So CING has filed for bankruptcy. Which already makes this month the worst in the history of recorded time.

Since I really, really like their games, I'll fill you in on why. You could say that this post is mainly a love letter to CING.

"Who is CING?", you ask? Why, you truly despicable human being, first of all, shame on you for not instantly recognizing the name of this factory of awesomeness.

CING is the developer of such titles as Another Code/Trace Memory, Hotel Dusk and Little King's Story.

"Oh, I haven't played any of these titles!", you say. Which is why you are part of the problem.

So, what are those games about? Apart from Little Kings Story, which is a somewhat different beast (a critically acclaimed beast though (whose exact development history is a little complicated)), all those titles are adventure games.
But not any ordinary adventure game. Those games focused so much on their story and their characters that some call them interactive stories moreso than mere "games".

Sure, many games have "great stories". You hear all the time that Final Fantasys story is amazing - but if you're honest, they really aren't. They are somewhat okay for JRPG-standards, but come on. "Let's find magic rocks! Although you'll have to excuse me every cutscene, for I am the SADDEST PERSON EVER who will gladly tell everyone about my suffering. Also, I'm madly in love with predictable-love-interest 17b who joined our party five minutes ago!". Gah.
If we're honest, few "real" games have stories that amount to more than simple scenarios that exist to give a framework so that the rules of the game make sense. There are a few that truly excel, that go beyond what we expect and truly make us feel for the characters, maybe even after the game is done, but those are the rare exception. How many games can you name with a story that truly, definately had a strong impact on you, maybe even approaching the realm of other form of entertainment, where stories can be told much easier (literature, movies, ...).
No, maybe CINGs games didn't reach quite that standard. I won't pretend that their writing was better than the classics of literature. But apart from maybe the AceAttorney-series (which, funnily enough, is also often claimed to be "not a game"), I cannot think of a game in which the story not only took such a prominent spot, but which also told a tale so gripping as those games did.

For me, personally, Hotel Dusk stands out as their best (which, I'll admit, wasn't that hard to guess, given my avatar). I love how all the characters in there seem to have a purpose, a goal, a backstory and who act accordingly. In a nutshell, it's a story of an angry cynic, who without really wanting to do so helps out other people. In this extremely broad way of generalizing, it doesn't sound like much, but its writing, sometimes funny, sometimes touching, makes it much more. I remember finishing it, thinking to myself how nice it ended, and realizing later that actually, you didn't solve all their problems, which gave it a somewhat more realistic feel. It's fully of "coincidences", sure, but it does a nice job at staying believable. I'd love to write more about its ending, but actually, if you're interested at all in it, then just go and buy it. I envy you for your ability to play it for the first time.

Another Code... I don't like that franchise as much as I love Hotel Dusk, mainly because for my tastes, it drifts out to unbelievable science-fiction (altering memories? really?) or unbelievable other stuff (Ghosts!?) too often. But when it doesn't, theres still a charming main character (who, surprise, acts according to her age :O) and a nice story. Another Code: R for Wii is a million times better than it's predecessor for DS (that I didn't like that much). For reasons unknown, that Wiigame hasn't been released in America, so for all you guys it might be a little difficult to play it, but it's definately a great game.


So... there you have it. A great company who made games with fantastic stories and characters... gone.



This is really horrible news

Oh that's sad to hear. I think their games were kinda special, they had one of the best DS and Adventure Games IMO.



Still can't stop laughing about it when reading that, awesome sentence

I for myself am a proud owner of Another Code and Hotel Dusk o/

I loved Hotel Dusk the most too, especially when 80% of the game confused me so much.

I get bored with adventure games to be honest, I like to tweak my characters stats, make him better, use my brain for more than a slight amount of situational puzzle, but I still respect them as games seeing as it takes a great deal of patience to play them and to make them.

My condolences for your loss, Error, but...

Myst. 5 released main games, one huge MMO solely on cooperatively adventuring into unknown places and finding out what happened without a single form of fighting involved, three book novels and a fourth coming up. The story of the D'ni race is one to emerge in and not coming out of it for a long time to come. Funny thing; Cyan Worlds went bankrupt too, but they crawled up again. Not able to host the online game anymore, they released it opensource because they didn't want the world of Myst Online to die. Fans take over, designing their own ages and stories, and so it grows again.

Those games are out there, CING is not the end. Perhaps you should search for them and give them a try.

Sincerely,
Joozey

so what happens with teh sequel to hotel dusk then? its alredy released in japan, isnt it?

I realize (even before your post, no worries) that CING is not the only company in the world that tells compelling stories. And thats definately a good thing.

I haven't had too much contact with Myst - I've played one of the early games (probably the first) years (many years, I'm an old cynic :() ago and - back then - didn't find them all that good. But I'll admit that I never got far into them and thus might have judged too early (I don't remember any of the story, so my frustrated young self probably quit very early in the game). What Mystgame would be a good starting point to get into the series? (I'm not into MMOs and cannot play them right now anyways, so that one is unfortunately not possible).

Still, with that said, you cannot deny that there are only a few companies out there to create these kind of games. Since both companies went bankrupt, it's easy to see why, of course. Still, I really like these games, and it's a shame when one of the very, very few developers still creating that kind of experience dies.


Spike - Since CING finished that title and released it in Japan (where it, sadly, sold poorly), that one's probably in Nintendos hands (Translation isn't done by CING - at least not as long as they've coded things properly, and since it worked with their earlier games, I'm pretty sure they did). I think Hotel Dusk sold pretty well both in America and especially Europe, so it seems likely that they will release them here. But I don't think they've announced the title yet.
(But CINGs "AGAIN" is coming to America soonish)

I started with Myst III Exile which to my opinion is splendid, it marks a new chapter of the whole story and looks stunning. But Myst II: Riven is good as well, which completes the story that you began in Myst I (but nonetheless throws up more questions). Myst IV is amazingly cinematic, very well created and a treat for the eye, but story-wise it lacks. Some Myst fans deny parts of its existance . Myst V was done in a rush. It is 3D, nothing cinematic, and sometimes very ugly. But it completes the story about the stranger you play in the games.

The novels are a different story-thread in the Myst universe. They tell the story about the ancient race, the fall of their empire and the few that survived. The stranger you play in the games gets involved a 30 years later after the last novel ends.

So if you want a visual appealing game, play Myst III and IV (though II doesn't lack fascinating shots and movies either), if you want to know the whole story, start reading the novels, then replay Myst I to V, and then start with Uru: Ages Beyond Myst. When you get the chance after that (where we're a year further then ^^), play Uru Live and emerge in fan-made stories and ages (visually they can look even better than what Cyan Worlds made).



Yeah, I can't deny (sadly :P). I wish too games were much more focussed on stories. The companies are few, but perhaps that makes each of their games all the more brilliant gems.

I want to note down another game which has quite the story, without really having a main story... it's probably the whole mood it sets with its simplicity.
Niffla's Knytt Stories