Part 1: Blackwell Legacy - Update 1

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The Blackwell Legacy

As mentioned above, The Blackwell Legacy was the first game in the series, and was something of a test case for producer Dave Gilbert. Legacy plays more like an interactive novel than an adventure game, heavy on dialogue and with very few puzzles that involve much more than talking to the NPCs. Nonetheless, it does a good job of introducing the characters, setting the scene, and was successful enough in its own right to keep Wadjet Eye Games above water in the early days.

When Dave Gilbert succeeded in getting the four Blackwell games placed on Steam, one of the requirements was that the original game be effectively remade in a newer version of AGS. This allowed Gilbert to tweak some aspects of the game, removing needlessly heavy dialogue and fixing a couple of puzzles. It also, notably, saw the replacement of lead voice actress Sande Chen with Rebecca Whittaker, who had voiced the role in the later games after Chen had become unavailable. Of course, this won't make a different to an SSLP, but is interesting nonetheless.

It should be mentioned that the soundtrack in this game, while containing a few good pieces, is nothing spectacular. Things will markedly improve once we reach the second game in the series. I still recommend you listen to the music when I link it, which I will try to signpost by the flashing sirens.

Ashes



We are introduced immediately to our protagonist, standing atop the Brooklyn Bridge. It should be noted that this game is set in New York, where designer Dave Gilbert lives. He states several times in his commentary that one of his aims in designing the game is to give people a taste of New York culture.



All of the Blackwell games, with the exception of the second game, use portraits for their dialogue. In the first and third games the portraits are animated but this is dropped for the fourth game in favour of static portraits. The emotions are fairly well communicated as most characters have several different portrait images. I will typically notate dialogue outside of screenshots, but will show the important parts of the conversation as images.

I guess this is it. Years of watching and waiting and hoping. And it comes down to this. Do I love you? Do I miss you?



But you're the closest thing to family I've got, and I suppose that's something. Good bye, Auntie.



She scatters her aunt's ashes into the East River...



And leaves, pausing all too briefly for her to notice a wisp of energy swirling in the air.

Blackwell Theme



The intro scene scrolls across some pretty space imagery, before settling on the logo.



Which actually looks pretty damn cool.

Not Quite Right



What a morning. At least I'm home now.

Arriving home from scattering her aunt's ashes, Rosa finds a stranger out the front of her apartment door.



I've never seen this kid before in my life.



Before talking with him though, let's check out our inventory, where we have a letter.



Our aunt's physician has offered to speak with Rosa about how she is handling the loss of her aunt. We'll visit him soon enough.



Time for the first of many awkward conversations in this game!

Um... hi?
So who are you visiting today?



The Blackwell games quite commonly give you several options of which only one can be chosen. Usually it makes no difference and just adds flavour to the game. Generally I will pick the most interesting option, but if several or all of them warrant being shown I will do that. It's worth mentioning that there are no "dead man walking" situations possible in the Blackwell games, so if any dialogue choice is actually important, there will be another opportunity to choose it.

What are you talking about?
Seriously, who are you here to see? I can't let you in unless you tell me.
Um... I live here?
No you don't. I know everybody in the building. I don't know you.
Really, I live here.
Nice try. I know everybody in the building, and I don't know ya. Sorry.



Then how come I've never seen you before?
I have no idea! Does it matter?
If you lived here, I'd know you. That's all there is to it.

This is going well. Rosa decides to throw it back at the kid.



Jim Burdo.
Alright. Jim. Where's the regular doorman?
Jeez, where have YOU been? He's on strike.
He's what?
Strike. All the building servicement in the city are doing it. Union rules or something.



How come nobody told me?
Noticed were posted all over the building. I put 'em up myself. If you lived here, you'd have seen 'em.
Who pays attention to things like that?
Well, that's not my problem.

I have to admit, I'd probably ignore that kind of thing too. Rosa appeals to Jim's better nature.



I need to get home.
Sorry, lady. Rules are rules.
How long is this strike going to last?
Dunno. Could be a couple of hours, of a couple of days. Depends whether they reach a settlement or not. I don't know the details.
Listen. I really live here. Fourth floor. Number 4E.
4E. Hm.



No! *I* live there! And I want to GO there, thank you very much.
Oh. Hm. Maybe you're telling the truth.
He sees reason. Thank God.

Good plan, heckling him out loud right as he's starting to come around, Rosa

Do you have any ID? A driver's license or something?
Yes! I have a driver's license. It's... upstairs. In my desk drawer.



Poor Rosa looks so pathetic here But Jim is unmoved.

Heh.
Come on! This is New York. Who actually drives?
True, but I still can't let you in unless you prove you live here.
I have my apartment key. Will that do?
Sorry, no. That could be any key.
Well, let's go upstairs and see if it works.
And leave the door unattended? Can't do it. Sorry.

