RMMV Curtain Falls

[Nightblade50]

Curtain Falls
A horror game created by Thomas Smith​

This is a game that I have been working on for a little while. It is a horror game set in a mansion.
WARNING: This game might be scary to some people. Download at own risk. There is NO sexual content at all.

Spoiler: Credits

Music: Wingless Seraph, Kadokawa
Graphics: Ikari, Kadokawa, SkottyTV, Avery
Scripts: SumRndmDde, mjshi, Galv, Kadokawa

Spoiler: Screenshots

Spoiler: Demo

How to download: Move your mouse around the top right of the below window until your cursor changes. Then click. In the new window/tab, click the arrow button in the top right. (For some reason, an icon sometimes appears in that top right area of the below window. But not always. Maybe it is something to do with internet connection?)

 

[Poryg]

If someone could provide me with his terms of use I would very much like it! His forum name is com_sho.

Own legal cop(ies) of RMMV
Only to be used in RPGmaker games.
free for use with both free and commercial RPG Maker games


Copied from their forum thread you provided.

 

[Nightblade50]

Own legal cop(ies) of RMMV
Only to be used in RPGmaker games.
free for use with both free and commercial RPG Maker games


Copied from their forum thread you provided.

Thanks.

 

[hiddenone]

Psst, you're missing the visibility graphic so the game crashes right away.

Spoiler

 

[Nightblade50]

Psst, you're missing the visibility graphic so the game crashes right away.

Spoiler

@hiddenone,

That is very odd. I will look into it...

EDIT: I think it is because the script will not work if the file is encrypted. I will upload a not encrypted (is there a word for that?) demo shortly.

EDIT 2: New idea - the file might not be considered to be included when I check "exclude unused files" I will try to make an encrypted demo, but include ALL files.
EDIT to EDIT 2: The demo is NOT encrypted.

EDIT 3: All right! It works! I will now upload the new demo. It should be up in a few minutes.

EDIT 4: Okay, I'm having internet issues. You will have to wait some time.

EDIT 5: @hiddenone, the new demo is up. Please check it out. Oh, and, thanks a whole lot for finding that silly error I had.

 

[Poryg]

Maybe I'll change my opinion later. But as it is, I closed it after 7 minutes.
In 5 minutes I had 8 game overs due to the visibility being so terrible that I can't reasonably avoid these things that kill you on the spot. I often can't even see the, before making contact with them, because the light radius is ridiculously low. The game also has a bugged intro sequence (maybe you'd like to use an autostart event instead of parallel process.
Also, the cursor sound is very anticlimatic.

 

[hiddenone]

I agree with Poryg about the poor visibility, but I got so annoyed with getting games overs that I powered through to the end of the demo. It definitely needs more work if you want this to be a horror game since at the moment it's not really scary (besides invoking the fear of seeing the game over screen again).

Spoiler: Feedback

It seems like you've already figured out the issue with the 'exclude unused files' not recognizing resources used by plugins, but it'd still be a good idea to remove the stuff you're not using even if you need to do it by hand so that the download is not too large.

The visibility range is currently way too small, since it means that the player really can't see much of anything. Not being able to see isn't all that scary by itself, and since the Shadowmen blend in with the darkness the player can't even try to dodge them. I gave up trying to avoid them and just ran and saved whenever I happened to get past one of them. It made for a pretty boring playthrough. There were too many Shadowmen, instead of fearing when I'd see an enemy again I was just annoyed when I realized another one was blocking my way.

There wasn't much in the way of story, and there didn't seem to be any interactions available. I would've expected the character to freak out when he saw bloody writing on the wall and ruined objects, but nope. Adding more details about the messed up mansion could make it a lot scarier.

The layout of the mansion really didn't make much sense. There are a lot of awkward diagonal hallways and hallways that didn't really go anywhere, which made it all seem like it was just designed to make the player get trapped by Shadowmen and making them get a game over.

There wasn't much to the demo and I didn't find it all that scary, so I think it'd be a good idea to take some time and really decide on what type of horror game you're trying to make. I don't think just having to rely on luck to dodge instant game overs makes for a good game, especially for a horror game.

 

[EpicFILE]

I think I'd make some short review here.
Hopefully it'll help you to improve the game.

