Knightmare VR Appreciation Week
Posted: 08 Mar 2015, 12:15
Okay, this'll be a short one.
Just a quick reminder for anyone who doesn't read the series discussion board, this is a cross-platform project: I'll share some thoughts here and also host a discussion on Knightmare Chat tonight (Sunday) for anyone who wants to pitch in.
Anyway, so, Knightmare VR...
I was never happy with the concept (I'd imagine many people may feel the same way), but I was also excited about there possibly being a new series of Knightmare, never mind how different it would be. I even remember asking Tim if there was any more footage they shot at one point...
In any case, KMVR is a strange beast. At some points, it feels a bit like Knightmare; at some other points, it may as well be a different concept entirely. I do have to wonder if this is what TimeGate may have been like, had they made that. Anyway, some positive points (few as they may be) are:
- Treguard. I'm not too okay with him being a floating avatar head, but it does hearken back to the days when his head would appear in the Dungeon along with the Dungeoneers, and interact with characters! And I'm very grateful for Hugo doing the voice, as well; it's always comforting to hear his tones.
- Lord Fear. Again, wonderful voice acting from Mark Knight. The script for his bit is a little strange, but it's still got some of the wit in it - "yes, Lissard, it's the tooth fairy!".
- I quite like the incidental music (apart from the theme tune and the strange voiceless version that plays as they go through the dwarf tunnels!). To the trained ear, it becomes apparent that it's actually the same tune throughout, with different tempos and inversions, and on different instruments, creating varied atmospheric background music. Really quite clever, if you are into that sort of thing.
- The ogre's okay. He's the wrong colour for an ogre, but it's quite good to see a "guard" figure again!
- Seeing-eye stone as opposed to spyglass? Hmmm... okay.
- Slice Me Dice Me! A wonderfully fiendish floor puzzle that would have worked well in 'real Knightmare'.
That's about all I can think of. Some negative points are:
- The rest of the characters. Lissard doesn't sound right (for obvious reasons); Despair doesn't do much; Ellie just acts like a scaled-down version of Elita with no real characteristics.
- And Garstang. I particularly don't like Garstang. I was very pleased to see an orc in Knightmare, but as a host? This just seems a little awkward to me - I much prefer him in KMGW as a looming threat, rather than just a gruff Cockney avatar (...although, having said all that, I did call for TC to do Garstang's voice at KnightmareCon, and he did - so...!).
- The dungeoneer casting spells. I kind of get why this is a thing, but PICKMEUP? Would it kill you to have a one-word spell?
- The animation. It looks a little bit like everyone here is the Automatum!
- And the lack of a physical environment. Arthur just saying what he's going to take and it appearing in a computer-game-esque inventory is just bizarre! Yes, this is a necessity for the game as it stands, but it's really odd.
My overall take on KMVR is that it is very much a pilot. Which it is. There was a limited budget and, I would imagine, not too many resources with which to do the thing - however, as a result of such, it looks a bit clunky and even unfinished. There are some good ideas - really, there are - but for some reason, it's difficult to see where this is going!
And, sadly, I can see why no TV channels picked it up. Mind you, I'd still have watched it had they done so!
Any thoughts?
Just a quick reminder for anyone who doesn't read the series discussion board, this is a cross-platform project: I'll share some thoughts here and also host a discussion on Knightmare Chat tonight (Sunday) for anyone who wants to pitch in.
Anyway, so, Knightmare VR...
I was never happy with the concept (I'd imagine many people may feel the same way), but I was also excited about there possibly being a new series of Knightmare, never mind how different it would be. I even remember asking Tim if there was any more footage they shot at one point...
In any case, KMVR is a strange beast. At some points, it feels a bit like Knightmare; at some other points, it may as well be a different concept entirely. I do have to wonder if this is what TimeGate may have been like, had they made that. Anyway, some positive points (few as they may be) are:
- Treguard. I'm not too okay with him being a floating avatar head, but it does hearken back to the days when his head would appear in the Dungeon along with the Dungeoneers, and interact with characters! And I'm very grateful for Hugo doing the voice, as well; it's always comforting to hear his tones.
- Lord Fear. Again, wonderful voice acting from Mark Knight. The script for his bit is a little strange, but it's still got some of the wit in it - "yes, Lissard, it's the tooth fairy!".
- I quite like the incidental music (apart from the theme tune and the strange voiceless version that plays as they go through the dwarf tunnels!). To the trained ear, it becomes apparent that it's actually the same tune throughout, with different tempos and inversions, and on different instruments, creating varied atmospheric background music. Really quite clever, if you are into that sort of thing.
- The ogre's okay. He's the wrong colour for an ogre, but it's quite good to see a "guard" figure again!
- Seeing-eye stone as opposed to spyglass? Hmmm... okay.
- Slice Me Dice Me! A wonderfully fiendish floor puzzle that would have worked well in 'real Knightmare'.
That's about all I can think of. Some negative points are:
- The rest of the characters. Lissard doesn't sound right (for obvious reasons); Despair doesn't do much; Ellie just acts like a scaled-down version of Elita with no real characteristics.
- And Garstang. I particularly don't like Garstang. I was very pleased to see an orc in Knightmare, but as a host? This just seems a little awkward to me - I much prefer him in KMGW as a looming threat, rather than just a gruff Cockney avatar (...although, having said all that, I did call for TC to do Garstang's voice at KnightmareCon, and he did - so...!).
- The dungeoneer casting spells. I kind of get why this is a thing, but PICKMEUP? Would it kill you to have a one-word spell?
- The animation. It looks a little bit like everyone here is the Automatum!
- And the lack of a physical environment. Arthur just saying what he's going to take and it appearing in a computer-game-esque inventory is just bizarre! Yes, this is a necessity for the game as it stands, but it's really odd.
My overall take on KMVR is that it is very much a pilot. Which it is. There was a limited budget and, I would imagine, not too many resources with which to do the thing - however, as a result of such, it looks a bit clunky and even unfinished. There are some good ideas - really, there are - but for some reason, it's difficult to see where this is going!
And, sadly, I can see why no TV channels picked it up. Mind you, I'd still have watched it had they done so!
Any thoughts?