The Fine Art of Nil [ALPHA 0.1.3][UPDATE 16/12/15]

[Veerdin]

INTRODUCTION:

Welcome to the development project page for The Fine art of Nil!

The Fine art of Nil is a surreal game, with elements of horror, comedy, abstract, absurdity and various other pretentious sounding words. Taking place in a dream-like realm inhabited by strange people and stranger monsters, you will take control of Sanna: a faceless, aimless, bandage-clad enigma, and guide them through the various zones in your bid to escape the weird, wacky and sometimes wonderful world you've found yourself in. There are choices to be made, people to assist, and giant clocks to assemble. And remember: You can always trust a white rabbit.

This has been a pet project of mine for a while now, I originally started it on VX Ace but ultimately wasn't getting what I wanted out of the ordeal. With the release of MV, however, I'm having another crack at it. This time, I'm putting my all into it. Custom sprites, tilesets, battlers, and artwork, along with custom music by Jan "Jeek" Krejsa, animations and various JavaScript plugins.

Right now, the game only has three finished maps, one fight, and will be over in a matter of minutes. The only playable section is the intro, the "tutorial" if you will. And I'm going to use that to gauge some early reception and opinions.

This page will be updated periodically as I update the game itself and release new iterations. The end goal, however, will be a commercial game. So when the game reaches a certain point (in the far, far future, of course) I will stop releasing free versions and start working on licensing and the like. I'd like for the finished product to end up on steam and digital download for a small, reasonable sum. But right now, that's all very much up in the air.

VERSION HISTORY:

Current version:
V: 0.1.3
Dropbox
Mediafire

Old versions:

Spoiler

V: 0.1.2
Dropbox
Mediafire

SCREENSHOTS (0.1.3):

Spoiler

CHANGE LOG:

Spoiler

UPDATE 16/12/15:
V0.1.3:
- Overhauled tutorial.
- Added music by Jan "Jeek" Krejsa.
- Re-did entire Sub-Archives section.
- Added animated portraits.
- Added animated title.
- Added several plugins (See credits listing for details.)
- Overhauled combat with The Shadow.
- Various bug fixes.
- Optimised files.

UPDATE 25/11/15:
V0.1.2:
- Fixed missing animation issues.

UPDATE 25/11/15:
V0.1.2:
- Greatly improved tile-set graphics. (see here for comparison)
- Fixed missing audio issues.
- Reduced file size. (again)
- Made knife and note more visible in beginning section.
- Added W.I.P of third map. (Nothing in there right now but you can wander around and look at it)
- Syntax fixes.
- Reduced event load.

UPDATE 9/11/15:
V0.1:
- Reduced file size.

TO-DO LIST:

Spoiler

- Start on second section of game.
- Improve contrast on Sub-Archive tileset.
- Add mouse controls to control listing sheet.
- Add more characters.
- Improve battle system.
- Improve system graphics.
- Make unique battle-back images.

Known issues:

Spoiler

- Incorrect text sound during ending to the Shadow Fight. *Fixed for next version.*
- Pathing issues in first area. *Fixed for next version.*
- Journal entries can be used during combat. *Fixed for next version.*
- Game still too dark on some monitors.
- "Unfortunately", "Electricity" and "Stubborn" spelled incorrectly. *Fixed for next version.*
- Mouse controls not displayed on control sheet.

CREDITS LISTING:

Spoiler

Music:
Jan "Jeek" Krejsa.

Plugins:
Ivara: Ivara Gif & Text Sound.
Link
Link

Nio Kasgami: Simple Max Actor.
Link

HimeWorks: Custom Death States.
Link

Terrax: Terrax Lighting System.
Link

Sly: Only Sound Options.
Link

Soul: VPS Blood Mage.
Link

Additional sprite resources:
Link

AFTER-WORD:

Thanks for reading! Be sure to check back regularly for updates if you like what you see here! Currently the team is very very small, consisting of about 3 people, with only one of them (me) doing the actual RPG Maker stuff. So progress might be slow for a while. Thanks for the patience!

