Normality (1996) looks surprizingly good

[TasAcri]

I never knew about this game for some reason... And i'm very impressed. The graphics are truly great. And it's not about the engine itself (which doesn't look more or less advanced than the Build engine). They are great because of the art direction and the huge quantity of sprites/assets/decorations that don't seem repeat too much.

 

For instance, the first area (your apartment) has so many different sprites and textures it looks like a proper, lived in apartment. I don't remember seeing such detailed indoor environments in any other game during the 90's tbh. Certainly not in later engines with blocky 3D like Quake1/2/3.

 

I think this screenshot shows this perfectly:

 

 

 

Look at any part of this picture and you will notice how there are no repeated patterns/tiled textures. The wall looks like a flat color with various different textures plastered all over, instead of a texture repeated over and over. Even the surfaces that would make sense to be repeated (such as floor tiles) have parts where the repetition is broken, like how some tiles are more dirty or broken. This small apartment looks like it has as many textures as DOOM has for the whole game.

 

Anyway, what's the best way to play this game now? Is there any modern source port where it might work at higher resolutions/frame rates?

[Azuris]

Looks pretty good the Screenshot, is it an first Person Adventure?

 

I am at work, but will check it out later.

 

As it seems to be a Dos Game, Dosbox will be your Go to Program.

You can try Losless Scaling with it, it often brings nice Results by scaling up old Games, they do look smother and not so blocky, as with the generic Scaling.

 

Edit: Searching for it, i have seen the Cover as Advetisment in some Magazines back then, but it is telling you nothing about the Game.

No wonder it is forgotten.

 

Edit2:

https://www.gog.com/de/game/normality

 

Edited July 20, 2023 by Azuris

[Redneckerz]

Engine was also used for Realms of the Haunting.

[TasAcri]

Yeah, it's a first person adventure. You can freely move around like any FPS though, it's not just point & click with static cameras.

 

I already played it a bit in DosBox but was wondering if there are other ways to play it with improvements and more modern controls (AFAIK, there are no strafe buttons).

[Kinsie]

There are no source ports or reversal projects for Gremlin's FPS/adventure engine outside of like, the usual asset-dumping stuff.

[SiFi270]

Does anyone else think the main character could somehow be a teenaged Postal Dude?

[lazygecko]

I played the demo of this in the 90s. For some reason the publisher decided that the original UK-recorded voice acting was not good enough for the American market, so there are 2 completely different English dubs of this game. Corey Feldman voiced the protagonist for the American dub, and he actually hopped in and made a surprise appearance in a twitch stream chat for this game once he found out it was happening.

[Azuris]

For everyone interested, the Game is on Sale on Gog for 49 Cents, guess it seem affordable

[cybdmn]

On 7/20/2023 at 3:05 PM, Redneckerz said:

Engine was also used for Realms of the Haunting.

 

Sadly i never finished RotH, but i will some day. Great game.