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Perceiving Shapes
Just to clarify, in my review the chase I complained about wasn't one of the two involving the Clown (I thought those were fine), it was the one you get if you choose "people with sharp objects" as your biggest fear. That one wasn't very good.
Amarok's Howl
Thanks for playing the game and for your feedback. I agree with basically everything. Most of those points are already things I realized either during the development or shortly after, but at that point it was either too late to change things or I just didn't have time to figure out a better way to do it, for example that advice from Natalia.
I agree that the maps aren't good, they are more functional than aesthetic in design and the corridors are way too wide. The adlet used to have a wider detection range, which I reworked in some subsequent update, so those are a remnant of that. I actually made the maps during the last few days of the game jam. Some of them like the Main Building and the first floor of the dorms were literally finished during the last few hours of the game jam.
That said, the game's setting is a remote college campus in Alaska, so, some amount of uniformity and sparseness is intentional. I tried to atleast make it a somewhat "realistic" layout and make the rooms resemble what they were supposed to portray, which was hard with MZ RTP. I think that if the corridors weren't as wide as they are now, the maps would feel a bit more natural.
The story and cutscenes was the same way, I only got around to doing those a few hours before the end of the game jam, right after I finished the maps. So it's somewhat of a "first draft" in most cases.
Most of the development time was spent refining the basic gameplay and figuring out how to implement it by myself, which was far from easy and I almost gave up on this game multiple times.
Stealth Walking is something you are meant to switch to when you notice an Adlet on the screen. Running around is supposed to be the default way to traverse the map.
Amarok implementation could be a lot better, I agree.
What was your opinion on those dogs (Keelut) that showed up from time to time and alerted the Adlet if you got too near them? Do you think that mechanic added fun to the game?
As for the ending:
I did intend to add that legend to the game too to explain the ending, but that was shortly before the ending of the game jam, so in the end I didn't have time to add it in. I'm thinking about doing a final update to the game that will add the legend in alongside some other things. Mostly bug fixes. And an additional ending scene after Alistair's death.
Did you think the ending was fitting, atleast in intent if not in execution?
I hope you enjoyed playing the game for what it was. I'm currently making another horror game for a game jam that ends in early July, so feel free to play that one once I upload it and provide your feedback. It was a great read, thanks for your comment!
I agree that the maps aren't good, they are more functional than aesthetic in design and the corridors are way too wide. The adlet used to have a wider detection range, which I reworked in some subsequent update, so those are a remnant of that. I actually made the maps during the last few days of the game jam. Some of them like the Main Building and the first floor of the dorms were literally finished during the last few hours of the game jam.
That said, the game's setting is a remote college campus in Alaska, so, some amount of uniformity and sparseness is intentional. I tried to atleast make it a somewhat "realistic" layout and make the rooms resemble what they were supposed to portray, which was hard with MZ RTP. I think that if the corridors weren't as wide as they are now, the maps would feel a bit more natural.
The story and cutscenes was the same way, I only got around to doing those a few hours before the end of the game jam, right after I finished the maps. So it's somewhat of a "first draft" in most cases.
Most of the development time was spent refining the basic gameplay and figuring out how to implement it by myself, which was far from easy and I almost gave up on this game multiple times.
Stealth Walking is something you are meant to switch to when you notice an Adlet on the screen. Running around is supposed to be the default way to traverse the map.
Amarok implementation could be a lot better, I agree.
What was your opinion on those dogs (Keelut) that showed up from time to time and alerted the Adlet if you got too near them? Do you think that mechanic added fun to the game?
As for the ending:
I did intend to add that legend to the game too to explain the ending, but that was shortly before the ending of the game jam, so in the end I didn't have time to add it in. I'm thinking about doing a final update to the game that will add the legend in alongside some other things. Mostly bug fixes. And an additional ending scene after Alistair's death.
Did you think the ending was fitting, atleast in intent if not in execution?
I hope you enjoyed playing the game for what it was. I'm currently making another horror game for a game jam that ends in early July, so feel free to play that one once I upload it and provide your feedback. It was a great read, thanks for your comment!
[Review Request]
I'd still welcome another review if anyone's up for it, since that review is somewhat brief because the reviewever quit the game early due to issues with its controls. Maybe with another special request added with commenting on the control scheme and if it does truly cause serious issues for the game, just to get a second opinion.
