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AGS Games => Completed Game Announcements => Topic started by: kaput on Sat 02/02/2013 08:52:04

Title: Mysteries of Peak Valley: Case 1 The Lost Sonata
Post by: kaput on Sat 02/02/2013 08:52:04
Sunny Penguin games proudly presents:

Mysteries of Peak Valley:

Case 1: The Lost Sonata

(http://i.imgur.com/iZUzhKW.png)


The Story

After  receiving a mysterious phone call, psychic medium Zack Gellar travels to a large estate house in northern Peak Valley, where he is greeted by a desperate woman's pleas for help. Seeing that the woman is on the brink, he agrees to help her, vowing to communicate with the spirit that haunts her, and in turn help it to find eternal peace.

Originally written in the form of short stories, Mysteries of Peak Valley: Case 1: The Lost Sonata is the first in a series of 'interactive ghost story' adventure games.


The Screenshots

(http://i.imgur.com/EBnEYU8.png)

(http://i.imgur.com/jTpYHeD.png)

(http://i.imgur.com/oegXxKc.png)

Features:
* Original gripping storyline
* Logical puzzles
* Animated character portraits
* Fully interactive
* Lots of reading!
* Full soundtrack
* First in the series
* Free

Recommended System Requirements
* Direct3D 9
* 960x720
* Download ~26.4 MB


Download here (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/1647/)


Comments, ratings and critique would be highly appreciated.
Title: Re: Mysteries of Peak Valley: Case 1 The Lost Sonata
Post by: sthomannch on Sat 02/02/2013 10:50:46
Very well done! You succeeded in creating a captivating atmosphere. The storyline is well developed. Hope to see more like this (even thoug the end was sad)
Title: Re: Mysteries of Peak Valley: Case 1 The Lost Sonata
Post by: kaput on Sat 02/02/2013 11:23:03
Thank you so much for the feedback sthomannch. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Title: Re: Mysteries of Peak Valley: Case 1 The Lost Sonata
Post by: an Urpney on Sat 02/02/2013 21:17:19
Some minor critique:
Spoiler

- I totally don't feel like an investigator. Zack refuses do do any investigating - like questioning the mother about everything (dirt on the floor, teddy bear, painting in the bedroom - all of those seem relevant to the case), searching the house, looking for clues.
- The games gives very little direction: at first I know my basic obiective (enter the child's room) but after that - all Zack tells me is that I need to gain ghost's trust. How to gain ghost's trust? How does ghosts operate in this universe? What's Zack's special talent? He seems to be as lost as I am. Or even more lost: I would play the piano because I know that the kid liked it while Zack says there's no point.
[close]
More comments when I move on : )
Title: Re: Mysteries of Peak Valley: Case 1 The Lost Sonata
Post by: kaput on Sat 02/02/2013 22:02:28
@ an Urpney - Thanks for the critique. I totally understand. As it was written, Zack is overly protective and respective at this point and doesn't want to stress Miss Boulyn out. He doesn't want to lose his job, as it were, by being too intrusive. I will take it on board.

I think you might be stuck on the most complained about puzzle...
Spoiler
Maybe a keen eye will help you?
Spoiler
Look around carefully.
Spoiler
It's a token pixel hunt.
Spoiler
There is more than meets the eye in Chloe's bedroom!
[close]
[close]
[close]
[close]
Title: Re: Mysteries of Peak Valley: Case 1 The Lost Sonata
Post by: an Urpney on Sat 02/02/2013 22:24:20
Quote from: Sunny Penguin on Sat 02/02/2013 22:02:28
@ an Urpney - Thanks for the critique. I totally understand. As it was written, Zack is overly protective and respective at this point and doesn't want to stress Miss Boulyn out. He doesn't want to lose his job, as it were, by being too intrusive. I will take it on board.

Always glad to comment : ) It would make much more sense if Zack mentioned that he needs the job and doesn't want to do anything that would upset his employer.

