Mind's Eye Big V 1.4 Valentine's Day Update!

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

The game that took almost a month longer than I had planned is now ready to play!  Too late for Halloween but in time for Thanksgiving .

Again, please do not ask for hints in this thread, and if you have some nice feedback why not drop a comment on the games page?


And please READ the readme file, that's what it's there for folks!


V 1.2a includes the ability to skip the two portrait cutscenes in the game.  The scenes with action cannot (and will not) be able to be skipped.

v1.2b fixes a bug I thought I had fixed with the delirium scenes (I hope).  Now they should have dialog.  Read the readme for details.

Also, for those who requested it-

It also adds the ability to disable the gui at the bottom of the screen using F1!
This lets you walk to the bottom of the screen with no problem.  You can turn off/on the inventory with tab when mouseover is disabled.  To re-enable it just press F1 again.

New in Version 1.4!!!

Drastically altered the gui!  It is now less obtrusive since you rarely have more than
2 inventory items at a time.  The button to the left of the inventory window opens the save
screen and the button to the right opens the quit screen.  The inventory slider was removed.

Help menu redesigned for the new gui

Manually edited the font to increase readability!

Disabled the F1 key as it is no longer needed.

This should resolve many of the minor issues people have had with the interface.

Additional changes:

The gurney sequence is now somewhat easier.

The icon is now 8-bit! (thanks CJ)

The menu now has the readme listed.


The improved Mind's Eye font.


The new gui!


Happy Valentine's Day!

http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/games.php?action=detail&id=646

[marlamoe]

Yeah!!!  Downloading now!

[AlbinoPanther]

We were waiting for this one downloading....

[Fisher]

I'm really embarrassed to have to post this; however, here it goes. I downloaded and opened the 'set up' but apparently it's not an automatic set up. I have a specific folder that I place these games in; however, it won't let me do that. I've played MOST of the games created and this is the first time I've rcvd. an install that doesn't do it automatically.

Can someone help?

[Fisher]

Lord have mercy..... I'm an idiot-----disregard above post!

[sergiocornaga]

I found a bug:

Spoiler

When you use the think cursor on the door after being tied down and drugged, Noah moves towards it and leaves.

[close]

[i k a r i]

 
Great..I'll edit and post my comments ...
I was waiting for this one too, it was...intriguing..

EDIT: I liked the characters design a lot, the music is also great, I'm already stuck, but I'm gonna keep trying to acces

Spoiler

Dr. Mitchel's office

[close]

...don't give me any hints..

[cittymom]

I am very anxious to keep playing but I am having some problems here.  The game has crashed three times in same area.   Maybe I am attempting to do something wrong. 

Spoiler

It has crashed when trying to work my way to the book on the sink.  Am I supposed to be doing something else first?

[close]

Another thing, my F5 is not bringing up a save screen. 

[Gilbert]

File not found while downloading.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Sergio-  I've corrected it and uploaded a new version.  Thanks!

If you were having download problems that is the reason.

cittymom- not sure what sort of problem you're having.  You're the only person out of 12 or more that have had a crash, so I need more specifics on what you're doing to cause the crash.  Movement itself (as you described) should be no problem and it sounds like you are on the right track.

[cittymom]

ProgZmax,

Spoiler

I was moving the bed with the "walk" icon..... tried to get close to sink.....this is where it crashed... now for the 4th time

[close]

Don't know if you saw my above edit,  but F5 will not bring up a save screen..... so I have had to start from beginning each time.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

PLEASE read the readme file for games

From the readme:

"F5 opens the Save gui ONLY at the title screen.  After that you will need to use the button on the top left of the inventory gui."

Pressing F12 will also have showed you this, that's the whole reason I put an interactive help menu in the game .

As for the crashing, I've gone over that sequence several (read 30 or more) times without a crash.  I also loaded it up and tried it again, cycling through the icons and generally clicking on everything and it didn't crash.  If I can't replicate it I can't fix it .

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

I've corrected it and uploaded a new version.  Thanks!

So if I downloaded your game before anyone even replied to this thread, I have to re-download? Only asking because the threadname was already v1.2 by then...

[Erenan]

Finished!

Spoiler

Are there only two endings? Or is there something I'm supposed to do with that dinner/dinner pan?

