History of Ice-Pick Lodge Studio. Part two: drawing and naked women next to monsters from Bosch paintings

After the release of the mor. (Utopias) Ice-Pick Lodge did not become superpopular or cult. There were both praising reviews and destroying reviews. For example, the mor has become a game of the year in the opinion of “Best Computer Games” and Ag.ru, but very influential "gambling" and Game.exe, for example, did not leave a stone on a stone from him. And among the players there were people who belonged to the game with skepticism and some contempt. However, the ice axes were not going to stop and began to make a new project, which was already at the stage of the concept of their first game.

Development of turgor. 250 thousand dollars for the concept, change of the publisher, etc.

Tension (as he was called abroad) at the very beginning of his path was a pure concept. There was no demo, only ten pages of text in Word, for which Dybovsky and Ko asked 250 thousand evergreen. Of course, to buy just a crazy idea about naked women, huge monsters from the Bosch and mechanics, which is based on drawing, no one wanted. I liked working with the “Buka”, but this time it didn’t work out: the moment of negotiations on Turgore coincided with the advent of new investors. This influenced the solution, and as a result, ICE-Pick’Am said: “Wait. In the meantime, wait – simplify the concept ".

Perhaps the employees of Buki were not so far from the truth. Comparing the brothers with this, you will not say who is more ugly.

As a result, he believed the “new disk” in the project, although this became possible thanks to the extremely successful coincidence: then the publishing house made bets on DS and WII, for “which“ drawing ”gameplay of the game was deliberately invented”. Negotiations were conducted with Dmitry Burkovsky, who offered to make the game immediately for DS. However, the ice axes already had a engine for the PC version made by Alexei Bakhkhalov, and the techno-turn from Peter Potapov and Ayrat Zakirov-two main programmers of the studio. In the end, we agreed on two versions: for personal computers, which will come out first, and for the console from Nintendo. At the same time, Nikolai turned the concept document into a full-fledged dizka, as a result of which the game acquired understandable features.

Reflections “On the nature of energy, which makes it possible to know and create” to the turgor of Nicholas. Also, I also wanted to create a game “without a single word. So that from the words there are only the name and the credits ". Andrei Krank Kuzmin, the creator of Wangers and the perimeter had a great influence on the head of the studio. He put the gameplay at the forefront, believed that in order to perform a revolution in games, it was necessary to work in this direction. And Nikolai felt that “reproach is fair,” decided to make a turgor without words. But after Dybovsky, he compromised, and Tension found the script, and the sisters began to speak lengthy monologues. And here is an interesting moment: the head of the studio considers his second project to be unsuccessful.

… and I decided to make a "turgor" fundamentally without words. It was a challenge that I accepted, then, of course, I went to some compromises. Somehow I did not have the courage. I still scold myself for this and consider the "turgor" unsuccessful. You don’t need a script there, you don’t have to tremble these sisters there. Well, there is nothing to tell them there. I sat and tormented these stupid monologues … It was not necessary to do this

The name of the game was far from the first to come up with Nikolai. “The options were:“ hunger ”,“ rod ”,“ lethargy ”,“ pantheon ”,“ heresy ”,“ taboos ”,“ breakthrough ”,“ creation ”,“ dead ”,“ path up ”… well, and many more different”. Some of the names became chapters (hunger and taboos, for example). There was also a “gap”, but it, according to the head of the studio, did not fit. The game is not about the place in which the action takes place, but about the turgor – the resource, which, from the point of view of ice axes, "is desperately lacking". But this resource is invisible, it is not described, "not by hearing". The absence of him destroys us as a lack of air, and all this happens imperceptibly. However, even the word “turgor”, according to Dybovsky, is unsuccessful: not to form adjectives and verbs, so the word will not take root.

About music, its creation and Mushroomer’e.

Until 2007, the first composer of the ice axes – Andriesh Gandrabur was engaged in the musical design. He wrote quite a few tracks, some of which were not included in the game (as Vasily Kashnikov said, the second composer, a couple of melodies), but were in the additional disk of the soundtrack. In the summer of 2007, Gandraburbur was less and less worked on the project and by the fall he practically did not deal with it. This was partly due to the fact that the first composer gravitated to electronic music, and Turbor needed instrumental, sometimes even classical. On this basis, Andriysh and Dybovsky argued, which led to a very understandable outcome – the first left the studio.

