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My name's Kasey Ozymy. I'm a game designer from Texas. I made Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass and am currently working on Hymn to the Earless God.
Check out Hymn to the Earless God:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2165130/Hymn_to_the_Earless_God
Buy Jimmy:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/706560/Jimmy_and_the_Pulsating_Mass/
Check out Hymn to the Earless God:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2165130/Hymn_to_the_Earless_God
Buy Jimmy:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/706560/Jimmy_and_the_Pulsating_Mass/
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The first step is to stay away from fart synthesizers.
Ahem.
I used MIDI programs for a long time; Reason is a relatively new program for me, but I certainly love it. As far as I'm concerned, the important thing is to have a strong musical backbone, as I'm certainly using only a fraction of Reason's features. On a song I worked on last week, for example, I just figured out how to fade out, haha. If you want to talk shop, I can critique your work or try to struggle through learning more of Reason's features with you.
Ahem.
I used MIDI programs for a long time; Reason is a relatively new program for me, but I certainly love it. As far as I'm concerned, the important thing is to have a strong musical backbone, as I'm certainly using only a fraction of Reason's features. On a song I worked on last week, for example, I just figured out how to fade out, haha. If you want to talk shop, I can critique your work or try to struggle through learning more of Reason's features with you.
A Very Long Rope to the Top of the Sky
Wow, thanks for the extensive feedback! The music is indeed all custom, so thanks for the compliments. The early quests are mainly designed for character building, cementing some themes, and introducing a few other things that will become important throughout the story. You also caught my little jrpg nods, which I designed in part as a love letter to the genre. I don't know if I took direct inspiration from anything with the game/story, but I have played a LOT of jrpgs.
I didn't write a book because, growing up, books weren't really how I got my stories--not that I didn't read, but I got my stories from games more than anything. I've written a novel and quite a few short stories, but, as a genre, writing isn't fulfilling for me in the same way that it is for a lot of the other writers I know. Games felt like a natural path for me. Rpgs do have a history of conveying story through cut scenes, but, yeah, integrating story into the game play is something that I'm trying to do more as I go on.
I definitely would love to partner up with one or more people to cover my weaknesses. I'm finding it hard to ask anyone directly because I feel like I have to earn the right, if that makes any sense. This game was going to be that for me, but now I wonder if the reliance on random encounters, VX's default systems, and my "just get it done" mapping philosophy might isolate the crowd too much. Thanks for giving it a go, though!
I didn't write a book because, growing up, books weren't really how I got my stories--not that I didn't read, but I got my stories from games more than anything. I've written a novel and quite a few short stories, but, as a genre, writing isn't fulfilling for me in the same way that it is for a lot of the other writers I know. Games felt like a natural path for me. Rpgs do have a history of conveying story through cut scenes, but, yeah, integrating story into the game play is something that I'm trying to do more as I go on.
I definitely would love to partner up with one or more people to cover my weaknesses. I'm finding it hard to ask anyone directly because I feel like I have to earn the right, if that makes any sense. This game was going to be that for me, but now I wonder if the reliance on random encounters, VX's default systems, and my "just get it done" mapping philosophy might isolate the crowd too much. Thanks for giving it a go, though!
A Very Long Rope to the Top of the Sky Review
No, it's fine; I get why you don't like the slow text. I think that the laugh track comment triggered my own bias, so I'm like MUST DEFEND, but, then again, analogizing it to a laugh track is what's going to make me never do that again, so it was an effective critique, haha.
A Very Long Rope to the Top of the Sky Review
Man, thanks so much for that additional feedback! Writing good characters is something that I actually DIDN'T do in my early writing, as I tended to write more high-concept stuff, and it's something that I sort of resented about my writing, so it's definitely a focal point for me now. Saying that Ivy might be your favorite RPG Maker heroine was probably the best compliment I've received on my work so far. I really mean that--you made me grin like an idiot. Spoiler time:
Oh, and one more note on the slow text: I get that you might read it in slow-mo, but how do you read red text or blue text? You're emphasizing text when you do that kind of thing, but the words themselves aren't stressed by the way the characters actually talk. It's just a way for developers to say THIS WORD IS IMPORTANT. That's what I was using slow text for. It's like, I understand your perspective, and it's not a tactic I'll use in the future, but I hate how you called it synonymous to a laugh track, because I really, really loathe laugh tracks. In a sad scene, there are several tactics that you would use to convey that it's sad: color palette, music, atmospheric effects, etc. Stylizing the text like that was, in my line of thinking, an advantage of a game that doesn't really have a synonym in other media. Again, though, I never thought of it as being potentially annoying, and that's enough for me to not use it again, but that was my reasoning behind it.
