269 - Easter Eggs

Developer diaries about creating Neverending Nightmares.
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matt
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Joined: Fri Oct 04, 2013 10:48 am

269 - Easter Eggs

Post by matt »

Another requested dev diary has been created. Here are my thoughts on Easter Eggs in games. Since recording this, there has been some potentially exciting developments about Easter Eggs, so stay tuned. :-D

-Matt Gilgenbach
Lead Frightener at Infinitap Games
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evilkinggumby
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Re: 269 - Easter Eggs

Post by evilkinggumby »

well now i am thoroughly confused. in the video it seems like a no deal type of thing.. you are not doing them but here you post there is exciting possible news? lol.. so which is it?

I would like clever easter eggs that blend in and could make sense in the game, but are nice "a hah" moments for this that replay and spot it later. Portraits as nods to characters from previous games. using a bit of art or a familiar object fans might recognise, might not. staging a scene similar to one iconic to a former game, stuff like that. i don't think it has to be cheesy references to other pop games or culture, and it doesn't have to be holiday or seasonal oddities (though to be honest if the "weather" in all of the mansion spots and in the woods in NeN changed based on the part of the year you played it I'd actually really appreciate that) or added decorum. Heck with all the work you do with immersive audio.. couldn't the game check the timestamp or see what the computers time of day is and have a few extra samples slipped in based on when we were playing it? being a nightmare, having low creepy ephemeral voices saying stuff like " are you going to sleep all day?" or "Why are you up so late?" or "Come to Dinner" or "Breakfast!!!" lol.. or taunts. even that'd be kinda trippy. without headphones it would likely not be noticeable..with headphones it is like a voice in your head coming out of nowhere.. hehehe

The best easter egg is a hidden scene that is tough to find but across all the NeN games it becomes a way for a central tieing narrative ot bring them all together in some way. Were all the protag's childhood friends? siblings? killed in a flaming bus crash? who knows. and across the games it doesn't have to deliberately nod to it, but for those with the keen eye, finding the clues and the hidden scenes and discovering the "mind blowing hidden secret behind all NeN games" would be one hell of a kool press piece. or at least keep folk talking for some time (i love that folk still pour over and speculate about Rule of Rose because of all the mysteries and questions buried in it).

but that also takes a lot of planning and a certain commitment to the idea. if you had no intention of doing a third NeN after this second, then no, not worth setting up.

also let me know when you want to hire me as chief secondary consultant for infinitap games.. cause then you can have the satisfaction of firing me and slamming a door in my face.. hehehe
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matt
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Re: 269 - Easter Eggs

Post by matt »

I don't think they are right for Neverending Nightmares, but that doesn't mean that Neverending Nightmares couldn't appear in other games! That's all I can say. hahah

Chris and Joe wants to put Neverending Nightmares easter eggs into our next game, but I don't know if they'll work given that our art style is completely different.
-Matt Gilgenbach
Lead Frightener at Infinitap Games
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