New adventure game: Jolly Rover!

[OzzieMonkey]

http://www.ausgamers.com/games/jolly-rover/

Discuss.

[guitarsareboring]

Yeah I just saw that on Steam, downloading the demo.

The font looks...erm... familiar.

[guitarsareboring]

Had a quick go, seems decent if a little unoriginal. Lots of MI comparisons to be made.

[Remolay]

It wouldn't work on my computer...

The screen was messed up but I for sure have sufficient requirements. Thus my conclusion is that my computer is too good for Jolly Rover.

[Epic Kiwi]

Tried the demo, stopped two minutes into the intro because I couldn't stand it

[roumeaz]

ah cummon little buddy .. it has dogs in it .. and i think their awesome

[Neikron]

I'm going to try the demo, regardless, but my first impressions are that it looks like it's not going to be that innovative, based on the very similar looking images.

[Didero]

Tried the demo, stopped two minutes into the intro because I couldn't stand it
What do you dislike about it?

[Darth Marsden]

I gave it a go. Blimey, it's a big demo, isn't it? I played for about an hour and I'm still not finished!

I have to say, I quite liked this. I didn't think I would, but apart from the walking animation of the lead character (check out those arms!), there's actually a fair bit to like about this. I especially enjoyed the idea of having unlockable stuff, like concept art. Nice touch.

[guitarsareboring]

Yeah I like the unlockable stuff too and the 'mission' at the top is a good idea but shows that throughout the game you'll only have one task at a time...unless the mission bar expands that is. I expect the silly arms are intentional but I don't see why. I kinda like it but it's not original or good enough for me to part with £15.

[Ribs]

I've been playing the beta for about a month now, (been busy, still can't finish), but those of you who didn't finish the intro puzzle in the brig must do so to understand why this game is great.

[corruptbiggins]

Played the demo earlier on - took me about 2 hours to complete it though I wasn't rushing it. Thought it was good in parts, like the whole voodoo spells thing. Might get the full game, would have already if it was £10 so what's another £5?

[doodo!]

Sam meets pirates....meets dogs drinking at a pool table.

[Hayden]

This demo comes close to being a third of the game! While some might think that this is just a stupid giveaway, I think it's a very clever approach. It gives you a feel for the game and an idea of where the story is going and automatically makes you want to play the rest of the game. I quite enjoyed the demo, and I will certainly buy the entire game soon. I'll just wait a few weeks to see if it's put on the 'Specials' list.

[Toast_Burner]

How long is the game? Its odd to have such a large demo

[caeska]

From what I've seen the game seems a bit...weird. I mean I love pirate games but why the hell does it have to have talking dogs? If it had a Jack Sparrow-like personality I'd jump at it immediately but the whole idea of talking dogs is just ridiculous.

[guitarsareboring]

From what I've seen the game seems a bit...weird. I mean I love pirate games but why the hell does it have to have talking dogs? If it had a Jack Sparrow-like personality I'd jump at it immediately but the whole idea of talking dogs is just ridiculous.

http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/128006-from-cuddly-to-crazy-the-history-of-the-videogame-bunny/1993%20-%20Sam%20and%20Max%20Hit%20the%20Road-620x.jpg

[Guinea]

Too bad I don't like dogs :(

SAM is the only exception, because he doesn't look like a dog and doesn't act like one.

[Secret Fawful]

Too bad I don't like dogs :(

SAM is the only exception, because he doesn't look like a dog and doesn't act like one.

He just looks like an old fancy pudding. And he's wiggly like one too. You can thank me later. For that mental image, that is.

[brawsome]

Boy am I nervous posting here!

You've gotta have a think skin to release a game then read what people are saying about you in forums =0).

Glad to hear some of you are enjoying the game! I really appreciate the comments from folks who've given the demo a chance.

As for the Monkey Island comparisons, well that's obvious isn't it. Unfortunately, I started development of this just before the Monkey Island re-releases and the Tales of MI series was announced. Doh! Not that I ever wanted to make a Monkey Island clone! Though if I were starting development of a new adventure game now it certainly wouldn't be pirate themed!

I was hoping people would be able to see the fun in this game, it is about pirate dogs after all! With Jolly Rover I wanted to kind of parody adventure games, casual games and the old classics by Sierra and Lucas Arts. 2D was an artistic choice. Also, saying you can't make an adventure about pirates because of Monkey Island is like saying you can't make a first person shooter about World War 2 because of Wolfenstein.