I get what you're saying about the ending. If you were to ever go back and do the bonus endings, though, you would see that Ivy wouldn't always leave Ubiquity depending on when she has access to it in the storyline. I thought that giving her back the thirty years that she had missed with Mint would have been a lovely reward for her struggles, but I can see how it could be viewed as indulgent. But, who wouldn't be indulgent given that kind of scenario? The difference was that she still had restraint. If the ending didn't work, it didn't work, but that's what I was going for. I also couldn't really show the characters after the fact without hurting the timing of the scenes (I'd have to put space in between when they left Ubiquity and when Mint disappeared, which I wanted to be the last image), and those where-are-they-now scenes, while I understand the appeal, are typically boring for me, anyway, so I condensed the denouement to basically nothing. I'm not saying that that was the best possible ending, but there was thought behind it.
I get the pacing thing, too. In the end, though, I didn't want the game to hinge on a save-the-world plot. This was a game about the causes and effects of isolation and how we deal with it, and I wanted Raccoon to be a person who is faced with a similar sense of isolation as Ivy, but he deals with it in the opposite way. To expound on him a bit, he's a person who was alone for the entirety of his life, it's the only thing he knows, he doesn't care about people, and, as a child, he was told about a place where he could be completely, totally alone and have complete control over his circumstances. That idea had thirty years to germinate. Those are the reasons for him doing what he did: it's the kind of thing that happens when people begin to value a concept over other people. Just look at Hitler and fascism. Again, though, if it wasn't conveyed clearly enough or if the concept itself just isn't buyable, then that's the way it is, and that sucks. But, a lot of the things Raccoon felt--isolation, depression, the necessity of a purpose--are things that I've felt, too, and they're powerful motivators. I wish I could have conveyed that more clearly, but it's a hard one to convey organically instead of melodramatically.
Also, dang, I hate to hear about that about Weiss. I've gotten some complements about that, too. Religion and class warfare were two sub-themes I was working with, and I might have put the religion aspect on the backburner too long, so I could see where that scene came out of left field, but I thought that, within the context of the universe, that scene made a lot of sense.
Regarding Mint: it sucks, but for the story, she really had to die, and for Ivy's self-imposed isolation to be believable, they had to have some good times together. Don't hate me!
I get the pacing thing, too. In the end, though, I didn't want the game to hinge on a save-the-world plot. This was a game about the causes and effects of isolation and how we deal with it, and I wanted Raccoon to be a person who is faced with a similar sense of isolation as Ivy, but he deals with it in the opposite way. To expound on him a bit, he's a person who was alone for the entirety of his life, it's the only thing he knows, he doesn't care about people, and, as a child, he was told about a place where he could be completely, totally alone and have complete control over his circumstances. That idea had thirty years to germinate. Those are the reasons for him doing what he did: it's the kind of thing that happens when people begin to value a concept over other people. Just look at Hitler and fascism. Again, though, if it wasn't conveyed clearly enough or if the concept itself just isn't buyable, then that's the way it is, and that sucks. But, a lot of the things Raccoon felt--isolation, depression, the necessity of a purpose--are things that I've felt, too, and they're powerful motivators. I wish I could have conveyed that more clearly, but it's a hard one to convey organically instead of melodramatically.
Also, dang, I hate to hear about that about Weiss. I've gotten some complements about that, too. Religion and class warfare were two sub-themes I was working with, and I might have put the religion aspect on the backburner too long, so I could see where that scene came out of left field, but I thought that, within the context of the universe, that scene made a lot of sense.
Regarding Mint: it sucks, but for the story, she really had to die, and for Ivy's self-imposed isolation to be believable, they had to have some good times together. Don't hate me!
Oh, and one more note on the slow text: I get that you might read it in slow-mo, but how do you read red text or blue text? You're emphasizing text when you do that kind of thing, but the words themselves aren't stressed by the way the characters actually talk. It's just a way for developers to say THIS WORD IS IMPORTANT. That's what I was using slow text for. It's like, I understand your perspective, and it's not a tactic I'll use in the future, but I hate how you called it synonymous to a laugh track, because I really, really loathe laugh tracks. In a sad scene, there are several tactics that you would use to convey that it's sad: color palette, music, atmospheric effects, etc. Stylizing the text like that was, in my line of thinking, an advantage of a game that doesn't really have a synonym in other media. Again, though, I never thought of it as being potentially annoying, and that's enough for me to not use it again, but that was my reasoning behind it.
A Very Long Rope to the Top of the Sky Review
Thanks for the review, Unity! I pretty much agree with the bulk of your criticism: maps were streamlined and custom graphics kept to a minimum so I could finish this before I hit middle age, and the random battles were a poor design choice, looking back, but now they're something that's so enmeshed with the development that I can't change it without an enormous time commitment. That was probably the result of me emulating older games instead of critically thinking about design choices. I think that being in a vacuum from the community was problematic, as I was approaching this as, "I'm going to make the story I wanted to see in an RPG" instead of "I'm going to do my take on an RPG from the ground up," which is something that the community really values--and rightfully so. I've always been more entranced by stories rather than systems, so that's what I focused on, for better or worse.
