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Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs

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Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
Developer(s)The Chinese Room
Publisher(s)Frictional Games
Designer(s)Peter Howell[1]
Dan Pinchbeck[2]
Artist(s)Wesley Tack (Lead artist)[3]
Writer(s)Dan Pinchbeck[4]
Composer(s)Jessica Curry[2]
EngineHPL Engine 2[4]
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux
Release10 September 2013
Genre(s)Survival horror
Mode(s)Single-player

Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs is a survival horror video game developed by The Chinese Room and produced and published by Frictional Games. The game is an indirect sequel to Amnesia: The Dark Descent, which was developed and produced by Frictional Games. While set in the same universe as the previous game, it features an entirely new cast of characters and time setting.[4] The game became available to pre-order on 16 August 2013, and was released on 10 September 2013.

Plot

Set on New Year's Eve 1899 in Victorian London,[5] the focus of the story will be Oswald Mandus, a wealthy industrialist, and his relationship with his children.[6] Mandus returns from a "disastrous" expedition to Mexico, where tragedy struck. Hit by fever, Mandus has frequent dreams about a dark machine until he regains consciousness. Little does he know that months have passed, and upon awakening, he hears the roar of an engine and a mysterious machine starts up.[4]

The game will feature several interlocking story lines. Some take place in the past, some in the present, and some are overtly real while some may be imagined.[7]

Gameplay

The game will be a survival horror game played from a first-person perspective.[4] It has been confirmed that some elements of The Dark Descent have been removed, while new elements have been added.[4] One of the reasons for this is to provide a fresh gameplay experience to veteran players of The Dark Descent.[4]

The game's level design has been touted as "significantly different" from that of The Dark Descent, with larger areas and outdoor environments included. AI is also being adjusted to ensure players are unable to predict enemy behavior based on their experiences with the original game. However, it has been confirmed by the developers that the core of the game will remain the same as in The Dark Descent, so as not to disappoint fans who want more of what they loved in the original.[7] Furthermore, it was confirmed in interviews that the inventory has been removed,[8][9] along with the oil and tinderboxes.[10]

Development

"How come a game meant for Halloween 2012 has been delayed for so long? Originally we thought it would be a short, experimental game set in the universe of Amnesia, but The Chinese Room had a vision that was bigger than that. As their work progressed, the potential for a much greater project emerged. What we ended up with is no longer what we had first imagined, but a fully fledged Amnesia game. A different kind of Amnesia, but definitely not a short experiment."

- Frictional Games on the delay of the game.[11]

In 2010, after the release of The Dark Descent, Frictional Games wanted to further the Amnesia franchise, but had no time for it. Later, they met Dan Pinchbeck of The Chinese Room at GDC Europe 2011, where the plan for the game began to form.[4][10] It was originally intended by The Chinese Room to be a small mod, but it was expanded to a larger scale project when "the two companies realized what could be achieved with a larger game."[10]

Development for the game began in December 2011 at The Chinese Room, while Frictional Games was producing and publishing the title.[4]

The game was originally set to release before Halloween 2012, but was later delayed to early 2013 due to overwhelming response and to meet the expectations. In February 2013 Frictional Games announced a status update about the game in which they announced they would release the game in Q2 2013.[11]

In late May 2013, Jens Nilsson, the co-founder of Frictional Games, stated in a forum post that: "We know we will not make Q2 (2013), we also know when the game will be ready for launch. We have not set the exact day yet. You can however make good use of the weather outside this summer and look forward to gaming with the piggies as the summer comes to an end."[12] Dan Pinchbeck stated, "Frictional's take is, release it when it's done."[10]

In August 2013, The Chinese Room confirmed on their Twitter feed that the final release date for the game is 10 September 2013.[13] The game was available to pre-order since 16 August.[14][15][16]

Marketing

Initially code-named "gameB" by The Chinese Room,[17] the announcement of Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs was preceded by a viral marketing and alternate reality game campaign that began when Frictional Games updated their website Next Frictional Game,[18] which has prior been used to announce the first installment, in early 2012. The website featured a heavily blurred image, the Amnesia logo and a caption reading "Something is emerging...".[19][20]

The blurred image was hyperlinked to Google Maps with the search field set as "China".[19][20] The website was later updated with a slightly less blurred image, and hyperlinked to Google Maps with the search field set as "Boreray."[21] It was updated for a second time, with a non-blurred image (a piece of concept art), redirecting to Google Maps with the search field set as 502 2nd Avenue in Seattle.[22] The three hyperlinks were hints towards The Chinese Room's involvement in the game (a previous game by The Chinese Room, Dear Esther, was set on an Hebridean island like Boreray, and the address in Seattle pointed towards a restaurant named 'The Chinese Room').[4][22]

Examination of the site's source code led fans to a webpage that resembled a computer console with usable commands and a countdown. After the expiration of the countdown, a message on the page read "A machine for pigs coming fall two thousand twelve."[23] The game was formally announced via video game blog Joystiq.[4]

On 14 June 2012, the first teaser trailer was released on Frictional Games' YouTube channel.[24][25] It showed various scenes from the game, from industrial settings to more studious rooms. In the final shot, the character wakes up to the sound of an enemy breaking down a door making pig-like grunts and squeals. An unseen creature enters the room, its shadow is cast against the back wall as the player hides under a set of stairs.

