Hi Grahft. Are you still working on that macventure game that was announce back in 2020-2021 (forgot the year) started with a T i think? haven't heard anything about that game lately.
Oh, Themeire. I cancelled that because I had 2 other games to work on, in an official capacity, including Beyond Shadowgate, the official sequel to NES Shadowgate, due out in a few months. The other game is still secret. The reason I cancelled Themeire, and not just put it off, was because a lot of the assets, ideas and puzzled for the game were used in making one of the sections in Beyond Shadowgate, aptly named Themire (spelled slightly differently)
Oh that's too bad, but it is what it is. Beyond shadowgate should be good though looking forward to it. But i have a few more questions:
1. Does this game take place in another world entirely that is inspired by Arabia or do you just get sent in the distant past?
2. Did you come up with all the puzzles and deaths yourself or did you have to brainstorm with a team?
3. When you watch a stream or a let's play of someone playing Spectacle, what's the funniest way you've seen someone trying to solve a puzzle knowing that it wouldn't work?
Another world entirely. A fantasy land inspired by Arabian and Greek mythology. I made it an unofficial prequal to The Uninvited, where the origins of the supernatural creatures and events that occur in the Uninvited mansion originated in the magical kingdom. The unknown sorcerer who owned the house and trained apprentices, including that games antagonist, was the same sorcerer from Spectacle. Of course I added around 10 other direct references and links to The Uninvited.
I came up with everything myself.
Probably the Hyleg Well puzzle, in the Azure palace, where you have to line up the moon and throw in a coin to make the gust of wind destroy the Yajna upstairs. A LOT of people wanted to go down that well. I'm like "Oh yeah, you go down a well in Shadowgate. That's why they're so determined to try and go down there", lol
Is this game as hard as Uninvited or Shadowgate? Just wondering because I had to use a guide throughout each of those and even though I loved the vibe, needing the guide the whole time kind of sucked the joy out of it for me.
To be 100% honest with you, I have no idea how to gauge the difficulty, even compared to those adventure games that inspired me, because it seems like 1/2 the feedback that I receive is that it's too hard and the other 1/2 say it's too easy.
If it helps, I don't have any moon logic or overly obtuse puzzles and I designed this game as someone who isn't particularly good at these kinds of games. Worst case scenario I do have a step-by-step walkthrough [link below].
I hope you try it anyway and let me know what you think. I'm always happy to hear feedback, even if it's negative.
Hello I really like very much your 2 games, I would like just make some minor comments (minor bugs I think but which for me are unlogical) :
- there is a bug that often happen at the Gate of Xor, there is sound continuing of writing text until the end of game, the only way to end of the sound is to quit.
- You can't travel to desert and go South if you don't read the book even if you know how to. Same for oasis, if you don't examine the map. Why ?
- If you freeze time on a Cicada screen after he flies away, if you go back when the times is still freezed to the screen it reappears.
Otherelse I'm very fan and for your next game I will make a donation :)
- We were not aware of that bug, but I'll take note of it
- We decided to make the player read the book/floor first in order to navigate the deserts cause otherwise there was sequence breaks that cause issues in the game, but I understand where you're coming from. Good point
- I don't remember the Cicada freeze time one, I'll have to look into that
Glad you enjoyed it and I'm always happy to receive notes like this, so thank you very much :)
One last thing that may looking strange I forgot is if you play without talking to the cloaked stranger you can see him still on the other location, so it's like he is at various position at the same time
Also, the stranger is a she. It's actually an astral projection of the Ringmaster's assistant at the circus in your world. She uses the cloaked avatar to help guide you so that you bring the magic instrument back to her, so she can use it on the evil wizard/demon. She was the Princess of that land, hence why her father (the Shah/King) appears beside her as a ghost at the end :D
I just finished both games and I can't stop smiling. I played Infested first and it's amazing to see the jump in quality, especially considering I was already enamored with Infested. The visuals and music are absolutely enchanting in Spectacle and I loved the story. It played out like a short, classic book I would have read over and over as a kid. There is so much love and skill poured into these.
Infested is a ton of fun, but this is something else. It's a complete, polished package and now I'm so much more excited for Beyond Shadowgate! Jeff, Orie, and Jason should all be incredibly proud. You guys are still fools for not charging me anything! Thank you for these experiences and I wish you all the best.
Thank you very much. That means the world to us. I'm really glad you love the games. I actually designed Infested in the mid-90s and never did anything with it until I was on sabbatical in 2015, when I decided that there was a serious lack of Shadowgate-inpired Indie games (read; none). As for Spectacle, I actually originally wrote it as a short story called The Great Spectacular. On top of what you see in the game, It also involved a village being turned to stone and a hunter that turned out to be the evil Wizard's emotions run amuck without the presence of the Wizard. When I turned it into a game I removed some of those plot points and replaced them with direct references to Uninvited in order to make it an unofficial prequel.
I can FINALLY announce the project I've been secretly working on: Beyond Shadowgate, the official sequel to Shadowgate on NES. We'll be launching a KickStarter soon, so stay tuned!
Love this game! It and Infested capture the atmosphere of the old Kemco games perfectly.
