S. F. LAVALLE'S PROFILE

Relatedly, would you mind summarizing your suggestions of how specifically I can improve the implementation if I ever pick this up again?

I'm relieved at this response and would be happy to summarize. I understand how frustrating it might be to hear many of the same criticisms in other reviews but still receive actual scores that are so polarizing. Your opinion about Solitayre not withstanding, you make a pretty strong case about your experience and accolades in making games and writing stories, so it's impossible for me, and maybe others, not to consider this in our expectations. I'm not saying I will hold your games up against commercial masterpieces, but at the same time, I didn't score your game the way I would have scored "those other RM games out there," as you might put it, that were assembled more out of the "wow, I can make a game!" factor. A strong focus on story and tight gameplay also carries over to the overall design and "feel" of the game, so even without knowing you, one can surmise or speculate on "creator's intent." It is my opinion that Solitarye wasn't doing anything more than just that, and his difference in score nothing more than heightened expectations.

Sorry about that above, but it's a large part of why I wrote this review. I think my score achieved its purpose based on your reponse. You're disappointed, but not overtly upset, and I think that's very promising.

The playability factor as I observed is responsible for the largest drop in score, and to be honest, I don't think it's something that will be terribly hard to address. I don't want to say "correct," as I'll let you be the judge of what you think can or should be changed. The first issue is random chance. Now, it's entirely possible that through one hundred playtests, you did not encounter any problems I've described, and I know that as a game designed, you're forced to consider that I just might not have the stomach for difficult games. So I'll address this point in terms of design to illustrate the issue.

The spider mechs that can perform an EMP. I didn't open the game in the database, so I didn't look at any move lists. During play, I noticed one of two possible attacks: a regular attack that hits 3 times, and the EMP blast. My own experiences with the game placed these two abilities pretty close to 1:1 in terms of how often each attack is used. Finally, I observed that there is no restriction in terms of how often the EMP blast could occur (that is to say, it's theoretically possible during the course of one battle to be hit with an EMP blast every turn, and this did actually happen).

Whatever the numbers actually turn out to be, merely the mathematical possibility of being stricken with an EMP repeatedly until death is a design flaw, in my opinion. I'd be willing to argue that there's a threshold in which the frequency of this occurrence is so low as to make no difference (5% chance to EMP for example, 10% chance perhaps even, whereas 15% might be pushing it). If I hadn't encountered the problem a few times I probably wouldn't bring it up as a criticism, but the fact that it happened at all I think is unacceptable.

The flaw isn't with the idea, it's with the implementation, or rather the limited amount of control to adjust it. You want the attack to occur often enough to be a nuisance, but you don't want it to end the player's game without SOME opportunity for strategic input on the part of the player. It's entirely possible to have both, for example, if you're able to set the attack up so that it will always alternate between a regular attack and an EMP blast, allowing the player a chance to set up defenses and healing and eventually the opportunity to take the enemy down. This would also make the EMP cannon effective if the enemy is stunned before being able to EMP itself, and thus reverting back to a regular attack the following round. I think this is the best way to ensure the player maintains enough control in a difficult situation. Significantly reducing the chance for the EMP to occur would also allow the game to be playable, at the cost of some difficulty.

In the beginning of the game, the inability to heal also puts a lot on the shoulders of luck. The way I see it, every ability and piece of equipment is comprised of three tangible benefits: doing more damage to end enemies quicker, increasing defense/evasion to allow more punishment before death or healing, and the ability to heal for obvious reasons. Basically, each of these three aspects takes pressure off of the other two, as each battle is effectively a race against time. A miss, as it would be in plenty of other games, is devastating to this goal. A critical hit is a boon. The reverse is true for the enemies' chance to hit. This mechanic is not new, and pretty core to any RPG. As is common with many difficult games, you've balanced battles such that a miss on the player's part is very devastating.

In the beginning of the game, players have little control over this (aside from which genome you've chosen, am I wrong to say none?). Some equipment you eventually receive can affect this, but by that point you have healing packs and other options to increase survivability. Again, aside from which genome you've chosen, your only options are to use what's at your disposal to either a) heal yourself, b) kill faster, or c) increase defense or evasion. I've found that in genome types with increased capability for damage, it can still be not enough to survive until you get more options. The genome that gives attack AND defense buffs, in the considerable amount of 50%, makes it through this point rather easily, as I stated in my review. The evasion buff I tried also was insufficient in keeping me alive to the point where I received healing items.

I ask, where did I go wrong? I made liberal use of what was at my disposal, paid no mind to battery power (which I know isn't an issue in the beginning of the game, but could be later on), and it wasn't enough. I never used Full Defense, because enemy attacks are chosen by % and I have no chance of anticipating specific attacks, it's ineffective. The answer really boils down to luck. Luck makes a lot of things possible in a lot of games, but with balancing pulled so taut in the favor of difficulty in this case, bad luck amounts to a game over, whereas in other games it might amount to something bad or annoying without crushing your spirits, like having to heal again before getting an extra attack off, or being forced to defend on the last turn of an attack buff.

