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 What is this? The Neverhood is a claymation point-and-click adventure game developed by The Neverhood, Inc. and released in 1996. The game world and characters are made entirely of clay and we play as "Klaymen", a clay character who is trying to discover more about the world that he lives in and his purpose in it. We will do this by exploring the game world, solving puzzles and uncovering more about the world that we inhabit. LP Details This will be a VLP and I will be recording commentary live and unscripted. I don't have a schedule, it all depends on when I have free time around work and child care but I will aim to have at least one video up a week. Let's Play: The Neverhood       Bonus Videos Additional Scenes Klogg's Notes The Neverhood Radio The Neverhood Chronicles Preamble - Video\Image Father - Video\Image Quater - Video\Image Ogdilla - Video\Images Rocket Baby Dolls fucked around with this message at 00:13 on Nov 21, 2023 |
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Sep 17, 2023 14:40
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| # ? May 9, 2024 15:58 |
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The timestamps are in the video, but if you want to skip to the end of the hallway the time frame is around 20:36 and 24:27 is when we return back to the start.
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Sep 17, 2023 14:55
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This was such a wonderfully imaginative game; shame its main designer is such a shitbag. e: Anyway for something a bit more substantial - between Broken Sword, Monkey Islands, Normality, Simon the Sorcerer, Sam & Max and this, you've somehow managed to pretty much complete the catalog of adventure games I played as a kid (the only other ones I remember having were funnily enough topically related - Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis and Atlantis: the Lost Tales). Thanks for all the nostalgia! anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 19:44 on Sep 17, 2023 |
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Sep 17, 2023 15:40
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anilEhilated posted:This was such a wonderfully imaginative game; shame its main designer is such a shitbag. Yeah... I only found out about that recently.
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Sep 17, 2023 16:18
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I remember reading through the chronicles when I was a kid. It's fairly entertaining read, although the presentation gets frustrating fairly quickly. I never played the demo - how much of the game was included in that?
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Sep 17, 2023 17:32
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Nostalgamus posted:I remember reading through the chronicles when I was a kid. It's fairly entertaining read, although the presentation gets frustrating fairly quickly. The demo only contains the first two rooms and the outside area. You can climb down the ladder in the second room but you just end up climbing straight back up. The demo ends when you try to leave the outside area to a new area. Edit: I'll definitely put everything in the chronicles in video and text format. I'm interested in reading through it myself. The presentation of the chronicles is quite the chore in trying to read through. Rocket Baby Dolls fucked around with this message at 18:49 on Sep 17, 2023 |
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Sep 17, 2023 18:47
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Do you have any plans on covering the sequel or the "spiritual successor" Armikog?
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Sep 17, 2023 18:54
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Nostalgamus posted:I remember reading through the chronicles when I was a kid. It's fairly entertaining read, although the presentation gets frustrating fairly quickly. Oh man, this takes me back. What a tremendously dick move that was.
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Sep 18, 2023 05:53
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Randalor posted:Do you have any plans on covering the sequel or the "spiritual successor" Armikog? I wasn't at first but I'll definitely keep it in mind. I've just learnt that Michael J Nelson is in it so that may swing it for me.
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Sep 18, 2023 07:57
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You can prolly skip Skull Monkeys, I remember it not being very good. The Neverhood was so amazingly full of potential when it first arrived, pity the series just fizzled off.
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Sep 19, 2023 06:25
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By popular demand posted:You can prolly skip Skull Monkeys, I remember it not being very good. I don't have any plans for Skull Monkeys, platformers are definitely not my forte. I probably will give Armikrog a shot if I can get hold of a copy for little to no cost, it doesn't look that expensive in the stores so I may indulge before this LP is over.
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Sep 19, 2023 09:07
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Rocket Baby Dolls posted:I wasn't at first but I'll definitely keep it in mind. I've just learnt that Michael J Nelson is in it so that may swing it for me.
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Sep 19, 2023 09:25
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DMorbid posted:Speaking of Mike Nelson, there was a bit of controversy a few years ago when people learned he had been appearing on a podcast with noted bigot Doug TenNapel. It seems Doug, despite being such a horrendous bigot even other bigots have told him to tone it down a bit, was somehow able to behave himself while Mike was around to record stuff for the podcast so Mike wasn't aware of his more... extreme views, or at least that's more or less the explanation we got when Mike apologized and apparently cut contact with him. That's interesting to know. I haven't read anything about Armikrog, I just noticed he was one of the voice actors for the game. I did read about some of TenNapel's controversial opinions on various subjects on wikipedia and he does seem like a piece of poo poo. He is one member of a big team and as long as he keeps his views out of these games then I'll carry on with them.
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Sep 19, 2023 11:27
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In Mike's defense he immediately distanced himself from Doug TenNapel when the poo poo really hit the fan and Rifftrax also made a big charity sale for LGBT rights. I have no problems believing Mike just knew the guy as a fellow Christian and never realized how deep that particular cesspit goes because most of us knew a person IRL that turned out to be just so much worse for people outside your common group.
