Hello, developer here. Been watching your videos for about a year, never thought my game would get played by the 'legend Jim Sterling'. (i nearly had a panic attack when i saw this video on your channel) Anyway, firstly thank you for playing the game, I have spend the best part of a year and a half developing this game by myself, and as you can imagine, is hard work, not to mention somewhat expensive. I will get everything that you mentioned wrong or didn't like, sorted in the coming weeks/months. And, hope to get a better product for everyone. I will take 'it's one of the better ones' as a critique and run with it ;) Again, thank you for playing my game. Gavin
Gavin Powell Hey, it's still better than other things that have been played here. I like that for once we don't have something supernatural attacking you, just a deranged guy. If the model was different it would be much scarier, same with the sound.
Gavin Powell You had a decent showing here, in my opinion. I liked the darkness mechanics. Keep at it. EDIT: I'll also add that some of the narration parts were unnecessary as someone else pointed out. I wouldn't change all of it, but maybe omit a few bits here and there.
Gavin Powell I honestly really liked it. It probably could have done better with a ton of polish and all, but as Jim said, it's one of the better horror games out there.
You know what would really make this game great? Take the smooth but uncanny valley voice acting off of the main character and put it on the antagonist, then make the antagonist a more reasonable looking person. He would try to convince you to show yourself and stuff and hum and whistle. That would be terrifying to be chased by an actual human
Jim, right at the end, when you solved the darkness puzzle, there was the SECOND globe with the final fuse in it!! awwwww so close to beating the game in record time!
Cooltrainer Ian Also, later on the wall where angry naked man walked out of at first has clearly opened up and Jim doesn't give it a second glance; also the room where he first died had an unlockable box. I feel like Jim loses all motivation for these games quite quickly and then just stops trying to even play them.
Sly Goat I think he's mentioned how hard it is to be both good at a game and entertaining in a video at the same time. I guess that's why he misses all of those little details? Bothers me, too, but oh well...WE know the truth is out there.
yeah he said it's near impossible for him to keep track of game events and details while trying to also maintain an entertaining dialogue with viewers. i'm sure some humans are better than others are multitasking and spacial awareness that is demanded by these videos but that's ok. tbh i just wish i could be there sometimes right next to jim as he plays to point stuff out to him.
ZubjectX I'd agree but with Squirty Play it's all about first impressions. Real time works better for this, and his goal isn't to beat the game necessarily just get a feeling of what it's like.
Alright, so there are developers like Digital Homicide that start out bad and only get worse. Then, there are developers like Gavin Powell that start out good and only stand to improve. If this is what Mr Powell can manage on his first try, then I'd say he has a bright future ahead of him.
A tale of myth and legend indeed. Between the time when the oceans drank Atlantis, and the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamed of an age of naked bald men in a reasonably nice house chasing after a man who stole his wrench and screwdriver.
I love the complete lack of response to the sudden mannequins, just continuing to explore for stuff in the room. Evil ghost people must be pissed after putting in all that effort to spook.
I lost it at the first jump scare. That was priceless. Oh my gosh, this game actually tries so hard, and just doesn't get there. Seems almost more sad because of it.
I never see anyone comment about this, but Jim I love love love those little observations you do. Like when the narrator is speaking and you just mumble "arrogant" at him, the aside comment about the dirty bathroom, and especially the times where you call things/people cheeky or filthy bastards. xD it gives me a giggle.
Well, that's something the studio can add to their box art: "Well, I've played worse horror games on Steam." -Jim Sterling To the developer's credit, I did want to watch you keep playing this game.
While it is better than a lot of other games it didn't have any subtlety. There was the narrator who might as well just say "OH MY GOD! YOUR SO SCARED RIGHT NOW! WHO WAS PHONE?" And then there's the sequence with the room filling up with gas. You have no context for that. Did you get hit over the head and that's why that happened? Were you looking around and are just like "woo! Having your spine shiver this much sure makes you tired" or is it a PT scenario where you've been going around so long you've gone mad? If so he wasn't really playing that long and they need to leave that till way later.
