Welcome to Thursday Question Time – our weekly chance to get some feedback from you guys whilst also getting to know you a little bit better.
It’s that time of the week again where we get to ask you a question! Last week we asked what was your favourite puzzle from Forever Lost and it seems that the overwhelming majority of you were fans of the ‘Think Outside The Box’ and ‘Turn Both Keys’ puzzles, there were a few outliers like the ‘Naughts and Crosses’ puzzle from episode 2 as well as the ‘Power Cell’ puzzle from episode 1, but generally it was the overly lateral puzzles that played on words which is interesting as they are also our favourite types of puzzles to make. So now let’s move onto this weeks question: What would you like to see more of in our future games?
For us we would love to see more people playing them, there’s nothing better than knowing you’ve created something, sent it out into the world, and people actually enjoy it. We’d love to see our games spread to an even wider audience so that more people get to play them and we get to hear more stories of people enjoying them.
Daniel
Jan 24, 2014 -
Hello guys. Its me again.
Here is my answer for the #ThursdayQuestionTime.
I loved the first two episodes Forever Lost and Ferris Mueller’s Day Off. I gotta say Ferris was a little bit harder than Forever Lost, however im still loving FL more than Ferris and ANY other adventure games in the world.
So here it is what i want to see:
-I would like to see some water in FL3, the player must be very thirsty (please dont tell me its just a dream).
-I would like the end of FL3 more like FL2 than FL1, im just saying, in the first episode you are able to finish the game by just knowing the sounds of the radio, then unlocking the door, solving a puzzle, picking up the book and press all the other ones. But if we look in FL2, we know that you need to solve alot of puzzle in order to complete the game. I mean you just cant skip everything like in episode 1.
-I would like to see more screenshots of Metus, there should be something different between Metus and FL.But i ll let that you, im not the owner of Glitch Games haha.
-I would like remove Camera from FL3, just imagine, the game ll take a sharp and sudden turn. We wont be able to save the photos, a good challenge for the last episode. (Im guessing FL3 is the last episode, i just dont know).
-I know you guys are great making adventure game… i think you need to make some horror adventure game (literally) with jumpscares and stuff like that, creepy music, grim art and like that :). The user shall be using a lintern all the time.
Thats all i have for now. I hope you liked the ideas. Stay awesome.
Best regards.
Daniel
Simon
Jan 27, 2014 -
Hi Daniel,
Thanks for your reply.
Our intention with Ferris was to make it harder than Forever Lost, with more bizarre and abstract puzzles (but still logical…mostly anyway.) We didn’t expect it to be loved by everyone but we saw it as a little break/holiday/vacation from Forever Lost for both ourselves and the people that play our games. I think most people, including ourselves, love Forever Lost more than any other game we have created, but we did have some good fun making Ferris Mueller.
Water – Within games, films and even books, it is often an assumed notion that the characters will drink, eat and even go to the toilet without informing the user, unless it is an important part of the story. We were originally going to add a pizza that you could cook and eat, some water that you could pick up and drink, BUT… we realised that these things could distract from the main goal. They could confuse certain puzzles, since we actually do use food and water for puzzles within the game, questions like; “Why did I add a piece of bread to my briefcase, yet I can pick up this pizza and eat it” or “Why did I drink this water when I need it to solve a puzzle in the next room”
The main problem with Episode 1 was that you could easily skip heavy chunks of the game. With Episode 2 we wanted the user to actually earn their right to escape. By forcing the player to get a physical object from each puzzle chain, the player must solve every puzzle to complete the game. We are still not sure if we applied this solution as well as we could have, but hopefully Episode 3 will demonstrate a perfect solution to this.
Development on Metus has come to a halt so that we can continue working on Episode 3 of Forever Lost. We will hopefully continue later in the year, when we also upload all the latest screenshots.
You would like to remove the camera?!! :0 :O 😮
We spent months working on the camera because we thought it would improve the puzzle solving experience. Now people want to remove it! Haha
A horror game is on the list.
Best Wishes,
Simon
Daniel
Jan 31, 2014 -
Hello Simon.
Thank you for answering to my ideas. Im sorry about that idea of the Camera haha i didnt know that.Well im still thinking you can remove it like in 3 years when you get bored of it.
I just cant wait for the Horror game. I would pay 9.99 for a big horror puzzle game :D!
Regards.