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Sep 19, 2023 12:21
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What a weird charming game that I played probably a little too much back in the day. Came as part of the software package that was a pack-in with my family's first Windows 98 machine, alongside the first Age of Empires  Something about this game has always felt very emblematic of the 90s to me. Obviously it was made then, but the art style even going beyond the claymation has a big 90s aesthetic to me. Some of the music and humor too, as we'll see.
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Sep 20, 2023 00:59
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I finally got to see what's in the game beyond the short demo decades later....and it's a slide puzzle, the absolute bane of my existence in all games everywhere  Seriously though, I'm super curious to see how the game plays out. It already seems like it goes in some different directions than what I expected from the demo rooms, so I don't really know what to expect. That story hallway in particular seems weirdly trolly, hopefully something worthwhile comes from it.
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Sep 20, 2023 03:11
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one thing interesting is that some versions of the demo had a song not in the final game (well there's a song in the final game that has the same melody, but it's completely different tonally) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij42NH-AT-o
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Sep 20, 2023 03:19
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Digamma-F-Wau posted:one thing interesting is that some versions of the demo had a song not in the final game (well there's a song in the final game that has the same melody, but it's completely different tonally) That's cool. The music in this game is so wild, the demo was the first time I'd heard anything like it in a game. Parts of it have similar vibes to Curse of Monkey Island (one of my all time favorite soundtracks) to the point that I had to look up the composer, but I guess it's mostly similar in limited areas like the main intro room.
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Sep 20, 2023 03:34
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Not to be confused with Everhood, which is a distinctly different game
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Sep 20, 2023 07:42
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In this episode, Klaymen explores the rest of the plaza and discovers a whole new area to poke around in. I manage to complete everything that can be done in both areas in this video and it ends with unlocking another new area, which I will focus on in the next video. Despite a couple of puzzles that I'm not a fan of (slide and musical), I'm having a lot of fun with this game and I'm enjoying its style. I've also made a start on the chronicles. I'll be uploading them in video and image format so feel free to view either one depending on what suits you. I won't be embedding the images directly into the thread as they are going to be massive, the link will take you to the Imgur page that I have uploaded it to. The Neverhood Chronicles Preamble - Video\Image
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Sep 20, 2023 10:38
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Behind the scenes trivia: the sound effect for that long never-ending burp was created by dripping water into a metal basin. And another quick one: that hungry beast is named The Weasel in accordance with the toybox' theme.
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Sep 20, 2023 11:35
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Man, I forgot how much this game enjoyed wasting the players time. I don't mean stuff like the overly long burp gag or the insect trying to eat Klayman's head, but stuff like the spiral track that needs the player to click multiple times to get to the center, then click multiple times to get out again.
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Sep 20, 2023 11:58
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Man, It's been more than twenty years and I still remember every single visual gag of that chase scene.
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Sep 20, 2023 12:11
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Musical puzzles  I even understand the physical principle behind the thing, but I'm tone deaf so gently caress doing those things in adventure games. I tried to think of similarly awful puzzle designs, and maybe colour based ones for colour-blind folks? I remember one of the Gateway games had a colour puzzle, but those games are text adventures which spell out the colours even if the player can't see 'em!
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Sep 20, 2023 16:20
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Image can not be displayed as it contains errors.
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Sep 20, 2023 17:07
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IIRC the fastest way to deal with the TNT puzzle is to click directly on the dummy - every part takes at most two clicks. It is also possible to spit into the pipes multiple times without resetting Klaymen's pose, if you click quickly in sequence. A similar technique may be used to speed up the part where you push the flytrap.
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Sep 20, 2023 17:24
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NHO posted:Image can not be displayed as it contains errors. Is anyone else getting any errors? It's loading fine for me. Hopefully this works: https://ibb.co/VNL5x03
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Sep 20, 2023 17:27
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Nostalgamus posted:IIRC the fastest way to deal with the TNT puzzle is to click directly on the dummy - every part takes at most two clicks. Thank you for the information. I should probably experiment more with puzzles, I just feel happy when I actually get them working.
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Sep 20, 2023 17:29
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Yay, records! And problem was on my side, sorry. Glad to watch the LP
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Sep 20, 2023 19:17
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Happy to report that the super-long burp still makes me laugh a quarter-century later. I also always wondered what the hanging TV guy's deal was, there are a few actual characters who are referenced in this game but this guy never comes up again after you leave that house. I'm guessing it's a joke or reference to someone on the dev team?