First, let me say how much I LOVED the keyboard hotkeys to select actions. This little quality-of-life tweak makes playing the game much more enjoyable. Much as I loved Shadowgate, Deja Vu, and Uninvited, the slowness of having to move the cursor around and click on verbs definitely made actual gameplay more cumbersome, so this was a really welcome feature.
I'm also really impressed with how well you succeeded in coming up with a completely original story while still capturing the feel of the NES Kemco games. Well done!
I do have a couple of pieces of hopefully constructive criticism for future projects: [SPOILERS]
I completely missed the fact that the fruit regrows in the same spot over time. Unless I'm overlooking something, there wasn't any hint that this was the case in-game. After obtaining the first piece, I wandered around for ages trying to find the second piece – I figured there was another tree south of the desert or something. It never occurred to me to revisit the screen with the fruit tree since I thought I'd collected everything that screen had to offer, which led to a lot of frustrated wandering around. I eventually had to check out a walkthrough video on YouTube to find the solution. Maybe a bit of text along the lines of "You notice a bud already beginning to regrow from where you cut off the fruit. Perhaps fruit trees grow faster in this magical land?" after you take the first fruit?
The cicada puzzle was also a bit opaque. I could tell it was supposed to be a clock face, but I thought the solution must require a specific time, since that was the case with the earlier puzzles for the sun and moon. I eventually managed to brute force the solution, but didn't realize that the solution is the current time whenever you happen to be trying to open the lock. A cryptic inscription hinting in that direction would have been a good addition. I'll acknowledge that this one is more subjective, though – perhaps the solution was more obvious to other players, and just didn't click for me.
All in all, though, I thought the puzzles were generally very well balanced – just enough hints in-game to point the player in the right direction without holding their hand completely and making the game boring.
Thank you so much for the kind words and I'm very glad you enjoyed the two games. Those criticisms were most definitely constructive and helpful. Very good point about the fruit. I can 100% understand thinking you needed to find a different fruit somewhere else. The Cicada puzzle could have used a hint somewhere, for sure. I'm currently working on several projects at the same time, but one of them is another Macventure, so I hope to get even more balance in the puzzles and gameplay, so thanks for the insight into your playthrough.
Not sure if you are aware but there is a Kemco/MacVenture compilation on Steam where you can use a mouse. It's called 8-bit Adventure Anthology: Volume I. It's only 8 Bucks.
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Hi Grahft. Are you still working on that macventure game that was announce back in 2020-2021 (forgot the year) started with a T i think? haven't heard anything about that game lately.
Oh, Themeire. I cancelled that because I had 2 other games to work on, in an official capacity, including Beyond Shadowgate, the official sequel to NES Shadowgate, due out in a few months. The other game is still secret.
The reason I cancelled Themeire, and not just put it off, was because a lot of the assets, ideas and puzzled for the game were used in making one of the sections in Beyond Shadowgate, aptly named Themire (spelled slightly differently)
Oh that's too bad, but it is what it is. Beyond shadowgate should be good though looking forward to it. But i have a few more questions:
1. Does this game take place in another world entirely that is inspired by Arabia or do you just get sent in the distant past?
2. Did you come up with all the puzzles and deaths yourself or did you have to brainstorm with a team?
3. When you watch a stream or a let's play of someone playing Spectacle, what's the funniest way you've seen someone trying to solve a puzzle knowing that it wouldn't work?
Another world entirely. A fantasy land inspired by Arabian and Greek mythology. I made it an unofficial prequal to The Uninvited, where the origins of the supernatural creatures and events that occur in the Uninvited mansion originated in the magical kingdom. The unknown sorcerer who owned the house and trained apprentices, including that games antagonist, was the same sorcerer from Spectacle. Of course I added around 10 other direct references and links to The Uninvited.
I came up with everything myself.
Probably the Hyleg Well puzzle, in the Azure palace, where you have to line up the moon and throw in a coin to make the gust of wind destroy the Yajna upstairs. A LOT of people wanted to go down that well. I'm like "Oh yeah, you go down a well in Shadowgate. That's why they're so determined to try and go down there", lol
Is this game as hard as Uninvited or Shadowgate? Just wondering because I had to use a guide throughout each of those and even though I loved the vibe, needing the guide the whole time kind of sucked the joy out of it for me.
To be 100% honest with you, I have no idea how to gauge the difficulty, even compared to those adventure games that inspired me, because it seems like 1/2 the feedback that I receive is that it's too hard and the other 1/2 say it's too easy.
If it helps, I don't have any moon logic or overly obtuse puzzles and I designed this game as someone who isn't particularly good at these kinds of games.
Worst case scenario I do have a step-by-step walkthrough [link below].
