[The Dreaming] v0.9 (Win/Mac/Linux)

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Taleweaver
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Re: [The Dreaming] v0.9 (Win/Mac/Linux)

#211 Post by Taleweaver »

PM is out.
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Vialixia
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Re: [The Dreaming] v0.9 (Win/Mac/Linux)

#212 Post by Vialixia »

Completed this today!

Firstly, the writing is excellent. I was hooked straight away. I played through the whole thing and got all six endings in one sitting! I know people have commented on the art style quite a lot, but while I don't think it exactly suits the atmosphere of the game, I don't think it detracts from it either. I did appreciate the quality of the sprite art!

I think the story is rather unique and interesting.
The twist at the end wasn't exactly expected from me, so I enjoyed it. I liked how all the characters linked in some manner, and you could explore all that in your own terms. The flesh monster gave me quite a shock! I found that the ending was satisfying, but yes it was fairly difficult. Personally, I find it more satisfying to know that I achieved it rather than happened upon it, though. I had to try a bunch of combinations which ended up being a little meaningless in the end, but I still liked the concept. I don't think most people would have been far off from the clues that were given, there were just a couple of choices I wasn't sure about.
Are you leaving it at that, now, or would you consider polishing it up a bit? The story alone supports it, so it wouldn't really be necessary I guess.

Anyway, congrats on making something awesome. What are you working on now?

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Talann
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Re: [The Dreaming] v0.9 (Win/Mac/Linux)

#213 Post by Talann »

Downloading, reviews later~

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Re: [The Dreaming] v0.9 (Win/Mac/Linux)

#214 Post by Taleweaver »

Vialixia wrote:Are you leaving it at that, now, or would you consider polishing it up a bit? The story alone supports it, so it wouldn't really be necessary I guess.
I once gave the game to a couple of guys who wanted to give it a graphical makeover. They had tons of character art produced then eventually stopped reporting their status. I consider that attempt dead, and I haven't tried a new one since.
Anyway, congrats on making something awesome. What are you working on now?
Currently, I'm writing the script for Winter Wolves' Seasons of the Wolf, and I'm also in the final stages of my other project, a classic point-and-click adventure game I cannot talk about as it's being produced by GCHQa bunch of rather secretive Brits. And I'm planning something small for this Hallowe'en, if my artist doesn't bail out on me.
Scriptwriter and producer of Metropolitan Blues
Creator of The Loyal Kinsman
Scriptwriter and director of Daemonophilia
Scriptwriter and director of The Dreaming
Scriptwriter of Zenith Chronicles
Scriptwriter and director of The Thirteenth Year
Scriptwriter and director of Romance is Dead
Scriptwriter and producer of Adrift
More about me in my blog
"Adrift - Like Ever17, but without the Deus Ex Machina" - HigurashiKira

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StuffandFluff
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Re: [The Dreaming] v0.9 (Win/Mac/Linux)

#215 Post by StuffandFluff »

Oh, wow...this game turned out to have more horror elements than I expected (even though the description did say "psychological thriller"). At one point I even
jumped at the red mass of a monster when it growled (at least I think it growled)...
The overall atmosphere lent to a buildup of suspense--that's good. I also really liked how Gabrielle always felt alone and sometimes ignored.
I think that helps gear the player towards the right direction.
The characters had great, distinctive personalities, which made the VN livelier. Love that you included actual psychology; I think that's what sold the story to me! I wasn't too fond of the mixing between realistic BGs and cartoon sprites, though. And a couple of the sprites were a bit underdeveloped. But what I'm most interested in is usually the storyline which very riveting.
I find the whole belief of the Dreaming so fascinating! Instead of just parallel worlds, might there be multiple, just like how Julius and Gabrielle have different experiences? Do some "Dream" worlds ever cross so that people see some of the same beings?
I can piece together what I think is parts of the true story together based on my completion of endings 1-5, but I still haven't gotten Ending 6. I'm dying to know so badly! Could I have a walkthrough of Ending 6, too?