 

[fish]

When I tried to play this, it gave me an error saying failed to load audio theme-5 or something like that.

Do I need RTP for this?

 

[Veerdin]

When I tried to play this, it gave me an error saying failed to load audio theme-5 or something like that.


Do I need RTP for this?

MV projects shouldn't need RTPs, I think I know what the issue you're experiencing was caused by. Rest assured I'll have that fixed by the next release.

 

[BerryB]

I’ve played the demo 0.1 version. C:

You may be wondering why I can play your version of 0.1, well.. its because I fixed all your missing audios in the current verison of the game. XD So, on with the thoughts after a quick playtest. I apologize if its too harsh. :c

Spoiler

-        You should probably find an early save format for this since I’m annoyed that there’s no save allowed in game. You may rectify this in later versions, so I won’t pull my leg over it.

-        Sanna is undetermined in terms of gender, isn’t .. er.. he or she? But I love the design. I even more love the facesets. <What sort of class is he anyways? Its strange translated font. Maybe I’ll find out in later developments.>

-        Original graphics makes for good game. Though I don’t like playing horror element types of games, this one I’m willing to take a gander due to the atmosphere.

-        I’ll be honest, first time playing this. I’m annoyed at the fact that I need to pick up the knife and the note to proceed without knowing where they are. A good game design always points the player to these things because unless you don’t point them, it won’t be clear enough. Though this is me. I can’t see them because its so dark and I ended up being lost all the way without pointing myself into the right direction. Again just an opinion. You are free to keep it dark for the atmosphere and ambience, but it kind of detracts the experience a little for me.

-        The first set of dungeons are fine so far. Though some lighting would at least be helpful. While trying to convey the atmosphere of the darkness in the game, it was a little too dark for my tastes. The bunny is fine.

-        Shadow’s text is so black that I can’t even see what he’s saying in the text box. This might not be a problem now, but I’m annoyed by this.

-        First fight is annoyingly misdirected. Its like the shadow wants you to kill him. I realized this and guarded, but realized that you have to do this to proceed. Is there a sparing feature to this or I’m just confused here?

And that’s my thoughts so far. Since you told me to stop since the game is very short.

My opinions still stands that I don’t like playing dark, creepy horror type games. But this one I took quite an interest because I find it intriguing. So, yeah. I’m slightly annoyed early on and building up to something that’s interesting, but until there’s more I don’t think I can give a better feedback. So, yeah. Thought this would be one of the first feedback you can get.

 

[Veerdin]

I’ve played the demo 0.1 version. C:


You may be wondering why I can play your version of 0.1, well.. its because I fixed all your missing audios in the current verison of the game. XD So, on with the thoughts after a quick playtest. I apologize if its too harsh. :c

Thanks for the feedback! And don't worry about being harsh. This game is very early in development, after all. And I don't want people to sugarcoat things just for my sake. I'm trying to make a good game, and I can't do that if people are dishonest about it.


Here's some responses to the individual critiques, though!:

Spoiler

You should probably find an early save format for this since I’m annoyed that there’s no save allowed in game. You may rectify this in later versions, so I won’t pull my leg over it.

This will be implemented in the third map, when it's done. Don't worry about that! Although I relize the lack of a save in the first two maps may seem odd. I have some ideas regarding this and may implement them if I get more similar opinions.

Sanna is undetermined in terms of gender, isn’t .. er.. he or she? But I love the design. I even more love the facesets. <What sort of class is he anyways? Its strange translated font. Maybe I’ll find out in later developments.>

Sanna is, indeed, genderless. That's part of their design. The facesets for Sanna (And other characters) will hopefully be handled by my girlfriend in time. She's an amazing artist who has expressed interest in working on them, so we'll see how that pans out. Her work is a hell of a lot better than mine, in any case! As for the class, currently it's listed as "Wanderer", although the class will "change" later on in the game. No spoilers, of course. But the kind of playstyle Sanna uses will become apparent over time. As for the Sanskrit text on the character page? Well, I'm not spoiling that, either~

Original graphics makes for good game. Though I don’t like playing horror element types of games, this one I’m willing to take a gander due to the atmosphere.

