The Parting - TUTORIAL
A downloadable game for Windows
No one has ever left the castle, so far. But to save your most beloved friend, you must attempt the impossible.
The horrors within the decaying walls are only a prelude to what awaits outside - down in the vale, where even the faintest hope is bound to mysterious powers of which only a few dare to whisper.
After Their Eyes, on which it builds, The Parting is my second video game - chiseled in retro-style pixel art and steeped in an unsettling Lovecraftian atmosphere. It emphasizes exploration, lore, action, and survival.
Expect hours of gameplay, an interconnected world, and multiple endings, but brace yourself for dying several times: it can be quite unforgiving. However, you will have powerful allies and mysterious artifacts on your side (and, finally, a savegame feature! :D ).
_PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE VERSION OF THE GAME_
After over three years of development, I decided to release the tutorial to gather feedback and fine-tune the full game before the (upcoming!) release. As such, only the "Tutorial" and possibly the "Load" buttons are functional in the game menu.
As an inexperienced developer, any constructive criticism will be greatly appreciated. I would also encourage you to report any bugs or typos, as well as share suggestions on how I can improve the overall experience.
Thank you for your time! :)
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The fonts used in the game are the beautiful m5x7 and m3x6 by Daniel Linssen.
=CONTROLS ==============================================
The Parting can be played with either a gamepad or mouse & keyboard.
Press OPTIONS / START on the pad, or P on the keyboard, to pause the game and view your main quest status, along with a control recap.
Download
Install instructions
The game should start fullscreen; press F1 to switch between fullscreen and windowed mode.
Development log
- The Parting (Tutorial) - version 0.9.5 is out!24 days ago
- The Parting (Tutorial) - version 0.9.4 is out!26 days ago
- The Parting (tutorial) - Version 0.9.3 release27 days ago
- The Parting (Tutorial) - version 0.9.2 is out!29 days ago
Comments
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The sound in the necropolis is amazing!
I like the graphics. It's nice to see a familiar style. The palette is nice.
I like that there are lots of ways to get through the tutorial. The first time I was stealthy. The second time I lured enemies into traps and tried to shoot and blow everything up.
The camera is shaking too much.
I have stopped, but the camera is still moving in small steps, shaking the view. This is particularly annoying when reading in the shop.
The phone glitch?
I returned to the witch to show the doll. Then she rang again to tell about the bull.
On my second run I managed to kill her, but I still got calls from her, but can not save from empty teacups.
The inventory.
The dynamite did not dissappear from the inventory when I used the last one.
I forgot how to see information about the item and how to see the controls :D
Maybe the text in the item's description should appear a little bit faster.
I wish the puddle from water bomb stays a little bit longer. I tried to lure enemies and hit them with Lightning bomb, but can't find the bomb fast enough.
I was running from a bull and was stopped by the character dialogue "Here I am again. I need to reach the funerary chapel..." and "Press P to pause..." and then by "You can save up to four items in the quick menu...".
Hey Dreamkilled, thanks a ton for your detailed feedback! I'm really glad you enjoyed the tutorial and appreciated the freedom it gives. Funny enough, the tutorial is actually a very linear and guided experience - while the full game will have a much more open structure.
About the camera shaking - if I understand correctly, you're referring to how the scrolling feels a bit choppy when moving? That’s because the game runs at a "real" low resolution, so the camera moves pixel by pixel. More skilled programmers make it scroll in sub-pixel increments for smoother movement, but I only realized this late into development, and implementing it now would probably break things. 😅 That said, I’ll try tweaking the scroll speed to reduce stuttering when the camera slows down!
The phone glitch is an interesting one - I thought I had made sure the phone wouldn't ring if the old lady was dead, but apparently I missed something. I’ll check it out! As for the empty teacups, that’s actually a consequence of her death… but since it’s never explained, I’m not sure if keeping it that way is a good idea.
Inventory items don’t disappear when depleted - I assumed players would find more of them later, so keeping them in the quick menu felt more convenient. Otherwise having, say, tnt disappear from the quick menu every time you run out might get annoying.
The text speed is currently standard, but I can consider speeding it up a little. Also, if you pause the game ("P"), you’ll get a recap of the controls! 😁
Lightning bombs don’t interact with puddles... but now that you mention it, that could actually be a cool idea! I’ll give it some thought.
And yeah, you’re absolutely right - the dialogue windows shouldn’t interfere with movement in emergency situations or combat. That’s something I was aware of, but apparently overlooked in some places. I’ll fix that!
Again, thanks for taking the time to write all this! I hope to release an improved version soon with some of these adjustments. 😊
I think the phone glitch appears when I travel back and forth between locations. Maybe the tutorial is linear but I was carried away by how many small things I was able to do.
In the crypt, I saw lights in the grate on the floor. I liked that I was able to put them out with a water bomb.
I destroyed all the crops in the witch's beds with pesticides and I broke all the lamp posts. >:D
I even tried to set the boat on fire.
