METRO CITY : Night Shift

[heltenjon]

This is looking better and better! Looking forward to seeing things move around in this Rik City. 

The download link to the demo doesn't work anymore. It would be cool if you updated it, or if you don't want it there anymore, edit the post with a strikethrough like this to show it's removed. (I hope it's available...)

[Rik_Vargard]

This is looking better and better! Looking forward to seeing things move around in this Rik City. 

The download link to the demo doesn't work anymore. It would be cool if you updated it, or if you don't want it there anymore, edit the post with a strikethrough like this to show it's removed. (I hope it's available...)

Hey thanks, Heltenjohn! 

Also thx for letting me know about the Mediafire link, I don't know why it happened, because the file is still there.
Maybe there's a time limit when using the free version? They could give us a warning.

Anyway, here's a new link : https://www.mediafire.com/file/8z5io6eu9ft6vee/Metro_City_Night_Shift_0.1.zip/file

Cheers!

[heltenjon]

I just (finally) played the demo/chapter one. It's been on my to-do-list for a while now.

How to describe the look...It's in the lane of roblox, minecraft or lego. 3d pixel art is about right. I think the city looks beautiful, with very strong Blade Runner vibes. You've also added a lot of animation (after one of the comments, I guess), which all add tons to the atmosphere.

I also liked the story so far, investigating and getting to know a few people. The score system looks interesting, particularly how the player earns relationship points regarding other people, both police and villains. I guess you have a plan for using that later on in the story.

What can get better? I'd say adding more interactive items or hotspots. First off, every possible interaction should get a reply. It's a good idea to make a standard reply if the player tries to do something you haven't made a custom reply for. Like "I only talk to people and bots" or "I see nothing special". It's even better to actually have custom replies, of course. As this is an investigative game, I think the potential crime scenes would benefit from having several hotspots to examine, including some not relevant to the case. Basically, the more the merrier. It's a bit laborious, I know.

Even without added hotspots, I recommend people to give this demo a go. It would be worth it just for the neon city and the fluid flying animations alone. I didn't think of the similarities of Rik Vargard and Rick Deckard until now, but I enjoyed the chance of being a cop in a Blade Runner-inspired city. Good stuff!

[Rik Vargard]

Hey heltenjon, thank you so much for taking the time to test and give me this precious feedback, it means a lot!

I guess the "too little hotspots" comment is there because of "Sector2"? I just wanted people who tested this at this point to have access to it just for the ambience because "sector 2" is a WIP where nothing really happens right now...? 
In reality, players will only gain access after finishing the first mission.

And I'm really glad you liked the overall ambient, visuals and story (so far).

Cheers!

[heltenjon]

I guess the "too little hotspots" comment is there because of "Sector2"?

No, I was thinking about the apartment where the first case is. Mind you, there is nothing wrong with the apartment, I'm simply thinking about how to improve even further. I believe that in an investigative game, the immersion will be higher if the player can look at lots of stuff in a room that doesn't turn out to be essential. Say you have a room where the player is supposed to find something in a drawer. If that's the only hotspot, I'll find it and move on quickly. But if I can look at all the furniture, under it, check behind the books on a shelf, peek under a rug, behind the curtains, look behind the picture on the wall etc, I will feel more like a detective doing a proper search, even if all that turns out nothing, and I've really only needed to find the item in the drawer.

Anyway, the normal advice is to make the game playable first, and then add such non-vital stuff later on. Feel free to follow or disregard this, I'm on board anyhow. 

[Creamy]

Hi Rik,

That's a good start.
Radom thoughts in no particular order:

Great effort on the presentation. The FMV clips are a very cool and I like seeing NPCs walk around.

Some unnecessary manipulations with the ID card. As long as I have it,  I would like to open a door or take a taxi with just 1 click. I prefer the simpler BASS template (left click=action, right click= look) over the clumsy Sierra interface.

Layouts and directions could be improved.

Spoiler

- at the beginning, you can take a taxi to Section 2. You have absolutely nothing to do there at this point. The cab is more visible than the police station so players are likely to try it first.

- in the house, the access to the bedroom is located opposite to the entrance (makes no sense).

- The game tells me that I need a code for the safe when it's actually a sentence / password.

- I thought I had to use every painting title to form a sentence but some words are left out. I can think of other sentences with these words : « they will not take peace. » « they will not be strong » and so on...

- I cannot open Alex's car with his ID.

[close]

Foreshadowing felt a little cheap :

Spoiler

Guy in the street (in a nutshell) : « Hello, I came here to tell you that I'll have a message for you later. »
Me : « Why didn't you wait until you have it before coming? »

[close]

Some hotspots give no answer (a « hotspot 17 » in the kitchen, the safe after you've opened it....).

I had to reload because of a bug: the hotspot of the safe stopped working before I opened it.

I like the incorporated help system and the conversations with my colleagues.

Keep up the good work.

[Rik Vargard]

No, I was thinking about the apartment ....

Ah yes. I thought about that a while ago and then I forgot; like you said here, that would be part of the final tuning.
Thank you for the reminder!

When will this game be released? :Grin:

Not anytime soon I'm afraid... still a lot of work to be done



Hello Creamy,

Thank you very much for taking the time for this feedback!

I put my replies as spoiler because it does contain real spoilers! 

Spoiler

Some unnecessary manipulations with the ID card. As long as I have it,  I would like to open a door or take a taxi with just 1 click. I prefer the simpler BASS template (left click=action, right click= look) over the clumsy Sierra interface.

The keycard : Good point.! Just having it should be enough.
The interface : That's how I learned based on the tutorials. So yeah, that's how it is in my game.
                I've seen games with the BASS template after that but wasn't sure it would give the same liberty.

at the beginning, you can take a taxi to Section 2.

