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This is my submission for the Summer Games competition.

Esoterica: The Dreamlike is a murder mystery RPG with an emphasis on cinematic storytelling. It is the first part of a planned trilogy, although each part will be completely standalone (the only connection between them will be the theme). This particular entry was inspired by an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Story Outline
The game is centered around a group of government operatives as they attempt to track down a rampant serial murderer, Eddie Mahoney, who is also a former member of their team. Three of the main protagonists have personal connections to Eddie, making the mission all the more difficult to endure. It is throughout the course of the investigation of Eddie that one of the members starts to notice some very peculiar happenings, and that there is much more to their former ally than they had ever realized.

Characters
Daniel- Eddie's former partner during his time working for the agency. Dannny is the first one to notice the strange occurrences surrounding the investigation.
Richard- Danny's current partner at the agency, also his most trusted friend.
Veronica- Eddie's ex-wife, engaged to be married to Danny.
Allan- Head of the agency and father to Veronica.
Eddie- After barely escaping from a mission 3 year earlier, Eddie has since quit the agency and has not been heard from since. It has been speculated that he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Gameplay
Battles will utilize a shooting system where players need to get in position to see enemies while avoiding the enemy's target icon. Players may also opt to skip missions and just watch it like a movie. Two endings are achievable, but with slight differences that will both emphasize the shocking revelation of the dreamlike.

Latest Blog

Surreality development begins! Page coming soon.

While not a direct sequel, it is a sort of spiritual successor to Esoterica. It will not have an action shooting system in place, nor will any of the characters carry over. I can't even say that they share a universe, for sure, due to the fact that esoterica is much less grounded in reality. The surrealist theme will be much more prevalent, however, and it will play more like an oldschool adventure game. I can also say that players who experienced esoterica will definitely notice the parallels in plot.

One thing that is very similar is that it will be a complete mindfuck until the very end. Much less of an esoteric ending though, as there are no multiple meanings this time. There were diverting views on my ending commentary last time, so this will make sure there is no need for explanations. Don't worry though, it'll still be surprising, and everything will come together in a tight little package.

Timewise, it will be about as short as esoterica. In terms of development time, it is going to take longer than a month this time. The reason behind this is because I can't begin eventing until I finish all of the mapping.

Expect the new game page soon!
  • Completed
  • sbester
  • RPG Tsukuru 2003
  • Action Visual Novel
  • 08/02/2011 12:31 AM
  • 05/07/2019 06:45 PM
  • 08/25/2011
  • 68959
  • 14
  • 933

Posts

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For some reason this reminds me of Fear Effect. I never seen a action visual novel before but judging from the screens and description this seems quite promising. Keep at it sbester!
color me intrigued
chana
(Socrates would certainly not contadict me!)
1584
Downloaded it : "File System2c cannot be opened"!
Hmm, I'll check into this. Thanks for the report, chana!

edit: Do you have rm2k3 installed on your computer? I've looked the problem up in google and it seems like that's the most common problem. I don't like distributing it in my games, but here's the link:

http://2drpg.com/2003.php
chana
(Socrates would certainly not contadict me!)
1584
Yes I do and when I open your game in the maker, I get the same error. When I look under system, there is in fact nothing, just a black rectangle)under "system appearance" (translating from French, bottom left corner), same with game over and vehicles, all black.
Very weird, thanks for the info, I'll take it down and see what's happening with it.
chana
(Socrates would certainly not contadict me!)
1584
When I just open the game in itself the files "System" and "System2" are empy.
K, I just put all the rtp files into the esoterica folder and I'll re-up the new download. It's very strange that it wasn't using the RTP though... anyways, should be fixed now (fingers crossed)
chana
(Socrates would certainly not contadict me!)
1584
So I copy/pasted system and system2 from rm2k3 in the folders of your game, as well as the charset vehicles, and it works except for the Font, you probably forgot to give the fonts with your game?
Erm... it really sounds like you don't have the rtp properly installed. The font used is standard rtp as well. You should try reinstalling rm2k3 on your system, that's the only thing I can think of.

The new download hasn't been accepted yet but should be soon.
chana
(Socrates would certainly not contadict me!)
1584
I was starting to wonder so I just reinstalled it! also it works with every other 2k3 games.
Well I hope it works out with the new version, I'd ate to have to load up yet another but luckily the contest doesn't end for a few more days. I just thought it was odd because my beta tester had no problems getting it to load up the rtp stuff is all.
chana
(Socrates would certainly not contadict me!)
1584
ok, I don't know what's happening : half the folders in your game are empty (monster, battle, etc.), same thing with another game I downloaded (BackstageII demo), so it's probably my computer?????? must have a virus or something.
Really? That's too bad, I really hope you get it fixed. I'm not sure what the cause would be, but you should definitely post it in the help forum to see if anyone else has experienced it.
chana
(Socrates would certainly not contadict me!)
1584
Well, actually I looked up another game which works perfectly and the same folders are empty, so...?!
chana
(Socrates would certainly not contadict me!)
1584
(That download works perfectly, glad to know my computer's ok!)Great game, great story even as short as it is it really holds as a whole game; the fights, imo, are just right, not too hard, not too easy; this said, the explanation part, to me, could have been or left out, or done in such a way that the questions of the player are left hanging somewhat; finally, there are bugs in the first combat scene: after the first shot, danny cannot move otherwise than sideways, also he can walk into things or even out of the frame, also, before the rooftop,in the passage way hecan walk down too far. The music is really catchy and goes perfectly with the theme.
Awesome! Glad you got it working, and thanks very much for your feedback! I'll probably wait a couple days to get a few more opinions before releasing a final version, but I'll look into the bugs you mentioned as soon as I get home tonight.

Edit: dang, I'm not running into that first battle bug you mentioned. Tried both shooting and melee. Hopefully it was just a one off type of bug (I doubt it though). Maybe if someone else runs into it they can help me figure out why it is doing it. I'd hate to think that everyone would be running around the first mission sideways :S
chana
(Socrates would certainly not contadict me!)
1584
.................................................................................... ?
Or I misunderstood what you said lol, very possible.

edit: Okay, I'm retarded, and I know what you mean now lol. The sideways thing is supposed to be that way though. I could have fixed that at the beginning but it has since become one of those things I just left in.
chana
(Socrates would certainly not contadict me!)
1584
Yes, you are, haha! But you really want to leave it that way, nothing else in the game is like that ?! Not the other bugs at least: walking out of the picture and into some things?!
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