Part 42: Blackwell Deception - Update 1

The Blackwell Deception

Deception Main Menu

And so we find our way to the fourth and, to this stage, most recent game in the series, The Blackwell Deception! Released in October 2011, Deception continued the theme of the development length for each Blackwell game increasing from the last. Amusingly, Epiphany seems set to continue this trend, though it wouldn't have if it had been released this fall like originally slated.

However, there are good reasons for the delay between Convergence and Deception. When Convergence came out, Wadjet Eye was solely a game development studio, and since Gilbert was wearing several hats for his company, they were only able to release roughly one game per year. Producing games had been Gilbert's full-time career since Legacy in 2006, and he was acutely aware that one flop could see his company go bankrupt. So, he made the decision to get into publishing as well.

Two games were subsequently published under the Wadjet Eye banner with little or no involvement from Gilbert in the actual design, namely Puzzle Bots, produced by Unbound artist Erin Robinson, and Gemini Rue for which Gilbert was able to provide voice actors and a portrait artist, but which was otherwise finished by the time he first saw it. His growing name value and cash flow allowed these games to get off the ground. In the two years since Deception three more games by external developers (Da New Guys, Resonance and Primordia) have been published under the Wadjet Eye banner, meaning that Wadjet Eye has now published as many games as they've developed.

Of course, the transition from solely developing to publishing took some time. Eventually, Gilbert's own wife took over some of the business roles, freeing him up to get back to work on making games. At this stage, the positive side of Wadjet Eye's new direction became obvious; since Gilbert no longer relied on releasing a game every year to remain viable, he didn't have to work to the clock anymore. His ambitious plans for Convergence had needed to be scrapped when time constraints had dictated so, but in the case of Deception, Gilbert was able to take his time and design the game he wanted. The outcome is a significantly longer and more polished game which received the highest critical acclaim of all the Blackwell games so far. Gilbert mentioned in interviews that Deception was the first game for which he was actually able to remove or redesign major elements of the game based on tester feedback, since in the previous games money was running dry by the time they even started the testing phase.

It's not all onwards and upwards in Deception, however. After the release of Convergence, Gilbert looked back at the decisions he had made, one of which was farming the background art off to a professional art studio, and generally increasing production values (and costs) overall. The feedback he received was that hardcore adventure gamers, while appreciating the gorgeous backgrounds, were no more likely to purchase the game than before. Meanwhile, more standard gamers still found the game's pixel art ugly. Gilbert came to the conclusion that it didn't matter how much money he spent on getting the most attractive pixel art possible, his sales wouldn't change much. He did experiment early on in Deception's development cycle with moving away from the pixel-art backgrounds and had some absolutely gorgeous high-res backgrounds produced, but they clashed with the sprite art. Eventually, he made the decision to spend that extra money on developing more material, rather than prettier material. Deception is still quite an attractive game, but the backgrounds are not quite as detailed as Convergence and the sprites are slightly blockier. At the same time, with the large number of characters in the game, Gilbert made the decision to save money by having static portraits rather than animated portraits, which of course won't affect this SSLP. He has since updated the portraits in the recent free Halloween release, but I'll be playing through Deception with the original portraits.

Thomas Regin returns again as the composer for Deception, and puts in another excellent performance. I've gushed over him enough during Unbound and Convergence, so I'll simply say that he maintains his style and standards here, and there are some really beautiful tracks in Deception with no real low points.

As for the story, it was mentioned earlier in the thread that the first three Blackwell games act a bit like a trilogy. Gilbert has claimed that wasn't his intention, but he did make a deliberate effort to make Deception accessible to new gamers. As we know from Convergence, the characters of Mitchell, Gould, and the Countess have all moved on to the next world, so they won't be featured. In fact, almost nobody from the first three games will appear in Deception. Notably, there are no characters based on real life people in Deception either, which is somewhat of a departure from the other games. There are a few other departures from the style set by the first three games as well, but we'll cover those when we get there.

Much like in Convergence, Deception begins with a stand-alone case which effectively acts as a tutorial. It's quite cleverly done, with the majority of the prompts appearing only if you haven't tried to use the relevant options already, so a seasoned Blackwell player might even forget that the scene is meant to be a tutorial at all.

Anyway, that's enough chat - let's get this game started!

Oh, one more thing - is listenonrepeat.com not working for other people too? From yesterday it has started playing the video, but then hanging after the first playthrough. I've changed over to youtuberepeater.com instead for now, hopefully it works for everyone! As usual, I strongly recommend you listen to the music while reading this LP, it really adds a lot to Deception.


Deception Tension



Immediately as we launch into Deception, we see some things have changed. As hinted at in the epilogue of Convergence, Rosa has decided to advertise her services as a medium, and this message is from a client. He doesn't exactly sound thrilled to be working with Rosa, but hey, at least a potential case has found its way to us, instead of us having to go searching for it!

Annoyingly, right after I gushed about the music, almost the entire introductory tutorial scene has no music, instead using mostly ambient noise. That's boring, though, so I've linked one of the game's atmospheric tracks above.



