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Re: Get Lamp

Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 2:57 pm
by Mr Creosote
I some sort of 'conversation style review' (i.e. something like this or this, which is to say an 'edited chatlog') is an option, I'm in. I wouldn't like sitting down and writing an article with a beginning and an end myself, though.

Re: Get Lamp

Posted: Fri Aug 06, 2010 11:20 am
by Samwise
I too have this on pre-order. I'm not sure until I watch it whether there's a lot I'd want to comment on, though. I suspect anyone interested in IF won't need an external review to sway them and I don't normally write stuff up for the sake of it. That said, I'll have a better idea of whether I'm burning to discuss any part of it, once I've received it and had a chance to sit through some of it.

Looking fwd to its arrival - the guy is clearly a hard-working professional and everything I've seen so far oozes quality. I think the end result will be excellent ...

Sam.

Re: Get Lamp

Posted: Fri Aug 06, 2010 1:10 pm
by Gunness
Yes, an edited chatlog bookended by a introduction and conclusion would probably work fine.
Samwise wrote:I suspect anyone interested in IF won't need an external review to sway them and I don't normally write stuff up for the sake of it.
I hear what you're saying, but apart from the Infocom games, I don't see a lot of common ground when it comes to games people have played. So for those out there without a "Certified adventure afficionado" badge, and for people who aren't really all that interested in the history of the genre, the dvd's might cover a lot of ground which said people only have a tangential interest in.
Hence, I think a review/an article covering the dvd's will be worthwhile.

But I agree with you: let's have a look at the product once it turns up.

Re: Get Lamp

Posted: Fri Aug 06, 2010 3:53 pm
by Mr Creosote
I suspect anyone interested in IF won't need an external review to sway them
That assumes everybody knows about the product in the first place. Personally, I assume this documentation attempts to appeal to a broader audience than the readers of rec.arts.int-fiction. Also, I see this kind of review as a kind of feedback for the producer. Last, but not least, it could be an opportunity to write something about the history of the genre. Any discussion about this documentary will certainly touch on some of the more interesting points as well as the perceived accuracy. So, on the whole, I believe there will be plenty to say about this without boring the hell out of this site's visitors :)

Jacob: I don't know how urgently you want to get this review online, but we have to consider the possibility that we'll receive the DVD up to a few weeks apart. Will that be a problem?

Re: Get Lamp

Posted: Fri Aug 06, 2010 7:54 pm
by Gunness
Mr Creosote wrote:Jacob: I don't know how urgently you want to get this review online, but we have to consider the possibility that we'll receive the DVD up to a few weeks apart. Will that be a problem?
The disc will hardly be a breaking news item, so as long as we have it covered within a relatively short timeframe, I don't see a few weeks as a problem :)

Re: Get Lamp

Posted: Fri Aug 06, 2010 8:15 pm
by Samwise
Just to be clear, I wasn't suggesting reasons why not to write a review - I was more explaining why I want to have a play with it, before I commit myself to writing a lengthy diatribe.

I kinda need to have something to say - I'm not very good at writing things up if I don't have it a plan in my head, at least.

Sam.

Re: Get Lamp

Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 10:50 am
by Gunness
Got my copy this Saturday. Wo-hoo! Looks nothing less than amazing :D I've only briefly browsed some of its features, but there seems to be plenty to look at.

Re: Get Lamp

Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 11:14 am
by Samwise
Curses. Everyone seems to have got theirs apart from me! ;)

I was very excited when I received a DVD from Jason in the middle of last week, but it turned out to be his last one that I had also ordered, BBS: The Documentary. I have been watching that over the last couple of days and it's very good. Quite dry in places and he does have a tendency to switch between participants very quickly so that you get a rapid-fire of single sentences from a variety of people. Also a bit hard to work out who everyone is, as he only occasionally includes an OSG with their name and role.

Still, it's very good overall - the documentary on Fidonet was especally interesting. I knew nothing about it beforehand, so it was thoroughly engrossing to hear about its design and the politics that grew up around it.

Here's hoping Get Lamp arrives soon too ... ;)

Sam.

Re: Get Lamp

Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 11:06 am
by Mr Creosote
Got mine five minutes ago :D

Re: Get Lamp

Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 5:40 pm
by Samwise
Aha. I wasn't last, then. Mine arrived first thing this morning. :)

Been stuck at work all day, tho. Booo ... :(

Sam.

Re: Get Lamp

Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 7:09 pm
by Mr Creosote
So far, I've only fiddled around with the coin... didn't unravel the magical properties it undoubtly harbours, yet.

Re: Get Lamp

Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 9:42 pm
by Gunness
Mr Creosote wrote:the coin... didn't unravel the magical properties it undoubtly harbours, yet.
Indeed. It tends to open inter-dimensional gateways at random. Take care of kids and domestic animals accordingly. Those vortexes can be pretty nasty on your average dog/cat.

Re: Get Lamp

Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 9:52 pm
by Samwise
I think what I like most about it, is the magical ding sound it makes when you flip it ...

Makes me wish I could find a Zorkmid to go with it now. *sigh*

Sam.

Re: Get Lamp

Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2010 12:32 am
by Samwise
OK,

So I think I've finished watching both discs (apart from the spoiler shorts on the second DVD as I haven't properly played through most of those games yet). Jason's production values are very high quality - this set is even better made than The BBS Documentary from a build point of view, and how he's put the film together.

Unfortunately, I don't think I got quite as much out of this film as I did the last one - I suspect because I've read a lot more around the history of IF, whilst I knew very little about BBSs.

Certainly worth the asking price. I think I actually liked the shorts on the second disc more than the main Get Lamp documentary as there were more little quirky things that I hadn't read about before in there - I especially liked the short entitled The Drinking Problem. :)

I was a bit surprised that there didn't appear to be any easter eggs on either of the discs tho (unless I missed them?), as there was at least one on each of the discs in the last set.

Sam.

Re: Get Lamp

Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2010 9:26 am
by Mr Creosote
My favourite bit is the one on the second disk which "spoils every game ever made" (it doesn't actually spoil any noteworthy game, apart from one instance, I'd say the games aren't identifyable from what the people are talking about there): "You get into the time machine, but then, you've got this chocolate arm!" Marvelous piece of editing :D