[close]

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Rui-  the initial v 1.2 is fully playable without crashes.  The fixes since then are to correct minor bugs, but redownload it if you want.  The latest version is also using 2.71 rc 3 rather than rc 1.

Erenan:

Spoiler

there are 2 endings.  I had originally planned to make them interactive but the feedback from the testers indicated it wasn't necessary.  The bowl is useless.  Hope the game wasn't too easy.

[close]

[Erenan]

I voted and left a comment on the games page. I voted very highly for the game, as I think it deserves such, and I hope I came across as positive in my comments, because I really, really liked the game a lot.

[ggp]

Anyone whos completed the game, or maybe the author want to give a little help in the hints and tips please ?!

[bury]

Ok, I'm about to play the game and I'm sure it's going to be great. When I play it I'll give you my thoughts but just one remark before I jack in- for your future games, please try to obtain some originality in your games, why not just call the game Sanitarium Deluxe?

[indy100]

Great game, superb graphics, nice gui and a really unique feel to it. The grim atmosphere of madness and insanity really made me go on till the very end. A true masterpiece of AGS games.

[Husky]

Ok,i got stuck:

Spoiler

When in Knox's office I don't know what to do, I try to break the password until it gives me an error, please give me some hint.

[close]

[Venus]

Husky:

Again, please do not ask for hints in this thread

instead, go to Hints and Tips (there already is a thread for this game). That's what it is there for...


ProgZ:
Really great game. Very enjoyable and highly recommendable.

But I think I found bug:

Spoiler

In this canteen thingy, Noah/Mitchell can walk on the table where the woman and the Einstein guy play cards. Looks a little bit weird and irritating, but imo it's nothing that keeps you from enjoying the game.

[close]

Even though I already voted for it and gave it the highest possible votes, I have one tiny little crit: after dying several times in the corridor, I really cursed the cut-scene which I couldn't skip and therefore had to watch it over and over again.
Apart from that, one of the best games I've played in a long time.
I especially liked

Spoiler

the ending where Noah finds out that he in fact is Mitchell. Never would have thought about that and it totally caught me by surprise, but I loved it as it seemed so obvious afterwards.

[close]

BTW: I had some unusual crashes as well while playing the game. Everything went black and then my computer just rebooted. Never occured at the same spot twice and I wasn't able to recreate them. Don't have this problem with other games or programs, but it happened 4 times during Mind's Eye. Strange...

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Erenan- I appreciate and agree with your comments entirely.  I wanted to make the game much grander in scope but I'm only one guy.  It' s alot like Grundislav and the Ben Jordan games, he does almost all the work so the scope of each adventure is kept modest (but not unenjoyable).

ggp- I'm not fond of dropping hints for games.  I mean the whole idea of a graphic adventure game is to get in there and solve a few puzzles, and I 'hope' the ones I selected were fairly logical.  At any rate, I'm sure someone (possibly Erenan) can help you in the hints and tips area!

bury- you haven't EVEN played the game yet and you're accusing me of a lack of originality?  Go away.

indy100- thanks for the feedback, indy100!  If you'd duplicate that sentiment for the games page I'd be grateful.

Husky- please don't ask for hints here . 

Venus- Thanks alot!  I appreciate all bug reports and I'll look into that one as well, though with all the walkable zones in there it'll probably take some doing .  As for the crashes, I THINK this may be related to an RC 1 bug SSH brought to my attention.  I have since updated to RC 3 and it's up there waiting (hopefully this fixes cittymom's problem as well).  Glad you enjoyed the game!


I'd like to add that I uploaded a new release late last night with bugfixes for problems SergioCornaga and Erenan brought to my attention.  Thanks again!

[wendy]

Hi.  I'm not sure if this is a bug or not, but

Spoiler

I have the lithium and I'm trying to give it to Burke and Hare, but the game won't let me.  Am I doing something wrong?  Also, am I supposed to be able to open the bathrooms?

[close]

[Venus]

Even though I'm not the creator of this brilliant game (unfortuantely   ), I'm pretty sure that these aren't bugs. You're simply stuck  .

Spoiler

I also tried to give the lithium to Burke and Hare several times. Maybe a little message that this action doesn't work would have been nice...

[close]

Anyway, go to Hints and Tips, wendy, and I'm sure someone's gonna help you.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Venus & Wendy...

