What Silver Shows

[KanaX]

@C-C-C-Cashmere The font is purely for the Titles and banners. In-game, I use mostly cinecaption and concursoitalain BTN (and a wee-bit of onryou).

 

[KanaX]

 

[RyuuProductions]

Alrighty, since I promised to give my 2 cents on the demo, here we go!

Spoiler

Title Screen: Man, I really need to make a custom title screen for my next game...
Aw man, flickering lights. I definitely need to use some flickering lights in my next game...
Also...
Tiny bug (?): Flickering light bulb has collision only when it's turned on.
Bigger bug (?): In the same room, I can walk on the wall
That mirror sequence! Goosebumps all the way Some nice tricks with the visuals as well. Did you do everything just with the "Show Picture" feature?
In the apartment, I can again walk on the wall in the top left corner... unless there is actually floor there, that I can't see. UPDATE: Okay it's the sofa. But still one tile too many without collision.
Annoyance: Dialogue is skipped when pressing the sprint button. I know this makes debugging faster, since you can skip dialogue quicker, but I missed so many message boxes because I was sprinting when they showed. If you're using Yanfly's Message System (which I guess you do), that is easily turned off for the release version, though
Is that the original Starry Night!?!
On the balcony, I can walk under the railing.
Screwdriver guy... bad luck, bro!
After going down one floor from the top floor, I could only see blackness Had to go down one floor again to be able to see anything. UPDATE: This persists throughout the game.
Yeah, another motorcycling protagonist! We can never have enough of those.
Really liked the inner monologue + timelapse part, I suppose you put quite a bit of your own thoughts in there.
Hmm now things are way too dark, took me ages to find the doors in this place.
I like how the save screen shows the room you saved in and not just the character(s). Also: decisions, damn!
Game crashed after I witnessed those robed guys at their ritual and the mirror shattered, guess I'll choose to go home this time.
Oh okay, so it didn't really crash, damn²! Again, pretty innovative. I suppose it's a mixture of "Show Picture" + movies?
I'm desperate for water, but still manage to put in a stop at the mirror to bootycall myself.
More clever usage of the mirror to tell a story.
Oh, so that remark about my credits was irony then? Since yours blew mine right out of the water... (Are you sure you don't want to make a James Bond game? ;-))
Crap, went out of the apartment which activated the old cutscene. Had to ALT+F4 my way out of there and restart from the last save, lame!
Okay, when choosing to ignore your temptation, the menu screen got bugged, I could only select "continue" and "behind the mirror".
Right, back on track. Mirroring the room once you're in one is a neat trick, but I can walk inside the wall again. This time on the right in the living room.
Uhm, why can I enter his apartment once I'm in the mirror world, but not in the "real" world? Smooth stair walking, though
Wow, that renter sure got his day ruined I even think Jack overdid it a little... I'd rather have seen the screwdriver guy get it.
Timelapse of mischievous Jack was funny! :3
Aww, room-style savepoints are gone...
No wait, they're back again
I can't for the life of me see any difference whatsoever on the floor of the room with the pen. Had to resort to trial&error for this one. Took me about 20-30 tries... Needless to say, I'm kind of annoyed right now and better continue this at a later date, sorry...

Pros:
Some very imaginitive and well executed spooky parts.
You did well on distancing yourself from the standard RPG Maker look with custom sprites, parallax mapping and the like.
Character busts look neat. Self-drawn stuff (I assume it is?) always gives a game its own touch.
Dat intro credits sequence.

Cons:
Still quite a few bugs, especially collision needs work.
A few grammatical/typing errors mar the otherwise solid English.
Very little actual gameplay (disregard this if there is more gameplay lateron). Yes, it's better to only put in gameplay that actually fits the story, but especially with the surreal sequences this game contains, you would have many options to put in some riddles or challenges. Maybe it's just personal preference though, since I'm not a sucker for Visual Novels.
Too few savepoints. This becomes even more annoying in the current state of the game, if you glitch out and have to replay 10-20 minutes.

All in all: You still have your work cut out for yourself, yet I see loads of unique potential

 

[KanaX]

Thank you for the review!

Dialogue is skipped when pressing the sprint button. I know this makes debugging faster, since you can skip dialogue quicker, but I missed so many message boxes because I was sprinting when they showed. If you're using Yanfly's Message System (which I guess you do), that is easily turned off for the release version, though

That's the unwanted effect of Yanfly's Message System Since I have two people bring it up, I'll have to remove it (since I don't care for it).

