What Silver Shows

[KanaX]

"It's all a matter of perception. But that does not change the fact that we are all seeing the same thing"
​

 
 

 

Spoiler

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Features

• 322 maps (to date) with half of them being parallax.
  
• A heavily story-driven RPG
  
• 4 to 5 hours of gameplay (to date).
  
• Puzzle-based gameplay. Mirrors are a very essential element to most of the puzzles.
  
• A great many ways to die, spread throughout the game. Not necessarily related to multiple endings.
  
• Over 7 (to date) possible endings depending on variable actions, affection or hostility towards other characters.
  
• Many hidden extras that allow even more endings, secrets and easter eggs (yet to be implemented).
  
• Customized Event Menu.
  

Current Point

• About 65% of the game done.
  

Cons

• First project (It is really apparent especially in the first maps of the game).
  
• Not completely RTP free. Many of the usual tilesets and sprites you have seen over and over will be present.
  
• Long introduction.
  
• Slow story progression in the first 1.5 hours of the game.
  
• English is not my native language. The text may have some grammatical errors or some phrases that are technically correct but sound awkward to native English speakers.
  
• No battle system (while there is a QTE system for some action scenes, the classic battle system is not featured). If you are an action fan, this isn't your thing. I have some action encounters but they are rare. I try to make them as memorable as possible, though.
  
• May or may not require some sound volume tweaking.
  

 
 

 

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Jack is an adult already. In his adulthood he is obliged to accept some harsh truths about the world and his place in it.
However, while in his mind he is strict pragmatist, his heart desires more thrills than his bleak world can offer. He feels
that he is unique, even if he knows that nothing in his ordinary life proves it. He is in a constant inner struggle with his
need to excel, his lack of determination to do so, and his self-loathing for seeing his young life being wasted away on
frivolities.
 
One day, in his desperate attempt to become something more than himself he voluntarily places himself in an unorthodox,
perilous situation. While he escapes seemingly unscathed, when he beckons at his reflection in the mirror to become the
person he used to be, he discovers that he can enter a mirrored version of his own world, with almost no barriers and no
residents. While he enjoys his new secret in any way possible, he soon discovers that the parallel world starts to change
a little by little.
 
When Jack is eventually trapped in a completely alien location he just drifts without any sense of direction and purpose.
He says to himself "I need to find an exit" and "I need to survive". But is that what he really wants?
He will meet cryptic figures and will spend some time with some of them. A number of them will make him question some
of his beliefs. Trying to protect his ego he has made what is supposes that is a cold, pragmatical, pessimistic profile for
himself. But he has forgotten some important aspects of him that start to resurface.
 
We can all see what a mirror can show us. But behind the glass, the layer of silver may hide some secrets.
Is anyone really capable of comprehending what the silver shows?
 

 

 

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• The Hotel Lobby
  
  
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• The Gallery
  
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• The Family Mansion
  
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• The Castle
  
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• The Gardens
  
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• The Kitchens
  
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• The Gutter [coming]
  
• The Penitentiary [coming]
  
• The
  
  
  

          
 






 
 

 

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The demo contains the introduction and the first area of the main game. You can get it UNDER RENOVATIONS! without RTP (167 M and UNDER RENOVATIONS! with RTP (351 M .


Are you a Dumb-Dumb and cannot deal with extremely obscure & frustrating puzzles? Here's a walkthrough. Actually, it's more like a list of direct clues, as to how to progress and not an actual walkthrough.
I'd suggest that you use it only to get unstuck and not to guide you all the way,
 
Notes:

• WARNING! Some sequences contain colorful flashing images.
  
• Demo duration: 45' to 1 hour.
  
• Insta-death galore! Save often!
  
• When you think that something was meant to catch your eye, or it seems out of place, examine it.
  
• The blue number on the top left corner is purely for my convenience as a developer. In the final product it won't be there.
  
• The game will close on it's own at some point. That's perfectly normal! Open it again.
  
• The file size might be kinda big. If so, please wait for a playthrough (of a different area) that I will upload shortly.
  
• May be buggy, some great individuals help me bring these bugs to the surface. If you find one, please report it.
  
• Please consider some of of the awful-looking shrunk google images as placeholders. They will be replaced.
  

Feel free to give me feedback and ask me any questions. I could really use some detailed reviews, or just general impressions.
 
 
 

Thank you very much for your time!
​

 

[BlackLiquidSorrow]

Haven't got time to play the demo, but I can definitely say I really like the art style. Have you thought about hiring a proof-reader.