We're coming aboard!
Coming aboard?
What would you say?
Not that.

Ten seconds in and Rosa and Joey are already bickering Like the previous games (except Unbound), the story in Deception is supposed to be playing out in modern times, so some time has passed since the events of Convergence, probably a couple of years. It's nice to know some things are still the same after two years.



As I mentioned, this scene is a tutorial. We can follow the game's advice and look at Joey...

Joey. My ever-present shadow.

Or the surrounding area...

I haven't been out to Chelsea Piers in years. Of course, I could say the same of just about anywhere, these days.



This carving sticks out on the featureless siding of this yacht.

If it says anything, I can't see it from this angle.

Unfortunately, Rosa is unable to see what it says. Looks like we'll need to switch over to Joey! The game prompts you to this, but if you've already switched over to him beforehand it doesn't bother with the prompt. It's a neat touch.



Took her a while, but she's gotten used to having me around.

I guess she's stopped trying to play that African drum to drive Joey away, then!



Guess it's some couple.

As with all the previous Blackwell games, Rosa has a "notebook", except she now enters the entry onto her smartphone instead of an actual book. She enters Ryan and June in as separate entries.



Here's our menu, looking pretty much unchanged from Convergence, though there is one notable difference. Joey now has two inventory items. Instead of clicking on things and hoping he decides to blow on them, Joey now has a "breath" item he can use.

When I feel like it, I can conjure up a strong breeze. Not much of a power, but it sure passes the time in supermarket check-out lines.

His magic tie is also an inventory item now.

We use this to help lost ghosts move on. It's the only part of me that Red can touch.

Well, hell, let's blow on something!!



Getting Joey to blow on Rosa repeatedly would have been amusing, but apparently he got bored of that at some point in the last couple of years



You rang?

Rosa decides to catch up with Joey.

No ghosts yet. Seems pretty clear.
Another dead end? That's what you get when you accept cases by post.

Sounds like Joey still isn't a fan of Rosa's write-in medium service. It's not like their strike rate was that great before!

This yacht is amazing! We're really moving up in the world.
When you think about it, there's really nowhere else for us to go.

Joey barb aside, I'm not sure it counts as "moving up" when you visit someone else's yacht to essentially do some contract work for them, Rosa.

I wonder how much a boat like this costs.
More than we could afford, sweetheart.
"We"?

I was going to joke about how Rosa can't even afford a change of clothes, but then I realised she actually has changed her outfit this game! She now has a short-sleeved blue jumper and is wearing her hair down. That Rosa, always daring with her style!



It's grimy and polluted, Joey. Count yourself lucky.
Shucks, darling. You really know how to make a fella glad he's dead.

It might just be me, but I felt that the voicing for Rosa and Joey in particular was a bit off in this tutorial scene. Fortunately, it picks up as we enter the game, so perhaps they just took a bit of time to warm back into the characters. It must be hard to voice characters once every two years.

Nothing out of the ordinary so far. You think our client is on the level?
Could be. We should look around some more, just to give him his money's worth.
Assuming the guy plans on paying us.
Yeesh, Joey. How'd you get so cynical?
Ask me again when you stop breathing.

Yeah, let's be honest here, from what we've seen it's safe to say that Joey's been cynical since at least 1973.



Our client wouldn't give me a name. I think he's embarrassed by the world thing.
Well, I can't speak for our client, but you certainly embarrass the hell out of me.
Hmph.

Of course, I can see why Joey might be cynical in this case, with us being asked to ensure nobody knows we're even speaking with our client. This isn't exactly glamorous.



Might as well. I could think of worse places to spend an evening.
So where do you think we should start?
There doesn't seem to be much here on deck. We should probably search one of the other rooms here. Looks like we've got two choices. The control room or the main cabin.
Either looks good to me.
Then let's get cracking.

While we're chatting, let's talk about Ryan and June, since they're in our smartphone now.

Who do you suppose "Ryan" is?
I have no idea. I dunno if it's important or not, but people don't usually write their names on boats without a good reason.
You think the boat belongs to someone named Ryan?
Most likely.

Much like in the previous two games, the character you use to initiate conversation determines what is said. I'll do my best to combine/filter the two individual responses in a sensible way throughout the thread.

Who could "June" be, I wonder?
I haven't the foggiest. A lover? A wife?
Maybe Ryan just really likes summer.
No. Just... no.

Hooray, our first appearance of the new smug Rosa portrait Good to see she's still cracking her dorky little jokes!

Let's just get back to it.
Right.

Well, let's check this yacht out. There is an upstairs door leading to the control room, and a downstairs door leading to the main cabin. If we try the upstairs door we find it's locked, and Joey doesn't want to float through, so we'll try the downstairs one for now.



Just our kinda place.

There's our first smug Joey portrait, too



It's too dark to make anything out.

I know I keep referencing Fate of Atlantis in this thread, but hey, I'm a fan. So, in a Fate of Atlantis-inspired moment, Rosa is unable to make out any details in this room because it's too dark, and has to resort to pixel hunting for something useful.



