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nightspore Group: Members Posts: 4770 Joined: Mar. 2008 Posted: May 09 2009, 07:58 I notice on the notes to Tr3s Lunas that that game is listed as the first "episode" of MVR.It makes one wonder whether the spaceship in Maestro is supposed to fit into the Tr3s Lunas universe somehow, and whether a future game would tie up any loose threads. But I suppose the lack of commercial success of TL and Maestro (does anyone know how many copies were licensed before it became free?) means there won't be any more games. Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: May 09 2009, 18:59 As far as I remember, the MVR series was planned to be composed of three games. But I suppose that, after Maestro bombed [I guess that the games started being offered free because very, very few people actually paid for them! ], Mike lost his interest and enthusiasm towards the whole thing and concentrated more on music. Luckily... as he gave us L+S as a result. -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

nightspore Group: Members Posts: 4770 Joined: Mar. 2008 Posted: May 09 2009, 19:27 Thanks, Ugo...Do you happen to remember where the reference to three games came from? Did he give any details as to what the third one was to be like? Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: May 10 2009, 11:58 It was a statement on his website (www.mikeoldfield.com, I think) regarding the fact that the whole series would be three episodes. He didn't give any details on what the games would be like, but I think he also said that each episode would have its own music, and its own album. Then, as Maestro had very little music (maybe on purpose, and maybe that's one of the reasons for its lack of success), it all got simmered down to one album, Tr3s Lunas, and to a couple of pieces on L+S. It's a pity, but in a way I'm glad that the third game never happened and we got L+S instead, as IMHO Mike is a much better musician than he is a video game designer. -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

nightspore Group: Members Posts: 4770 Joined: Mar. 2008 Posted: May 10 2009, 20:11 Quote (Ugo @ May 10 2009, 11:58) It was a statement on his website (www.mikeoldfield.com, I think) regarding the fact that the whole series would be three episodes. He didn't give any details on what the games would be like, but I think he also said that each episode would have its own music, and its own album. Then, as Maestro had very little music (maybe on purpose, and maybe that's one of the reasons for its lack of success), it all got simmered down to one album, Tr3s Lunas, and to a couple of pieces on L+S. It's a pity, but in a way I'm glad that the third game never happened and we got L+S instead, as IMHO Mike is a much better musician than he is a video game designer. Interesting. I think the "emptiness" of Maestro can't be anything but deliberate: all those empty corridors, with the Gravitars out of sight, and, as you say, the games has hardly any music in it. The game is clearly meant to be a metaphor for Mike himself - or, at least, Mike as he felt or feels himself to be at this point. After all, the word "Maestro" begins with an M and ends with an O. And the fact that Mike's World has a tombstone speaks volumes. (I've raised these topics before, but I think most people's unfamiliarity with the game has stopped them from commenting on them. It's a pity that Alan D is incommunicado; I'm sure he would have had some useful perspectives to offer.) Just out of interest, Ugo, why don't you think MO is a very good video game designer? Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: May 11 2009, 08:05 Well, that was a little bit of a joke about the fact that Mike, of course, is a musician... his 'day job' is not the one of designing video games. When 3L first came out, lots of gamers on lots of forums I visited complained that the graphics and the gameplay were too simple, too stylized, too un-fashionable... people said that 3L looked like a prototype of Myst from 20-30 years ago. But I always enjoyed it and I still do, because I always had in my mind the idea that this was a game designed by a musician, and so the graphics and the gameplay had very little importance when compared to the music, and to the fact that some of the gameplay is strictly linked to the music. As far as Maestro is concerned, well, I can't really comment because I never actually played it. But its 'empty' elements are, I think, very much visible even if one spends 5-10 minutes within the game. Maybe it would have been nicer if some places from the Light section of L+S, e.g. "Rocky", would have been used as the soundtrack to some of the 'exploration' scenes in Maestro. But, as you say, the complete lack of music and the overall empty mood are certainly deliberate and influenced by what Mike was going through then. By the way (and off topic), I thought that 'incommunicado' (like in the Marillion song... remember it?) meant 'isolated', not 'disappeared'. Is that what you meant? -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

a_r_schulz Group: Members Posts: 425 Joined: Sep. 2001 Posted: May 11 2009, 09:09 In fact, after Maestro (IIRC), Mike DID start a third game, which got as far as a short downloadable demo, before he apparently lost interest. That game was planned to be an educational game for kids, with the demo presenting the first letters of some kind of alphabet game, mostly recycling landscapes and objects from TresLunas - going along with Mike's short-lived Child's Club forum. Remeber this old thread, Ugo? Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: May 11 2009, 09:41 @ Andreas (is that your name, isn't it?): I've re-read the whole thread about the so-called "Smart World" and it's clear from that thread that it came before Maestro... at the time, the Tr3s Lunas game was still being updated with patches and fixes, and it wasn't even called Tr3s Lunas - it was called Music VR, which, again IIRC, was supposed to be the title of the whole 3-game project, not of the first game. But I agree with you about the fact that Mike's interest in the project was already waning by then. -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

