Hero-U - Post-Funding Update #46

In the latest kickstarter update for Hero-U Corey Cole shares a new video of the games demo, and talks about the different dimensions of the game.

Let's Go To the Movies

I shared our new teaser trailer video to backers last month, and our playable demo last week. Now it's time to share the video with the world. Please tell all your friends to check out the trailer.

The First Dimension - Story

Graphic adventure games are unique, living at the intersection of stories, animated films, puzzles, and interaction. Game producers have always argued about the best ways to design them. Some developers start with the challenges, some with the graphics, and some with words.

For Lori and me, every game begins with a story. We choose a setting, populate it with interesting characters, and ask, "What is life like for them? What are their problems, and how can the player help solve them?" Once we know the story, we can work with our team to create images and code that enhance the story.

The key word there is "work". Here we have our story at the heart of a game, but 90% of the work goes into the presentation. Brian Moriarty, when he moved from creating text adventures for Infocom to the graphic adventure LOOM at LucasArts, probably said it best: "The problem with graphic adventure games is that you can't do anything that you can't show, and you can't afford to show anything!"

Let's call our story the "first dimension" of a graphic adventure game.  It's critical, but not enough by itself.