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Sep 20, 2023 19:21
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NHO posted:Yay, records! No worries, I'm glad that the issue is resolved now. C-Euro posted:Happy to report that the super-long burp still makes me laugh a quarter-century later. So it's just some random character of no relevance? Edit: Thank you for the information, Randalor. Rocket Baby Dolls fucked around with this message at 19:42 on Sep 20, 2023 |
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Sep 20, 2023 19:39
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C-Euro posted:I also always wondered what the hanging TV guy's deal was, there are a few actual characters who are referenced in this game but this guy never comes up again after you leave that house. I'm guessing it's a joke or reference to someone on the dev team? This is what the Neverhood wiki has to say on the subject: "The man in the T.V. (TV guy) is briefly seen hanging from the ceiling in the Aqua House. He has a large nose and glasses and says, "Hey Klaymen, say knock knock." He only says this once in the game and Klaymen cannot interact with him, but he tends to watch Klaymen as he walks across the screen." That's it. That's the entire entry. For comparison, here's the entry for the fly trap from the second room in the game: "Flytraps are creatures in the Neverhood that are kept as pets. They have 4 legs and, more importantly, big mouths with teeth. They are harmless, as whenever Klaymen falls into one's mouth, it spits him out. Willie and *spoiler* both own Flytraps. Flytraps, unlike their names suggest, do not eat flies. Rather, they eat ring-food. Klaymen has to feed rings to the 2 flytraps to solve puzzles. Flytraps may also be related to Weasels." It wouldn't surprise me if no one has any idea what's up with that guy. Edit: oops, spoiler name taken out.
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Sep 20, 2023 19:39
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At the second video, I'm starting to wonder what I would've thought about the game if I'd played beyond the demo at the time. Thinking back, my first real point-and-click adventure game experience came a few years later with the Curse of Monkey Island re-release that also included the first two games in the series. Those (and especially the first one) feel much more traditionally structured at telling you your goal, the path you need to go on, and what you should be working on to get there. In contrast, this seems like it's often feeling much more ambiguous about what you're doing and what the puzzles expect from you. I dunno if I would've enjoyed it at the time, it seems like a game you really want to come to with more experience under your belt.
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Sep 21, 2023 20:14
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I'm going to attempt to record the next section of the game tomorrow and it's one that I'm slightly dreading for a variety of reasons. If all goes well in the time limit that I have in the afternoon then you will see an update happen, if it all goes horrendously wrong... well, I'll let you know. Here is the next section of the chronicles. I need to get my arse in gear with these as there is a lot to go through and I don't want the game to end and I'm spending a couple of weeks afterwards trying to play catch up. The Neverhood Chronicles Father - Video\Image
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Sep 24, 2023 00:05
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This recording isn't perfect but I had a lot of restarts and just ended up rolling with it in the end as it wasn't a total disaster. There are a few gameplay mistakes and I was waffling a fair bit due to tenseness, pressuring myself to get it right and a bit of frustration with the amount of restarts that I was making. This part of the game starts off with two randomised puzzles, another convoluted travel system, backtracking and another music puzzle (although this one was actually amusing and quite fun). It's very rare that I feel like this while playing a game, but I was having a hard time trying to recollect the puzzles, directions and the sequence of events while recording this video. The Neverhood Chronicles Quater - Video\Image
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Sep 24, 2023 14:42
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The parts in this game where you need to backtrack are really bad, and I'd argue we haven't even seen the worst part yet. The Klaymobile at least has a lot of it being optional, but of course you won't know which parts are neccessary on your first playthrough. It should be noted that the mailbox room gets updated with new hints throughout the game, but you need to go through all of this every time you want to read one. IIRC it is possible to activate the radio in advance, but I think it's also a bit finicky - you may need to have solved the door opening puzzle before pulling the fifth ring, but I don't know the internal requirements. There are some more amusing songs on the radio that might be worth showing off.
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Sep 24, 2023 15:47
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I can still remember that when I played the game decades ago I forgot something AT THE VERY END of the Hall of Records:facepalm: backtracking 40 and then returning screens didn't take much of my life, but it sure felt like it.
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Sep 24, 2023 15:55
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Nostalgamus posted:The parts in this game where you need to backtrack are really bad, and I'd argue we haven't even seen the worst part yet. The Klaymobile at least has a lot of it being optional, but of course you won't know which parts are neccessary on your first playthrough. During my practise run I wasn't sure if the ring had to be triggered at the end or whether it was on a timer, but by then it was too late either way so I had to backtrack regardless. Thank you for clarifying though. I was thinking about recording a separate video for the radio songs, I probably could have done it in this video as it was the last puzzle.
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Sep 24, 2023 16:01
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Nostalgamus posted:The parts in this game where you need to backtrack are really bad, and I'd argue we haven't even seen the worst part yet. The Klaymobile at least has a lot of it being optional, but of course you won't know which parts are neccessary on your first playthrough. Yeah, the klaymovile segments were the ones I was talking about when I said that the game doesn't respect the players time. Just really drawn out segments that at best give you the solutions to random puzzles, but mostly just result in dead ends with some gags.
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Sep 24, 2023 17:45
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| # ? May 9, 2024 15:58 |
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Of course at the time that wasn't too unusual in game design. and I'd still take it over the bland platformer that followed.
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Sep 24, 2023 17:54
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