#i had that fangame idea and it might be tempting me again

[antirepurp]

oh dear. the overwhelming urge to design a pokemon region is upon me again

[fragments-of-despair]

So now that the prologue has been released, I want to give my brief thoughts on Project: Eden’s Garden. I’ll try to avoid spoilers, but if you wanna go into this fully blind, now might be the time to check it out yourself. The prologue has been released for download, the playthroughs are up on the main channel, and SHSL Blaze has uploaded their playthrough of the prologue as well. Others will most likely be coming out fast as well. So get on the train while you can to avoid Spoilers. 

If you really don’t know if you should check it out or not before reading this, I urge you to please go and see the prologue through to its entirety. You will not be disappointed. 

With that, follow the Read More for my brief thoughts on this game so far. 

So to get the negative out of the way, I do think that the controls themselves need some work. Mostly I wish we had the option to adjust/toggle controls so that we can adjust it to our comfort, or at least perhaps something that could show us immediately what the basic controls were on the main menu when you first start the game. I struggled to get the controls working even with the download instructions and experimenting. In the end, I had to shut it down and opt for the let’s play instead, which is a rare issue I don’t often have with starting up a game I intended to play. I’ll try again on my next day off when I have more time to really devote to it, but if the problem persists, that might be an issue going forward. 

That being said, for a fangame with a very small team doing all this for free in their spare time? It’s honestly still an amazing feat and the team deserves a round of applause for all their hard work on getting the controls to work as well as they did based off what I saw in the let’s play. I think if they give themselves some more time in between the prologue and the first chapter to playtest things and maybe work out the kinks in how the controls are set up, we’ll have something really good in terms of playability.

Also, this might become a bit of an unpopular opinion going forward as more people play the game/watch let’s plays of it, and I do understand that this is just how he is now that the game has only just started and there’s the character development we have to wait for, but I really, really, REALLY do not like Damon as the protagonist as of the date of this post. I do like the idea of a character like Damon being the protagonist, and I have seen it be used effectively in other games and novels. But there were many times where his inner monologue and things he’d say to others made me dislike him more the further in we went, and I was half tempted to just close it out and wait until the first chapter was released (I pushed through because of the rest of the cast). By the end of the prologue, I began wishing that Wolfgang, Desmond, or Toshiko were the protagonist instead. Going forward, the writing for Damon is going to have a lot of work cut out for it to make me enjoy him as a protagonist. Or at least tolerate him as the player character.

And that’s all I really have to say by way of genuine negatives because this is all positive going forward. 

Starting with the art and UI because HOLY SHIT. If you didn’t know better, you’d think this was an actual, official Danganronpa game, and I honestly would not be surprised if someone at Spike eventually sees this and goes “hey, we need this team on our payroll”. The design of the characters are fantastic, all of the sprites are dynamic and expressive and on par with some of the best in the franchise. The backgrounds are GORGEOUS and the interface is sleek and clean and easy to look at. The colors are vibrant and it all is very beautiful. AND DO NOT GET ME STARTED ON THE MUSIC BECAUSE I WANT TO EAT IT. IT IS THAT GOOD. Honestly, the art, music, and design alone make this worth checking out. 

And don’t even get me started on the voice work because BY GOD. It’s absolute perfection. I don’t think there’s a single voice I don’t like. Mty favorites have to go to Eloise, Grace, Toshiko, Desmond, Wolfgang, Jett, Wenona, and of course, Tozu. 

SPOILER: As for the mechanics, they’re more or less your standard Danganronpa fair for the most part. You have the Climax Reasoning, the Nonstop Debates, and the parts where you answer questions via multiple choice. I do also really like that the team decided to do make the purple text something you can utilize as absorb statements. The Pathos Statement mechanic is a true gamechanger and I hope to see it implemented in future projects. 

Now, for my brief thoughts on the characters. I will go in the order of how they appear in the VA cast video. I have some thoughts that’ll be more elaborate later, but this is just a brief overview. 

Damon Maitsu: I already said it in the negatives section, but just a recap of it is “I hope his character development makes me hate him less”. Good for what he is, but will be a deal breaker character for some people. 

Eva Tsukuna: You are either going to become my best girl or my worst nightmare and I cannot wait to see where your character goes. There is something off about you and I need answers. I don’t like you, but I also don’t hate you. You’re in that weird grey area where I need more before I can really decide. 

Desmond Hall: We haven’t seen much yet, but from what little we got, I am excited to see how he interacts with the rest of the cast. Please survive at least past chapter 2. 

Eloise Taulner: I WANT YOU TO HAVE THE WORLD SWEETIE YOU’RE DOING AMAZING. She better survive or I will be very very very sad.

Toshiko Kayura: I was so, so prepared to list you as my least favorite character and right now I want you to survive to the end. Toshiko my dear, you’re phenomenal. 

Wenona: To quote John Mulaney, “MY WIFE IS A BITCH AND I LIKE HER SO DAMN MUCH!” Seriously, Wenona is so much fun as the antagonistic character so far. 

Ulysses Wilhelm: Someone get this man a lavender scented candle and a cozy blankie. He needs to SLEEP. I love him.

