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Primal Directive: A horror game about decisions

Discussion in 'Works In Progress - Archive' started by Warrior1424, Sep 18, 2014.

  1. Warrior1424

    Warrior1424

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2010
    Posts:
    984
    Primal Directive is a simple game.
    You walk down a straight never ending hall to get points.
    You get 1 point for every grey door you walk through.
    You may save this score a total of three times, but once you use up your saves, the only way to save your score is to use one of the red exit doors.
    You must walk cautiously, as you are being hunted by an enemy that has spawned a random distance form you.
    Thing is, if you die, you get the last score you saved at a computer.
    The player must decide when to use their saves, and whether or not they should play it safe with the score they have and exit, or continue on to try to get a better score.




    I uploaded this game/demo thing to IndieDB, but I soon found out the demo had a game breaking bug, and had to re-upload the file. Because of this, the file has yet to be re-authorized, and is therefore unavailable at the moment.

    EDIT: The download is now available at IndieDB!

    I plan on fleshing out this game into a full version until I feel comfortable with charging about $1-$2 for it.
    This version posted here will remain mostly the same (although I will continue fixing bugs), but the full version will contain more features, more stuff to look at, and possibly more stuff to run from.
     
    Last edited: Sep 18, 2014
  2. Warrior1424

    Warrior1424

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2010
    Posts:
    984
    Current List of Planned Features (still growing):
    - Random scenery generation to liven up hallways
    - Better visual effects, and an options screen
    - Chance for the enemy to come up from behind the player
    - Easter eggs that add to the currently unexplained story
    - Another side door that can spawn that acts as a closet that allows the player to dodge the enemy, causing the enemy to re-spawn
     
  3. Warrior1424

    Warrior1424

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2010
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    Updated demo with Mac and Linux support.
    Currently working on the full version, more updates on that coming soon.
     
  4. Warrior1424

    Warrior1424

    Joined:
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    Posts:
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    I hate bumping so much, but I have a serious problem.
    Nobody understands the point of the game. I've gotten nothing but confused feedback, and it's starting to worry me.
    The point of this demo was to make the full, more fleshed out version easier to sell, but at this rate it could have quite the opposite effect. I'm going into full panic mode trying to make the game as easy to understand as possible.
    This is my first actual public release, and it isn't going smooth at all.

    Do I need to just hurry up and crank out the full game, or am I just overreacting?
     
  5. ANTMAN0079

    ANTMAN0079

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2013
    Posts:
    277
    So, you want some feedback...?

    1 - You should make this a webplayer file. I absolutely don't care to d/l anything that can possibly result in my PC getting a virus.
    2 - I played it twice. I went through 6 doors, saved. I then went through 10 doors, saved. Nothing happened, ever. I did not enjoy my time with this. There's nothing but a continuous hallway going through the same darkness leading to the same 2 doors... which I was already aware of since it's in your description.

    I'm guessing you want the player to continue on until they 'feel scared' and either exit the hallway with their points OR continue on to get a higher score with fear that they will die any second. If any of the players are anything like myself (a gamer for over 25 years), they will see this as a test of patience and ultimately there's nothing fun about that... much like real life.

    All you really have is a foundation for something... maybe. But who cares what the game might be when at the beginning it is nothing more than moving through a dark hallway? I would suggest making it more of what you want it to be before having people play it. And I don't know why you would need to " just hurry up and crank out the full game". Is the world going to end earlier than expected?
     
  6. Warrior1424

    Warrior1424

    Joined:
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    Posts:
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    1 - To be fair, IndieDB downloads and checks all files before they are made public.

    I guess it's good I made this actually, because it's nice to get other peoples' opinions. The people that had tested it before it had become public actually liked the constant threat of danger.

    With this demo I found that most people aren't too fond of this whole "gambling" thing, and most people didn't even think a monster would spawn. Because of that, the final game will have that whole mechanic removed completely, and will be vastly different.

    I guess the reason I made this demo was to take a basic idea of mine, and see if people liked it.
    Since most people did not, should I just let the demo page die, pretend this never happened, and re-brand the whole thing?

    The current version of the game is really only similar in the sense that there is a (now randomly) generating hallway.
    There's no laptop, no exit door, and is much closer to the game SCP-87B, as you have random encounters with enemies that you must deal with quickly. There's also scenery that spawns in the hallway, and actual rooms.

    Thank you for your input by the way, ANTMAN0079. Most people either just say "It's great" or "I don't get it", which doesn't really help at all.
     
  7. ANTMAN0079

    ANTMAN0079

    Joined:
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    "The people that had tested it before it had become public actually liked the constant threat of danger."

    OK.

    "With this demo I found that most people aren't too fond of this whole "gambling" thing, and most people didn't even think a monster would spawn."

    And there might be the fault in the game demo. The people who played it before it went public might have felt special... along with being the type of PC gamers who love playing anything new that isn't even finished. Then, when you made the demo public, far more gamers who might not necessarily fit that mold played it and didn't like it at all... probably because they can't stand the "imagine this might happen" idea behind the gameplay anymore.

    If the current version of the game is closer to the game you mentioned (had to look up a video), then I don't see how it's any different than what I played. It's still just a 1st person view of somebody walking through a hallway or stairway and maybe some scary character appears. I know that there's a thing about "indie" game developers and "trends" and "popularity = success" or whatever but I'm not going to even get into that without a grand audience and being paid.

    Again, all I saw was a foundation for something that could be interesting but currently isn't fun or new. You could build upon what you have or build something else.
     
  8. Warrior1424

    Warrior1424

    Joined:
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    The newer build isn't public yet :) The one you saw was probably the slightly updated demo.
     
  9. runner

    runner

    Joined:
    Jul 10, 2010
    Posts:
    865
    In most games that i play saving before another inch is my mantra!

    While here in this, I feel the stress to save often but can not, I reached a score of ten then quit. with 1 save remaining an no monsters seen.

    Rather a shallow game with no depth such as a storyline or anything worth merit to mention, It is the worth-while that could bring me back for more, How you plan to keep players interested unless you plan on 1 play through games?

    I like radomized monster generation games with exploration. Loot drops, whats behind the door? then closing the door fast to keep them in there. basic text driven muds can hold my amusement.

    What does annoy me is cheap to make and equally cheap scares in games.

    Liked the fonts and main screen and the game performed well on the OS vista, And no sluggy behavior on Nvidia gtx 650.

    Just my opinions and i meant no offense, Do as you like you are the one making this. And stick with it even if people dismiss it as trash.

    Good Luck
     
    Last edited: Sep 21, 2014
  10. Warrior1424

    Warrior1424

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2010
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    984
    I don't really know what in was expecting when I put out the demo. I guess I figured it was better than just having screenshots. Maybe demo was not the correct term to use, as it really just shows a small beginning to a much bigger game. I think for now I'll just continue working on the revised version, and will just stick to screenshots as updates.