Some quick questions. Please answer when you have finished the game

[242]

Below are some questions that we would like you to answer in order to make our upcoming games as good as possible:

1) What puzzles did you like the best? Why did you like them?

I just love hard puzzles, sadly Penumbra hadn't hard enough puzzles for my taste (except of few puzzles). I especially like puzzles that require some paper work, I mean those almost impossible to solve without writing it all down and analyzing that. It's hard to emphasize some certain puzzles in Penumbra I liked the most, they all were quite diversified, impressive, and logical, but as I mentioned, too easy (in general). That's the only thing that I didn't like about them.

2) What puzzles where the hardest to solve? Why where they so hard and what kind of solutions did you try before finding the correct one?

AFAIR, the hardest was that radio puzzle, and creation of the bomb (which required mixing of chemicals) from the first part, but I don't quite remember why Puzzles of Black Plague were considerably easier, at least it seemed so to me.

3) How did you find the pacing in the game? Where there any particularly slow moments or some moments where too many things happened?

I found its pacing perfectly fine. Being a fan of Thief, I like slow paced games with lots of tension and atmosphere, occasionally (but not too often) interrupted with some quick action sequences.

4) How did you like the variation of events and gameplay elements? Could there have been more diversity or should there be more focus on the gameplay?

I think - more focus on the gameplay, variation of events and elements was enough. More replayability value wouldn't hurt.
-Alternative ways to get to an objective
-Alternative ways to solve objective
-Optional areas (should be rewarding and quite big)
-Optional and hiddden objectives
-Bigger maps
-Bonus weapons/equipment

5) How did you like the characters in the game? Was their voices fitting? Was the voice acting good? What character did you like best / worst?

I liked Phillip's character, I liked Red the most. Can't comment about voice acting as I don't speak English, but for me voices sounded good and pretty natural.

6) How did you like the ending?

9/10.
Story also is nice and what's very important - properly delivered.

[MercenaryForHire]

I'm not going to bother with spoiler tags, since the title clearly says "when you have finished the game"

1) What puzzles did you like the best? Why did you like them?
I really enjoyed prying open the door in the Machine Room, simply because I am sick of not having that option in other games. "What's that? You're a hyper-buffed space marine with enough explosives to level half a city - but damn, I don't have the key to this half-inch wooden door. Better not go this way." Not in Penumbra. Grab bar, ram bar in, SNAP goes the lock.

2) What puzzles where the hardest to solve? Why where they so hard and what kind of solutions did you try before finding the correct one?
Those God-damned laser tripmines. I'll give you the "set them off and you're dead anywhere" due to the shock wave, but they're at least a foot from the ground in-game. Evidently lying prone isn't something normal humans can do - or Philip has a really, really big head.

3) How did you find the pacing in the game? Where there any particularly slow moments or some moments where too many things happened?
Pacing was perfect. Much improved on the first episode.

4) How did you like the variation of events and gameplay elements? Could there have been more diversity or should there be more focus on the gameplay?
Similar to the above, I think you nailed it here. I would like to see multiple ways to solve the objectives - while you never get the feeling of being led around by the nose, you're definitely tunnel-visioned. Having more than one way to approach things would definitely entice me to play this again.

5) How did you like the characters in the game? Was their voices fitting? Was the voice acting good? What character did you like best / worst?
Clarence was quite good, and the disappearing door and end-hallucination fit perfectly with his character. Since there's only one other character, that would make the "worst" Amabel - like others have said, she's not nearly stressed enough given the situation. I understand the "stay calm" mentality she might have, but she should at least get a little excited about the prospect of rescue. Or murder, whichever comes first.

6) How did you like the ending?
The final stages felt a little tacked-on, to be honest. The green-light room, the same "generic brick #451" texture on the walls of the trials ... ugh.

Other comments
Do you guys need an English text proofreader? You've got more than your fair share of typos, and idioms or metaphors that aren't mixed quite right. Should I just search for and post those?

[Skandis]

1) What puzzles did you like the best? Why did you like them?
I enjoyed building the little heights at the construction site. Although very easy and done almost instantly, this integrated the physics of the game in a very fun way.
I'd love it even more if that type of puzzles were latent in other sections (aka, you actually need to build stuff to continue, but it isn't forced).

