Miserere

[SnowOwl]

I have been workin on a game heavily inspired by the game Yume Nikki (if you don't know what it is, read this: http://www.indiegames.com/2008/04/freeware_game_pick_yume_nikki.html
and do yourself a favor and download it).
I have tried to keep what was fun in YN and improve on what was less fun, like walking in a straight line for 5 minutes.
I have also tried to add my own flavour, and it is by no means a carbon copy. There are short story segments, for example, and there are no effects to be found. Instead i added a few puzzles and challenges.

Short story introduction
In Miserere you explore the dreams of a lonely space station occupant. The unnamed occupant have been on this station for years, all alone. Needless to say, this has taken its toll on our poor protagonists mind. This occasionally shows in the dreams.

Gameplay
The game relies heavily on atmosphere and mood to keep the player interested. You explore the mind of our protagonist via 4 possible pathways, which branch out, when you enter the dreamworld.
The main focus lies in exploration and uncovering the past of the protagonist. There are a few puzzles among the way, which are usually not too hard.

Thank you
A special thank you to Papasan96, who have been proofreading the game.
Also a special thank you to Epitonic, which I got most of my music from.

Screenshots
Next, the thing which probably will decide if you, the one reading this, will be playing it.

Spoiler

The nexus, from here you can go in 4 directions and start exploring.

A old building, which leaks from the roof and walls during rainstorms.

Quite the crowd.

A snowy mountain.

Aliens.

Download Miserere v1.02 (Final): http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?170drcmy9uvr2f5

Changelog v1.02: http://www.mediafire.com/view/?mnbhsglo35bdn1p

Thank you for reading!

 

[GameBoy]

Hope there isn't Yume Nikki's "I don't have fucking clue where I should go now and what I should do now, let's walk around for 10 minutes and still doesn't know anything" style of gameplay.

I will write more after playing.

 

[SnowOwl]

Hope there isn't Yume Nikki's "I don't have fucking clue where I should go now and what I should do now, let's walk around for 10 minutes and still doesn't know anything" style of gameplay.

I will write more after playing.

I... uh... I... Yeah. I personally think there is not as much of that, since there are no looping areas and it's generally easier to navigate.
Anyway, I think you should play it and then if it doesn't live up to your expectations (which doesn't seem very high) I guess that's that.
Can't please everyone, you know?

 

[coyotecraft]

The download link isn't working.

 

[SnowOwl]

Download link fixed.

 

[coyotecraft]

So, if I die in the dream does something on the ship change? The first time I was forced awake I got pushed to the side by a hand on the wall, then there was a black hand on my desk after that. I think another time I let a yeti thing eat me and there was snow in the ventilation. Or is it something else that makes changes stuff on the ship? There wasn't much incentive to wake up and look at the ship except to save or warp back to the nexus for faster travel. But there must have been more the the ship that I didn't see. Were the books hinting that I wake up during a nightmare? There were a couple places where stuff started chasing me and I'd just walk out of the area and it would be gone if I re-entered it.

After finishing the game I feel like most of it was pointless or if there was some kind of symbolism behind it then it flew over my head. I don't remember the King character giving me anything in return for the box or That creepy "more sacrifices" statue doing anything. Does praying at the alter do anything? The only clue I found in the game that hinted at what was going on was the room near the end with the news clippings about alien hybrids. The last area made sense but the rest of the game didn't, which makes me feel like I missed an explanation somewhere. I played somewhere between 3-4 hours, All the eye candy was fun to look at and a few places freaked me out. It hard to remember how all the places connect and if there was another exit that you haven't been through yet. After a couple hours of exploring and going nowhere with no hook to keep playing I could have closed the game and never play it again.

The only game stopping bug I found was in the sewers, the room with plants that you used 2 kinds of liquid on and see the fantasticfest poster. The poster didn't disappear and I had to close without saving and redo that dream area.

 

[SnowOwl]

Spoiler

So, if I die in the dream does something on the ship change? The first time I was forced awake I got pushed to the side by a hand on the wall, then there was a black hand on my desk after that. I think another time I let a yeti thing eat me and there was snow in the ventilation. Or is it something else that makes changes stuff on the ship? There wasn't much incentive to wake up and look at the ship except to save or warp back to the nexus for faster travel. But there must have been more the the ship that I didn't see. Were the books hinting that I wake up during a nightmare? There were a couple places where stuff started chasing me and I'd just walk out of the area and it would be gone if I re-entered it.

After finishing the game I feel like most of it was pointless or if there was some kind of symbolism behind it then it flew over my head. I don't remember the King character giving me anything in return for the box or That creepy "more sacrifices" statue doing anything. Does praying at the alter do anything? The only clue I found in the game that hinted at what was going on was the room near the end with the news clippings about alien hybrids. The last area made sense but the rest of the game didn't, which makes me feel like I missed an explanation somewhere. I played somewhere between 3-4 hours, All the eye candy was fun to look at and a few places freaked me out. It hard to remember how all the places connect and if there was another exit that you haven't been through yet. After a couple hours of exploring and going nowhere with no hook to keep playing I could have closed the game and never play it again.

