Trapped In The Dark

Really enjoyed this one https://youtu.be/vy1ZgSYh-Qo

Hey I am finally done with all of this it took awhile sorry. Unfortunately, I could not get my recorder to record it properly, so instead I just did a straight review (The Video can be seen here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLtm7LPrs0A&feature=youtu.be). Also if you would like a break down of my review system go here --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZiBjwaqasg&feature=youtu.be

So before I start I hope you like it, and if you want I would appreciate it if you could point out anything I could do better when reviewing critique the critique I guess you could say :P. I also put a summary for practice, and for those who have not played it, so if you want you can skip it. I hope this helps!

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Summary: You are startled out of your bed from a nightmare only to hear strange sounds, what horrors await you in the dark? The main character, who remains undefined I will call him Neil, soon is confronted by beings known as Dead-Alives. After burning his fathers papers Neil meets the nameless evil Dead-Alive who begins to chase him. Just in time, a good Dead-Alive named Alice appears to scare off the evil entity. Alice revels that evil Dead-Alives are created from those who have suffered greatly in their life, and that she hunts these evil spirits. Later, an evil form of Neil is created. This dark copy is a manifestation of Neil's inner fears, and then ultimately ends up killing him. However, Neil then wakes up the same way as the beginning, so he could be having a continuous dream or even be dead himself in a limbo like plane of existence, in CaioVaralta's Trapped In The Dark.

Gameplay: Trapped In The Dark has average horror feel to it. The atmosphere could have been very nice with the lighting and map design, but is ruined by the upbeat music. Between lack of atmosphere, scariness, character development, plot, and the like I could not stay immersed in it, which is an important part of every game. When playing this I felt no emotional attachment what so ever. You might want to try giving a reason to be afraid, sad, etc. Also when making these ask yourself why should the audience care about what is going on. As far as difficulty goes it could of used more chases and puzzles, and maybe more difficult puzzles that make sense of course. It stuck to the genre pretty well, but was lacking in scariness. I give the gameplay category a (2/5).

Plot: I was very interested at first especially with the Dead-Alive, however when the story split I began to lose interest. The story itself does not make any sense. You wake up in your mansion with no one around not even knowing why all of these things are happening. Next time you might want to think about things like why is this happening, etc. I like how you hint at a much larger story is happening then just what is seen, but you should try making it more obvious to the player. Also what happened to the Dead-Alive? They seemed to have been forgotten about when the shadow version of Neil appears. When introducing story points you want to explain how they are relevant. It was almost as if two stories plot lines were going on separately. The characters needed a lot more development to them. Alice was the only one that has a decent amount of a development compared to the others. The main character didn't even have a name, it is only mentioned that he was suffering from nightmares, and his dad was involved in something shady. Overall it was an original idea, except of course the waking up in a random place or the manifestation of inner fears, etc. Having a few cliché plot points is okay though, I mean lets face it they are cliché because they work. I give the plot category a (2.25/5).

Visual: The map design did not make sense, because of the separate parts of the house divided by a wall without an explanation and the random small rooms with maybe one thing in them. Try making the map flow more next time like you would not have a room with one chair in it would you? The detail to some of the rooms is nice and makes sense, others just strange. The floor for instance flows as tiles and then randomly change halfway in a hallway, etc. Not to mention strange things like the thrones, the pool, etc. The choice of artwork for the title screen, death screen, and outside are well done. Next time maybe include more for interactive situations? Such as pressing enter on a painting and the picture fills the screen. I liked the lighting at first until I got the lighter and then I could see everything. Since it's a horror don't forget darkness is your friend and you could have had it so the lighter either wore out, or the circle around you was the only part that got brighter opposed to the whole screen. I give the visual category a (2.8/5).

Audio: I liked the music for the title screen, but the background music in game was too upbeat for a horror game. Don't forget that it is one of the most important things in horror. The use of sounds is average, except some like the Bowser mwuhaha which I thought was silly. Next time try some scary ambiance that makes the player feel scared and jumpy, and some startling chase music. I give the audio category a (2.5/5).

Grammar: The font used is interesting, but I did not like the constant use of caps. The sentence structure in the beginning is okay then steadily gets worse. The spelling is much better in this then Be The Slender Man. Don't forget to get your games grammar checked before release, and I would get at least two to look over it, because even a lot of native English speakers have horrible grammar. Also don't worry I did not forget you primarily speak Portuguese so I cut you some slack, but whomever translated did not do a very good job. I give the grammar category a (3/5).

Overall: Overall I think you are capable of doing much better. I know I already said this last time but getting a few testers is always a good idea before you release a game, of which I would love to do. You had a great idea and I would like to see more about the Dead-Alive in a future project. Keep trying and don't give up! The final score is (2.32/5)

~~Krig Raseri

Hey, it is I Krig! The guy that left you the wall of text critique on Be The Slender Man. Soon I will be making a let's play of Trapped In The Dark with a review/critique at the end, as well as a written one here. However, before I do that I wanted to know if there is anything you want me to keep in mind while I play this so as not to miss judge it/critique it in a wrong way?

very nice. kind of short, but it's worth it

i cant seem to play it, it says cant find VL font