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Mercury_Storm posted:So is there a way to not die to the "parasites" or do you always end up blowing out a candle and killing someone to move the plot forward? There is a situation later where you can skip a candle by doing a psuedo-stealth section correctly to avoid a parasite who otherwise kills you, as well as something in the end. That being said it is impossible to go through the game by only blowing out that one candle, you are forced by plot to do it other times.
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Jun 8, 2014 23:15
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Also, I partially lied. Here's the first part of the set Episode 6: Cats and Coffee
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Jun 9, 2014 05:41
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I'd probably have ended up being polite because, you know, that's just what you do.
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Jun 9, 2014 12:05
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Five posted:I'd probably have ended up being polite because, you know, that's just what you do. Just home from almost killing yourself, and some rear end in a top hat yells at you for trying to find comfort? Yeah, I could see anger being the positive choice there. In a small apartment building as well, it's not like everyone did not know what happened.
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Jun 9, 2014 19:44
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I can't help but think that throwing away those paintings, changing the wallpaper and stopping that drat clock would do a world of good for Susan.
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Jun 9, 2014 20:40
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Susan is a really talented pianist, to be able to get those cymbal sounds like that.
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Jun 9, 2014 22:19
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So having Susan be a huge rear end in a top hat about waking up her neighbor with her piano is the good choice? Huh...kay...
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Jun 9, 2014 22:58
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BottledBodhisvata posted:So having Susan be a huge rear end in a top hat about waking up her neighbor with her piano is the good choice? Huh...kay... Indeed it is. It is an assertation of control over her life. And he was beign a douche about it, so it's ok.
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Jun 9, 2014 23:21
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grimlock_master posted:Indeed it is. It is an assertation of control over her life. Yeah, the blue bar is less "good person" and more "Feels good about herself". And frankly I always feel better after telling someone to gently caress off.
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Jun 9, 2014 23:24
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Oh man, this game. I'm a horror video game junkie, and this was really one of the few games that really got to me. I was playing it on a sunny day in the South of France and had hide under my blanket after that bit with the arm being cut off. Everything, from the music, to the motion of the characters, to the visuals is perfectly balanced to prime you for the emotionally and visually disturbing elements to come. drat, it can get you where it hurts. My only complaint about it was how dialogue heavy it is - NOT that I don't like story-rich games or anything. However, when I was first playing, I accidentally quit my game when I was an hour through without having saved it. There is utterly no way to speed run this game, because just the dialogue alone is about as dense as a novel, and there are no options to skip any of it. So it took another hour to get back to where I was, and by then I was rather irritated. Like, this isn't even a real critique I guess, because plot and dialogue is where this game really shines, but...man that took me out of it.
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Jun 10, 2014 01:03
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So if the red bar fills is it a game over? Or is it just another way to end the chapter?
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Jun 10, 2014 01:38
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Rabbi Raccoon posted:So if the red bar fills is it a game over? Or is it just another way to end the chapter? The latter. You get a Steam achievement if you fill the blue bar, but I think that's about it.
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Jun 10, 2014 02:00
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I'd be kinda odd if it were, given that "everything sucking" seems to be the way Susan's life has been for a while.Fat Samurai posted:I can't help but think that throwing away those paintings, changing the wallpaper and stopping that drat clock would do a world of good for Susan. For real! I mean, gah, I think I jumped a little at the one where she comes in her bedroom. Maybe she just has a taste for such things but, ugh. Anyhow, I really like this bit, and appreciate that you ended the way it's apparently "supposed" to end, because I can't see a new player knowing what to avoid there. It's one of the few times that adventure game logic actually makes sense, using the gamer's lack of knowledge of exactly what to do to show what it is to live with depression. All you wanna do is get a burger and a coffee and settle down, but life... just... keeps... intruding. Stress is a funny thing; troubles come every day, and you don't know until after the universe hurls them at you whether they're gonna hit you in the forearms or the kidney, and for folks with depression... I can't even imagine that. Also, I gather that the poem we heard is the one the directors friend wrote, yes? The one dealing with suicide and (presumably) used with permission?
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Jun 10, 2014 02:03
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This game is really horrible and a mess of hot garbage. Balqis posted:Oh man, this game. I'm a horror video game junkie, and this was really one of the few games that really got to me. I was playing it on a sunny day in the South of France and had hide under my blanket after that bit with the arm being cut off. Really? Because I thought the bad metal punch was hilarious. Everything in this game isn't scary. Hell, the final part where you have to stop a crippled internet troll is pretty laughable and just the creator of the game being a cry baby bitch boy. quote:My only complaint about it was how dialogue heavy it is - NOT that I don't like story-rich games or anything. However, when I was first playing, I accidentally quit my game when I was an hour through without having saved it. There is utterly no way to speed run this game, because just the dialogue alone is about as dense as a novel, and there are no options to skip any of it. I like the part where most of the gameplay in the entire game is trying to figure out how to remove a bird from the balcony ledge.