Amarok's Howl
author=OzzyTheOne
Just wanted to tell you that I played this game back when it released and absolutely loved the story and concept overall, I thought I had talked about my love for this game on this gamepage, but I must've forgotten to do so. Keep up the great work!
Thanks! I appreciate it!
Amarok's Howl Review
Hi, thanks for playing the game and for your review! The rating was a genuine surprise, I expected 2.5 stars at best :D
Your comment on the chase music surprised me, I actually think it fits surprisingly well despite the fact that it's just a repurposed RTP Battle track. That was the best I could come up with for a chase music, since I was only using RTP to keep things simple. One of the other reviews specifically points out that the chase music is one of the best parts of the game and "really gives you a sense of urgency to get away as soon as possible". I guess it just varies from person to person.
The sound effects were more of a way to add some background ambience to the game, since it felt a bit empty with just the footsteps and the howling wind sound. I didn't really try to make the game scary, as I considered that a lost cause with just RTP assets.
There was originally supposed to be more of a story during the middle part. And overall, I planned for the game to be more of a linear, traditional "RPG Maker Horror" game. However, I spent most of the time trying to work out how to create the "detection and chase system" for the Adlet. Thus I only had one day left from the event after that was done. So I instead made it this way.
Regarding the story... all of the story, dialogue and cutscenes were made during the last few hours before the event ended, which is why there are all those typos and the writing quality overall is not ideal.
The Adlet don't have set patrol routes. I wouldn't have had enough time to design specific routes for each map at the last day of the game jam, so I just took a shortcut and just put a few "points of interest" at each map and the Adlet just pathfind towards them at random, with them changing whenever they reach one or a chase ends. It's generated separately for each one. That means that there isn't really any specific pattern that can be observed, which makes it more "realistic", but I'm not sure how well that works gameplay-wise.
The "Points of Interest" are actually the places where the Keeluts can spawn.
The people you are supposed to find have random locations that are generated at the start of the game. Well, it depends on each person how many locations they can appear in. There's two that are always in the same place (Percy and the Dean) and the others have multiple possible spawn locations, ranging from 2 (Eric) to 20 (Lily) depending on the person. Natalia's advice always works no matter what though.
For the difficulty... I can't really argue. I got a lot of feedback that the game was too hard and frustrating, so I toned it down considerably. The Hard difficulty actually has a few differences from the other difficulties. For one, it makes the player move slower and Endurance drains even faster. I think there's not even Frostbite on Hard, though I don't remember, the lowest I ever get Endurance to is 10.
Neither Amarok, nor Endurance are actually supposed to be a credible threat, you aren't supposed to die to them often (or at all), they are just there to add some tension and in the case of Endurance also a sense of "realism" (to give you a sense that yes, it really is cold out there). Of course, the illusion works worse the longer one plays. If Amarok and Endurance were more of a factor, you could technically softlock yourself easily.
Amarok was also timed specifically for the final "chase", so that's another reason why it takes about 5 minutes. And yes, you can immediately go to the Doctor's Office to get rid of it, but... you can also disregard it and try to find other people, while the timer runs in the background and giving the player a sense of risk. Though the timer could probably be shortened somewhat.
Hard difficulty actually does have some additional differences over the other difficulties, aside from lower Health and Endurance, for one, the MC also moves slower. Not sure how much more of a difference it all makes, whenever I play it I only do it on Hard and even that is trivial for me. It's hard to determine how balanced it is when you know exactly how the system works.
The way I play is just mostly running everywhere and getting into chases. It's not really meant to be a stealth game, that's why I added the Keeluts there so that you are somewhat pushed into the chases. I do think the game ended as surprisingly fun to play. Even when watching your LP, it was fun to watch when the Adlet blocked the entrances, forcing you to run out the other way or that occasion when they each ran towards a different entrance to cut off both of your possible routes of escape. Not that it was the work of some sophisticated AI, just bad luck on your part. :D Or that time when you kept running into keeluts and thus the chase lasted over three minutes.
