Bobbicus
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Registered: 06/09/10
Posts: 244
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| Posted 08/25/10 at 03:41 PM | Reply with quote #1 |
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Hello folks! Welcome to the Vintage Game Club's exploration of Jordan Mechner's return to game making -
As your Champion, I've decided to structure this one slightly differently from the way we've done other games. Please read this thread and post any questions you have here.
But I don't have the game yet!
If you don't have the game already, I recommend you get it here. And bookmark that page if you enjoy vintage games. Which I'm assuming you do.
What if I have the Gamecube version?
There is no appreciable difference between the console and PC versions, other than the control scheme and how you access the Secret Bonus Level(tm). So if you want to play it on Gamecube, go ahead!
What are all these threads for?
I have made 19 threads for general game discussion, each covering two or three stages. If you want to say something about the game, post it in the relevant thread.
How do I know what stage I'm on?
The game is broken down into a series of save points, each of which has a title. When you save the game, you will see this screen.
The name at the bottom right is the name of the stage that you are ABOUT to play. The most recent name in the saved games list is the name of the stage you JUST FINISHED.
Ok. What about the locked threads that say "Act I", "Act II", etc?
I have also broken the game into 6 "acts," which I think work together thematically. There's a thread to discuss each of these. When the "official" playthrough finishes an act, I'll unlock the thread for discussion.
That seems complicated!
It's not complicated at all - post away in any unlocked threads!
But why?
The idea is that people will play at different paces, and trying to keep everyone together is counterproductive and not very enjoyable. At the same time, there is value in synchronizing larger discussions. The more people that participate in an initial discussion, the more interesting it is, drawing out lurkers, people who normally wouldn't post, etc, creating a positive cycle of feedback and analysis.
Hopefully.
Six weeks? Are you crazy? This game is like, 15 hours, tops!
I'd say 20 for an inexperienced player, but that's beside the point. I'm sure that most people will be way ahead of the "official" playthrough, since each act really only takes a night or two of play at most. I'm hoping that people will post, read each others comments, and then go back and re-play various segments, giving them more stuff to post, and by the time the Act thread unlocks people will have played and read enough that we can critique the hell out of this title.
Personally, I find the value of this process and this club to be not in the act of playing through a game with like minded fellows, but in really taking the opportunity to have an in-depth, intelligent analysis that other media enjoy but that games have been sorely lacking in. So yes, 6 weeks is overkill just to play the game. You can read "To Kill a Mockingbird" in an afternoon, too. It's the month of discussion that really bring value to the work.
Plus, it's back to school season and the end of the summer. People will be busy. If you don't have the time to replay sections over and over, you can just play when you can and still most likely be able to take part in all the big, interesting discussions, or catch up quickly if you can't play for a week or two.
Speaking of which, how do I know where the "official" playthrough is?
Why, by checking the stickied thread titled "Where are we?" of course! I will also do my best to have that post list which threads are spoiler free and whatnot as well.
What about Spoilers then, eh?
The first post of a thread will state if it is spoiler free or not, and what part of the game will be discussed. This applies to threads created by other people, as well.
As the "official" playthrough progresses, I'm going to be opening the chapter threads up to spoilers, probably a week or two after we've passed it to give folks lagging behind the chance to catch up.
So I can make my own threads then?
Absolutely! Please try to fit them into an existing thread if you can, but if you want to discuss some topic that's not already out there, make a new thread! Just be sure to specify if it's spoiler free or not, and what will be considered spoilers.
What's this "Further Reading?"
Jordan Mechner, the creator of the original Prince of Persia and the lead writer for Sands of Time, is a very interesting fellow who is way ahead of his time on game design and philosophy. I felt it would be interesting to examine this game and others in the series in light of his other writings. Reading these is not mandatory, of course, but they are fascinating.
Feel free to add any materials you think are relevant.
Uh-huh. And this "Feedback" thread?
This is an experiment of sorts, so I need data. A Feedback thread will go up towards the end of the playthrough. Please leave thoughts, comments, and suggestions for improvement there and don't be shy - my ego will survive constructive criticism, even if it is harsh.
Anything else?
This is a personal request from me - please try to avoid the word "gameplay" whenever possible. "Good gameplay" means different things to different people, so avoid confusion and be specific about what you mean. The mechanics? The controls? The flow of combat?
I'm not going to force people not to use the word, but I think once you break the habit of using it you'll find things get much clearer with much less effort.
Anything else?
Playthroughs are only as good as their participants. Please, please, please read, post, and comment - but above all have fun!
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Rowan
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Registered: 04/23/10
Posts: 305
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| Posted 08/25/10 at 03:52 PM | Reply with quote #2 |
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Yeah, uh, do you have an extra hard copy of the syllabus?
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Bobbicus
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Registered: 06/09/10
Posts: 244
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| Posted 08/25/10 at 04:21 PM | Reply with quote #3 |
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Snark will result in points deducted from your final grade, sir.
Rest assured, though, if I ever champion a playthrough of Planescape: Torment, there will be a syllabus. In PDF form. 
