Lost - a point and click style Mystery game(sort of..)

Hello everyone!!
My name is Aditya Hindlekar and i am a powerpoint game developer(sort of..)

I  make games on my own, but sometimes i make with our team of three members.


I always like to make some big games in ppt , especially the ones which which has more complexity . i have made  similar games back in the day with only just animations and triggers (Will post that soon), but this time i have used macros for the first time . So i hope to get your honest opinions and more suggestions about this game. 

This is a game about an astronaut (That's all im gonna say. not spoiling any other stuff.. )

I dont know how to post the photos yet but i will try it for the next post.

Sidenote: please read the Read me first first. Because this is a macro applied game , you need to enable macro and its security, so please read that first


DOWNLOAD LINK

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1mb0YwJVUJDLwX2UjxxTqkelQF_o6Zn8W

Hello Houtarou Oreki !

Firstly, Welcome to the Forum!!

Well, I have just spent a very intriguing hour or so playing your amazing game.

At first, I didn't think it was going to work, even after following the Read Me instructions. Nothing happened when I clicked on the start button. It did work second time around however, so my journey began. I managed to get as far as opening the sparking electrical box, but then got stuck. I cheated a bit and started again after exiting and opening the room with the bunk beds (restroom I presume) picking up the key and seeing the code. I then got the chemicals into the mixer, used the code, put the flask into the unit in Thruster room (I think, because nothing changed apart from the flask on the dark rectangle disappearing)- and then got stuck again.

One thing that took me a while to work out was the links to adjacent rooms. At first I tried clicking on the arrows, and found the links at the far ends of the rooms almost by accident.

I really enjoyed the exploratory element of the game and will definitely be going back to see if I can get any further without cheating!! (Or maybe you could provide me with a few tips!!)

We have at least two VBA experts on the forum who I'm sure will be interested in your game from that perspective as well. I'm a trigger-only person so would love to see any of your triggered games too.

There are some instructions in the forum on how to post pictures / screenshots which you can find here (Step 4).

Welcome again - glad to have you on board.

P.S. Coincidentally i watched the movie 'Gravity' a couple of nights ago so I had a touch of deja-vu!

Thank you very much for your opinion/ review johnr !!
Here is a clue for you- have you picked up the blue card in the laboratory? See where it would work.
Btw, from your reply , I think it's very hard to know what should we do at first. So maybe I should balance it up a bit for next game. What do you think johnr ?

First of all, Welcome to PPC, Houtarou Oreki!

Second of all, I LOVE Escape rooms, and loved this game! It did trip me up a little bit, but managed to get through it in around 30 minutes. Well done! Do you have any other games you or your group have created?

I have started working on a similar game like this over 10 years ago, and have been meaning to dust it off and start working on it again. Would you guys like to what I've started and see if you can complete it? It should play similarly to this, but hopefully will be different enough that you guys could make it work. PM me here and I'll give you more details.

Thanks, I'll check out the blue card!

Can you explain 'balance it up a bit for next game' a little more please? I'm not sure what you are thinking of balancing.

I notice that when I've played other VBA games, there has been a single warning / permission box appear rather than having to go through the instructions you have in the Read Me file. It often takes just one click and off you go. Rusnakcreative will probably know more about this.

johnr , I'm talking about the difficulty to find out what to pick up and how to use it. You said you were stuck for some time cause you couldn't find something , so I thought maybe I need to adjust my difficulty factor in the game. What do you think?

John, this is how PowerPoint works with ppsx or ppsm files. I used to have my files in ppsx/ppsm but they prove problematic when you first start them. They will still want you to enable macros or allow editing or allow viewing, all while you’re in the middle of starting the slideshow.

Houtarou, I think the difficulty was just fine. What could be improved is the addition of more hints when you click on something. For example, “Maybe I should check my computer for any clues” which would help people start the series of puzzles. Also, when you get to “restroom” and you have all parts of the bunk beds clickable, but I don’t think anything was hidden? I remember the clue was already on the floor when I came in? I’m just glad that you didn’t have a very small part of the bed you need to click in order to get a clue (crimson room, looking at you!)

I went through the game just now.

Really great! Good job Houtarou!

I enjoyed discovering and working things out. I agree with rusnakcreative the difficulty is just right.

The audio layer is also great creating a feeling of suspense. I wouldn't mind adding even more sounds depending on what's been clicked. For instance a special sound if something has been used correctly; or the sound of sliding doors when going through; or different sounds depending on what room you're in like the sound of thrusters in the thruster room, etc.

Again - congrats!

Oh dear. I'm feeling incredibly dim right now!

Spoiler:

I've obviously missed something!

Don't feel so bad, John! That 30% stays like that until just before it ends. It'll only increase at the end.

Ok thanks - that's some consolation. I still couldn't find a way of getting into the Restroom though.

Oh my goodness !! Thanks for all these reviews!!! 
Rusnakcreative, I would note your thing and will sure apply to the next game
Yahretzky, I will add more sounds to it soon. 
John, don't worry so bad. Have you used the word 'clandestine' anywhere? Try using it and you'll get something

Could you add like a map in your HUD? It got a little confusing at times trying to navigate through the rooms.

You can borrow mine if you like....

Lol thanks John!

I was suggesting that as it may help them make sure that moving from room to room is physically possible and feels natural moving around. Plus, it would help the player move around. Maybe you don’t need the map on every slide, but could be on the wall in one room as helpful decoration?

I would add a map . Thanks for the suggestion

I remember the moment I found the item I needed and could remember that earlier I saw a place where it should fit. I was desperately running around thinking: 
"Where is it? I remember seeing THAT room earlier!"
...running circles through rooms...
"Where was it?!?"
...running circles through rooms...
"Oh my God! I have the piece - where is the place that it should go?!?"
...running circles through rooms...
"(censored)"
...running circles through rooms...
"This the 9th time I'm in THIS room and and still can't find THAT room!!"
...running circles through rooms...
"I think I'm gonna faint...."
....

Hahaha !! Looks like there's a severe need to add map to this game.. 
Or maybe I shouldn't because game title would not make any sense lol  

How about a map that doesn't look like a map?

It can be a simplified drawing without too many details. Players would have to make out that in fact it is a map and quite helpful at that.
It can be anywhere:
- hanging on the message board in the lab
- hanging on one of the corridor walls
- accessible through the control room computer display
- re-appearing in different places throughout the game like a ghost
- or whatever!

Or maybe players would collect pieces of the map on various occassions by clicking on stuff? The map pieces would get 'automatically' pinned somewhere and with time they would form a complete drawing?

Or maybe the map would get 'automatically' created somewhere when players enter different rooms for the first time?

Or maybe you're right - no map?