A Date in the Park

[shaun9991]

A short and strange game from the makers of Mudlarks!

DOWNLOAD HERE

A Date in the Park is now on Steam Greenlight! Hoping to get some more exposure for it by getting it on Steam as a free download.

If you enjoyed the game please do consider giving us your vote You can vote here: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=646036057

Story:
You are Lou. You've recently moved to Lisbon, in Portugal, to take up a new job and start a new life. Within days of arriving, you meet an enchanting woman, Catarina, at a bar on a night out. After a few hours of getting along swimmingly, you agree to meet her the next day in her favourite park.

You arrive at the stunning park on a beautiful sunny day, with high hopes. Lou soon realises the atmosphere is a little off... it's not going to be an average date.

Features:
- A cast of several characters
- Language confusion - Lou does not speak Portuguese.
- 20+ screens to explore
- A short, narrative experience, with a few puzzles as well. I think it will take between 30 minutes and an hour to complete. Maybe a bit more, maybe a bit less, depending on the player
- Twists and turns - shocking moments! (there's a horror element to the game)
- 90s style digitised graphics and animated sprites (sprites are animated much better than in Mudlarks)
- 640 x 400 resolution
- Real world location to explore- Tapada das Necessidades in Lisbon, Portugal
- 2 click interface, with inventory etc

[AnasAbdin]

Congrats!!! Finally it's here. I'll spend a wonderful evening for sure

[Mandle]

I have been waiting for this since the amazing Mudlarks month or so I spent solving that damn thing

Now you have released this just when I have to go to bed...

Ah, screw it, DOWNLOADING!!!

[CaptainD]

Congrats on the release Shaun!  Shout me on Twitter if I haven't done a post on this in the next couple of days.

[Mandle]

Just finished the game and I must say it was a very enjoyable and mysterious experience.

I have a question or two:

BIG SPOILERS(do NOT look if you haven't played):

Spoiler

I noticed there is no "alternative endings" feature listed so is the tragic end the only one? The game seemed to lead me towards that ending but maybe I missed something?

[close]

Second question:

Spoiler

Are you a big softy romantic and actually met an amazing girl in Portugual and had a date in this very park and made this game for her where she got to be the evil temptress? If not then sorry, but it was kind of the vibe I got, and something like I would do myself for a girl I was in love with...In that nerdy way that girls tend to find endearing...

[close]

[Cassiebsg]

Is there a mirror for this one? Game jolt doesn't work for me.

[shaun9991]

Thanks for the nice comments guys Have had some really positive feedback so far.

Anas: Once you've played it, let me know what you think

Mandle:

Spoiler

Glad you enjoyed it So far there is only the one ending... I've been in a bleak mood lately Recently had a few ideas about alternate endings, when I get some time I might re-jig the game around a bit to give it more replay value and alternate endings. I did't meet a girl in Portugal lol, though I did go this park with my wife, and while we were walking around it seemed quite strange and abandoned, there was only a creepy gardener and we saw a duckling get randomly attacked... so in that sense its a true story

[close]

Cassiebg: Sorry about that. I've uploaded it to IndieDB too, which is generally very reliable. Just need to wait for the file to be verified there, I'll post a link on this page as soon as it does

Also, a big thanks to Problem and Hedgefield from this very forum for their help with playtesting and stuff, much appreciated!!!

[AnasAbdin]

I was literally in a little park in Portugal 5 minutes ago I wish the game never ended!

Really very well done Shaun. If everyone of us made a game based on locations around them we'd bankrupt Google Street View.

Spoiler

Naming the duckling was an amazing touch!
What did you guys name your duckling?

