A Landlord's Dream (MAGS January 2015)

LostTrainDude · Tue 03/02/2015 02:04:55

[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/TMDAd30.png]http://i.imgur.com/c3eb0LF.png[/imgzoom]
A LANDLORD'S DREAM

Abel Lowen, a Stringshaper, gets woke up by his apartment's alarm clock in the middle of the night. When he'll finally get up, late for his band's rehearsal, he will find out that almost nothing seems to be working properly.

What happened? Are others experiencing the same problems? Why is his neighbour hallucinating in the middle of the hallway?

[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/iVItyiF.png[/imgzoom]

[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/BUVxYRR.png[/imgzoom]

[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/ostjwhe.png[/imgzoom]

HOW TO PLAY

LEFT CLICK - Interact
RIGHT CLICK - Examine
F5 - Save Game
F6 - Load Game

FEATURES

320x200 resolution
Sci-fi setting
Sci-fi inspired music
A rare example of good neighbours' adventuring!

TEAM

LostTrainDude - Design, Coding, Music
Kastchey - Art, Design
CaptainD - Brainstorming Help, SFX, Proofreading

21/03/16: To celebrate the game's nomination for Best Music and Sound at the AGS Awards 2015, the short OST is now available for download!

AprilSkies · Tue 03/02/2015 08:08:34

BOOM!
What a GREAT game, dude!!!
Oh Man, u'r a machine. Two MAGS entries in two months: two mastesrpieces!

Also, I love the art here. Great job, Kastchey.

Edit: Also also... Who's the SFX guy here? Good job as well

st. · Tue 03/02/2015 08:15:35

Great job, you guys!! Thank you for the experience! It drew me in and kept me in until the end. Heh, I guess I have a soft spot for this theme. In regard to the execution, I must say I was very impressed about how you managed to build around occasional imperfections - the whole was definitely greater than the sum of the parts. Hope you'll maintain this quality throughout the full length game. Cheers!

CaptainD · Tue 03/02/2015 12:57:03

Congrats LostTrainDude and Kastchey!!

You did a great job with this and I'm only sorry that I was able to offer so little help. Although glad Anread liked the SFX

NickyNyce · Tue 03/02/2015 14:30:16

Congrats on your MAGS release, team. Just added this to my play list. Looks and sounds great.

IndieRetroNews · Tue 03/02/2015 14:39:25

http://www.indieretronews.com/2015/02/a-landlords-dream-sci-fi-adventuring.html

Tada

Kastchey · Tue 03/02/2015 21:59:22

Many thanks for the review!

Also featured on CaptainD's blog: http://www.indiegamenews.com/

ThreeOhFour · Tue 03/02/2015 22:36:28

Man, I knew I had to play this as soon as I saw Kastchey's art! I love the feeling of the world, you made a few rooms in an apartment block seem like part of a much bigger universe. I found the puzzles a bit rough/frustrating, sometimes I was guessing the solution to things. But the presence of the world, and the conversations were lovely - I particularly enjoyed that you put in a little news terminal to read. Congrats on completing your MAGS game guys!

Ilyich · Tue 03/02/2015 23:49:55

Lovely! Really cool, evocative art, lovely Vangelis-like retro sci-fi music and a nice concept. The overall feel of the world was just the right tint of cyberpunk for my tastes too - more Gibson and Stephenson than Blade Runner (minus the music

). The design and implementation are pretty rough, but considering it's a pretty long MAGS game - great work, guys! Would love to see more from the same team, be it in the same setting or not!

xil · Wed 04/02/2015 01:12:01

I'm an absolute sucker for anything remotely 'Blade Runner' and the graphics definitely gave me that vibe. When I see great graphics I can sometimes be really let down if it doesn't play how it looks (if that makes sense) but I'm happy to say the writing was equally as good and the sound and music worked well.

It is admittedly a little rough around the edges but it doesn't detract from what is a great MAGS entry, well done guys!

vertigoaddict · Wed 04/02/2015 05:55:28

Just finished playing this game, I wonder if this was at all influenced by that short story by E.M. Forster? "The Machine Stops" I kept getting that vibe, also, was Hari's character portrait based on Emma Watson? Really looks like her.

It's cool, it would deffo be awesome to see a longer version.

