Topic: The Clockwork Labyrinth

[elentgirl]

A mysterious message on social media lures you into a weird underground complex to rescue a damsel in distress.  You must pit your wits against the labyrinth and find your way to the enigma at its heart!

The Clockwork Labyrinth is a first person point-and-click puzzle adventure.  The idea for the theme of the game came from a television documentary about clockwork automata, and from this starting point I developed a surreal mix of Steampunk, Gothic, ancient civilisations and fairground kitch.  The game's focus is on its puzzles, which I hope offer a broad range of challenges, from simple fun games to more complex, interconnected puzzles.

Ever since discovering first person adventures (Myst and Riven were the first true adventure games that I played) I've wanted to make one myself, but was deterred by the number of different screens needed to allow four views in each location.  I did include a couple of short first person sections in my previous game - Adventure Island - and this, together with a helpful hint from another AGS programmer, gave me the encouragement to try a full length first person game.  I've cheated a little by locating it underground (no 360 degree vistas to construct!).

The Clockwork Labyrinth can now be downloaded from the AGS database here, and I've posted a few screenshots below.  I've also put together a short video trailer which can be viewed here.

The Metal Maze, in which every turn takes you to another puzzle.


The Caves of Confusion, where an ancient mechanism thwarts your progress.


The Cryptic Crypt, a catacomb of Gothic mysteries.


The Museum of Curiosities, a celebration of eccentricity and the bizarre.

[Mandle]

IT'S HERE!!!

Puzzle-lovers prepare to spend a few pleasant days, weeks, or months embroiled in this devious game!!!

[Cassiebsg]

This was great fun to test!
Make sure you grab your copy now.

Also, I'm not seeing the images either.

[Slasher]

This looks really good and interesting..

BTW I think you have not entered the names correctly for your helpers on the games database page..

[Stupot]

This looks great. I&ll check it out soon

[dbuske]

Yes I got it running when I changed to windowed mode dx9.
I am stuck on finding the way to find the ticket

[elentgirl]

I am stuck on finding the way to find the ticket

I have given a hint or two to help you on the Hints & Tips forum.

Good luck,
Elen

[Sinitrena]

I'm far from finished with this game. I'm currently getting confused in

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The Caves of Confusion

after completing about 2/3, I'd say, of the

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Metal Labyrinth.

(I still haven't figured out what to do with the

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playing cards

(see Hints and Tipps forum) but I'm sure it'll come to me at some point.)


I really, thoroughly enjoy this game so far. The graphics are great, the music so good that I feel there's not enough of it - especially when it starts for a specific puzzle/screen but goes away as soon as I leave the screen. There are a couple I'd like to listen to while I just walk through the labyrinth. The atmosphere is great, the puzzles varied - different kinds and different difficulties.


It's been a long time since I was so interested in the solution to a puzzle that I got out a piece of paper and worked it out in this nice old-fashioned way. It certainly keeps me interested.


The story and personality of the main character are a bit lacking. You try to save someone from this labyrinth, someone you don't even know. That's all I've seen so far - maybe there will be more later, maybe not. I usually play adventure games mainly for the story, so slight disappointment there for me (personal preference, of course). Not so much personal preference, more a design choice I consider a mistake, is the lack of feedback from the player character. An example: In the very beginning you need

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money for a ticket.

It's fairly obvious where the money is and that you need a

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key to open a money box.

A logical place for it would be

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a jacket hanging in the same room. Where else would you keep your keys?

Unfortunately, I can not look at it, so I have no idea if I just missed the hotspot or if it is completely irrelevant. It would be nice if the character would say that I'm looking

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in the wrong spot

and that I'm waisting my time here. That's an example, not the only one, but one from the beginning to keep the spoilers to a minimum.


The biggest annoyance for me, though, is the slow "walking speed". I want to make one step forward, the screen fades to black, I have to listen to the foodsteps, the screen fades to the next room. It is sloooooooooooow. Especially considering that you have to walk through and explore a fairly elaborate labyrinth, keep track of where you are, and may have to walk to certain places again because you have to do something in a different part of the labyrinth first. Also, keyboard controls would be great for the movement. Or at least make the area to move forward go the whole hight of the screen. I don't know how often I klicked into the upper portion of the screen to move forward just to then realize I have to klick on the ground. There really is no good reason to limit this.


That aside, so far I can recommend this game. And I'll certainly keep playing.

[elentgirl]

Hello Sinitrena
Thank you for your comments on my game.

I really, thoroughly enjoy this game so far. The graphics are great, the music so good that I feel there's not enough of it - especially when it starts for a specific puzzle/screen but goes away as soon as I leave the screen. There are a couple I'd like to listen to while I just walk through the labyrinth.

I'm really glad that you are enjoying my game, and I agree with you about the music.  This is not my creation - all the music is from a large collection that Eric Matyas has provided free for AGS game makers to use.  I was able to find just what I wanted for every mood and location!

The story and personality of the main character are a bit lacking. You try to save someone from this labyrinth, someone you don't even know. That's all I've seen so far - maybe there will be more later, maybe not. I usually play adventure games mainly for the story, so slight disappointment there for me (personal preference, of course).

I accept your criticism about the story and main character.  My main aim with this game was to create an integueing and entertaining environment which is also a little sinister - the introduction is more bait to lure the main character (and the player) into the labyrinth than a realistic scenario.  I have deliberately kept the main charater a little vague as I want the player to feel that THEY are the protagopnist rather than moving a chacter that may not be like them around the game.

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I have added your comment about looking for the key in the jacket to a list of possible modifications for a later version of the game.  It was not something that any of the testers raised - I think they all saw the key (and tried to take it from the clown) before finding the cash box!

The biggest annoyance for me, though, is the slow "walking speed". I want to make one step forward, the screen fades to black, I have to listen to the foodsteps, the screen fades to the next room. It is sloooooooooooow. Especially considering that you have to walk through and explore a fairly elaborate labyrinth, keep track of where you are, and may have to walk to certain places again because you have to do something in a different part of the labyrinth first. Also, keyboard controls would be great for the movement. Or at least make the area to move forward go the whole hight of the screen. I don't know how often I klicked into the upper portion of the screen to move forward just to then realize I have to klick on the ground. There really is no good reason to limit this.

I've added your comment on the forward hotspot to the list.  Regarding the walking speed, that is something I gave a lot of thought to.  When I first played through the game to check if the rooms were in the correct order I had only a brief fixed gap between them.  Although this allowed me to move through the maze quickly, I felt that it destroyed all sense of its being passages that you have to navigate.  I believe that part of the secret of making a fantasy beliveable is to make the environment seem as real as possible.  Ideally, I would have had short video sequences as you move forward rather than a bank screen, but I'm afraid I haven't the resources to do that.  The speed of the footsteps is something I tweaked a great deal, trying to get the balance right.  I think it must be something of a personal preference as none of the testers raised it as an issue.  I'm sorry that you find it frustrating - perhaps you are a naturally fast walker!

Good luck,
Elen

[Cassiebsg]

Okay, as a tester I can answer two of those questions:
- About the key...

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I might have looked through that entire cabin before I moved out to find it. However it didn't strike me odd that the clown was keeping it for safe guard... (though he's a lousy key guard ). Reason for that is, that you rarely keep the key to the safe right next to it... what's the point of even locking it then?
So I thought it made sense.

- About the walking speed

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It annoyed the heck out of me... not at the start but later on, when I had already explored the entire maze and just add to go to a particular puzzle. But again, it made sense in the context. But yes I would have rather have had a faster pace. I may have mentioned this when trying to solve the cards puzzle... or I may have not. Can't remember anymore.