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Re: [The Dreaming] v0.9 (Win/Mac/Linux)

#216 Post by Taleweaver »

Walkthrough sent.
Scriptwriter and producer of Metropolitan Blues
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Scriptwriter and director of The Thirteenth Year
Scriptwriter and director of Romance is Dead
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"Adrift - Like Ever17, but without the Deus Ex Machina" - HigurashiKira

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NeoAngelique
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Re: [The Dreaming] v0.9 (Win/Mac/Linux)

#217 Post by NeoAngelique »

After a lot of retries, I managed to get the 6th ending.(It took me a lot of time, though)

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Re: [The Dreaming] v0.9 (Win/Mac/Linux)

#218 Post by Taleweaver »

NeoAngelique wrote:After a lot of retries, I managed to get the 6th ending.(It took me a lot of time, though)
And what did you think about it?
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Creator of The Loyal Kinsman
Scriptwriter and director of Daemonophilia
Scriptwriter and director of The Dreaming
Scriptwriter of Zenith Chronicles
Scriptwriter and director of The Thirteenth Year
Scriptwriter and director of Romance is Dead
Scriptwriter and producer of Adrift
More about me in my blog
"Adrift - Like Ever17, but without the Deus Ex Machina" - HigurashiKira

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Re: [The Dreaming] v0.9 (Win/Mac/Linux)

#219 Post by NeoAngelique »

Hmmm, what do I say? I don't know how to describe it.

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Re: [The Dreaming] v0.9 (Win/Mac/Linux)

#220 Post by SelLi »

I liked the start. As people have said, I don't think the art is appropriate- mostly
during the chess scene
.
I found a few typoes, if you wanted to look and correct them. I only played through the game once, and the typoes are pretty obvious, but it's always good to have another pair of eyes to spot mistakes. words like [=this=] have been edited, words like [XthisX] should be removed. Here, just if you're interested:
However, I can't [=seem=] to concentrate on my work. My mind is still buzzing with the thought of my conversation with Julius this evening.

I can only speculate what the problem [=with=] Julius could be. He doesn't seem to be someone who takes drugs, and so far, I know of no other cause of damage his brain might have taken.

Unfortunately, your power of persuasion is too strong [XenoughX] for me, and I fear it would be too strong for anybody.
As for my thoughts on the game, the beginning was interesting, then the game started getting darker and that was also interesting. The ending kind of went over my head- I got the normal ending. I didn't quite get it.
He couldn't see Danny, but Danny was his childhood friend, according to only Danny, but Danny also said that the dreaming is pretty much where ideas go when they're forgotten, so couldn't he just be imaginary and even have been made up by someone else? Or be a nightmare, like that monster? So why did she say "Just know that he's real" when he could easily not be real. And she says that she can't be the one to cure him, I think because she doesn't want to reinforce his suppression of real past events. That makes sense to me- but why is she now living in the dreaming? Is she made up? She says the shadows have come from within her, but weren't they either always there since before her- being a different level of reality- or aren't they part of Julius's state of mind? Sorry for talking so much, I'm just confused.
It would probably make more sense playing it through a few more times... maybe.

Anyway, all in all, I liked it, but I could have done without the screaming bits. And it scared me more than I thought it would. It was interesting.

Edit: Well done, sir. Congratulations.

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Re: [The Dreaming] v0.9 (Win/Mac/Linux)

#221 Post by Taleweaver »

SelLi wrote:I liked the start. As people have said, I don't think the art is appropriate- mostly
during the chess scene
.
I've said this before - the idea was to contrast cute and harmless character art with a very dark and potentially scary story. The contrast makes both sides more effective. It's like painting a picture - always put dark against light and light against dark. Don't let them blend too much.

