RMMV Noavel Manor [Travel Game Jam Inspired]

[l8rose]

Noavel Manor


Nissa Mikaelson was on her way to the Capital of the Southern Kingdom when a nasty storm has forced her to seek shelter in the Manor of Lord Ranley. Everyone has heard the terrible rumors of the Manor. That the Lord himself has not been seen in ten years and far darker things. Nissa finds herself trapped there when her request to leave is denied. With little choice, she begins to offer her help to the servants as she attempts to unravel the mysteries of the Manor.
After all, what else is she to do when she cannot leave?
​

Spoiler: Characters

​

Nissa Mikaelson: A courier who often travels the Kingdom. She remains trapped within Noavel Manor with the raging storm.
The Stewards: Father Edward, Son Albert and Old Nyla. The three who ensure the Manor runs properly.
The Lord Ranley and Family: The family that lives within the manor. Rumors abound about all members of the household.
Assorted Servants: The various folks who help run the manor. There are a few soldiers lurking about as what would a noble family be without guards?

Spoiler: Setting and Theme

The game is set inside a rather large manor where many secrets abound. Various rooms, a library, a garden and basement and more. The theme is between fantasy and mystery and it is up to the player to solve the mystery of Lord Ranley's family and his manor. Some places will be easy to access while others will require keys and the trust of those working there.

Spoiler: Features

"Flashlight" accessed by keyboard key.
Combat-less game.
Simple Puzzles.
Story driven.

​

Spoiler: Videos and Screenshots

Spoiler: Credits

Music
Murray Atkinson
TK Projects
Snowy Fox
Casual Games

Plugins
Yanfly
LNM
Orange Huddel
Hime
Galv
SumRndDude

Graphics
First Seed Material
Sythian Bard
Avery
WhtDragon
PandaMaru

Spoiler: The Game

Due to time constraints, it's quite short (I did not get to connect the pieces in time) but will be continuing this game after the GJ as the concept is a nice change of pace from my main game.
Noavel

Spoiler: Known Bugs/Issues

• Forgot to update the main screen to add the word "Manor" in
• Time delay on two events results in character being yeeted down the hallway.
• Final switch/wall shows a brief after image
• Wall Issues allowing people to be Spider-Man

 

[Dapaz]

This look's really good I hope this project succeeds!

 

[Conflictx3]

I only watched the first episode but this reminds.me.alot of Netflix's Dracula premise! Very cool! Stay safe!

 

[l8rose]

Thank you both! (I totally did not see your replies til now)

I haven't watched that particular version of Dracula but there may or may not be vampires in this... eventually.

 

[RCXDan]

@l8rose The download link doesn't work, unfortunately.

 

[l8rose]

So I totally derped with that and forgot to put the folder down for the url.
You'd never believe I went to school for coding. Yeesh.

Should be resolved now. Sorry about that!

Also adjusted the tile from Game Jame Entry to Inspired because well, I am super smrt and not only messed up that link but also posted it to the wrong thread so it's not a valid entry.

 

[RCXDan]

@l8rose Here's my review:

Spoiler

Pros:
+ Interesting use of lighting effects. Makes the game appropriately moody, which I like.
+ Really dig the portrait art on the save screen. You draw really well.
+ I like the fact hints are optional. Good for people who just want to play the game.
+ Good music choices. The one spooky song I really liked.
+ I like how the main character notes her thoughts via a textbox at the top left part of the screen without stopping the gameplay. There's a lot of free movement cutscenes, I like that.
+ I dig the proximity based messages over the NPCs heads, especially the ones that guide you to the right place.
+ Fascinating darkness puzzle mechanic. Reminds me of that one gym in Pokemon Gen 2, but without the annoying teleport back to the start. That made it way more fun.
+ How did you modify the maps like that. I'm still astonished.

