INTRO:
Daedelic Entertainment is infatuated with adventure games, this much should be apparent to people who follow the genre. However, what is not as well-known is its indecision on what it should do to produce in-house titles during its early years of operation.
After experimenting with mostly in-house work derived from the founders’ own previous works (Edna & Harvey: The Breakout) and then collaborating with the German film industry (a game based on one of the 1½ Ritter comedy films), Daedelic has returned to utilizing graduate work by video game design alumnis (or drop-outs).
The Whispered World is the result. It happens to showcase both the passion of its postgraduate creators for engaging stories and yet also their amateurish skill at product quality assurance.
PREMISE:
Perhaps in a breakaway from other titles in the adventure genre, The Whispered World starts with a rather depressing intro. A sullen narrator deigns to tell his last tale, one that is about the would-be sad travails of a diminutive circus performer by the none-too-subtle name of Sadwick.
Sadwick has been plagued with vivid dreams that end with an enigmatic, near-shapeless being that calls him by name. They tire him and make him sullen. This does not help when he already resents his everyday life, which involves travelling with his family, who is in the trade of circus performance.
Unfortunately for him, the dreams have recently become even more vivid. Having decided to seek out answers for what ails his mind, he sets off on an adventure with his trusty caterpillar companion, Spot – albeit an adventure that has dire consequences, as the narrator would outright say in the prologue.
USER-FRIENDLINESS:
Unfortunately, if the Whispered World is to be compared with other adventure titles in terms of user-friendliness, it falters considerably.
There is no in-game tutorial for players that are unfamiliar with point-and-click adventure games; apparently, the game was already made with an experienced audience in mind. Players who want to learn to play the game are required to read the manual. At least the manual appears to be thorough in describing the controls of the game and its most important gameplay elements.
The player moves Sadwick via pointing-and-clicking, obviously enough. However, said veterans may be perplexed by the controls that are used to have Sadwick interact with something.
The player needs to hold the left-mouse button over an interactive object to have a palette of icons appear. These icons represent the actions that the player can have Sadwick perform on the object.
This can be annoying to players that are used to context-sensitive quick actions. There are also no keyboard hotkeys for these, which can be even more irksome if the player considers that there are hotkeys for other things, such as saving and loading games.
Double-clicking on transition icons has Sadwick changing locales quickly, which is handy as Sadwick saunters about at a leisurely pace.
However, the game does not respond quickly to this input by the player; the player may even have to double-click furiously on the transition icon to get the game to respond. This can be terribly annoying, and in one scenario that will be described later, game-breaking.
Moreover, this transition does not occur if the screen is still scrolling; there will be more elaboration on why the screen scrolls later. The player has to wait for the screen to halt before this can be done. This limitation is also annoying.
SPOT:
Early in the story, the player is introduced to Spot, who is Sadwick’s loyal (if rather dim-witted) pet. Spot follows Sadwick around such that its sprite tries its best to stay close to Sadwick’s. On the other hand, Spot is a caterpillar, so it can seem a bit slow at times.
Many puzzles require the player to use Spot on objects. To do so, the player needs to have a clear, unobscured view of Spot’s sprite, so that the player can click on it. This is not always a given, and considering that Spot is a small creature, many things, including Sadwick himself, can obscure Spot.
If the player can place the cursor on Spot, the cursor changes to a lovable image of Spot, as if someone is holding it between their hands. To indicate that Spot is over an object, Spot becomes visibly excited, which makes it look even more adorable.
However, there is an issue with this cursor system. Spot’s image is quite large, and there are many objects on-screen in many locales that are smaller . Hovering the image over these objects can be an annoyance at times.
If there is not a significant result from the attempt anyway, the player is still rewarded with a funny comment from Sadwick, usually on how incompatible Spot is with the object that the player tries to have Spot interact with.
Spot can shape-shift, but this ability is not mentioned to the player in-game early on; instead, it is mentioned in the manual. If the player does not read the manual (or any guide for that matter), he/she may well become stuck in just the opening hour of the game.
The narrative behind Spot’s shape-shifting ability is not entirely clear. In fact, Sadwick only appears to acknowledge this ability out loud close to the halfway point of the game.
