Arbor's Eve [now in mv!]

[KasperKalamity]

alright i need some serious feedback here. i've been thinking about how to end my game, which until now i've intentionally put off. i wanted to come up with something that would let me have both multiple endings ala chrono trigger, and varying degrees of tragedy as a reward for doing certain things ala resident evil 1. i want my entire story to take place in a simulation.

all throughout my game, i want seemingly insignificant hints that the world that the character and player know is at least a little screwed up. like the tiny "glitches in the matrix" we experience in real life. i want these things to come out towards the end as being the first signs of the character's motivations for his quest.

everything will end up being on a space ship going to another galaxy with the last of humanity. on the ship, a virus in the human's life sustainment units caused them to be locked into a permanent cycle of simulations. once the person inside can overcome the virus causing the simulation loops, they can be woken up and are freed onto their new planet.

-------or--------

there is a single simulation designed to test the human's character. the simulation ends when the subject is able to pass every test, in order to prove that they've become ideal citizens, and are freed to begin life on their new planet.

which one is a better, more satisfying ending?

i wanted the good citizenship tests to be hidden throughout the story, and based upon how many you pass, and a few other factors, do you get the most positive of the endings. for the virus, i want to do some sort of strategy thing like suikoden 1, where you inspire others to join your battle against the virus, and free yourselves that way.

[MetalRenard]

They both have appeal, though you see the 2nd less in popular sci-fi. If you want to keep away from the stereotypical 1st one then the 2nd is the way to go. But remember, stereotypes are stereotypes -because they work-.
At the end of the day it's the ending you feel you can write and "direct" best that you should choose, in my opinion.

[Pherione]

I agree with Renard. Like you said, the first is Matrix, Star Ocean 3, a little part of Fallout 3,...
So second one is more out of the box.
Or maybe this narrator is something for you?

[KasperKalamity]

i've never played any star ocean games, but now i think i have to. i may incorporate both endings, and use one as a 'better' ending. the second one came from this video:

[KasperKalamity]

would it be weird to have live action cutscenes as an ending? i was watching a bug walking across the porch. how does that bug perceive the world? what if in that bug's head, it's a human, and sees a human world, while the bug we see is a kind of auto-pilot, completely disconnected in physical form from the mind? what if in 'reality' our minds experience our lives, and we're physically bugs, just doing our bug things? kind of matrixy, but still different enough to both be recognizable as an archtype, and different enough so nobody calls me out on it. kind of like our own thoughts and experiences drive some sort of synapse processor that tells the bug what to do. we all do our part to drive it, completely ignorant of the bigger picture.

just a check: not drinking or on drugs. just sitting outside enjoying the nice weather, watching nature work its magic. isn't it strange how perfect nature and instinct are? i'm nowhere near religious, but couldn't adam and eve have been the first modern hominid? could the apple of knowledge be a metaphor for how the ability to reason is our curse that disconnects us from nature and our inherint animal instinct? we are just animals after all. 'human'' i think, is a state of disconnect from all that.

back on topic: would it be weird to have a whole game with one descernable graphical style, and then have a live action cutscene of a bug getting squished or eaten? i'm just trying to reason out a heirarchy of negative or positive endings. it just looks strange in my head the way i'm picturing it all coming together.

if there was an end boss fight, and suddenly it all zoomed out and there were interwinding tendrils of energy that all connected at a single point, and were shown to be piloting a ladybug, would you get it if i hadn't just explained it?

[LagunaX1]

Sounds very Men in Black lol

Tbh I'm not sure, it barely worked with the first Resident Evil, so 2D graphics going into Live Action may seem pretty odd. But then maybe that will add to the concept of it all being in an insects head?

Although I can't say I would fully like such an ending, without your explanation of it in your post it would probably just feel like a "Oh it was just a dream..." ending. So I think you need to enhance the point that's being made by doing it or I think people just won't get the point and not like the ending.

[KasperKalamity]

since you're too new to have played it/the rapidshare links have expiredby now, nature is the major underlying motif in the story. i don't know how exactly i'd change the game to reflect that ending based on what checks the character fails or passes, but i'm sure it will come to me.

[KasperKalamity]

I HAVE been working on my game, just not so much on the game as I have with the art, the music, the sounds, and fixing bugs. I've also been looking at different scripts, and rewriting big chunks of the story to fit with stuff i'm thinking about now, as opposed to five years ago.

Case in point: New Demo

but wait a sec, this file is under 20mb, what gives?

terrible question. never ask anyone 'what gives' it makes you look like you're tragically stuck in a 1980's highschool comedy.

The reason it's so small, is because it's not a true demo. it's more of a snapshot of what i've done so far in the physical program. it's 9 maps highlighting what started out as a time wasting fetch quest, but now has a lot more depth, and will lead to a stronger introduction for one of the main antagonists than what I had originally planned.

Originally, there was to be a vacant house that the main character 'won' in a lottery. that was dumb. this is slightly less dumb: the characters are sent out to hunt a big carnivorous beast called the Basatrix, and are kidnapped in the blink of an eye. it's kind of like how the people in Nightmare On Elm Street movies just 'fall asleep' without realizing it.

but enough about that. please play the demo, it should work, and give me feedback.

one last thought: if you're epileptic, it's probably not a good idea to play it. there are flashing lights and other stuff that could potentially trigger a seizure. not even joking.

[KasperKalamity]

A WILD DEMO APPEARS!

well not quite. it's not wild until i turn it loose. i'm up to a good stopping point right now, so look for a new full size demo in about 48 hours or so. i need to test it, stamp it, and fling it out the window.

[KasperKalamity]

ok so now a wild n00b appears. i wasn't able to fix some script related bugs, so now i won't be able to upload a demo til at least 5/1 when i get back from this business trip.