The only game stopping bug I found was in the sewers, the room with plants that you used 2 kinds of liquid on and see the fantasticfest poster. The poster didn't disappear and I had to close without saving and redo that dream area.

Some of the stuff that changes the station is what happens when you die, yes. Not only, though.
About the "real-world". It's not exactly the focus of the game, so I purposedly didn't make it very large. I didn't want to make it completely boring though, which is why i added small changes here and there when stuff happens in the dream-world.

I'll also admit that the first part probably won't make much sense while you are playing it. I would hope that some of it would be clearer after you finished the game.
The first part honestly isn't mainly about the story (although there are story elements), but more about exploring.
I'll take a look at the sewer thingy.

 

[GameBoy]

Hmm can you post some clues? I tried 3 different dreams and I don't know what I should do. I found empty bootle (now it's filled with some glowing water) and plastic arms in a dream with shipwreck. What's next?

 

[coyotecraft]

Basically you need to find the doll head, torso, legs, and arms to give to an old women.

Spoiler: walkthrough

Doll head:
Nexus> go left to the fungus/bugy area.
walk to the bottom of the map and walk between two head things
Solve the puzzle to get the Crystal skull
wake up go back to nexus> go right to the art gallery
Give the skull to floating head guy at the top to get the golden key. Use the key on the picture at the bottom right painting on the map. Keep walking until you find a room with the dolls. Take the head. Letting the monster that appears kill you will add a movie poster to the room.

Torso:
Nexus> top to the swampy area with lights. Find the door at the top of that. Warp room puzzle. Get to the room with a hole in the wall; reach in to get the key.
wake up> nexus> go left to the fungus/buggy area. Somewhere on the right is a little black building. Use the key to go in the building, up the elevator then stairs to the roof, torso is in a locker at the top. Letting the monsters kill you when you go back inside adds a weird stuffed animal by the second bed on the ship.

arms:
Pretty easy, Nexus> left to fungus area, find the green block thing somewhere to the bottom right of the map.
Legs are at the bottom floor of the ship, left most area. (you don't have to enter any doors).

legs:
(bottom right corner warp if you've unlocked it, skip to*) other wise
Nexus> top swamp area. walk left then up to find the blue warp thing at the top of the map. Keep walking right through the desert area. Press enter to go to the next area. Now you are walking left, should be a warp back to the nexus nearby.
*Examining the glowing thing next to warp that goes to a rock push puzzle. Get forcefield disrupter. wake up.
Nexus>(Top right corner warp if you've unlocked it, skip to**) otherwise
Right to art gallery, examine the rose painting. up the stairs, walk left. keep walking left. hallway with the smoke things(idk) keep walking left, exit bottom left. Down stars. Enter top door in the next area to a room with Stone face and blue torches, right door. Left through the flashing lights, then hand corridor. Turn on the warp to nexus infront the the cross if you haven't already.
**Use the disrupter to turn off the force field. Maze area, avoid hands and crawling heads (walking into the hands wakes you up and puts a hand on your desk) maze exit is top right. Up the ladder. Butterfly windmills, go left pick up the legs.

Old lady and last dream:
Nexus bottom to walkway above clouds area. Top of the map, take the top glowing warp. Give parts to the lady. She disappears and unblock the path. after events in the next area, you sleep in the other bed. Door 1, find carrie, enter building go right, phantom computer room go up, the hole. Key by exit. go back to door #2, sewers, padlock key(better read the clippings there), Use padlock key on sewer gate (hard to see the door), fight carrie. The end

As far as I can tell the rest of the items are just red herrings. Using the wooden cross from the head maze next to the burping frog kills it and changes the monster in the next room in to a sphinx (well thats what I'm calling it). Wake up and you see the sphinx on the ship unlocking the alter where you can read a few more books and pray.

Using the glowing liquid (from the ship) and sealed liquid(from the movie poster safe) on the plants in the last room before the boss fight will flash a fantasticfest image.

Get icicle >to get fruit> to put in hole> opens a room with creepy stone face with a message "more sacrifices"

the Mystery fluid in front of giant face with moving eyes>use to remove rock you can't move in the same area. Hole leads to dead end with bugs.

Scroll from hands in fungus area looks like it had some clues or directions to something, but it disappears from you inventory as soon as you read it.

 

[No ID]

omg thanks coyotecraft. I did not know what the hell was going on. I love atmosphere and the randomness of the game, but at the same time i might of missed something cuz i feel like i was just thrown into it. i think it's cuz i went to sleep to early.

 

[SnowOwl]

Final release of Miserere done. No new content will be released, ever. Bugs should be gone, mostly.
Download in main post.