Tajemnica Statuetki

-themed finale.|left Tajemnica Statuetki is shown from a first-person perspective. It is a point-and-click adventure game that consists of a series of photographic images, although most information is communicated with text. The game is divided into three chapters, each of which takes place in a different location. The menu offers six different actions, equipment, and a map. The player uses the action commands in a manner similar to LucasArts adventures. The player completes actions by clicking a command button then either an inventory item or a part of the room screen. Often, progression through the game requires the player to locate objects the size of a single pixel on the monitor; this is known as pixel hunting. The game's puzzles call on the player's knowledge of varying fields, such as cocktail recipes; the player is, for example, tasked with ordering a drink of the correct composition for a tourist. == Plot ==

When religious artifacts from around the world, often with insignificant market value, start to disappear, Interpol realises it is not the work of a dishonest collector. Clues lead suspicion to fall upon commando and former CIA agent Joachim Wadner, who appears unhelpful but intelligent. To catch the thief, Interpol chooses their best trainee, protagonist and playable character John Pollack, a young American of Polish descent. Pollack has unlimited funds at his disposal, complete a Rubik's Cube in under three minutes, and can kill with his bare hands. He takes his gadget briefcase, boards a submarine, and sails to the Pacific Ocean. Pollack follows Wadner to San Ambrosio, an island off the coast of Chile. He completes a reconnaissance mission at a cafe by working there for weeks to complete trained movements like placing a napkin on a counter. During this time, the cafe changes ownership but there is no progress on the case. Pollack interrogates a bartender, who says Wadner has recently been there. Players can choose to mix a range of cocktails for Pollack. Wadner visits a beach and watches three young girls, none of whom pay any attention to him. At one point, the player is captured and tasked with escaping from a cell, a task that requires the splitting of doors, their frames and handles, the use of electricity to paralyse a guard, and to counteract throat dryness caused by drinking from a puddle. From this point on, the quest continues through cities and tourist centers, and the crime eventually takes on a satanic, occult feel. == Development ==

Tajemnica Statuetki was conceived by Adrian Chmielarz. Sometime during the 1990s, he figured out that the time was right for him to create the first Polish adventure game. The group realised they could service the untapped Polish software market, where many people had PCs but were unable to become immersed in adventure games because they did not understand English. He and his high school friends, Grzegorz Miechowski and Andrzej Michalak, collaborated on the game. Chmielarz took on a directing-scriptwriting role and set the creative tone. According to Miechowski, until March 1993, Chmielarz wrote sixteen hours daily for the game. Miechowski dealt with business stakeholders and marketing while Michalak applied physiognomy to the production. is often mistaken for the game's creator. This was atypical for the industry at the time, where it was the norm to see moving protagonists and diverse locations on the screen. The choice resulted in a game consisting entirely of photographic material, which had to be properly rendered so the game could fit onto no more than two floppy disks. to the point at which they would be willing to legally buy it. According to Antyweb, the game's development was successful despite a shoestring budget, noting Chmielarz' "initiative" of using "home-made methods" when he did not have access to multiple Elwro and IBM XT computers. During development, he was living in Wroclaw. Photographs in the game were taken at the Côte d'Azur, Saint Tropez, Monte Carlo, Nice and the abandoned Calvinist church and cemetery in Jędrzychowice, Strzelin. and mix of sensation, humour, and occultism according to Chmielarz. Secret Service agreed, saying the game visually resembles point-and-click adventure Countdown (1990) and interactive fiction adventure Amazon (1984) due to their similar menu systems and use of digitized images. One magazine reminded its readers not to make comparisons between the game and the latest titles from adventure gaming giants like Sierra On-Line, LucasArts, Infogrames, and Delphine, due to the "tremendous" gaps in "experience, financial and technological resources, infrastructure, and legal protection" that would gradually close. == Release ==

Development of Tajemnica Statuetki was finished by February 12, 1993; at a price of 231,000 Polish zlotys. it became one of the first Polish video game companies after contemporaries such as Computer Adventure, Studio, and X-Land. Each box contained two HD floppy disks with the program and extra material. Metropolis Software posted advertisements throughout industry magazines. The team also advertised in the press. Geezmo thought the game's commercial success was largely due to a "deliberate, well-thought-out media campaign" that included the sale of CDs attached to a popular magazine. Sales of the game exceeded the estimates of IPS and the creators' expectations. The market was also still dominated by rampant piracy. and in which The Software Protection Act was coming into effect in 1994, players were not used to paying high amounts for original games. Polish developers had become accustomed to players pirating their games and continued to spend months on titles despite little return. According to Chmielarz, the main reason for this cultural landscape was the commodity exchange he himself came from; he was very critical about pirates, particularly those who had tried to hack his game. Despite being frequently pirated, a sizable number of units were sold legally. SS-NG (Secret Service - Next Generation) puts Tajemnica Statuetki success in a piracy-prone market to it being reasonably cheap and comparable in quality to English-language adventure games. == Reception ==

