Messages

I really like this game!

Mainly to echo what others have said:

- The graphics and presentation are excellent. Amazing what people come up with to use AGS for
- Great retro-fighting game feel.
- I've found that the way to play is that each opponent seems to have her "signal" when she's going to strike. It's all about timing your dodging the attack so you can land 6-8 strikes against her. Annoyingly, it seems that each strike from an opponent probably gives you as much damage as your 6-8 strikes against her! At least for some of the later opponents.
- Storyline makes a whole lot more sense than the convoluted Mortal Kombat plot
- There's really a lot of room to expand the game now that you have a great fighting engine with super polished graphics. Maybe you can add moves or projectiles that can be achieved after defeating so many opponents and so on.

Good job!

SHADOW

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Like the Priest says, it's the Necronomicon, a grimoire (magic book) famously associated with H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos.

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Oh. I missed that reference. I haven't read much Lovecraft.

SHADOW

I just finished it. Nice little game. Cute character and story. Simple puzzles but worked well to create a first game. If you keep working on the project, put in some sound! Lots of good opportunities for effects!

Just wondering

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I couldn't tell what the package was for the priest. The picture was not clear but it's an important element of the story. What was it?

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SHADOW

[When player dies in the last arcade game the game crashes]

Thank you for the feedback and the the time you have put into that. I do appreciate that.

In case you're wondering, it took me between 2 1/2 to 3 hours to play.

The demo is not the finished product so some of things you remarked on might be different in the final version.

Certainly understood!

When player dies in the last arcade game the game crashes
I have not observed this. Is this the room with the pillars coming down from the ceiling?

Yes

Intro movie
From a storytelling point I want this before the main menu. You might not have noticed this but in the main menu you can set the intro movie to off. If you do that it will not play the next time you open the game.

Good point and I did notice that but for some reason didn't bother to click the check!

Balancing different types of puzzles and story telling elements
Well, that is the trick, isn't it
Interested to hear how folks feel about the balance.
In the end I'll do something I would like to play.

Certainly and whatever direction you take, I am sure the result will be excellent and I will enjoy playing.

The crazy room
The Paris section is basically a game I made before The Red Desert (in flash). I have reused the art from that game and stuck closely to what happened in that game.
The crazy room was in that version a top down shooter, somewhat similar to Space invaders. I thought that it was too similar to the shooting game in the tunnels in the Egypt section, so I changed it, but reused many of the graphic elements from the original version. So that is the story behind the look of that room.

Well, that explains it. As I said it didn't feel like it belonged. As far as a shooter in that room, I don't think that an arcade sequence belongs next to the next arcade sequence...

Cheers

SHADOW

I finished the demo last night. I am REALLY liking this and that's why I want to provide my feedback.

The reason I like it so much is for all the reasons I commented on Bad Trouble in the Red Desert.

- Graphics and animation are SUPERB. They really match the context of the type of movie you are portraying. This is both for in game action and cutscenes.
- In game hint system is a great idea.
- The story is intriguing and compelling
- LOTS of puzzles packed into the game. More about this later.
- All those extras such as the arcade sequences and the flight simulator. Ok, I tried it 3 times and crashed each time but still....lol

Overall I had a great experience playing. I think this game can match or exceed the quality of the Bad Trouble and the reason I'm commenting is because you released the demo for player feedback. It goes without saying that as the author you can dismiss all or some of what I say. Maybe other players will completely disagree but here's my personal opinion:

First, anyone reading this, please play the demo first OR wait till the full release. Otherwise, there will be some spoilers!

My first comments are things that probably everyone would agree with.

I don't know if the reason for the following is because it's a demo and you intended to change them for the release but I do want to mention:
- Using the default font really does not do justice to the stunning graphics. I did notice another font in the boat-down-the-river scene and I think that worked well. Either way, please change the font
- The text in the Game section of the guide spills past the bottom of the page. That should be corrected.
- When the player dies in the last arcade sequence, the game crashes.
- I think that when the game starts it should load the menu instead of going to the opening scene. I know you can easily skip it but especially if you can die in the game.
- There are so many spelling errors in the game that it really diminishes the overall polish. I can give you a list of those that I've found but I strongly recommend that someone proofreads the script.

Next set of comments will not be universally agreed on but they are my opinion

Let's talk a bit about why we adventure game addicts will stay up till 2 am or later, forgo food, drink and bathroom facilities for indefinite lengths of time to play a game. One of the most important elements to creating an awesome adventure game is the pacing of the story and the puzzles. If not for the puzzles, we can just watch a movie that tells a story. If you just have a series of puzzles, well, that might be ok for a short game and a few good MAGS entries are like that, which is ok, BECAUSE it's a short game. But you are producing a full length to-be classic so the balance and pacing has to be right. The compelling aspect of a good adventure game is that the plot is gripping but instead of just watching a movie unfold, we want to INTERACT with the plot and our decisions and skill at solving the puzzles is rewarded by proceeding with the next segment of the plot.

