Ellipsus.

[Pokémaniac]

RTP Required. Download.

Ellipsus is one of those moody psychological thriller/horror games that are all the rage these days. It focuses on horror through gameplay techniques rather than cinematic ones. The gameplay is basic and very easy, as it is not a focus. It's only 5 minutes long, and a few MBs, so why not give it a whirl?

The game features no cutscenes, with the characters acting out scenes while the player is still able to move. Please note that you are meant to be able to walk through characters, as otherwise the player would be getting in the way of the scene, and the scene would be getting in the way of the player.

There is a door, and a timer. You have to get out before the timer runs out. So why won't you open the door?

(Yeah, this is pretty love it or hate it, I think. Just whipped it up to see if I could ever do anything with a serious tone ever. I probably can't. Feedback please!)

 

[Toams]

Cats r kewl

k

so i downloaded it, and gave it a spin
first off i'd like to say that this doesn't feel like horror/thriller in any way. the timer just restarts itself, and with the use of the standard bleeps and sounds of the rtp the atmosphere is completely blown.
also

It focuses on horror through gameplay techniques rather than cinematic ones. The gameplay is basic and very easy, as it is not a focus.

did you focus on gameplay or not? very confusing

anyway, im stuck right now. i

Spoiler

opened the door, crafted the helmet, and gave the helmet to the woman: http://bb.ohsk.net/uploads/helmet.png but it won't let me do anything else.. i can't reach the door either. I'm a bit stuck on hints too.. is this a bug or is it part of the game?

ps while im in this spoiler just know that i liked how you could shoot the teddybear and obtain the key

you see, if you focus on horror through gameplay, then you might want to include some sort of story in it. as this is just contextless walking around and solving puzzles, you don't live into the character. also the timer thing is very unclear. in fact, EVERYTHING is unclear. the idea is cool though.

and the thought of having puzzles timed and adding something to a certain scene to make something happen is well-executed here. so good job on that. I'd love to see you refine this concept some more, and go more in-depth with it.

 

[Pokémaniac]

Hey Tomas!

Yeah, horror wasn't the word I was looking for... I'm going for some kind of atmosphere, but the whole thing is kind of weak. I agree with everything you said here and if I ever go back to this I'll definitely change that stuff.

Spoiler

The whole thing would be a lot stronger if I had've gotten the main point across a little stronger. The idea is that the characters are afraid of the door, but need to escape before the timer runs out. (I was hoping the timer trick would be less obvious, although it isn't a loop, it's just set to take like a month to run out lol) However, if you miss this, then whole thing really falls flat and I just didn't put enough emphasis on it!

As for the gameplay focus thing, what I meant wasn't gameplay, I suppose, but game elements. So stuff like the timers,

Spoiler

the ending which I will lead you to now

and some other stuff I don't remember right now. So the game is what makes it horrory/atmospheric/whatever I can legitimately call it, but the actual gameplay is simple... oh I don't know I know what I mean at least.

So, I'm glad you liked parts of it, even if as a whole it isn't very good(not shocked!). Here's the solution to your problem.

Spoiler

Tell the woman to open the door. She'll put the helmet on (with a very bad, mood-breaking sprite) and open the door.

 

[omerpaz]

I... Honestly didn't get they idea of the game, maybe I'm missing something.?

 

[Pokémaniac]

Probably. It was just a really half-assed attempt at something that I'm not particularly happy with. :|

 

[negiman4]

I know this is old but I find it kind of hard to picture a successful horror/thriller game ever being made with RMXP/RMVX. Seeing how it's only two-dimensional, and not-that-good graphics are supported, horror games are kind of out of the question when talking RPG Maker. I understand the aim of this project, I was just chipping my opinion in ^^

 

[Pokémaniac]

Yeah, this was pretty terrible. RPG Maker is good at making mind-fucks, though. Try http://rpgmaker.net/games/2068/ if you've got a strong enough stomach(Apparently there's rape, and from what I played there is at least stripping people. It's pretty damn disgusting and when I went to play it I had no idea it was a psychological thrillery type thing or whatever.) Playing it makes you feel like a pretty terrible person, but it isn't so much scary as disturbing. http://rpgmaker.net/games/2605/ was really popular, especially with the french, even though it was originally in English(probably because it's based on a french movie). I couldn't really get into it tbh but it is a decent attempt at RM horror. Also, http://rpgmaker.net/games/926/ which I've never played, but have heard is pretty good(from some people).