Hands-On Preview Destinies Developer: Wild Boar Productions Publisher: TBD Genre: Adventure Release Date: 2007 Platform: Hands-On Preview by Randy Sluganski July 28, 2006

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Yeah, yeah, I know what you’re thinking, “Another futuristic adventure game – yawn.” Well, cleanse that thought from your head (or have it cleansed for you by the JA Thought Control Police), for Destinies is…well, it’s different, but different in a good way.

I had the privilege to meet in private with Laura MacDonald (Destinies Writer Screenplay/Mkt’g & Business Agent) and Jan Kavan (Destinies Writer Original Story/Soundtrack/Programmer) to play a demo of the game and enjoy listening to some of the soundtrack.

Destinies, as will be explained in the following paragraph that I stole, er, borrowed from the developer’s website, is the story of Marc Taszicky, a 37 years old physics professor whose quiet, solitary existence on earth is shattered by the unexpected and mysterious death of Peter Vinci, a colleague and old friend who recently returned from an unexplained visit into uncharted space. However, why he went there and what he found remains a mystery for he arrived clinging to life, raving and delirious. Death mercifully followed with Peter's dying words providing a cryptic clue as to where he had been. What Marc pieces together in his search for their meaning takes him back to their beginning, to a long forgotten failed experiment and to the present, to a planet called Anthranella IX, the paradise of our universe. He boards a flight in a desperate search for the truth. What caused his friend to leave so secretively, what did he discover and most importantly, why did he die? Marc hopes for answers, but he may find much more. He may just discover his destiny...

What’s this? Sci-Fi with moral implications, ethical dilemmas and the search for truth, justice and the Anthranellian way. Egad, my brain synapses are already twitching – much like the trigger-finger of a first-person-shooter junkie - in anticipation.

The demo I played is meant to provide a feel for the game’s atmosphere. The opening main menu screen features a lovely musical composition – titled Hide and Seek - with an edgy spoken, sing-song voiceover and soothing flutes that together provide an appropriate unsettling feeling. I’ve listened to it a few times already as it is one of those compositions that lingers in your mind.

The Destinies soundtrack composer is Jan Kavan - he also did the soundtrack for Darkfall: Lights Out - and has an ethereal, new age feel but instead of sounding disassociated, as do many game soundtracks, it seems to be fully integrated into the game dynamics. Besides the music, the sound-effects possess a clarity that doesn’t sound as though they were lifted from some cookie-cutter software program.

Okay, back to the demo. Marc is stranded at the Desolate Plains, surrounded by graves, obelisks and markers. It is a time in the future, or a possible future and you need to find a portal to escape from this land of the dead. After searching the adjoining areas, you spot an out-of-reach crowbar wedged in an obelisk, so how else to dislodge the crowbar than by heaving a rock at it and knocking it to the ground. Now sure, that puzzle was simple, but it was meant to give a feel for the interface.

The interface is mouse driven and a breeze to master. Marc is navigated by left-clicking and a double-click exits him immediately from area. The cursors are context sensitive and easy to understand. Dialogue can be skipped with a left mouse click and your inventory is stored in a handy satchel at the bottom left of the screen.

Once again, back to the demo . . . now that you have the crowbar, you need a place to use it and has luck would have it, there is a faceplate on a pedestal at the bottom of a statue that can be removed if one has the proper tool. This is partly a logic puzzle and also meant to showcase an item in your inventory, the multi-tool. The multi-tool is a futuristic Swiss knife.

Once the faceplate is removed, you face a gear/lever/button puzzle that is not too difficult (especially when the developers whisper the solution in your ear) and will provide an exit from this level and a surprise sneak peek at some levels still in development.

Destinies just has a certain feel to it as thought it is being developed by adventure enthusiasts who know what adventure gamers want – smooth interface, increasingly difficult puzzles, deep storyline – and are implementing it into the game (The development team also seems to have extremely good taste as evidenced by their admission that Just Adventure is their favorite website).

The dialogue is well-crafted and even contains a few in-jokes that take mild jabs at established adventure game traditions – such as doors always being locked at the most inopportune times - that should provide hardcore adventure gamers with a few chuckles. Ms. MacDonald is an established dialogue writer and editor who has fine-tuned her skills on a few of Frogwares' releases.

The 3D graphics are powered by the Wintermute Engine and, while I’ll not pretend to be an expert on game engines, it’s obvious from the in-game screenshots I’ve provided that there is a high level of detail and special effects – such as lightening flashing across a darkened sky – that do such a small development team proud.

Though the demo is short, it sparks enthusiasm through its quality and inherent potential. As Destinies is still at least a year from release, don’t get all antsy waiting to play it, but do add Destinies to your must-have list for 2007.