Will Amnesia be available for consoles? No!

**the dark side** · 08-27-2012, 09:17 PM

Calm Youself, there is no Need to worry about Amenesia Ending up as a clone of "COD-Zombiez" (shivers in disgust), as actually it wouldn't.

"consoliseation" only happens when you have a big publisher. you see, big publishers are obsessed with "Mainstream" and Mainstream, yes, is casual gamers, wich are on ALL systems, how else can you explain the fact that several PC EXCLUSIVE games from big name publishers have had very consoleised "call of duty" style "gameplay" (cough, Crysis 1, cough). the casuals demand that everything has to be like burnout or gears of war or call of duty, and as the marketing divisions focuss group Only on the 6 million or so casual gamers out there, they think ALL gamers want that, they forget about the 5 or 6 million Hardcore gamers still out there, on ALL systems.

im one, ill buy any game that has the gameplay style i like in its respective genre, and if that means i have to buy a console, ill do just that, why the devil should i miss out on Forza Motorsport or Gran Turismo because a few blinded elitists dont realise you CAN actually have a hardcore game on a console even today?, it didnt suddenly die out with the n64 you know..

i know many dev teams who would Love to make a game like "No One Lives Forever" or "Serious Sam" or "Painkiller", but the publishers think it "wouldnt sell" because it would be "too hard and too old fashioned" because its done its market research primarily on middle class Americans, mainly in the California area, mostly aged between 12 and 15 years of age, and usually of rather poor academic performance outside of sports, wich is the primary audience for games like COD. so they refuse to finance it, and then they fire half the dev team in punishment for having "non conformist ideas that damage the corporate image". (cough, activision, cough).

independant companies, like Frictional Games, dont have a big publisher, they dont have focus groups or marketing teams, and they are financed not by ultra conservative corporate accountants who are scared of being lauged out of the golf club if they sell even ONE less copy of there game than activision sold of modern warfare expansion pack 2 (aka MW3), they are financed by GAMERS.

This means they can realease whatever the fuji they want. by financing the game using the sales of the PC version of amnesia, and recouping the cost via XBLA and PSN sales of the port, they can port the PC version of the game to the consoles EXACTLY as it is, with very little changes, the only one they would have to do are add acheivements, wich may actually be an improvement, and reprogramme the graphics engine a bit for the elderly versions of direct X used by the console systems, but, that doesnt really bother me as well, my opinion on graphics, owing to the fact i still get my 8 bit systems out from time to time is "can i see what i am doing? yes? they are good enough!".

porting to console would be a good thing for frictional actually. as it would introduce frictional to another market of gamers, and would bring them in MORE MONEY. so they can STAY independant, because they wont end up suffering the same fate as poor old "People Can Fly" (R.I.P P.C.F (sobs) ) were they end up running out of money, getting snaffled up by one of the big American congromolates like EA (what happened to PCF) or Activision or THQ, and being forced to make nothing but COD Clones until the games industry collapses under its own ineptitude.

**darkely** · 08-28-2012, 01:07 PM

the dark side Wrote:im one, ill buy any game that has the gameplay style i like in its respective genre, and if that means i have to buy a console, ill do just that, why the devil should i miss out on Forza Motorsport or Gran Turismo because a few blinded elitists dont realise you CAN actually have a hardcore game on a console even today?, it didnt suddenly die out with the n64 you know..

N64? what the hell are you going on about with that?!

The main reason I would hate to see Amnesia develop for the Xbox 360 (and PS3) is because it really is a huge downgrade... the Xbox 360 can barely handle its own games, the hardware is 7 years old and practicably obsolete the only reason the Xbox 360 is still around is because some people would rather use that.

I also love the classic argument that if games are cheaper for consoles overall. That is a load of crap.

Xbox 360 average price (now) $70-$80
Games average price (at release) $60

PC cost (low to medium range at best) $175
GPU (a decent one) $125

So initially it will be pricey to get/build a PC however almost any rig. is more powerful than the Xbox (and cheaper overtime).

