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I don't know what this game is. Well that's not quite true. This game is called Arctic Alive, and it's made by Russian developer Dima Kiva. The English version of the game is a machine-translated mess. The game runs in Blender. There are 11 different health bars. There are no video settings or control settings. The default resolution is 480 pixels wide and 360 pixels tall, but since it is running in the same program it was developed in it upscales extremely smoothly. And most importantly, this game is a work of art. I am playing this game because I wanted to share it with more people. Keith of the Run Button crew has an LP of this game too, which you can find here. Joining me on my journey is Faerie Fortune. You may remember us from our Pikmin LP. I'm still the one who knows what's going on (sorta), but now every bad idea is my own fault. If you want to play along with us, the game technically costs 3.99 USD but ever since I've heard of the game, it's been on a 50% off sale on Steam. A note on video quality: Because of the game's default resolution of "haha gently caress you", I have absolutely no control over the actual resolution of the game. I need to manually increase the window size or else I won't be able to read any text, and this game has a fair bit of text. I fix it in post, but the result is a lot of letterboxing in basically random amounts, and some image fuzziness may occur. There are also some frame rate hitches every so often - that's the game. It just does that sometimes. Sorry about all that. And a word of warning, we read the text on the documents. It's pretty much required in this game and I'm not going to apologize for it, but I know some people hate that. And without further ado, the videos! Enjoy:                
gnome7 fucked around with this message at 03:08 on Jul 25, 2016 |
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May 12, 2016 09:00
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It is now necessary.NiftyBottle posted:
azren posted:Speed Bear: Kangra posted:The Joey will have seen the things in the experimenting which are to be upset. Over the bears and the people of the liquid which is surprising more. When found, the ending damages the mind alters. It is suggested the cage. gnome7 fucked around with this message at 21:07 on Jul 12, 2016 |
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May 12, 2016 09:00
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Wow, this is... not something that should exist. And yet somehow seems to work...?  Definitely curious about where this goes.I'm particularly baffled by the decision to make you peer over the lady's shoulder to read maps. I mean, it's a very faithful replication of trying to read a map in real life, but man. I guess I'm just used to more 'videogamey' mapping.
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May 12, 2016 11:19
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This is certainly a thing. I guess survival horrors are an entire genre of managing resources, but this is basically Sims-like in scope. Just be glad they don't make you look over the lady's shoulder for every page diary. I think resting may have tanked the framerate so much because it just sped up time and every object was still animated. Come to think of it, in a game like this I wouldn't be surprised if the power generator tanked framerate because there were moving parts inside it. 
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May 12, 2016 11:32
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I love wonky translation. I love trainwrecks.  Following the hell out of this.
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May 12, 2016 16:42
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Oh we haven't even begun to scratch the surface of wonky translations, this game isn't even close to the suggestion of a competent translation and it leads me and gnome to find some hilarious sentences
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May 12, 2016 16:49
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Russian Harvest Moon is weird.
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May 12, 2016 16:54
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You had me at "runs in Blender". 
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May 12, 2016 17:01
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Doc Morbid posted:You had me at "runs in Blender". So, like, how does this whole thing work? When you buy and install the game on Steam, do you download a copy of Blender along with the game files?
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May 12, 2016 17:04
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This is fascinating. Looking forward to more!
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May 12, 2016 17:16
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Everything about this is magical.
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May 12, 2016 17:33
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gnome7 at 1:42 posted:...And wow, that text is freaking out... Otherwise, seeing something stretching a system in directions it was never meant to go is always super interesting, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of this thing. And bad translations are always fun.
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May 12, 2016 17:35
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AlphaKretin posted:So, like, how does this whole thing work? When you buy and install the game on Steam, do you download a copy of Blender along with the game files? Basically, the game was built completely in Blender, then exported into a separate executable launcher file so it can be run without owning or using Blender, or giving the player access to Blender's editing tools. I don't have Blender, but I believe it has the ability to upload previews of models and landscapes into their own executable files, so people who do not have Blender can load up the models and check them out in a non-editable window with basic camera and movement controls. Dima Kiva took this feature to a level it was never, ever meant to be used, and Arctic Alive is the result. So I mean, technically it isn't running in Blender, it's just running in an off-shoot preview file for a Blender environment that they happened to code items, health bars, enemies, and movement into. Possibly after the fact? I have absolutely no idea how this game functions, but that's the basic idea. gnome7 fucked around with this message at 19:01 on May 12, 2016 |
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May 12, 2016 18:59
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Okay, that makes a bit more sense; it's still witchcraft, but at least I'm not trying to figure out how an editing software got beaten into the shape of a game anymore. God, this game is a mess; it seems like every good idea or decent execution is countered by a really bad one. I can't decide if it's a good mess or a bad one.