 

[KanaX]

Haven't got time to play the demo, but I can definitely say I really like the art style. Have you thought about hiring a proof-reader.

You definitely shouldn't play then, because it's a loooooong demo! And it might take a while to get to the main part.

I haven't, actually. I have made multiple spelling and grammar mistakes upon inspection (some of them on rendered video sequences, which will be a pain to correct), but it's nothing I cannot handle. I also have a vast amount of.... scholarly type peers who can help me in the certain field. If you are offering, don't get me wrong, I would appreciate the help; truthfully no so much for the task, but for the opportunity to familiarize myself with members of the community, alas I am considering going commercial and I literally cannot afford to work with other people. The scripts and main song will take (if I decide monetizing it) a big percentage already!

As for the art part, I think that the artwork is my stronger point, and I'd like to think that my puzzles and story are strong too. If it is so I'm content!

Thank you for the feedback! 

 

[KanaX]

Update Log:   20/3/2015

• Updated information in Features.
• Created the Areas list.
• Uploaded a Playthrough sample of the game (not the same area as the Demo)
• Slight changes in game for player convenience.
• Writing down the events that will transpire in The Gutter.

 

[CrazyCrab]

Surprised that there isn't much feedback, this project looks pretty good ^^' Decided to give it a shot. I'll write down things as I play.

Spoiler

- 200 MB zipped is quite a bit, but I've seen a LOT worse (500+ MB and more for like 20 mins because of over-sized music folders). Also, with that many maps and custom stuff I'm not too surprised so I wouldn't worry about it.

- Huh, not sure if it's intentional (probably isn't) but your game isn't compressed, meaning that I can edit and take anything from it, including music and tiles. You theoretically shouldn't do that since it's like redistributing someone else's work... change it ASAP.

- The game window is called Project 1, change that as well ^^'

- I like the menu and the music. Well done.

- I'm both spooked and confused. I have made a terrible mistake, why did I download this... I'm such a coward. Seriously though, you made me feel uncomfortable, and few things make me feel like that at this point... so it's a horror game, huh? ^^'

- One hell of an intro, that must've taken ages to make. I'm really impressed and even more spooked.

- BUG: When you go to the door and it says ''I'd better drink some coffee(...)'' the bust is bugged.

- BUG: Umm I think the thing on the carpet is also bugged in that room as it changes when I touch it... unless it's also meant to be spooky.

- I'd say that the mapping is fine so far, but some tiles look weird and don't match the other ones - the table in the middle of the room is too dark and the shadows in the kitchen (chairs and table) don't match the RTP.

- Functional mirrors again, impressive.

- The dialogue is varied and interesting, good stuff. 

- You really need to add a disclaimer, some age warning as you've got some messed up stuff in here ^^' I'm not bothered by it (I'm an adult, mom, leave me alone!) but there are some younger kids around the forums so that would be useful I guess.

- You may want to cut out the kingdom hearts stuff, Disney is EXTREMELY picky about copyrights, to say light and unlike the other stuff you're clearly using their characters ^^'

- The credits sequence is exceptional, ''and that is not a statement the council makes lightly'' (+10 awesomeness points if you know what this is a reference to). Seriously though, absolutely amazing. Best credits I've seen in a long time, IGN 10/10.

- BUG: The mirrored shower looks weird.

- In the mirrored room there is a weird shadow next to the bed.

- BUG: Miroored Kitchen, interact to with one of the counter tiles makes it go all black.

- Haha, I would recognize that track anywhere, aka ''the spooky youtube song''.

- BUG: Mirrored Landowner's 1st Room, can walk on the top right wall.

- Haha, I didn't know I'm such an rear end in a top hat Cool stuff.

- Ouch. Natural course, huh? 

- Umm am I done for now? I can't find a pen anywhere, I just keep dying ^^' I'd use a tip, I'd like to carry on if there's more in the demo.

Overall, extremely impressive. A really solid and engaging story without the cliche stuff, some really amazing sequences like the intro once you close the game for the 1st time or the 1st dream. The one gripe that I have with it is the early mapping, the tiles do not work together too well. I'd strongly recommend remapping those early rooms using more consistent tiles. I spy with my little eye that you have a TON of good tiles in the folder, so yeah, no excuses

But yeah, I'm shocked that there are so few replies. PLAY THIS GAME PEOPLE! Seriously. Good stuff. I'll keep an eye out for updates and would love some help with that pen. ^^'

Anyway, here's my spooky seal of approval. 

