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hythrain134 days ago(+1)

Hello! Welcome to Feedback Quest 8! My name's Hythrain, a co-host and one of the streamers for this event! This feedback is being written live as I stream your game! If you're interested in seeing my live reaction, let me know and I can send you a link to the VOD once it's posted to YouTube!

So my normal approach for any game in these events is simple: I get the game, make sure it's not a virus, then play it with as little information on how to play as possible. This way, I can judge how intuitively someone can figure out the game. Only if it's obvious that I need to read more will I do so. I note this so you can get a sense where some of these feedback comes from. In addition, I want to note that feedback and rating are different; don't use this feedback to gauge what I'll rate, nor should you view my rating as entirely indicative of my feedback.

Puzzle games like this are always fun to solve, but one thing that always frustrates me with them is when you find yourself in a position where you don't know where to go or what to click on to proceed. This was the case for me when I got to needing to use the spanner. It took me a while to realize I could click on the number plates outside.

I'll also admit that I didn't feel like the safe's pin code made sense. In particular, the last number didn't feel right. All of the other numbers were the first printed number in the related article, but for the last number it was the fourth printed number.  It also didn't make sense to not be 3 because it wasn't like it was differentiating between sub headlines and the article itself; the third article used a number in the sub headline. It just so happened that that was also the only article to never show the article itself. Also, looking at the screenshots, I don't know how you got the dark light to show all of the symbols. I could only see the fourth middles ones (and only barely on the edges) and had to guess the other two.

Otherwise, this was getting really interesting. I only wish you hadn't ended the demo right as I got into the computer when you gave me a floppy disk! D:

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Yawning Dog Studios134 days ago(+1)

Thank you for playing and for the review! Yes, please share the VOD so I can watch the playthrough and better understand how it went.

From your description, it seems like you brute-forced the symbols, PIN, and finding that you need to use the spanner on the room sign.

Spoiler: After placing the "blacklight" bulb, you also need to close the door. Once you do that, all the symbols will fully appear (like the the mentioned screenshot), the numbers in the articles that you placed on the board will glow, and a hidden message in the original letter will point you to the outside room sign.

We are working on improving this:

  • Obfuscating more of the symbols so they can’t be brute-forced (pushing the player to close the door)

  • Adding a hint to point the player toward closing the door

  • Adding a hint to help the player connect the PIN code dates in the book with the article cutouts on the board

And yes, we will also partly unlock the first message when the player uses the floppy disk  :) Players seem really want to know what it says :D We did not show it at the moment because it directly points to the events after the demo.

P.S. Thank you for organizing the event! We received some amazing constructive feedback that will really help us improve our game.

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hythrain134 days ago(+1)

After reading the ways you're supposed to find these answers, it does make sense now. I can absolutely see how not knowing to close the door when you have the black light be an issue.

I would say it's more important to have a hint telling the player to look at the letter once they DO have the black light in place than the one about the PIN code to the articles. I figured that part out really quickly, and it was more than I didn't know the black light revealed the numbers. I had otherwise figured out the PIN was related to the article and was only missing what specific parts. In the end, I ended up brute forcing the last number (once I noticed every single article in question HAD a number on it somewhere, all of which were just single digit numbers save for that last article, I had it in the bag. Then I just went in order). Having gone back and seen the how it looks with the black light, though, it easily makes sense. However, I feel like I wouldn't have figured out the code in the letter as I never would have looked at it again.

Also, your thanks should go more to Chef of Indie Questing and to Altabe Studio than to me. They're the two that handle all of the organizing. My part in this whole process is that I make the attempt to ensure that everyone's game gets coverage and everyone is able to get feedback from at least one person (aka myself. Also helps me flex my game design thinking, even if I lack the skills needed to make my own games. Maybe one day, lol).

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