Anyway, having Sadwick talk to Spot has Sadwick making a monologue about what he has to do next. This effectively makes Spot as a useful reminder tool.
Sadwick does cherish Spot, but he is often exasperated over Spot’s dim wit – something that he will remark on many times throughout the game, which can be amusing.
PUZZLE DESIGNS:
As to be expected of an adventure game, The Whispered World has the player (and Sadwick) figuring out puzzles and solving them. Sadwick happens to get into one trouble after another throughout the course of the game, so there will not be any shortage of puzzles.
Unfortunately, not all of the puzzles are well-thought out.
Firstly, there are minor problems with the progression of some puzzles. Some of the puzzles can be inadvertently solved out of order if the player is curious enough to have Sadwick check out his surroundings and randomly trying out things. Fortunately, most puzzles have some kind of restraints, such as Sadwick’s comment that there is no reason to interact with something at the time.
A few puzzles may seem misleading. For example, there is one that supposedly tells the player to have Sadwick do something when it in fact is giving the player a hint to do something that Sadwick has already done, albeit in a different manner in order to progress. (This statement may seem vague, but the gist behind it will be apparent once the player solves this puzzle. More detailed elaboration would have constituted a spoiler.)
A few other puzzles also unwittingly obscure objects that the player needs to interact with behind other objects that the player may not see the reason to interact with, or at least not anymore. For example, there are a few scenarios in the game that require the player to close a door that Sadwick has gone through to see an object behind it, but, aside from sheer curiosity or etiquette about doors, there is no apparent reason to close the door.
Some of the puzzles, such as questionnaires of sorts, test the player’s short-term memory. These may seem a bit too easy, or perhaps even insulting.
Yet other puzzles require the player to jam items together in unseemly ways. Even in hindsight, the logic of these item combinations can be difficult to believe. For example, Sadwick would be making the shaft of a certain primitive projectile out of a crooked object instead of a straight one. Another one has Sadwick making a certain percussion instrument out of a small animal by exploiting its behaviour, yet there is no discernible hint other than a near-illegible utterance that said animal makes.
There is one puzzle in the game that does not appear to have been implemented. Conversations with other characters suggest that this puzzle requires a code to open a door, but the door concerned can be opened without a code and through simpler means instead.
WRITING IN GENERAL:
The writing for the game has droll wit, such as remarks on the advantages of circuses compared to other forms of (medieval) entertainment. The example given is probably the mildest to the mind and humour; others are a lot more peculiar and more likely to put the player in a laughing fit.
The writing may rely on some clichéd tropes though. For example, pregnant pauses occur a lot in the dialogues and monologues when characters are in disbelief or become aware of their folly.
What has been mentioned about the writing applies for most of the game, with the exception of the introduction and the epilogue. Both have themes that are very much in contrast with what are between them, though to elaborate this further would be to invite spoilers into this review.
It should suffice to say though that the very discerning player might be slightly dissatisfied with the direction in the story-writing. This contrast also reminds the player that adventure games typically have linear stories.
SADWICK:
Being the main character of the game, Sadwick’s character designs are of great importance to the appeal of the game.
Sadwick, as his name suggests, is a rather depressed person, often given to whimpering and whining. In addition, he is slightly cynical about most things. He can also be fatalistic and paranoid too. In addition, he also has a lisp that can be difficult to get used to.
In other words, he is the antithesis of a proper clown, which certainly puts him at odds with his career as a circus performer. Indeed, it would be difficult for Sadwick to leave a good first impression on any player.
Nevertheless, Sadwick has a wit that has him making amusing remarks on just about anything - even if his comments can seem depressing at the same time.
Like many other protagonists of adventure games that talk to a disembodied entity that is not there (i.e. the player), Sadwick makes a lot of monologues on many things – some of which break the fourth-wall.
Eventually, the player will have him trying to use objects, use objects on other objects and similar adventure-game-related actions just to have him make a comment. Indeed, make a comment he will; his number of lines is astonishingly varied, especially in the earlier chapters of the game.
The variety does diminish a bit over time, but if the variety in Sadwick’s lines is to be compared with that of other protagonists in other adventure titles, his is formidably considerable.
