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[EPSYLON EAGLE]

Any news about this promising project?

[diegzumillo]

Not really. I want to develop it further but honestly I don't know what direction to take this.

I did however manage to test it on the real hardware! really cool seeing it run in my old mega drive.

[Gibberish]

Just dropping in to say that what you have looks very cool. Prince of persia vibes

[diegzumillo]

Every compliment I get gives me a little serotonin that makes me want to work on this again 

[JobLeonard]

Oh, you need serotonin you say? Well I enjoyed this devlog and the WIP you showed off a lot

[diegzumillo]

MOOORE MOOOOOOOOOORE SEROTONIN! Shower me in confetti and praise!

All right, all right, I have enough to want to work on this again. I just need to know what I want to do with it

Seriously speaking, I feel like this kind of controller and style would work better as an adventure game. Item based puzzles, dialogues etc. I say this mainly because it's not fun lol The mechanics of prince of persia did not grow old graciously enough to hold a game on its own, but it can still be used effectively with something else.

At least that's my impression. I noticed this a while ago even, but I still thought I could spice it up with some extra mechanics like stealth, interesting combat, upgrades etc. My tests were not very positive, however. So as an interface for an adventure game is my last bet to save this project.

[JobLeonard]

Stealth adventure game? Sneak through levels, the puzzles are traps you have to set up/trigger to advance without getting caught

[diegzumillo]

Something like that. Stealth your way to a room with some stuff to read that give you clues on how to lower the bridge, then you need to find some items, which then you need to combine, then Murray the talking skull says some funny things, then I get a copyright strike... that kind of stuff.

[diegzumillo]

Hey all. I feel ready to call this project dead. Just as important as finishing things you start is recognizing when something is not going anywhere, and relieving yourself from the burden and guilt.

I still want to do something for the Mega Drive, maybe with the art style and themes from this project. But this specific iteration simply did not work to my likings.

I have two more devlogs still not dead though. Apple & Worm, although dormant and much older than this one, is a game I am actively looking for publishers to resume developing it. And the scifi flight sim is my current obsession, so that should be updated more frequently.

[JobLeonard]

Yeah, don't force it if it's not working out

I somehow missed that other devlog, subbing now

[diegzumillo]

On a strange turn of events, I am not only resurrecting this project, it is now my main project. I intend on dedicating myself fully to this game, starting with a kickstarter planned for february 2024. I might make a new thread for it though. Start clean.

It has been a very tough few years for me. Hopefully this path will lead to better things.

Anyway, expect more news from this project soon!

[diegzumillo]

This is happening! The kickstarter trailer is almost done!

There is one tiny snag. Actually, it's a huge issue. In fact, it's the hardest part of any project by a mile. I need a name for the game. I've asked around for opinions and I'm going to do the same here as well.

I don't want to spoil the plot too much, so judge the title based on which one looks more interesting to you, based on nothing but the title itself.

The Eldritch Monarch
This sounds a bit generic to me. Very plain and simple. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as generic just means it communicates the mood of the game very quickly. You read 'eldrich' and you immediately think some kind of Lovecraftian horror, right?

A Trap For Moths
This one is not generic at all. I personally find it much more interesting. But it says absolutely nothing about the game whatsoever.

On one hand, it feels like I have to choose between "The silence of the lambs" vs "The sociopath psychiatrist". And putting it like this makes me lean towards a trap for moths, obviously. However, let me make the case for generic here. Using silence of the lambs as an example, the movie is an adaptation of a successful novel. It didn't pop out of nowhere. The title not saying anything wasn't detrimental to its success.

Now let's look at games, Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Extremely generic. Not only that, it also commits the sin of colon. But it worked because it was a horror game from a small game studio, still trying to make a name for themselves. The title is generic but I believe it helped their target audience discover them. However, once they became an established studio, and people awaited eagerly for next releases, they then released a game called "A Machine For Pigs", then "Soma". Awesome titles! Not generic at all. Very intriguing. Teases our imagination! And of course it had no risk of flying under anyone's radar, because they already have an audience that knows what to expect from them.

So now I lean towards eldritch monarch. I'm a nobody dev! And although there is a larger focus on narrative on this game than one usually finds on megadrive games, it's still a megadrive game. It won't blow anyone's minds with high literature, so a title like "A Trap For Moths" might even come off as pretentious.





If anyone has any thoughts, I would love to hear them!

[Schrompf]

I'm not a native speaker, so maybe that's why "a trap for moths" is more a generic web search at the excitement level of grocery shopping. "Eldritch", on the other hand, is a word I only learned from Horror games, so I'd suggest running with it.