2) What puzzles where the hardest to solve? Why where they so hard and what kind of solutions did you try before finding the correct one?
Other than finding the book (library) and the chemicals (examination room), I had a hard time with the kennel and Frisk thingy. It was very outside the box, and thus I didn't figure it out at first.

3) How did you find the pacing in the game? Where there any particularly slow moments or some moments where too many things happened?
The pacing was great. The only thing that really dragged it down a bit was the staticity of the cooridors (big map leading to sub-maps). Simply put, after a while I could just run past the infected with no fear whatsoever, because I knew my surroundings perfectly. At that point I started anti-fear actions, like throwing stuff at them for giggles.

4) How did you like the variation of events and gameplay elements? Could there have been more diversity or should there be more focus on the gameplay?As previously mentioned, everything was fine in terms of gameplay except for the very static cooridors.
Using more of the physics engine to move around objects would be a big plus.
Also, another sub character or two would've been great. Once Amabel died, my only goal was to kill Clarence. There weren't any people in the grey (like Red) which dissappointed me a bit.

5) How did you like the characters in the game? Was their voices fitting? Was the voice acting good? What character did you like best / worst?Loved the cynical and satirical aspect of clarence, and the creepy happiness in Amabel.
Only voice I disliked was the hive's one, it felt a bit monotone compared to it's actions.

6) How did you like the ending?
Loved it

[Cathera]

1) What puzzles did you like the best? Why did you like them?
I kind of liked the whole climbing thing. Building things with boxes... it was quite fun. And the whole chemistry stuff. A~and the part, where you could blow up things and set them on fire

2) What puzzles where the hardest to solve? Why where they so hard and what kind of solutions did you try before finding the correct one?
The Kennel was pretty hard, because I ran through the hallway like an idiot, having no clue, what to do.
I had some help with the boxes, because I really had no idea, what to do. Also it was pretty obvious in the end =_= A~aw, stupid me.
The second part that took me like forever, was the one with the big worm, where you had to electrocute it. Solution found: pretty fast. Worm killing: half an hour. Because of being to slow =_="

3) How did you find the pacing in the game? Where there any particularly slow moments or some moments where too many things happened?
Pacing was great. Just great.

4) How did you like the variation of events and gameplay elements? Could there have been more diversity or should there be more focus on the gameplay?
Just like Skandis said: more people. It was nice to have Red nearly till the bitter end in Episode one and Amabel just died to soon - or should have been replaced by someone new.

5) How did you like the characters in the game? Was their voices fitting? Was the voice acting good? What character did you like best / worst?
... I'm still in love with Amabel. Gosh, I was so shocked, as I saw her there lying on the ground, knowing, that it was me who killed her. Her voice was awesome, and... ah. No happy moment at all.
But I liked Clarence, too. He made me smile most of the time and I would still be in that damn library, if he hadn't told me, what to do. Just started hating him, after he made me kill Amabel. Stupid virus.

6) How did you like the ending?
One word: perfect.

[jamhaw]

1) 1) What puzzles did you like the best? Why did you like them?
I liked the puzzles in the locked room since they were the only ones I figured out before I got stuck in the vents!
2)2) What puzzles where the hardest to solve? Why where they so hard and what kind of solutions did you try before finding the correct one? The ones involving breaking the glass to get into the cabinet the walktrough did not tell me and I am not the sort of person to throw a box at some glass I might hit it with a hammer but not glass. In fact now that I think of it every time I was supposed to hit something with a rock I never thought of it very quickly except at the beginning in Overture.
3) How did you find the pacing in the game? Where there any particularly slow moments or some moments where too many things happened? I generally liked it though there were too many times I got stuck.
4) How did you like the variation of events and gameplay elements? Could there have been more diversity or should there be more focus on the gameplay? More focus on events really gameplay wise I did not really like it as I could not defend myself.
5) How did you like the characters in the game? Was their voices fitting? Was the voice acting good? What character did you like best / worst? I loved the characters in the game! You should have had more. I think Clarence was probably the best but they were all good.
6) How did you like the ending? I found it suprising but still very good.

[Carth]

1) What puzzles did you like the best? Why did you like them?

I liked most puzzles except the ones I didn't like (see below).