You're in luck, then! The third map (and everything up until a later game section) will all be far more "Surreal" than "Horror". This game is primarily a bizzare puzzler with a few horror aspects, rather than a straight horror game. I think you'll enjoy the sections that are currently in development, but as a taste of things to come, I recommend you explore the (unfinished) third map in the V0.1.2 release.

I’ll be honest, first time playing this. I’m annoyed at the fact that I need to pick up the knife and the note to proceed without knowing where they are. A good game design always points the player to these things because unless you don’t point them, it won’t be clear enough. Though this is me. I can’t see them because its so dark and I ended up being lost all the way without pointing myself into the right direction. Again just an opinion. You are free to keep it dark for the atmosphere and ambience, but it kind of detracts the experience a little for me.

I've made the knife and note a lot more obvious in the latest section and also increased the contrast of the tileset a bit to make it a bit easier to navigate. I hope, anyway. You'll have to let me know how this one turns out.

The first set of dungeons are fine so far. Though some lighting would at least be helpful. While trying to convey the atmosphere of the darkness in the game, it was a little too dark for my tastes. The bunny is fine.

A lighting system is something I'm considering, I'd need to find a script I can use that doesn't cause heavy amounts of performance dips, though, as I've had that problem with some RPG maker games with lighting systems in the past. Rest assured, though, that the majority of the game will not be as dark.

Shadow’s text is so black that I can’t even see what he’s saying in the text box. This might not be a problem now, but I’m annoyed by this.

This is something I didn't consider on different monitors. Let me know if it's still an issue with the latest release and if it is, I'll look into changing Shadow's text colour.

First fight is annoyingly misdirected. Its like the shadow wants you to kill him. I realized this and guarded, but realized that you have to do this to proceed. Is there a sparing feature to this or I’m just confused here?

I fear you're being a bit too clever for the Shadow. The Shadow is a very... direct opponent. I've toyed with the idea of a sparing system for the Shadow and I may in fact implement one. For now, though, it's kill or be killed (with that enemy, at least)

And that’s my thoughts so far. Since you told me to stop since the game is very short.


My opinions still stands that I don’t like playing dark, creepy horror type games. But this one I took quite an interest because I find it intriguing. So, yeah. I’m slightly annoyed early on and building up to something that’s interesting, but until there’s more I don’t think I can give a better feedback. So, yeah. Thought this would be one of the first feedback you can get.

Once again, this game will have far less horror aspects than it will other aspects. I don't want to spoil too much, but lets say the first "main" area will be grassy, brightly lit and... Well, not so much "cheerful" as "vibrant". As I said, this isn't going to be a horror game. It will have some horror elements, and one of the later sections will likely be 85% horror, but most of it will just be plain old weird.


Thanks again for the feedback! Loved how in-depth you went with this, and I'm looking forward to further feedback from you. Hope you enjoy the latest updates!

 

[Veerdin]

Added the Terrax lighting system and spruced up the starting map a little:

Spoiler

Not pictured: Animated sprites/battlers and text sounds.

 

[Veerdin]

Version 0.1.3 has been released! Featuring many, many new changes and overhauls, including music by Jan "Jeek" Krejsa, custom animated pictures and a whole heap of plugins from various users!


See the master post for a full change log, credits listing, and downloads. Please report any bugs here on the thread, and let me know what you think of the latest iteration!


Thanks, and enjoy!

