Ponderabilia 2.0

Started by moloko, Fri 03/01/2014 12:53:42

Previous topic - Next topic

moloko

You're welcome. It's a free game, and my biggest reward is people enjoying it and having fun in the process. You may have noticed I'm not too much of a programmer, and the entire game has to rely heavily on scenario. In regards to your question:

Spoiler
I like the idea of a short circuited button. A lot. I'm not sure if you got to the ending yet, but you'll notice you're able to end up with another, final button. On the elevator control panel, there are open slots, so I'm heavily inclined to further the ending (at least the alternative ending) and use your idea to elaborate on the scenario. It fits seamlessly. I won't spoil the ending by telling too much about it (it's got plottwists and everything!) but this is certainly a path i'm willing to take towards further production
[close]

Monsieur OUXX

#21
Great game. I absolutely love it. Both the graphics and the writing.

EDIT : post below referring to things that got fixed in version 2.x
Spoiler


Small glitch: Nikee has no "idle" view. Therefore when you stand doing nothing for a few seconds, the generic "blue cup" sprite flashes briefly.

Puzzle writing :

Spoiler

Just a minor frustration to the player:
There is a liquor cabinet, AND a huge hint that one should prepare a cocktail (I don't know yet when that will be needed, but I already know that at some point I'll need to mix 4 correct beverages into the shaker), AND there's a book about cocktails in the bookshelf just there on the left ... and yet Nikee says "those books are not worth taking". Yagh!
[close]

Technical suggestion: by changing just one setting in your game settings and re-compiling it, you could turn it into a 32-bit game. This way people would be able to play it efficiently with filters: hq2x or hq3x. That would work wonderfully with your graphic style.
[close]
 

moloko

Changes are duly noted, and I'm going to have a look and see if I can make it into a 32 bit game without crashing everything entirely. If more annoyances or suggestions pop up, feel free to post them here or in a PM. Also, it would mean a lot to me for everyone to rate the game.

Monsieur OUXX

#23
EDIT : post below referring to things that got fixed in version 2.x
Spoiler

Small glitches:
Spoiler

- the "shiny pebble" stolen from Ankou cannot be looked at in the inventory.
- are you sure "use arm on vibrator" can be done both ways? (arm on vibrator AND vibrator on arm). I'm too lazy to start the game over to test, but I'm almost certain I tried "use vibrator on arm" and it didn't do anything. Or aybe I thought I tried but I didn't. I tested it, it works.
[close]
[close]
 

moloko

Noted. Will change in upcoming version. Managed to finish it yet? :)

Tramponline

#25
Wow, what a surreal experience! Twisted humor and some really absurd and hilarious lines - love it.

One glitch I encountered (at least I assume it to be one):
Spoiler
Steve's Robo-Securitron-screen:
I exhausted all dialog with the battle robot until Nikee comments she's not able to muster up the courage to speak to it once more.
Didn't have the 'remote control' in my inventory at that time [...since I overlooked/missed that one for quite some time].
Despite this, I was able to simply walk past the robot into the next room without the need to deactivate it.

Nit-pick: Spelling.
When Nikee is about to get it on with Syph: "[...]Take of your shirt.[...]", the 'off' is missing one 'f'.
[close]

But now, I've to admit, I'm at my wit's end - [or rather, have been for quite some time, but still manged to make some headway up until now, despite my confusion :tongue:]
I seem to be at the same point that 'n0p' reported earlier on:
Spoiler
Visited the Shaman, got the solid light (it's graphical representation caused me quite some brain-twist - nice one!), the pliers and the shiny black pebble and I don't know
what to do with Nikee or any of those inventory items.)
No additional top floor seems to be accessible through the elevator as far as I can see.
Some subtle nudge into the right direction would be very welcome...
[close]

moloko

Tramponline:

As for the glitch: noted and will fix in upcoming version (keeping track of these to have them all in one go.). As for being stuck:
Spoiler
Did you already use the pliers? The top floor doesn't come on without the electricity going. I'm not sure if you found the electrical closet yet. It's a bit hard to spot, in front of the blue house.
[close]

Adeel

Since people are pointing out about glitches here, let me join the fun too. (laugh)

Spoiler
When you return from the visit to Shaman, leave the bodymapper room and then enter it again. The bodymapping sequence plays again. Leave the room and enter it again and again, you'll find the sequence playing. This goes on and on. I noticed that both versions of your game have this bug/glitch.
[close]

moloko

Yup, someone mentioned that before. Apparently nowhere during testing I thought it necessary to reenter that room (seeing as there's no need). The hardships of developing... It's on the bug list.

n0p

Finally!
Spoiler

806 points, and i hope to play extended version :)
[close]
Got me attracted till the end, moloko, great job!

selmiak

loving it already, though I'm a bit stuck. Someone mentioned the brain brother giving you hints on erotic action but they are not doing this for me. And I'm playing the V1.1, at least I hope so...

Monsieur OUXX

#31
EDIT : post below referring to things that got fixed in version 2.x
Spoiler

To moderator(s): I hope you guys are not getting the feeling that the thread is turning into a bug tracker, because that's not the case : people are just all excited to play the game, and these are mostly tiny glitches that don't spoil the fun. Nothing to do with an OSD release :-D
I just felt like clarifying that, because you can realize that only by playing the game.