2) What puzzles where the hardest to solve? Why where they so hard and what kind of solutions did you try before finding the correct one?

The last one (where you sacrifice yourself). It was hard because it wasn't clear to me what the lever did. There was no eye or right click where he says what he thinks it does. I understood what I had to do, that was clear immediately, but I couldn't work out how. I tried all kinds of things, and eventually got there by trial and error. The way after walking past that corridor, hearing the running then the scream, then it resets, was so annoying.

I also found the kennel bit hard, because it wasn't clear to me that I had to block those holes. It wasn't clear to me what was killing me. And at first I tried to block the holes with the barrels which didn't work, so I thought it probably wouldn't work with crates either. Why does blocking the holes work for something that I can't see anyway? I got the impression it was something non-corporeal that wouldn't be stopped by that. And since it was scared of the light, I tried the flashlight and flares and they frustratingly did nothing.

I also didn't like finding the chemicals at the end. That wasn't fun to look for them. Some were very well hidden. I would have appreciated it if you made it impossible to leave the area again, give it one of those messages like he doesn't want/need to (because you don't need to after all). I went searching the whole facility for the last chemical.

I didn't like the puzzles where you had to work out how to kill/trap something, for example the infected in the computer room, or your one with the crate - but I did like it when you realise it wasn't an infected at all and Clarence had made you kill your friend.

3) How did you find the pacing in the game? Where there any particularly slow moments or some moments where too many things happened?

No problems, seemed natural.

4) How did you like the variation of events and gameplay elements? Could there have been more diversity or should there be more focus on the gameplay?

I loved the parts where Clarence messes with your mind, like when he made you walk past where the door really is. I didn't like the parts where something that instantly kills you chases you, like the worm. I don't like it when I got the "Death is the final unknown" message again and again until I worked out what was required of me.

5) How did you like the characters in the game? Was their voices fitting? Was the voice acting good? What character did you like best / worst?

No objections.

6) How did you like the ending?

I didn't like it. I felt like I would get some more solid answers after working so hard at these two games, but it felt like the ending to an episode of Lost.

Overall though I liked it! Good game.

[rescape]

Below are some questions that we would like you to answer in order to make our upcoming games as good as possible:
...
...
Thats all folks! Thanks to all who participate!

1. The puzzles in the beginning (or first half of the game) were much better than the ending puzzles. Logic and reason is more immersing than scavenger hunts.

2. The hardest puzzles were hard for the wrong reasons I think. It's frustrating to get all the way to the end of a good story, and have it devolve into finding Bromine behind some books. That was the frustrating part.

3. Pace was fine. There were slow parts, but that's to be expected.

4. More focus on logic and lateral thinking and less on searching drawers for crap. Also, the less linear the better.

5. The voicing was good. Amabel's voice was a bit off, and so were the infected sound bytes at times, but overall it was good. The music and atmosphere was done very well too. Best character was Clarence, worst was Amabel.

6. The ending was a bit neater than I expected, but I guess it was fitting. I was rather confused, and by the time I dredged through the boring Trials, I wanted something more. From reading posts here I gather that there is no third installment. It's a pity if it's true, but there was enough of an open ending that another game (perhaps improved parts) would be nice.

Overall this is probably a 6.5/10, whereas Overture was a 8.5/10.

[Guyra]

One, big spoiler tag:

Spoiler below!

1) I enjoyed the early dream sequence puzzles, though such puzzles should only be few in a game such as this. Another one I liked was, ofcourse, the "sacrifice yourself" puzzle. Definetly a good one.

All in all I felt like there were too much of the same. Puzzles were more interesting in Overture, definetly.

2) Perhaps a bit surprisingly for others, I had a hard time figuring out the leaking pipe thing. I simply don't recall anything in the game that would make me think that I could just crush it(and get a perfectly cutout piece of the pipe away), and I was rather looking for a way to cut it off. It wasn't really a very logical puzzle. And how did he attach the spare part, by the way? It kind of just glued itself on there. To me, this puzzle seemed a bit like lazy work on the puzzle designer's end.

3) Pacing was decent. I don't really have anything to mention here, except that the build up for connecting to the hive mind could've been better, and both that and a couple of other things could've had more interesting reasons for you to do so. I didn't really feel like doing it, I just did it because the game told me to. That's not a good thing.

