Lost in the Nightmare: 'Save Our Souls' News: 29th of January

[Gord10]

Thanks Yes, I have used the graphic engine of Half-Life.

Aslong as the translation is available seperately, lest I download another 100 something megs.

The proofread will be downloaded as .tra file that is about 200 KB's.

It will take one or two day for me to release the proofread file, as the original full proofread script has some space errors that needs to be fixed (it is just erasing the excess blank lines, but it is taking hours!).

[Leon]

Finally finished the 'game'. Was more like an interactive movie to me because there was a lot of walking, a lot of dialogues and not too many real puzzles. That's why I was stuck at Efe's. The timeframe there is very short. Certainly compared to the graveyard scene at the end where you seem to have all the time in the world.

A few things I noticed:

- A lot of red. I think a bit too much. It doesn't improve the graphical quality of the game. Some screens were very blurry. A red filter on a screen, ok, but 3/4 of the game is red & black.
-The asperine. No matter what I say, I don't get it from Taner. (So why the question?)
-The english. A lot has been said here already. Needs a lot of improvement.
-The duration of some of the dialogues. Some are too short to be completely read. Why must some boxes be clicked, others not? Why not let them all be clicked so the player can read at his own speed (that's a general comment I have, not only for this game).
-The tarot-game. I think a bit too early in the game 'cause I hadn't really get to know the people yet (especially Cagri and Alper). So it became more of a guessing/try&error than rational thinking.
-The action-icons. Looking becomes walking, using becomes looking, using becomes walking. Very frustrating. At some point you're afraid to look at something, scared to move to a point you don't want to go yet.

The story was good, the choice of music made it even more a nightmare. But not to play.

I'm very curious what will be next. btw, I made a walkthrough. You can find it here.

[Gord10]

Thanks everyone for the comments. And thank you Leon for the walkthrough; but I think the other scenes, which would be available when we choose something different (like killing the baby or not trying to save Alper Taner in the good ending's extra level), should have been included in the walkthrough.

About the critiques; I see and admit they are all true. I should had done the gameplay much more comfortable, even if I had to re-adjust the whole transition hotspots. And sorry again for the absent half of the proofread, I have been working on the original proofreaded script to make it work in AGS (it seems like I have overwritten on the real finished proofread script with something wrong) on my free times that are left from studying. I think it was a big failure of mine to release this as a new game, instead of just changing the download link of the original game.

You can be sure my next games will be much more comfortable to play (and will be released on a schedule of mine when I will not be busy with my final exams. *cries*)

[Lamak]

Gord10, the third picture on your first post really disturbs me. Yep, the red one.

Because of the composition, I always think that Burak's leg is the foreground character's dick.

[Leon]

@Gord10:

You're right. I'll add the other two storylines as well.

[Gord10]

Gord10, the third picture on your first post really disturbs me. Yep, the red one.

Because of the composition, I always think that Burak's leg is the foreground character's dick.

Subliminal advertising, heh

Seriously, I hadn't noticed it. I would change it if I did.

[Galen]

Spoiler

I'm confused by the tarot card puzzle, I'm guessing either the player or the hotel owner (unable to leave = condemned?) is the hanged man, that's about it.

[close]

Spoiler failed.

[Gord10]

Solution:

Spoiler

Hanged Man is Burak Güney, the player character. There is another reason why Şaban can't leave the hotel.

[close]

And some news:
Firstly, a quote from the Story Analysis and Post Mortem text of LlitN that I am currently writing:

One of the most important features of the deluxe version was the proofreaded English texts, but more than the half of the lines were absent in the deluxe version (I think it is because I used the "Update Translation Source" option of AGS on the edited original proofreaded script in a careless way. And I noticed it after releasing LitN:SOS!). As I have lost the edited version of the proofreads  (some editions like deleting the excess space lines were required in order to make the proofread work in AGS), I had to edit the original proofreads, a work that would take my hours/days just on my final exams week!

I finished editing the original proofread script. The real working proofread is ready. But I am waiting for Eniena to complete the proofread of the extra level of the game (the first version was not including it; even if it wasn't buggy).
I will release the proofreading .tra file as soon as I am able to add Eniena's extra level proofread.

And second news is, as I have mentioned above, I am writing a Story Analysis and Post Mortem document. I think it will be available with the new .tra file.

[vertigoaddict]

Just completed a few endings...

THIS GAME ROCKS!

and that's quite an achievement! (I don't often use the term 'rocks')

[InCreator]

Stylish start, creepy atmosphere, nice graphics...

And yet, I can't play this game.
I simply cannot. Where to go? How to go? Where am I? Use this man for talking?
Why is everything black? What room did I have to get to? Aah, quit!