Well...

Spoiler

if you read what Burke and Hare say initially about their drug supply they talk very POORLY of Lithium, claiming it turns people into veggies.  That's definitely not something they want

[close]

[ManicMatt]

I've given you comments on your game page!

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Thanks ManicMatt, glad you enjoyed it!  I realize the font took a bit to get used to, but it was by far the NICEST looking font in lo res I've ever found.  In hi - res it's much easier to see (and you can actually play this in 640x480 if your cpu can handle the added drain).  As for the gui I realize it can be a pain at times, though I made the regions when the walkable area was the bottom of the screen quite large to try and compensate.  I definitely will go with something new in the future though, perhaps a small on screen button you can press to make the gui show up.

[bury]

Progz- geez, easy there pal. It was more of a joke- look at your description on the games page- now if you played Sanitarium you know what I mean. And if you never saw it or heard about it, well congrats for wondrous invention. Now that I've played the game I can easily say that it is a very intriguing and interesting game. The gui is very inventive and the whole game has an exlcusive feel to it. Really, the game is something I've been planning to do for a long time now. The grim, schizophremical atmosphere and the edge of sanity and madness really kept me playing on till the very end. The graphics,scripts and the whole technical side is a masterpiece by all means but it's not them that really caught my attention, it was the psychological theme and constant uncertainity. So two thumbs up but really it was VERY simillar to Sanitarium and if you didn't have the chance to play it, please do, it might actually inspire you to make another game and I really encourage you to do so.

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

I'd like to add that I uploaded a new release late last night with bugfixes for problems SergioCornaga and Erenan brought to my attention.  Thanks again!

Heh. Maybe you should change the version number and the title's thread when you do, it can get really confusing.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

The changes were cosmetic and I didn't think warranted a version update.

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

Fair enough... and what about patching the cosmetic changes and releasing the patch until they accumulate enough to warrant a new version? 12mbs to download every time is a bit steep. :'( I'm getting close to my monthly download limit, too, after which I'll have to pay extra.

EDIT - Okay, now I'm actually playing it. First off, and I have to say this right away, the game seems to be much to dark - especially the first deliruim sequence (the only one I've encountered yet, I'm pretty much in the beggining), I could hardly make anything out.

But I'm loving it. It positively drips with atmosphere, and everything, from the little details of the backrgound to the characters themselves, is simply gripping.

EDIT 2 - And now ran into the "corridor issue" which Venus already mentioned (and to which you didn't reply)... not being able to skip that cutscene is a major turn-off for me as a player, honest - since I don't know how to solve the puzzle, I'll need to trial-and-error it a bit until I understand how it works, but if every false step's result is a lengthy cutscene I already know and can't skip... major turn off, in fact it also turned me away from other games ("remote robot" scene in Still Life, anyone?). Could you please look into that?

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Rui- While I emphathize with your dislike for viewing cutscenes over and over, that is the only event in the game where that situation occurs.  I am MORE than happy to fix any bugs in gameplay to improve it, but due to the way I created the cutscene function I just can't have it skip without a severe re-tooling of the code- and I hope you'll understand when I say I'm kind of sick of looking at the code for Mind's Eye after two months of constant effort . 

Grin and bear it for the sake of the greater good- and my sanity!!

In other news, I'm hoping the most recent build has fixed all the gameplay important bugs so I can relax awhile .  The new version ONLY fixes the issue Venus noticed with standing on tables in the rec room, so there's no need to redownload it unless you don't like tabledancing.  And thanks to Dave Gilbert for hosting the mirror!

Now I must rest...

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

Heh, kay. One more thing...

Spoiler

When I go into the room where the diary was for the second time, and so find out it's not there anymore (there's even a small delirium period), and then access the "memories"... I find out I remember stuff that's written in the diary I haven't read yet. Bug or on purpose?

[close]

[Mortadelo]

Simply great... I'm enjoying this game a lot: Excellent graphics, nice story, original interface... Keep making games like these, please 

[adam100]

Well great game though I expected a deeper and longer ending. But it was a masterpiece in it's own kind, the whole game and the atmosphere was remarkable. And I really marvel at your talend , for not often do you see someone who does the game practiacally on his own and yet it's of commercial quality. The graphics were great, I sure wish I were so versatile.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Rui-

Spoiler

Noah's memories are based on certain 'key' events you see and think about...Take the two medical charts over the sink for instance, or Dr. Fuch's wall plaque.  Each one sparks a memory or makes Noah think that something strange is going on.  As for the diary, when Noah initially read it (before passing out) Knox mentioned administering a drug to counterract what's wrong with Noah.  That's what Noah is thinking about in his memory.  Also, I'm secretly trying to get skipping cutscenes to work, but don't tell anyone! ;o.