I broke a pile of skulls in the cemetery.
I detonated a dynamite with a fire bomb.
I cut down trees and hunted mice and squirrels.
I lured an immortal revenant behind an indestructible door :D
I found a way to finally kill him. It was OMG moment fo me.
Also, after I completed the tutorial, the Nether Cross or the dynamite no longer drop from the chests, and I am unable to enter the portal.
The game feels big because of so many interactions.
I'm looking forward to the adventure in the open world! :D
Well, Dreamkilled, thank you so much for all these details - they’re super helpful!
Yeah, I suspected the phone glitch might be related to traveling between maps. :/ If I remember correctly, the game only checks the old lady’s status once, which would explain the issue. I’ll look into it in the next few hours!
About the grate in the crypt... uh, the lights down there weren’t supposed to go out with a water bomb! 😆 The grate’s lighting is actually tied to the chandeliers in the lower room - if they’re lit, the grate should be too. So, congrats, you found an unintended interaction! 😂 Thanks for pointing it out!
I love how much you experimented with the game’s world! Now you see why I’ve spent over three years on this? :) And yet, as the tutorial already shows, there are still plenty of details that can slip past a solo developer and need fixing before the full release. (Btw, your list of experiments had me laughing so hard. Especially trying to set the boat on fire and trapping the revenant behind an indestructible door, which I didn't even realize was possible. This is what they call emergent gameplay - ha ha ha)
The only thing that really puzzles me is the chests being empty after the tutorial. Do you mean you opened them as usual and found nothing inside? That would be a pretty serious bug! I’m planning to release version 0.9.3 today or tomorrow, so if you remember any extra details - like, did you reload your save? Travel back and forth between maps? Do something unusual before opening the chests? - let me know! It could help me track this down.
[Edit: never mind, I figured out the issue with the chest... That was a really dumb oversight on my part!]
Thanks again, and have fun!
Sorry I didn't saw your message yesterday!
I checked the 93 version. Most of the glitches are gone!
The phone does not ring when the witch is dead. I can't extinguish the chandeliers through the grate in the funeral chapel. Chests now drop the Nether Cross and dynamite.
Dialogue interference.
I still manage to be blocked by the dialogue when running from the bull.
Glitchy ignition?
I waterbombed the brazier. When it was in the puddle i tried to ignite it with the lighter. The brazier began to catch fire and extinguish quickly many times in a row.
Bookshelf wrong advice.
When I stand near the bookshelf in the witch's house the game tells me to press SHIFT instead of SPACE to search the bookshelf.
Stamina Charm.
I consumed both charms. I saved and reloaded the game. Stamina charm reappeared. After several upgrades it becomes unobtainable with the message "Your inventory has a limited capacity..."
Infinite things.
Money bag and the doll are also respawn after I reload the game.
Also chest with oil, lamp, Skull Key and chest with bombs in other location are full again after I reload the game.
Security Chest steals my ammo!
If my gun is loaded and I put it into the chest it loses the loaded ammo.
The gun.
At perfect 45 degrees the character constantly flips.
Pressure plate.
The pressure plate in the oil can be avoided by walking under it.
Spider web.
Is spiders are alive their webs were doubled after I reload the game and return to their location.
Phew. That's all for glitches.
I ignite the dynamite with a Lightning bomb.
I have found the wrong-code-passage.
I bring the Nether Cross to the witch. Now I know from who the Cross was stolen. I'm glad that she has a dialogue about it.
I have finally managed to kill crows. They were the last one who was not killed yet.
I destroyed a pile of shit with a dynamite. I feel the tutorial is finally complete! :D
Thanks again for this new batch of reports, Dreamkilled! I'm already working on fixing everything, and I plan to release an updated version (0.9.4) in the next few hours.
A couple of things you mentioned aren’t actually glitches:
As for the spider web issue, I'm not entirely sure what's happening there. When you reload, the spiders should return to their starting positions and begin weaving from scratch, while the webs they previously spun should disappear - except for the pre-existing ones in the environment. Are you seeing something different?
Anyway, I really can't thank you enough for your help. Your feedback is pushing the game’s debugging forward by leaps and bounds! Speaking of which... Would you be interested in playtesting the actual game once I’ve cleaned it up a bit? I love your creative approach, and I think you could provide invaluable insight! :)
If you're interested, where can I reach you to send over the executable? Itch doesn’t seem to have private messaging.
Thanks again, and talk soon!
PS: Also, I absolutely loved the image of the bull storming into the chapel. :D
Really looking forward to the full release of this one here. Was a big fan of your last game, and this looks to build upon that in every way.
That means a lot - thank you! The game is basically complete, but I’m taking a bit more time (hopefully just a few weeks) to polish and debug it. Given its size, there are bound to be some issues popping up, and I want to make sure everything is as solid as possible.
Stay tuned! :)