The McCarthy Chronicles: Episode 1

[Chicky]

Think of it this way mate, every person who commented has played (or completed) your game. Each one of them thought it worthy of posting about and a lot of them even reviewed it.

Six pages! I'm betting all of those people will download and play your next game too. A very good response imo!

[mintymint]

Hi Calin, I just completed the game, and I'll have to say that it's really a great game.. 

Very nice atmosphere, great voice acting, and most of all, the game looks very professional.. 

My only suggestion is, maybe you want to use different type of font instead of default AGS font in the next game.. anyway, it's just suggestion for your consideration.. i'm okay with default AGS font though..

Can't wait to play the next episodes of McCarthy Chronicles.. 

[MrCheminee]

let hope i improve.

You're allready way better than most of us!

[Spummy]

How come most peoples games get one liners like "Good game, really enjoyed it" and mine gets a 300 word slating :p seems rather unfair to me.

I agree with most of the points raised though. The story was fairly badly planned and so the execution was a little haphazard.

let hope i improve.

Well, I chose to respond because even though aspects of it felt awkward to me, you're generally showing some potential, in particular you appear to be pretty good at crafting your dialogue, showing either experience in poetry or lyric writing (Which, you mentioned being a musician, so thats a possibility) but execution is as important as the words itself. I don't respond to most games either because they do their best at what the goal is of the project, or they don't really show great area for improvement.

But yeah, if there was one thing I would say (obviously just what I think is the most important right now) to try for the next one, make the most dramatic parts intense, and put some panic into the atmosphere(Music being the easiest way of doing it) and make them interactive, pressure the player so that the gameplay reflects the narrative more, this will make the entire emotional aspect far more strong. It would quickly make playing it a lot more enjoyable, because really, you only "play" the least-interesting parts in Chapter one.

Sorry if it feels like I'm trying to bury you with criticism and talk you down, thats the last thing I'd want to do.

EDIT: Also, I rant about everything, its a problem I have.

[Bulbapuck]

Good game, really enjoyed it

[Calin Leafshade]

Spummy (worst name ever, btw),

Dont worry about the crits, man. Like i've said before, I'm a gigging musician, I can take criticism :p You guys are tame compared to drunk skinheads who dont "get it".

I'm happy with the level of interest in the game.

Gives me a good platform for my next project...

[Ookki]

Fantastic game! Can't wait to get the next one.

[Dualnames]

Pressure the player so much, he dies in real life!!  

I'd hate to see McCarthy turn into indigo prophecy to be honest.


Whatever, I suggest on your next game, you do what YOU want to do. And make the game YOU'll like. Otherwise you'll make a game that will not satisfy anyone!

Trust me on that, and don't hesitate to sacrifice things to that end. (Blackthorne's famous wise words)

[Helme]

How come most peoples games get one liners like "Good game, really enjoyed it" and mine gets a 300 word slating :p seems rather unfair to me.

Fantastic game! Can't wait to get the next one.

Satisfied Calin? 

[miguel]

Well, everybody's talking about your game Calin, so it's always a good thing!

My opinion on the game is that I'm playing it and enjoying every part of it so far.
All the good things people said about your game I do agree with, and they clearly beat the not so good things.

To all that haven't played this game:
   if your looking for entertainment at a very high level considering it's an amateur game then this is the game to play!

[ashmc2]

Spummy (worst name ever, btw)

^^^ First of all, laughed my ass off. That made my day, really. You should get in debate class and start out a rebuttal with that very phrase.

Calvin, I loved the game. I thought it was well executed and enjoyed the experience thoroughly.

You need to understand the reason you have gotten so much feedback with many views deeply critical was your pick of genre. You picked a genre with hard core fans with strong dissenting views on what exactly film noir is. A lot of people think solely of Robert Mitchum, while others contrast towards darker, near invincible, protagonists of Sin City and The Spirit archetypes. You cannot and will not totally satisfy many Film Noir fans; it is a cult genre. So understand to origin of the critiques.

I give you credit for tackling it your first time out. Hell, my first project currently is slated to open a door with a complex 4-way locking mechanism with minimal story line or background story.

You are obviously a very talented artist and performer. (Possibly the well sought after “triple-threat”. ha ha. Do you know how to pop-n-lock or Riverdance?) I feel that you are far more critical of yourself than anyone else is critical of you or your work. This is usually the trait of a gifted person and is the catalyst that drives ambition towords ever-increasing skills, development, and ventures. 

With the sheer amount of feedback, you are getting great insight into what different people like or expect out of a game. Whether you agree or disagree with someone’s assessment, still take it as honest criticism, because it is that person’s opinion of what that person does or doesn’t like. That shortens-up your learning curve on all aspects of game development and entertainment in general. Just stay positive, digest everything, and hook us up with an even sweeter gaming experience next time around.     

[Atelier]

Congratulations on this game Calin. Admittedly I didn't finish it (got stuck trying to open mausoleum door) but I saw enough to know it should be a really good series.

[Grim]

Since we're still talking about it I suppose I should add that as much as I loved it, I'd drop the werewolves in the next one. ( nice animation though!)

[Jimbob]

Finally got around to playing this.

Enjoyed it! Played start to finish without a break, which perhaps helped.

Some unexplainable things (like the window being fixed in the night ) and some unforgiveable typos (man, when will people ever get it's/its right ) but yeah thought it was a great mood setter.

Is the final song the one in 28 Days Later? Or is it a cover of the one (I say one, but I mean several minutes of a piece) by Godspeed You! Black Emperor? Sounds very familiar, but used very well all the same... EDIT: finally read through the comments... it is! Didn't realise they were (almost) the same thing - (thanks Wikipedia!)

Good luck with the next one!

[Layabout]

Hello,

I'm hyper critical and play very few AGS games.

I really enjoyed your game. It was a really well constructed story. It had a great sense of immersion and pace. The music was well suited to the genre. Loved all the special effects, especially the puddle. That was astounding.

The game was a little too dark for me to see properly at times, but perhaps that was caused by my monitor/me not playing in the dead of night as I should have been.

Puzzles felt a little tacked on (especially the coat hanger) and being there for the sake of being there. I would have like to see a bit more investigation and choice in dialog.

One of the best AGS games released this year.

[Laukku]

the game lacks substance when you remove all the dialogue, which lowers its rating.

I don't understand this. Isn't this the same thing as saying "This game is actually not very good, but if you ignore its flaws, it's a  very good one!"?  Why ignore part of a game in a review?

Maybe the reviewer meant something more like "This game lacks actual substance, though the nice dialogue helps somewhat".

[Calin Leafshade]

I think essentially what they were saying was that the gameplay sucks but the pretty dialog makes it bareable :p

It's akin to saying that a movie is basically bad but the special effects are good i think.

[Julius Dangerous]

Tat's Great, Congratulations!

Great atmosphere , sfx, voices, graph .. waiting for Italian translation..

Well done!

[Layabout]

Which isn't true, the investigation parts are fun. It's only brain-bending puzzles it is missing, which do not necessarily need to be in an adventure game. The original reviewer was probably a puzzle fanatic

[coldwater]

wow, this game..... wowwwwwww.... you should probably make a sequel. no, you MUST make a sequel to this