First Screenshots from Relics 2

A sequel to Relics: Dark Hours is now in production.


Click here for images from the upcoming gmae: Relics 2.







Relics 2 is expected to be released in Spring 2012.

Great Becky! Thanks.

Ana

Can't wait! I enjoyed the first one.

Thank You Becky !!

Thanks for the info Becky.

Thanks Becky, I just finished the first game and found it quite entertaining. Looking at the screenshots it seems like there are more actors this time.

However I love to see somebody doing FMV these days. Except Casebook and Darkstar, there hasn't been much during the last years. Even nicer that there are still coming new games at this front.

Edit: If the developers read here, I have one suggestion for the second part:
Please make exits more obvious and try to improve movement speed. The first part was not that bad at all, but sometimes I had problems to navigate, even if I revisited places I've been before. It would also be useful to have some more distance to walls. Hotspots for some doors could also be more obvious.

Beside that, the first one was a good beginning. For those who like to try it, BigFish games offers a sample to check it out.

I also would be interested, how much parts are planned in that series.
-

Thanks for the info Becky - looking forward to the next Relics game!

Never played the first, looks like I should!
Thanks Becky, our ever-persistant journalist!

Thank you Becky for the news!

Thanks for posting, Becky!

Neon, I always read reviews and forum posts Navigation wasn't the best for Relics 1 for several reasons but the second game resolves this issue as well as hightens the interaction between the main character and environment. This game will be a lot scarier

As for sequels, there is no plan for a set number of games, we will hopefully keep making and improving on each game as long as they find a fan base.

Thanks to everyone for your comments, they're appreciated!

-Bryan

Hi Bryan -- thanks for stopping by!

Becky

Thanks Bryan, I really liked Relics one and just knew that any games that continue the unfinished story would get better and better with what you have learned. Wasn't there mention of exactly how many relics went missing in the first game? I can't remember but wasn't it 9 or 12? I assumed then that since only one was found that each new episode would be about each remaining relic.

On another note, it must be really different for you to work with live actors in a game rather than developing them in your mind as in your other games. And what do you think of your experience in FMV?

Hey GreyFuss,

Thank you. We didn't specify the number of Relics in the game, it was intentionally left open for the purpose of not setting up a number of other games. We approached this more like a TV series where you have an adventure with a familiar cast but a new setting and location each time. The idea was to make it feel like a complete episode but leave it open just enough to elaborate in the future.

As for the FMV it was an amazing experience but in a lot of respects, shooting Relics was a ton of trial and error. It was the first project where I really pushed myself to delegate responsibilities and that had mixed results. Some parts of the production went well and some, well, kinda crashed and burned. Working with live actors who are also being seen (as opposed to only voice acting) was a blast. There are so many talented people out there!

If I could go back and do it over, I would have self-made a mini-production of the process to avoid the pitfalls we ran into when we were supposed to be shooting scenes and instead stood around talking about how we're going to address issues that have risen.

Almost all of the negative feedback in reviews and user comments I agree with. While I retain I'm proud of this game because of the labor that went into it and the obstacles overcome to create a cohesive experience, I see the flaws. They're the flaws of shooting scenes wrong that had to be cut, flaws stemming from coming back to the shooting location (the school) and EVERYTHING was completely re-arranged (apparently they decided to do some restructuring/remodeling the same week we were shooting) and some cases where the shooting script was a wrong version. (Again, footage that had to go to the trash heap.)

No game I've ever worked on was easy. This game, however, has the distinction of being one of, if not the most difficult. However, all of that experience translated into a much better production for Relics 2. If Relics 2 comes out, it will be a vastly superior experience on all fronts. The story, interactions, puzzles and horror elements really sing this time around!

-Bryan

Hi Bryan --

It's intriguing to hear some of the history of Relic's development! I wonder if full motion video is simply more difficult to work with because of the characteristics of the medium.

Looking forward to Relics 2 even more.

Hi Bryan, I'm really pleased that you've decided to make the games as a series of complete games rather than as parts - all too often you've forgotton the story by the time the next part comes (if it comes at all!) I really liked the integration of the FMV characters & enjoyed the story immensely. I'm sorry that there were so many negative comments. It might have helped to have had the ingame map 'updated' as you discovered rooms/items etc as navigation was obviously the major issue but I'm so glad I persevered with it!

I'll say this, it's the best FMV I've seen. The problem for me was navigation. I look forward to seeing what you've done with Relics 2.

Gil.

