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Hey, I'm glad you're making this game. It definitely seems like a labor of love. I'm not usually into hypnosis, but I dabble occasionally, and this seemed interesting enough to check out. I'm glad I did!

I really like Dr. Faustus! She strikes a great, endearing balance between zany and welcoming. Her sharp but muted (dark?) character design really appeals to me. I'd describe her current content as "pleasantly relaxing", and would like to see more (and more varied!) content involving her!

On the other hand, the snake isn't quite my speed. I know there are plenty who would disagree; I imagine they could provide more helpful opinions. Regarding content warnings, when the player is about to make a decision that will enable potentially unwanted content, it might make sense to elaborate a little on just what they're getting into; you could probably do so without breaking immersion _too_ much. (Personally, it didn't really bother me, but I also generally don't get deep enough into trance to fall victim to that sort of thing... or at least, that's what I keep telling myself. ;P)

I found the pendulum and gem "minigames" to be somewhat distracting; that is, the mental effort they required to "solve" drew me out of my trance state and I ended up avoiding them entirely in the end. I can understand wanting to add a bit of variety to the game, though; I'm curious how you may end up experimenting with that goal in the future.

The subliminal message feature was a pleasant surprise. I think it would be useful to have separate controls for frequency and duration, and at some point support for custom phrase lists.

I think the game is definitely missing some kind of background sound. I think some combination of light trance music and/or simple tones/humming would be a good starting point when you get there; that said, I'm really discerning about sound, so I'd definitely prefer to be given the option to mute any background sounds if they're not to my liking.

On that note, I think some kind of basic pseudo-voiceover could be worth experimenting with. An approach like that can be cheap, flexible, and remarkably impactful when done with care. (For a high-profile example, see Undertale. :P)

Finally, I'd definitely like to see more character stills! Up to a point, the more variety you can provide, the more believable your characters will be, and the more they'll feel like people.

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Overall, you have a really solid foundation in a rare niche! I look forward to seeing more of your work; I hope my contribution helps! ;3

(PS: I recommend you try Hover or Namecheap to buy your domain, and Let's Encrypt for free and easy HTTPS to use with it! I can't recommend any hosting providers, that's outside my expertise.)

By the way... please don't feel pressured to set up a web edition of the game if you think my donation could be put to better use elsewhere.

I think having a dedicated website is important to grow your player base, but I have no idea how much value you see in buying (or upgrading) your license. Feel free to use the money for whatever you need to! :3

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HOLY FUCK THANK YOU SO MUCH


I'm absolutely going to start work on a website! I didn't expect this game to do as well as it's doing so far, so I wanted to make a promise to myself that I'd put as much money as I get from the game back into it, at least until I feel it's a finished enough project (which it's not at all, yet, to me)

I'm glad for the feedback about the characters! I have gotten varied opinions about people liking or not liking either character more or less, which is good, and why I planned multiple characters in the first place. I like your idea of changing the Cobra dialogue, too, and I have some ideas in how to implement it!

I also absolutely understand the feeling about the minigames. That's another thing I've gotten varied feedback about, and I think I'll add in an option to turn them on/off after purchasing rather than removing or changing them entirely.

The subliminal message feature IS actually editable! I've been trying to figure out the best way to show this, because you're not the first person to not notice it, but you can change the text that pops up by hovering over and clicking the specific boxes. I also fully agree about the duration/frequency!

And sound is honestly at the top of my docket. I originally wanted to have it done by the demo release, but I was too indecisive (plus, I want to do something very specific with music and binaural, and that is taking probably too much time). I love the idea of the pseudo-voiceover, even if I later decide that full voice acting will be included, I think that will help add a lot to characterization.

And agreed about character stills, too! The more the better. Which brings me to my final thing, which is, THANK YOU AGAIN! I'm first going to set up the website fully (again very much thanks for your donation), and then I'll start looking at getting an artist on-call to make more quality and quantity character stills. 

Again, thank you, and please let me know if you have any other ideas, critique, or suggestions!

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> HOLY FUCK THANK YOU SO MUCH

Hehehe, you're welcome!

> I wanted to make a promise to myself that I'd put as much money as I get from the game back into it, [...]

I'm glad to hear that! :3

As I said before, I think having a website for your project (a quality one) is really important, and worth doing whether or not people have to download the game to play it. To clarify on my second comment, though, only you can decide whether an HTML5 (I assume) version of the game is worth the license fee. I didn't want you to feel locked into that decision by me for turning "someday" into "now".

> I have gotten varied opinions [...] which is good, and why I planned multiple characters in the first place.

Definitely a good choice! Different people are looking for different experiences. I'm looking forward to seeing what you've thought up!

> The subliminal message feature IS actually editable! I've been trying to figure out the best way to show this, [...]

I see! Maybe it's a little old school (and I'm sure you could find a better approach eventually) but changing the interface so that there are obvious "remove this item" and "add a new item" buttons might make it easier to realize.

I know tutorials can be an expensive suggestion, but it would be a good "eventually" goal, if you do want to flesh out the feature in the future. :P

> And sound is honestly at the top of my docket. [...] I want to do something very specific with music and binaural, [...]

Interesting! Please, feel free to take your time; I know better than most people that it's usually not worth rushing a project or feature, even moreso in a passion project.

> I love the idea of the pseudo-voiceover, even if I later decide that full voice acting will be included, [...]

I'm glad you find the idea appealing! It's a feature that really provides phenomenal value, imo. Across the board, indie and (older) AAA titles stuck with it for good reason - when it works, it just works!

As for later, I think a proper voiceover would be great. However, from what I hear, it gets expensive and complicated very quickly; it's most likely only worth investigating once most of the game is effectively finished and set in stone.

> And agreed about character stills, too! The more the better.

Definitely! :3

You've got a good design right now; I know I've already said so, but it bears repeating. I hope you can find a suitable artist who can refine your vision into the reality you seek!

On that note - I actually wrote my second comment when I realized you might prefer to use that money for commissions rather than licensing. ;P

> Which brings me to my final thing, which is, THANK YOU AGAIN!

I'm glad you appreciate it! It's rare for me to find a project like this; one in a niche I enjoy, and one where my money can make a real difference. (Plus, it was really late on payday when I tried it out, so it was an easier impulse to follow through on. ;p)

> Again, thank you, and please let me know if you have any other ideas, critique, or suggestions!

I didn't receive a notification about your response, and I don't think Itch has private messages. I'm happy to give feedback on anything you'd like to share (or just chat) on Matrix: @extend.unpack:matrix.org

Otherwise, I'll be following your progress, and may leave a comment now and then as I do so. Good luck! :3