On 31 October 2012, to coincide with Halloween, a second trailer was posted on Frictional Games' YouTube channel.[26][27] Many new features were shown, such as the updated lantern and the new voice for the main character. The trailer also shows the protagonist being confronted by one of the enemies in the game.

On 3 September 2013, Eurogamer released a video of the first 30 minutes of the game.[28]

Reception

Eurogamer gave A Machine for Pigs a score of 7 out of 10, noting that it "will absolutely keep you fed".[30] GameSpot gave the game a score of 8 out of 10, saying that while it's a "captivating adventure", it is also "a very dark and disturbing one that touches on depressing real-world themes and doles out psychological horror along with monsters and gore".[31] Jim Rossignol of Rock, Paper, Shotgun noted in his review of A Machine for Pigs that it "is a marvellous, revolting, disturbing sequel to Dark Descent".[32] Review aggregator website Metacritic gave the game an average score of 73/100, indicating "mixed or average reviews".



References

  1. ^ "Peter Howell: Games Research & Development Portfolio". Flux-digital.co.uk. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Profile - The Chinese Room". thechineseroom.co.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  3. ^ "Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs". Wesleytack.com. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Matos, Xav (22 February 2012). "Building A Machine for Pigs and expanding the universe of Amnesia". Joystiq. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  5. ^ Davies, Marsh (31 October 2012). "Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs interview: we talk to the devs about their scarefest sequel". PC Gamer. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  6. ^ Gauntlett, Adam (19 April 2013). "Get First Glimpse Of Amnesia Sequel's Horrifying Machine". The Escapist. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  7. ^ a b Denby, Lewis (16 July 2012). "How Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs is scarier than its predecessor". BeefJack.com. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  8. ^ Kozlovskih, Ivan (29 November 2012). "Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs. Thomas Grip: "Being alone is always good for creating fear!"". Gamestar.ru. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  9. ^ Sinha, Ravi (21 March 2013). "Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs – Interview With Creative Director, Dan Pinchbeck". Gamingbolt.com. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  10. ^ a b c d Gauntlett, Adam (2 July 2013). "You're at the Heart of A Machine For Pigs". The Escapist. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  11. ^ a b Nilsson, Jens (19 February 2013). "Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs Status Update". Frictionalgames.com. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  12. ^ Nilsson, Jens (27 May 2013). "RE: Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs Discussion Topic Part 2". Frictionalgames.com. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  13. ^ "So, the secret is out- Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs is set for..." Twitter. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  14. ^ Kubba, Sinan (16 August 2013). "Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs sn-out in September". Joystiq. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  15. ^ Hilliard, Kyle (16 August 2013). "Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs Coming Next Month". Game Informer. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  16. ^ Chalk, Andy (16 August 2013). "Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs Arrives Next Month". The Escapist. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  17. ^ "gameB". thechineseroom.co.uk. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
  18. ^ "Amnesia - Something is emerging". nextfrictionalgame.com. Retrieved 22 February 2012.[dead link]
  19. ^ a b Pearson, Craig (10 February 2012). "Frictional Teases Next Amnesia". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  20. ^ a b Mitchell, Richard (10 February 2012). "Frictional teases a new Amnesia project, possibly set in China". Joystiq. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  21. ^ Atlas, Emma (15 February 2012). "Frictional Games Updates Teaser Site With a New Map Location". Pikigeek.com. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  22. ^ a b Papadopoulos, John (17 February 2012). "Frictional Games' Next Game hints to Seattle; final artwork revealed". DSOGaming.com. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  23. ^ Priestman, Chris (19 February 2012). "Frictional Games: 'A Machine For Pigs Coming Fall 2012'". Indiegamemag.com. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  24. ^ Sharkey, Mike (15 June 2012). "Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs Teaser Trailer". GameSpy. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  25. ^ Parrish, Peter (14 June 2012). "Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs teaser is full of sunshine". Incgamers.com. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  26. ^ Nichols, Scott (1 November 2012). "'Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs' gets Halloween trailer". Digital Spy. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  27. ^ Matulef, Jeffrey (31 October 2012). "Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs gets a spooky Halloween trailer". Eurogamer. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  28. ^ Welsh, Oli (3 September 2013). "Let's Play Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs". Eurogamer. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  29. ^ "Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs". GameRankings. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  30. ^ a b Smith, Quintin (9 September 2013). "Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs revie". Eurogamer. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  31. ^ a b "Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs Review". GameSpot. 9 September 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  32. ^ Rossignol, Jim (9 September 2013). "Wot I Think: Amnesia – A Machine For Pigs". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
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