2 minutes in and it's better voice acting and graphics I've seen in a lot of these squirty plays. As an Early-Access game, it seems to tick the right boxes. As a horror game, I have no idea. It seems like making a horror game is like an adventure game but with jumpscares and inconveniences like dark passages. 7:19 your muscle-bound housemate walks to the bathroom. 25:54 I loved your reading of the poem.
When the narrator said, "Let met tell you a story. It is one of myth and legend," I was sort of hoping it would just full on rip the introduction from Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. "Let me tell you of a time long ago. A time of myth and legend. The ancient gods were petty and cruel and they played mankind for their sport. Playing them with suffering. Besieging them with terrors. For centuries, the people had nowhere to turn, no one to look to for help...until, he arrived. He was a man like no other. Born of a beautiful mortal woman but fathered by Zeus, king of the gods. Hercules possessed a strength the world had never seen, a strength surpassed only by the power of his heart. But everywhere he went, he was tormented by his stepmother, Hera, the all-powerful queen of the gods. Hera's eternal obsession was to destroy Hercules for he was the constant reminder of Zeus' infidelity. No matter the obstacle, as long as there were people crying for help, there was one man who would never rest: Hercules." I watched that show way too much as a kid.
When that jumpscare of that guy walking by screaming randomly happened, I actually got quite surprised so when Jim started laughing it felt like he was laughing at me for being frightened by that lame excuse for a jumpscare.
Jim's clapping at the "jumpscare" at 7:11 made me smile lol I can just imagine him sitting back in his chair with a a glass of wine and a bond villain cat making that little clap "I am most pleased" =P
Ok so when I first saw the hulking nude man I burst out laughing and could only think "here we go" but the second time holy fuck, scary. Pretty good game so far though! Work needed
I liked the look and feel of the game quite a bit. There are some really good ideas here that will, with some further polish, stand the game in good stead. It's nice to see the rare Squirty Play that clearly had thought and effort put into it.
This was a fun watch. Definitely one of the better ones to appear here. Regardless of how the game was put together, it definitely has a lot of things that belong where they should. At times, it seems pretty classy, like a Resident Evil mansion or something. If they play their cards right, they could really turn this mansion into more of a Silent Hill thing. Something to think about. The case where they could really build up tension and story before even specifically going to jump scares.
So close yet so far, the globe was right at the end and Jim didn't spot it. Reminds me of the boring bits of 90's horror games where you just wander around getting annoyed at random puzzles any sane person would ignore.
jacobislucas There is many games that use the same mechanic now days, i'm guessing after Fallout introduced it other companies wanted to have the same thing "Dying Light" for example has the exact same system and if i'm not wrong the new "Thief" game used really similar system.
This one looks very interesting and I'd have liked to have seen the end! The unnecessary narrator really spoils it for me though. A classic case of 'show, don't tell' there.
Reese Burns Or at least, not one who just states the obvious / forces emotions. His script was pretty unprofessional too - a lot of cliches. I agree they were onto *something* though.
Well, Alan Wake was a very well written game in my opinion. I don't know why you chose to take a passive-aggressive dump on a game with no relevance to the video, but whatever. Opinions are opinions.
I think having heavy foot steps, that gradually get louder and in shorter pace when the player is recognized would be far more frightening than the current "Raawr!!!".
I actually want to play that one. It looks interesting, and judging by the screenshots on store page there will be more locations and stuff going on. I believe I will buy that one.
This does look like it is one of the more well made indie horror games, it does seem to have gameplay elements with inventory systems, puzzles, etc rather than be just another Slender type clone. I rather like the look of this one.
That's actually an authentic Gregorian chant, at around the 28 mark; probably taken from the 'A Treasury Of Gregorian Chants' CD collection. Sounds like a piece of 'Exultet'. Neat!
OMG I get so annoyed when Jim misses something that`s right in front of him! 33:08 - The second globe is where the last circuit pin would be! And 30:03 He doesn`t go in the room where the box he was so desperately looking for was!
People's eyes adjust to the dark, so after a while, you'll be able to make out items in the darkness, rather than it just being pitch black the whole time.
Polish this game up, and it might actually be something. Good to see there are still people with a passion for making horror games, and not just cheap cash grabs mimicking slender.
Something extremely small and petty that bothered me, when he opened the first door it swung open quickly, but the audio kept going making all manner of creepy creaking opening noises.