Mark Berskii: You are either going to be very very lowkey or you’ll make a massive splash. I hope you do a concert.

Diana Venicia: I will be so sad if you die. You are absolutely the definition of a cinnamon roll. 

Wolfgang Akire: Oh. Oh, there’s some TRAUMA here. I can sense it. So far, Wolfie is my favorite. I love him so much. I want him to have a big crying breakdown. 

Kai Monteago: “If you didn’t like me from the start, you’re never gonna like me-” HOLD IT! I like you. I didn’t expect it and honestly thought I’d hate you, but so far I do in fact like you. You pathetic little meow meow you. 

Jett Dawson: Jett, my dear, my darling. You are on par with Akane so far. I want to see more from you. 

Ingrid Grimwall: I don’t know if I want you to make me a sword or take my soul and make me into a sword. Your kind heart is as big as your arm muscles. I adore you.

Grace Madison: I expected to hate you, and yet, you are my favorite Asshole in this entire show. You’re the fun kind of Asshole. I love the fun ones. 

Jean Delamer: You’re like if Sakura, Nekomaru, and Kaito fused into a single person. You’re as amazing personality wise as your muscles are huge. I wanna see more. Gimme the FTEs now. 

Cassidy Amber: Oh, you and Wenona are gonna get along like water and oil and I am READY for it. 

Tozu: .....I feel like you’re about ready to jump to the top of my “favorite villains of all time” list and your voice is so..... I just.....I want Tozu to read audio books.

I’m honestly surprised because with ONE exception, I don’t dislike this cast. With the official games, I always have a total of three characters minimal I either absolutely dislike or am absolutely indifferent to. But I think this game has one of the strongest casts in any fangan project. Or hell, in any story I’ve come across as of late. 

And that’s about it that I really have to say at the moment. So far, Project: Eden’s Garden is shaping up to be one of the best Fangans in history, and I would honestly not be surprised if it got picked up to become and official Danganronpa title with its quality. 

If you haven’t checked it out yet, or you’re still debating on if you should, please do yourself a favor. 

GO INDULGE IN PROJECT EDEN’S GARDEN. 

You won’t regret it. 

[laytonloztew]

DDJ After-thoughts

I was planning to write a post-mortem for my entry to Dream Diary Jam 2017, Manda no Yume, but I think the June blog posts are just about good enough. I don't have the best memory, so I can't give an accurate recount of making the game. I'm going to instead start typing about whatever I can think to talk about at the moment. These are my thoughts about the game 2 weeks after release. I'll try to find some pics from early June to spread through this post as well.

This post may contain light spoilers for Manda no Yume. 

THE JAM:

I thought the jam was run very well, and I would be interested in at least spectating on another in the future. I haven’t played too many of the entries (I didn’t play Yume Nikki fangames prior to this jam), but from what I’ve played and seen I’m impressed with the other entries. I wish MnY looked as great as the other entries do. While visuals aren’t my strong suit, I think they turned out okay. The game is definitely bland, partly probably due to my color preferences. I think there is also just a lot of empty space that I could place objects in that would help. 

Remember this classic? How nostalgic.

COMBINING EFFECTS:

I'm not sure what anyone else thinks, but I think this game does combining effects pretty well. I think the process of combining effects is simple and easy to do.

The question here is really if having the effect combinations is worth it? I felt limited on what effects I could add to the game. If I add the effect as a 'normal' single effect, then it would add (num_effects) more combinations. 58% of the current combinations (40% including combinations with secret effects) are in the game, the rest aren't implemented. I don't want to add more possible combinations if most of them won't do anything, I made a bunch of the cosmetic effects just so they would be there. So okay, lets try to add this new effect as a combination. The only two effects that make any remote sense to combine to make this are x and y. But x and y already combines to make c.

I ran into this a lot, I had to think of what x and y could make rather than adding n because it would make a neat effect. I have plenty ideas for combinations with the current effects, but sometimes I'm stuck with ideas for new ones. If I wanted to make a 'sick' effect that would make NPCs walk away from me, what would I combine to make this? Lamp + Bodypillow? That's a stretch, lets just add it as a single effect. Now what do I do about sick + spoon? Sick + jacket? Sick + Bodypillow? Sick + lamp? Or even if I want to add a cosmetic effect, 'Ponytail' or 'Blonde', I feel as if I need to make combinations for these. It would take forever to make these, whereas it would be so simple if there were no effect combinations. In other fangames with combo effects, I think you just combine one effect then another? But because it is so integrated into this game and the menu is built for it, everything needs to combine if the game is going to be 'finished'.

I remember Naztheros and I sitting here thinking 'What would x and y make?' throughout planning, then figuring out a use for it. 

While that was fine, I wonder if the game would've been better off without combination effects? There would be less overall effects, but maybe the effects would be better? Whether or not having combination effects was 'worth it' depends on what you all think. It was worth it to me to try it and experiment with it, and I certainly have no plans on removing them from the game.

Only 1 (2 now? I think?) combination(s) is/are required to collect all effects, but that is mostly down to not having time to add more.

