Good God!

[Pogwizd]

Me and my wife would like to present our first game: Good God!

Story: If there is one thing Zosia really hates about her younger brother, Bartek, it would be the fact that he always copies everything she does. Every time she picks up a new hobby, you can be sure that a couple of days later her brother will do the same. Can you imagine how frustrating it must be? A couple of days ago, Zosia’s grandfather sparked her interest in Slavic Mythology which she absolutely fell in love with.
Although Bartek doesn’t know anything about Slavic Mythology, it’s just a matter of time when he comes to Zosia claiming to be an expert on the subject. When that happens, Zosia might need your help...

About: Good God! is a short adventure game developed in AGS. It offers up to an hour long gameplay and features a Game Boy-inspired artstyle, although the mechanics and controls are of a point'n'click game.

Note: the game uses Slavic paganism as one of its main themes but it's not meant to be treated seriously or as a reliable source of information.

Note 2: the game originally was supposed to be submitted in the October 2019 MAGS, but we simply ran out of time : )

Link: https://lazy-squirrel.itch.io/good-god

Any comments about what you think of the game are welcome : )

 

[Laura Hunt]

This looks super cool! Downloading as we speak

Just a tip, though: a lot of people here don't like .exe files, so maybe it'd be a good idea to offer an alternative download as a .zip

[Pogwizd]

Thanks Laura I hope you will enjoy the game.

Also, thanks for the tip. I've added a .rar file with the game, too. I think there is no need for the .exe file but I wanted to have a proper installation wizard. Out of whim, I guess

[lorenzo]

Nice to see the game finished, congratulations on the release!
I was looking forward to it, can't wait to play it!

[Pogwizd]

Thanks lorenzo! I am relieved to see it finished myself because the last few weeks have been all about bug fixing, filling the gaps in the dialogues and pulling my own hair out of frustration... Anyway, I hope you will enjoy it

[lorenzo]

I've just finished the game, it was really nice!

I liked the two brothers, their dialogues were quite funny.

Spoiler

The ending, also, made me laugh.

[close]

Graphics are nice and clean, with a pleasant colour palette. Puzzles weren't difficult, but logical.

My main criticism is the player's walk speed, which is a bit too slow.

Spoiler

It's especially noticeable during the table puzzle.

[close]

But it never gets too annoying, because of the game's length.

All in all, a short but fun game! And I've learned something about Slavic Mythology by playing it.

[Laura Hunt]

I've played it too, and...

Spoiler

I haven't managed to finish it.

When I carved the name on the desk, she said the pendulum is not sharp enough to carve anything, so I went crazy looking all over for something to sharpen it. But then I was allowed to do the table puzzle, so I guess I did the carving part successfully, but the message certainly seems to imply that the task is not finished.

As to the table, I went around three times, she said "That should do it", and then... nothing. I've been wandering around the house trying everything on everything, and nothing happens. No ending, no new interactions, nothing. It's very frustrating and ended up making me quit the game despite in theory having completed all three puzzles.

(Also, even if you've walked around the table three times and the "That should do it" line has been triggered, she still keeps saying something like "maybe I should go around three times?" every time you look at it. If the task is finished, I feel that the message should change.)

So... that's my impression, I'm afraid. The visuals are cute, the music fits well, but you're sometimes left with no idea what to do.

And a couple of little things: there are a couple of typos (one is "summonung" and the other I can't remember right now, but it's in the initial dialogue with your mother), and if you walk all the way to the right or left of the screen, half of the character's body will be hanging out of the room boundaries.

A nice little first game for sure, but it needs a bit more... polish (ba dum tss)

[close]

[lorenzo]

Spoiler

When I carved the name on the desk, she said the pendulum is not sharp enough to carve anything, so I went crazy looking all over for something to sharpen it. But then I was allowed to do the table puzzle, so I guess I did the carving part successfully, but the message certainly seems to imply that the task is not finished.

As to the table, I went around three times, she said "That should do it", and then... nothing. I've been wandering around the house trying everything on everything, and nothing happens. No ending, no new interactions, nothing. It's very frustrating and ended up making me quit the game despite in theory having completed all three puzzles.

[close]

Yes, that's what happened to me too at first.

Spoiler

You can find a tool to sharpen the pendulum in the kitchen, last cabinet on the right.

[close]

[Laura Hunt]

Spoiler

When I carved the name on the desk, she said the pendulum is not sharp enough to carve anything, so I went crazy looking all over for something to sharpen it. But then I was allowed to do the table puzzle, so I guess I did the carving part successfully, but the message certainly seems to imply that the task is not finished.

As to the table, I went around three times, she said "That should do it", and then... nothing. I've been wandering around the house trying everything on everything, and nothing happens. No ending, no new interactions, nothing. It's very frustrating and ended up making me quit the game despite in theory having completed all three puzzles.

[close]

Yes, that's what happened to me too at first.

Spoiler

You can find a tool to sharpen the pendulum in the kitchen, last cabinet on the right.