Sorry Gord10. I just posted to tell that this game isn't available for everyone.
I'm sure you spent helluva lot of time on this, but some things are simply TOO left out to make this appealing.

Why isn't there some aid for directions, like changing cursors? A bit more lights in rooms? Maybe a diary of protagonist explaining things and goals? A map of the town? Some-thing to help out a bit? Like HOTSPOT names?

Also, nice 3D mixed with awful 2D sounds... lazy. You surely could google for a photo of key and cut it out, instead of keeping original AGS sprite? Same for cursors...

Maybe myst-like games isn't simply my thing, but I really wanted to like this one.

[vertigoaddict]

The cursor changes colour everytime it goes over a hotspot, I thought that was good enough considering this game is free (if it was commercial, that's when I would have had problems).

If you don't know where to go, there is a walkthrough that Leon wrote, but only one of multiple endings. This game is mostly explore and talk really, often you'll find yourself going back and forth, automatically directed to cutscenes.

[Gord10]

I don't think being a freeware game is not an excuse for the hard gameplay

I agree with the critiques. But on the other hand I know it will sound weird but I think I like my game with that uncomfortable gameplay; it is really too hard for me to tell why.

Still, you can be sure I will make my next game with a much better gameplay to make the players happier, even though I would wish it to be uncomfortable.

And news: I have already finished the editing of the original proofread script; but I have to wait Eniena to finish the proofreading of the extra level (the extra level was not proofreaded even before the release of SOS) to release the real proofread .tra file.

And the writing of Story Analysis continues.   

[Eniena]

Be sure and check you email, Gord. I've sent the proofread lines for the deluxe version to you.

[Gord10]

Finally I could finish the editing of the real proofread text. It took me days to edit the lines in order to make them work correct in AGS 0_o

For anyone who waits the proofread pack to start playing the game:
http://geocities.com/akk13us/MyExcuses.zip
Extract the Script3Sone.tra file into the folder of the game, run winsetup.exe and choose the Script3Sone.tra in the Language section.

And I have a good news to anyone who liked the game's story and would want to see its background:

I released the story analysis of LitN:
http://dosya.coolbluegames.com/story_analysis.htm
This had been such a highly personal and emotional documentation; you are warned.

[Galen]

That may just have been scarier than the actual game. :O

[vertigoaddict]

My comments may contain spoilers, I couldn't comment in the comments page because I couldn't understand your language.

Spoiler

I remember when this bully splashed sodium hydroxide into my eye in chemistry class, it itched after a while, luckily the teacher was there and washed my eye properly. I also got a ciggarette bud thrown at my eye, it didn't miss but thank god for my reflexes, if I didn't close my eyes then I could have gone blind. A fairly recent danger to my eye was when I had a headache because this annoying teacher wouldn't shut up; I pressed the pencil against my head and it broke, sratching under my eyelid (again thank you reflex). Bullies liked to throw rocks and sharp objects at me because I was different, spoke english fluently and my father (although middle class) has quite high status.

I was a victim of verbal and physical abuse everyday and have attempted suicide, of course I was a coward or else I wouldn't be here now would I? The bullying distracted me and made me depressed, causing my grades to suffer as well. After reading this, I can relate to the main character more.

I can also relate to' lost one' (although not in terms of disability) I was fat as a child and people avoided me because of it (and perhaps my race too, kids can be so mean [4-5 years old] I was in an international school). The few 'friends' that I had were either 'friends' with me because I had nice crayons or nice lunches (they ate my lunch, but once, when I  asked for permission and ate their's someone thought I was stealing and I got into trouble; my 'friend' did not support me).

Anyways, thanks for sharing.

[close]

It was a good read, you should continue to make games like these (they'll probably be better, since you're more experienced now)

[Eniena]

In my proofreading of the game, I tried to make the corrected lines fit into Gord's original vision of Lost One being a kind of villian who basks in the powers he has been given. It was pretty hard to read his lines in the previous improper english and really imagine him enjoying himself in this regard.

After all, society is the true catalyst in his creation. Without them, there would be no Lost One. So, great going society, you pretty much signed your own death warrant in this regard.

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

"There is a famous word", when it's a famous saying? "Being not able to see the future"? "Arif didn't cut the contact from me"? In the "Script3Sone.tra" file?

That's it, I've completely lost faith in ever seeing this game with proper english.

[Galen]

The translation was still a huge improvement.

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

Honestly, I'd rather play the non-translated version, but that's just me. The non-translation didn't bother me when I first played the game, because it was clear that the author wasn't native english and therefore I rather turned a blind eye. Besides, it did not impede my enjoyment of the story.

But after this rather large translation saga, I'd rather have found NO mistakes. Instead, I find oddities right on the introduction.

Ah well, maybe I'm too picky.