[mikemacdee]

Info here: http://sites.google.com/site/5thmanstudio/home/beyond

EDIT: Now available!

It's the most advanced game I've made yet. Imperfect like my other works, but infinitely more atmospheric.

[Tam Toucan]

Cool. Always interested in what you're up to.

[jbjovi]

I like this kind of game, can't wait...

[SuperJerk]

Looking forward to getting to play it; I like the atmosphere you put into your games and this one looks to be the best yet.

[mikemacdee]

Beyond the Doorway is now available for download! Check the link in the first post.

[deps]

Looks very nice! Can't test it as I'm on a mac. :/

[Tam Toucan]

Finally had time to give this a go. Some minor stuff first
1) Right click to skip the 2min startup cutscene is unusal. Maybe think about other key presses as well
2) When you go from INSIDE to OUTSIDE (see pics) it doesn't look right. All other inside/outside transitions look fine, but for this one the inside you see on the outside is difference from the inside you see on the inside
3) I found it VERY easy to miss some doors (see pic)
4) This bookcase (see pic) said "There is space here" or something, so I dropped a book. I then couldn't pic the book up.
5) I had the molotov equipped and equipped the axe. The molotov was then gone. Unlike the axe when I equipped the molotov the inventory space became free.

I wanted to like it. The place is so big and kind hard to tell apart that I ended up just wandering and wandering. I wondered as I wandered if I'd just missed something important. Like the board I walked past several times, or one of those blooming doorways, or a secret bookcase that looks just like every other bookcase.

So in the end I found a gazzzzzilllionnnn notes, a blue crystal, lit a fireplace (only one not sure how), saw a gun behind a locked door, saw a key in some place I could find, met a bloke who wanted me to get the gun, and got killed instantly by some red crawling skeleton, but never really felt like I was getting anywhere.

Did like the footsteps and invisible monster though

So my general complaint is you can wander everywhere, but there aren't that many puzzles (that I could find anyway. I guess I did one or two), so it's hard to find any focus. There's not really a sense of progression. That and it's easy to miss some of the objects.

[mikemacdee]

1) Yeah, maybe ESC like the other games. I'll make a note.
2) Crap, I thought I fixed that! Good eye.
3) May add a doorframe graphic to help with that, but I'll have to find a way to make it stick out.
4) You did that right. You don't need to pick the book up again once it's on the shelf.
5) Never thought of a good way to make it obvious til just now, but when the molotov is equipped it's lit and burning. At that point you have to use it or discard it by switching weapons. I'm thinking having its "current weapon" graphic on fire might help. I can't code it so it only vanishes from the inventory when you attack with it.

The game is very open-ended, I'll admit: the core gameplay is exploration and experimentation. There are lots of objects (like that bookcase) that react to certain objects/actions. There'll probably be times of frustration, too, because I couldn't get the save function to work. I'll have to see what others suggest about its direction: whether the clues in the notes and dialogue are obvious enough or not, which is one of my biggest concerns. Everyone has reacted to it a little differently so far.

[mikemacdee]

UPDATE!

- Use ESC or Right Click to skip intro movies and return to main menu at the title screen.
- Tween-level doors are now black like Zelda doors. Makes them a lot easier to spot.
- When you equip another weapon while the molotov is equipped, Remy extinguishes the molotov and drops it where she stands; this way lit molotovs aren't wasted.
- Match sound when equipping molotov, and the "equip" graphic shows it burning.

UPDATE 2!

- Annnnd I just found out about an "infinite molotov cocktails" bug. Fixed. If this weapon keeps it up I'm gonna fire its ass.

[mikemacdee]

I've just finished adding a walkthrough to the site for those of you who want a tour of the game. It doesn't give THE path to the game's solution, just one of many paths.