What do you think of the Episode 1 teaser?

[Perversion]

Not like there's much to say, as it is quite short, but what do you think anyway? Were the "dialogue puzzles" too hard? Because it's pretty much trial and error. Let me know!

[H2SO4]

Re: What do you think of the Episode 1 teaser?

As I have been pretty sick the last few days (bed-ridden), I haven't been able to try this out yet. I downloaded it and it's in my RPG Maker games folder, and hope to get to play it when I get better.

It sounds pretty good so far and I'm glad you decided to go with the episodic game format, that's what I've been using and I find it to be useful when you want a long game free of RPGM3's limitations.

[irate giraffe]

Re: What do you think of the Episode 1 teaser?

I just downloaded and played this this morning. Teaser is the word for it in that it definitely wets your tongue and leaves you desiring more. I thought I would be happy that it was under an hour long, in that I could just set aside an hour, play it and not have to worry about having more time to come back to it. But the story leaves me hungering for me.

I have to say the Perversion really has set up a grand adventure prequel. With past histories of wars between races, rivalries, honor, .... It is all there. If he can keep all of this in his head and make the episodes he is planning to make, this will be a epic tale full of good storytelling.

The teaser really shines as a sort of involved history lesson. There wasn't much gameplay, no battles, .... There was a few 'dialogue puzzles' and it felt like an old adventure game, with all the running around and fitting a few puzzle pieces together. The characters, for the most part, felt pretty real. There were a few 'one-liners', but the rest really stood out.

But then the teaser isn't only there as a prequel. By completing it you get two items, which look like they will be a great help in the full game. Rewards are always nice.

Critiques/advice:
First, I would advise using contractions in your dialogue. I know some people actually talk like "I am going to the mall" but for reading/writing, it is almost always more natural to see "I'm going to the mall." It feels a bit stilted when contractions aren't used, unless the text really warrants it (i.e. I
AM going to the mall). Other than that the writing flowed very well.

Second, there's an inn to take you straight to morning, but (unless I missed something) there was nothing to take you straight to night. And one of the quests require you to talk to people at the night only, and on two different nights. So a quick-to-night feature would have been nice.

Third, I know this is just a teaser, so this is more advice for the full game, but there was a lot of open space, especially in the rooms. You might want to use more decorations (I know they are bland but empty space is blander), to make the town feel more real.

Closing thoughts: Thanks for the teaser. It was a great idea to keep us interested in your game while you create it. And I love hour-long games. I wish I had more time for longer games, but I dont, and this sort of thing fits perfectly into my schedule. I especially liked having no battles. The background for your story sounds solid. I can't wait for the next (full) installment.

[JPS]

Re: What do you think of the Episode 1 teaser?

As for the inn thing I was just playing around and set up my own inn and when you checked in you would go to sleep and wake up opposite the time of day you went to sleep in, I made it so you would have to purchase a "Ticket" that you could only use once to do various things around town, which actually worked pretty well, and also got rid of the "keeping track of money" thing.

I have been unable to play the game as of yet but after what atreides just wrote I'll probably be trying to find that max drive next week

[Pagerron]

Re: What do you think of the Episode 1 teaser?

I had the chance to finish playing this teaser today. I obtained the two special "items" and something else you'll just have to play to find out about.

Some things I liked:

-There are some things that leave you guessing as to what might happen with them in the full game. - Cool

-It wasn't too long. - I played through it in about 1:45 just because I got stuck at one point.

-It includes an interesting history behind the full game and its world.

-Making progress in the game does give you a sense of accomplishment.

-It's more than a teaser. By playing it, you're actually helping yourself for when you play the full game.

Things that could have been improved:

-Including a "to night" event (as already mentioned by Irate Giraffe) would have been great. There was a place in the game where I successfully moved the game forward at night time and then just had to sit around and wait until it became night again for the story to keep pressing forward.

Were the "dialogue puzzles" too hard? Because it's pretty much trial and error.

-The dialogue puzzles weren't too hard, but sometimes it wasn't clear who to talk to to begin the next part of the puzzle. That required some extra running around from person to person.

To the person who plays it:

-Pay VERY careful attention to the choice branches when an NPC speaks with you.

Well, then, now you should check it out.

[Perversion]

Re: What do you think of the Episode 1 teaser?

Heh....thanks Page, and for the others who responded to this thead.