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PAX Setup

by Ron Gilbert
Sep 03, 2016

I don't have time to write a lengthy post today, so I thought I'd show some pictures of your PAX booth setup:

- Ron

MarkB2000 - Sep 03, 2016 at 11:19
Loks great.

That's how the booth at Gamescom should have looked like.

Hope you have a great time there.
Arto - Sep 03, 2016 at 11:29
Is that a co-op mode in last picture? There are two cursors in same screen.
Marco - Sep 03, 2016 at 11:47
Also I noticed it! Is it a coop game?
Michael Specht - Sep 03, 2016 at 12:43
I guess it's ghosting of the display. There's a third, blurred cursor and sentence line right next to it.
Arto - Sep 03, 2016 at 14:53
That's actually my first impression too. Just wanted to create conversation :)
Octavi Navarro - Sep 04, 2016 at 05:35
Adventure games are boring, so we converted Thimbleweed Park into a co-op shooter. We hope you don't mind ;-)
Dieter - Sep 04, 2016 at 08:57
But a co-op mode would be very interesting: As kids we played serveral LucaArts games together (in front of one big TV screen :)). And that was fun! In Thimbleweed Park you are allowed to play with five(?) characters. So a co-op mode would work, especially in combination with a split-screen mode: Each player plays one character.

(But I know, implementing such a co-op mode would be a lot of additional work. :))
Nor Treblig - Sep 04, 2016 at 12:23
Online multiplayer or split-screen would be too much effort for several reasons. Also it doesn't make much sense when one plays the storyline of character X and the other one of character Y independently of each other...

But one thing which was discussed was local co-op in the following way:
Two players use two input devices controlling the same character, i.e. you don't have to hand the controller/mouse to the other player when he wants to try something. Or you can cancel all the actions of your significant other because you are an asshat :-)

It would be extra effort, but more easily possible. You could also have the character's eyes track different cursors :D
Dieter - Sep 04, 2016 at 12:45
Two players controlling the same character won't work because the two players will constantly "fight" about the control of the character.

In the current setup you have to control all of the characters seperatly. So it's (relative) easy to implement a split screen co-op mode where the two players are controlling two different characters. That will work because the two player will (and have to) interact with each other to solve the puzzles. I don't know about the game design, but I assume that you can leave the most puzzles as they are.
Nor Treblig - Sep 04, 2016 at 14:06
Yes they would have to fight about control (but it's actually called communication). It's just to make it easier for two to get in control without having to hand the controller back and forth (which isn't that hard, but if one prefers using keyboard + mouse controls it's more irritating).

Split-screen:
I don't think it's easy. The engine and the scripts probably only expects having one active actor. Changing all this could be a lot of work. Also the game and especially UI expects 16:9 ratio. But we could work around this by requiring a multi-monitor setup. (Having non-local multiplayer would require netcode, synchronisation, a lot of testing etc. which would require really tremendous effort, so this should be out of question.)

Regarding gameplay: The puzzles probably aren't that much designed with having multi-character actions all the time in mind, like for instance The Cave™. So often characters wander around, doing there own thing (flashbacks...), progressing the story, talking to NPCs. Which means you would have to constantly watch the other character so you can follow the whole TWP story. (Actually the game maybe would have to pause gameplay during dialogs anyway so there isn't so much chatter going on at the same time).

Btw. do you know The Cave™? You would probably like it (though it doesn't have split-screen either).
Dieter - Sep 04, 2016 at 14:24
Ehm, yes. :) I know that it would be too much work to introduce a co-op-split-screen-mode. The whole story and the puzzles are focused on a single player experience. What I meant: A split-screen-co-op-mode would work in a classic adventure game - in the sense of "It would be a lot of fun". :)

Your suggestion is of course easier to implement, but I still think that it will not work: The players have to communicate but this communication will turn (at some point) into a "fight" about the control of the character. Even between two friends. :)

And I know The Cave, I played it at least two times (and missed the two-player-co-op-mode ;)).
Nor Treblig - Sep 04, 2016 at 15:57
Oh, then you have to play it at least another time so you have seen every character!
It is fun playing and figuring puzzle solutions out with another person.

