P.S. this style looks like it could be used in a zombie apocalypse survival game. if you make another game like "Their Eyes" could i suggest a few things?
The time frame is deliberately fuzzy. Don't want to spoiler too much, but expect medieval furnitures alongside modern machinery. As far as we know, could even be set in the present day. :) Every idea is welcome!
Hi Kat. I am truly flattered by your kind words. :) Actually, I am making something else. I have been working on my second game for almost two years now. (I know, one should never undertake such a vast and ambitious project as a second game, and yet here I am.) It's somehow related to the story of Lockwood and the Blind One and so on. I hope to kinda finish it within the current year, and I'd like to start showing something as soon as possible (uhm, I wonder if this website has a section for posting work in progress too); but I keep putting this thing off because I’m so busy developing the game itself that I don’t have much time left to promote it. :D So far, the only thing I shared is a ridiculously short teaser:
This game is amazing... and it is scared me at first! I like the story and characters and their dialogues! With minimalistic approach you showed so many details and hints! Final run to the well was so intense! Cows nearly got me!
The ghost frightened me when he was invisible. But when I saw him, he became even more frightening.
I think I've seen nearly everything but I have some questions.
What is the fourth ending? I think there are two endings when you go down the well and one when you go up by stairs.
Is there a way to stop the ritual by disturbing the summoner and not escape by stairs up or go down the well??
In the main menu I saw "YOU ARE M". Does it mean Murder? Or Me? Or maybe Marvellous? :D
Thank you for your kind words, Dreamkilled! So glad you liked my little game. :) Yes, the ghost was redrawn to be more frightening at some point: if you watch the trailer, you'll notice that the original one was completely different. As you say, I had fun putting quite a bunch of details in such a short experience (and I'm trying to do the same in the second project I'm currently working on, yet on a different scale... But that's another story).
To answer your questions: [SPOILERS AHEAD] ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Yes, there is a way to stop the ritual. Even if it's not explained, but only suggested, in that occasion you have the chance to perform a special melee attack; you should wait for the right moment, though. After that, you will still have to choose whether to go up or down the stairs, but you will have access to the fourth ending.
The four endings are in fact: - going down the well; - going down the well with the four alien coins; - wake up (stairs up from the ritual chamber); - going down the well after defeating your evil self.
As regard to the sentence in the main menu... Well, it's deliberately ambiguous and left to your interpretation! :D
I waited a lot before writing this, i played a lot also, cause i wanted to test it more,i wanted to be sure..
This game sure have a very cool atmosphere and probably a nice story too, wich i'd love to know!
but the gameplay ? geez this game suck!
this game is not hard to give a challenge, is hard and unfair just for the sake of it! where do i even begin?
You always run like you're on ice, and with the multitude of obstacles and different terrains: you can be sure that running means corner your self or be stuck on something!
Combat is not an option either, the reload mechanic is just convoluted, and the hit-boxes(although i'm not sure is on purpose) are NOT on the monsters, but (usually) in front of them, even when they are still. Broken a door is also strange, that's why i'm not sure is on purpose.
the thing in the pond? the "spiritual brother" ? or just the fucking tree(the fairness there is just...wow, why not also a rock falling on my head there?)! Am i hitting them or not? Am i doing damage? who knows?
that would not be so bad if sneaking was something you are allow to do. Too bad monsters are on your way all the time and can spot or smell you wherever you are (i really thought at the beginning that in tall grass i was hidden..the game over correct me so)..so no sneaking either
And dont let me start talk about the cat! Cat lover here, so when a huge pig killed my cat i was mad! But i get even MORE mad when the cat returned as an UNKILLABLE monster that follow me wherever i am on that map, attacking me and basically attracting the other monsters! wow.. really Fair!
The menù is looking cool..but it has little to no use. hovering the mouse on items and get some little info would be better,why is that? here:
First time i get the lock pick i read how it work and i was ok. 2 days have passes before i played again and i forgot HOW to use it, i get the lock pick again but i accidentally press space and dont read the instructions... i tried using it for 5 minutes....nothing! So now my only options is either waste my ammo on doors, or reset the whole game... (i found the axe after wasting all my ammo so i get to keep plaiyng, but was a lucky strike)
the doll? i found immediately what it was for...but i dont get why sometimes it work and sometimes it dont.
i can go on and on about this problems, but i also want to say again that i think the idea is cool, and i really would like the explore the game more...but the mechanics just DONT allow me to do so, even when plaiyng "casual mode".
Hi Arthur! Thank you for the time you took for testing my game and writing such a thorough comment to it. I truly appreciate your remarks, with most of whom I quite agree.
You don't like the inertial movement of the player? Neither do I. At first I thought it was a nice idea, and it would add realism to the difficulty of running in environments dense with obstacles. Now I find it just slightly annoying, and in fact I didn't implemented it in the second videogame I'm currently working on. If I didn't remove it from Their Eyes it's only because that feature was present from the very first moment, and I'm almost positive you are the first one complaining about it. But, who knows?, I might reconsider this point.
