Messages

Shadow

Spoiler

"pick up" under bed several times, until you have a hair brush in the inventory

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use the brush on the keyboard

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Finished the game. I don't think I would ever have guessed that. Still doesn't make a lot of sense but oh well...

Thank you!

SHADOW

I am almost at the end.

I'm stuck because

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I need to find a way to increase the power

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I must have used every command on every item in the room 100 times by now...

Any hints?

SHADOW

I played and completed the demo. This is a very, very impressive work. Best of luck.

SHADOW

Ok, played the new version. This is a nice start and looking promising...looking forward to the completed game

SHADOW

Is this a concept or demo game? I got to the end in about 5 minutes and didn't really face any puzzles or challenges. I found 2 areas that I could not access (stairs and door in the wall) but didn't need to do either to complete the game.

SHADOW

@Jay:

Why don't you have someone who is a strong speller or a spell check review the script before loading it into the game? Just some proofreading would make a big difference.

As far as the language, I didn't comment but just to give an example: I liked the game myself and would have given it to my son to play. Because of the language, I didn't want him to play it.

SHADOW

[OVERVIEW:]

I posted my thoughts a few days ago but apparently the server lost them. Jay asked me to post again. I found a backup of the draft I wrote before posting so I'm reposting. If you read it already, then don't bother rereading

I finished the game. Here are my thoughts (caution - Spoilers!):

OVERVIEW:
THE LOST PRINCE OF LORDEN is one of the best attempts I've seen to recreate the feel of the Adventure games of the Sierra era. Flawless graphics, animation and attention to detail put the player into an submervise environment for this delightful game. I would consider this to be the first chapter of a full length adventure game.

WHAT I LIKED:

• As I said in the introduction, the clear graphics and user interface really makes this game a very enjoyable experience. What's most remarkable is how the fairly low-res graphics do so while giving it the feel of the adventure games of the late 80s and early 90s. Detail such as the glow of the items in the cemetery and how shadows fall on the character's body as he walks do not go unnoticed. The period-perfect humour is also exceptional.
• The puzzles, while not necessarily innovative (mainly of the genre of "find item X so you can accomplish task Y") were of a suitable difficulty level. None of them were illogical or frustratingly difficult
• The plot and theme have good potential for a good full-length game. I do note that the title of the game is "Chapter 1" so I'm not expecting a full plot.
• In the theme of the early adventure games, I enjoyed the cute reference to King Graham. I expect that most adventure fans will recognize this one. However the
  Spoiler

  mushroom puzzle

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  really caught my attention because of its resemblance to the "Little maze of twisting passages"; "Little twisty maze of passages"; "Twisty little maze of passages" in the original Colossal Cave Adventure by Will Crowther (circa 1976). (I'd be curious to know how many of the forum participants played that game and remember that maze)

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
It's really hard to criticize a game that so beautifully captures the feel of the early games for the fact that it has some of what I consider flaws of the early games. That said:

• One thing that was common in those games was the old trap where the player enters a room or touches something and just dies. Considering that the nature of the game is such that the adventurer is expected to examine and explore and use items in a creative manner, simply dying for touching something is a real nuisance. Some recreations of older games (like Black Sect) have this element but restart the player from where he died. It goes without saying that the player should be expected to periodically save the game but still...
• Pixel hunts galore! Oh boy...almost every puzzle in this game was a pixel hunt. Pixel hunts aren't that bad if either: hotspots have captions when the mouse hovers over the spot OR the art itself makes the spot stand out in a way that the user will intuitively explore the spot. In this game MOST of the pixel hunts were of the latter (at least to a degree) but there are many where you simply had to click blindly around each room to progress.

With all the effort put into this game, it would be worth proofreading and correcting the spelling and punctuation.

(I just remembered some of the suggestions I made for the next release)

- The objects in the game are too obvious as to their use. Perhaps some of the puzzles should require a compound item where you find different objects that are combined to make a needed item.
- There's a lot of dialogue with characters who really play their parts well. How about having some dialogue-based puzzles? Such as having to go back to a previous character to get more information that is unlocked by completing part of the game. It's good to balance the dialogue puzzles with object puzzles (which are a bit too heavy in this game)
- When you've done all 3 chapters (I hope at least 3!) consider releasing them all as one full game.

SHADOW

OOps!

Sorry I was getting a bit ahead of myself.

Spoiler

Talk to the Fireflies and you might get a nice suprise

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Jay.

Oh...never thought of that! Thank you

SHADOW

Hi Shadow1000.

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You need to find a bottle. (Don't make any Grave decisions) There are other things to do first.

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Have you looked at the stain glass window in the cemetary?

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Sorry it took a while to get back to you. I couldn't work out how to do the hide message thing.

Jay.

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Umm...what cemetery?

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It sounds like I need help to get any further...

