[RMXP] Shadows (COMPLETE)

Started by Zylos, September 21, 2008, 02:38:40 pm

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Zylos

September 21, 2008, 02:38:40 pm Last Edit: September 22, 2008, 09:13:25 am by Blizzard


"Darkness...
An empty void of nothingness...
You see nothing.
You hear nothing.
You feel nothing.
You don't know who you are...
You don't know where you are...
You only know that you are...
And that is where your story begins."



_______________________________________________________________________





You wake up in a dark room with a throbbing pain in your head and no memory of your past. You have no idea who you are, where you are, how you got there, or even what year it is. The only clue in your possession is an ornate matchbox with the initials "A.C." written on it. You strike a match and the room becomes bright, with the shadows and dim light gleefully dancing together on the walls.

You have but one objective on your mind now: to find an escape from this place.





Spoiler: ShowHide


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Download Link
Alternate Link




Credits: ShowHide

Game Created By

Zylos (duh)

Resources

Backwater Productions (Sprites)
Dertt (Sprites)
Dubealex (AMS Script)
Enterbrain (RPG Maker)
Etorie (Sprites)
Ninesages.org (Misc. Graphics)
PartnersInRhyme.com (SFX)
Redwyn (Sprites)
Resident Evil (SFX)
SoundSnap.com (SFX)
Zanyzora (Tileset)

Music

TheAmateurAnimator - "Down the Darkest Road", "Midnight Mystery"
Beethoven (lol) - "Für Elise"
BlizzardTears - "Lost in The Tunnels"
Darknez101 - "Ghosts of the Past"
HaloOfTheSun - "Manison ~ 2nd Floor"
MaestroSegments - "A Nasty Fear"
Monster13 - "Creepy Doll House"
SirFiNiX - "The Haunted Music Box"

Special Thanks To

Arrow, Redwyn, and NAMKCOR (Testers)
Goku-San (Special artwork)


Though every effort is taken to make sure that proper credit is given for all resources, it is sometimes impossible to accurately identify the creator of certain resources. For this reason, I ask that if you know someone that I have neglected to properly credit, please send me a message and I shall amend the situation quickly.



_______________________________________________________________________



This is a short, finished puzzle game with about 30 to 45 minutes of gameplay, depending on your simple puzzle solving capablities. There are no battles or party members to pick-up. There's just a simple "interact with your enviorment" gameplay. Additionally, there are two endings: a good one and a bad one. In order to get the good ending, you will need information found only in secret areas. I've left a map somewhere in the game that will show you where the secret passages are that will lead to the three secret areas in the game. Two of these secret areas will contain the information you need. Good luck, and if you ever get stuck, feel free to PM me and I'll drop you a hint. ^__^

Enjoy!




Starrodkirby86

Interesting, this reminds me of Crystals except it's definitely complete. Because it is complete, I might as well move it, I'm sure it's longer than 30 minutes. After all, you did say this:

QuoteThis is a short, finished puzzle game with about 30 to 45 minutes of gameplay, depending on your simple puzzle solving capablities.


I'll look forward to this and maybe make a review after I finish.

What's osu!? It's a rhythm game. Thought I should have a signature with a working rank. ;P It's now clickable!
Still Aqua's biggest fan (Or am I?).




DeathLock

Don't overheat your brain, Starrod. :V:

Well, as I said before short but fun.

PS: Welcome to CP. ^_^


Aqua

Oooh a puzzle game.
*downloads*

Hehe looks good from what I got from the screenshots

Zylos

Quote from: Starrodkirby86 on September 21, 2008, 02:41:21 pm
Interesting, this reminds me of Crystals except it's definitely complete.


Lol, oh yes. The two games are similar, but Shadows was created for a "Game in a Month" contest back in July, so my game came first. I like to think that Namkcor was inspired by this game.


Quote from: DeathLock on September 21, 2008, 02:45:56 pm
Welcome to CP. ^_^


Thank you, DeathLock. Always good to see a familiar face on a new site.


Quote from: Aqua on September 21, 2008, 02:48:21 pm
Hehe looks good from what I got from the screenshots


Thankies.




cstb

Welecome Zylos!Im downloading this game now as we speak 8)
Chronos: Failed project due to loss of data.
Maybe I could try again...


