VN Ren'Py Abandoned Reasonable Doubt [v0.0.0.1] [Deviant Delights]

4.00 star(s) 1 Vote

botc76

The Crawling Chaos, Bringer of Strange Joy
Donor
Oct 23, 2016
4,389
13,062
Well, IF Jensen wants anything more than some pocket money, he'll have to start finishing his games. Philly earned about $1000 more after the release of "Depraved Awakening" And it was his first one too.
You do know that Jensen is just a character in one game and not a dev, right?


Every time a game with Jensen gets release its always good only complaint for some reason game never get completed I hope this one does
The first part of Retrieving the Past is finished, part 2 is still going, no sign that it won't be finished, or what are you basing that claim on?
 
Dec 6, 2017
159
181
Very interesting beggining, cant say much since its very short, but it got my attention, the story at least seems to be of high quality.
 
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BigWill

New Member
Jun 16, 2017
2
0
Hi, will there be any gay content in this story it seems like it would be a god fit to this story and could make it optional to make everyone happy ;) and would bring more people to help support the game.
 

Deviant Delights

A figment of your imagination
Game Developer
Dec 16, 2018
29
106
Hi, will there be any gay content in this story it seems like it would be a god fit to this story and could make it optional to make everyone happy ;) and would bring more people to help support the game.
It's possible at some point in the future but it's not high on my priority list. The MC I envisioned has very few sexual boundaries so anything is possible as long as it fits the story.
 

J II D

Member
Aug 22, 2018
230
461
Another 0.001 release.

Pictures look nice and different, but i am going to wait a hand few (real) updates before even considering playing and pledging ; ).
Not going to support another 0.001 only to see it go on the pile of abandoned new "games" , wasted enough money that way the last year.

Wish you the best of luck and i hope this game becomes successful and you stick with it ; )
 
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Deviant Delights

A figment of your imagination
Game Developer
Dec 16, 2018
29
106
But seriously I wish the game was set in the 40's like those old black and white classic movies. That way you can wear those cool hats, your female models can wear those pretty dresses and beautiful hairstyles of that time period. Also the language was better back then and the cars.
It's still early in the game development to do this if you want.(y)
That was the original plan but there just were not enough assets available (that I could find) set in that period for me to do it justice on such a large scale. I'm talking clothes, hair styles, appliances, furniture, home/building designs, cars, etc, etc, etc. I could try to create them myself but that's really not my forte. They'd probably turn out like crap and it would slow development down to a crawl.

The b/w scenes at the beginning of the game were intended to pay homage to those early classics.
 

Bagger288

Active Member
Jul 11, 2017
936
606
I hope the game won't become too punishing later on, since pixel hunting noir games have a natural attraction to gameover dodging that makes gameplay stressful. So far it's fine though.

I did spot one typo: "discretely" should be "discreetly".
 

Deviant Delights

A figment of your imagination
Game Developer
Dec 16, 2018
29
106
I hope the game won't become too punishing later on, since pixel hunting noir games have a natural attraction to gameover dodging that makes gameplay stressful. So far it's fine though.

I did spot one typo: "discretely" should be "discreetly".
Nice catch. Thanks. Not sure what you mean by "natural attraction to gameover dodging" but I assume your referring to pixel hunting challenges where if you fail to find something it will lead to a game over event. If my understanding is correct, then this game will not have any fatal consequences from failing a pixel hunt. At least not immediately. The player will always have an opportunity to correct it later in the game. For example if you fail to find a piece of evidence that incriminates you, then it may setup an opportunity later in the game to break into the evidence room to destroy it. That however will come at a much higher risk of being discovered which could very well lead to a game over event if you fail a skill check.
 

Zenithtb

Active Member
Oct 21, 2017
944
1,025
Here's a sneak peak at the new navigation control panel i'm working on.
View attachment 282375 View attachment 282370
Damn those assets where those 'window blind uppy-downy things' are placed upside down - seen them in three games so far. We have them in our house. I have them in the room I sit in. If they were that way round, the blind would instantly drop down and make the room dark. Quite frustrating!
 

SrRK

Well-Known Member
Donor
Game Developer
Jun 18, 2018
1,113
6,632
Respect to the developer! This was a very good start to what could potentially be a very good game! I enjoyed the gameplay elements as they don't seem unnecessary and actually play a role in the experience/story. The writing is pretty damn good, too. It felt short, but not too short considering it's v0.1. It could be longer-- I feel like the experience would've been more lasting and impactful that way... but hey, there are different paths/replayability, so there's that. Overall, it's a four out of five for me.

Looking forward to the next update.

Here's a sneak peak at the new navigation control panel i'm working on.
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Aesthetically... it's very pleasing. From a functionality standpoint, it also a very good design for a navigation panel! Just a suggestion, though (and mind you: not everyone will feel the same way as me about this)...

a lot of games make the mistake of overdoing the navigation elements. It's OCD hell for me because I like to complete games 100%, so I find myself constantly checking rooms multiple times to see if I missed something, to see if there's something new, etc. Therefore, navigation in these types of games is more of a chore than anything unless there's an actual reason for me to visit the respective areas.

