Dreamagination

Good news for everyone: Dirty Split is now available in English, too! About a month after the release of the German version you English-speaking folks can finally enjoy Baxter’s adventures. And I do hope you’ll enjoy them, so have fun (and don’t forget to tell me about it!).

Once again, I’d like to thank everyone involved in this project, this time most importantly the English voice cast. You’ve all done a great job. And it was a pleasure working with each and every one of you :o)

Two weeks after the release and several thousand downloads later I’m still overwhelmed by all the positive feedback to Dirty Split. I never expected such a fantastic response, and I’m really thrilled about every comment and every email. What puzzles me most is the fact that there hasn’t been a single negative reply so far, and that I’ve only received constructive criticism which I’m happy to read and think about. Many of you have been asking for a follow-up game, regardless of whether that will be a Dirty Split 2 or something entirely different. I’m really excited about this demand - and don’t worry, there’s something in the making already.

So I’d like to thank each and every one of you :o)

For everyone who liked the jazzy, loungy soundtrack from the game, here’s a special treat for you: On the download page you can find the entire album with 18 tracks from the game plus 3 bonus tracks. Completely free of charge, of course.

Have fun!

Here it is: Dirty Split in all its glory. See the download page for details.
(The English version will soon follow.)

I’d also like to thank Dominic Wienand for putting up the first mirror servers. If there’s anyone else with a bit of space on his server, please contact me!

Enjoy! And I hope for lots of feedback :o)

Here it is… the intro sequence to Dirty Split. Enjoy!

Mal was deutsches:

Jemand hat mir nahegelegt, daß es keine deutsche Version dieser Webseite gibt. Das ist möglicherweise unfair für das deutschsprachige Publikum, und darüber hinaus unfair für das Spiel selbst, besonders da die deutsche Version mit so viel Aufwand und professionellen Sprechern produziert wurde.

Macht Sinn. Wie man sehen kann, habe ich mal für die wichtigsten Stellen der Seite eine alternative deutsche Übersetzung bereitgestellt. Auf die Weise sollten sich auch all diejenigen nicht mehr verlaufen, die mit dem Englischen an sich auf Kriegsfuß stehen. ;o)

Ich poste allerdings weiterhin auf Englisch, bis ich einen zwingenden Grund sehe, das zu ändern. Ich bin nämlich immer noch gespannt, woher denn nun der Großteil des Publikums stammen wird und welche Nationalitäten die Download-Statistiken beherrschen werden :o)

And in English:

Somebody noted that there’s no German version of this website. That might be unfair for the German audience and unfair for the game itself, especially since the German version has been produced with such a high production value in terms of professional voice actors.

Makes sense. As you can see, I’ve provided an alternative German translation for the most important portions of the site. This way, even all those who are at war with English in general shouldn’t get lost anymore. ;o)

I’ll keep posting in English, though, unless I ever see an important reason to change that. Actually, I’m very curious to find out where the major part of the audience is coming from and which nationality will be featured most in the download statistics :o)

It’s finally springtime after a not-so-white winter that has been going on for too long. And apparently the general flora is not the only thing that’s blossoming: It’s also the blossoming season for several long-running independent productions, all high quality adventure games that are ripe for the plucking.

I’ve mentioned the Zak McKracken 2 project a while ago, and the last weekend saw the kick-off party for its release. Seven years of development have not diminished the fans’ interest in the game, and the party seems to have been a smashing success. The whole thing is available as a 2 gigabyte download, so everyone who didn’t have the time to attend the party (like me, regrettably) can enjoy the game now, too. Once again, kudos to everyone involved. Outstanding work :o)

A few weeks ago, Martin Lassahn released his game Timanfaya, very unexpectedly and without much fuss. The release marks the end of a long time of work for Martin, and it stands as a great example of an independent game. In addition to creating all the graphical content for the game (backgrounds from photos, hand-drawn animations, 3D scenes) Martin also developed his very own proprietary engine in Delphi, along with all the tools and editors required for the development framework. It’s a mammoth effort for a single person, but one that seems to have paid out for him, as the game was released to rave reviews and a wealth of positive feedback from the gaming community. Great job there, too.

And at last, another notable project has received a definitive release date: Broken Sword 2.5. After an equally long development period as Zak McKracken 2, Broken Sword 2.5 will be available for download in August 2008. So there’s something to get you through the summer :o)

While I’m waiting for the last few voice actors to send their lines in before the game is released, I find myself thinking about what my work on this game has taught me over the months. The two most important lessons are:

• It’s a LOT of work
• It CAN be done

If you have a specific vision in mind and see it come to life after a lot of hard work, that really gives you a rush. It’s small achievements and immediate results that keep you going, but the overall result is what makes you want to do more. And I find myself thinking about the next project already.

I’ve put up a “team” page to show you all the people who helped create this game for you. Give it a look, there are many precious gems of talent among all those nice souls. You might even find the professional help you need for your own projects :o)

Here’s one of the shortest cutscenes in the game. Just an intermission really to connect the chapters:

… or in other words: Betatesting is well underway and I hope the testers’ attempts to break the game will fail. So far nobody managed to produce any crashes, but all feedback on the game is invaluable.

The core game is finished now and 100% playable. I’m busy with implementing action sounds and fine-tuning the ambience right now, but the next thing to work on will be the cutscenes. I’ll have to whip out my animation and editing skills and go to town on those little movie sequences. Walt Disney would be proud. However, if you feel a faint wind blowing sometime soon it might be caused by Disney’s fierce rotation in his grave. ;o)

Anyway, the response from the beta test is very encouraging and it instills all the more confidence that you’ll enjoy the game. :o)

Dirty Split has received its first preview over at adventure-archiv.com. The article is available in German for now, but an English version will follow soon.

In the article Sylvia Giessler, creator/maintainer/chief editor of the adventure archive, takes quite an in-depth look at a preview version of the game. It reveals a couple of new screenshots and is well worth the read. Thanks Sylvia :o)