Commissar's Contrapasso

Blondbraid · Tue 10/07/2018 18:40:52

Commissar's Contrapasso is a story about an arrogant soviet commissar
who follows the official doctrines of the party with little regard for the simple soldiers beneath him, until he finds himself caught alone behind enemy lines that is.

What follows is a darkly humorous adventure with many strange turns. Whether or not the commissar will make it out alive depends on you, the player.

This game is set in the same setting as my previous games Sniper and Spotter being patriotic, Sniper and spotter serving the motherland and Fallen soldier,
but it is a standalone title which can be played and enjoyed without any knowledge of the previous games.

If you want to look more at the development process of the game, follow this link.

Click here to download the game!

Cassiebsg · Tue 10/07/2018 18:46:51

Wooowwooo! It's out!

looking forward to play it later tonight.

EDIT: Oh rats and double rats. It's on GameJolt.

Any chance for a mirror?

Blondbraid · Tue 10/07/2018 19:15:22

Quote from: Cassiebsg on Tue 10/07/2018 18:46:51
Wooowwooo! It's out!
looking forward to play it later tonight.

EDIT: Oh rats and double rats. It's on GameJolt. Any chance for a mirror?

I just added a mirror link to mediafire on the game page, but how come you have a problem with GameJolt?

Cassiebsg · Tue 10/07/2018 19:35:42

Thanks! Downloaded.

It just doesn't work on my old browser.

Creamy · Tue 10/07/2018 21:58:53

Awesome

I've tried it and love the cutscenes.
The red and pink fonts don't read very well though.

Cassiebsg · Tue 10/07/2018 22:09:56

Playing it... I kind of panicked for a few minutes when I was unable to find the save button. But found it saves automatically.

I have noticed a few minor bugs, while playing, but nothing that ruins the experience except:

Spoiler

In the basement, I walked into the lift room, and of course I immediately went straight to the controls, to play with the button and lever... all fine, expect Victor blocked me in place and I was unable to leave that spot from that moment on.

I had to close the game and restart it. Good thing it autosaves at the entry.

[close]

selmiak · Tue 10/07/2018 22:58:52

wohah, finally! Congrats on the release Blondbraid! Will play asap!

Mandle · Tue 10/07/2018 23:34:10

I've been waiting for this one!

(I wonder how many other people kept misreading it as "Commissar's Contraption" because of the way AGS cuts off thread names...

)

Gurok · Wed 11/07/2018 03:51:57

Congrats on the release, Blondbraid! Man, it's been a long time. Hope to try this out on the weeekend.

Mandle · Wed 11/07/2018 09:27:36

Downoading now!

Blondbraid · Wed 11/07/2018 09:52:27

Quote from: Creamy on Tue 10/07/2018 21:58:53
Awesome

I've tried it and love the cutscenes.
The red and pink fonts don't read very well though.

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it! Sorry about the font colors, I didn't find them hard to read when I worked on the game, but I'll think about it next time!

Quote from: Cassiebsg on Tue 10/07/2018 22:09:56
Playing it... I kind of panicked for a few minutes when I was unable to find the save button. But found it saves automatically.

I have noticed a few minor bugs, while playing, but nothing that ruins the experience except:
Spoiler

In the basement, I walked into the lift room, and of course I immediately went straight to the controls, to play with the button and lever... all fine, expect Victor blocked me in place and I was unable to leave that spot from that moment on.
I had to close the game and restart it. Good thing it autosaves at the entry.
[close]

How unfortunate that you encountered a bug, but I'm glad that you were able to finish the game anyway, and that you liked the game.

As for you others, I'm happy that you're downloading my game and I hope that you'll like it too!

Mandle · Wed 11/07/2018 11:54:48

I just finished playing and the game was excellent!!!

So much time must have been put into the cutscenes and animations here and there! And we know to already expect the horrors-of-war bits after the previous games. These were also well placed and a constant reminder of the insanity going on all around.

I really felt that my time spent had been worth it to experience the story and I felt satisfied with the ending.

Now, here's where I get a little bit critical:

Spoiler

The game was mostly linear. I often felt like I was just getting pulled along by the nose into the next sequence of the story. At the point fixing the truck engine I got a bit excited that I might have to figure out a puzzle but it was just a joke solution.