**Prelauncher** · 08-28-2012, 05:31 PM

Why oh why does pc gamers go all butthurt as soon as a consoles are mentioned?
Amnesia is ment to be played on pc? It is ment to be played with mouse and keyboard? No, Amnesia The Dark Descent was developed for pc, and please, do tell me: What actions do you do in Amnesia that makes it impossible to be replaced with a 360/Ps3 controller? You walk and move your head, you jump, crouch, sprint, interact with objects and use a lantern. All of these actions can easily be replaced with a controller, I mean c'mon people it's not friggin' starcraft! And hey, some people preffer controllers over mouse and keyboard, I'd pick a controller over a keyboard any day unless I was about to play a game that actually requires a keyboard i.e. a RTS. And does Amnesia really have that complex gameplay that it can't be translated to a console? I'm not questioning the quality of the game in any way, belive me, I love Amnesia, but you the things that you do in the game are quite basic - lift and move objects, pull leavers etc.
The Xbox 360 and the PS3 are not bad consoles, they are not weak. Yes, they are not as advanced as a computer and are not capable of handling the things a computer can handle but there's still plenty of juice left in them. "The Xbox 360 can barely handle its own games", I'm sorry but that is the stupidest thing I've heard in quite a while. Sure the Xbox is old and could really use an upgrade, but there's still power in it. Just look at Gears of War, those games have really good visuals, sure they use the dull brown and grey color pallet (as does many pc games), but they still look bloody good, even the first GoW looks good to this day. As CliffyB said, you can make great graphics for the xbox as long as you script it properly. And there are many other good looking games for the 360: Forza Motorsports, Bioshock, Skyrim etc. Sure they are not as fancy looking as BF3 or Crysis on a pc, and sure, pc games overall has better graphics than console games, but if you measure the quality of a game by its graphics then I say you don't know how to judge a good game. Example, To The Moon, it does not have good graphics, sure it looks nice but it is not advanced. What it does have is an amazing story, a beautiful story that are very engaging. Could a console not handle that game? That is a problem that I have with many developers and gamers; they all want their games to look more and more realistic, but we don't need them to look any better in order to be a better and more engaging game. They are all so eager to play with the new and latest toys that they forgett that they already have the tools they need to make a truly great game.
And why why why does anyone have a problem a console version of Amnesia The Dark Descent?! You already own the flippin' game! What difference does it make if someone could play on a PS3? It's already made on pc. And do you really think that Frictional Games themselves, a group of pc developers, would all of a sudden go "Hey guys, do you know what would be great?! If we all stopped developing games for pc and instead started to develop for the xbox 360 and then ported the game to pc!"? Answer: NO!
So stop clenching them buttocks and wanting to deny people to take part of a master piece.

**darkely** · 08-28-2012, 06:50 PM

Prelauncher: I am not denying the fact that it can be done. I actually like the Xbox 360 a lot it's just that in my opinion it seems like a step backwards to downgrade a great game like Amnesia (or Penumbra). Plus even if they do release on consoles the console gamers would be missing out.

"Hey guys, do you know what would be great?! If we all stopped
developing games for pc and instead started to develop for the xbox 360
and then ported the game to pc!"? Answer: NO!

Ok ok that would be a horrible idea... take a look at GTA IV and many others.

they are not weak

I am not being butt hurt about people wanting to have Amnesia ported to the Xbox 360 however saying that they are not weak is insane. The Xbox 360 can hardly handle its own library let me name a few...

*GTA IV - the game lags badly when there are too many cops (or whatever is currently there) on screen.
*L4D 1/2 - [mainly in multiplayer mode] the game is known to slow down when there are too many zombies on screen. The Xbox 360 well pick back up (within 7 seconds (which is too long)) but there should be no lag in the first place.
*Gears of War - when running occasionally the game will stutter but come back.
*Saints Row 2 - v-sync is an option in the menu(s) and even when turned on you get screen tearing. Lag is also bad when there are many enemy's/whatever on screen.