4) Black Plague could've definetly used some more variation. Overture had great variation despite only three actual enemy types - in Black Plague it felt like you were running away from the not so scary "infected ones" all the time.

5) Everyones voice acting was definetly good.

I liked Clarence, ofcourse. However, him being there also added a big minus: You never really felt alone. The pluses it had was that a couple of times he managed to creep me out, and that happening with our beloved Ms. Swanson was great! (Could've used a bit more build up, though - make the character feel a bit more close to her, before doing that, giving it an even stronger effect.) So, Clarence himself was cool, but having him with you all the time often took away the scaryness of the game. Also, he should've had more of a typical "infected one" voice once he got his own body, as he then were using physical speech, not mental.

The doc who tries to saw off his hand was an interesting character, and I felt he was very Penumbra-ish - a good thing. Too bad he was such a short part of the game.

Ms. Swanson was a great character, and the peculiarities of her person was made her interesting. Having her there was often a bit too reassuring, though. Yet another fear factor killer. But generally a good character, and her demise at the end is a big plus in my book! I've never experienced such trauma through a game before, definetly great!

The infected shouldn't have been able to talk, though. Fear factor killer deluxe. They use telepathy, anyway. And seeing them being more "machine like" - not chatting, but walking silently around, all connected to one big hive mind - would've been more scarier.

6) Decent ending. Good, but not great. What kind of ruined it was that it was no longer scary. The whole ending felt so safe that you forgot the game was a horror game.

[munno]

1) What puzzles did you like the best? Why did you like them?

Spoiler below!

Most of them were great. The ones with physics elements were fun, partly because I hadn't played any game with proper physics engine before this so it felt new and exciting. I liked the ones best where I had to read some instructions, like the computer and the antidote puzzles, but on the other hand they felt a bit too easy. Maybe the instructions could have been more cryptic. Written with a shaking hand, coming from a really deranged mind, containing false information and so on. Oh and the generator puzzle in Overture was good because the symbols on the generator left some room for interpretation.

2) What puzzles where the hardest to solve? Why where they so hard and what kind of solutions did you try before finding the correct one?

Spoiler below!

In the beginning the Freezer room took some time for me. First I tried to hit the thermostat with various objects to break it, then I even tried to construct a makeshift door to the Freezer room from the objects lying around, to make it cool down. And only after that I actually opened my inventory and saw the soda can

3) How did you find the pacing in the game? Where there any particularly slow moments or some moments where too many things happened?

Spoiler below!

I would have liked a little bit more of the lonely moments when you read notes left by the Shelter occupants, they sort of built up the atmosphere for the "action" parts nicely. Perhaps there could have been a need to eat and rest from time to time, possibly even having some kind of "safe" place that you could gather stuff in and spend some time reading and recovering, a bit like the top floor of the shopping mall in The Dawn of the Dead movie.

4) How did you like the variation of events and gameplay elements? Could there have been more diversity or should there be more focus on the gameplay?

Spoiler below!

The starting symptoms of the "infection" were great, I really loved the deja-vu that hit in one of the ventilation tubes, where you just teleported backwards a little bit. And the fact that it wasn't explained right away made it even better, it made me all jumpy. Also as someone mentioned, when Clarence made the door disappear was a neat trick. Overall the visual effects were superb, especially near the end of the game when you have to run away around the facility with head spinning and vision blurring. I had a really hard time finding the correct door

In Overture I really got bored of the dogs, a couple of first ones were exciting but then it started to feel like the game was repeating itself and the shock factor totally wore off. And after I realized that I can actually kill them (I didn't want to, so it hadn't even occured to me earlier than about half-way through), it started to feel somewhat boring hack'n'slash. And yes, while there were other ways of getting rid of them, hacking with the axe was by far the easiest and fastest. Luckily there wasn't any of that in Black Plague.

Even though the music was excellent, there were times when I thought that it would be nicer if the music was off and you could only hear the few eerie sounds that echo along the relatively empty corridors of The Shelter.

