that one sounds like the old keyboard issue that RPG maker 2003 has:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/362870/discussions/0/541907867763056737/

this is a tool by one of the developers of the engine itself intended to fix this problem. should it persist, please check any controllers you may have connected, and any controller interfaces that might be active. those, too, can interfere with the game reading your controls.

hey! i just found this when googling the error message you received:

https://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?threads/having-trouble-with-custom-soun...

this might be an issue pertaining to your computer's audio driver(s); it crashes - as far as i understand it here - and spits out all of these error messages because it can't play the game's music and SFX (which are .wav files), and tries in vain to "loop" them.

try updating your audio driver(s), or changing to another audio device in your windows settings, and try again; let me know if this brings relief.

oh dear. that's entirely new - ive never seen this crash happen before.

im personally not sure how to fix it, but i might be able to offer a way to sidestep the problem, potentially:

https://easyrpg.org/

easyRPG is an open-source tool for "emulating" RPG Maker 2003 games (the engine this is made in!). it can occasionally help with issues like this. once you've downloaded it, simply put the program into the same folder as "RPG_RT.exe" and, instead of running "RPG_RT.exe", instead, run easyRPG and select the game from the list that should be displayed (if it doesn't start running on its own).

i have to say though that this instability, and the apparent save-file corruption worry me. i know that RPG Maker 2003 games will occasionally interact badly with certain peripheral applications related to controllers. if you have any controllers plugged in, or any software intended to facilitate controller-use, that might be a problem. but unfortunately, im not sure what could be happening here.

ill be doing some research, and will let you know if i find a more straight-forward fix. until then, please let me know if easyRPG worked. thank you, and i apologise for the problems :,)

The "instructions" option throws an error right now- but this looks really sweet!! i will see if i can make some good use of this ASAP >:)

hey december 7th! i haven't fully completed the game yet, but even just what i so far played was excellent to a point that i wanted to make some fanart:

i know the read me said the team might feasibly disband, but i deeply hope to see more from you down the road! this game was a rare treat and im so glad i finally gave it a go!

Spooky! No clue how that happened.

I hadn't heard of "Tell Me I'm Worthless" before now, and An Outcry started development in 2019, a good bit before the book's release in 2021. Also, that line itself is an allusion to the opening of Shirley Jackson's "Haunting of Hill House" ("No live organism can continue to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality").

In short: It's a coincidence, but a pretty interesting one. Thanks for bringing that book to my attention!

https://quinnk.itch.io/an-outcry

Yeahhh, I never ended up finishing that thing because I dislike my own voice too much. Sorry about that.

Hello! Thank you for your interest in the game :] Feel free to send me a message over on my Twitter to discuss this further:

twitter.com/quinnkdev

Oof... Same exact error message?

I'm currently downloading the folder myself to double-check if everything's okay in there.

Unfortunately I really don't know what could be wrong at this moment. My last resort would be to attempt to launch the game using EasyRPG: https://easyrpg.org/

EasyRPG is an open-source emulator for RPG Maker 2003 games. Sometimes, it can lend a game additional stability - or so I would hope. :(

If this doesn't work either, feel free to request a refund on your purchase. I'm really sorry.

WHOOPS, you also need to put this file into the "System" folder in the game folders. Forgot to add that.

Hrm... I've never seen this happen. Are you using the itch.io launcher, by any chance?

Looking at the in-game files, that would be this specific file messing up. 

Try and download it, rename it to "AnOutCry.png" (if itch renamed it in the uploading process), then attempt launching it again? If a different issue crops up then, let me know.

Hello! Steam keys are already active, so every purchase comes with one! :]

No problem! You know, link rot and removal of games from a creator's side are tied to issues that are pretty complex.

From the perspective of somebody who makes things, there's definitely stuff I wish I could just remove from the timeline of my work; but at the same time, when you make something public, it's a public good, and no longer entirely yours. There's an interplay there between privacy and personal control over how one is perceived, and the human drive and cultural importance of archival.

