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A Full Moon Tale
Cute game for halloween. Simple, lighthearted but fun to play, and you can definitely feel the inspiration/tribute from old VX/Ace horror games. Doesn't take too long to complete, although there is a lot of room for improvement!
The story follows a character trapped in an unknown, kinda haunted place, something that is typical for a lot of RPG Maker games, but in this case, there's enough elements to make it feel fresh: backstory, clues about the previous inhabitants of the house, and a right amount of mystery, which is appreciated. Of course there is a whole sequence before that, introducing the players to the characters and some of the events that are occuring in town, which is neat. Now, considering the multiple endings...
...I feel like the game doesn't fully explain everything that was going on with the sick child (revealed to be Kori at the end?) and the strange mother mentioned in the letters, plus, the books in the dinning room gave me the idea that the monster that follows you at certain points of the game was a Skinwalker, but other than that, what was their origin? Maybe they were an alternate form of Kori? Or the remnants of her mother? It is something left unexplained, considering the open nature of the ending. Something that could be explored in a sequel or prequel if it ever happens.
For the gameplay, I think the puzzles were good as they required some focus (getting the right timing for the cooking one was a challenge), though the chase sequences where very short up to the point that they were forgettable compared to the rest of the game.
The graphics, everything Halloween-related was nice, and Ayene's tilesets really match that kind of vibe. I wasn't convinced by the mixture of high-detail trees along with the default trees, it looks bad. But I kinda like the mixture of RMMV sprites along with Ace's sprites. Makes it feel like actual people wearing insane, giant costumes for Halloween.
Now, for maps, I'd suggest practicing a bit more, especially for the exteriors that feel either empty or saturated with assets. By example, the trails after the park, which could look better with the usage of bushes, autotiles and a more consistent set of trees. For the interiors, Eri's house looks really good, but the spooky house kinda looks empty. Considering most of the game takes place there, it could look better with more furniture, cabinets, or maybe cobwebs or dust if you wanted to give it an "abandoned" feel.
The music in the game is good, though some tracks (like the PerituneMaterial one) are a bit loud compared to the rest of the game. Other than that, not much to say. Nice selection.
Other small suggestions...well, for horror games there's a lot of simple menu edits that remove every category not used (such as equipment, skills, status, etc), which is way better than having half of the menu empty but still usable. This site has some easily customisable examples, like this:
https://rpgmaker.net/scripts/603/ (updated: https://pastebin.com/raw/wvbrcAS9 )
Everything I got:
True End (The party...)
False End (No hay home)
Dying due to bad cooking
Dying in the cabin after choosing the wrong pumpkin
Dying while being chased after picking the knife
Little bugs:
Mostly tiles with wrong passability:
-The roofs inside Eri's house.
-Some big tree trunks.
-The dinner table in the spooky house.
Softlock:
-While walking at the trail after the park scene.
This sequence moves the player to the south, but at certain spots it can get them blocked due to some small trees in the way (like this).
Wish you the best for future RPG Maker projects!
The story follows a character trapped in an unknown, kinda haunted place, something that is typical for a lot of RPG Maker games, but in this case, there's enough elements to make it feel fresh: backstory, clues about the previous inhabitants of the house, and a right amount of mystery, which is appreciated. Of course there is a whole sequence before that, introducing the players to the characters and some of the events that are occuring in town, which is neat. Now, considering the multiple endings...
...I feel like the game doesn't fully explain everything that was going on with the sick child (revealed to be Kori at the end?) and the strange mother mentioned in the letters, plus, the books in the dinning room gave me the idea that the monster that follows you at certain points of the game was a Skinwalker, but other than that, what was their origin? Maybe they were an alternate form of Kori? Or the remnants of her mother? It is something left unexplained, considering the open nature of the ending. Something that could be explored in a sequel or prequel if it ever happens.
For the gameplay, I think the puzzles were good as they required some focus (getting the right timing for the cooking one was a challenge), though the chase sequences where very short up to the point that they were forgettable compared to the rest of the game.
The graphics, everything Halloween-related was nice, and Ayene's tilesets really match that kind of vibe. I wasn't convinced by the mixture of high-detail trees along with the default trees, it looks bad. But I kinda like the mixture of RMMV sprites along with Ace's sprites. Makes it feel like actual people wearing insane, giant costumes for Halloween.
Now, for maps, I'd suggest practicing a bit more, especially for the exteriors that feel either empty or saturated with assets. By example, the trails after the park, which could look better with the usage of bushes, autotiles and a more consistent set of trees. For the interiors, Eri's house looks really good, but the spooky house kinda looks empty. Considering most of the game takes place there, it could look better with more furniture, cabinets, or maybe cobwebs or dust if you wanted to give it an "abandoned" feel.