I hope you try it anyway and let me know what you think. I'm always happy to hear feedback, even if it's negative.
https://grahfmetal.itch.io/spectacle/devlog/145212/welcome-to-the-spectacle
Hey grahf can you make more games just like point and click games but are easier? I'm new to Spectacle btw so i'm just asking if you can, thanks
The game we're working on now has a hint system, so it'll be more accessible/approachable
Also, the comment section of this linked page has a step-by-step guide, if you'd like some help with the game :)
https://grahfmetal.itch.io/spectacle/devlog/145212/welcome-to-the-spectacle
Hello I really like very much your 2 games, I would like just make some minor comments (minor bugs I think but which for me are unlogical) :
- there is a bug that often happen at the Gate of Xor, there is sound continuing of writing text until the end of game, the only way to end of the sound is to quit.
- You can't travel to desert and go South if you don't read the book even if you know how to. Same for oasis, if you don't examine the map. Why ?
- If you freeze time on a Cicada screen after he flies away, if you go back when the times is still freezed to the screen it reappears.
Otherelse I'm very fan and for your next game I will make a donation :)
Thank you for your feedback.
- We were not aware of that bug, but I'll take note of it
- We decided to make the player read the book/floor first in order to navigate the deserts cause otherwise there was sequence breaks that cause issues in the game, but I understand where you're coming from. Good point
- I don't remember the Cicada freeze time one, I'll have to look into that
Glad you enjoyed it and I'm always happy to receive notes like this, so thank you very much :)
Thank you for your reply,
One last thing that may looking strange I forgot is if you play without talking to the cloaked stranger you can see him still on the other location, so it's like he is at various position at the same time
Oh yeah? Good catch, thanks again.
Also, the stranger is a she. It's actually an astral projection of the Ringmaster's assistant at the circus in your world. She uses the cloaked avatar to help guide you so that you bring the magic instrument back to her, so she can use it on the evil wizard/demon. She was the Princess of that land, hence why her father (the Shah/King) appears beside her as a ghost at the end :D
I just finished both games and I can't stop smiling. I played Infested first and it's amazing to see the jump in quality, especially considering I was already enamored with Infested. The visuals and music are absolutely enchanting in Spectacle and I loved the story. It played out like a short, classic book I would have read over and over as a kid. There is so much love and skill poured into these.
Infested is a ton of fun, but this is something else. It's a complete, polished package and now I'm so much more excited for Beyond Shadowgate! Jeff, Orie, and Jason should all be incredibly proud. You guys are still fools for not charging me anything! Thank you for these experiences and I wish you all the best.
Thank you very much. That means the world to us. I'm really glad you love the games.
I actually designed Infested in the mid-90s and never did anything with it until I was on sabbatical in 2015, when I decided that there was a serious lack of Shadowgate-inpired Indie games (read; none).
As for Spectacle, I actually originally wrote it as a short story called The Great Spectacular. On top of what you see in the game, It also involved a village being turned to stone and a hunter that turned out to be the evil Wizard's emotions run amuck without the presence of the Wizard. When I turned it into a game I removed some of those plot points and replaced them with direct references to Uninvited in order to make it an unofficial prequel.
I can FINALLY announce the project I've been secretly working on: Beyond Shadowgate, the official sequel to Shadowgate on NES. We'll be launching a KickStarter soon, so stay tuned!
this is awesome.
Are you working on a new game or anything?
lol Oops just read your other comment. Well it's January now so can't wait to hear and see what it is. Will defietly back your kickstarter.
Oh man, another great game. I loved Infested and then this??!! This game is a masterpiece. Keep making these MacVenture style games!!
Thank you very much. I really appreciate that. Our next MacVenture game should be announced early January next year.
I think fans of the genre are REALLY gonna love what we're doing with this game. There's going to be a Kickstarter and even physical copies too :D
Awesome!!
It's kind of a small niche genre but I love that people are keeping it alive!
Love this game! It and Infested capture the atmosphere of the old Kemco games perfectly.
First, let me say how much I LOVED the keyboard hotkeys to select actions. This little quality-of-life tweak makes playing the game much more enjoyable. Much as I loved Shadowgate, Deja Vu, and Uninvited, the slowness of having to move the cursor around and click on verbs definitely made actual gameplay more cumbersome, so this was a really welcome feature.
I'm also really impressed with how well you succeeded in coming up with a completely original story while still capturing the feel of the NES Kemco games. Well done!
I do have a couple of pieces of hopefully constructive criticism for future projects: [SPOILERS]
All in all, though, I thought the puzzles were generally very well balanced – just enough hints in-game to point the player in the right direction without holding their hand completely and making the game boring.
Looking forward to your next project!
Thank you so much for the kind words and I'm very glad you enjoyed the two games. Those criticisms were most definitely constructive and helpful. Very good point about the fruit. I can 100% understand thinking you needed to find a different fruit somewhere else. The Cicada puzzle could have used a hint somewhere, for sure.
I'm currently working on several projects at the same time, but one of them is another Macventure, so I hope to get even more balance in the puzzles and gameplay, so thanks for the insight into your playthrough.
Glad to have been helpful. I love Macventure-style games, so I'll be looking forward to your next project!
Not sure if you are aware but there is a Kemco/MacVenture compilation on Steam where you can use a mouse. It's called 8-bit Adventure Anthology: Volume I. It's only 8 Bucks.
Thanks for the heads up! I had already played the remake of Shadowgate they did a few years back, but missed this one.