Metaphobia

Started by Digital Mosaic Games, Thu 20/06/2019 00:23:33

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Monsieur OUXX

This is fantastic
 

Mandle

This game is an amazing resume piece for a commercial game. It required an impossible amount of effort to get all the rotoscoping done, obviously, you even have separate animations for opening top and bottom drawers FFS when this could have easily been fudged, but...

MASSIVE SPOILER ALERT!!!

Spoiler
I do get the feeling that it was written as the game progressed, which is fine for an indie game.

But this also means some jarring moments, especially in a game developed over a long time-frame:

There was so much charming dialog with Patti, the daughter at the beginning, getting to know and learn of her relationship with her father, and then we never get to interact with or see her again. (well except to show her stuff)

There was a lot of exposition of Judy and our relationship and a mystery about why we just ran away. This is never addressed again and Judy just vanishes at the end.

I'm guessing there were plotlines imagined with them that never got fully developed and then they just fell through the floor in the rush to get the damn thing finished? But you didn't have the heart to go cut out all the initial relationship exposition and the effort that went into it?

The puzzles: Some were great, some were intuitive, some were...ummm filler?

I felt that most of the puzzles kept the fun level of the game up there, and you did limit the areas of searching for answers to puzzles to the bare minimum, which helped.

But, in an investigative game, I feel that the puzzles should be based on that element and not weird stuff like making a fake mustache that the character could just go to a shop and buy. I even have money in my inventory to do so with.

If you're gonna go with the evaporated coffee solution at least let there be two alternatives. The second being using the character's kitchen without the excuse of "That would stink up the whole apartment.".

On the flip-side of the coin, I felt that the puzzles in the museum in Iran were just right, as the character is out of his element and has to make do with what he has on him. Very fun!

The translation puzzles were exactly what I wanted them to be! Perfect! Gabriel Knight vibes plus the unexpected multiple symbols and additional hints in the museum brochure. I thought the final translation puzzle to be a masterpiece!

The ending: I would have preferred (and kept looking for) a way out of our character's eventual fate. During the final cutscene I was on the alert for an inventory option to pop up to allow me to do something other than just watch. I was thinking I would pour the alien blood sample into the goblet just before being forced to drink it and that would make me more powerful than the master, or something like that.

But no, it just ended. Which is fine. It was an amazing game and I hope it leads you guys onto greater things that you actually get paid for and thus have the (extra headaches and) luxury to develop to the max.

Thanks for the great time!
[close]

Thanyx

Quote from: Mandle on Fri 28/06/2019 15:20:55
This game is an amazing resume piece for a commercial game. It required an impossible amount of effort to get all the rotoscoping done, obviously, you even have separate animations for opening top and bottom drawers FFS when this could have easily been fudged, but...

MASSIVE SPOILER ALERT!!!

Spoiler
I do get the feeling that it was written as the game progressed, which is fine for an indie game.

But this also means some jarring moments, especially in a game developed over a long time-frame:

There was so much charming dialog with Patti, the daughter at the beginning, getting to know and learn of her relationship with her father, and then we never get to interact with or see her again. (well except to show her stuff)

There was a lot of exposition of Judy and our relationship and a mystery about why we just ran away. This is never addressed again and Judy just vanishes at the end.

I'm guessing there were plotlines imagined with them that never got fully developed and then they just fell through the floor in the rush to get the damn thing finished? But you didn't have the heart to go cut out all the initial relationship exposition and the effort that went into it?

The puzzles: Some were great, some were intuitive, some were...ummm filler?

I felt that most of the puzzles kept the fun level of the game up there, and you did limit the areas of searching for answers to puzzles to the bare minimum, which helped.

But, in an investigative game, I feel that the puzzles should be based on that element and not weird stuff like making a fake mustache that the character could just go to a shop and buy. I even have money in my inventory to do so with.

If you're gonna go with the evaporated coffee solution at least let there be two alternatives. The second being using the character's kitchen without the excuse of "That would stink up the whole apartment.".