The music in the game is good, though some tracks (like the PerituneMaterial one) are a bit loud compared to the rest of the game. Other than that, not much to say. Nice selection.
Other small suggestions...well, for horror games there's a lot of simple menu edits that remove every category not used (such as equipment, skills, status, etc), which is way better than having half of the menu empty but still usable. This site has some easily customisable examples, like this:
https://rpgmaker.net/scripts/603/ (updated: https://pastebin.com/raw/wvbrcAS9 )
Everything I got:
True End (The party...)
False End (No hay home)
Dying due to bad cooking
Dying in the cabin after choosing the wrong pumpkin
Dying while being chased after picking the knife
Little bugs:
Mostly tiles with wrong passability:
-The roofs inside Eri's house.
-Some big tree trunks.
-The dinner table in the spooky house.
Softlock:
-While walking at the trail after the park scene.
This sequence moves the player to the south, but at certain spots it can get them blocked due to some small trees in the way (like this).
Wish you the best for future RPG Maker projects!
Divest Time
Cool game to play, especially during Halloween Season!
The plot really reminded me of old horror movies, mostly due to the stereotypical cast and some of the tropes used (like constantly splitting the group, haha). I liked the characters, though I feel the game really needed more dialogue, text. There's not many events or items to check other than the ones necessary to progress the plot, so the camp feels kinda empty and decorative in that sense, there's not much point in trying to interact with the environment. Would've been nice to see more reactions towards, by example, the items left behind by the previous campers...
... or personal reactions to the murder scenes, as every playable character only reacts to the most recent bloody spots.
That would've helped building the characters a bit more, see more of their personalities and uncover more of the past of this place, which is always appreciated in a game like this.
The maps were neat and I loved the usage of these Pop!HorrorCity Graphics, they definitely fit this type of game. The same for the music, you picked really good tracks for this. Though I found kind of jarring that some zones had a different theme for no reason (e.g. the climbable wall having a way more tense track than the others at the start).
Spoiler-y stuff...
-Loved the fact that the monster had speed jumps at some of the final chase sequences. It was unexpected.
-The scene where Galvin recovers the key, descends the mountain and the monster is waiting for him, is probably one of my favorites of this game. However, I think it would've been better to make it an autorun scene, to give the player a helpless sensation. "He's right behind you!" Something like that, which usually happens in horror movies.
-The ending left many things unexplained; the true origin of the monster, previous victims, how did they even manage to discover the existance of that place, what happened afterwards...but I kinda understand it as this was supposed to be a short project. The only thing that I really feel the game missed was showing Julis escape (as I suppose she did...?), maybe during the credits.
That's all I can say! I enjoyed "Divest Time".
Wish you good luck for future projects!
The plot really reminded me of old horror movies, mostly due to the stereotypical cast and some of the tropes used (like constantly splitting the group, haha). I liked the characters, though I feel the game really needed more dialogue, text. There's not many events or items to check other than the ones necessary to progress the plot, so the camp feels kinda empty and decorative in that sense, there's not much point in trying to interact with the environment. Would've been nice to see more reactions towards, by example, the items left behind by the previous campers...
... or personal reactions to the murder scenes, as every playable character only reacts to the most recent bloody spots.
That would've helped building the characters a bit more, see more of their personalities and uncover more of the past of this place, which is always appreciated in a game like this.
The maps were neat and I loved the usage of these Pop!HorrorCity Graphics, they definitely fit this type of game. The same for the music, you picked really good tracks for this. Though I found kind of jarring that some zones had a different theme for no reason (e.g. the climbable wall having a way more tense track than the others at the start).
Spoiler-y stuff...
-Loved the fact that the monster had speed jumps at some of the final chase sequences. It was unexpected.
-The scene where Galvin recovers the key, descends the mountain and the monster is waiting for him, is probably one of my favorites of this game. However, I think it would've been better to make it an autorun scene, to give the player a helpless sensation. "He's right behind you!" Something like that, which usually happens in horror movies.
-The ending left many things unexplained; the true origin of the monster, previous victims, how did they even manage to discover the existance of that place, what happened afterwards...but I kinda understand it as this was supposed to be a short project. The only thing that I really feel the game missed was showing Julis escape (as I suppose she did...?), maybe during the credits.
That's all I can say! I enjoyed "Divest Time".
Wish you good luck for future projects!
Thieves' Night
I just finished playing Thieves' Night!
It took me 20 minutes to finish it (mostly due to the Padlock puzzle, imagined the answer was something different...). Simple, good for a second published game, although it definitely feels short and there is not much horror in it.
