EXIT - tell me your opinion

[Iago]

I've made an adventure called EXIT.

It's a weird one, in a house where up and down are mixed up, you can walk on walls and you meet strange people.

This game was made for arts school; it took me about 4 months to learn ags and make the game.  I wonder what you think about it.
Tell me what you like, what you dislike!

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download it here (approx. 50 mb):
http://www.americangirlscouts.org/agsuploads/files/Exit%20Setup.part1.exe
http://www.americangirlscouts.org/agsuploads/files/Exit%20Setup.part2.rar




and don't forget to tell me what you think about it. 

[Gilbert]

Maybe you can tell us more about the story here? Or the game's just too weird to have some meaningful story ?

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

Er... uhmm... well...

...I don't get it. I haven't finished it, but so far gameplay has consisted of just walking along leaving rooms, and reaching a laboratory. Before I keep on, I have to know - is there a rhyme or reason to the rooms, their colours, their layout, etc? Or is it just random stuff you plucked off the top of your head? Don't take offence, it's an honest question. I honestly don't understand.

ALso, a readme in English would be welcome. And I had to rename the file to "Kopie von EXIT" so that WinSetup worked properly. NEVER rename a compiled game manually.

[Iago]

Maybe you can tell us more about the story here? Or the game's just too weird to have some meaningful story ?

Maybe it's just another stupid surreal-random-stuff-lacking-of-story game.

Do you know the "little prince" story? The little prince meets a king, a scientist, a drinker.... They all have theyr subjective distorted view of the world. Same here.
The player, a wooden puppet, is trapped in a confusing labyrinth in which he tries to get help from it's inhabitants.

One can say that the player (the wooden puppet in the game) is searching for the reason to live.

Is there a rhyme or reason to the rooms, their colours, their layout, etc? Or is it just random stuff you plucked off the top of your head? Don't take offence, it's an honest question. I honestly don't understand.

ALso, a readme in English would be welcome. And I had to rename the file to "Kopie von EXIT" so that WinSetup worked properly. NEVER rename a compiled game manually.

Well the rooms are a metaphor for the confusion in life. Therefore, they are confusing. And that's why sometimes there are paths that look like you needed to go there, but you can't.

I know the game is strange. I'm absolutely not satisfied of how it has become.
You know, I made it for arts school. First I wanted to make a funny little adventure in which you are a burglar trying to get money in order to open up a stripbar in Mexico...
That would have been a fun adventure.
Then I got mad and thought I needed to make something with niveau, something original which is art and not just entertainment. Then I ran out of time and I needed to hurry very much.
The result is a strange brainchild. 

I didn't translate the readme because there's just useless stuff inside, since it was made for my teacher who never played an adventure game before. Sorry for the renaming mistake. 

[futonrevolution]

Huh.
Is this the final product or are you planning on doing some more work on EXIT?

I would not have known that EXIT was based on "The Little Prince" other than from reading this thread... granted, it has been a very long time since I have heard that story. If the introduction and ending movies had some references to the story, that could help (and give the player a better sense of interaction).

Speaking of interaction... since there are so few hotspots to click on, the characters talked to need to be quite interesting. If the Prince is to understand the different characters' subjective views, they have to be presented in a way that will make him care. When I played, the scientist seemed irrelevant to the story (he had a lot of dialogue, but none of it had any application to the Prince), the priest didn't even get a name and I was nowhere near angry enough with the agent to punch him in the face.

If the aim is to make EXIT a philosophical game, then add lots of character interaction and let the Prince make a choice at the end. If the aim is to be artistic, then I would move the puzzles over to the first half of the game and add puzzles that need walking on walls to solve. [One of the games I've been working on has a tesseract where the character has to exploit its warped laws of gravity to escape. All of the puzzles involve the physics of the tesseract, keeping the theme strong and consistent... I hope!]

In other words, let the game's concept be a guide to what puzzles and interactions to include... the second half of EXIT felt very different from the first and was less interesting to me. The graphics and technical aspects were definitely the strong points but seemed inconsistent. The mix of photographs and simple drawn shapes made the graphics style hard to appreciate. As for the technical, the long lag times in moving from room to room and the game switching between English and German at random made me forget how much I liked the animations, walking on walls, and the sprite changing color.

Anyway... that's just my opinion but hopefully it will help. There's good stuff in EXIT but also some annoyances - expand the good stuff while dropping the annoying stuff and you've got yourself a nice piece of art.
-Daniel

[bb]

Hmm, to be honest I didn't play the game too much. I can't say whether or not it is worthwhile in its cultural and phylosophical aspects but it has one major technical problem, it doesn't interest you from the very beginning and after mere 5 minutes I just passed, probabbly before any of the deep thoughts and anything which could provide me with an incentive to go on. Do not misunderstand me, I believe that it has a deeper meaning to it but you have to play to get to it and that is something unachievable for those less patient. Computer game is there to provide you with as realistic experience as possible and EXIT is just too flegmatic(at the beginning at least). The tedium and monotony are good repellants even for those who DO appreciate something more than just pure action. Do not misunderstand me , but you should keep the player in great anticipation from the very beginning or he will turn away soon after running the game. Furthermore, if not for your comment I would NEVER even think that this game's purpose is to contemplate the meaning of life. I mean, some funky music, rather colloquial language give us quite a contrary thought. That's it, I DO encourage you to continue your efforts and all I can wish you is GOOD LUCK(and a happy new year )!

