Someone at the Divide forums was kind enough to translate the PC Jeux article and revealed that the American version was going to be censored! Please say it isn't so! I know we've got uptight mothers and such raising hell over mature video game titles, but they are the minority. A lot of your American fans are going to be very disappointed to know that we have to get a cut-up version, because you think we're not mature enough to handle the real mccoy. I wouldn't have a problem with releasing a separate "clean" version as an alternative to the original, but please make the original available to us.

This is a case of a big "maybe" turning into a "definitely". We haven't made any decisions regarding potential differences between the US and international versions. If there are differences, they will be minor - a few words here and there, and nothing that will affect the gameplay.

By the way, I don't know where PC Gamer got 'kung-fu' from, but Zoë won't be going chop-chop on anyone's arse. Fighting, yes. Kung-fu fighting? Nah-ah.  ¶ 09:29   

  I'm simply too wiped out to be entertaining, insightful, or annoying today - so I'll just point people in the general direction of Minstrum.net, where they've posted some scans of the PC Jeux article. Of course, after you've perused the scans, you need to go out and buy the magazine - because that's how the world works. This is, after all, copyrighted material. And if PC Jeux isn't published in your country, keep an eye out for a 'first reveal' appearing in your local version of PC Gamer.

To read what others are saying about the new art and info, check out the message boards at The Divide, Adventure Gamers, and the official TLJ forum. Post your opinion! Join the movement! Viva la revolución!  ¶ 23:17   

  Work on the Dreamfall E3 posters wrapped up today, and we're all very, very, very happy with how they came out. We've taken a very movie-like approach to the artwork - clean, classy, strong focus on characters - and all four of the posters are without question some of the nicest and most stylish I've seen. They'll certainly make you want to play the game, and, hey, isn't that what they're for? Hopefully the print quality will do justice to the art and design. While only invited guests will get to see the posters at E3 (probably), I think they'll be posted on the net soon after - perhaps even during - the show. New desktop wallpaper, anyone?  ¶ 22:58   

  I'm told that the latest issue of PC Jeux - France's PC Gamer - has a six-page first reveal of Dreamfall. Quite how they've managed to fill six whole pages at this point, I can't imagine, but I certainly look forward to seeing the article. (My French is not, so there won't be any reading.) And it's heartening to see such extensive coverage at such an early stage. What will they give us post-E3 - twelve pages? The whole magazine? If you live in France - and you want to be one of the first in the world to see concept art and screenshots from Dreamfall - pick up a copy. Or two. After all: six pages. Christmas is coming early this year.  ¶ 20:00   

  We're less than a week away from our big, huge E3 deadline - the remaining time before the show opens will be used to tweak, fix, and tweak some more - and this weekend everyone's at the office slaving away to make sure the game is as polished as possible. The team is doing a stunning job, and the screenshots that have popped up on the net and in magazines - though pretty - are already beginning to look a bit outdated. With the latest shaders, and new versions of the scenes and characters, Dreamfall is looking like a true next-next generation game. There's a lot to be done still, and E3 is uncomfortably close, but the progress in the past few months has been amazing - thanks to our extremely talented programmers and artists. Onwards and upwards!

I just wanted to say that I think the time stamps that appear on every journal entry, or rather to say below, are wrong lately. I could be wrong, but I swear I didn’t see a new post on April 22 at 10:44, but yet suddenly a new entry appeared around midnight with this particular time stamp on it.

What happens is that I start writing a new post at, say, 10:41 on April the 22nd. Then, for various reasons, I get interrupted, and instead of saving a draft I post a version to Blogger at 10:44, but I don't publish it. Later on, I go back to edit the post, and then I publish it. Problem is, "later on" often becomes many, many, many hours later - say, around midnight - but the entry retains the original time stamp from that morning, since that was when I first 'posted' it. I could avoid this by using the 'draft' feature...but I don't.  ¶ 00:47   

  Holy crap. Bionic Germans. They're called pedomotives, and some day they will rule the Earth. (Not the Germans, mind you, but the seven mile boots.)