On the flip-side of the coin, I felt that the puzzles in the museum in Iran were just right, as the character is out of his element and has to make do with what he has on him. Very fun!

The translation puzzles were exactly what I wanted them to be! Perfect! Gabriel Knight vibes plus the unexpected multiple symbols and additional hints in the museum brochure. I thought the final translation puzzle to be a masterpiece!

The ending: I would have preferred (and kept looking for) a way out of our character's eventual fate. During the final cutscene I was on the alert for an inventory option to pop up to allow me to do something other than just watch. I was thinking I would pour the alien blood sample into the goblet just before being forced to drink it and that would make me more powerful than the master, or something like that.

But no, it just ended. Which is fine. It was an amazing game and I hope it leads you guys onto greater things that you actually get paid for and thus have the (extra headaches and) luxury to develop to the max.

Thanks for the great time!
[close]

Thank you very much for your comprehensive review. Much appreciated. Also...

Spoiler
As I already mentioned, our game tried to accomplish something that hasn't been done that many times so far - true lovecraftian hopelessness. Our hero has been destined to be doomed. Not everyone likes it, but we do and so do many others. I very much appreciate your opinion on this matter as we really want to know how all the players feel about our decisions.
[close]


Shadow1000

Quote from: Thanyx on Fri 28/06/2019 17:11:54
Quote from: Mandle on Fri 28/06/2019 15:20:55
This game is an amazing resume piece for a commercial game. It required an impossible amount of effort to get all the rotoscoping done, obviously, you even have separate animations for opening top and bottom drawers FFS when this could have easily been fudged, but...

MASSIVE SPOILER ALERT!!!

Spoiler
I do get the feeling that it was written as the game progressed, which is fine for an indie game.

But this also means some jarring moments, especially in a game developed over a long time-frame:

There was so much charming dialog with Patti, the daughter at the beginning, getting to know and learn of her relationship with her father, and then we never get to interact with or see her again. (well except to show her stuff)

There was a lot of exposition of Judy and our relationship and a mystery about why we just ran away. This is never addressed again and Judy just vanishes at the end.

I'm guessing there were plotlines imagined with them that never got fully developed and then they just fell through the floor in the rush to get the damn thing finished? But you didn't have the heart to go cut out all the initial relationship exposition and the effort that went into it?

The puzzles: Some were great, some were intuitive, some were...ummm filler?

I felt that most of the puzzles kept the fun level of the game up there, and you did limit the areas of searching for answers to puzzles to the bare minimum, which helped.

But, in an investigative game, I feel that the puzzles should be based on that element and not weird stuff like making a fake mustache that the character could just go to a shop and buy. I even have money in my inventory to do so with.

If you're gonna go with the evaporated coffee solution at least let there be two alternatives. The second being using the character's kitchen without the excuse of "That would stink up the whole apartment.".

On the flip-side of the coin, I felt that the puzzles in the museum in Iran were just right, as the character is out of his element and has to make do with what he has on him. Very fun!

The translation puzzles were exactly what I wanted them to be! Perfect! Gabriel Knight vibes plus the unexpected multiple symbols and additional hints in the museum brochure. I thought the final translation puzzle to be a masterpiece!

The ending: I would have preferred (and kept looking for) a way out of our character's eventual fate. During the final cutscene I was on the alert for an inventory option to pop up to allow me to do something other than just watch. I was thinking I would pour the alien blood sample into the goblet just before being forced to drink it and that would make me more powerful than the master, or something like that.

But no, it just ended. Which is fine. It was an amazing game and I hope it leads you guys onto greater things that you actually get paid for and thus have the (extra headaches and) luxury to develop to the max.

Thanks for the great time!
[close]

Thank you very much for your comprehensive review. Much appreciated. Also...

