Author Topic: Donna: Avenger of Blood (warning! nudity! run for the hills!) - curr. ver. 1.5 (Read 12992 times) Tweet Share

Goldmund · « **Reply #80 on:** 13 Mar 2012, 02:15 »

Wow, thank you, David!

I also didn't expect this game to be that long, but I couldn't stop, I guess...

Just wanted to say that the most recent version is up on the site, with all the bugs reported to me gone to heaven.

Tramponline · « **Reply #81 on:** 01 Apr 2012, 19:15 »

Congratulations all the way Goldmund!
I found it a very mature and literate adventure game. Your story encourages the player to use his mental and emotional faculties even after the game ended.
It felt really good not to be suffocated by patronization or any attempts of overly simple moral conceptualization.
Those endings leave a lingering aftertaste of bitter-sweet ambivalence - simply loved it!

I might have found another bug:

Goldmund · « **Reply #82 on:** 02 Apr 2012, 08:51 »

Trampoline, how fittingly your review makes me jump up and down.
Thanks!
But remember -- existence precedes essence! Or how do you translate Sartre ;-)

Also, you have located the bug I had reported once but unable to reproduce -- the terrible Bucket Bug! It seems I need to make one more update, this is an unpleasant error.

As for the Mil/Donna relationship --

X-Ty980 · « **Reply #83 on:** 02 Apr 2012, 22:19 »

Oh crap, I am in the Dream Girls room with Mulkin having a good time and my saved game is f***ed up. When I load it it is as if I clicked to leave the room (with Mulkin asking me where I am going) then I automatically leave the room and the game crashes, making it impossible to continue playing...

I was really enjoying the game, so that's a real pity

Could someone send me a saved game at that specific point?

Goldmund · « **Reply #84 on:** 03 Apr 2012, 14:56 »

X-Ty980, please send me your saved game and the error message.
I'll release a new version around the weekend that should take care of your problem (along with The Bucket Bug.)

BLUEKNIGHT38 · « **Reply #85 on:** 19 Apr 2012, 15:41 »

Such Coolness! Looking forward to playing this neat looking game. Everytime I go to GameStop, I come back disappointed in the game selection for pc's. I am glad you all makes games for us to play. When things are better financially, I will probabley send some money to a few individuals who I enjoy their games. Thanks so much!! There is a couple ppl I have helped out on here when things was better. I gave money to help out for Cosmos Quest 4 and Resonance. Thanks to ALL You Ladies and Gentlemen who are smarter than I am to figure out how to make your Awesome Games. I might try to see If I can try my hand at one again. My brother is working on a Cool looking game. Of course he is really good at artwork, where I am not. I use to write allot of stories when I had time. Thanks again Everyone!!

Goldmund · « **Reply #86 on:** 20 Apr 2012, 20:40 »

Whoa! Here's hoping that you'll become a very, very rich man, Blueknight...

linus · « **Reply #87 on:** 30 Apr 2012, 12:10 »

FINALLY, I finished it! What an incredible game... this is one of the greatest examples of what computer games can do. It has not been frequent that a game got me this emotionally involved. But enough of generic praise, here's what I liked about your game Warning! Major spoilers!:

- Many fresh characters outside of usual gaming and movie conventions. It always feels great controlling an edgy and believable character who isn't your run-of-the-mill 30-ish tough-yet-sensitive hero-kinda-guy or your typical 20-ish female attractive light-hearted brunette. Donna is brutal and fragile at the same time. She experiences intense love, intense fear, intense hate... and the game makes you feel very close to her on that emotional journey.
- Fantastic, interesting and challenging (!) puzzles... all the way through. And I wouldn't say many adventures get this right (even the Gabriel Knights games have some horrible puzzles). I could not bear to look up a single clue, it would have felt like ruining one of your carefully thought-out puzzles. It was great that you made extensive use of keyboard entries, so the players had to chew through all the documents and clues themselves instead of just relying on trial and error. Some of the puzzles were of a kind prevalent in old interactive fiction classics. I often though about possible solutions to puzzles on my way from or to work.
- The descriptions and dialogues. Donna is a text-heavy game - another thing few modern adventure titles dare. Of course you might have done that badly and bored us to death, but that never happened. I really tried to get every text message out of the game you put in it. Looking at every detail on screen to get more of Donna's insightful, sarcastic or touching remarks, showing Mulkin all my items, reading minor characters' minds to figure out how they tick. I have the feeling that the coherent world you created through this helped make the puzzles so logical.
- Even with all these dark themes dominating your game, you managed to smuggle a tiny bit of humor in there. You just have to love Mulkin and the guys at LaBookery. Also, the guy trying to commit suicide at the hotel was hilarious.
- The art style. Very expressionist. Did you shoot the photos yourself?
- The relationship between Donna and Milena. Best relationship in an adventure game so far. Period.

I have to be honest, the ending was so sad, it actually made me cry. As much as I love unconventional games, I'm a bit of a wuss when it comes to the death of adventure game protagonists at the end of a long story. I didn't mind though. A happy ending probably would have been out of place (kind of like the Blade Runner Non-DC).

Currently, I don't have a PayPal account, but I guess I might create one to make a donation for the great experience I had with your game.