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Jun 10, 2014 02:11
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Rabbi Raccoon posted:So if the red bar fills is it a game over? Or is it just another way to end the chapter? Zellus posted:The latter. You get a Steam achievement if you fill the blue bar, but I think that's about it. This is correct, I guess I didn't communicate that well. Susan flips her poo poo if you fill up the red bar, but other than that the game is unchanged. resurgam40 posted:I'd be kinda odd if it were, given that "everything sucking" seems to be the way Susan's life has been for a while. Yeah, I equate the game turning adventure game logic on its head to pitfalls of depression, where little things can really set you off. You'll look at a random object because that is what you do in adventure games and it will bring up a bad memory and stress Susan out. As much of a pain as it is getting through this entire sequence without a walkthrough, it's kind of well done in a metaphorical sense. I just wish it wasn't such a bitch to play. The way that this breaks down somewhat is that avoiding some of the stressors involves having pre-knowledge of things like the electrical meter being out or the milk being off. You wouldn't use coffee whitener when you have milk, after all. Luckily you have to gently caress up at every single opportunity in order to fill the red bar, with the pivotal ones being do you blow up the burger and tell the guy across the hall to gently caress off. So it's kind of weird to think of it as a big metaphor when things are like that, but I suppose if you want to torture it then you can say that they represent the things in life that can go wrong suddenly just to gently caress with you. And yes, that's the same poem that opened up the chapter, from the Director's depressed friend. It's just showing off the second, somewhat more upbeat half. Cool story, bro. CuddleCryptid fucked around with this message at 02:39 on Jun 10, 2014 |
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Jun 10, 2014 02:34
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big duck equals goose posted:I like the part where most of the gameplay in the entire game is trying to figure out how to remove a bird from the balcony ledge. You didn't play a lot of adventure games, have you? Though I admit that a few puzzles are rather obtuse, this was not one of them. And what don't you like about the game? The atmosphere or the mechanics? I agree that the game is rather clunky and the UI leaves a lot to be desired, but it's not a major problem. The save bug is the only really awful thing about this game.
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Jun 10, 2014 02:35
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DreamShipWrecked posted:Cool story, bro. I'm sorry that I don't like this game and I wish I could post white noise instead of actually just offering a different view point.  SSNeoman posted:You didn't play a lot of adventure games, have you? Though I admit that a few puzzles are rather obtuse, this was not one of them. Uh, that's not what I was getting at, haha. I've been a long sierra guy, I wasn't complaining about the difficulty of the one or two puzzles in the game, I was making fun of how shallow the game was. quote:And what don't you like about the game? The atmosphere or the mechanics? I agree that the game is rather clunky and the UI leaves a lot to be desired, but it's not a major problem. The save bug is the only really awful thing about this game. I'll put this in spoilers and tell you every problem I think this game has... 1. It's not scary. - It's just a live journal pity party of depressing grotesque mooks who do nothing but whine and whine and whine. The only horror the game offers is the psycho killers and they are just bland and not well written. "This cannibal guy and his wife are evil!" Uh, yeah? So what? That's all we get. It's not interesting and this poo poo in horror is bottom level entry. With that out of the way, the immortally aspect that Susan has for her spooky ghost powers makes the danger of the psychos invalid. Who gives a gently caress about these people? Susan can't die so it feels like you could just brute force into the game nonstop without the feeling of danger or suspense. The main villains are just there for the sake of being there. The real story is about Susan and her depression, I get that, but it isn't scary or interesting. It's actually rather retarded. Oh, Susan had a baby and it died, boo hoo, who gives a gently caress. 2. The creator is an rear end in a top hat - The final boss is a internet troll which is obviously a symbol of him getting picked on for his moody Xanga posts as a kid. He constantly inserts his work from other indie games he did with little reason into the story in the most nonsensical ways ever. "Hey! Here is this dude from the other game I worked on! Why is he there? No reason! It's awesome, right!?" Nah, not really. Your other games sucked poo poo too. 3. It was made with terrible quality - One of the nurses sounds like she was recorded with a tin can attached to a burger king mic. The three endings are pretty much decided on two events in the game. The mechanics and system feel sticky. The fog scene with the dog catcher psycho guy when Susan gets kidnapped seems to make most computers outside of supercomputers nasa uses melt or burst into flames. but besides that, the art is nice, I guess.