I think one major reason why the game is so easy is that Chance to Get Away (yes, it's random, starts at 5% and increases by an additional 5% for each person you rescue). When an enemy catches you, the intent is for there to be a short struggle between the MC and the Adlet. In the end, he always manages to overpower the Adlet if he still has enough HP (hence why there's a Hit animation on the Adlet and why he doesn't resume pursuit for a moment), however sometimes, he gets lucky and strikes before the Adlet can wound him. And as he saves more people, he grows more confident and thus more able to fight back. However, this chance eventually grows too large, so it would probably be better to just leave it at 5% or 10%. That should make the Adlet scarier as enemies
Anyway, thanks for your review and playthrough! It made me consider updating the game again (probably for the last time) to fix the Amarok bug (I did test it, but it seems I managed to break something in the meantime) and to make the game somewhat harder.
Your comment on the chase music surprised me, I actually think it fits surprisingly well despite the fact that it's just a repurposed RTP Battle track. That was the best I could come up with for a chase music, since I was only using RTP to keep things simple. One of the other reviews specifically points out that the chase music is one of the best parts of the game and "really gives you a sense of urgency to get away as soon as possible". I guess it just varies from person to person.
The sound effects were more of a way to add some background ambience to the game, since it felt a bit empty with just the footsteps and the howling wind sound. I didn't really try to make the game scary, as I considered that a lost cause with just RTP assets.
There was originally supposed to be more of a story during the middle part. And overall, I planned for the game to be more of a linear, traditional "RPG Maker Horror" game. However, I spent most of the time trying to work out how to create the "detection and chase system" for the Adlet. Thus I only had one day left from the event after that was done. So I instead made it this way.
Regarding the story... all of the story, dialogue and cutscenes were made during the last few hours before the event ended, which is why there are all those typos and the writing quality overall is not ideal.
The Adlet don't have set patrol routes. I wouldn't have had enough time to design specific routes for each map at the last day of the game jam, so I just took a shortcut and just put a few "points of interest" at each map and the Adlet just pathfind towards them at random, with them changing whenever they reach one or a chase ends. It's generated separately for each one. That means that there isn't really any specific pattern that can be observed, which makes it more "realistic", but I'm not sure how well that works gameplay-wise.
The "Points of Interest" are actually the places where the Keeluts can spawn.
The people you are supposed to find have random locations that are generated at the start of the game. Well, it depends on each person how many locations they can appear in. There's two that are always in the same place (Percy and the Dean) and the others have multiple possible spawn locations, ranging from 2 (Eric) to 20 (Lily) depending on the person. Natalia's advice always works no matter what though.
For the difficulty... I can't really argue. I got a lot of feedback that the game was too hard and frustrating, so I toned it down considerably. The Hard difficulty actually has a few differences from the other difficulties. For one, it makes the player move slower and Endurance drains even faster. I think there's not even Frostbite on Hard, though I don't remember, the lowest I ever get Endurance to is 10.
Neither Amarok, nor Endurance are actually supposed to be a credible threat, you aren't supposed to die to them often (or at all), they are just there to add some tension and in the case of Endurance also a sense of "realism" (to give you a sense that yes, it really is cold out there). Of course, the illusion works worse the longer one plays. If Amarok and Endurance were more of a factor, you could technically softlock yourself easily.
Amarok was also timed specifically for the final "chase", so that's another reason why it takes about 5 minutes. And yes, you can immediately go to the Doctor's Office to get rid of it, but... you can also disregard it and try to find other people, while the timer runs in the background and giving the player a sense of risk. Though the timer could probably be shortened somewhat.
Hard difficulty actually does have some additional differences over the other difficulties, aside from lower Health and Endurance, for one, the MC also moves slower. Not sure how much more of a difference it all makes, whenever I play it I only do it on Hard and even that is trivial for me. It's hard to determine how balanced it is when you know exactly how the system works.
The way I play is just mostly running everywhere and getting into chases. It's not really meant to be a stealth game, that's why I added the Keeluts there so that you are somewhat pushed into the chases. I do think the game ended as surprisingly fun to play. Even when watching your LP, it was fun to watch when the Adlet blocked the entrances, forcing you to run out the other way or that occasion when they each ran towards a different entrance to cut off both of your possible routes of escape. Not that it was the work of some sophisticated AI, just bad luck on your part. :D Or that time when you kept running into keeluts and thus the chase lasted over three minutes.