Which Final Fantasy Character Are You?
Final Fantasy 7

Aqua

September 21, 2008, 03:39:37 pm #6 Last Edit: September 21, 2008, 04:06:10 pm by Aqua
Wow!  That was very fun... and SUPER CREEPY!!!

The painting scared the life out of me...
and so did the hallway with the 4 rooms...

The ending was confusing...
I was like... what happened? o.o
I got the bad ending...Time to search for good

But... very very good game :)

Edit:
Found the good ending :)

Diokatsu

Nice game, I love the creepy atmosphere xD

Pokol DaErran

AWESOME.
It's good that someone so cool showed up on CP.  Your awesomeness may be able to cancel me out. XD
In any case, I'm looking foward to seeing what else you can do! :)
"...Sometimes, the impossible can become possible- if you're awesome!"
--Bolt

Zylos

Quote from: Aqua on September 21, 2008, 03:39:37 pm
Wow!  That was very fun... and SUPER CREEPY!!!

The painting scared the life out of me...
and so did the hallway with the 4 rooms...

The ending was confusing...
I was like... what happened? o.o
I got the bad ending...Time to search for good

But... very very good game :)

Edit:
Found the good ending :)


Glad you enjoyed the game! 


Quote from: Diokatsu on September 21, 2008, 04:26:27 pm
Nice game, I love the creepy atmosphere xD
Quote from: Pokol DaErran on September 21, 2008, 04:40:22 pm
AWESOME.
It's good that someone so cool showed up on CP.  Your awesomeness may be able to cancel me out. XD
In any case, I'm looking foward to seeing what else you can do! :)


Thank you! 




Starrodkirby86

September 21, 2008, 06:06:53 pm #10 Last Edit: September 21, 2008, 06:13:26 pm by Starrodkirby86
Spoiler: ShowHide
Shadows
By: Zylos
Review by Starrodkirby86


   Unfortunately for me, I was never a fan of puzzle games in the RPG format. I mean, I love the puzzle genre itself, mostly the logical words games or dropdown ones such as Puyo Pop and Tetris; it's just that some of the puzzles within the general top-down, birds' eye view format, it's simply that my dreaded brain tends to be slower and more frustrated when it comes to these. Alas, I played Shadows, probably because of my duty as a Global Moderator and the fact I won't get jealous from certain friends playing the game before me (I won't say your name, Aqua). Shadows is, like many of great completed games in the RMXP section, a short game about trying to find escape from this strange location...while uncovering the past within carefully plotted out journals in this...building.

   The selling point of this game is definitely the puzzles, yet somehow it's the story that also engrosses the player, you. To my dismay, I wasn't on the edge of my seat at the very beginning, but as more plot was revealed (In a masterfully way), and some interesting connections the player can possibly make (How many games have 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in the library? Well?) melt in with the game. You, the player, plays the role of...Well I can't exactly mention who you're playing as, it'll ruin the occasion, but the goal is to escape the mansion. As traversing through rooms, solving slowly complexing puzzles, you'll uncover the truth behind the mansion and the inhabitants. By the time you reach the end, hopefully you are an observant character. The game ends in two ways, the bad ending which through my personal interpretation was extremely interesting. The good ending is just as awesome and is somewhat befitting for the end. All of the events have already been done, it's all in the past, just uncovering someone or something's history is so intriguing. It might be a personal fetish for me, who knows.

   It's just a bit strange why a mansion has so much puzzles. Of course, the game is definitely puzzle-oriented, and I can't bicker at how illogical some mansion points is because at a higher standpoint the mansion is a perfect building (No inconsistencies within each map's pathway, I can actually devise a perfect map of the mansion if I were wanting to). Because of the extreme use of puzzles, there are no battles or real action requiring skill, giving logic the dominancy for this whole game. Fortunately, the puzzles in this game aren't extremely frustrating, considering adequate intellectuals may find a minor challenge by the end. This will give the conclusion that the game is easy, but it isn't in actuality. No, the puzzles aren't actually the challenge, but it's the secret rooms. As mentioned in the Project thread, there are three hidden rooms, two of them enclosing required information to obtain the good ending. These secret passages aren't the easiest items to find unless you uncover the map, which is also hidden (Man, we're all so lucky). Find all three rooms, and you'll see more of the story unravel itself, in different perspectives...