This game was really a way for me to get my music and story ideas out there more than anything, and I tended to focus on those kinds of things, though I did get really involved in the crafting and town-building, as well as the puzzle design, which I get is a mixed bag. The sound puzzle, for instance, is really easy for me, but that's probably because I have a good ear for music, so it didn't dawn on me that that would be a trouble spot for some people. The town was another point where I could showcase dialogue and character-building, so I went a little nuts with that. I'm glad I did, as that's the gameplay element that pulled me through the most on my playthroughs. The things I liked the most about my game were the things that you liked, too, so that probably shouldn't surprise me.
I understand the tone shift being problematic for someone expecting one type of story and getting another, but, with the story I wanted to tell, that was kind of necessary. Though, I do think that the game begins in a pretty bleak place, there are heavy dollops of cynicism, and there's plenty of foreshadowing, so I hope the tone shift wasn't too jarring (for the wrong reasons). I'm sorry the pacing towards the end stumbled--not sure exactly what you're referring to--and I hope the ending is the right ending for the game, given Ivy's character arc, even if it's not an ending you're entirely happy with. I've gotten some criticism and compliments on it, so I can understand why it might not have been satisfying, but it certainly feels right to me, both intellectually and emotionally.
I'm surprised that you felt that way about the slowed text. If I would have known people think that's annoying, I wouldn't have used it. I think I only used it four or five times, though, and I did it for emphatic purposes rather than emotional (though those two things generally lined up). I'm not so surprised that you didn't like the marsh, though, haha. There was a design decision there, as the slowdown was there to make you think about where you step, but people hate being slowed down--I get that, and I agree with you. As for the final dungeon, I agree that it could have been cooler, but, in my defense, I thought those teleporters were really rocking sweet at the time, and I did compose a song just for that place. It's special, damn it, just also a little...special...
Anyway, thanks for reviewing this, and I'm glad that you enjoyed it enough to see it through to the end despite a few of the frustrating design choices.
This game was really a way for me to get my music and story ideas out there more than anything, and I tended to focus on those kinds of things, though I did get really involved in the crafting and town-building, as well as the puzzle design, which I get is a mixed bag. The sound puzzle, for instance, is really easy for me, but that's probably because I have a good ear for music, so it didn't dawn on me that that would be a trouble spot for some people. The town was another point where I could showcase dialogue and character-building, so I went a little nuts with that. I'm glad I did, as that's the gameplay element that pulled me through the most on my playthroughs. The things I liked the most about my game were the things that you liked, too, so that probably shouldn't surprise me.
I understand the tone shift being problematic for someone expecting one type of story and getting another, but, with the story I wanted to tell, that was kind of necessary. Though, I do think that the game begins in a pretty bleak place, there are heavy dollops of cynicism, and there's plenty of foreshadowing, so I hope the tone shift wasn't too jarring (for the wrong reasons). I'm sorry the pacing towards the end stumbled--not sure exactly what you're referring to--and I hope the ending is the right ending for the game, given Ivy's character arc, even if it's not an ending you're entirely happy with. I've gotten some criticism and compliments on it, so I can understand why it might not have been satisfying, but it certainly feels right to me, both intellectually and emotionally.
I'm surprised that you felt that way about the slowed text. If I would have known people think that's annoying, I wouldn't have used it. I think I only used it four or five times, though, and I did it for emphatic purposes rather than emotional (though those two things generally lined up). I'm not so surprised that you didn't like the marsh, though, haha. There was a design decision there, as the slowdown was there to make you think about where you step, but people hate being slowed down--I get that, and I agree with you. As for the final dungeon, I agree that it could have been cooler, but, in my defense, I thought those teleporters were really rocking sweet at the time, and I did compose a song just for that place. It's special, damn it, just also a little...special...
Anyway, thanks for reviewing this, and I'm glad that you enjoyed it enough to see it through to the end despite a few of the frustrating design choices.
Game elements you haven't seen before, but want to
I guess that could work, too, assuming the camera could take enough data points from your baseline expression and then provide a reaction based on the range in which each element of your face varied from that baseline during the conversation. How to actually DO that is completely beyond me, though.
It would make a great joke gift for a burn victim, at least.
It would make a great joke gift for a burn victim, at least.
Game elements you haven't seen before, but want to
There were fluid conversations in Façade where the dialogue changes (to a degree) based on what your character says. It was an entertaining concept despite the melodramatic ground situation and uninspired characters. I could see a simple emoticon system (i.e. click the :) or the :( or maybe the :|, etc. while a conversation is going on) that works the same way. Making it that seamless seems like it would be a little outside of rpg maker's default sensibilities, so you'd have to get creative with the system.
A Very Long Rope to the Top of the Sky
The God of Crawling Eyes
[Poll] Game Titles
Well, "Mashetani Liberation" would draw my attention much more than simply "Liberation," which sounds generic. A more important thing to think of than Googleability is that a unique title more clearly expresses the concept and style of the game. My favorite titles are ones that grab my attention and cause me to wonder what the game/movie/whatever is about.
Games - Tester
Games - Other