Sadwick eventually discovers his latent capabilities, such as his dexterity as befitting a clown. This makes for apparent character development. However, this occurs through some scenes that may cause some disbelief, such as Sadwick catching certain insects with very thin wooden utensils, instead of a sticky item in his possession that would have been more effective.
Due to Sadwick’s poor first impression, there may be some resentment on the player’s part for his voice actor. However, as more and more of Sadwick’s better lines are heard, the player may think better of the voice actor, who can certainly deliver many lines of many syllables while still maintaining Sadwick’s lisp.
OTHER CHARACTERS:
Sadwick may be the character that the player sees most often, but there are other characters that can compete with him for the spotlight too. The dim but adorable Spot has already been mentioned.
Sadwick’s family members are the first of the other characters to be introduced, and they happen to be instrumental in hinting to the player why Sadwick behaves in the way he does. They cherish him as a fellow relative would, but there is some resentment among them, especially between Sadwick and his brother.
The player is soon introduced to other characters, all of whom happen to be diverse in their personalities, appearance and even nature. For example, there is a pair of immobile characters that deliver lines about their plight that are more than likely to have the player chuckling.
Another notable character is Bando, who has some of the most enthusiastic voice-acting in the game.
However, there are a few characters that seem underdeveloped. One of these is a goon that hisses in many of his lines, making dialogue between him and Sadwick quite a drawl (which is an observation that Sadwick himself hints at). Another is a midget whose associated dialogue trees do not seem to be tightly designed.
TECHNICAL ISSUES:
From what has already been mentioned, it should be apparent that The Whispered World benefits from splendid writing. Unfortunately, the same calibre that has been invested into the writing is absent in the technical design of the game. Consequently, there are plenty of bugs to be had.
The game sometimes crashes when loading a saved game after having been launched for the first time after the player has turned on his/her computer.
The voice-overs and subtitles are mixed up occasionally. Some conversations are also missing introductory sequences, which result in oddities such as Sadwick somehow knowing the name of another person even before having asked him about it. These occur several times in the game, and raise doubts about its translation efforts.
The worst problem, however, lies with one puzzle where Sadwick has to lead some other characters somewhere. For some reason, the game disables the player’s inventory screen and even the main menu. This would not have been a severe issue if the player can solve the puzzle, but due to a problem with screen-scrolling that will be described later, the player could be irrevocably stuck.
The only work-around is to repeatedly ALT-TAB out of the game and switching back to game until the glitch with the screen-scrolling does not occur.
Other minor problems include having to have Sadwick be at certain spots in a locale before the scripts for a fruitful action can trigger, even though logically Sadwick could initiate the action from other spots by simply walking over.
Another minor problem is the occasional disabling of the mouse cursor, which occur for when the player brings up the palette of icons for actions. The player will need to disconnect and reconnect the mouse to get it working again.
Yet another minor problem is the original Deutsch text still remaining in the English version of the game. Fortunately, the voice-overs are usually legible enough so this is not too big an issue.
MISC. MENTIONS:
Despite what has been mentioned earlier about the controls, the game developers have at least utilized them for some amusing commentaries by Sadwick. For one, the mouth icon in the aforementioned palette of icons that usually compels Sadwick to talk to someone (or something) also happens to compel him to interact with the object of attention with his mouth. This can lead to some very entertaining solutions, such as him spitting at something.
Fourth-wall-breaking statements do occur, but these are rather rare. This is perhaps for the better, because these are not compatible with the droll wit of the other lines in the game.
Some of the ways that the game uses to progress the game may seem outrageous. For example, the game has a secondary character advance the plot by somehow having said character smell an object that should not have any odour that is strong enough for the character to figure out the numbers of said object.
VISUAL DESIGNS:
Much of the graphics to be seen in the game is custom-drawn artwork, but the technical structure of the graphics in the game is created using the Visionaire Studio engine. It is not entirely certain whether this is the decision of Daedelic or that Hüllen has already been using it already before the rights to his work was bought by Daedelic.
Anyway, the game makes use of Visionaire’s ability to create many layers of images for the purpose of animation. This is certainly of great convenience to game-makers who intend to have their adventure games depend on 2-D hand-drawn artwork.
Yet, it may seem that the team of artists that worked on The Whispered World may not have coordinated their efforts very well.