SHADOW

Jay:

I started a thread on the hints and tips section. Can you please respond to my question?

Thanks

SHADOW

I have the

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net

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and found the

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fireflies.

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. What I need is something to contain the latter. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

SHADOW

I'm really enjoying this game. What's most remarkable about it is how close it is to the original Adventure genre games back in the Sierra days. The art, puzzles and humour really capture the flavour of the heyday of adventure gaming.

I'll comment more once I finish the game.

Cheers

SHADOW

Ok, will download the game and give that a shot

Thanks!

SHADOW

I don't know. I gave up and deleted the game. It doesn't seem like many others played or that the author follows the threads here.

Shadow.

Looking forward based on the description and graphics and intrigued by the Canadian content!

Cheers

SHADOW
(from Toronto)

This game's getting really great feedback (especially what Shadow wrote- I thought it was very well put together) so I think I'll give it a try!:) Loving the artwork by the way!

Thank you! I try to be balanced and fair. My goal is for authors to have detailed feedback from players so they can know what the audience is looking for. Of course I am just one guy but I try to include enough detail so others can either agree or disagree.

Enjoy the game

Cheers

SHADOW

I'm stuck at the beginning?!  How do I get into the weapons room?  Obviously I need the security card, but where's that?

- Cogliostro

The card is

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in Moss's locker

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If necessary,

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speak to Scar

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SHADOW

[OVERVIEW:]

Ok, my 2 cents on this game:

OVERVIEW:
Visitor 2 is a fitting sequel to the highly acclaimed The Visitor released almost a year ago. Visitor 2 features the same loveable, scared yet successful Agent Moss, attractive graphics, polished and fitting environment, wacky humour and clever gameplay as the first game. The biggest improvement in this game is the more captivating plot. Visitor 2 is a bit shorter than a medium-length game.

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THE GAME:

• The plot. The story had enough detail to constitute a clear mission and the story unfolds at a good pace as the game is played. A few unexpected twists in the plot where the action climaxes accompanied by appropriate music really is what takes the game from simply a series of clever puzzles to a different level of game
• Very clever gameplay. Using the two main characters together without them even realizing adds a unique dimension.
• Like the first game, the fitting graphics, sharp animation and perfect music makes a perfect environment for the game
• Like the first game, it was humorous and entertaining (I had a LOT of good laughs)
• The length of the game was absolutely perfect for the nature of this game. If someone releases a full-length game, they had BETTER have a sophisticated enough plot to justify all that gameplay. (If you look at my remarks on the first game, this was my issue). I would say that the ratio of gameplay to plot was masterfully executed so the game never got stale and kept the player wanting to just keep going
• Last and certainly not least, the puzzles were EXCELLENT. As many people have commented, the level of difficulty was perfect. The puzzles were clever enough that some took some real thinking and trying yet none got to the point of frustrating. I will add that there was no point in the game where the player will say "ok, I've done everything possible. Now what?". I've never written a game but I would surmise that creating a plot and fun, solvable puzzles is the most challenging part because it's impossible to know how the audience will receive or react to the elements of the puzzle.

WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED:
My only concern with the game is something that I personally don't care for. It's not uncommon in games to have the game unfold only when a certain action is performed where there is no logical connection between the player's action and the result. There were a few places in the game where I couldn't explain HOW I triggered a certain sequence that was necessary to continue the game. One example was the place I got stuck because I didn't look at a certain hotspot. Looking at something doesn't logically trigger the next sequence. Although any player should be looking at all hotspots, some players will get unfairly stuck. There are at least 2-3 other examples.

One thing that could be polished is that the spelling could be proofread. (It's sandwich, btw)

BUG LIST
The crash I reported was fixed, but there are a few minor coding "status" issues that could be touched up such as (spoilers):

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when Moss uses certain items on the barrel, it still says that he can't get the lid off even though it had been long removed

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Spoiler

even once the key had been used by Scar, you get the message when looking at the post that you need a key for the elevator

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CONCLUSION:
The author has really clinched it this time in the most challenging aspects of creating an excellent adventure game. The perfect environment, plot and puzzles are executed masterfully, building on the success of the first game making this gem a rare must-play. Especially for Nicky's second release.

Bravo, Nicky!

SHADOW

I finished the game with only 4/8 achievements. I don't understand why I didn't get the one with the toys, as I found 3 of them?

Anyway, this game is freaking unbelievable. On the short side but it's a great length to be both captivating and fun without getting drawn out. I'll give a more complete review later.


CONGRATS, NICKY!!

Spoiler

When you used the slime character and jumped across the ledge, a piece broke off and knocked the valve down to the ground. You can find it by the tree in the room where the magnet and the small door are

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FUNNY! Because I actually DID notice that and looked around the grounds to see what fell but didn't notice it. It actually took some looking even after you told me what room it's in. It blends it well.

Thanks!