I have finally gotten around to playing Knights of the Old Republic on the Xbox, but the last couple of times I've sat down to play it, I've fallen asleep. This isn't to say the game is boring; my game-playing time competes with my bed-time, and the latter usually wins. KOTOR is the sort of game you need to put aside a few hours to play, and that's increasingly hard to do. I'll try and put in a little playtime Sunday evening, and update my impressions of it.  ¶ 23:19   

  Hi Ragnar,

My name is Sarah, and I'm the owner of ffshrine.org.

I was wondering if you'd be willing to link to ffshrine.org under your links section. we've got tons of coverage on all of the games, including the recent ones, and tons of unique media. take a look around, and if you like it, please do link to us. :)

Sure thing. Since I don't currently have a links section, however, this will have to do: Final Fantasy fans, check it out. Sarah's site is definitely worth a bookmark.

Now, then, the final three words (and if you don't know what I'm talking about, this isn't for you):

Faith.
Winter.
Prophet.

Three times three. The magic numbers. Stay tuned: the final days before E3 will bring much goodness. But you'll need to look elsewhere. Ten. Five. Dreamfall.  ¶ 10:44   

  Lucky me. I get to be one of the first to test out Google's new Gmail service. Upside: 1 GB of storage. Downside: context sensitive spam - which means that if I get a mail from someone about the new DVDs they've just bought, Gmail will 'helpfully' inform me about where to shop online for movies. Privacy advocates are up in flames, but I don't really have a problem with it. I'd rather have spam tailored to my interests and needs rather than another "vi@gra" mail in my inbox, and if computers want to read my private messages, they're welcome to it.

Oh, and (a late addendum here) the words I promised today will, for practical reasons, have to wait until tomorrow. Sorry about that.  ¶ 23:56   

  http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/04/14/news_6093463.html
This article reveals that the Adventure Company has gained a license to publish games based on novels by the late, great Agatha Christie. It is, in my opinion, a great idea, and proof that developers still see a market for adventure games.

(Which I hope this will be, though the article mentioned the games will be more of an rpg/mystery combo)

Just a heads up.

As a niche genre, the traditional adventure will live on, and there will probably always be room for a publisher/developer like The Adventure Company. They're able to produce small and relatively inexpensive titles that appeal to a core audience of adventure gamers, and they can survive (and even thrive) on low-to-moderate success, something that's rare in this increasingly hit-driven industry.

Still, it seems even adventures need licenses now, and Agatha Christie is, at the very least, a well known brand. But how do you design a game around one of her novels? After all, the identity of the culprit is no secret (you can just turn to the final page of the book), and mystery games are very, very hard to do. I'm guessing they'll take some of Christie's characters - like Hercule Poirot - and build new stories around them. It'll be interesting to see what they come up with.  ¶ 09:13   

  I read with great dismay about the decision to include "Action Elements" into Dreamfall. The longest Journey was an excellent traditional point and click adventure. The inclusion of action elements, in an attempt to woo more action oriented players, does not work and never will. All it does is alienate, frustrate and disappoint those who enjoy traditional adventure games, games that are in all too short supply. The beauty of traditional games is that you can sit back, relax and enjoy the story and use your brain rather than having to run, jump and continuosly labour over the keyboard and mouse. Action elements add nothing, and will never be enough for those who prefer action oriented games anyway. Why mess with the sequel. Please re-think your decision to include these "frustation" elements. Have faith in your original design and the traditional point and clicker and those who enjoy them.

We're not including action elements to woo a specific demographic, and our intension is certainly not to frustrate or alienate anyone.

Rather, our goal is to create a game where variety is the key word; not a traditional adventure, but also not a traditional action-adventure. Dreamfall will be rather unique, I think, in blending solid adventure gameplay with exciting action elements - not just combat - without the annoying bits. No falling to your death, then; no random battles or endlessly spawning monsters; no experience points or stats; no spiders, bats, rats, or zombies; no pitfalls, hidden traps, or timed jumps; no Super Mario style platform puzzles; and absolutely no crates. (We're staying far, far, far away from crates. Crates are bad. We have a big sign on that wall that says "No crates allowed". Honest.)