Kashnikov wrote music at school, with a comrade organized an electronic punk project. After they began to combine electronics with live tools, and then dispersed. Played in several city groups. Vasily came to the ice axes not by chance. “I wanted to work with them,” he said. The achievement of this goal was helped by participation in The Tales of Walenir, with whom he was exhibited with a team at several Kre. This is what allowed Mashrumer to quickly find contact with the Dybovsky and some other members of the team. In the winter of 2007 he received a test task, and already in May of the same year he began to work tightly on the turgor.

Vasily Kashnikov: “I wear a funny pseudonym“ Mushroom ”because I love mushrooms."
Vasily wrote a large amount of music for the game not because there was such a task, but because of the composer’s personal desire to make the game more diverse. There was an idea to make music in gardens dependent on the ratio of the quantity and quality of color in the trees, but the lack of time and a large amount of work put on this idea a cross. In every rest, music played its own;This was done so that with each girl the player had certain associations.

Turgora output

In 2007, the game visited a conference of games developers, where it was quite expected to receive the “most non -standard project” award. Due to polishing, the release had to be postponed for April two thousand eighth. And when the turgor came out, the question of what it was, everyone who touched him was.

Here is a quote, for example, Gameslife magazine.ru: “Turgora path to the announcement was long and thorny. Ice-Pick Lodge in their characteristic manner was prepared thoroughly, swarmed, thought and pulled (since September 2006), but still did it-showed the world information about their new project. The world remained in a slight confusion – he has not yet seen such a thing ".
The site of the AG did not stand aside.Ru, saying that the turgor in his oddity went even further. (Utopia). "It is difficult to describe it in a nutshell. However, in words to explain what has been seen so far is not easy … An interesting project, an interesting team … ”So what was Tension?

On the Internet you can find a version without clothes. But why?

The world of the game. Gap, sisters, brothers, flaws.

It is easiest to start a story with a description of where the main character turned out to be. Gap – the place in which our spirit falls. Perhaps we died, perhaps we lie in a coma. Dybovsky himself did not answer this question at all, so for what reason the player is in this place, it is impossible to unequivocally answer. There are almost no living creatures in the interval – only a gray stone, almost completely gray trees, an almost complete lack of color, which is the basis of any life. Without this important substance, it is impossible to survive in the aggressive world for more than ten to fifteen minutes. And here the player will have to survive.

Blue color marks the chambers in which the player can pass. Accordingly, red – those who are not access. Eights marked the location of the sisters. The yellow location is special. Brothers will be marked by an orange trident.

I must say that the gap is just one of the endless many so -called limits. Below this world is a nightmare in which there is no color at all. At the same time, there is also a very peculiar life there. The brothers came from here, but I will talk about creatures a little later.

Above the gap is the surface – the limit, to which not all inhabitants of the middle world believe. According to rumors, there are a lot of color above, and their species are much more than seven. Almost every sister wants to get into such a paradise, but this would mean the destruction of the interval, so the brothers who do not believe in the existence of the surface were prohibited even to think about a breakthrough. In part, the denial of the existence of the world over the interval is explained by the fact that the keepers consider the place in which they live,. It is not unreasonable, given where they came from.

Surface. As you can see, it looks like our world. Some people were so stubborn that they were looking for a real address of this place. Not found.

Inhabit the Middle world of various creatures. There are flaws https://casinobetti.uk/ of different types: predatory, growth from a person hunting for everyone;harmless, small, which absorb drops of vital resource. You can hunt babies: throw a little color, wait and catch. There are also giants – truly huge creatures that devour the interval. There are only three of them: lizard, triton and worm. Everyone will bring a lot of color to the player, but it is quite difficult to defeat them, especially at the early pores.

Lizard. If he caught you, he will inflict high damage.

From different living creatures we will move on to important characters. Sisters are beautiful girls, each with their own character, fears, hopes, aspirations, desires and knowledge. It is with them that the player will interact the most: listen to their monologues, give them color, revealing the hearts, asking about the interval. Almost all sisters are in the same place and close the passage further until the player gives them enough resource. No wonder girls are called keys. Not at the wretches, some build against other intrigues, almost all sisters to the player lie one way or another. Ira will say that one sister is appointed to the hero, and one of her favorite colors is gold, hinting at herself in this way. Ima will broadcast about the snake that she holds back. Others will not be completely frank with you either. Believe them or not is only your business.

