Arden's Vale - v1.1 Released!

[Corby]

Solid game! Good work!

[antipus]

Solid game! Good work!

Thanks!  Glad you liked it!


Calling all bugs!  I'd like to release a v 1.1 (or something like that) with all bugs and crashes fixed in the next few weeks.  If you've found anything goofy with the game, please PM me or post here.  I'm already working out the one crash I know about...

Spoiler

If you stand in front of the mirror in the enchanter's room when he zaps you.

[close]

Anything else? I'll even take suggestions and gags to slip in! Did you ever click something somewhere and wish it had a cool joke instead?  Like when you talk to the reflection of yourself, for instance?

[antipus]

If you ever wish that Arden's Vale had speech, Skullkid3 posted a YouTube video of his first playthrough, including some really hilarious comments and truly "spot-on voice acting."

It really made me laugh and was kind of gratifying to watch somebody play through it.  Enjoy!

[antipus]

I'm almost done with v1.1 including all sorts of little tweaks and additions.

A few people have mentioned a walk-behind bug...

Spoiler

after opening the castle door from the inside,

[close]

but I can't seem to reproduce it.  Can anyone be more specific as to where this occurs or send me a screenshot?

Thanks again to all who have played so far!

[Mordalles]

just wanted to add that this is a really beautiful game, and i love all the extra little animations.
still playing, and enjoying!

[antipus]

Thanks to everyone who's played the game so far!  But now it's even better!

All known bugs, including the one fatal crash, were fixed.  And then some of the graphics were improved.  And then a new piece of music was added.  And then a new way to end the game was put in.  And then there was some additional tweaking.  And then it was called v1.1 and made available for download.

Enjoy the new version!

[srnickolas]

I just played through  the new ending!!!Excellent!!! Thank you for taking into account my comment!I am really happy i contributed making an already excellent game cooler 8)!I am looking forward for the sequel!

[Monsieur OUXX]

Spoiler

One hundred codes for the inside of a fireplace.

[close]

I lol'd.

[Abisso]

First of all: really nice game, I liked the graphics, the faithful Sierra feel, and both intro and 3d-ish corridor are artistically and scriptfully remarkable. Humour could be more frequent and sometimes funnier, but it's more than enough to make the game very enjoyable. Story is too obscure though, and even if I like how the unexplained bits make my mind work and twist, this is not a wise choice as it gives the game some sort of amateur touch.

What I maybe liked most is the different approach to puzzles, and the wide spectrum of possibilities you took in consideration.

I've spotted this 2 issues though:

Puzzle-flaw:

Spoiler

As you reach the castle walls, you can go back and take the large rock even before you have tried the small one to break the window, thus making pointless the fact you couldn't take it immediately.

[close]

Bug:

Spoiler

In the treasure room, with the stone in my grasp, I thought I could fool Gary Gygax by leaving the disguise (made by wire, paper hat and cut tapestry, if you need to know) on the square carpet, but got this bug:

[close]

Oh, and damn... the max score I've been able to get is 43, having solved the dumbest version of the puzzle. Now I'll cheat all the time until I score 45 and then I'll try to solve the puzzle at the hardest difficulty setting.

My two cents worth on the story:

Spoiler

The Doctor knows too much about the stone, the castle, the wizard... I suppose he's the Duke, probably blood related to the mage, and one of those thieves who tried to stole from him. The wizard then created the barrier to prevent him to go back to the castle, and so the Duke has set up the perfect plan to obtain the item that will allow him inside the barrier: a stone that counteracts enchantments. But he needs Riel to get it from him, so he casts a spell to make her sister ill. I've got a fervid imagination, haven't I?

[close]

[Igor Hardy]

The game has been jayisgamesed!

[Puddleglum]

loved it!! the amount of interaction with objects was great.. you did an awesome job antipus! are you planning on a sequel?

[antipus]

What I maybe liked most is the different approach to puzzles, and the wide spectrum of possibilities you took in consideration.

loved it!! the amount of interaction with objects was great.. you did an awesome job antipus! are you planning on a sequel?

Thanks so much for the comments!  I had been working on having every inventory object have a response for every hotspot in the game, but ended up cheating towards the end of production. Hopefully they were all on silly enough interactions that nothing you did on purpose had a non-response.

