Stranger in Utopia

lorenzo · Mon 25/09/2023 18:27:34

Stranger in Utopia

STORY

Teleia: a self-sufficient island separated from the outside world that has seen no poverty, unemployment, or crime for 60 years.

Until now.

When a brutal murder is committed, you, Lieutenant Stevenson, are
called from the mainland to investigate. Discover the secrets of the
island, find the killer, and their motives! Not everything is as it
seems...

Made in two weeks for the Adventure Game Challenge.

SCREENSHOTS

CREDITS

lorenzo: story, coding, graphics, animation
Arman Mkhitaryan: music, sound effects
eri0o: testing, technical help

DOWNLOAD!

eri0o · Mon 25/09/2023 19:40:01

I really liked to play this game! The first person view reminded me of old-school detective games, but instead of pixels we get Lorenzo's beautiful art in full hd - and the extra pixels means reading text here is a breeze. Definitely had fun testing!

heltenjon · Mon 25/09/2023 20:09:42

I will have to take a look at the other 24 games in the jam, of course, but I would not be surprised if this one is the winner. Stunning art, as usual, but the writing is top notch, as well. There is a very nice science fiction story here with investigation puzzles naturally integrated.

cat · Mon 25/09/2023 21:33:45

Amazing dystopian story. I liked the game mechanic with typing in the computers.

Spoiler

Sadly, there was no evidence called "lock pick". What happened to tau 1 and tau 2?

[close]

Kini Games · Tue 26/09/2023 13:24:00

This was fantastic! Excellent mystery, impressive scope, given the time constraints, beautiful music, and you know I'm a sucker for investigations requiring text parser inputs

Oh, and, of course, your art is always wonderful. Brilliant job. I loved it.

lorenzo · Tue 26/09/2023 19:43:12

Quote from: eri0o on Mon 25/09/2023 19:40:01I really liked to play this game! The first person view reminded me of old-school detective games, but instead of pixels we get Lorenzo's beautiful art in full hd - and the extra pixels means reading text here is a breeze. Definitely had fun testing!

Thank you very much for all your help testing the game, eri0o! You spotted so many problems and bugs, it would've been a much worse game without your help. In fact, it would be icon-less as well

Quote from: heltenjon on Mon 25/09/2023 20:09:42I will have to take a look at the other 24 games in the jam, of course, but I would not be surprised if this one is the winner. Stunning art, as usual, but the writing is top notch, as well. There is a very nice science fiction story here with investigation puzzles naturally integrated.

I'm really glad you enjoyed the game, heltenjon! I was a bit apprehensive while making it as there was a lot of text in the game that I had to write really quickly, so I wasn't sure if it was any good. Plus, the story was a bit more serious than my usual ones

Thank you for your comment!

Quote from: cat on Mon 25/09/2023 21:33:45
Spoiler
Sadly, there was no evidence called "lock pick". What happened to tau 1 and tau 2?
[close]

Thanks for playing, cat! Haha! I should add that evidence to the database as an Easter egg.

Spoiler

Maybe Tau 1 & 2 had to close, because the third one was too good.

[close]

Quote from: Kini Games on Tue 26/09/2023 13:24:00This was fantastic! Excellent mystery, impressive scope, given the time constraints, beautiful music, and you know I'm a sucker for investigations requiring text parser inputs Oh, and, of course, your art is always wonderful. Brilliant job. I loved it.

As I told you already, Signal & Echo was an inspiration for me while making the game, so I'm really happy you enjoyed it!

And if you people haven't played Signal & Echo's demo, you should really try it! A fantastic game that makes you feel like a detective.

Ramorama · Tue 26/09/2023 22:08:36

It was a fantastic game with a deep story! This adventure gem is worth playing!

Kini Games · Wed 27/09/2023 06:58:18

Quote from: lorenzo on Tue 26/09/2023 19:43:12As I told you already, Signal & Echo was an inspiration for me while making the game, so I'm really happy you enjoyed it!

And if you people haven't played Signal & Echo's demo, you should really try it! A fantastic game that makes you feel like a detective.

And I've told you this privately already, but I'll say it again here: that's extremely flattering and kind. Thank you <3

lorenzo · Wed 27/09/2023 19:34:29

Quote from: Ramorama on Tue 26/09/2023 22:08:36It was a fantastic game with a deep story! This adventure gem is worth playing!

