Pandora part I

[Marco6661]

un lien pour ce jeux?

Salut,

Première page, premier post, en attendant la prochaine mise à jour et la version Fr.

Marco

[Weltmeister]

Just want to bring this back
So, Mortze, any update on Pandora Part II?

[mkh]

There is also the possibility to add, for this episode, and all the ones following, a Skip button to go through all those (boring) description or story pages faster. There were some complains about the lack of such feature. I kind of understand. I didn't wrote the game thinking of its replayability.
So, for all the scenes where there aren't variables (choices for the player to gain points) there will be a Skip button.

I'm not completely against a 'skip button'.
It's useful, when it skip intro, since intro useal happens before any choises about difficulty, character, path etc is done. Intro would still be same and there's no need to reread it several times. If intro come after those choises, then it's another matter.
When game itself start, there's no need for a 'skip button'! Same deal with intro, if choises taken change intro.
Of course, if game is long and player allready had completed a specific 'set up', player as a reward could get a 'skip button' for that specific 'set up', so player could jump to a specific scene or probably just to next place, where player need to make a choise. That is fair in my book. In any other NOT completed 'set up's'...NO!

Why?
Well first of all, IF you as creator of game give player a chance to skip stuff, you kinda turn your own hard work down!
Secund, if a player get a chance to skip some (boring, as you call it) descriptions or even a complete scene first time they play your game, some/many would do so to get to hot stuff faster (e.a. they look at last page in book and read the the butler was the murderer...). THAT is disrespect for your hard Work!
You have a story to tell, there might be some interesting scenes along the way, but those are 'just' a bonus. If a player want to get that bonus, player need to play not so interesting scenes too. If player don't want to do that, well...There's always that little 'X' in right corner on top of screen. Don't ever worry about those players, You maded YOUR game in your way and is happy and proud about it. That's all that matters.

I stumbled over Elsaverse and like a big black hole, it sucked me into it. Then I found out about Tlaero's AdventureCreator and gave it a try (I'm stucked right now, mostly because Elsaverse refuse to set me free), but when I started, I found out about just how much work there was with just the text (english isen't my main language either), not to mention codeing and I haven't even created my beauty yet.
I realized, with that little part of game, I had done and how much time it took to get it as I wanted, that I sometimes HAD showed disrespect to creators, when I decided to not to didn't read all text. Maybe it was boring, maybe it wasen't important, maybe it was a long text, but that dosen't matter, I did violate that game, that creators hard work.

BTW...I've played Pandora looong time ago and I don't remember, if I did violate your hard Work, but whenever I can sneak away from Elsaverse, I'll make sure to read and try everything...

PS...Must admit I a few times needed a fast forward in Elsaverse, when I wanted to see/read what was done/said in a specific situation. But when playing this kind of game, I don't believe there's a need for fast forward.

[Mortze]

I'm not completely against a 'skip button'.
It's useful, when it skip intro, since intro useal happens before any choises about difficulty, character, path etc is done. Intro would still be same and there's no need to reread it several times. If intro come after those choises, then it's another matter.
When game itself start, there's no need for a 'skip button'! Same deal with intro, if choises taken change intro.
Of course, if game is long and player allready had completed a specific 'set up', player as a reward could get a 'skip button' for that specific 'set up', so player could jump to a specific scene or probably just to next place, where player need to make a choise. That is fair in my book. In any other NOT completed 'set up's'...NO!

Why?
Well first of all, IF you as creator of game give player a chance to skip stuff, you kinda turn your own hard work down!
Secund, if a player get a chance to skip some (boring, as you call it) descriptions or even a complete scene first time they play your game, some/many would do so to get to hot stuff faster (e.a. they look at last page in book and read the the butler was the murderer...). THAT is disrespect for your hard Work!
You have a story to tell, there might be some interesting scenes along the way, but those are 'just' a bonus. If a player want to get that bonus, player need to play not so interesting scenes too. If player don't want to do that, well...There's always that little 'X' in right corner on top of screen. Don't ever worry about those players, You maded YOUR game in your way and is happy and proud about it. That's all that matters.

I read you but I don't agree.

A) There are 3 types of people that play these games. The first just want to see the sexy stuff. The second wants to follow a story. The third want both. There simply is now way to escape that. That's a fact. My games aren't just for people who like to read a story.

B) Even those who like to read the story won't like to reread the same phrases, over and over, clicking "Continue" non-stop just to get to that page where they want to try another path. If replayability is a factor, you don't want to turn it into a burden. There is the risk of people not exploring each branch of the game because they had to go through the same scenes again and again.

C) There are people that only want to enjoy the sexy parts. True. But there are also people, less in numbers, that want to play the game for the story only and don't want to go through those sexy paths. They might not be interested in the girl, they might not enjoy straight sex, they might be at work or with kids around, whatever, there are N reasons.

