Alida (video game)

Alida is a 2004 adventure game developed by Australian indie studio Dejavu Worlds and published by Got Game Entertainment. The game was wholly created by Australian artist and musician Cos Russo.

Alida
Developer(s)Dejavu Worlds
Publisher(s)Got Game Entertainment
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, OS X, iOS
Release2004
Genre(s)Adventure

Development

The game was designed by Cos Russo, going through multiple revisions of the concept and objectives.[1] It was developed for 5 years.[2]

The game was released in limited distribution on January 17, 2003.[3] It was officially released onto the North American market in May 2004.[4] Prior to its release, a demo was available at the Got Game Entertainment site.[5] On August 23, 2004, the game was released into retails stores on the Australia market.[6] An iOS version was released in 2015, with a brand new sequel planned in the future.[7]

Plot
The making of process of the game, featured on the official Alida homepage.

In-universe, Alida is a guitar-shaped island off the coast of Australia, built by the members of a band from the money made from their successful first album. They never released a second album and were forgotten by their fans. The band split, they each locked their fortunes in separate parts of the island and left. Arin, one of the previous members, goes to the island to attend a supposed reunion but never returns home. His wife Julia asks the player to head to island to locate her husband, and this is where the game begins.[8]

Gameplay

Being a Myst-like point-and-click adventure game,[9][10] Alida sees the player navigate through a series of screens.[11] Spanning 5 CDs,[12] the game focuses on interaction with puzzles to progress to new locations. The puzzles lean toward musical themes and vary in difficulty. It incorporates FMV scenes and CGI animations, both blended into the scenery.[13]

An interview with the creator is a bonus feature of the game.[14]

Reception

Inside Mac Games noted some of the puzzles' intense difficulty[15] and praised the games audiovisuals.[16] Applelinks felt the game had a satisfying ending.[17] Mac Review Games urged readers to support the game due to its creator's "vision, creativity, and conscience".[18] In 2003, Just Adventure thought Alida was a "phenomenal achievement", but that it could have been a much better game.[19] In 2004, a separate review told readers to buy the game at retail price to support games like this being made.[20] Gamezone felt that everything the title tried to achieved had been done better a decade earlier.[21] GameSpot thought the game's potential was bogged down by its confusing and difficult nature.[22] Universal Hint System recommended that players frequently save in order to revisit a dialogue or note that contained important information.[23]

References
  1. Tumminello, Wendy (2005). Exploring Storyboarding. Cengage. p. 192. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  2. "Alida: An Independent Success Story". PC Powerplay. 2004. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  3. "Dejavu Worlds is Calling all Gamers to Beta Test Alida Game for iOS". prwire.com.au. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
  4. "'Alida' game ships in North America". Macworld. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
  5. "Alida demo now available". Adventure Gamers. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
  6. Adams, David (2004-08-23). "Alida Hits Stores". IGN. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
  7. "Alida tuning up for iOS port and full sequel". Adventure Gamers. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
  8. "epic interactive - projects". 2004-06-09. Archived from the original on 2004-06-09. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
  9. Edge-Salois, Bryan (2005). "Alida". PC Today. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  10. Jongenwaard, Dana (December 2004). "Alida: Lost in the Mist". Computer Gaming World. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  11. Bolesław, Wójtowicz (May 5, 2005). "Alida - recenzja gry". Gry Online. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  12. Первый, Андрей (September 15, 2004). "Алида (Alida) - рецензия и обзор на игру". ru:Absolute Games. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  13. Hoshor, Troy (September 21, 2004). "Alida review". Adventure Gamers. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  14. "Test de Alida sur PC - 14/02/2005". 2014-11-29. Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
  15. "IMG Review: Alida". 2003-10-02. Archived from the original on 2003-10-02. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
  16. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2003-10-13. Retrieved 2003-10-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. "Applelinks.com: Review - Alida". 2003-10-08. Archived from the original on 2003-10-08. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
  18. "Page Title". 2003-08-21. Archived from the original on 2003-08-21. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
  19. "Alida Review - Just Adventure +". 2003-10-09. Archived from the original on 2003-10-09. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
  20. https://www.justadventure.com/2016/03/24/alida-review/
  21. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2004-12-20. Retrieved 2004-12-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  22. Osborne, Scott (2004-08-31). "Alida Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
  23. Nicodem Jr., Frank D. "UHS: Alida Review". www.uhs-hints.com. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
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