This is what I referred to as "faux difficulty." The only real solution to this is to offer the player more control (which is difficult because you have the different genomes providing different buffs for the sole purpose of differentiation), or to cut luck out of the picture (or drastically reduce its role). As an example, you might be given three chances to miss before it's game over for you. Try making it five. Or better yet, take luck out of the picture if at all possible. Make healing items available from the start and let players be responsible for when they are best used. Seeing as it's only 4, maybe 5 encounters before you get access to healing, and only one before a save point, I think unwinnable situations could be avoided completely, and more control is given to the players.

Later on in the game when the enemies get much more difficult, it's hard to say because I didn't get there with any more than one genome type. The medics hit punishingly hard, there's the aforementioned EMP RNG issue, and some battles pit you against three enemies. I'm unable to imagine completing this portion without my Temper buff, but I can't hold that against you since I couldn't try. The same point of luck pretty much goes through here and the remainder of the game. If a player is going to lose, let it be for their own mistakes and poor strategic choices, and not as much about things beyond their control.

As I stated in my review, I noticed a trend towards gear becoming more and more the deciding factor on your build than the original genome choice, with genome buffs become more like "feats." That being said, the single most important thing to consider with these feats are scalability. Again, I haven't observed in detail all of the skills offered by all genome types, so I don't know if, for example, the Masonic Mage's abilities scale with firepower. I also don't know if other abilities will become available on disc that mimic that Mage's skill (like the healing backpack does for the healing genome), but all I can say is to be aware of this balance and scalability going forward. The Temper buff will remain as devastating in the late game as it does presently, making that genome an ideal choice. It's probably fine to have some genome choices that represent different levels of difficulty (for example, you already explain that Masonic types are stronger bonuses AND weaknesses), and it's probably even ok to have these benefits scale off in effectiveness (feats strong in early game but weaker in post game, and vice versa). That being said, it might be best, unless you have plans for genome-specific development throughout the game, to keep the role of the genome down-played, and perhaps offer more robust skill-granting equipment and data discs earlier.

Anyone that knows you has high expectations for the story, I'm fairly certain, and I'm no exception. And again, I have no reason to doubt that you have a compelling story to unfold. That being said, I have to admit I was looking for more out of Claudia. Now that I have more information on your intentions with her, I can more effectively consider how that information is conveyed through dialogue.

You're right, I assumed "steel giants" to mean mechs and not starships. This isn't a character issue so much as establishing a setting and technology level. I'd still assume a world that had technology once that is recovering from some apocalypse (to the point where they know what satellites are and have access to basic labor mechs) would still be able to identify starships as flying vessels, but that's just being nitpicky and doesns't really affect my opinion on anything. You've stated it's problematic, as well, so that horse is pretty much dead.

I can agree on the difficulty of portraying Claudia as you described her. Especially factoring in that such a traumatizing experience can really put victims like Claudia in either a regressive or catalytic state (a tough facade before becomes useless now, or alternatively an innocence that has become permanently scarred now leaves no choice but a sudden transformation to maintain survival). It might be hints of both that are at odds with her development. I don't want to get too psychological about things, all I can really do is comment on how I might see things, which isn't necessarily truth or representative of the character you created. If I had put a character in this situation, I might think of two development paths stemming from the point she meets Blood Machine and plays with it a bit. One, she sees it as a protective entity that has been granted to her to see that she no longer meets harm, a fatherly figure if you will. Two, she immediately recognizes it as a way to change her circumstances, in which case entertaining the idea of revenge comes very quickly, probably upon the first demonstration of its power. My first inclination is that her current development leans toward the former, but with a pretty sudden shift into revenge mode more representative in the latter.

The truth is that her individual psychological nuances don't matter so much as how the progression occurs throughout the game. To make an example, by the end of the first half of the demo, Claudia is ready to take revenge. Based on the progression of events between the beginning of the game, and that point, I don't see this as a natural development, but more of a pre-determined turning point as outlined by yourself necessary for the development of the plot and event planning. That is to say, she declared her intent of murderous reign not because she was ready to, but because that was what you needed her to say, when you needed her to say it. If you decided to plot out the demo differently than a final product, I can see how you might want to rush some of this development put the story in motion in a shorter amount of time within time constraints. Even if a final product, there's a need to "show 'em what you got" before they get bored. However, I just felt that this was too soon, and additional power is lost by the fact that you then set out to rescue her brother. Whether or not Padraic lives, afterwards would be an ideal point for Claudia to focus her intentions, as she no longer has the responsibility of Padraic's life on her shoulders. This also offers more time to develop her and her intentions.

Well, that was a lot. Before I sign out I'll say that the additional work to the gameplay is most important to keep the game enjoyable. That being said, I will be happy to commit time to revisions and adjust the review and its score to suit.

Max.

The "rubric around here" is that we have no common rubric. Some people will write reviews comparing games to commercial masterpieces, and some people will form an opinion based on the scope of an extremely small contingent of amateur games. That's why we're going to see reviews that seem way too generous, or way too harsh.

At least you've acknowledged the hard work put into the game, and having done that, identified that hard work does not necessarily make a quality product. Perhaps you'll find the review to your own game more fair based on this fact.

You're welcome to "bring justice" to over or under-rated titles all over RMN, but we'll all know why it's so important to you.