As for the length of the demo, yes, I wanted to give people a decent go, and really see what the game had to offer, it's about 1/3 of the game. My personal experience is that I'm always more likely to pick up a game if I get a decent go at it first.

As for pricing, that's been a quandry for me, I don't think it's too much to ask for a full-length adventure if you look on the Adventure Store off the Adventure Gamers website, but I suppose it seems a lot for an indie adventure on Steam, if it were on iPhone it would look like a fortune, but on a retail shelf it would look like a bargain. It took me a year to make, it's fully voiced by professional actors, with professional art and audio, this costs money I'm afraid.

Also... what's so offensive about the intro that you couldn't last 2 minutes? Should I even ask?

Thanks,
Andrew

*covers eyes and hits Submit*

[Hayden]

Don't worry, the price is fine. I'm actually considering buying the game for it's existing price anyway - ever since I played the demo, I've been thinking about Jolly Rover quite a lot because I'm eager to play more of it. It's a fun game, I especially like the ability to perform voodoo spells, and having a parrot as a hint system is genius! You can't say that's not original.

[Hayden]

How long is the game? Its odd to have such a large demo

Well, the demo is a third of the entire game (as said directly above), and the demo took me approximately 3 hours to complete (taking my time and going through at a casual pace, using two parrot hints). So the game should provide you with about 9 hours of playtime if the game's difficulty length remains consistent.

[Darth Marsden]

Just finished the demo. Good little game, but unfortunately I'm on a very tight budget this month, so no purchase for me. :(

Still, seems like a great game, and when I do get the money I'll grab it. But £15? Nuh-uh.

[Zonino]

Hmm, I suppose I'll need to try out the demo before I make any judgements.

Can I just say though, the video they have on Steam is REALLY unflattering. It actually did a good job of putting me off the game it just made it seem bland and wooden.

[Fishstick_Kitty]

Oooh, how fun!

Lighthearted? check
Point-and-click? check
Adventure game? check
Cute critters? check

I think I'm going to really enjoy this game :D

[Darth Marsden]

Hmm, I suppose I'll need to try out the demo before I make any judgements.

Can I just say though, the video they have on Steam is REALLY unflattering. It actually did a good job of putting me off the game it just made it seem bland and wooden.Ignore the video. It really does a bad job of selling the game.

[Thriftweed Fancy Pants]

You've gotta have a thick skin to release a game then read what people are saying about you in forums =0).


Welcome to the TTG forums, I'm glad you decided to post! :)

I have to agree with everyone above, I wasn't impressed by the Steam video. To be completely honest, after watching the video, I thought it was just a low budget, knock off that was made because of all the pirate-themed hype going on right now. If I were you, I would post a different video on Steam, maybe this gameplay video (http://www.youtube.com/user/brawsome#p/a/u/1/UCMQW4iT684) from Youtube. Now I know you weren't trying to run on the success of Monkey Island, but you can see why people might think that.

Because of all the positive comments here, perhaps I'll check out that demo after all...

[guitarsareboring]

Just finished the demo, really enjoyed it. The puzzles weren't too difficult but there were enough parts to them to make them challenging and worth doing. I think I'll be purchasing the game when I can, although I do feel that while giving 1/3 of it away for free is generous, it also makes you feel a bit like you're only paying for 2/3 of a game.

[Zonino]

Ignore the video. It really does a bad job of selling the game.

Yes, that was the point I was making :P

[caeska]

So here's the deal, I thought "what the hell" and decided to give this game a go. I had like zero expectations to it but I was very pleasantly surprised. It's true, the video on Steam doesn't do the game justice at all.
It's so nice to see a game that's actually (seemingly) bug-free and good old-fashioned point and click adventure game no less! The puzzles are very well done and the hint system is very clever. You can actually get a hint if you're stuck without it giving too much away.
The only thing that bothers me is the voice acting and that most of the dialogue is a bit bland and not as witty as I would have preferred. But this isn't game-breaking by any means and I've just played the demo.
I actually think I'll be buying this game now :)

[brawsome]

I need more people to say "what the hell" and give the game a go =0).

So, there are people having issues with the trailer. I've heard good and bad things about the trailer, but mostly good. However, I always take on board any feedback.

I got a good review of the game on Australian TV show Good Game recently. Maybe I should put that video up instead? At 6 minutes, it seems too long for a trailer though.

Link: http://www.abc.net.au/tv/goodgame/video/default.htm?pres=20100614_2030&story=4

[Avistew]

Any plan for non-English language versions? :D

[wefeelgroove]

A friend gifted it to me on Steam and I got to play some of it today. It's really cute! I think the parrot giving hints is really clever.

