Ren'Py Completed Darkness Falls [v1.1] [Tora Productions]

[Tlaero]

Ep5 detective didn't require you to play from the start. It only needed you to play Ep5.

I'll think carefully about this feedback as I write DF Season 2, though.

All of my other games have required that you play through multiple times to get all of the achievements (DF is the first that doesn't do that). And DF is shorter than many of the other games as well. But, at the same time, there's not a whole lot of replayability in it. You can see a subtle interaction difference in the characters depending on how you treat Won, but I didn't intend that to be a reason to replay it. I just wanted people to have the option to tune the characterization to their liking. So, I can understand why you wouldn't want to play through multiple times.

I'm in the middle of writing the first episode of season 2, so this is the right time for me to think about this. Thank you for the feedback.

Tlaero

 

[dave888]

your other games required replayability, but it essentially wasnt because you were forking to a new path and scenes, not just a different reaction. As for the Detective achievement, you were comparing ur var to an int and since the first usages of it was in functions of previous episodes i thought you had to play these episodes again until you hit the ++ point. But after taking the 2 secs needed to ask myself why was the var named the way it was as well as checking the rest of the code i realised i was wrong

 

[Tlaero]

You understand, but I want to be clear to other readers. Ep5 detective does not need previous episodes. I use some temp variables in each episode, but I explicitly clear them before I start using them. So, even though "temp0" is used in previous episodes, playing them doesn't change your ability to get the achievement in Ep5. The only achievement that reaches back to previous episodes is "Consistency."

Tlaero

 

[ExodiusPrime]

Finally got around to playing and finishing season 1 of Darkness Falls, and it was a really enjoyable and relaxing play through. I actually enjoyed the linear story line even though I was a little skeptical after the all the intricate paths of the previous Elsa-verse games. I do have some complaints about the story, but I would like to say first that I am not a writer only a fan of detective and mystery stories. I hope that the critiques I list are constructive and helpful, but I don't know if they really will be. So, just to be clear, I liked the story and my complaints are just minor things I thought of when playing.

The biggest issue I have with the story is the main culprit of most of the crimes. I didn't have any problems with him or the narrative, just that there are no interactions with him up until the end. When it comes to mysteries, the culprit should almost always be introduced to the reader before the mystery is solved. It doesn't have to be any meaningful interaction, but the readers should know of the characters existence outside of being the culprit. For instance, he could have been in the police station when we first see him, and it somehow could have been mentioned that he was arrested for vandalism of some girls car. Without knowing or being aware of the culprit before the resolution, it can make the reveal feel empty, or make the reader feel disconnected because they have no idea who this person is and so it doesn't trigger any emotion.

The second biggest issue I had with the story was the first two episodes. By the end of the season they kinda felt pointless. I loved the connection it gave to the previous games in the series, but I feel like it should have been a smaller part. We the readers know that these characters aren't going to have anything to do with the previous story or its resolution, so dedicating such a large portion of the story to it could disconnect the reader. It probably should have just been the one scene when the detectives investigate the bombing, because that foreshadowed an important event in one of the characters lives and developed the relationship between the main characters.

The third and final complaint I had about the story was the initial case that started it. It was forgotten. Now I'm pretty sure you intent to bring it up again in later episodes, and would be surprised if that first case is the overarching plot of the entire DF series, but it felt forgotten. There should have been regular references or connections to that initial case that give the reader a sense of its importance. As it is now it doesn't seem very important, and if it isn't important, there shouldn't have been an entire episode dedicated to it, but I highly doubt that it isn't important. Foreshadowing and callback are critical in a mystery, it's a way for the writer to keep the readers focused on the information they need, or to keep them distracted until the final resolution. At the same time, small hints and clues should be left for the attentive reader, to help them figure out the mystery without needing an explanation usually given at the end. Like during the bombing incident when you had one of the girls that would later save the characters in the background.

That's it for my complaints, I hoped this can be useful. Nevertheless I am looking forward to Tora Productions next release.

 

[Tlaero]

This is great feedback, ExodiusPrime. Thank you. I'm regularly a science fiction/fantasy writer, so I'm stretching my comfort zone with these crime stories. I'm happy to get any and all feedback, as it helps me improve.

My "elevator pitch" for Darkness Falls was "CSI meets the X-Files in the Elsa-verse." One of the things I think about is that, while many of the X-files episodes were about the overarching conspiracy, many of them were not. I figure that it can't be that every case Blake and Won take on has something to do with Morland, etc. They've got to solve other cases too.

A challenge that you pointed out is that, we know that Blake and Won can't be part of solving the Morland issue, and we know that they can't change the history that we've already seen in the other games. That tied my hands a bit. No matter how well they did on that first case, they couldn't figure out that Crow killed the accountant and arrest her. If you do the first case well enough, they do refer back to it in the 3rd one, but I had to make them still succeed even if you don't do well enough in the first one. (Or, more realistically, they had to fail.)

The good news is that the next Season starts after the events of Saving Chloe. So, going forward, the future is whatever I want to make of it. (-:

As for seeing the bad guy ahead of time. I completely understand your suggestion there, and it's great advice. I'll work on that. I have to temper it though, with my experiences watching these kinds of shows. Often, 15 minutes into a show, I'll say, "It's her." I know because they introduced someone seemingly innocuous, and that means she's coming back at the end to be the culprit.

I'll definitely try to take your advice to heart, though, as I plan out the next episodes.

