I still plan on redoing some of the menus, your version will have the crappy but workable version.

Whatever works.

So I don't think I ever asked. Is the Clock Tower a single mission with a single objective?

Looking good.

Has not everything made it to the point where it has a 3D background yet?

We launched a Tumblr today. It'll be used for news, primarily, since the mag, being on a monthly schedule just can't keep up with everything. Everything else is staying in the mag.

We are more than open to posting about stuff you send us.

http://indiebulletin.tumblr.com/

Hey, it's been a week. Just dropping in to see how this is going.

For those that are interested, Issue 20 just launched with reviews of Primordia, Phantasmaburbia, Middens, and more, as well as interviews with John Clowder and Sekaru. This is the official December issue.

Next, we'll be doing a special Christmas issue and some of the games that have been sent to me here will be in it!

EDIT: Oh, and I should probably mention that from here on out, the appropriate contact information is on the site. http://indiefunction.com/contact

I don't get what's stopping you from just walking over there the first time without shuffling everything around?

The 3D background looks pretty nice. Can't wait!

What are some of the differences in stat systems?

Any news with this? It's been over a week.

All I can say really in response is that the game is not finished, nor is it feature complete. combat will change, features will be added and tweaked, this is the glory of early alpha. We are getting lots of feedback that we will be considering as we make this game.

I understand that but, at the same time, you're asking us for money and presenting a demo that doesn't exactly inspire the most confidence on the gameplay front. It's a pretty game, sure, but that doesn't mean a whole lot to me.

What I see is a group of people asking for money for a game that is being touted as a beat-em-up but what's being shown shows off combat that is literally pressing a button and hoping for the best, giving the player almost no way to not get damaged trying to do combat with average-strength enemies. I see a game with a no more than a nominal amount of variety in items and even less in weaponry. I see a game that seems to be using darkness to unfairly cripple the player. And that is the crux of my problem with the game.

I also understand that you guys have been funded almost four times over by now and that may not mean much to you at this phase in the Kickstarter but it's still valuable input, I'd hope.

There is a lantern you can pick up on the tavern entrance. One good strategy when playing alone is to throw it on the ground for the rooms that are dark.  The darkness is part of the gameplay, and it is up to each player to come up with a strategy for combating it.

I'm not saying the darkness is a bad idea. I'm saying that leaving it where it is now is a bit harsh. Expecting the player to consistently pick up and throw down a lantern after reaching a specific part in the dungeon isn't the greatest idea because it's asking the player to consistently go through an extra 3 steps (cycle to lamp, drop lamp, pick lamp up) several times over the course of one room just to be able to confidently swing a sword.

and it is up to each player to come up with a strategy for combating it.

What other options are there? Right now, the only one I see is that lamp. And there's no way to fight and use the lamp at the same time, meaning it is either stationary or non-existent.

I thought maybe once I got a bit of lava in a room that it would help with the lighting, but the only thing it does is illuminate the silhouettes when you walk over it.

There are ranged weapons, shields, hammers, and spells so far. you find items inside the dungeon as you get deeper, but item count isn't balanced yet.  

Yeah, I didn't see any of this. I played to level 8 in the new demo and I have not seen any new weapons, let alone any of those. I only have seen two - the starter sword and the sword that looks like it's made of wood.

What's more, you can break crates, but when over 90% of them contain an enemy, it's almost not worth it. I mean they could even be empty, but to have an enemy inside over 90% of the time gives the notion of "Meh, why bother?" The one time I DID get an item from one, it was a lousy apple.

And on top of that, when the levels start to get primarily dark, coming from someone who has decent vision, it's a nightmare. It is WAYYYY too dark. I can't even see the things attacking me. The only thing I could see, and this was only barely, was a hand that was attached to the player.

And let me expand on why combat is so underwhelming. You have two options: 1. You can sit there and swing endlessly at what you're trying to hit, getting hit several times in the process. 2. You can use turn around and walk the other way after each hit and hope that they don't hit you while your back is turned or before you manage to hit them after turning back towards them. That's not fun.

Wow, this looks pretty interesting. I'll be watching it. Hoping it has high replay value.

Looks awesome. Was this made in Arcade Game Studio?

- The movement is something I'm constantly tweaking, it's meant to be slidey and fluid as you're not playing a human character, but I agree it's not quite right yet..

