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(Demo) A bunch of things glued together without balance
AkarithePeanut- 02/07/2018 11:46 PM
- 3117 views
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CloseI believe this is a well written and fair assessment and thank you for taking your time to create it. I will respond point by point. Two things though off hand, this demo is the beginning of something; therefore it will raise more questions than give answers. Second all, because you can only judge it by its content and not what will be in future installments, I understand your conclusions.
Point 1: In a fantasy world it's hard to distinguish between a character's delusions and the world's fantasy elements. Both the character's mental illness and the universe will have it's own set of rules. But instead of explaining it in exposition, I am going to let it be shown through the story as the game progresses. While the demo raises the question which is which, the progression of the game will answer the question. This is the psychological aspect of the game. I believe as the player learns how the universe works, they will tell the difference between what's real and the character's hallucinations and delusions. If played twice, they will see some things in an entirely different way.
Point 2: The "sidekick" hinders the player's character development. The characters who surround the player will have limited time. For instance, party members will be changed as the party grows. They will in their time have faster progression than the player's character. The player's character will grow slowly over the course of the entire game. What we learn about him in the demo is he's used and abused by those around him. He's strong physically but weak mentally. The influence of his friend will cause him to do drugs which will worsen the symptoms of his illness. This gives him vulnerability and growth opportunity. Also, he's affectionate toward Krow. While his friend obstructs his wants, it's clear he want Krow. Some of the player's wants, due to his illness, are not appropriate to his surrounding. In the mines, even a weaver called out his dancing with Krow to be socailly damning.
Point 3: The music selection is unbalanced. I thought using songs would make the game different than using the same ol' rpgmaker sound track. This is something I will take into consideration. You have valid points in how they turn off a player that I have not heard yet. I would mention there is a time frame where the music for the dancing scene stops, before Rock you like a hurricane starts. This is during the time the game rises from anxious dancing to the action of the ship being invaded. Now the game is a combination of comedy and psychology. The game does not take itself too serious but there's a method and psychology that it goes back to.
Point 4: Two ways to save. This is an oversight on my end and something I will fix. I did not intend to have saving from the menu. It's automatically there and I overlooked it. I appreciate you bringing that up.
Point 5: The battle system is lack luster. This too is something I have been thinking of ways to improve and it's a fair and true point that I cannot disagree with.
Point 6: NPC's have their own traits and on goings and represent a side in the story. I appreciate some recognition here as each of them and each house in the town has a reason and every thing in the game hold a piece of the puzzle.
Point 7: There's an in-congruence. There is technology in this world but only a limited amount is shown in the demo. In the world, there will be versions of cameras, telephones, TV's, and vehicles, but they will not be as advanced as our world's modern day versions. And only a limited amount of people have those things. While cameras aren't shown. Its not something people have out at all times. But they do exist. There is one phone seen in the town. It's upstairs in Hammock's house. Also, if you obtain the phone book, you are able to call Chuck or Hammock. Chuck's house like the others' at the Tavern is not shown in the game. Still it's implied that Chuck has a phone. Each town has it's own phone book. Obtaining a phone book will allow the player to call NPC's from other locations.
Thanks for playing. I will definitely use some of this to improve the game.
Point 1: In a fantasy world it's hard to distinguish between a character's delusions and the world's fantasy elements. Both the character's mental illness and the universe will have it's own set of rules. But instead of explaining it in exposition, I am going to let it be shown through the story as the game progresses. While the demo raises the question which is which, the progression of the game will answer the question. This is the psychological aspect of the game. I believe as the player learns how the universe works, they will tell the difference between what's real and the character's hallucinations and delusions. If played twice, they will see some things in an entirely different way.
Point 2: The "sidekick" hinders the player's character development. The characters who surround the player will have limited time. For instance, party members will be changed as the party grows. They will in their time have faster progression than the player's character. The player's character will grow slowly over the course of the entire game. What we learn about him in the demo is he's used and abused by those around him. He's strong physically but weak mentally. The influence of his friend will cause him to do drugs which will worsen the symptoms of his illness. This gives him vulnerability and growth opportunity. Also, he's affectionate toward Krow. While his friend obstructs his wants, it's clear he want Krow. Some of the player's wants, due to his illness, are not appropriate to his surrounding. In the mines, even a weaver called out his dancing with Krow to be socailly damning.
Point 3: The music selection is unbalanced. I thought using songs would make the game different than using the same ol' rpgmaker sound track. This is something I will take into consideration. You have valid points in how they turn off a player that I have not heard yet. I would mention there is a time frame where the music for the dancing scene stops, before Rock you like a hurricane starts. This is during the time the game rises from anxious dancing to the action of the ship being invaded. Now the game is a combination of comedy and psychology. The game does not take itself too serious but there's a method and psychology that it goes back to.