   The gameplay for Shadows is definitely the puzzles. To create the most intricate puzzles require the mastery of Eventing, and Zylos fortunately made it through that boundary line of Advanced and Intermediate. One hint to signify the author's skill level is the number of uncorrected bugs within each puzzle (Or uncorrectable bugs to be exact). All the puzzles within this game have no flaws whatsoever, at least, to my minor dissection of the game. The puzzles fit the theme of the mansion and are not out-of-whack, from doing simple math to using what resources you have at the moment, the game pleasantly uses your logical side of the brain. If I were to nitpick at some of the puzzles, it can be that the directions for the puzzles are too vague. Of course, this gives you ample reason of why you should explore the mansion and find hints, but when a room gives no exploratory hints and simply the puzzle, it can get confusing. It's a simple nitpick or rant actually, which is in the Dragon Puzzle Room. The only directions are to move the Dragon Knights to encircle the Dragon Statue, but encircle is an ambiguous word. It took me a lot of trial-and-error to realize what the correct positioning is. I don't regret wasting all that time though. :)

   The whole game uses custom graphics, with some minor exceptions (i.e. RTP rips). Kirk (Redwyn) has done an excellent job on the graphics, if he is the fellow that created the hero's poses and whatnot. The poses are excellent, especially the piano play. The mansion has definite looks of ruin, and each room is laided with interesting objects. For me however, my only throwback within this category is the bland execution of the Credits. Okay, the flashlight overlay and the painting of Zylos is definitely nice, but so much could have been done with the other people within the credits. The credits are evenly distrubuted, and somehow because of that it was a bore looking at frames with text inside of them. Why not have some image of the person like the author? That's not very much of an issue though, and is more of a personal neehaw.
   
   The music enhances the game and the creepy atmosphere of it. I'm surprised at where Zylos found these interesting melodies, the scary ambiance of the mansion, and what other items I forgot to mention. Straying away from the bandwagon, this game does not contain any bit of RPG-like music, nor any real BGM of that matter. You just listen to the quiet and creepy winds and tinglings from the game, which slowly delves you into the Trawnley estate...

   In the end, the longest part of the game may be trying to find the secret passages (Without any hints), or the last two puzzles of the game. But in order to achieve going there, and lasting that long even TRYING to solve those puzzles before smashing that game into the Recycle Bin, the player becomes engrossed trying to see what happened to the mysterious S.T. and Dr. Carver. Shadows is the perfect game to leisurely play, as it's length and minor frustration is definitely a great time passer. A good sense of satisfaction is achieved if you reach the good ending too, try it, try it out now!


POINTS GRADE:

STORYLINE: 9.0/10
Pros:
~A nice enhancer to the gameplay
~Uncovering the past has never been so much fun
~Many connections can be made
Cons:
~Takes a while to fully get entangled with the story
~After 100 years, you expect S.T. to find three secret passages in the game...

GAMEPLAY: 10.0/10
Pros:
~Puzzles fit within the theme
~No flaws
~Not very frustrating
Cons:
~One puzzle seems to be vague

GRAPHICS: 9.0/10
Pros:
~Excellent use of Poses
~Good use of the objects
~Who doesn't hate a painting of Zylos?
~Great Diary
Cons:
~The player itself looks somehow strange
~Some minor nitpickery

AUDIO/SOUND: 8.5/10
Pros:
~Enhances spooky atmosphere
~Creepy melodies...
Cons:
~No climactic songs
~Oh bother, Fur Elise!?

Personal Score: 10.0/10

AVERAGED:
9.3/10

Ending with a quote: "Sitting from behind, he reached around front and slowly rubbed up his companion's thighs..."


Sorry this review has taken so long to create; I'm not in a literary mood.

What's osu!? It's a rhythm game. Thought I should have a signature with a working rank. ;P It's now clickable!
Still Aqua's biggest fan (Or am I?).




tSwitch

Quote from: Zylos on September 21, 2008, 02:55:42 pm
Quote from: Starrodkirby86 on September 21, 2008, 02:41:21 pm
Interesting, this reminds me of Crystals except it's definitely complete.


