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Makes you feel smart!

  • accha
  • 07/01/2014 11:52 PM
  • 2068 views
Perspective is reminiscent of the Ace Attorney series in the way that it brings the player's mind to action. In this game, you play a spectator. You get to watch a mystery unfold from several perspectives, given the freedom to walk wherever you want at whatever time, following groups and observing. You win this game by finding "clues" which become available when you are in the right place at the right time.


Important events (such as clues) appear as flashing circles or twinkles. Clues should be interacted with before they disappear.

Though this game is not difficult, it is a fun way to test yourself. You can deduce where and when the clues will appear after observing NPCs' dialogues and suspicious actions, and if you aren't able to deduce the clue locations you can always guess or wander around.

Perspective boasts that it is a game where every person's playthrough is different, and that is fairly true. Everyone who plays can find different clues in different orders and figure out the whole picture in a variety of ways. The open way the game's mystery is solved makes it fresh, unique, and fun.

The greatest success of this game is the execution of its concept. By removing limitations, the player is free to solve the puzzle however they like, countering one of the major pitfalls of similar games of this genre. There aren't any great, twisting leaps of logic needed, and the game doesn't expect you to figure things out in exactly one way. Even if you can't figure out what to do with the information you've found, you're able to search other places however you like until you're confident in where to go next. This, of course, makes game difficulty rather nonexistent (as you can win just by walking around aimlessly until you find things), but the point of this game is to challenge the player to do well, not to test them for failure.


These crystals represent the clues you find on the maps. Returning to them after finding the clue gives you a summary of the information you've uncovered so far.

Overall, if you're a fan of observation and deduction, this is a good, light game to play. Given the length and that this is seems to be the first level of a series, the lack of difficulty is not a problem at all. The game concept promises to be an interesting one, and so far it has certainly pulled through in Perspective. If the maker can find a way to create increasingly challenging levels, that would be pretty great.

The use of graphics and music is good and doesn't overpower the main parts of the game, which are story and gameplay. The creator made a good choice with the larger sprites to set this game apart from RPGs.

The game could use improvement in certain areas, though. The game's presentation is lowered by some typos and mishandling of punctuation. Future games would benefit from a proofreader/editor with an excellent grasp of English who can tidy up the game's text to make it not only clearer but also more impacting. Some players may also not like the need for idle waiting as events advance, but this is an inherent part of the game that can't really be changed unless someone can script up a Fast-Forward button.

In any case, this is a concept full of potential, and I look forward to more games of this type!

Posts

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This review is very well done Accha. You pointed out pretty much all the issues that come with this concept. Further, I'm glad you went about assessing it the way you did, taking into account my focus on story and gameplay. I am a game designer and writer after all.

So first, this Fast-Forward button was brought up when Seiromem was playing. Indeed, I'd need a programmer to script this up. However I know all the script would have to do is manipulate frames. Everything that happens in the stages is about frames. The amount of frames it takes to walk, text pop-ups usually appear for 120 frames or 180 frames, and there is a wait corresponding to each text before the next pops up. Basically it's ALL about frames, so I think it's possible!

In terms of difficulty, this is probably the most tricky thing to work with. While I can maybe come up with ideas like "dead end" clues to screw with your deduction, it won't make it more difficult for roamers. So I definitely need to brainstorm ways to make it difficult to run into these clues if your just randomly going places... hmmm, and it's complicated to the point that I might need a scripter for this too!

I hope my contest version fixes up the dialogue somewhat. Introductions are always the weakest part of my writing, and this intro went through so many changes in a month, perhaps that's why it's the least refined I suppose. I'm a bit more happy with my conclusion and it's impact on the story going forward. But I did spend the most time with the level, over two weeks of the development, maybe three. And I love how it turned out in terms of writing. Perhaps I need to actually write my cutscenes out more, to insure I have successfully conveyed impact in my writing. I wrote the level out completely and... whad'ya know!

In terms of all the borrowed custom resources, I'm happy with my decisions, from a game designer's perspective ;) anyway. I didn't have time to count on my composer friend and artist friend. They aren't in my team or anything and they are busy with their own things. So yeah, I wanted graphics and audio other then the default, sought them out, and this is the outcome! The taller sprites I prefer over the smaller vx ones because... well, there's room for more detail and they look better to me.

And finally, the overall concept of my game. I'm happy you find I executed it successfully! That was the main goal, and it appears my goal to write a pretty good story at the same time was reached as well. The scope change for this game definitely helped it become what I wanted it to be, and this project is definitely going to see more coming in the future! Thanks for the review!
In terms of difficulty, this is probably the most tricky thing to work with. While I can maybe come up with ideas like "dead end" clues to screw with your deduction, it won't make it more difficult for roamers. So I definitely need to brainstorm ways to make it difficult to run into these clues if your just randomly going places... hmmm, and it's complicated to the point that I might need a scripter for this too!

Well, one interesting thing you did is
the hidden passageway
so if you can make areas that are like that and only revealed through the right clues, that's another step in the right direction. =D
I did add a bunch of little things to experiment with the level design. That was one of them and I did add it for a test of difficulty. Thanks for reminding me of something I made myself :P, silly of me to forget that.

I'm actually officially starting the next level design plans now. I'll be doing this for the rest of my summer probably, and it'll be a good side project while I'm back at college. Thanks for your support Accha :)
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