Ooof... sad for all those devs, but wow was that game was a mistake from the start
this post was submitted on 01 Jul 2023
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I think they had mostly worked on point-and-click games before Gollum. Clearly they weren't ready to scale up to a project as large as a LoTR title. Sad to see though nevertheless.
Just the idea/concept felt off... someone should have asked why we need a whole game about a side-character that no one asked for
Eh, I get it. As popular as the brand is, I can understand studios being hesitant to take the main cast on a new adventure, since it's not very believable with what they already do.
There can be an appeal to a "just a nobody" story in the same universe, but then the only thing you can rely on is the setting and brand recognition.
A side character turned main character let's you "expand the universe" with a known character, and nest something with the existing story, without feeling like beating a dead horse in a fan-fic-esque revisit of the main cast.
I was curious with Gollum, how they'd make an interesting game with an engaging story about a generally unlikeable side character.
Turns out they didn't. But it probably would've been very impressive if they had!
Hogwarts Legacy definitely succeeded in doing that, it's a shame it's so rarely tried.
They could have used the Silmarillion instead. That thing is chock full of information a lot of people don't know that could have been used.
A better idea imo would be you play a lowly Orc in the same locale and you could climb ranks like the nemesis system. Gollum could still be there if they wanted to tell his story.
I don't understand this argument. I can think of a dozen ways of making an interesting Gollum game. It's a fascinating and daresay iconic character. I was a little bit hyped for the game actually, too bad it's... Well, this.
Should have maybe sticked to their expertise and made a lotr point and click game, instead of trying to make a big RPG. 🤷🏽♀️
I think I heard that they didn't actually want to make a game as technically complex as it was, but the company that licences the rights to make games set in the Legendarium sort of forced them into it.
What I find rather funny is that LOTR is a setting that would be pretty perfect for a traditional PnC adventure game. They could have played to their strengths and possibly made a better game, even with their odd choice of protagonist.
Honestly the developers were not skilled for this knowing their past pedigree. They should have ramped up with something a little more small scale before this. At the end of the day they have to bring home a paycheck to feed themselves and their family and hope they find a new job as swift as possible.
It’s unfortunate. I’ve enjoyed some of Daedalic‘a games but this one was so far out of their wheelhouse I’m surprised they got anything out. It’s like if ConcernedApe was developing the next Mortal Combat.
That's what happens if you try too hard to milk an existing franchise instead of going with your own ideas...
Most wholesome MK ever.
Wtf I didn't realize that it was daedalic games
They have a lot of experience in 2d point and click games with limited 3d, a project like this is insane
Goodbye Deponia...
They only published the Point and Click games and they will continue to publish games. A new Deponia game (surviving Deponia) was just recently announced
No the point and click adventures where (often) developed in-house. They also served as a publisher for games by other studios but the Edna + Harvey series, the Deponia games, A new beginning, the whispered world and it's sequel, the two The Dark Eye games and the adaptation of The Pillars of the Earth all came from internal teams.
Man the two the dark eye games (Chains of Satinav and Memoria) were really good point and click games with a good plot.
To be fair: Most of the P&C designers left the studio years ago, so I Deadalic closing its studio isn't that much of a loss.
Interesting, didn't know that.
The biggest loss was Poki leaving a few years back.
Someone I trust said that the Elvish dialogue that they charge extra for is badly pronounced and so garbled that it's not even intelligible most of the time. Mismanaged?
You had to pay extra for shoddy voice-over work?
IIRC you also had to pay for the idle animation. Like if you don't interact with the game, Gollum would catch a fly and eat it or something, but you had to pay for that.
They put the lore behind a paywall too. The game was just a huge fail overall.
It's sad really, the game had potential but it was very clearly undercooked and over ambitious considering the studios past. That's a lot of developers who will be out of a job, have to feel for them.
Did it, though? Do people really want to play as gollum? I think it only did as "well" as it did because of how hilariously bad it was, but who the heck ever said "I kinda want to play as one of the most pathetic villains ever created?"
this could have been an extremely quirky and funny retelling of a classic adventure through stealth and skullduggery.
I really loved the idea. I'm glad I didn't preorder, but if the game had mixed reviews instead of crazy negative, I would have bought the game.
Stealth games are a popular genre and I personally find the character of Gollum to be quite compelling and I think it could have been done well, but it obviously wasn't.
I do a pretty accurate Gollum impression and have entertained friends with it at great length and sometimes to their annoyance so maybe I relate to the character more than is usual but I can't be the only one.
Well, the same can’t be said about the Gollum impression that made it into the game.
It could be really cool to play gollum. The origin story is interesting and with a few good writers you could have spin a pretty nice tale.
I'm not a Lord of the Rings fan(in fact I've only seen the 1st movie) but I can't imagine that their is much actual coherent plot in a game about a side character.
There is so much more that most people are not aware of that it isn’t so hard. This was based on the Unfinished Tales. Despite being a side character, Gollem has an interesting story arc and he is important leading up to the events that made it into the films. The dual personality thing is also somewhat unique, he isn’t completely evil.
As a story, I think it would have been better received closer to when the films were released, when the character was more popular and more normal people might have been interested (bonus, expectations for video game quality were lower 2003).
I mean... the game looked worse than The Witcher 2 from 2011 and made up more BS about the lore than I thought possible for a story so short.
Still patching it?? Isn’t it time to just let it die?
Even redfall.. take the L and move on
What I'm not getting is, why are they closing all those game studios after one failed game? Everyone is going to fail sometimes, this does not seem sustainable
The success of the Gollum game was really needed, financially. They barley got by with their niche point and click games.
I wasn't aware of that, thank you!
Developing a game of that scale is a huge financial investment. If it doesn't pay out you gotta lay off people unless you've got a gigantic war chest full of money, which unfortunately German tax law makes quite hard because you pay taxes on that war chest just for having it
Well, I think there is a difference between "underdelivering" and exposing the company to a risk of lawsuits.
Good, never do anything related to anything ever
It makes me want to play it just to see how bad it is
Oh thank god, what a relief
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