I felt that the events were nicely combined with the gameplay, and I don't think there was even one puzzle that would have felt like it had nothing to do with the plot. In some games it feels like the puzzles are there just for the sake of having puzzles, but not in Penumbra. Well except maybe the one in Overture where you have the hot steam coming through the floor plates and you have to run through in correct order. But that can be overlooked as the exception that makes the rule

Oh, one thing about the doors. It was nice to be able to relax when I went through a door that caused loading, but on the other hand it also broke the atmosphere badly in some places where there were infected ones nearby. Felt almost like cheating, especially when you could make all kinds of noises in the room without anyone coming in. This is probably partly a technical problem, but maybe it could have been avoided with different level construction.

5) How did you like the characters in the game? Was their voices fitting? Was the voice acting good? What character did you like best / worst?

Spoiler below!

Clarence's lines were really good of course, and I liked Dr. Swanson's peculiar remarks too. The voices were good.

6) How did you like the ending?

Spoiler below!

For me it was somewhat disappointing. I mean, the main character goes through all kinds of ordeals that really give him something to think about, ways to look at a way bigger picture than just his own reflection in a mirror. In the end he is finally starting to show signs of understanding the hive mind, even passing a series of tests. And yet, all he can think of is its destruction. Here's a chance to grow, to go beyond his limits, to evolve, and still he has gone through all this for nothing. Well maybe the hive mind wasn't perfect either, but still I kind of saw the main character as failing and being really close-minded. It reminded me a bit of the ending of System Shock 2, which I didn't like so much either.

Technically the ending was good, the clicks of a computer keyboard and the white text appearing on the black screen were very suitable for the atmosphere of the game. Also the change of atmosphere for the hive tests was neat.

Overall I really loved both episodes of the game. This was the best gaming experience I have had in a while, and I will definitely buy your next game if it continues on the same track! Also big thanks for making the Linux version, wouldn't have played it otherwise.

[JoeKing83]

Below are some questions that we would like you to answer in order to make our upcoming games as good as possible:

1) What puzzles did you like the best? Why did you like them?

Spoiler below!

I liked the programming of the circuit cards best.
Being in the IT business, watching over a lot of servers each day, I think it's just "my kind of thing".
In general I liked them all as all of them actually made sense.

2) What puzzles where the hardest to solve? Why where they so hard and what kind of solutions did you try before finding the correct one?

Spoiler below!

In the kennel I had my problems getting past the wall-holes.
Logic told me to light up the area outside the holes, as whatever was in there seemed to be afraid of light, but I had to find out painfully that this wouldn't work.
It took me however a good 30 minutes until I figured out that I could block the holes too. (2 metal boxes for 2 holes ... hmm ... got me thinking)

3) How did you find the pacing in the game? Where there any particularly slow moments or some moments where too many things happened?

I would say the pacing was just right.

4) How did you like the variation of events and gameplay elements? Could there have been more diversity or should there be more focus on the gameplay?

I would say that the variation of events was just right too.
Solving some puzzles, then some story, some pathfinding, repeat.

5) How did you like the characters in the game? Was their voices fitting? Was the voice acting good? What character did you like best / worst?

Characters were ok, they fit in there pretty well.
The voice acting was outstanding and the role of Clarence is simply the best thing of the entire genre of similar games and he also has the best voice acting in my opinion.
Reminded me a lot of George Carlin. :-)

6) How did you like the ending?

Spoiler below!

I have mixed feelings about the ending.
It came a bit too sudden, but at the same time fits in to the story, so from a gamer's view, the game is way too short (completed it in about 4,5 hours the first time) but it's well done.
Personally I would have preferred a multiple choice ending (send the mail or don't), giving me some choice of what to do, but that would've made the story for the sequal harder to implement.

Thats all folks! Thanks to all who participate!

I must say that I absolutely loved this game, because I like H.P. Lovecraft storys, horror movies, horror games, horror books and the like.
Some part of me wishes that the sequels never stop coming and that the interaction system is constantly being improved on to bring even more real-life rules into the game to interact with.
However, as I already said, it was way too short and I hope that the next episode will be a whole lot longer.

The loading between the levels somewhat narrowed down on the whole being alone scaryness factor, as you knew that when an infected was following you, all you had to do was to find the next exit, but at the same time, made all the puzzles easier too, because you could find all assets needed to solve the puzzle within that specific map-part.

All in all the developers, voice actors, musicians, etc. did an outstanding job and I'll continue to buy future versions of this game.
Please keep up the great work you all are doing !