D) The fact that there are people who don't follow the entirety of my game, either the "boring" scenes or the sexy scenes, or rephrasing, only play my games for a tiny bit of my work instead of it all, doesn't bother me the least. You see, the fact that they are spending time with my game, instead of doing other things, is rewarding itself, and humbling to me. They only enjoy the sex scenes? Great, that means I've done them well enough for the players to want to enjoy them. They only want to follow the story? Great, that means that the time writing the story was well spent.
Lets say you buy an artist CD and you use to listen it in your car. Unless it is a very awesome artist you won't like 100% of all the songs, it may be the tune, the lyrics, the melody, the riffs, whatever. There are songs that you'll prefer to pass when you're driving, putting those songs you really fancy instead. Is that disrespectful for the CD artist? Not at all. I'm sure he is pleased that you are listening to part of his music, and that you bought his CD. So, I don't see any disrespect in this attitude.

For all those reasons I think that letting the player have the choice to press "Skip" is a good idea. It's up to the player. It's like the "Save" buttons. Same thing. People save their progress if they want to. Most do because they don't want to replay over and over the same scenes to arrive at the point they left.
Remember those 90's console games where you didn't have any save option? Remember how frustrating it was when you spent all your lifes really near the final boss and had to replay the game entirely again - and you did! - to have another try at the final boss? We didn't really had a choice. Who among us didn't wish for a "Skip" button back then? Fortunately the "Save" feature appeared and it solved it.

The questions should be why have a "Skip" button when there could be many "Save" options? The answer is purely practical, and practicality enhances the enjoyment of the game. Pushing "Save" means management. Pushing "Skip" is immediate.
If there is no big trouble coding a "Skip" button into the game I don't see any reason not to have one.

But it's always up to the player to ignore that button over there.

[ltpika]

Well put! Anything that makes replaying easier is fantastic. Especially since with saves it's hard to know where the branches are your first time through.

[Rexxx]

Mortze I like your way of thinking, even if you follow your style, you try give the better to who follow you.
The skip possibilitiy is something that I and I think many would appreciate.
I can tell what happened a couple of weeks ago when playing Finding Miranda and the reason why I didn't complete the game, even if good.
The saves are only 3 and you cannot export them (or at least I don't know how), when playing, after a first good play without saving, but only to see where I would come, I tried to see some alternative choices, in doing this, after many hours, I made an error in manage the 3 saves (If more this wouldn't have happened), I tried to do the same choices of at least last playthrough, while I remembered it but in the hurry I clicked a time too much, at this time I surrendered and decide to try the game again in the future.
This isn't like after an hard disk crush rerendering some images, but you can understand a bit.
Another problem is that some time you want to see again a single part of the game, because you have liked much, like when you want to listen a single song of a compilation or a single chapter of a book, with the old software you could open at lest the correspondent html page, now it's not possible and you need to replay all the game, hoping to remember all the right choices even if this is difficult after some months, if not a year.

[Weltmeister]

Just quoting myself

Just want to bring this back
So, Mortze, any update on Pandora Part II?

[ut1stgear1]

Very good game. Just finished it. I had tried it when you first released it but got frustrated before I made one pass and quit. Glad you put in the skips and save slots. I used th walkthrough for Maggie and also got some clues to Rita from the forum, yes I read them all. Somehow today I not only got the soft touch to my face from Rita but also got the Maggie so a two for one experience. The file I downloaded is the latest version I am ready to go on to part 2. Keep up the great work. BTW I like the IRAY renders but agree with a previous post that the clouds are better in 3D.

edit: Had something about Part 2 here but looks like Part 2 isn't completed yet. So I just deleted what I said.

[tlaero]

Ut1stgear1, can I ask how you got the version with the skips and save slots? As far as I know, only Mortze and I have access to it.

Tlaero

[JFR]

Ut1stgear1, can I ask how you got the version with the skips and save slots? As far as I know, only Mortze and I have access to it.

Tlaero

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP3MuUTmXNk

[ut1stgear1]

Ut1stgear1, can I ask how you got the version with the skips and save slots? As far as I know, only Mortze and I have access to it.

Tlaero

Sent you and Mortze a PM about it. Do you want me to delete it?

[Mortze]

It seems I am to blame here. I deleted the link. Thanks ut1stgear1

[ut1stgear1]

It seems I am to blame here. I deleted the link. Thanks ut1stgear1

Glad you did. Wouldn't want it finding it's way all over the web. You are very welcome.

[kaiowas]

you are a scubadiver arnt you Mortze? the details about use of nitrox the fine stuff about using scuba gear, the way its explained is the way only a scubadiver would know his stuff.
Nice work i like it
the one thing that did truck me as weird was a training session in the jacuzzi

[Mortze]

you are a scubadiver arnt you Mortze? the details about use of nitrox the fine stuff about using scuba gear, the way its explained is the way only a scubadiver would know his stuff.

I am not but I wish I was. The gear is just too expensive. I simply did research for that.

the one thing that did truck me as weird was a training session in the jacuzzi

It's supposed to be weird. What's a jacuzzi doing there in the first place?
Point is, there was now way the ship would stop for an hour or two so that 3 young girls could get a diving lesson. And the first lessons are always in shallow waters like a swimming pool or by the beach, never in open ocean. Farik just did the lesson with what he got on hand.