 

[BerryB]

Hello there. Surprised I finished it rather quickly this time around. And I'll be posting a feedback on v.0.1.3. I'll be covering up on some of the positive things you fixed while covering on some things that are quite detrimental to the whole experience a little. Though admittedly I find this version a little more tolerable than the last one.

My thoughts on the Fine Art of Nil v.0.1.3? <WARNING:Spoilers>​

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Spoiler

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-Pros-​

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- Its a little bigger this time around and there are structured differently from the 0.1.2. I liked it and enjoyed it this time a little more simply because the view is at least tolerable.. Atmospherically its rendered beautifully because of the lighting effects, though the blandness of the entire subarchive does put things a little off, it doesn't detriment the experience as a whole and fits the ambience of the situation a little more.​

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The shadow now is more than just one-sided in terms of his characterization. You see him as this looming figure who kind of acts as your "guide" in the Sub-Archives. He's not a hilarious character, but considering the mood and the tone this is going, I'd say he's standard.​

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SAVE POINTS - This makes things all the more convenient. Although you put save points between the near end of the dungeon and the previous room near to each other is kind of redundant. But still, can't deny that this makes the game more tolerable.​

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Journal's a little different now. Admittedly, its readable to the player, so it felt a little more better in terms of how it was layered out. Its cleaner though. I don't know if that is your intention but I suppose it's slightly okay compared to the blurred out text from the previous version.​

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Now you can make choices. Well, not a lot of choices, but they finally have a little more impact to it. Admittedly, the choices you make will still converge to the same result, so I suppose your choices haven't really "mattered" in the long run. Although it does affect the actions you do in battle, the ONE battle you do in this entire demo.​

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Basically, if you collect all 3 journals through exploring, you can ask the shadow on whether or not the journal is yours. That details is nicely put and sets up the idea that exploration will slightly reward you. Although they mentioned you get "one chance" to ask these questions. You can re-enter your save and see your other choices. So they don't necessarily impact you. At least, not this time around. Although this aspect could be a con as well but I'll get to that in the cons' section.​

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The animations for the shadow, the attacks and the like are standard animations, but I liked it. It's an interesting one and it does bring a new layer to something I haven't seen before in front-view battle. Original battler animations that move is good. <c:> I love it.​

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And as shadow says, "seeing who you are" literally counts here. You have 3 options. Lose and continue on, Violence route and continue on and Mercy route and continue on. Options like these really makes you choose your options more carefully. Admittedly though, I think your choices is more-or-less pick what character are you. Admittedly, since I was unaware of this and I previously was forced to fight in the last version. I thought the same in this version, not realizing that this time, you actually pulled me a second one and say that your actions will at least determine your character this time around. So, I finally go through the "Undertale" mindset this time and guard the second time around I tried battling the shadow once more. And wouldn't you know it, there's a different choice this time around. Wow.​

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Slowed down version of Theme4 is a nice touch. Though you might change this in later versions.. So I won't hold on to it.​

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Hahaha...Hilarious.​

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--------------------​

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-Cons-​

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While I said previously in the pros that the atmosphere is rendered okay, there's also some of the same issues I've been dealing with in the previous version. It's hard to navigate and see the holes. This time around, its a little more forgiving and you can see it. But honestly, its still annoying because you can't see all the holes around it, making your navigation more of a trial and error when you hit a spot where there's a hole next to it. Admittedly, its a little brighter this time around, so I won't be too harsh on this for now. There are no passability errors as far as I can see and buggy spots are less to unnoticeable in the version I'm playing. This is fair, but a little annoying in my opinion.​

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Exploration, as I said before, is a little more tolerable. You have 3 different journal posts to collect. But other than that, its really just a wide open space with holes on it just to make a roundabout route of getting through point A to point B. Its not that it annoys me right now, but I would like a little more exploration on the next dungeon since the only thing that makes things longer is journal collecting and if its going to be the same thing for the next few dungeons, people are going to get bored. There's going to have to be something to change this formula or it might not be something that people could get invested in. Though this is also the alpha so you may consider changing this up in the future.​

