Stricken

[Anorak]

Big thanks to Supercow for the logo.​

Synopsis:

Spoiler

Stricken is a short adventure horror game set in a seemingly abandoned hospital, beginning with the protagonist coming out from a deep sleep - your memories (or at least most of them) completely wiped. Soon after your exploration of your dark surroundings, you find that sinister happenings have occurred throughout the structure - evident throughout splatters of blood, left behind diary entries and mangled corpses. However, you soon discover that the causes of these happening is strongly linked to you and that escape from this nightmare is near impossible.

Developer's Notes:

Spoiler

Stricken is my first properly developed game (most of my others have been unfortunately abandoned and my first go at a horror game. It's still currently in the process of being developed, with the alpha gameplay already released (which you can check out below). Feedback on the game or the media shown would be much appreciated.
Thanks,

Anorak.

Features:

Some may not be already implemented.

Spoiler

• Contains the ability of interact with nearly every object in the game, giving insight into your surroundings and the unorthodox happening in this eerie hospital.
• A book system which allows you to read diary entries, hospital documents and other things which add to the story of Stricken.
• A variety of music and sound effects which add to the spooky atmosphere.
• Unique and simplistic game menu.

Media:

Spoiler

Alpha Build:

Spoiler

The Alpha Gameplay's purpose is for early feedback and suggestions which can further help with the development of the game. Feedback ranging from grammatical errors to flaws in the mapping would be much appreciated. 

-Dropbox (RTP Included)

-File Dropper (RTP Included)

-File Dropper (RTP not Included)

Please keep in mind that this is not a demo and souly for feedback purposes.

Demo Build:

Spoiler

The Demo build contains around 10-30 minutes of gameplay,

depending on how long it takes you to obtain items and progress throughout the game. Feedback would be much appreciated, as well as the reporting of any bugs that are encountered. 
You can access the 68.08 Stricken Demo by clicking here.

Credits:

Spoiler

• Khas
• Eight Million Ways to Die
• Yanfly
• Nicke
• Lzn
• Sounddogs
• LizZarDino
• EvilEagles
• Elements

Thanks guys for all the great scripts, sound effects, tilesets and music! It's all very, very much appreciated.

 

[Anorak]

Since the alpha of Stricken was released, the game has received some really helpful feedback which has definitely helped with the the flattening of numerous bugs and problems I hadn't noticed. The feedback has also led me to considering giving the graphics of the game an overhaul (with possibly some DS+ tiles) and heavily tweaking many things such as the main menu.

Hopefully I'll have some updated screenshots later. In the meantime, feel free to play the alpha and leave by some feedback - it'd be much appreciated.

 

[Anorak]

As of late I've been focusing more on the aesthetics of Stricken, and in doing so, I've revamped the title screen, game menu and modified the look of most maps (in relation to the gamma and tiles being used).

Spoiler

Only a minor update, the next should have more news, however.

 

[hiromu656]

Neither of your "File Dropper" links seem to work for me. The Dropbox worked fine, but that meant getting the RTP version. I'll try the game out and give some feedback when I do.

 

[Anorak]

Neither of your "File Dropper" links seem to work for me. The Dropbox worked fine, but that meant getting the RTP version. I'll try the game out and give some feedback when I do.

Yeah, I recently noticed that and have no idea why it's occurring. I'll try uploading the non-RTP version Dropbox when I get the time.

 

[xSparkZx]

I played it and it was awesome. It was scary and the ambience was just horrifying. But one question, is this the end? Where you're in the cupboard and saw his face while leaving? Because I want to play more xD

 

[Anorak]

I played it and it was awesome. It was scary and the ambience was just horrifying. But one question, is this the end? Where you're in the cupboard and saw his face while leaving? Because I want to play more xD

Thanks for playing the game! And no, this is most definitely not the end of Stricken as this is only a small portion of the story.

 

[EliteKilljoy]

Stricken

★★★★★

4 Stars

Technicalities (3/5): Text is sometimes hard to read (would be better with a different font) specifically the differences between o's and a's. Tiny, tiny little spelling/grammar mistakes occasionally. Menu is very plain. Controls easy to get a hold of, but could possibly use a brief tutorial for someone who hasn't played RPG-M games before. Strange entries in the diary (but I'm assuming that's the maker just testing some things out ;P).

Scenery (4/5): Awesome use of props. Makes the hospital seem very cluttered and old. Blood looked great, I must say. Building was very uniform, as a hospital should be. Setting made sense. Makes you go back to places you've already been (so it's a bit repetitive).

Characters (2/5): Pyramid-head guy from Silent Hill? Not a ton of character depth yet, but it was only the intro. I can see that the character has some sort of issue and I was on the edge of my seat wanting to know more!

