The GWJ Adventure Game Club - Game 11: Blackwell Convergence

Blackwell Convergence (2009)

IMAGE(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steam/apps/80350/header.jpg)

Our little adventure group returns to the Blackwell games! In this third game, we once again team up with Rosa with Joey to investigate mysterious disturbances around well-known New York landmarks. And possibly learn more about this Blackwell family curse...

You can find the wikipedia page here, usual spoiler warning apply. How Long to Beat estimates about 3 hours to completion, so quite short.
Available on Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, iOS, Android.

You can find the main thread over this way. We'll be playing Blackwell Convergence in September 2019, with an extra month if needed.

Cool! Looking forward to continuing the saga.

It’ll be interesting to see what the graphics are like.

They're a definite step up. Here are a couple for the sake of comparison:

Blackwell Legacy:
IMAGE(http://www.wadjeteyegames.com/wp-content/uploads/bl_screen1.jpg)

Blackwell Unbound:
IMAGE(http://www.wadjeteyegames.com/wp-content/uploads/bu_screen2.jpg)

Blackwell Convergence:
IMAGE(http://www.wadjeteyegames.com/wp-content/uploads/conv_shot8.jpg)

And a taste of things to come:
Blackwell Deception:
IMAGE(http://www.wadjeteyegames.com/wp-content/uploads/BDD-shot5.png)

Blackwell Epiphany:
IMAGE(http://www.wadjeteyegames.com/wp-content/uploads/BE-shot15.png)

And past that, but still part of the same universe, Unavowed:
IMAGE(http://www.wadjeteyegames.com/wp-content/uploads/UV-astor.png)

Oh right, I really need to play that.

Very interesting. The last three games (not counting unavowed) seem to have much more characterful portraits. The environments are more elaborate as well.

Unavowed has good portraits too, I just didn't grab one in the screenshot

IMAGE(http://www.wadjeteyegames.com/wp-content/uploads/unavowed-chinatown.png)

Oh yes. That’s nice. It’s a more ‘realistic’ style.

I like what we have to look forward to!

Loved this game a few years ago. You guys will have a great time!

A truly fascinating realization I made during the credits was (kinda-sorta minor spoiler):

Spoiler:

Some characters and plot threads are too bizarre as to be based on real people and events.........one would think.

Just got it for the iPad.....will try to play it in full!

Just fired this up today on my iPad, and good grief, it's such a great, solid game. The opening credits alone are amazing:

I’m new to the forums, and I love adventure games.

How does this work? I have all the Blackwell’s on Gog. But I’ve never played any of them. Do I need to go play the first one first? And what pace do people play?

Greatajax wrote:

I’m new to the forums, and I love adventure games.

How does this work? I have all the Blackwell’s on Gog. But I’ve never played any of them. Do I need to go play the first one first? And what pace do people play?

It's more of a suggestion - I jumped ahead of the club when the first game was chosen, and ended up playing all five in a few weeks, but if you want to follow along with the Zeitgeist, the best thing to do is start by following the thread for the first game as you play along with it:

https://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/...

Edit to add: most of the Blackwell games range from 3-6 hours long each, so it's not a *huge* burden to catch up, if you want to, based on how much free time you can commit.

There’s an open door policy, so basically, you tag into the thread, and we chat about the game we’re playing this month. Nothing too strenuous or binding, we are gamers with jobs/families/hobbies/commitments, after all!

I do recommend playing the first two games before jumping into this one, for the sake of context and continuity. As Tangle mentions, they aren’t too big. And it’s only September 5th, so there should be enough time.
But yeah, they’re easy to binge. Really good games.

Just a tip, because this is something that tripped me up (again). For all you completionists and introverts, it’s okay to leave a party early.

Spoiler:

I always end up at this point in the first visit to the Park Gallery, where I’ve talked to everyone, looked at all the art and feel that I’m “stuck”, when all I have to do to trigger the step is make for the exit.

Also, if all else fails, there’s a “Plan your next move” dialog option when you’re talking to Joey which can be really useful.

One thing I'd forgotten about at Cubestar:

Spoiler:

Joey constantly ogling Monique Stahlman. Ew. Just ew.

Did you all play Unbound or skip to Convergence?

I did them in order - there are callbacks and plot elements from Unbound that carry forward into Convergence

Apparently Unbound was originally intended to be a flashback within Convergence, but it got too big and became its own game.