Goldmund · « **Reply #88 on:** 05 May 2012, 16:48 »

Dear Linus, thank you for this!
The words like yours make every minute of working on Donna not a wasted time.
Granted, I enjoyed myself, but it's so fantastic that there are people who also got a kick out of this grim tale.

I didn't shoot the photos, I can't believe how long it would take me if I did. We only shot the frame-by-frame animations (me being men and my wife being women and then pasting faces and clothing.)
Actually, it might make for a cool BTS to show you some photos from that session (an umbrella serving for a gun or a liner as a knife...)
Also, the angel at the cemetery is a photo my wife took.
The other photos I stole from various catalogs and advertising sites and transformed them in Photoshop, making a kind of cut-outs (pasting a photo of a cabinet into a photo of a room etc.)

Again, thank you for making my day!

Dave Gilbert · « **Reply #89 on:** 08 May 2012, 15:37 »

Played this all weekend. Lovely game that's dripping with atmosphere! I'm at the beginning of Day... 6, I think. Looking forward to playing the rest.

Goldmund · « **Reply #90 on:** 08 May 2012, 19:23 »

Damn! Praise from The Man. Now everything is possible ;-)

Dave Gilbert · « **Reply #91 on:** 09 May 2012, 02:06 »

I'm "The Man" now? Uh oh.

/goes off to play loud rock music and drink heavily

JSH · « **Reply #92 on:** 18 Jul 2012, 10:42 »

This is probably the most overall enjoyable free AGS game I have ever played. Amazing work Goldmund!

Solid writing with a truly engaging story and perfect puzzle balance/difficulty. I like how you stay clear of all hollywood conventions and formulas with your characters, it truly feels like a breath of fresh air. The puzzle balancing/difficulty is perfect in my opinion. Varied puzzles, fitting in the story with just the right amount of hints to get you through them. I did get stuck at times, but never to the point of it being frustrating. This is the first game in a long time in which I didn't resort to walkthroughs at all, because even when stuck I had gotten to the point where I trusted your puzzles to be fair, and it turns out I was right.

Works like this truly inspires me to make my own game even better, although I really hope it won't take me 10 years to finish it

Goldmund · « **Reply #93 on:** 23 Jul 2012, 20:13 »

Cheers, Krusbert!

I'm happy you weren't frustrated with the puzzles, I was worried about some of them.

As for the 10 years, well, there were long months when I didn't work on the game at all. Donna was in development for 10 years, but this doesn't mean I actually worked on it for 10-years worth.

Good luck with your project.

Barbour · « **Reply #94 on:** 24 Jul 2012, 23:49 »

Easily the most challenging adventure game I've ever played - Did large chunks without a walkthrough but Jesus Christ, people relying on timing and basic piano playing knowledge amongst other things could maybe see it putting some folk off.

The fact that you are close to death instantly in an adventure game is something I've never seen before, but it sets the tone of "this will be hard" straight away

But I was enthralled in the story and felt annoyed that I didn't finish it before going a little holiday across some of Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Slovakia & Hungary) managed to finish it on Sunday before starting back to work on Monday.

Can't thank Blaze Dzikowski and everyone else involved enough for the delightful 3 weeks of solid distraction.

Goldmund · « **Reply #95 on:** 30 Jul 2012, 23:52 »

Hey, you're welcome, Barbour!

Thank YOU for a nice comment.

Your Eastern Europe trip must've given you some appropriate background, I imagine.

I love what you say about being close to death instantly; I did a lot of things wrong, but I like the game's opening.

As for the difficulty... I really loved that moment when I was a kid stuck at one point in an adventure game and suddenly found a solution. There was no internet, so no walkthroughs. I think modern games are too easy.

FamousAdventurer77 · « **Reply #96 on:** 08 Aug 2012, 02:11 »

I just finished the game-- holy crap, it was AMAZING.

Hands down, Donna: AoB has one of the best-- if not THE best-- stories I've seen in all the games I've played this year. It seriously gripped more than most adventure games of all calibers I've played, period.

There were a few puzzles and design bits that threw me off a little,

but otherwise I felt it had the perfect level of challenge. Love the soundtrack too-- the songs fit perfectly.

The tone and atmosphere were set impeccably, and Donna made for a refreshing protagonist whose pain and anger you can feel

It was also so awesome to see how much attention was paid to detail, like Donna talking to items, getting different reactions showing your items to people...in today's TL;DR world, this is such a precious rarity in a good game!

I'll stop here because I can't praise enough.

Awesome job!

Goldmund · « **Reply #97 on:** 08 Aug 2012, 23:39 »

Heh, I don't think checking the Wikipedia is a cheat.
I don't expect everyone will remember the same bits and pieces of trivia from the formal education as myself!

Still -- there's a way to cheat in another way there, without leaving the game.

Thank you, FamousAdventurer! Your praise means a lot. It's uplifting to hear such positive remarks on your work.

As for TL;DR... I did cut some 1/4 of the dialogs

Goldmund · « **Reply #98 on:** 27 Dec 2012, 08:36 »

I was wondering, would anyone be interested in Donna's OST? I could remaster some tracks and put together an album. If there's interest.

Sslaxx · « **Reply #99 on:** 27 Dec 2012, 15:05 »

Quote from: Goldmund on 27 Dec 2012, 08:36

I was wondering, would anyone be interested in Donna's OST? I could remaster some tracks and put together an album. If there's interest.

Please do!