@selmiak: I think you should ask your question in "hints and tips". Short answer:
Spoiler
When you talk to the brainbros, do they at least mention the name "Juliette"? If yes, then I have the same issue as you: it feels like they're on the verge of giving you sex tips, but apparently I haven't triggered the game event that makes them say the right dialog all the way through.
[close]
[close]
 

moloko

@n0p: Congratulations! 806 Points is pretty impressive, and will most likely be an impossible score after the next revision. Glad you stuck to it to the end, and I hope you enjoyed the story. Please rate is when you have the chance. So far it remains unrated. If you feel like it, do send me a list of things that bothered you or were unclear. I'll try to make the entire experience smoother for future players. I'm taking tips storywise, too. I heard some great ones already.

@selmiak:Don't worry about the brain brothers. They will give you the appropriate tips when you're fully prepared to take on Syph.

Monsieur OUXX

#33
EDIT : post below referring to things that got fixed in version 2.x
Spoiler



Quote from: moloko on Tue 07/01/2014 07:30:09
@selmiak:Don't worry about the brain brothers. They will give you the appropriate tips when you're fully prepared to take on Syph.


Actually no. This is why I was getting crazy.:

There is a game-blocking bug. I don't know exactly how to reproduce it, but if you get the oscillator+arm and get latex-covered in the wrong order or something, then the proper dialog with De Sade never gets activated. Every time you go back to him, he tells you something like "when you need it I'll teach you everything I taught Juliette", but never does it.

I started the game over, did the same things (not necessarily in the same order), and this time De Sade helped me.
[close]
 

moloko

I can see why that is insanely annoying. Will try and fix ASAP.

selmiak

that explains a lot. Will insert coin and try again.

Monsieur OUXX

#36
EDIT : post below referring to things that got fixed in version 2.x
Spoiler


Small Glitches:
- you can get the "Evelyn smell" cartridge as many times as wanted. This is confusing when comes the "time to backup", because you're not sure if you've done it already or not.
- the walkable area in the bedroom is slightly faulty and lets you walk through the TV set.
- If you DON'T push the red button ,then simply talking again to the screen allows you to have a second chance (that might be by-design, though).

Puzzle writing:
Spoiler
I suggest you make more obvious what actually happens when Nikee goes into the Bodymapper:
- does her spirit get transferred into the cartridge
OR
- does Evelyn's smell get transferred into Nikee?
It becomes obvious later on, but at the time it's not obvious which way it goes. Maybe a small additional sentence on the bodymapper after the transfer is complete would help.
[close]
[close]
 

Adeel

Ah, this is truly a wonderful game. Its got excellent graphics which would bring back a 'nostalgia' feel to most of the gamers who've played early Sierra games.

Puzzles weren't too hard and made sense, but at the same time, they were very frustrating to solve too. Similar to those puzzles you'd often counter in Sierra Classics (wtf). This is why I really liked the puzzles of this game, despite getting stuck at one or two occasions.;-D

The Dialogues are not too verbal and give enough detail about the game without making a player bored.

Lack of Sounds and/or Music is the only negative point about this game. But even with the lack of sound, the game's very impressive. Combined with suitable music, this game will become even more impressive.

The Story of the game is original and I've not played any game of similar story before.

Humour of the game is yet another positive side of this game. Especially, the humour at just the start of the game is splendid! :-D

In short, it is an excellent medium length game. I would recommend it to anyone who isn't offended by little explicit content.

I look forward to see more games from Wim in near future. Best of luck! :)

Shadow1000

I finished with 376 points.

I liked the graphic style. I had a bit of trouble finding a "flow" to the game because of how abstract it was. It's not quite clear to the user what the goals were so a lot of "what do I do now" was by trial and error or by "I think I'll use A on B because otherwise there's no use to A". There definitely is a lot of originality and creativity in this game. Some sound would have dressed it up a bit.

As I said, I do like the graphics but unless you label hotspots, you really have to use the graphics to make hotspots stand out or have some reason for the user to click on one. For the most part I think that hotspots were fairly logical but sometimes exits are depicted as dark spots or less and hard to identify.

Anyway, overall a decent game with some good humour. Thank you and good luck in your next game.

SHADOW

moloko

Thanks for the rating Adeel! If a couple more people rate it it may actually have a public rating. I'm glad you liked the graphics. Since this is a project that took so long in the making there are a lot of things I'd do differently by now (for example, the intro room was created back in 2004, the final room with the oracle in 2012). Getting puzzles to exactly the right difficulty is tricky, of course; I remember needing ages to solve the "plunger against the wall/climb plunger to avoid acid" in SpaceQuest 2. I'm now reworking some aspects to drop more hints. I wholeheartedly agree on the sound issue: if anyone has some experience in the sound department, feel free to ping me!

As for the story: it took me ages to write out the scenario (which is over 80 pages of in-game copy, by the way. :)), but it's original in its entirety. Fun fact: Nikee exists, and lives in Belgium. I'm glad you liked the humor by the way. It's not easy finding a tone that appeals to different people... I'm also the author of this Man Card and Guidelines and a lot of people fail to see it's meant ironically.

Furthermore, I'm very inclined to make the next game even more explicit, but I may need to recruit a female author for character development (no offense, but women are a lot better at that.) Later this year we're expecting twins, so I imagine having a bit less time, but I'm quite motivated to elaborate on this and make a series out of it.

Shadow1000: I can imagine getting into the "flow" can be somewhat tricky. All the characters, locale and puzzles make sense within the scenario, but this won't be very obvious from the start. As for the trial and error, I'd really like to get that out of the way completely (it's pointless and annoying), so if you could tell me what really came down to trial and error for you I'd try and revise. I'm redoing all the exits that aren't painfully obvious atm, too.

Cheers,
Moloko

SMF spam blocked by CleanTalk