Is that the original Starry Night!?!

Yeah, Jack is a regular cat burglar in his spare time. Mung's Scream is also original.

After going down one floor from the top floor, I could only see blackness Had to go down one floor again to be able to see anything. UPDATE: This persists throughout the game.

You have no idea how many times I updated the whole demo JUST for that error. I can NEVER get it right.

 

I'm desperate for water, but still manage to put in a stop at the mirror to bootycall myself.

Whoops.

Okay, when choosing to ignore your temptation, the menu screen got bugged, I could only select "continue" and "behind the mirror".

I have no idea how that could happen. I'll check it immediately.

Uhm, why can I enter his apartment once I'm in the mirror world, but not in the "real" world? Smooth stair walking, though

The basic idea of the mirrored world (at at point anyway) it that Jack can enter a parallel world with a few differences. In the real world, the door is obviously locked. In the mirror world, it is open (for convenience), but Jack could just as easily break it down.

I can't for the life of me see any difference whatsoever on the floor of the room with the pen. Had to resort to trial&error for this one. Took me about 20-30 tries... Needless to say, I'm kind of annoyed right now and better continue this at a later date, sorry...

There is a darkened "S" pattern on the carpet!

PLEASE give it another try at a later date, because I'd like your opinion on the actual gameplay!

Very little actual gameplay (disregard this if there is more gameplay lateron). Yes, it's better to only put in gameplay that actually fits the story, but especially with the surreal sequences this game contains, you would have many options to put in some riddles or challenges. Maybe it's just personal preference though, since I'm not a sucker for Visual Novels.

I actually opened a topic about that yesterday, because I plan to jump into gameplay sequences (that take place after the first sequence where Jack falls in the hole) randomly during the intro, because it's so big!

Thank you for your patience! It is my first project and my early eventing is a giant mess!

 

[RyuuProductions]

You have no idea how many times I updated the whole demo JUST for that error. I can NEVER get it right.

Yeah, some errors just keep on giving you trouble until you finally find that one thing you got wrong. Been there

The basic idea of the mirrored world (at at point anyway) it that Jack can enter a parallel world with a few differences. In the real world, the door is obviously locked. In the mirror world, it is open (for convenience), but Jack could just as easily break it down.

Alright, that makes enough sense for me!

There is a darkened "S" pattern on the carpet!

I just tried something out. Went into the room, made a screenshot and voila, now I can see it, albeit barely... I don't know if my monitor's brightness settings are turned down way too low (I certainly didn't fiddle with them), but you wouldn't be able to see it ingame on my screen either, trust me. Maybe make the room just a tad bit brighter?

PLEASE give it another try at a later date, because I'd like your opinion on the actual gameplay!

I will, no worries. I just don't think I'm a good judge if I'm annoyed, so I'll try again sometime later

I actually opened a topic about that yesterday, because I plan to jump into gameplay sequences (that take place after the first sequence where Jack falls in the hole) randomly during the intro, because it's so big!

That might be a good idea, since the player often has no idea he is still in the intro sequence... What about flash-forwards (which could later be revisited, once the player actually reaches that point in the story)?

Example: Have the player solve a puzzle in a flash-forward during the intro. Then, once that puzzle actually comes into play lateron, keep it in place, but change it with a little quirk. For a little Aha! moment :3

Thank you for your patience! It is my first project and my early eventing is a giant mess!

Heh, just returning the favor ;-)

 

[KanaX]

That might be a good idea, since the player often has no idea he is still in the intro sequence... What about flash-forwards (which could later be revisited, once the player actually reaches that point in the story)?

Yeah, that's exactly how I plan on doing it. Even the first sequence you played will appear again in the future (with some more details).

 

[RyuuProductions]

Hullo again, gave it another shot

Spoiler

Ah now we see the coveted parallax mapping in great effect
Running around with the ladder is more fun than just having it in your inventory! *thumbs up*
That room with the endless reflections gave me the shivers, good job! (probably because my subconscious got reminded of The Witch's House)
I like how you can see the ground floor of the library from the top floor, nice detail. Although I get stuck a lot on dark furniture on dark background in dark rooms
Took me about 30 minutes to figure out where the red book belonged >_< Probably a combination of my color blindness and all those ladders cluttering the place.
Dat chase scene! Pretty creepy, I especially like the simple yet effective music.
Now I'm stuck. No idea where to progress in the room with the valves. I've turned on the water and tried turning valve 2. I even tried not turning it, since the other two valves aren't usable, but I can't figure it out. Please, give me a hint...
For now, I can merely watch myself get crushed in an elevator accident.

