Demo Graphics Downgrade

A closer look at the situation calmed (some of us)  down. Sorry! 

I'm still not convinced though.

 
That may be; but in the case of Bloostained, though, there are several similarities which will inevitably cause comparisons to MN9, I think.

 1. High-profile Japanese developer leaves company that abandoned franchise to create spiritual successor.
 2. Breaks Kickstarter records, vastly exceeding it's funding goals.
 3. Exceeding funding goals causes a sudden bloat of feature set as stretch goals.
 4. Is promised for multiple platforms of varying hardware capabilities.
 5. Is delayed over a year.
 7. Ben Judd is involved.
 8. Inti Creates is/was involved.

 Key differences so far

 1. High-profile Japanese developer is nicest-man-on-earth, as opposed to a conceited a**h*le.
 2. Biggest delay and developer switch were communicated to backers in a timely, adequate fashion.
 3. Save for a few missteps (*cough* delaying the demo the day it was supposed to launch, *cough*) communication has been mostly on-point.
 4. Gameplay has been very well received so far.

Some people might add "disappointing graphics" to the things they have in common, but I'll personally reserve my judgement until I see the finished product. While it's certainly not pushing modern GPU hardware, if it looks like updates 7 to 10, I'd say it's pretty good looking, actually. All it needs is a higher-poly/texture resolution Miriam model for the PC/PS4/Xbox One versions, and we're good.

XombieMike Would buy Ori if it was any "fun" to play. Looks beautiful but meeh. I want good gameplay. This is why I like Tetris and Super Mario Bros 3.

Well I guess there's always going to be those negative nancy's at any party

Since when providing criticism to the graphics supported by screenshots and genuine concerns is being "negative nancys"? This thread as a whole is as thorough as criticism can be for the majority of the posts.

I'm am avid supporter of the game, I defended it a lot in the past and despite being convinced that this will be a valid game in the end I have to admit that this demo kinda disappointed me all things considered. Not even just in the graphics, but let's stay on topic.

Honestly I can understand the whole "don't worry, the graphics aren't final", it's fair enough, but we're supposedly close to the release date and at this point I'd like some concrete reassurance about the graphica. Yeah, "they will get better", but it's not 2015 anymore. It's been a while since the early stage of development, and if what I see appears to be worse than before (I preferred the 2016 demo in both visuals and feel of the controls) then a "don't worry about it" isn't enough for me anymore. I WILL be worried until I see the game itself being better from that point of view.

I am also worried because I see problems in this game and I know that a lot of resources will be directed to developing versions on vastly different platforms and bonus modes that have pretty much nothing to do with core gameplay I'd like from IGAvanias. But that's another matter entirely.

My admiration for Igarashi is unwavering. I like the people involved in the project, and I especially like Angel for doing a pretty much spot on job on communication and being more of a friend to this community than "the PR guy". I don't express concern and disappointment lightly because I genuinely care about these people and I dislike doing something that can be interpreted as sh*tting on their job, but I can't deny that this demo that I eagerly anticipated has for the most parr fueled my concerns instead of reassuring me.

I think it's a very serious matter and this section is invaluable to let the team know. I understand defending a project we love and probably have spent a lot of money on, but please don't mistake criticism and concerns for gratuitous negativity. It's not like that.

As someone who thinks the game looks great even in it's current form, I have to back Freddy here. Even if I don't share in the concerns personally, it's not right to disregard all this thoughtful criticism as being "negative". Everyone is here because they have affection for this project and respect the team, never forget that.

In my experience, the most memorable games are those whose worlds are filled with "atmosphere" – that mysterious, intangible, ubiquitous presence of something. The earlier screenshots convey more of that atmosphere, that special something that makes you wonder what caused the room to look this way. Something happened there in the past. Someone was in this room before. But was it five years ago, or five minutes? That is the kind of curiosity that the castle should evoke. Backgrounds should suggest things about the game world. Details can fill in gaps in your knowledge of the situation.

Each screenshot tells a story. My immediate reaction to the three screenshots was this:
Jan 2016 – There has been a recent tragedy in this rich, ornate room. I must be wary.
June 2017 – There is something eerie about this ominous room. I should not linger here; I must press on.
June 2018 – There are platforms in the middle of the room. I can climb them.

IGA has always created excellent atmospheres in his works. I must believe that my response to June 2018 is a reaction to a "work in progress" that will not apply to other portions of the castle in its finished state.