Becky,

Honestly, it's production budget coming into play again. If we were a big studio with a real budget, we would have had a sound stage built for the game, or at the very least, picked an ideal place to shoot, not been at the mercy at who will let us. While this school was interesting from the perspective of it being a combinations of several experimental architectures, it became frustrating for making sense of navigation. Even being IN the building you had a tough time figuring out where you were and where you wanted to go.

And, of course, the janitorial staff literally moving everything around every day didn't help. It threw off days of work because we had to move things back to make them consistent. And even with our efforts, it bugs me to find so many inconsistencies in the game!

With Relics 2 we went in burned by the lessons learned from the first experience. So while I can say shooting live footage with actors presents many challenges, I can't say any medium is perfect. In 3-D your quality is limited to your budget (or the talent of your volunteer contributors). Spending the same amount of money on actors as you would an animator for 3D characters would give you two different results, the FMV will have a half dozen or more live actors with lots of cut scenes while a 3D version will give you one or two characters in limited cut scenes.

When all's set and done I do find FMV facinating as I feel it really puts you "there" as a player. Unless 3D is done to a hollywood level, there's a disconnect, you're reminded they're 3D models, not people. That's not to say I'm knocking 3D, it's just the ups and downs of FMV vs 3D is a topic I could talk about all day

-Bryan

Hi Bryan --

It's intriguing to hear some of the "making of Relics" details! More cutscenes with "real live" characters is a good trade-off, IMHO.

Anyone have any news about Relics 2?

I believe Spring 2012 has either past or is coming depending on where you are in the world. Whatever the case, it's either late or coming very soon or worst-case, delayed until next year

I sent a message to Bryan. We'll see what he has to say.

Ana

Hello!

We had finished all of the location shooting and were beginning processing the footage to make the game when the project was put on "hold" by the publisher who, a few months later, closed up.

As it is, Relics 2 is in a permanent "limbo" state. There's always a chance it could be ressurrected but at this time I'm afraid I don't have any indication of that.

Relics 1 wasn't very well received (The Big Fish audience in particular was pretty cruel) so the push for a sequel isn't really there. Also, I learned too late that many adventure game enthusiasts will not shop at Big Fish for various reasons. The combination of those two things certainly didn't help sales.

I do appreciate everyone who's supported the game. It certainly wasn't perfect on the first attempt at making a first person point and click out of film footage but it's a shame we may never get to show off the way we improved it all for the second game.

-Bryan

I am sorry to hear that Bryan. It's a tough market out there for sure. Hopefully someone will come around wanting to fund the project. Good luck to you and thanks for stopping in!

Ana

Thanks Ana and Hi Bryan!

Wow, such a quick reply! I personally enjoyed Relics a lot. That's very sad to hear how people could be so mean. It wasn't a perfect game but I didn't expect it to be: I expected an enjoyable and interesting game and I got that and more.

I was really looking forward to the sequel and seeing how the story would continue, and how you guys would improve on the first game. I hope you aren't discouraged by those on BigFish and we do get to play your game.

I'll always support developers I like and you are obviously incredibly dedicated to pleasing the fans, it's a shame some don't appreciate it. Good luck with your next project whatever that may be,

Wincey

How disappointing.

It is disappointing! I hope the game vaults out of limbo in the near future.

Thanks, Bryan, for the information.

Darn it

Thanks Bryan for updating us even if it is not what we want to hear. May I ask who owns the rights? I am one of those who dislike BigFish maybe GOG or Steam may be the way to go in the future.

On another subject, is there still a chance to see Delaware again even though the Kickstarter campaign didn't turn out well?

Yes, both of those would be better IMO. If you look at all the games on Bigfish they are mostly of the same style, and probably don't welcome something different.

BigFish has plenty of adventures on their website under the Large File category. They have done a great service to the Adventure community by introducing these games to a whole new group of people that were only aware of casual games.

You do not need to utilize them for your games and fortunately there are other choices out there for you, but BigFish has great customer service and a large selection of games in every genre.

Ana

I'm so sorry that Relics 2 has been put on hold - I was so looking forward to the next one after enjoying the first one so much which only suffered from slightly confusing navigation.

I would agree with trying to go with GOG or Steam for new adventures. While I agree BrownEyedTigre that BFG have done a great service by introducing AGs to players of Casual Games but most of them are already popular games. I'm not sure that it's the best place for a new AG taking into account that posters are very critical & not a site that pure AG fans would choose to download their games from.