Cool. I've played through and enjoyed Legacy. Have the next two installments on Android, may well play Unbound and hopefully catch up to Convergence Club pick.

Awesome, Bubble! Glad you liked it!! Legacy does have a couple of issues (getting by that silly Jim Burdo to get into your freakin' apartment! ), but the good news is that the dev learned from previous mistakes and the games do get better.

I wrapped up Convergence on the iPad a couple of nights ago. It's still a solid game. It has one of my favorite soundtracks, this one by Thomas Regrin, (though really, let's be honest, I love them all). The cases are interesting, and it wraps up neatly. Definitely a strong game in the series.

How is everyone else doing? It's a bit quiet, but still plenty of time! Today is only the 13th after all.

I must get on it soon.

I already had The whole Blackwell bundle on Gog. However, I couldn’t get it to start on my old Mac, and my new windows computer just shows a black screen with the music playing at startup. Any ideas, or do I need to pay again to get it on my iPhone?

I started it but haven’t gotten very far. I like Rose’s new portrait. The intro was fun.

Spoiler:

Unless I missed something, the only way to proceed is to get the guy to “jump” and realize he’s already dead? I liked the slight counterintuitive aspect of that.

steinkrug wrote:

I started it but haven’t gotten very far. I like Rose’s new portrait. The intro was fun.

Spoiler:

Unless I missed something, the only way to proceed is to get the guy to “jump” and realize he’s already dead? I liked the slight counterintuitive aspect of that.

Nope, it is not the only way to proceed! I went with an alternate route.

Spoiler:

You can have Joey talk him into coming inside and talking to Rosa who will then have him realize he’s passed away. There are actually several dialog choices that fit the bill!

Greatajax wrote:

I already had The whole Blackwell bundle on Gog. However, I couldn’t get it to start on my old Mac, and my new windows computer just shows a black screen with the music playing at startup. Any ideas, or do I need to pay again to get it on my iPhone?

Oh no! That is odd... have you tried the GOG forums? Are you using GOG Galaxy? I’m afraid I’m out of my depth here...

Oh, that’s interesting! I’ll have to look into how that intro can play out differently. Cool.

Played a bunch more in one session. Think I’m over halfway. I’m liking this a lot and enjoying the connections to Unbound.

Turns out convergence is rather a good name for the game. I like the plot of this entry and the way lots of things were tied in from the previous games. Very nicely done. I also liked:

Spoiler:

That the solution for getting the word out about their services was the new place where folks will accept everything: The Internet

Under the wire! Turns out it's a bit of a challenge for me to dedicate myself to a game on a tablet when I'm not on my trainer (also when I've fallen hard for FFXIV), but now that it's cold and I've brought in my bike, I was able to finish.

I ultimately enjoyed it. The story and its intrigues and they small but significant layers of both that keep revealing themselves are really compelling to me. I love the spritework and most of the whole retro presentation. The retro part I'm less than enamored with is the fumbling around with only a vague sense of what I'm looking for and poor indication of when I've found it. In particular there was a section that sent you to a place to learn one thing, then home to Oogle it, then to another place to learn one thing, then back, etc. The idea of investigating is great, but Rosa could really use a smartphone. Obviously the fact that I'm pedaling while doing all this doesn't help. But, you know, I appreciate that these games kept the genre going in dark times.

That criticism is completely valid, there is a bit of going back and forth, particularly when you don't know what to look for. Thankfully, Rosa does end up getting a smartphone later in the series (I think the next one, but my memory isn't what it used to be).

Glad you enjoyed it, SpaceP!! Thanks for reporting back!

And the 3rd Blackwell is in the books.

Hooray for the return of the portrait art. I liked the quick side project feel of Unbound, but the lack of portraits were certainly felt.

I'm glad the clue combining mechanic was removed. It was a neat idea, but only a couple of times did it ever feel like it was working the way it was envisioned. Often it felt like the notes didn't necessarily make the connections I made, and it was more like hunting for the "right" way to express to the game what you understand. Other times the connections were so bluntly obvious that it was just hoop jumping for the sake of it.

That said, the biggest mechanics change being a deletion was something I felt. Unbound added the character switching, which freshened it up from feeling just like Legacy. This one just took away a mechanic (flawed as it may be) without much in new mechanics to replace it.

I hope the next game mixes up the formula. I've enjoyed these three, but there's definitely a need for some new wrinkles. Narratively it feels like it's setting up for that, but we'll see.