Thank you very much, Ramorama! Also for helping me find a good name for the doctor

RootBound · Wed 27/09/2023 21:04:36

This was really compelling, and that final decision was grueling to make! I'm definitely going to play the other way and get the other ending too.

lorenzo · Mon 02/10/2023 19:33:00

Thank you for playing, Rootbound! I wish I had time to flesh out the ending a bit more, but I hope what is there is adequate.

Postmodern Adventures · Fri 06/10/2023 09:26:26

Played it yesterday and I loved it. Loved the graphics, the music, the plot, the worldbuilding... everything! And what I liked the most is that you handle yourself very well with a tone that is far from your best-known works. I'd like to see more things like this from you.

Creamy · Fri 06/10/2023 23:27:52

I like your slapstick adventures but - Like Postmodern Adventures - I think you handled the darker undertone of a police investigation well - especially given the time limit.
I also enjoyed the cinematic score of Arman Mkhitaryan which gives character to the game.

No complaints about the seamless detective work that primarily serves to move the story along. Our immersion in this utopian setting is the most interesting part IMO.

One has to wonder why so many people are paid to do nothing in Teleia

Good job

Ramorama · Sun 08/10/2023 11:30:15

My pleasure! It was an honor to help you finding a doctor's name.

lorenzo · Sun 08/10/2023 20:59:48

Quote from: Postmodern Adventures on Fri 06/10/2023 09:26:26Played it yesterday and I loved it. Loved the graphics, the music, the plot, the worldbuilding... everything! And what I liked the most is that you handle yourself very well with a tone that is far from your best-known works. I'd like to see more things like this from you.

Thank you very much, Postmodern Adventures! I'm really glad you liked the game.
I was a bit uncertain about people's response regarding it, but it has been mostly positive so far!

Quote from: Creamy on Fri 06/10/2023 23:27:52I like your slapstick adventures but - Like Postmodern Adventures - I think you handled the darker undertone of a police investigation well - especially given the time limit.
I also enjoyed the cinematic score of Arman Mkhitaryan which gives character to the game.

No complaints about the seamless detective work that primarily serves to move the story along. Our immersion in this utopian setting is the most interesting part IMO.

Thanks, Creamy, although I missed writing silly jokes while making the game

Puzzles were the hardest part to design since a lot of traditional inventory puzzles can look out of place in a more serious setting. Plus, I didn't really have enough time to think of too many, haha!

Quote from: Creamy on Fri 06/10/2023 23:27:52One has to wonder why so many people are paid to do nothing in Teleia

Who said they're paid?

CaptainD · Wed 25/10/2023 17:11:42

Really good game mate, very atmospheric and generally well-written. Almost like a Kurt Vonnergut Jr short story in game format. Took me a little under an hour to complete both endings (I assume there were only two)?

The little visual aspects like the cop turning to you when he spoke to you made the game feel quite alive. I was a little disappointed not to be able to annoy receptionist more though!

Rik_Vargard · Wed 10/01/2024 21:36:01

Well, that was a little big something.
I liked every aspect of it. The visuals, the music, the story, the well-thought gameplay aspects.
I loved the logic I needed to go back search info on the computer to move on and unlock locations and people.
That aspect made me feel like a real detective.

To me, this could be like a pilot episode of a series where we discover more about the detective, Teleia, the mainland, so much potential... see what i mean (just keep the same format)? (Wishful thinking here

)

Yep, that was a little big something!

One little story-wise question:

Spoiler

I might have overlooked or missed something, but what happened or where is the real Simon? Did he never show up? why?

[close]

lorenzo · Mon 15/01/2024 20:54:29

Hey Rik Vargard, thank you for your comment and feedback - it left me chuffed!

I would love to make another game in this style in the future, maybe with a different setting. I've got a lot of stuff going on at the moment, so it'll have to wait, but I have many ideas on my mind already. ...which is a start, but making the actual game is the hard part!

Regarding your question:

Spoiler

You haven't missed anything, the game just doesn't tell you what happened to the real Simon!

I thought that the ending was already too wordy (I wanted to make it more interactive initially, but ran out of time) so I left out that part of the story.

Anyway! Only Aram was in contact with Simon, the others knew nothing about him. He had settled a date for Simon's arrival, which got delayed multiple times, spooking Aram.
When Simon arrived, Aram obviously wasn't there, being dead and all that.

So Simon just went away hiding, not wanting to risk being caught. Maybe then he caught word of how Aram had died, and he didn't want to find himself in the middle of a police investigation. He was there for an illegal purpose, after all!

You, the detective, could pass for Simon since the other components of Aram's group had no idea of his identity (nor Simon of theirs).

I hope it's a satisfactory explanation

[close]