Cons:
- I am not a fan of the "confirm" sound effect you used. It became grating after the first five times due to how overdramatic it is.
- Hints are a bit too long for what are effectively "hey talk to this person to progress" or "do this thing", but that's more of a personal nitpick than anything else.
- Default movement speed is too slow. The dashing speed feels more appropriate.
- The main mansion maps are a bit... bloated? I don't know, they feel off with this movement speed.
- Story was a bit unclear.

Observations:
= Press Start title screen. Interesting.
= If you keep spamming a locked door event, the sound will repeat. This isn't game breaking or a problem, but I just find it amusing.
= So if you light a candle, a door opens? Strange, but ok.
= Found two glitches with tilesets, but the game itself played perfectly fine otherwise.

Analysis:

Noavel Mansion was one of the first few games that really caught my attention when this jam started, and I was itching to play it once Sundew Nightmare was properly completed. How do I feel after playing? I still thought it was neat and had potential, but the plot went in a different direction than what I was expecting.

I don't know if I'm just a dummy, but I don't really feel the game clicked plot-wise until the guards imprisoned you for whatever reason. I could feel something bad was going to happen, but other than that the game felt a bit too cozy before the trek into the dark. The NPCs were a bit too nice, I guess.

I was kinda expecting a ghost story, especially with the songs you picked, but regardless I was still intrigued. Too bad the game just kinda abruptly ends, I was looking forward to seeing what'd happen next.

The way you guide the player through the game is neat, with the lines of text that appear over the NPCs. I liked the trek through the darkness and the lever puzzle with that guy. I think the thing I was most impressed by was how the map actually physically changed when you interacted with it - you're gonna have to share how you did that, even if it's MV exclusive.

Good game, just wish there was more of it.

 

[l8rose]

@RCXDan, thank you for the review and the comments about the art, planned on having more in it but didn't have as much time as I wanted to spend on it.

Responses to the other points in a spoiler so as to not spoil bits for other players. =]

Spoiler

Confirm Sound - I honestly have never found one I liked in any of my sound effects or the default game so will switch that out with something else. Sorry about that.
Hint Bloat - I tend to overwrite a little, will completely admit that so will try to make them a little more concise going forward.
Movement Speed - There was a strange glitch with the movement speed which is why it probably feels off. I still haven't managed to fix it but will adjust it to be quicker to hopefully resolve that.
Maps - Some of it is meant to be a little bit much, it plays out later but you're right that the speed might make it seem a little off so I will see about fixing those.
Story - My initial goal was to have a bit of an explanation for the character (as to why they were there) so it might be a little clearer in the coming versions. I will also try to make it a little clearer for the early stuff going forward. ^_^

Observations
I'm totally a sucker for the old SNES games with the press start. Totally honest. Might be a little pointless in games now but makes me nostalgic.
Didn't realize the sound would repeat, I'll add a wait to make it not be so quick to repeat. lol Thank you for pointing that out.
Candle for the door was another of the back to the SNES games thing. Just a sort of an easy puzzle to get started.
Region errors that will be fixed, thank you for pointing those out!

Regarding the cozy characters, there is a reason they seem so nice at the beginning but that would get into plot spoiling. I'll try to add something more in the first little bit so that it's clear that there is something going on (well other than the part about them not letting the character out)

In regards to the wall moving, it's a matter of setting up an event with a very specific and very large event (and invisible tiles). It should be doable in other RPG Makers but I'll see about getting something up later for it. =]

 

[OktoberLove]

MY REVIEW (EDITED)

Spoiler: REVIEW

Rating: 6.5/10

PROS:

• BGM was quite fitting for this mysterious and whimsical project
• Clever premise of being trapped in a suspicious manor
• Engaging puzzles
• Great menu

CONS:

• Game breaking bug when trying to walk up a staircase
• Somewhat confusing map layout. A lot of empty space. Couldn't understand directions given by maids
• Too dark in some places