That's it. Rosa is getting pissed.



I wouldn't do that.
Why? Are you going to stop me?
Me? No. But I've got a cell phone in my pocket with 9-1-1 programmed in. All I have to do is hit "send" and the cops'll be here in five minutes.
Are you serious?
Totally serious.
I don't believe this.

I like the way this game shows its protagonist alternating between stroppy and screaming during its very first scene.



What can I do to prove that I live here?
Hm. Well, can anyone in the bulding vouch for you?
I'm not sure. I mean, I don't really know anybody here.
How long have you lived here again?
Be quiet. Not all of us are social butterflies.
Okay. Whatever.

Jim then finally proposes a solution.



Who is Niss... Nish...?
Nish-an-tee. Nishanthi Sharma. She lives in 4F. You know, right NEXT DOOR to 4E? You really don't get out much, do you?
Your point?
Nothing. But I'm sure she could vouch for you.
Great. Call her up.
She's not here.
Of course she isn't. So I gotta wait here all day for her?
You might have to.

THANKS FOR NOTHING JIM.



Rosa decides to sum up the situation, just to make things even more tense.

So let me get this straight. You want me to go all the way to the park to look for a woman who MIGHT be there and IF she recognizes me, then, and only then, I'll be granted the privilege of entering my own home?
That's pretty much it, yeah.
This is really stupid.
I'm not the one who forgot my ID.
I'll be back.
See you around.



Jim goes back to smoking his cigarette, and Rosa heads off to Washington Square Park. As you can see, these games are fairly wordy.



We get a bit of a look at the "world map", so to speak. It is, of course, a map of a segment of Manhattan. The positions of the location blobs are intended to show quite literally where they are on the map. This is dropped in future games when Gilbert realises that maps where the majority of locations appear in close promixity while one appears further away look really stupid.

Washington Square Day



It's been a while since I've been here. Still looks the same I guess.



Foreshadowing



There is a sign here.

"Please note! Dog walking park is closed until further notice." Hm.



Rosa continues to go further into the park...



...before suffering from a stress-induced headache.

Now I'm getting a stress headache. I need to get home.

This bodes well. It's nice to know our protagonist is such a competent, together individual.

Flute By The Fountain



As Rosa nears the fountain, she hears the sounds of a flute. Presumably Nishanthi is here. Meanwhile a small dog is straining at his leash.

Also pictured: Rosa looking like a complete dork as she stares gawkily at the player.

He's wearing one of those extendable leashes.

Rosa continues past the dog...



I recognize her from my building. Nishanthi... Sharma, was it?

Excellent. Now to get Nishanthi to vouch for Rosa, and we'll be back home. What could go wrong?



Oh, how right you are, Rosa.



That's Nishanti Sharma. My next-door-neighbour, apparently. She's playing some sort of flute.

No time like the present, girl. Let's go and speak to Nishanthi.



Excuse...

Come on, Rosa....



God damn it, woman

I can't just barge up to her. Not in front of all those people. They're all staring.

Jesus Christ. Our first dialogue sequence is of our protagonist throwing a fit, and then the first puzzle is trying to convince her to overcome her fear of crowds. It's nice to have a protagonist I can relate to.



Let's try this again.

Here I go.
Hello? Um.... Uh... no.



This is pretty sad, Rosa.

I just need... to work myself up to it. Okay. You can do this. Right. Uh.



Hahahaha, that portrait is just perfect I love the way she's not even facing Nishanthi.

Crap! Calm down. Need to calm down.

And now she's having an anxiety attack.

Right. This is it. Hi-. Uh. Can...
...
Damn it. This is NOT working. I can't do this. I just... can't.

Sigh. One more try?



I can't do this. I just... can't. I'll just have to wait until she's finished. Or... I don't know. I can't do this with all those people staring at me.

Okay, this is going nowhere. With Rosa clearly incapable of interrupting Nishanthi, and Nishanthi herself apparently failing to notice Rosa staring wide-eyed and slack-jawed straight at her, we'll need to solve an Adventure Game Puzzle in order to progress here.



The key here is the dog. He follows Rosa around wherever she walks. Gilbert actually speaks about this puzzle at length in his commentary, where he mentions that getting this puzzle to work right was the single most difficult part of designing this entire game. Not sure I understand why myself, but apparently it was difficult again even when he did the remake. I don't know, folks.



We lead him around this lightpost until his leash doesn't extend anymore and he barks, interrupting Nishanthi.

That's right, Rosa. You were just outperformed by a dog.


With that auspicious start, I'll end the first update here. Will Rosa finally get into her apartment? Will she manage to form a sentence and speak with Nishanthi? Can we play as the dog instead? Find out tomorrow!