Story (5/5): Very, very interesting setup. Had me spooked, haha. The demo/intro made me wanting to know more about what happened to the characters and the hospital. Kept me engaged.

Flow (5/5): The game itself flowed smoothly. You always knew where to go and it was impossible to get lost. Tiny cutscenes were nice transitions.

Unique (4/5): This seems like a very interesting concept ("you ARE the killer!"). The Silent Hill-type bad guy kinda put me off a bit. Hospital/psychiatric RPGs are not super uncommon, but I can feel this going somewhere no other game of that genre is going (both down the horror branch and the phsych branch).

Dialogue (2/5): Dialogue itself was kind of unimpressive. The main character pointed out the obvious when interacting with objects, and the same dialogue happened over and over again when interacting with the same subjects. The text box down at the bottom is a nice touch, since it doesn't get in the way of the scenes. I'm expecting more dialogue when the character isn't so alone.  

Music/Sounds (5/5): Awesome and dramatic music at the title screen. Music is fairly loud (possibly because of my headphones, I'm not sure). Spooky! Music was sometimes repetitive, but it still was dramatic and added to the scene. (NOTE: It was just my headphones XD) The sound effects were good (elevator button beeps, doors open and close spookily, etc).

Other Notes: Let me start by saying that I'm not a huge fan of horror (I'm a wuss, lol). This game, however, kept me wanting more and I NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON!! I feel like it will be a very interesting game and I can't way to see how it turns out. This is also only a ten minute long demo, and I expect that this game will get even better in the future.    I would love to re-test once more is done!

Total Score: 30/40

 

[Anorak]

Updated first post to show updated screenshots. The Demo for Stricken should be released in about a week.

 

[Anorak]

Stricken Demo

 

 

The Demo for Stricken has finally been released, which contains around 15-30 minutes of game play, depending on how long it takes you to obtain items and progress throughout the game. Feedback would be much appreciated, as well as the reporting of any bugs that are encountered. 

 

You can access the 68.08MB Stricken Demo by clicking here.​

 

 

Check us out on Twitter.​

 

[Matseb2611]

Is there a working link of the non-RTP version of the alpha? Would really like to try the game, but I'd rather not download the huge RTP-inclusive version.

 

[Anorak]

Is there a working link of the non-RTP version of the alpha? Would really like to try the game, but I'd rather not download the huge RTP-inclusive version.

Not right now, sorry. I'll try uploading one sometime on the weekend.

You could always try downloading the demo, which you can access by following this link: http://www.mediafire.com/download/p35o0525kmw1pge/Stricken.zip (It doesn't require the RTP).

 

[Matseb2611]

Ah, no problem. I'll just wait till the link the gets updated.

 

[Matseb2611]

Hey there. I've played fully through the demo and I enjoyed it. My thoughts below:

An excellent way to create an atmosphere. I really like the tileset you used and the way you've mapped the whole area. The way it was designed, made me curious to keep going and to check each room. The use of lighting was great too. I especially liked those moments when lights would suddenly go out. That was a great touch.

The use of music and sounds was great too. At first I thought "where's the music?", but then it kicks in a minute later and plays very faintly on the background. It's timed quite well. If I had to single out the one thing where the game excelled the most, it would be the atmosphere. Although I didn't find it overly scary or anything. Maybe because there was no immediate danger to me and most areas were well lit, but I guess you weren't going for cheap jump scares anyway and instead wanted to grip the player with a sense of mystery, which is way more interesting, in my opinion. So kudos on that. I did really enjoy seeing those strange figures in the corridors. They appeared at good times and it wasn't overdone. We only get to see them like 3 times overall, which is just enough. Some of the sounds were a nice touch too, like the creepy hum of the engine in some of the rooms, and I liked the menu cursor sounds.

So far not much is known about the story, but I like the way it's set up. I was almost disappointed that the demo ended so soon, because it got me interested to want to know what exactly happened in that hospital and why was the main character there. I also really appreciate the fact that puzzles were all straightforward to a degree. I was never stuck in any area, which is something that tends to happen a lot in these kinds of games. I think this kind of pace is great to have for the whole game when it gets finished.

Now for the little things.

A simple but decent title screen. The controls tutorial at the start is good as well, since it's simple and just takes up a few seconds of the player's time. One thing I didn't like too much was how the map would scroll with the player during walking. It was a strange watery motion, like it would delay for a bit before scrolling after the player. I got used to it eventually, so it's not a major issue, just not something I liked when I first saw it happen. Another little nitpick is that every time I went through any of the doors into the next room, there's always a small delay of the door closing sound before I can move.