The story is interesting, as I feel horror RPG Maker games where you play as a questionable character (in this case, a thief) are more uncommon. That's something I see more in horror movies and media similar to this (e.g. "Don't Breathe").
The dialogue between the three protagonists was neat, although the final sequence was a bit fast, short, I think...
... as once the chaos ensues when you see Jake's body, the rest of the game takes no more than three or four minutes, which includes Barney's death, the reveal of the monster and the epilogue explanation. I imagine some extra sequences and the usage of wait commands in the transitions would've been good for this part of the game.
The puzzles were fun to do, and I appreciate the random details in the house...
... like the missing furniture mentioned in the letter. It could imply the workers were stealing stuff too or something weird was going on. Little details like that give the game more life.
Although I have to say the darkness was excessive, considering the house is rather big and the flashlight only covers a small portion of the screen. A dark, bluish tint could help to show the night better, avoiding having a black screen for most of the game.
For graphics, and after a neat image in the prologue, the game uses mostly RTP and some custom furniture that matches well with the atmosphere. I think the mapping is well done. As I said earlier, the house is kinda big and it feels a bit empty, but it makes sense considering it is being cleared after the owner's death. It's fun to explore it.
When it comes to music, the main track fits really well at the start of the exploration, but should've been changed after a while. It does fit the last scenes, but at that point it feels repetitive considering the player's been hearing it during a quiet sequence. The one you used for the prologue was really good, and could've been used for those scenes, in a different pitch, maybe. Those parts really needed some music.
And last, for the horror, I liked the small detail of the flashlight flickering every now and then, along with some of the reveals...
... but that's it. There's no surprises, small jumpscares or unsettling stuff other than the basement revelation and Jake's/Barney's death. It feels more like an exploration game than a horror game in that aspect, as only during a small portion of it you actually feel in danger, and when that source of danger is revealed, the game ends immediately.
That's all I can say! There's a lot of stuff that can be improved for this or future projects similar to this one.
Keep up the good work.
It took me 20 minutes to finish it (mostly due to the Padlock puzzle, imagined the answer was something different...). Simple, good for a second published game, although it definitely feels short and there is not much horror in it.
The story is interesting, as I feel horror RPG Maker games where you play as a questionable character (in this case, a thief) are more uncommon. That's something I see more in horror movies and media similar to this (e.g. "Don't Breathe").
The dialogue between the three protagonists was neat, although the final sequence was a bit fast, short, I think...
... as once the chaos ensues when you see Jake's body, the rest of the game takes no more than three or four minutes, which includes Barney's death, the reveal of the monster and the epilogue explanation. I imagine some extra sequences and the usage of wait commands in the transitions would've been good for this part of the game.
The puzzles were fun to do, and I appreciate the random details in the house...
... like the missing furniture mentioned in the letter. It could imply the workers were stealing stuff too or something weird was going on. Little details like that give the game more life.
Although I have to say the darkness was excessive, considering the house is rather big and the flashlight only covers a small portion of the screen. A dark, bluish tint could help to show the night better, avoiding having a black screen for most of the game.
For graphics, and after a neat image in the prologue, the game uses mostly RTP and some custom furniture that matches well with the atmosphere. I think the mapping is well done. As I said earlier, the house is kinda big and it feels a bit empty, but it makes sense considering it is being cleared after the owner's death. It's fun to explore it.
When it comes to music, the main track fits really well at the start of the exploration, but should've been changed after a while. It does fit the last scenes, but at that point it feels repetitive considering the player's been hearing it during a quiet sequence. The one you used for the prologue was really good, and could've been used for those scenes, in a different pitch, maybe. Those parts really needed some music.
And last, for the horror, I liked the small detail of the flashlight flickering every now and then, along with some of the reveals...
... but that's it. There's no surprises, small jumpscares or unsettling stuff other than the basement revelation and Jake's/Barney's death. It feels more like an exploration game than a horror game in that aspect, as only during a small portion of it you actually feel in danger, and when that source of danger is revealed, the game ends immediately.
That's all I can say! There's a lot of stuff that can be improved for this or future projects similar to this one.
Keep up the good work.
Amarok's Howl
Hmm, I see!
For the Keelut, I really liked them, as I've seen other games use secondary threats like that so that there's multiple things to avoid. I think their effect wasn't that big on normal mode, but it was definitely fun to avoid getting "detected" by them, and it also gave an incentive to take alternate routes sometimes...
...especially during the last sequence of the game where they become an instant death, as otherwise the player would just run from one building to another. It was a nice way to force them move through the entire campus while also being careful of both the Keelut and the Adlet, plus, reusing every other location or hallway that might not been really explored, due to the randomized locations of the survivors.
