Post by Raven in Cursed Place comments

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Are you a killer escaping the law or something?
Or running away from debt?

...I'm leaning towards killer. But con artist might be possible too... or just generally sociopathic problems....
I like the mc tho. Very... shark-ish.

The options in the options and save menu is a little tricky to hit properly. I think the mouse aim is either off or focuses on a smaller target than the place they're supposed to hit.

The artwork in the CG is wonderful tho.
And Lord Modesto is certainly hot. ^_^

Great first impression too!
....assuming you like a hedonic Slaaneshi. lol

(And that hair is most defiantly -not- strawberry blond.
It's as red as natural hair gets I should think.)

...well... the last part of his first impression may be a bit less stellar. lol

The whole game seem to have a total of SIX save slots ONLY.
Which is FAR to little.

(I don't count autosave or quicksave slots as save slots.
They are far too easy to accidentally overwrite.)

The writing for this game is very good, and paints a good picture of everything, with a bit of a calm and darkly mysterious air to it.

It have the feeling of a darker mystery novel.
Not quite lovecraftian, not quite detective, hard to put your finger on.

I love how pragmatic the mc is.
Far more sensible than most protagonists.
And not faint of heart like some.
You get the feeling she has lived through rough times, and has come out wiser. A matron, not a maid.

I really hope the game plans to pay off those chekov's gun hints that makes you more and more curious about the mc's past.

I wonder if Modesto suspected something about you, or if it's a writer's mistake that he assumed that you could read.

I am iffy about when exactly this story is set, but it doesn't appear to be a time I would have expected a commoner to be able to read.

You CAN choose gender it would seem. But very far into the story.
It would have been better towards the beginning.
(In my opinion. It's simpler to have there in case I change my mind. Especially since it's not a choice I want to waste a save-slot on.)

The story is intriguing and draws you in --despite nothing being obviously special about it.
Whatever it is, is very subtle. Bubbling under the surface.

A mystery I can feel, but can't begin to fully guess at.
Puzzle pieces that may fit one way, or maybe another.
Which is unusual, because I can usually predict these things quite well.

This is the kind of story that tugs at your heartstrings, playing on your emotions, and the suspense keeping you at the edge of your seat.

Any romance in this game is VERY slow-burn.
It's very little too, but it is there.

The ending, on the other hand, was far too abrupt and felt a bit rushed. There could have been a bit more buildup and hints towards it --especially with how slow the rest of the game is.
The pacing for the end is out of sync with the rest of the story.

You also never get to know the mc's mysterious background. Something that is a VERY big flaw, because there is so many hints of it that it feels like a letdown that it never gets explained.

I got ending 4 which was... not bad.... but not great either.
It felt more like a 3/4th's of the story than a real ending.

Nothing was truly resolved. And half the secrets are never revealed.

It felt unfinished.

I am a little unsure if choices actually matters --beyond learning things you wouldn't otherwise.
I can't see any real impact on the story from them at this point anyway.
But I have only checked the alternate route briefly.

The choices are very few tho.
But as strange as it seems, the story actually draws you in so much that you don't notice the lack of more choices.
(And I am usually extremely vocal on the subject of more choices.)

I DO miss a 'skip' button for my second playtrough.
I wanted to see if packing a pistol would have helped the ending, but I'm not sure I want to click a thousand clicks on my mouse to check it. >_>

Overall tho...

This is a good game, well worth playing.

If only it fixes the various menu button (save, skip++) problems, and polish the ending a little bit, it would be an exceptionally great game, a professional one even.

And I'd love to see this game on Steam.
Especially if it gets a Skip button so I can try finding all the endings.

PDRRook313 days ago(+2)

CP is short, about 20k words, and it was made for the Amare Jam in about two months, though the actual time spent on the game was shorter due to life obligations. The main idea was to make a project within a set deadline, which was accomplished. That’s also why there are ‘very few’ choices, and only 4 endings.

MC and their past are left up to the player because this is how I prefer things to be, both as a player and as a creator (leftover from being an PRG player I guess). The setting was also left intentionally vague. I do know that some players prefer to have everything set in stone, but there are other games to play besides mine.

Modesto/a does know that MC can read, as they interact with each other daily, and having seen them peruse (with disgust) a book that was traditionally shoved down noble heirs’ throats only confirmed an already pre-made suspicion about what MC’s past might be (not a commoner).

Gender and other such choices are complimentary, they don’t change much in the story save for a few lines, and they are added when they become relevant, not before. The guide for reaching all the endings (with all the game-related choices pointed out) is added in a devlog at the bottom of the page. If you’re playing on PC you can use TAB to skip.

Because of the $100 Steam fee, I don’t see myself uploading my games to Steam, and because of the 30% cut with an additional 20/30% for people from the outside of the USA, it’s very doubtful that I will use the platform at all.

Thanks for playing!

Raven313 days ago

Ah, I see.

Any plans to expand upon it now that the Jam is finished? ^_^

The problem with the mc's past isn't the vagueness, so much as the fact it's being referred to several times.
The mc have feelings and mementos of their past. It crops up here and there again and again.
Like the Chekov's gun concept says; If there's a gun on the wall in act 1, it should be fired in act 3.
It creates an expectation in the reader that it will be revealed --especially with a game that has the atmosphere of mystery.

If the past did not matter, then it shouldn't be hinted at. OR it should be an open choice at the beginning; A.i:
"I ran away because..... a) debt, b) I killed someone c)...." you get my point.

Ah, I see. I must have missed the place where Modesto saw the mc perusing the book. lol

And considering how good your story is, especially if you choose to polish it, that is sad.
I think you might have earned it cost back plenty.
But I will concede that it would help if the game was longer.

(Then again, a game that somehow got good reviews on Steam is a game in which you are a rock.
You cannot move, or pain the rock. You just....sit there. As a rock. That's the whole game. o_O

So my point is; People buy shitty games, and your game is a million times better than a game in which you are a rock.)

PDRRook313 days ago

Not currently, no, as I have other ongoing projects to wrap up. I do get what you mean, but CP was always intended as a simple jam game, something I did for fun and to challenge myself to make a finished project in a limited timeframe, hence why it’s here raw, imperfect, and free.

itch.io

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