And on a slightly related note: some readers have inquired whether the PC version of Dreamfall will be affected by the parallel development (and release) of a console version...and the answer is "yes, of course" - but not in a negative way. The PC version will, of course, look better than the *** version (we're not going public with any specific console just yet); in addition to higher resolution textures, better effects, and shorter loading times, the PC version will have its own unique interface and controls. Players certainly won't be short-changed whichever version they choose to play. As for hardware requirements, those won't be announced until we're much closer to release, but I think it's safe to say that if you have a high-end PC today, you'll be okay.

Tomorrow, the final three words. Nine is the magic number. To recap: "White. Crow. Static. Snow. Dark. Dream." Keep posted. We're almost there.  ¶ 18:03   

  Dear Mr. Tornquist,

I'm sure You receive many e-mails from the fans of The Longest Journey but maybe you'll have time to read this some day. I am a fresh fan of TLJ. I've never been much interested in PC games and had no idea what I was missing. Now I know. I bought TLJ last week because I'd heard about it a lot and I finished it on Friday. I enjoyed it very much, therefore I decided to let You know. I think everybody likes to be praised for his hard work :o). I just had to tell You.

The story is beautiful, it was like reading a novel. Now when I think of it, it's the story that I remember most, not the puzzles and problems to be solved. I really loved it! Only the loose ends were quite frustrating for me :) There are so many questions I have now! Is Lady Alvane really April? (I think so) Are Cortez and McAllen really dead? (I don't think so) What happened to Vangard and did the Arcadians triumphed over the Tyrens? (I have no idea) And there are many other. I don't really expect You reveal the answers to me by return :), I reckon causing such questions and endless internet discussions was what You intended. But shall we await those questions to be answered in Dreamfall maybe? Maybe You could include it in your FAQ section, I can't be the only one who asks this :o) Please! I am SO curious :o)

Anyway, I'm looking forward to Dreamfall very much. I wish You a lot of joy with Your work on this project!

Thanks for your answer in advance, in case you'll have time for it.

I personally like stories that leave a lot of questions unanswered, but I also know how frustrating that can be. Unfortunately - and I guess you could see this one coming - I can't answer your questions now. That would be spoiling things. Yes, some questions will be answered in Dreamfall; others will remain a mystery for a bit longer, but we don't intend to leave any (major) loose threads hanging. Not forever. They'll be woven into the story as it progresses.

Thanks for playing, and thanks for writing.  ¶ 22:37   

  RaMa is running a contest over at his Dreamfall website and asked me to mention it here. The grand prize is a signed copy of "Prophet Without Honour":

http://home.wanadoo.nl/goule/TLJns/Contests/SBoR/

Along with The Divide, RaMa's site is the most informative source of news and rumours regarding The Longest Journey there is - so keep it bookmarked.  ¶ 22:18   

  Missing in Action, an IGN feature, tracks 'lost' PC games. Dreamfall is on the list - scroll down - and while I wouldn't say that it's been MIA (we only announced it a year ago, and work has continued apace), it's nice to get attention. And, as usual, IGN says Nice Things. They really are a bunch of sweethearts over there.

We're working on the Dreamfall poster designs for E3 - four in total - and boy, lemme tell ya, they're looking very sweet. Art director Christer Sveen has done a bang-up job with the hi-res models of our three leads; these are characters you will want to meet, play, know. And, hey, you will! I'm extremely happy about the team's progress these days, and I really can't wait for E3 to roll around. As for the posters; unless you're one of the Invited Few, you probably won't be able to check them out for a while yet (but I do love to tease). We need to keep some things under wraps. This could change, however, and we might stick 'em up on the official website after the show.

It's looking less and less likely that I'll have any time at all to walk the floor during E3 and check out the games: I'm fully booked, from AM to PM, with meetings, presentations, interviews. So booked, in fact, that I'll be sharing the duties of showcasing Dreamfall with both our producer and our PR director. But I will try to walk around whenever possible and update y'all on the games I find interesting. After all, it's important to keep abreast of what everyone else is doing, and E3 really is the best place, bar none, to scope out upcoming games.