[close]

Spoiler

I swear I've clicked on everything like three or four times and never found that I'll try, thanks lorenzo!

In any case, this is another gameplay issue: I don't think you should be allowed to do the table puzzle without having completed the two previous ones first: after all, the list implies that there is a specific order in which you need to do the steps for the ritual.

[close]

[lorenzo]

Laura Hunt:

Spoiler

Be sure to look at it, first. Then you can use the pendulum with the cabinet. You can't actually pick up the sharpening knife.

[close]

[Pogwizd]

First of all, thank you guys for playing our game and for your comments. It's always interesting to hear what others think about your work (be it a game, a short story or a painting), because then you always learn something new about it

@lorenzo: I'm more than pleased to hear you enjoyed the game and the graphics. We tried to make it simple but consistent
When I've got a minute I will try to add an option to adjust characters' walking speed.

@laura hunt: I'm sorry to hear you couldn't finish the game...

Spoiler

...however, as lorenzo pointed it out, the pendulum can be sharpened in the kitchen.

(Also, even if you've walked around the table three times and the "That should do it" line has been triggered, she still keeps saying something like "maybe I should go around three times?" every time you look at it. If the task is finished, I feel that the message should change.)

I admit that what Zosia says after walking round the table three times is a bit enigmatic. I will try to change it, as well as the line when she inspects the table after completing the task.

In any case, this is another gameplay issue: I don't think you should be allowed to do the table puzzle without having completed the two previous ones first: after all, the list implies that there is a specific order in which you need to do the steps for the ritual.

I have only now realised that the list doesn't specify that the tasks don't have to be finished in any specific order. However, the freedom in completing the tasks in any order was intentional, as I did not want to limit the player to focus on only one at the time. In my opinion this would make the game unnecessarily longer because then the player would have to inspect the whole environment three times to find the solution for each task. Besides, I drew on other point'n'click games where you often are given a list of things to do which you can complete in any order (or rather in the order that depends on how lucky you are with finding items ). Anyway, I admit that the list dosen't say that there is no order. I'll will try to add it. I will also try to update the line said by Zosia when reading the list again, so she mentions which tasks have been completed

This being said, I hope it won't discourage you from finishing the game

[close]

[Pogwizd]

I have uploaded a new version of the game.

Changes made:

Spoiler

1. The list specifies the order (or rather the lack of it).
2. Zosia says specifically that a task has been completed (including when she finishes the one with the table).
3. At any point of the game, the player can check what tasks are left by inspecting the list.
4. When joining the list with the table after completing the task, Zosia says that there's no point in doing it again.

[close]

[Laura Hunt]

I managed to finish it thanks to lorenzo's tip (I must be totally blind to have missed that!) and I LOVED the ending. I actually laughed aloud!

A really sweet game overall, despite the initial hiccups. Congratulations!

[KyriakosCH]

Looks very cool ^_^

Congratulations on finishing your first game!

[Pogwizd]

@Laura Hunt: I am really glad you managed to finish it. But I am particularly happy that you enjoyed the ending 

@KyriakosCH: I am happy to hear you like the artstyle. Hope you will enjoy the game too

[Racoon]

Hey, congrats on finishing your game. It is a very cute game with a lot of charm. Everything fits together very well.

Spoiler

By the way, I also got stuck at the carving puzzle. It kind of irritated me that when interacting with the cabinet I think it says something in the context of :I don´t need anything from here.

I loved the circling around the table puzzle, it seemed really original to me:)

[close]

[Pogwizd]

It is a very cute game with a lot of charm. Everything fits together very well.

Racoon, I really appreciate you saying that. It's our first game and we did our best to make a game that feels "right". I'm glad you enjoyed it

Spoiler

I'm sorry you got annoyed by the carving puzzle. The line Zosia says when interacting with the cabinet for the first time is by design. We didn't want to make a hint that this particular cupboard will be important later on, because it is a part of the puzzle to remember where the sharpener was. However, when interacting with the cabinet after trying to carve the name out and after inspecting it first, Zosia mentions that she may find the sharpener handy.

[close]

[ukz530]

congratulations on the release!  I just finished playing the game.

Spoiler

I was also confused several times in the table puzzle.
I've been turning the other way and wandering around many times. lol

actually, It was different because I was not used to English.
But I finished the game without any hint and enjoyed it.

I didn't know about Slavic mythology, but it was an opportunity to look for it. It was a good time. Thank you.

[close]

[Pogwizd]

It was a good time. Thank you.

ukz530, thank you for checking out our little game! Providing a bit of fun was our main objective

[Shadow1000]

I played this game last night. I have to preface by saying that I played the current release, so perhaps some of the concerns expressed a month ago have been solved.

- Cute idea and art style
- I found the game to be fun and the puzzles straightforward and reasonable.

I have to confess to spending about 40 minutes after completing the game reading Wikipedia to find out about Slavic paganism. I knew nothing about the topic before the game.