Matt to the Future (demo)

[Snake]

The only thing that bothered me on the ending was the last puzzle that forced me to do something within a few seconds...

Although this particular puzzle could have benefitted from a couple extra seconds, the method to my madness there was the simple fact that once you knew what you were doing, while flubbing up the first couple/few times, getting back and forth and executing wouldn't be as trying as it seemed on the first try.

Spoiler

I figured that after a couple times the player would figure out that it was much easier to throw the chicken liver on to the lift from the fridge, shut the door, get back to the sink and secure the door - rather than throwing the liver on the lift from the sink, getting to the fridge, closing the door and getting back to the sink in time (which is possible, but only by the skin of your ass).

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After I got what I had to get on the desk I wasn't able to go on the desk again, that was kind of restricting. I know I didn't need anything from there anymore, but it would have made my area a bit bigger.

I only did that at the last minute since time was running out and I didn't want to have to script everything else on the other side of the room to detect whether or not he was on the desk or not. Otherwise it would have stayed the same. I actually wanted to do more with him on the desk (like jumping over to the fridge area) but like I said, I did not have enough time to think of anything that would fit AND script it all (not to mention animations and other graphics that would be included). I was lucky enough to get the few extra days that I got because of a storm we got slammed with.
Heh, the whole chair breaking thing was actually a last minute idea I threw in there. Without it the whole lab scene would have been VERY short. What I should have done was started work on the lab scene first and did the intro last - spent too much time on it as time ticked away.

Thanks for the huge responce MrCheminee!
And a double thanks for comparing to DOTT!

I have to say, I actually had no problem figuring out that the point was to get past the porcupine & fix the chair so you can move around...to me at least, THAT much was obvious...

Hurray! Thank you for saying that But I agree that something could have been said to at least make it clear that the thing bouncing across the room was the wheel to the chair he just jumped in.

Takes a bit to switch from arrow to hair cross (this was the hardest bit for me :-) )

I agree. Time and pressure restricted me from thinking of a suitable "interface" for that part.

Spoiler

Maybe I'm just lazy, but it might have been nicer to put 1 item in each of the drawers?

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Spoiler

Yes, I agree. The main idea I think I was going for was to throw the player off thinking that there was only one or two items in the same drawer... I don't know. Not too sure why I threw them all in one.

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Spoiler

Also, I spent ages clicking on that crime scene tape, saying "I know I need you, why can't I take you!?" - it seems like I couldn't take it until I looked at the wheel? I would have preferred to be able to take it from the start, but never mind.

Spoiler

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My whole idea for these puzzles, or any other adventure game, is that I really don't like the character being able to take something without actually knowing why they are taking it. Like the mouse for example. There are three different responces triggered by certain events when you try to take it. The second responce hints that he COULD take it, but doesn't know what he would use it for. You can only take the mouse when it is hinted that something else is needed to reach the wheel.
You can only take the crime scene tape when MATT realizes that it could be used to nab the wheel, which happens when you try to take the wheel from sittin gin the chair. Eventhough it's obvious to YOU that the crime scene tape could help, but Matt does not. Matt needs to know why he is taking something.
Do you saee what I'm getting at with this?

It's funny, I thought the very first thing most people would do would be to try to pick up the wheel.

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I thought the idea about using the chair was cool, and I cracked up at the intro because I wasn't expecting such a peaceful scene to turn into that haha.

Thank you very much! I thought the chair idea was cool too.
lol, I'm glad you liked the intro bit with the porcupine Peaceful is exactly what I was going for, with a little bit of cutsie in there too. I'm glad you laughed. Did you get right away that the porcupine had been living in his fort? The clue was the hole that he comes out of and the hole in the door. I had originally planned for him to come out from behind the fort, but I later changed it to him coming OUT of it, just waking up, lol.

I'm happy you guys liked it. I was dreading this game was turning into another Castle of Fire...

[ThreeOhFour]

Spoiler

My whole idea for these puzzles, or any other adventure game, is that I really don't like the character being able to take something without actually knowing why they are taking it. Like the mouse for example. There are three different responces triggered by certain events when you try to take it. The second responce hints that he COULD take it, but doesn't know what he would use it for. You can only take the mouse when it is hinted that something else is needed to reach the wheel.
You can only take the crime scene tape when MATT realizes that it could be used to nab the wheel, which happens when you try to take the wheel from sittin gin the chair. Eventhough it's obvious to YOU that the crime scene tape could help, but Matt does not. Matt needs to know why he is taking something.
Do you saee what I'm getting at with this?

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Yeah, of course! It's your game, and just coz I whine about the points where I got stuck doesn't mean you did it wrong .

I totally understand your reasoning for doing it how you did it, but because I got stuck there for a number of minutes, I thought I'd bring it up. It certainly didn't ruin the game, seeing as I managed to get past it. I think for me the thing was "Oh awesome, I have to fix this chair, now how am I gonna do this?". I basically expected not to be able to pick the wheel up, which is why I didn't click on it until after trying to get the tape through various means.

As for knowing where the porcupine came from in the intro, I wasn't really paying attention to that . It was kinda "Oh, look, a widdle porcupine, oh hey cool a closeup! He's so... BAHAHAHAHA"

[m0ds]

I haven't played it yet but I'm definitely intrigued, and will try it soon. Lengthy replies at this point generally mean wait for the next version, but I guess its more an issue of personal taste towards the puzzles. Will feed you back soon

[Igor Hardy]

I got the wheel, but still have no clue how to get the bolt. Also, I can't find a hotspot for the chair.

[Snake]

I got the wheel, but still have no clue how to get the bolt. Also, I can't find a hotspot for the chair.

Nut and Bolt:

Spoiler

Check the drawers under the "microwave".