When it comes to the ending,
, I understand. Time limits can really impact the game's content (and be really frustrating, as soon as you realize there's so much stuff you won't be able to do...). An update to add those extra explanations could definitely improve other player's reception of the ending.
And yes, I do think the ending was fitting. Alistair and Natalia's relationship is one of the main themes of the game at least, so using it to incorporate the widower myth into Amarok's Howl is a great idea.
Surely enjoyed. Good luck with the horror game!
I'll keep an eye on its release.
For the Keelut, I really liked them, as I've seen other games use secondary threats like that so that there's multiple things to avoid. I think their effect wasn't that big on normal mode, but it was definitely fun to avoid getting "detected" by them, and it also gave an incentive to take alternate routes sometimes...
...especially during the last sequence of the game where they become an instant death, as otherwise the player would just run from one building to another. It was a nice way to force them move through the entire campus while also being careful of both the Keelut and the Adlet, plus, reusing every other location or hallway that might not been really explored, due to the randomized locations of the survivors.
When it comes to the ending,
, I understand. Time limits can really impact the game's content (and be really frustrating, as soon as you realize there's so much stuff you won't be able to do...). An update to add those extra explanations could definitely improve other player's reception of the ending.
And yes, I do think the ending was fitting. Alistair and Natalia's relationship is one of the main themes of the game at least, so using it to incorporate the widower myth into Amarok's Howl is a great idea.
Surely enjoyed. Good luck with the horror game!
I'll keep an eye on its release.
It Came From the Drain
Just played it! It was really neat. Simple, but cool game.
There's not much plot other than the premise of an extremely unlucky new homeowner, who gets attacked by a really weird monster. To make things worse, it blocks every exit (and she loses her only form of communication as the house lacks internet or phones). The string of bad luck (and the lack of explanations about the monster) really gives it a vibe similar to the one in old horror movies which is appreciated.
The chase mechanics and transitions between rooms were really cool, as the monster event remembers its position in previous rooms...I imagine you did it by making the entire house a single map, and then playing with overlays or something?
Now, when it comes to the house, I think it's really well done considering you mostly used RTP materials along with modern, SF graphics. It feels kinda big for a single person, but I imagine Joanna has to be rich or something. Plus, a game like this would be really boring in a house with only two or three small rooms.
It would've been great if you used more music though. There's only the ending and game over themes, and the drips/darkness effects. A chase theme would do wonders in a game like this, as otherwise there is not much tension during those sequences. Even if you try to keep it RTP/base material only, there's some tracks included in it that could work really well with lower pitches, such as the Scene ones, if you ever update this game or create a similar one.
I really liked the detail of the phone voice at the start!
Everything I got...
Endings:
-Killing only the monster without the eggs
-Killing both the monster and the eggs
Deaths:
-Caught by the monster
-Falling down the basement
-Causing a fire in the basement
Hide spots:
-The bedroom's closet
-The pile of clothes
-Inside the fireplace
One bug I found...
If you kill the monster just in the spot below the basement's locker, it will be impossible to use the old key, as the stain message/event will take priority over the other one.
Keep up the good work and good luck with future projects!
There's not much plot other than the premise of an extremely unlucky new homeowner, who gets attacked by a really weird monster. To make things worse, it blocks every exit (and she loses her only form of communication as the house lacks internet or phones). The string of bad luck (and the lack of explanations about the monster) really gives it a vibe similar to the one in old horror movies which is appreciated.
The chase mechanics and transitions between rooms were really cool, as the monster event remembers its position in previous rooms...I imagine you did it by making the entire house a single map, and then playing with overlays or something?
Now, when it comes to the house, I think it's really well done considering you mostly used RTP materials along with modern, SF graphics. It feels kinda big for a single person, but I imagine Joanna has to be rich or something. Plus, a game like this would be really boring in a house with only two or three small rooms.
It would've been great if you used more music though. There's only the ending and game over themes, and the drips/darkness effects. A chase theme would do wonders in a game like this, as otherwise there is not much tension during those sequences. Even if you try to keep it RTP/base material only, there's some tracks included in it that could work really well with lower pitches, such as the Scene ones, if you ever update this game or create a similar one.
I really liked the detail of the phone voice at the start!
Everything I got...
Endings:
-Killing only the monster without the eggs
-Killing both the monster and the eggs
Deaths:
-Caught by the monster
-Falling down the basement
-Causing a fire in the basement
Hide spots:
-The bedroom's closet
-The pile of clothes
-Inside the fireplace
One bug I found...
If you kill the monster just in the spot below the basement's locker, it will be impossible to use the old key, as the stain message/event will take priority over the other one.