Before I get back to that, I have to issue a disclaimer that I am not a fan of object puzzles. What I mean by that term (I think I made it up so I don't expect anyone to use it) is the "move the tiles around", "spin the dials till something happens", "connect the gears to get the machine going" where you use a bit of logic and trial and error to figure out what's supposed to happen. These object puzzles have their place in adventure games and obviously different players will like them to varying degrees. They are just not my thing.

So, the problem I'm getting at is that I think that unless someone REALLY likes object puzzles, they will find the pacing in the game to be less than compelling.

Example:

Spoiler

Objective: Solve the girl
Solution: Solve an object puzzle to open a door, to be rewarded with 4 MORE object puzzles to open 4 MORE doors to save the girl, then ANOTHER object puzzle to get out followed by a lengthy cutscene that progresses the plot

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So, what's wrong with that? I feel that a well paced game will balance the progress of the plot with the puzzles so the player is rewarded for solving a puzzle by more story rather than more consecutive puzzles. Cutscenes are a great way to advance the plot but there has to be judicious spacing.

I would rather see a better balance between inventory puzzles, dialogue puzzles, object puzzle, toss in your arcade sequences and flight simulator and you have a winner!

I do realize that you have all of the above. I'm just commenting on the game pacing and balance.

Some little things:

Spoiler

- The room with the crazy flying things was just TOO crazy and felt really out of place with the rest of the game.
- The rotating star puzzle assumed that the player realized that one arm of the stars is a different colour or something than the others. I think

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As the author, it's up to you to define your audience but be aware that about 10% of players have some sort of colour vision deficiency. Using colour to define something visually will not work for us. I could have spun those for the next hundred years and not realized that one is different. IF you use colour to define something, try to make the colour definitions REALLY stand out taking this into account. As I said, you can ignore this point and develop excellent games for 90% of players who have no problem but considering that the game is in progress I thought I'd throw this out there.

In conclusion, I'm really excited for the release! Judging by the demo, I know this is going to be an awesome game! If you or others disagree with my evaluation, then don't worry about it and just continue. Everything I said is completely my own opinion and experience and other people might say "what?? Give us MORE object puzzles!" and that's fine. I'm just expressing one voice.

SHADOW

safe

Spoiler

Look at the wall around the door to the room from the outside

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I completely missed that! Thanks!

crazy

Spoiler

Look for a red balloon

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Ok got it. With your help I finished the demo. I have a lot of comments and I assume that's the reason to release the demo. Would you prefer that I PM you with my feedback or that I post on the main forum? I would prefer for others to see my comments because some people will agree and some will disagree and you might get better feedback that way. However, I don't want to give away too much of the game to people who haven't played. It's up to you.

SHADOW

This game sure is PACKED with puzzles! I've progressed slowly but surely...

I'm stuck at the

Spoiler

safe in the house. The hint says that I saw a 3 digit number. But I haven't! Also, does anyone know what the room at the right side of the house with the crazy flying things is for? I can't seem to do anything in there

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SHADOW

Congrats, Cassie! looking forward to next month's theme

SHADOW

Looks AWESOME, Slasher! Background art is gorgeous and the story sounds really promising. I look forward to this release!

SHADOW

Oh damn. This game is still pretty bugged

It happens sometimes. Have to fix that I guess.

if you care to try it again...

Another Bugfix :-/

@Stupot:

The link to  Jump! Jack! Flash! in the first post of this thread is actually a dead link. I initially thought that the game was pulled from the competition as a result. Thankfully I read till Kumpel's most recent post and found the updated link and enjoyed this game. Can you please update the link to the active one?

@Kumpel:
I played Jump! Jack! Flash! last night and I LOVED IT! Great adaptation of the MAGS theme. I really liked the graphics and characters in the game. Good little story. The parts I liked most were:

- The game is PACKED with puzzles. It was one after the other and they are all really fun and well designed. Very impressive for a short game like this.
- I particularly liked the "Canadian stuck in the US" theme. Being Canadian and having been to the US many times, I was really able to relate to the encounter of the predictable apathetic American with a serious superiority complex. I don't think I've seen this theme in games before.

Well done

SHADOW

This was really well done. I loved the environment and wish the game would have been developed into a complete game. I realize that for a contest this was as much as someone can realistically do under such time constraints.

