05-22-2007, 07:53 PM
Thanks for making this awesome game, I'll try to give you some tips on how to improve it now.
I've played through some other survival horror games, and this one is definately the best one (well, except for Thief 3 Shalebridge Cradle level, but that is just one level). I'll try to divide this into smaller sections about how I felt it is now, and how it could be improved;
Graphics: They're good, but enemies / blood needs reworking. You can see some nasty pixels sometimes, but mostly the surfaces are pretty smooth. A 8/10 for the graphics.
How to improve; As said, the enemies and their blood needs some reworking. The game looks very good, but when I first saw the blood I was just "uhg", not because I was grossed out, but because it was quite horribly done.
Sound / music: Also very good, different sounds when walking on surfaces, sounds of items hitting other items, there's a huge variety of sounds. Creepy sounds at times, but sometimes repetitive. As for the music, it's situational, like in all horror games, which is good.
How to improve; The music shifts when there's an enemy nearby, and when the enemy has spotted you. This needs a change, since you know when to get your weapon up then, and the enemies won't really surprise you. Also, while walking in section B, you can hear loud "crashes" when you exit some areas. It's creepy the 1st and 2nd time you hear it, but then it becomes repetitive. It's an example of course.
Horror; Well the game is scary. It took me ~~8hours to complete I guess, because I was quite scared in start. But I got used to the settings, and in the end felt quite "comfortable" (but still crouch-walking after clearing the area of enemies:)), I felt nothing could surprise me. And indeed, nothing really did surprise me, except for the 1st worm.
Also, as for the enemies, they're not really scary once you're in combat. I remember in Thief 3 (the cradle level) that I REALLY preferred to sneak past the enemies, from a safe distance... In this game however, I found it more convenient to kill the enemies.
How to improve; More scripted surprises, more enemies, harder enemies and of course, new enemies :)
Story; I'd sell my soul to get to know it now. I want it NOW :) In other words; it's god damn awesome. Creepy, and you crave to know more
Other: Again I'd like to use Thief 3 for an example. In that game, when you looked down, you could see your hands, legs, boots... It'd really look more realistic if you could do so aswell. I understand it'd be hard to do the right grabbing animations, but the game would feel more realistic that way.
Chase encounters; They're damn exciting, but difficulty needs to be toned down a lot. They're exciting the first time you play them, not after the 10th death. I think they should be doable on the 1st try.
Anyway, thanks for this awesome game, I'm anxiously waiting for episode two. Any info when it will be out?
Oh and one more question; do you already have the full storyline complete, or are you still "developing" it?
[edit]
The flashlight. In start of the game, I feared I'd run out of batteries and be left in darkness. Tone down the glowstick, and tune up the flashlight a lot. Also, batteries should go into your inventory (a lot less of them aswell), and you'd have to reload them manually. Please :)
I've played through some other survival horror games, and this one is definately the best one (well, except for Thief 3 Shalebridge Cradle level, but that is just one level). I'll try to divide this into smaller sections about how I felt it is now, and how it could be improved;
Graphics: They're good, but enemies / blood needs reworking. You can see some nasty pixels sometimes, but mostly the surfaces are pretty smooth. A 8/10 for the graphics.
How to improve; As said, the enemies and their blood needs some reworking. The game looks very good, but when I first saw the blood I was just "uhg", not because I was grossed out, but because it was quite horribly done.
Sound / music: Also very good, different sounds when walking on surfaces, sounds of items hitting other items, there's a huge variety of sounds. Creepy sounds at times, but sometimes repetitive. As for the music, it's situational, like in all horror games, which is good.
How to improve; The music shifts when there's an enemy nearby, and when the enemy has spotted you. This needs a change, since you know when to get your weapon up then, and the enemies won't really surprise you. Also, while walking in section B, you can hear loud "crashes" when you exit some areas. It's creepy the 1st and 2nd time you hear it, but then it becomes repetitive. It's an example of course.
Horror; Well the game is scary. It took me ~~8hours to complete I guess, because I was quite scared in start. But I got used to the settings, and in the end felt quite "comfortable" (but still crouch-walking after clearing the area of enemies:)), I felt nothing could surprise me. And indeed, nothing really did surprise me, except for the 1st worm.
Also, as for the enemies, they're not really scary once you're in combat. I remember in Thief 3 (the cradle level) that I REALLY preferred to sneak past the enemies, from a safe distance... In this game however, I found it more convenient to kill the enemies.
How to improve; More scripted surprises, more enemies, harder enemies and of course, new enemies :)
Story; I'd sell my soul to get to know it now. I want it NOW :) In other words; it's god damn awesome. Creepy, and you crave to know more
Other: Again I'd like to use Thief 3 for an example. In that game, when you looked down, you could see your hands, legs, boots... It'd really look more realistic if you could do so aswell. I understand it'd be hard to do the right grabbing animations, but the game would feel more realistic that way.
Chase encounters; They're damn exciting, but difficulty needs to be toned down a lot. They're exciting the first time you play them, not after the 10th death. I think they should be doable on the 1st try.
Anyway, thanks for this awesome game, I'm anxiously waiting for episode two. Any info when it will be out?
Oh and one more question; do you already have the full storyline complete, or are you still "developing" it?
[edit]
The flashlight. In start of the game, I feared I'd run out of batteries and be left in darkness. Tone down the glowstick, and tune up the flashlight a lot. Also, batteries should go into your inventory (a lot less of them aswell), and you'd have to reload them manually. Please :)