Keep up the good work and good luck with future projects!
Amarok's Howl
Hey Beregon! I just finished playing Amarok's Howl, version 1.6
Before leaving this comment, I read some of the reviews to give myself some context. Congratulations for developing this game in two weeks, it's very good for a second game ever made, too.
I found Amarok's Howl to be a cool chase-and-hide game, although there's stuff that I'd definitely improve or take into account for future projects similar to this one. Starting with the story, I really liked the focus on explaining the myths regarding the wolves and Sednas' one. The characters were enjoyable, although their role was minimal (even if the player read all of their dialogue before the attack), and in fact, I think expanding their roles would've been ideal...
For example, I expected everyone to be in actual danger. It would increase the game's complexity in a good way, as the sense of urgency kind of went away as soon as I realized no one really died if, by example, both a wolf and I found them, and then I left the area. In fact, I tried this just to be annoying xD, yet nothing happened.
Another thing is that if you interact with Natalia at the very start of the Doctor's Office sequence, she'll bomb the player with information about the classmates. I think it'd been better if she only knew the whereabouts of her closest friends or the youngest people on campus, while having Doctor Carter know about everyone else, maybe about the classmates that usually get hurt and know her the best, or even give some of the rescued classmates that info, sort of as an incentive to specifically rescue them first. That way you could make gameplays a bit more varied, as players might prefer to follow either Natalia's or Carter's advice first.
The ending...was confusing. I didn't understand it before reading the reviews, as I don't know anything about Amarok's legends and myths other than the ones mentioned in this game. In my perspective, I thought Alistair drowned himself (?) to escape the wolf, yet he got murdered by it anyways. Now that I read about the widower myth (which fits neatly with Natalia's death!), maybe it would've been a good idea to show that specific myth as a scene during the game, maybe as one of the nightmares Alistair suffers at the start, sort of foreshadowing the ending.
The gameplay is probably one of the stronger points considering the detection and weather system is really neat, and probably took most of the time during the two weeks if it was custom made. I'm not really familiar with MZ's pathfinding (only with the one used in VX/Ace), so I don't know if it was just a default thing or not, but no wolf got stuck behind walls while trying to chase me: they actually took detours to reach me. That, and the fact that sometimes I could avoid their attack if I was lucky enough, made the chase sequences pretty cool. I had to be careful yet I had chances to survive (haven't said it yet, but I was playing on medium/normal difficulty).
One thing that I do think didn't shine through the gameplay was stealth walking: as most of the maps were too big to walk slowly, there wasn't a real incentive to actually use it. I did use the jumping mechanics, although I wish the first tutorial/prologue actually mentioned the 16 seconds thing instead of just saying "a few seconds".
I'll also say that using a fading indicator of danger is a really neat idea, though it could've been smaller and on a corner maybe. As far as I read, if it became fully opaque I would've been attacked or auto-killed by the Amarok? It takes too much time for that to happen. Even the biggest maps didn't take two or three minutes to walk/run by unless you were really unlucky with the wolves chasing you.
Audio and music...I can't say much, as most of it was from MZ's RTP. The music and sound choices were good for the ambiance and tension I think. I loved the fact that there were noises playing in the dark hallways, although some felt too random and meaningless after a while. Random sounds aren't bad at all to scare the player, but...I would've toned them down a little bit and focused on using most of these as actual clues of something being nearby.
About graphics! Again, most, if not all of them, come from MZ's RTP. While some people find it extremely ugly, I do think it can be salvageable overall, as some of the characters and graphics from it are actually good looking. However, one thing that really bothered me was the window-skin. That light-blue color works neat on the title screen, day scenes and the outside maps, however, it contrasts too much with every other sequence of the game where you're hiding or being chased. Even if you use the default windowskin, one thing you could do for those moments is change the color of it through event commands, to a darker shade that fits the interiors or crudest scenes.
Now, I'll say one of the biggest weaknesses of this game was the maps. A chase game definitely needs a lot of space to run and escape from enemies, otherwise you'd run into dead ends every ten seconds, and I really appreciate that there was a lot of space to run, as most rooms had two or three different entrances just to avoid getting unfairly stuck. However, I think the spaces in these maps were too many, both for corridors, outside roads, hallways, etc. Overusing them means some maps will look empty and bland, even more so for places like the main building, where it can be confusing to run for like five seconds and only see carpet/wood floor on the entire screen. The other aspect I'd take into account for future projects is trying to differentiate rooms and buildings a little bit more, for example, most of the sheds, houses and buildings outside have similar or identical proportions, shapes and rooftops. That could be fixed by playing with those three aspects, or by adding details like cracks, chimneys or specific types of furniture to differentiate them, so that no one gets lost.