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Considering this is the alpha version, I'll tolerate it. But spelling errors are noticeable on two occasions. But its a nitpick and I hope this gets fixed in later versions. One of it is as such:​

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Unless subborn means something, I think its a spelling error.​

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And I can say that this version is better with some faults of its own. I liked this version since you updated it a little more. It has potential to be good. I'll look forward to the next version.​

 

[Veerdin]

Hello there. Surprised I finished it rather quickly this time around. And I'll be posting a feedback on v.0.1.3. I'll be covering up on some of the positive things you fixed while covering on some things that are quite detrimental to the whole experience a little. Though admittedly I find this version a little more tolerable than the last one.

Hey again! Cheers for the continued feedback. Your words were pretty invaluable last time around and this time you've also covered a lot of great topics! Glad you liked this section more. And as a personal promise: I won't release the next iteration until the second section (after the Tutorial/Sub-Archives) is playable. I think I've run you people through the dingy, chained-shut bookshelves part enough.

Spoiler

While I said previously in the pros that the atmosphere is rendered okay, there's also some of the same issues I've been dealing with in the previous version. It's hard to navigate and see the holes. This time around, its a little more forgiving and you can see it. But honestly, its still annoying because you can't see all the holes around it, making your navigation more of a trial and error when you hit a spot where there's a hole next to it. Admittedly, its a little brighter this time around, so I won't be too harsh on this for now. There are no passability errors as far as I can see and buggy spots are less to unnoticeable in the version I'm playing. This is fair, but a little annoying in my opinion.

Yes, it's becoming more and more apparent that the contrast settings of my monitor are, not to put too fine a point on it, buggered. Even with the lighting system in place it would seem that the game (specifically the floor) is still too damn dark for most people's screens. Luckily, I have an answer to this problem! The Brightness and Contrast tool in Photoshop! Our mighty savoir.
Seriously, though, I'll definitely be brightening up the Sub-Archives tileset before the next iteration. I don't want to lose the ambiance, but it's a fat lot of good when people can't see the dang floor.

Exploration, as I said before, is a little more tolerable. You have 3 different journal posts to collect. But other than that, its really just a wide open space with holes on it just to make a roundabout route of getting through point A to point B. Its not that it annoys me right now, but I would like a little more exploration on the next dungeon since the only thing that makes things longer is journal collecting and if its going to be the same thing for the next few dungeons, people are going to get bored. There's going to have to be something to change this formula or it might not be something that people could get invested in. Though this is also the alpha so you may consider changing this up in the future.

There is, I will admit, a lot of left over Negative Possibility Space. Most noticeably in the second area. I'll definitely be inquiring to put some more stuff scattered about the tutorial section. I want to hammer home the idea that exploration is something that this game will reward, after all. The Journal Entries were just the first step in that plan. But I've got a lot of little items, flavor text, lore and easter eggs to hide around the place.
Have an explore to those boring, blank areas in the next iteration of the game. You may be pleasantly surprised!

Considering this is the alpha version, I'll tolerate it. But spelling errors are noticeable on two occasions. But its a nitpick and I hope this gets fixed in later versions. One of it is as such:


-snip-


Unless subborn means something, I think its a spelling error.

And you'd be right! Alas, I really should start running all this text through a spell-checker before I release, huh? That'd be a good idea, I think. I tend to have a ballistic approach to typing and often times I'll miss out letters, punctuation, or sometimes entire words. Normally, the automated systems pick this up for me, but unfortunately for my lazy butt, RPG Maker has no spell check function. Thank you for pointing that one out, though, I'd totally missed it!

Thanks again for the great feedback! Your words were a great help last time around and I'm glad you've come back for more! Hope to hear from you again in the next release!

