A Hardy Developer's Journal

Finally, there has come the moment that I was waiting for a very long time – I can start a production diary for my own adventure game! Not because I have just put together a loose concept or created the first artwork, no. It is the right moment to begin writing about the game because I have now finished a working version of one of three acts of the full project – to be tweaked and released soon (next month) as a WIP demo. So, while much much work still needs to be done, even on the demo, from this moment on there will be always  some solid virtual entity to refer to. In other words, Frantic Franko now lives! (more…)

Pavel Černohous

Tale of a Hero is a heroic fantasy adventure game with lots of charm, storytelling depth and adventure gaming goodness, that was all finished and ready to fall into players’ hands nearly a year and a half ago. Unfortunately, while the Czech developer and publisher Future Games immediately prepared an English, fully voiced version (voiceover-less demo here), there are no set release dates for the biggest international markets yet. I live in one of the few lucky countries where the game is readily available and I must say that Tale of a Hero went on to become my favorite adventure title from recent years (look up my full review for details). Being so fond of the game, I’ve asked its lead designer Pavel Černohous to take part in an interview about it. He not only did agree, but also brought along Jan Kavan (the creator of Ghost in The Sheet). (more…)

Everyone enjoys a good, long fantasy (fairy-)tale depicting the adventures of a true hero. It’s a pity then that it’s so difficult to come by an adventure game that matches this seemingly broad description. The days of regular King’s Quest and Quest for Glory entries with occasional great one-shots like my personal favorite Death Gate seem to be long over. The few new games that encompass traditional fantasy elements tend to push them towards cartoony slapstick and parody rather than offer a serious treatment of the genre.

Similarly, most new adventure games suffer from shortness, often even choosing an episodic format of publishing – not the best fit for an epic story of heroic daring-do. It is then an experience not totally unlike that of a starving hobbit coming upon a delicious feast to finally play an adventure game which not only captures the spirit of epic fantasy, but it is able to feel fresh, exciting and have a personality all of its own. It is a game that fully deserves the title Tale of a Hero. (more…)