For me, it is much more preferable if the game points you/sends you directly where you're supposed to be if the only alternative is clicking around and looking at still images. I'm not saying navigation is a bad thing, but I am saying that the execution of said navigation is important. Like all other gameplay elements, it should be purposeful and necessary rather than "Hey... for the hell of it, you can explore these empty rooms and move your mouse around for 20 minutes to see if there's something for you to click. There isn't, btw!" Perhaps, if the room doesn't have any gameplay purpose or the purpose has already been used up (i.e., I visited the room and found/accessed what I needed there already...) you could make it so we can no longer navigate there until it becomes necessary again? That would streamline things and seem far more professional than the alternative, imo.
 
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Deviant Delights

A figment of your imagination
Game Developer
Dec 16, 2018
29
106
Respect to the developer! This was a very good start to what could potentially be a very good game! I enjoyed the gameplay elements as they don't seem unnecessary and actually play a role in the experience/story. The writing is pretty damn good, too. It felt short, but not too short considering it's v0.1. It could be longer-- I feel like the experience would've been more lasting and impactful that way... but hey, there are different paths/replayability, so there's that. Overall, it's a four out of five for me.

Looking forward to the next update.



Aesthetically... it's very pleasing. From a functionality standpoint, it also a very good design for a navigation panel! Just a suggestion, though (and mind you: not everyone will feel the same way as me about this)...

a lot of games make the mistake of overdoing the navigation elements. It's OCD hell for me because I like to complete games 100%, so I find myself constantly checking rooms multiple times to see if I missed something, to see if there's something new, etc. Therefore, navigation in these types of games is more of a chore than anything unless there's an actual reason for me to visit the respective areas.

For me, it is much more preferable if the game points you/sends you directly where you're supposed to be if the only alternative is clicking around and looking at still images. I'm not saying navigation is a bad thing, but I am saying that the execution of said navigation is important. Like all other gameplay elements, it should be purposeful and necessary rather than "Hey... for the hell of it, you can explore these empty rooms and move your mouse around for 20 minutes to see if there's something for you to click. There isn't, btw!" Perhaps, if the room doesn't have any gameplay purpose or the purpose has already been used up (i.e., I visited the room and found/accessed what I needed there already...) you could make it so we can no longer navigate there until it becomes necessary again? That would streamline things and seem far more professional than the alternative, imo.
Thanks for the feedback. It's much appreciated. I understand how you feel about some games going overboard with navigation and I feel much the same way. But at the same time, I'm not a fan of linear storytelling either. I don't like being lead from Point A to Point B. I like users to engage with the story and be active participants in it's development. While I'm not a fan of needless pixel hunting, I can't guarantee there wont be some empty rooms just for the hell of it. Because every good mystery/suspense story needs a little misdirection from time to time. But I agree with you 100%. I don't like wasting time searching for something that isn't there either. Which is why I do make an effort to simplify it for users through visual queues. In addition to the highlighting the objects, the next release will also feature tooltips and a change in the mouse cursor when hovering over objects of interest. Hopefully with these changes it will make it much more obvious when there is nothing of interest in the scene.
 
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SrRK

Well-Known Member
Donor
Game Developer
Jun 18, 2018
1,113
6,632
Thanks for the feedback. It's much appreciated. I understand how you feel about some games going overboard with navigation and I feel much the same way. But at the same time, I'm not a fan of linear storytelling either. I don't like being lead from Point A to Point B. I like users to engage with the story and be active participants in it's development. While I'm not a fan of needless pixel hunting, I can't guarantee there wont be some empty rooms just for the hell of it. Because every good mystery/suspense story needs a little misdirection from time to time. But I agree with you 100%. I don't like wasting time searching for something that isn't there either. Which is why I do make an effort to simplify it for users through visual queues. In addition to the highlighting the objects, the next release will also feature tooltips and a change in the mouse cursor when hovering over objects of interest. Hopefully with these changes it will make it much more obvious when there is nothing of interest in the scene.
Thanks! That sounds awesome/practical and I'm looking forward to playing it.
 

jamdan

Forum Fanatic
Sep 28, 2018
4,213
22,494
Well hot damn, that escalated quickly. Looking forward to more updates, im glad i didn't get attached to Katherine :cry: .

Will have MC/kat's revenge!!!

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MrWally

Active Member
Jul 14, 2018
506
325
Well, i think it is a small but very good start of what could be a great adventure. Storywise it can go so many ways that you can milk it out any length and with a lot of paths. Graphicwise it's very decent, but i do hope the pixelclicking can be pointed out more clear. For instance i found the rock easily, but i couldn't see difference hoovering the mouse over the boat. It should not be too easy i guess.

For me, i think you shouldn't make an update estimate in the moment. I hope you focus on what you're doing and add a bit of length to the game before the next update. So when it's released there is some more playtime. Because for the 0001 it took me just a bit over 10 minutes playtime. And then after a couple of updates when you have a good plan for the games future you should update more regular.

Keep it going
 
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4.00 star(s) 1 Vote