Daniel
MissMagicPiano
Jan 24, 2014 -
Greetings,
MissMagicPiano here; your number one fan 😀
Before answering the question, I just wanted to comment about Ferris Mueller’s Day off. I thought it was very entertaining and even harder than both episodes of Forever Lost. I thought it was only me, but the person above agrees too! Oh well, the harder, the better! (This means: let FL3 be harder, please) Also, the reason why I am so addicted to your creations is that normally I do not like games, but I found what I was looking for in what you guys make. Your games are the only games in my phone, literally. 🙂 A game that I enjoyed playing a while ago was The Room, but still not as satisfying and I downloaded it on my brother’s iPad not my phone. Haha
What would I like to see more of in your future games?
1- The idea that @Daniel proposed about removing the camera is great ; it would make the game incredibly challenging and it would actually improve one’s memory. However, it will result in some issues such as people finding going back and forth from one place to another to remember the clues ‘boring’. Also, since the camera is what makes your games special then I think removing it won’t make us happy :). Maybe this should be next week’s question to find out the general consensus after all.
2- In FL3, maybe let Jason hear voices in his head at random times or when seeing something that relates to his past. Maybe his wife’s voice or the doctors’ saying things that are not quite clear. They could be saying some hints or something about the past…
3- I would love any game that is similar to Forever Lost. I am alright with horror games, but please do not make things pop out; I can’t afford getting another phone haha. I would still love it though.
4- As Daniel said, it would be nice to see food, and water in the games. What would be really cool is that for example in FL, if Jason is feeling hungry, places and things would turn gradually blurry until he finds food to restore his energy. If he does not find food, then he passes out for a short amount of time. (This would make the game feel longer. 😀 ).
5- I would like it if the hints book is a part of the game and not as a separate external button. I know this does not make a lot of sense. For instance, just like how Mr.Rooney solves a puzzle to find the recipe to make the explosive drink, he could be solving a puzzle to actually find the hints book. Irony right there!
6- More puns? Yes, please.
7- I would love seeing a game based on Alice’s story! Or FL4 from a different person’s perspective. :p Please do not make the third episode a final one.
8- This last thing is actually a request rather than a preference. I hope it is not too much to ask for. :$ So, one of Richard J Moir’s compositions is called “Thunder.” If Forever Lost was a piece of music, it would sound pretty much like it. I think it would sound epic in FL3. 😀
I am sorry for making you read all that! I hope it was a little beneficial.
With gratitude,
Rachel.
Daniel
Jan 24, 2014 -
I liked the second idea. Totally agreed.
MissMagicPiano
Jan 27, 2014 -
Thank you! 🙂
Simon
Jan 27, 2014 -
Greetings “number one fan” 🙂 🙂
Firstly, thank you for your comments on Ferris, we’re glad at least a few people get our weird humour.
1. Back in early 2012, we sat down in our much smaller office and wrote down all of the things that were wrong with current Adventure games. At the top of list was the terrible stories (not including the great games like Monkey Island) and how most of them seemed like they were an afterthought in the creation of the game. The second thing on the list was the inability to make notes within the game. A lot of developers take advantage of the genre by placing clues to puzzles as far away from one another as possible. This is not a good way to pad out or extend the length of a game. Travelling back and forth within games is one my biggest annoyances. So the first task was easy… we just had to write a kick ass story. Done. The second point on the list was a little harder but we came up with the idea of having an in-game camera. Not to make the game easier, but to increase the players enjoyment of the games we make.
2. We will be using voices in the next game… but that’s all I am saying.
3. We have both just agreed to make a really scary adventure game, with lots of jump scares, gore and terror just for you. We would love to hear that someone’s phone was destroyed while playing one of games just because they were absolutely terrified. Just kidding. Or am I?
4. I like the idea of needing to find food and water to preserve his mental state, but as I mentioned to Daniel, it could also have a negative effect and detract from the game-play experience.
5.That’s a cool idea. Why didn’t we think of doing that for Ferris.
6. Not everybody appreciates our puns and film references. Our work day is like one big pun battle. We have a points system where the best pun of the day is awarded to one of us. I think Graham in leading. He’s a pun machine.
7. Alice’s story huh? interesting? Stay tuned, we will have more information on that very soon. 😀
8. Richard always does a great job with setting the mood for our games with his compositions, so I’m sure we will be talking to him very shortly about working with us on Forever Lost: Episode 3. The “Thunder” track is a great piece and I’m sure he could make something similar if we asked him very nicely.