In a general sense co-op would be nice in such games. It works in The Cave™.
E.g. Sam&Max would be predestined for two-player co-op!
I don't remember any P&C Adventure with split-screen, it could be really interesting!

This could be an idea for Terrible Toybox's next game!
Big Red Button - Sep 05, 2016 at 14:44
The only kind of co-op mode for point & click adventure games I can imagine would be similar to how it was done in the LEGO games or in Sonic 3 (with the fox, called Tails, as a controllable supporting character, always following Sonic at every turn) using one shared screen but two seperate inventories and verbs interfaces. And with two differently colored cursors. So the playable characters (such as two agents) would follow each other whenever one of them leaves the current room or walks to the edge of the screen. Thus both players would solve the puzzles together and follow the storyline together. And, of course, both of the players would know what the other one is talking about. This would make it a much more social type of co-op, compared to a split screen. Of course, the puzzles and the story would have to be optimized for such a co-op mode, though. But, if so, it may be a very amusing co-op mode.
Nor Treblig - Sep 05, 2016 at 15:04
I bought some LEGO games on GOG back then when they were added and on sale because it sounded like fun playing them co-op with kids.
Haven't gotten around to do so, but thanks for reminding me.
Big Red Button - Sep 05, 2016 at 16:51
I played LEGO Star Wars a few times co-op with some friends several years ago. Even though we were already grown up, it was fun - probably because it has no split screen and teamwork is an important aspect there.
Nor Treblig - Sep 05, 2016 at 18:56
Strange: There is LEGO Batman and LEGO Harry Potter(s) on GOG, also all kind of STAR WARS games.
But no LEGO Star Wars (yet).
Big Red Button - Sep 06, 2016 at 05:17
You can also look for the DVD edition of The Complete Saga. It might be quite cheap nowadays. LEGO Indiana Jones is also good!
Peter - Sep 03, 2016 at 11:41
As a Swede, it's highly satisfying to see all the Ikea stuff in those pictures!
Sebastian - Sep 03, 2016 at 12:02
Hum... and the whole thing is called "Pax"... maybe IKEA's involved more than we may speculate from the photos! :-)