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Jun 10, 2014 03:04
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I agree that this game does seem pretty bad. Just about everything in it is low quality, from the janky animations to the voice acting. It does have some interesting themes and unique ideas though, which is why I'm watching it.
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Jun 10, 2014 03:14
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The problem is not that you have a different opinion, it's the way you present it. You lay it out in such a way it makes it hard to discuss without it becoming an argument. There's no point in discussing most of what was spoiled yet, since we're not there and it would just make this into a CIA black bar document. Also, anyone who wants to be surprised, don't peek! It does spoil something important later in the story. Poor Susan, all she wanted was a shower and her cats with her.
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Jun 10, 2014 03:19
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SystemLogoff posted:The problem is not that you have a different opinion, it's the way you present it. You lay it out in such a way it makes it hard to discuss without it becoming an argument. ...What? How so? I'm not insulting people who like this game. quote:There's no point in discussing most of what was spoiled yet, since we're not there and it would just make this into a CIA black bar document. I don't see why discussing the cat lady in the cat lady thread is bad. I'm sure other people have played this game and people who don't want spoilers won't click them.
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Jun 10, 2014 03:23
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...Uh... A whole lot of these seem to be personal criticisms more than outright -valid- criticism. Disliking the story isn't really an angle you can use to say a game is lovely. Don't get me wrong, this game is clunky as gently caress, the GUI is terrible, and the animations and art leave a lot to be desired a lot of the time, but, well, it's a pretty accurate portrait of depression, at least in my personal experience. Also... Dude, 'this game is poo poo this game is poo poo this game is poo poo it was written by a whiny bitch gently caress this game' is a really vehement viewpoint to have when you 'aren't criticising people who like the game' For reference, I thought the Eye Of Adam was loving stupid, too. Don't knock Downfall, though, that game was neat and I like the cameo.
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Jun 10, 2014 03:33
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Jukebox Hero posted:Also... Dude, 'this game is poo poo this game is poo poo this game is poo poo it was written by a whiny bitch gently caress this game' is a really vehement viewpoint to have when you 'aren't criticising people who like the game' Well, I mean, it's true, I can't claim those statements as facts, but I feel very strongly that they are accurate and will stick with them. Also, I'm not sure if this is an accurate portrait of depression, because like all mental disorders, isn't it kind of varied and different for each person suffering from it? I mean, I guess it has some universal imagery like the grey skies in London or the way the actors constantly sound like they are tired, but I think it's a bit much to say it's a feel all for every single person who suffers from depression. I mean, some bi-polar dude right now playing this game would need a kick-rear end hyped up john woo gun battle with a kick-rear end robot suit or something in it for a brief moment.
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Jun 10, 2014 03:40
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big duck equals goose posted:Well, I mean, it's true, I can't claim those statements as facts, but I feel very strongly that they are accurate and will stick with them. Eh, while that is true, quite a few of the themes are universal to that specific kind of mental disorder, which is also one of the most common mental disorder. So it strikes chords in enough people to justify its existence. It's kind of a hit-or-miss thing, you either sympathize with it enough to overlook the flaws or you don't and it looks awful. The ending is retarded, I know. It's definitely a low point The gameplay is poo poo, though, I will agree with that. Also everyone stop putting spoilers in the thread thanks. CuddleCryptid fucked around with this message at 04:16 on Jun 10, 2014 |
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Jun 10, 2014 04:12
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big duck equals goose posted:I mean, some bi-polar dude right now playing this game would need a kick-rear end hyped up john woo gun battle with a kick-rear end robot suit or something in it for a brief moment. I'm trying not to make an rear end of myself, but I actually am bipolar(runs in the family) and that's either poorly-researched or willfully ignorant. I feel like I'm starting to come off as a SJW-y jackoff at this point but gently caress it; That's really, really not what bipolarism is like at all. Furthermore, The Cat Lady isn't about being bipolar. It's about being depressed. Depression is a component of bipolarism, but it's a different disorder on it's own, so that's not valid criticism and oh god I sound like such a loving dork. The Cat Lady is a pretty good depiction of depression, though; Sometimes, just keeping yourself fed and cleaned, even when you know that things only get worse if you don't eat and you need to shower, can be -really- loving hard. I'm not trying to be a twat about this; I just feel like you're misreading the game a bit, so apologies in advance. As an aside, I love how everyone admits that the gameplay is servicable at best...
