All pigs deserve to burn in hell

Started by Ibispi, Thu 10/07/2014 19:01:28

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Ibispi

Inspired by Franz Kafka's "Metamorphosis"

Plot: Main character(whose name we never get to know) wakes up one day transformed into a pig. Once he leaves his warm house, he is confronted by a different world. On his journey to investigate the chaotic happenings around him he comes across the true meaning of it. No, it is not a dream.

What to expect: A very simple, point and click adventure game, with minor horror elements. Puzzles are fair, make sense within the game world and are not hard.

Click here to download!
(In this newer version 1.1 a warning window appears every time the player decides to click on the "X" icon in the inventory UI, so that he does not accidentally quit the game. If you have already played the game, and downloaded this new version, the old saves will not work on this newer version. You will have to start the game from the beginning.)

Hey, pig! Don't be so pessimistic!


I'd like these fellow blue cuppers 8-) who play tested the game: Arj0n, Adeel S. Ahmed, Tramp(online), CaptainD, Problem and Anian.



This game was originally supposed to be made for a MAGS competition in January, with a theme "Something Cold, Something Burrowed, Something Pink".

arj0n

Congratz on the release, BSP. Finally :-D


I must say this game has way more to offer (story, drama, even a touch of horror) then you would think at first sight.
Definitely Recommended!


Fitz

#2
Wow, that was trippy! One HELL of a ride, so to speak! It clicked with me instantly because of the main character, which reminded me of Jason's comics. As it turned out, my instincts were correct: much like his work, your game is also very serious, dark and dealing with topics of depression and death. Another thing it made me think of was Haruki Murakami's "End of the World and Hard-Boiled Wonderland" -- in which there's a mysterious, dream-like, snowy land with a twisted logic of its own. Murakami's also very well versed in European art, and much of his work is very Kafka-esque (he blurs the border between reality and imagination a lot -- AND he named the main character in one of his novels Kafka). I love how it all expanded on my experience playing the game :) The puzzles took a minute to get used to, but they really worked well -- as did the simple graphics and especially the music.

Now go make more games! :D

Ibispi

@Fitz: thanks for the feedback and benevolent comments! :smiley:

QuoteThe puzzles took a minute to get used to, but they really worked well
this was, in a way, my first adventure, and I had no idea how to write story for one. The problem was, and the problem generally is, that I start with the story, and then I try to integrate the puzzles. Since, like you mentioned, this metaphysical, fantastical, expressionist world has its own "twisted logic", it was not so hard to brainstorm the puzzles, though they might end up a bit odd and illogical, they still make sense in the game world.

This is the first time I hear for Murakami (mostly because Japanese culture is far away from my home). But, from reading about this novel you mentioned, it seems he was influenced by Kafka. Most of the twentieth century and modern day writers, consider Kafka as one of the most influential writers of twentieth century.

@Arj0n 7 months! (wrong) :embarrassed:

Fitz

Oh, but they did make perfect sense, not just by the game's logic. I loved the thermometer mechanics, that was so true to life (though adapted for the game's sake) -- whereas in most adventure games survival isn't even an issue, not from weather conditions, at least. Also, it was quite an epiphany to realize I can use the shovel in more than just one place! That was such a simple, and yet effective story -- and another thing that reminded me of the "Hard-Boiled Wonderland", where in the wintery world men would dig holes in the ground for no particular reason. I really recommend Murakami, he's very "European" for a Japanese writer.

Cassiebsg

Cool little game, congrats on the release and thanks for sharing it! :)

Comments & spoilers:
Spoiler

I did miss the ability of saving the game even though the auto-save is a nice feature, but once I finished the game, I was not offered a choice to try again from the last saved point. I would love to have checked the other ending options, but don't really want to have to play it again from the start.

Your 'Quit Game' button on the inventory GUI, is miss leading and/or asks for no confirmation, so one of the 1st things I did, was Quit the game thinking I was closing the inventory GUI... :/
Maybe you could add a Mouse over label to it, saying "Quit Game!", if nothing more. ;)

The simple Graphics work great with the game style, and I loved your Sun puzzle! :) Though I wondered why he didn't just put all the gems he had instead of me having to add 1 by 1.
[close]

Overrall, very enjoyable game with a nice flow to it.
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Ibispi

@Cassiebsg
Thanks for playing my game! :)

Spoiler
I went less for the gamer approach, and more for the post modernistic approach, where every person that views art, views it from a different angle. And, so everyone experiences this game differently. You are not supposed to replay it. (except if you really want to ^ ^ )

Thanks for the feedback about the GUI. Nobody complained about this before, but it is a valid issue! I will probably make it more obvious to the player that it is a quit button in the newer version.