Point 4: Two ways to save. This is an oversight on my end and something I will fix. I did not intend to have saving from the menu. It's automatically there and I overlooked it. I appreciate you bringing that up.
Point 5: The battle system is lack luster. This too is something I have been thinking of ways to improve and it's a fair and true point that I cannot disagree with.
Point 6: NPC's have their own traits and on goings and represent a side in the story. I appreciate some recognition here as each of them and each house in the town has a reason and every thing in the game hold a piece of the puzzle.
Point 7: There's an in-congruence. There is technology in this world but only a limited amount is shown in the demo. In the world, there will be versions of cameras, telephones, TV's, and vehicles, but they will not be as advanced as our world's modern day versions. And only a limited amount of people have those things. While cameras aren't shown. Its not something people have out at all times. But they do exist. There is one phone seen in the town. It's upstairs in Hammock's house. Also, if you obtain the phone book, you are able to call Chuck or Hammock. Chuck's house like the others' at the Tavern is not shown in the game. Still it's implied that Chuck has a phone. Each town has it's own phone book. Obtaining a phone book will allow the player to call NPC's from other locations.
Thanks for playing. I will definitely use some of this to improve the game.
Well, If you were going to develop so many aspects in the full version I think I get the pig picture. You´re doing something unconventional I would say, mixing fantasy, battle, psychological and comedy genres like that.
My advice considering your explanations would be:
Consider which would be the dominant(s) genre of the game. When I called it unbalanced, it was because there were so many different elements that I could not define which was the most important. I say this because a player usually focus on one aspect as for understand the game from that point of view. This is something related to how much "screen time" every genre gets. Because that directly affects the player´s focus and interest.
When playing the demo, what are the emotions you want the player to experience? Could be curiosity on understanding the fantasy setting, excitement for playing battles, deep though into the protagonist´s psychology, or laugh at the comedy present? All of them at the same time? Or some of them more rather than others? If so, which ones?
I understand that you want to make such a game that when playing again people will say aaaaahhhs I see now! But still, for a game that mixes so many genres, decide a dominant one and minimize the others. The others take memory space and focus after all.
When I remember this game, many things I remember are the herb (drugs) goat that I must listen to every time I save, the adultery woman, and the stupid sexual comments of the sidekick. Because of that, I would say the dominant genre is the parody and, you could even say satire.
I remember the bullying and sad atmosphere of the village, and the protagonist´s problems after that. So the comedy aspect may be making too much of an impression, it´s dominant if the player memorizes first rather than psychological or fantasy ones That´s my point of view at the very least.
Note: for the point 2 --> I maintain that you´re giving too much screen time to that sidekick. Of the abuse he goes under, like 80% goes from that guy alone, since the other villagers either tell him to mind his own business or don´t care about him, but it´s not like they want to use him, or his possessions, or his connections, the way that nasty sidekick does. He´s not being abused by others, he´s being abused by that guy in particular. Try thinking how would it be if he were another NPC to interact with instead of a party member.
Or to make it in such a way that many guys from the village treat in in a bad way, not only him.
Also, psychological games (with problems and main premise centered on the protagonist instead of a couple or group problems) usually have either a lone protagonist, or a protagonist that talks with NPC´s sometimes (but it´s not with them all the time) so that since we´re alone with the protagonist, we can focus on the actions he/she does and how he/she feels about it. So if you want to make a serious, deep psychological game, whose focus is on the protagonist´s mind and problems, it´s going to be quite hard to achieve a good result if your protagonist is always party members.
These are my opinions based on the psychological games I´ve played.
My advice considering your explanations would be:
Consider which would be the dominant(s) genre of the game. When I called it unbalanced, it was because there were so many different elements that I could not define which was the most important. I say this because a player usually focus on one aspect as for understand the game from that point of view. This is something related to how much "screen time" every genre gets. Because that directly affects the player´s focus and interest.
When playing the demo, what are the emotions you want the player to experience? Could be curiosity on understanding the fantasy setting, excitement for playing battles, deep though into the protagonist´s psychology, or laugh at the comedy present? All of them at the same time? Or some of them more rather than others? If so, which ones?
I understand that you want to make such a game that when playing again people will say aaaaahhhs I see now! But still, for a game that mixes so many genres, decide a dominant one and minimize the others. The others take memory space and focus after all.
When I remember this game, many things I remember are the herb (drugs) goat that I must listen to every time I save, the adultery woman, and the stupid sexual comments of the sidekick. Because of that, I would say the dominant genre is the parody and, you could even say satire.
I remember the bullying and sad atmosphere of the village, and the protagonist´s problems after that. So the comedy aspect may be making too much of an impression, it´s dominant if the player memorizes first rather than psychological or fantasy ones That´s my point of view at the very least.