I guess the conclusion I came to is: "What I published isn't mine anymore, so I won't destroy it, but I can certainly stop selling it."

Yeah, as the title of the game implies, the creator must have contacted itch support and gotten them to completely pull it. It's a very rare occurrence, though - I'm honestly surprised it was even allowed considering the game was part of a bundle.

Hi. I'm Quinn K, I made access to Griphotikon, a zine I made and had put into the Racial Justice Bundle, restricted, because I don't think it represents my work well enough anymore. I apologise for the inconvenience, but! The good news is that restricted projects you own, purchased in a bundle or otherwise, can still be downloaded!

Here is how you can still access things that were made restricted:

1. Go to your Library.
2. Go to "Things you own"
3. Go to "Bundles" and select the respective bundle you want to get something from.
4. In the search bar associated with that bundle, look for the game that got you a 404 error when you checked out its page directly.
5. From your library menu, you can just download games that were restricted directly, since you own them!

At every point, Itch makes it clear to creators that work that has been purchased isn't entirely removable. You can only make it impossible for new people to purchase, but everyone who's got it keeps it. The only way that a game can be entirely deleted from the site is I think if legality issues are involved.

Hope this helped, and... well, I guess feel free to check out Griphotikon, old though it is!

https://quinnk.itch.io/there-swings-a-skull

Let me be clear:

I'm not a voice actor and do not plan to ever do this for a living, nor perform in any of my future games. If it had been my call (it was not), I would not have voiced this game at all, especially because the direction involved made me accentuate parts of my voice I find ugly and discouraging.

This game will not be re-made and the lines not re-recorded. It was made with hard work in a short time span (5 days), during a very specific tumultuous time (early 2020, just days after the pandemic was announced), between two people that are likely not to collaborate again.

I appreciate your words about my writing, but did not appreciate your critical dissection. Of course, I understand that a public work opens one up to critique, and that your analysis was very important to you (811 words important), but I ask you to consider whether a creator has moved on from a work or not before you invest a similar amount of time and care in a long-form critique in future.

I wish you the best. Thank you for playing, and your thoughts.

You might find out - later this year.

>:)

The timeline of this game and the game it's a "prequel" to is pretty messy. It effectively has very little to do with the game that followed it, and was made in 5 days between jackspinoza and I at a time when I thought An Outcry would not come to fruition. It was when it became apparent the full concept would crystallise after all that I - clumsily - renamed this project's page to "Prelude". This was partially as I couldn't go back into the files and change the game's name proper.

An Outcry - the RPG Maker 2003 game, elsewhere on my itch - is not part of the Bundle for Ukraine;  that decision had a few reasons:
1. That game's very recent release
2. The considerable time and expense it took to complete
3. The fact it also has a Steam page, which in fact contractually prevents us from offering it as part of an itch.io charity bundle.

I hope that explains the situation somewhat. Thank you for playing, and sorry about the confusion.

https://quinnk.itch.io/ao-prelude

Bless us, everyone and a merry Christmas :>

Guilty as charged! Finally somebody gets that one >:)

There is a way to get into the desert on nights 1-3. From there, your way to the secret "ending" is inevitable- But be warned that you might be disappointed by it.

The game tells you what is in the desert:

It is death.

I like the way you think pal! B)

At the very start of the game, there is a list of them you can consult- I will list them here for you:

Climate-apocalypse, immolation, dehydration, smoking, hanging.

About a half-hour- 40 minutes if you're thorough. There's two endings and one secret "end" to find in it.

It's definitely a conundrum. Either you curate rigorously, which can be read as gatekeeping, or you create one big bundle, which can jeopardise the intent. Hrm.

The first alternative idea that comes to mind is to coordinate an effort between multiple bundle-organisers, dividing up  the entrants; it's a sort of divide-and-conquer approach, which comes with its own set of problems (possible TOS issues,  possible gamer favouritism of one bundle over another...)