Error/Annoyance compilation:

Spoiler

Typo in the letter that turns to blood "Logic has not meaning here" -> "Logic has no meaning here"
There's a little flash everytime I enter the room to the left of the "lobby" with the first mirror savepoint. I suppose lighting changes after you enter the room, not during.
"Aren't you glad you opened your flashlight?" - "turned on your flashlight" makes more sense
Room to the left of "ENTRANCE ONLY" - I can walk inside the movable shelf.
In some spots where I can move the ladder, if I climb it, I can walk inside the shelves.
"it's natural habitat and it's book friends" - "its" is what you want, since it's possessive.
In the room below the ladder room, I can walk inside one of the desks to the left.
When I look at the fake mirror in the room with the endless reflections, I can walk around off camera until I press space again to reset the camera.
Pressing X always opens the menu, even when I just want to cancel a choice box.
"you-know-which-shelf in the ground floor" - It's "on" the ground floor, not "in".
BGS in the room with the 3 valves cuts off sometimes. I guess it's a few milliseconds of silence at either the end or the beginning of the sound clip.
Flashlight power is displayed during cutscenes. If you activate/deactivate it, it resets your player sprite. (at least during the elevator crash)

I don't know if I'm just being dumb, but these riddles take me ages. I've played 2 hours during this session and didn't really get far :/ The riddles are not at all bad and you can scratch my remark about too little gameplay, but for the most part, I'm running around aimlessly. Have you had some people play the demo while you were watching (without giving tips)? That should give you a good insight if your logic is too abstruse or not.

 

[KanaX]

You must not have solved the Endless Mirrors Room puzzle! You can always check the walkthrough/cheatsheet I uploaded!

I have no idea how you managed to get all those ladders to appear... Ah well, another thing to fix!

The puzzles seem to give most people some trouble. Imagine that I didn't even have a hint system when I first started. I guess I'll spread more hints around to make things more specific.

Thank you for the corrections on my grammar, too!

 

[RyuuProductions]

Oh damn, I forgot about the walkthrough T_T

Basically, I moved the ladder somewhere, then activated its previous position and another one appeared. See you after my next session ^^

 

[RyuuProductions]

Can't do it, even with the walkthrough...

Moved the moose head, the cheese, the wine shelves with the napkin, the cigar box w/ note and stood on the right spot to imitate the statue. That's all, right?

Spoiler

 

[KanaX]

That IS all but your cheese is in the wrong array

 

[RobbieLA]

My god this looks good. I'll definitely give this a play and get back to you with some feedback within the week.

 

[KanaX]

Thank you, Robbie of the Los Angeles! I'd suggest you download the demo in a day, or two when I'll have made some adjustments to it!
It IS playable now, but you might encounter some problems.

 

[KanaX]

Update Log:   17/4/2015 14:29 (GMT + 2)
 

• The Demo has been updated:    1. Grammar/Spelling errors have been fixed.
                                                     2. The error where Jack can enter his bed from the bottom or opposite side and in doing this the bottom of the bed appears over his head has been fixed.
                                                     3. The issue where Jack could walk vertically, when on a ladder on the library, has been fixed.
                                                     4. Save points have been spread throughout the intro.
                                                     5. The issue where on the last room of the demo, when the B button is pressed for the Menu, the game crashes, has been fixed.
                                                     6. The hints have been updated.
                                                     7. Some more clues have been spread around the main game.
                                                     8. The issue where a permanent fade out is on the screen after leaving the second floor of the apartment complex has been fixed (for the zillionth time).
                                                     9. The "chase" is now bug-free
                                                   10. Disabled the script where pressing the "A" button would skip text.
                                                   11. Some small changes in the Title Menu.
• Unfortunately, I forgot to turn off the console. Please bare with it for a little while.
• The "Kitchens" area is done. A new "Area" screenshot is available.
• There will be a custom load and save system.
• The area "Gutter" is under construction.

I'd like to thank literarygoth, CrazyCrab, JAD94, McTone, Hudell and Ryuuproductions for going through the demo and finding some pesky bugs for me! They also write nice reviews.
Special thanks to lemongreen who was my lamp-to-slaughter in the field of testing. She has been through all of the game so far and she has seen many atrocities.