Combat is not an option, you say. Actually, although it's not possible to beat the game without shooting a bullet, you can theoretically avoid most of the enemies. Pigs and cows attack only if provoked, as you know; bugs and darkmen can only see before themselves, and only if they have a clear line of sight; hounds can smell you within a certain range, regardless of obstacles, but will not stray too far from the starting point. Not to speak of worms, which are basically harmless if you deal with them with a little cold blood. Most of those enemies can be killed with a single hit, if caught unaware, and they never respawn - with few exceptions. Furthermore, bugs can be removed permanently from the game.
As a general idea, sounds are of great help in understanding whether you are dealing damage to someone or not. Bouncing (i.e. ineffective) hits produce a sharp sound, while damage-dealing hits produce a very different, deeper sound. The graphic effect is pretty different too.
On the other hand, I didn't implement sneaking mechanics on purpose (sorry for the ambiguity represented by the tall grass! I didn't think about it, but you're perfectly right). I like them a lot, as a player, but I felt it was definitely beyond my reach to implement an interesting sneaking mechanic in my very first game. Furthermore, I wanted to prevent the protagonist from becoming too comfortable in a place that was meant to be uncanny and inherently unsettling.
I'm surprised about the issue you encountered with hurtboxes. They are supposed to be aligned with creatures, and even to change shape accordingly, wherever the vertical and horizontal sprites differ substantially (for instance, the pig's). They actually do, as far as I know. They appear to behave correctly also in the playthroughs of my game I've watched on YouTube. Nevertheless, as a newbie developer mostly familiar with MacOs, I can't exclude weird bugs I'm not aware of, maybe on some versions of Windows? Would be helpful if you could post a short footage of the problem. Conversely, I have to admit I don't really understand what you are saying about breaking a door. You mean the door's hurtbox feels off too, or something different? Please explain, I'm really interested.
What you say about the menu is so true! Would be very helpful to somehow recall the functionality of each object. Since, as you remark, once you miss the tutorial popup for any reason you have no clue whatsoever on how to use items! Thanks, I'll work on that - and I'll implement something similar in my new game too (future players will be grateful to this post! :D).
The doll is not working always? That's weird, again. I assume you are conscious that the doll is a disposable item, correct? With that said, I'm not aware of any bugs concerning it. I'll look into it.
In conclusion, I'm not trying to persuade you that my game is good and you are wrong! :D I'm sorry if you had too high expectations because of some positive comments: Their Eyes is just the first experiment of an amateur, most real programmers would have done better in almost all respects. Some people did like the game, some other didn't, but I reject the accusation of making the game unfair just for the sake of it. I did my best, trying to make something tough but entertaining. I really hope I'll do better in the future, and this also thanks to detailed reviews like yours. :)
I didn't want to sound too harsh, again i found the concept very cool and i'm intrigued, but its just to stressfull keep restart the game, im not very fond of rougue like games in general, i found the concept of "keep resetting!" quite annoyng.
By the way i have not read the comments in this section, i just saw some picture and a short video a friend of my suggested and i was already "count me in!"
ill' try to keep it short since i already made what i suppose is a boring text wall in my first post :)
Doors: i need to be DEAD center in order to hit them, few pixels off and im hitting the walls. and if the door is sideways, is even worst.
Dolls: yes i know that, but it happen with the FIRST doll you find on the ground on "casual" mode. I pick it up like usual, run on the second map, ignoring the left sides (the witch house ) cause i know there is another doll there and i con only pick one. Try to run past the tree, get stuck betwenn the bridge and water(thats why i found the slippery walk infiuriating) get killed and get a game over screen. Than i thought i needed to touch the totems or the monk statue in order to activate some sort of chek-point but i havent tested...
Combat: i dont know what to tell you, dogs chase me forever, darkman can hit me from their backs..and exploding worms...yes they are actually not a problem once you discover the trick.
Hit boxes: i keep my statment. I'am keep playng and shoting in FRONT of them anbd keep hitting them. i dotn know if is machine related. im using a pc with windows 10 pro, if its any help
Sounds: you right, but with multiple monsters chasing me is hard to distinguish the correct sound between "monsters roar", dashing, hitting, me get hit, and my own voice sayng "wtf! wtf!"
tall grass: was not an accusation, since one of the prompt says : you dont have to fight them" i though i could just hide somewhere, and the tall grass seems nice since i can barely see myself, i figured the monster would not see me either. but that was JUST my hopinion, i used to mark the fact that is quite difficult to avoid combat.
I said i will have keep it short...but as you can see im not good at it -_-
you could just do a virtual machine if you have a good pc. Or if you have alot of storage on your pc you could partition your drive for a duel boot to have linux and windows. If you ever want to get rid of linux you can delete it and repartition your drives to be all part of windows. If you ever want to do that just look it up on youtube, there are a ton of tutorials and they are mainly pretty good. But be safe If your messing with your computer like that.
To be honest, I have a Mac; which I already partitioned to install Windows. I'm a little afraid of messing up my computer too much! :D I'll look into it, btw. Thank you for the advice!