Seriously though, again, amazing stuff. Keep it up! 

 

[KanaX]

@CrazyCrab

Firstly, thank you for playing!

Secondly, are you really a mom and 22? Because if so, I don't know if I should be impressed, or if I should give you a sympathizing pat on the back! I'm joking of course.

I will address your notes by the order you have written them. Obviously, I don't have something to say about all of them so I'll skip some. Hm, I'll number them for your convenience, ok?

2. The game isn't compressed on purpose. I have huge insecurity issues and I figured that if someone was frustrated at the game for not being able to solve a puzzle, he/she might as well open the project to find out what to do. Apparently through that's illegal and I have to fix it, thank you for the notice!

3. I will rename it to What Silver Shows, thank you!

5. Iiiii don't really consider that the game belongs in the horror genre. Yes, it has horror elements, but true horror is an art I think I have not yet mastered. Let's just stick with paranormal mystery.

7. Haha, that bug was from Ye Olde days where I used different, smaller busts that needed to be "elevated" to be visible over the text window. I'll change it.

8.Could you clarify me what "thing" exactly? It's probably one of the graphic that I forgot to turn on the direction fix.

9. Yeah, those where my clumsy first steps. The maps will get progressively better, I promise.

10. You"ll have to thank Galv for the mirrors. It was the perfect script for my game. Give him a big, warm smooch if you are within proximity.

11. I actually, have a disclaimer! But I removed it from the demo because I wanted to update it and because I was IN the disclaimer, which at the time, I thought it was a neat idea. Also I was chubby, 2 years ago.

Spoiler

The last sentence is a straight up LIE.

12. If I decide to go commercial, I'll definitely have to cut down some stuff and/or go license hunting. I'm fully aware of that!

14. Could you tell me what's weird about it??

15. Another example of direction fixing negligence

16. Which track? I need to eliminate it... No mainstream sh*t up in here.

17. Noted.

18. Yeah... Instead of a game over, you will be seeing that a lot... Because hey, let's be honest. Most of us wouldn't be leaving that place alive in the first place. It's only the natural course that he died!

19?. Secret secret secret shhhhhhh. Some people must have managed to take the quill on top of the desk... The path they followed must have ruffled up the carpet... Just sayin'... (also don't forget to read Jack's thoughts)

Thank you again for playing. I hope you enjoy the rest of the experience and (if I'm allowed to be bold) give me another set of notes about it!

 

 

[CrazyCrab]

@CrazyCrab

Firstly, thank you for playing!

Secondly, are you really a mom and 22? Because if so, I don't know if I should be impressed, or if I should give you a sympathizing pat on the back! I'm joking of course.

Hahah, now this is a perfect example of how much a comma can change a meaning of a sentence. I was going for a ''I'm an adult , mom! Leave me alone'' as a joke instead... nah, I'm just your stereotypical nerd student that plays video games, card games and does all the nerdy stuff. Run of the mill if you wish, nothing special ^^' Although who knows, maybe I have Jack's powers too, heh...

8. That red box (I think) in the middle of the room, the same applies to the candle at that point as you can interact with it. Only in the dark room though, later on it doesn't bug out. 

14. I think (if I remember correctly) that you mirrored the window so its on the other side but the shorter shadow stays where the window was.

16. Oh man, hmm... that track where its like ''mischievous and dark yet kinda silly at the same time'' when you're pulling the prank. Found one of the videos that uses it, I don't want the forums to automatically link to the video here to not spam your thread, but if you type ''Caveman Omegle'' in Youtube you'll get it. 

Anyway, thanks for the tip Getting late over here so I'll prolly play tomorrow.

 

[KanaX]

Update Log:   22/3/2015

• Cleared up some bugs and updated the Introduction and The Hotel Lobby.
• Included the updates to the Demo.
• Tweaked the Demo to work with the new Key Item Selection mechanic. Instead of pressing the "S" button to choose a Key Item, the player will now have to go through the Pause Menu and Item Menu.
• Uploaded both a RTP and RTP-Free version of the Demo.
• Implemented a little modest Easter Egg that appears randomly whenever you open the Pause Menu, to enhance the atmosphere.
• Ate some Ice Cream. According to my estimates, it was incredibly good.
• Made and finished an optional extra sequence, tied to a mysterious character, that may potentially lead to hidden endings.

 

[CrazyCrab]

Decided to carry on playing, another post since it's probably better to have all the feedback in the same spot.

