The Healer

[alexia]

The different demos reveal different aspects of the game and do not have to be played in any particular order. But, if you want to play them sequentially, then start with the town exploration which shows the opening scene, then the caspavum caves which will be the first dungeon and then lastly, play the our baby's leaving, which is just a cutscene.

My goal for my next demo is to show a large chunk of the game starting from the beginning. I've finally added the animations for the boomerang and slingshot and I'm quite happy with the result. Right now I'm working on my second dungeon but I'm at a standstill. The problem is that when I start working on one section of the game, I get overwhelmed with all the other things I still need to work on.

@Reives: My town in this project is a huge step up from All is Not Lost. And the ironic thing is that I used to think I was better at interior mapping but I'm not too happy with any of my interior maps for The Healer.

I'm going to go ahead and close this topic for now. I'll let it be forgotten for a while and I'll open it back up when I have my next demo. It'll be a while so when the day finally comes, it'll feel like an unexpected surprise. Until then...

 

[ccoa]

Closed at OP's request.

 

[Despain]

Unlocked for Alexia. ^_^

 

[alexia]

As promised, I'm back with an updated demo. See the first post for more details.

 

[Avadan]

Holay crap, that was awsome!
excelent mapping... Smooth story narration.... lovable characters.... well picked music(though, battle theme seemed out of place)... loved the side quest ... puzzles could be more challenging... and the idea of monster locations is nice you can decide if facing them or not, though that made the boss a challenge cuz I didnt fight that many monsters :P
Great demo!

Spoiler

one bug after killing the boss, I ended with Aria dead...and couldn't revive her with the feather but after resting she recovered

 

[remody356]

very good i like it alot, yeah the feather didnt revive any party member in battle it always said miss and when i used it in the menu i couldnt!

oh and great battle system did you make it or someone else?

 

[alexia]

Glad you both liked it. And sorry about the feather. I set up the description and everything but forgot to make it revive and heal. It'll be fixed on the next update but that won't be until I've gotten a substantial amount done.

@Avadan - I've never been much of a puzzle or strategic battle person. So I don't expect this project to boast mind-boggling puzzles or strategy-based battles. However, you can expect strong character development and story narration - at least that's what I'm aiming for. I've always viewed The Healer as a character piece.

@remody356 - The battle system is an old gem I found by Paradog.

 

[CIPWM74]

Is she the Seventh Daughter Of A Seventh Daughter?

 

[remody356]

is paradog on this site or another cause i have never heard of that name here?

 

[Dagger]

Hello, I just love this game so far. Your story is lovely and catchy, your characters are easy to relate to and I can see someone doing the things they do. Your maps are beautiful, thou the part in Aria's home with the stairs is a little different.
I am a little stuck and I have a feeling what I'm looking for is right in front of me but:

Spoiler

I'm looking for the nectar for the statue and have no idea where to get it. Perhaps you could give me a hand?

 

[alexia]

@CIPWM74  - Sorry, but I don't get the reference.

@remody356 - It was from some Japanese site (I think) but it was so long ago that I don't remember where I got it from. Just do a sideview battle search and see what you come up with.

@Dagger - You're the second person to mention the stairs. They are actually steps but now that I've separated the different parts of the house, it looks like stairs. I'm not too happy with the interior anyway so consider it a place holder for now.

Spoiler: As for your question...

The water from the reflective pool serves two purposes - cure the fairy's hiccups and turn the statue. If you've already helped the fairy, go and refill the earthenware jug and select "offer nectar" on the west statue.

 

[Dagger]

Ah thank you very much I knew it had to be right in front of me ^^;.
Great game xD

 

[remody356]

yeah the nector is in the pool of water just get the jug and fill it up with water, then give it to the (left)statue

 

[Luminier]

First of all, I'd like to say that I enjoyed this game of yours, very much. I didn't get around to playing your older demos, so I thought that I would see what all of the hubbub was, with this one. Now I know.  :D

The first thing that really stuck in my mind, was the music. Now, is this original music? If so, then bravo! If not, then, kudos on finding such fitting compositions. My favorites would have to be both of the battle themes. They give the battles some peppiness, which is wonderful considering the relative ease of random skirmishes. Your sound effects(such as the snoring, or the little grunts.), add a wonderful touch to this game. I usually don't care, or even notice, sound effects, but these were different. Different, and awesome!

I have a few more words on the battles, actually. I felt that the normal battles were fairly easy, which is nice, but what I really like was that they weren't random! If wanted to fight, then I could simply stomp all over them webs, and if I didn't feel like whupping some spider butt, then I would just steer clear. It's nice, not having to fight when you don't want to, and in my opinion, it's much nicer than even touch encounters. I wonder how you what types of spots you'll use for future enemies.

The boss battle was a little frustrating, if only do to the fact that the revivification item didn't work. I thought it was a little annoying that she would gain the ability to launch two attacks in a round, when she was low on health. It's nice to see some monsters with changing behaviors, though. After I got a couple of game overs, I leveled up everyone else(Only Aria was at level three.), and it was a piece of cake(relatively speaking.). Although I was a tad disappointed that the Cece was useless in that battle, aside from using items. And the Professor couldn't do any damage, after his MP was depleted. Whatever.

