"Virus" Game Nearing Completion
Hi everyone! I'm making a game called Virus, which is now fully playable. It's a first person adventure game made in LASSIE, a bit like the Myst series. It would be great if people could -*test*-('") it out for me, taking note of a few things: -Bugs/Script Errors (I haven't run into any in the times I've played it through) -Playability (Ease of navigation/interaction etc) -Puzzle difficulty (Too easy? Too hard? Time limit too short?) -Text which doesn't make sense (for example interactions between specific items and the environment may not make sense using the default response, so may have to have a new one programmed in). I've -*test*-('")ed loads of these but there are too many combinations to -*test*-('") them all, and I can't think of everything other people might do. -General comments The story is that there is a new computer virus which can be transferred to humans. Upon browsing a certain site (which I'm in the process of coming up with) you get an antivirus message saying you have an unknown computer virus. It then directs you to a spoof BBC article with lots of info about the virus to give you a scientific background on what you have to deal with. There are lots of clues in the article to complete the game. The power in your flat/house then cuts off while you are reading the article and the actual LASSIE game begins at that point. You have 20 minutes (subject to change) to cure yourself. The actual game file (~10mb) is at http://www.konador.com/virus.zip and the website section of the game (most of which is only temporary) is at http://www.konador.com/multimedia. It would be great to get any feedback, especially on the points I mentioned above. Thanks! -Ben

Downloading now. I look forward to playing.

looks goods :D , i haven't managed to finish it yet :roll:

Do you have a walkthrough?

I don't have a walkthrough at the moment, but I can write one if you're both getting stuck. I guess that answers one of my questions, about it being too difficult... I'll quickly go and write one up. http://www.konador.com/virus-walkthru.txt Thats the main way of completing it, however there are a couple of alternatives just involving different items for mixing, etc.

In a way it's not so much that it's too hard but I didn't know what to do. One of the first things I noticed was the power is off, so I figure I'm supposed to find a way to get the power back on. Also, there was a lot of reading involved, which I kind of ignored. ;) I'll play around with it some more, thanks for the walkthrough.

The game was partly created as part of a project at my university in my multimedia course, which had to be presented as a website. The final piece would be actually displayed on the site after the BBC article so it was more clear how they're linked. On it's own, I admit, the game has no clear objective and is near impossible to figure out without the background info, but I feel when presented in context it will be slightly easier to get started along the right track. The electricity thing is a red herring throughout the game, but maybe I was too mean in misleading people along this path so strongly? One of the reasons I did it was so that people could not use electricity as an electromagnetic force to destroy the virus, so they would have to follow my perscibed puzzles/plot. I couldn't think of any other way to do this. Thanks for -*test*-('")ing the game out, I do appreciate it.

This sounds interesting, I look forward to checking out out when my schedule settles down a bit. In the mean time... ahhhh! Work!

i must admit i focused on the lack of electric and being a auto electrician kept looking for reasons why lol.. i died countless times but made progress, but i don't think i would of figured it out without the walk thro..its an great project, liked the idea, works really well, very impressive, i agree the web pages with the project probably would explain things better well done m8

Well I'll be damned. I never considered that the engine could be used like that. Kudos to ya, that's definately clever. Great customizing from the navigation to the verb disc. Just some general feedback: First, in the photographic environment those chunky inventory illustrations match about as well as chopped liver goes with ice cream. I'm assuming those are just FPOs... I think photo icons would suit the game much better. Also, the game lacks clear puzzle direction. I would have had a heck of a time making it through without the walk-through, and I would NEVER have finished it in the time alotted. The pulse sound and timer certianly creates a sense of urgancy, but it also decreases my motivation to look around and explore. I think the timer is a neat idea, but it might be better used for specific small tasks than the game as a whole. Good job.

Thanks for the feedback! The inventory icons are temporary. I was waiting till I finished the whole thing so that I can take all the photos of the objects at the same time in the same lighting etc and make it look uniformed. I'm thinking of ways to give the puzzles more direction. Perhaps more direction given in the text when you do something wrong, or clues at certain time milestones? At the moment the timer is built into the _drawer in flash, because its the only item loaded at all times. Is there any way to set a timer using the lassie engine? Thanks for taking the time to play it :)

I've uploaded a new updated version at the same URL: http://www.konador.com/virus.zip Changes: - Embedded font for timer. - Changed some text placement for easier readability. - Added some extra verbal clues on certain room exit events which are impossible to miss. - Improved certain logic even if it makes the game easier (eg you can now use blood from your body rather than only blood from the floor). - Increased time to 30 mins, although it could go back down to 20 perhaps, now there are easier clues. Working on: - Better inventory icons - Custom inventory 'left right' arrows - Finalising text placements in some bright areas where the white font may be hard to read

Just posted a new new new version at the same URL. http://www.konador.com/virus.zip. This one adds photo inventory icons, more inventory icons per page, better text placement, more text clue tweaks, added some text where default wasn't enough, and placed the hot-spots for navigation more appropriately and hopefully more intuitively. Give it a go 8) -Ben

hi ben the new inv items look cool! i don't think the text prompts will dilute the game at all, its just made it more do able, without making it easy,... like John sed most people don't read the clues first time round so on their heads be it! lol one Q.... is the heart beat from pink floyd's dark side of the moon?

Hehe, I've had a couple of people ask about the heart beat. I actually got it from a Royalty Free sound effects web page :)