ExMachina becomes Hard Truck

I'm thinking it is more Carmageddon, but with a bit more background. A questionable choice on the logo, agreed. I can't say for certain about the team that is making the game, as it's my first time hearing of them.

Also, it's not Bulka that is making the game, but rather Targem. I'm downloading the demo of Battle Mages demo right now, and seeing how much or little imagination goes into their work. Judging by the logo used for this one, I'm not holding my breath for goodness.
 
Odin said:
Santiago Lamelo informed us that Buka Entertainment have renamed their old ExMachina title to Hard Truck: Apocalyptic Wars
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Why does this make me think of japanese porn? :look:
 
Uhm, no. That's Bukake. As long as they're just called Buka and not "Buka & Ke" or something like that, they'll be fine.

Except for the occassional AOL Anime freak going "Buka kekekekekeke", which is rather absurd in this case.
 
hello, guys! I'm from Targem team and I see you have a heated discussion aboutour game here... Where do I start?
1) the logo. The original Ex Machina logo was truly original (you can still see it at targem.ru, projects), but then we had to change it really fast into Hard Truck, for such was the will of the Publisher.

Am I right in understanding that Hard Truck doesn't sound good to American gamers? The truth is, I liked Ex Machina much better, but oh, well.

2) Before you accuse us of the lack of talent and imagination, go to our website www.targem.ru, have a look at our projects. ( Roshambo, what did you think of the Battle Mages demo?) Visit the screenshots gallery and read the interviews on the game at http://targem.ru/exmachina_eng/ I'd be interested to hear your opinions and constructive criticism.
 
Crystal said:
the logo.
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fallout_logo.jpg


Crystal said:
Am I right in understanding that Hard Truck doesn't sound good to American gamers? The truth is, I liked Ex Machina much better, but oh, well.
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Ex Machina was a better name.
 
Crystal said:
1) the logo. The original Ex Machina logo was truly original (you can still see it at targem.ru, projects), but then we had to change it really fast into Hard Truck, for such was the will of the Publisher.
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Then I suggest you change the logo again when you have the time. This logo, as dude_obj pointed out, won't do as it is too similar to the Fallout logos. Using logos with similarity may work to boost sales on the short term, but it will hurt your reputation on the long term, which is not desireable in the least. Plus you'll inevitably get in trouble either with Interplay if it manages to clamber up again or BethSoft if they decide to use a similar logo.

Crystal said:
Am I right in understanding that Hard Truck doesn't sound good to American gamers? The truth is, I liked Ex Machina much better, but oh, well.
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No, that's a typical word-combination that doesn't even vaguely work in the English language. "Hard Truck" doesn't really imply anything and is confusing to the reader. A Truck that is Hard? What? Hard Trucking would have been better, even, but Ex Machina definitely was better.

Crystal said:
2) Before you accuse us of the lack of talent and imagination, go to our website www.targem.ru, have a look at our projects. ( Roshambo, what did you think of the Battle Mages demo?) Visit the screenshots gallery and read the interviews on the game at http://targem.ru/exmachina_eng/ I'd be interested to hear your opinions and constructive criticism.
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It was mostly Buka that was getting the flak. I'll try out the demo
 
Seconded.

Yeah, Ex Machina was a better title.

Hard Truck doesn't even sound good to me as a German.

Maybe the publisher had the same concerns that nearly got Deus Ex 2: Invisible War turned into "DX2": The publisher honestly feared that Americans are unable to pronounce it properly (which happens to be true for most English speaking people IMO, but I think English Latin is a disease anyway) and that would actually hamper the sales (Hah!).
As Deus Ex 2 turned out to have little to do with the original in terms of gameplay, looks and anything really, I do think the rather alienating "DX2" would have fit the game (spot the cynicism) tho.

Since your publisher decided to go with a title such as "Hard Truck", why not just play around with it for the logo a bit? Adapt a trash tech look for the logo and throw in some iron. Maybe use the cliché title "stamping" for the intro too (logo background appears, then the first word (plus optional decoration) is "stamped" on with a metallic "bang" noise, followed by the second word/part -- it's overdone but it still works nicely).

Then again, the guys at Marketing sure know better what works with the target audience than the target audience -- after all they get paid for that. And they wouldn't get payed for comming up with stupid ideas that don't work, would they? ;)
 
Thanks for your suggestions, guys. We'll see what we can do.
And yes, the marketing department knows better, they think how to sell the game first of all. Hard Truck: Apocalyptic Wars may not reflect the essense of the game, but it's supposed to sell better than Ex Machina. And we trust our publisher on that one.