[OzzieMonkey]

I need more people to say "what the hell" and give the game a go =0).

So, there are people having issues with the trailer. I've heard good and bad things about the trailer, but mostly good. However, I always take on board any feedback.

I got a good review of the game on Australian TV show Good Game recently. Maybe I should put that video up instead? At 6 minutes, it seems too long for a trailer though.

Link: http://www.abc.net.au/tv/goodgame/video/default.htm?pres=20100614_2030&story=4

It was made by an Aussie! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!

[corruptbiggins]

I am going to buy the game, I just need to wait until I have sufficient funds.

[Thriftweed Fancy Pants]

I got a good review of the game on Australian TV show Good Game recently. Maybe I should put that video up instead? At 6 minutes, it seems too long for a trailer though.

Link: http://www.abc.net.au/tv/goodgame/video/default.htm?pres=20100614_2030&story=4

Nice review! The guy seems a bit twitchy though, no? A good video nonetheless.

[brawsome]

Firstly, sorry TellTale for talking about Jolly Rover here, I hope you don't mind =0).

Regarding language translations, it's looking likely that it will be translated into German first, but nothing is confirmed yet. Spanish and French will likely follow when I can afford it and then Italian.

I should be able to roll out translations through Steam automatically, but not sure about how to do it through other distributors. At this point translations will be subtitles only, except for German, which *may* be voice as well.

[Hayden]

Nice review! The guy seems a bit twitchy though, no? A good video nonetheless.

Bajo? Yeah, he looks as though he's either really buzzed on caffeine, or really needs to use the restroom.

And, by the way, it's good to hear that you're planning a sequel, Andrew. I'd love for Jolly Rover to actually become a series/saga like Monkey Island.

[brawsome]

Nothing better I'd like to do than make a sequel, and even a different series, I'd love to carve out a little Aussie adventure game niche. Gotta wait on more sales though =0).

[Hayden]

Do you know about how many copies you've sold to date? Do you have any way of knowing this, or any intention of sharing this info?

[brawsome]

I won't know properly until I get results back from all my distributors, could be as long as 3 months before I really know. I just know what they tell me, but no hard figures yet.

Another factor is I wasn't able to market the game as much as I would have liked before release. So there's still a HUGE amount of people that don't know about it. It doesn't even have a metacritic score yet! I'm frantically trying to get more reviews and coverage, I do know many of the sales are coming from Australia, showing I haven't reached out to a world audience enough.

If you'd like to help out, the BEST thing you can do is tell someone about it =0).

[Hayden]

If you'd like to help out, the BEST thing you can do is tell someone about it =0).

Already have :). Word-of-mouth is still one of the best methods of promotion and exposure, even in today's world.

[brawsome]

Thanks!

One thing I can tell you is the unique hits to the Jolly Rover website (http://www.brawsome.com.au/JollyRover) have tripled this month, but that puts it only at a meagre 3,000 unique hits, for JR to be a success I'd say it's got to be something like 100,000 unique hits. So, got a bit of work to do =0).

It's actually only got 4 reviews at the moment
- Adventure Gamers 3.5/5
- JustAdventure B+
- GameZebo 4.5/5
- Good Game 15.5/20
So, it's trending around an 8/10.

On the weekend I submitted the game to about 50 different review sites. That was a lot of work let me tell you! I'm hoping reviews start popping up over the next month or so. Darn this E3 taking up peoples time though!

[Hayden]

You've been getting some good ratings for 'Jolly Rover'; 3.5 on AdventureGamers is a good score - that's what they gave 'Curse of Monkey Island'. And 15.5 is what Good Game gave 'Torchlight'. So these numbers look pretty promising. Hopefully these sort of scores will continue if the game is reviewed by these other sites you mentioned.

Edit: Just a quick question. If you had the choice, would you choose to make a Jolly Rover sequel in 3D or would you keep it 2D?

[brawsome]

I really quite like 2D, but I love what you can do in 3D for dynamic conversations. Also it's much easier to change a characters clothes in 3D, and you only have to animate something in one facing direction (such as a talk/give/take animation). I would say 2D, if I had a choice. I reckon 2D or 3D would cost about the same, maybe 3D would even be cheaper.

[OzzieMonkey]

Bajo? Yeah, he looks as though he's either really buzzed on caffeine, or really needs to use the restroom.

And, by the way, it's good to hear that you're planning a sequel, Andrew. I'd love for Jolly Rover to actually become a series/saga like Monkey Island.