Well...I think that's my comment! I enjoyed playing Amarok's Howl, and there is a lot of room for improvement if you ever decide to update or create a game similar to this one.
Wish you the best luck with future projects!
Before leaving this comment, I read some of the reviews to give myself some context. Congratulations for developing this game in two weeks, it's very good for a second game ever made, too.
I found Amarok's Howl to be a cool chase-and-hide game, although there's stuff that I'd definitely improve or take into account for future projects similar to this one. Starting with the story, I really liked the focus on explaining the myths regarding the wolves and Sednas' one. The characters were enjoyable, although their role was minimal (even if the player read all of their dialogue before the attack), and in fact, I think expanding their roles would've been ideal...
For example, I expected everyone to be in actual danger. It would increase the game's complexity in a good way, as the sense of urgency kind of went away as soon as I realized no one really died if, by example, both a wolf and I found them, and then I left the area. In fact, I tried this just to be annoying xD, yet nothing happened.
Another thing is that if you interact with Natalia at the very start of the Doctor's Office sequence, she'll bomb the player with information about the classmates. I think it'd been better if she only knew the whereabouts of her closest friends or the youngest people on campus, while having Doctor Carter know about everyone else, maybe about the classmates that usually get hurt and know her the best, or even give some of the rescued classmates that info, sort of as an incentive to specifically rescue them first. That way you could make gameplays a bit more varied, as players might prefer to follow either Natalia's or Carter's advice first.
The ending...was confusing. I didn't understand it before reading the reviews, as I don't know anything about Amarok's legends and myths other than the ones mentioned in this game. In my perspective, I thought Alistair drowned himself (?) to escape the wolf, yet he got murdered by it anyways. Now that I read about the widower myth (which fits neatly with Natalia's death!), maybe it would've been a good idea to show that specific myth as a scene during the game, maybe as one of the nightmares Alistair suffers at the start, sort of foreshadowing the ending.
The gameplay is probably one of the stronger points considering the detection and weather system is really neat, and probably took most of the time during the two weeks if it was custom made. I'm not really familiar with MZ's pathfinding (only with the one used in VX/Ace), so I don't know if it was just a default thing or not, but no wolf got stuck behind walls while trying to chase me: they actually took detours to reach me. That, and the fact that sometimes I could avoid their attack if I was lucky enough, made the chase sequences pretty cool. I had to be careful yet I had chances to survive (haven't said it yet, but I was playing on medium/normal difficulty).
One thing that I do think didn't shine through the gameplay was stealth walking: as most of the maps were too big to walk slowly, there wasn't a real incentive to actually use it. I did use the jumping mechanics, although I wish the first tutorial/prologue actually mentioned the 16 seconds thing instead of just saying "a few seconds".
I'll also say that using a fading indicator of danger is a really neat idea, though it could've been smaller and on a corner maybe. As far as I read, if it became fully opaque I would've been attacked or auto-killed by the Amarok? It takes too much time for that to happen. Even the biggest maps didn't take two or three minutes to walk/run by unless you were really unlucky with the wolves chasing you.
Audio and music...I can't say much, as most of it was from MZ's RTP. The music and sound choices were good for the ambiance and tension I think. I loved the fact that there were noises playing in the dark hallways, although some felt too random and meaningless after a while. Random sounds aren't bad at all to scare the player, but...I would've toned them down a little bit and focused on using most of these as actual clues of something being nearby.
About graphics! Again, most, if not all of them, come from MZ's RTP. While some people find it extremely ugly, I do think it can be salvageable overall, as some of the characters and graphics from it are actually good looking. However, one thing that really bothered me was the window-skin. That light-blue color works neat on the title screen, day scenes and the outside maps, however, it contrasts too much with every other sequence of the game where you're hiding or being chased. Even if you use the default windowskin, one thing you could do for those moments is change the color of it through event commands, to a darker shade that fits the interiors or crudest scenes.
Now, I'll say one of the biggest weaknesses of this game was the maps. A chase game definitely needs a lot of space to run and escape from enemies, otherwise you'd run into dead ends every ten seconds, and I really appreciate that there was a lot of space to run, as most rooms had two or three different entrances just to avoid getting unfairly stuck. However, I think the spaces in these maps were too many, both for corridors, outside roads, hallways, etc. Overusing them means some maps will look empty and bland, even more so for places like the main building, where it can be confusing to run for like five seconds and only see carpet/wood floor on the entire screen. The other aspect I'd take into account for future projects is trying to differentiate rooms and buildings a little bit more, for example, most of the sheds, houses and buildings outside have similar or identical proportions, shapes and rooftops. That could be fixed by playing with those three aspects, or by adding details like cracks, chimneys or specific types of furniture to differentiate them, so that no one gets lost.