I think one major reason why the game is so easy is that Chance to Get Away (yes, it's random, starts at 5% and increases by an additional 5% for each person you rescue). When an enemy catches you, the intent is for there to be a short struggle between the MC and the Adlet. In the end, he always manages to overpower the Adlet if he still has enough HP (hence why there's a Hit animation on the Adlet and why he doesn't resume pursuit for a moment), however sometimes, he gets lucky and strikes before the Adlet can wound him. And as he saves more people, he grows more confident and thus more able to fight back. However, this chance eventually grows too large, so it would probably be better to just leave it at 5% or 10%. That should make the Adlet scarier as enemies
Anyway, thanks for your review and playthrough! It made me consider updating the game again (probably for the last time) to fix the Amarok bug (I did test it, but it seems I managed to break something in the meantime) and to make the game somewhat harder.
Luke Daimont: Absolute Mayhem Review
Hello, thanks for playing the game and for your review!
Since we weren't allowed to use plugins in the event this game was made for, I had to make do with the default RPG Maker controls and what buttons the event commands allow you to map. Hence why the controls are as they are. The difficulties with the controls might possibly partly stem from your keyboard layout though? No one else so far mentioned the controls to be a huge problem and I never experienced it myself. Also, End of Winter which you reviewed previously used basically the same control scheme as this game, yet you didn't mention any problems with the controls there? Don't get me wrong, I do believe you that you had difficulties and that the control scheme isn't ideal (due to event restrictions), I just want to understand the problem so that I can possibly avoid it in the future.
That said, if you truly do find difficulties with the control scheme, you can turn Always Dash on and ignore Shift completely (it will reverse the normal controls, making holding shift shorten your jumps instead of lenghten them). Platforming likewise deliberately isn't hard at all, it's more like Contra than Mario (as much as it can be). In order to clear a gap, you just have to walk over to the edge and press Jump (sometimes while holding shift for a longer jump).
Did you end the game after reaching the Clown boss? Other than running away, the damage from the exploding orbs can be avoided by jumping in the air, you only lose HP if you are on the ground when it falls down. Also, you can't actually get a true game over in this game. So his HP actually stays the same even after you lose all HP and get back up with a one liner. You only lose score. It takes about 30 hits to defeat the Clown.
As for the game looking like every other RPG Maker MZ game... I don't quite agree on that part of the review. Yes, it uses only RTP with small edits due to the nature of the event it was made, but I think that it does visually stand out in a way despite that. Mainly due to the sidescrolling perspective. It works to its detriment sometimes, since the RTP wasn't really intended to be used that way, but still, I think it's enough to somewhat differentiate it from most of the other games using MZ RTP.
Anyway, thanks again for your feedback and I'll keep it in mind for future games I make!
Since we weren't allowed to use plugins in the event this game was made for, I had to make do with the default RPG Maker controls and what buttons the event commands allow you to map. Hence why the controls are as they are. The difficulties with the controls might possibly partly stem from your keyboard layout though? No one else so far mentioned the controls to be a huge problem and I never experienced it myself. Also, End of Winter which you reviewed previously used basically the same control scheme as this game, yet you didn't mention any problems with the controls there? Don't get me wrong, I do believe you that you had difficulties and that the control scheme isn't ideal (due to event restrictions), I just want to understand the problem so that I can possibly avoid it in the future.
That said, if you truly do find difficulties with the control scheme, you can turn Always Dash on and ignore Shift completely (it will reverse the normal controls, making holding shift shorten your jumps instead of lenghten them). Platforming likewise deliberately isn't hard at all, it's more like Contra than Mario (as much as it can be). In order to clear a gap, you just have to walk over to the edge and press Jump (sometimes while holding shift for a longer jump).
Did you end the game after reaching the Clown boss? Other than running away, the damage from the exploding orbs can be avoided by jumping in the air, you only lose HP if you are on the ground when it falls down. Also, you can't actually get a true game over in this game. So his HP actually stays the same even after you lose all HP and get back up with a one liner. You only lose score. It takes about 30 hits to defeat the Clown.
As for the game looking like every other RPG Maker MZ game... I don't quite agree on that part of the review. Yes, it uses only RTP with small edits due to the nature of the event it was made, but I think that it does visually stand out in a way despite that. Mainly due to the sidescrolling perspective. It works to its detriment sometimes, since the RTP wasn't really intended to be used that way, but still, I think it's enough to somewhat differentiate it from most of the other games using MZ RTP.
