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General discussion (archive)Release: The Last Door: Collector's Edition(132 posts)(132 posts)
(132 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted May 20, 2014
Lurking at the Threshold.

The Last Door: Collector's Edition, an atmospheric horror adventure game presenting a chilling story worthy of H.P. Lovecraft, 8-bit (ish) graphical style, and sensational audio tracks, is available for Windows and Mac OS X on GOG.com for $9.99.

Feel what it's truly like to be alone in the dark with this low-res, high-suspense point-and-click horror adventure, winner of multiple Best Games of the Year awards. Set in Victorian England, when Jeremiah Devitt receives a letter from his old schoolmate Anthony Beechworth with a hidden, cryptic message, he knows something is wrong. His journey to an abandoned manor is only the beginning as he starts to remember a long-buried secret from his youth, discovering things man was not meant to know, and opening doors that should have remained closed…

The Last Door: Collector's Edition contains all four terrifying episodes (complete first season) of The Last Door, a game of occult and otherworldly horror. Featuring new scenes and puzzles, enhanced graphics, unlockable bonuses, and remastered sound. Explore ancient manors, decaying tenements, and twisting underground warrens with little but a lamp and magnifying glass to guide you.

Will you dare to open The Last Door: Collector's Edition and throw yourself head-first into the pixelated world of horrors originating beyond time and space, for $9.99 on GOG.com?
Posted May 20, 2014
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Luned: As much as I want to like this game, I too am really put off by the graphics. And it's not because they're old school. It's because I could and did make graphics that looked as good, in the early 1980s...as a not-exceptionally-artistic 12-year-old... on Apple IIes and TRS-80s. For whatever reason, to me they just don't look that good for 8-bit.

Edit: Actually, I take that partially back. The screenshots of interiors look awful, exterior landscapes in the screenshots are tolerable.
Again, this game is not using an 8-bit resolution. You can count the individual dots on the screen. It's approximately 101x55. That's less than half the resolution of an Apple 2 in hi-res mode. Going by Wikipedia, it puts the game in the neighborhood of a TRS-80 Model 1 from 1977. It's around 2-3 times the resolution of Apple 2 low-res grahics horizontally and 50% more vertically. The primitive appearance of the art is due entirely to the resolution they chose. It's not possible to cram more detail into 100x50 pixels. If you look at GOG's screenshot thumbnails, you can still see individual lines of resolution. But they begin to look more like normal art from far enough away.

You can fault the developers for going with such a low resolution. But judging the art quality against 300x200 resolution isn't fair, any more than comparing 300x200 8-bit color to 600x400 16-bit color. The artist or artists were working under extreme detail constraints and still managed to deliver understandable images with a distinct atmosphere.
Posted May 20, 2014
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CharlesGrey: Pffft. Then why not go all the way and make it a text-based adventure, fully or at least partially?
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Telika: Would it be better for you ?

It's all a matter of representing things, when you tell a story. Can be words, symbols, ideograms, drawings, animations ? What's the problem ? When you play the banner saga, or watch a cartoon, or read a comic, it's also drawings, it's not "realistic", it's barely animated 2d characters on the screen, or sometimes drawing without colours. But it still nicely conveys what it represents, and a given atmosphere attached to it, which would be different if it was "real stuff".

You get what is going on, with no problem, and the style give it the intended tone. And yes, I was telling me, while playing it, that it's like words : a series of characters on a paper would also represent it, and get me into the story, without needing photorealistic 3D visual displays. Words are not the only way either. Spiegelmann used crude black and white mice drawings and it communicated the story well. Words would have, too, as a different option for slightly different results...
Yes, actually. If this was released as a text adventure, with sparing use of illustrations only during certain key events, similar to a real book, then I would have considered a purchase. In fact I probably would have purchased it, as I've read and enjoyed many of Lovecraft's stories, and a similar experience with interactive elements thrown in could be pretty cool.

As it stands, the visual style of a game is very much a matter of personal preferences, and the style of this just does not appeal to me. If you like it, or don't mind it, good for you; but personally I'd rather not spend money on this in its current form.

P.S.: Please do not compare the artwork of The Banner Saga to this. Thank you.
Posted May 20, 2014
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joppo: Hmm I don't really see this game doing well. It can be a good horror game but the graphics will definitely clash with the theme. I think 16-bit would be perfect for it.

If a game in this style was trying to convey humor I think it would go well. Drama? Maybe. Horror? Not so much.
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Kunovski: sometimes the sound and music is what makes a horror good, even when the graphics are horrific (horroresque :D
Haha I agree. But imagine then if all elements acted together to deliver the best experience. An otherwise decent game could be fantastic.
Posted May 20, 2014
Good lord, I didn't even want to read about it after looking at those screen shots. They should call it "Here, Have A Headache".
Posted May 21, 2014
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LiquidOxygen80: I don't know about that, I really enjoyed Dark Corners of the Earth, until the action sequences, of course. The first portion of the game prior to getting weapons was extremely well done AND creepy.
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CharlesGrey: Agreed, excellent Horror game. Although I'd have to add that even some of the action sequences were well done. That Hotel escape sequence ( in fact, one of the first real action segments of the game, I think ) is one of the most intense scenes I've experienced in a video game. Pretty frustrating, too, until you figure out what you're supposed to do.

Anyhow, a good game, if only it weren't for the bugs. I've played two or three versions of the game and at some point always ran into game-breaking bugs, so I was never able to finish it. :/

By the way, if you liked the game, you might also enjoy the film "Dagon".
Actually, I should clarify myself. Not the action sequences, but the weapons portions. The action sequences were hella frenetic because of the lack of weapons. Once weapons were introduced, it felt a lot less hopeless and frightening, and seemed like there were less consequences to getting caught, unlike the first hotel sequence, or the sneaking past the cops sequence, only to have them barge in on you, etc. The atmosphere really made that game.
Posted May 21, 2014
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LiquidOxygen80: Actually, I should clarify myself. Not the action sequences, but the weapons portions. The action sequences were hella frenetic because of the lack of weapons. Once weapons were introduced, it felt a lot less hopeless and frightening, and seemed like there were less consequences to getting caught, unlike the first hotel sequence, or the sneaking past the cops sequence, only to have them barge in on you, etc. The atmosphere really made that game.
Yeah the Adventure and Stealth/Survival sections of the game were the strongest and most memorable and they probably should have focussed more on those. Like I said I never finished it, so I don't know what the last third or so of the game is like. Still, any developer of Horror games would do well to take some inspiration from this one.
Posted May 21, 2014
Voted with my wallet for GOG and good games, be they old or new. Thanks again for bringing this game here!
Posted May 22, 2014
For anybody who want's to help out flood victims in Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia: http://www.gog.com/forum/general/help_out_serbia_and_bosnia_after_catastrophic_floods
Posted May 22, 2014
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Matruchus: For anybody who want's to help out flood victims in Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia: http://www.gog.com/forum/general/help_out_serbia_and_bosnia_after_catastrophic_floods
That's a good campaign, but has nothing to do with the topic.
Posted May 22, 2014
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Matruchus: For anybody who want's to help out flood victims in Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia: http://www.gog.com/forum/general/help_out_serbia_and_bosnia_after_catastrophic_floods
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Shambhala: That's a good campaign, but has nothing to do with the topic.
Yes I know but most people don't know about this and threads just disappear so fast in the thread directory.
Posted May 22, 2014
Phoenix Online releasing exciting games this season.
Posted May 22, 2014
And the funding of chapter 5 is complete :)
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussion (archive)Release: The Last Door: Collector's Edition(132 posts)(132 posts)
(132 posts)