[close]

Mortadelo- I'm very glad you are enjoying the game.  Though working for hours at a time just on the backgrounds really tasked my resolve, I'm glad it's been worth it.

adam100- I've mentioned before that my original plan for the game had a much greater scope, and I agree it could be longer.  I certainly WANTED to make it longer, but I'm only one person and I just felt drained by the 24th background!  Glad you enjoyed it at any rate, and please leave some feedback here about what you liked/disliked!

http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/games.php?action=detail&id=646

[Mordalles]

great game, progzmax. i LOVE the graphics and the animation, although, i really dont like the gameplay and gui. its kinda distracting me from the story and getting immersed into the game.  everything seems a bit slow and i feel like the game is controlling me, rather me controlling the game. 
i know a few have mentioned this, but that cutscene u cant skip is not cool.
its just too slow, and it makes me not wanna play it anymore. im currently stuck there, but ill try finish it anyway. (after looking at hints and tips, since im not going the trial and error route  , i have other things to do.)

good work.

[ManicMatt]

Curious, although I was annoyed by not being able to skip that cutscene, it WAS quicker to Alt-X it and just reload. Couldn't you just re-enable the load function at that point somehow?

But the puzzle on that corridor didn't stump me at all, I only had to sit through the cutscene twice, once when I didn't understand how to solve it, and the second time I was intruded by the pop up inv and it made me click like mad and get caught. I could understand why they are being confused though...

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Mordalles and ManicMatt...

See my spoiler post to Rui above .

[scourge]

prog, the game has some excellent graphics and animation! Nice.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Thanks buloght.


Notice:  I've updated Mind's Eye to version 1.2a after going through it one more time and checking for problems.  I have also added support to skip the two portrait cutscenes with the Escape key, so no more whining! .

You can get this new and hopefully final version at the FIRST link on the games page.  The mirror has the previous version until I can get Dave to update it.

Edit: Dave uploaded the new version to his mirror so either one will work now.  Thanks Dave!

[Hammerite]

great game, I could swear I read that there were multiple endings.
Any thoughts of a sequel?

[seaduck]

This game looks promising!

But one thing that is completely out of place and spoiling it is

Spoiler

the bed&sink&diary "puzzle". Do you think it's fun clicking 1000 times before I get to the sink? Do you think it is good for training my brains? Actually after 30 minutes of insane clicking I gave up. My poor little mouse!
-

[close]

This would be definitely one from my (hypothetical) top 10 list of things that should never appear in an adventure game. It's not a fair puzzle. I won't be caught playing Mind's Eye unless you remove this.

[ManicMatt]

There are two endings.

[Privateer Puddin']

Spoiler

the bed&sink&diary "puzzle". Do you think it's fun clicking 1000 times before I get to the sink? Do you think it is good for training my brains? Actually after 30 minutes of insane clicking I gave up. My poor little mouse!
-

[close]

Spoiler

It's not just simply clicking, you kinda grasp a sequence or timing that allows you to make the biggest movements

[close]

[lakerz]

This was a very engrossing game Shane!  It's a shame you didn't have the time/resources to make it the full fledged adventure you had originally planned.  My one complaint is that I wish you had implemented the popup inventory box to be at the top of the screen instead of the bottom.  I can't tell you how many times it prevented me from moving down into the next room.    Anyways, great great job!

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Thanks lakerz.  The problem with having it at the top is it would have conflicted with the mind's eye meter and background dialog, so there wasn't much choice in that situation.  As I mentioned before, in the future I'll probably use a button you click to bring it up.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Check the top post for bug fix details!

[big brother]

Well I was hoping to finish the game before posting this, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen in the near future.Ã, 

I beat all the way to Knox's office and here are my impressions:
(Possible spoilers here, I dunno)

(Listed in no particular order)

- I loved the Mind's Eye concept, of the player character trying to reach a level of awareness. It would be nice if you reward the player for exploring the game world more, like you gain awareness by observing the surroundings, but getting drugged causes you to lose the awareness, although that might need to happen to give your character insight. As a result, the meter would fluctuate.

