Downfall (2009) - now FREE

[Takyon]

Just started to play this, and I have to say - Wow! Creepy and atmospheric. Well done.

Have you ever considered a version with voice acting?

Have you thought of submitting review copies to horror related sites? Fangoria, etc.

I think having made this game, you would now qualify for membership at the Horror Writers Association - if that kind of thing interests you.

Regards,
RT

Yeah I feel it would have been 100 times better with voice acting, it would have really added to the creepy atmosphere.

[ALPHATT]

I think the cover is pretty nice. I'm glad it is still possible to sell games like this.

[Wesray]

Hmm, I was interested in buying this game since its release and I think I will finally cave in now and get it. After I've completed "Ghost Pirates of Voju Island" that is.

After all I love horror adventures and supporting indie-developers. And any excuse is good to stall working on my thesis (or on my own game, for that matter).

[Cyrus]

I was wondering if anyone noticed hidden references to some other horror games in Downfall?... Doesn't Black Widow Film Studio ring any bells? The guard house, and how you enter it? The locker? The Waxworks? They all come from quite old games that many of the younger players might have never played... But I'm sure someone did. They used to be the favourite games of my childhood, and they scared the hell out of me....

One reference was purely accidental, though. Hotel in the game is called Quiet Haven. Someone pointed out on a forum somewhere that there is a hotel in Silent Hill called Silent Heaven. I instantly remembered then, but I never meant it to be that sort of wordplay... 

Are there any Lucas or Sierra references?

[Grim]

Are there any Lucas or Sierra references?

Now that's a good question! Unfortunately I'm gonna have to say no... The games I had in mind are Elvira 2: Jaws Of Cerberus (locker, Black Widow film studio), Waxworks (well, Waxworks), Darkseed (few hotspot descriptions). There's a reference to HalfLife's Gordon Freeman at one point { but I'm not particularly proud of that one:)}
I guess I'm just a huge fan of Horrorsoft. Whatever happened to those guys... I will miss them.

Wesray- "Ghost Pirates" are out already? I was looking forward to that one!

RedTaloni- Horror Writers Association? You reckon they'd be interested? Might give it a shot:) Although I just found a review of Downfall on the net that says the writing in the game is terrible:)( I can't find the bloody thing now, will post link if I do)

ALPHA2T- Yeah, it's possible. In Russia, apparently.

JJ- I guess I never really believed it would get released... and then bam, I found the publisher and it was a bit too late to do voiceover. Will try to do it for The Cat Lady!

Damn! Speaking of pirates everywhere I look there are illegal versions of Downfall ready to download!!!! Look at this one: http://www.akhareshe.info/games/23081-downfall-a-horror-adventure-game-2009.html

Cheeky bastards even posted screenshots and made it look nice and inviting! Any ideas on how to fight this thing?

[Dualnames]

Are there any Lucas or Sierra references?

Now that's a good question! Unfortunately I'm gonna have to say no... The games I had in mind are Elvira 2: Jaws Of Cerberus (locker, Black Widow film studio), Waxworks (well, Waxworks), Darkseed (few hotspot descriptions). There's a reference to HalfLife's Gordon Freeman at one point { but I'm not particularly proud of that one:)}
I guess I'm just a huge fan of Horrorsoft. Whatever happened to those guys... I will miss them.

Wesray- "Ghost Pirates" are out already? I was looking forward to that one!

RedTaloni- Horror Writers Association? You reckon they'd be interested? Might give it a shot:) Although I just found a review of Downfall on the net that says the writing in the game is terrible:)( I can't find the bloody thing now, will post link if I do)

ALPHA2T- Yeah, it's possible. In Russia, apparently.

JJ- I guess I never really believed it would get released... and then bam, I found the publisher and it was a bit too late to do voiceover. Will try to do it for The Cat Lady!

Damn! Speaking of pirates everywhere I look there are illegal versions of Downfall ready to download!!!! Look at this one: http://www.akhareshe.info/games/23081-downfall-a-horror-adventure-game-2009.html

Cheeky bastards even posted screenshots and made it look nice and inviting! Any ideas on how to fight this thing?