- I deleted my save by accident when I deleted the old version and got the new one... silly me ^^'

- Umm the new game opens an RGSS3 console when you start it? Weird. Also crashed the 1st time I opened it.

- Glad you fixed the bugs I noticed previously, happy to have been of use ^^ Just skipping through this time.

EDIT: Got past the cleaning part this time, much easier ^^.

- I spent like 20 mins in the quill room, didn't figure out the puzzle so I just brute forced it, checking all the possibilities. It's not how you're supposed to do it I guess, but eh... I'm terrible at puzzle games. 

- After the ''Mary'' cutscene the light meter bugged out, I could carry it around and it would not go down. I turned it off and on again, it worked fine after that.

- I'm the boiler room, I'm ,again, not sure what to do... I noticed that Jack's thoughts didn't change btw.

- Went across the hallway, another save point, yay! Guess I'm making progress. Really good mapping here btw, glad to see the improvement

- I like how the save changes depending on where you save, a nice touch.

- An empty bookcase...  WHY I LIKE BOOKS. Seriously though, I love the puzzle idea and the execution is top-notch. You mapping is excellent around here as well.

- Hehe, nice touch when you try to leave with the ladder.

- Aand umm I'm stuck again. I got rid of all the books but the 2nd white one, as it won't let me place it on the shelf when I have placed one there already... I'm probably just being dumb.

Anyway, got slightly further this time, fun puzzles but man they can surely be tricky! Or I'm just stupid. I'm bad at puzzle games.

Had fun though

 

[Hudell]

I'm downloading it now. I'll play it tonight and write you a review

 

[KanaX]

Update Log:   24/3/2015

• Cleared up some bugs and updated the Introduction and The Hotel Lobby.
• Made the items in the cleaning "quest" in the introduction more visible.
• Have an Unsolved Issue that is temporarily dealt with.

 

[literarygoth]

Alrighty where to start? I have to say first and foremost, I really enjoyed this! That intro though, dude. I have a friend that LOVES creepy games (even though they scare the bananas out of her), I'm sure she'd like this. Definitely passing it on to her.

As for my review:

- There's minor (very minor) spelling and grammatical issues here and there, more notably early on in the game. I know that English isn't your first language, so with that in mind, you're doing exceptionally well in this matter. The dialogue is easy to understand. That being said, here's a list of errors and typos that I found along with where they were, hopefully this makes it easier for you to lock them down.

 1)"...Now I have to get dressed and everyhting..." <- should be everything

 2) In the introduction to the keys: "...to items menu and select item while stading" <- should be standing

 3)"Daddy issues gallore." <- should be galore

 4)"...perservance of a certain..." <- should be perserverance

 5)"...she chose to ingore..." <- should be ignore

 6)"...for Frick's sake..." <- should be fricks, no apostrophe necessary

 7)"...I'm a comedy genious..." <- should be genius

 8)"...have my money until tomorrow..." <- should be by tomorrow

 9) this one appears under Jack's thoughts in the menu "...door to his appartment..." <- should be apartment

Now that those pesky grammar/spelling issues are out of the way, I can get to the real meat of this.

-Your intro screen is simple and very effective. I really like the flickering lantern.

-I totally loved (and may have jumped a bit) at the banging on the door! Great one.

-It's just a wee bit too dark. I can't make out where the walls or floor is, it took me perhaps a bit too long to find the area to the south in this first bit. Perhaps lighten up the darkness just enough to see at the least, outlines of things.

-Seriously, this dream intro is creeptacular. I love it!

-Sometimes in Jacks bedroom (and the alternate mirror bedroom), Jack can enter his bed from the bottom or opposite side, in doing this the bottom of the bed appears over his head, like he's walking under that part of the bed. I realize this is for when he's in bed, but it should not be possible to enter bed from these directions.

-Jack says that was a weird dream. More like a nightmare!

-I really like the lack of a soundtrack, sorta. While it certainly fits the style you're going for, perhaps just a little bit of background sound/noise could really help set off the mood.

-The sound effects of the footsteps is really great, especially since it changes depending on the surface type you're walking on.

-Actual working light switches!

-I'm not understanding the washing machine in the bathroom? Perhaps it would make sense if it had the drying machine as well, and wasn't immediately next to the tub and shower?

-Your menu is fantastic, but perhaps just do a glow effect or something else for when you scroll? Sometimes it can be a little hard to tell when you've highlighted a different option. Maybe just leave the words white/grey, and have them turn red as you scroll through the options?

-I personally have zero problems with expletives in games, however Jack needs to broaden his dictionary! There's more than f-bombs.