 

[BerryB]

Hey again! Cheers for the continued feedback. Your words were pretty invaluable last time around and this time you've also covered a lot of great topics! Glad you liked this section more. And as a personal promise: I won't release the next iteration until the second section (after the Tutorial/Sub-Archives) is playable. I think I've run you people through the dingy, chained-shut bookshelves part enough.

Spoiler

Yes, it's becoming more and more apparent that the contrast settings of my monitor are, not to put too fine a point on it, buggered. Even with the lighting system in place it would seem that the game (specifically the floor) is still too damn dark for most people's screens. Luckily, I have an answer to this problem! The Brightness and Contrast tool in Photoshop! Our mighty savoir.

Seriously, though, I'll definitely be brightening up the Sub-Archives tileset before the next iteration. I don't want to lose the ambiance, but it's a fat lot of good when people can't see the dang floor.

There is, I will admit, a lot of left over Negative Possibility Space. Most noticeably in the second area. I'll definitely be inquiring to put some more stuff scattered about the tutorial section. I want to hammer home the idea that exploration is something that this game will reward, after all. The Journal Entries were just the first step in that plan. But I've got a lot of little items, flavor text, lore and easter eggs to hide around the place.

Have an explore to those boring, blank areas in the next iteration of the game. You may be pleasantly surprised!

And you'd be right! Alas, I really should start running all this text through a spell-checker before I release, huh? That'd be a good idea, I think. I tend to have a ballistic approach to typing and often times I'll miss out letters, punctuation, or sometimes entire words. Normally, the automated systems pick this up for me, but unfortunately for my lazy butt, RPG Maker has no spell check function. Thank you for pointing that one out, though, I'd totally missed it!

Spoiler

Thanks again for the great feedback! Your words were a great help last time around and I'm glad you've come back for more! Hope to hear from you again in the next release!

Your welcome. Though I do kind of admit that I'm surprised you explained your comments focusing on the cons more than the pros. In my honest opinion, the pros are slightly biased in my perspective, and other people may not think the same way I do in terms of exploration, battle design and the like. So I'll be covering a little more on the pros and its potential so that it wouldn't turn into a con.. I'll be hoping for those cons I mentioned in the previous post would be fixed on the next iteration, but I won't push it being this is an alpha version.

Spoiler

Honestly, I think the save points are still a little off-putting because of the positioning. But considering that this may require extensive scripting, I won't hold it too much at the moment. You could say that I glossed that part over since I'm pretty happy with a save point in-game to appear (finally). Save points should be set at acceptable period of points. Either before the boss, you hit a certain milestone or both could help make things a little bit structured in terms of how you set your save points.

In terms on how you approach a battle, I mentioned it before that there are 3 different methods, one that requires you to guard and don't attack. Ones that requires you to beat him classic RPG style and one where you lose. It felt like these choices won't exactly matter at the moment because you're basically picking your "alignment". This has some potential, just like any other RPG. But considering that if you put the formula of this battle on every encounter you met, you will likely be pretty bored by the formula. I hope that in later iterations, you would be able to make more means of "sparing"/"defeating" your enemies. What makes a game interesting is how you interpret a formula and tweak it to fit the boundaries of the world while at the same time engages the player. This is basic game design 101, but I'm sure you know this much, I don't have to tell this much on your end. Your current battle with the shadow comes off from the basic formula of -bonding-battle-effect-. I would like to see this formula of bonding either mixed up or continually going the same path, but with a better twist and more variety. This would make your "final boss" much more enjoyable to play.

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Also I would like to suggest that if you do decide to put in exploration. It should not bore you. Considering that there is no "grinding" feature as far as I can see right now, I would like to see if you would be able to provide the means of a puzzle of sorts in the next dungeon. Something like puzzles is a good way to keep the player invested and makes your game all the more exciting to play (the "hook", if I may address the term).

Welp, I've covered quite a bit here. I'm sure that this will be a potentially fantastic game. You don't have to take all my suggestions to heart, it is your game after all. But I hope this feedback helps a little bit towards making your game enjoyable and fun to play.

