The Mirror Lied

[mawk]

Well, I completely enjoyed the gameplay and the atmosphere that was created. I enjoy being in the dark about things, but only so long as things eventually come to an understandable resolution. The game itself was fantastic. It just left me a little hollow. Perhaps I missed something, but

Spoiler: Might as well spoiler this.

I expected the game to come to a better resolution than it did. Explaining why the house seems so morphic, why Leah can sleep though a house fire and wake up with everything intact, and most importantly what, Birdie is and what "fly over" really entails. I gather that the Birdie is some kind of destructive force, but... Did I perhaps miss some key hidden elements that might shed some light on things? The times and dates on the schedule and newspaper seemed to have little to do with anything. The microscope and Liquid, well, I expected something would occur because of that, as well.

Like I said, I like atmosphere and a sense of mystery, but I don't like it when people build up your expectations and then reveal that there was nothing behind the "WTF" moments except a desire to create "WTF" moments.

But then, I wonder if I got the wrong ending...? Meeting Birdie on the roof and killing him.

Maybe I should wait until midnight, then.

All in all, the execution and gameplay were simply fantastic. I just wish you had untangled the plot a little at the end.

 

[John McEvan]

Spoiler

I just noticed the map changes along with the birdies course through continents, or something like that, until it erases completely, but I still don't get a shit, plus I got a tiny key I didn't use and those wardrobes(i don't know what the word is) that disappear in the room with the bread. plus i fed the plant like crazy but i guess it wasnt growing anymore n i was wastin my time cuz it got smaller when i got to the end. but its cool the lights n stuff, didnt creep me out much but maybe a little bit.

 

[Necrile]

Please reives, make a sequel!

 

[Kemuri]

Just played it through, took me about 23 minutes, and I enjoyed it a lot. Fantastic work.

First, quick glitch to report.

Spoiler

I downloaded the game about an hour ago so I'm assuming I got the version that "fixed" the doors during the fire. But if you go back to the basement while everything is on fire, after the explosion sends you back up, if you press left you'll be stuck and can't move.

As for the story, wow.

Spoiler

It's not very clear what happens, it leaves a lot up to the player to decide what everything means.

Like for me, personally, I want to be a game developer, that's my dream, and I know it'll probably never happen. My parents would never support it, and they just want me to have a regular job that pays well, and doesn't risk my future. For me, the birdie was like my dream, the house was the confines of the world. The person calling/emailing was my dad telling me to kill my "birdie" and stay in the "house". Watering the plant was all the effort I've poured into getting out of the "house". The fire was the daily problems of life that are always blown out of proportion in the moment, but all you really need to do is sleep them off and those huge problems suddenly disappear. In the end, I'm living my dream (flying with the birdie, above the house) but I'll never be able to make it all the way to the end of my life living that dream. By choosing the dream instead of the safer path in life, I've pulled the trigger on my future.

This is probably nothing like what you were trying to convey, and maybe I'm reading far too deeply into things, but my point is that every single person who plays this game will get something different out of it. There is no universal "answer" even if that's what you intended. The games' ambiguity forces the player to draw from their own experiences. This will make an amazing game for some, and  leave many others scratching their heads wondering what the heck just happened.

 

[Reives]

Thanks for the time estimates guys, and thanks for playing. :smile: Don't worry, the time doesn't translate into slowness or anything, but some like to play around with things more than others. Oh, and thanks for the new glitch report!

As for the plot, I don't have anything to say to anything related to that. However, I would like to note that something in the ending credits - or there lack of, and in replacement of. If you know what I am referring to.

None the less, I feel the need to quote the following post, even though it is right above this one:

Spoiler

Like for me, personally, I want to be a game developer, that's my dream, and I know it'll probably never happen. My parents would never support it, and they just want me to have a regular job that pays well, and doesn't risk my future. For me, the birdie was like my dream, the house was the confines of the world. The person calling/emailing was my dad telling me to kill my "birdie" and stay in the "house". Watering the plant was all the effort I've poured into getting out of the "house". The fire was the daily problems of life that are always blown out of proportion in the moment, but all you really need to do is sleep them off and those huge problems suddenly disappear. In the end, I'm living my dream (flying with the birdie, above the house) but I'll never be able to make it all the way to the end of my life living that dream. By choosing the dream instead of the safer path in life, I've pulled the trigger on my future.