Whenever a 'fellow' game designer gets into the weblog business, I feel I should point people in that direction: it's just interesting to get an inside view of different aspects of game development. So here's American McGee's new site, which was launched only a few days ago. Hopefully, unlike some of us, he can keep it rolling with Interesting Content. At least the art is top notch. On that note, I really do need to get around to fixing up this site at some point, and a number of you did offer to help me out with that a while ago. I might just take one of you up on that offer real soon.  ¶ 12:20   

  So the first blurry scans of the first tiny screenshots from our first playable version have leaked onto the net, and while it's nice to see that people are excited, I'm a bit put off by PC Gamer's blurbs accompanying the shots - in particular the one that says "point and clickers need this game", because, um, Dreamfall is not a P&C game. See how that could be very confusing? Also, stating that "the weight of a whole genre rests on Dreamfall's shoulders" isn't very helpful, because it's not true. Dreamfall isn't even a traditional adventure, unlike, say, Syberia II. We haven't set out to 'save' anything or anyone: we just want to create a great game, tell a cracking story, and hopefully entertain enough people to keep this crazy ball rolling for another decade.

Look out for more print magazines using those very same shots - and others - in proper previews of Dreamfall during the coming weeks. Hopefully they'll be a bit more comprehensive in their coverage, and maybe also get their facts right (like, for example, not saying it's point-and-click). Leading up to, during, and after E3, there'll be a lot of new information about the game, as well as new (and arse-whopping) media - the visuals have improved massively since March - and probably also a website update. What fun. Wheee.

Freaks & Geeks is my new drug. I think I've mentioned before how much I like to watch TV-shows on DVD. With my crazy schedule - work and travel and whatnot - I don't get to follow much of anything on TV (aside from The West Wing which, luckily, is shown twice a week). When I do have time, it's usually during dinner, the weekend, or late in the evening, and that's when it's so convenient to be able to pop in a disc and watch a 45-minute episode of a show; a perfectly bite-sized piece of entertainment, sans ads. I'm still working through season two of Alias, season one of Firefly and The West Wing, and I just got seasons three of Futurama and Angel. While I have seen most of these before, they're all good enough to warrant a second, or third, viewing. Freaks & Geeks, however, I missed out on - I only caught a half episode here and there - and, seeing as it was cancelled after only eighteen episodes, I wasn't the only one who missed out on. The show is absolutely brilliant, with a spirited cast, well written stories, appropriate music, and a genuine 1980 vibe. The "complete series" box set is also of a very high quality, with plenty of deleted scenes, commentary tracks, and extras.  ¶ 01:20   

  Home. My luggage, however, is most likely in Hong Kong where, apparently, all lost luggage passes through at some point en route to its final destination. Either that or it's ended up in a New Jersey warehouse together with the Ark of the Covenant and ten billion pairs of left socks and ball-point pens.

Hopefully it'll make its way home before too long, because I really need to do some laundry. As it stands, I'll be in serious trouble by Thursday. Also, it'd be nice to get my Angel and Freaks & Geeks box sets, plantain chips, and deodorant. Luggage, if you're reading this: please come home. We miss you.

The flight was nice, as I was upgraded - unexpectedly - to Economy Plus, which is like Business Class Minus; the minus being slightly less space, but still enough to sleep through most of the six-hours-and-forty-five-minutes flight. Give or take. I watched bits and pieces of Mona Lisa Smiles, which only made me yawn, and then I woke up an hour out of Copenhagen. New York wasn't at its nicest yesterday; it rained heavily, and my practical sneakers were a not-so-practical soaked through and through once I got to the airport. Still, it was a shame to leave, but I'll be back in a few weeks on a brief stopover before heading to L.A., and then on a longer one heading in the opposite direction.

(I just phoned the luggage people, and apparently my itinerant suitcase has been located and is currently with some other luggage people - there must be thousands of them - who may or may not deliver it this evening. I really don't mind; I'm just happy to know that the runaway has been captured. I can live one more day without my favourite razor.)

On Friday, we went to a one-woman show at 45 Bleecker, Bridge & Tunnel, which has been receiving great notices. Sarah Jones is a chameleon, switching between different characters at the (literal) drop of a hat; more importantly, her various stories about the immigrant experience resonate deeply, and the mix of humour and pathos work well. Impressive and entertaining, and absolutely worth checking out.

