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Wow, in terms of story this has got to be the bleakest Pokemon game I have played:
-Rather than starting a grand adventure, your mother kicks you out of the house. ("Get out.")
-Your neighbours are either living below the poverty line or in jail.
-The Poke-Professor hates kids, and would deny you one of her hard-earned starters. Thankfully, "rules are rules".
-The citizens of your home town are either miserable ("I'm going bald!") or terrified of pokemon ("eek, Kinglers!").
-The greatest pokemon scientists have given up on the world, and are planning a hostile takeover! Team Professor, anyone?
There are some wonderful ideas in this game. I would recommend downloading this game for the music alone. Also, I have to give a thumbs up to the interactivity sprinkled around your house: every household appliance and piece of furniture sparks some commentary, whether it's washing your hands at the sink, observing your mom's cold coffee, or glancing into the empty fridge. I especially liked the bookshelves for the addition of Tolstoy and your mother's selection of Pokemon Cook Books!
At the same time, the numerous glitches really detract from the experience (or kill it, in some cases). I made it as far as Larcoon City in my run.
Glitches
-if you walk past the "enter" tiles in Larcoon's lab and then exit, you can walk out of Aurora Town without acquiring a starter.
-you cannot access your PC from Aurora Town. Ergo, you cannot get a potion to help you out against Rich's Growlithe.*
-there is no way to heal your pokemon in Aurora Town. After your first rival battle, you're stuck with a wounded pokemon until the next town.*
-you can walk over the flooded area of the second town.
-the TM Thief's house: first, the mom will give you infinite copies of the TM. Second, if you try to exit by the front door, your character will become stuck and you'll need to restart.
* If these 'no healing' situations are intentional design decisions - either as a handicap or to illustrate how unhelpful your mother is by refusing to heal your 'mons - then you need to communicate this to the player via in-game dialogue.
Story/Writing Comments:
-in the opening text, Oak tells you to address him as the Poke-Professor and never offers his proper name. A little rude, no?
-is Rich really Oak's grandson? I'm tempted to assume that line is standard text generated by a game-making program since the "grandson rival" scenario has been done to death in G1. Maybe some dialogue about how Rich's mother moved her family away from Pallet could be included?
-Your Mother's dialogue makes her sound very cold ("get out.") Is this the effect you intended?
-Professor Larcoon. Larcoon City. Is the naming scheme intentional, or is this an oversight?
-I like the concept of a conspiracy among the Pokemon Professors to conquer the world, but it feels like you've tipped your hand a little too soon:
1) The appeal of mystery is lost.
If I know right from the beginning that Larcoon wants to rule the world, where's the fun of following the story to discover her hidden intentions?
Let me give you an example: in Ruby/Sapphire, Team Magam/Aqua start off as minor annoyances; the extent of their villainy is robbing a Devon employee ("My Goods!") and overcrowding the Slateport Museum. They seem to be fixated on advanced technology, but why, and for what purpose? As the story progresses, they become increasingly fanatical: they kidnap Prof. Cozmo; they try to blow up an active volcano; they steal magical artifacts from Mt. Pyre and finally - at the height of insanity - they awaken ancient pokemon gods with the power to control the weather. Each time you meet the team, they try something more ambitious and more evil. At the same time, you never discover their endgame (waking Groudon/Kyogre) until the climax.
Pokemon Xenotime includes some suspense as to Prof. Birch's stance (will he join Oak or Larcoon's faction?), but otherwise Larcoon's intentions are declared loud and clear, and it doesn't feel like there's anything exciting to discover.
2) It's too early in the story to consider saving the world.
I know that 10-year old kids can do amazing things in the Pokemon world, but you've just started your journey and have one (1) level 5 pokemon. Seriously, what are you expected to do to fight an evil Lugia? Arceus help you if you chose Bulbasaur!
My recommendation: scale back the conflict in the early game. Establish that there's a rift between the Poke-Professors and that they've split into Oak vs Larcoon factions. At the same time, keep us in the dark as to what they are fighting over. Give hints that they disagree about how to deal with Lugia, but keep Larcoon's world-dominating intentions for the bird a secret. If you're feeling ambitious, portray Oak as a "loose cannon" among the Profs and make the player suspicious of his intentions!
I think you have a great story concept, and I like the characterization of Professor Larcoon - from her dialogue, it's clear she's a miserable grouch. I'd be interested to learn why Elm and Rowan - seemingly pleasant chaps - have become so disillusioned with the world that they'd side with her.
Last edited by Cypher DS; March 15th, 2011 at 03:45 AM.
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February 11th, 2011, 11:00 AM
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