After this point I knew that I just had to do what the game wanted me to do to proceed with the story so it became a bit of a visual novel after that. There weren't many actual puzzles except for a couple of inventory matching ones which were more just mashing everything together you have (The grenade inside the Russian doll puzzle was nice but was solved by mashing after dying many times).

The story was still very good and I liked that the two main characters got at least a hug at the end (a hesitant kiss might have been nice).

A bit more put into the gameplay to match the excellent story would make this game a classic!

[close]

Riaise · Wed 11/07/2018 13:21:56

Yay, great work, Blondbraid! I'm looking forward to playing this as soon as I can!

selmiak · Wed 11/07/2018 15:26:09

typo:
when 'using the dead soldier' in front of the manhole he says corpes instead of corpses.

also

Spoiler

I need something conductive down the manhole but can't find it. Victor seems to have lost the pin and I can't cut open the mattress for a spring or so

[close]

Blondbraid · Wed 11/07/2018 15:56:41

Mandle - Great that you liked my game! I suppose I could have added more challenging puzzles, the problem was that the people who test-played the game for me aren't avid adventure-game players
and struggled a lot more with the puzzles and inventory than most people here in the forums would do. As for the ending,

Spoiler

I toyed with the Idea of giving the protagonists a more explicitly romantic relationship, but was worried that it would come off as rushed given the time frame the story takes place in, but I definitively have plans to expand on their relationship if I get around to making a sequel.

[close]

Still, I'm happy that you liked the story and found the ending satisfying!

Selmiak - Thanks for pointing out the typo!
As for your question, I've started a Hints and tips thread and will post the answer there.

AnasAbdin · Thu 12/07/2018 16:34:30

Congrats Blondbraid on the release

I'm enjoying this a lot. the little jokes are very well made. I will get back with an essay once I finish it

<3 <3 <3 <3

CrashPL · Thu 12/07/2018 18:21:48

Aw yeah, congratulations on yet another excellent release, Blondbraid!

Really looking forward to give it a go as soon as I can!

Blondbraid · Thu 12/07/2018 20:51:33

Quote from: AnasAbdin on Thu 12/07/2018 16:34:30
Congrats Blondbraid on the release
I'm enjoying this a lot. the little jokes are very well made. I will get back with an essay once I finish it

Quote from: CrashPL on Thu 12/07/2018 18:21:48
Aw yeah, congratulations on yet another excellent release, Blondbraid! Really looking forward to give it a go as soon as I can!

Thank you both, I look forward to hearing your opinions!
I've added a new trailer on the game page:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9V2bbbCobQ

Cassiebsg · Thu 12/07/2018 21:17:59

Wait! I don't remember seeing that scene with the card castle...

Shadow1000 · Fri 13/07/2018 00:15:51

I played this game and here are my comments:

First, I don't need to compliment the graphics and animation. Anyone looking at the screenshots and trailer video can see that Blondbraid's skill is excellent in this area (most of us knew that already, anyway

)

The strongest point of this project is how once again, Blondbraid deals with the horrors of war from another angle. I would suspect that most players will be emotionally pulled into the game and it's hard not to be moved.

As far as the puzzles, I do agree with Mandle that some higher sophistication of the puzzles would be a nice touch, but I feel that this is not so much the point of the game.

Taking Mandle's example:

Spoiler

Sure, in most games fixing the truck engine would be a task involving finding parts or creating them, perhaps finding instructions or someone to help, assembling the engine and so on. But this point here is exactly that where a logical person expects there to be a real problem to solve, the bureaucratic nitwit didn't bother to check the obvious. This would be in the same line of thinking of why find a way to take out the enemy by outwitting them and saving casualties when you can have your men die rushing a machine gun.

[close]

Notwithstanding that, there's a nice mix of inventory puzzles, dialogue puzzles, maze puzzle, and some of these puzzles are fresh thinking so not a really weak area overall.

This is nother excellent work that really accomplishes what it sets out to do in a way that no one else does.

Spoiler

In short, I felt it was about the protagonist's redemption and was almost moved to tears at the ending.