Sebastian (writing this from a "Kallax"-desk)
Big Red Button - Sep 03, 2016 at 12:45
And, Italians may be pleased by the bottle of San Pellegrino. Though I've never understood the sense of the worldwide export of a particular mineral water. Well, globalization is an interesting thing.
Arto - Sep 03, 2016 at 14:59
Yes, it has actually been studied that tab water is more pure that the bottled water in most countries (excluding Africa, Latin America and Russia).
Zak Phoenix McKracken - Sep 03, 2016 at 15:23
Ahah, I didn't even notice the bottle of water! I was investigating every nook and cranny of monitors, shelfs, walls...
So the San Pellegrino water is sent even in Seattle? Good! :-)
Hori - Sep 05, 2016 at 07:05
... and Germans might point out the Sennheiser headsets :-)
Big Red Button - Sep 03, 2016 at 12:08
As I see, you have some helpers. That's great! It's a really nice booth, as well as your PAX East booth. Never change a winning booth! ;-) If anybody ignores your booth at PAX, it's his sole fault.
It's pleasant to have a TP mouse pad as well beneath one's own hand, this time, when you see those photos.
Nevertheless, I somehow envy these visitors. :-)
two plus two is four - Sep 03, 2016 at 12:29
That city-limit sign is a nice touch :-)
Arto - Sep 03, 2016 at 15:02
It's not the same one we see in trailers, though. There is no bullet hole, although the count is 80, which is the count after the shot.
Ema - Sep 03, 2016 at 17:24
Obviously it isn't the same. That one is in thimbleweed Park city. The sign showed at PAX Was the previous one, before the last new born in town in 1987 was delivered. Then the old sign had been dismissed, and the team bought it to show it at thebooth. The new sign is still there since 1987. It is a self-updating sign, the first installed in the USA since the amazing self-updating-signs-technology(TM) became available in the 80es. Actually, this is the unique self-updating sign still existing in the world. The self-updating-sign(TM) research was abandoned after the first prototype was misteriously damaged by a gunshot some days after its installation. If you are interested in this matter, you can learn more in Thimbleweed Park Mansion Mansion's library. You can find a book titled "dismissed freaky inventions that every would like to have still today". The chapter on self-updating-signs(TM) is between the chapter on rubber-chickens-with-a-pulley-in-the-middle(TM) and the chapter on the convenient-light-and-portable-CashCard-reader-for-Hare-Krishnas-and-bums(TM).
Almost forgot: don't look for the book in the game. The game is set in 1987, the book hadn't been written yet.
Ema - Sep 03, 2016 at 17:25
Obviously it isn't the same. That one is in thimbleweed Park city. The sign showed at PAX Was the previous one, before the last new born in town in 1987 was delivered. Then the old sign had been dismissed, and the team bought it to show it at thebooth. The new sign is still there since 1987. It is a self-updating sign, the first installed in the USA since the amazing self-updating-signs-technology(TM) became available in the 80es. Actually, this is the unique self-updating sign still existing in the world. The self-updating-sign(TM) research was abandoned after the first prototype was misteriously damaged by a gunshot some days after its installation. If you are interested in this matter, you can learn more in Thimbleweed Park Mansion Mansion's library. You can find a book titled "dismissed freaky inventions that every would like to have still today". The chapter on self-updating-signs(TM) is between the chapter on rubber-chickens-with-a-pulley-in-the-middle(TM) and the chapter on the convenient-light-and-portable-CashCard-reader-for-Hare-Krishnas-and-bums(TM).
Almost forgot: don't look for the book in the game. The game is set in 1987, the book hadn't been written yet.
Ema - Sep 03, 2016 at 17:37
Just forgot: there's also an interesting chapter on self-moving-fitness-equipment(TM)
Zak Phoenix McKracken - Sep 03, 2016 at 18:30
OBJECTION!
Every book in the Mansion Mansion library has a title length limited to 25 chars.
The book "dismissed freaky inventions that every would like to have still today" is longer,  so it could not exist!
-- [POINTING FINGER] --
The sign is a fake one!
-- [AUDIENCE UPSET] --
Big Red Button - Sep 04, 2016 at 01:08
As Ema wrote, it was written only after '87. This fact explains the length of the title. ;-)
Ema - Sep 04, 2016 at 02:55
You forgot to add:
"No further questions, your Honor"

:-D
Leak - Sep 03, 2016 at 12:39
Pax West? Don't you mean ThimbleCon 2016? ;)
Mario Gonçalves - Sep 03, 2016 at 13:13
OMG!
It looks amazing :D
Such a bummer that i can't be there :(
Anyway Have fun guys :D
Mario F. - Sep 03, 2016 at 13:24
LOOK!!!  There my money goes ;-) Sennheiser headsets. At least you provide good equipement for the audience.
Big Red Button - Sep 03, 2016 at 13:38
I think, they are appropriate for such a purpose.
Dieter - Sep 03, 2016 at 19:52
ehm... Sennheiser is making cheap equipment either. And I don't want to know what disease the 1,000 people will get - I assume no one cleans or desinfects the headphones ... ?
Big Red Button - Sep 04, 2016 at 01:37
They will get the great Thimbleweed Park fever.

Joking aside, leather pads are easy to clean, and you don't touch them with your face.
And, there is currently no flu epidemic.

Well, I don't know what they have paid for the headphones, but, at least they are good enough and comfortable.
Nor Treblig - Sep 04, 2016 at 07:53
Also there is something called "immune system".
Dieter - Sep 04, 2016 at 08:47
The headphones have contact with the hair and the skin. So beside skin related diseases there is a chance to get headlice. And most important: The people have to "grab" the headphones with their hands.