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Jun 10, 2014 05:55
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I honestly like this part, or at least the idea of it. I've never gone through a depression, but just being down can make mundane tasks insurmountable, and every setback a tragedy. The developer going "you're depressed, your life is like this" makes you understand your character a little bit more.
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Jun 10, 2014 08:31
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This is an interesting game to watch, but I can't figure out whether it's trying to be a sensitive and nuanced portrait of depression or a horror adventure game. It has some of both and on their own each seem ok but the latter undermines the former. Like I can't really take a game about mental illness that seriously when early in the game you impale an evil psychiatrist while delivering a terrible one-liner. The metal music that plays is also kind of off putting. I guess it could be some sort of commentary on how the mentally ill are reasonably and unreasonably afraid of persecution by health workers (also stabbing people to death in your hospital office during working hours being a TERRIBLE serial killer method made me think the whole sequence could be a hallucination) but I don't think that's what the game is going for.
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Jun 10, 2014 13:34
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I think that criticism is spot on, Major. The blue bar-red bar segment is probably the strongest part of the game, as a brilliantly mechanized depiction of certain aspects of depression. The gameplay serves the story absolutely perfectly. The problem is it's also trying to be a supernatural horror game, an incredibly cheesy, B-movie-ish one at that, and it really takes away from the impact of quieter, realistic moments like this. If this segment was a complete game in of itself, it'd probably be one of my favourite games ever.
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Jun 10, 2014 14:10
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I sort of want to disagree with the above views, but I can't. The gameplay itself doesn't seem to be very good, and the story is kind of lost in the adventure game logic. However, in LP format like this I would say that the story is really captivating and while I'm not mentally ill (other than posting stuff about people playing video games on the internet) or depressed, in the quiet moments like in the interview with the doctor I really liked the atmosphere and the general depressiveness of it all. I really want to see how it all ends. All in all, this is one of the most interesting games I've seen and I really want to see how it all ends.
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Jun 10, 2014 14:23
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This is pretty much the game's biggest problem, it's sheer lack of making the quiet, depressive bits flow with the scary horror bits. Maybe it's the point, maybe it's just an oversight, who knows, but either way it's one of the game's largest shortcomings. Like, with the doctor and the weapon-crafting... I feel like that could have been a lot better handled. Especially if you'd had to like, make an actual improvised weapon, not one of two things that look like Gamestop preorder bonuses for the next Silent Hill game. "Preorder now for the doll-head buzzsaw mace unlock code!" Still, I feel like it's individual parts are pretty good when taken on their own, it's just that as a whole it's more schizophrenic than coherent... e: Other problems include 'UI is pretty much poo poo' and 'very much a product of it's author' but those are more excusable, whereas the plot's lack of flow is more of a core issue. Jukebox Hero fucked around with this message at 16:17 on Jun 10, 2014 |
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Jun 10, 2014 16:14
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It seems like the dev really wanted to make a game about the "quiet bits" but knew that it would be played by pretty much no one. The game already is largely unknown even with the violent bits in it. The Parasites is the framing for making the game exciting while the talky bits are for making it meaningful. E. The gory bit are very much Silent Hill-y, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But the flow is pretty rough, I will agree with that. Again, I think it's because it would be more depressing or boring without those gory cathartic bits. They are what set apart The Cat Lady from things like Cart Life, where there is nothing but awful, sad things happening all the time. CuddleCryptid fucked around with this message at 18:13 on Jun 10, 2014 |
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Jun 10, 2014 18:10
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If anything, the quiet bits - the meaning-filled, talky, "this is what depression is like" bits, help serve to make the horror bits a little more of a shock when you get to them - although it's more of a "I forgot this was a horror game" kind of shock than anything else. I know I've forgotten once or twice, being lost in the depiction of the life of a depressed woman that hits fairly close to home for me.
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Jun 10, 2014 18:46
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ModernMajorGeneral posted:This is an interesting game to watch, but I can't figure out whether it's trying to be a sensitive and nuanced portrait of depression or a horror adventure game. I think part of the issue is that the game's creator, Remigiusz Michalski, didn't have a complete picture in mind when he set out to make the game, and basically made up the plot as he went along, which explains why the tone is all over the place. Remigiusz Michalski posted:I don’t really plan my stories right from the start. I make some stuff up and as I go on I try to connect the dots. To be honest, when I made the first chapter I didn’t really know who the Queen Of Maggots was. She asks Susan about her identity, and the player is faced with all those different options – is she Death? The Devil? God? I had no idea myself!!!