[close]

Cheers

selmiak · Fri 13/07/2018 17:44:44

Quote from: Blondbraid on Wed 11/07/2018 15:56:41
Selmiak - Thanks for pointing out the typo!
As for your question, I've started a Hints and tips thread and will post the answer there.

wohah, I feel stupid now for not getting the clue

anyways, I finished it and recorded a smooth longplay/walkthrough

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjYJEJCyfPE

Cassiebsg · Fri 13/07/2018 18:43:30

Quote from: Mandle on Wed 11/07/2018 11:54:48
Now, here's where I get a little bit critical:
Spoiler

(...)

At the point fixing the truck engine I got a bit excited that I might have to figure out a puzzle but it was just a joke solution.

(...)

(The grenade inside the Russian doll puzzle was nice but was solved by mashing after dying many times).

(...)

(a hesitant kiss might have been nice).

[close]

Thought I would reply to these bits, more as player feedback than anything else.

Spoiler

1) I also thought, that for a change there I was going to solve a real clever puzzle... And then I got to the truck, open the door and took the "item" (I was looking for items to repair the motor)... I continued exploring, and checked afterwards the motor. Thought it would have been nice if his comments about the parts inside reflected the fact that I had already solved the "puzzle"... something like "It's a metal part that I have no idea how it works, but since I already found the problem I don't need to know."...

2) I died once. But the fact that I followed the WIP thread so close, kind of solved the puzzle for me, as I remembered the rolling doll cutscene...

3) I don't think a kiss would have been appropriate, as Victor didn't seem to be gay to me. He has a wife and kid on the way. A kiss at that time could have felt to him as "sexual harassment" and would have been definitely awkward.

[close]

And now a few comments that come to mind:

Spoiler

Moment of despair: Captured by the Germans, when I realized I would have to start the entire scene from the start after Victor used the gun... Why not just place the checkpoint at that scene, instead of forcing the player to to all the dialogue again? I ended up dying a couple more times, cause I was fast clicking through the dialogue and clicked on the wrong option.

I'll get back, as my kid has now completely broken my concentration...

[close]

Blondbraid · Sat 14/07/2018 09:36:11

Shadow1000, Thank you so much, I'm happy that you liked the game!

selmiak, Thanks for making a video of my game, I really appreciate it!

Cassiebsg, I'll admit that the card scene in the trailer doesn't show up in the game, I just added it as I wanted to have a closeup of the commissar as well as referencing my previous games. I hope you're not too disappointed in the lack of card stacking!
As for your feedback, I'm really glad that you liked the game, though sorry if I kind of spoiled the puzzle for you!

Tabata · Sat 14/07/2018 09:39:06

... another entertaining game - YAY!

I had fun playing it and enjoyed the grafics/animations and puzzles a lot.

That especially includes the already mentioned ones with the truck and the doll.
For me it has been refreshing to see a puzzle been solved in a different or (at least for me) new way.

Great job!

Creamy · Sun 22/07/2018 23:14:03

Finished

The game works perfectly. It's fast-paced with lots of locations and a low difficulty.

Also, I think you broke the record of dead bodies in an adventure game.

Blondbraid · Mon 23/07/2018 17:39:50

Quote from: Tabata on Sat 14/07/2018 09:39:06
... another entertaining game - YAY!
I had fun playing it and enjoyed the grafics/animations and puzzles a lot.

That especially includes the already mentioned ones with the truck and the doll.
For me it has been refreshing to see a puzzle been solved in a different or (at least for me) new way.

Great job!

Thank you, I'm glad that you liked the truck puzzle!

Quote from: Creamy on Sun 22/07/2018 23:14:03

Finished

The game works perfectly. It's fast-paced with lots of locations and a low difficulty.

Also, I think you broke the record of dead bodies in an adventure game.

Thank you so much, although I'm sure there has to be some adventure game with a higher body count considering the number of murder-mysteries in the genre.

In other news, I have asked imsomnia212 and Peter Bear to translate the game into Spanish and French respectively, so with a little luck and their hard work the game can have two new languages in the near future!

KyriakosCH · Tue 24/07/2018 10:25:16

Well done for completing the project!

Blondbraid · Fri 27/07/2018 09:24:40

Quote from: KyriakosCH on Tue 24/07/2018 10:25:16
Well done for completing the project!

