Dreamfall Chapters still coming, 'on the back burner' for now
by Ludwig Kietzmann 
{ Jun 2nd 2008 at 5:25PM }
It's been over a year since Funcom announced Dreamfall Chapters, an episodic and digitally distributed continuation of Dreamfall: The Longest Journey, and even longer since players were left digging their fingernails into the dirt and hanging on for dear life at the edge of a narrative cliff. Is April Ryan still alive? What's happening to Arcadia? Is Zoë coming back? Find out ... eventually!"Dreamfall Chapters - and, by proxy, The Longest Journey - isn't Funcom's highest priority at this point," writes series author and designer, Ragnar Tørnquist, on his latest blog entry. With Funcom staff frantically working on the newly launched Age of Conan, upcoming MMO, The Secret World, and "other games in various stages of development," it seems Dreamfall's continuation has been given the finger. No no, not that one -- the one you show when you're on the phone and need someone in the room to just hold on for a second, okay?
Tørnquist goes on to explicitly state that Chapters "is currently on the back burner - but it hasn't been abandoned." He should be relieved to know that while people hanging from cliffs probably aren't the most patient types, their predicament prevents them from angrily tossing things at him.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Courtney @ Jun 2nd 2008 5:31PM
My daughter was crestfallen when she finished Dreamfall and learned that any chance for another sequel was ambiguous at best.
Zoesch @ Jun 2nd 2008 5:55PM
FUNCOM really missed the boat on that one, I loved The Longest Journey/Dreamfall but making it episodic? Not interested in the slightest.
AwesomeTown @ Jun 2nd 2008 5:50PM
Absolutely loved The Longest Journey, but for some reason I keep putting off getting Dreamfall. I probably should get on that.
reppy @ Jun 2nd 2008 5:57PM
This is why episodic content sucks. :(
Homer 918 @ Jun 2nd 2008 6:06PM
Ugh, that makes it sound at least 5 years out :*(
I don't know how much longer I can keep on living without Crow's antics!
343 Guilty Fart @ Jun 2nd 2008 7:03PM
Look, Joystiq's just the messenger, see, and they don't want to get shot because of that whole messenger thing.
Rob Accomando @ Jun 2nd 2008 6:35PM
So it's going to be an even longer journey?
343 Guilty Fart @ Jun 2nd 2008 7:04PM
I didn't even know that there was any sort of sequel planned for this game at all, so the fact that there's more Dreamfall to come at all is a good thing IMO.
James @ Jun 2nd 2008 7:26PM
With the way the last game ended it's just cruel that they're taking so long to make a continuation.
futurebiblehero @ Jun 2nd 2008 7:49PM
I understand Ragnar's predicament, but somewhere he's going to have to learn that the cliffhanger heavy, Lost-style of storytelling doesn't work terribly well when your chances of a sequel are uncertain and the wait between games is interminable. He's not even dropped any enticing nuggets to us fans to ease the wait and keep things interesting.
I started playing the series with the release of TLJ, and was sorely disappointed that Dreamfall didn't make any attempts at closure in case things didn't work out. Now I'm reaching that point where if I have to wait another three or four years for a sense of finality on things, I wonder if I'll even care at all when it actually comes.
Shawn @ Jun 2nd 2008 8:30PM
TLJ is the best adventure game of all time, I'm really looking forward to answering some questions, but it looks like it will quite a while. Adventuregamers.com is probably rioting right about now...
Kree @ Jun 2nd 2008 9:53PM
When things like this have such a long delay on them, I tend to just stop caring and forget them entirely. It doesn't matter how enticing the story is, if it's not resolved the whole thing becomes pointless.
DVersion @ Jun 2nd 2008 9:57PM
Longest Journey was awesome but Dreamfall was a huge disappointment. One long uninteresting dialog scene after another. It's almost as if the designers of the game were so focused on their shoddy story that they completely forgot about the player.
born2kill @ Jun 2nd 2008 10:22PM
Hurry up and get this dam game made. Screw connan and that other crap. Dreamfall is the only property they have thats worth a dam.
