Alpha 0.2 discussion! [SPOILERS]

[JPrice]

As the new Alpha's been released on Steam and everything, just thought I'd make a thread here for discussion!
So fire away guys

--Edit--
Just finished playing the first time and all I can say is wow, that was really something. It's amazing to see how far it's come from the last build O: I'll go through each level one by one

Nightmare Begins
Really good starting level!
- Loved the little flashes of story and the small bit of dialogue (Wasn't expecting the end to that level!)
- Also love all the cryptic stuff like that book and family portrait
- Some nice little scares as well (That crow got me man hahaha)
- Wonderful attention to detail in the art and environments, like all the inside with the kitchen and outdoors was beautifully drawn!
- Also the music is great as well

The Coming Storm
Same Kickstarter level but still good stuff
- Fixed pretty much most of the bugs I could see
- More interactions = Awesome!
Yeah pretty much the same so not much to comment on hahaa

Lost Child
Now this level was where the major creep factor is at!
- Right of the bat, give Skyler some props because the music on this level is so creepy. Just made my skin crawl hahaha
- Art is even better here, everything just being destroyed/dilapidated looked great (All those dolls man *shudders*)
- Finally an enemy! He's pretty intimidating I must say
- The cupboards as a hiding mechanic was pretty good all though perhaps there could be more a variety of cupboards rather than the same one copy pasted over and over
- I managed to actually die once as I wasn't expecting to have to react and run so quick (Which was great!) and man that death was pretty grim
- Loved the feeling of isolation and repetition, felt like every entry into a door or corridor was just like "I'm just done with this place, I wanna leave :c" hahaha
- One bad note was also the end, just kinda appeared outta nowhere just as I was going down a hallway! Also the ending text was halfway off-screen but nothing really that ruined the experience

Something else that I appreciate is the minimal amount of jump scares, just thaaaaaank you. The amount of atmosphere was brilliant and is way better than just relying on jump scares so thanks again guys

So all in all I can say that man you guys did not dissapoint, all throughout playing that I just had a huge grin of satisfaction on my face hahaha (As well as some scares and feelings of dread mind you )
Great job on the build guys! I'll play through it again just to bug test and be more careful but first impression is top notch!

[matt]

I'm so glad to hear you liked it! There will be an ending cutscene for the "Lost Child" level. We were actually going to end the level earlier, but we ended up finishing more stuff than we had planned, so we put in everything we had finished. We are working on the ending cutscene as well as an intro cutscene in "The Coming Storm".

That bug with the final screen happened to me once, but I wasn't able to reproduce it. I'll put it in the bug database.

[JPrice]

No problem Matt
If you and your team keep this level of quality up all the way throughout then you're definitely onto a winner here!

[matt]

I am planning on making the subsequent level even better. Since the theme is descent, it is going to get really crazy in the later levels.

[Northwings]

I just finished playing 0.2, wow!

Those jump scares are placed really well. The shadow in the closet certainly got my attention, and immediately set the atmosphere. As for the crow, omg

I loved the Nightmare Begins part, excellent! I can't wait to learn more about the character and his family. This is really exciting

As for the Lost Child part, the art is absolutely beautiful. I do have to say the level is a little confusing, it's hard to keep track of where I am. Maybe knowing where you are isn't important though, just need to get through the house. And all of those dolls, wow, lotssss of dolls!

The encounter was very interesting, and that baby is mega creepy! The first encounter with the baby is very close to the cupboard, is that intended? It's kind of odd that he loses sight of us when he's that close though. It's a great idea to have him smell around and shake the cupboard

I'll play through it more times and let you know if I notice anything else.

Btw, I also had the bug with the final screen being shifted to the left.

Over all, this is awesome and I absolutely cannot wait for more! Great job!

[Northwings]

Btw, I wanted to make a let's play of me playing the first time, but I couldn't find my mic

[matt]

I'm glad to hear you like it!

The mansion in Lost Child is supposed to be labyrinthine, so if you don't know where you are in the mansion, that is good. My idea is that you feel "lost" in the level but still have a good idea of the direction of where to go. It was a challenge to make it relatively linear but not FEEL linear. I think if you didn't know where you were, that's a plus. I want to leave the player feeling lost and confused with no notion of what to expect but not stuck or frustrated. It is quite challenging, but hopefully we pulled it off.

The baby monster not grabbing you when you are going in the cabinet is intentional. I wanted to make the game very forgiving from a difficulty perspective, so once you start going in the cabinet, you are safe. Given that babies are often fooled by "peek-a-boo", I think it is "in character" so to speak that he is confused by you going into the cabinet even when it is right there. If a lot of people think the baby monster doesn't seem threatening, I can maybe up his aggressiveness.