Both an interesting and well crafted game, framed in a super moody atmosphere. From another fellow first time dev: Really impressive as first projects go!
The amount of work that went into this is pretty impressive, but honestly I found it way too hard and gave up after my third game over. I get that the dolls function as a life system, but forcing the player to replay the entire thing from the beginning if they run out seems really, really punishing, especially considering the amount of times the game throws unforseeable things at you. My deaths were:
-Dying to the tree after running out of ammo. I hadn't met the witch yet and didn't know totems could be used defensively.
-Dying to a pig in the village while fighting one of the four legged panther like enemies. I guess firing a gun near them angers them?
-Losing two lives to whatever that invisible thing is in the graveyard, then finally dying to the resurrected kitten after killing it accidentally. Is it invincible after resurrection? I put 5 rifle shots and an axe swing into it and it didn't die.
Gameplay wise, I noticed that especially in the forest bullets fired from the rifle have a weird tendency to not connect. I'm guessing the hitbox on them might be a bit big and they could be getting caught on trees. I think having some sort of hud indication as to if the rifle is loaded or not might be a good idea - I'm not sure if it takes a moment to finish the reload or not, but I had a few moments where I pulled out the rifle and it wasn't loaded even though I could have sworn I reloaded it. I also think maybe having some indication of the invisible enemy in the graveyard would be nice (quickly fading footsteps where it moves, soft laughter as an audio cue etc.) and - if it is supposed to be some sort of ghost - making it possible for the player to run through it; I got caught on it and suffered multiple hits trying to run past.
Thank you for the detailed feedback, I really appreciate it!
First of all, one quick question: have you played the latest version (1.1.5), which features a (kinda) "casual mode"? If not, you should probably give it a try. However, I'm aware that the game is hard - and partly not by choice but due to the roughness of the code that I've put together. I'm definitely trying to learn from the (many) mistakes of this first attempt, and I'm currently working on a new game that will (hopefully!) be more enjoyable also for those who are not hardcore gamers. (I am anything but a hardcore gamer, after all! :D)
Yes, the tree is tough; and the forest is probably the most confusing level. The problem you encountered when shooting with the rifle is (likely) because walls, and most of solid instances, use two separate invisibile collision objects: one to block the steps and the other one (slightly offset on the y axis) to block bullets and attacks. I'm pretty sure that trees has just one that serves both purposes. I will check as soon as possibile, and try to correct the issue.
Also yes, pigs and cows get angry (collectively) if you shoot close to one of them. You get a hint about that from the warden in the first hut.
The invisibile thing in the graveyard could be theoretically avoided, with a lot of luck, but is meant to be dealt with only once you got a certain object I'm not going to spoil (you get some hints about that from a couple npcs): that's why I preferred to not give any indication to the player about its position. In theory you can run through it, the problem is once you get hit you have only one second of invulnerability; so, by the time the knockback effect is over, you are vulnerable again. I'm going to double the invulnerability period in the next release (it was already planned), also to prevent frustrating chained deaths.
I will also add an indicator (at least in the casual mode) to make it clear wether the rifle is loaded or not.
I'm sorry for the lack of details about how to shoot and reload. In the version you were playing you just got a popup as you first collect the rifle. If you happen to try the latest version, though, you will find several improvements and bugfixes. For instance, you will get a reminder in case you try to shoot while the rifle is unloaded - saving you quite a lot of of failed attempts! :D Also, you'll see that when a certain object make you resurrect, you will start over in a better location - getting the chance to survive longer. I also implemented a "casual mode" (not so casual, to be honest) that grant you a little more health and some tweaks, in order to make your life a little easier. :)
I hope you will enjoy it, as I enjoyed your video! In any case, I'm currently working on my second project. So, yes, I will definitely give you the opportunity to play more. :)
PS: unlike other games, talking with npcs doesn't "unlock" anything; it's just a way of collecting lore as well as very useful informations that will help you to survive and defeat your enemies. Therefore, there's no point in skipping the dialogues. If you already know what a npc has to say, you should probably save your time and avoid the conversation.
I've been enjoying this quite a bit so far! Everytime I run through I get a little further and discover something new. Tip:on the opening screen, don't press anything to start the game. Just wait ;)
I've had to replay around 4 times now, it's a little tough for me and I've not used a gun mechanic like this, but on my last run I've been finding ways to avoid using up my bullets. The lore has been wonderfully intriguing and I've been making a lot of theories that I won't say here (*no spoiler review) but I highly recommend trying this out. Even though I keep restarting, it shockingly hasn't been too repetitive since through them I've figured out how to obtain items I need from more powerful enemies, as well as new locations and secrets. Absolutely try this one out!
I've enjoyed your playthroughs quite a lot, so far! I definitely hope to see more. Your theories are pretty interesting, but I won't comment on that: as you delve deeper into this game, I'm sure you will collect quite a few other pieces of the jigsaw.