THE CONTROLS:

I understand that the controls are not conventional, but there is not much I can do. I have 2 effect keys, so I can't have the effect on shift. I could have one of them on shift, but the other would be on what? These can be rebound in the F1 menu, but its pretty limited.

I'm going to see about adding these controls to the numpad, but other than that there isn't much I can think of to improve the controls. They are displayed in the menu, but I'm going to move them to their own screen on the menu so I can show the full controls. I'll try to improve the controls instructions so they are easier to remember. I'm also thinking of adding a 'Wake Up' command to the menu, maybe in place of the current 'Save' command.

NEXUS:

What a mess. Why is it so small with so many doors? Why are there blank doors (Because I didn't want to re-do the tip system, but still a good point)? Why does it loop? Where is the center?

I'm working on a new nexus right now. I could just increase the map size, remove the looping, and clean up the doors, but I want to try something different. I'm experimenting with a map that is more like the first room in Super Mario 64's Peach's Castle, if that makes sense. I'm just trying things out, for all I know worlds will be entered through a terminal. It could be anything.

Another thing, the locks on the doors don't look like locks. I'm working on that:

THE TIP SYSTEM (◈):

I'm pretty satisfied with how this turned out. I was hesitant on adding a character with dialogue because it would be so out of place, but that ended up being the whole point of the character. The character's dialogue is supposed to be real silly and out-of-place, and that fits with the idea that they aren't a part of this game at all. In one of the post-jam updates I made it so this character appears somewhere else after you acquire every non-secret effect, and they give some more odd dialogue.

The place isn't difficult to find, but the password has to be discovered: 1. In the ponderme.txt file 2. On the title screen after waiting awhile 3. In a guide/walkthrough

I didn't want to lead the player straight to the effects without having to look for them, and I wanted receiving these tips to be optional. It ended up being sort of optional, as there are 3 extra effects that cannot be acquired without accessing this area.

I think the tips themselves are valuable enough. There isn't much more I can do without writing a guide and putting it into the game itself. The point of the tips is to point in the right direction so the player can focus on that area rather than wander clueless around every area. Early in the jam I thought of having an effect that would show you footsteps that could lead to the effect, but I think that is too much. Especially with how little areas there are in the game currently.

With the possible nexus redesign, I'm going to have to re-do this as well. The Dustonia Online CD might also be moved somewhere else, making this area a little less required to visit.

DUSTONIA ONLINE (MMO WORLD):

I wasn't sure how this would be received. It's pretty out of place and I wasn't planning to use RTP assets, but I haven't heard anything negative about it so I guess it's good. I was very curious if anyone would try leveling past 15, but no one has mentioned it so I guess not. People have definitely gotten the effect for level 15, though.

I was limited on what I could do here by not only time, but also the very noticeable frame-rate dips. This was caused by the names over NPC's heads, and I've fixed that on my in-dev build. Working on this area of the game isn't a priority, but I would like to add more to it in any future updates.

THE COIN EFFECT:

This effect is too difficult to find. It is definitely not clear that walking out of the train map after the train passes by will take the player somewhere else, and this is doubled by the fact that in previous versions of the game you could interact with the rail sign to summon the train (which wasn't intended, and didn't trigger the event for taking the player to the other map). The train is supposed to have a chance to appear upon walking towards the rails from the bottom, and is decided upon entering the map. If the train passes, entering the dark forest map will instead take you to a small forest map that has the entrance to the sewers where the coin is. The tip system doesn't help with this either, as it shows the rail sign as the hint making you think that you should interact with the rail sign in some way.

In v0.01c it is still like this, but in a future update I want to move the coin or move the entrance to the sewers (or both). While most of the game's shortcomings can be attributed to lack of time or experimenting, this and the nexus are the two main things that bother me when I think about the game. I'm tempted to make quick changes to these and release a v0.1d, but I'd rather take my time.

I think while some others can be tricky, they aren't too obscure. The secret effects are pretty easy once you discover the tip system, I was planning to have a secret effect that was very obscure just to see if anyone would find it.

RELEASE:

The game has gotten more attention than I honestly thought it would. I expected it to just get ignored, but its cool to see people playing it. Watching beta testers play the game was my favorite part of creating it. If one person likes it, then to me it was worth submitting. 

FUTURE:

I'm satisfied with how my first game jam game turned out. I would like to finish it, add an ending and improve where the game is lacking. Honestly though, I did what I set out to do. I submitted an entry to the jam, I experimented with combining effects, I have events that wake the MC up (alarm clock, air conditioner, etc). I made my take on a Yume Nikki fangame, which I had no plan of doing more than 3 months ago. Classes start up again soon, so I'm not sure if I'll keep working on it through that. Maybe if there is a Dream Diary Jam next year, I can work on the game during that time. I also want to try making a 3D yume nikki like game. We'll see, if I release an update then I'll post about it here. If I’m going to update the game, it would be better to make a big update than a small one, right? I don’t expect to attract a new audience to this game, I would be updating it mostly for you all who have maybe already played it. 

I think that covers it. Thanks.