I’m digging this art, @jacic.

2 Likes

ooh, I love the redone art! It’s really gorgeous.

4 Likes

Thank you so much @jasonstevanhill and @HarrisPS! :smiling_face:

2 Likes

I really enjoyed this game! The writing is vivid and the world building caught my attention and held it. The word crafting felt careful and deliberate, and the stats screen is really beautiful! I love how the images and changes support the mood and the story.

Crafting the vessel as raishall felt very magical, and the rituals and chants were compelling. I also really appreciate how much variety there is in moulding my enchanter’s personality.

My favourite ending as the raishall, to my surprise, was the ending where they accepted death in order not to allow the spirit to attack anyone who might well be innocent. It was sad but felt fitting for them and the setting.

I enjoyed how spooky the spirit side feels, and how easy it was to imagine an ethereal, hungry being. I did wonder whether there is a way to lure the raishall in with just my words before their ritual ends. If so, I haven’t managed, after a handful of play throughs. Also I discovered the flame breathing with my latest play through and I like it!

The length worked really well for me; sometimes it’s nice to read something small, especially a game like this that’s broken up into sections. The length also made it feel like reading an old fairy tale or retelling of a legend – just long enough to leave a trail of wonderment behind.

Good luck with final edits and eventual publication! :four_leaf_clover:

7 Likes

Thank you so much for the lovely comments @Fiogan! :hugs:

One thing that has been brought up is that it’s quite hard to tell what the game is about from its title so I was thinking about adding to it. I was doing a bit of brainstorming and I’m not sure I’m completely sold on any of these yet. Wondering what anyone thinks? Or do you have another suggestion? Thank you!

  • Raishall: Dangerous Spirits
  • Raishall: Trecherous spirits
  • Raishall: Dark summoning
  • Raishall: Dangerous enchantments
  • Raishall: Dark enchantments
  • Raishall: Blood rites
  • Raishall: Call of the Abyss
  • Raishall: Call the spirits
  • Other (Please comment :slight_smile: )
0 voters
2 Likes

I just picked what sounded more marketable… to the CoG gamer who has more popcorny tastes. :sweat_smile:

2 Likes

I like Call of the Abyss and Blood Rites: they roll off the tongue the best, I think.

2 Likes

Call of the Abyss is fittingly appropriate, given that Call of the Wild is already a thing.

1 Like

Hi Everyone. Another poll! (In the process of some more edits on this project :grin:) This game starts in first person with first person choices (I choose to do this), then moves to second person with second person choices (you choose to do this) in part two where you see it from a different perspective. The standard for COG tends to be first person for choices though. How do you feel about it? (If you have any strong feelings one way or the other.) Does it help to have the two sections separated in this way in the sections? Or would it feel like its making more sense if they’re all the same? (ie “I did this” for both part one and two.) Although I’ll put up a poll, would also love to hear from readers to let me know your thoughts on this too :smiley:

  • Second person choices in part two (you)
  • First person chocies in part two (I)
  • Not fussed either way :slight_smile:
0 voters

My suggestion would be:

Raishail: The Blood Summoned

This gives both foreshadowing and a solid idea of genre and story-direction.

ymmv.

As others have said, the original art is cool, Jacic.

2 Likes

Thanks @Eiwynn and everyone else who is replying to the polls :smiling_face:

Big thank you to @Fiogan for this idea. I’m going to put in some coloured headers to make it easier to tell which storyline you’re currently in. (I’ll make one for the other 2 in different colours +/- different symbols depending on if I can get some symbols to look right.)

Look ok? Or is it a little distracting and needs to be a bit thinner?

Edit: Other banners:
Spirit route:

Past route:

4 Likes

This was great! For the enchanter section, I really liked the pacing of the ritual, and the descriptions of each step in the process. I like that we get enough details to understand the setting and the Raishall’s backstory without halting the plot, and appreciated that character customization is carried over. I enjoyed the difficulty of making the ritual a success, and had fun even as I got the different bad endings, as it really showed how dangerous the spirits are to the Raishall and their clan.

For the spirit section, I loved the twist of suddenly playing as the entity that tried to trick the Raishall and was then summoned. I enjoyed the experience of seeing the ritual from a different viewpoint, and I liked the battle section at the end. I also liked the vision of the past, although to be honest, I thought the spirit section should be the last section visited – that way, experiencing the present ritual doesn’t happen twice in a row and there’s a narrative buildup from the mentor being tricked/failing in the past to the spirit’s endings where the current Raishall is the antagonist and the spirit’s oath can make it so everyone survives the night.

Typos

Growing up in a tribe with your particular gifts is never easy. No matter how much I’ve always been told it was a gift, it also keeps me separate from everyone else.
Is the first sentence supposed to be in second person, since the second sentence (and the rest of the first section) is first person?

I begin to recite the mantra of protection once more.
The “once more” doesn’t make sense if the player doesn’t choose the “recite a mantra” option earlier.

Should we meet under such circumstance all I would see will the dismay in his eyes that I’d forgotten every lesson he’d drilled into me over the years.
Add a “be” after the “will”.

Time has little meaning here beyond the growing hunger than claws inside.
“than” should be “that”.

They require the help from one of your kind, yet you can tell that the very though of summoning the darker denizens of the never-never fills them with dread.
“though” should be “thought”.

Still, you to be forewarned is to be prepared.
Should the “you” be removed here?

You feel the shield that protects their mind wavering as they consider your words.
This is repeated twice if you choose the greatest desire option.

The realisation dawns that they are trying to cut you off from the magic that feeds your presence.
I noticed that in the spirit section, the Raishall’s pronouns flip between she and they.

Unprepared for the onslaught, the Raishall sinks to the ground trying to protect herself as best $[she} can.
It looks like the first bracket needs to be changed.

$her moves voicelessly as if in a silent plea to make it quick so they would not suffer further.
It looks like there needs to be brackets, but is that the right variable?

"We know of you troubles human.
“you” should be “your”.

Also, I really like the headers!

4 Likes

Thank you so much for the nice comments and all the typo catches @expectedoperator! Very appreciated :smiling_face:

1 Like

I really like the idea of the different headers, it gives the game a lot of character! (but, is this allowed by CoG when it is released?)

1 Like

I’d think so? I don’t think there’s any rules about how to place images in HG games? I’m not going to fiddle about with the source files, just add them as an *image. (Which is going to be a bit annoying to do because it will need to be copied in after ever choice option to put it there, but that way should hopefully comply with the submission rules :slight_smile: )

1 Like

Ah! I see what you mean… it is a bit of copy-pasting all over the paste, but it should work :slight_smile: I think the game would look great with them! :slight_smile:

1 Like

What about writing one subroutine and call to it when needed?

1 Like

I could do a gosub (I think that’s what you mean?) which you’re right would definitely be the way to go if more complicated coding (I did this for Phantas as there’s a few setting checks and stat bars to display after every choice) but given it’s a single line image command it’s probably much of a muchness in terms of the code needed to implement it? (Unless there’s something I’m missing which is possible. Please let me know if I am :smile:) It’s only a short game so shouldn’t take too much time to copy out the code and check I haven’t missed any. It seems like most people like them so it’s worth my while to pop them in there :slight_smile:

3 Likes

Hey, anybody know a fix to being unable to save? I tried restarting, but still am unable to save. Is this a problem on my end or is saves not available for this public beta?

Sorry @Tellyg47 that’s my fault. I was running tests through the game and had to turn the save off to do so and forgot to turn it back on again before updating the files. I’m not able to get if fixed right now but when I’m back at my computer I’ll let you know when it’s done.

1 Like