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[Completed] Pokemon - Aether and Chaos V1.0

croksten.stein said:
Hey ! Just wanted to say, I just finished the game (not completely tho, I still have to catch mew and maybe complete the pokedex) and I just wanted to thank you for making it ! I'm quite bad and slow at pokemon games and usually never finish them, but this one was a true breeze of fresh air. The music is awesome, the plotline is present but not too heavy and i really like the little tweaks in pokemon designs/typings. Your game is full of life without flooding us with tons of npcs and unnecessary dialogue and I can't wait to see your next project !

Spoiler:
Click to expand...

Thanks very much for the kind words.
Much of what you said was exactly what I was going for.
As it was a first attempt, I'm happy the way it turned out.

I just figured out the issue with not being able to return to Duskwind Island. I'll upload a new version today that has fixed this issue.

*Now updated*
 
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If I may, I would like to throw my two cents in and say that I feel the game may have too sparse an NPC and dialogue count. Especially NPCs. The lack of them has the effect of making the world seem empty, especially in the earlier towns and cities. Maps/areas being large and spacious only compounds this feeling when there aren't things to do or people to interact within it. (Tartha Island and the adjoined areas are big offenders of this once you've left the port town, and even within the port town to some extent.)

It isn't until you reach Reven Town and particularly Aquil City that you find places that feel particularly lived in (as in have their own history) or populated (as in have more than a few folks there other than the player-character and Gym Leader).

A certain level of minimalism can be appreciated. But I would suggest a balance even to that, so the minimalism doesn't turn into wide-open spaces filled with little to nothing on a mostly consistent basis.
 
J. D. Guy said:
If I may, I would like to throw my two cents in and say that I feel the game may have too sparse an NPC and dialogue count. Especially NPCs. The lack of them has the effect of making the world seem empty, especially in the earlier towns and cities. Maps/areas being large and spacious only compounds this feeling when there aren't things to do or people to interact within it. (Tartha Island and the adjoined areas are big offenders of this once you've left the port town, and even within the port town to some extent.)

It isn't until you reach Reven Town and particularly Aquil City that you find places that feel particularly lived in (as in have their own history) or populated (as in have more than a few folks there other than the player-character and Gym Leader).

A certain level of minimalism can be appreciated. But I would suggest a balance even to that, so the minimalism doesn't turn into wide-open spaces filled with little to nothing on a mostly consistent basis.
Click to expand...
It was intentional to have a 'barren' feel with sparseness for most of the world. But, for some of the towns, yes, there could be more detail, especially world-building dialogue.
I personally like vast exploration and unknown adventure, but understand others may not.

In my new creation, I'm trying to liven the towns and 'routes' up to involve more Pokemon and people. However, the whole point is that the player explores the vastness of 'wild lands', in a free roam style.

Additionally, the towns you see in Aether and Chaos are basically a demonstration of how I developed and progressed ideas as I went along. It's quite raw in that I kept most things I did on the first attempt.
This is why Aquil and Reven seem more developed. That and they're the two major cities of the realm.

Moreover, the music was actually done in the same way. You can tell if I kept the first or later attempt of a composition by the number next to it. For example, 'RevenTown1' means first attempt and final.
 
BCarter said:
It was intentional to have a 'barren' feel with sparseness for most of the world. But, for some of the towns, yes, there could be more detail, especially world-building dialogue.
I personally like vast exploration and unknown adventure, but understand others may not.

In my new creation, I'm trying to liven the towns and 'routes' up to involve more Pokemon and people. However, the whole point is that the player explores the vastness of 'wild lands', in a free roam style.

Additionally, the towns you see in Aether and Chaos are basically a demonstration of how I developed and progressed ideas as I went along. It's quite raw in that I kept most things I did on the first attempt.
This is why Aquil and Reven seem more developed. That and they're the two major cities of the realm.

Moreover, the music was actually done in the same way. You can tell if I kept the first or later attempt of a composition by the number next to it. For example, 'RevenTown1' means first attempt and final.
Click to expand...
Interesting! It's fun to learn the thought-processes behind how stuff was made, especially games.