**Traggey** · 08-28-2012, 06:55 PM

(08-28-2012, 05:31 PM)Prelauncher Wrote: Why oh why does pc gamers go all butthurt as soon as a consoles are mentioned?
Amnesia is ment to be played on pc? It is ment to be played with mouse and keyboard? No, Amnesia The Dark Descent was developed for pc, and please, do tell me: What actions do you do in Amnesia that makes it impossible to be replaced with a 360/Ps3 controller? You walk and move your head, you jump, crouch, sprint, interact with objects and use a lantern. All of these actions can easily be replaced with a controller, I mean c'mon people it's not friggin' starcraft! And hey, some people preffer controllers over mouse and keyboard, I'd pick a controller over a keyboard any day unless I was about to play a game that actually requires a keyboard i.e. a RTS. And does Amnesia really have that complex gameplay that it can't be translated to a console? I'm not questioning the quality of the game in any way, belive me, I love Amnesia, but you the things that you do in the game are quite basic - lift and move objects, pull leavers etc.
The Xbox 360 and the PS3 are not bad consoles, they are not weak. Yes, they are not as advanced as a computer and are not capable of handling the things a computer can handle but there's still plenty of juice left in them. "The Xbox 360 can barely handle its own games", I'm sorry but that is the stupidest thing I've heard in quite a while. Sure the Xbox is old and could really use an upgrade, but there's still power in it. Just look at Gears of War, those games have really good visuals, sure they use the dull brown and grey color pallet (as does many pc games), but they still look bloody good, even the first GoW looks good to this day. As CliffyB said, you can make great graphics for the xbox as long as you script it properly. And there are many other good looking games for the 360: Forza Motorsports, Bioshock, Skyrim etc. Sure they are not as fancy looking as BF3 or Crysis on a pc, and sure, pc games overall has better graphics than console games, but if you measure the quality of a game by its graphics then I say you don't know how to judge a good game. Example, To The Moon, it does not have good graphics, sure it looks nice but it is not advanced. What it does have is an amazing story, a beautiful story that are very engaging. Could a console not handle that game? That is a problem that I have with many developers and gamers; they all want their games to look more and more realistic, but we don't need them to look any better in order to be a better and more engaging game. They are all so eager to play with the new and latest toys that they forgett that they already have the tools they need to make a truly great game.
And why why why does anyone have a problem a console version of Amnesia The Dark Descent?! You already own the flippin' game! What difference does it make if someone could play on a PS3? It's already made on pc. And do you really think that Frictional Games themselves, a group of pc developers, would all of a sudden go "Hey guys, do you know what would be great?! If we all stopped developing games for pc and instead started to develop for the xbox 360 and then ported the game to pc!"? Answer: NO!
So stop clenching them buttocks and wanting to deny people to take part of a master piece.

I havn't seen anyone in this thread complain about the controllers or about playing on a console.

We're simply discussing the fact that the game would NOT run on old console hardware, they would have to de-grade the technical side of the game by a ton.

**darkely** · 08-28-2012, 06:58 PM

(08-28-2012, 06:55 PM)Traggey Wrote:
(08-28-2012, 05:31 PM)Prelauncher Wrote: Why oh why does pc gamers go all butthurt as soon as a consoles are mentioned?
Amnesia is ment to be played on pc? It is ment to be played with mouse and keyboard? No, Amnesia The Dark Descent was developed for pc, and please, do tell me: What actions do you do in Amnesia that makes it impossible to be replaced with a 360/Ps3 controller? You walk and move your head, you jump, crouch, sprint, interact with objects and use a lantern. All of these actions can easily be replaced with a controller, I mean c'mon people it's not friggin' starcraft! And hey, some people preffer controllers over mouse and keyboard, I'd pick a controller over a keyboard any day unless I was about to play a game that actually requires a keyboard i.e. a RTS. And does Amnesia really have that complex gameplay that it can't be translated to a console? I'm not questioning the quality of the game in any way, belive me, I love Amnesia, but you the things that you do in the game are quite basic - lift and move objects, pull leavers etc.
The Xbox 360 and the PS3 are not bad consoles, they are not weak. Yes, they are not as advanced as a computer and are not capable of handling the things a computer can handle but there's still plenty of juice left in them. "The Xbox 360 can barely handle its own games", I'm sorry but that is the stupidest thing I've heard in quite a while. Sure the Xbox is old and could really use an upgrade, but there's still power in it. Just look at Gears of War, those games have really good visuals, sure they use the dull brown and grey color pallet (as does many pc games), but they still look bloody good, even the first GoW looks good to this day. As CliffyB said, you can make great graphics for the xbox as long as you script it properly. And there are many other good looking games for the 360: Forza Motorsports, Bioshock, Skyrim etc. Sure they are not as fancy looking as BF3 or Crysis on a pc, and sure, pc games overall has better graphics than console games, but if you measure the quality of a game by its graphics then I say you don't know how to judge a good game. Example, To The Moon, it does not have good graphics, sure it looks nice but it is not advanced. What it does have is an amazing story, a beautiful story that are very engaging. Could a console not handle that game? That is a problem that I have with many developers and gamers; they all want their games to look more and more realistic, but we don't need them to look any better in order to be a better and more engaging game. They are all so eager to play with the new and latest toys that they forgett that they already have the tools they need to make a truly great game.
And why why why does anyone have a problem a console version of Amnesia The Dark Descent?! You already own the flippin' game! What difference does it make if someone could play on a PS3? It's already made on pc. And do you really think that Frictional Games themselves, a group of pc developers, would all of a sudden go "Hey guys, do you know what would be great?! If we all stopped developing games for pc and instead started to develop for the xbox 360 and then ported the game to pc!"? Answer: NO!
So stop clenching them buttocks and wanting to deny people to take part of a master piece.
I havn't seen anyone in this thread complain about the controllers or about playing on a console.

