Game release: “Broken Age – Act 2” + GOG creative writing contest

After being financed via Kickstarter, it was quiet at Double Fine Productions about Time Schafer’s adventure game, but the second instalment of Broken Age is finally out now.

I haven’t been much involved in the whole fundraising craze since Tim Schafer started it, and I still think it wasn’t the best idea to split it into two games without telling people beforehand or even using part of the money for other projects. But putting these issues aside, I’m rather excited about this release. Many voices were raised that the puzzles of the first act were too easy and that it made too many compromises to speak to a bigger audience. But looking at the art design, listening to the stellar voice acting and the world Schafer created makes playing this more than worthwhile.

Personally I’m not into the whole puzzles-for-the-genre’s-sake argument. Actually I never was. For me, story comes first, and if it’s about going into a world with characters that is compelling to explore and who are interesting to talk to, then that’s enough to warrant a play. But like the Telltale games, I’d rather play the whole thing instead of having to wait so long (in this case over a year) to see the conclusion.

The idea of having two worlds collide, two different personalities in the form of Vella who’s going to be sacrificed for her village, and Shay who is on a spaceship that’s too protective, is certainly great storytelling material, so hopefully this turns out to be the awesome experience Double Fine Studios promised.

Waiting for the release of the complete package was also worth it if you want to have a boxed version without having actively participated in the crowdfunding process. Thanks to Nordic Games, this retail version includes both the DRM-free game and a Steam code.
Speaking of DRM-free, GOG has a 30% launch discount that will last for one week, until Tuesday, May 5, at 9:59 AM. This Thursday, April 30th, at 6pm GMT (2pm EDT/11am PDT), Tim Schafer himself will also present the game live on GOG’s Twitch.tv.

If this wasn’t enough, there’s also a creative writing contest on GOG which is about creating a unique character in the universe of Broken Age by providing a name, a story, and a goal. For more information, check out this news page.

Buy the PC game on
GOG
Steam
Amazon Germany (Retail)

Official Website

Official Nordic Games Website

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