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[Radnom]

Dire Haven is a game which consists of a bunch of naked people trying to escape some kind of... intitution? factory? It's not really made clear. But one thing is clear. They have to get out!

They can only attempt escape one at a time... and they only get one chance.

The controls are very simple. Use the arrow keys, or a gamepad/joystick. Everything should be pretty much self-explanitory. See the youtube for further convincing.

Known issues:
-When loading custom levels, the blood is not removed from the level..

Youtube gameplay video




Radnom Games website page
http://radnomgames.com/dire_haven.html

Download:


Comments welcome and appreciated! :D this is very early.

[alphasmart]

oooh nifty.  Are they meant to fall through the platforms though?  Is it going to be like karoshi/IWBTG etc or was that not meant to happen?  Looks cool though, we need more naked people games.

[Akhel]

Very nice game! Still a little glitchy, but pretty cool nevertheless. Would be nice if the bloody tiles could get... bloodier, depending on how many times they have been stained. 

[Massena]

I finished it. It was hard as hell! And now, being the lazy bastard that I am, instead of properly writing what I think about the game, I shall give it in list form, hope that's OK. 
So first and foremost, the things I liked:

• The characters' graphics, I thought they were all perfect and funny in their own way.
• The blood stains. :D Although I did find some bugs in the sixth level.
• The quick restart, which made the game hard but not punishing. 
• The traps that work on gibs, as the one in level 4. You need more of those!

And now, things I disliked:

• The tiles. I mean, if every pixel of the game is 2 pixels on my screen why is the border between two tiles only one pixel? That led to some odd bugs where the border disapears on some places.
• The controls were a tad bit too sensitive for me.
• In some levels (especially the last ones) the moving platforms went out of synch with eachother, leading to situations in which the only thing I can do is die.
• The moving platforms: if I'm standing on a moving platform, hanging out by just one pixel, if that one pixel gets on a normal tile the character leaves the moving platform. It would seem more natural if the character only left the moving platform if more than half of it was out.
• Again, more traps like the one in level 4, using gibs to pass levels is genious!

Overall I liked playing it and I really loved the graphics!

[Saint]

Nice. Seeing as I am even lazier than Massena, I'm just going to echo one of his complaints - it seems kind of weird when the moving platforms drop you off whenever you get near an edge.

Other than that, It was short but sweet. And you get a big + in my book for not using fullscreen as default.

[threesided]

Haha, that was great, although I didn't finish it. I ran outta time. It's just so damn unforgiving. Having to do a level like tons and tons of times. I don't typically play games like that, but this one wasn't too bad in that respect. Heh, I dread to see a full version, since I would never even come close to beating it.

[Radnom]

oooh nifty.  Are they meant to fall through the platforms though?  Is it going to be like karoshi/IWBTG etc or was that not meant to happen?  Looks cool though, we need more naked people games.

Definitely not meant to happen  I thought it was more of an issue in earlier builds (like the one in the youtube video) but it seems there must still be a few issues. I do love those 'evil' platform games though.

I finished it. It was hard as hell!
So first and foremost, the things I liked:

• 1The characters' graphics, I thought they were all perfect and funny in their own way.
• 2The blood stains. :D Although I did find some bugs in the sixth level.
• 3The quick restart, which made the game hard but not punishing. 
• 4The traps that work on gibs, as the one in level 4. You need more of those!

I'm very glad you finished it
1. Thanks!
2. Yeah I see the problem now. Thanks, I gotta fix this up 
3. That's something I insist on in this type of game :p Flywrench did it perfectly, I'm kinda ripping off that in a way.
4. I'm actually torn between leaving that kind of thing in, and taking it out altogether. It goes against my whole game design principle 'Every level should be possible first time'. If, however, I use it as a sort of 'difficulty balancer', and make it possible to avoid it entirely (but extremely difficult) then when players land on it a few times it gets disabled, and allows people to beat the level.

And now, things I disliked:

• 1The tiles. I mean, if every pixel of the game is 2 pixels on my screen why is the border between two tiles only one pixel? That led to some odd bugs where the border disapears on some places.
• 2The controls were a tad bit too sensitive for me.
• 3In some levels (especially the last ones) the moving platforms went out of synch with eachother, leading to situations in which the only thing I can do is die.
• 4The moving platforms: if I'm standing on a moving platform, hanging out by just one pixel, if that one pixel gets on a normal tile the character leaves the moving platform. It would seem more natural if the character only left the moving platform if more than half of it was out.

1. That's actually a weird scaling issue I have ;____; I'm drawing the pixels double-size, but it causes weird glitches sometimes. I haven't really seen that issue you meantion though. I don't really know how to get around this.
2. Do you mean acceleration/deceleration wise?
3. I think I know the level you are meaning... I've taken out a spike now so the player can wait until they are synched right again.
4. I agree, I'll work on fixing that.

you get a big + in my book for not using fullscreen as default.

I can't stand fullscreen default either...

Would be nice if the bloody tiles could get... bloodier, depending on how many times they have been stained.

I've been told to do that a few times  :D still not sure if I should, it's not really supposed to be a gory game...


