Franko critique, please!

[Igor Hardy]

Hey, it would be great to receive some Frantic Franko DEMO critique. I would use it to make the game even better. Just tell me what you like and what you don't like. I'm interested the most in opinions about the gameplay - are the puzzles fun?; are the presented situations interesting?; how do you find 'the bag of junk' in use? etc.

Download it here or here.

And here is the official game demo page.

[Matti]

I've just started and it took me some time to figure out how to open the bag of junk, but overall I like it. It's weird but very original and somehow entertaining. I'll post again to give critics and advice when I've finished the demo.

"Hopefully I won't run into an elven commando. Damn NATURFREUNDE!"

Hahaha, my favorite quote.

[Igor Hardy]

Come on, people, I need some more opinions here.

And thanks for the first impressions Matti. Did you manage to finish the demo by now?

[Matti]

Nah, didn't have much time, but I think I'll continue playing the next week.

[Wesray]

Just downloaded the demo! I will give you my impressions later.

[Dualnames]

Come on, people, I need some more opinions here.

And thanks for the first impressions Matti. Did you manage to finish the demo by now?

I want to play but no time for it..will do though.

[Igor Hardy]

Come on, people, I need some more opinions here.

And thanks for the first impressions Matti. Did you manage to finish the demo by now?

I want to play but no time for it..will do though.

I must say I was really wondering why you never reacted in any way to the demo's release (You're just too famous for being interested in every new AGS game ).

I'm looking forward to your impressions. And the demo is quite big and not that easy so secure an hour for it at least.

[Dualnames]

I must say I was really wondering why you never reacted in any way to the demo's release (You're just too famous for being interested in every new AGS game ).

I'm looking forward to your impressions. And the demo is quite big and not that easy so secure an hour for it at least.

Not in all AGS games, just those that are really worth it..

[Igor Hardy]

Not in all AGS games, just those that are really worth it..

I only meant that you're very supportive of new titles. I would never suggest that you're some kind of obsessed AGS-games-(doesn't-even-matter-if-good)-wacko-completist. No, no, no, no....

[Wesray]

I didn't finish the demo yet, but I thought I'd still give you some first feedback.

Things I liked:
- The graphics are nice-looking and unique. I like the hand-painted look.
- I had great fun with the unusual verb coin and the conversation system. Good work on that!
- It's always interesting to play such a grumpy hero character.
- The story looks like it could be good fun, what little I've seen so far.

Things that could use some work:
- Some of the puzzles so far were quite difficult. I had to try everything on everything in a few instances, because the results of interactions can be very unexpected. I had a lot of fun experimenting, but it can get frustrating easily when you get stuck. Don't get me wrong, I think these crazy puzzles fit the game, but more subtle in-game hints would be nice.
- A few of the hotspots were quite hard to find,

Spoiler

e.g. the axe, or the foliage

[close]

Minor things I noticed:
- The red speech color for Franco was sometimes hard to read.
- Some walk-behind problems in the first screen when Franco is jumping around.
- Most interactions with the verb coin had some descriptions, but a few were missing.
- Music is good, but doesn't really seem to fit the mood. 

I've played until the point where you

Spoiler

return from the dark world after talking to the moon

[close]

[Igor Hardy]

Thanks a lot for the feedback, Wesray. I'm looking forward to more.

About the puzzles... I'm pretty sure all of them have decent hints, but they were also meant to be a bit challenging and twisted. The main challenge is probably the fact that it's all non-linear and there's a lot of stuff to try concurrently. But remember that the verbcoin's choices: nose, axe and mouth are Franko's basic means of learning about the world around him and you should be able to figure out all puzzle solutions.

Actually I think the only really crazy interactions I've put in there consist of either optional solutions, or things you can do just for fun without having any bearing on the progress within the game.

Hotspots:
-

Spoiler

the difficult to find foliage is actually a puzzle - you are told that you need to provide moonlight for the spot on the ground. So you're supposed to guess that you have too look for something high up above the ground. Still, it's a puzzle that may need refining. How difficult was it to find the foliage for you?

[close]

-

Spoiler

The axe hotspot is in there just for fun. And you can get a hint that it is a separate hotspot if you try crushing the axe polish with the axe

[close]

Other things:
- I kept experimenting with different fonts and colors for a long time. The text is still not always perfect, but I think it's the best I could do.
- About the visual glitches while jumping - I just run out of steam and didn't fix them as they're only a bit ugly but harmless
- I added some more descriptions lately and they should be all completely covered in the final version
- So far most people have responded positively to the music and I keep feeling strongly about picking it myself- I was looking for an unusual combination of music and visuals

[Atelier]

I downloaded the demo to see what it was like. I didn't get very far, but then I never do with these sort of things.

Quite a picky point, but the floating man ocassionally flickers in front and behind Franko, especially when Franko tells him to move out of the way. It's nothing important, and I don't know how easy it would be to fix but I thought I should say something.

I really like the clashing music - when it first started I thought it was the wrong choice, but after a few moments I realised it oddly fitted what was happening. I also think the background looks fairly nice.

It's good, well done.

[Igor Hardy]

Thanks Atelier,

The flickering does not happen on my system - it would be great if you sent me your computer config info (PM me). Also, can anyone confirm that it's happening on their hardware as well?

If you find the game too challenging, there's a walkthrough for the demo in the Hints section for people who REALLY don't have the patiance to solve the puzzles on their own. Or for those who would like to see if they have missed some cool bonus features and interations.

