First I need to check if I'M stuck and lost.
Is the way to beat the creator to close the tab and stop doing his dirty work?
If so, I get it.
If not, I don't and we can talk about WHY I don't, haha.
Viewing post in Design Discussion: What do you SPECIFICALLY want feedback on?
My lord. I never thought someone would actually sit there and mine 50 hashes. Maybe this is a true psychological experiment..
Evidently, you got stuck and didn't make progress.
(Spoiler Alert for others)
The question now is did you see the cryptic_hash message that says "distract_the_creator" and "annoy_the_creator..."? These are meant to hint at the idea that you should hit the Alert button.
If you did see them and didn't hit the Alert button, then that is a problem with the messaging/wording.
If you didn't see them and didn't hit the Alert button, then I need to go back and work on making sure the story progresses by either constantly bombarding the user with hints in the cryptic_hash or interrupting the player somehow to ensure progress is made.
It's possible to get stuck like this if you never bother to look at the cryptic_hash but that isn't the case here since you showed me the 50 hash message. I tried to do a band-aid solution by adding a HELP I'M STUCK section to the game's description but that probably isn't looked at or the solution isn't good enough.
Thank you for the very insightful feedback.
Ah cool, just wanted to make sure we were on the same page.
For context, this was in my second playthrough.
So, I did see that message, and I DID hit the alert button, but nothing happened?
For reference I:
<saw the message>
<spammed alert about twenty times>
<mined another hash to see if the mysterious outsider would say anything again (they did not)>
<game continued on as it did in my first playthrough>
Maybe a glitch?
On the too cryptic note, I think all you really need to do here is to have messages hidden in EVERY cryptic hash, not just some.
I actually played the game through twice, and the first time I checked the hash a few times but coincidentally none of the times I checked it did I see a message, so I figured 'eh, guess I was wrong about that'.
Second time I checked the hash literally every time, but I only did that because I'd already failed the first playthrough and was looking really hard for something I'd missed.
(Spoiler Alert)
Yeah.. so essentially "both" to my last question.. you not only had problems with discovering storyline progression (searching cryptic_hash), but even after discovering the progression you didn't know how to progress (hit alert -> mine hash -> hit alert -> repeat).
This is a HUGE learning for me.
I think I've just learned the value of playtesting before releasing a game, especially if it is a game that requires close attention and secret storylines.
Thank you again. This has been very useful and I really appreciate it.
No worries Pyrecraft! The tricky thing about playtesting a game like yours is that you almost need a new playtester in the chair every time you make a change!
Failing that, I feel like you just have to make some more affordances and try and widen the successful path through a bit, although it's definitely a tricky balancing act when you're making something deliberately obtuse.
Good luck!