MID Discussion, Release Date, Unity Etc

[Punchy]

Normally, the characters are released all at once. Breaking it up and releasing one a week does give the appearance of leading to something major.:

Or they could be stalling . . . but let's stay hopeful. It really wouldn't make sense if they just showed us this art and then went: sorry, that's all you're getting!

[all_4_you]

The Character Art was done in early 2015 so it doesn't really prove either way when MID is coming out. Its good that some people are excited, just don't let that become expectations otherwise people are going to feel let down again.

What makes you say that it was finished in 2015? Do you think they are giving us old information so we stop questioning the delayed release for a couple of weeks?

[mercutia]

It would be so much fun to see Deidre and the Hardy Boys! I would love to see Joe's sass take on Deirdre's snark!

PLEASE. I want nothing more than more Deirdre Shannon. And to have her interacting with any of the rest of the cast! She's so lovable, truly. Deirdre/Hardy boys would be a dream come true.

If MID is going to be a longer game, at least according to HeR, does this mean they will have two discs for the game? I thought they might be able to move away from two discs, because they haven't done it in a while. But if the games are going to have longer gameplay from now on, is this something we should be able to expect?

I doubt that it will be long enough to take up two discs, considering the types of games we can fit onto a single disc these days. I know that the new engine is a change for HeR, but it won't be any bigger than games like Civilization V or Dragon Age, y'know?

[phoenix star]

What makes you say that it was finished in 2015? Do you think they are giving us old information so we stop questioning the delayed release for a couple of weeks?

They almost completed the game. The voices were recorded so the art was definitely finished.

[DPL_93]

They almost completed the game. The voices were recorded so the art was definitely finished.

Exactly, One way to know 100% would be to ask Van Ong He was the Lead Character Concept and 3D Artist until August last year. Had a look at some his work on his site and the style of the Mei Parris concept looks similar in style to his work on previous games.

[Punchy]

I knew I remembered seeing a conversation about the artwork in the ASB, and after much searching, I found it-

"Paige says:
July 6, 2016 at 12:37 pm
It’d be nice if you could at least reaper some screen shots for the next game just to keep people from asking so much. I mean heck you did say the game design was nearly finished…"

"Little Jackalope says:
July 7, 2016 at 1:54 pm
Hi Paige! Yes, it would be nice to show screenshots or something, but design layout, text files and writing aren’t exactly pictures. That would be from the next step in the phase of game creation with the artists. (And we don’t want to show anything that isn’t final, since art can change greatly.)

[Ndfan1234]

I knew I remembered seeing a conversation about the artwork in the ASB, and after much searching, I found it-

"Paige says:
July 6, 2016 at 12:37 pm
It’d be nice if you could at least reaper some screen shots for the next game just to keep people from asking so much. I mean heck you did say the game design was nearly finished…"

"Little Jackalope says:
July 7, 2016 at 1:54 pm
Hi Paige! Yes, it would be nice to show screenshots or something, but design layout, text files and writing aren’t exactly pictures. That would be from the next step in the phase of game creation with the artists. (And we don’t want to show anything that isn’t final, since art can change greatly.)

I almost forgot about that! So does this mean since they're showing us the artwork, it's gotta be final which could imply that they've got most of the game done?

[paperstreet]

They almost completed the game. The voices were recorded so the art was definitely finished.

some one replied to this thread earlier that in gaming they do the voices first and then the final artwork so that it matches the voices not sure if HeR does it this way too

[iLoVeNaNcYDrEw]

I almost forgot about that! So does this mean since they're showing us the artwork, it's gotta be final which could imply that they've got most of the game done?

I take this to mean that the *artwork* is final, which would make sense since they're now showing it to us. It lines up with everything else LJ has said. This does not mean that the game is almost final by any means, though.

[mdetective12]

I'm thinking HeR really knows more than they wants us to know. I think there's a contract everyone at HeR needed to sign or something. I say there are secrets that should not be revealed unless it's time.