We're simply discussing the fact that the game would NOT run on old console hardware, they would have to de-grade the technical side of the game by a ton.

Thats what I am trying to tell you!!!

The game could run on consoles but the player would be missing out on the immersion factor and the atmosphere.

**Traggey** · 08-28-2012, 07:14 PM

Opengl is not even supported on the Xbox360.

No, the game can't run on it.

**Prelauncher** · 08-28-2012, 07:14 PM

The game wouldn't be less immersive because you played it on a console, it would perhaps be less immersive because of the way one might play it on a console: sitting far from the tv in a couch, but that doesn't mean you can't plug the console into a monitor and play it with headphones making it more immersive.
What I'm reffering to about when it comes to controllers is the post in the thread that Amnesia is ment to be played on mouse and keyboards, stating it as a reason not to use a controller. There are not enough actions and commands in Amnesia that they can't be replaced with a controller and still work fine.
I just mean that it would not be a bad move if Frictional would want to port Amnesia, I'm not saying that they should but if they would it would not be all bad. And I doubt that Frictional would port it by themselves, they'd have a studio or crew with experience coding for consoles to make it for them. And lastly, I may not be very versed when it comes to coding and porting etc, but I doubt that Amnesia would have to be de-graded by a ton in order to make a ps3 handle it. A lot would have to be changed since the game is not made for consoles from the start but I don't think that the final product would be lesser than the original.

**Obliviator27** · 08-28-2012, 07:27 PM

(08-28-2012, 07:14 PM)Prelauncher Wrote: The game wouldn't be less immersive because you played it on a console, it would perhaps be less immersive because of the way one might play it on a console: sitting far from the tv in a couch, but that doesn't mean you can't 1)plug the console into a monitor and play it with headphones making it more immersive.
What I'm reffering to about when it comes to controllers is the post in the thread that Amnesia is ment to be played on mouse and keyboards, stating it as a reason not to use a controller. 2)There are not enough actions and commands in Amnesia that they can't be replaced with a controller and still work fine.
I just mean that it would not be a bad move if Frictional would want to port Amnesia, I'm not saying that they should but if they would it would not be all bad. And I doubt that Frictional would port it by themselves, they'd have a studio or crew with experience coding for consoles to make it for them. And lastly, I may not be very versed when it comes to coding and porting etc, but I doubt that Amnesia would have to be 3)de-graded by a ton in order to make a ps3 handle it. A lot would have to be changed since the game is not made for consoles from the start but I don't think that the final product would be lesser than the original.

1) If you're going to plug it into a monitor, why not just play it on the computer?
2) Alone in the Dark has similar features, where you must swing the weapon in your character's hands with the right thumb stick. It was very clunky (Maybe just due the to game or the Havok physics), and I found the game difficult to play. Not saying it isn't possible, but it might make the game a bit...awkward.
3) As Traggey said earlier, Opengl isn't supported by the 360. It would be rather unfair towards 360 consumers if it were released solely for the ps3, particularly since the game was created neither by Sony nor Microsoft.

**Prelauncher** · 08-28-2012, 07:47 PM

Since from a technical viewpoint Amnesia isn't compatible with consoles, then no, it would not work. That doesn't delete the possibility for a studio to remake Amnesia for consoles (but I highly doubt that would ever happen).
"Why not play it on a computer?" what I'm talking about is that you'd reach the same level of immersion on consoles as you would on a computer, IF as you pointed out, the controlls would be very well adapted and perform excelent. But the way you controll the characters hands is mostly (only if I remember correct) through drag and drop, making movements with the mouse that could be made with a thumbstick. But please, don't come dragging with unfairness. There's nothing fair between Sony and Microsoft, it's all business. for example, the new Skyrim dlc is from what I've heard xbox exclusive, I don't have a problem with that since I own a xbox but it's not fair to those with a ps3.

So after this debate I still belive that it is possible to have a highly immersive version of Amnesia The Dark Descent on both pc and console. Technical compromisses would have to be made meaning that from a technical point of view they'd be two very different games. I don't see that as downgrading the game as both the PS3 and Xbox 360 are two very capable consoles but they are not as capable as computers (and have never been) but that isn't necessarily a bad thing since that forces the developers to put more effort into the game, which might be one of the reasons many of the games ported to pc turn out bad.