[bb]

Hmm, but after pondering for a while, the graphics were very nice in opinion. Since it is a project for Art then you can't consider it as an utter failure for it does contain some graphical valors. I liked the neat movies when you pass from one room to another.

[al77]

i'm enjoying this game very much, even while only knowing that i'm trying to find the way out.

great images, animations, and music, and so far the puzzles have not been too difficult,  i would love more games like this.

thanks much Iago!

[Iago]

Huh.
Is this the final product or are you planning on doing some more work on EXIT?

I would not have known that EXIT was based on "The Little Prince" other than from reading this thread... granted, it has been a very long time since I have heard that story. If the introduction and ending movies had some references to the story, that could help (and give the player a better sense of interaction).

Speaking of interaction... since there are so few hotspots to click on, the characters talked to need to be quite interesting. If the Prince is to understand the different characters' subjective views, they have to be presented in a way that will make him care. When I played, the scientist seemed irrelevant to the story (he had a lot of dialogue, but none of it had any application to the Prince), the priest didn't even get a name and I was nowhere near angry enough with the agent to punch him in the face.

If the aim is to make EXIT a philosophical game, then add lots of character interaction and let the Prince make a choice at the end. If the aim is to be artistic, then I would move the puzzles over to the first half of the game and add puzzles that need walking on walls to solve. [One of the games I've been working on has a tesseract where the character has to exploit its warped laws of gravity to escape. All of the puzzles involve the physics of the tesseract, keeping the theme strong and consistent... I hope!]

In other words, let the game's concept be a guide to what puzzles and interactions to include... the second half of EXIT felt very different from the first and was less interesting to me. The graphics and technical aspects were definitely the strong points but seemed inconsistent. The mix of photographs and simple drawn shapes made the graphics style hard to appreciate. As for the technical, the long lag times in moving from room to room and the game switching between English and German at random made me forget how much I liked the animations, walking on walls, and the sprite changing color.

Anyway... that's just my opinion but hopefully it will help. There's good stuff in EXIT but also some annoyances - expand the good stuff while dropping the annoying stuff and you've got yourself a nice piece of art.
-Daniel

Yes, this is the final product. The deadline is over and though there would be many improvements necessary I wouldn't like to continue working on it.I need your feedback not to improve this game, I need it in order to make better games in future.

The game is not based on "The Little Prince", there are just some similarities. not really intentional.

You are right, there should be a real introduction, one that motivates the player by involving him into a story. I agree to all your points, thanks for telling me your thoughts! 


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Hmm, to be honest I didn't play the game too much. I can't say whether or not it is worthwhile in its cultural and phylosophical aspects but it has one major technical problem, it doesn't interest you from the very beginning and after mere 5 minutes I just passed, probabbly before any of the deep thoughts and anything which could provide me with an incentive to go on. Do not misunderstand me, I believe that it has a deeper meaning to it but you have to play to get to it and that is something unachievable for those less patient. Computer game is there to provide you with as realistic experience as possible and EXIT is just too flegmatic(at the beginning at least). The tedium and monotony are good repellants even for those who DO appreciate something more than just pure action. Do not misunderstand me , but you should keep the player in great anticipation from the very beginning or he will turn away soon after running the game. Furthermore, if not for your comment I would NEVER even think that this game's purpose is to contemplate the meaning of life. I mean, some funky music, rather colloquial language give us quite a contrary thought. That's it, I DO encourage you to continue your efforts and all I can wish you is GOOD LUCK(and a happy new year )!

Hmm, but after pondering for a while, the graphics were very nice in opinion. Since it is a project for Art then you can't consider it as an utter failure for it does contain some graphical valors. I liked the neat movies when you pass from one room to another.

well, right, the player needs to be very motivated by himself. Ideally, he hasn't ever played a computer game (like my teacher, lol) so that he is fascinated by everything anyway. 

As for the 2nd par of your Message:
I didn't want the philosophical aspects too be to obvious, since the game was made for an audience used to interpreting art.

Thanks for the criticism and the good wishes

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i'm enjoying this game very much, even while only knowing that i'm trying to find the way out.

great images, animations, and music, and so far the puzzles have not been too difficult, i would love more games like this.

thanks much Iago!

Thanks. I'm glad someone appreciates playing the game! 

[lakerz]

I'm having problems downloading this game.  Is there an alternate site?

[Iago]

I'm having problems downloading this game.  Is there an alternate site?

no. the download link works for me and obviously for the others, too.
retry, if you keep having problems, i'll try to send it to you via icq/msn/ftp/whatever.

[lakerz]

Thank you Iago.Ã,  I just tried it again tonight and it works now.Ã,  :=Ã,  Probably just a glitch.

Edit: Finished it.  Short game, but the graphics were unique and nicely done.  Like others have noted, the cutscenes between doors was pretty cool.  Music was nice, but puzzles were pretty easy.  I'm glad I played it!

[Iago]

Thank you Iago.  I just tried it again tonight and it works now.    Probably just a glitch.

Edit: Finished it. Short game, but the graphics were unique and nicely done. Like others have noted, the cutscenes between doors was pretty cool. Music was nice, but puzzles were pretty easy. I'm glad I played it!

Thanks! 

I think the puzzles are easy for "point&click adventurers" in this comunity. In contrast, my friends who played the game found the puzzles rather hard, since they are not used to playing adventure games.