Another idea would be to consult the ratings to the games - and see how often they have been rated, and how well/with what intent. This would make curation more unforgiving, but it would ensure that the games you select really *are* the underdogs. Obviously that wouldn't avoid the problem of curation, even if it would be for reasons that are more in the spirit of it.

That's all the ideas I have.

Thank you so much!! :)

Jack King-Spooner's part of the OST (which includes the much-lauded prologue song) can be purchased directly from him here: https://jackking-spooner.bandcamp.com/album/an-outcry-an-soundtrack

All proceeds from that part of the OST go directly to him.

It includes a few tracks that aren't in the game yet.

Otherwise, the full OST will not be publicly released until the game is complete.

Hey, dev for An Outcry here. I have two ideas you could try to fix the issue you're experiencing:

1. Do you have a controller connected? Controllers might interfere with the keyboard controls of the game- If all else fails, the game is also playable with a controller.

2. There is a rare bug with the engine the game is made in where keys "stick" on the keyboard, interfering with any other keystrokes due to input being dropped. The developers of the engine are aware of this bug, and have offered a fix for it here:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/362870/discussions/0/541907867763056737/

Here's an official troubleshooting topic for this issue. I'm hoping it helps!

OOPS; I did notice that, but for some reason I ended up forgetting to fix it. Will do so in the next version, thanks for pointing that out!

That error is actually deliberate - the crash was implemented deliberately to signify the end of the demo. Completely fine with your making videos, I appreciate them so much! :) Thank you for playing!

AN OUTCRY DEMO: AN UPDATE. V. 1.1

CHECK IT OUT FOR FREE HERE.

FIXES:

-Fixed a design flaw preventing players from accessing the end of the demo
-Created clarity where previously there was too little of it

RESTRUCTURING:

-Simplified and streamlined the install process, requiring less effort from the player

Thank you for your patience.

-Quinn K and the team

An Outcry is a text-heavy narrative horror game developed in RPG Maker 2003, set in Vienna and starring a non-binary protagonist.

Its plot is about a shut-in's life being threatened by a force descending upon the city that does not understand them.

Demo version available for free: https://quinnk.itch.io/outcry

DEMO VERSION NOW AVAILABLE. PWYW.

An Outcry is a narrative-driven psychological horror game.

It takes place in Vienna, Austria.

Its main character is a non-binary person.

Its antagonist a force that cannot
be understood, or itself understand.

The demo consists of the prologue for the full game.
Talk to your neighbors.
Check out the city street.
Have a smoke

CONTENT WARNINGS (DEMO):
Sudden loud noises, flashing images, misgendering and transphobia, fascism, suicidal ideation, gore, smoking

With music by @jack_spinoza and @chrstphfr.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=461594284/size=large/bgcol=333333/linkcol=0f91ff/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/

The full game is still in development and will be released on an as-of-yet undisclosed date.

---

Current team:

• Quinn: Graphics, writing, event scripting
• James: Graphics, event scripting
• Kitet: Graphics
• Sophia: Music
• Leaf Let: Music
• Jennifer: Sound
• Sprite Star: Additional graphics
• Kyra: Additional graphics

Don't disappear like the smoke into the night.

A PUBLIC DEMO IS RELEASED.

https://itch.io/embed/696717

PAY WHAT YOU WANT.

There was been no creative experience in my life more rewarding and joyful than seeing this thing come together to  not only a playable, but an engrossing shape in the course of a mere 3 weeks after it was stuck in development hell for an entire year.

Huge special thanks to my scripter pal James and my artist Kitet for their relentless support and their participation in long nights of relentless creation.

Thank you to Jack King-Spooner and Christoph Frey for beliving in me, as well.

Current team:

• Quinn: Graphics, writing, event scripting
• James: Graphics, event scripting
• Kitet: Graphics
• Sophia: Music
• Leaf Let: Music
• Kyra: Additional graphics
• Jennifer: Sound

Thank you so, so much.

I'm going to rest now, until it is time to work on the full game.

Until then,

Don't disappear like the smoke into the night.

An Outcry.