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As for the chair's hotspot:

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I'm assuming you are trying to use the wheel on the chair? You need the nut and bolt first. Otherwise, how's the wheel going to stay on?

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I hope you are enjoying the game so far, Ascovel.

[EKM]

Wow, an adventure game by Snake...that much alone is hard for me to register at the moment. o_o
Gonna play ASAP.

[Snake]

Wow, an adventure game by Snake...that much alone is hard for me to register at the moment. o_o
Gonna play ASAP.

Hey. And what in the hell is that supposed to mean?

[Igor Hardy]

So far I'm enjoying it. I like the visuals a lot - both backgrounds and sprites. Also, I find the game intriguing and the zombie porcupine situation is exciting. However, I really don't like that you are making the player do things in an extremely specific order. I think it kills the puzzles which would otherwise work and frustrates the player unnecessarily.

[Peanut Monkey]

However, I really don't like that you are making the player do things in an extremely specific order. I think it kills the puzzles which would otherwise work frustrating the player unnecessarily.

Yes, I agree with that.  What I like about some games is the fact that if you're stuck on one puzzle, you can temporarily turn your attention elsewhere, complete that and then start afresh on the tricky one... Whereas when it's linear once you're stuck you're stuck, and can go no further.

It's still a very good game/demo though, don't get me wrong, and more to do with personal preference

[Snake]

What I like about some games is the fact that if you're stuck on one puzzle, you can temporarily turn your attention elsewhere, complete that and then start afresh on the tricky one...

You can do that in this game:

Spoiler

Yes, the game is very linear, but there are two puzzles going on in the beginning at the same time;
Getting the wheel and getting the nut and bolt. Eventhough getting the wheel is completely linear, since you can't take the crime scene tape without trying to take the wheel and you can't take the computer mouse without using the crime tape on the wheel, getting the nut and bolt is solvable without doing anything with the wheel at all.
(Very long winded, I know)

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And I do agree with the both of you (Peanut Monkey and Ascovel) though. My whole idea, having to to do something specific in order to be able to take something, was more a test of how it would have been accepted by players. And since it got more thumbs down than up, it'll definately change when I revisit it.

Thanks for playing. Did any of you finish it?


\\--EDIT--\\
By the way, a walkthrough is now available on Leon's site, Ultimate Game Solutions

[The Suitor]

Actually I played and finished this the day you released it. I'm just now getting around to complimenting you on a job well done.  

[Snake]

Actually I played and finished this the day you released it. I'm just now getting around to complimenting you on a job well done.  

Heh, you're an arse! Thanks for the compliment, though, Suitor : I wonder how many more people played it but haven't said anything.

M0ds said he was going to "try it soon".
So, M0ds, "soon" is OVER a week? After all these years you'd think we'd be used to his empty promises.

[Igor Hardy]

Hey, Snake,

I finished the demo. Though there was quite a lot of solution peeking involved.

I still liked the aspects that I mentioned. Also, the setting of the house and Matt's family felt very real and atmospheric (in a humorous adventure sort of way). I'd love to have a version of the game where I could at least explore the whole house.

Nevertheless, many puzzles were problematic. Besides the one issue I already told about, it was a big problem for me to look 2 times at everything and I didn't see any hints when I should do so (I don't think this double-checking adds anything to the puzzles, so maybe the traditional one-good-revealing-look would be better?). Also, there should be a bit more time given to do all the actions required for the final puzzle. It was rather extreme, frantic clicking. The other aspects of the puzzles were ok.

So that's basically what I thought. I hope you'll have a go with my Frantic Franko and give some feedback for it as well.

[roll]

Needz to continue making this game, best animations ever!

[Snake]

Thank you for posting, Roll, it was a big suprise! I'm glad you liked the animations
I am going to continue, but it will be cut down into episodes instead of one big game.

[Captain Ricco]

Great game, i liked the characters, they were charismatic. To bad it is only one room long.
I agree that having  order to solve the puzzles kinda annoyed me, i mean, having to look at stuff twice, also, the character saying "i dont need this" in most games means that hell never need it, but i guess thats just me that am used to the rest of the games, it wasnt a bad thing really, it makes sense.

So when will some more come out? I want to kill some neighbor-zombie-porcupines-things

[LRH]

Only thing that tripped me up was

Spoiler

having to look at items in the inventory MORE THAN ONCE to get a new item or information on the item. I really wish I would only have to look once, for when I see the generic 'this is what that is' message, I assume there will be nothing new following it. This is a matter of personal taste though, I'm sure some thought to do it without any trouble.

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But absolutely superb animations, graphics, music, and even the puzzles, though challenging, were all great. I'm interested to see where it goes.

I may try a LP on this tomorrow if I'm not dying from the flu

[Snake]

Thanks, guys, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

I'm going to remake this demo first and make it the official episode 1, or part 1 or however I decide to name it, before any other parts are made.

And to all of you who did not like the need of checking things twice and having to do the chair puzzle in a specific order, piss off.

Just kidding. I'm going to fix the puzzles up for the official release and get rid of that. Like I had stated in a previous post, it was more of a test as to see how that way of puzzle solving would be excepted.

Thanks for playing and I'm looking forward to seeing a Let's Play! at some point

\\--EDIT--\\
In the mean time, why not work on your hand-eye coordination and play CASTLE OF FIRE?

[sthomannch]

I found there was nothing wrong with checking twice on objects...

[Scarab]

The 'Double Look' took some getting used to, but because it's used consistently, I didn't find it to be a problem.
Looking forward to this one Snake. 

In the mean time, why not work on your hand-eye coordination and play CASTLE OF FIRE?

Waaaaaay ahead of you buddy