Anyway, thanks again for your feedback and I'll keep it in mind for future games I make!
Amarok's Howl Review
Hello, thanks for your review and your feedback!
One thing I want to note, it's not so much a stealth game as much as a chase game. Running everywhere is a valid (if somewhat risky) strategy, but the way I designed the game is meant to push you into a chase (hence the Keelut that alerts the Adlet if you get too close to him) instead of trying to slowly walk past everything. There should be enough time to slow down once you spot an Adlet nearby and failing that, they can be outran rather easily with a bit of practice. And you have quite a bit of HP even on Hard, with a chance to occassionally just stun the monster outright without taking any damage.
For the mapping and sound effects, I can't really dispute that. I spent most of the time trying to develop the chase, detection and patrolling system for the AI, which didn't leave much time for mapping. All of the story and cutscenes were also made over the course of a few hours right before the deadline.
Regarding your difficulties with the controls... you are the only person so far who had them. What keyboard layout are you using? I've played through it plenty of times and never had such issues. It doesn't use anything other then standard RPG Maker controls, including Q and W (or alternatively Page Up/Page Down, since they are linked). Likewise, Shift to dash is standard for RPG Maker. Gamepad also works, since all the keys are default RPG Maker ones. It would've probably been easier for you to play it on that. And you don't really need to use anything regularly other then the arrow keys and shift.
For the jump key, you really don't really need to hover over that button constantly, it's intended to be used after the Adlet catches you and you find yourself stuck in a corner with the no way out. That's also the reason you automatically face them when they catch you (aside from the 'in-story' reasoning of a short fight between the MC and the monster ensuing). Something to be used to prevent being blocked by the monster becoming an automatic Game Over. You should have plenty of time to simply press the jump button if that happens.
The W/Page-Down to change your direction is more of a 'vestigial feature' I included in case it's needed, but once again, there shouldn't be a need to use that except in very rare circumstances
Always Dash from options also works with the 'stealth' mechanics, so you can just turn it on to run around everywhere and use shift only when you want to be 'stealthy'.
I made this game before I learned how to map with javascript, hence like with Luke Daimont, I was very limited on which keys I could use. I'm aware that the controls aren't ideal, however since the jump is supposed to be used so sporadically and there's plenty of time to do so, I didn't think it would be a big issue.
Thanks for trying out the game!
One thing I want to note, it's not so much a stealth game as much as a chase game. Running everywhere is a valid (if somewhat risky) strategy, but the way I designed the game is meant to push you into a chase (hence the Keelut that alerts the Adlet if you get too close to him) instead of trying to slowly walk past everything. There should be enough time to slow down once you spot an Adlet nearby and failing that, they can be outran rather easily with a bit of practice. And you have quite a bit of HP even on Hard, with a chance to occassionally just stun the monster outright without taking any damage.
For the mapping and sound effects, I can't really dispute that. I spent most of the time trying to develop the chase, detection and patrolling system for the AI, which didn't leave much time for mapping. All of the story and cutscenes were also made over the course of a few hours right before the deadline.
Regarding your difficulties with the controls... you are the only person so far who had them. What keyboard layout are you using? I've played through it plenty of times and never had such issues. It doesn't use anything other then standard RPG Maker controls, including Q and W (or alternatively Page Up/Page Down, since they are linked). Likewise, Shift to dash is standard for RPG Maker. Gamepad also works, since all the keys are default RPG Maker ones. It would've probably been easier for you to play it on that. And you don't really need to use anything regularly other then the arrow keys and shift.
For the jump key, you really don't really need to hover over that button constantly, it's intended to be used after the Adlet catches you and you find yourself stuck in a corner with the no way out. That's also the reason you automatically face them when they catch you (aside from the 'in-story' reasoning of a short fight between the MC and the monster ensuing). Something to be used to prevent being blocked by the monster becoming an automatic Game Over. You should have plenty of time to simply press the jump button if that happens.
The W/Page-Down to change your direction is more of a 'vestigial feature' I included in case it's needed, but once again, there shouldn't be a need to use that except in very rare circumstances
Always Dash from options also works with the 'stealth' mechanics, so you can just turn it on to run around everywhere and use shift only when you want to be 'stealthy'.
