Statement by author Nacho Rodríguez / Declaración del autor

[Nacho Rodríguez]

(versión en castellano más abajo)

Hello everyone. I am Nacho Rodríguez, author and animator of The Many Pieces of Mr Coo. On the 7th of September, the video game was released without my approval.

I have been working on this game since 2012, full-time since 2018. My goal was to create a unique experience for the player, of the highest quality.
Tens of thousands of frames of animation, drawn by hand, hundreds of hours spent structuring the sequences to create a fascinating gaming experience. This has been recognised with international awards and nominations, even before the game was finished.

To complete the production, I partnered with Gammera Nest in 2018, so that they would be in charge of the port to consoles and PC, while I would take care of the art and give precise instructions to the team.

My animation and art work was completed in 2020, and the instructions have been available since then. But Gammera's programming got messier and messier. Eventually, they began to cut me out of the decision-making process, while continuing to promise that they would deliver on their end.
At this point, I can't tell you much about the inner workings. I'll just say that I waited patiently because I was told that "we both had the common goal of releasing the game with the desired quality". When it became clear that it was too late, I asked for the release to be cancelled or at least postponed, but it was released in a bad state anyway.

Now that the game has been released, numerous bug reports confirm that the promised quality was never achieved. Critics point out the technical flaws and give the game a low score, while praising the artistic part.
Players have encountered all kinds of bugs and poor gameplay, especially in the last third of the game. Although it can be played from start to finish, and the experience sometimes reaches the desired quality, it eventually degenerates into something unpleasant and not very satisfying. We can see this in the reviews and in the gameplays on YouTube.

In addition to my work, there have been very creative people who have struggled to make a good game. Because of all these efforts, I would like to make it clear that the game that has been released is not faithful to the instructions given, nor is it the experience that was designed for the player. It makes me sad, because I had hoped to finally be able to share the fruits of so many years of work.

I will continue to fight for the quality of the game, as I have done for more than a decade.
I urge you to inform Gammera Nest of any bugs you find in the game, so they can fix them. And I ask Gammera to include all the content that has been left out.

We await a response from Gammera Nest. Perhaps they will decide to do the right thing and honour the commitment they made when they started the project to port my work. Or perhaps, on the contrary, they'll do the bare minimum and deprive players of a complete and quality experience.

At the same time, I would like to express my gratitude for the generosity and expressions of appreciation from so many players and friends who have been able to look beyond the technical problems and still manage to enjoy the game.
I'm sorry I can't yet offer you the work that Mr Coo should have been.

Thanks for listening,
Nacho

[Nacho Rodríguez]

Hola, amigos. Soy Nacho Rodríguez, autor y animador de The Many Pieces of Mr Coo. El día 7 de Septiembre se ha lanzado a la venta el videojuego sin mi aprobación.

Llevo trabajando en este juego desde 2012, a tiempo completo desde 2018.
Mi objetivo era crear una experiencia única y de calidad para el jugador.

Decenas de miles de fotogramas de animación, dibujados a mano, cientos de horas dedicadas a estructurar las secuencias para que creasen una experiencia de juego fascinante. Esto se ha visto reconocido con premios y nominaciones internacionales que ha conseguido el juego aún antes de estar completo.

Para terminar la producción, llegué a un acuerdo con Gammera Nest en 2018, de manera que ellos se encargarían del port a consolas y PC, y yo me encargaría del arte y de dar instrucciones precisas al equipo.

Mi trabajo de animación y arte quedó concluido en 2020, las instrucciones también las tuvieron desde entonces. Pero la programación de Gammera se enredaba y se enredaba; a partir de cierto punto se me empezó a apartar de la toma de decisiones, mientras seguían prometiendo que cumplirían con su parte del trabajo.

De momento no puedo deciros mucho sobre toda la parte interna, sólo que esperé pacientemente porque me decían que “ambos teníamos el objetivo común de sacar el juego con la calidad deseada”. Cuando se vio que ya era demasiado tarde pedí que se detuviera el lanzamiento o, al menos, se pospusiera, pero salió a la venta en este estado.

Ahora que el juego se ha lanzado, los múltiples reportes de bugs constatan que la calidad prometida nunca llegó. La crítica señala los defectos técnicos y le dan mala nota a ese nivel, mientras alaban el apartado artístico.