(Back in the days of telephone booths there were several studies that suggest not to put the phone on your ears. And even in companies they found several bacteria on the phones.)
Big Red Button - Sep 04, 2016 at 09:55
No risk, no fun. If you have reservations, just keep your hands off the headphones. Well, I use to have some reservations as well in such situations, but, provided that the team frequently cleans the headphones, the risk might be limited.
By the way, your immune system even needs germs in order to stay strong. For this reason, antibacterial products are highly controversial. Bearing a too aseptic life is even suspected of causing allergies, for instance.
Ema - Sep 04, 2016 at 10:13
You are right: having to cope, everyday,with millions of bacteria is as much important,for our health, than avoiding those few bad bacteria. Even the most innocent microbe could cause a bad disease in a weak immune system. And don't forget that our bowels rely on the presence of bacteria inside them.
Ema - Sep 04, 2016 at 10:06
The chance of getting diseases from the headset is so low... That is lower than the chance of getting then during normal  social intercourse. Shaking hands and talking to people at close distance is much more dangerous for your health. Using a public toilet is much more dangerous for your health. So if you decide not to use public headsets you should, to be consistent, avoid also mass transport, restaurants, and normal social intercourse of any kind. Not TO mention sexual intercourse: any innocent kiss is much more dangerous than an headset. In other words, you must quit your job and live a lonely existence.
Oh, forgot something: the chance of getting a disease from an headset is similar to the chance of getting it handling cash. So, don't forget to make all your transactions with your ATM card, but don't forget your latex gloves in case you have to digit your pin.
Nor Treblig - Sep 04, 2016 at 12:22
Regarding shaking hands: best practises were already discussed: https://twitter.com/grumpygamer/status/772159455253237760
Zak Phoenix McKracken - Sep 03, 2016 at 15:28
Oh well, Seattle is too far from me and I can't afford a so-long fly, actually. Thus thank you very much for the pictures, at last I can imagine myself there...
Zak Phoenix McKracken - Sep 03, 2016 at 18:22
A friend of mine left Italy 18 months ago, and now is living in Sweden. He's a cosplayer and a good game player, he will go to ComicCon Stockholm for sure.
Mattias Cedervall - Sep 03, 2016 at 20:06
I hope that your friend will like it here even though it's cold here. I've been to Gamex three times. I might go this year again. It used to be called Gamex.
Zak Phoenix McKracken - Sep 04, 2016 at 18:15
He took photos of the aurora borealis (northern lights) just a few days ago. Spectacular. He said it was better than in   February at -18 degrees...
Mattias Cedervall - Sep 06, 2016 at 12:26
I'm glad that your friend got to see the northern lights. Yes, it's usually better when it's cold. I've only seen a little of the northern lights. It's a better view in northern Sweden.
Arto - Sep 09, 2016 at 16:05
Yup, we have quite spectacular northern lights in middle of Finland, but 200 km up north in the arctic circle (and north from there) they look even better. Especially in winter.
Francesco Favia - Sep 03, 2016 at 22:59
Hello Ron,

do you mount all that with your own tiny hands? :)

Thanks for your time
Louis - Sep 05, 2016 at 01:11
Yeah!  I was at PAX on Sunday and I went specifically to play TWP!  In a sea of side-scroller clones and pixelated RPGs, TWP really stood out as a very unique game in the Indie Megabooth, I think.  It was really awesome to finally play some of the game and get a feel for the enhanced UI.  I noticed and appreciated the references to the old games as well as the overall polish.  I couldn't finish the demo because Windows decided to misbehave (bad, Windows, BAD!) but I walked away with some awesome stuff: a matching pair of Ray/Reyes trading cards and a TWP mousepad.  YEAH!!  

Great job, TWP Team!  The game is awesome!  I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE RELEASE!!!
SunDancer - Sep 05, 2016 at 08:29
This is so much better than the hidden booth at gamescom... and it has stuff to buy... I would have loved a T-Shirt *sigh*

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