A couple of remarks. You toggled off the tutorials almost immediately: I understand that the very first popups about how to walk and stuff can be bothering; by doing so, though, you've also deactivated the explanation on how to use a new item you've found down in the village: the lockpick! My suggestion is to leave the tutorials enabled, they are not so frequent and in some cases can make the difference. Also, I'm aware that dive straight into the action is sometimes more entertaining than talking to npcs: most of them are there for a reason, though, and if you pay attention they will provide you with precious hints on the lore and, most important, on how to deal with enemies and things in general. Also, dialogues change over time, depending on your deeds; so it's always useful to have a chat with someone who isn't apparently going to kill you. :)
At some point, talking about the aiming - shooting - reloading mechanic, you state that you're not used to such a layout of controls. Since I'm not very experienced in playing action(ish) games with mouse and keyboard, I did some thinking (and some researches) about this topic; but I'm far from satisfied. And now I'm developing my second game, so the question becomes crucial in order to build a better experience: which layout do you think would have been the best one? Which the most handy, or at least the most common one, for such a game?
A final tip: the version you played was 1.1.4, but from 1.1.5 on the game features also a "casual mode" - which is not that casual as the name might suggest, instead a slightly tweaked version meant to prevent frustration. :D Basically you get a little more health at the beginning, ammo packs contains four bullets instead of three, and so on. Check it out, if you are interested. In any case, newer versions come with bugfixes too.
In conclusion, thanks a lot for playing my game and making great videos! :)
Thank you for this exciting title, as well as your EXTREMELY helpful tips. I managed my way to one of the endings but I definitely want to take a little break and try again for another!
Thank you for telling me about the tutorial bits, I can't believe I turned it off so soon, I could've sworn in one of the replays I had gotten that far and just assumed the tutorial tips were no longer needed.
As for the aiming, I guess "traditionally" the only difference would be reloading would be a keypress and I guess the cursor would always be visible, so a mouse click would then just fire. Though to be honest, as I played more I began to like it. It is a little different to what I'm used to, but then again I haven't played many shooter games so what do I know haha, but now it honestly felt like my mouse was my gun. With all the mechanics built into the one device it really did immerse me a little more. I think from time to time it was a little tricky, like when I'm unsure if there's a bullet loaded or occasionally when I'm panicking and fumbling over my keys, but that kinda helped me feel more in line with this mysterious world I'm trying to survive in. In this world I would always be panicked and checking if my gun is loaded, or always be screwing up the reload/fire mechanisms when I'm being pursued. Also this occasional difficulty with my main weapon (added to the lack of bullets) meant having to find other ways to fight, such as leading enemies to the totems.
I can't wait to go into this again. The ending I walked into left me with a lot of questions, and doing the northern isle house doors out of order meant I couldn't read the journal entries. I'm very curious what the other 3 endings are, and just how I can survive the night otherwise.
So if you reply, I don't mind any more tips you may have, but no spoilers please. Thank you again for such in incredible experience!
That was another great video! It's really rewarding to have such players, taking their task as seriously as you do. :)
I found very nice, and very interesting, what you say about the gun/mouse device. Although there is an alternate key (Ctrl) for reloading (even because, as a Mac user, I'm very aware that not every mouse has the third button! :D) I think you got the point. As I first designed the gun, my idea was to provide the player from the very beginning with a quite powerful weapon, able to put down in one shot most of the opponents (as long as they're still unaware of your presence); but also a clumsy one, noisy and slow to reload, in order to boost the empathy with the protagonist of this unsettling adventure. I'm thinking to add, just in the casual mode, some kind of icon always on screen to check at first glance wether the rifle is loaded or not, without pulling out the weapon and looking for the small rectangle that appears on it. Not everybody like my design choice, but at least I'm not the only one who like it! :D
About the old lady's potion, it "simply" doubles your stamina. This is not a spoiler, since you're supposed to feel the effect inside your body; but the only immediate feedback is the stamina bar that suddenly empties before filling up again (the total length of the bar stays the same, unlike what happens in Dark Souls - for instance), and the old lady's words ("this potion will make you stronger") are a bit vague. I will make them more explicit in the next release, because a lot of players have been wondering about the effects of the potion without ever figuring them out.
Eventually, I can only recommend - once again - to talk with people in order to understand how to deal with the giant and where to find some oil for the lantern.
No more tips. I guess at this point you're experienced enough to make it to the next ending! :D
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haven't played it, watched Manlybadasshero play it on YouTube.
Well, that is a wonderful playthrough! :D
P.S. this style looks like it could be used in a zombie apocalypse survival game. if you make another game like "Their Eyes" could i suggest a few things?
Actually, I am already making a game like "Their Eyes". :D
Go ahead, though. Suggestions are always welcome!
actually, i'll wait, i was going to suggest modern stuff, this game seems to take place in medieval times. i'll wait until you get that game finished.
The time frame is deliberately fuzzy. Don't want to spoiler too much, but expect medieval furnitures alongside modern machinery.
As far as we know, could even be set in the present day. :)
Every idea is welcome!
Still routinely think about this game. It's so very interesting, and if you make anything else down the line I'll be eager to play it too.
Hi Kat. I am truly flattered by your kind words. :)
Actually, I am making something else. I have been working on my second game for almost two years now.