Pig adds gems 1 by 1, mostly because that puzzle was really hard to program (at least for me :-[), and the script there was quite a mess. I was thinking about making it so that he adds all the gems immediately, but I was afraid of all the bugs that might arise from that, and that I might never fix them at all.
I'm glad though that you loved that puzzle! :)
[close]

CaptainD

Congrats on getting it finished BSP! ;-D  I know you put a ton of work into this game.
 

Problem

I really liked the game. Nice atmosphere with simple but appealing visuals. The story is weird and twisted, and much darker than I expected. It's definitely worth replaying and watching the different endings, as each ending contributes to the story. Too bad you can't simply load older savegames to quickly get to the alternative endings.
However, I highly recommend this unique little gem. Well done!

Cassiebsg

Yeah, I think it's worse playing it again too. :)
I'm up to 2 endings, but still need to check the 3rd ending. LOL
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

bicilotti

Sooo, regarding endings, I got
Spoiler
three of them,
1. go in hell (and die horribly)
2. reach doctor without having swallowed the pill (metamorphosis into wolf, die horribly)
3. reach doctor having swallowed the pill (still pig, die horribly)
[close]

Is there
Spoiler
anything I am missing?
[close]

Ibispi

#11
@bicilotti
QuoteIs there
Spoiler
anything I am missing?
[close]

No. Were you expecting more? :shocked:
Spoiler
Even if there were more than those 3 endings the Pig would, yet again, die horribly... :~(
[close]

But still, Bicilotti, thanks for playing my game! And thanks for the comment! (the feedback is always great) :)

@Problem and CaptainD, thanks for supporting me through making this little game, you are both wonderful people. :smiley:

bicilotti

Quote
No. Were you expecting more? :shocked:
Spoiler
Even if there were more than those 3 endings the Pig would, yet again, die horribly... :~(
[close]

Well:
Spoiler
Tough luck for Mr. Pig, then :P I hoped he could have made it, somehow. Maybe together the Guide. Alas, it is a cruel world.
[close]

QuoteBut still, Bicilotti, thanks for playing my game! And thanks for the comment! (the feedback is always great) :)

Hope to see more games from you! Congrats to you and your team!

arj0n


cat

Ahhh, I always keep clicking the exit icon accidentally which ends the game. How can I load the latest autosave? If I choose a slot it starts from the beginning...

Ibispi

#15
Quote from: cat on Wed 30/07/2014 21:20:48
Ahhh, I always keep clicking the exit icon accidentally which ends the game. How can I load the latest autosave? If I choose a slot it starts from the beginning...
Hi, cat, thanks for trying out my game! :)
Your questions:
1. my future games will have a "are you sure you want to quit?" window. I might even add it to this game and upload it today. I am sorry. :sad:
2. Well if you clicked on the first icon when you first started the game, it should restore that game when you click on the same icon again. Same goes for the two other icons. It is odd that it starts from the beginning every time, that should not happen and it is a bug. It might be system related? Did you have the same problems with other AGS games? In the end, if it doesn't work, you could try to play the game from the start to end without loading or saving, since it is relatively short. Or you should not play it at all since it was badly designed. (the new game, I am currently working on, has the old AGS save/restore method)

These two things, cat, are probably the two biggest design mistakes everyone complained about. It is my first game, in a way, and humans learn from their mistakes.
But, then again, thanks for the feedback, it is greatly appreciated! := 8-)

cat

I played it again and finished it.

It is an interesting game and it's a pity that there are those quit/load issues.
You should definitely fix these issues and release a new version of it.

Ibispi

#17
Quote from: cat on Thu 31/07/2014 21:26:22
It is an interesting game and it's a pity that there are those quit/load issues.
You should definitely fix these issues and release a new version of it.

@Cat, I've uploaded a newer version which resolves the problem with accidental quitting the game. You are not the first one to complain about this, and I considered it a serious issue!
The save/restore problem however, is not so much of a problem, but a bad design decision. That I cannot really fix, but I learned from my mistake, and I will make sure to not do such a thing in any of my future games (at least adventure games, since this save system doesn't work with them).

cat

Thanks for fixing it! This is rewarded by choosing the game as "Pick of the month".


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