Carpe Diem: The Living Flame

[Bluhman]

*Ahem*... I noticed some... Similarities... in how my game and your game... 'sound'...

[Linkforce]

XD!!!  Yeah....I stole some of your sound effects.  Hope ya don't mind.  :p  But steal is a harsh word.....let's just say that...I borrowed them for an extended period of time.  lol

[Meiscool-2]

*Ahem*... I noticed some... Similarities... in how your game and The Elder's Scroll... 'sound'...

Edit: Linkforce, you fool! You could've just said you got them from MorroWind like every other person would!

[Bluhman]

Originally posted by Meiscool
*Ahem*... I noticed some... Similarities... in how your game and The Elder's Scroll... 'sound'...

*Ahem*... True.

[Linkforce]

>.>  Huh?  0_o

I feel like you both hate me now.  lol

[Bluhman]

Oh, sorry Linkforce. I thought MIC was referring to my game.

[Linkforce]

Oh...ok...no harm done then.  Well....besides how I used some of your sounds....did you like it?

[Bluhman]

Originally posted by Linkforce
Oh...ok...no harm done then.  Well....besides how I used some of your sounds....did you like it?

Yeah, that's another thing; I thought you could have used the sound effects a bit better. Some were well used, others, not so, I fear. Still, the game itself is an OK deal. It's got some things, and is missing some other things. It also has some things that are somewhat undesirable, as DB has said.

[Linkforce]

That was incredibly vague.  lol  Elaborate more please?

Oh...and yeah...this version was pretty eh.  Next version will be much better and more content.

[Bluhman]

Well... The... thing.... Is... I didn't play very far into the game before my life got into the way, as in; "HEEEEEY STUUUUUUUPID!!! TIME TO GOOOOOOOO TO BEEEEEEEDDD!!!!" Yells my mother.

[Linkforce]

XD  Ah, gotcha.  Well, let me know when you get farther, and let me what you think.  

[DragonBlaze]

Lol, I too noticed a bunch of simularties in sound and music from this game and others. But really that doesn't really matter since everyone basically got their music and sound from some source on the net that everyone has access to. Now if you 'borrowed' orignal stuff from other people without their permission, then that would be a bad thing, but as far as I can tell, you didn't do any of that :p

[Ace of Spades]

-Acey's Review-

For those who haven't played yet, don't read this. I'll probably state some things that were in the game that could be spoilers for you, so read at your own "risk."

Alright, I'll start off by saying great job. This was a vast improvement from the previous one, and I enjoyed playing it. I'm not the best at reviewing, but meh, take my opinion for what it's worth. I'll be reviewing everything except battles, because I really don't enjoy them reguardless, and I can't give a good opinion on them either. So, here we go.

Story: 8/10
The story you have going seems good. Your intro was well done, it made me want to continue playing, just as intros are supposed to. Your events are well drawn out, and there's a lot more connection between them unlike the total randomness of the previous demo. (no offense)

The thing you have going with Trance's back story is nice. It's not way mysterious, it has a good amount of mystery to it that can give the player thoughts and assumptions on what it is themselves. Overall your characters are good, but there's not much contrast between Skylar and Haru. I'm not sure if they're supposed to be a lot similar, but you should give more differentiation so that each have their own personality. That's another thing that needs a bit of work, but not much. Work on giving the characters more personality as well as more emotion.

I like the bravery aspect between both of them, but sometimes it's not believable that they're afraid right as they're about to die. (Like the cave boss, for example) Trance is probably my favorite, just because he has that mysterious unknown "aura" around him. He has more emotion and personality to him than the others, so nice work with him. Overall,  nice job with this One thing I always go for in games is the story, and I liked yours. ^^

Gameplay: 6/10
I have to admit, this probably would've been a 7.5, but I didn't really enjoy the cave. You say that it should get more leeway because it's the first dungeon, but I tend to disagree. Because it is the first dungeon, you want to make it good. Not extremely difficult and not extremely easy, but give it enough so that it won't make me think "Well, if this is what the dungeons in this game will be like, I'm not even going to bother playing."  