Yknow... this game actually doesn't look bad at all. Sure it looks indie as fuck but I rarely watch these videos start to finish and am still interested to play it after the video is over. The one big thing I'd change though is the sound of the kidnapper :P hehe Don't even make him growl, just loud ass violin will probably do the trick :)
Don’t mean to be ‘that guy’ but those windows are not reinforced. That’s safety glass, which means it’s more likely to be weaker than a standard window.
Hmmm... Here's an idea. Have a horror game but have a level similar to this as the tutorial. If the player ever wants to skip the tutorial, he can break the window and escape.
Edmundo studios If only.....Lockpicking & Hacking Toolkit. www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/11259. Again the guy could have just parented different lockpick objects and turned the render's off the old. So simple takes 5 mins....doesn't need to reinvent the wheel.
Hello, developer here.
Been watching your videos for about a year, never thought my game would get played by the 'legend Jim Sterling'. (i nearly had a panic attack when i saw this video on your channel)
Anyway, firstly thank you for playing the game, I have spend the best part of a year and a half developing this game by myself, and as you can imagine, is hard work, not to mention somewhat expensive.
I will get everything that you mentioned wrong or didn't like, sorted in the coming weeks/months. And, hope to get a better product for everyone.
I will take 'it's one of the better ones' as a critique and run with it ;)
Again, thank you for playing my game.
Gavin
Gavin Powell Hey, it's still better than other things that have been played here. I like that for once we don't have something supernatural attacking you, just a deranged guy. If the model was different it would be much scarier, same with the sound.
Magerama ᅠ Ummm... ok, thanks i guess.
MJuegaES thanks for the advice, will try and get that done
Gavin Powell You had a decent showing here, in my opinion. I liked the darkness mechanics. Keep at it.
EDIT: I'll also add that some of the narration parts were unnecessary as someone else pointed out. I wouldn't change all of it, but maybe omit a few bits here and there.
Gavin Powell I honestly really liked it. It probably could have done better with a ton of polish and all, but as Jim said, it's one of the better horror games out there.
You know what would really make this game great? Take the smooth but uncanny valley voice acting off of the main character and put it on the antagonist, then make the antagonist a more reasonable looking person. He would try to convince you to show yourself and stuff and hum and whistle. That would be terrifying to be chased by an actual human
I hate it when my power goes out and I have to go find my security pins to open the door, it's fucking bullshit.
Kaiser Roll Can that happen in your house? That's crazy
Jim, right at the end, when you solved the darkness puzzle, there was the SECOND globe with the final fuse in it!! awwwww so close to beating the game in record time!
Cooltrainer Ian Also, later on the wall where angry naked man walked out of at first has clearly opened up and Jim doesn't give it a second glance; also the room where he first died had an unlockable box. I feel like Jim loses all motivation for these games quite quickly and then just stops trying to even play them.
Sly Goat I think he's mentioned how hard it is to be both good at a game and entertaining in a video at the same time. I guess that's why he misses all of those little details? Bothers me, too, but oh well...WE know the truth is out there.
yeah he said it's near impossible for him to keep track of game events and details while trying to also maintain an entertaining dialogue with viewers. i'm sure some humans are better than others are multitasking and spacial awareness that is demanded by these videos but that's ok. tbh i just wish i could be there sometimes right next to jim as he plays to point stuff out to him.
Cooltrainer Ian That's why some youtubers do post recording commentary, which IMO, works better for review / investigation style videos.
ZubjectX
I'd agree but with Squirty Play it's all about first impressions. Real time works better for this, and his goal isn't to beat the game necessarily just get a feeling of what it's like.
Alright, so there are developers like Digital Homicide that start out bad and only get worse. Then, there are developers like Gavin Powell that start out good and only stand to improve. If this is what Mr Powell can manage on his first try, then I'd say he has a bright future ahead of him.
A tale of myth and legend indeed.
Between the time when the oceans drank Atlantis, and the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamed of an age of naked bald men in a reasonably nice house chasing after a man who stole his wrench and screwdriver.
10/10 Would BLARRRRGHH again
EnvoyofDarkness BLARRRGHH/10 by Angry Naked Bald Man Review.
CWDTrixie is "BLARRRGHH" a good verdict or bad? I cant decide...
