[Feedback Req.] Social Satire RPG

[Musenik]

Hi,

Mousechief Co. has some new mischief for your mouse. Please try this extended demo, and help us make a better game. I added a list of our questions and concerns at the end of this post.

About the game: This is our fantasy RPG of social satire. The interface metaphor is a vintage, parlor boardgame. I like to think it's something you found in your great-grandmother's attic. I also hope you'll forgive your great-grandmother if she ever did anything like what happens in this game.

Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble!
(In the 1920s, small town USA was never this fantastic.)







FYI: PC version probably doesn't work under VISTA!
This extended demo goes beyond what will be available in the trial version. The game expires at the end of July. Expect a little rough reading. We can't afford proofreading until near the end of development.

Download Links: expired


Please help us with the following, after playing the game:

Did you have fun?
How far did you play?
How comfortable were you at learning the various, little games?
Were the goals clear and compelling?
At what point were you drawn into the story? Never?
Is this your kind of game?
Could it ever become your kind of game? How?
What do you typically play for interactive story goodness? (yes, RPGs, platform adventures and even FPSs like Half Life counts... :-)

What did we do wrong?
What did we do right?

What do you REALLY want to tell us about 'Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble'?


thank you,

[electronicStar]

Did you have fun?
mostly yes.
How far did you play?
about half an hour but got stopped with an error message at the end of a minigame(see log at the end of this post)
How comfortable were you at learning the various, little games?
I found them rather easy, I would have enjoyed even more different games.
Were the goals clear and compelling?
the minigames goals were clear but I think the metagoal isn't clear, I just wander randomly around the school, there's nothing that compels me to go to a particular place.
At what point were you drawn into the story? Never?
The story is okay but the interface needs to be cleaned up because it's getting in the way of immersion.
Is this your kind of game?
Mmh why not. I'm like story driven games.
Could it ever become your kind of game? How?
Simpler interface, Better graphics, better defined backgrounds for the main protagonists, a game that is more "story" than "casual game" is generally more my type of game.
What do you typically play for interactive story goodness? (yes, RPGs, platform adventures and even FPSs like Half Life counts... :-)
Unfortunately I don't see many opportunities to play this genre nowadays (I don't like point&Click adventures). Emulated old games are the most rewarding for me ATM.
What did we do wrong?
Interface should be simplified, I know it's supposed to mimic a boardgame but it can be simplified more without losing.
Graphics aren't very good, especially character faces(boardgame background is okay though).
The music sounds just like random public domain music. The genres are not always coherent and some of the Jazzy tunes sound too modern for the intended atmosphere(but many people will probably not notice/care).
Too many windows overlapping on the inteface.
What did we do right?
The story was interesting enough to keep me playing.
The little theater masks are a good idea.

What do you REALLY want to tell us about 'Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble'?
If you ever intend to redo the graphics you should really go for a "Art nouveau" style of graphics. Enhanced graphics would have a tremendous impact on this game.
I can see this sort of game having some success on portals.

Error log

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "main.py", line 74, in ?
File "main.py", line 29, in main
File "main.py", line 64, in gamemain
File "faceEngn.pyo", line 68, in RunFaces
File "explore.pyo", line 402, in Core
File "fnfEvents.pyo", line 80, in PumpEvents
File "fnfEvents.pyo", line 89, in HandleTimedEvents
File "encounters.pyo", line 104, in PopUpEncounter
File "faceEngn.pyo", line 155, in UpstageFaces
File "encounters.pyo", line 454, in Core
File "fnfEvents.pyo", line 81, in PumpEvents
File "fnfEvents.pyo", line 135, in HandleTheEvents
File "faces.pyo", line 159, in DoLitAction
File "encounters.pyo", line 774, in ExposeConfront
File "faceEngn.pyo", line 174, in UpstageFaces
File "resolution.pyo", line 175, in TransitionIn
File "dangerCentral.pyo", line 625, in AdvancePlot
NameError: global name 'exit' is not defined

[HDL]

I've been looking forward to Dangerous Highschool Girls in Trouble ever since I read about it on your website many months ago. As soon as I heard there was a demo I rushed to download it and I've been playing it for the last couple of hours. It wasn't quite what I expected it to be but that's not a bad thing. It's quite different and it's definitely still on my to buy list.

The first thing I did notice when looking at the screenshots was all the spelling and grammatical mistakes. I know you explained that you can't afford proofreading yet but you might want to cleanup those in the screenshots here anyway since first impressions can be important. The first impressions I had when I booted up the game though were good. I enjoyed the little intro and the music and felt that they set the scene wonderfully.