Overall, this is a very solid demo and I hope you continue working on the game. It was very well-polished since I didn't really come across any bugs or other problems. Only one minor passability issue. In the briefing room (I think) which has a small statue of a skeleton, if I walk right up to the skeleton, its head is displayed as above my character's, but it should be behind. Other than that, I didn't see any other bugs. Keep up the good work.

 

[EliteKilljoy]

Stricken [uPDATE]

By: Anorak
★★★★★

Technicalities (4/5): Simple tutorial added to the beginning. Nice! Text still is a little hard to tell the differences between a’s and o’s, but it’s not too bad (also, still VERY minor grammar things, but I’m overly observant on that type of thing). Menu is still very plain, but clean looking. Not sure if it’s supposed to show up, but the “cure” page is not in my inventory.
Scenery (4/5): The scenery is still very good. Still makes sense in the story. I like that you added a sparkling where there was something somewhat important to look at (or maybe I just missed that before?).
Characters (3/5): The movement speed is a little weird from how I remember it (maybe I just forgot?), like it seems too fast. That’s just personal opinion, though. Yay, you replaced Pyramid Head!    Also, the spooky guy’s face looks a lot better now. There still isn’t a lot of development on the main guy, but there are interesting little things that hint at his life/personality and I like that.
Story (5/5): Same as first demo.
Flow (4/5): Contrary to my previous review, I found myself getting lost this time a little. It wasn’t anything major and I actually enjoyed how the creator did it and why (no spoilers here!), so it’s not really a complaint. There are some parts where it’s hard to tell that there is a door there. I would suggest making sure there are rugs or something in front of every door (especially ones that you enter from above and the side). Got stuck again. Very confused as to WHAT I need for this part. Update: ooooh, not too bad to find, I’m just dumb.
Unique (4/5): Same as first demo.
Dialogue (4/5): Maybe it’s just me, but there seems to be less obnoxious dialogue when interacting with useless objects. Okay, it’s definitely not just me. Much better, well done! There is also now journals and more narration, both of which are very nice.
Music/Sounds (5/5): Music is still awesome, omg. Same with the sounds that the doors and such make. It’s spooky! OMG I sat there for awhile because I was texting one of my friends and the music changed to THE CREEPIEST DAMN MUSIC I HAVE EVER HEARD STAHP.
Other Notes: Omg I hate horror games! D: I get so nervous, oh my god! I have to give you major props, this update made the game MUCH scarier (or maybe I’m just a wimp?) than the first time! It really gives you the feeling of “will he be there in that next room or around the corner.” All in all, well done! This release is a HUGE improvement from the last time I tested your game! I’m still excited to see where this goes and would love to play test for you again soon (even though I hate horror *cries*)! If you don’t change anything/much in the beginning, would it be possible for you to create a save for me where I left off (if you have me beta test again)? I don’t want to go through all of that fright again, lol!
Total Score: 33/40

 

[Anorak]

 

Another Dream?

 


Stricken Progress #1

 

After receiving quite a bit of positive back from Stricken's official demo and taking a slight break from the game, I'm back into developing Stricken! I'd mainly like to use this post to thank the people who contributed with things such as Let's Plays and reviews for the game.​

 

Let's Plays

 

John LovesAnime

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQal1tpEWy8

John LovesAnime's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFoIIwKGosQFAr3_RrlUqKQ

 

PaderGamez (In German)

PaderGamez's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdD3gKdGv9T-daTAW0se_Bw

 

Boskothefirst





Boskothefirst's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxKjokoQK6tSwZHibfQFp0Q

 

Whovianaged81





Whovianaged81's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMsjOcwsVkn8Kx5IKti6QQw

 

Some other people I'd like to thank are EliteKilljoy, Cyrus, HellaJoe, Matseb2611, Pris, Nemo, Zeigried McBacon and everyone else in the game's credits and who've tried out Stricken!

 

Hopefully with Stricken's next update I'll have more on the actual game itself, and possibly even a trailer which I'm thinking of working on.

 

[Tornado Samurai]

STRICKEN - DEMO REVIEW:​

 ​

Review By Tornado Samurai​

__________________​

 ​

WARNING: This may contain spoilers for the demo.​

__________________​

 ​

Stricken, a horror game demo made with RPG Maker VX Ace, centers around a protagonist who awakens in a mental asylum that has been ravaged by a calamity.​

As the protagonist searches throughout the asylum for an escape, he finds notes that pertain to nurses and patients within the asylum and articles and documents that regard a secret experiment that seemed to have alarming results. As the protagonist continues to explore the corridors of darkness, he seeks to discover an escape and the truth as to why he's there and what happened within these haunted halls, and not only that, he will soon discover that he is not the only one roaming these halls...​