Fortunately, a bit of light from the nearby pier ensures the player can still see well enough to spot the light switch.



That's better! Rosa calls out for ghosts, but there is no response.

Hm.
Anything?
Nothing ye-



Suddenly, there is a massive rumbling, sending poor Rosa crumpling to the floor.



Quickly shooting back out to the deck, Rosa and Joey behold a moving horizon.

There's nobody on board but us.
Yeah, I noticed that too.

Rosa quickly puts two and two together.

So... we've definitely got a ghost.
Yeah, we do.

The ambient noise here is easy on the ears, with a soft whistling breeze and the occasional boat horn.

I've always wanted to go on a harbor cruise, but never quite like this.
At least you didn't have to pay admission.



Rosa reflects on the present situation.

Yep.
A haunted BOAT.
Seems so.
We're on a boat. And it's haunted.
This is just sinking in?

I still love you after all this time Rosa Despite his seeming indifference, Joey is actually kind of intrigued as well.

Who'd have thought it? A genuine ghost ship.
Wouldn't the ship itself have to be a ghost to be a ghost ship? If anything, it's just a regular ship with a ghost on it.
You're a real romance-killer, you know that?
Just saying.

Hahahaha

You doing okay? YOu look a little green around the gills.
I'm fine.
Getting a little sea-sick are we?
I'm fine. Shut up.
If you're going to throw up, could you face the other way?
I am not sick. I'm totally fine. Let's get this done.

Of course, Rosa has issues with motion sickness. At least we've come a long way from her crippling social phobia in the first game!



Seems to be going in circles. Whoever's at the wheel, they aren't paying attention.

As you have probably noticed, our protagonists haven't lost their verbosity between games. If anything, Rosa and Joey have more to say in Deception than ever before.

I'm going to take another look around.
Yeah, there's gotta be something we missed.
Shame that the door to the upper deck is locked.
For you it is, maybe.
For me, not so much.

I guess Joey is happy to float through the door now! But we'll finish exploring the lower deck first.



Well, once these two finish yacking, anyway.

We're going west, so that's got to be the George Washington Bridge.



Even if this boat is haunted.

Rosa briefly considers how she might escape from the yacht, before changing her mind.



Since we're getting settled in here, let's look at Rosa's inventory. It's pretty sparse. She has a solitary dime...

Leftover change from the coffee I bought before we came here.

...and she has her business card.



They glow in the dark. It's so cool.
I've had it with this "low profile" stuff.
Although it's not the conversation starter I thought it would be.
I thought about putting my phone number on here, but figured it was a bad idea.

Adorably, Rosa runs through the full gamut of emotions as she regards her own business card I see she's left Bmail behind too and now has her own email domain. I can't help but wonder if there was meant to be some kind of background graphic on them, because there's a huge amount of white space considering how tiny the writing is. Seriously, the card would be a lot smaller than in the picture, and the email is already tiny.

Also, glow-in-the-dark business cards for a "Spiritual Consultant"? That is just so Rosa Perhaps she should have had her lava lamp as a background image?



Rosa and Joey head back to the lower decks, where Rosa decides against a nap. The object on the roof Rosa couldn't make out earlier is an air vent.

Looks like an air vent that goes into the room above. It's held into place with a few screws.

We can get Rosa to stand on the bed and try to pull the grate off the vent, but it doesn't work.

No good. It's screwed tightly in place.

Joey is also not interested.

I'm not going through the vent. If I need to get up there, I'll use the door outside.

We're being railroaded a bit here, but I guess it is a tutorial.



Rosa comes across a shelf full of alcohol and, sure enough, it's time for another Rosa joke!!

You're going to say "spirits" aren't you?
Er, maybe?
I'm just gonna pretend you never said anything.

I hope you keep this up for the whole game, Rosa



Although believe me, I'm tempted.

I assume Rosa is referring to her boozy night at the Park Gallery here, which is kind of hilarious since it was ages ago.

Not a bad collection, all things considered.

Joey is marginally impressed at the alcohol collection, too. Over to the left there, the wall has some strange marks on it.

There's something funny about this wall.



Looking closer, we see that the marks are actually buttons that can be pushed. Trying to enter a random combination doesn't really work, though. That's a bit odd... who has a secret wooden combination lock on their yacht?



Presumably something happened on this yacht to make the owner (or someone else?) leave in a hurry.



Okay, let's get things moving here. Rosa can use her dime to unlock the screws on this grate in a Fate of Atlantis-inspired puz... okay, I'll stop, I'll stop.

Got it.

There isn't any point to it as of yet, though. We'll revisit this later.



Back outside, Rosa angrily glares at the door for daring to be locked. Where are your damn paperclips, girl?!

Looks like it's up to Joey to go it alone.



Joey enters the cockpit and puts on his tough act.

All right. Who's there? Somebody is piloting this tub, and it's not me.



Aha. Looks like we have a case on our hands after all.



Join me tomorrow as we deal with the ghost and get started on the game! Hope you all enjoy Deception!