Hello,

Some question just came up and I thought, well let's just ask him :-)

Just finished playing Syberia 2, and although I would rate this game quite high, the ending was (again) a bit of a disappointement. It all ended to sudden, at a time when I was expecting at least a couple of hours of remaining gameplay. It's really a shame, because Syberia's story is wonderful and magic, graphics are exceptional and gameplay couldn't be better.

I really think that the ending is the most important part of a game. It makes the final impression on the players. It should give them complete satisfaction for what they achieved, but at the same time leave them hungry for more. Especially when a sequel is already in the planning. So I was just wondering if you guys think in the same direction, and if there's like extra effort going into that part of the game.

Good luck and may Dreamfall sell like sweet candy!
Chris

I completely agree that endings are important, especially in story-driven games. I haven't played Syberia II, so I can't comment, but with Dreamfall we knew from the get-go where we wanted to end up, and while the details may have changed along the way, the most important threads are woven deeply into the fabric of the 'saga'. Some people found the conclusion to The Longest Journey to be frustrating; with Dreamfall, some of the questions left unanswered in the first game will be, if not directly answered, then at least addressed.

So, yes, good endings are vital and worth putting effort into - even though most players don't finish the games they start. Endings are for the players who do finish, and they ought to be as rewarding - or at least as conclusive and well thought out - as possible.  ¶ 21:33   

  Still in New York, but tomorrow I'm heading back to Norway. I'll be back in the office on Wednesday, where the final countdown to E3 begins. Only four weeks to get everything ready; less than five weeks until the show kicks off - followed by three intense days of meetings and interviews, and, one hopes, a bunch of very excited journalists. After E3, however, we're keeping schtum for a good while: we don't want to reveal too much too early. There'll be plenty of opportunities for show-and-tell in 2005.  ¶ 04:59   

  A quick review of four flicks I've watched this past week:

The Ladykillers, the Coen Bros. remake - or should that be 'reimagining'? - of the 50s British classic starring Alec Guinness, was pretty good, although it left me a little cold. I don't know why; Tom Hanks plays against type and has loads of fun doing it, and the film is crammed with black humour, but it was slightly overlong and a bit superfluous, since the original is still funnier. Not one of the Coens' best movies, but then my expectations of their work is usually high.

Hellboy was a slight disappointment, and my review can be summed up with a shrug and an "eh" - which is unfortunate, because the movie could and should have been so much better. It was all right - entertaining, inoffensive, funny, and there were a few thrilling scenes in there, but...eh. Considering the source material and Ron Perlman's engaging turn in the title role, it's unfortunate that Guillermo del Toro couldn't have crafted a more spirited movie. Hopefully, provided the box office returns remain high, we'll get a sequel at some point.

Dawn of the Dead: I'm a big fan of the original, and this reimagining (their words, not mine) stays true to the source material without feeling like a rehash. Despite an ending that left me cold (stay seated after the credits start rolling, folks, 'cause it ain't over yet), this is a well-made thriller, with some good characters and exciting set pieces. The opening scenes in particular are intense.

I hadn't yet seen Billy Elliott, and we watched it on DVD this past weekend. It was absolutely brilliant; a sweetly affecting and low key film, the kind only the British know how to make properly.  ¶ 23:42   

  I'm reading your blog for quite a while and am happy to see that the game platform is topic once again. So I'd like to toss in some thoughts about Dreamfall ports. If you are planing to bring Dreamfall to Windows and at least a single console, you have to make the game portably, at best right from the beginning. If you done so I'm sure a additional Mac port is easy and generates much more money than it costs. Certainly gains in the Mac market are not as high as in the PC and consoles market, but advertising needn't cost as much since the high level of community and the word-of-mouth advertising. A simultaneous release date with the PC and console versions and the "normal" advertising could yield very good market penetration. A great side effect is that cross-platform source contains less bugs, because the porting process reveals many latent bugs. At last I personally have the feeling the typical Mac clientele are more fantasy, family game and adventures gamers than sports or action gamers.