That's about the only "meh" though. Maybe add a little bit more gameplay into the towns, but it really doesn't need it. Temeri was nice, and I liked the chimney "mission," it was creative. There's not much more to this, I liked the ship scene and the distraction. Even though it's a bit basic, it is the beginning of the game, so it's not supposed to be incredibly loaded with gameplay.

If people get stuck in certain parts, then all I can say is they're not looking around in town. It can be boring to some people, but it is a gameplay factor, called "finding out things yourself." Mainly work on the cave. All that was really in it were spikes, holes and battles. I can't really give you any ideas on what to add. Maybe another puzzle, maybe making the cave less straight forward. Definately less battles though.

Maps: 5/10
These can use some work. As DragonBlaze said, some of your maps are too big and too empty. I agree with this. The lab maps in the beginning can't have much added to them, you're right with this. However, they can be made smaller, and you can add more wall contrast.

I know that man made things aren't like nature, where there's lots of curves and layers, and less straight forward, symmetrical-ness. However, one thing that is an aspect of man made places is clutterness, and minimal space. Even the cleanist of houses only have minimal space, because couches, chairs, desks, cabinets, tables, TVs, entertainment systems, etc. all take up space. So I really suggest making your inner maps a little less symmetrical, smaller, with minimal space. That's what can be done if you can't fill a room, you make it smaller.

Now, I know that Temeri is a peaceful, secluded and less populated town; but this doesn't mean the landscape is just flat with a couple hills here and there. Judging by who's in the town, and the setting (less modern), I don't think they have bulldozers to shift and move landscape as they please. Put more elevation into the town, make it more natural. The one hill that's in the upper right side of the map is too symmetrical and squarey. Put more curves and maybe a cliff or two into your hills. It makes it look a lot more natural, and less man made.

That's about all I have to say reguarding the maps. They can use work, however, and I put some emphasis on this. They aren't bad maps. I could still walk around and it didn't make me think any less of the game. But, they didn't make me go "Wow!" when I entered them either. So if you want to make your game "look" better, then I suggest practicing on map making more. Use the tutorials here that are provided, like Meiscool has a good one, and so did Robotam. If not, then they just won't really stand out, like I mentioned before.

Graphics: 8/10
Great improvement. The chipsets you used fit the places you were trying to represent, the characters have major improvement, not crappy like the ones before (once again, no offense) and your use of poses for certain event was was great. The only reason this didn't get a 9 or 10 is because I have to relate it scenery-wise, which also includes how they were used and looked. And, since your maps were a bit mediocre, they affected the score as well. Overall they were great though, kudos to your pose makers too.

Difficulty: 7/10
Once again, I'm not including battles in anything, get someone else's opinion on that. The only thing that brought this down was the cave, which I already mentioned, but a review is a review, and I have to include all the aspects together. All in all though, the difficulty is balanced for a game's beginning. It's not too hard and not too easy. Don't get me wrong, it is easy, but this is good. There's not much to difficulty yet, so right now it fits well for the beginning.

Overall: 7/10
Once again, great job on this. There are some things that need improved, but the game itself is a vast improvement from what it was before. I didn't enjoy the previous version one bit, but this one, I liked it. I stayed up till 1 am even though I was tired, because I wanted to finish it; so that right there is a good sign. The game has good potential in my opinion, so keep working hard; you've done great so far. Just fix those few things and you'll be set to go. It's all up to you though, of course. Take my opinion for what it's worth, it's your game, so it's your decision. Nice  job, and keep up the good work. I admit, I wasn't really before, but I will be looking forward to more out of this project and I'll keep up to date with it as well. ^_^

[Spike21]

Originally posted by Ace of Spades

kudos to your pose makers too.

yay i am one of them... But it is good and every one else already said what i have to say

[Swordmaszter]

K, i downloaded it and i'm playing it right now. Just got my *** kicked by the serpent, but im gonna go back and play through again. The demo so far is awesome.

Favorite character so far would have to be Laknar. He's my kind of character! That might change when the Arakian Six are introduced.