Mixed feelings on this one. I LOVED this game, first off. Characters, lore, and all. But... hm... felt like it's missing a chapter? Without spoiling much for anyone else, the last chapter felt like it came out of nowhere. I actually guessed the villain on my first try, and everything that came after made me REALLY confused, "I was right?! Wait, why does this feel like the end of the game?? ...Oh..."
It feels like we were just starting to know Mara and Becki, so their reveals at the end were cool! But felt... unearned? Like, there wasn't nearly enough build-up to it.
Oh, wow, you got it right on the first try! That's cool!
I was trying to really tread the line between "this is dragging on" and "whoa, that was out of nowhere!" for the pacing of the game. Bear in mind, this game is (and was always intended to be) the first in a series. I wanted to establish the characters as they're set to appear in the future (ie -
Agent MacLachlan and Becki with Ennai).
The game was ready and finished, right?
To wait a little longer, my best wishes to Nine
.
Oh yes, the game is finished! But I struggled a lot with getting approval on Steam - you can see that slog I've gone through in the past two months of updates that were week after week of "Steam denied my approval again!". I'm holding it off until June so that I can have the demo in the Steam Next Fest, which hopefully will be good advertising for the game prior to the Steam release.
Also, as I'm going through the Steam beta test, there's a whole new set of issues that come along with Steam. Achievements have to be a little reworked to work with the Steam client, and I want to make sure things aren't getting unlocked wrong (like the Tales and the Scene replays).
But, the good news for you as far as this one consumer is concerned is that I'll be coming into your universe as this installment is completing and there will be no frustration! It's just going to be the joy of discovery!
Well, I do hope you enjoy it! I'm just an author trying to make a game out of my stories, so the whole programming/visual aspects are the parts I have some struggles with. Thankfully, I have a lot of support between my testers and fellow devs that are helping me along the way. I don't forsee the road being this bumpy for Book Two!
