How They Found Silence

[sthomannch]

blood is red ...

Spoiler

you can try with one or the other of the red liquids. Kara gives a hint about the colour of the powder. And if you grind a unicorns heart, you get (goolge) gold dust You are left with only a few choices...

[close]

[discordance]

If you read all the notes in the lab, you should be able to get the potion puzzle on the first try. Did anyone read the piece of paper tacked up near the shelf? It has some hints on it.

[donmartin]

That note is somewhat misleading: it seems to discard the gold powder (goldenfrog) and the brilliant red (decay of smthg).

Ty for the help.

[discordance]

Dang, I just noticed that. The messages on the bowls were supposed to refer to the color of the *label*, not the powder within. How embarrassing.

[david]

Ive figured it out finally

Spoiler

blood is always red but there is another one red color besides that brightly red substance
dragon eye = obvious
kalamancus = hint from kara or what her name is
unicorn heart (overstriking horn) switched with golden frog = gold powder
and the last thing = sticks

[close]

and finished the interesting game  

thank you for that discordance

[Cogliostro]

Okay, I've made the potion, but I need Lily to speak the magic words.  When we go back up the stairs, I get attacked.  I've tried every combination of replies to get this buy to stop, but nothing ever deters him. 

I work QUICKLY through the talk-options and tell him the cave door is open and he should check for him self.  He says he will after he kills me.  I tell him to talk to Angela -- after all she is the only human he trusts -- and he tells me he will not listen to my lies.  I've been through the this scene about thirty times and end up getting killed every time.

Any hints or suggestions?

On that note, should most of these comments be in the hint section?

[david]

try it once again

i am sure you can do it

it isnt that hard as it looks   

[sthomannch]

cogliostro

Spoiler

You can avoid getting killed by asking the right questions. I think I started with "why do you want to kill me?", then there are only to sensible answers in the next dialog

[close]

[Snake]

Hey, finally got a chance to finish this game. The potion puzzle was a toughie, but I enjoyed it and figured it out for myself. I quite enjoyed the dialogue puzzle at the end.

Nice little game. But I must admit that it leaves me wishing there was more to it. But, that all goes to the fact that it was in fact your first game (to be released) and likely due to you not having enough time to devote more time into the story.

I loved the music! I also loved the atmosphere at the beginning... especially after walking into Lily's room for the first time... Christ. Liked that a lot.

Good game and looking forward to your next. The ending hinted at a possible sequel... will there be?

[Crimson Wizard]

Okay, I am back to this game, and I continue to note rough edges

I believe it is a design fault that when you exit Feurn Manor through main gate, on the next screen character is placed at the right room edge and not in the centre (where gates are located). For the first time this made me think that he came from the right, and that I am still somewhere behind the walls of the manor grounds.
Then I found this bug: if you exit through gates and appear on that mentioned screen (before manor gates), then click on the right-pointed green arrow, you will be transported to the next location, which lies to the right, but your character will appear standing at the right edge once again, instead of walking from the left.

Now, I found that rather unnatural

Spoiler

that you have to wait for day 3 to get some matches... I mean, what kind of the treasure hunter is this guy if he can't get himself matches and have to wait until other man will forget some on the table?

[close]

[discordance]

. . . maybe he left in a hurry. Or maybe it's an artificial way to force a carefully designed story progression. 

Thanks for the notes, though. I guess this is why beta testers were invented.

[Crimson Wizard]

Just finished the game and... heh

Spoiler

I wished there were some gruesome carnage with smiling living doll  involved

[close]

just kidding  

Can you explain what this phrase about "they found silence" mean anyway, in the context of this story? I thought in the end I will understand for sure but I didn't. I have a guess, but have doubts as well.

[discordance]

The idea behind the title:

Spoiler

Everyone is trying to find something or accomplish something - Fern wants to preserve the status quo, Angela wants to feel fulfilled by helping people, Okotoko wants to save himself and his people, etc. But in the end, nobody really gets what they're looking for, they all end up dissatisfied. Even Okotoko dies just as what he's been hoping for comes about. So in the end, nobody really finds what they're looking for; all they find is silence.

[close]

[Krimson]

I finished the game yesterday, and I really enjoyed it, especially the story.

However, I have a few (heh) questions:

Spoiler

What did the sad white doll signify? My guess is that it was meant to represent the plight of the sea people, seeing that it was sad when they were dying, but when they were restored, it was floating serenely in the ocean. Either that, or it was an avatar of Okotoko, since it seems to watch you in a sinister fashion after you leave the room.

[close]

Spoiler

Speaking of the doll, if the fairly tall Rolando can't reach it, how the hell did Lily get it up there? There don't seem to be any portable ladders or the like ANYWHERE on the island.

