'7 Days a Skeptic' by Yahtzee

[Moox]

I rate a game on its size and fun. If its 5 mb and you can have lets say 45 mins of fun, then its worth it.
This is a good game, dont try to judge it by its puzzles, and bugs, and art.

[Kinoko]

Excuse my language, but fuck analysing it's qualities. The fact is that most people here, like me, sat down, played the game and enjoyed it. I didn't need to think about why, I just know I was impressed by it and I had fun playing it. I think the game was a nice compliment to 5 Days.

[BerserkerTails]

I agree Kinoko! I loved this one as much as 5 Days a Stranger. It wasn't the graphics that impressed me, 'nor the plot (though it was interesting). I was in awe of the feeling, and the atmosphere the game produced. I really hope that someday I'll be able to capture the raw feelings of excitement in my own games as the "Number Days a 'S' word" games give me.

[Anym]

But I wonder something: Isn't it illegal to use the sound files for our freeware games without permission? I want to use them for my game, too. Hope it is legal...

Nope, I'm afraid it's illegal. Just like ripping sprites from Monkey Island or creating King's Quest remakes.

[Anarcho]

Analyzing games is helpful from a development perspective, because it helps us game developers (especially those of us, like myself, who are relatively new to game development) learn the tricks of the trade.Ã,  I personally like it when people share things other than just "i liked it.Ã,  it was good." On that note, i'm going to share my thoughts on this particular game.

First off, i really liked 5 Days a Stranger.Ã,  In fact, i loved it...so this game really had a lot to live up to.Ã,  And as a warning, I'm going to compare the two games quite a bit.Ã,  After playing this one through, i can echo a lot of other comments that it was overly buggy and felt like Yahtzee maybe rushed a bit in developing it...but here are a few other things:

1) graphics--for the most part were very good.Ã,  but there were a few screens that could have been easily improved...like the space ship in the intro.Ã,  It just wasn't graphically consistent with the excellent interior backgrounds.Ã, 

2) plot--obviously a bit cliche, but what isn't...and more to the point, a plot can be cliche so long as the gameplay is there.Ã,  And I liked the surprise ending...it's very outer limits-ish...especially because i now want to replay the game to pick up on clues.

3) sound--the great thing about 5 Days a Stranger was that Yahtzee used ambient sounds very effectively.Ã,  the whispers were awesome.Ã,  In this installment, he kept the footsteps sounds.Ã,  But maybe there could have been more creaking sounds coming from the ship...just something to make it creepier.

4) gameplay--I'm going to lump everything else here.Ã,  Um, I felt like a lot of the characters didn't have believable reactions to the various deaths.Ã,  Sure, they're remaining skeptical...but when you show the commander the severed hand...she's just like, "continue your investigations."Ã,  Come on, I think you'd have a bit more of a visceral reaction than that.Ã,  He went in the right direction with William suspecting other people, and the little in-fighting...but the hand thing really negates it all...and the bloody tray...

And I'm not sure how to do this, but in 5 Days, there really seemed to be more cohesion.Ã,  You were led along in the plot in a very effective manner.Ã,  Days weren't just thrown in for the hell of it.Ã,  Sometime around Friday or Saturday, one of the days just passed for no reason.Ã,  WTF?Ã,  What happened?Ã, 

Also, I liked how in 5days you could turn on the tv and get backstory via the news.Ã,  It helped put the game in context...obviously you couldn't do exactly that in this game, but what about looking at crew profiles in the doctors office...or some kind of other literature.Ã,  Maybe not everyone would go for that...but i like the little things that help envelop the character in the game world.

Ok, so it's not 5 Days, and I don't mean to be obnoxious in comparing the two, but honestly I really liked games...these are all nit-picky things.

Way to go Yahtzee...it felt like playing a live version of Friday the 13th or Halloween...but IN SPACE *oooooooh*

-Logan

[InCreator]

Excuse my language, but fuck analysing it's qualities. The fact is that most people here, like me, sat down, played the game and enjoyed it. I didn't need to think about why, I just know I was impressed by it and I had fun playing it. I think the game was a nice compliment to 5 Days.

Of course...! But from a viewpoint of PLAYER.
But I analyzed it because I (like most of AGSers here) am an adventure game maker too.

And it doesn't happen every day that some AGS game gets so deep attention that people start to perform a surgery on the plot and wondering what, where and how it all was, right?