I made this game before I learned how to map with javascript, hence like with Luke Daimont, I was very limited on which keys I could use. I'm aware that the controls aren't ideal, however since the jump is supposed to be used so sporadically and there's plenty of time to do so, I didn't think it would be a big issue.
Thanks for trying out the game!
End of Winter Review
Thanks for the review!
Yeah, I did only learn about that game jam after there were only a few days left to submit. So I took it as a challenge to make a short game quickly. Almost didn't complete it, but managed to do so shortly before the submissions were closed.
Somehow, it ended up as the second-most popular game of that game jam. And it still holds that place after all this time. Not sure why. Probably because it's made in RPG Maker. And a browser game. A few people actually messaged me to ask me how I managed to pull off some of the mechanics (the limited dash and the bow hit detection). I did tell them, however I'm not sure that this game is a good example to take ideas from or basically anything, since it's basically held together by duct tape. :-D
Originally, there was supposed to be a boss battle with Morana, but I had barely any time left, so I just made the ending this way and ended it. I also originally planned to have two weapon types: Bow and a Crossbow, with the Crossbow working the way you proposed for the Bow. That had to be scrapped too.
My primary focus during that limited time I had was to ensure that the arrow's hit detection was good enough and only did damage if it actually hit the monster sprite (RPG Maker doesn't provide anything like that by default). Considering you never talked about that it means that there weren't any problems with that particular part of the game, which I'm glad about!
Now, to adress your criticisms:
Regarding that Mithril Bow bug, well, this game uses the default equipment from the database and 'Mithril Bow' is originally 'Mithril Crossbow'. I guess I forgot to change the weapon type after renaming it. I never discovered it because I always just got a Longbow first, then saved up for the Dragon Bow.
The control scheme gave me trouble to set up, since most of similar games are meant to be played on a Gamepad, so there wasn't really anything for me to reference for keyboard controls (I did look). Another reason is that RPG Maker only has certain specific keys that it allows you to map by default, so I just went with those that were provided. I only discovered how to map my own keys at the very last day, so the controls aren't very well thought out. I agree that Shift should've been the Sprint button. I realized that myself soon after. But that was already after I submitted and referenced the key in a bunch of script calls.
That idea with the direction lock being applied automatically while you are charging the bow is a great idea! I should've done it that way.
As for bow charging mechanic... well, I think this is the only thing where I disagree. I can certainly see your point. However, this mechanic is the whole point of the game and the game is built around it. Removing it would make it way too easy if you could just snipe enemies before they even get near you.
And besides, in my opinion, the game would lose more than it would gain if you could just shoot instantly and then you would just have a cooldown before you could shoot again. That would just turn it into a boring version of the average action game. Right now, you have to hold the button while navigating the map, dodging enemies at the same time and still having to ensure that your shot will land where you want it to. All of that would just be replaced with dodging enemies and waiting until your attack goes off cooldown. There's much less personal involvement that way and I don't think it would feel good in practice.
It would also make it a very different game and it would lose a part of its identity. I don't think there's anything wrong with it being different from the norm. That's what game jam games are good for in the first place. Come up with some unusual mechanic and then see if it works in practice.
And yeah, it's possible to just run past the enemies to where Morana is if you know the route. However, you're bound to get a game over before reaching her if you aren't careful, there's lots of enemies in your way. Happened to me half the time I attempted this "pacifist run". The game was supposed to be longer, but this is all I could manage to make in those three days.
Thanks again for your review, it was great to read and your criticism was on point. Hope you review some of my other games in the future!
Yeah, I did only learn about that game jam after there were only a few days left to submit. So I took it as a challenge to make a short game quickly. Almost didn't complete it, but managed to do so shortly before the submissions were closed.
Somehow, it ended up as the second-most popular game of that game jam. And it still holds that place after all this time. Not sure why. Probably because it's made in RPG Maker. And a browser game. A few people actually messaged me to ask me how I managed to pull off some of the mechanics (the limited dash and the bow hit detection). I did tell them, however I'm not sure that this game is a good example to take ideas from or basically anything, since it's basically held together by duct tape. :-D
Originally, there was supposed to be a boss battle with Morana, but I had barely any time left, so I just made the ending this way and ended it. I also originally planned to have two weapon types: Bow and a Crossbow, with the Crossbow working the way you proposed for the Bow. That had to be scrapped too.
