A Second Face
Encyclopedia
A Second Face is an independently produced adventure game that was developed by Jospin Le Woltaire in 2008 and released as freeware
. It contains elements of fantasy
but also science-fiction, however it also unifies them with elements of classic Cyberpunk
and overtones of Enlightenment Thought.
, with puzzles invented during the scripting process. Le Woltaire improvised much of this, starting with some backgrounds and characters until he got ideas for the plot and puzzles. Then the main cut-scenes were written to model the basic plot structure, and then the game was developed non-linearly. "Drawing, CAD-modelling, dramaturgy and scripting were mixed together which was a good way for me to make things grow together."
Character design began with a charcoal sketch, then coloured with watercolours. These were scanned and reduced in size to make the characters more detailed. Locations were also sketched, then used as a background reference for 3D-CAD models. These were then digitally edited to match the tone and style of the characters. Characters and locations were hand animated with photoediting software, and limited to six frames to make a compromise between economy and fluid motion.
Le Woltaire was influenced by a city map
of ancient Babylonia
for the design for City of Ugeltz.
makes open dialogues with other game figures possible when a single word is entered.
2008. It received a total of three awards named "Best Game 2008", "Best Story 2008" and "Best Backgrounds 2008".
Freeware
Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...
. It contains elements of fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
but also science-fiction, however it also unifies them with elements of classic Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
and overtones of Enlightenment Thought.
Plot
The story is set on a tide locked planet. The sun-facing side is inhabited by the Strefis, the illuminated ones, while the dark side is populated by the Ugeltz, the people of night. No Ugeltz has ever seen a Strefis however each civilisation remembers the other, in legends. Ugk, the sovereign of the dark realm, has summoned his two sons Rabokk and Torg to send them on a quest that solves the energy problem of the dark side. The dark society depends on a substance called Margin, that is the only energy source and also the main currency of the realm. This substance is running out, because it can't be harvested any longer. Ugk hopes to find a solution for this problem by looking for the legendary realm of light, which could be a new energy source. He offers his position to the son who will succeed in finding the Realm of Light.History
A Second Face was scripted in Adventure Game StudioAdventure Game Studio
Adventure Game Studio is a free software development tool that is primarily used to create graphical adventure games. It is aimed at intermediate-level game designers, and combines an Integrated development environment for setting up most aspects of the game with a scripting language to process...
, with puzzles invented during the scripting process. Le Woltaire improvised much of this, starting with some backgrounds and characters until he got ideas for the plot and puzzles. Then the main cut-scenes were written to model the basic plot structure, and then the game was developed non-linearly. "Drawing, CAD-modelling, dramaturgy and scripting were mixed together which was a good way for me to make things grow together."
Character design began with a charcoal sketch, then coloured with watercolours. These were scanned and reduced in size to make the characters more detailed. Locations were also sketched, then used as a background reference for 3D-CAD models. These were then digitally edited to match the tone and style of the characters. Characters and locations were hand animated with photoediting software, and limited to six frames to make a compromise between economy and fluid motion.
Le Woltaire was influenced by a city map
City map
A city map is a large-scale thematic map of a city created to enable the fastest possible orientation in an urban space. The graphic representation of objects on a city map is therefore usually greatly simplified, and reduced to generally understood symbology.Depending upon its target group or...
of ancient Babylonia
Babylonia
Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as...
for the design for City of Ugeltz.
Gameplay
The plot develops with cinematic cutscenes and gameplay, controlled with a verb coin interface and an inventory-based action system that follows the tradition of classic point and click games. A characteristic text boxText box
A text box, text field or text entry box is a kind of widget used when building a graphical user interface . A text box's purpose is to allow the user to input text information to be used by the program...
makes open dialogues with other game figures possible when a single word is entered.
Awards
A Second Face received 15 nominations for the AGS AwardAdventure Game Studio
Adventure Game Studio is a free software development tool that is primarily used to create graphical adventure games. It is aimed at intermediate-level game designers, and combines an Integrated development environment for setting up most aspects of the game with a scripting language to process...
2008. It received a total of three awards named "Best Game 2008", "Best Story 2008" and "Best Backgrounds 2008".