[close]

Spoiler

Also, if Kara wasn't of magical blood, how did she trap Malacastor in the ring? Or if I read the signs wrong, and she was of magical blood, why didn't she just speak the spell herself? What was the purpose/significance of the rope in the lighthouse? It seems Like Angela may have hung herself there, after she failed to save a loved one. Finally, what role, if any, did Malacastor play into the current events of the game? The fact that you give the ring to Lily, and that conversations preceding that seem to suggest that Malacastor has escaped, but nothing seems to come of it.

[close]

Overall, it seems like there are quite a few loose ends you could pick up if you decide to pursue a sequel . The mythology of this world seems to be really thought out, which is something I always like in a story, even if only small chunks are revealed.

Thanks!

[Crimson Wizard]

Heh, another one C(K)rimson guy here 

Spoiler

Either that, or it was an avatar of Okotoko, since it seems to watch you in a sinister fashion after you leave the room.

[close]

Actually I had a guess that

Spoiler

Malacastor transferred his soul into that doll.

[close]

Don't know if this correct, but it would be cool and sinister.

Spoiler

Speaking of the doll, if the fairly tall Rolando can't reach it, how the hell did Lily get it up there? There don't seem to be any portable ladders or the like ANYWHERE on the island.

[close]

Heh, that's a good one. Maybe... maybe...

Spoiler

Malacastor helped her? 

[close]

Spoiler

The fact that you give the ring to Lily, and that conversations preceding that seem to suggest that Malacastor has escaped, but nothing seems to come of it.

[close]

Overall, it seems like there are quite a few loose ends you could pick up if you decide to pursue a sequel

Yeah, yeah, a sequel about

Spoiler

SINISTER WHITE SMILING DOLL

[close]

[discordance]

The more wizardly crimson guy is correct:

Spoiler

The doll is Malacastor. He escaped from the ring and possessed the doll.

[close]

Heck, not only are there no ladders, the manor is also completely lacking in kitchens, dining rooms, bathrooms, virtually all the basic amenities. Actually there are a lot of rooms in the manor that you can't get to because I'm too lazy to draw them all and they weren't important to the story.

I have a whole pile of ideas for a prequel, which will hopefully see the light of day sometime, and incidentally might try to patch over some of the more blatantly obvious plot holes 

[Krimson]

The more wizardly crimson guy is correct:

Spoiler

The doll is Malacastor. He escaped from the ring and possessed the doll.

[close]

In retrospect, this makes perfect sense.

Spoiler

It was Malacastor's renewed power/influence (due to Lily) that angered the Sea People, and this, along with Kara revealing her secret, made Lord Fern decide that the Sea Stone had to be found fairly soonish. The reason that Okotoko never decided to off Lord Fern before is that because he didn't believe that Lord Fern had anything to do with the situation. When he sensed the return of Malacastor, he suddenly realised the two were connected, and decided that murder was the best solution. The fact that a long since gone sea person's 'essence' had reappeared, yet she was nowhere to be found, can't have helped the situation.

[close]

Good to know that you have plans for a prequel!

P.S. Crimson Wizard: I assure you that the similarities in our nick-names are purely coincidental, yet still pretty awesome.

[Ali]

Me and Nelly thoroughly enjoyed this game. It was like a Lovecraft short story in tone and length. Regarding the game's period, I took the game to be set in an approximation of the modern day because of the idiom the characters spoke in. Also, I got the crash mentioned above:

Code: ags

(ACI version 3.12.1074)

in "room2.asc", line 79

Error: FaceCharacter: characters are in different rooms

I have a couple of suggestions for future games in this vein. With regard to the graphics, they were a few occasions where they were less than functional - at one point I couldn't tell if I was looking at a painting or a window. Perhaps they would have benifited from using smaller characters and cramming more detail into the backgrounds - in the manner of Duty and Beyond. This wouldn't require a challenging graphical style, but it would have offered the player fewer uninteractible areas of flat colour.

The second suggestion I'd make would be to offer the character more of a challenge. Your preamble characterises him as a master adventurer, but the game doesn't give him the opportunity to excercise his special skills. Offerring a puzzle involving something like a grappling hook, lockpick or compass would have helped make the character feel a more active protagonist.

I hope that didn't sound too negative, good luck with the next one!

[nihilyst]

Just finished it, and I must say I liked it. Okay, the graphics are a bit on the weak side and he walked really slow, but it had a certain atmosphere that was appealing. The music was good, but there could have been a few more animations. But otherwise, a cool debut.

[discordance]

Thanks for the advice! I basically live in the chilling outer wastelands of the Land of Skilled Artists, so my greatest ambition was just to hit "functional" graphics-wise.  Maybe I'll improve eventually. Or maybe I'll just lower the resolution enough that it's impossible to tell.