Yesterday I have uploaded a demo of "the other game", called Hazel.

It's a text based graphical adventure with custom text parser. That means you have to type commands, it's not point and click save for the UI menus etc.

You can read about the content of the story on the game page (opens in new tab).

Now the question is which one to move forward with. Both will be extremely time consuming and take a long time and commitment, and MISSED EARNINGS of probably hundreds of thousands of dollars (I calculate how much money I would make if I worked with the same intensity on my actual business).

So if I only go ahead with one, which one? This question has been oppressing me for a long time, and finally two demos are out so I can get some views from other people who can look at these with a fresh eye. I've been staring at both for too long to even know what they heck I'm doing. Sometimes I think I'm working on something great and different. Sometimes I think I'm an idiot and ask myself wtf I'm doing with my life. Usually in the evening I feel like I'm working on dog shit, not sure why lol.

Anyway here are the differences and similarities between the two games.

Angelgaze is immediate in the sense that you see something, you click something and see what happens. Hazel... you have to read and figure out what's in the room and what can be interacted with (I'm not DEAD SET on this it could be that I add some hotspots later but anyway it's a text parser game!)

Angelgaze is futuristic, Hazel is set in the past.

Angelgaze is brightly colored, Hazel is black and white.

Angelgaze evokes a sense of wonder (or dies trying), Hazel is about exploring the dark side.

Angelgaze talks about big events, the fate of Earth, empires of other worlds, Hazel is all about one boy and one girl.

Angelgaze does not have "disturbing" aspects, but Hazel does (occasionally).

Both are heavy on psychology and personality types.

Both are based on some sort of role reversal: in Angelgaze it's a legit non-porn femdomocracy, in Hazel we have the contrast between a well meaning and innocent Camille and the seductive power of the Occult embodied in Hazel.

The final impression of finishing Angelgaze as I envision it will be light hearted, like watching "Back to the Future" the first time.

Hazel on the other hand may leave some sadness because she isn't real, and you will never get someone like her - but you may feel it was a strong "sensuous horror" fix which has led to some growth. The best image is that of the female vampires in Bram Stoker's Dracula (the 1992 movie by director Francis Ford Coppola). You know they are not good for you but you'd still let them suck your blood. Or if you are not that type of person you will just experience it as some 80s horror romance story.

Which way gamer man (or girl)?