 

[Veerdin]

Your welcome. Though I do kind of admit that I'm surprised you explained your comments focusing on the cons more than the pros. In my honest opinion, the pros are slightly biased in my perspective, and other people may not think the same way I do in terms of exploration, battle design and the like. So I'll be covering a little more on the pros and its potential so that it wouldn't turn into a con.. I'll be hoping for those cons I mentioned in the previous post would be fixed on the next iteration, but I won't push it being this is an alpha version.

To be honest I wanted to respond to everything, but there's a "quote limit" on these posts so I decided to focus on the cons you listed as they're the things that are most likely to see extensive changes. I'll respond to these ones, though, as you're raising some more interesting points.

Spoiler

Honestly, I think the save points are still a little off-putting because of the positioning. But considering that this may require extensive scripting, I won't hold it too much at the moment. You could say that I glossed that part over since I'm pretty happy with a save point in-game to appear (finally). Save points should be set at acceptable period of points. Either before the boss, you hit a certain milestone or both could help make things a little bit structured in terms of how you set your save points.

The save points are, currently, there so that the game can be tested with little to no frustration. In the final version (and likely once the tutorial section is completely finished) there will only be a single save in the Sub-Archives. Although I am intending for people to be able to revisit the area should they want to explore it more.

In terms on how you approach a battle, I mentioned it before that there are 3 different methods, one that requires you to guard and don't attack. Ones that requires you to beat him classic RPG style and one where you lose. It felt like these choices won't exactly matter at the moment because you're basically picking your "alignment". This has some potential, just like any other RPG. But considering that if you put the formula of this battle on every encounter you met, you will likely be pretty bored by the formula. I hope that in later iterations, you would be able to make more means of "sparing"/"defeating" your enemies. What makes a game interesting is how you interpret a formula and tweak it to fit the boundaries of the world while at the same time engages the player. This is basic game design 101, but I'm sure you know this much, I don't have to tell this much on your end. Your current battle with the shadow comes off from the basic formula of -bonding-battle-effect-. I would like to see this formula of bonding either mixed up or continually going the same path, but with a better twist and more variety. This would make your "final boss" much more enjoyable to play.

I actually have some very interesting ideas planned for how the player can choose to play the game. It will be possible, for instance, to battle your way through every encounter. And not to spoil too much, but in this game, violence isn't always a "Bad" option.


The Fine Art of Nil is a game about perspective. A game about choices. A game, if you will, about finding yourself. The "right" answer will almost never be obvious. There are many games out there where there is a set "bad" ending, a set "good" ending and sometimes a set "true" ending. My game will not have these. It will have multiple endings, yes. But whether they are bad or good will be dependent on who is playing them.


I just have to be careful not to make the endings bland or generic. They will certainly be open to interpretation, though.


Part of this means making the combat system enjoyable. Now, the Turn-Based model has its perks, I will admit. For one thing, it allows for some good scripting in battle sequences which are pretty key to my game design idea. But I do want to include a little more interactivity in the combat later down the line. Undertale did something fantastic by making the combat turns a reflex based mini-game rather than a "click button, roll dice" system. Now I don't want to rip off Undertale here, but I do want to have a combat system that is more fulfilling than watching numbers flash up and down on the screen. I may have to hire a coder for this later on, we'll have to see.

Also I would like to suggest that if you do decide to put in exploration. It should not bore you. Considering that there is no "grinding" feature as far as I can see right now, I would like to see if you would be able to provide the means of a puzzle of sorts in the next dungeon. Something like puzzles is a good way to keep the player invested and makes your game all the more exciting to play (the "hook", if I may address the term).