The layers of artwork that appear in scenes have different visual qualities, such as muted and flat colouring for the sprites of the characters but rich, multi-faceted ones for the background artwork. This leads to an impression of visual disparity between the artwork for the background and the characters.
The game’s puzzle designers even use the layering effect for a few puzzles. One of them uses it as a clever illusory trick, which is commendable. Another uses it as a visual guide for the player to know how close he/she is to cracking the puzzle. However, though the logic of this puzzle is clear, its reasoning is not. Only the player can perceive this visual guide, but not Sadwick. This can cause some disbelief if the player realizes it.
It would be quite clear to any player that the game’s artists have invested most of their effort in concept art and visualization. However, little effort has been invested in expanding the variety in the animations for the characters and objects in the environment.
Sadwick’s almost perpetual expression of worry is perhaps one of the results of this lack of variety. Of course, one can argue that this can seem amusing in itself too. Still, watching Sadwick use the same face for many lines can get tiresome quickly. Moreover, the same frame of animation is used when Sadwick’s facial expressions should have been more overt, such as when he whimpers.
The other characters have even less animations for their expressions. This deficiency is perhaps acceptable for certain characters, such as the ever-content Spot. However, for other characters, this is not so easily forgivable.
For example, the aforementioned Bando has plenty of enthusiasm in his utterances, but this does not show through his appearance, which suggests that he is generally bored.
The lack of animations also affects the locales, and consequently, a few of the puzzles. For example, there is a puzzle that is supposed to indicate to the player that a certain room has changed its orientation after a certain action by Sadwick. There is no animation for this change, and the only indicator is just a slight change in certain details in the surroundings. (The game does have an exclamation by Sadwick that remarks on this change, but only if the player has him examining said details.)
Daedelic Entertainment has decided to hire an animation studio, Holy Cow Animations, on contract for the animated film segments of The Whispered World. The studio appears to be talented enough to copy the designs that the game’s original creator, Marco Hüllen, and his co-workers at Daedelic have come up with. There is plenty of motion to be seen in the animated cutscenes, which speak well of Daedelic’s choice.
However, probably because of the outsourcing of the work for the in-game cutscenes, subtitles do not appear in them. This does not pose a significant problem in most of the cutscenes, but there are a few in which some characters’ enunciations are not reliably legible.
Furthermore, the video compression for the cutscenes is not reliable. Some cutscenes have a lot of artifacts.
SCREEN SIZE:
One issue about the game that is notable almost from the get-go is its screen resolution. It is pegged at a resolution of 1024 × 768, which can be very dissatisfying to players that are used to multiple screen sizes for their games.
In fact, when compared to Daedalic Entertainment’s other titles, there are hardly any options to alter the display of the game.
Some locales are too large for the limited screen, so the game resorts to scrolling the screen as Sadwick nears any of its edges. This would have been a good work-around, if not for its occasional failure. When it does happen, the player may be prevented from doing many things, such as leaving the locale. To fix this, the player has to call up the main menu and then return to the game, which can break the immersion.
MUSIC:
The music of the game can seem to fit yet contrast with the themes of the game at the same time. It is melancholic, which is perhaps intended to match Sadwick’s depression and the symbolic themes in the game (most of which are not apparent except in hindsight).
However, the player will hear it too when the characters in the game make witty remarks, thus giving an impression of a thematic mismatch. This might have arisen from Daedelic’s contracting of Periscope Studios, which may have not been aware of the various themes in the writing.
Anyway, the soundtracks are kind to the ears and not too imposing such that they drown out noises that the player needs to listen to in order to solve puzzles.
BONUS MATERIAL:
The “bonus” material is typically the usual: concept artwork for the game. Some of them do appear to be doodles, such as an amusingly wicked version of Sadwick.
On the other hand, the artwork that did not appear in the actual game strongly suggests that many scenarios were cut out. Some of them also suggests that the game could have been entirely different from what it is, such as sketches of Sadwick in a murderous mood.
CONCLUSION:
The Whispered World’s rather depressing intro hides writing that contains quite a lot of droll humor; the player is certainly rewarded for persevering through the first minute of the game. Unfortunately, technical issues and deficiencies in the animations are interspersed into the experience that the game offers, which can detract from its entertainment value.