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Author Topic: London has been dragged beneath the surface by bats. And it's fun!  (Read 4174 times)

Euld

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London has been dragged beneath the surface by bats. And it's fun!
« on: July 03, 2011, 07:16:26 am »
The name of the game is Echo Bazaar.  It's... kinda difficult to explain, mostly because I'm not sure what to compare it to.  I could say it's a "point and click" adventure game where you level up, collect items like whispered secrets and mushroom wine, and enjoy societal intrigue to discover the secrets of Fallen London.  But I didn't.  If you heard anything, it was the bats talking.  So check out the game.  Because it pleases you.
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scriver

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Re: London has been dragged beneath the surface by bats. And it's fun!
« Reply #1 on: July 03, 2011, 08:56:53 am »
It's a cool game, I enjoyed it for some time a few months ago. Well written and cool stories. Full of Ladies, Gentlemen and Individuals of Mysterious and Indistinct Gender. And Squidmen. And talking rat gunsmiths. And Jack-of-Smiles.

I'm not a very good describer, so I'll just qoute the post that introduced it to me:
Quote
Anyone else playing Echo Bazaar?

It's essentially a cross between a Lone Wolf game book and a social game (yes, like those facebook games) set in a fictional Victorian London that has been dragged underground by mysterious forces. Think of it as a cross between Tim Burton-esque London and Call of Cthulhu, but somewhat light-hearted. It's a social game, so there are plenty of doodads to collect and skills to grind, but it's the setting and the unfolding story that is interesting to me, there are lots of secrets to uncover and plots to unfold, you can choose Ambitions for your character to pursue (such as participating in a once-in-a-lifetime game of cards where you bet your soul for the chance to win your heart's desire), you have to make connections to game factions (the Masters of the Bazaar, the Rebellion, Hell, Behemians, etc), manage your Suspicion, Scandal, Nightmare ratings (and more, I've only just started playing). I'm taking notes here, lots of cool RPG elements, really shows how text adventures can broaden the palette of actions available in an RPG.

The thing that makes it a social game is that there are lots of ways to participate in activities with friends. For example, my character has started accumulating Nightmares, I've started seeing a strange, grinning gentleman in a top hat wherever I go. One of the easiest ways to drop your nightmares it to invite a friend round to confess your fears, but I need more friends...that's where you brave fellows come in. Create accounts so that I can sleep more easily bros.

Also, I need help dropping my Suspicion level, I've been caught trying to pickpocket carnival tickets a few too many times and I don't want to end up back in Newgate prison.

Seriously, I know it's a social game (hiss, spit) but the setting and plots are what make it fun. Give it a try, it's amusing, at least for a while.
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Love, scriver~

tomas1297

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Re: London has been dragged beneath the surface by bats. And it's fun!
« Reply #2 on: July 03, 2011, 09:15:02 am »
 Move to other games. I thought this was like, the news or something.
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Lagslayer

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Re: London has been dragged beneath the surface by bats. And it's fun!
« Reply #3 on: July 03, 2011, 03:53:18 pm »
Quote from: tomas1297 on July 03, 2011, 09:15:02 am
Move to other games. I thought this was like, the news or something.
What other interesting games are there? Also, preferably ones that don't require some social networking profile to access. I don't get into that.
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Cthulhu

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Re: London has been dragged beneath the surface by bats. And it's fun!
« Reply #4 on: July 03, 2011, 04:38:30 pm »
He means this should be moved to the other games section.  I was also under the impression that hilarious bat-related shenanigans had occurred in London.
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Shoes...

Euld

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Re: London has been dragged beneath the surface by bats. And it's fun!
« Reply #5 on: July 03, 2011, 07:36:10 pm »
Aww, fine fine, I'll move this thread to that one part of the forum I never check xD
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ductape

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Re: London has been dragged beneath the surface by bats. And it's fun!
« Reply #6 on: July 03, 2011, 07:51:32 pm »
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fallenstar

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Re: London has been dragged beneath the surface by bats. And it's fun!
« Reply #7 on: July 07, 2011, 08:24:38 am »
Nice one, looks kinda interesting. I'm a big fan of quirky browser games....I've been playing ZooMumba and The Settlers Online, and I'm fed up of both, so I might check this one out!
« Last Edit: July 11, 2011, 03:05:35 am by fallenstar »
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Graven

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Re: London has been dragged beneath the surface by bats. And it's fun!
« Reply #8 on: August 10, 2011, 05:05:55 am »
So I just got into this and though I haven't played for even an hour, I found it extremely interesting, mostly because of the writing. So my question is, is bay12 playing this still? And could we make a new topic for it if there is interest? No-one I know personally is playing it and it would be nice to have a place to talk about it :)
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What a strange and beautiful world I beheld, but dangerous too, I was certain. And I was friendless and homeless. And so I prayed.
"Hear me, exalted spirits. Hear me be you gods or devils, ye who hold dominion here. I am a wizard without a home. I am a wanderer seeking refuge."

Ultimuh

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Re: London has been dragged beneath the surface by bats. And it's fun!
« Reply #9 on: August 10, 2011, 09:50:49 am »
So I need a twitter account for this?
I'd rather stay away if that's the case.
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Graven

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Re: London has been dragged beneath the surface by bats. And it's fun!
« Reply #10 on: August 10, 2011, 10:54:00 am »
Either Facebook or Twitter, yeah. Since I had neither, I decided Twitter is a lot less bothersome to set up. You don't really need an active twitter account, just an existing account to log in with.
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What a strange and beautiful world I beheld, but dangerous too, I was certain. And I was friendless and homeless. And so I prayed.
"Hear me, exalted spirits. Hear me be you gods or devils, ye who hold dominion here. I am a wizard without a home. I am a wanderer seeking refuge."

baruk

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Re: London has been dragged beneath the surface by bats. And it's fun!
« Reply #11 on: August 11, 2011, 07:24:49 am »
I've played for five minutes, and this is great so far. One good reason for having a facebook account I suppose.
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Graven

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Re: London has been dragged beneath the surface by bats. And it's fun!
« Reply #12 on: August 11, 2011, 07:54:33 am »
Yeah, it's really awesome so far, I'm really enjoying the writing and the storylets.

I'm really thinking of starting a new thread, though. This one isn't really that informative... we could have a twitter list and stuff.
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What a strange and beautiful world I beheld, but dangerous too, I was certain. And I was friendless and homeless. And so I prayed.
"Hear me, exalted spirits. Hear me be you gods or devils, ye who hold dominion here. I am a wizard without a home. I am a wanderer seeking refuge."

baruk

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Re: London has been dragged beneath the surface by bats. And it's fun!
« Reply #13 on: August 14, 2011, 12:46:35 pm »
A new thread might be an idea. The title of this one is a little esoteric.

I'm starting to run into content that requires co-operation with other players eg. I need to play chess with someone in order to sooth my nightmares, which are starting to get out of control. I don't want to get carted off to Bedlam just yet!
 Relevant links below (you'll need to friend me on facebook as I have already overstepped my limit with the overseers of that forbidding place).
Ronald Miasma
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/profile.php?id=1493471059
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