Spoiler
As I already mentioned, our game tried to accomplish something that hasn't been done that many times so far - true lovecraftian hopelessness. Our hero has been destined to be doomed. Not everyone likes it, but we do and so do many others. I very much appreciate your opinion on this matter as we really want to know how all the players feel about our decisions.
[close]

In my review, I didn't want to give anything away, even in spoiler tags, but now that we're talking about it:

Spoiler
I loved the ending. I did not expect it, and I actually thought that the text that foreshadowed the event depicted was actually a hint as to how to defeat the boss. Boy was I wrong! I liked the twist over the old "hero saves the world and the story ends there". In fact, the story is just starting! Bwahahaha!
[close]

lanchong

I think it's the best free game this year so far !
You're very talented and don't hesitate to put a price tag on your next production.

SarahLiz

#45

Spoiler


Oh, I agree, not every story has to have a “happy” ending.  I take back what I said about Hitler-Lizard.  LOL!  The hero was doomed from the start, and it was a damn good story that I truly enjoyed playing.  Thanks so much for making this game!  Please, please keep making them, it'd be tragic if you stopped now!


[close]

DBoyWheeler

I signal boosted this game in my own blog, since I'm trying to break into the biz of freelance blog-writing, and figured it'd be a good excuse to help get the word out.

https://dboy2029.home.blog/2019/07/02/july-2nd-2019-discussing-a-recent-ags-game/

I'd try it out for myself if it weren't for my crazy current job schedule (yeah, the story of my life), but from the screenshots and trailer that I've seen, I just KNOW this'll be a smash hit!

Please keep making great games.

cianty

Oooh, this looks beautiful! I just downloaded it and will give it a try this weekend.
ca. 70% completed

Thanyx

#48
Check out a new video by Jonas Tyroller about the communication during development of Metaphobia.

There you can learn about "How To Find & Manage a GAME DEV TEAM Online". And there you can also see some concept art as well as some greenscreen videos with actors which Tolga, our artist, used for the animations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_xC2Gskjm8


Dennis Ploeger

Hey!

Awesome game, thanks! I was so bold to use your game files in my attempt to build a macOS version of it and succeeded.  :-D

It's not optimized or anything, but it runs well. Check it out here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eq0MSAn1abhHeb0e52lMmssqtKPhzYFq/view?usp=sharing

Kind regards

Dennis
deep

Thanyx

Hear Hear!

Great news everyone!

Metaphobia is coming to Steam on February 10th. It is of course still FREE to play.

Wishlist Now!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1220930/Metaphobia/



shaun9991

So glad you guys are putting this on Steam - more people need to play this game! It's great!  :)
Support Cloak and Dagger Games on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=460039

Vincent

#52
Thanks Shaun for your truly kind words, we deeply appreciate it.
The game will contain also some Achievements too so will you guys be able to archive them all?

Wishlist it Now! :)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1220930/Metaphobia/

KyriakosCH

Indeed, it is an excellent game!
Keep us informed about future projects  (nod)
This is the Way - A dark allegory. My Twitter!  My Youtube!

Duztie

I just finished the game, and I had a blast! You guys have made a really fantasticgreat game. Absolutely wonderful graphics, that reminded me a lot of Clocktower for the SNES. The Sound and music was also top notch. Will deffinetly recommend this to my friends. Can't wait to see what your next project will be :D

Thanyx

HEAR HEAR fellow adventurers!

Metaphobia has been released on STEAM!

Go ahead and download the game for free.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1220930/Metaphobia/



xandmatt

Currently playing it on Steam after I saw it advertised on Twitter. Enjoying it so far!

splat44

Wow for a free game, good to see it got nominated in 12 categories and definitely should be classified as commercial!

Well done.

Digital Mosaic Games

A big thanks to everyone who voted for us for the AGS Awards!  :=

Vincent

Good day to all fellows Agser, I'd like to special thanks my brother JONATHAN LA IENA for taking the initiative to record the official guide of Metaphobia. For all those interested this guide will be splitted into various episodes and it will show step by step how to complete the game. I hope you will enjoy it and stay tuned on his channel for the next future episodes! I was almost forget to say that we are working with him to release an Italian version of the game.




I also take this chance to share with you a nice review and interview made by Indie Dev Short about Metaphobia that I hope you will enjoy it!


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