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TIGSource ForumsDeveloperPlaytestingFilling what isn't empty - Game exploring moving forward with loss
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Squidathan
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« on: July 13, 2021, 06:10:18 AM »

Filling what isn't empty
What are you leaving behind when moving on?

An exploration of feelings people can get before moving forward with their loss through making choices prioritising memories made with different people.

https://squidathan.itch.io/filling-what-isnt-empty

Hi all, here is a link to the very first game I have published! It is a short game for fans of walking simulators, adventure games or any game which is primarily focused on and attempting to push the boundaries of narrative in the video-game medium.

I am very inexperienced and this is just an experimental prototype which I've got a ton more ideas for but I'm not sure if I'll be able to do any more work on. I want to learn and any would love to read any comments you have at all to improve my game-development skills for potential work on this or other projects.
Specifically though I am most interested in what people think of the concept, if it was emotionally resonant at all and if you get stuck on what to do at any point whilst playing.

Should be playable on most standard I5 laptops or better.

The game largely involves walking and placing different memory-blocks in various containers depending on player-choice.
At the end, the game restarts.






« Last Edit: July 13, 2021, 12:23:01 PM by Squidathan » Logged
DarkGran
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« Reply #1 on: August 21, 2021, 02:00:15 PM »

Hi. :)

I kinda liked it. And kinda didn't.

It starts cool. "Weird", but in a good way. Same can be said about the letter-people. I was intrigued, but then I did not understand why I have to confirm every "scene". Well, it did help memorize things, which turned out to be important, but the input still seemed rather unnecessary (or maybe it was asked for too many times)...

The transition from "watching a scene" to "im actually here, looking around" was also weird in a good way. xD

Unfortunately I don't like so-called "adventure games" much, they feel like they take too long and often they are "puzzles without actual logic" ("arbitrary so-called-logic" at best). The first "puzzle" here was ok, but then the game turned into "i put in the original solution" -> "sleep" -> "original boxes are out of their place again and I receive more boxes (without marks/text) that I leave lying around the room" -> "repeat". I did this like 3 times, even tho the second time I had to put the boxes in their rightful places was annoying already - why was I doing that? I already did that. Well, it did progress the game. But took me a while too, because it seemed rather hard to fit the boxes in, I always had to try several times.
After the third time I was not able to pick up any boxes (old or new; they just "jumped" when clicked and fell on the ground again), which made me lose my patience, sorry. :(
But honestly, you probably lost me before the glitch, because: The game creates lots of interest and curiosity, but soon one is locked inside not so amazing visuals (the letter things are great - the pink walls of your room are not, the single huge "BED" also isnt cool (i would imagine millions of little "bed" instead); btw i would also change the door color and maybe it doesnt need to be a filled rectangle, maybe "bars" would look better), which would be kinda ok, but thats when the player realizes that he just spent 10 minutes in game and all its interactivity went into solving a single simple puzzle repeatedly. (which really wasnt a great follow up after the "intro" that needs you to click after every "little" action).
It's kind of a shame though, i'd actually be interested in knowing where you are going with the "story". The letter visuals are really interesting, I would use that much more.

You clearly have some artistic talent, let it be about certain visuals or storytelling, but right now the gameplay kinda kills it, at least for me. (maybe it would all work much better if the boxes were just easier to manipulate and the "shelves" for em were bigger (and it was easier/faster to move around in general))

(If I had to answer your questions, then I think it looks intriguing but I wouldnt call it emotional resonance just yet, but maybe thats because how quickly I was out of the game. As for the second question, it definitely felt "stuck", even though I was getting more boxes (and then it glitched but thats a different kind of stuck ;)))

I hope this brings at least some insight, even though I'm probably not suited for this specific genre because of my impatience. (i have the same patience as a 6 year old with attention disorder) ;)

Good luck with your projects! :)
« Last Edit: August 21, 2021, 02:51:08 PM by DarkGran » Logged
Squidathan
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« Reply #2 on: August 29, 2021, 11:45:59 PM »

Thankyou so much for such thoughtful comments, this has been very helpful!  Grin
« Last Edit: August 29, 2021, 11:54:25 PM by Squidathan » Logged
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