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"Collage is the noble conquest of the irrational, the coupling of two realities, irreconcilable in appearance, upon a plane which apparently does not suit them." (Max Ernst)

Middens is an exploration game using collage and original pixel art in tandem that takes the perspective of a drifter traversing a veritable x-zone. Roving its interminable wastes the nomad chances upon a sentient revolver beside an ominous pile of remains.
The pistol offers its exploit in exchange for a pledge of inextricable companionship. Espousing to be the player's conscience the dubious weapon directs the drifter to a nearby outpost wherein the story further unfolds.

Despite its appearance as a wasteland the rift is home to many strange denizens---
some volatile and others ineffectual. Whatever their disposition the pistol represents the choice to engage them or to spare them. Aggression and passivity have their appropriate times with rewards and consequences being granted to both paths respectively.


Latest Blog

Where They Cremate the Roadkill



A thread of three lives confront the personification of appearances as it grows from larva to adult.

At the dead-end of the future a telepath assists the embodiment of insanity and is marooned in the mind of a flea.

In the primeval past one quadruped forages for food as a sentient cancer swallows the last of Earth’s living tissue.

Between the present’s many crossroads a jobless coolie that cannot die kills for rebellion and revenge.

All this as a desire for sleep returns in the heart of existence.

Where They Cremate the Roadkill is an experimental action-oriented RPG now available on Steam:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/705610/Where_They_Cremate_The_Roadkill/
  • Completed
  • myformerselves
  • kumada
  • RPG Maker XP
  • RPG
  • 02/27/2012 07:06 PM
  • 04/25/2022 05:20 PM
  • 09/21/2012
  • 781379
  • 171
  • 29149

Posts

I agree with most of what Fugue is saying. I think it would be a good idea to get a full heal after every fight. But one thing:
author=Fugue
4) this one's important. more combat options for the protagonist and his three summons would make the game more fun to play.

There's enough skills in the game, but I feel as though they aren't given out early enough. The battles do get more fun after the 30 to an hour mark. I'll give it that.
Art style and dialogue <3
After playing this for a few hours, I have to say that it may be a bit too open. While the influence from Panic! and Yume Nikkiis easy to see, both of those games had a bit more sense of (illogical) structure with a concrete goal for the former and a vaguely understandable goal for the latter. However, for this game I'm just completely lost as to what the ultimate objective is or if there even is an ending. Sometimes the gun pops up and speaks to me (is this tied to specific rooms or does it appear after reaching a specific number of rooms or is it a time thing and does it factor into 'finishing' the game?). Some NPC's ask me for items which I assume are gained by killing other NPC's, but I have no idea which NPC's drop which items and Nothingness poses a vague threat. There is mention of pacifism being a possibility 'with consequences', but the game gives me no reason to believe there is any way to progress other than these odd fetch quests. Basically, a clear goal isn't suitable for a game like this, but it would be nice to have some indication if there is any sort of resolution(s) to strive for or if it's a never-ending sandbox.
-If the Nomad dies and your proxies finish the battle it is intentional that you reach gameover. Your proxies can either revive you to continue the battle or self destruct using the exeunt commands to end the game. The proxies are only projections of yourself(that's what a chakra is) so naturally they cannot live long without you.

-If you're having trouble finding items use your 'Acoustics' ability. There's a ton of hidden items and secret doors that can be uncovered this way.

-Picking a fight with an enemy is intended to be a tad like Russian Roulette, just as it would be if you were picking a fight with someone on the street...except this is a street crossing an inter-dimensional portal. Be cautious and save often as the game recommends you do if you need to be rehealed. Your proxies begin with replenished health and nerve everytime they are revived.

-There's 207 hand made creature portraits in the game and only very minor enemies are duplicated and even those are extremely infrequent.

-You can gain experience by exercising.

-If you lack abilities you should go worm hunting as there's hundreds to be located in the rift and all of them have battle attributes.

-The bartering NPCs will trade you valuable items

-The gun will speak to you based on specific rooms being entered. It gives you clues on its back story and the setting of the game.

-Although Middens does have an easily attainable ending it doesn't have so much an objective goal as an objective realization. The desire to create it was primarily spurred by the popularity of gun related violence in games. It is in a way a parody of games that demand the player to use weapon related dominance to resolve conflicts. The game's conclusion begins where most murder sprees end.
Gibmaker
I hate RPG Maker because of what it has done to me
9274
This game is weird.
author=Fugue
if there was a game that combined the art style of this game with the battle depth of a crazegame, i might be in heaven..


100% agree. I felt like Middens ultimately did some very interesting things without committing too heavily to story, but if this art ever joined forces with a detailed storyline and fine-tuned combat mechanics, five would not be a high enough number of stars to rate it at.
Yeah, you could extract all the visuals, dialogue and characters---the breast meat of the game---but its the mixture of the many parts that makes the living animal. Kind of greedy if you ask me. You could take the wings off a hawk and put them on a shark because you want the shark to fly, but where does that leave the hawk? Its somewhat of a spoiled perspective.

