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(6 edits) (+1)

Re the camera angles: I think it could work as-is if you do more extensive testing and tweaking to make sure the camera angles don't obscure important areas (like in the office section, it was really hard to find the eye hallway door), they don't flip around too dramatically/quickly when the player moves through a zone, and they don't result in clipping or losing the player character (sometimes I'd vanish from camera sight or the camera would look through my model). Also ensure they don't cause friction during the chase sequences. The concept of the security cameras is great and helps silently contribute to the story, so I think finding a way to make them feel seamless to the player experience could enhance the overall game. 

I think the mouse pointing would definitely help. Maybe even try out something like click to move. Having to rotate the character before moving was probably the biggest downside of the game for me. It added a lot of frustration and made exploration feel more tedious - steering around wasn't really an important mechanic, if you think about it, as the gameplay is about the exploration and story. I got the feeling that it was meant for controller play, although the ending is obviously one meant for PC users.  Adjusting the core movement mechanics will probably also remove most of the friction from the camera angles.

Re references: I didn't mind the extraneous stuff, and I'd suggest adding in more of it when you expand the game. It'll help obfuscate the main plot with red herrings - maybe add some more details which hint towards the demonic angle you teased with the exorcism book, for example. This will make it less obvious that it's just an AI gone rogue. Including more interactive elements with it, such as making the arcade cabinet playable (ala Stardew Valley tavern) will also help flesh out general gameplay runtime.

Re: the office, having some more interactive stuff there would definitely help. Maybe lockpick a filing cabinet  (btw were we supposed to ever solve the keypad for Nick's room?) or some stuff like that to find more clues. Static details like a whiteboard or kanban board showing development timelines (maybe fallen over and player has to rearrange them into order based on swimlane tags to reveal the AI roadmap), known bugs (that one definitely has some fun clue potential!), hate mail from a crazy fan, etc could also help enhance the story. I think definitely keep some of the journal entries around the house, as well as add more things like the electricity magazine - these add intrigue, create story hooks and get the player invested in what's going to happen next. 

Re: eye fetch, maybe consider brainstorming a whole rework to this entire part of the game. Why would a video game company have eyeballs chilling out in rooms in the first place? It doesn't make sense narratively, it doesn't move the story forward, and the mechanics are dull - maybe there's a way you could address all those issues at once. This is the penultimate part of the narrative, you should be ramping up towards the climax here, so whatever goes in this part should be tense and exciting and build towards that Germain reveal/chase scene.

Re: dialog - I think you were most effective when you incorporated slang and had the characters freaking out. It felt more natural in those parts. My advice would be to brainstorm up different personalities and voices for each character and try to write the dialog for each of them in their own unique voice. Maybe Sam is really sarcastic and James is a cuddly teddy bear always checking on how people are feeling. The way they talk and the things they talk about (maybe include some dialog trees during the party or walking scene) will help show us more about each character and make it feel more natural and engaging.  It will also make their deaths more of a gut punch because the player will feel more invested in them.

Great first draft and excited to see where you guys go with it!

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Thanks so much for all the suggestions!

The idea for the tank controls were primarily to avoid any movement dissonance between camera angles - since there is a button that explicitly makes you move forward, you always know in what direction you're moving even if the camera angle changes. I do agree that it could do with refinement and maybe an alternate control method (I think point and click could work but it would also generate friction during chases so that would beed a bit of a rework), so it's something we're definitely going to think about in the future.

The keypad for Nick's room was a nod to his favorite game (Deus Ex) or more specifically the whole pantheon of immersive sims where the first lock is a variation of 451 / 0451, and where problems often have various possible solutions to them - in this case, finding an adequate window to smoke in the second floor could be solved either at Nick's bathroom window or through the balcony itself, and the other bathroom's door had two possible methods for opening it. The mention of Nick's favorite game was in passsing and we planned for someone else to refer to that again when spoken to so we'd also implement that in a further update, but regardless we made sure to keep it 100% optional and also "equivalent" content-wise to the rest of the second floor.

I also agree that the office area needs a rework - the trek through the corridors was supposed to feel super weird, as if you stepped into a place that's not quite an office for a bit, and hint you on how the Entity is starting to reach out and impact the "real world". We did rush it a bit so we're definitely going to give it another pass and think about how to empasize that mood further.

And yeah I'm still having a bit of trouble finding the character's unique voices when writing - I have a clear idea on how the characters are supposed to act and think but I still have trouble keeping it all in mind when actually writing the dialogue, but I'm going to keep your tips in mind! And also I do feel like the only way I can get better at it is by practicing so I guess this is just another step in the road. But I hope I can get there soon!

Once again, thanks so much for your time and all the suggestions! We're going to work on a "full" release in the future (probably at some point next year, maybe near spooky season) and I'd be stoked if you could give it another shot once it's done!

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Feels free to hit me up for QA when the game gets further along.