Lol, oh yes. The two games are similar, but Shadows was created for a "Game in a Month" contest back in July, so my game came first. I like to think that Namkcor was inspired by this game.


more inspired by portal than shadows.


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Blizzard

*fixes Zylos' first post* Images in spoilers please. ;)
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Quote from: winkioI do not speak to bricks, either as individuals or in wall form.

Quote from: Barney StinsonWhen I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.

nathmatt

lol just played this game was fun cant find the happy ending tho lol
Join Dead Frontier
Sorry, I will no longer be scripting for RMXP. I may or may not give support for my scripts. I don't have the will to script in RGSS anymore.
My script


Zylos

In order to get the good ending, you have to get certain information that you can only find in the secret areas of the game. I've left a map in the room with the book puzzle (aka the library) that shows you where the secret passages are that will lead to three secret rooms. Two of these rooms will contain the information you need. Good luck!




nathmatt

i found it but it wont give me the good ending i will pm u it so u can tell me what im doing wrong
Join Dead Frontier
Sorry, I will no longer be scripting for RMXP. I may or may not give support for my scripts. I don't have the will to script in RGSS anymore.
My script


Zylos

First off, good grammar goes a long way. Just a friendly piece of advice there.

Second off, if you've gotten to the end of the game already, you should know what it is that you need to look for. The map I've left in the library shows secret passages (ie, pathways that look like regular walls) that will lead to some extra rooms. The red lines represent the secret passages, but only vaguely shows where they are. You'll have to find where they are on your own by looking at the layout of the hallways. In two of these extra rooms at the end of the secret passages, you'll be able to find what information you need in order to get the good ending.

If you are STILL having a problem, then just send me a message.




nathmatt

oh sorry i was going to reply that i found out what i was doing wrong but the site crashed on me & i 4got the reply back
Join Dead Frontier
Sorry, I will no longer be scripting for RMXP. I may or may not give support for my scripts. I don't have the will to script in RGSS anymore.
My script


Delyemerald2

Lol, just downloaded the game. Not really my thing... A bit too scary XD. I'm only in the first hallway with that maiden, and I am scared already XD. Oh, well. Maybe you should make an expansion pack of this game. Something like that the player gets a nightmare and is trapped inside it. And if you do something wrong, you get attacked. Then 5 times attacked, is back at the beginning.

Zylos

Wow, that was a major bump.

Well, first off, this is NOT a horror game, nor is this an action game, nor do I have any intention of touching this up in anyway again since the last version I've made (which was like last November something, where I simply fixed a few unnoticed bugs and included the RTP for those who didn't have RMXP). There are a few parts that might make you jump a little and creep you out, but generally this is not a horror game. It's more of a simple mystery puzzle game, where you can't really lose.




Delyemerald2

1. Oops, not looked at the last post's dating  :^_^':
2. I know, one of the only things that makes my scared is darkness. Darkness with a scary thought, or, as in this game, in a weird mansion.

Starrodkirby86

I honestly can see what you mean...

All the darkness, eerieness, and the fact you don't know what you're going to expect next all adds to the horror of the game. A game like this didn't scare considering it was made in RMXP and some of the stuff wasn't particularly bone-crunching, as Zylos mentioned...

Now...something scary would be Silent Hill. ;)

What's osu!? It's a rhythm game. Thought I should have a signature with a working rank. ;P It's now clickable!
Still Aqua's biggest fan (Or am I?).




Crab Buster

I played this game a while ago and thought it was great. It inspired me to make a game that was farely simple to create and not a massive RPG with battles. Good fun!

Zylos

Thanks! I'm glad that this was helpful for you. :3
There is a lot that can be done with RPG Maker aside from making RPGs.




Kagutsuchi

Argh, that turn-the-statues dragon puzzle is a pain in the ass! Gotten a bit late, so I will try again tomorrow. (got 53 minutes of game time, and I have spent at least 30 minutes on that freaking puzzle :wacko: Victory shall be mine!

Zylos

Haha, there's actually a very easy solution to that puzzle. One minute at best.

If you're still stuck, send me a PM and I might be willing to give you the answer.




King Munkey

Quote from: Zylos on April 30, 2009, 05:14:43 pm
might

being keyword.