So, as an AGSer, I analyzed it to understand how Yahtzee managed to get game this far and result brought me to understanding that its strike with characters and atmosphere did almost everything, and really well, while other parts weren't that strong at all!

There's always lot of discussion how should we make adventure games to get people to like them....

So that's a great tip, or a piece of useful knowledge.
And helpful for other game makers, including myself.
Right?

Edit: Weird, ldw hit the "post" button just when I wrote my post, and is talking about same thing...

[Sutebi]

Way to go Yahtzee...it felt like playing a live version of Friday the 13th or Halloween...but IN SPACE *oooooooh*

You mean Jason X?


Here's my opinion on the debate. Yeah, the games are okay, I wouldn't say they were amazing, but I think the reason people are talking about this so much is because it's Yahtzee who made them.

The entire Yahtzee story is a very odd one, and the reasons he left and what he said when he left just sort of add to the attention his games get when they come out.

So, these have been decent games that anyone would get noticed if they made, but because it was Yahtzee who made them, they get noticed more.

[Babar]

I have no idea why Yahtzee left (well...only a vague one) and have no idea what he said, and I enjoyed both games 5 days a stranger and 7 days a skeptic. I consider Yahtzee to be a slightly more successful game maker than the average AGSer (and I say AVERAGE). I certainly did not play the game, because of the uniqueness of Yahtzee's departure

[PaulSC]

You know, I think the generic plot and storyline is a GOOD thing in the case of this game. Like ldw points out above, 7 Days (moreso then 5 Days) is obviously a homage to sci-fi horror movies and 80's slasher franchises. If this was a film it would be okay to dismiss it as silly and derivitive, but to my knowledge no-one's ever really tried to make a game that successfully captures the atmosphere of those films. In my opinion this game does an amazing job of doing just that, and I'd say that's a fairly innovative achievement.

I agree the "days" thing didn't work very well in this game, though.


Babloyi: "I consider Yahtzee to be a slightly more successful game maker than the average AGSer (and I say AVERAGE). "

Genuine question: which AGS games/designers would you say are WELL above average, or the AGS peak quality? I haven't played all that many of the games here, so I'd be quite interested. But I have to say, only a couple of the ones I've tried stand up to the last three Yahtsee games, in my opinion.

[Anarcho]

Yeah, I've only heard about this whole "yahtzee" leaving-the-board (god forbid!) thing second hand...and personally I could care less.  I certainly didn't play his games because of some message board drama.  The bottom line is that he made some excellent adventure games.  I enjoyed 5 Days on the same level as some of the classics (it's no Loom, but come on, what is?).  If you didn't like it, then fine, but it's ridiculous to say people only talk about it because of this one guy and his forum-related retardedness.

[auhsor]

Well I finally did finish it. It was a good game, but a few things did let me down, as they did others.

Spoiler

Firstly the amound of bugs. Especially the timed sequences. When they were chasing me i didnt get the feeling of being scared because I knew that they wouldnt hurt me. After the fist time of letting them get me, they just stood on the spot next to me and did nothing.

The ending was a nice surprise, but I have the reaction of another person here in feeling that the character we got to know pretty well wasnt who he was and I felt let down, not surprised. A more fleshed out ending would have been nice.

Changing a few of the messages when you do things would have also made the game more atmospheric. Eg, your character becomes more scared in his replys instead of "I might need it" could become, "That might be useful with a killer on board" or something like that. Your character doesnt seem to get to scared about things, and the same standard replys seem to ruin it.

[close]

Anyways, despite its flaws, it is still a great game.

[Kinoko]

Of course...! But from a viewpoint of PLAYER.
But I analyzed it because I (like most of AGSers here) am an adventure game maker too.

Sure, look, I shouldn't have given the impression that I find analysing a game wrong. It's a great thing for all of us making games to do. It was just that your original tone seemed to me to be like, "So, everyone likes it, huh? What's so damn good about it??". If I was wrong, I'm sorry My feeling was just that I liked the game and I really do think it's getting so much attention because it's just a good game (as well as 5 Days) that's fun to play. I wasn't around for the mysterious Yahtzee business, but I really doubt that has anything to do with why people like this game.

