Metal Slime Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 First time poster - I grew up playing the Exile series. Just recently picked up Avernum & Avadon on the ipad. I had a great time playing Avadon. The experience of being an authority figure able to act with near impunity, physically pathetic, but backed by a fearsome power, was a breath of fresh air in a well-worn genre. However my experience was dampened by this: I entered wide-eyed with a feeling that there were hundreds of subtle choices that really mattered. What should I report on my colleagues? Will I be able to foment opposition to Redbeard from within, should I choose wisely? Will I be found out and put on the scrying table should I fail? How am I going to get out of that pickle? As I progressed further, my hope sank, and I became resigned to realizing I could hardly make a significant decision, nor at times even minor ones. (Hand Gavin, I’m looking at you!) It picked up at the end with the surprise betrayals and attack on Avadon, but was clearly a different game than I’d led myself to expect. The story was effective and powerful, and somewhat had the effect of reducing your hope of being a world-changing force into being but a grain of sand in a turbulent tide. It is difficult to reconcile whether this is the game’s grand statement or a weakness due to linearity. My wish for Avadon sequels is simply this – Now that I’ve experienced the feeling of having the rug yanked out from under my careful plotting in Avadon 1, in the sequel I’d love to delve more richly into the politics, to make impactful decisions that make for a different story experience on multiple playthroughs. I’d love to see a Shadow Beast investigation type quest where following Avadon’s strict orders of keeping your intents secret make a great difference in the outcome of later events. Or a Shima type quest where helping him kill his enemies actually ruins a peace you could have made between two nations. I’d love to see companion quests in opposition to each other (can’t make everyone happy… this presents gameplay issues surely, there might have to be new companions with somewhat more overlapping skills) – or companions that might eventually see reason in not undertaking their selfish ideals, and yet still remain loyal. Heck, less rigid, symmetrical quest-like ways to gain loyalty would be fantastic. Anyway, truly overall I had a great time - thanks for another one. I’m looking forward to the sequel, whether or not it meets my lofty hopes for the possibilities this scenario presents. Wonderful work as always, Jeff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilith Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Yeah, Avadon is a fun game but it doesn't quite deliver everything it promises -- most of your decisions don't actually matter. You might try the Geneforge series, if you haven't already; it does a better job of providing consequences to your actions and giving you the chance to shape the world's future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punctuation rains from the heavens Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Well put. I agree with you about the linearity and the squashing of choices. Realistically, this is unlikely to change in sequels, seeing as Spiderweb has been making "moral dilemma with complex political situation! just kidding, I meant pick a side" scenarios since the late 90's. But you never know. Avadon is a bit on the black-and-white end of the spectrum; Geneforge 1, for example, had a handful of different ally-choices you had to make that had a big impact on the ending. Also, nice avatar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metal Slime Posted June 25, 2012 Author Share Posted June 25, 2012 Hehe... thanks, House. Lilith, I never got around to Geneforge (skipped out on gaming in general for a good 10-15 years). It sounds intriguing but I fear the effect others have mentioned in going backwards in Spiderweb games, wherein the more primitive UI clouds an experience you would have once accepted thoroughly. One more point on Avadon! Perhaps I missed a side quest that covered this, but I felt quite thoroughly disappointed that I was able to subdue NO ONE and return them to Avadon for morally questionable mental probing. Surely that would have been a fantastic (and likely heart-wrenching) thing to take part in. *The metal slime flees!* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randomizer Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 You get to turn in Ryozo for questioning, but not escort anyone personally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldengirl Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Having been a veteran of the Geneforge games, and knowing how crucial decisions are in that game, I was wary when playing Avadon. I had some sense that there would be a rebellion at some point, and I decided to attempt to make the history books by being disloyal. Alas, most of my utterances and actions were completely useless until the very end. And when I read the ending text, I found that some of the most important decisions I had made were ones I wasn't even making consciously, when I decided to skip the challenge areas. I know a lot of the development time on Avadon went into creating the new engine. That's why it's a smaller game, and even then it is richly full of exposition if one is willing to do some reading. I expect that future Avadon games will rectify the significance of role-playing in the series... as well as be longer and with more content, since a new engine doesn't need to be developed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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