Castle Paradox

[Camdog]

First off, I really appreciate the review. Glad you liked it, and thanks for the constructive criticism.

Anyway, a few questions/comments: first, you mentioned that it would be nice to be able to save anywhere, which is exactly what you can do in Bliss. How were you saving?

Second, in terms of the speed of the text boxes, I was trying to get them (at least the intro boxes) to sync up with the music. Was this more noticable at the beginning or the end? The end would be easy enough to correct, the beginning a bit more of a pain.

Third, I didn't want to include instructions in the game because I thought it would break the atmosphere. Also, I've always enjoyed the discovery of trying out things you happen upon in RPGs. I kind of assumed players would spend their money to try out the stat boost items, as that's all there is in the game to spend money on. Can anyone else comment on this? Would it be better for the shopkeep to give an explanation of his wares rather than act frightened and thus add to the atmosphere?

Finally, its interesting that both you and Shadowiii liked the game, but for entirely different reasons. I know I've talked on the boards about making Bliss easier, but I was always hesitant because I felt it wasn't too tough. It's interesting to note that you mentioned reading the manual was important, because I remember being rather surprised when Shadowiii mentioned he hadn't discovered the explode spell until well after he was super frustrated with game. I mean, I thought of that spell as a mainstay.

It leads me to wonder (if I may go off on a tangent) if people dismiss Bliss as a newbie spacebar-masher because, well, it looks a bit like a newbie spacebar-masher. I mean, it's easy to not want to wade through the manual of a game by an unknown author since so many unknown authors post terrible games, and it's much more difficult to invest time in developing strategies in OHR game since, unlike commercial games, there's a very real possibility that there is no good strategy in the game and it's simply poorly designed.

So, does anyone else have an opinion of Bliss' gameplay? I know a few folks mentioned they hated it, and I was pretty sure I was going to change it, but now JSH had played through it pretty much how it was intended and seemed to enjoy it, so now I'm not so sure. What do you guys think?

[Shadowiii]

I've actually kinda figured it out now. But I still have problems with it. It might just be because I am retarded or something.
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But enough talk, have at you!

[JSH357]

First off, I really appreciate the review. Glad you liked it, and thanks for the constructive criticism.
It's what I do.

Anyway, a few questions/comments: first, you mentioned that it would be nice to be able to save anywhere, which is exactly what you can do in Bliss. How were you saving?
You misread: I said that it was a good thing that I was able to save anywhere in the sense that computers are so random in shutting down.(And constantly availabel saving is always a good thing)
The only problem with this is that it creates a situation in which I can save before every battle and reset until I have the right equipment/luck. Not really that much of an issue, I just kinda noticed it.

Second, in terms of the speed of the text boxes, I was trying to get them (at least the intro boxes) to sync up with the music. Was this more noticable at the beginning or the end? The end would be easy enough to correct, the beginning a bit more of a pain.
Heh, I understand. Most unfortunately, it was more noticeable at the beginning- or maybe I read slow? Get an old person to try the game out!

Third, I didn't want to include instructions in the game because I thought it would break the atmosphere. Also, I've always enjoyed the discovery of trying out things you happen upon in RPGs. I kind of assumed players would spend their money to try out the stat boost items, as that's all there is in the game to spend money on. Can anyone else comment on this? Would it be better for the shopkeep to give an explanation of his wares rather than act frightened and thus add to the atmosphere?
I would suggest having the item's description say that it permanently raises stats. The idea itself is good, it's just not the kind of thing I notice automatically.

Finally, its interesting that both you and Shadowiii liked the game, but for entirely different reasons. I know I've talked on the boards about making Bliss easier, but I was always hesitant because I felt it wasn't too tough. It's interesting to note that you mentioned reading the manual was important, because I remember being rather surprised when Shadowiii mentioned he hadn't discovered the explode spell until well after he was super frustrated with game. I mean, I thought of that spell as a mainstay.
I flipped back and forth between the manual and the game, mostly to check on what the spells actually did- if you ask me that actually creates a bigger realism-killer than putting instructions in the game. Explode actually didn't throw me off, but only because I use a spell with the exact same name and effect myself.. (Which I should change now :p)


It leads me to wonder (if I may go off on a tangent) if people dismiss Bliss as a newbie spacebar-masher because, well, it looks a bit like a newbie spacebar-masher. I mean, it's easy to not want to wade through the manual of a game by an unknown author since so many unknown authors post terrible games, and it's much more difficult to invest time in developing strategies in OHR game since, unlike commercial games, there's a very real possibility that there is no good strategy in the game and it's simply poorly designed.

This game actually made me form more strategies than most commercial games that I've played- and most strategies as well. The only thing is, many of the attacks are quite simply better than others- for instance, until the final enemy, I only used magic. Then, I had to switch to speed because he kept using Hellfire. I think you did a pretty good job in that respect all things considered- I would suggest making certain enemies completely resist certain attacks. (And why didn't you use the 'absorb damage' bitset? Did this game come out before it was available?)