Thanks for your response Rachel, I enjoyed reading your thoughts.
Best wishes,
Simon
MissMagicPiano
Jan 27, 2014 -
Hello again, 😀
I am happy that you enjoyed reading my thoughts.
-A game with lots of jump scares??? I will have to get an extra strong phone cover soon!
-Your sense of humor is just perfect, not weird at all. -Regarding the pun battle, I think you should make a video of you two challenging each other; it would be so punny! 🙂
– Richard is just incredible and he is definitely able to do it. 🙂
-I forgot to add this on my first response. I was thinking: are you planning to make a three dimensional puzzle game? If yes, just let it not be the scary one. 😀
Thank you for being amazing people; keep it up.
Best regards,
Rachel
Jeffrey L.
Jan 25, 2014 -
Hey guys,
I’d like your games to continue to be like Forever Lost 2. The game was long, challenging, and the world seemed so big. I loved the idea of chapters. Every time I finished a chapter I would think it must be over now, but then another chapter would show up.
Keep the puzzles challenging and the world big. I thought the puzzles in Ferris were a bit more challenging, but at the same time the world was so much smaller to me that it was easier to find the answers. I loved how big the world was in Forever Lost 2. There were so many places to go, so many new areas to explore. So many places to remember. I couldn’t believe how amazing that game was!
I disagree with the idea of removing the camera. It is actually one of my favorite features of your games. I don’t have a great memory, and I’m not going to improve it from an adventure game. What I would end up doing is taking screenshots and having to go back and forth between my pictures and the game, which I can’t stand doing.
The art was great on Ferris, and the puns were awesome, but I enjoy the mystery that you built into Forever Lost 2 so much more. I enjoy how Forever Lost 2 kept me wanting to find out more, not just solve the puzzles. I just re-downloaded part 1 and 2 and am playing again, and can’t tell you enough how much you nailed the game I’ve always wanted to play.
I’m not a huge fan of horror adventure games which is why I like the Forever Lost series even more, because it is mysterious and eerie, but not tacky like so many other of the point and click escape games out there.
Hope that helps guys! Just saw that Cabin Escape is slated to be released in the spring and Forever Lost 3 in the summer, so that just made my day!
Keep up the great work!
Jeff L.
Graham
Jan 29, 2014 -
Hey Jeff, thank you so much for commenting!
Ferris is certainly a smaller game, when making it we wanted to have a break from FL so that we would be refreshed when we go back into making episode 3, however we didn’t want to make a massive game as that would mean too long a break before episode 3.
I think it’s safe to say we’re not going to be taking out the camera, it’s interesting to see the opinions of it being in or out, but I agree it’s one of our stand out features and really would miss it if it was gone.
We feel pretty confident that we’ll be able to keep the mystery going in episode 3 and you’ll all be happy with where the story goes.
Thanks again for replying, we really appreciate all the responses we keep getting! It’s great to know that people care enough about our games that they can take the time to type out their thoughts!
Hannah
Jan 26, 2014 -
For me, one of the most important features of your games is an engaging storyline. Many other games in the genre have silly or uninteresting storylines that make playing feel like a chore. In the forever lost series, I just can’t wait to find out what will happen next, and that’s the main reason why I play. Of course the quality of the puzzles is important too, but even if the puzzles were irritating and not fun, I would still play the games for the stories.
Graham
Jan 29, 2014 -
We very much agree with you. For us, story is tantamount to the game, without that it’s just a series of unrelated puzzles. When we set about designing these games the first thing we come up with is the story, after that we can then start thinking about where this story could be set and only then do we start populating the world with puzzles.
Hopefully you will like where the FL story goes with episode 3 as well as the new stories we’ve got coming up.
Glitch Games | Thursday Question Time – What do you think about the Camera feature?
Jan 31, 2014 -
[…] week we asked you what you would like to see more of in our future games and the general consensus was more story and mystery. This week we’d like to know: What do […]
Hazel Broadbent
Feb 18, 2014 -
I’ve enjoyed part 1and up to now part 2 of forever lost. I have got to the spinning clock twice after downloading the game twice and rebooting my mini IPad.Please tell me why I can’t stop the clock.I’m completely stuck.!!
Graham
Feb 18, 2014 -
You don’t need to actually stop the clock, you just need to press the button at the right time so the hand is over the correct colour. There is a colour sequence somewhere in the game 🙂