“THE EXCHANGE STUDENT EPISODE 2: POINT CLUB” HAS BEEN RELEASED (12th of October 2007) Point Club, the second episode of the new interactive sitcom The Exchange Student, is now available for PCs at www.theexchangestudent.com. A Macintosh version will follow soon. Mischief. Mayhem. Gel! Pan Metron Ariston is pleased to announce that the second episode of The Exchange Student interactive sitcom series, named Point Club, has now been released for PCs. A Macintosh version will follow in the next few days as well. The Exchange Student is a new episodic comedy game starring Emilio Carboni, a 22 y.o. Italian student who has never had a girlfriend in his entire life. In Episode 1 of The Exchange Student, the Italian Casanova was too tired of being neglected by the Italian girls and he decided to go on an exchange studying program to Sweden. His parents were not happy with his choice but Emilio was determined that at the age of 22 he was ready to take his first big step towards adventure and love! In “Episode 2: Point Club”, Emilio Carboni, the most prestigious aspiring philanderer of modern times will join the Point Club, a group of men trying to outdo each other on a race for love and passion. Emilio will have to face grim competition with the likes of Pedro, Miguel and Mathias also constantly attempting to charm beautiful Swedish girls. Is Emilio going to have any luck on this dog-eat-dog quest? The second episode features three times longer gameplay time than episode 1, more challenges and problems to solve, 26 characters (27 if you consider an inflatable doll to be a real person), 18 backgrounds and many new music tracks. Ex-Lucasarts artist Bill Eaken once again adapted Swedish scenery to the game's wonky graphic style using flamboyant colours and cartoony shapes. The trial version of Episode 2: Point Club is available for download at the official website (www.theexchangestudent.com) and the full version can be unlocked within the game for the price of 8 Euros (equivalent to $11). Episode 1: First Day in Sweden is also available for download at the official website and the full version or this one costs now 6 Euros (equivalent to $8) as the initial price of 10 Euros was reduced with the release of Version 1.2 . The Exchange Student is a series that should appeal to those who enjoy TV cartoon shows like Johnny Bravo, games like Leisure Suit Larry and Curse of Monkey Island and TV sitcoms like Friends, That 70s Show and Married with Children. The game blends classic adventure gameplay into the casual game format, making the pace of progress faster and simpler so that the gamer can practically be entertained even if he/she only has a little time to devote into gaming. Featuring a simple point and click interface The Exchange Student requires a minimal learning curve making the game appropriate for both hardcore and casual gamers. At the same time however, the developers have seen to it so that the level of interactivity remains high throughout the game and that The Exchange Student is not just a click-through experience. The Episode 1 sales statistics suggest that Pan Metron Ariston is on the right track as over 40% of the customers so far are female gamers. Episode 3: Pointless is scheduled for release in Q1 2008.
Some comments: I was never big into the Leisure Suit Larry games, though I did enjoy Maniac Mansion and other SCUMM games. However to be honest I find the story and characters in The Exchange Student completely uninteresting. Why a game about an Italian exchange student going to Sweden? I suppose it must appeal to someone, but it really seems an odd choice to me. The biggest thing I noticed is that the volume level on the different character's voices don't match well at all. Some are way too quiet, and if it weren't for the subtitles I'd have no idea what they were saying. Frida (girl in the hallway), for example. The main character's voice is also so quiet sometimes that it's hard to hear words here and there. And then some other characters are very loud in comparison. I really like the backgrounds. The character designs seem uneven, and the main character is particularly unappealing and such a stereotype that the game gives me an uncomfortable feeling. Maybe that's just me, I don't know.
Congrats on the release, but what means this phrase? why the game "is on the right track" if 40% of customers are female ? I don't understand... a customer is a customer as long as they pay no?
Italians are crazy for girls, especially blondes. Maybe a stupid cliché, but it makes sense for a video game theme.
Hello Jack. I absolutely agree that a customer is a customer as long as they pay, and we don't mean that we don't want a certain group of people to buy our game. But, having said that, The Exchange Student is probably the first effort of an adventure game to break into the casual game market. And female gamers are a much bigger percentage of the casual market than the hardcore gamers market. Maupin, The Exchange Student, as all games, is not for everyone. But the game events and characters are very much inspired by events I was a witness of and people I met during my years as an exchange student. So Emilio might seem as a stereotype to you, but what's in the game is events that really take place every year in the small communities of exchange students throughout Europe (and the US I guess). If that is an interesting theme to you or not of course is your own personal choice The different volume of the characters might be due to the fact that we asked from the actors to exaggerate their roles a little bit. For example the main character, Emilio, is an Italian who talks a lot and is generally very "loud", while Frida on the other hand is a more serious and quiet girl. But you're probably right, a couple of the characters are more quiet than others and we'll see that this won't happen again in future episodes.
Big Fish Games has been selling adventure games for years. Both the full-size retail ones and the extremely popular casual adventures like Azada and Dream Chronicles. There've been articles talking about the potential rebirth of the genre... First is a very dangerous word. (The existence of "The Game That Takes Place on a Cruise Ship" removed some of my intended firsts as well... but at least most games that might have beaten me to any remaining claims are not in English.) Anyway, good luck with your game!
Emilio the italian can't pronounce 'H'. He says 'ello instead of hello. Is this true for italians? Like japanese have problems pronouncing 'R'.
I stand corrected then...things must have changed a lot lately because when we first started with The Exchange Student (about 2 years ago) I had searched a bit on casual game portals and I didn't find a single adventure game. This is definitely a positive development for the genre. And yes, first is a very dangerous word, that's why I used the safety-net word "probably" Thank you. Yes, it is actually true. Italians don't pronounce the H letter in their own language and they tend to keep this habit when they learn a new language, but of course the more experienced they become with a new language the more they tend to pronounce the sound H as well.
On the other hand, us Greeks have a strong pronunciation of the letter, especially when we want to show our non-interestingness about something ("hhhhestika") Nice game dimidimidimi, although a little late . Good luck on your next one too! Btw, a little (personal) note on stereotypes: i believe that despite what they say, people like and expect stereotypes. This is -imho- because it's easier for them to understand some stereotyped situation or character than try to figure out by themselves. This is true especially in comedy themed movies and games: you don't want your audience to spent brain-cycles -p) trying to figure out the characters and situations - you want them to focus on your jokes .