Well...I think that's my comment! I enjoyed playing Amarok's Howl, and there is a lot of room for improvement if you ever decide to update or create a game similar to this one.
Wish you the best luck with future projects!
Perceiving Shapes
Hello Starmage! I just finished playing this game. I've got to say it was a really cool experience, similar to Inner Sanctum, though there were some aspects I preferred in this game and some others I didn't. Congratulations for finishing it on time for that game jam (and getting fourth place too!).
My opinion...with heavy spoilers hidden, as usual.
When it comes to the story, Perceiving Shapes' is more cryptic and hard to decipher compared to Sanctum's. The protagonist goes through a lot of events as soon as he steps into Saturnalia and everything goes wrong (as expected from a horror game). The ending doesn't really explain much at all, which I imagine could leave players feeling a bit empty, unless they personally like to theorize. At least for me, it seems my own theories were kinda similar to the ones in the reviews...
The game lacked puzzles other than moving boxes, making choices and finding objects and keys (some of these could've been replaced with other objects, as to not make it repetitive and end the game with four), so when it comes to gameplay, most of it is decided by the chase and hide sequences. I didn't find them THAT difficult but,
Regarding graphics, I have to say this is probably the strongest point in the game, done better than Sanctum's. The Pop!Horror City resources are used and mixed beatifully, just as the lightning in every environment. The only thing that I didn't really feel was the individual moon CGs, as those looked a bit stretched, and could probably been edited with some filters. Other than that, nothing looks bad at all in the game. The music is good too, though a little bit of mixing would've been appreciated. Some of the enemies were kinda loud compared to the music, haha.
And yeah, the fully voiced dialogues were amazing. I do agree that some of these sound forced (by example, Beau and Susan), but the NPCs, Cernelia and the enemies had really good voice acting. Again, a plus: Most games use it only for important scenes. Here, there was voice acting even for checking random spots.
That's all I have to say! Nice game to play, and would recommend it to anyone (who likes horror games of course).
Good luck and congratz again.
My opinion...with heavy spoilers hidden, as usual.
When it comes to the story, Perceiving Shapes' is more cryptic and hard to decipher compared to Sanctum's. The protagonist goes through a lot of events as soon as he steps into Saturnalia and everything goes wrong (as expected from a horror game). The ending doesn't really explain much at all, which I imagine could leave players feeling a bit empty, unless they personally like to theorize. At least for me, it seems my own theories were kinda similar to the ones in the reviews...
...as I also thought Beau was trapped in something similar to a simulation / AI training, mainly due to Cernelia's dialogues. I would've liked for the game to continue exploring this idea, maybe with the two new guys who ended up in Saturnalia, maybe by explaining more about Beau's reality. A horror game should not give every answer, but this game would really benefit from a bit more of answers.
One thing I have to say, is that it was a really cool decision to force the players to outrun their fears. Most games usually present choices like that for aesthetic purposes (or small, minor variations of dialogue). In my case, I chose spiders as the fear, so I felt really curious when the chase sequences involved spiders. Once the game finished I went back to that scene, chose the sea, and there it was: the chase scene turned into something completely different. That's a detail that, in reality, most people won't see. But for the people who replay and like to see how choices actually affect the game, it is really appreciated and enjoyed!
One thing I have to say, is that it was a really cool decision to force the players to outrun their fears. Most games usually present choices like that for aesthetic purposes (or small, minor variations of dialogue). In my case, I chose spiders as the fear, so I felt really curious when the chase sequences involved spiders. Once the game finished I went back to that scene, chose the sea, and there it was: the chase scene turned into something completely different. That's a detail that, in reality, most people won't see. But for the people who replay and like to see how choices actually affect the game, it is really appreciated and enjoyed!
The game lacked puzzles other than moving boxes, making choices and finding objects and keys (some of these could've been replaced with other objects, as to not make it repetitive and end the game with four), so when it comes to gameplay, most of it is decided by the chase and hide sequences. I didn't find them THAT difficult but,
, the first one (in its spider version) was kinda annoying due to dark lightning and hard to see obstacles. When it comes to the last one that involved the killer clown, I saw that the reviewers kinda struggled with it. I personally just moved back one of the boxes to block him from reaching me. Wish I could've done that to the annoying spiders xD.
Regarding graphics, I have to say this is probably the strongest point in the game, done better than Sanctum's. The Pop!Horror City resources are used and mixed beatifully, just as the lightning in every environment. The only thing that I didn't really feel was the individual moon CGs, as those looked a bit stretched, and could probably been edited with some filters. Other than that, nothing looks bad at all in the game. The music is good too, though a little bit of mixing would've been appreciated. Some of the enemies were kinda loud compared to the music, haha.