Note: for the point 2 --> I maintain that you´re giving too much screen time to that sidekick. Of the abuse he goes under, like 80% goes from that guy alone, since the other villagers either tell him to mind his own business or don´t care about him, but it´s not like they want to use him, or his possessions, or his connections, the way that nasty sidekick does. He´s not being abused by others, he´s being abused by that guy in particular. Try thinking how would it be if he were another NPC to interact with instead of a party member.
Or to make it in such a way that many guys from the village treat in in a bad way, not only him.
Also, psychological games (with problems and main premise centered on the protagonist instead of a couple or group problems) usually have either a lone protagonist, or a protagonist that talks with NPC´s sometimes (but it´s not with them all the time) so that since we´re alone with the protagonist, we can focus on the actions he/she does and how he/she feels about it. So if you want to make a serious, deep psychological game, whose focus is on the protagonist´s mind and problems, it´s going to be quite hard to achieve a good result if your protagonist is always party members.
These are my opinions based on the psychological games I´ve played.
Oh also, sorry to speak like a know-it-all person! You should do whatevee you want, after all. Sorry for butting in too much.
I very much appreciate all the feedback. It's hard to see things clearly when you're making a game..To better it, you rely on others honesty. I believe unity of effect is very important and I understand I'm doing something difficult. My initial goal was to marry the old school 2D RPG (which is usually fantasy and adventure) with the psychological thriller. In the humor, the characters, and all aspects I've tried to unite it with a dark weirdness. Still, uniting all those things may prove more difficult than I thought. But I will consider this feedback and I guarantee will have a better project for it.
Since you're looking to lump this game in a genre and you think it's comedy, let me ask...if I advertised it as comedy what difference do you think it would make?
I dunno about advertising, that's not my thing. However you can turn your game in anything you want. Examples:
Comedy ->, yeah, you could turn this game into a satire of the typical adventure/fantasy rpg, like the scary movies saga for horror movies. It's not that your game is comedy/satire in my opinion, but you have a lot of material that could be categorized as such, like the weed goat, the childhood friend
's sexual harassment, finding a telephone guide in a mine, that weird guy and his big feline weird pet etc.
Psychological -> This is possible. I think, for example, if you limited the incongruences/fantasy and weird happenings to the protagonist's delusion world, we could get to understand him better on his daily life. What I mean is, say that he displays great leadership, self-sufficiency, independency on his dreams (remember that he was pretty much obeying orders on the dream instead? Going beyond that) so in real life he is always pushed around by his childhood friend. Let's say his behavior changes A LOT. Now it makes more sense to me; he is not living the way he wants and he is liberating, expressing himself on his fantasies (which is a common thing)
Battle/action > pretty much develop a battle interface and enemies blablah
Let's say your game haves the potential for becoming any of the first two, but you would need to develop in that direction. I feel you could turn it into a rpg "scary movie" feeling for comedy (you can watch that movie for reference), or a "bullied child that liberates himself in a fantasy world" for psychological (you can play Dreaming Mary for reference)
Conclusion: I think it would be for the best if you develop the game into one genre and then advertise as such. You can later add some minor elements of the other genres.
Of course these are only opinions, not facts.
I'm tired so I'm not accurate right now. And I'm sleepy. Man it's gonna be a long day tomorrow (@_@)
Comedy ->, yeah, you could turn this game into a satire of the typical adventure/fantasy rpg, like the scary movies saga for horror movies. It's not that your game is comedy/satire in my opinion, but you have a lot of material that could be categorized as such, like the weed goat, the childhood friend
's sexual harassment, finding a telephone guide in a mine, that weird guy and his big feline weird pet etc.
Psychological -> This is possible. I think, for example, if you limited the incongruences/fantasy and weird happenings to the protagonist's delusion world, we could get to understand him better on his daily life. What I mean is, say that he displays great leadership, self-sufficiency, independency on his dreams (remember that he was pretty much obeying orders on the dream instead? Going beyond that) so in real life he is always pushed around by his childhood friend. Let's say his behavior changes A LOT. Now it makes more sense to me; he is not living the way he wants and he is liberating, expressing himself on his fantasies (which is a common thing)
Battle/action > pretty much develop a battle interface and enemies blablah
Let's say your game haves the potential for becoming any of the first two, but you would need to develop in that direction. I feel you could turn it into a rpg "scary movie" feeling for comedy (you can watch that movie for reference), or a "bullied child that liberates himself in a fantasy world" for psychological (you can play Dreaming Mary for reference)
Conclusion: I think it would be for the best if you develop the game into one genre and then advertise as such. You can later add some minor elements of the other genres.
Of course these are only opinions, not facts.
I'm tired so I'm not accurate right now. And I'm sleepy. Man it's gonna be a long day tomorrow (@_@)
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