You should contact hotfiles (yes, I created an account to see if there are indeed working links), rapidshare, and inform them that due to copyright material being distributed without your permission you would like the removal of these links.

http://hotfile.com/reportabuse.html
http://letitbit.net/page/feedback.php
http://rapidshare.com/abuse.html

[TheCheese33]

JJ- I guess I never really believed it would get released... and then bam, I found the publisher and it was a bit too late to do voiceover. Will try to do it for The Cat Lady!

If you do end up making voices for your next game, it would be good to give players an option on whether they want the voice or not. I've seen plenty of games have their atmosphere ruined because of bad acting.

[Crimson Wizard]

If you do end up making voices for your next game, it would be good to give players an option on whether they want the voice or not.

This option is included in winsetup.exe for every AGS game.

Hehe, Grim Reaper, you're now tempting me with the free download  but no. I am patiently waiting when my credit card is ready (yeah, I think I'll be buying english version).

[Peanut Monkey]

I wonder if this sort of game could be on other digital distribution services, like Steam.  I forget the name of it now (sorry to the creator!) but I'm sure another game from this website has made it there.

[Grim]

I wonder if this sort of game could be on other digital distribution services, like Steam.  I forget the name of it now (sorry to the creator!) but I'm sure another game from this website has made it there.

Yeah... Steam didn't like it. I'd like to try again now that it's proven quite succesful but it means uploading the bloody thing all night again... Maybe I'm just too lazy?
I do like how Steam works though, even when it is similiar in a way to a Trojan virus, like someone said, somewhere... I bought a couple of games there, including the remake of Monkey Island. And then some dirty bastard stole my account and I couldn't play it no more!... So maybe I shouldn't like them anymore? Still, it's fast and effort-free. Just have to be careful when opening links from strangers...

[Crimson Wizard]

Uh, have to edit my post.

I bought the game from Wadjet Eye website, and downloaded it.
However, when I run installation program, it installs about 2/3 of a game, then halts completely, and I have to reboot computer to get rid of hanging setup application.
I tried to install both on C and D patitions; then I downloaded it for second time thinking that something went wrong during first download. Still it doesn't work.

Any ideas

[Grim]

Uh, have to edit my post.

I bought the game from Wadjet Eye website, and downloaded it.
However, when I run installation program, it installs about 2/3 of a game, then halts completely, and I have to reboot computer to get rid of hanging setup application.
I tried to install both on C and D patitions; then I downloaded it for second time thinking that something went wrong during first download. Still it doesn't work.

Any ideas

Hmmm... I think we should get in touch with Dave. To me it seems like a broken download or installer and not the game itself. Can you email him?

[Crimson Wizard]

You mean Dave Gilbert, right? Okay, I'll send him a letter.

[Grim]

You mean Dave Gilbert, right? Okay, I'll send him a letter.

I emailed him for you.

[Crimson Wizard]

LOL, stupid antivirus caused all this... a day lost just because of that 
Anyway, now it works and I can play the game.

[Crimson Wizard]

Allright, I played a little, I want to mention few negative things that caught my eye (heh, I can't stop noticing those everywhere); I believe some may be already mentioned, yet -

There are three points in game design, that stand out at first hand.
- Character animations, especially walking (also, Ivy did walk backwards couple of times when following main character).
- Three menu buttons stuck on the screen; I think it would be better if they appear only when you move mouse their way or even better hit some button: there are some objects under them in certain rooms; but most importantly, they remind me it is only a game
- Standart save/load dialogs; not only they look a bit out there, but black game font looks very bad on them.