 ​

REVIEW on Demo #1 (5/31/2015)​

 ​

PROS:​

 ​

I. LOCATIONS​

 ​

From beginning to end, I was captivated and amazed with the game's impressive visuals the creator has managed to implement within this horror game. The mapping for all the locations were very well-done and creative. They also add to the horror of the game as well making everything overall a fun experience.​

 ​

II. MECHANICS​

 ​

I really enjoy the mechanics where the game will ask you whether if you want to search this cupboard or take these pages/keys with you or leave them there and the "hide" mechanics as well. These are really well conceived concepts and they will be very useful to see more of them in the next demo/full game. The security camera feature was also a good call as that can be used in various ways in the full game.​

 ​

III. MUSIC/SFX​

 ​

The well-chosen, eerie selection of songs also added to the horror of the game. It incites a sense of fear and trepidation within the player as they walk the halls and enter each room. The music that played after the security camera event where the monster was approaching was spot on in evoking an edge-of-your-seat and panic from within the player. Overall, the game's soundtrack is very impressive. ​

 ​

IV. STORY​

 ​

The overall story arc that is prefaced within the demo is very well-written, interesting and consistent throughout the entire experience and when the demo ends, you want to know more. The "experiment gone wrong" story arc that unfolds within Stricken is very interesting so far. I really enjoyed reading through the notes of patients and nurses along with reading documented articles and becoming more and more invested within the plot. I can't wait to find out more.​

 ​

================================================​

 ​

CONS: ​

 ​

I. BUGS​

 ​

There are little to none bugs within the demo at the moment, but here are the two main bugs I found. 1. A typo when examining an item in a room. 2. A strange bug on one of my save files where even if you have the knife, you cannot use it to pry the door open. It will still tell you that there should be an item nearby.​

 ​

II. INTERACTIVENESS​

 ​

This con may be just me, since I enjoy exploring every single item that is on a map for dialogue, an explanation of said item, or finding a key artifact that will help progress the game, I noticed a lack of interactiveness when exploring items and only few dialogues/explanations, etc. appeared. For instance, many times I went over to examine blood, papers scattered on the floor, broken glass and etc. but there was no explanation for them nor did the protagonist offer any dialogue or reaction towards them [Another example would be after exiting the cupboard after hiding from the monster, if you were to examine every object in the room, no description would appear for the said object]). If more interactiveness with objects could be added (dialogue, description, etc), it would help the game a lot.​

 ​

Extra Notes: The protagonist, although he is an amnesiac, he doesn't really react much to the scenery, think to himself or monologue, nor make comments when going through the hallways finding many things (notes, articles, blood, broken glass, monster appearances, etc.) When prompted with the horrific scenery (excluding the hiding scene), he appears as if he's used to it or he's seen gore and horror innumerable times. Although, It's going to be nice to see how this character, shrouded in mystery, will develop as the story unfolds and uncover his role in the nightmare that plagues him.​

 ​

OVERALL:​

 ​

Overall, Stricken, is a really well-developed preview that brims with interest and promise of more to come within the next version/demo/full game. The creator of this game, Anorak, has done a wonderful job in creating a game that captures the vein and gist of survival horror and utilizing given resources with excellent creativity. The interesting story, impressive visuals and horror of Stricken will surely keep players on the edge of their seat and anticipating more to come. Stricken is a really great horror game preview of what's to come from the creator, and this game is surely one you won't want to pass up.​

 ​

DEMO SCORE: 9.2/10​

 

[Anorak]

Stricken now has an official trailer which you can check out in the video above! (Apologies for the jittery footage. It's something I'm planning on fixing).

Also, thank you very much, Tornado Samurai for the review and your kind words! All of your points have been taken into consideration and I've also started to work on fixing the bug you stated.

 

[Tornado Samurai]

Thanks! It was no problem at all! I enjoyed playing your awesome horror game! Also, just saw the trailer for your game and I really enjoyed seeing it. The trailer you made is really epic and well-done. It really matches your game and the horror theme of it. Awesome job, Anorak!.

Also, a July 2014 release date? xD. Anyway, can't wait for the upcoming release of Stricken in July next month! It's going to be great!

- Tornado Samurai

 

[Anorak]

Looking for Game Testers!​

 ​

Stricken is nearing it's release, but to ensure the final product is the best it can be, I'm looking for a few people that would be willing to test Stricken! If you'd like to be a tester for Stricken and supply feedback, feel free to reply to this topic or send me a PM. All testers will receive a copy of the game's download link which they'd be required to play through, listing any bugs, improvements or suggestions (via PM).​

 ​

Thanks!​

 ​

 

Check us out on Twitter.​