AnasAbdin · Wed 04/02/2015 09:23:31

Great work from a great team.
Why great games are short?

Myinah · Wed 04/02/2015 09:38:35

Great MAGS entry. I liked the detail of the art in the bedroom and really enjoyed the story. As others have said the puzzles need a bit of polish and there were interactions missing but it was an engaging story with nice graphics. Well done

LostTrainDude · Wed 04/02/2015 11:20:13

First of all thanks a lot folks, really!

I really love all your feedback, they make the sleepless nights we spent over this, in the last crunching days, extremely worthy!

It was great to work along with Kastchey who provided with his amazing imagery and ideas, lots of food for thought and inspiration all the way through the development and was as tireless as I tried to be!

CaptainD insists he played a small part in this, but I always answer that he played a key role during the very first days of brainstorming where my ideas were completely sparse and confused, other than providing most of the sound that the game carries!

I'm aware of the lack of polish and the missing details: some of these were not implemented in time and I feel really bad for that (actually I hope I can fix this now, as I asked Atelier).
Anyway, I'm also aware that we did our best to deliver something entertaining for you folks to play and, at least, now I know we did!

About the influences: I feel a little bit of shame because, as much as I like sci-fi\dystopian settings in videogames, books and movies, I have very few knowledge of the genre! Reading the authors you listed (plus some that CaptainD mentioned) just makes me think it's really time for me to catch up!
At some stage during the development, though, it struck me how Zak McKracken was probably playing a great deal in how my subconscious suggested me ideas to put in the game

.

Spoiler

It is also referenced in the game, on Abel's ID number!

[close]

That said, thanks again: creating the world was for me the best part of the development. I loved creating the whole setting and the characters (I kinda hated dealing with dialog branches though

) so hearing that the dialogues were interesting it's for me another great achievement!

Also, it's the first time I create something that may eventually recall a proper soundtrack for a game and yes, the first scene screams Vangelis all the way

.

Thanks again, everybody! Can't wait to play the other games of this month's MAGS that turned out to be full of entries!

CaptainD · Wed 04/02/2015 11:33:15

Quote from: Kastchey on Tue 03/02/2015 21:59:22
Many thanks for the review!
Also featured on CaptainD's blog: http://www.indiegamenews.com/

More specifically - http://www.indiegamenews.com/2015/02/a-landlords-dream-cyberpunk-adventure-game.html

Quote from: vertigoaddict on Wed 04/02/2015 05:55:28
was Hari's character portrait based on Emma Watson

I can't answer that one, but she was named after Hari Seldon from Isaac Asimov's "Foundation".

Mandle · Wed 04/02/2015 11:45:09

Just finished playing: A very nice looking game visually and quite creepy in parts. I had a bit of trouble understanding exactly what was going on sometimes, but that might be intentional as I sense that this game is just the beginning of a longer story...

ArgyBoi · Wed 04/02/2015 11:56:46

Congrats on the release! I just completed it. I would like to see a "post-MAGS" version with some of the "rough edges" more polished (the rush to tell the background story and some arbitrary puzzles). Overall, I loved the atmosphere, I think it has a great potential for a larger game.

Hobo · Wed 04/02/2015 12:19:20

You guys have really nailed the atmosphere. Graphics, writing, music (and SFX) - they all blend together so well. As already mentioned, the puzzle solving part of the game needs some additional polishing, but it didn't stop me from enjoying the game.

Great work! There's tons of potential and I hope to see more from all of you.

Spoiler

There's a flower pot in the hallway that has no description text, but gives responses when you click on it. Also, you could talk to Hari, when you're playing as her.

[close]

Kastchey · Thu 05/02/2015 11:05:52

Hari's portrait was not based on Emma Watson but damn you're right! It had not occurred to me, but she does kind of look like her.
When I draw portraits, I try to avoid looking for inspiration among celebrities as this would likely seem somewhat derivative... I guess I have accidentally failed at this one, haha.

Many thanks for the wonderful feedback guys, it's amazing to see the game being so well received despite the obvious rushed parts.

We are indeed looking to work on an extended version of the game, not only polished up but also with more content.
(And with a lot more news in the terminal, Ben

)

HanaIndiana · Sat 07/02/2015 23:24:47

I couldn't figure out how to create an emergency, but I'm guessing there's more.