I haven't watched it in a long time but I remember there was a video on HeR YouTube about how they create a character. Its been awhile but if I'm remembering correctly, my guess is that they do voice acting around the same time as they design characters and I know there's lots more audio in Stay Tuned for Danger than animations so maybe they try out the story, the characters and the voice before actually building the game play.

I know it is longer than we're used to but it takes time. I think video games are kind of like animated films and from what I have seen in behind the scenes videos of some films, it takes about a year or two to make, maybe longer. I am hoping to have Midnight in Salem to be out by Halloween 2016 but hey if it comes out in May like Ghost of Thornton Hall did, it would be okay.

[mysterylover11]

They almost completed the game. The voices were recorded so the art was definitely finished.

I might be missing something, but how do we know the game's almost completed and the voices are recorded? If that's true, that's great news!

[Lyricalgoose]

I might be missing something, but how do we know the game's almost completed and the voices are recorded? If that's true, that's great news!

It's a little bit of an assumption, but I believe it was the interview with Kiki. She said she was paid more than she was expecting and that she had completed her work. I'm assuming that all voices were done at this time and finished.

Someone correct me if there was actual proof the voices are done :).

[phoenix star]

They had planned to release the game in 2015 since they were promoting it right up until the delay announcement. Sure, the animations would have come later, but the basic art they could have finished by then. I believe they always had the character art and so I do not believe they had nothing to show. They're further along than having no idea when it will come out. They're probably planning to release it in October.

[paperstreet]

They had planned to release the game in 2015 since they were promoting it right up until the delay announcement. Sure, the animations would have come later, but the basic art they could have finished by then. I believe they always had the character art and so I do not believe they had nothing to show. They're further along than having no idea when it will come out. They're probably planning to release it in October.

the only thing that may be different is more artwork had to be done because of greater opportunities cause of unity, such as looking at cielings, or zooming around. It would also make economic sense to get it out by Xmas. I can see though with using a new engine and new programming team, they don't want to make promises about dates, because things could always happen and they probably want to make the game bug free. Since they are releasing artwork as a series, this is signaling a build up,.

For people asking about the voices, somewhere in this thread i cut and pasted the interview with KiKi, one of the voice artists. She said it was completed last Feb (2015). If you scroll through the thread you can read it.

[Lyricalgoose]

They had planned to release the game in 2015 since they were promoting it right up until the delay announcement. Sure, the animations would have come later, but the basic art they could have finished by then. I believe they always had the character art and so I do not believe they had nothing to show. They're further along than having no idea when it will come out. They're probably planning to release it in October.

This is exactly what I'm thinking. There's no way they would scrap all that work. Time = money, especially when you have fans breathing down your neck for this game. I do not think they'd waste an opportunity to get the game out quicker. I am almost expecting a game close to the previous games in terms of content, just with a new engine. I think they realize they need to get the game out and soon. I will not fault them for this, but will definitely be expecting something bigger and better for the next game.

the only thing that may be different is more artwork had to be done because of greater opportunities cause of unity, such as looking at cielings, or zooming around. It would also make economic sense to get it out by Xmas. I can see though with using a new engine and new programming team, they don't want to make promises about dates, because things could always happen and they probably want to make the game bug free. Since they are releasing artwork as a series, this is signaling a build up,.

For people asking about the voices, somewhere in this thread i cut and pasted the interview with KiKi, one of the voice artists. She said it was completed last Feb (2015). If you scroll through the thread you can read it.

I'm still hoping they won't have a completely 3D view, but if they do please HeR, please let us customize the mouse sensitivity!! Everyone's mouse is different and I prefer to have a slower view than be spinning in a circle when I try to move the mouse a little to the left lol.

They definitely need to make sure they are as free of bugs as possible. People are really going to be critical of this first game I feel. I just really hope fans aren't super mad if they cannot give us the bigger better game experience we want whilst still making a 2016 release. I don't believe that's possible with the time they wasted worth Codes and Clues. I'd love to be proven wrong though!

They are definitely building up to something that's for sure! It'd be an absolute waste if the art release was for nothing.

And finally, yes thank you for verifying the interview. For some reason I keep thinking there might have been two different ones (one anonymous) and so I never know whether to be specific and say Kiki's interview lol.