Thank you, I hope you'll like the game!

Blondbraid · Wed 01/08/2018 17:37:57

My game have gotten a written review at Tasta!
Here is a link to read it!

And please don't forget to add a rating on the AGS page if you've played the game!

Cassiebsg · Wed 01/08/2018 17:42:09

Cool review.

Maybe you should point her to play your other games in the "series".

Mandle · Wed 01/08/2018 18:29:35

The ending of the Blackadder series is one of the pinacle moments in television history!

Who would have thought that such a farcical show could end in that way?

I can see now how it influenced your story-telling, having played your games.

Blondbraid · Thu 02/08/2018 16:23:04

Quote from: Cassiebsg on Wed 01/08/2018 17:42:09
Cool review.
Maybe you should point her to play your other games in the "series".

Good idea!

Quote from: Mandle on Wed 01/08/2018 18:29:35
The ending of the Blackadder series is one of the pinacle moments in television history!

Who would have thought that such a farcical show could end in that way?

I can see now how it influenced your story-telling, having played your games.

Yes, there are very few stories out there that successfully mixes comedy and seriousness, and even fewer stories about war that does that. That's why I think this is probably the most powerful moment in any warmovie ever made,
because the sudden and immediate shift of tone between soldiers happily singing as they march and the reality of war still feel like a punch in the guts every time I watch it.

madopolis · Tue 28/08/2018 20:23:26

I honestly downloaded because I love the song Der Commissar, and kind of that era of history, and I must say, I love the game. It's hilarious, the cut-scenes are great, it gets slightly glitchy sometimes, but over-all, you've made a great game!

I can't wait to finish it, and it's even inspiring me to finish my AGS project.

Blondbraid · Wed 29/08/2018 09:00:12

Quote from: madopolis on Tue 28/08/2018 20:23:26
I honestly downloaded because I love the song Der Commissar, and kind of that era of history, and I must say, I love the game. It's hilarious, the cut-scenes are great, it gets slightly glitchy sometimes, but over-all, you've made a great game!
I can't wait to finish it, and it's even inspiring me to finish my AGS project.

Funnily enough, I've never heard about that song before, where is it from?
Anyway, I'm very grateful that you like my game and I'm glad it has been an inspiration to you.
Let me know what you think once you've finished it and best of luck with your own project!

Click'd · Wed 29/08/2018 09:29:04

Quote from: Blondbraid on Wed 29/08/2018 09:00:12
Funnily enough, I've never heard about that song before, where is it from?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPCu8mQZWqU

Blondbraid · Wed 29/08/2018 10:11:09

Thanks for the link! That might just be the most 80's thing I've seen today!

Click'd · Wed 29/08/2018 10:31:00

Alles klar, Herr Kommissar?

Blondbraid · Tue 04/09/2018 17:30:27

I'm sad to say that it seems my attempts to get the game translated seem to have run out in the sand,
but in an attempt to bring up a more positive note, I have now updated the game to fix a few spelling errors
as well as adding custom icons:

So, what do you guys think?

Blondbraid · Tue 09/10/2018 16:40:41

Commissar's Contrapasso is now also available on itch.io.
Click here to take a look!

I do hope you all like the custom background I made for the game page!

Blondbraid · Wed 24/10/2018 10:42:42

My game have just gotten a new review on the Plug/Play blog, so I thought I'd share it here.

Here's a link to the review!

Cassiebsg · Wed 24/10/2018 13:56:28

Nice!

Good one!

Blondbraid · Wed 24/10/2018 15:37:12

Quote from: Cassiebsg on Wed 24/10/2018 13:56:28
Nice!
Good one!

Thanks!

Blondbraid · Wed 31/10/2018 14:51:55

Hi everyone! I just wanted to say that thanks to morganw, this game is now also available on Mac!

Blondbraid · Sun 09/12/2018 21:37:26

Commissar's Contrapasso just got a new Let's play, courtesy of Azalea22, here's the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRbtaANoXAM
There's a lot of funny commentary, I hope you'll find it worth watching!

Blondbraid · Sun 13/01/2019 11:39:01

Commissar's Contrapasso has gotten another review on a Russian blog!
It's in Russian, but from what I've been told the blogger considered the game a good depiction of Russian history!