Last Word

[Merlandese]

If the pen is mightier than the sword, the mouth is mightier yet!

One-Sentence Story: In a society where having the last word means having power over others, a small party is disrupted by a gentleman who politely issues orders via one-way intercom.

Genre: JRPG

Description: You play as Whitty Gawship, a woman invited to a prestigious get-together at the residence of the impressive Professor Chet Chatters. Members of the party are veteran conversationalists, each trying to gain subtle power over one-another. When Whitty and the others discover that the Professor can get the last word in every conversation via his miraculous one-way intercom, they are forced to remain at the party until he gets what he wants.

Last Word is an unconventional JRPG. Battle sophisticated guests using words as weapons. Collect topics by gossipping to unlock mysteries. Drink wine. The night is young and no one can leave until the devious Professor Chatters says so! Can Whitty and Seymour overcome the power of the professor's amazing machine? Or will they succumb to the saucy banter of the motley aristocrats around them? Don't hesitate in getting the Last Word.

FEATURES

- Unique battle system! Fight with the subtle nuances of conversation.

- Custom art and music! Experience a custom look and feel.

- Vocal SFX! Each character has their own awe-inducing sound. Listen to the quality of that throat clearing!

- Key Topic System! Gather gossip and use them like keys... for treasure!?

- Engaging storytelling! Get whisked away by a narrative brimming with character! And fun!

- Bow Ties! Learn skills and equip them using snazzy Bow Tie Points!

Check out LAST WORD here! I hope you like it!

Spoiler

 

[Ultim]

Looks great ! I'll give it a try.

 

[Merlandese]

Glad you think so! Hope you end up enjoying it. All feedback is welcome.

 

[RadiantCadenza]

I heard someone else did a "Conversational combat" based game and I've been meaning to check it out. Looks like I found it. 

Just judging by the screenshots, it looks like you have a fairly more complicated gameplay system. 

I'll have to give this one a shot when I have a moment. 

 

[nhubi]

Bow ties are cool.

Sorry I just had to.

This is a cool concept, it seems to be a bit of a theme at the moment with making words a weapon with games like this and the Logomancer and Goblin Noir. I'm not complaining, I'm a firm believer in the old adage about pens and swords.

Though did you mean devastated in that first screen shot?

 

[Merlandese]

Bow ties are cool.

Oh, I feel you there!

Though did you mean devastated in that first screen shot?

Yeah, I got a couple of typos fixed, but the contest version still has them. Maybe updating the screenshots here would be better representation, but it'd also be untrue to the version you would be downloading. XD

Thanks for the correction! I wish I would have had your eye when I was breezing through it on that last day.

I'd never heard of Logomancer, but I like what I see! I think it, Last Word, and the wonderful Goblin Noir all approach the topic in different ways. Glad to see it. 

 

[nhubi]

Well I'll give at go, (downloading now), it may take me a day or so since I've got a few more in my queue.

OK well I've played for about an hour (it took me a while to get the hang of the discourse system, but I've got it now) and I think this is fun. It's different and interesting and I hope you do well. One thing I did want to say, I'm writing up a review for this, but I post mine over on Rpgmaker.net (RMN) and I can't post a review for your  game without a gamepage with download over there. Could you submit it there? You'll get some extra exposure which is never a bad thing, and RMN is the site that will give a featured game spot to the winners as part of the prizes, but you need to have a game page for that to happen as well. You'll need to include a download, but you can put in the updated one you've got, and you also can use an non-rtp version to make it smaller, and host it on the site, or you can simply point to wherever you are hosting the contest version if you'd rather not use the free space RMN offers. You'll have to join (if you haven't already) and submit your game, but it's quick and easy and they're a nice bunch of people. Most of them are on both RMN and this site.

Actually did you also develop Fleuret Blanc? That game is currently 66th on the top RM games of all time list over there, in case it is yours

 

[Merlandese]

Oh, wow. Hm. I guess I could go over there and submit it. XD I know of the RMN community, but I've never joined and became part of it. Even posting here for this contest felt invasive since I basically came in out of nowhere to show off my game.

But yeah, maybe I'll go over and start some pages. I made Fleuret Blanc, a game called Social Caterpillar (where most of Last Word's graphic style was learned), and also helped a bit on To the Moon. Thanks for telling me! And thanks for trying the game out! I'll head over there in a minute and see about it.

 

[nhubi]

It felt invasive? Oh don't think that for a second, most RPG communities worth their salt are inclusive (don't get me wrong there are some that aren't worth that salt, at all, but you've chosen well here). The Indie communities support one another because they share this love for what they do and as much as they like to create games they all began by playing them, so seeing what others have to offer, to play what others have created and to offer support, constructive critisism, bug hunts, testing etc is part and parcel of the spirit of places like this and RMN as well. I will admit to being more of a lurker here, and a more active member over at RMN, but that is simply because I like the format of the RMN site more. Places like this are about community, and I think you'll find you're welcome and not intrusive in both.

Oh, you helped with To the Moon as well, that was a fun one. I'm going to find Social Caterpillar when I get a spare moment to have a look at it, too. Let me know if you need a hand at RMN, I'm nhubi over there too.

 

[dinkledaberry]

2nd place in RPG and judge's pick! Excellent placing old chap!

 

[Adellie]

Hi Merlandese, Happy December!

I just played Last Word a few days ago while looking at the winning entries. Congrats!

I LOVED THIS GAME. HOLY MOLEY, I can't believe it was done up in a month. 

Liked:

• All the things came together so well!
  
• The graphics: the colour scheme was consistent. The simple busts were very effective for distinguishing one character from another. UI was fantastic too - i liked all the info you packed into the discourse screen without it looking cluttered.
• Sfx and music were to my taste.
• The gameplay and all its little mechanics were really wonderful. I love the fact that you actually have to use your brain a bit to win, especially early on. The "battles" didn't feel boring because of the length of the game; also, the skills that I acquired as i progressed in the game made me tweak my strategy a little bit each time. 
• I liked the fact that you can't really GAME OVER.
• The story was beautiful - short and sweet; The characters were all so lovely and memorable. The gossip really helped me read about everyone, rather than skipping all the text.
• And all the little considerations: the map size, the tutorials that weren't overwhelming, balance, using visuals rather than going X WAS UNLOCKED, etc.

Disliked:

• The only thing I think could be improved is - i'd like to be able to see what my skills do after i've purchased them.
• The pixel grid for the tiles is double the size as the sprites. This bothered me at first, but i kind of like seeing their figures, so i'm not sure.

Overall, just really well thought out, and polished.

Ohhh boy. *fangirls*

Here's a fan art of the mouth. (I know it doesn't come out of a gramophone, but a wall was a bit plain to draw.)

 

[Merlandese]

Thanks a lot for the feedback and liking the game!

And even bigger thanks for the fanart! That is SO COOL! I love it. It's such a great visualization of the immaculate professor's unstoppable genius! XD

I'm working on upgrading the game for a commercial version. I've already fixed one of the cons, and hopefully I'll gather the resources to fix the second. And more.