Karaski: What Goes Up... Slavic-Steampunk RPG Unraveling a Plot Onboard an Airship!

Pyrian on 11/8/2015 at 17:02

Quote Posted by gkkiller

Well, this seems to be embarassing. I'm stuck already. Maybe I'm doing this wrong, but the radio says that I need to get the lockpick from the crew deck. The gyro tells me the key to the crew deck is in the kitchen. But the kitchen is locked ...

Quote Posted by gkkiller

Um. Guys? A little help? I still can't figure out where to go next ...

Oh, I had that exact same problem. Annoying that the compass misleads you. I was able to get the Crew Deck key from the reporter.

Yakoob on 12/8/2015 at 22:26

Ooops sorry I missed your post! Pyrian got it if you don't have the tool to pick locks, you need to experiment to find different ways. You can get it from the stewards or other means ;) just ask around !

gkkiller on 13/8/2015 at 04:59

OK, that works, I've got it now. You might want to add in a bit somewhere that actually tells you to look for the key, because I assumed it would unlock when the story required it and it was a bug that I wasn't able to get in.

Yakoob on 22/8/2015 at 22:29

We are proud to share a Brand New Atmospheric Trailer for our upcoming game! Please be so kind to share with your friends :)

[video=youtube;YCl8vrTzNFk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCl8vrTzNFk[/video]

PLEASE HELP US BY SHARING ON YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNES!

Yakoob on 27/8/2015 at 21:57

Inline Image:

http://karaski.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/karaski-achievement-unlocked-700x200-680x194.jpg

Well, it's Achievements time!!! I've been working on adding them in, with a crude local system. Hopefully when we get on Steam we can leverage Steamworks for some nice persistent achievements.

So far we've got the standard fare of "collect X amount of gold" or "Find item Y." There's some more unique gameplay or story achievements specific to our world, like “Might Have a Problem” for drinking with a lot of people, “Senior Investigator” for uncovering enough clues, and others for completing side-quests.

There's also a bunch of fun gameplay challenges, like “Sneaky Bastard” for completing the game without ever getting caught (taffers will love it :) or “Technophobe” for never using a tool. I think my favorite one is a story one titled “Change of Heart” but... I'm not gonna reveal any spoilers

What kind of achievements would YOU like to see in our part-stealthy, multi-approach, story-driven and open-ended, detective adventure game!

Yakoob on 3/9/2015 at 09:04

So we are struggling to nail our "pitch" and what really stands out about our game. I would appreciate some feedback from fellow TTLGers, whether you played the game or not:

Here's a list of our main "features" - which ones grab your attention as most interesting? Which ones you yawn at as boring? Which one would be intriguing if reworded?

* Dark plot unflods onboard a 1920s Slavic Airship, and you are in the fulcrum
* You are one of 5 suspects of a sabotage... you decide who the culprit is!
* Player-driven storytelling - YOU write the story, both past and future
* Complex characters with rich dialogue and personalities
* Drink with your comrades to uncover their secrets
* Break into passenger rooms when no one's looking
* Look for clues... or steal money and booze!
* Getting caught raises your suspicion, and others may turn on you
* Stealth and sneak to avoid guards and passengers
* DeusEx Lite - break locks, open vents, tinker with machines, bribe guards
* Metroidvanian freeform exploration - finds new items to unlock new abilities and revisit old areas
* Replayability - different playthroughs and choices can lead to different experiences

And those who played it, maybe you got something else to add?

Thanks!

Thirith on 3/9/2015 at 09:18

Quote Posted by Yakoob

I think they're generally fine, though in a pitch I would stress the third bullet point over the second one. "You write the story" sounds intriguing, "you decide who the culprit is" can sound like it's all arbitrary (even if they can amount to the same thing, it's about how you frame player freedom).

Other than that, I see what you mean with "Metroidvanian freeform exploration", but if I went in expecting something akin to Metroid in that respect, I'd be disappointed that there's relatively little of it and that it's not altogether relevant most of the time. If I find out while playing that there's a Metroidvania-style element, it's a cool surprise. In other words: I don't think you do this enough, or it has enough of an impact on how the game plays, to warrant it being a selling point.

If I had to pick, say, 3-5 (player freedom, yay! :p ), I'd go for:
* Dark plot unflods onboard a 1920s Slavic Airship, and you are in the fulcrum
* Player-driven storytelling - YOU write the story, both past and future
* DeusEx Lite - break locks, open vents, tinker with machines, bribe guards
* Replayability - different playthroughs and choices can lead to different experiences

PigLick on 3/9/2015 at 14:25

ok you have a great game, but I think you are pushing the wrong angles. Dont give players expectations. Let them just play and find out for themselves. Its not that stealthy, its not an open world metroid thingy. Forget about the drinking angle because that was something I didnt even explore (sorry). Maybe you have invented a totally new genre that cant be described in bullet points? The "choose your own pathway" thing was incredibly obvious and not very intuitive.
Now, seems harsh but I really enjoyed playing it, great level design and loved the visuals, maybe you should let them speak for themselves without trying to shoehorn this other guff into it.
In fact, to be totally honest, just wandering around the airship and talking to people and getting into secret areas was really cool. Make of this what you will. Some of the stealth stuff seemed a little forced.

Pyrian on 3/9/2015 at 16:55

Here's how I'd work it. Stick with the setting and a couple of themes, expanding on them as appropriate.

Quote Posted by Yakoob

Dark plot unflods onboard a 1920s Slavic Airship, and you are in the fulcrum

* Player-driven storytelling - YOU write the story, both past and future
---- Complex characters with rich dialogue and personalities
---- Replayability - different playthroughs and choices can lead to different experiences

* DeusEx Lite - break locks, open vents, tinker with machines, bribe guards
---- Stealth and sneak to avoid guards and passengers; Getting caught raises your suspicion, and others may turn on you
---- Metroidvanian freeform exploration - finds new items to unlock new abilities and revisit old areas

Al_B on 3/9/2015 at 17:38

I'm not a big fan of the term "DeusEx Lite" (and it's not just because the "lite" has a very American spelling!). I understand that it helps people see similarities in the freedom the game gives you to that title but it's instantly saying that the game isn't as good. I'd sell it on the merits - i.e. the game doesn't force a playstyle, or allows players to play as the mood takes them.

I'm also not convinced by "Metroidvanian". That's normally a reference I see for games which are 2D platform in style and although it's pretty obvious from screenshots and videos that your game is very different it could put people off at first glance. I realise you're trying to explain the unlocking of areas as your tools expand with a simple term but again I'd be inclined to drop the game reference in this case. Besides, the game should be "Karaskian" in style :)