Spoiler

The music is good.
The tileset choice is on point, with broken and dusty objects, bloody walls... (though it can be improved)
But I think the map layout itself feels kinda weird. (very long stairs, much empty room, etc)

I also have some critics to the font choice and window choice.
While it's flashy, it looks unprofessional. It's uncomfortable to see.
The dark red font makes it kinda hard to read the text.
Couple it with its blood-like shape, and it's even more hard to read.
Choose a simpler font, like this one

I suggest you to change the window too.
Choose softer colors that look easier on the eye, like this one

About the gameplay, I have to agree with @Poryg and @hiddenone.
The visibility range is too small. Very hard to escape from shadowman.
Make it a little bigger and...
Maybe you can add items like flashlight or such, to help players handle the dark room.
Or you can add some light sources too. (maybe a cellphone on the floor?)

 

[Poryg]

I think increased visibility would be enough, because when you get to a tight spot, you can always open your inventory and read the torn book, which will protect you from the shadowmen until you finish reading it.

But yeah, I have to agree, the window and font make it more difficult to read and don't even contribute to the scary atmosphere if that was what you were aiming for.

 

[Nightblade50]

@Poryg Yah, I need a new cursor sound. That is true. Also, I just couldn't find a good horror or modern windowskin for MV. Only for Ace. I found so many of those ones for Ace.

@Poryg and @hiddenone and @EpicFILE Thanks. Which would be better, making it easier to see the area around you, or increasing the sight radius? Also, should I make the ghosts pause for a short amount of time after making a step?

@EpicFILE You have a point about the font. I think I will change that when I have time. Also, that idea of a light source on certain areas is good, but I am not sure if the plugin handles that. It is Galv's plugin for visibility range. (MV version of course.) Do you know if it does? Also, good point about the windowskin. I am horrid at making my own, so I will look online when I can. And also, the rooms were rather empty. I will see about fixing that.

@hiddenone I understand that it was likely rather boring. I certainly did NOT want the players to be stuck by ghosts. That was unintentional on my part. I noticed that it was impossible for me, and I started adding more side paths. And do you have any ideas on how the game could be scarier?

All of you - I don't want to be rude when I say this, and I am not trying to be rude, I am trying to say this with as much politeness as possible. This is one of my first games. Also, I am a bit busy right now, so I might not be able to work on this for a couple of days. I appreciate the feedback. Also I am working on story. This is NOT going to be the final story, and it never was going to be.

And I was pretty sure that the ghosts would be very difficult. Like I said in the second paragraph of this post, what do you think about making the ghosts pause after moving?

Do all of you think the music is good for the game?



Wow, that was a lot more feedback than I imagined. I have my work cut out for me when I get around to it...not like I don't appreciate your comments. Thanks again guys.

 

[Poryg]

I think increasing the radius is just enough. Making the killers stop after a move is not too useful. That still won't help you avoid them.
As for making the game scarier, check out this thread.
https://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?threads/advice-on-making-jump-scares.88880/#post-809202
But as I said, I've never played an RPG maker game that I could consider scary.

 

[Nightblade50]

I think increasing the radius is just enough. Making the killers stop after a move is not too useful. That still won't help you avoid them.
As for making the game scarier, check out this thread.
https://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?threads/advice-on-making-jump-scares.88880/#post-809202
But as I said, I've never played an RPG maker game that I could consider scary.

Thanks for that. I will look into it.

 

[hiddenone]

@Thomas Smith A quick rule of thumb, if something is almost impossible for you (the dev) then it's definitely impossible for most players. Instead of all the one-tile wide winding hallways I'd change them so there was a bit more room to maneuver, but still small enough that if you spot a Shadowman you'll want to run the other way.

I actually hate playing horror games, so take my suggestions with a grain of salt. But how you make the game scarier will depend on what type of horror you want the Shadowmen to be; do you want the player to know what the Shadowmen are and be scared of that knowledge, or do you want the player to not really understand what the Shadowmen are and fear the fact that they know there's something else in the mansion with them? If you want the players to know about them, then you should include an introduction to them of sorts. Perhaps there's another person in the house who ran into the Shadowmen first and the player comes across them just as the Shadowmen kill the person, so now the player knows what will happen to them if they get caught. If you don't want the player to know what exactly the Shadowmen are, then have some near misses that let the player know there's something hunting them but doesn't quite show them what it is. Either of those seem scarier to me than the current implementation, but definitely also check out the link Poryg gave you since there's some interesting info there.

 

[Nightblade50]

I actually hate playing horror games

Then maybe you shouldn't play this. I'm not trying to be rude

do you want the player to not really understand what the Shadowmen are and fear the fact that they know there's something else in the mansion with them

That one.

definitely also check out the link Poryg gave you since there's some interesting info there.

Thanks, I will.

Thanks for helping me out with my game.