This is absolutely the most idiotic situation I hope ever to come across in accessible gaming history. Instead of giving us a relatively simple sidescroller already fairly far along in development, Tom has decided to give us a completely different game than what many of us have been waiting for and have purchased. We'll doubtless have to wait a whole lot longer for this project to finally be fully completed stretching things out even longer than the years we've already waited. It would be like me going in to a store and paying for an orange only to find myself carrying a watermelon home since the clerk didn't feel like getting me an orange. We've waited years for what showed every sign of being a very good sidescroller game. A sidescroller is a very different kind of game than a 3d action adventure. I can't imagine the controls for such a thing being at all as easy to master. Nor is the art of navigating at all the same. A sidescroller is a far more intuitively easy thing to get the hang of. Even computer novices can fairly quickly grasp the controls. Even a 2d game like Shades of Doom reaches a point of complexity where I would hesitate to recommend it for novices. Sidescrollers are such a natural format of game for translating into audio. Why is it that everyone feels the need to make all these other kinds of far more complex games while this genre is left so full of unexplored potential only represented by one very basic game? Why can't somebody just put out a decent sidescroller?
Doubtless, a lot of gamers will even end up enjoying this creation. I'll even grant you that I am likely to enjoy it. However, what I've paid for, waited for, hoped and dreamed for was a well-designed sidescroller. I already had to accept the loss of an actual accessible copy of a game I've wanted to play since childhood. Frankly, I think Tom has been looking for a reason to basically abandon his rescue attempt of James North's excellent work for quite a while. I'm not even getting a good sidescroller for my troubles. This is preposterous! I've been lead to hope that there would at last be that salvation at the end of the tunnel only to be left completely hanging out to dry. Think about what this does to the whole issue of trust in the accessible gaming community. What's the point of being as transparent as you've been if at the last minute, you do a 180 degree turn and produce something quite different than what people paid for? You could have produced the sidescroller and then gone off in completely different directions with no lasting resentment from anybody. I would have accepted the finished sidescroller and simply moved on with life. In taking your decision, Tom, you throw away a lot of the credability all your transparency has built up. I had very high hopes that you would be the rising star who helped to cary the accessible gaming industry forward. Shifting gears so drastically just isn't the right way to build up a confident and loyal customer base who will trust you enough to place pre-orders. You've certainly lost any lingering trust I had. Everyone was so quick to basically run James North out of town for precisely the kind of thing we're seeing again here. I don't think I'm being unreasonable in wanting something at least a bit similar to what I paid for and fought hard for. Michael Feir Creator and former editor of Audyssey Magazine 1996-2004 Check out my blog at: http://www.blindspots.net/blog.php?user=13 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Thomas Ward" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Gamers Discussion list" <gamers@audyssey.org> Sent: Friday, March 21, 2008 10:54 AM Subject: [Audyssey] What's Ahead For MOTA Beta 2. > Hello everyone, > Over the passed couple of weeks I have received some inquiries about > Mysteries Of the Aztecs Beta 2. I am writing this email in the hope I > can answer as many questions at once as well as give all of you gamers > an awesome sneak peak into MOTA Beta 2. There is a lot changing under > the hood of the new MOTA game engine, and there is a lot of new features > coming your way. In addition Mysteries Of the Aztecs is getting an > expensive sound upgrade which will make the audio environment sound so > much more realistic. > First, let us explore the new game story. It is no secret that the Tomb > Hunter series is USA Games new line of games similar to the Tomb Raider > games produced by Core Design and Edos Interactive. While USA Games is > forbidden by copyright law to use the official Tomb Raider trade marks > and its leading character, Lara Croft, we hope our Tomb Hunter games > will capture the Tomb Raider spirit in all other respects. Our leading > character, Angela Summers, is an archaeologist with a variety of Lara > Croft style moves such as back flips, jumps, forward and reverse rolls, > safety drops, and other skills. In addition Angela is well versed in a > variety of fire arms including her trusty 9 Millimeter Browning, 357 > Magnum, Shotgun, and the M-16 assault rifle. > Our game begins high above the Amazon rain forest as Angela Summers > parachutes into the jungle where Dr. Pierre Romo's expedition went > missing one year ago. Armed with her trusty 9 Millimeter Browning, two > med kits, her laser sight, and an emergency radio she sets off on foot > to find the Aztec Temple of death. In the first level Angela must work > her way through the jungle on foot picking up gold coins, diamonds, > reloads for her Browning, and fend off giant spiders and snakes. > Inside the temple proper Angela must avoid several traps including lava > pits, spikes, swinging blade traps, pits of fire, and rolling boulder > traps. She must also face undead Aztec skeleton warriors armed with bows > and spears. Unlike the snakes and spiders the skeleton warriors are much > harder to kill with Angela's trusty 9 Millimeter Browning. She must pick > up more powerful weapons including a bow and arrow, a 357 Magnum, > Shotgun, and M-16 Assault Rifle left behind by Pierre Romo's failed > expedition. If she makes it to the end she will face the Aztec King and > Queen of death in combat. > As stated above one of the major changes in Mysteries of the Aztecs Beta > 2 is an all new sound upgrade. I have worked very hard to create or > purchase only the highest quality sound effects for Mysteries of the > Aztecs Beta 2. For example, Angela's weapons such as the 357 Magnum and > Shotgun are pretty true to the actual sound of a Magnum and 12 gage > shotgun being fired. I have added in some echo and other special effects > to sound as though they are being fired inside a large empty structure > such as a tomb or temple. Interesting enough in comparing my shotgun > sound to the ones used in the majority of the Tomb Raider games my > shotgun sounds are far more realistic and accurate. As someone who > thrives on high quality authenticity in my sound effects I think Tomb > Hunter is going to be as good as any TR game as far as the Audio > environment goes. > Taking a look at the new engine there is a lot of changes in game play. > I have decided in order to really do Mysteries Of the Aztecs justice I > have incorporated the new Genesis 3D technology into the game. > Many of these upgrades involves Angela herself. I have been working on > adding all sorts of realistic full 3D movement for Angela. When the > engine is done Angela will be able to jump, do flips, rolls, turn in > place, climb, sidestep, crouch, stand, crawl, swim, etc. While I know > many of you were hoping for a side-scroller I really honestly think you > will be impressed with the new direction the game has taken. > The new and improved 3D Aztec temple will include secret passages, > hidden treasure rooms, and a host of new dangers and puzzles to solve. > For example, imagine having to climb a rope to a ledge at the top of a > room to find a gold key that unlocks the door below. You might have to > locate and pull a certain lever which allows a specific Aztec statue to > be moved or pushed aside revealing a hidden treasure room behind it. It > is these sorts of puzzle elements that draws many sighted gamers to the > Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider games. > Another aspect is random placement of some treasure and weapons. One of > the major complaints I got about Montezuma's Return was nothing was > randomized. I have heard your complaints and Beta 2 will have several > items appear randomly in rooms. Some items such as gold coins in a > hidden room will be static while some gems and weapons will be scattered > around the temple randomly. > In short I am working hard to make Mysteries Of the Aztecs the best game > it can be under the current situation. I feel bad I was not able to > complete Montezuma's Return do to copyright issues, but in the end I > think what you will get in return is going to be a much more fun, > exciting, and better game altogether. > > > --- > Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org > If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at > http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. > All messages are archived and can be searched and read at > http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] > If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the > list, > please send E-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. 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