***** So maybe this is a Rule34 fan game?
***** BLARRRRGHH is like the most awesome and badass genre there is, it gets a SHOOT LIKE A B***H/10 by General Briggs.
I love the complete lack of response to the sudden mannequins, just continuing to explore for stuff in the room. Evil ghost people must be pissed after putting in all that effort to spook.
I enjoy these squirty videos. A lot of truth to the reporter. Very entertaining, and with reason.
I lost it at the first jump scare. That was priceless.
Oh my gosh, this game actually tries so hard, and just doesn't get there. Seems almost more sad because of it.
I never see anyone comment about this, but Jim I love love love those little observations you do. Like when the narrator is speaking and you just mumble "arrogant" at him, the aside comment about the dirty bathroom, and especially the times where you call things/people cheeky or filthy bastards. xD it gives me a giggle.
"Travel and events"
Spot fucking on, jim
Well, that's something the studio can add to their box art:
"Well, I've played worse horror games on Steam."
-Jim Sterling
To the developer's credit, I did want to watch you keep playing this game.
Ah yes, the legendary House of Angry Bald Nude People. Almost as iconic as the Epic of Gilgamesh or the Myth of Hercules, yessiree!
This is a surprisingly well designed game.
Marquis Forneus Gameplay is similar to Amnesia but at least it does it well. I'm looking forward to the end result of the game.
While it is better than a lot of other games it didn't have any subtlety. There was the narrator who might as well just say "OH MY GOD! YOUR SO SCARED RIGHT NOW! WHO WAS PHONE?" And then there's the sequence with the room filling up with gas. You have no context for that. Did you get hit over the head and that's why that happened? Were you looking around and are just like "woo! Having your spine shiver this much sure makes you tired" or is it a PT scenario where you've been going around so long you've gone mad? If so he wasn't really playing that long and they need to leave that till way later.
MrDrunkenrat Me too.
2 minutes in and it's better voice acting and graphics I've seen in a lot of these squirty plays. As an Early-Access game, it seems to tick the right boxes. As a horror game, I have no idea. It seems like making a horror game is like an adventure game but with jumpscares and inconveniences like dark passages.
7:19 your muscle-bound housemate walks to the bathroom.
25:54 I loved your reading of the poem.
When the narrator said, "Let met tell you a story. It is one of myth and legend," I was sort of hoping it would just full on rip the introduction from Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.
"Let me tell you of a time long ago. A time of myth and legend. The ancient gods were petty and cruel and they played mankind for their sport. Playing them with suffering. Besieging them with terrors. For centuries, the people had nowhere to turn, no one to look to for help...until, he arrived. He was a man like no other. Born of a beautiful mortal woman but fathered by Zeus, king of the gods. Hercules possessed a strength the world had never seen, a strength surpassed only by the power of his heart. But everywhere he went, he was tormented by his stepmother, Hera, the all-powerful queen of the gods. Hera's eternal obsession was to destroy Hercules for he was the constant reminder of Zeus' infidelity. No matter the obstacle, as long as there were people crying for help, there was one man who would never rest: Hercules."
I watched that show way too much as a kid.
When that jumpscare of that guy walking by screaming randomly happened, I actually got quite surprised so when Jim started laughing it felt like he was laughing at me for being frightened by that lame excuse for a jumpscare.
Jim's clapping at the "jumpscare" at 7:11 made me smile lol
I can just imagine him sitting back in his chair with a a glass of wine and a bond villain cat making that little clap "I am most pleased" =P
Ok so when I first saw the hulking nude man I burst out laughing and could only think "here we go" but the second time holy fuck, scary.
Pretty good game so far though! Work needed
Jim you missed the second globe in the room with the bloody horse head.
Bwaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!
That is the best roar voice acting, of all time. Ever!!!!
You always make me laugh!! Much love!
I actually got spooked the moments the bald guy came up you laughing leprechaun lol
Whenever you say "innit" (ain't it), I'm reminded of Sera from Dragon Age: Inquisition - great character!
Jonas Bjerregaard That's 'cause he's a Brit
Jimmy De'Souza What's wrong with Sera?