I should totally check this out.

Offtopic but did G_G ever give the results to that contest?

G_G Is my hero!
Munkey != monkey
Munkey > monkey

Kagutsuchi

Quote from: Zylos on April 30, 2009, 05:14:43 pm
Haha, there's actually a very easy solution to that puzzle. One minute at best.

If you're still stuck, send me a PM and I might be willing to give you the answer.

I am not going down that easily lol

Zylos

Quote from: Rocket Grunt on April 30, 2009, 05:57:38 pm
Offtopic but did G_G ever give the results to that contest?


If you mean this latest contest, no, I'm still waiting on them. I've got the encrypted game posted on RMRK for some feedback, but I can't post it here until it's got its scores in from the contest.

Quote from: Kagutsuchi on April 30, 2009, 06:25:28 pm
Quote from: Zylos on April 30, 2009, 05:14:43 pm
Haha, there's actually a very easy solution to that puzzle. One minute at best.

If you're still stuck, send me a PM and I might be willing to give you the answer.

I am not going down that easily lol


Alrighty, good luck.




G_G

April 30, 2009, 08:19:08 pm #29 Last Edit: May 01, 2009, 09:06:41 am by Eilte Four NAMKCOR
Quote from: Zylos on April 30, 2009, 07:21:24 pm
Quote from: Rocket Grunt on April 30, 2009, 05:57:38 pm
Offtopic but did G_G ever give the results to that contest?


If you mean this latest contest, no, I'm still waiting on them. I've got the encrypted game posted on RMRK for some feedback, but I can't post it here until it's got its scores in from the contest.

Quote from: Kagutsuchi on April 30, 2009, 06:25:28 pm
Quote from: Zylos on April 30, 2009, 05:14:43 pm
Haha, there's actually a very easy solution to that puzzle. One minute at best.

If you're still stuck, send me a PM and I might be willing to give you the answer.

I am not going down that easily lol


Alrighty, good luck.


OFFTOPIC
Waiting for Lb's scores >.>

NAMedit: you typed inside the quotes, buddy

Delyemerald2

May 01, 2009, 06:50:31 am #30 Last Edit: May 01, 2009, 09:42:28 am by Delyemerald2
Night before yesterday: Couldn't sleep, had to complete the game!

And, 1 hour ago I completed it. Finally! Only... I had the bad ending... Can somebody give me a hint how the good ending looks? I am not sure about the ending...

EDIT:
I found the good ending! Oh... my ears are badly hurt of it XD Where did you get those sounds of... Uhmm... Look in the spoiler.
Spoiler: ShowHide
S. T.?

Zylos

Haha! Very nice!

And for your information...
Spoiler: ShowHide
They were from PartnersInRhyme.com.




Delyemerald2

Oke. I must say, it was not expectable.

Ryex

Great game! I couldn't read that one writing so I used alt-print screen and photoshop! :haha:
lol I also used alt-print screen to save all the diaries in the secret rooms!
alt-print screenis your friend :^_^':
I no longer keep up with posts in the forum very well. If you have a question or comment, about my work, or in general I welcome PM's. if you make a post in one of my threads and I don't reply with in a day or two feel free to PM me and point it out to me.<br /><br />DropBox, the best free file syncing service there is.<br />

Pokol DaErran

I can't belive it took me this long...  but I just beat the game.  (With the good ending).
Then again, the dragon statue puzzle had caused me to stop from frustration about two days after I downloaded it, and I only just went back to it today and solved said puzzle through sheer luck.
Great game, by the way.  :3
"...Sometimes, the impossible can become possible- if you're awesome!"
--Bolt

Zylos

Thank you. ^____^

Everyone seems to get stuck at the water puzzle and the statue puzzle, yet both have relatively simple answers.




Starrodkirby86

Eh, it's just the way people think through puzzles. There's probably a high number of people who can't do those types of puzzles well. I thought the water puzzle was very easy, but the statue puzzle took some time. After moving so much, I got it down. I'm sure if I were to think it out or play more puzzle/puzzle games of its type, my skill would increase.

What's osu!? It's a rhythm game. Thought I should have a signature with a working rank. ;P It's now clickable!
Still Aqua's biggest fan (Or am I?).