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Jun 10, 2014 19:42
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Heh. That doesn't surprise me in the slightest. Yeah... the story is a mess. And I don't agree that it had to have those horror bits to be effective as a story. It would've been a different story, probably better depending on how it was reworked, but not necessarily relentless depressing like, say, Papers Please. There are moments of lightness and humour even in the life of someone who's depressed. A more slice-of-life approach would've worked well, I think.
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Jun 10, 2014 20:17
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Zellus posted:I think part of the issue is that the game's creator, Remigiusz Michalski, didn't have a complete picture in mind when he set out to make the game, and basically made up the plot as he went along, which explains why the tone is all over the place. I rather liked that. The Queen may not even know what she is. Like any fairy tale creature, she's crafty, and may pretend to know a lot more than what she does. For all we know, she's utterly powerless, just like Susan is.
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Jun 10, 2014 20:36
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BottledBodhisvata posted:I rather liked that. The Queen may not even know what she is. Like any fairy tale creature, she's crafty, and may pretend to know a lot more than what she does. For all we know, she's utterly powerless, just like Susan is. Well, we know she has -some- power, she did make Susan immortal after all
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Jun 10, 2014 21:00
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"I'm out of money; how did that happen? Oh, hey, my cigarettes." Since we're on the subject I guess I'll throw in my own thoughts. I don't want to sound too authoritative, since I have no idea where the game is heading, but I'm not all that impress with it at the moment. I do think the tone of the game is somewhat scattered, as has been said, with the adventure-game-puzzle-makeshift-weapon, the "what's up, doc?" option, the laughable heavy metal music. These have been hampering what has been a rather depressing atmosphere, which for a game about depression is rather appropriate. I don't mind the animation or the sometime poor art assets since they help the atmosphere. I mean, for as annoying as the repeated wallpaper is, looking at that made me feel like Susan's life was stunted into a stagnant repeating process. I can excuse the voice acting since, well, its an indie game. Moving on, I have been disappointed with the supernatural elements of the game as a whole. I can't help but think, and this is supported by Zellus' post, that they are filled with a lot of empty imagery/symbolism. Especially when Susan first arrives in the afterlife, the scenery was too surreal. I'm not saying that it's bad to be weird or surreal or magical (I mean I loved Braid and it's "story," and I'll freely admit that it is pretentiously vague), but sometimes the game is only filling out requirements to be weird/surreal/magical. The Queen of Maggots is present not because she has a deep impact on the plot, but because she is a creepy old woman in a creepy cabin and it is necessary to have a creepy old woman in a creepy cabin. The Crow is the same way. At the moment both are stock characters. Though, this may change later in the game. To take the comparisons to Silent Hill further, the imagery/symbolism so far reminds me of criticism of later SH games, where having creatures or locations represent the character's doubts or fears is a failed attempt at capturing the subtle horror of SH2. Lastly, I know Susan is supposed to stand up for herself, but I think there is a difference between standing up for yourself and being a jerk. Mr. Highway fucked around with this message at 23:09 on Jun 10, 2014 |
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Jun 10, 2014 21:21
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Not to spoil too much, but it is a mixed bag as far as the explanation goes. Some of it makes sense, with the deer and crows (the animal, not the Crow) but some things are left unexplained. The Queen of Maggots gets an explanation that makes very little sense, but an explanation nonetheless. Unfortunately it is explained in a way that I honestly thought the QoM was Teacup until I thought about it. Still, I implore you all to bear in mind that it is an indie dev working alone in a lovely gameplay engine trying to make this. The MST3K mantra can come in handy with some of the things in the game
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Jun 10, 2014 21:42
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Zellus posted:I think part of the issue is that the game's creator, Remigiusz Michalski, didn't have a complete picture in mind when he set out to make the game, and basically made up the plot as he went along, which explains why the tone is all over the place. I mean, it's fine to not know everything about your story from the get-go, but the way the creator phrased that, it seems like the first chapter was written, and not touched at all after the explanation for the Queen of Maggots was written. I really hope that's not the case. It implies that any foreshadowing is one of the following: coincidental, one of the details that was planned ahead of time, or the actual inspiration for what it ended up 'foreshadowing'. A quick edit/reread can really help things. Either to clean up mistakes, or to add details that occur to you during said reread.
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Jun 10, 2014 23:34
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Well, I'm massively enjoying the ride anyway, DreamShipWrecked even if the game's rough around the everything. If nothing else, it's incredibly interesting to watch, to me at least, and what more can you ask for.
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Jun 11, 2014 01:02
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I just watched all of the episodes, this is a neat game. The gameplay does look clunky as hell, but it has a neat story so far and that's something more games nowadays could use. Having said that, I think I'll just watch the LP rather then try to play this myself.
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Jun 12, 2014 05:59
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