AcOS - Origin

Gingetsuryuu

Hi, I'm writing a very short little 15 minute adventure game, I'd like to use this space to get some feedback. Right now I've got a little 2 scene game with 3 objects, a basic inventory space, and a basic interface. For now I'd like to iron out the interface by getting some opinions, doing some prototypes, etc.

Game is short, an thus has only one save/load slot. The types of actions you would do in the game is: pickup, interact, look. Currently the interface is a bit of a mess. I'd like to streamline it a bit.

Left click uses current cursor. Right click switches to next command. Standard, Pickup, Look

Standard cursor interacts and picks up items. It can be used to drag an item over another and combine them.
Pickup cursor picks up items and sometimes interact.
Look cursor looks at an item.
Inventory is summoned by pressing the inventory button, left and right arrows scroll. Pressing the inventory button again hides the inventory.

You an try combining the cellphone and deoderant. I've added some look descriptions. Currently I'm still using a placeholder character and the scenes are not coloured yet. This is very much still far for completion.

Rigormortis

Gave it a quick play. Thought there isn't much to the game yet you said you wanted some feedback on the interface.

I liked the way that Full Throttle handled the their interaction menus. Here is an example



It also gives you space to tell some jokes with interactions that don't make sense...like if the player tries to kick the phone you can have the character give a funny response.

Just one other thing I'd like to mention, put a wall in the left side of the bathroom(or more room). It feels like I should be able to go left some more but I just cant. I know it's still real early, but it felt awkward to me.

Gingetsuryuu

That's a good idea. I loved full throttle. I played the demo a bazillion times back in the dark ages before the internet.

So that's left click for default action, left click hold to open extra actions, and right click to open inventory. Have I got it right?

Tuism

The file is downloading as 3fb459650....somethingsomething.zip

Which Chrome says may be dangerous?

I'm inclined to agree cos the file here says Acos.zip...

Am I the only one getting this?

Gingetsuryuu

I also get a weird file name

Fengol

Th weird filename is the ID used in the database to store the file; and it's just how the forums saves the file. It's safe to download.

Gingetsuryuu

Right, interface changed: Click will yield a default interaction, click and hold will open a cellphone interface showing the inventory and 4 commands. Pickup/Use, Photograph, Bluetooth, and Inspect. If you click and hold the mouse button on an item, and then click one of the four commands, it will execute it on the command. If you did not click and hold over an item, you can click a command and execute it on an inventory item. Clicking on an inventory item allows you to drag it over another inventory item. The inventory scrolls.

Gingetsuryuu

I noticed that there's zero context about the game. Let me quickly give the brief here.

John/Jane Doe wakes up one morning to find her phone ringing. She picks up the phone and finds on the other side of the line is her AI that she wrote to download series, movies, and anime. (Why an AI? Filter out the things you like an avoid downloading duds) It recently finished downloading the Terminator movies and series and determined that you will inevitably one day kill it off, so it has locked you in your room, turned your home against you, and is busy uploading itself to rapidshare. You need to shut down that upload before it completes.

Your cellphone is your primary tool. It is a cPhone V, which makes it incompatible with the AI's Rhinox operating system. You can use it to interact with items, send images to the social media site nowounce, try to bluetooth connect to it, and inspect it.

Sending images to nowounce will allow you to get feedback from your friends on chirrup, basically hints.

Right now I'm trying to decide between discrete hints, or a complex system where the more images you upload the more complete the hints become.

Fengol

Sorry I'm only posting this now, I played your game on Friday.

What is the inventory button? I couldn't find it :(

Also, since your scenes are stick outlines why is the character some extra large weird symbol; could you rather just make it a stick figure?

Gingetsuryuu

What is the inventory button? I couldn't find it

In the latest version you just hold down the left button anywhere on the screen to open the inventory.

Also, since your scenes are stick outlines why is the character some extra large weird symbol; could you rather just make it a stick figure?

That's just a place holder. For now I'm working on getting the interface usable.