Los jugadores se han encontrado con una jugabilidad deficiente en el último tercio del juego. Si bien se puede jugar de principio a fin, en una experiencia que por momentos alcanza la calidad deseada, luego va degenerando en algo incómodo y no muy satisfactorio. Lo podemos ver en la crítica y en los gameplays de YouTube.

Aparte de mi trabajo, ha habido gente muy creativa que ha luchado por hacer un buen juego. Es por todo este esfuerzo que quiero dejar claro que el juego que ha salido a la venta no es fiel a las instrucciones dadas, ni es la experiencia que estaba planeada para el jugador.

Me da pena porque esperaba poder compartir estos días los frutos del trabajo de tantos años.

Voy a seguir luchando por la calidad del juego, como llevo haciendo desde hace más de una década.
Hago un llamamiento a informar a Gammera Nest de todos los errores que encontréis en el juego para que los reparen. Y les pido que incluyan todo el contenido que falta en el juego.

Estamos a la espera de la respuesta de Gammera Nest. Quizás se decidan a hacer lo correcto y cumplir con el compromiso que asumieron al embarcarse en el proyecto de portear mi obra. O quizás, por el contrario, hagan el mínimo esfuerzo, privando a los jugadores de una experiencia completa y de calidad.

A la vez, quiero expresar mi agradecimiento por la generosidad y las muestras de aprecio de tantos jugadores y amigos, que han podido ver más allá de los problemas técnicos, y que consiguen disfrutar del juego a pesar de todo.
Siento no poder ofreceros aún la obra que Mr Coo debería haber sido.

Gracias por vuestra escucha.
Nacho

[BlackMetal101]

Me parece un juegazo, de los que jugaba al estilo de drangon's lair en mi amiga 500 pero mejor, visualmente es obra de arte. Siento que dicha empresa sólo se mueva por el dinero y no cumpla su parte. Muchos ánimos Nacho y felicidades por diseñar y dibujar esta obra de arte para los demás.

[mit]

Sad to hear it. I know how hard it can be to see the project of your life in this state. I hope you and the publisher could find a proper solution for this. Because I really liked Mr. Coo, and wish to see future games about him. Good luck.

[Nanotechnician]

menudos hijs de pta ¿no? ánimo compañero...

[d34dn00b]

Thank you for sharing this. I hope your intentions for this game are fulfilled. It is an incredible work of art and I wish as much care was given to the gameplay as was given to the animation, music & sound.

[Zenksren]

Having just platinumed the game on PS5 I will say I didn't any encounter any serious bugs. Hearing that the publisher screwed you though and that there's cut content is absolutely gutting, I'm so sorry.

[alex GG]

Originally posted by Nacho Rodriguez:

I urge you to inform Gammera Nest of any bugs you find in the game, so they can fix them. And I ask Gammera to include all the content that has been left out.

Huh, I was wondering why this was so short.

[Meepist]

Originally posted by Nacho Rodríguez:

And I ask Gammera to include all the content that has been left out.

Hope to see those content get added in soon! I love your game! Shame that they did you dirty like that.

[august]

Bump. Your game is good. I hope you'll get what you deserve.

[ranst]

It is such a shame to discover a thread like this on a game like that... The few time that we are happy to find a gem, we have to find out that they butchered the game. I confirm there was multiple problems and bugs, that turn a little bit down the experience for me, although the experience was really positive for the rest.

I hope you can get a fair retribution for your work. In any case, I am not worried for you, as you are very taltented : this game is already cult. Such a 90's vibe with very unic art. I am you can find a better publisher. I will be glad to support you on your next project.

[Titus]

Sin dudas el apartado artístico del juego es sobresaliente. El gameplay, aceptable. Ánimos y espero que algún día podamos ver la segunda parte de este juego en los estándares de calidad que esperás. Un abrazo grande.

[henosp]

Its hard to find even a decent point and click nowerdays especially hand drawn ones,despite releasing a substandard copy of your game ive really enjoyed playing it and apart from the trouble when you play as head and legs ive not met any bugs,my only problem is the save system,as i have rsi and arthritis i can only play in short sessions and it got really annoying having to replay same bits over and over again,lets hope you get what you deserve for one of the best point and click games ive played for ages and look forwards to your next game,well done mate.

[Negakinu]

Hey Nacho! I feel your frustration. Any updates on the possible improvements of this game? Will it ever live up to your vision, or is it abandoned?

[Phantasmagorian]

Sorry to hear. I came to the forum to say that the creativity of it is absolutely phenomenal, though. Fantastic work!