Jimmy De'Souza She has a nice body
Jimmy De'Souza Shit, that's rough
the way the narrator tries to boss you around reminds me of the stanley parable... if the stanley parable lacked self awareness.
the low poly legs are just adorable, i laughed literally in the exact same way at the exact same time as jim did in the video
sinead :) I love that song.
another good squirt, thanks.
ugh he walked right past the second globe!
gahhh i really wanted to see what would happen if he found all of them
I liked the look and feel of the game quite a bit. There are some really good ideas here that will, with some further polish, stand the game in good stead. It's nice to see the rare Squirty Play that clearly had thought and effort put into it.
This was a fun watch. Definitely one of the better ones to appear here. Regardless of how the game was put together, it definitely has a lot of things that belong where they should. At times, it seems pretty classy, like a Resident Evil mansion or something. If they play their cards right, they could really turn this mansion into more of a Silent Hill thing. Something to think about. The case where they could really build up tension and story before even specifically going to jump scares.
I really liked that telescope viewing actual footage of a city at night, very clever.
that telescope trick was cool
That " Arrggghh" of the killer is so funny, might have to make that my text message alert.
So close yet so far, the globe was right at the end and Jim didn't spot it.
Reminds me of the boring bits of 90's horror games where you just wander around getting annoyed at random puzzles any sane person would ignore.
You know someone's not taking a horror game seriously when the first thing they do is look down and laugh at their feet.
ok, that monster introduction. Was the funniest one yet.
Lock picking ripped directly from fallout.
jacobislucas
And Skyrim!
* bethesda
jacobislucas There is many games that use the same mechanic now days, i'm guessing after Fallout introduced it other companies wanted to have the same thing "Dying Light" for example has the exact same system and if i'm not wrong the new "Thief" game used really similar system.
jacobislucas that is how you pick a lock. Games with driving in it are not ripped from the first game that had driving mechanics.
Ó Braonáin well...that is a matter of opinion.........jk very good point :P
That wine bottle on the kitchen table, looks a lot like the Alto Wine bottles from Skyrim
So much Jim Sterling for me today, I'm a lucky man!
This one looks very interesting and I'd have liked to have seen the end! The unnecessary narrator really spoils it for me though. A classic case of 'show, don't tell' there.
I liked having the narrative context, but yeah, an actual narrator wasn't the way to do it, in my opinion.
Reese Burns Or at least, not one who just states the obvious / forces emotions. His script was pretty unprofessional too - a lot of cliches. I agree they were onto *something* though.
***** clearly very alan wake inspired- even has the shit writing down!
Well, Alan Wake was a very well written game in my opinion. I don't know why you chose to take a passive-aggressive dump on a game with no relevance to the video, but whatever. Opinions are opinions.
Reese Burns it has the same problem with narration undercutting horror. by what standard is alan wake is well written game?
At least it's better than Aliens Colonial Marines.
They have the same locks there as in Tamriel and postapocalyptic America.
narration [DING]
That lockpicking looked and even sounded like Skyrim.
So, first thing you do, when you've been kidnapped and just escaped a locked basement....
Investigate the cereal box.
"Hard crinkling yellow tissues..." best audience description yet.
Why do I find Jim's laugh contagious?
I think having heavy foot steps, that gradually get louder and in shorter pace when the player is recognized would be far more frightening than the current "Raawr!!!".
I actually want to play that one. It looks interesting, and judging by the screenshots on store page there will be more locations and stuff going on. I believe I will buy that one.
25:20 Something DID flash on the screen, right? Or do I need to go have a sleepy since I have obviously been awake for far too long?
This does look like it is one of the more well made indie horror games, it does seem to have gameplay elements with inventory systems, puzzles, etc rather than be just another Slender type clone. I rather like the look of this one.
Anyone else pause the video to read the glove etiquette pamphlet?
...no?
25:36: Is that a fully solved rubric cube?!
7:07 is where the best bit is (I was looking for ages) its fucking hilarious
That's actually an authentic Gregorian chant, at around the 28 mark; probably taken from the 'A Treasury Of Gregorian Chants' CD collection. Sounds like a piece of 'Exultet'. Neat!
Actually I kinda like it. I mean, the bald dude going BRAAAAH! is pretty ridicolous but I can see something valid overall.