My primary focus during that limited time I had was to ensure that the arrow's hit detection was good enough and only did damage if it actually hit the monster sprite (RPG Maker doesn't provide anything like that by default). Considering you never talked about that it means that there weren't any problems with that particular part of the game, which I'm glad about!
Now, to adress your criticisms:
Regarding that Mithril Bow bug, well, this game uses the default equipment from the database and 'Mithril Bow' is originally 'Mithril Crossbow'. I guess I forgot to change the weapon type after renaming it. I never discovered it because I always just got a Longbow first, then saved up for the Dragon Bow.
The control scheme gave me trouble to set up, since most of similar games are meant to be played on a Gamepad, so there wasn't really anything for me to reference for keyboard controls (I did look). Another reason is that RPG Maker only has certain specific keys that it allows you to map by default, so I just went with those that were provided. I only discovered how to map my own keys at the very last day, so the controls aren't very well thought out. I agree that Shift should've been the Sprint button. I realized that myself soon after. But that was already after I submitted and referenced the key in a bunch of script calls.
That idea with the direction lock being applied automatically while you are charging the bow is a great idea! I should've done it that way.
As for bow charging mechanic... well, I think this is the only thing where I disagree. I can certainly see your point. However, this mechanic is the whole point of the game and the game is built around it. Removing it would make it way too easy if you could just snipe enemies before they even get near you.
And besides, in my opinion, the game would lose more than it would gain if you could just shoot instantly and then you would just have a cooldown before you could shoot again. That would just turn it into a boring version of the average action game. Right now, you have to hold the button while navigating the map, dodging enemies at the same time and still having to ensure that your shot will land where you want it to. All of that would just be replaced with dodging enemies and waiting until your attack goes off cooldown. There's much less personal involvement that way and I don't think it would feel good in practice.
It would also make it a very different game and it would lose a part of its identity. I don't think there's anything wrong with it being different from the norm. That's what game jam games are good for in the first place. Come up with some unusual mechanic and then see if it works in practice.
And yeah, it's possible to just run past the enemies to where Morana is if you know the route. However, you're bound to get a game over before reaching her if you aren't careful, there's lots of enemies in your way. Happened to me half the time I attempted this "pacifist run". The game was supposed to be longer, but this is all I could manage to make in those three days.
Thanks again for your review, it was great to read and your criticism was on point. Hope you review some of my other games in the future!
Hali's Review Thread (Request Your Game!)
Hey there, I don't have another game of my own you could play (yet), but I'd be interested to see you play this game by Hopeful_Dreamer, Titans of Illumia - https://rpgmaker.net/games/10161/
[Review Request]
Name: Luke Daimont: Absolute Mayhem
Link: https://rpgmaker.net/games/11751/
Status: Complete
Genre: SHMUP "platformer"
Estimated length: About 30 minutes.
Small description: When the evil Dr. Psyko threatens to conquer the world with his army of robots, mutants and mercenaries, there is only one man who can stop him... Luke Daimont, a bonafide action hero!
Special requests: The game was made in a week for RMN's Trials of MZ event. That means the game could only use RPG Maker MZ's default RTP assets (and custom edits of said assets). Plugins also weren't allowed to be used, so this game had to be put together with only RPG Maker's basic features. So, please, take that into account in your review.
Aside from that, I just want to know if you liked the game and if it still turned out to be a good and enjoyable game despite all the limitations imposed by the event rules on its development. And if the writting and story was good for the genre this game was meant to fit into.
Thanks!
Link: https://rpgmaker.net/games/11751/
Status: Complete
Genre: SHMUP "platformer"
Estimated length: About 30 minutes.
Small description: When the evil Dr. Psyko threatens to conquer the world with his army of robots, mutants and mercenaries, there is only one man who can stop him... Luke Daimont, a bonafide action hero!
Special requests: The game was made in a week for RMN's Trials of MZ event. That means the game could only use RPG Maker MZ's default RTP assets (and custom edits of said assets). Plugins also weren't allowed to be used, so this game had to be put together with only RPG Maker's basic features. So, please, take that into account in your review.
Aside from that, I just want to know if you liked the game and if it still turned out to be a good and enjoyable game despite all the limitations imposed by the event rules on its development. And if the writting and story was good for the genre this game was meant to fit into.
Thanks!
Games - Tester
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