Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 isn’t out until next week, which is aaaaaaaages and quite frankly we’re all finding it pretty difficult to find something to do to pass the time.

So Zombie Cow Studios is pleased to announce that weird indie comedy Time Gentlemen, Please! is 50% off until Tuesday the 10th.

Click the banner above, or here, and when buying the game through us, simply enter the code MW2AAAAGES for your 50% discount. That’s 4 ‘A’s.

Should definitely keep you going over the weekend, at least. Not long now. We can’t wait it’s going to be brillo.

So Time Gentlemen, Please! is a bit of a bargain. Even though I know the fastest route through the game, it still took about an hour and a half to get through when testing. For a first time player, I’d say you’re looking at 6-8 hours, even if you don’t spend a great deal of time hunting around for hidden little jokes by trying stupid things.

For £2.99, that’s a pleasant chunk of gameplay, and I’m fiercely proud of how reasonably priced it is- as an Indie developer, it’s nice to be in the position to consider things like cost from the player’s perspective. Word around the Internet is, generally, that it’s either reasonably-priced or blisteringly under-priced, depending on how many truffles that particular reviewer can afford to snort and wash down with liquid gold, or whatever it is they do.

This all leaves me with something of a dilemma for the upcoming episodes, though. With an intended playtime of ‘about an hour’, each story is going to be considerably shorter than Time Gentlemen, Please! Hour-for-hour, quid-for-quid, that means each episode should probably be about 50p.

In all honesty, that price point would probably just bankrupt me.

Now, I’ve got a vague idea in my head of how much I think I’m going to have to charge. It’s based on ‘projections’ and TGP’s sales figures and all that sort of businessy nonsense… But in all honesty, I’m more interested in hearing what you lot think. How much you’d be willing to pay for an hour’s adventure-based comedic entertainment.

I was going to set up a poll, but that seems to me a rather too rigidly-defined way of going about things, so if you’ve got two minutes, please do leave a comment with what you think is a reasonable price. If you agree with someone, mark their comment up with the little green thumb.

I’ll then take everything into account when pricing the episodes. It’s community-driven development! How very futuristic.

Zombie Cow Studios is proud to announce episode Juan the first episode in the ongoing saga of loveably-haphazard geeks Dan and Ben.

You’ll be joining Dan and Ben in a bit of a pickle, and once again it’s up to you to help sort out their mess with a unique and charming blend of puzzle-solving nonsense…

“Things are going to be a little different for the guys this time around,” waffled Dan Marshall, head honcho at Zombie Cow Studios, “which’ll lead to some interesting new scenarios and puzzles. For example, Dan and Ben can now be split up, allowing the player to flip between the two as and when they choose. So we’ve got these two separate branches going on within the first episode - which makes it feel very different to the previous games.”

“We’ve also made a decision to move away from the overtly parodic nature of the first games - we’ve done that, now… so instead we’re going to be letting Dan and Ben run riot with the stabilisers off. That said, I’m sure we won’t be able to resist a crafty reference or two…”

The new episodes take place after the events of Time Gentlemen, Please! but aren’t a direct sequel - “People will be able to jump straight into Revenge of the Balloon-Headed Mexican without worrying about what’s happened in previous installments. We’re shooting for these being truly episodic in size and scope - we’re looking at it being about the same sort of length as a TV show, depending on player skill.”

“Before you get too excited, we still can’t afford voice acting, so the episodes will continue to be read-only until some reckless fool goes and buys 100,000 copies of Time Gentlemen, Please!”

One last thing: “It should be made clear that it’s not some sort of clever allegory or metaphor - our antagonist genuinely does have a balloon for a head.”

Ben There, Dan That! and Time Gentlemen, Please! continue to be available through Steam for just $4.99 here.


Ben There, Dan That! is free from here.

The high-res version of the title image can be found here.

Getting the games up on Steam not only feels like a huge badge of honour, but will also hopefully bring them to an entirely new audience. Here’s hoping it sells at least a million billion squillion copies, so we can finally afford to make more trendy games for you.

If you’re here via Steam: welcome! Why not join in the forums and say hello? Or let us know what you think of BTDT and TGP?

If you’ve got a problem, drop me a line to dan@zombie-cow.com and I’ll do my very best to sort you out as soon as possible.

That said: if it’s a Steam-specific problem, please do ask them, I wouldn’t have a clue what to say.

Also, please don’t email me if you’re stuck, ask away at the forums and someone will be able to give you a shove in the right direction.

See us on Steam here. There’s an appreciation page for the games to join here.