OMG I get so annoyed when Jim misses something that`s right in front of him! 33:08 - The second globe is where the last circuit pin would be! And 30:03 He doesn`t go in the room where the box he was so desperately looking for was!
I'm glad I'm now a hard-crinkled, yellowing tissue.
People's eyes adjust to the dark, so after a while, you'll be able to make out items in the darkness, rather than it just being pitch black the whole time.
Atleast this game has some good production quality! Might be store purchased assests, but atleast the guy actually tried!
BIG ANGRY NAKED BALD DUDE/10!!!!!
Angry bald nudists? Finally, a game for me and my people!
My right ear is lonely.
It sounds like this guy is narrating an audiobook.
The guys voice sounds like the bugger for Gridberd
Oh god the narration.
Earlier it was GTAv, now it's back to porridge and old clothes
My right ear feels lonely
"You are dead, continue to exit" xD
They learned many things while in prison, but one thing they never learned was how to spell... (14:32 "alot" is not a word)
Nihonnoai But it IS better than you at everything.
Stephen Kelly Did I walk into another competition without knowing it? They should really learn to label these doors better.
Nihonnoai hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html
***** I had no idea this even existed lol. Thanks =D
I like Jim`s demonic laugh.
This must be the Jonathan Holmes Simulator.
33:00 Well that was teaching you a mechanic of the game, wasn't it?
Hah call me crazy Jim but I'd be happy for you to tear into our horror game with critiques once its done.
lol he said "Microphone Glass" when he looking in the microscope.
The candle models seemed to change when lit - they get more wax drippings and the handle rotates. Odd!
Holy shit, I own that Weird Al VHS!
Polish this game up, and it might actually be something. Good to see there are still people with a passion for making horror games, and not just cheap cash grabs mimicking slender.
Gotta love the narrator though
2:21
That..That...O_o Isn't that copy write infringement or something? hm :/ because that Smacks of Bethesda something fierce.
Something extremely small and petty that bothered me, when he opened the first door it swung open quickly, but the audio kept going making all manner of creepy creaking opening noises.
Is that Alto wine on the Dining table?
This is rather strange DLC for Stanley Parable, isn't it?
This is basically Slender, but in a house.
Is it just me or does this game seem very familiar?
The whole "circuit pin" thing
I feel like I saw this in another game Jim covered.
Jim, could you please turn up the games voice volume a little bit in your videos.
he should start telling us the prices of all the games he plays.
The best kind of nudity.
Hi, Adam. Still hating on people who don't like fucking horses as much as you do?
jacobislucas i don't even want to know. but lmao.
***** Right? Why is it even below my comment?
Azur are you even called adam?
Devil's Advocate I am not! I do despise people who don't like having intercourse with horses, though...
You know, you get rid of the narrator and this would probably be pretty good
Starring Saxton Hale as the monster
Was that the second Globe at 33:07 ?
Yknow... this game actually doesn't look bad at all.
Sure it looks indie as fuck but I rarely watch these videos start to finish and am still interested to play it after the video is over.
The one big thing I'd change though is the sound of the kidnapper :P hehe
Don't even make him growl, just loud ass violin will probably do the trick :)
Don’t mean to be ‘that guy’ but those windows are not reinforced. That’s safety glass, which means it’s more likely to be weaker than a standard window.
15:54 "may come in useful"
Hmmm... Here's an idea. Have a horror game but have a level similar to this as the tutorial. If the player ever wants to skip the tutorial, he can break the window and escape.
That is a huge house.
break wind segues (sp?) into Christian , then the inability to break wind....not today. hahahahahahahahah, ah hah ahhah , oh , good! oooh Brilliant!
The lock picking is the same as oblivion
Edmundo studios *Fallout 3, NV, and Skyrim.
Oblivion's is nothing like that.
Edmundo studios You mean Skyrim? In Oblivion you looked at the lock from the side and saw the pins and springs and stuff.
SteveK Yeah skyrim now I remember it.
Edmundo studios If only.....Lockpicking & Hacking Toolkit.
www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/11259.
Again the guy could have just parented different lockpick objects and turned the render's off the old. So simple takes 5 mins....doesn't need to reinvent the wheel.
***** Can't say I have seen anything so similar.
I rather liked that telescope effect.