(I know, one should never undertake such a vast and ambitious project as a second game, and yet here I am.)
It's somehow related to the story of Lockwood and the Blind One and so on.
I hope to kinda finish it within the current year, and I'd like to start showing something as soon as possible (uhm, I wonder if this website has a section for posting work in progress too); but I keep putting this thing off because I’m so busy developing the game itself that I don’t have much time left to promote it. :D
So far, the only thing I shared is a ridiculously short teaser:
Oh, goodness, I'll be looking forward to this, best of luck on such a large undertaking!!
Thank you!!! :)
This game is amazing... and it is scared me at first! I like the story and characters and their dialogues! With minimalistic approach you showed so many details and hints! Final run to the well was so intense! Cows nearly got me!
The ghost frightened me when he was invisible. But when I saw him, he became even more frightening.
I think I've seen nearly everything but I have some questions.
What is the fourth ending? I think there are two endings when you go down the well and one when you go up by stairs.
Is there a way to stop the ritual by disturbing the summoner and not escape by stairs up or go down the well??
In the main menu I saw "YOU ARE M". Does it mean Murder? Or Me? Or maybe Marvellous? :D
Thank you for your kind words, Dreamkilled! So glad you liked my little game. :)
Yes, the ghost was redrawn to be more frightening at some point: if you watch the trailer, you'll notice that the original one was completely different.
As you say, I had fun putting quite a bunch of details in such a short experience (and I'm trying to do the same in the second project I'm currently working on, yet on a different scale... But that's another story).
To answer your questions:
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Yes, there is a way to stop the ritual. Even if it's not explained, but only suggested, in that occasion you have the chance to perform a special melee attack; you should wait for the right moment, though.
After that, you will still have to choose whether to go up or down the stairs, but you will have access to the fourth ending.
The four endings are in fact:
- going down the well;
- going down the well with the four alien coins;
- wake up (stairs up from the ritual chamber);
- going down the well after defeating your evil self.
As regard to the sentence in the main menu... Well, it's deliberately ambiguous and left to your interpretation! :D
I waited a lot before writing this, i played a lot also, cause i wanted to test it more,i wanted to be sure..
This game sure have a very cool atmosphere and probably a nice story too, wich i'd love to know!
but the gameplay ? geez this game suck!
this game is not hard to give a challenge, is hard and unfair just for the sake of it! where do i even begin?
You always run like you're on ice, and with the multitude of obstacles and different terrains: you can be sure that running means corner your self or be stuck on something!
Combat is not an option either, the reload mechanic is just convoluted, and the hit-boxes(although i'm not sure is on purpose) are NOT on the monsters, but (usually) in front of them, even when they are still. Broken a door is also strange, that's why i'm not sure is on purpose.
the thing in the pond? the "spiritual brother" ? or just the fucking tree(the fairness there is just...wow, why not also a rock falling on my head there?)! Am i hitting them or not? Am i doing damage? who knows?
that would not be so bad if sneaking was something you are allow to do. Too bad monsters are on your way all the time and can spot or smell you wherever you are (i really thought at the beginning that in tall grass i was hidden..the game over correct me so)..so no sneaking either
And dont let me start talk about the cat! Cat lover here, so when a huge pig killed my cat i was mad! But i get even MORE mad when the cat returned as an UNKILLABLE monster that follow me wherever i am on that map, attacking me and basically attracting the other monsters! wow.. really Fair!
The menù is looking cool..but it has little to no use. hovering the mouse on items and get some little info would be better,why is that? here:
First time i get the lock pick i read how it work and i was ok. 2 days have passes before i played again and i forgot HOW to use it, i get the lock pick again but i accidentally press space and dont read the instructions... i tried using it for 5 minutes....nothing! So now my only options is either waste my ammo on doors, or reset the whole game... (i found the axe after wasting all my ammo so i get to keep plaiyng, but was a lucky strike)
the doll? i found immediately what it was for...but i dont get why sometimes it work and sometimes it dont.
i can go on and on about this problems, but i also want to say again that i think the idea is cool, and i really would like the explore the game more...but the mechanics just DONT allow me to do so, even when plaiyng "casual mode".
Hi Arthur!
Thank you for the time you took for testing my game and writing such a thorough comment to it. I truly appreciate your remarks, with most of whom I quite agree.
You don't like the inertial movement of the player? Neither do I.
At first I thought it was a nice idea, and it would add realism to the difficulty of running in environments dense with obstacles.
Now I find it just slightly annoying, and in fact I didn't implemented it in the second videogame I'm currently working on.
If I didn't remove it from Their Eyes it's only because that feature was present from the very first moment, and I'm almost positive you are the first one complaining about it. But, who knows?, I might reconsider this point.
Combat is not an option, you say.
Actually, although it's not possible to beat the game without shooting a bullet, you can theoretically avoid most of the enemies.
Pigs and cows attack only if provoked, as you know; bugs and darkmen can only see before themselves, and only if they have a clear line of sight; hounds can smell you within a certain range, regardless of obstacles, but will not stray too far from the starting point. Not to speak of worms, which are basically harmless if you deal with them with a little cold blood.