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May 12, 2016 19:13
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Oh god this game.
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May 12, 2016 21:15
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For fucks sake Youtube, what is your loving deal with randomly adding borders to videos that don't loving need it!? Anybody else having this issue?
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May 12, 2016 21:18
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This is incredible, although I spent most of the first episode trying to pinpoint Faerie Fortune's accent.
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May 13, 2016 01:24
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I wasn't sure if I particularly liked this game, but then you put on some sick rear end sunglasses and I was sold. Looking forward to seeing how this develops! It's almost looks up Lowtax's gaming garbage alley, assuming it goes anywhere beyond wandering around. I assume it does since there's 11 character meters? Surely they'd didn't add a 'pulse' meter to make watering your carrots and running to the water source more thrilling.
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May 13, 2016 02:09
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Was the computer in the medical room running blender? I know the save computer had the default Ubuntu backdrop.
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May 13, 2016 08:03
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Is the video suppose to just be audio on a black background? Cause thats all I'm seeing on Youtube. ..ANd now that I've asked, I can see video. Thanks, youtube.
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May 13, 2016 08:11
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I love this game already.
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May 13, 2016 14:09
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Hello, time for episode two! But first you'll need to watch the end of episode 1. See, I noticed a couple episodes into editing that FaerieFortune's audio was way too quiet, and was only getting quieter. So I fixed it, but had to re-do the editing on the first few videos as a result, and I noticed a much better stopping point for episode 1 and 2 than what I had used previously. So now episode 1 is three minutes longer. This link will take you straight to the new content of episode 1. And here is episode 2, where things start to happen:
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May 14, 2016 05:18
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Don't you have a flashlight you could use for the dark corridors? It looked like the main character revived by sheer force of  . "No. You didn't break my neck. "
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May 14, 2016 06:21
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The dialogue is just so lovely and delightful! It is now definitely not necessary. It's sad they're experimenting on guinea pigs of all things. I wasn't aware G Pigs were a common lab animal  I like the slender dark critters. I half wish they looked or acted a little creepier, but the twitchy head will do. Just go full on glitching out man! I'm glad they have checkpoints instead of manually saving. I can't imagine going through all that, then getting snapped right at a doorway. "a packet of ground": chemical free mineral based cosmetics, with moisturizing coconut and argan oils. Prices range about 50,000,000 USD per ounce because it's organic. Even the minerals are organic!
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May 14, 2016 06:38
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Wedemeyer posted:It's sad they're experimenting on guinea pigs of all things. I wasn't aware G Pigs were a common lab animal Isn't "guinea pig" an English idiom for someone being used/volunteering for untested experimentation?
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May 14, 2016 07:48
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gschmidl posted:Isn't "guinea pig" an English idiom for someone being used/volunteering for untested experimentation? Yep. Machine translation strikes again.
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May 14, 2016 10:27
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Video 1 is on Youtube at 420p, but video 2 is only available at 360. Geez, that stop-and-wait mechanic seems like a pain. And I hope you can get back through that room, and that you're not now stuck on the wrong side of that room with the one guy that doesn't leave. Unless the key right there is for the elevator, I guess.
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May 14, 2016 10:51
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On the Third Frame you rose again, in fulfilment of the .TXT file.
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May 14, 2016 16:20
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pre:Tess, Please stop moving around so much. When you move, it literally slows down the world. If you do it again I will break your neck! Thx, Your Roommate P.S. Thx for not wandering around in that fetish costume.
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May 14, 2016 16:48
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I'm glad you two are lively and fun to listen to, because I am also a big baby and can't stand horror games at all. With any other LPer I might have just turned off the video but Gnome just seems mildly disappointed upon dying rather than scared so it helps set the mood for me as well. 