Quote from: Sunny Penguin on Sat 02/02/2013 22:02:28
I think you might be stuck on the most complained about puzzle...
Spoiler
Maybe a keen eye will help you?
Spoiler
Look around carefully.
Spoiler
It's a token pixel hunt.
Spoiler
There is more than meets the eye in Chloe's bedroom!
[close]
[close]
[close]
[close]

Spoiler

Got it, thanks! And now - when I understand Zack's take on the investigation - I can't understand Miss Boulyn's. First she hires an investigator and then she doesn't allow him to investigate. [Another point: I'm not sure if Zack and Boulyn are aware that it's Cloe's ghost that haunts the place - they certainly should suspect that but Boulyn seems to believe that Chloe is still alive and Zack doesn't share his thoughts on the investigation neither with Boulyn nor with me]. I know that playing piano is unusual part of an investigation but Miss Boulyn knows Zack is a paranormal investigator.
Technical note: there's no action assigned to "use lightswitch in Cloe's room" - Zack doesn't do nor say anything when I try execute it.
[close]
Title: Re: Mysteries of Peak Valley: Case 1 The Lost Sonata
Post by: kaput on Sat 02/02/2013 23:14:41
Quote from: an Urpney on Sat 02/02/2013 22:24:20
Spoiler

Technical note: there's no action assigned to "use lightswitch in Cloe's room" - Zack doesn't do nor say anything when I try execute it.
[close]

Fixed
Title: Re: Mysteries of Peak Valley: Case 1 The Lost Sonata
Post by: an Urpney on Sun 03/02/2013 00:01:50
All right, thanks to your help I've just beaten the game. Here's what I think:

Spoiler

+ Story. There's never enough ghost \ mystery \ horror games!
+ Music. A little too loud at times, but good.
+ Dialogs and writting.

Minor complains:
- Zack's shadow acts strange (especially on the staircase),
- To my untrained eye perspective seems a little weird at times (staircase again),
- Two pixelhunts \ invisible obiects (music sheet and doll) - frustrating and unnecessary,
- For someone who's overprotective, Zack does plenty of damage in the house. Especially distracting the mother seemd out of character - this situation can be handled in so many ways...
a. Lawful good: explain her that you need to play the piano to communicate with ghost.
b. Chaotic good: buy her sedatives to calm her down and send her to bed.
c. Chaotic neutral: pretend you can't hear what she's saying and play with her in the room.
d. Chaotic evil: fake a malicious ghost manifestation so she has a breakdown, locks herself in her bedrom and cries.
And what does Zack do? Breakdown scenario!
- How does Zack (paranormal investigator) couldn't deduce it's Cloe when I (middle level office worker) deduced it without much trouble? How could miss Boulyn not know about big secret room in her house?
- The text about Boulyn's fate at the end is a little too blurry.
[close]

Overall - nice little game. Certainly will play Episode 2 when it comes out.
Title: Re: Mysteries of Peak Valley: Case 1 The Lost Sonata
Post by: kaput on Sun 03/02/2013 16:07:19
Re-uploaded with a few minor bugs fixed  8-)

If you find any bugs feel free to pm me. Have fun!
Title: Re: Mysteries of Peak Valley: Case 1 The Lost Sonata
Post by: kaput on Sun 03/02/2013 17:55:45
I again uploaded a new version. There should now be no reason to pixel hunt. I realise how frustrating it can be. If it did put you off before I hope you'll give it another try.
Title: Re: Mysteries of Peak Valley: Case 1 The Lost Sonata
Post by: Stupot on Sun 03/02/2013 21:34:48
Looks nice. Downloding now :-)
Title: Re: Mysteries of Peak Valley: Case 1 The Lost Sonata
Post by: Shadow1000 on Mon 04/02/2013 00:15:21
I played the game and enjoyed it. Essentially my comments are the same as Urpney.

I think that for a first game this is a great achievement. My only additional point to make is that some of the puzzles were simply "let's slow down the player" rather than a real puzzle. It's hard to express that differently so you have to know what I mean by that :)

2 more fast points:

- Clean up "hotspot 5" which is the window over Chloe's door
- I liked the music; it really fit the atmosphere. You might want to consider adding more sound effects, though.

SHADOW
Title: Re: Mysteries of Peak Valley: Case 1 The Lost Sonata
Post by: kaput on Mon 04/02/2013 00:44:18
@Stupot+ Thanks, let me know what you think :=

@Shadow1000 Glad you enjoyed it :) and thanks for the approval it really means a lot. I'll definitely take what you guys have said and learn from it, so hopefully things will improve as the series develops.

Quote- Clean up "hotspot 5" which is the window over Chloe's door

Fixed. I totally missed that one. Thanks again.
Title: Re: Mysteries of Peak Valley: Case 1 The Lost Sonata
Post by: Stupot on Mon 04/02/2013 01:27:50
Nice little game Sunny.  Good graphics and some nice writing.  Well done sir.
To be honest, I didn't really sympathise with the woman as all... But I was touched by Zack's sympathy for her.
Title: Re: Mysteries of Peak Valley: Case 1 The Lost Sonata
Post by: kaput on Thu 07/02/2013 06:18:40
I'd just like to say a big thank you to all of you who have played and commented on the game so far, it really helps to keep the motivation going  :smiley:.