Yeah, since this was just to find out what people thought about it so far, I wanted them to discover what I did.
In the game, the player won't be able to go to Sector 2 until after the first mission is complete.
Like "No time I need to go to the police station"... or something like that.

- in the house, the access to the bedroom is located opposite to the entrance (makes no sense).

I thought about this and I think that what you say makes sense from a "map" point of view where I see it from the "character" point of view where, when he climbs the stairs, the door is on his right. That's me and my head tho  (but even there I will have to redo the graphics).
So good point.

- The game tells me that I need a code for the safe when it's actually a sentence / password

The player does say "Is it a number? A word? Or a phrase?" and to me everything leads to the fact that it is a phrase, even talking to the inspector.
Or maybe I'm doing it wrong? Might be my and English... but at the end you did find it, right?

- I thought I had to use every painting title to form a sentence but some words are left out. I can think of other sentences with these words : « they will not take peace. » « they will not be strong » and so on.

Yeah, that was part of the puzzle... testing combinations

- I cannot open Alex's car with his ID.

Ah, you're not supposed to, but you're right, having the player say something about that is a good idea.

Guy in the street (in a nutshell) : « Hello, I came here to tell you that I'll have a message for you later. »
Me : « Why didn't you wait until you have it before coming? »

Yeah very good point. Still thinking about this one because it has implications.
I will have to find a reason for that.

I had to reload because of a bug: the hotspot of the safe stopped working before I opened it.

That one I don't understand. When you enter the right password, you should automatically walk to the safe and take the items.
After that there's no more interaction possible with the safe.

I also fixed HotSpot 7 in the kitchen which I completely forgot, thanks!


And again, thank you so much for taking the time to do all this.
It's amazing and I am truly honored.

Cheers!! 

[close]

[heltenjon]

No, I was thinking about the apartment ....

Ah yes. I thought about that a while ago and then I forgot; like you said here, that would be part of the final tuning.
Thank you for the reminder!

But then I read what Shadow1000, fellow AGS-er whose opinions I value a lot, wrote about Highland Spirit, a game he clearly loves:

My only criticism is that there were some puzzles that you had to literally click every item out of a few dozen till you came across the one you are looking for. This is not unheard of in traditional point and click adventures (in fact, most of the time that you encounter a bookcase, you can expect to have to click all the wrong titles till you find that book you're looking for) but still a bit tedious.

So I guess we're a divided lot. He's critical to the very thing I tell you I want in your game.    In the end, you'll have to do what feels right to you. There's a fine line somewhere between engrossing and tedious, you just have to find it.

[Shadow1000]

But then I read what Shadow1000, fellow AGS-er whose opinions I value a lot, wrote about Highland Spirit, a game he clearly loves:

My only criticism is that there were some puzzles that you had to literally click every item out of a few dozen till you came across the one you are looking for. This is not unheard of in traditional point and click adventures (in fact, most of the time that you encounter a bookcase, you can expect to have to click all the wrong titles till you find that book you're looking for) but still a bit tedious.

So I guess we're a divided lot. He's critical to the very thing I tell you I want in your game.    In the end, you'll have to do what feels right to you. There's a fine line somewhere between engrossing and tedious, you just have to find it.

Hey, thanks for the shout-out. As far as a divided lot, you're 100% right. There's no such thing as a game that will cater to everyone with every puzzle. I know that (as you pointed out) I can really enjoy a great game even though some of the puzzles aren't my speed, and someone will like the same game for the puzzles that I didn't care for and not like the puzzles I enjoyed. The key is to vary up the types of puzzles and test it on a broad enough group that there's a consensus of people who enjoy it.

Cheers

[Rik Vargard]

Hello heltenjon and Shadow1000,

Thank you both for sharing your point of view about puzzles.

It's a tricky one, isn't it? There are so many parameters.

I've watched a lot of videos and read a lot about creating puzzles in adventure games.
( I didn't get any better at it, it still takes me forever to create one.   )
And I think that the most important thing that I learned is that it has to make some sense based on the world of your game.
And there will always be people who like and who don't.
And also have fun

Cheers!

[Rik Vargard]

So! Lately I've been working on an aspect that I wanted in my game:

- Some kind of Hacking Mini Tiny Game thingy to unlock stuff.
- And also a simple battle system.

It was a first and a quite epic ride but well worth it.
So I'm happy to have been able to make those, at my level, and show you some screenshots:






In other news, because of this, I kind of leveled up like 2/100 and started to simplify or rewrite some coding all over the rooms.

I also made some changes to the game based on the latest feedback that I got; thanks a lot(!) for those!

Cheers!

[Rik_Vargard]

Damn it how do I delete this message?
Sorry for that ... news coming very soon 

[Rik_Vargard]

The finish line is in sight!

Things have been epic, lately, with tons and tons of bugs and technical problems. 99% of those have been solved right now.

As I approach the end of my first game here, I will of course have to learn how to create a nice itch.io page.
So if some of you have experience with that and want to share, I'd be grateful

I can now present to you: the cast!
Some are important characters, some are just passing by, creating the ambient.



I can't wait to be on that "Completed Games" part of the forums.

And I know I say it a lot, but I don't say it enough:
Thanks a lot to everyone who supported me, the people at the technical forums, those who tested my game, you all inspired me to make that game, that at my level, I didn't thought I could make. 
It will still be at my level, tho

Cheers and see you soon for more news!

[Rik_Vargard]

METRO CITY:Night Shift has been released!

Click here to go to the forum page.

See you at the "Completed Games" part of AGS!