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brainygamer
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Registered: 07/13/08
Posts: 524
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| Posted 08/25/10 at 04:42 PM | Reply with quote #4 |
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Speaking of PS:T and syllabi, this PDF (original vision statement written by Chris Avellone) would definitely be a required reading.
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Michael Abbott
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Bobbicus
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Registered: 06/09/10
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| Posted 08/25/10 at 05:27 PM | Reply with quote #5 |
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Definitely, but I would steer clear of that until you've finished the game.
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Rowan
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Registered: 04/23/10
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| Posted 08/25/10 at 05:29 PM | Reply with quote #6 |
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Not to do a threadjack or anything, but I will be replaying Torment for my book at some point soonish, and wouldn't mind doing it in a group. Dunno if we'd get five people or whatever.
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Bobbicus
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Registered: 06/09/10
Posts: 244
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| Posted 08/25/10 at 05:37 PM | Reply with quote #7 |
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Group or no, I'll be glad to join you. Throw it up in the suggestions thread!
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sparky
Registered: 07/14/08
Posts: 167
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| Posted 08/26/10 at 12:23 AM | Reply with quote #8 |
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I don't understand your motivation for the spoiler rule, and I'm not sure how it will benefit discussion. I generally find spoiler hysteria tiresome, and considering how short these chapters are it seems ridiculous to try to parse out what constitutes a spoiler for a chapter and what's just a thing that happens in it. This is not to mention the chapters that probably can't be discussed at all without spoilers (e.g. Chapter 4). Why isn't it fair game to discuss everything that happens in a chapter or act in that thread from the get-go?
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Bobbicus
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Registered: 06/09/10
Posts: 244
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| Posted 08/26/10 at 02:57 AM | Reply with quote #9 |
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...it is.
If it happens in the chapter or in previous chapters, it's not a spoiler. If it happens after a chapter, it's a spoiler. Does that clear things up?
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sparky
Registered: 07/14/08
Posts: 167
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| Posted 08/26/10 at 11:31 AM | Reply with quote #10 |
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Sure. I'm still not keen on the idea of holding my tongue if there's some interesting foreshadowing (and I don't think the 2-3 weeks rule adds any real flexibility in this regard), but all right.
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rknop
Registered: 08/27/10
Posts: 1
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| Posted 08/27/10 at 12:58 PM | Reply with quote #11 |
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Hmm, I'm going to have to try Planescape Torment with Wine again sometime. I tried it with Wine... what, 10 years ago?... and it didn't work. Wine has come a long way since then. (Yes, I'm fully Linux.)
Played "Sands of Time" on the Xbox six or so years ago. I wonder if that one was ported over to the 360? Perhaps I should go through it again.
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brainygamer
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| Posted 08/28/10 at 10:09 AM | Reply with quote #12 |
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Quote: Originally Posted by rknop
Played "Sands of Time" on the Xbox six or so years ago. I wonder if that one was ported over to the 360? Perhaps I should go through it again.
PoP:SoT is on the Xbox compatibility list, so it's playable on the 360. For what it's worth, the Gamecube version runs on the Wii (as do all GC games). That used to be common knowledge, but I've run into a few people lately who weren't aware of it.
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Bobbicus
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Posts: 244
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| Posted 08/28/10 at 01:28 PM | Reply with quote #13 |
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I highly encourage you to play through it again. It's grand.
Putting on the mod-hat:
Please post a Torment thread in the game proposals section if you wish to discuss organizing a playthrough of that game.
It seems like there's a good bit of interest and it would be best to focus that all in one place. That isn't the Prince of Persia forum.
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GoddTodd
Registered: 08/29/10
Posts: 16
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| Posted 08/29/10 at 07:50 PM | Reply with quote #14 |
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Hi guys,
I'm new to the group and looking forward to this playthrough.
I have a technical FYI for PC Steam users with Nvidia cards. I spent about 15 minutes of the begining of the game thinking it's really wierd that they would start you off nearly blind. Everything is white except stuff that is 3 inches from your face. I'm suprised I even maded up the wall. But then I figured out that this is a bug, not a feature.
If the screen appears to be nearly all white, go to options and turn off the "Fog" feature.
Then you'll be able to see where you're going.
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GoddTodd
Registered: 08/29/10
Posts: 16
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| Posted 08/29/10 at 09:02 PM | Reply with quote #15 |
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For anyone playing on a PC, here's a good controller mapping guide.
http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Prince_of_Persia:_The_Sands_of_Time/Controls
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barbex
Registered: 09/01/10
Posts: 5
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| Posted 09/01/10 at 05:19 PM | Reply with quote #16 |
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I just started this game on the PC and I didn't even know that it was in your Vintage Club. What a coincidence.
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Bobbicus
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Registered: 06/09/10
Posts: 244
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| Posted 10/02/10 at 01:20 AM | Reply with quote #17 |
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Sorry folks, haven't had access to the site for awhile. The official playthrough is back on track and all the ACT threads are open.
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Bobbicus
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Posts: 244
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| Posted 10/02/10 at 01:20 AM | Reply with quote #18 |
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Sorry folks, haven't had access to the site for awhile. The official playthrough is back on track and all the ACT threads are open.
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