All dialogs with sisters occur in Obscura, each has its own. In this case, Ole. And yes, absolutely all the sisters in the obscuraus are naked. The more hearts are open, the less shackles, the less censorship.

On the other side of the barricades are brothers – monstrous giants, which in general is quite difficult to describe. One, for example, is a huge praying mantis (and bears the same name), from the human body of which long metal blades come out instead of hands. Four more such processes are hind legs, which gives an amazing and terrifying resemblance to insect. The brothers keep the sisters in constant hunger (that is, give color only for survival), which is why the girls are unloved. Monsters take the player for their own and begin to train him. Follow their commandments and taboos or not, you decide.

Actually, mantis. Quite strong, in the battle we are vulnerable only during the absorption of color. Your mentor will tell you all ten commandments that other teachers will explain.

Gameplay. Impact of flowers, drawing, economics.

The unique gameplay of the game is closely related to color – with the same substance, without which life is impossible in the interval. With his help, the player performs absolutely all actions: moves through the global map (which has the form of a molecule), communicates with the sisters, fights, affects the world around him, grows trees, and so on. Without the color, the hero will die, so it is necessary to monitor the fullness of hearts. There are seven types of this unusual resource in total: silver, purple, amber, azure, lilac, emerald, gold. Everyone has their own character, which is expressed in various effects on the player: red will increase damage, for example, and green – protection against enemy attacks. The color also affects the gap, making its inhabitants more fiercely, which enhances their strength (as one of the options).

There is a memory on the right, on the left is a palette. Hearts are located in the player’s body – so far one thing, but the further you play, the more they will be. Processes called nerve come out of hearts.

To survive, the player will have to get color. This can be done in various ways. One of them is collecting. It will be most useful at the beginning of the game, when almost the entire color will appear in the form of stalks of different shapes and sizes. The more sprout, the more substances are contained in it. However, this method has a significant drawback: what kind of color will be is unknown in advance. It may well be that only lilacs will be over the past cycle, and you needed a purple.

To get rid of yourself from the effect of randomness, you can grow color in the trees that are in the chambers-sads. The resource in plants is produced during several cycles. It should be noted that the amount of color obtained from the tree depends on the amount of invested. Moreover, the species that was planted will be grown. Each tree can bear fruit only once, which makes you carefully think, whether it is so much necessary to grow color now or is it better to wait.

A revived tree. In this garden you can sit on a bench that could not be done at sea.

The method of mining a resource similar to gardening is the development of rocky cores. They have one difference: to obtain color from the breed, special, “mountain” signs are required. One of them will reveal the vein, the other will launch a harpoon, which will make it possible to collect the substance. The principle of accumulation is absolutely the same as in the case of trees.

After collecting, the color falls into memory. It is impossible to use it from there. In order to draw, it is necessary to germinate the color in the hearts that can be obtained in different ways: some give sisters, most can be found in the chambers. All vessels and, accordingly, the signs that the player can use, 21. The more hearts are open, the more capacious the memory and the palette (it contains a paint that can be drawn), the faster you can germinate the color, because this process goes in parallel in containers. However, we must remember that the presence of substance in the player’s body gives various bonuses.

Magazine. It has information about flowers, brothers, studies studied, all the conversations in girls and monsters are recorded in it. Convenient in handling.

Color sprout occurs only in the interval (global map) over time. It can be controlled, but it completely stops only in the chambers. The time in the game is divided into cycles, each of which lasts exactly 100 heart beats. Accordingly, one beating is equal to one developed color. The process can be accelerated with amber.

Processes called nerve come out of hearts. It is from there that the color can be taken to the palette. However, there is one “but”: one hundred percent increase to the characteristic can only be obtained when 150 units will be in the hearts, and another 150 in the nerve.
After collecting from processes, you can use the color to perform all actions. Despite a very complex structure, the system is intuitive;the explanation is much more difficult to perceive. Therefore, you should not be scared, understanding comes quickly enough.