- Overall the art and atmosphere is a mixed bag. The backgrounds are monotonous, and everything interface related seems cramped. The scroll bar on the right side of the inventory is superfluous, as there are relatively few items Noah will pick up. There were times when I literally could barely see the graphics because the color values were so muddy. Even the design elements of the title needed work (the semi realistic CBS "eye" logo with the rough pixel spray glow that washes out the crunched together letters).

- The portraits are about the same size as the sprite's heads, so they seem pointless. The top part of the screen is mostly empty space in the backgrounds, so I don't see why the portraits/titles can't be bigger.

- The music and sound, while decent, seem underused, especially to convey the horror type atmosphere. Try watching "The Ring" (or something like that) on mute and you'll see what a big difference the audio makes.

- Hotspot titles would be nice, especially when you're strapped to the cart. The book is almost indistinguishable from the sink. (black pixels vs. dark gray). It would be nice if every attempted action elicited a response. Also, the "think" action is used to open doors???

- The "rocking the cart puzzle by clicking with a certain timing or rhythm" was bogus. There's no hint about timing the clicks, so I just solved it by clicking 5 million times. Annoying. Sure I could probably solve it faster if I took the extra time to learn how it was supposed to work, but there's no incentive for the player to do that.

- All dialogue "cutscenes" need to be skip-able.

- I liked the sneaking puzzle with the flickering lights (although it's unlikely, not being seen when directly across the hall when the lights are on), but the trial and error aspect of it sucked. When you use the mind on the orderly with the glasses it says something about how his vision is blocked by the guy he's talking to. I should be able to cross the hall to the side they're on without being seen (line of vision), but that wasn't the case at all. If a puzzle is meant to be solved through trial and error (learning the pattern of the lights), punishing the player with death for getting it wrong is annoying.

- You can enter the second security office, but not the first one. Even when the first one is unoccupied.

- You can talk to the cells on Ward 4, but not to any of the other wards. Also, Ward 4 cells don't have names (they're not even hotspots).

- There is some annoying limited interactivity. You can't take the deck of cards, or search the lab coat in Mitchell's office, or even open the microfridge. When the two guys in the break room said they wanted something to go with the cigarettes, I immediately thought "coffee". I think that was an unintentionally misleading hint. I also couldn't search the microfridge (maybe something they would've wanted was in there). I felt some interactions were missing. Wouldn't the keys to the locked cabinets in the medical room be in the pocket of Knox's lab coat?

- Waking up as a prisoner is the most cliche device in a game. Or was that waking up with amnesia? Or having to drug someone's drink? Hmmm... It's also not very likely that the guard would pass out after taking lithium, especially not with coffee. Most likely he would really have to pee badly. And make him very dehydrated.

- The cutscene with Knox and the security in the end office breaks the narrative of the game up to that point. Before then, the player only knows what Noah knows. Now suddenly, the player knows more than him, since he couldn't have possibly witnessed that scene! It definitely detracts from the mysterious atmosphere. Also, after he ordered the windows to be shuttered, why was the one in his office left vulnerable?

EDIT: Before I forget, I also loved the way you could click on the opening eye in the inventory screen and it tells you what the player character knows about his situation. Brilliant! On the down side, the inventory screen interferes with the exit hotspots, just like in Apprentice. 

All in all, I think you have a good concept, but the execution was uninspiring.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

BB- Your 'assessment' and opinions come as no surprise to me-and I'll leave it at that.

[Helm]

Haven't played yet, but they sound like honest crits, which you can take or leave of course.

[ManicMatt]

I feel BB is nitpicking somewhat though... Although some of it can be used to improve future games.

And Helm, you really should play it!

[Nikolas]

Well if I was BB I would've PMed the creator not post it in here!

Not that BB did something wrong, but somehow I don't have in my mind that the complete Game Threads are here so we can all review the games... It is more as an announcement for me, and maybe some bugs...

Anyway my personal thoughts about the music is that it is amazing! Very usefull, as I love not having music everywhere forever (which will get me out of buisness but anyways...). Furthermore the atmosphere was great, but probably AGS was a bit problematic for this game.

