Just post about your creative suffering - technical and artistic posts without spoilers. :) Or, you can drop in some minor spoilers but hide them (if it's possible here).
Estranged2
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A member registered Jun 20, 2018
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Poll : If the game dev takes 1-2 years, and "partial teasers" are not possible as they would give away big dramatic elements of the story, then I prefer: comments · Posted in Poll : If the game dev takes 1-2 years, and "partial teasers" are not possible as they would give away big dramatic elements of the story, then I prefer: comments
Some comments I received comments · Replied to retro.kiss.games@gmail.com in Some comments I received comments
The LucasFilm Games shortcuts with your layout would have been:
Q - Push
A - Pull
Z - Give
W - Open
S - Close
X - Look At
E - Walk To
D - Pick Up
C - [no verb there]
R - Use
F - Turn On
V - Turn Off
T - Talk To
G - Think
B - [no verb there]
As you can see they mirror on the keyboard exactly what's in the UI:
| Q - Push | W - Open | E - Walk To |
| A - Pull | S - Close | D - Pick Up |
| Z - Give | X - Look At | C - [no verb] |
| R - Use | T - Talk To |
| F - Turn On | G - Think |
| V - Turn Off | B - [no verb] |
This approach is used in Maniac Mansion, Zak McKracken and Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade.
When LucasFilm Games got renamed to LucasArts, the style of verb shortcuts started being like this (these are from Indiana Jones And The Fate Of Atlantis):
G - (G)ive
O - (O)pen
C - (C)lose
T - (T)alk to
L - (L)ook at
U - (U)se
and in cases where there are conflicts, you'd have to choose another letter for the conflicting verbs:
P - (P)ick Up
S - Pu(s)h
Y - Pull
However, I think this way is WAY worse for the following reasons:
1) The games of the LucasArts era have less verbs than the games of LucasFilm Games era, so there are less conflicting verbs but in your case they would be more
2) The more 'modern' way may seem more intuitive but in reality requires more movement to hit the right key, whereas the old CGA/EGA layout above is way more comfortable because it corresponds exactly to the layout of the verbs in the UI
3) Your game isn't trying to be a callback to the VGA LucasArts era anyway, so I think the old layout would be more appropriate even just for historical reasons.
Regarding the puzzle, I'll suffer a bit more when I find the time and then I'll probably drop in for a hint in your Discord. Thanks!
I played the demo. Couldn't find the ring. And... that was it. I still have some impressions:
- The art is fantastic, the atmosphere and mood are very strong.
- It would be nice to go full LucasFilm and add keyboard shortcuts for every verb. Either with the first letter of the verb or with a corresponding layout (old LucasFilm Games had Q,A,Z activate the verbs in the first column of verbs, W,S,X the ones in the second and so on. It was nice, reduces moving the mouse.
- "Think" doesn't do anything. Is this some kind of design statement? :)
Good luck!
This is one of those contrived puzzles in which there are no consistent rules, and you have to read the author's mind. The game can be compared to the GROW flash series by EYEMAZE - his games are also about making a similar sequence in the right order, but the difference is that in EYEMAZE's GROW there are many convincing fail states / wrong sequences to explore and learn from. Here, failing just means "nothing".
The way you can interpret the objects in front of you skyrockets to infinity, because their function is obfuscated beyond recognition. The little ball has an obvious exit and entrance, whereas the other objects have no clear (or at least suggested) exits or entrances whatsoever. One ball spawner is multiple use, the other ball spawner is "single use only" - why? Just because of the contrived, inconsistent design? This inconsistency is a big deal, because of things like this none of the constraints or consequences make any sense.