Moments of Paranoia by SpellingPhailer
This is a pretty simple game that focuses on atmosphere and creating a tense situation. It's a bit of an experiment for us, so be sure to comment on what you think of it after playing!
We wanted to create a game that forced the player to make a choice where he/she didn't really know what the "correct" answer was, or if there even was a correct answer at all.
Also, as you probably noticed if you played the game, it's very inspired by John Carpenter's "The Thing".
The game was made by:
Pontus Lunden - Art, Music, Writing
Kristian Brodal - Programming, Implementation
KNOWN ISSUES:
- Sometimes when you click the head of the characters, you will shoot them instantly. To avoid this, click on their bodies when choosing who to talk to.
WHAT WILL BE DONE IN THE UPCOMING POST-COMPO VERSION:
- The ability to click ahead in dialouge
- The ability to change character to talk when the selection menu is active (this actually was a feature during development, but at some point it must have bugged out. Whoops.)
We wanted to create a game that forced the player to make a choice where he/she didn't really know what the "correct" answer was, or if there even was a correct answer at all.
Also, as you probably noticed if you played the game, it's very inspired by John Carpenter's "The Thing".
The game was made by:
Pontus Lunden - Art, Music, Writing
Kristian Brodal - Programming, Implementation
KNOWN ISSUES:
- Sometimes when you click the head of the characters, you will shoot them instantly. To avoid this, click on their bodies when choosing who to talk to.
WHAT WILL BE DONE IN THE UPCOMING POST-COMPO VERSION:
- The ability to click ahead in dialouge
- The ability to change character to talk when the selection menu is active (this actually was a feature during development, but at some point it must have bugged out. Whoops.)
Ratings
| Coolness | 100% | 1 |
| Overall(Jam) | 3.54 | 95 |
| Audio(Jam) | 3.93 | 21 |
| Fun(Jam) | 2.73 | 317 |
| Graphics(Jam) | 4.21 | 65 |
| Humor(Jam) | 2.03 | 358 |
| Innovation(Jam) | 3.05 | 200 |
| Mood(Jam) | 4.22 | 7 |
| Theme(Jam) | 3.73 | 36 |
But love all the aspect, especially the open ending (although I would love hint on the dialog to provide one clear answer)
I realy like the story, and the way you tald it :)
Did I win!?!?? haha I liked how it played off of "The Thing" :)
Also, the text needs to be skippable.
Enjoyed this very much!
Story is great! and man, the graphics!!
Very nice!
As its already been said, it would have been nicer if text was faster and if I could cancel once I select someone, but even that, I still really liked it!
I specially liked the minimalism of the music. Just some background noises and a piano. It creates a nice tension atmosphere while not distracting the player.
What bothered me about the text is that, no matter the size of the phrase, it seemed to scroll at the same speed, what doesn't makes much sense.
Now I freaking NEED to know who is the monster!
I'm just dying to know whether I got the right guy in the end! D:
I shot the tie guy.
Again, a very nice result of jamming :)
Nice entry anyway dudes, if you focus on atmosphere the job is well done !
I'll try to check the postcompo if I remember to
That could sound a bit harsh, but I'm only a bit frustated because I really liked it I want more ^^U
I liked the slow peace the game. Even though yes... I'm dying to know the correct answer! :D
I suppose the reason why the timer is so short is probably to force the player to make a choice. As soon as the game is finished in one way or the other, we realize that the trick is: no real ending... killing kind of any re-play value for the game. But at same time, that's exactly the point of this game, make you realize you had no real good choice. I personally believe that the monster -if it exists- would be the guy on the right, holding the gun (nice finale right?).
Anyway... really great game! Congratulations :)
The placing of the shoot option is way too close to the cursor position though. I misclicked 'shoot' on the labcoat guy twice now...
Think about it. Aside from the random fact you have a gun and do NOT look like some sort of security guard for what must be a high budget lab, look at how your character acts throughout the sequence. First the guy in the blue starts having breathing difficulties, then the lab coat guy - but do you, at any point beyond the initial huffing you start with? They say that the shapeshifter isn't affected by the gas. It's probably forgotten to mimic this because the only two people who can help it escape are before it, dying. It is too focused on trying to leave.
Infact, if you do let the timer run out, everyone else collapses first, with your character only collapsing to his knees, clearly watching the others - to make sure they aren't faking somehow, so his ruse isn't discovered by someone who could still prove useful? Only after assuring this does he go down, to pretend and wait for some investigation team to investigate the incident at the lab...
There's also the fact one of the 'proof of identity' questions for both lab and blue shirt guys are 'What is the escape code?'. It is the only shared question. This shows desperation on the shapeshifter's part to learn what that code is so it can leave, and the other questions are probably only there to throw off suspicion. You could argue that the character was asking to test the answer against his own knowledge, but the fact he'd ask something like that in the presence of a force they are trying to contain is very suspicious.
If you do shoot any one, the other one will still definatly know the code (as they both claim to have that knowledge), so you could use them to leave. Killing someone would dispel all doubt in thier mind, so they would submit to thier own desperate desires to leave, trust you, input that code...and doom everyone.
Also, letting the gas run out is as valid an option for it if you think about it. Eventually, someone will come looking, and open the door. There's nothing to suggest that in the chaos, the previously unknown fact that they can survive gassing was sent offsite. People thought they killed the shapeshifters once by gassing them; why couldn't that mistake be made again?
Good job on graphics and the music, they nicely match.
The concept is great. The more general backstory has been done before, but is still powerful and tense.
Audio is excellent, among the best soundtracks so far this LD.
You've mentioned that you're going to add the ability to click ahead in dialogue, and I think it would also be good to be able to click out of one character's dialogue menu without selecting anything.
More of a story experience than a gameplay one, but it's a good story. One of the more memorable entries I've played. And like I said, the graphics and audio are made of gold.
Grammar nitpick: "intoxicate" really should be "poison".
SPOILER
So there's no right or wrong solution, eh? Mean, but feels appropriate to the situation.
Would have been fun to have the option to shoot yourself, just for completeness's sake.
Don't press the submit button before thinking, Chris.