There is a lot of imaginative creativity in this game and it reminds me a bit of the movie Inception from 2010. I hope that this is just a teaser and the game is built up into at least a short to medium game!

SHADOW

I just finished. Delightful and FUN little game. Art and music are perfect and I just had an overall good time playing.

SHADOW

[AGS:]

AGS:

Chronicle Of Innsmouth (Lovecraft point and click....In production. Demo available.)
Donna: Avenger of Blood (Vampire point and click. Full game here)
Yahtzee's Chzo Mythos (5 days a stranger etc)
Ben Jordan Series (Not 100% horror, a bit more supernatural/investigative, but has some pretty horrific moments at points)

(will add more later)

Chronicle Of Innsmouth - The demo looks promising but not enough to really comment.
Donna: Avenger of Blood - I LOVED that game! Easily one of the best full length AGS games made in the past 5 years. Excellent puzzles and well designed story. I posted my thoughts here.
Yahtzee's Chzo Mythos (5 days a stranger etc) - Completely creepy. Very well done horror
Ben Jordan Series - doesn't need my approval

SHADOW

Spoiler

I am trying to wake the guy up. I am told that I need water for it, but I couldn't find any water.

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Spoiler

There's a girl who will give you water...have you encountered her yet?

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SHADOW

I played this game. I LOVED the retro look and music! Well done with the "manual" and "parser". Having played the type of game that it parodies in the late 80s I really got a kick out of that.

As a game, it took a LOT of patience to complete. Next time install railings on the stairs!

Spoiler

I do think that there is a LOT of tedious and repetitive action with not much gameplay. I realize that's done tongue in cheek and is the idea behind the project but a number of times I felt that it went too far and didn't want to proceed. Just some constructive criticism

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SHADOW

My thoughts about the game:

- Just like Mudlarks and Date in the Park, the photographs used as backgrounds worked really well. Especially for a game put together in two weeks where creating a full environment with that many hand drawn rooms would not be realistic.
- Good story. I like how it unfolds. Since it's a short game, the back story is somewhat implicit but as I say, that goes with a short game.
- Decent puzzles.

Spoiler

interesting that the first puzzle was the most difficult

Spoiler

especially with the false lead

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Overall, well done and quite complete.

SHADOW

Spoiler

I couldn't decrypt the message. I tried half of the combinations of 8, 7, 2, 3. Is there a pattern I am missing?

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Spoiler

That's actually a false lead. Look elsewhere for the code...

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Good luck

SHADOW

Spoiler

On the wide screen with the city, Ivan got stuck on the pavement between two buildings on the left. He couldn't get out, and fiddled in place, while Olga was standing still, most likely she was the character that was blocking his walking path.

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I had that right before the church. I didn't have to restart, though. I found that walking around and reversing their positions did the trick.

SHADOW

Hahaha, no, it is not my diary.

Just tried the Harry Caine demo - the voice acting and flying things are hilarious! Also the scrolling scene and changing weather conditions are impressive. Is there already some interaction in this version? Anyway, I'm looking forward to the full game!

I played through it a few times and I was able to grab a barrel and sometimes other items. I thought that he was going to use the barrel for some much-needed cover but wasn't able to do anything with it. Funny, because the NEXT time I played I wasn't able to snag any of the flying objects. Not sure what's with that...

SHADOW

I played this game last night. Haggis and Mandle essentially captured what I want to say. Just a few points, some redundant:

- The graphics and animation are very impressive
- Very nice range of different puzzles, including some inventory puzzles and some dialogue puzzles.
- Nice touch to have the player switch between the two characters who have COMPLETELY different personalities.
- The puzzles were mainly simple and pretty much classic. I don't think that anyone will really get stuck. HOWEVER, that was not the point of the game...

...The point of the game was to portray the horror and human side of war in a framework of humour. The two elements of horror and humour complemented each other very well. One of the most brilliant highlights of this dichotomy was the

Spoiler

"Maria" scene. This scene could be completely overlooked and the player could probably just bypass it and continue with the mission but then you'd be missing the essence of what the game portrays

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- Strong character types: contrast between an incompetent noob and a fanatical nationalist. Olga's comedic but possibly somewhat realistic extremism and courage reminded me somewhat of Victor Reznov from Call of Duty World at War.

- As Haggis and Mandle pointed out, a bit of spelling correction such as "probably" and some coding improvements would complete the game. If I'm not mistaken

Spoiler

if Olga tries to interact with the rope one she's on the second storey, it says that she can't get up there or something

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. A few small things like that don't make sense but are not significant enough to detract from the game.

Overall, very different and very well done. Congrats

SHADOW