- something like 500 frames of poses occupying a gigantic 2048x2048 texture. Humans are really hard to get right -- there is so much nuance in human motion, and such a method is pretty limiting -- you can't blend between poses or dynamically manipulate the pose of the character like you can with a skeletal animation system. If I could do it over, I'd have taken a different approach. But... what I'm mostly concerned with is whether or not movement FEELS good; I think we did a pretty good job there. As for the portraits, it was a stylistic decision -- we're trying to make the human characters seem legitimately like human beings, not like cartoons. I certainly hope they don't get in the way of your time exploring the caves, flying around and exploring and cultivating the ecosystem and researching alien life. Uncovering the mysteries buried deep in the cave. We're available in the US App Store now, so please give us a shot! We really appreciate every sale, and sincerely hope you'll enjoy the game. David
There is no combat in Waking Mars. There are lifeforms that will attack you under certain circumstances, and the environment can be hazardous, so you do need to watch your step!
As for reviews, off to a good start 8/10 from Edge (http://www.edge-online.com/reviews/waking-mars-review) 5/5 from iFanzine (http://ifanzine.com/waking-mars-review/) 4/4 from Slide to Play (http://www.slidetoplay.com/story/waking-mars-review)
There's a bunch of sweet in-game screenshots on our website too: http://www.tigerstylegames.com/wakingmars/gallery/
The art and everything looks awesome, just doesn't feel like my kind of game. Maybe if you guys ever have a sale I'll pick it up just to support games with incredible art direction (which far too many are lacking). You also get points for innovation, definitely.
They (especially the girl) just look like a bunch of people clowning around. Certainly they do not get in the way of the gameplay, but they're a significant detriment to the immersion factor. For me at least, possibly less so for others. The good news is, that I am still starting to get drawn into the game. There are small touches everywhere that really elevate the whole experience. I'm actually finding myself genuinely interested in reading the life form notes, for example; something that wouldn't normally be the case. The actual world and its inhabitants - main character and his Facebook buddies aside - are gorgeous and really create a great atmosphere. In spite of any shortcomings, so far I'm definitely enjoying this more as I go along and have no regrets at all about picking it up.
yes, yes, yes. I love you guys and I bought this the second it released, but I can honestly say that if I'd seen the "screenshots" of the people, I might have hesitated. They both just take SO much away from the depth of this game. It's like making Samus talk, it's just wrong. I doubt you guys will change it, remove it, or even just do pixal pictures, static, of them.. but please, consider it. Every time they pop up I cringe. There's just something so terribly off about it, and this was easily my most anticipated game since S&S. Again, I know it sounds petty and in a lot of ways it is, but I can't be alone here *Edit - it also doesn't help that the guy reminds me of a person I know, and terribly dislike, in real life... but even the girl, sigh.. just too much, overacting, just. It's hard to explain.
Are there any plans for a lite version? I am just too hesitant at this stage. The scenery looks amazing but the astronaut (why is he chinese?) when moving lacks fluidity.
Just wanna chime in and say that this is insanely amazing, Tiger Style have outdone themselves and...ummm...I really don't mind the character portraits. kthxbai.
I'm buying this one later today, really looking forward to playing it. If it is good then I'm abandoning one of my planned future games as it is so similar.
Why is he chinese ? Come on does it really matter ? When i saw the trailer i thought it was quite good he was chinese, we're so used to having the generic character in a game. Its like when Tomb Raider first came out and people were stunned they were controlling a girl in it as 99.9% of games always featured a guy. But i dont care if the main character is purple with green spots, just loving the game, the race of the character is a non-issue
I'm loving the atmosphere and gameplay of this so far - amazing game. The character portraits (especially the girl) were a bit off-putting at first - she looked like She'd be less out of place in some teen-drama-romcom, which was a shame. She just looks too damn happy! On the other hand ART, the computer that accompanies you, is fantastic - he has some great lines and actually comes across as much more of a character than the girl. My main constructive criticism would be that the player needs more of a sense of mystery at the start as to who you are and what you are doing there - rather than being thrown straight in with a very light-hearted chatty coversation between the players character and the girl. Other than that - the devs should be congratulated on such a unique and fantastic game...