Most of those enemies can be killed with a single hit, if caught unaware, and they never respawn - with few exceptions. Furthermore, bugs can be removed permanently from the game.
As a general idea, sounds are of great help in understanding whether you are dealing damage to someone or not.
Bouncing (i.e. ineffective) hits produce a sharp sound, while damage-dealing hits produce a very different, deeper sound.
The graphic effect is pretty different too.
On the other hand, I didn't implement sneaking mechanics on purpose (sorry for the ambiguity represented by the tall grass! I didn't think about it, but you're perfectly right).
I like them a lot, as a player, but I felt it was definitely beyond my reach to implement an interesting sneaking mechanic in my very first game.
Furthermore, I wanted to prevent the protagonist from becoming too comfortable in a place that was meant to be uncanny and inherently unsettling.
I'm surprised about the issue you encountered with hurtboxes.
They are supposed to be aligned with creatures, and even to change shape accordingly, wherever the vertical and horizontal sprites differ substantially (for instance, the pig's). They actually do, as far as I know. They appear to behave correctly also in the playthroughs of my game I've watched on YouTube.
Nevertheless, as a newbie developer mostly familiar with MacOs, I can't exclude weird bugs I'm not aware of, maybe on some versions of Windows? Would be helpful if you could post a short footage of the problem.
Conversely, I have to admit I don't really understand what you are saying about breaking a door. You mean the door's hurtbox feels off too, or something different? Please explain, I'm really interested.
What you say about the menu is so true!
Would be very helpful to somehow recall the functionality of each object. Since, as you remark, once you miss the tutorial popup for any reason you have no clue whatsoever on how to use items!
Thanks, I'll work on that - and I'll implement something similar in my new game too (future players will be grateful to this post! :D).
The doll is not working always? That's weird, again.
I assume you are conscious that the doll is a disposable item, correct?
With that said, I'm not aware of any bugs concerning it. I'll look into it.
In conclusion, I'm not trying to persuade you that my game is good and you are wrong! :D
I'm sorry if you had too high expectations because of some positive comments: Their Eyes is just the first experiment of an amateur, most real programmers would have done better in almost all respects.
Some people did like the game, some other didn't, but I reject the accusation of making the game unfair just for the sake of it.
I did my best, trying to make something tough but entertaining.
I really hope I'll do better in the future, and this also thanks to detailed reviews like yours. :)
I didn't want to sound too harsh, again i found the concept very cool and i'm intrigued, but its just to stressfull keep restart the game, im not very fond of rougue like games in general, i found the concept of "keep resetting!" quite annoyng.
By the way i have not read the comments in this section, i just saw some picture and a short video a friend of my suggested and i was already "count me in!"
ill' try to keep it short since i already made what i suppose is a boring text wall in my first post :)
Doors: i need to be DEAD center in order to hit them, few pixels off and im hitting the walls. and if the door is sideways, is even worst.
Dolls: yes i know that, but it happen with the FIRST doll you find on the ground on "casual" mode. I pick it up like usual, run on the second map, ignoring the left sides (the witch house ) cause i know there is another doll there and i con only pick one. Try to run past the tree, get stuck betwenn the bridge and water(thats why i found the slippery walk infiuriating) get killed and get a game over screen. Than i thought i needed to touch the totems or the monk statue in order to activate some sort of chek-point but i havent tested...
Combat: i dont know what to tell you, dogs chase me forever, darkman can hit me from their backs..and exploding worms...yes they are actually not a problem once you discover the trick.
Hit boxes: i keep my statment. I'am keep playng and shoting in FRONT of them anbd keep hitting them. i dotn know if is machine related. im using a pc with windows 10 pro, if its any help
Sounds: you right, but with multiple monsters chasing me is hard to distinguish the correct sound between "monsters roar", dashing, hitting, me get hit, and my own voice sayng "wtf! wtf!"
tall grass: was not an accusation, since one of the prompt says : you dont have to fight them" i though i could just hide somewhere, and the tall grass seems nice since i can barely see myself, i figured the monster would not see me either. but that was JUST my hopinion, i used to mark the fact that is quite difficult to avoid combat.
I said i will have keep it short...but as you can see im not good at it -_-
Why is this tagged adult tho lol
Good game indeed, even though I'm never that much of a fan with horror games, this one feels different than the others
Ha ha
Well, dunno actually. I probably decided to use the adult tag assuming it could have been a bit scary for a very young audience. :D
Wow, if you're not a fan of horror games in general your appreciation is even more valuable. Thank you! :)
are you gonna try and get a version on linux as well. would be lovely.
Well, in theory I could. But I have no Linux machine to connect to, which is an essential requirement in order to compile for that system. :/
you could just do a virtual machine if you have a good pc. Or if you have alot of storage on your pc you could partition your drive for a duel boot to have linux and windows. If you ever want to get rid of linux you can delete it and repartition your drives to be all part of windows. If you ever want to do that just look it up on youtube, there are a ton of tutorials and they are mainly pretty good. But be safe If your messing with your computer like that.