As I see our game, it appeals to thinking people, who will appreciate the story and original design ideas we realized there. As the saying goes, "don't judge the book by the cover".:)
 
Crystal said:
hello, guys! I'm from Targem team and I see you have a heated discussion aboutour game here... Where do I start?
1) the logo. The original Ex Machina logo was truly original (you can still see it at targem.ru, projects), but then we had to change it really fast into Hard Truck, for such was the will of the Publisher.
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I'll say it on your behalf. Publishers are idiots. :D

Am I right in understanding that Hard Truck doesn't sound good to American gamers? The truth is, I liked Ex Machina much better, but oh, well.
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I do as well; I believe that "Hard Truck" would be "Hard Luck" to sell. Ex Machina is a tad bit more apropos and fitting, even moreso than ION Raindrop's almost nonexistent ability to tie in a few references together. (Well, completely nonexistent now, since they now have boob jobs working on a Laura Croft game.) The name would have a reference to the wasteland in context of scavenging from old autos (ex-machines) for parts.

I'll say it again; publishers are idiots. Even some of the better ones, those that manage to be "barely competent", could tell you that foreign languages are considered to be "sexy" to an audience, in particular if they are held as versatile in meaning as adopted dead languages, such as Latin or Greek.

2) Before you accuse us of the lack of talent and imagination, go to our website www.targem.ru, have a look at our projects. ( Roshambo, what did you think of the Battle Mages demo?)
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Honestly...//Unexpected end of archive.//

Downloading it again. :)

Visit the screenshots gallery and read the interviews on the game at http://targem.ru/exmachina_eng/ I'd be interested to hear your opinions and constructive criticism.
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With what is said about the game, I have a feeling of a bit more freeform Carmageddon mixed in with some RPG aspects. I do think it will be something that I will be watching in development.
 
A freeform Carmaggedon inspired game could actually be something to keep ones eyes on.

Now, elaborate on the RPG aspects please. Dialogues and books don't make an RPG, after all.
 
I played through the Battle Mages demo, I liked it. It didn't run smoothly on this heap o' junk I call a computer all the time (this computer is so old) and the way the camera-work was handled was hard to get used to, but once I did I really enjoyed it. A nice combination of RPG and RTS. Had some nice challenging fights in it too.

Nice challenging fights = I have to use my head and some tactics to beat these guys, as well as use my spells well
Frustrating annoying fights = GODDAMN THOSE KOBOLD ELITE AND THEIR DAMN FIRE ARROWS!
 
About RPG elements in "Hard Truck: Apocalyptic Wars"
To begin with, there can be several styles of playing the game: focusing on trade or focusing on action/combat. All the time you'll be facing problems which can be solved in several ways. Also, there is the improvement of your avatar (truck), based on the amount of money earned (cash=XP). Plus, lots of dialogs with multiple variants, lots of NPC's and sub-plots. We think this is enough to call our game an action with RPG elements.

By the way, the game is going to be presented at E3 by our publisher Buka Entertainment. If you happen to visit this event, have a look at the trailer of the game and play its demo. :)
 
Kharn said:
I played through the Battle Mages demo, I liked it. It didn't run smoothly on this heap o' junk I call a computer all the time (this computer is so old) and the way the camera-work was handled was hard to get used to, but once I did I really enjoyed it. A nice combination of RPG and RTS. Had some nice challenging fights in it too.
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Glad you liked it, Kharn!:)
In fact, it was our first project and we really did put a lot into it. It came out 2 years ago, so it's a bit dated, but it's still fun. :)
 
Wait, what? First NMA is hailed as the greatest den of villains, nerds and madmen, and that everything we do or say has to be an evil lie or a rant about that game x sucks.
Now we have developers from everywhere joining up?
Targem, bethseda...

And the fucking Cookie Monster. Not a dev, but damn cool nonetheless
 
Crystal said:
About RPG elements in "Hard Truck: Apocalyptic Wars"
To begin with, there can be several styles of playing the game: focusing on trade or focusing on action/combat. All the time you'll be facing problems which can be solved in several ways. Also, there is the improvement of your avatar (truck), based on the amount of money earned (cash=XP). Plus, lots of dialogs with multiple variants, lots of NPC's and sub-plots. We think this is enough to call our game an action with RPG elements.
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Is it possible to get out of the truck? What happens when the players' truck is destroyed?
 
Ratty said:
Is it possible to get out of the truck? What happens when the players' truck is destroyed?
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You are one with your truck, so you can't leave it. You wouldn't survive without it. once it's destroyed, you're dead, man!
 
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