I hope that helps for the decision finding process, I've tried to make it as short as possible, best regards,
philipp

Portability is definitely high on our agenda, but that doesn't necessarily translate across all platforms. I can't say how easy - or rather, how difficult - it would be to port our engine to the Mac (my technical know-how is just not); hey, someone get me a G5 and I'll definitely look into it. (Bribes are always appreciated.) Thanks for your input, and I'm sure this isn't the last time the platform issue is on the table.  ¶ 04:51   

  Despite a histrionic and not particularly beastly beast (there were hissy fits and the poor thing was within an inch of Belle's height; a rather poor facsimile of Glen Keane's wonderful animated creation), Beauty and the Beast was an entertaining show. The sets were great, and I'm continually impressed by the rehearsed effeciency of these productions; everything, all cues and production numbers, worked perfectly (my mind is that of a director). Of course, Alan Menken's music - complimented by Howard Ashman's lyrics - is absolutely brilliant. There's never been a finer Disney musical...and, sadly enough, there probably never will be.  ¶ 05:34   

  Today's been one of those loaf-around-and-do-nothing days which are enormously appealing and all too rare. Even better, I'm not feeling guilty about doing nothing, which is even rarer. Tonight, however, in an effort to diversify, we're off to see, of all things, Beauty and the Beast. Despite the fact that I've lived in the city, despite the fact that I visit often, and despite the fact that I'm a fan of the genre, I've never actually been to a Broadway musical. Cost and a certain amount of snobbishness have been strong reasons for never getting around to it, but I'm past both hurdles now, and really looking forward to it.

my name is Daniel. I'm from Montreal, Canada. I know you must be quite busy as your lack of postings in your journal shows us, so I will understand if you do not answer this email, it's not a life-or-death matter. or maybe it is...

first off, I am a huge fan of TLJ (probably like most everyone else that emails you). Playing adventure games is something me and my sister do together, and be both agreed that this is the best one out there. I myself really enjoyed the futuristic world of stark.

to get to my point, I read in your FAQ that TLJ next is planned for PC (duh!) and some consoles.

but how about the Mac? I know it's not your key demographic, but has it ever crossed the minds of you and/or funcom to eventually port it to the Mac?

the reason I am asking is because I'm in the process of trying to switch, but do not want to miss out on any games that may come out in the future.

so I have an xbox handy for the gamer part of me, and the mac for the rebelious/wanting-to-learn-more part. I'm hoping that between the xbox and powerbook, I shall be ok for the longest journey.

While I can't yet confirm any platforms for Dreamfall (aside from the PC, of course), chances are it won't make it to Mac. Why? I would personally love to see the game being ported to OS-X - and if I had the cash, I'd buy myself a G5 and one of those huge, widescreen monitors; it'd look absolutely lovely in my living room - but unless you've got an established franchise guaranteed to sell by the truckload, games don't appear to perform well on the Mac. Shame, really, but most gamers tend to own a PC or a console, so that's where the sales are. The door isn't completely closed, however - at least I don't think so. If a developer/publisher were to partner with us in porting the game to the Mac, we might be interested.

Without saying too much, however: Between your Xbox and PowerBook, you ought to be covered for Dreamfall.  ¶ 23:23   

  Today's been one of those loaf-around-and-do-nothing days which are enormously appealing and all too rare. Even better, I'm not feeling guilty about doing nothing, which is even rarer. Tonight, however, in an effort to diversify, we're off to see, of all things, Beauty and the Beast. Despite the fact that I've lived in the city, despite the fact that I visit often, and despite the fact that I'm a fan of the genre, I've never actually been to a Broadway musical. Cost and a certain amount of snobbishness have been strong reasons for never getting around to it, but I'm past both hurdles now, and really looking forward to it.

my name is Daniel. I'm from Montreal, Canada. I know you must be quite busy as your lack of postings in your journal shows us, so I will understand if you do not answer this email, it's not a life-or-death matter. or maybe it is...

first off, I am a huge fan of TLJ (probably like most everyone else that emails you). Playing adventure games is something me and my sist  ¶ 22:21