StatusReleased
PlatformsHTML5
AuthorLUOLIXING
Made withbitsy

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Prompt 4: The text within this game is a crucial aspect in terms of how it plays. The sprite dialogue guides players by including the actions they need to follow after. Without the dialogue, it would’ve taken players much trial and error as there were strategic traps laid across the map. The amount the dialogue helps players increases as the game goes on. For example, the first map requires players to do more exploring. However, subsequent maps allow players to invite a companion to help them navigate through the field as the companion gives concise and easy to follow clues. The creator could’ve chosen to not include this part, but the use of dialogue truly allows for a smoother gaming experience. Players eventually know what to look out for when navigating the map to avoid the traps. In addition, there were some sprites that contributed to the world building of the game and added to the limited experience the game engine provides. One level that stood out was a map with a knight. The simple dialogue is effectively used to create a sense of panic. This created a parallel to childhood movies and shows where the main characters would have to escape castles, and by doing so, the world building was conveyed. Overall, dialogue was crucial in the game towards creating a more immersive playing experience. The design choices used through the dialogue were smoothly integrated in a way that made the gameplay have more depth despite the limitations of the platform.

Prompt 3: The organization of rooms in this game is the crucial element to the game. The objective is to escape the castle. The ability to go back and forth between rooms is an interesting choice for an escape game. This makes it feel more like an exploration/puzzle escape game rather than a scrolling platformer such as mario. The player does get locked out from part of the rooms eventually once they find the secret exit. This is an interesting choice because it departs from the rooms more carefully on the second playthrough to see if they missed anything because of thiprevious assumption that you can go back and forth. A player might feel more incentivized to explore. Transitions between the rooms generally have no animation which creates the feeling of just opening a door and immediately being in another room as opposed to walking down hallways in the game. The hidden entrance is also a unique addition to the game because it adds a new 'mechanic' for the player to search for. Players might not actually know to look for the correct entrance in the upper right corner and instead try the doorway in the bottom corner. This adds a bit of mystery to the room and adds to the setting of being trapped in some foreign castle. A sense of progression is also added when you come back to the starting room and the prisoner's jail cell is opened. The fact that you need to talk to the person in the jail cell to unlock the hidden entrance also forces the player to interact with a designated sprite.

Prompt 5: This game revolves around the verbs of interaction, walking, picking up, and examining. The setting of the game is that you are trying to escape a castle, which it made it easy to infer what different objects and symbols were meant to be/do. For example, in the starting room, there were tiles that appeared to depict skulls and crossbones, which are commonly associated with danger. Sure enough, if the player were to move and attempt to interact with them, the player would die and the game would restart. These kinds of traps make it important for the player to move carefully. Furthermore, movement is very necessary to progression because it is vital for the player to go to and interact with the sprites and items, which yield hints or the means to get to another room, respectively. Many of the important things to interact with were either animated, such as sprites that looked like people waving their arms around, or a familiar shape, such as a sign, which would attract the player to move and examine them. However, in the case that a player was to skip by these things and go to exits prematurely - which players will commonly do - they would be met with dialogue detailing what they need to do first, further pushing the importance of verbs such as picking up, examining, and movement. The creator enforcing these mechanics does not leave the player much control over their surroundings. However, the game still makes exploring exciting in some cases, particularly in one room where there are different paths to take.