I also agree that Yahtzee is an above-average game maker. Not to put people on these forums down, but his latest stuff just has a very well put together, polished look about it. When I play 5 Days/7 Days I forget I'm not playing a professional game from years ago. Games like Pleughburg have a similar feeling, I think. It's something I'm trying to achieve myself so I'm jealous of game makers like Yahtzee ^_^

[Gord10]

I've just finished the game (Thanks Al ). It was nice. But IMO;
*The musics could be more horrible.
*There isn't any music while we are killing the Welder in the space. Though it was the end of the game...
*The ending was a bit disappointing.

But it is a great games, though .
P.S:Isn't it illegal to use Half-Life's sound files without permission?

[InCreator]

Well, kinoko, it actually WAS like

"So, everyone likes it, huh? What's so damn good about it??".

I mean, whole analysis was based on that. But after that sentence, the conclusion was not instead of what you might think --
"Analysed! See? Nothing so good really. Fuck it!"

...but I meant something more like
"How in the hell did he do that? Hey, we're generating and discussing all the time how to make a popular game and sweat like hell on this and now... He steps against some very basic "rules" and still succeeds. Now, dear AGSers, pay attention, because after analysis is pretty clear that even ONE of basic sides of game would make it really enjoyable if it's well implemented - i.e. If you can't draw of make music, this shouldn't mean that you can't make a really good game. This game was a great example to prove this."

This was the point I'm trying to bring out.

[R4L]

I need help man. I am on Saturday and I am tied up. What do I do?

[Anym]

P.S:Isn't it illegal to use Half-Life's sound files without permission?

It is (see above).

I need help man. I am on Saturday and I am tied up. What do I do?

Spoiler

There isn't much you can do, so try everything. And try everything more than once!

[close]

[Gonzo]

Overall I think 5 Days A Stranger has the edge, but Yahtzee's extended the story very inventively. I thought it was pretty neat how several days in he linked Trilby and DaFoe to what was going on.

Both games were pretty linear, you could generally only solve one puzzle at a time to move on the story, but that restriction of the player's freedom might be said to be crucial to the feel of the game., and a kind of tight focus on what you have to do next (which was always very clear).

Generally, it's bad adventure game design to have only one puzzle to follow on more than a few occasions, but Yahtzee made sure the linearity wasn't frustrating. Basically every few actions you were getting a nice cutscene, and rewards as you play are what it's all about. I found the plot interesting and dramatic.

Simple but great creation of atmosphere too - music, breathing/walking sound effects, nice dialogue.

I always look forward to Yahtzee unleashing a new game on us, since Odysseus Kent they've always been pleasant surprises. The two horror games have been superb, I think he now needs to get back to comedy.

[tuqueelukee]

Personally, I liked this game more than 5 Days a Stranger. I don't really know why, but this game really made me feel like I was in the game.

Some notes:

1. Loved the death (that is, the player death, not so much the other crew members) sequences. Really frightened me. One that really freaked me out was

Spoiler

the one where you turn into the Welder if you bring the idol aboard (go into the change room with the idol in your inventory). Loved the look in the character's eyes on the Game Over screen.

[close]

The only complaint I had is that the getting sucked into space (not being clipped on the rail) scene looked a bit cheesy.

2. The puzzles. Being somewhat of a beginner adventure game player, the puzzles were okay for me. A bit hard to figure out (namely getting the rail, it's a bit inconspicuous) at times, but that made it fun.

3. The bugs. Yes, there were quite a few. But the version that I played wasn't too buggy, which was nice.

That's about all I can remember that I wanted to bring up. BTW, does anyone know the special date (mentioned in the walkthrough)? Would like to see the secret scene.

And, if you haven't already tried, there's a secret, funny message if you

Spoiler

type in the captain's override code as soon as you can get access to his computer. Try it!

[close]

[Bagpuss]

I always look forward to Yahtzee unleashing a new game on us, since Odysseus Kent they've always been pleasant surprises. The two horror games have been superb, I think he now needs to get back to comedy.

Aw, but I want to see 9 Days a Scrumper first.  C'mon let's have a trilogy.

[G]

That's right. Let's play a trilogy.

There's only one thing: The Idol with John DeFoe's soul has been destroyed at the cold space in the far Caracus Galaxy. This means, Jonh DeFoe is now frozen space dust in a Galaxy whit no inhabitants. So it's difficulto to make another Sequel.

How about a Prequel? A story that tells wath happened between 5 Days a Stranger and 7 Days a Skeptic. There a story. The Idol was found by someone, A Mrs.Taylor got killed, there can be a conection (for not to say that there MUST be a conection)