Right now I'm working on a smaller, but hopefully equally enjoyable project.  If I do expand Arden's Vale, it probably won't begin in earnest until next summer...  And then who knows how long that will take.  :

The game has been jayisgamesed!

Sweet!  Thanks for the head's up!

[None]

Playing it now, and puzzle-wise it's really good. I'm relishing it.

I have found one flaw, though I guess it's more a flaw with 'me' than with the game.

I'm colorblind and can't tell the difference between the red/green they are so close to the same shade.
The only way I knew the difference was from the animation.

If you could make it where the mouse-over displayed the gem type, 'fire gem' 'earth gem' water gem' 'air gem' that would help so much.
And when you click on the center gem, if it could say something to let me know which element goes where?!

You can deduce by the swirl that water's south, air's east, but I can't tell the other two. Fire West/Earth north?

[antipus]

If you could make it where the mouse-over displayed the gem type, 'fire gem' 'earth gem' water gem' 'air gem' that would help so much.

Done and done!

Thanks to Charles, I'll be working on a version 1.2 over the next few months, including a new and improved lock puzzle.  Any other suggestions from players would be awesome!

Does the game need more music tracks, non-retro sound effects, language translation, speech, additional responses, backstory, etc?  What would best enhance the game?

[Ilyich]

Just finished this and it was unexpectedly wonderful! I mean, I expected it to be very good, but it definitely exceeded my expectations.

All the little animations, portraits, interface elements, different reactions to most of the interactions and the general amazing attention to detail make it a real joy to play! Congratulations and thanks for releasing such a lovely, polished game done with such thoroughness and care. Really looking forward to your next games, best of luck!

[Igor Hardy]

Some thoughts on Arden's Vale at Zombie Apocalypse: http://blog.zombieapocalypsetoday.com/2011/11/11/getting-back-to-adventure.aspx

Also, don't kill me but I still haven't played it for some strange reason, so can't share any of my own impressions atm.

[Bombermans]

I beat the game yesterday!

Done the two path. Had to use a guide to figure how to do the sneaky part. The game is so awesome! I loved the graphics, the polished interface, the absolutely logical puzzles, the animations and the story! I really can't wait to see more games from you! I would definitely play a sequel. 

I insist. I LOVED YOUR GAME. XD

[Snarky]

I finally got around to playing this, and was also really impressed with how good it is. The writing is funny, the puzzles are well-balanced, and the interaction density is very satisfying. The graphics have a classic Sierra-esque style (with some Kyrandian influences), and although they are "simple", they are appealing, balancing cartoony and realistic really well.

What impressed me the most, though, was the coding of things like the UI (that little hotspot indicator gliding around was very fancy), and the 3D parallax. How did you do those side walls in the corridor? Raw-draw them yourself based on 3D calculations, or what?

Spoiler

I think I have too suspicious a mind. I knew something was up with that doctor even in the intro. Not quite sure what was really going on, but maybe you'll continue the story in another game?

[close]

[antipus]

I insist. I LOVED YOUR GAME. XD

Just finished this and it was unexpectedly wonderful! I mean, I expected it to be very good, but it definitely exceeded my expectations.

It may seem self-indulgent, but I honestly can never get over how many really very kind and positive remarks Arden's Vale has gotten. I really appreciate every one. Thank you so much for playing!

What impressed me the most, though, was the coding of things like the UI (that little hotspot indicator gliding around was very fancy), and the 3D parallax. How did you do those side walls in the corridor? Raw-draw them yourself based on 3D calculations, or what?

Thanks! Arden's Vale is my first game, and in every room I made, I wanted to do something that really messed with my programming skills, which also led to the sliding menu bar, the mobile hotspot labels, multiple simultaneous animations, etc.

The hallway was definitely the clincher, though.  I tried half a dozen major approaches, but ended up calculating and drawing each frame "by hand", with and without the door. It still takes a lot of in-game calculation, since, as the character moves, the door (and the pathway down) actually have to slide further left than the screen does to complete the illusion.

[antipus]

I just read yesterday that Arden's Vale was voted Best Short Game for 2011! Yay!

I've got to say that I was surprised and gratified that so many voted for it, especially considering how awesome Chance of the Dead and Draculator II are. I still haven't played Submerged or The Unfolding Spider, but I'm sure that they are equally impressive labors of love.

Thanks to all! It made my day!