Also, I may give just couple of advices, since you are making next game already ("Cat Lady"), I hope they will be useful.
1. Pay more attention to inventory slot sizes. I noticed some of the item images overlap. Perhaps, increasing item slot width could fix this.
2. There's a bug that I also noticed in Dave Gilbert's "Shivah", related to overhotspot hint. If an object/hotspot is located close to right screen border, the hint goes offscreen and may be difficult to read (or rather impossible to read, and you have to guess what it sais). This issue may be easily solved by writing small script which gets location name manually, calculates its width and repositions Gui with hint label accordingly to make it fit the screen.

Well, apart from that, I saw few glitched, but I guess it is a bit late to mention them, unless you are going to release next version of the game someday. For example, in the "Twilight Lounge" (a 1st floor lounge with "Devil passed through here" writing on the wall) mouse clicks do not make character walk sometimes, and I had to use keyboard to move him.
EDIT: ah, now I realize there's a thin path you have to click on, I usually clicked a bit lower.

EDIT2: It is ofcourse a question of personal preference, but I really hate when items dissapear after you used them. Makes me wonder weren't there another place I could use them instead... besides it's just a cheap way to make player's life easier  
Oh, and I just loved

Spoiler

how he said that he cant carry ice from the fridge "like that" while carrying human head and pig's brain, lol

[close]

EDIT3: I have a question:

Spoiler

When I examine red chemical in the cellar, guy sais like "is it the one I should put in Ivy's veins"; shouldn't he say "Sofie's veins" or it is some kind of senseful "slip of the tongue"?

[close]

[Grim]

I have a question:

Spoiler

When I examine red chemical in the cellar, guy sais like "is it the one I should put in Ivy's veins"; shouldn't he say "Sofie's veins" or it is some kind of senseful "slip of the tongue"?

[close]

Spoiler

It's one of those meaningless mistakes I made that somehow make sense in the light of the story as a whole and actually become meaningFULL. To me, and to Joe, Ivy and Sophie are the same person.

[close]

[Dualnames]

So I've started playing it, and after a while onto the story, I just already want it to end. Which is a good thing!! I've had this feeling back with Silent Hill 3 and 2.

EDIT: And damn!! The game crashed. Move Character: character is not in room.
And to think I was just saying yesterday to Grim that there's surely a bug lying underneath...

Spoiler

When you enter the room that is between the staircase and the Twilight lounge, with Ivy on your shoulders I got that error msg.

[close]

And searching a walkthrough to see I've got it all correct, I am at that point.

Spoiler

Back in the lounge you’ll find that Ivy is dead. There’s only one way to bring her back to life â€" you’ll have to use Doctor’s equipment in room 201.

[close]

And damn I'm only having a very tiny bit of the game to finish. If anyone is having a savegame near or just a little behind that point, I'd love to have it, I'm not really into replaying this game. It gives me the chills..

[Crimson Wizard]

Dualnames seem to be way ahead of me , but I skipped a day not playing.

I actually wonder, what are "roadforks" in the game's plot? I heard there are 5 endings. I was trying to remember moments which looked like important choices in the game. I think I found 2 so far, one is terribly obvious, another gives me doubts:

Spoiler

1. Choosing chemical to kill first part of Sophie with. It makes difference in what happens (I saved and tried both), but I am not sure it affects the future in any way.
2. Choosing your action when you are lying in the grave. That was the first minute I felt sorry for playing Demo, because it spoiled all the anticipation I knew what was going to happen, so I knew what to choose. Although I can't be completely sure letting Agnes live is a correct path (for she may play some evil role in the future), this game point is surely an important roadfork.

[close]

I also wish to mention what I think is the worst designer's mistake of the game seen so far.

Spoiler

It is the moment when Agnes leaves Waxworks Museum thru the back door. Even though I played demo before, I seem to have forgotten some details; so, when game changed to museum front, I just couldn't realize where Agnes is. She appears in some corner, she wears white dress which makes her barely noticable on white/grey background. Also, in this game you have to click precisely on walkable areas to make character move. I was clicking somewhere above walkable areas, and seeing no character movement, couldn't understand where exactly she is.

[close]

[david]

@Crimson

there are more to come to decide what your fate is going to be