Whether it worked the way it was supposed to is in the eye of the beholder, apparently. :)
SelLi wrote:As for my thoughts on the game, the beginning was interesting, then the game started getting darker and that was also interesting. The ending kind of went over my head- I got the normal ending. I didn't quite get it.
He couldn't see Danny, but Danny was his childhood friend, according to only Danny, but Danny also said that the dreaming is pretty much where ideas go when they're forgotten, so couldn't he just be imaginary and even have been made up by someone else? Or be a nightmare, like that monster? So why did she say "Just know that he's real" when he could easily not be real. And she says that she can't be the one to cure him, I think because she doesn't want to reinforce his suppression of real past events. That makes sense to me- but why is she now living in the dreaming? Is she made up? She says the shadows have come from within her, but weren't they either always there since before her- being a different level of reality- or aren't they part of Julius's state of mind? Sorry for talking so much, I'm just confused.
It would probably make more sense playing it through a few more times... maybe.

Anyway, all in all, I liked it, but I could have done without the screaming bits. And it scared me more than I thought it would. It was interesting.
I hope it made sense after you found ending 6?
SelLi wrote:Edit: Well done, sir. Congratulations.
Apparently, yes :)
Scriptwriter and producer of Metropolitan Blues
Creator of The Loyal Kinsman
Scriptwriter and director of Daemonophilia
Scriptwriter and director of The Dreaming
Scriptwriter of Zenith Chronicles
Scriptwriter and director of The Thirteenth Year
Scriptwriter and director of Romance is Dead
Scriptwriter and producer of Adrift
More about me in my blog
"Adrift - Like Ever17, but without the Deus Ex Machina" - HigurashiKira

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Re: [The Dreaming] v0.9 (Win/Mac/Linux)

#222 Post by Hachiko »

OK, finally done with the game. First off, the graphics - didn't really liked it, felt it was out of place, BUT I still think anything original IS better than using some face/body(?) generator thingy. The music and atmosphere was really splendid, it really helped bring out the story. For the epilogue though, I can't say for sure I agree with their actions, but I mean just by looking at what's going on in Julius' head, you probably cannot imagine what's going on in his daughters', so did they did the right thing? Maybe, maybe not.

The only complaint I have in this game is why the insistence on not having a walkthrough. I've played this game waaay back and got stuck on some endings, I saw from one of the forum that the gamemaker insisted not to show the walkthrough and just PM him directly (I was just a lurker back then, didn't have an account) so I've just deleted it until I've made an account here recently and replayed the game. I honestly don't know why the stubbornness, since it really cuts off a lot of players out there. I mean, why not just put it on 'spoilers' or if the player gets certain endings, they can have a hint in the game or something like that?

Anyways, the game was a nice experience overall (albeit not really relating with any of the characters).

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Re: [The Dreaming] v0.9 (Win/Mac/Linux)

#223 Post by Taleweaver »

Hachiko wrote:I honestly don't know why the stubbornness, since it really cuts off a lot of players out there.
Exactly. And that's why.

I never wanted this game to be "easily accessible". I wanted it to be frustrating. That's the entire point of having timed choices, sudden death situations and, most of all, a True Ending that is really really hard to get.

Aside from that, there IS a Walkthrough to said True Ending somewhere in the middle of this thread.
Scriptwriter and producer of Metropolitan Blues
Creator of The Loyal Kinsman
Scriptwriter and director of Daemonophilia
Scriptwriter and director of The Dreaming
Scriptwriter of Zenith Chronicles
Scriptwriter and director of The Thirteenth Year
Scriptwriter and director of Romance is Dead
Scriptwriter and producer of Adrift
More about me in my blog
"Adrift - Like Ever17, but without the Deus Ex Machina" - HigurashiKira

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Re: [The Dreaming] v0.9 (Win/Mac/Linux)

#224 Post by qirien »

Played and enjoyed; thank you!

(BTW, the walkthrough is on page 7 of this thread for anyone that needs it...) :-)
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Re: [The Dreaming] v0.9 (Win/Mac/Linux)

#225 Post by Coren »

Is version 1.0 still in production? :D

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