Still it is in my top 10 games of 2005...

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

Nikolas, as far as I know this board has always been a place where the game itself can be discussed as well. It's the perfect place for reviews, and it's fair that everyone should know about his pet peeves. Everyone can still judge from themselves.

I actually agree with pretty much everything except the atmosphere. I would have preferred a longer story and more "interactive delirium" scenes - but, Prog had already warned that some things had to be cut back - , but as far as the atmosphere went, I found it quite engrossing. I think I said that before somewhere...

[strawberrypicker]

Hi, I just completed it (the latest version).

I liked the graphics. They were done in the style of the old adventure games I used to play when I was young and so brought back fond memories of stuff like King's Quest et al. The plot and 2 endings were also good, as was the setting (mental patient in a sanitarium).

However, something that frustrated me a bit was the "save/load" interface. I stopped for dinner earlier and when I restarted the game, I mistakenly pressed "save" at this interface instead of "load"!    And it actually did save over the file I wanted to load!  :'(  I had to start over from my previous save slot again...

Luckily it was a (very) short game. Good work though!

[nobbie]

In Dr. Knox's room you can walk behind the door you came in.

[SSH]

This game has some innovative ideas and I love the delerium state. However, I'd like to reiterate some of BB's points, because they are niggles I had too, and you might pay me a bit more attention... 

- Hotspot titles would be nice, especially when you're strapped to the cart. The book is almost indistinguishable from the sink. (black pixels vs. dark gray). It would be nice if every attempted action elicited a response. Also, the "think" action is used to open doors???

I agree. I found it very hard to find the book.

- The "rocking the cart puzzle by clicking with a certain timing or rhythm" was bogus. There's no hint about timing the clicks, so I just solved it by clicking 5 million times. Annoying. Sure I could probably solve it faster if I took the extra time to learn how it was supposed to work, but there's no incentive for the player to do that.

You were supposed to do it in a rhythm? Now someone tells me!

- All dialogue "cutscenes" need to be skip-able.

Oh yes

- I liked the sneaking puzzle with the flickering lights (although it's unlikely, not being seen when directly across the hall when the lights are on), but the trial and error aspect of it sucked. When you use the mind on the orderly with the glasses it says something about how his vision is blocked by the guy he's talking to. I should be able to cross the hall to the side they're on without being seen (line of vision), but that wasn't the case at all. If a puzzle is meant to be solved through trial and error (learning the pattern of the lights), punishing the player with death for getting it wrong is annoying.

My thoughts exactly. The line about the vision being blocked made me think I needed to cross the corridor and go in one of those doors on the other side.

[Hammerite]

Can someone PUH-LEEEEEEEEEZE post telloing me wot the two endings were (in spoiler tags o' course) coz I didnt know there were 2!!

[Chicky]

wait... you finished it? I completely missed it!

downloading now

[Bernie]

This is a good game overall. It may have a few minor issues, but they didn't really disturb me or keep me from playing through twice (to get the other ending). I'd love to see more games by you. Keep it up!

It also has been added to underdogs: http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?id=5317

[Monkeyman1138]

Seriously, how do you get the "best" ending?

Spoiler

I got the two missable hallucination sequences, examined and brained the chart in the examination room, injected the drug in Mitchell's office, making sure to examine the photo in the room, and then looking at and braining the photo in Knox's office to make the connection between the two, but my eye gauge is still only halfway full and I still get the same ending as before (the you are doctor mitchell ending)

[close]

Please help!

[HillBilly]

I thought that was the good ending.

Spoiler

Unless you get shot.

[close]

Also, hide spoilers with [ hide ] tags.

[Monkeyman1138]

Spoiler

Yes, I got shot. Also, you being Doctor Mitchell doesn't make any sense, as you are shown talking to him in one "madness" sequence, does the best ending explain this? In any case, what am I doing wrong about getting that ending?

[close]

[big brother]

You're trying too hard. Like that poprockmetal classic band, Papa Roach sings/says, "my weakness is that I care too much." So true, Papa, so true.

[Monkeyman1138]

Well that's great but it doesn't exactly help me, does it?

[JohnWWells]

If we want to send in comments and suggestions, should we post them here, or e-mail them to the author?