The minor issue with the cursor on the title screen has now been fixed.

-SP
Title: Re: Mysteries of Peak Valley: Case 1 The Lost Sonata
Post by: KiraHaraReturns on Thu 07/02/2013 09:33:57
well done, but I can switch between the rooms by ctrl-x
Title: Re: Mysteries of Peak Valley: Case 1 The Lost Sonata
Post by: kaput on Thu 07/02/2013 10:16:50
Thanks for that, I indeed forgot to disable it. Fixed now, feel free to pm me if you find any other bugs etc.

-SP
Title: Re: Mysteries of Peak Valley: Case 1 The Lost Sonata
Post by: bluber2009 on Thu 07/02/2013 21:40:45
Very nice game, but I think I am stuck on the first real puzzle.
Spoiler
I found the scissors. Thats it.
[close]
Title: Re: Mysteries of Peak Valley: Case 1 The Lost Sonata
Post by: kaput on Thu 07/02/2013 22:04:05
@ bluber2009 I don't want to give too much away but I'll try to give you some hints:

Spoiler
There's something new in front of Chloe's door. Where did it come from? What significance does it have?
Spoiler
Remember to look at things in order for the character to know what to interact with.
[close]
[close]

If you are still stuck let me know and I'll be happy to help.
Title: Re: Mysteries of Peak Valley: Case 1 The Lost Sonata
Post by: LimpingFish on Mon 11/02/2013 02:50:18
As an adventure fan, I'm going to play this!

As a moderator, I'm going to ask that hint requests be kept in the appropriate thread (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=47569.0). Thanks. :)
Title: Re: Mysteries of Peak Valley: Case 1 The Lost Sonata
Post by: Slasher on Thu 07/03/2013 16:27:00
The Lost Sonata:

although short and wanting more, The Lost Sonata has a great story line and I enjoyed playing it. Apart from a few minor points a very good first game and I look forward to more games from Sunny Penguin.....

slasher ;)


Title: Re: Mysteries of Peak Valley: Case 1 The Lost Sonata
Post by: kaput on Thu 07/03/2013 19:15:55
Cheers slasher, Glad you enjoyed it. The game was more of a bit of fun to make than anything else. Considering I made the game in just two weeks I'm happy with and a bit surprised by the good reception this little game has had so far. I even came across this vid on youtube (it's amazing how fast things travel online): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3deW4mcUxeI

But yeah, you'll certainly be seeing more games from me. But rest assured, pixel art was never my thing (as you can probably tell) so you'll be seeing something a little different from me next time.

Cheers
-SP
Title: Re: Mysteries of Peak Valley: Case 1 The Lost Sonata
Post by: Bjyman on Tue 02/04/2013 04:47:41
I found an unused hotspot in the piano room, but it's really hard to find.
Title: Re: Mysteries of Peak Valley: Case 1 The Lost Sonata
Post by: Saurabh on Wed 03/04/2013 11:51:34
My thoughts :

Spoiler
I loved the music.
I liked dialog, although actions of Mrs. Boulyn were not consistent with someone who hired a paranormal investigator (even if she was depressed by her daughter's disappearance).
Graphics were alright although a bit blurry.
[close]

Hopefully we get to play the sequel.
Title: Re: Mysteries of Peak Valley: Case 1 The Lost Sonata
Post by: kaput on Thu 04/04/2013 01:25:12
Quote from: Saurabh on Wed 03/04/2013 11:51:34
My thoughts :

Spoiler
I loved the music.
I liked dialog, although actions of Mrs. Boulyn were not consistent with someone who hired a paranormal investigator (even if she was depressed by her daughter's disappearance).
Graphics were alright although a bit blurry.
[close]

Hopefully we get to play the sequel.

Hey, I'm glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the feedback  :smiley:

That's pretty much the general consensus I'm getting about Boulyn. Beeatch be crazy. Literally.

Anyway, I'm in the middle of a huge project and probably shouldn't, but I've decided to start work on the sequel so you can expect it in a couple of weeks to a month! The story is written so it's just putting it all together now.

EDIT: Also, guys... He's a psychic medium! He just deals with ghosts. He isn't about to take on the skunk ape or anything ;)