And yeah, the fully voiced dialogues were amazing. I do agree that some of these sound forced (by example, Beau and Susan), but the NPCs, Cernelia and the enemies had really good voice acting. Again, a plus: Most games use it only for important scenes. Here, there was voice acting even for checking random spots.
That's all I have to say! Nice game to play, and would recommend it to anyone (who likes horror games of course).
Good luck and congratz again.
Inner Sanctum
I was looking for some horror games to play, chose this one and it was definitely worth it!
The only ending I'm missing is ending B. I got the other three and I really enjoyed them.
For a game made in two weeks, it is overall really well done.
There's some stuff that could've been improved afterwards, but I still would recommend it to anyone.
Spoiler-y stuff, don't read if you haven't played the game yet...
I really enjoyed the story. While some parts and dialogue felt a bit cliche, there were some sequences that were definitely good: the exorcisms felt like a nice tribute to old-school horror movies due to the demon cursing. The scene of Julia drowning Meadow was hilarious for me (in a good way): it was the first thing I got when playing, so I thought either Julia was possessed or she had to do something with the murderous cult. That idea didn't last long after the reveal that Meadow was the one possessed but it was definitely memorable. I also liked Porsha's and Jerome's...interactions hahah. I've been playing RPG Maker games for years, yet, this has to be only the third or fourth time I've seen stuff like that in one of these games.
Before I forget to mention it, I also thought the Divine Grace Monastery would have evil people inside; that the antagonist was going to be one of them, so pretty much my entire idea of the game was thrown out of the window by the plot twist, haha. Well done.
The only things that bothered me were how easy it was to die during the chase scenes. The darkness made it hard to find the throwable objects, plus, most of these sequences took place after minutes of dialogue. Having to replay that every time you want to save a character is a bit annoying. I think it would've been better to put the save screens a bit closer to the start of those chase scenes to make replayability less tedious.
Some other things that I can mention... probably that there's a weird bug where you can still move even if the current character "died" (their graphic changed and the blood sound was played), though it doesn't break anything else. Also, the game over screen with a peaceful background is too out of place, considering most deaths are gruesome / bloody in this game.
Nothing else to say, I might try Perceiving Shapes one of these days.
Wish you good luck with all of your projects!
The only ending I'm missing is ending B. I got the other three and I really enjoyed them.
For a game made in two weeks, it is overall really well done.
There's some stuff that could've been improved afterwards, but I still would recommend it to anyone.
Spoiler-y stuff, don't read if you haven't played the game yet...
I really enjoyed the story. While some parts and dialogue felt a bit cliche, there were some sequences that were definitely good: the exorcisms felt like a nice tribute to old-school horror movies due to the demon cursing. The scene of Julia drowning Meadow was hilarious for me (in a good way): it was the first thing I got when playing, so I thought either Julia was possessed or she had to do something with the murderous cult. That idea didn't last long after the reveal that Meadow was the one possessed but it was definitely memorable. I also liked Porsha's and Jerome's...interactions hahah. I've been playing RPG Maker games for years, yet, this has to be only the third or fourth time I've seen stuff like that in one of these games.
Before I forget to mention it, I also thought the Divine Grace Monastery would have evil people inside; that the antagonist was going to be one of them, so pretty much my entire idea of the game was thrown out of the window by the plot twist, haha. Well done.
The only things that bothered me were how easy it was to die during the chase scenes. The darkness made it hard to find the throwable objects, plus, most of these sequences took place after minutes of dialogue. Having to replay that every time you want to save a character is a bit annoying. I think it would've been better to put the save screens a bit closer to the start of those chase scenes to make replayability less tedious.
Some other things that I can mention... probably that there's a weird bug where you can still move even if the current character "died" (their graphic changed and the blood sound was played), though it doesn't break anything else. Also, the game over screen with a peaceful background is too out of place, considering most deaths are gruesome / bloody in this game.
Nothing else to say, I might try Perceiving Shapes one of these days.
Wish you good luck with all of your projects!
Precognition
Precognition
author=Mandred_III
Are you working on this project yet? I really want to see it completed! Also, I hope you can remember me ;w;
Notice me, Senpai
Kidding
Sorry for the late answer!
This year has been pretty chaotic and I haven't been able to do much progress. There's no need to worry though, this game IS going to be finished, it'll just take a while.
Hopefully I'll be showing more stuff this or next month.
Thanks for the support, Mandred! of course i remember you~
Games - Tester
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