itch.io

https://scary-pixels.itch.io/the-shadow-ritual

"It's Weird Here: Prologue"

https://scary-pixels.itch.io/its-weird-here-prologue-censored

If anyone gets stuck, check the walkthrough, it's in the Development Log above.

Glad you liked it, and thanks for the detailed feedback! I've added to my to-do list your point about the bookshelf puzzle. I agree that it could do with being more obvious. 

As for the hint about the door opening in 'another room', that is something I've already considered. The message used to actually say 'Sounded like that came from downstairs', but I changed it because it occurred to me that there could end up being a situation where, if the player happened to have already picked up the book and then immediately entered the library after going upstairs, the player could potentially skip exploring all of the other rooms on the floor. If you know where you're going, there's no actual reason to visit any upstairs rooms other than the north hallway and the library, everything else can be skipped. This is a design flaw on my part, so a way I fudged a solution was to just say that the sound came from 'another room', which would naturally encourage the player to continue exploring the floor they're already on instead of immediately going back downstairs (they'll end up going back downstairs eventually anyway). It's not ideal but without making some radical changes to the layout (or adding in another puzzle), it's a tricky issue to solve.

"It's Weird Here: Prologue" - Folk Horror/Survival Horror

https://scary-pixels.itch.io/its-weird-here-prologue-censored

Hey guys,

Just released a version of my new Folk Horror game which has all nudity blocked off by default. You won't be missing out on much if you play this censored version as it's not a "gooner game" anyway.

You can play the game here: https://scary-pixels.itch.io/its-weird-here-prologue-censored

In this game you play as a detective investigating a missing History student. Your search takes you to a museum on an isolated island, where you learn more about the strange culture of its inhabitants.

This is a bona fide Folk Horror game with a lot of the tropes you'd expect from the genre. If you enjoyed films like The Wicker Man and Midsommar, you'll probably like this.

Gameplay genre is Survival Horror, in the vein of the old Resident Evil games.

If anyone plays the game I'd love to hear some feedback!

Thanks for playing!

Title. Basically I'm gearing up to release a horror game. The game contains some nudity although it's far from being the central focus of the game. I've implemented a 'censored mode' that, when toggled, covers all nudity with black boxes. So I wonder whether it's permitted to release 2 versions of the game, a 'censored' version which has all nudity permanently covered, and an 'uncensored' version. Has anyone ever done this before?

Thank you very much for your answer.

Thanks for replying. I don't have time to respond to all of your points, but as a response I'd encourage you to try to see if you can find a difference between something like Picasso's/[insert artist here's] Nude paintings, and a Playboy photoshoot of a glamour model.

Yes, all games are for gratification (well, some arthouse games aside), but not all games that contain nudity/sex are for sexual gratification. I doubt people toss off to Outlast, for example, and that contains nudity/sex references. 

Anyway, I wasn't looking to get into an argument about this, I was simply seeking an answer from someone who might have some authority as to whether or not there is special tagging for games that contain sex and nudity but aren't porn games (as I've never released a game that contains nudity before so I wanted to get it right), and whether they're filtered differently on the site. 

From what you've said at least, it sounds like there is no difference insofar as tagging and filtering is concerned, and that a game like Outlast would be lumped in with porn games. Again, I'm not criticising this - I'm not even interested in getting into a debate, to be frank - I'm just trying to ensure that I tag my game correctly.

Hi, 

This is a question for a moderator: insofar as tagging and filtering is concerned, is there a difference between a game that contains SOME sex and nudity (but is NOT primarily about sex and nudity) and a game that is principally focused on depicting sex and nudity for the purposes of gratification (ie a "gooner game" whose entire gameplay loop revolves around sex)? 

The reason I ask is that I have a game that I'm releasing in the coming weeks which falls into the first category. That is, the game contains some depictions of sex and nudity but is clearly not intended as a game that aims to titillate. And I'd like to know a) how to tag it and b) how it will be filtered on the website after tagging.

Thanks!

Thank you for pointing this out, I had NO IDEA it existed. 

Edit- This effectively addresses my issue such to the extent that I'm probably going to just delete this topic.

Hi. 

This is an idea that I think could universally help creators (with more than 1 game) acquire more attention on their projects. What I'm envisioning is something similar to how youtube handles video recommendations, when you're watching a video. Thumbnails are displayed on the right-side of the screen, recommending other videos, usually with one video by the same creator at the top and a bunch of other videos by different creators underneath. 

I think if itch did something like this it would help to direct attention to other projects by the same creator more effectively. As it stands, the player has to click 'View all by x' to see a creator's other projects, so they have to jump through an additional hoop in order to see further recommendations. But if thumbnails were already displayed on-screen, it'd be a lot easier to capture the user's attention (as it'd be via an image, rather than text), thus prompting them to click.