Scatterplot Group: Members Posts: 1981 Joined: Dec. 2007 Posted: May 11 2009, 15:06 Episode is a very suggestive word.....be careful how you use it, heheh......like the latest Star Trek episode. It was lame. Take it from a 48 YO trek fan. Jimbo -------------- We raise our voices in the night Crying to heaven And will our voices be heard Or will they break Like the wind Back to top

nightspore Group: Members Posts: 4770 Joined: Mar. 2008 Posted: May 11 2009, 19:37 Quote (Ugo @ May 11 2009, 08:05) By the way (and off topic), I thought that 'incommunicado' (like in the Marillion song... remember it?) meant 'isolated', not 'disappeared'. Is that what you meant? Ugo, "incommunicado" - not communicating. I'm not familiar with Marillion.... any good? Back to top

nightspore Group: Members Posts: 4770 Joined: Mar. 2008 Posted: May 11 2009, 20:46 Quote (Ugo @ May 11 2009, 08:05) Well, that was a little bit of a joke about the fact that Mike, of course, is a musician... his 'day job' is not the one of designing video games. When 3L first came out, lots of gamers on lots of forums I visited complained that the graphics and the gameplay were too simple, too stylized, too un-fashionable... Actually, I think this is fair criticism of TL: the cactus is probably the weakest image - it looks like something out of The Road Runner cartoon. Unfortunately, as "The Origin" it's also the focus of the game! I think that the graphics in Maestro are better - at least, there is nothing as bad as the cactus in it. The corridors of the spaceship, in particular, are beautifully detailed.  Probably the Bird Cave is the weakest landscape, and the castle the best one. I also love the statue looking out over the infinite in Balloon World. The more abstract landscapes, such as Inviz, avoid criticism simply by being abstract. Does anyone know whether MO made a conscious attempt to improve on TL's graphics? Does anyone disagree that they are an improvement? Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: May 12 2009, 08:11 @ Daniel/Nightspore: regarding 'Incommunicado', that's what I meant by quoting the Marillion song - the person in that song doesn't talk to or with other people because he drinks too much, and so he is isolated. Marillion... well, IMHO they were good when Fish was their singer, as they resembled Genesis in their early period. Now, always IMHO, they're crap. As for the 3L and the Maestro graphics... well, I can't tell what's the level of Mike's involvement in the graphics of Maestro. Maybe he just came up with ideas, and then he let Nick Catcheside do the rest, just like in that Meat Loaf song. (Sorry for quoting songs all the time, I can't help it! ) -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

olracUK Group: Members Posts: 1683 Joined: June 2003 Posted: May 12 2009, 16:22 The "SmartWorld" demo is about - I have a copy, from Gary One Eye iirc. It goes as far as the letter C. I had an email from Fanny saying they were having issues animating animals. A giraffe for G was a problem apparantly. BUt it was definitely not part of any episodes - it was aimed at kids. Personally I think Mike just got bored and moved on to new toys. That's why we never saw another "episode" or game. And he probably realised his games were good for an amateur but not really in a professional level. -------------- The answer is 42 - but what is the question? Back to top

nightspore Group: Members Posts: 4770 Joined: Mar. 2008 Posted: June 06 2009, 04:34 Quote (Ugo @ May 11 2009, 08:05) When 3L first came out, lots of gamers on lots of forums I visited complained that the graphics and the gameplay were too simple, too stylized, too un-fashionable... people said that 3L looked like a prototype of Myst from 20-30 years ago. What a pity he didn't use these criticisms to spur him on to even more impressive games. Surely he could have hired better software programmers. Multimedia is the way to go, in my opinion; the whole idea of putting out something as one-dimensional as a CD seems quite old-fashioned - even more so with things like Music of the Spheres, which seems to want to retreat into the nineteenth century. Back to top

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