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May 14, 2016 17:33
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FishOnAPiano posted:Video 1 is on Youtube at 420p, but video 2 is only available at 360. Video 2 should be available at 480p now. YouTube had suggested I try changing the video using some auto-algorithm thing, and that chopped off the letterboxing and stretched the video to fit the whole window. I found out from your comment here that this also dropped the resolution down to 360p. I reverted their suggestion because I'd rather have black borders on the edges of the video than have even fuzzier resolution in a game full of tiny text. FeyerbrandX posted:On the Third Frame you rose again, in fulfilment of the .TXT file. Kangra posted:
How do I favorite posts on this website Krysmphoenix posted:I'm glad you two are lively and fun to listen to, because I am also a big baby and can't stand horror games at all. With any other LPer I might have just turned off the video but Gnome just seems mildly disappointed upon dying rather than scared so it helps set the mood for me as well. Mild disappointment is exactly what I feel upon dying in this game, and I am glad my can-do attitude empowers you to experience this with us. Death is only as bad as how long its been since you saved. AlphaKretin posted:Don't you have a flashlight you could use for the dark corridors? I do have a flashlight, but I forgot about it for a little bit. I use it a lot more, a couple videos from now. The dark area with the two guys wasn't so bad while playing it because the lamps flood just enough of the place with light that I could pretty much always tell where to go, but I didn't think about how dark it'd be for the viewer later on. There's even darker places later in the game, but I'll up the gamma levels on those videos so there's actually something to watch on screen. I have not played many games as legitimately well darkened as this one is, they put Blender's lighting engine to extremely good use.
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May 14, 2016 17:50
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Krysmphoenix posted:I'm glad you two are lively and fun to listen to, because I am also a big baby and can't stand horror games at all. With any other LPer I might have just turned off the video but Gnome just seems mildly disappointed upon dying rather than scared so it helps set the mood for me as well.
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May 14, 2016 17:54
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I'm an English major, and I'm still not sure I know how to describe the videos I just saw. And if I understand things correctly, this game's method of running is kinda like being able to play a 2d point and click game that uses MS Paint (or maybe Photoshop?) as its only program? 'Cause if that's true, the people who designed this ought to go and do work in graphical programming in general; they're prodigies!Kangra posted:
I didn't realize our heroine had a name... quote:
I get the feeling that it could get a lot worse; one of the preview thumbnails seemed to suggest that you could have her wander around in her underwear if you wanted. 
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May 15, 2016 20:08
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Well, Blender has some very basic simulation ability so that you can make your models walk around and see how it affects the lighting, etc., but this is, obviously, a hell of a lot more than that.
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May 16, 2016 02:21
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azren posted:And if I understand things correctly, this game's method of running is kinda like being able to play a 2d point and click game that uses MS Paint (or maybe Photoshop?) as its only program? 'Cause if that's true, the people who designed this ought to go and do work in graphical programming in general; they're prodigies! Paint/Photoshop doesn't really have any means for changing what's displayed or taking much input, whereas people are saying upthread that you can set up Blender to let a person move around an environment by key control. So kinda more like having a full 2d point and click game with animations and the character walking around the screen running in Powerpoint, maybe. FishOnAPiano fucked around with this message at 05:46 on May 16, 2016 |
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May 16, 2016 05:39
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The screens on the computers look a lot like the ubuntu desktop I stared at for three years of my life. I think to go along with all the other insanity this game was developed on linux.
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May 16, 2016 09:58
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Defying death has some consequences.
gnome7 fucked around with this message at 22:57 on May 16, 2016 |
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May 16, 2016 16:43
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Jesus Christ, this game is a legit competitor for the worst games list.
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May 16, 2016 22:50
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It's someone's fetish, surely, like the ridiculous deaths in Tomb Raider a few years ago. Still doesn't explain why it's running in Blender.
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May 16, 2016 23:28
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I enjoy janky games, and boy is this ever one. I love the protag's Where's Waldo sweater. I love the Meltmans and the bad translations. I love the save animation. There are so many strange little touches that it's endearing.chrisoya posted:Still doesn't explain why it's running in Blender. unity's free now man. why. LoseHound fucked around with this message at 23:36 on May 16, 2016 |
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May 16, 2016 23:31
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