-The phone ringing is too loud when the phone is not in the same room as you. Perhaps make it so it's quieter when it's in other rooms, but then gets louder as you enter the room with the phone. It took me a while to figure out where it was, and the ringing got annoying.

-After taking the phonecall from Jacks girlfriend, I went upstairs instead of down, and everything remained black. There was no fadein screen.

-The credits screen = phenomenal! Nicely done.

-I realize that you had to drop the program in order to get that 3D version to play, but it certainly was a bit...frustrating? It seemed to be a little over the top to switch from a 2D top down game, into a 3D version and then go back. I did like what you did here, but perhaps change the "dark Jack" in this bit to have yellow eyes, like he does in the 2D version.

Unfortunately at this point, after the "accident" with Jacks landlords place, I went to leave and again I went upstairs and it stayed black. Going back through the mirror and into the hallway upstairs, there was an open door. I tried clicking on it and the game froze. I had to quit at this point :<

Overall, you've got a real gem here! It's fantastic and engaging. My biggest complaint is how dark it is, especially at the part where he's cleaning his apartment. It's too difficult to see where things are and to move around. Otherwise, you have an amazing game, and I'm certainly going to re-load it and see how far I can go beyond the door crash part. I wasn't ready to quit!

Good job, and keep it up!

Cheers,

~Lit

 

[KanaX]

Could you explain the bug a little better? Where did it happen? FYI everything you need to do to progress is in the Landlords apartment! But still a bug is a bug and I have to deal with it.

I have had some complaints about the total darkness, before. I'll probably change it, but not right now.

You'll have to blame the lone washing machine to my Greek heritage. Dryers are not a big thing here. But I guess I could fit a dryer in there somewhere.

Please refer to my 19 y.o. self, two years ago, for the lack of a rich thesaurus! I'll tend to the text!

I'll re-upload in a few hours!

I REALLY appreciate the feedback.

 

[Hudell]

Played it for a few minutes and found a few bugs (I sent them to you via PM).

I'm loving the game so far and my girlfriend is loving it even more (she's really into this kind of things).

I'll keep following the thread and play some more before writing the review.

 

[literarygoth]

@Kanax, I'll post a screenshot for you in a few minutes. The door is wide open, and then when you click on it, it closes, the door SE plays repititiously constantlly, and you can't move. You can open the menu, but that's it. Give me a few minutes and I'll edit this post with the screenshot so you can see exactly which door this is.

**EDIT**

Here's the screenshot:

Spoiler

This is the part AFTER the landlords apartment. This is after the shower scene, when the phone rings and you go through the mirror again. This is in the hallway above Jacks apartment.

Another minor spelling issue I saw when I went to get this screencap for you:

During the shower scene as Jack is talking:

"...human anatomy comence..." <- this should be commence.

Cheers!

~Lit

 

[KanaX]

@Kanax, I'll post a screenshot for you in a few minutes. The door is wide open, and then when you click on it, it closes, the door SE plays repititiously constantlly, and you can't move. You can open the menu, but that's it. Give me a few minutes and I'll edit this post with the screenshot so you can see exactly which door this is.

Cheers,

~Lit

So, 2nd floor mirrored side? Got it!

 

[KanaX]

Update Log:   24/3/2015 6:50 (GMT + 2)

• Fixed issue, where an Autorun door event wouldn't stop on the Mirrored 2nd floor of the apartment building.
• Fixed issue, where the light switches on the 2nd floor of the apartment building wouldn't operate right and a fade in issue.
• Fixed issue, where some busts were placed incorrectly on screen.
• Fixed issue, where the Notes menu would freeze the game, if no documents existed.

I'd like to thank literarygoth, Huddel and Crazy Crab for helping me weed out those bugs. You guys deserve a smooch right in the cheek.

Also my best to lemongreen, who counsels me with the game in general. A swell gal, really.

 

[Simon D. Aelsi]

How did I miss this? Looks pretty awesome for your first title! Looking forward to seeing more.

 

[KanaX]

How did I miss this? Looks pretty awesome for your first title! Looking forward to seeing more.

Thank you! (still waiting for you to upload a demo )

 

[C-C-C-Cashmere (old)]

This reminds me of Miserere by SnowOwl. Very trippy. Good use of low saturation colours. Makes things gothic and dusty and realistic. You seem to be great at animation, too. The only thing I don't like is the font choice, but that's only because it's too stereotypically creepy for my liking. This looks like a good atmospheric exploration game.