I'd say Bajo was just itching to get to E3. That and he probably does that cause Junglist isn't on the show anymore to control him.

[Thriftweed Fancy Pants]

What are you (Andrew) considering for a new series?

[brawsome]

What are you (Andrew) considering for a new series?

If I didn't have to worry about money I'd do an adventure game set in an interesting period in Australia's history. I've already got most of this designed.

Otherwise I've got a couple of different ideas for a few other series' but they're all set in space.

[caeska]

Interesting period in Australia's history... oh you mean 1999, when Australia won the Rugby world cup!

[Irishmile]

On the weekend I submitted the game to about 50 different review sites. That was a lot of work let me tell you! I'm hoping reviews start popping up over the next month or so. Darn this E3 taking up peoples time though!

After E3 you should touch base with them again to make sure its not lost in all the E3 madness....

also there are some people who post here who have gaming sites and blogs that you may want to talk to... or just continue talking about it in forums like these.... it is how I heard about it after all.

[guitarsareboring]

If you go to the official site this weekend you can get the game half price. Bought mine today :)

[brawsome]

It's true! It's Jolly Christmas this weekend!

[Hayden]

Same here, finally bought it. I've been meaning to for weeks now. Can't wait to play the other two thirds of the game!... when I get some free time.

[tabstis]

So is this worth getting? Seemed fun from the demo...

[brawsome]

Please feel free to check out some of the reviews it's been getting: http://www.brawsome.com.au/JollyRover/index.php?page=press

[guitarsareboring]

So is this worth getting? Seemed fun from the demo...

Definitely worth getting, well I've been enjoying it anyway.

[brawsome]

LOL! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APa4UOo_IHU

[Nintomster]

Originally Posted by brawsome
I need more people to say "what the hell" and give the game a go =0).

Currently downloading the demo. I like point and click adventure games right now, so lets see if I like it.

[Darth Marsden]

If you go to the official site this weekend you can get the game half price. Bought mine today :)Wait, I missed the chance to get it for £7.50? Aww... I'd totally have bought it for that... :(

[Hayden]

By the way, guys, it's currently half price on Steam! I urge all of you to go and buy it, because it's an excellent game and you will enjoy it.

Plus, what else are you going to waste that five dollars on if you don't buy it on? Chips? Lollies? Believe me, this game is more enjoyable than those two things combined.

[skeeter]

If I didn't have to worry about money I'd do an adventure game set in an interesting period in Australia's history. I've already got most of this designed.

We had one of them? ;)

Otherwise I've got a couple of different ideas for a few other series' but they're all set in space.

Ooh space is good!

[der_ketzer]

By the way, guys, it's currently half price on Steam! I urge all of you to go and buy it, because it's an excellent game and you will enjoy it.

I just bought it.

[Hayden]

I just bought it.
Good on you! I hope you enjoy it, I'm sure you will. I thought it was very fun, as I've already said :).

We had one of them? ;)
Haha! Probably not, but I'm sure an adventure game would be able to make it interesting. Though it would have to be a good adventure game, and there'd have to be a lot of sensationalizing, and it shouldn't be entirely historically accurate. That's what they did in the Ned Kelly film.

Hey, come to think of it, perhaps a game about bushrangers could work well as a game?

[snip3rfire]

Support the Aussie Indie game makers and buy this game!

[Darth Marsden]

Support the Aussie Indie game makers and buy this game!Oh, well if you insist.

Liking the new price. Pretty sure this thing will sell much more now.

[VeronicanPlay]

I am sold! *Scuttles of to steam*

[snip3rfire]

Oh, well if you insist.

It's a fun game! You won't regret it.

[Wapcaplet]

It's $4.99 directly from the developer, too, and you can get a Steam key.

brawsome, do you get a bigger cut of the sale if we buy a Steam key directly from you?

[Chyron8472]

saying you can't make an adventure about pirates because of Monkey Island is like saying you can't make a first person shooter about World War 2 because of Wolfenstein.

You have a point. If an adventure game was high fantasy with certain references to fairy tales, I don't know if as many people would call such a game 'a King's Quest clone' compared to the number of people who compare any and all piratey adventure games to Monkey Island.



I saw Jolly Rover in GameStop yesterday. Didn't get it. (was looking for specific games at the time) =\

I see that it's currently $5.00 both from the developer (http://www.brawsome.com.au/JollyRover/) and from Steam (http://store.steampowered.com/app/58200). Wow.

