Just played it. It was pretty scary! It's in the middle between easy and hard. I waited for a few minutes for the monster to leave in the basement. I then was forced to unlock the door in the middle and shut it behind me. I went down the hatch and then through the door.
Initial scare: Holy crap, those sounds. Great combinations and overall effect; in addition, the lasting fear-induced pulsing vision is a nice touch. I found myself thinking "Was it really that scary?... Well, yeah. It kind of was. Crap." because I had read your warning here on the forum. I'm sure it packs a much different fear when you're not expecting it.
Student rooms: The first three were very similar, but just different enough. Then the fourth...! Very impressive work. The door opens just enough to see that something terrible went down, foreshadowing the story, and just little enough to make it frustrating. "Open, door! Damn it!"
Kitchen area(?): Total pitch black back room. Already one of my phobias. Slowly stepped in... and was rewarded with a slightly-glowing key! I LOVE the slight glow. Definitely prevents situations where players search in frustration for 10+ minutes to figure out something that shouldn't have been that hard.
Dining hall: Initially? Meh. Nothing special here. ... Oh look, doors! After returning to this area-- Holy crap torch and body parts! Very nice. All of the normal lights turning off got my heart pounding and really set me up for...
Storage: OH GOD- I HATE YOU, SO MUCH. You played on my phobia (and inevitably the phobia of many others) of sudden pitch-black hallways. I was just as careful as I was in the kitchen with stepping towards the darkness... and I was rewarded with what? A MONSTER TO THE FACE. Seriously, did I mention I hate you? I freaked out and, with a few exclamations of swear words, ran up the stairs to safety (except I shut the door behind me when I went down the stairs; added fear and freaking out). But then something bizarre happened:
Scruffy (The Grunt): I later realized he was an apparition, but he didn't de-spawn and instead got stuck on the corner at the bottom of the stairs. I ended up throwing all the chairs from the dining hall down as a barricade and then I went down to beat him with a plate-- at which point he disappeared. Perhaps add some kind of timer (is this even possible with apparitions?) to make him disappear after so long? With or without a timer, good show. I was sufficiently scared.
The... basement?...: Nothing special, but the fact that Scruffy stayed around longer than I expected made me suspect you had put him on a permanent patrol path and I would have to sneak by him. That thought made it scarier, but I don't think it would be good to add. You have a nice set-up down here. Just dark enough and just freaky enough.
My only suggestion, really, would be regarding the beginning. Perhaps open the custom story with white-text on the black screen explaining the situation? (ie: The description you put in the box before loading the map) and then fade in (or flash in) to your abrupt awakening as the student/player character? This way you know the map has started and you're focusing on the game when the loud noises happen. As it stands it's just a little too strangely abrupt going from "Loading..." to OH MY GOD-- If that makes any sense at all.
Initial scare: Holy crap, those sounds. Great combinations and overall effect; in addition, the lasting fear-induced pulsing vision is a nice touch. I found myself thinking "Was it really that scary?... Well, yeah. It kind of was. Crap." because I had read your warning here on the forum. I'm sure it packs a much different fear when you're not expecting it.
Student rooms: The first three were very similar, but just different enough. Then the fourth...! Very impressive work. The door opens just enough to see that something terrible went down, foreshadowing the story, and just little enough to make it frustrating. "Open, door! Damn it!"
Kitchen area(?): Total pitch black back room. Already one of my phobias. Slowly stepped in... and was rewarded with a slightly-glowing key! I LOVE the slight glow. Definitely prevents situations where players search in frustration for 10+ minutes to figure out something that shouldn't have been that hard.
Dining hall: Initially? Meh. Nothing special here. ... Oh look, doors! After returning to this area-- Holy crap torch and body parts! Very nice. All of the normal lights turning off got my heart pounding and really set me up for...
Storage: OH GOD- I HATE YOU, SO MUCH. You played on my phobia (and inevitably the phobia of many others) of sudden pitch-black hallways. I was just as careful as I was in the kitchen with stepping towards the darkness... and I was rewarded with what? A MONSTER TO THE FACE. Seriously, did I mention I hate you? I freaked out and, with a few exclamations of swear words, ran up the stairs to safety (except I shut the door behind me when I went down the stairs; added fear and freaking out). But then something bizarre happened:
Scruffy (The Grunt): I later realized he was an apparition, but he didn't de-spawn and instead got stuck on the corner at the bottom of the stairs. I ended up throwing all the chairs from the dining hall down as a barricade and then I went down to beat him with a plate-- at which point he disappeared. Perhaps add some kind of timer (is this even possible with apparitions?) to make him disappear after so long? With or without a timer, good show. I was sufficiently scared.
The... basement?...: Nothing special, but the fact that Scruffy stayed around longer than I expected made me suspect you had put him on a permanent patrol path and I would have to sneak by him. That thought made it scarier, but I don't think it would be good to add. You have a nice set-up down here. Just dark enough and just freaky enough.
My only suggestion, really, would be regarding the beginning. Perhaps open the custom story with white-text on the black screen explaining the situation? (ie: The description you put in the box before loading the map) and then fade in (or flash in) to your abrupt awakening as the student/player character? This way you know the map has started and you're focusing on the game when the loud noises happen. As it stands it's just a little too strangely abrupt going from "Loading..." to OH MY GOD-- If that makes any sense at all.
That's a good idea, I think I'll incorporate that in the future.
Spoiler below!
I also had a problem with ol' Scruffy getting stuck on the corner while just testing it myself! I'm considering putting a brief moment of player paralysis and forcing the player to look at Scruffy while he lunges from the darkness.
Also, I actually DID originally intend the real guy to patrol endlessly and force the player to be sneaky, but not only did being sneaky not seem to work very well, but I found out that the game automatically deletes him when he gets to the end of his patrol route, so I just let it stay like that since I assume most players hide and wait like I do.
Thanks so far for the pointers! This is exactly the kind of stuff I was hoping to hear about.
(This post was last modified: 04-24-2011, 05:55 PM by Fnoigy.)
I also had a problem with ol' Scruffy getting stuck on the corner while just testing it myself! I'm considering putting a brief moment of player paralysis and forcing the player to look at Scruffy while he lunges from the darkness.
Also, I actually DID originally intend the real guy to patrol endlessly and force the player to be sneaky, but not only did being sneaky not seem to work very well, but I found out that the game automatically deletes him when he gets to the end of his patrol route, so I just let it stay like that since I assume most players hide and wait like I do.
Thanks so far for the pointers! This is exactly the kind of stuff I was hoping to hear about.
Spoiler below!
Player paralysis as Scruffy runs straight towards you would be even more terrifying. Pair that with the sound of a sharp intake of breath and you've got another situation for pure nightmare fuel. I'm not sure which is scarier: freezing and seeing your death (Scruffy) run at you, or having the chance to run...
Though, do you start Scruffy in the middle of the hallway for his run at you, or is it possible to start him closer to the wall opposite the one he gets stuck on? Perhaps this could prevent him from sticking, too. Just a thought.
As for the patrol: I ended up hiding in the gear room from him, but I wonder if other players hid in the opposite room that had a door? I certainly felt an extra sense of dread hiding from Scruffy in a slightly lit room.
Oh, and has anybody found the secret room?
HINT: There's an odd, empty book case that would probably crave a nice large piece of spooky human meat. Why don't you try carrying some to it?
(This post was last modified: 04-25-2011, 02:03 AM by Fnoigy.)
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