You're right in that there will be no "grinding" in TFAN. This is not your typical RPG with random encounters and loot drops. Every battle will be against a unique foe and will have multiple solutions. Some solutions more obvious than others. The whole game will, in fact, be a puzzle in of itself. I want TFAN to make people push their mindsets outside the normal boundaries and think outside the box. And I want this thinking to be rewarded for those who do it, while still providing a fulfilling experience for the people who want to stab and blast their way through every encounter.
I've got a lot of ambition for this project, is basically what I'm saying.


Puzzles are good, though, as they're really just a series of switches. And if there's one thing I know how to use, it's switches.

Welp, I've covered quite a bit here. I'm sure that this will be a potentially fantastic game. You don't have to take all my suggestions to heart, it is your game after all. But I hope this feedback helps a little bit towards making your game enjoyable and fun to play.

Your feedback has been nothing but helpful lately. And it's been fairly consistent with some of my official playtesters, too. It's good to see multiple people reporting similar things because it means I have less stuff to worry about! Hah!


Glad you're sticking around and taking an interest, though!

 

[Veerdin]

Here's a sneak preview of the next area:

Spoiler

This area will introduce a new NPC and will kick off the main story of the game. Feel free to provide feedback of this screenshot!

 

[taistelusopuli]

I've swung by here every now and then to see how things move along. Busy as I am I hardly have time to play all the many games that I'd like to play over here to really dig deep and give proper feedback. That said, there was something that came to my mind now that I read the opening post again. You say:

"The end goal, however, will be a commercial game. So when the game reaches a certain point (in the far, far future, of course) I will stop releasing free versions and start working on licensing and the like. I'd like for the finished product to end up on steam and digital download for a small, reasonable sum. But right now, that's all very much up in the air."

Just quit the 'if' and 'maybe'. Just stop it. I know saying it like this is very blunt but I feel like I have to do it this time. Just stop.

I feel that you have a good thing coming here. Treated with care, it can be something great. Decide what you want this game to be. Set a specific realistic goal, make a clear plan and do it. Having that decided, commit to it and be confident. That will give you and identity boost That commitment and feeling of identity will help you through when the trouble and discouragement hits the screen. So one more time in a nut shell:

Believe and just do it

 

[Veerdin]

I've swung by here every now and then to see how things move along. Busy as I am I hardly have time to play all the many games that I'd like to play over here to really dig deep and give proper feedback. That said, there was something that came to my mind now that I read the opening post again. You say:


"The end goal, however, will be a commercial game. So when the game reaches a certain point (in the far, far future, of course) I will stop releasing free versions and start working on licensing and the like. I'd like for the finished product to end up on steam and digital download for a small, reasonable sum. But right now, that's all very much up in the air."


Just quit the 'if' and 'maybe'. Just stop it. I know saying it like this is very blunt but I feel like I have to do it this time. Just stop.


I feel that you have a good thing coming here. Treated with care, it can be something great. Decide what you want this game to be. Set a specific realistic goal, make a clear plan and do it. Having that decided, commit to it and be confident. That will give you and identity boost That commitment and feeling of identity will help you through when the trouble and discouragement hits the screen. So one more time in a nut shell:


Believe and just do it

I appreciate the confidence. But please understand that this would be my first real commercial venture with any of my work.


I've been writing, doing art and even stuff for games for years now but this is the first time I've wanted to sell the finished product. And I know that's a far more complex process than slapping something on steam greenlight and asking for three bucks a download. There's licencing and royalties and payment division and all that other stuff that's looming just over the horizon for this and I have no damn clue how I'll go when it comes time to do all of that.


That said, you need not worry. This was always going to be a commercial project, that, at least, has never changed. As much as I love development, goodwill doesn't keep the power on. The "If"s and "maybe"s are more to do with the development of the game itself, which could change drastically over time (hence why I'm making no promises) But the fact I want to sell the final product has not and will not change.

 

[taistelusopuli]

I understand the "fear" or nervousness you might feel looking at the hurdle. It is something one doesn't want to screw up I am glad to hear that you are decided though. Keep that going and you will do just fine