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

Feel free to post them here, that's one of the main purposes of this board.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Monkeyman- use the hints and tips thread if you have questions about what to do in the game, this is not the thread for it.  Thanks!

John- if you have some feedback you can private message me or leave a note here.

[Monkeyman1138]

Last time I asked in the hints thread, noone answered, so I thought asking here would be alright.

[Trisk]

Just completed Mind's Eye! I'll give you my full opinion of it (like you care...but hey.)

The good-

Graphics-
Great! Nice, clean, easy to see...The halls are antiseptic white and marble floors, the cell dark and depressing. Everything really looks fantastic. Easily up to the quality of games like Sam and Max. The font was a little hard to read at first, particularly the letter "f," but after that, it was a great look for the game. All the little touches of professionalism are here in spades.

Animation-
Smooth as butter! Of course, I expected this since you helped me with my game!  Noah really looks cool. All the facial expressions for the conversation closups are a great touch. The other inmates, and all the doctors and orderlies all look distinct and instantly recognizeable.

Music-
Nice stuff! Fittingly dark, moody, and nervous. Instantly sets the player on edge. Use of Beethoven was a nice touch, too!

Sound-
Spartan, but fitting. Doors, computer keyboards, shutters...all sound as they should, without drawing undue attention. Usually when sound DOESN'T draw attention, it's a good thing. It means it sounds correct and you accept it without even thinking about it!

Story-
Nicely told. The twist is a surprise, and yet there are clues that it is there.

Spoiler

I especially liked the second flashback, the one in the exam room...you could see an outline of someone watching through the one way mirror. Nice touch!

[close]

Atmosphere-
The combination of all the above made for a wonderful gaming atmosphere. To create a horror/thriller game, you MUST create a good mixture of sights and sounds to draw the player into a sense of unease. Mind's Eye did that from the opening shot in the padded cell, to the last scroll of credits. This is not easy to do, and you did it very well! You have a flair for the macabre, no doubt! 

Puzzles-
Well conceived. Nothing too hard, nothing too easy. Clues are all in place, so being careful to look at and think about everything will usually nudge you towards the solution. I had to play through twice to get the good ending, and didn't mind a bit! 

Cool GUI-
While I had problems with this (more later,) it is a nice, clean, and efficient GUI. It is refreshingly different from the stock GUI, which is very cool. The "Mind Meter" in the middle is a neat idea as well.

Mouse Icons-
Nice! Animated, and easy to find hotspots with! You can't go wrong with them! Things like this help make the interface transparent, so the player can just plain work on playing the game. That's a very good thing!



The Bad-

Lack of adequate manual-
Ouch! The interface may be obvious to you as the designer, but it isn't obvious to us players! I had to look in the hints and tips forum to find how to save! That tiny little button looks like graphics, not a manipulatable GUI! I never even realised the "Mind Meter" was there until after I beat the game. I know writing a manual is boring, but you do your hard work (and obvious game making talent) a disservice by making the first puzzle in the game "figure out my esoteric interface!"

Questionable GUI placement-
OK, I know everyone puts their GUI on the top of the screen, but that is because it works, and works well. The bottom...well...doesn't. There are over a dozen zone lines in Mind's Eye that are on the bottom of the screen, and I was accidently bringing up the GUI on every one. The zone line is almost always maddeningly close to the "pop up point" of the GUI. Making several of the timed areas VERY annoying and frustrating. I had to do both timed areas over again at least once because the GUI popped up and wrecked my chances. Conversly, I noted that there was NOT ONE point of interest EVER on the top of the screen. Not a single one to interfere with the GUI, had it been up there! Why was it so important to be different that you had to add this level of frustration? It's a booger on an otherwise spotlessly clean windshield.


I really liked this game alot! The lack of polish in GUI design was the only mar on an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable game. To achieve this level of quality and professionalism is no mean feat. Great stuff, and I hope to see more from you in the future!

Trisk

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Trisk- I appreciate the feedback and I'm glad you enjoyed it.  I'll address a few of your points since I think you've encountered situations other people have (and seemed to have missed a few things)-

1.  The font.  I agree that the f is difficult to make out initially.  I was tempted to rework the font to make it more discernable, but time constraints made me forget about it.  It looks cleaner in 640x480, by the way- and is the preferred way to play Mind's Eye (if your pc can handle it).  320x200 is far from ideal for such a font .