I was initially flustered when I had to choose a main character and I couldn't work out what did what. I'd have liked a more active help on what abilities were (maybe my mousing over or just next to the words) as opposed to having to click on the instruction screen myself.

I had big difficulties remembering which abilities allowed you to do what. I'd have liked a window or a reminder or something on the main screen instead of constantly having to flip to the instructions and then flip back to try and remember. Ditto with having to pick a girl to perform a specific task. It involved flipping through several screens in an attempt to remember what each girls stats were. Ultimately there didn't seem too much point in using anyone other than my main girl for everything.


Did you have fun?
Yes, I did enjoy the game. It was amusing and different.

How far did you play?
I played until the girls I got a packet of cigarettes from the rebel girl. I do plan to go back though (if I can).

How comfortable were you at learning the various, little games?
I found the games initially confusing. The flirting one I know I'm going to need a pen and paper in order to remember which actions get what results and scrambling about for a pen and paper does ruin the mood for me a bit. I wasn't certain what I was doing in the shell game until about the third time I played and even then I wasn't sure how exactly it worked. I did realise I'd to keep the other person from guessing the right one but it felt rather random whether they decided to look at the right shell or not. The expose mini-game was probably my favourite, but I'd have liked to have been able to guess words before using all my uncovering thingies. The insult game was fun too, reminded me a lot of the insult contest in Monkey Island which was always a favourite of mine.

Were the goals clear and compelling?
No. I wouldn't have called the goals compelling. They were interesting enough but not "oh my I really have to do this I can't wait to see what happens next." I did notice that my current goal was briefly flashed at the top of the screen and then usually ended up replaced with other stuff. I'd have liked the current goals to stay where I could see them so I could remember what I was supposed to be doing.

At what point were you drawn into the story? Never?
The story hasn't drawn me in. I don't particularly care about the story or about any of the girls. The ones in my gang (maybe I chose badly) just don't seem to have much of a personality. The NPCs are a little more interesting though. That said I am enjoying the game and the story is a lot better than most of the casual game stories that I've played. It just didn't grip me, not in the way that A Witch's Yarn did. I didn't particularly care about the girls having accidents, perhaps if it had happened to one of the girls in my group or they'd actually seemed to care about the people who were injured. My first introduction to the maintenance man was that secret of his, that he was from somewhere else and... well that was a dull secret. I'd have enjoyed something juicier to have him introduced although I suppose I can see the point in it being gradual.


Is this your kind of game?
Yes, I think it is my sort of game.

What do you typically play for interactive story goodness?
Adventure games and RPGs. I've just finished Hotel Dusk and the Phoenix Wright games on my DS. The last games on my PC I played with stories that I enjoyed were Dreamfall and The Longest Journey.

What did we do wrong?
What did we do right?

Hmm I think I've sort of answered these questions in what I've said above. For all I've said above I did enjoy it immensely, I'll definitely be buying it and I think there was more right than wrong in it.

Oh! Boyfriends, what does my boyfriend do and how can I dump him to get another one? Does he have stats or something? I couldn't work that bit out.

And I have to disagree with electronicstar about the graphics. I liked the graphics as they were. They seemed to fit the feel of the game and were appropriate. The music (which I turned off after the intro) seemed fine to me too, but then I'm clueless about that type of music.

[Musenik]

electronicStar,

Thank you! You found a script bug. Do you remember the encounter you were having at the time? It looks like you were playing the Expose secrets game.


Some of the information requested so far can be found in the context sensitive info screen. When choosing which girl will handle the encounter, click the i button for a reminder of which talents are useful for various the games.

To learn more about boyfriends, click the i button during the Flirt game. They are pretty useful.

Eventually, we will be adding a comprehensive manual to the info screen that will be accessed from another button at the bottom.

There is a price for using the main girl all the time. If she should lose a game and accrue a penalty, one of her girls will sacrifice themselves to save her, and exit the party permanently. (although you might be able to recruit them again, much later) If they had been the one to lose the mini-game they might only exit the gang for a few hours.

[electronicStar]

Oh sorry I don't remember.

[mrkwang]

I'm not sure exactly, what I am playing for this game. Tried around 20 minutes for demo, experienced several mini games, still don't have exact idea.

Maybe I'm not native English user from US, native Korean, and that could be the reason why.