Thanks for playing!

[Aludra]

Just finished playing! I'll do a bit of a run down of my first impressions as well.

Nightmare Begins
This definitely sets the tone nicely for the game. Th art style is gorgeous, as ever. I particularly love the trees at the end of the level, with their claw-like hands. The interactive objects with their little splashes of colour are nicely spaced. And ugh, that meat grinder... I hate meat grinders. The crow was great as well, and well timed! It was nice to get a few little hints in the way of plot, I'm starting to connect the dots with the demo level.

The Coming Storm
The same lovely demo level! The bugs have been fixed here for me too, and I like the new animations for the candle and ax while running. Combined with the new opening level, it's even more effective for setting the game's tone.

Lost Child
The layout of this level definitely confused me, but that's a good thing and what you were going for! I never got frustrated, and not knowing where I was helped the level feel even more tense. The atmosphere of this level was great. All of those dolls! One in particular that creeped me out was just tucked up in the top left corner of one of the rooms, just stuck up there with cobwebs. It's those kinds of little subtle touches that are making this a great game.

And then the baby monster showed up! That thing is hideous in the best way possible! The way it sniffs the air with its little nose... And it's definitely terrifying how much faster than you the monster can run. And the way your head pops off when it catches you. I agree with what was said previously about it seeming a little odd that the baby forgets you the second you're in the cabinet, even if you were right in front of him. I like that you're making the monsters a little more forgiving though, and I like the idea that the baby is fooled by "peek-a-boo." Maybe an animation could be added when this situation happens, with the baby pausing and looking confused for a moment. Overall, I loved the baby monster and the mechanic of hiding in cabinets and timing your escape!

In more general terms, it's very exciting to see the game beginning to take shape! The pacing so far is great. The first two levels are tense, but relatively relaxed with the odd jump scare to keep you on your toes (and they're not used excessively which makes them more effective). The third level ramps things up nicely. I'm sure that by the time you're done you'll have a masterpiece on your hands, no matter what shape it ends up taking. I love what you've done so far, and I'm very excited to see what comes next!

[Aludra]

Can't believe I forgot to mention the shadow in the closet of the Lost Child level. That stopped me cold! Coming into a room to find an open closet with a vague but menacing shadow standing inside of it has to be one of my worst fears. (I still check my bedroom closet before going to sleep sometimes when I'm feeling paranoid...) The art style of the game lends itself particularly well to shadows. Just thought I should let you know that that bit really creeped me out!

[RightClickSaveAs]

Wow that was a lot more content than I was expecting from an alpha update! Everything seems really polished too.

Echoing what everyone else said already, the levels flow great now. Nightmare Begins eases you in and gives you some background, and The Coming Storm is now a nice bridge that teaches you about interactions and using objects in the world and how darkness can be bad (important lesson!)

I got some awesome Silent Hill vibes from Lost Child, with the theme of creeping decay and the awesome, unsettling music. This level also started to give me a sense of how big and weird the house was. I never really felt lost exactly, but I did have a sense that there was a lot more to the place and got turned around slightly. There is a natural progression to the level, as you ultimately seem to end up going from left to right and downwards, so I think you could throw some more twists and turn people around even more if you wanted to. Also I liked the theme in this level of, the more dolls there are around, the worse things are getting :p

The 90 degree room rotations are so subtle but make a big difference, I love it. Holding the button down when walking through a door is a nice touch.

The scratch dialog sounds great! I'd suggest using that yell he gives when being crushed by the baby monster when falling through the floor as well.

It's harder to predict now when you'll run out of stamina, and I got caught a couple of times by a baby monster because I abused it too early, so I think the run mechanic is working out great.

As for the hiding mechanic, I think it's introduced very well and you know what you need to do when the time comes. Are there plans to be able to hide in/behind/under more objects? That would be my suggestion there, is vary it up as much as possible. Behind curtains would be an idea if that fits at all.

As for the baby monsters, seeing their eyes I assumed they were blind or at least very limited in vision as well as not too intelligent, so it made sense to me that they wouldn't be able to find you if you hide. The sniffing helped sell that too, is that the idea I was supposed to get from them? If there's some way to make that absolutely clear, like having them bump into or stumble over something, I think that would clue the player in even more, if it's feasible and worth the effort.

Another suggestion I'd have is, for the monster that breaks through the wall, maybe give the player a fraction of a second longer to get to the door, as I found it really tight. Just half a second would make a big difference. What does everyone else think, am I just slow? I got caught the first time because I'd been using the run too much before, which is a great lesson to teach the player, but I had problems a couple more times even when I knew it was coming, sometimes it's hard to get lined up with the door and hit it in time. That really nailed the feeling of being chased though, very nightmarish!