 

[KanaX]

Update Log:   22/4/2015 01:40 (GMT + 2)

• The Demo has been updated: 1. The Cigar Box in the Endless Mirrors Room has been changed so it can be picked up only once, when placed down.
                                                  2. The Cigar Box in the same room has been changed so it doesn't reduce a progress counter, when placed in a wrong position, making the puzzle impossible.

 

[Kyuukon]

Game crashed in the alley, after I saw the dark cult and mirror broke T.T

Some issues or things I didn't like much till now:

- Too dark :/

- I can walk through walls by pressing Shift+Ctrl (probably the reason why it crashed xD)

- The questions at the beginning. It would be nice if you added a choice 'Repeat' after you've seen the animation. I couldn't remember what I saw T.T

- Passability error: http://i.imgur.com/CqueTtN.jpg

Overall the game atmosphere is pretty good. I could very easily relate to the main character, which is a good thing. Maybe some more dialog options would be nice too

I will give it another try later. I just got a bit frustrated by the alley maze (and then it crashed!). Glad I discover how to make myself 'Through ON' xD

 

[KanaX]

The crash is supposed to happen! Open the game again...

 

[Kyuukon]

Oooooooooooooooooh, I get it now. The mirror... xD!

I'll keep playing I'm seeing veeeery nice and polished cut-scenes It feels like a movie!

 

[KanaX]

Eagerly waiting for a fuller impression

 

[Kyuukon]

Okay, let's get this done with...

First I'd like to clarify that I played watched the extended version of the DEMO (meaning about two to three more hours of gameplay) so this did certainly affect my overall impressions of the game to date. So my 'review' is based on that and not just the public DEMO (don't worry, I will try to keep it spoiler free).

What I liked :

- The game features a lot of creative mechanics that help transmitting the overall atmosphere of the game. The most memorable ones were the pre-rendered three dimensional room lucid dream, custom sprites and CGs for cut-scenes, room bloody effects and big sprites animation monsters (some of them are used for bosses too!). I'm sure I'm forgetting some other but the game doesn't stop surprising you. You can see a lot of dedication has been put from the developer in these and I really appreciate it.

- Immersion: This goes in hand with the above mentioned point. It's very easy to become immersed in the world and quickly feel related to the protagonist and characters (for me, at least). Different to games like Ib, The Witch House, Mad Father in which I felt totally disconnected from them. Don't get me wrong. These games are all amazing in their own way but I feel like What Silver Shows surpassed them in some areas like atmosphere, story/character development and even music. I can't say the same for gameplay though...

- Story/characters: Expanding on what I just said I'm tired of seeing the same cute anime girl wandering around a haunted house. It doesn't feel real and is kinda cliche. WSS made me feel for the characters, wanting to know more about them because they feel alive. Even the 'enemies' feel the same. The story becomes more interesting and clearer as you advance through the game too. It makes sense!

- Music: Truly pleasing to hear ^^ Most memorable were the chasing track, puzzle track and the vocals.

- And I just remembered. That intro was amazing, holy ****! You gotta teach me how to do that LOL!

Neutral :

- Mapping is very good in some areas but bland in others (parallax). There are some consistency issues in graphic styles and room design but nothing too disturbing. It could use some improvement.

- Some areas are too dark and it becomes kinda frustrating to navigate through them. To make it worse the flashlight has limited power and the number display of it is a bit ugly and immersion breaking. Luckily, the developer has informed me that this last feature will be removed in the full version. Thank God.

What I disliked :

- Puzzles: I know this is probably just me but they felt like a chore to me. Like having to do the dishes before being able to enjoy a very appetizing plate. The idea behind them were nice, it's just they lacked direction and, for someone who hasn't played the game before,  they are very hard (in a frustrating way). I guess the game needs some kind of gameplay but I dunno... I was not happy with them.

- When a characters 'joins your party' they become invisible for some maps. This kinda clashes with the custom sprites and all the details the games has. It felt awkward.

Overall, I had a nice experience and I want more. I want to see this finished but as a movie not a game (because it really felt like that in a good way). I refuse to go through those difficult puzzles. I just want to sit, relax and watch the story unfold.

I think that's all. I'll edit if anything. If you feel the same as me, I recommend you PM Kanax-chan for the extended play-through. It's even better than the public DEMO!

Keep up the good work