Spoiler

[close]

[close]

As Mandle said the game seemed to lead us towards the end. You know the whole game can be an intro to another game where (your brother maybe?) investigates

The backgrounds are awesome. At some point I'd love to see one of the backgrounds before editing too. I paid so much attention to the details on the buildings tops, they reminded me of some old places I used to hang out when I was a kid. Even for a short game, I got immersed quickly! For some reason the pigeons scared the hell out of me 

I'd definitely play it again even if you didn't add alternative endings 

[Problem]

I had the pleasure to test this one. It's an excellent short game! My only criticism is that puzzles are a little sparse for all those backgrounds, but the atmosphere is fantastic, so I didn't mind walking around to find the next clue. The game starts very relaxing and it does indeed feel like being on holiday, but the story turns out rather creepy in the end. Very effective use of photographs, and the animations are a lot better than in "Mudlarks". Well done!

[AprilSkies]

Congratz for the release Shaun!
I'm traveling for work so I can't play it till friday, and this is causing me anxiety. LOL!
For now, I can say that the screenies are very nice!

[Vincent]

FMV GAME ! Finally !


I Love this game, and very well done !
Congratulation Shaun for the release!

[Shadow1000]

I just finished this game. The scenery is gorgeous and once it starts, the story is engaging. I happen to read Portuguese so I'm not sure if the dialogue is a bit confusing to English-only people or is intended to add to the mystery of the environment.

Spoiler

I will agree that there is a lot of walking and exploring for very few puzzles. I do have to admit that I did not see the ending coming. I don't want to give away too much but ... wow...

[close]

Thanks for a really well-made short game.

SHADOW

[Stupot]

Congrats in release Shaun. Can't wait to check it out :-)

[Cassiebsg]

Finished!

Besides the Google translation and Brazilian Portuguese in the mix, was a nice little game. And yup, lot of walking... .
Also noticed a few mistakes in English (like a word missing here and there).

Spoiler

@AnasAbdin, I named mine Donald... sounded right for a duck for some odd reason...

[close]

Spoiler alert!

Spoiler

Do you really want to read a spolier? Move along if you don't! :p

Spoiler

Funny, that I had already suspected the Gardner was dead, but I thought his head was in the bag. But maybe that was because I understood what the guy said?
Love the plane fly by... you got lucky or was on purpose?
Odd enough, once the cop showed up I knew what was going to happen... (not to the cop though).

[close]

[close]

Thanks for a little bit of nostalgia.

[Vincent]

Creepy Happy Ending ^^

[Stupot]

Just played it. Nice game, well pulled off. I wish it was a tad longer, or at least included a couple more puzzles, but overall very fun. And had me almost genuinely crap my pants at one point.

[sergiocornaga]

That was fun. I'm glad I only glanced over your description, as I was fairly surprised by some of the game's events! Personally I'd advise against adding more endings, the one that you've got already suits the game very well.

- Maybe with full speech voice acting

You should probably remove this 'feature'. 

Spoiler

Naming the duckling was an amazing touch!
What did you guys name your duckling?

[close]

Louie.

[AprilSkies]

Shaun! I finally played it!
I was busy doing a lot of stuff with the projects I'm workin on... but today i found the time.
It's around midnite here.
It's like 1990, when i used to go on all nite playin Adventure games!

And this is so damn good. And so damn 1990 too, LOL!

I must say that this one is technically even better than Mudlarks. Well Mudlarks has a story soo good that it's hard t do better... But with tis one I can understand the path you're going to draw!

Ok going to finish it. Cause ... I fear i'm going to finish it
A way too short uh?

[Cassiebsg]

Personally I'd advise against adding more endings, the one that you've got already suits the game very well.

Actually, I totally agree with this.
More endings would mean "there's a right and a wrong way", and I think the story leads to this end.

PS.

Spoiler

Shouldn't there be a warning for gore and mature audience only?
If there is, I totally missed it.

[close]

[Mandle]

PS.

Spoiler

Shouldn't there be a warning for gore and mature audience only?
If there is, I totally missed it.

[close]

Spoiler

Meh...kids these days would be all like:

"Pfft...you call that gore?! I've seen all the Saw movies and The Human Centipede..."

[close]