The battle frequency in Turbor depends almost completely on the desire of the player. There is not a single mandatory battle, but sooner or later you will want to fight with the brothers. Why? It’s all about their behavior. They will devastate the chambers in which the color was born, ruin your gardens if you do not fill the substance there a trap there. If a brother is in the interval, and at that time you opened the heart of his sister, then a cruel punishment will follow: the monster will tear the organ out of the girl, and your efforts will be in vain. Will have to fill it with color again, which will take time. This can be avoided by calling a brother to the battle. To do it is simple: let’s rest in which the monster absorbs the color or pulls out the heart, and try to go to the location. Instead, a battle with a brother in the arena, of which there are three. If you win, the whole color that has your enemy will get. Otherwise you will not die, but lose everything that you have accumulated. You will have only 50 silver units left. It is better to think about whether you can defeat your opponent, or is it better to fight him later.

Arena where the player will fight with an armadillo if he wants.

For me personally, the gameplay, despite the rather high difficulty during the first passage, is a meditative. Strong emotions and aesthetic pleasure causes the process of revitalization of gardens. Incredible beauty landscapes are created when the contrast of gray and red, lilac, green, azure, silver, gold and amber flowers captivate your eyes. And something bright appears in the depths of consciousness. No, not happiness or joy, but something that I cannot describe in words. But this experience that gives the game is incredibly bright.

Events that occur in the interval. Attention, spoilers. Be careful.

The game is divided into seven chapters: hunger, commandments, holiday, confusion, Orion, turgor and breakthrough. Each takes place in certain events that you cannot influence. That is why I will not use the word "plot" in the context of this game. He is too atypical here against the background of even mor. (Utopia), not like other games. Each chapter goes exactly five cycles, so after 35 hundred beats of the heart, the game will end, one way or another. So let’s start.

At the beginning of each chapter, the player is given a small text describing this chapter.

Chapter One, hunger. In this period of time, the hero will know the world around him. A player in the obscenity of a nameless sister comes to his senses, who will explain to us the basic rules of life in the interval, will teach him how to move, collect and accumulate color. The first three brothers will come to the 5th cycle, in each passage different. In this chapter, it is advisable to open at least one passage further (which means to open 2 hearts to one of the older sisters). It may well be that the keepers of this particular couple of girls will come, and it will be difficult to go further.

Chapter two, commandments. The brothers will begin to devote the spirit to the students and give him ten basic laws called taboos. Their single violation is punishable by execution (imprisonment of almost the entire color), tenfold – exile down to the nightmare. A repeated crime of a taboo means death later (about it just below). Aiya comes to the end of the chapter – one of two stray sisters, "maid". In the past, she and her “lady” committed a kind of crimes associated with the breakthrough of Ino and Ani (which were still dropped down). Therefore, Ayia and Echo roam in the interval, hiding from the wrath of the brothers.

So the brothers come in the interval.

Chapter three, holiday. In it, the player will see almost all the brothers, but they will not harm him. Two of them that made a mistake were dropped into a nightmare – a pit and a tyrant. But now they have returned, and the brothers are starting a holiday in honor of them, but not you. However, you will not know this until the end. Here the player is almost completely free, so you should go about your own business – feed your sisters, find hearts or/and fight in giants. One way or another, these 5 cycles are a very important respite.

Chapter Four, confusion. Nameless gives the whole color to the player who can be collected at rest. Because of this, she falls into a nightmare. The whole gap is shocked: no one here knew the word "self -sacrifice". Everyone is in confusion, they feel that now it is impossible differently. The brothers begin to hunt witch, which can lead to the death of the sisters.

Chapter Five, Orion. Mongolfier heard the voices of flowers and renounced his path, the guardian path. The rest of the brothers recognize Orion as a traitor. Mongolfier will still devastate the chambers, but he will not fight with you.

Unlike the rest, it looks pretty harmless.

Chapter six, turgor. Here we will be given the twenty -first sign (if you have the other 20) – a breakthrough. And it can be done now. But this is not the end of the story, so it is better to wait for the denouement. And before that it is advisable to prepare: revive the trees, collect the whole color. Surely you want to leave the interval.

The last sign is W. They need to be drawn to get any effect. Strength depends on the amount of invested color.