Writing and plot Tajemnica Statuetki's plot and writing were highly praised; according to Video Games Around the World, its overall positive reception was mostly due to the strength of its script. Gry Online praised the "greatly realized scenario" that held up the narrative and MiastoGier said the game's engaging story outweighs its negatives. According to Orange, players appreciated the intriguing scenario and attention to detail and the game would attract new fans as of 2014. According to Dawno temu w grach, the game did not delight but its strength was the execution of its well-constructed and -written scenario, which hold the player in suspense until the end. Bastion Magazynów wrote despite its status as the only Polish-language adventure game, its only draw was its well-constructed plot. According to Geezmo, the "well-thought-out and moderately addictive storyline" was considered atypical at the time and both a curiosity and a novelty. Neskazmlekiem said the convoluted description of escaping from the cell, including the passage "spit so long until it dries in your throat", justified the description of Chimielarz as "the greatest Polish sadist in the gaming market". While noting its lack of a complicated plot and well-constructed characters, Polskie Gry Wideo wrote that the game offers hours of entertainment. While noting that the interesting, occult-inspired plot was well received, even outside Poland, the reviewer at Gameplay questioned the point of the titular statuette in the story. SS-NG wrote that the game has a great atmosphere. Gambler wrote that the game was a "very successful program" that was somewhat modelled on Sierra's Quest series. Gry.impo said the game was twisted, commenting that it burst with atmosphere and cult-oriented puzzles. Gameplay Tajemnica Statuetki's gameplay had a mixed reception from reviewers. Gry Online opined the game is demanding and requires players to have patience and an open mind to find absurd solutions to puzzles. Polskie Gry Wideo noted the game's "undeveloped game design and numerous unintuitive solutions." MiastoGier wrote that the game had impressive graphics despite its simple design. According to Radio Szczecin, by 2014 standards, the game is "unkempt" due to its static photographs, lack of animation and music, and expository subtitles, all of which might "scare off the younger players". It noted, however, that older players should play the game to remind them of what adventure games used to be like. SS-NG said the game's audiovisual content would have seemed lacking compared to Western games even at the time of release, particularly its sound effects and use of digitised photographs. Describing the game as a "strong textbook with pretty images", Secret Service expressed disappointment that it did not include music in the introduction or a line-by-line voiceover. Secret Service wrote that they wished the game's creators had made a version that would be compatible with inferior graphics cards. Polishness Video Games Around the World wrote that reviewers were willing to overlook the shortcomings of Tajemnica Statuetki as it was the first Polish adventure for the PC. While Tajemnica Statuetki was unable to compete with Sierra or LucasArts products, SS-NG said it was quite good by Polish standards of the time, writing that the best aspect of the title is that "above all, it was Polish". Despite writing that in the modern age it is difficult to understand how such an average product could have been praised one day, Gameplay wrote that playing Tajemnica Statuetki was worthwhile to see what the "global hit of Polish production" once looked like. Polskie Gry Wideo said arguably the most important thing about the game was that information is provided in Polish, deeming it "revolutionary". Radio Szczecin also said the title is unforgettable due to its cultural relevance, in the sense that a game with Polish artists and subtitles made a dent on the world stage. == Legacy ==

Tajemnica Statuetki was followed by the critically acclaimed point-and-click adventure Teenagent (1995), PB.pl said this slogan "grabbed" the public. The Prince and the Coward completed the trilogy of adventure games that Chmielarz started his game designer career with. Bajty Polskie noted that even in 2015, players still anticipated a sequel to the game, with a story in which Pollack goes on holiday with a friend to a Polish castle near Masurian Lake and an ambulance takes away his friend. A personal conflict between Chmielarz and Miechowski led to the former leaving the company around 2002 to form People Can Fly. Metropolis Software was acquired by CD Projekt in 2008 as a subsidiary and became defunct the following year. Miechowski later founded 11 Bit Studios. Metropolis kept the rights to Tajemnica Statuetki; these became the property of CD Projekt when they bought the company and they may still own them. The use of holiday photographs as part of the game's visual language partly inspired People Can Fly developer Wojciech Pazdur to use photogrammetry to help build levels for the first-person shooter Painkiller. The 2004 adventure game ''Ramon's Spell, according to SS-NG, was modeled on this game. Tajemnica Statuetki'' was Metropolis' first use of special service agents, a trope that would reappear in many of their later games including 2007's Infernal. said his 2014 game The Vanishing of Ethan Carter saw him return to his adventure gaming roots of the Tajemnica Statuetki era, while Gamezilla said the latter title would not have existed without the former. Adam Juszczak's text Polski Rynek Gier Wideo – Sytuacja Obecna Oraz Perspektywy Na Przyszłość noted the "breakthrough" nature of Tajemnica Statuetki in a wider context; the Polish gaming market had been delayed because of the socialist system and the lack of widespread access to computers and consoles; as a result it had only begun to develop in the 1980s. The first Polish computer magazine, Bajtek, was launched in 1985. Around this time, the first Polish games also began to emerge, placing Tajemnica Statuetki in the history of Polish entertainment. Chmielarz's game had a wide impact on the domestic market. It stood out significantly against the background of similar adventure games from Mirage, LK Avalon, and ASF, and it was difficult to confuse it with other titles. The game "allowed Metropolis Software" to "gain recognition in the Polish PC world of adventure games admirers". In addition, Onet said the game revolutionised game development in the country and that "for years it marked the direction of the industry". While Tajemnica Statuetki is virtually unheard of in the Western world, SS-NG said the unprofitability in the industry due to piracy necessitated a leap of faith on Chmielarz's part. , Chmielarz is considered a "living legend" in the Polish video gaming industry In 2014, Orange listed the game as the sixth best Polish game of the 1990s. Logo 24 listed Tajemnica Statuetki as one of the "Top 10 ... most important Polish games", deeming Chmielarz "probably the most known and respected Polish game developer". Chmielarz had previously spoken about it on a 2013 panel with other early Polish game developers. The game can be legally played at GOG.com. == Notes ==