I haven't played the demo yet. Ah, to heck with it. I'm buying this. It's 5 bucks, I mean come on, really. Wouldn't you buy a game from TTG if it was 5 bucks, even having not tried it yet? If it was $15, I might have tried the demo first, but it would seem to me that people aren't saying "this game is good but ToMI is better" as was said about Bill Tiller's GPoVI (which I have not played.)

As such, I'm buying it and giving the whole game a try. I'll post again later when I've beat it.

[Chyron8472]

I'll post again later when I've beat it.

I lied.

At first glance I notice a few things:

Such that I'm still in the brig at the moment, the graphics so far look very good. Somewhere between MI2:SE and CMI, which is good. (sorry about the MI comparison.)

The first dialogue tree says "[CLICK TO SELECT]" next to each option. Maybe it's me, but having played many an adventure game, I would think that newbies would only need it to say that the first time, and for it not to be present after having clicked something. Meh, I'm being nitpicky.

The blue-text-for-new-dialogue, white-text-for-old approach for mouseover objects is good. I like that idea. Also, I like that the mouse cursor goes nearly transparent during cutscenes.

One thing about the options menu though. When you mouse over the check boxes, they highlight with a red check mark. This mouseover check mark persists even after having unchecked an option (eg. turning subtitles off,) so one has to know to move the mouse away from a check box in order to see whether an option is on or off. I was confused at first when messing with settings. I thought that they were buggy and wouldn't turn off until I moved the cursor away and realized the issue. The highlight ought to either only apply to the initial mouseover, or the box ought to highlight instead of the check mark.

EDIT:
Good game so far (talking to Ron atm.) Voice acting is spot on. There were a couple of lines from DeSilver that seemed to sound as though recorded a tad louder than the rest of the dialogue , but the inflections of words in all the dialogue from everyone so far is great.


Also this...

Ron: Yar, where be yer sense of adventure?
Rover: I believe I left it in my other pants.

lol epic. =D



Truth be told, this game seems way worth more than 5 bucks. More than 15 even. Heck, I'd have paid 30 for it.

[Chyron8472]

Playthrough complete.

This is a very good game. No, it's not like Monkey Island. It's not. Really. It does have certain things in the game that are inspired by Monkey Island, but this game is really quite different in tone. Sure, Gaius isn't a pirate either when the game starts out, but that's about it. Guybrush Threepwood has this loveable ineptitude about himself combined with rather overt silliness in Monkey Island, where Gaius and Jolly Rover are not really like that. It's still a great game, it just is different in tone.

Having developer commentary (which is only available after playing through once already) and item-get dependent unlockable stuff were good ways to create replay value.

I watched a review of this game (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APa4UOo_IHU), and it's true that this game is targeted for adults. It's not really "effed-up" like the review seems to indicate, but it does have women (female dogs) calling themselves "bitches" in one particular scene and there are a few sexual connotations throughout the story (though I'm not sure children would pick up on them.) ...Though after thinking about that, SoMI also does have sexual connotations/references in certain dialogue, but still Jolly Rover's tone is targeted more for adults.

I highly recommend this game. Also, It's currently only 5 bucks from Steam.

[der_ketzer]

but it does have women (female dogs) calling themselves "bitches" in one particular scene

Well bitch means female dog so I don't see a problem here.

[Chyron8472]

because it's derogatory. obviously. which is one of the reasons why it's not really for kids.

If my young nephew called his dog a bitch, his mother would be mad at him and he'd get in trouble I'm sure. I don't know what it's like where you live, but in the US, we don't call our dogs bitches. It's just not a polite term to use. As well these are not ordinary dogs anyway. They are anthropomorphic dogs, which means they have human characteristics... and they call themselves bitches (albeit in only one scene.)

So yes, it should be obvious why that would be an issue for children.

[Hayden]

I highly recommend this game. Also, It's currently only 5 bucks from Steam.

I also recommend that you buy it. It's a really good pirate adventure game; you guys would have killed for a game like this 2 years ago. And if it weren't for the release of ToMI, this game would have recieved a lot more recognition and would have probably been much more successful - it really was unfortunate timing for Brawsome. So, this is another reason why you should go and buy this game - to give it the success that it deserves: the success that it would have received had ToMI not been released just before it.

[JFreeman]

I grabbed it in the sale although I have to play all the games from the Great Adventure Bundle 2010 first...

[Hayden]

Far out, is there anywhere that this game hasn't been on special? It's now a quarter of it's original price over at the Adventure Shop (http://us-adventureshop.gamesplanet.com/products/ASHJORO?affiliate=AG).