Chapter Seventh, breakthrough. Mongolfire is dumped into a nightmare, but he will tell you that you should stay in the interval. It is you, a player, should become the best of the brothers so that the world continues to live. You will create a new alphabet and new rules so that the interval becomes better. The rest of the brothers lose their minds. The end is close and the colors will no longer come. Only you choose, get out of the interval, put up your sister, stay here or … try to make a breakthrough with the chosen girl, make the impossible.

Yes, I missed many details. However, it makes no sense to tell them: just for this it would be necessary to write ten pages. It is better to briefly talk about events in the game. Moreover, many events have various interpretations, and I would undoubtedly distort them because of my own vision of the world.

Easter ladies, rating and poems.

There are Easter eggs in Turgora. Dybovsky did not know about them to the last, so they remained in the game. There are 22 Easter challes in the game 22 (according to some sources, 28), of which seventeen count in the post -game rating. There are references to different games and works. For example, at rest, the “pier” can be found elixirs from the first witcher, in the “curl” – the figure of a brother made in the style of “fiction” from Psychonauts, in other locations you can find three references to the mor. (Utopia), to the book of Lovecraft “within the walls of Ericks”, Cuba from Portal, poems and excerpts from the works of Blake, Chekhov (work “Seagull”) and some other Easter. Quite diverse list, do not find?

The rating consists of not only from the found Easterks, which give one point, but also for the type of ending (the largest give for a double breakthrough), the number of surviving sisters and the dead brothers. Also 10 points give for the resurrection of the nameless sister. In general, the rating does not affect anything. Why he was introduced is not entirely clear, but he does not interfere at all.

When the turgor is launched, there will be a video in which a certain girl reads a poem. It belongs to Luis de Camoens (or Luis, different pronunciations are found), the Portuguese poet and the playwright of the Renaissance. The sonnet from the “Corona Astralis” Maximilian Voloshin – the Russian and Soviet poet corresponds to each sister and joint exit. For the final of the breakthrough, only the player will sound “above the shabby ripples of water, the water rises from the depths …” from the cycle “Kimmerian twilight” of the same author.

It must be said that the game has five ending groups. There is a single finale in which the player breaks out of the gap one. There is a ascension of sister, and since girls are 11, then the variations are also eleven. The same situation with the joint exit. You can become a brother, for which you need to wait for the end of the thirty -fifth cycle. And finally, death is also the ending. If the player does not let the color through himself (that is, grow it in himself), then he will fall into a nightmare.

Death is still a little death. A little about the voice of the color.

Here is how Aya describes: “If life disappears, and everything turns into grayness without joys, strong emotions, without impressions and great accomplishments, it means that a kayuk. This is a sign that death is approaching. After which the spirit will never rise and will not open a new life anywhere. Because it will stop feeling color ". That is, this death puts an end to a person’s life. Perhaps the strongest degree of apathy to the world is implied and, probably, complete oblivion in history.

Little death is a consequence of the birth of a new life. Without it, do not go to a new level, to the upper limit (according to the Black of the game, the soul moves only vertically). Echo describes this event like this: “The death of your gap is a consequence, but not the reason for the creation of a new life. Just life is the only fuel on which this goal can be achieved. And fuel will not be able to save it. Everything is needed here, without a trace. For wear. Everything that devastates is perishable. And he needs to exhaust completely … Complete devastation always leads to a little death. Little death is also painful – there was a man, and he was gone. Completely different in his place, and the eyes have changed ".

A year later, on May 28, 2009, a reprint of the game was released, Turgora. The voice of color (The Void abroad). Music and graphics did not differ, but the balance, gameplay were subjected to great changes and, very importantly, a full -fledged plot with quests appeared in the game. It would seem good, a big dynamics of events. But this led to a significant simplification of history, loss of depth. The player literally chewed everything related to the interval. Moreover, the characters of the sisters were, one might say, forgotten. This resulted in absolute disinterest in ascension at least any of them. The brothers were made much more evil. So much so that in the game you will have to fight with two of them in the plot. It will not work to evade.

The turgor was not so good, but one very important fact should be noted: the studio was noticed abroad. Foreign publishers were ready to finance the next project of ice axes called "Cold". However, this did not happen, and only in 2011 Eureka was released. But I will talk about this later.

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