Looking for feedback on area

[Putmalk]

Hey guys...so I just posted a new video and I wanted some feedback on it.

Things to consider: How does this area flow gameplay wise? Is the atmosphere suitable? Would this scare you? Is it too short? Should I add more events?

Let me know what you think. Thanks a lot.

[ThoseRandomGuyz]

Rather than playing a video of it, why don't you just release a demo? This will help people and you see whether or not it is scary. It's hard to tell how good the atmosphere is or how scary it is or how good it looks by a video. Please put out a demo.

[Putmalk]

I will release a demo when I'm 80% done with the custom story. As of now, it's like 30% done. This is the 8th map. The story has not even been fleshed out enough. -.-

Sorry mate, the videos are the only thing I will release at the moment. I will do in-house beta testing with my close friends and then release a public demo at the time stated above . But please just watch the video and tell me what you think. I would really appreciate it.

[Damascus]

Looks very scary, and you did a very good job with atmosphere and lighting. If I were playing that I'd be REALLY hesitant to pass the door a third time with a gear. Also nice to see someone using a moveable box to navigate the water once the lurkers start coming after you.

Main complaint is that your puzzles call back heavily to puzzles that are already in The Dark Descent and Justine. Not that i can talk because I'm doing something like that too...

[Rapture]

1) Some torches would add a nice touch, and SpotLights to.

2) You could add try adding more gears in that room. Just so it makes more sense that stuff is really working. Not just some random gears placed around that don't connect whatsoever with the mechanics. (It's not a big deal, but I pay attention to this stuff alot, so it bothers me. :x )

2b) Add some delay between the gears, they shouldn't turn all turn at once.

3) For the oil container + lubrication of the lever. You should show a little animation/particle effect.

4) More decals like the green slime on the walls + the black stripe ones.

Other than that, it looks really good so far.

[Putmalk]

Thank you for the feedback.

I will most likely revamp this area to include the following changes:

1) Instead of blocking off the right door in the big room before the final corridor, I will open it up and move the glass jar there, making the lurker more of a threat.

2) I will add an animation of the glass jar collecting the water.

3) I will add another shadow event after the player retrieves the glass jar. And yes, the shadow is explained in the custom story, it's not the guardian that haunts Daniel, it's just the player's insanity beginning to force him to lose his grip on reality.

4) I'll probably just add a 1 second delay for the gears to start turning, but they'll probably still move at once, because a function dictates their movement.

Main complaint is that your puzzles call back heavily to puzzles that
are already in The Dark Descent and Justine. Not that i can talk because
I'm doing something like that too...

I need help with ideas for original puzzles. -.- I'm not very good at that. I can script pretty well, though.

Also, I am man enough to admit that my own lurker section scared me, because it was really loud and that lurker was really aggressive, did you see how it blocked the door on me? The hell?

[Damascus]

That's alright, bro, me too. I usually try to imagine that it's not a game and what sort of things you'd be likely to come across, or picture yourself solving a puzzle in real life and how it could translate into the game. Dunno if that makes sense.

For example, here was my thought process for one of my puzzles in my CS:

Spoiler below!

I was researching alchemical substances for anything that might translate into a puzzle. I saw that dry fulminating gold explodes on concussion, and thought I might be able to do something interesting with that. So I have the player mix chemicals to create the gold, and have him use it like a grenade to break down a barricaded door.

Honestly that's probably the only good idea for a real puzzle I've had so far, though. Everything else is really simplistic or too much like an existing puzzle. :/