To be honest, I have a Mac; which I already partitioned to install Windows. I'm a little afraid of messing up my computer too much! :D
I'll look into it, btw. Thank you for the advice!
always study up before you make the choice.
Both an interesting and well crafted game, framed in a super moody atmosphere. From another fellow first time dev: Really impressive as first projects go!
Thanks man, really appreciate your words. :)
Please tell me there's going to be a sequel, i can't get enough of this game
Oh, wow... You made my day, Jubile!
Well, actually I'm working on my second game, a much more ambitious project, which is somehow... related. :)
Seriously I can't tell you just how much I love this game, down to every detail. I will love to see more of you :)
...And this was my Christmas present, I guess. :D
I'm doing my best not to disappoint your expectations, btw.
The amount of work that went into this is pretty impressive, but honestly I found it way too hard and gave up after my third game over. I get that the dolls function as a life system, but forcing the player to replay the entire thing from the beginning if they run out seems really, really punishing, especially considering the amount of times the game throws unforseeable things at you. My deaths were:
-Dying to the tree after running out of ammo. I hadn't met the witch yet and didn't know totems could be used defensively.
-Dying to a pig in the village while fighting one of the four legged panther like enemies. I guess firing a gun near them angers them?
-Losing two lives to whatever that invisible thing is in the graveyard, then finally dying to the resurrected kitten after killing it accidentally. Is it invincible after resurrection? I put 5 rifle shots and an axe swing into it and it didn't die.
Gameplay wise, I noticed that especially in the forest bullets fired from the rifle have a weird tendency to not connect. I'm guessing the hitbox on them might be a bit big and they could be getting caught on trees. I think having some sort of hud indication as to if the rifle is loaded or not might be a good idea - I'm not sure if it takes a moment to finish the reload or not, but I had a few moments where I pulled out the rifle and it wasn't loaded even though I could have sworn I reloaded it. I also think maybe having some indication of the invisible enemy in the graveyard would be nice (quickly fading footsteps where it moves, soft laughter as an audio cue etc.) and - if it is supposed to be some sort of ghost - making it possible for the player to run through it; I got caught on it and suffered multiple hits trying to run past.
Thank you for the detailed feedback, I really appreciate it!
First of all, one quick question: have you played the latest version (1.1.5), which features a (kinda) "casual mode"?
If not, you should probably give it a try.
However, I'm aware that the game is hard - and partly not by choice but due to the roughness of the code that I've put together.
I'm definitely trying to learn from the (many) mistakes of this first attempt, and I'm currently working on a new game that will (hopefully!) be more enjoyable also for those who are not hardcore gamers.
(I am anything but a hardcore gamer, after all! :D)
Yes, the tree is tough; and the forest is probably the most confusing level.
The problem you encountered when shooting with the rifle is (likely) because walls, and most of solid instances, use two separate invisibile collision objects: one to block the steps and the other one (slightly offset on the y axis) to block bullets and attacks. I'm pretty sure that trees has just one that serves both purposes.
I will check as soon as possibile, and try to correct the issue.
Also yes, pigs and cows get angry (collectively) if you shoot close to one of them.
You get a hint about that from the warden in the first hut.
The invisibile thing in the graveyard could be theoretically avoided, with a lot of luck, but is meant to be dealt with only once you got a certain object I'm not going to spoil (you get some hints about that from a couple npcs): that's why I preferred to not give any indication to the player about its position.
In theory you can run through it, the problem is once you get hit you have only one second of invulnerability; so, by the time the knockback effect is over, you are vulnerable again.
I'm going to double the invulnerability period in the next release (it was already planned), also to prevent frustrating chained deaths.
I will also add an indicator (at least in the casual mode) to make it clear wether the rifle is loaded or not.
Thanks again! :)
Such a great game! Can't wait to play more!
Thank you for playing, man!
I'm sorry for the lack of details about how to shoot and reload.
In the version you were playing you just got a popup as you first collect the rifle. If you happen to try the latest version, though, you will find several improvements and bugfixes.
For instance, you will get a reminder in case you try to shoot while the rifle is unloaded - saving you quite a lot of of failed attempts! :D
Also, you'll see that when a certain object make you resurrect, you will start over in a better location - getting the chance to survive longer.
I also implemented a "casual mode" (not so casual, to be honest) that grant you a little more health and some tweaks, in order to make your life a little easier. :)
I hope you will enjoy it, as I enjoyed your video!
In any case, I'm currently working on my second project. So, yes, I will definitely give you the opportunity to play more. :)
PS: unlike other games, talking with npcs doesn't "unlock" anything; it's just a way of collecting lore as well as very useful informations that will help you to survive and defeat your enemies. Therefore, there's no point in skipping the dialogues. If you already know what a npc has to say, you should probably save your time and avoid the conversation.
