Blog News & Updates

Faces of Adrian

Dialogue is about conversations, and conversations need characters. Today we introduce you to Adrian: next door neighbour of the main character and a biochemistry researcher by trade. We have a soft spot for science at TPG, so it’s no wonder one of the more heavily featured characters tries to deliver an everyday-lens on research to the story. Have a gander at a few of his in-game expressions, along with sound bites (voiced by the talented and enthusiastic Monty d’Inverno).

Adrian1

 

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Background Work

 

 

Last week we teased some character art and story, this week we have a few backdrop snippets for you. The overall setting for Dialogue is modern, everyday life, so I can imagine it being a difficult task to make it suitably ordinary, in its own stylish extraordinary way. I say ‘imagine’ because Zoë, our resident artist for Dialogue, was definitely up to the task. But why don’t I let this preview of her work speak for itself.

LucilleRoomSmall

Lucille’s living room

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A Prelude

Jacob_neutralFrom: Jacob Hawthorne
To: Lucille Hawthorne
Subject: Hey

Hey, have you talked to Dad recently? I wanted to ask him something but he’s not replying to his emails.

Have you started working on your new novel yet? What’s the new protagonist like? Have you done that thing where you have a conversation with him/her/them in your head?

 

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Voice Acting in Dialogue

Dialogue is a game about conversation so, unsurprisingly, a lot of talking happens. We at TPG have played more than our share of text heavy games, but we knew from the start that it would be difficult to capture the feeling of conversation without voice acting.

From a design perspective, voice acting is an important tool. With voice acting, your ears can take on some of the work too, so your eyes and reading capacity aren’t overloaded. Having the vast majority of the game voiced is also a major step towards creating a more accessible game – whether that means a more comfortable experience for casual players or a more play-able one for players with visual impairments. Also, it’s really cool!

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Primer on Dialogue: A Writer’s Story

Our upcoming game, Dialogue: A Writer’s Story, is set to release in a few months. Here are some quick facts about the game.

What is it?
Dialogue is a PC game about conversations. The player follows Lucille, a writer, helping shape her decisions and influence her story. Some conversations are quite relaxed, allowing for ample exploration of certain topics. Others are time-dependent, and therefore have certain added pressures. Some might even happen through short email exchanges.

Who is the game for?
In emulating real conversations, we aim to make Dialogue easy for everyone to understand, relate to and play. Conversations can be challenging to succeed at, depending on your own definition of success, but the player will continue the story towards its ending regardless of outcomes. Dialogue will appeal to players looking to gain an understanding of the characters and situations in-game. It is our hope that this understanding may provide a small amount of insight into real-life conversations and interactions.

When will it be out?
The release date for Dialogue has yet to be set, but we’re aiming for a release between March and April. The bulk of the game has been put together already, but there are many features we want to include, and time to be spent ironing out smaller issues.

Where will it be available?
Dialogue will be available for digital purchase from our website, and possibly also via Steam.

Why did you make this game?
Dialogue is hoping to bring a variety of new experiences to its players. The main focus of the game is a mechanical exploration of conversations, and the use of conversations to tell a story. We also have personal experience with the subjects dealt with in the game, such as writing and carrying out scientific research. We aim to share our understanding of these subjects with our players.

How can I find out more?
Major announcements will be posted on this website, and emailed to newsletter subscribers (you can subscribe using the Mailing List link at the top of this page). We have a twitter account, @Teapoweredteam, where we post and comment more frequently. If you have any other questions, feel free to email us at team@teapoweredgames.co.uk .

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Welcome!

Hello all, welcome to the home of Tea-Powered Games! We are an indie game development company focused on telling stories and pioneering mechanics which broaden storytelling in games. We also drink excessive amounts of tea, if such a thing as ‘excess tea’ exists (it doesn’t, by the way). This is the place to read our thoughts, get updates on our work and get in touch with us.

I am Dustin Connor, and along with the lovely Florencia Minuzzi, we are the Co-Directors and Founders of TPG. I’d like to kick things off by letting you take a peek at what we care about and why we’re here working hard to bring you great new interactive experiences.

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Tea-Powered Games

Tea-Powered Games is a playful, independent game development company aimed at creating progressive, narrative games. By showcasing new ways of integrating storytelling and play, we want to present fresh perspectives and experiences to enrich the lives of our players. We aim to tell stories and provide meaningful play regardless of how experienced someone might be with games. Platform, target audience, genre and style are all chosen on a project-by-project basis to fit the experience, always with an eye towards the experimental and exploratory.

Follow us @TeaPoweredTeam

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