“There’s still a long way to go until we’re reunited.”

Made in 72 hours for Ludum Dare Jam 22, The Vestibule is a visual novel adventure/mystery game about the chance encounters made by the main character, Gale, on a voyage by train for the holidays. By interacting with the other passengers on the train, you can help them or hinder them from making realizations about themselves. And maybe, in the process, you can learn something about yourself, too.

Features art by Kate Holden and story/programming by Bishop Myers. Made with the Ren’py engine.

Download now!

(Android)

• https://market.android.com/details?id=com.projectbc.thevestibule

(PC)

• http://www.multiupload.com/HFNXT1OV1D
• http://flameupload.com/files/1SNZMDVL/The%20Vestibule-win32.zip

(Mac)

• http://www.multiupload.com/9A9LE07E09
• http://www.flameupload.com/files/JIVEISJY/The%20Vestibule-mac.zip

(Linux)

• http://www.multiupload.com/YNS3AMJQWJ
• http://www.flameupload.com/files/1MY5MV7J/The%20Vestibule-linux-x86.tar.bz2

“There’s still a long way to go until we’re reunited.”

Made in 72 hours for Ludum Dare Jam 22, The Vestibule is a visual novel adventure/mystery game about the chance encounters made by the main character, Gale, on a voyage by train for the holidays. By interacting with the other passengers on the train, you can help them or hinder them from making realizations about themselves. And maybe, in the process, you can learn something about yourself, too.

Features art by Kate Holden and story/programming by Bishop Myers. Made with the Ren’py engine.

Download now!

(PC)

• http://www.multiupload.com/HFNXT1OV1D
• http://flameupload.com/files/1SNZMDVL/The%20Vestibule-win32.zip

(Mac)

• http://www.multiupload.com/9A9LE07E09
• http://www.flameupload.com/files/JIVEISJY/The%20Vestibule-mac.zip

(Linux)

• http://www.multiupload.com/YNS3AMJQWJ
• http://www.flameupload.com/files/1MY5MV7J/The%20Vestibule-linux-x86.tar.bz2

The short answer is that I’m trying something very different with the new content and it’s taking an enormous amount of time to implement properly. Most of it boils down to the new story choices.

You’re not in control
One of the core ideas I wanted to play with in Act III is the notion that you don’t actually control Auria. You can influence her, but ultimately, she is her own character. When story choices are brought up, you are given an opportunity to affect her state of mind. When you influence her to make a decision, you’re affecting her on more than a surface level; Auria must justify the decision to herself and, as a result, it causes her to grow differently depending on the decision.

When you decide to do something violent or selfish, you aren’t causing Auria to randomly have a violent outburst like in many RPGs with these decisions. Instead, you’re encouraging her to grow in a direction such that being violent and selfish is a part of her character and she will be more inclined to do this in the future. This is why, in the Relinquish ending, you don’t have any further choices in the story once you go to Halo Locks; your choices have caused her to become hardened and grow in a specific direction with enough momentum that she won’t look back again.

Branching back
Those choices were fun in Act III, even if they made the dialog and cutscenes a nightmare to write and organize. But I wanted to do something more in the Complete Edition. After gathering feedback from many players and playtesters, I decided to add more of these choices and not just in Act III. Now choices of this nature are in place in Act II, as well.

This has proven to be a logistical nightmare.

Now that you’re able to affect Auria’s characterization before going into Act III, that means that the way she thinks in the rest of the game can be different.

However, your choices now have impact on more than just Auria. For players of the original game, you’re in for quite a surprise. The story is now capable of branching radically in Act II based on your choices. These branches have huge consequences for the other characters, in such a way that their states of minds and their relationships with other characters will change.

So, what this has done is created more than just branching story – there is now branching characterization. The way certain characters grow and develop is now based on the choices you make and their consequences. This has required forking almost every scene in the game (in both Act II and Act III) to accommodate for these different possibilities.

Not only that, but I want to ensure that regardless of the path you choose, that everyone is characterized and developed in a way that creates a satisfying narrative, such that no matter what you do, it feels like you’ve done the story in the intended way (even if there isn’t one).

It’s been a lot of work, and there’s still a lot of work left to do, but I’m confident that it will pay off in creating a rich, enjoyable experience.

Human beings are transient creatures. The impermanence of life is tightly interwoven into society – the young are taught by the old so that they, in turn, can teach the next generation when the old has passed on. People are raised in a transient world.

Everything eventually breaks down. Plants wither, mountains erode, and eventually the planet itself will come to an end. The idea of impermanence is so deeply-ingrained in the minds of humans that they can scarcely comprehend something with an interminable existence.

Lurking just out of sight in the dark parts of the world, demons are a violation of this fundamental rule. Unknown to the natural cycle of life and death, demons threaten to throw the delicate structure of human society into disarray. Unable to die, they live only to consume and destroy, spreading their taint of permanence wherever they go.

But she won’t let them have their way. She has made it her duty to eliminate those which threaten the natural order of this world.

This is her story, and the story of those who have been unwittingly caught up in this ages-old conflict.

***

Ars Harmonia is a serial story set in the same universe as Vacant Sky. The first two chapters are now out, with a new one being released each Monday. Check it out here!

“I think I heard that voice once before in a dream long ago.”

Made in less than a month for RPG Revolution’s apocalypse-themed game-making competition, Finding Eden is an action/adventure microgame set after the end of the world.

Being two of the last survivors of the collapse of society, you and your friend must struggle to make ends meet while your remaining lifespan ticks away – and the only way to recover it is to scavenge life-giving mana from the pockets of vitality that haven’t already been picked clean.

Download now!

• http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6SCCT8BA
• http://flameupload.com/files/A3QBA4RC/Finding%20Eden.rar
• http://www.mediafire.com/?hzhseuc79f7se17
• http://www.4shared.com/file/f70LCCK6/Finding_Eden.html

This week’s update is another screenshot from Finding Eden, a microgame made for RPG Revolution’s game-making competition. This shows off what the main part of the game looks like. You have two characters at your disposal and can control one at a time. You can freely switch between who your leader is. The other is controlled by the AI.

I’m also happy to report that Act II has now gone into full beta, so all that’s left is to finish touching up Act III. Most of the work to be done with Act III involves adding new content, which is a lot easier than revising old content!  Look forward to more updates in the near future.

The game needs a bit of polishing up (it was made from start to finish in a month!) before it can be released publicly, but I thought I’d show off a quick teaser.

This week, let’s take a look at a new feature to the Complete Edition: Exceptions.Exceptions in the Complete Edition work similarly to how Charges worked in the original version. In the original version of Vacant Sky, Auria could store up Charges to perform special attacks. That system has been expanded.

Now, every party member has the “Charge” command, which increases the party’s stock of EP (Exception Points), which is indicated by the glowing lights beneath the turn gauge. Furthermore, each party member has a number of “Exceptions,” or special attacks which consume EP to use. Auria’s special abilities, such as Rend to Sorrows, are now examples of Exceptions.

Because every party member has the ability to pull from the stock of EP, the amount that you can have is now easier to increase. Through sidequests, you gain the ability to store more EP. Similarly, most Exceptions must be unlocked through sidequests, although some are given to you through plot advancement.