Thanks so much for the feedback, the criticism is especially appreciated.

[Boder]

It's got the slow-mo bug for me. It runs at about 1/4 speed of what you see in the video. But it speeds up strangely at the blood splatter part when you die.

[Massena]

Thanks so much for the feedback, the criticism is especially appreciated.

It's encouraging to see criticism so well accepted On the control being too sensitive I meant that maybe a slight acceleration time might work, just so you can adjust your position.

[Pacian]

I've never known any game to make me laugh and swear so much.

EDIT:  Yay!  I did it!  I usually hate super-hard games, so I think you must have done something very right with this.

[Lukas]

Wow! I just finished the game! It was teh awesumness! Really! Now complains! It felt good, was funny, challenging but not unfair and it had good graphics.

And now, BaronCid's gamedesign-analysis:
To make a hard game fun: Give the player
a.) something to laugh about when he dies (the increasing amount of bloodstain)
b.) an immediate  retry/resapawn
c.) good and not repeating graphics which always keep players motivated

I have to memorize those points for my games...

[handCraftedRadio]

Those are some good points, B-Cid. Having funny deaths definitely takes away from the insane aggravation from dying in really hard games.


The changing of the characters is a nice touch, makes it seem a little less repetative when playing a level over and over again.

I fell through some of the vertical moving platforms every now and then, which was especially aggrivating when I was at a part that was hard to get back to. Another thing that felt unfair was the timing issue with some of the platforms. They would come at the wrong time and there was nothing to do but die.


I couldn't complete the game but I'm planning on playing it through when I have more time. It's a pretty sweet game, nice job! 

[Radnom]

Okay, I've got a new version up. Download it and tell me anything and everything you don't (or do) like about it.

This one has a level editor, so feel free to make a lot of levels and send them to me , I'll include them with the next release.

I fell through some of the vertical moving platforms every now and then, which was especially aggrivating when I was at a part that was hard to get back to. Another thing that felt unfair was the timing issue with some of the platforms. They would come at the wrong time and there was nothing to do but die.

hm, I'm still trying to figure out the vertical platform issue. It doesn't happen very often for me, but when it does happen, it's anger-inducing I've also edited the levels with timing so that there are pauses inbetween.

On the control being too sensitive I meant that maybe a slight acceleration time might work, just so you can adjust your position.

I've fixed the movement for this release, it should feel a bit better now. There is a very slight acceleration.

[oliv]

This was really fun, make more traps and switches. Also, make some track tiles that the moving platforms follow so the paths they travel are that much easier to recognize.

Add more mechanics

[alphasmart]

I think the level with the room with lots of saw-wheels going round is a little too hard, or rather the end of it is.  The last block before the door is positioned such that running off it makes you fall just short of the end platform, and you can't jump without hitting the spikes above.  I won it once in the first demo but I can't remember how.  It is incredibly frustrating, and the levels only get worse.  That said, there are some levels that are easy/quick to complete amid the harder ones, which is a nice respite but rather breaks up the pace.

Also, I think there should be a bonus for getting blood on every possible place, that would be awesome!  I would say with no deaths but obviously there's at least one level where it is necessary.

[Hideous]

This game is awesome

... And I sent you a level

[deadeye]

Ah, I finally got around to playing this.  Pretty sweet so far.  I agree with what everyone has said so far... the different characters, the gore, the controls, the instant re-spawning... all quite good.

My one major complaint (aside from occasionally falling through vertical platforms) is this part right here:



It took me longer to pass this part than the rest of the game combined.  It's broken as hell.  I realize that you're just supposed to run straight off the edge instead of jump, but it just didn't work.  I did it like thirty times in a row, and every time the little dude would catch on the corner briefly, then fall straight down into the spikes.  I don't know how or why I was finally able to pass it, it just decided to work for some reason.

One minor complaint is having a very tough trap at the beginning of a level, and then easy traps after that.  If you make a dumb mistake after going through the toughest part, it's likely you won't be getting back to where you left off for a while and it breaks up the flow of the game.  Each room should be harder than the last, but as a general rule each trap in the room should be harder than the last as well.

One thing I'd like to see at the end instead of "the end" in yet another cold, concrete room is an exit of some sort.  Grass, trees, blue sky, butterflies, and sweet, sweet freedom for my little naked person.  Maybe not as an end to the demo, but the final version?  It would be a nice reward.

[bigbossSNK]

"I don't know how or why I was finally able to pass it, it just decided to work for some reason."
Try jumping. It works.

"If you make a dumb mistake after going through the toughest part, it's likely you won't be getting back to where you left off for a while and it breaks up the flow of the game."
Actually, that's a the design decision that works well.
You repeat the most difficult task a lot of times, spawning just to clear that difficult point and avoid repeating low risk actions. The latter becoming tedious the Nth time, unlike the challenging high risk actions.

[deadeye]

"I don't know how or why I was finally able to pass it, it just decided to work for some reason."
Try jumping. It works.

Well what do you know, bigbossSNK is right.  Who'd have thought?

I guess my jump finger was just too heavy.  The tiniest tap does work.  Complaint retracted!

[Melly]

All hail variable height jumps!

And those who don't notice them.