[Atelier]

By flickering I probably should have said that the floating man swaps every so often from being behind Franko to in front of him, and then quickly back again, creating the illusion of a flicker. Baseline stuff. It's probably a bit picky but that's the only thing that really stood out to me.

[Wesray]

Yeah, I think my main problem so far was definitely the non-linearity and not being sure what to do next, since there were so many possibilities. The one time I was stuck, I tried a lot of weird things and was sometimes surprised about the outcome. I didn't know then that there were optional puzzles, so I thought most if not all of the actions were manadatory. But count the optional solutions and many interaction possibilites as another big plus then.

About being stuck,

Spoiler

I kept alternating between the darts and the puddle puzzle, not sure which one I could solve first and how. The puddle puzzle proved hardest for me so far, but that's my own fault, since I had not yet internalized the unique verb coin and thus kept using the sharpened bone on Franco instead the nose on the bone.

[close]

The one really random main puzzle seemed to be untying the bag, but I saw in the other thread that you changed it already. I think obtaining the bone worked in a similar way (didn't it?), but after solving the bag problem it was a piece of cake.

[Igor Hardy]

If anyone already finished the demo, please comment on its game page. I'm also curious about what the the players think of the cliffhanger ending.

Yeah, I think my main problem so far was definitely the non-linearity and not being sure what to do next, since there were so many possibilities. The one time I was stuck, I tried a lot of weird things and was sometimes surprised about the outcome. I didn't know then that there were optional puzzles, so I thought most if not all of the actions were manadatory. But count the optional solutions and many interaction possibilites as another big plus then. Smiley

I wanted the game to have many small rewards and hints triggered through interaction attempts. However, I now see that many players feel that if something they did by accident worked, it must have been necessary to advance in the game.
Anyway, I thought the quests are layed down pretty well:
Here's a bit spoiling rundown:

Spoiler

get to talk with the other character -> find the eye lost in the puddle
                                                                                                            -> reach the moon - > get the balloons -> get some kind of safety device
                                                                                                            -> create a torch -> doesn't work
                                                                                                            -> enhance your senses with the peypte cactus -> dream world entry
                                get the thing out that got stuck in Franko's nose

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If any of these aren't clear enough during playing, I'll be grateful for telling me.

About being stuck,

Spoiler

I kept alternating between the darts and the puddle puzzle, not sure which one I could solve first and how. The puddle puzzle proved hardest for me so far, but that's my own fault, since I had not yet internalized the unique verb coin and thus kept using the sharpened bone on Franco instead the nose on the bone.

[close]

Spoiler

This is the consequence of my decision to have at the same time parts of franko's body in the verbcoin and himself as a hotspot in the game. I tried to give the impression that using things on Franko is a bit unpredictable and different than telling him what to do through the verbcoin (his hotspot doesn't even describe him as a person). Possibly, this puzzle is still much against what the player is used to from playing other adventure games, which makes it quite difficult to figure out.

[close]

[Dualnames]

Okay, played it. The game is really funny, and very ingenious puzzles.
However I find the interface to lack smoothness.

-The GUI is really small, for no apparent reason as well. Thus it makes it hard to pick. Not impossible but not smooth.
-Having a verbcoin but not being able to Verbcoin on Fried, made me solve two puzzles without attempting to.
-The initial lines introducing the story should allow to be cut.

[Igor Hardy]

Thanks,

Good to hear that someone enjoyed the puzzles. I tried hard to make them a bit different than the usual fare.

Yeah, I might think about getting a bigger verbcoin. Maybe concurrently also make the pointer smaller - one player though it was to big.

-Having a verbcoin but not being able to Verbcoin on Fried, made me solve two puzzles without attempting to.

...to verbcoin on... WHAT? You mean Franko? Could you tell me the details about those two puzzles?

Spoiler

Could it be you've cought the baloons by accident? I guess it's possible, but I don't think it's something annoying for the player, or is it?

[close]

[Dualnames]

You can't initially verbcoin on the character. Instead it takes your attempt to hold mouse till verbcoins appears as a normal click and it throws a bone and something else i can't recall.

EDIT: The verbcoin i use on HHGTG is small but it doesn;t require for you to hold mouse button down.

[Abisso]

Playing the game right now on my Kubuntu 9.04 OS (just happy for it's the first windows game I play on a Linux system). What I can say so far is that the puzzles seem quite logical for me, except the ones about clicking on yourself (but I always try interactions with the main char, so it's not been hard for me to solve those).
The dialogue system seemed a bit strange and unnatural at first, but in some minutes you get used to it.

Graphics are fair enough, and soundtrack is fabulous (I'm mad for jazz, as you can see on my signature, at the end of this post). It fits the atmosphere of the night and the woods, but doesn't fit the char personality, and so it's a bit out of place (sadly). Animations are pretty good too.

The humour is there, together with some fantasy clichés, but told in such a way that they look new and some are very funny too (the elves hatred, the smell underground feature, etc.).

But, as someone else noted before, you absolutely have to change the dialogue colour (the red one) for it's very, very difficult and painful to read. And maybe changing the font would help too. Maybe you're a bit colourblind? Don't take it as an offence, I just thought of it cause of this recent thread started by Abs:

http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=38155.0

Yeah, that, and the verbcoin which is too small. Just let the secondary mouse button pop it up immediately, if you take my advice. You could just then set the inventory to trigger by going on the border of the screen with the mouse cursor.

I'll tell you more as I go on with the game, but I can already say I'm definitely going to play it when you'll release it.