Yeah, it's just that at this moment, it's at a point where it's slidey to the point that it's hard to adjust your movements. I watched myself in regards to the red line for a while and in terms of control, it just felt like I was at the game's mercy a bit.

- What kind of glitchiness have you noticed?

Midway through certain shots, the shots seem to "fold" a bit, and then straighten back out. I also don't know if this is related to the character speed and the shot speed being too close or not, but shots seem to be a bit slow about actually firing.

- That's an interesting one, I think part of that might be the speed at which the 'projectiles' move, confusing what it takes to activate them. I'll look closely at that..

Yeah, what I can say for sure is that once, I shot at two crystals of the same size that were right next to each other. The first shot hit one crystal and a red circle appeared around the shot. I shot two more at that crystal. After that, the second shot connected with the other crystal. That crystal almost immediately reacted, turning red. Then the other two connected with the first crystal in quick succession and lit that crystal up. It was a bit odd, and just sort of felt unintended.

- The gazebo's don't communicate clearly that you're locked in, and I can see how that would be confusing. I might try a few things to make it more obvious what's going on.

Maybe having a transparent red bar (to match the activated gazebo) appear over each of the ways out would communicate it better?

- Not sure what you mean re: the floor.. It does move, so I wonder if again it's not clearly communicating what's going on.

When it comes out, it obscures things in the background and just generally looks odd was all I was getting at.

And I shall get to the rest tomorrow. Right now, I really need to crash.

Is that true, do players really enjoy virtual joysticks? Because I don't.

I couldn't answer whether they're right for your game without playing it, but to me, it's not a matter of "enjoying" virtual joysticks. It's all what the game calls for.

With games like Minigore, the gameplay lends itself to full 360 degree radial movement/shooting. It wouldn't be enjoyable without the joysticks because with 8 directional buttons, 4 for moving, 4 for shooting, it'd feel like you're being cheated out of a lot of angles, while 16 buttons, 8 each, would just be too crowded.

But there are other games where I felt the joystick was unnecessary and just generally a pain to use. Games where the joystick can be used on 75% or more of the screen, so long as a certain swipe activates it, come to mind.

Man, this is cool. I don't know why I didn't play it until now, but I really like it. Very streamlined, minimal interface, nice style, easy to play.

I'll be playing this for a while.

There are ranged weapons, shields, hammers, and spells so far. you find items inside the dungeon as you get deeper, but item count isn't balanced yet.
We just added crate breaking, and sometimes you'll get lucky and get something nice.   

Ahhh, thank you.

Having played only the Groupees demo, I only ever came across swords, and only very rarely. I also wasn't able to break open crates from what I could tell.

So maybe the new demo would be a better representation. I'll post again after trying it.

@ johnki: It's just barely an alpha, we really wanted people to be able to -move- so they could feel how awesome the lighting is, and hopefully like it enough to pre purchase it on the kickstarter.  The attacking will most likely change a little at least.

I'll try the latest demo later, but personally, if the combat system doesn't become slightly more complex, possibly with ranged weapons, shields, and/or spells, I don't think I'll be very interested.

EDIT: Even combos or differing attacks would work.

I got the alpha demo from one of the recent Groupees bundles. It's cool. It definitely has a unique and interesting look to it. I just can't help but feel that combat is a bit too shallow, given the nature of it, though.

I always use imgur.

Alright, here are some first impressions. I only played about 5-10 minutes in, as opposed to the whole way, because I noticed a few things right off the bat:

- It's really clear you're only getting half of the experience. While the visual aspects are coming together, it's clear that the game as a whole isn't there yet due to the missing aural aspects. And I think that, with games like this, the audio really makes or breaks the experience, given the walkthrough nature of it.

- Movement is really, really slippery. I often felt like I barely had control over my character at all.

- The shots are a little glitchy.

- Crystals of the same size will light up red after different amounts of hits, which is confusing.

- Not really sure what role the "gazebos," as I'll call them, have. Are they meant to mark the boundaries for changing tracks? Are they just meant to mark major events?

EDIT: I went back and read the page again. I see they're to mark the end of a track. Okay. I had assumed there would be a portal or a loading screen or something. It's definitely a smooth transition graphically, although I would like to point out that the first time a gazebo trapped me while something happened, I was pretty confused.

- When the floor comes out from under you at the one "gazebo," it's really obvious in the sense that the black plane that represents the floor seems to obscure some of the other objects in the background.

And that's it so far. I'll go for a more complete playthrough later. I want to see some of the more elaborate sights.