I'm not suggesting that itch should add the same endless number of thumbnails like how youtube does, because, in my opinion, this results in too much 'visual noise' and becomes distracting/looks messy. But I think 3 or so thumbnails would be unintrusive.

Glad you enjoyed it! If you're looking for more weird, pixel art Horror games, check out my profile!

Thank you for playing!

The Shadow Ritual: https://scary-pixels.itch.io/the-shadow-ritual

Play the game for free via browser/download: https://scary-pixels.itch.io/the-shadow-ritual

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Hey everyone. This is a short game inspired by those old 'Ritual' creepypastas. The objective is to follow the instructions of the ritual in order to enter the 'Shadow Realm'.  As is often the case in "Ritual" creepypasta's, the ritual itself mostly serves to build anticipation for what comes next...

If you can successfully follow the instructions in part 1, and decipher the clues required to proceed in part 2, the game can be completed pretty quickly. It does, however, require a bit of careful reading. 

I've designed the game in such a way that it's quite forgiving of failure, with a checkpoint that remains permanently active at the beginning of part 2 (after you complete the ritual). So if you mess something up in part 2, you're not forced to complete the ritual all over again.

I hope you enjoy the game!

If you would like to see gameplay footage, this guy has made a video:

Hey, thanks. I don't worry about 16x16, 32x32 or anything like that, I just draw.

Little Red Riding Hood

https://scary-pixels.itch.io/little-red-riding-hood

Thanks for playing!

Rapunzel

https://scary-pixels.itch.io/rapunzel

Playable for free via browser.

Little Red Riding Hood

https://scary-pixels.itch.io/little-red-riding-hood

That channel has helped you. Some people will see the video that they've made about your demo and then proceed to purchase the paid version of your game. It's how advertising works, and the reason that big publishers spend so much money paying youtubers/streamers to cover their new releases. 

https://scary-pixels.itch.io/little-red-riding-hood

Thanks for your comment! I spent a lot of time writing/rewriting the dialogue to try to make it as entertaining as possible, so I'm really pleased that you enjoyed the jokes!

Rapunzel

https://scary-pixels.itch.io/rapunzel

Ever wondered what Rapunzel might look like if it were retold as an anti-narcotics PSA?

No?

This is the second fairy tale adaptation that I've made recently. If you're familiar with the story of Rapunzel, and you like story-focused games with minimalistic gameplay, I'd recommend that you check it out here: https://scary-pixels.itch.io/rapunzel

Nice, I love Half Life 2, it's one of the all-time greats! 

Regarding the issue you're experiencing with my 2nd game, The Fall of Ravenwick Castle... currently the combat system is designed around casting magic at the feet of the enemies. As in, you cast a 'Seal' in front of a zombie, they walk into it, it triggers for damage. If I remember correctly, zombies currently take 6 or 7 hits to kill. I should probably add some sort of animation to indicate that the zombies are sustaining permanent damage after they've been hit by a spell... I'll add it to the list of improvements to make for the next patch.

As for Little Red Riding Hood... there's definitely going to be another game in the same style coming soon, hopefully by the end of the year!

Hey, thanks for playing. 

The button to scroll through/exit each note is on the right-hand side of the page, halfway between the top/bottom of the screen. It's coloured red and black. Based on your feedback, I'm going to change this in a future patch, so that it is more conspicuous (I'm thinking of changing it to be white with a black arrow, to match the colour palette of the notes). 

As for the room that you can't find, I expect that this is probably the bedroom at the far end of the upstairs hallway (just past the kitchen). You can see the door in the distance when you're at the opposite end of the hallway. I've got an idea of how I can improve this, which I'll implement in a future patch.

Anyway, thanks a ton for your feedback, it's very helpful!

EDIT - I've implemented these fixes into a new patch

Recently I released a horror-themed adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood. It's playable for free via the browser!

https://scary-pixels.itch.io/little-red-riding-hood

https://scary-pixels.itch.io/little-red-riding-hood

Sorry, I only just saw your comment, otherwise I'd have answered sooner.

Anyway, thanks for playing!

Hey guys,

If you're interested in playing a short and spooky retro-inspired 2D horror game, consider checking out my new adaptation of "Little Red Riding Hood". The game promises plenty of surprises for those who are already familiar with the classic story.

https://scary-pixels.itch.io/little-red-riding-hood

Playable in the browser!

-Scary Pixels

Thanks!

Hi,

I have a game ready to publish as playable via the browser. I'd like to add an option for a Windows download as well, but when I try to upload a Windows zip it overwrites the upload I made for the browser. Where am I going wrong?

Elegantly done.

https://scary-pixels.itch.io/the-fall-of-ravenwick-castle

Loving those character models!