Your dialogue was good. Not great, but good. I felt that it was a little stiff, but that may just be because I prefer dialogues to be more natural(by today's standards.), like in Master of the Wind. It got emotions across quite well, and conveyed personalities much more than adequately. I know that you wanted this project to be more character driven, than anything else, and so far, everything in that department's great! Kudos.

I enjoyed the puzzles a lot. They were simple, but quaint, and, well, enjoyable. I loved the statues part, even though it was immensely easy. I'm glad you didn't opt for another damned "push the block onto the pressure switch" puzzle. The two that were there were refreshing.

In terms of story, well... I can't say that it isn't great, which it is. It's very good. I read your synopsis in this thread, a while ago, but I guess I forgot most of it. O_O I remember the gist of it, though. It's actually rather good, that I don't remember it, though. It means that I can piece together the story, myself, from how the game unfolds. Oh, and did I mention that the story is great?  ;D

The graphics are lovely. The tilesets that you used are beautiful, and very eye-catching. I can't really say much about them, though. They're beautiful, though. I think that your should mess around with the priorities of the tileset that you used for the town, though. Look in the spoiler.

Spoiler: Weirdness

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m17/Super_Mog/Healerweirdness.jpg[/img]

It's not that big of a flaw, in fact it's rather minor, but it is a little strange, don't you agree?

All in all, this demo is great. I can't wait for more! Keep it up, Alexia. 

P.S. My favorite character by far, is definitely Cece!  ;D

 

[Impreza]

What font does this game use? I can't see any of the text...

 

[alexia]

@Impreza - Book Antiqua

@Luminier - Wow. Thank you for writing such a detailed reply.

The first thing that really stuck in my mind, was the music. Now, is this original music? If so, then bravo! If not, then, kudos on finding such fitting compositions.

The music is not original but found through various Japanese websites. And the sound effects are from A1 free sound effects.

I wonder what types of spots you'll use for future enemies.

I've been wondering about that myself. I might have to alternate between enemy spots and visible enemies.

The boss battle was a little frustrating, if only do to the fact that the revivification item didn't work. I thought it was a little annoying that she would gain the ability to launch two attacks in a round, when she was low on health. It's nice to see some monsters with changing behaviors, though. After I got a couple of game overs, I leveled up everyone else(Only Aria was at level three.), and it was a piece of cake(relatively speaking.). Although I was a tad disappointed that the Cece was useless in that battle, aside from using items. And the Professor couldn't do any damage, after his MP was depleted. Whatever.

The feather not working is a bug and is already fixed but just not uploaded. I know that Cece's pretty useless right now but she won't be once I give her some skills. As far as the Professor goes, just save some velvet petals for him to restore his mp. Also, not sure if anyone noticed this yet but if Aria casts Healing Touch, she has to rest for one round.

I felt that it was a little stiff, but that may just be because I prefer dialogues to be more natural(by today's standards.)...

I'm trying to keep modern colloquialisms out of the dialogue. Personally, whenever I read historical novels, I get annoyed when they add sayings that don't fit within the time period. It takes me out of the experience.

I enjoyed the puzzles a lot. They were simple, but quaint, and, well, enjoyable.

I'm not a huge puzzle person so my puzzles will remain pretty simple unless I get hit with a bit of inspiration.

In terms of story, well... I can't say that it isn't great, which it is. It's very good. I read your synopsis in this thread, a while ago, but I guess I forgot most of it. O_O I remember the gist of it, though. It's actually rather good, that I don't remember it, though.

Even if you did remember the synopsis, it only covers the first third of the game. My main motivator for completing this game is wanting to share the story with others.

I think that your should mess around with the priorities of the tileset that you used for the town, though.

Sadly, that probably won't change only because the other alternative would be to have the character one tile away from the edge which wouldn't allow the character access to certain areas. I know that there's a pixel movement script and I did play around with it at one time but I ran into some problems with it.

P.S. My favorite character by far, is definitely Cece!  ;D

Funny thing is that originally she and the Professor were not part of the group. But I felt that it was important for Cece's character to be developed and you'll find out why later.

Again, thank you for taking the time for playing and sharing your thoughts.

 

[freakishfae]

Huh, I already have the font installed on my computer and the text still isn't showing up for me...Looks like a good game, though.

 

[remody356]

anything new on the Healer?

 

[gboichris]

I'm glad to see this picked back up out of the vault...you're making me want to began back working on my game now...too bad that might not be happening for awhile, anyways I'll tell you about the demo once I'm finished.

 

[alexia]

Hey, new demo here!

NEW DEMO
This demo includes a save file for those of you who have played the first one. To use the save file, copy/paste it from the save folder into the main project folder. Please note that none of the npcs from the temple scene have dialogue yet.

@gboichris: It took me forever to get back into this project again. I have to work on it whenever I feel inspired and luckily I've been a little inspired these past few days. It's just hard to keep working on something when you get overwhelmed by the sheer enormity of what needs to be done. I decided to not let it get to me. Therefore, you'll find empty rooms and npcs that don't talk. I figure I'll go back to it when I feel like it and so far that has been working for me.