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I really like your are style, and the story sounds very interesting too. Could you perhaps reveal a little more about it?

After finally getting to download the test game you released, I'd like to ask you a few things...

First of all, if you don't mind me asking, why do you want to make a Silent Hill fangame? Is it because you love the franchise, or just because Silent Hill it's a cool game setting?

Moving on, I wanna say a few things about your game, based on what I've seen so far and also based on some assumptions of mine, which of course may be mistaken. I realize that your demo is a very early effort, but I found it underwhelming nonetheless. Please understand that I am not being critical for the sake of it here, I am just voicing my opinion on something that seems to be a promising project. My major gripe with it is the fact that it doesn't really feel like Silent Hill. There are so many aspects that make the Silent Hill games unique, even when compared to other “Survival Horror” games, such as the use of symbolism and archetypes in order to make the game a more intense experience. Moreover, there's the fog. Not that it can't be implemented in AGS, but will it have the same impact on the game's atmosphere in a 2D game, as it does in the 3D ones? Not only that, but hand-drawn graphics will probably not be as scary as smoothly-animated polygon models . Hmm, “smoothly” is not the correct word to use when describing the monsters' animation, but I can't think of anything else right now.

Getting back to my original question, I have to say this. Your game might end up (and I certainly hope so) being great, but you might run into a very big problem: It won't feel like a Silent Hill game. There are many things that make a Silent Hill game what it is, and that's more than cheap scares or gruesome monsters. I don't know how big a Silent Hill fan you are, for all I know you may have a really deep understanding of the games, so this rant may be completely stupid. But before I stop this rant, I'd like to say one last thing. Since you are inexperienced in game-making, perhaps it would be better if you did not try to make your game a Silent Hill game, that way you'll have more artistic freedom and you won't have to conform to the norms of the franchise.

I sincerely do not want to discourage you in any way, this is just my opinion and you may choose to ignore it if you wish.

I just downloaded the trailer and the music tracks, and I have to say that your game looks great! I love the graphics style, and the overall atmosphere. The story looks very promising too. Moreover,  I'd say that the style of the game kinda reminds me of some commercial adventures of the mid 90's, such as Noctropolis (which is a game I loved, by the way). Donna is definitely one of my most anticipated adventure games, commercial or otherwise.

Could I become a beta-tester? Sadly I'm not a native speaker of English, but I'm an English major so I might be able to help with the language...

Well um, yeah, like ScottDoom said, you've ruined the ending and that's defininetely not a good thing Unless in the game you further elaborate as to why you realize that your land is better off without magic etc. Which is something you should do, if you're not already planning to, IMO at least.

Otherwise your game sounds pretty interesting,  especially gameplay-wise, since the GB Zelda games are great.

That's because at first Anima wasn't planning to release it outside of Greece (or weren't sure if they'd find a publisher) so they just dubbed the English over the Greek voices. But yeah, I think they should have mentioned that somewhere in the manual, at least...

I agree, The Name of the Rose could make for a good adventure game story.

I've never played the game, but I've read a lot about it since it was developed by a Greek company (called Anima, I think), so here's what I've heard (or read, if you prefer).

It's something as a "loving homage" to the Tex Murphy games, hence the similiarities between them, though as far as I know it doesn't have the humor found in those games. Moreover, yes the videos are grainy and the graphics aren't anything special, and even people who liked the game a lot say that the puzzles are sometimes completely illogical. That's not to say that it's a bad game, but the reviews it has gotten are mixed. I can't say for sure, having not played the game myself, but I don't think that it should be considered a classic. Then again, who knows...

I think the storyline is very good! And the graphics are very well done too. You shouldn't give up on your game!

What I think you could do, (and these are the 2 cents of a guy who has yet to finish an AGS game ) is that you could work on both games, just not of the same time. Ie, you work on one game for a while, and when you feel tired and/or fed up with it, you resume working with the other one, and this will be refreshing, in a way.

Just a suggestion, of course. ^_^

Off the top of my head... the rubber ducky puzzle in TLJ, truly heinous.

Saturn was technically more powerful then the Psx plus a lot of it's power was left untouched seeing is how it was abandoned way too early in it's life.

The Saturn was not as powerful as the PS1 when it came to 3D graphics, but you're right about it being abandoned early in its life. Anyways, I guess we'll never know.

I also remember reading that Shenmue was a 7 parts game, but I kinda remember reading that one game could have more than one parts, so that there won't be 7 Shenmue games in total. Also, I think that Shenmue I&II are just one part, seeing as they were supposed to be released as one game originally...

As for the other game in the "F.R.E.E." genre, I think it's "Rent-A-Hero", it's kinda like Shenmue but you play the role of Hero-for-hire, and it's supposedly pretty mediocre. Then again, Shenmue wasn't a big hit with the reviewers either. It was released in Japan for the DC, and if I'm not mistaken it was recently released in the States for the XBox.

I love both Shenmue games, part II is definitely one of my top-5 games ever. I'd elaborate more but I'm kinda bored right now, sorry.

Though I have to admit that both games are an acquired taste, most people I know either don't like them at all, or they don't care about them, and I can't blame them, really. But I just love the feeling of immersiveness, and the atmosphere, and that amazing music... Wish it had more puzzles though.

Any of you seen the "Shenmue on Saturn" video? I still can't believe how did they ever manage to make such graphics on the Saturn. Wonder how it'd sell if it was released.

Sega'd better make a third part, they're not getting away with the questions they've left unanswered in part 2! Plus, I wanna see Ryo kick Lan Di's ass.

The graphics are fantastic! And I also think that the story sounds really interesting.

Cool, I was looking forward to reading a new issue of the Inventory. Seems like a really interesting issue too! Downloading now...

I also remember making countless notes while playing older games (especially RPG's), and I still do it sometimes, though it's mostly a habitual thing. On the subject, I agree with Hobbes. Keep all the useful things in the player's inventory, so they don't lose any essential information, but integrate this info in a puzzle, so there is a sense of challenge.

Has it become too easy to play games?

I wouldn't say too easy, but most games nowdays are a lot easier than their counterparts from like 10 years ago (I'm currently playing through Zelda: The Wind Waker, and so far it's ridiculously easy...). I guess this has to do with the fact that contemporary games have to appeal to a wider audience, who are not exactly "hardcore" gamers.

I kinda like action sequences in adventure games, but only if they're properly done.

Things like timing (does the action sequence really fit the flow of the game?) and length are very important, IMO. Long action scenes can be really boring, but if you keep 'em short and sweet, they can be quite interesting.

I'm not exactly the biggest Sierra fan around, but I've always loved the Gabriel Knight and Quest for Glory games. If I had to choose one series, it'd be the GK one, but I still haven't played QFG2 and 4 (which most people consider the best in the series), so I can't say for sure.

Some of my favorite lines have been already mentioned, but there's one line from Sam n' Max that cracks me up every time,

Sam: I hope nobody was on that bus
Max: Nobody we know, anyway

(or something like that).

Also some of April's comments in The Longest Journey where very funny, such as her reply when her friend (forgot her name) asks her if she's finished her project: "I was kinda hoping it would finish itself", heh. I've actually used that line in real life.