On a side note last night I finished the game and I'm uploading some of the talkative gun movies to youtube because, well, they make me laugh. Hope you don't mind?
author=bargainbinbible
You could take the wings off a hawk and put them on a shark because you want the shark to fly, but where does that leave the hawk?


Shark hawk sounds awesome!

author=bargainbinbible
On a side note last night I finished the game


I must know how you did this.
You could take the wings off a hawk and put them on a shark because you want the shark to fly, but where does that leave the hawk? Its somewhat of a spoiled perspective.


good point on the other hand fuck your retarded hatred of flying sharks

: P

***

going to give this another crack today, btw. maybe i'll be able to make more progress. i am just concerned that "free-form exploration with no guidelines or handholding" and "extremely difficult turn based battles" might be inherently non-synergistic design goals. but then again my patience for actually losing battles in RM games is incredibly low. that's because most of the time you're losing because of shitty game design.

most of the time, but not always.
author=bargainbinbible
You could take the wings off a hawk and put them on a shark because you want the shark to fly, but where does that leave the hawk?


As the air-shark's pilot, obviously. :)

I understand what you're saying, but Middens is a game that uses collage not just in its art assets, but as a theme to the setting. It feels a little strange to me to then say "this is pure and no one should try to mix it into other things."

And, to clarify, I'm not saying "lift elements from game X and drop them into game Y", because--even without disagreements over the ownership of ideas--that would produce a total Frankenstein. What I'm saying is that if myformerselves worked with a team, I think the end result would be incredible.
ok so the last time i made the complaints about the battles i was level one

now i am level 12 and so are all my delicious chakra.

the battles are not that bad. there is even some strategy to them although the "russian roulette" feeling never quite goes away. the pushpaka (car monster) kicked my ass though. then i escaped it to death? kind of weird that escaping kills enemies.

anyway...

i have 10 nothings. where do i go to complete the game? i have explored most of all of the game's three main areas, i think.
I suppose this qualifies as a spoiler so disregard my message if you're interested in uncovering the details yourself but---


I'm not sure of the exact number of battles you need to win, but when I had won around thirty-five battles and equipped the revolver item the gun announces you've learned a new skill. Using this skill transports you to a new area of highly powered titans. You can't return after using the skill either (as far as I noticed) so be careful of not saving over your old file afterward if you want to return.
Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781
author=nin8halos
author=bargainbinbible
On a side note last night I finished the game

I must know how you did this.

author=Fugue
where do i go to complete the game? i have explored most of all of the game's three main areas, i think.


It was only because of a PM from the developer that I managed to get an ending. The only clue I wish to give is, has anyone played Shin Megami Tensei - Persona 3?


*Edit: bargainbinbilbe, please use a spoiler tag. Example:

[hide]So much for secrecy![/hide]

Edit 2: Man, that example is totally unreadable without being highlighted!
i am requesting the developer send me specific instructions so that i may complete my review in a timely manner.

of course, there is no great hurry, as long as i can write the review with the game's vistas fresh in my mind.
Spoilers on game clear

You first need thirty nothings. Then, you go into the skill menu and select the gun. Then go back in and select 'exeunt nomad.' This puts you into the end-game content. I figured people were going to have trouble with this.
I never would have figured out how to end the game on my own.
Thanks Marrend, I've hidden the spoilers as you suggested.

I was able to beat the game without trying to find an ending. To me it made sense that if you're a masked man in a desert with a sinister talking gun for an ally that you're supposed to shoot creatures to progress. Actually if you walk around long enough you'll eventually have to battle monsters because a hefty portion are aggressive anyway. If I was placed in a game where the focal item was a paintbrush I'd also naturally assume I'm supposed to paint with it.

If I was Clowder though, I would probably just add a short blurb somewhere in the beginning of the game hinting at this more overtly.
30 nothings is a lot of nothings. it seems like it will be difficult to get that many nothings without killing anything that pleads for its life.

which incidentally i pretty much staunchly refuse to do.

" If I was placed in a game where the focal item was a paintbrush I'd also naturally assume I'm supposed to paint with it. "

exactly. when all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail. i was discussing this with someone watching me play the game.

'what's it about?'
'it's not about anything. you just wander around this bizarre dimension killing weird looking creatures that are basically minding their own business'
'but why do you have to kill them if they're minding their own business? i like weird looking creatures'
'well...i have this gun. and it is the only means i have of interacting with the game world'

exactly.
There's some cognitive dissonance, though. You know the gun isn't trustworthy, and he's creepy besides. In order to reach the ending, you have to ignore your gut and rack up an incredible number of kills on the (mostly harmless) inhabitants of the rift. The Nomad doesn't have any motivations of his own, and so this is something the player has to decide to do. On my first playthrough, I was convinced that the win condition was simply turning off the game. I think I might still believe that.
"On my first playthrough, I was convinced that the win condition was simply turning off the game."

that is true of some rpg maker games but not this one. lol

everything you say is right, btw. it's one of many things that makes this game ve..er..ry interesting.

i like how some of the inhabitants of the rift are not at all innocuous. like "mr. williams/quiddity".
Ark
Wario's-a number one!
1770
Every time I look at this it reminds me of Erilex.