"No news is no news."This morning, I woke to the sound of a drill. Drilling. A lot. It went on for about an hour before my regular wake-up time, which was very irritating. It also stopped as soon as I went into the shower, which was even
more irritating, because, hey, up already! Combine that with some horribly noisy almost-neighbours (I'm not sure which building they live in, unfortunately; if I did, I would've called the cops) who decided (yet again - it's becoming a tradition) to have a party at 4 AM (on a Thursday morning, no less) with lots of piano and guitar playing, screaming, shouting, and other forms of "music" (they obviously can't play a single instrument, none of them, but God knows they
try).
All right, enough with the whining. It's about time for some good, old Reader Mail. Here's Michael from Germany:
I'm just a TLJ-fan from Germany with a small question.
Reading that there will be a sequel made me very happy, but I'm just worrying that I won't remember the story of the first part in its full complexity and with all its characters. So, what about releasing a kind of summary of the first part in order to bring the player back into business and to remind him of all the important details of the plot and the characters?
Just a suggestion, but I think the fans would welcome it.I think so too. I'm always frustrated when I get the latest book in a Bloated Fantasy Epic, and it doesn't have a summary of what happened in the previous books. I can't be expected to remember all the plot threads and silly fantasy names a year and a half later, can I? No I can't. And neither should you.
So yes, we'll try to find some way to summarise the events of the first game, but in a way that feels natural. Not, "Previously, on
The Longest Journey". That would be silly. I think I have some good ideas about how to do it, but you'll have to wait a while to find out. Two years. Give or take.
From Christopher:
Has a The Longest Journey book/novel/text conversion ever been considered by you or Funcom? from reading and reminiscing over on it on forums it has suddenly become apparent to me how well the game would work as one. It's suddenly become a dream to curl up infront of the fire with a blanket and a copy of The Longest Journey. And its so much easier (for me) to re-read a book than replay a game, and I can't seem to remember much of what happened for some strange reason.Good question, Christopher. I've had the same thought before, but I've come to the conclusion that it probably won't happen.
Here's the thing: Until the story's been completed in its "original" form, in the games (our plans are currently to make (at least) two more), a novelisation would spoil the focus of the story and the involvement of the players - a unique and important aspect of this particular tale. From being a participatory and inclusive story, it would be something very different and much more traditional. So we would definitely have to wait until the end of the saga in game form. At that point, sure, yeah, it'd be great to see a novelisation - but I wouldn't be writing it. Why? Because writing a novel - or a series of novels - takes a
lot of time, and I think I'd rather want to do something original. That might sound a bit selfish, but life's short! If someone else offers to do it, and I'm confident that they could do it well - great, sure, let's do it.
Personally, I'd rather want to see a TV-show or a movie based on the concept, simply because it's such a visual story, and we'll definitely explore that option if and when the next game is successful. Or, alternatively, we could work with someone to create a graphic novel, which would be
very interesting, I think.