:)

Hello! Time Gentlemen, Please! has been pretty much everywhere recently, with more and more people realising it’s thoroughly brillo.

If you’re still unsure as to whether or not it’s worth parting with a whopping £2.99/ $5ish for a full-length comedy adventure, maybe some of these reviews will help persuade you.

“It’s one of the most outrageous games I’ve ever played and for that alone I love it. 90%”
-PCZone

“Funnier than any game in years, and delightfully rude. Point-and-click adventuring done right for a change. 87%”
-PCGamer

“I’d highly recommend trying out Ben There, Dan That, if you haven’t already… If you enjoy BTDT’s characters and sense of humor, Time Gentlemen, Please! is even funnier. ”
-Destructoid

“… this is the point-and-click re-imagined for the faintly jaded generation. By all means, check out Ben There, Dan That for a taster of what to expect but - especially given its miniscule asking price – this should be right at the top of your list. Best of 2009 So Far”
-IGN.com

“a charming, fun, and comical adventure wrapped with loads of nostalgia that was obviously created by a team with a passion for what they do. 86%”
– CheatCodeCentral

“TGP! is an improved LSD trip through the same cracked territory, but with a longer, better story and overall craftier puzzle design. A-”
-JustAdventure

“…the game’s wacky storyline, laugh-out-loud moments, and respectable length—it took me almost ten hours to play through at a leisurely pace—make it a no-brainer for any fan of BTDT. 3.5/5”
-AdventureGamers

“I went in expecting a second rate adventure game and came out with a game rivaling the greatest adventures of all time… Adventure game fans just go buy this already.”
-GameTunnel.com

“TGP is such an improvement on its predecessor however, and so much more professional in its presentation, that I feel fully justified in recommending it… a must buy for any adventure gamer.”
-TheReticule

“Time Gentlemen Please is so easily worth three pounds of any adventurer’s money it isn’t funny. Well, actually it is funny. Really funny, and really cleverly designed. -Recommended Award”
- ITreviews

“To sum it all up, Time Gentlemen Please! is a genetically superior indie adventure game tyrant. It’s difficult to find a match for TGP!’s humor among the current bunch of wacky adventure games, despite lots of them having bigger budgets and being made by genre veterans. 4/5”
- HardyDev

Read the first round of reviews here!


Huge thanks again to everyone who’s reviewed and purchased TGP so far.

If you’d like a review copy, just drop me a line to dan@zombie-cow.com and I’ll sort you out with a link right away.

If you haven’t bought TGP yet, you can do so from here.

Time Gentlemen, Please! has been out for a few weeks now, and the reviews have been rolling in. They’re uniformy overwhelmingly positive, which is both heartening and extraordinarily exciting.

If you’re still unsure as to whether to part with a whopping £2.99/ $5ish for this full-length comedy adventure, maybe some of these professional reviews will help sway you…

“…excellent scripting, consistent, cartoony design and delight in overtly, overly referential absurdity…even the Telltale titles are clunky and formulaic compared to the anarchistic invention of games like this… 9/10”
-Eurogamer.net

“Puzzles, dialogs, game flow - all this is through and through exemplary and more mature than most big adventures on DVD [which are] at least ten times the cost. 9/10”
-Eurogamer.de

“pitch perfect comedy writing…they truly understand how to exploit the genre’s strengths… an indie masterpiece.”
-Wired

“Indie Pick of the Week… fans of the genre won’t want to miss it… full of British wit, adult language … and the esoteric puzzles we all know and love.”
– IGN.com

“Time Gentlemen, Please!… slays me. [it] not only some really brain-wrenching puzzles but humor that feels as sharp and inventive as I’m sure LucasArts classics felt back in the day… If you’re a fan of adventure games at all… just get it.”
-Joystiq [review]

“…this is the Sam & Max follow-up I’ve been waiting for. Simply – Time, Gentlemen, Please is the best point and click adventure game in years.”
-RockPaperShotgun

“Time Gentlemen, Please! is a love song to the old day of adventure gaming … it bypasses most of the old problems and gets straight to the nitty gritty of a good adventure game: superb writing.”
-BigDownload

“Incredibly British, with a mix of witty banter, silly animations and hilarious facial expressions… not only the best adventure game I’ve played in a very long time - it is one of the best adventure games I’ve played. Ever.”
-IndieGames.com

“…a playground for just about every type of humor that is likely to get you ousted from civil society… The writing is simply wonderful… bigger, better, harder, and raunchier than the original by a mile. 4.9/5”
-JayIsGames.com

There’s many many more ‘after the jump’.

continue reading "Time Gentlemen, Please! Review Roundup"