Rauten @ Jun 2nd 2008 11:31PM
Actually, born2kill, "that other crap" looks VERY interesting. Sure, I'd rather have them release Dreamfall Chapters, but I for one am looking forward to see what "The Secret World" will bring. Just the ARG they pulled off when they first revealed it made me giggle like a schoolgirl.
Dustin @ Jun 4th 2008 1:14AM
It's at least reassuring that Ragnar said that the story is complete, and that he solidly vows that it will come out in some form. It was what, 6 1/2 years between TLJ and Dreamfall? I think we'll see this a bit sooner.
metroidprimegmr @ Jun 4th 2008 7:00PM
Must...control...emotional...overload...
RAAAAAGNAAAR!!!11!!1
/the story MUST be completed!
//the Balance demands it!!!
metroidprimegmr @ Jun 4th 2008 7:03PM
CORTEZ IS ALIVE!!!
http://ragnartornquist.com/?p=461#comment-113216
http://ragnartornquist.com/?p=461#comment-113218
*head asplode*
Pepperkin @ Jun 17th 2008 4:25AM
Well, me personally, I won't be buying Secret World or anything else made by FunCom. Why put money into the pockets of people that care so little about their current projects that they dump them off on a cliffhanger and move on to new projects? I prefer to put my cash on those who finish what they start. If Dreamfall and TLJ weren't a priority to the company, they should have put an extra few months into development and an extra few hours into Dreamfall and wrapped it up completely before moving on. Or, to put it another way, if satisfying the current fan base isn't their priority, then buying their games isn't MY priority.
Eize @ Jul 3rd 2008 7:37PM
I just discovered the game a week ago, today (about 60 min ago) i finished it, i started searching for a next part, i saw Dreamfall Chapters. I just knew this was not an ending, i really like games like this, you just need to make about 10 kills, not to much fighting, not to stealth, just a movie ish game with a superstory, there should be a movie about it, but i've said that about a lot of games.
Rylos @ Jul 22nd 2008 3:08AM
This is crazy...the project is on the back burner?! I bought Dreamfall because I saw that it took place in the same universe as TLJ, and I thought that game was interesting. I found this game's controls to be a bit restrictive (seriously, was anyone else frustrated by having to move behind the altar, hide, and sneak up only so far just so that the character could "see" the combination to the rock door rather than just putting it in yourself?). I was intrigued by the story, for sure, but this wasn't even a full game. The only thing you get closure to is "what happened to Zoe's mother," which wasn't a question I ever even had. This was about half of a game--to design it that way and then leave the players hanging for years is malicious at worst, uncaring and thoughtless at best. When I go to work tomorrow, I'm honestly going to rescind my recommendation of this game.
Salvatore @ Jul 26th 2008 10:34AM
The lead article, is abolut right what the players patience concerned when he is hanging over a cliff !!!
The "Game" is just a sneak preview... not more. I liked the easy of the riddles, and all the other stuff, but, the last dragon killed, April killed, and Zoe killed, alright she is in the storytime..but killed in the real one. The Sequel should be a damm good to excuse this horifying scenario. Another thing, the souls that April discovered are connected with the wire in the real world. And the guardian brings the dreams of stark into Arcadia. Who is the emmisary ? Cortez or maybe someone else, and how is Westhouse involved in the killing of the last dragon ? I think this time the balance is been used against itself instead of destroying it. That is really not a new concept, and please do not try to make a hit and run adventure. I will not buy it.
I do not like the episodic decision for the sequel, I really would like the boxed format instead, this time with a well written ending, please ? Do not forget, the rope I am hanging at is for one, "slippery" and secondly is "desintegrating".... I hope I made myself clear.
May the balance with you.
Jen @ Jul 31st 2008 10:28PM
Ugh. Developers really have a knack for making me continually question their intelligence. Someone should lecture them on opportunity cost, among other things. In the meantime, I'll gnash my teeth and spend my money elsewhere. (..Although, they might also make use of the *extra* time to pay a little more attention to things like pathetically overlooked glitches and the use of non-words and misspellings in the subtitles..I mean, really.....)