[Challenge - Very Hard] - Doden Vantar: Chapter One: A Harsh Winter's Night

Spoiler: Puzzle Solution (click to show/hide)

People say it is annoying to do this, so, I'll just give every one the password.  The first one you don't touch, the second one you hit four times, the third one you hit nine times, the last one just jump on until it opens the gate.

Are you saying you originally had to guess the code?!
If so, I can take that in Afar. But not a four digit code.

EDIT: Also, shouldn't the red lava drops be deadly?
And also, I got the umbrella before the blue key

Doesn't matter if you get the blue key after you get the umbrella, it all works out in the end .  Maybe the red drips are just run off from all the fumes rising to the top of the ceiling

No, you didn't have to guess per say, there was a hint in the old man cutscene, but I was told you'd have to really think half-witted to understand it...

Oh dear. Went looking for the purple key, fell into (what I assume is) a void, and ended up in (what I assume is) a secret area.

Sorry, this level didn't hooked me. I first thought the introduction was terribly long, (also perhaps having written subtitles would be a good idea ). then I got to this void where I fall and then die directly. This game probably have many qualities but I didn't had any patience tonight.

@Purple Pineapple:
1) I reported that series of bugs, but they were ignored due to pressing to release and not being in the normal playthrough
2) There are no keys in the beginning area, anyway

@Teper:
1) There used to be subtitles, but they were taking too long to coordinate with the audio
2) Make sure KSA is in the same folder as KS

@Purple Pineapple:
1) I reported that series of bugs, but they were ignored due to pressing to release and not being in the normal playthrough

Were they in a pm or something, 'cause I didn't see them. Or is there another thread?

2) There are no keys in the beginning area, anyway

After making about five loops through the level, I was desperate.

Oh dear. Went looking for the purple key, fell into (what I assume is) a void, and ended up in (what I assume is) a secret area.

That should be fixed in the newer DL.  You will not be able to go back at all.

TY =D

Well I kind of liked this, but not as much as I wanted to. Here's why:

I wasn't too keen on using a mod, but I tried it anyway and my biases were unjustified - Blox has done a great job, and it seems this is the first (only?) level to make use of the new features and does it quite well. There are decent cutom objects, such as the save points which make this seem a little more separate from the normal KS style... more arcadey. The music is much better than I expected after reading comments here, too. The overall level design (the mazey caves, etc) seem to work well - I didn't mind the long death-drop and being chased during the umbrella code parts (though I did peek in the editor for the code - if there was a hint, I totally missed it).

However, the overall atmosphere was pretty bland, mainly because of the limited and equally bland tilesets. It just didn't have any visual appeal for me at all, which is a shame, because it has so much potential with the snow and ice. It just didn't deliver. I appreciate that it is meant to be empty and a metaphor for sadness or whatever, but that doesn't mean it can't still be pretty!

Also, and I might get flamed for this, but the voice acting just didn't really work for me. I know this is probably the main feature of this level for most people, but I didn't feel it fitted in with the KS ethos - the acting itself is pretty good, especially considering its amateur voice acting (which is in some ways more difficult than 'normal' acting), but KS works better when the creatures / knytt aren't humanised too much.

Connected to this is the cutscene length. I know, I know, we can skip it if we bother reading the forum or KSA documentation (which most don't, it seems), but to get any semblance of plot, we have to trawl through these too-long scenes and listen to a storyline that just didn't grab me.

Now I might seem too negative here, but the fact is I did complete the level and I did enjoy it throughout (despite sighing pointedly during the cutscenes). So I eagerly await the next installment. I hope you take on my criticism and don't take offense.

Good luck with the next chapter!

I dont take offense .  You actually took time out to play the full level and give me a nice detailed report on the things you did and did not like, and that is appreciated.  I wanted to make it as un "pretty" as possible, I wanted you to look at it, and see nothing special, the area isn't supposed to be special in any way other than giving you a bland unappealing feeling.  Why?  Because sadness isn't an appealing thing, I am trying my best to get you to feel exactly what Aden is feeling as she progresses through each area.  I understand that isn't something I should WANT to do, making something unappealing, but it is something I must do for certain areas, . 

I like as much story as I can put in to anything.  If you've played Scarlet Tears, you may understand that more .  Sure, the game play is a big part of any game, but I really love when the story is the main part of it, when I cant wait to get to the next part just to hear the continuation of the plot. 

But as I've stated before, thank you very much for you detailed comments, and I hope to hear from you again when Chapter 2 comes out!

Hi! Where is the purple key? I cannot continue and I cannot find it. Thank you!

Also, and I might get flamed for this, but the voice acting just didn't really work for me. I know this is probably the main feature of this level for most people, but I didn't feel it fitted in with the KS ethos - the acting itself is pretty good, especially considering its amateur voice acting (which is in some ways more difficult than 'normal' acting), but KS works better when the creatures / knytt aren't humanised too much.

I didn't have the same issue with the humanization, although it did seem really... out of place... but one thing that particularly bothered me was that the voice acting seemed a little inconsistent at times. People seemed to sometimes be at differing volumes, to be specific. Also one guy kept clicking and that was so annoying.

On that note, I think there ought to be some way of knowing WHO is talking. I could get Aden, but who is everyone else? I don't recall anyone being referred to by name... and if you don't do that in the first chapter, why would you do it in any other chapter?

I like as much story as I can put in to anything.  If you've played Scarlet Tears, you may understand that more .  Sure, the game play is a big part of any game, but I really love when the story is the main part of it, when I cant wait to get to the next part just to hear the continuation of the plot. 

This confuses me. Where was the plot?
Most of the game was running around trying to figure out where to go and avoiding inconveniently-placed hazards.
There were three cutscenes I think. They were long, yes, but they didn't really explain all that much. I can understand trying to be all cryptic and junk, but too much of that makes the player lose interest rather than be held in suspense.

If you're going to focus on story, then I think this definitely shouldn't be a "very hard" level. What would've maybe added to the story rather than challenge would be some people to talk to. Yeah, why not use some text blocks? Or if you must have everyone TALK then you could use shifts or something with voices, I've seen that before.
Not saying it's bad, but yeah.

I know what you mean, but we all have different writing techniques   Why do you need to know who everyone is in the first chapter anyways?  Nothing is really going on yet, other than two people talking, Blake and Alexi, who were called by name .  You have no idea what is going on because Aden has no idea what is going on.  You've heard more than Aden, seeing as how she didn't hear Blake and Alexi talking to each other, but none of that really seems to make sense.  Why reveal the main plot in the first chapter when all is needed is an introduction to the series itself?  I have no idea how long this will run, I want to fit as much in the next chapters as I can, but that doesn't mean that each chapter will always be full of plot, there are other things that happen within a story, not everything is based off of one person, or even two.  I would add subtitles, but that, takes forever.  Every word would have to be timed and be exact at when each person is talking and done talking.  Also, I dont think it would matter the difficulty of a level, there are plenty of games out there that are hard and have a great story, so, you may have to be able to do some "advanced" stuff, but that in itself wouldn't take away from the story, it may, however, take away from SOME people's interest in the level series, but I am willing to do that if it indeed makes creating this whole thing much more fun for me.  Sure, I get a kick out of people liking the stuff I make, but that doesn't mean that I create anything for them, it is more for me, if I'm not having fun making it, why should I continue it?