I've been enjoying this quite a bit so far! Everytime I run through I get a little further and discover something new. Tip:on the opening screen, don't press anything to start the game. Just wait ;)
I've had to replay around 4 times now, it's a little tough for me and I've not used a gun mechanic like this, but on my last run I've been finding ways to avoid using up my bullets. The lore has been wonderfully intriguing and I've been making a lot of theories that I won't say here (*no spoiler review) but I highly recommend trying this out. Even though I keep restarting, it shockingly hasn't been too repetitive since through them I've figured out how to obtain items I need from more powerful enemies, as well as new locations and secrets. Absolutely try this one out!
I've enjoyed your playthroughs quite a lot, so far!
I definitely hope to see more.
Your theories are pretty interesting, but I won't comment on that: as you delve deeper into this game, I'm sure you will collect quite a few other pieces of the jigsaw.
A couple of remarks.
You toggled off the tutorials almost immediately: I understand that the very first popups about how to walk and stuff can be bothering; by doing so, though, you've also deactivated the explanation on how to use a new item you've found down in the village: the lockpick!
My suggestion is to leave the tutorials enabled, they are not so frequent and in some cases can make the difference.
Also, I'm aware that dive straight into the action is sometimes more entertaining than talking to npcs: most of them are there for a reason, though, and if you pay attention they will provide you with precious hints on the lore and, most important, on how to deal with enemies and things in general. Also, dialogues change over time, depending on your deeds; so it's always useful to have a chat with someone who isn't apparently going to kill you. :)
At some point, talking about the aiming - shooting - reloading mechanic, you state that you're not used to such a layout of controls.
Since I'm not very experienced in playing action(ish) games with mouse and keyboard, I did some thinking (and some researches) about this topic; but I'm far from satisfied.
And now I'm developing my second game, so the question becomes crucial in order to build a better experience: which layout do you think would have been the best one?
Which the most handy, or at least the most common one, for such a game?
A final tip: the version you played was 1.1.4, but from 1.1.5 on the game features also a "casual mode" - which is not that casual as the name might suggest, instead a slightly tweaked version meant to prevent frustration. :D
Basically you get a little more health at the beginning, ammo packs contains four bullets instead of three, and so on.
Check it out, if you are interested.
In any case, newer versions come with bugfixes too.
In conclusion, thanks a lot for playing my game and making great videos! :)
Thank you for this exciting title, as well as your EXTREMELY helpful tips. I managed my way to one of the endings but I definitely want to take a little break and try again for another!
Thank you for telling me about the tutorial bits, I can't believe I turned it off so soon, I could've sworn in one of the replays I had gotten that far and just assumed the tutorial tips were no longer needed.As for the aiming, I guess "traditionally" the only difference would be reloading would be a keypress and I guess the cursor would always be visible, so a mouse click would then just fire. Though to be honest, as I played more I began to like it. It is a little different to what I'm used to, but then again I haven't played many shooter games so what do I know haha, but now it honestly felt like my mouse was my gun. With all the mechanics built into the one device it really did immerse me a little more. I think from time to time it was a little tricky, like when I'm unsure if there's a bullet loaded or occasionally when I'm panicking and fumbling over my keys, but that kinda helped me feel more in line with this mysterious world I'm trying to survive in. In this world I would always be panicked and checking if my gun is loaded, or always be screwing up the reload/fire mechanisms when I'm being pursued. Also this occasional difficulty with my main weapon (added to the lack of bullets) meant having to find other ways to fight, such as leading enemies to the totems.
I can't wait to go into this again. The ending I walked into left me with a lot of questions, and doing the northern isle house doors out of order meant I couldn't read the journal entries. I'm very curious what the other 3 endings are, and just how I can survive the night otherwise.
So if you reply, I don't mind any more tips you may have, but no spoilers please. Thank you again for such in incredible experience!
That was another great video!
It's really rewarding to have such players, taking their task as seriously as you do. :)
I found very nice, and very interesting, what you say about the gun/mouse device.
Although there is an alternate key (Ctrl) for reloading (even because, as a Mac user, I'm very aware that not every mouse has the third button! :D) I think you got the point.
As I first designed the gun, my idea was to provide the player from the very beginning with a quite powerful weapon, able to put down in one shot most of the opponents (as long as they're still unaware of your presence); but also a clumsy one, noisy and slow to reload, in order to boost the empathy with the protagonist of this unsettling adventure.
I'm thinking to add, just in the casual mode, some kind of icon always on screen to check at first glance wether the rifle is loaded or not, without pulling out the weapon and looking for the small rectangle that appears on it.
Not everybody like my design choice, but at least I'm not the only one who like it! :D
About the old lady's potion, it "simply" doubles your stamina.
This is not a spoiler, since you're supposed to feel the effect inside your body; but the only immediate feedback is the stamina bar that suddenly empties before filling up again (the total length of the bar stays the same, unlike what happens in Dark Souls - for instance), and the old lady's words ("this potion will make you stronger") are a bit vague.
I will make them more explicit in the next release, because a lot of players have been wondering about the effects of the potion without ever figuring them out.
Eventually, I can only recommend - once again - to talk with people in order to understand how to deal with the giant and where to find some oil for the lantern.
No more tips.
I guess at this point you're experienced enough to make it to the next ending! :D