2.  I wish you would have read the readme more carefully, because some people seem to miss this line:  "F12 opens the interactive help menu where you can find out about the various commands."  I put a darn interactive help menu in the game for people to click on the various gui and icon elements to better understand their function for a reason !  Between the readme and the context help menu it covers all the aspects of Mind's Eye- feel free to reload it and fiddle with the help menu and perhaps you'll change your mind about documentation .

3.  The GUI.  Yes, a few people have mentioned the gui being difficult.  I realized that this could be a problem and so I implemented a quick fix with the F1 key (covered in the readme).  At some point in the future I may simply make the GUI smaller as the game ultimately had fewer inventory items than I projected. 

As for placement, it's at the bottom for two very good reasons:

1.  Pop up dialogs and the Background dialogs would be obscured/interfered with by it.

2.  The Delirium Mode Eye would be obscured/interfered with.

This same situation would occur if I moved the dialogs to the bottom and the gui to the top.  I hope that explains why I chose the bottom of the screen, though if I had gone with smaller backgrounds I could have avoided all the placement issues- but that's another story .

I'm glad you noticed that bit in your spoiler reference- you are the first person to point it out, and I'm sure you can guess who that person is .


While I don't necessarily agree with you, I'm flattered that you place Mind's Eye near the same quality graphically of Sam & Max.  Mind's Eye was a fun game to make, but I also freely admit it was somewhat of a rush job.  I committed to finishing it within two weeks and ultimately did it in a month, which involved alot of mountain dew since I did it all alone.  Fortunately, I had great testers like Privateer Puddin' and Dave Gilbert who weeded out all the showstopper bugs before release, leaving a few nags that posters like Erenan notified me about which help improve Mind's Eye.  Hopefully all of them have been drugged and locked away (the bugs, not the players)!

Thanks again for the feedback!

-ProgZ

[Nikolas]

You finished it within a month? WOW! That makes me feel even better that I have played your game...

[Trisk]

ProgZmax-

1. The "F" is really not that big a deal. Once my brain figured out it was an "f," I had absolutely no problem reading. I don't think this is hardly worth the time to fix. I just noted it. 640x400 doesn't fix it, BTW, just makes it smaller.

2. D'oh! Yes, I missed the f12 reference. And I complain about people who don't read the manual carefully for My game.  : Feel free to kick me around the block a few times. That said, however, my complaint about the save (and quit) button still stands. They are so tiny and unremarkable, I wouldn't have found them even in the f12 menu.

3. Yes, I did find the f1 option. I like to sit back from the computer while playing point n' click games though, so I didn't use it.

As for not placing the GUI at the top of the screen because of the speech baloons, that seems to me like a case of straining at a nat and swallowing a camel. since you rarely need to open the GUI while playing, it seems unlikely to be an interference. All icons are accessed through right clicking. The GUI is only used for save/load functions, and inventory...which don't get used that much anyway.

Further, any adventure player worth their salt is going to quit doing what they were doing when they see a conversation start, and just sit and read the conversation.

On the flip side, you are constantly having to deal with clicking at the very bottom of the screen, so the popup there is irritating, especially in timed areas.

As for the Delirium mode, that isn't even an issue. You have absolutely no reason to use the GUI while in this mode...just disable the GUI while the scene plays out, then enable it at the end. Problem solved.


And please don't think I'm making a huge deal out of this...Mind's Eye was far too good a game to be ruined by such small details. I only point these out because they are the only things keeping this game from, in my opinion, absolute perfection as it stands. I'd like to see it hit perfection, so I'm giving my thoughts on these gnawing details.

People! You need to play this game! It's really good!

[edmundito]

Ah, but you made a fatal mistake, ProgZmax.... those of us who installed the game, the way you wanted it since you did not offer a zip, and are running it through the start menu do not see a readme file at all! I tried to find it in the start menu and assumed that there wans't one since it didn't show me one. 

As for the speed of the overlays, it's really AGS's fault. I have a pretty high end video card, but because AGS doesn't seem to take advantage of it, the game feels rather sluggish during the weird sequences.

I'm playing the game right now.... I'll post an actual review after I complete it. I'm agreeing with Trisk so far, though...

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Mind's Eye has been updated.  Check the top of the thread for details!