This is probably nothing like what you were trying to convey, and maybe I'm reading far too deeply into things, but my point is that every single person who plays this game will get something different out of it. There is no universal "answer" even if that's what you intended. The games' ambiguity forces the player to draw from their own experiences. This will make an amazing game for some, and  leave many others scratching their heads wondering what the heck just happened.

There will not be a sequel to this, as it is not the genre that would make sense to have a sequel. However, I will be releasing the unencrypted version of this in the future on the home board. Also, I do have plans to elaborate on this game in the interactive aspect in the future, as this was made in 4 days and quite rushed.

Cheers~  :smile:

 

[battlestar_caprica]

Brilliant. Sensational game. I'm not sure if this is a compliment or not, but I enjoyed it far more than some of the Quintessence chapters.

 

[Reives]

That's fine, thank you. c: I myself enjoy this more than some of them, if not just for the refreshment factor. After all, I've been a lot more "battle-hardened" from making the earlier chapters of that. Also, I believe that in general, those who are not fond of Quintessence might have a better chance of enjoying this.

P.S. Oh, I forgot to mention. On the technical aspect, this was also an experimentation with new lighting techniques and the like, to be used to revamp Quintessence's older lightings, maps and etc. It was also quite a nice practice on macro switch/variable/event-triggering management. So to those who wish I could've spent the time on that instead; the time was not lost. c:

 

[Necrile]

There will not be a sequel to this, as it is not the genre that would make sense to have a sequel. However, I will be releasing the unencrypted version of this in the future on the home board. Also, I do have plans to elaborate on this game in the interactive aspect in the future, as this was made in 4 days and quite rushed.

Yeah, by sequel I meant another game like this, not necessarily the same story. Sorry for the confusion. (Like in the way Final Fantasy has sequels, but not necessarily along the same storyline, just similar gameplay)

 

[kaze950]

This game is nice. But did you mean for it to have the default menu? It seems somewhat...out of place.

 

[Sonata]

How alluring. I'll give this a try when I'm on my PC.

 

[Racheal]

This game is nice. But did you mean for it to have the default menu? It seems somewhat...out of place.

It was made in 4 days. I doubt he wanted to spend the extra time on something so trivial.

 

[Ellie]

You know, I think this is the best RMXP game I have ever played.

 

[Necrile]

This game is nice. But did you mean for it to have the default menu? It seems somewhat...out of place.

It was made in 4 days. I doubt he wanted to spend the extra time on something so trivial.

Umm.. putting disable menu at the beginning doesn't seem so hard to do; no offence Reives. This game is still pure ownage.

 

[regi]

Well, if he disabled the menu, you wouldn't be able to check up on what items you had. Also, I noticed I had 4 HP after the fire in the basement :tongue:

 

[kaze950]

Yeah, that's true. Still, things such as status and skill seemed out of place to me.

Just an opinion.

 

[harsvalen]

Wow, creepy, no faces, makes everything easier, don't it!

 

[Grathea]

Yeah, that's true. Still, things such as status and skill seemed out of place to me.

Just an opinion.

Hah, that's nothing. In the original copy that I betaed, the MC was still a level 1 fighter with default equipment and skills. It was pretty funny, really.

 

[Necrile]

Well, if he disabled the menu, you wouldn't be able to check up on what items you had. Also, I noticed I had 4 HP after the fire in the basement :tongue:

Hmm, true. Well, he could disable menu; then make a parallel process common event that when you pressed a button, it would call Scene_Item. Just a thought.

 

[Calibre]

Probably but then some people (like I did) may still want to use the save scene as well...  And take the project for what it is... a really quick diversion to his full time game.  I doubt he even thought about the Menu system at all.  For four days this is a lot of work.

Nice Job Reives though I'll praise you on msn or something.

 

[shiroun]

Spoiler: i am NOT gay, but I did forget a spoiler, sorry

I loved it, and it scared the crap out of me.

Basically, the ending got me. The girl killed herself, and birdie lived on.

Also, the last sentence of the credits scared me reives, it really did.

What are you waiting for, birdy?