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Great premise for a game! I would definitely play a finished version. I especially enjoyed the quest to search for Pike. Finding out I had to light the candle was exciting and I felt accomplished doing so. I was engaged by the start of your plot involving the family and I wish I could've seen where that went. Wish you had more time to make the project more detailed especially the manor itself. Kind of confused as to why main player was thrown in the dungeon even though they were clearly invited in. I really like the vibe of the game. I could easily see what you had in mind. I appreciate that you added an option for hints (even though I didn't use them). The design of the manor was very cool although at times confusing and kind of empty. If you would made areas smaller it would have felt more fleshed out. The dungeons looked amazing though. The light maze was well done and I wouldn't change a thing about that part. One thing I would change is the protagonist. I feel like the main character of the game is the manor itself therefore perhaps a silent protagonist would have been less distracting. Puzzles seem to be the strongest aspect here so maybe had more of them. The way the maid talked was also quite fitting, loved when she said "oft" instead of "often". All in all I would love to see you keep this project going. Well done!

 

[l8rose]

Thank you for the review!

Spoiler

The explanation was coming for the reason behind the dungeon but time constraints on my part. It'll be there in the next update once I get things sorted. =]
Same with the emptiness and confusing layout.

Hmm, I never considered that as I like any excuse to write but that does give me an idea going forward. =D

 

[Finnuval]

hmmm this seems interesting... going to keep my eye on this xD

 

[l8rose]

Spoiler: Small Update

No new demo, sorry.


Game Play
Continuing with my Hints mode, I've decided to modify the game to have 3 modes of play. This adds a Silent Protagonist mode in addition to the two modes Hints and Normal (which have been renamed to All the Hints and Vocal Protagonist). Most of the existing events have been updated to reflect that.

There are also more guards (two will also trigger hints/help for the initial Carina's Letter Quest) and the statues can now be interacted with.

Fixed pathing issue that allowed players to travel into the ceiling in several rooms.

Connected next stage of rooms to the final part reached in the pre-existing demo.


Spritework
Created modified sprites for the soldiers as well as programmed in an early part where the new sprites can be briefly seen (cause gotta be a little bit spooky, right?).
Fixed an issue on Nyla's sprite where floating pixels were seen near her hair.


Sound
One of the cursor noises has been switched to a thud/tick instead of the slightly annoying ding.


Other Artwork
Faces have been made for several characters, might redo them again into a more anime style as I'm not sure I like them in the semi-painted style. Example being two of the stewards. Also working on having light shining in from the windows but disliking how it's looking with the lighting plugin. Maybe I'm a little too nitpicky...

 

[Finnuval]

Spoiler: Small Update

No new demo, sorry.


Game Play
Continuing with my Hints mode, I've decided to modify the game to have 3 modes of play. This adds a Silent Protagonist mode in addition to the two modes Hints and Normal (which have been renamed to All the Hints and Vocal Protagonist). Most of the existing events have been updated to reflect that.

There are also more guards (two will also trigger hints/help for the initial Carina's Letter Quest) and the statues can now be interacted with.

Fixed pathing issue that allowed players to travel into the ceiling in several rooms.

Connected next stage of rooms to the final part reached in the pre-existing demo.


Spritework
Created modified sprites for the soldiers as well as programmed in an early part where the new sprites can be briefly seen (cause gotta be a little bit spooky, right?).
Fixed an issue on Nyla's sprite where floating pixels were seen near her hair.


Sound
One of the cursor noises has been switched to a thud/tick instead of the slightly annoying ding.


Other Artwork
Faces have been made for several characters, might redo them again into a more anime style as I'm not sure I like them in the semi-painted style. Example being two of the stewards. Also working on having light shining in from the windows but disliking how it's looking with the lighting plugin. Maybe I'm a little too nitpicky...

I must say I like the semi-painted style except for the eyes...something is missing there. I dunno. Maybe try and tweak them a bit?

 

[l8rose]

Will definitely try adjusting the eyes, ty for the feedback!