Tlaero

 

[ExodiusPrime]

I'm really glade my mess of thoughts could help

My "elevator pitch" for Darkness Falls was "CSI meets the X-Files in the Elsa-verse." One of the things I think about is that, while many of the X-files episodes were about the overarching conspiracy, many of them were not. I figure that it can't be that every case Blake and Won take on has something to do with Morland, etc. They've got to solve other cases too.

Which is why I don't think two whole episodes shouldn't have been dedicated to Morland caused incidents, instead limiting it to only the bombing. A for the original case, well first I had no idea that it was Crow that killed her so I that's my initial predication wrong, it probably would have been better to have other detectives working on it, and maybe have them ask the main characters for advise once in a while. That the original case was caused by Crow does remove my complaint about it being forgotten. I would like to say that there should have been a more clear indication that it was Morland that cause her death, but that's probably just because I missed something or wasn't paying close attention, I'm going to replay the first episode. I think it's a much better first case though, knowing what I know now.

As for seeing the bad guy ahead of time. I completely understand your suggestion there, and it's great advice. I'll work on that. I have to temper it though, with my experiences watching these kinds of shows. Often, 15 minutes into a show, I'll say, "It's her." I know because they introduced someone seemingly innocuous, and that means she's coming back at the end to be the culprit.

I completely understand this, it's usually not to difficult to spot the "too innocent/uninvolved to be the culprit" culprit. The best way would be to take advantage of the background. Putting one of the girls that would later help you out in the background of episode two was great. For most people the last episode was probably the first time they saw her, but for the attentive reader/player they would recognize her. Something like that would be good for future culprits, because them not being in the spotlight means you have to be paying attention to make the connection not just passively watching/reading. Do it enough times and eventually you can just do like most detective shows and introduce the future culrpit and nobody will suspect them because they will be too busy looking the background characters.

 

[Tlaero]

There are actually two foreshadows to the 3 who help them in Ep5. At the end of Ep2, Ana is the hooded figure watching Blake and Won at the ramen truck. And, at the end of Ep3, Amanda is there when Blake and Won question Marc and Jess. If you're interested, I wrote a text-only novella that covers the history of those three.

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In DF Ep1, Blake and Won don't determine that Crow was the killer, but if you read the short story, "FM: Alpha" it's pretty clear.

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In case anyone doesn't know about one or both of these things, the front page of our patreon page has links to all of our publicly available content. You can see this for free without signing up for Patreon or pledging anything to us.

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Tlaero

 

[Flirt3]

anyone knows the ep5 detective achievment?
Edit: Scrolled through every comment since tlaero released the last eps and as it turns out, noone has foudn it :c

I have to say that achievements and especially the ep5 detective, were a nice idea

So, Dave888 (or anyone), how do you get the "Detective" Achievement in Episode 5 of Darkness Falls? Clearly you discovered it. Share please! I'm beyond frustrated.

 

[dave888]

So, Dave888 (or anyone), how do you get the "Detective" Achievement in Episode 5 of Darkness Falls? Clearly you discovered it. Share please! I'm beyond frustrated.

tbh it has been some time so i dotn remember now but if i remember correctly u have to choose 3 correct dialogue options in episode 5

 

[Flirt3]

So, Dave888 (or anyone), how do you get the "Detective" Achievement in Episode 5 of Darkness Falls? Clearly you discovered it. Share please! I'm beyond frustrated.

tbh it has been some time so i dotn remember now but if i remember correctly u have to choose 3 correct dialogue options in episode 5

Yeah, I tried a different combo of dialogue boxes where I was overly empathetic. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense, imo, especially because the neighbor scene the main character largely doesn't ask any questions yet you get a bonus for pretending like your non-existent questions were standard and helped the sister. Weird. Thanks for the help.

 

[Rollye30]

How do you get the detective achievement on ep 5

 

[Den187]

How do you get the detective achievement on ep 5

In episode 5 you need choose this answer. (This answer seems strange for me, but it helps when I stuck with this achievement).

Spoiler

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[icedcanes]

Tlareo has left Tora Productions and is retiring from making erotic games, with episode 7 being her last one.

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I'm pretty sadden by the news, her Elsa-verse games were some of the first adult visual novels that I played that really showed me it's possible to combine great writing with amazing visuals, prompting me to look for similar ones, and ending up finding F95 Zone.

So thank you Tlareo for everything you've done, I hope life goes well for you. Yours and Moretz's games changed how I view what adult games could be, and I'm grateful for that!

(Chole best girl)

 

[constantine]

Damn, that's unexpected. But I understand her decision, and best of luck to her. Hopefully Mortze can continue work with her absence.

 

[Walg]

Damn, that's unexpected. But I understand her decision, and best of luck to her. Hopefully Mortze can continue work with her absence.

For those not up to date, there is a thread in General Discussions about Tlaero's announcement and another one about Mortze's future plans. His future plans are also laid out in the Introductions as well. Please note that this has been endorsed by Tlaero herself in a Patreon public post.

 

[Roman DeVil]

...so what will be the destiny of this game, now that Tlaero has called herself out?

 

[Nighteyes11]

...so what will be the destiny of this game, now that Tlaero has called herself out?
[/QUOTTlaer

Check the post Walg provided. It is literally the post above yours

 

[Gladious]

Is there a way to have sex with Won?

If so, how?

 

[MeiLing]

No way.

 

[Cirelc]

updated Op with Ep 6 and 7.
set onhold and added Dev Notes.
Thanks to Mortze .​