Mostly beige, mostly text

Echo Bazaar got nominated for the Escapist's Best Browser Game of 2009, which was like, whoa! Just now we won, which was like, whut?

So here's the thing. I'm standing at the awards party, dazed from gin and jetlag, and the screen is full of cut scenes and footage from Dragon Age and L4D2 and other epically magnificent games. Or Scarygirl and Time Fcuk, in our awards category: both very striking (as well as very fine) games. When EBZ comes on, they have to pan the camera across the UI, because you know we don't have any actual moving images or anything. So there's a glimpse of Paul's marvellous header art for Veilgarden, and then it's a looong pan across mostly beige, mostly text.

I was slightly embarrassed at that (although it didn't stop me taking pictures with my phone and MMSing them to the team at, um 6am UK time: to their credit, none of them have divorced me). But the more I think about it, the happier it makes me, and the more impressed with you it makes me, because if you're reading this blog, you've probably been playing EBZ, which means in an era of genuinely kick-ass games with various kinds of kick-ass graphics you have been devoting your time to a game which is mostly beige, mostly text. I think that's sort of fabulous. Thank you.


Look for us at the very bottom of the page. :-)

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Comments

jcmeloni
jcmeloni
3/12/2010 8:31:05 PM Permalink

You know, it is mostly beige and it is mostly text, but I love the hell out of it.  Also, FWIW, I flip my Droid into landscape orientation and happily play your mostly beige, mostly text game on my phone, w/o a dedicated mobile version, and it scales very well. You all deserve every accolade you receive.

S.
S.
3/12/2010 8:34:57 PM Permalink

Hooray!  Mazel tov, you have absolutely earned it.  "Squidlike appendages" alone is worth an award.

John Evans
John Evans
3/13/2010 3:45:55 AM Permalink

I'm just not a very visual person.  Give me ideas.  My brain tears apart an experience and sucks the idea-marrow from its bones, leaving the artwork to rot in a bloody pile of offal.

Metaphorically speaking.

In any case, and congratulations on the award.  I think you deserve it. ;)

Ghostwoods
Ghostwoods
3/13/2010 7:10:18 PM Permalink

FAN-frakking-TASTIC.

Many congratulations. It's richly deserved. I understand your comments about the tech involved, but let's be honest -- EB is the most immersive, engaging and inspiring setting to appear anywhere in _years_.

Yay. YOU ROCK!

iskandra (Alexandra Velten)
iskandra (Alexandra Velten)
3/15/2010 2:16:20 AM Permalink

Congrats, and well-deserved that prize is!

...I grew up on just text, white, on black-Infocom's famous text adventures back in the 80s.
And they were far better than most things with actual graphics.

BUT-I want to stress that Paul's gorgeous illustrations breaking up the "mostly beige" even follow me into my dreams. And that I please want one of them cute working rats for my birthday. Or maybe a mandrake. Really, don't underestimate the illustrations!

They emphasise, they help your imagination along, but they do not drown the narrative in colours.

As they say on the interwebs- Mostly  Beige FTW!

sungazerphoto
sungazerphoto
3/23/2010 8:33:00 AM Permalink

A well-deserved congratulations.  It's not the look - though I do adore the illustrations - it's the content.  It's a rich and strange world you've created, and I love exploring it and discovering more things.  (There are reasons why my character's Watchful is her highest Quality.)

pingback
emshort.wordpress.com
4/8/2010 5:05:51 PM Permalink

Pingback from emshort.wordpress.com

Linkage « Emily Short's Interactive Storytelling

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