Being that I live 30 Miles from Norco this game hits home for me. The places it mentions are all places I've been. The dude at the gas station has a tattoo of an amazing local band called Eyehategod. As much as it is a post apocalyptical version of my area it is still a love letter to it. You can actually drive to Norco and see all the refineries and see the beginnings of the downfall depicted. There was news reports a while back about cancer causing shit and a foul smell coming from the refineries. Laplace and Gramercy especially. Both mentioned in the game.
best game i've ever played. it's so revolutionary. too few games get deep into these modern topics such as neo/techno-feudalism. Also, the engine is perfect. the mind map and ability to easily highlight all clickable objects with a keypress is optimal. I hate the mechanic in adventure games when you don't know which pixel to click on. Norco found a perfect solution. The solution only adds to the immersiveness. being annoyed and confused can take you out of a game. Norco never leaves us unsure of what to do. Norco feels like a stephen king novel, yet it feels like a game with choices... Doesn't that seem contradictory? How is this possible? I think it has to deal with our monkey brain. We all know if we write down a word, we're more likely to remember it. We all know if we get up and move around, and do a chant about some phrase, we're more likely to remember it. Norco is like a kanban board! The simple act of clicking on invidual characters, and clicking on where to move, even if it's all linear and predetermined, i.e. just the act of interacting with the novel on such a kinesthetic and visual field, makes the story more immersive and powerful. I feel like many novels can be turned into Norco games. The art is so amazing. That laso adds so much to the story. My only complaint is about the mini games. they seem dissonant from the general game play. This is probably an artifact of all adventure game design, which encourages mini games that don't quite fit the overall visual narrative style. This is fine, and I think minigames lengthen the game and gives the user a break from the story. I'm still trying to understand how to design these games, and maybe the mini games are really important. Maybe the dissonant note is important, like in jazz. I just need to learn to appreciate the mini games.
Being that I live 30 Miles from Norco this game hits home for me. The places it mentions are all places I've been. The dude at the gas station has a tattoo of an amazing local band called Eyehategod. As much as it is a post apocalyptical version of my area it is still a love letter to it. You can actually drive to Norco and see all the refineries and see the beginnings of the downfall depicted. There was news reports a while back about cancer causing shit and a foul smell coming from the refineries. Laplace and Gramercy especially. Both mentioned in the game.
It felt like a love letter, but it's cool to know from someone who's from there.
best game i've ever played. it's so revolutionary. too few games get deep into these modern topics such as neo/techno-feudalism. Also, the engine is perfect. the mind map and ability to easily highlight all clickable objects with a keypress is optimal. I hate the mechanic in adventure games when you don't know which pixel to click on. Norco found a perfect solution. The solution only adds to the immersiveness. being annoyed and confused can take you out of a game. Norco never leaves us unsure of what to do.
Norco feels like a stephen king novel, yet it feels like a game with choices... Doesn't that seem contradictory? How is this possible? I think it has to deal with our monkey brain. We all know if we write down a word, we're more likely to remember it. We all know if we get up and move around, and do a chant about some phrase, we're more likely to remember it.
Norco is like a kanban board! The simple act of clicking on invidual characters, and clicking on where to move, even if it's all linear and predetermined, i.e. just the act of interacting with the novel on such a kinesthetic and visual field, makes the story more immersive and powerful.
I feel like many novels can be turned into Norco games.
The art is so amazing. That laso adds so much to the story.
My only complaint is about the mini games. they seem dissonant from the general game play. This is probably an artifact of all adventure game design, which encourages mini games that don't quite fit the overall visual narrative style. This is fine, and I think minigames lengthen the game and gives the user a break from the story. I'm still trying to understand how to design these games, and maybe the mini games are really important. Maybe the dissonant note is important, like in jazz. I just need to learn to appreciate the mini games.
The atmosphere looks impeccable and unwaveringly raw. With the story and world, and blend of different genres, can’t wait to try it out.
I hope you enjoy it!
great review. i stopped halfway through to play blind as possible. thanks!