But yeah, like I said, minimalism when in balance is fine and even cool. It's just that if it's too minimalistic, it takes away the incentives to explore and/or leaves room for feeling disappointed afterwards if there wasn't much there.


Thanks for the response! <3
 
Loving the game so far, though I can't help but wonder; is something gone wrong with dual typings? Using a bug move vs Houndour for example yields Not Very Effective, while it should be Neutral, and there are multiple of such cases where I find myself hitting Not Very Effective where it should be neutral, even including the new types.
 
Lou Cypher said:
Loving the game so far, though I can't help but wonder; is something gone wrong with dual typings? Using a bug move vs Houndour for example yields Not Very Effective, while it should be Neutral, and there are multiple of such cases where I find myself hitting Not Very Effective where it should be neutral, even including the new types.
Click to expand...
Super-effective and not-very-effective calculations were adjusted slightly. That might create situations wherein the "not very effective" message may play for moves used against certain Type combinations.
 
Lou Cypher said:
Loving the game so far, though I can't help but wonder; is something gone wrong with dual typings? Using a bug move vs Houndour for example yields Not Very Effective, while it should be Neutral, and there are multiple of such cases where I find myself hitting Not Very Effective where it should be neutral, even including the new types.
Click to expand...
J.D. Guy's reply is correct.

Because of the adjustment to damage calculations, moves that do a certain amount of damage sometimes come across as super effective, while the opposite is true too for not very effective.

Even if something is not very effective, it will do more than it usually would. If something is super effective it will do slight less than usual. That's the general idea.
 
BCarter said:
Surf is given by a man standing at the lake in Reven Town.

To use surf, you need to defeat the Reven Town gym.

Let me know if you need anything else.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much! I love your game, but I did want to let you know when I go underwater there's strange red lines appearing. Kinda like a strip and then it disappears when I'm away from it
 
StormyHearts said:
Thank you so much! I love your game, but I did want to let you know when I go underwater there's strange red lines appearing. Kinda like a strip and then it disappears when I'm away from it
Click to expand...
Thanks very much, I'm glad you're enjoying it!

Haha, yes, I can't figure that one out. It sometimes happens, sometimes doesn't. Only occurs in underwater and no rhyme or reason. But, it doesn't impact the game too much, so it's fine for now.
 
BCarter said:
Thanks very much, I'm glad you're enjoying it!

Haha, yes, I can't figure that one out. It sometimes happens, sometimes doesn't. Only occurs in underwater and no rhyme or reason. But, it doesn't impact the game too much, so it's fine for now.
Click to expand...
Okay so question..I'm at the ice gym now. How do I figure out the ice skating? XD
 
ok so, i dont know if anyone else asked this, but is there a way to see what pokemon are catchable on each route? something like the dexnav maybe, though it could also just be a doc or something. Would be great if something like that were to be added
 
Hi there! I wanted to drop by and let you know how much I enjoyed your game.

The very first thing I noticed was how nice the music and sound effects were. I downloaded the game quite a while ago and had forgotten about the original post by the time I got around to playing it, so the opinion was uncoloured by your having stated that you wrote the music. It was just so good that it jumped out as a defining feature.

The second thing I enjoyed was the amount of tiny details. I love that characters move at different speeds, and I enjoy the little overworld pokémon here and there.

The third thing I liked was the gameplay. I am not a 'hardcore' gamer (Pokémon or otherwise) but also appreciate a little challenge. For me, this game hits the perfect spot in terms of difficulty. Information is clearly presented (for example, IVs and EVs are visible), progression is very smooth -- I never felt over- or underwhelmed. I think (?) the game minimizes grinding by increasing exp gain while enforcing a level cap. That fits my (admittedly unusual) playstyle perfectly :)

Speaking of this playstyle: I use my own real-life schedule as the limiting factor -- I always save in pokécentres, and I must stop playing once I save. The lack of grinding combined with the absolutely amazing ambience made me play the game less as a traditional Pokémon adventure, but almost like a Minecraft-esque experience, and I always felt satisifed when I reached a pokécentre, as if I had just taken a very nice walk in the evening. It was lovely just to wander through the forests -- which looked and sounded and felt beautiful. The routes were vast enough to really feel like hiking in the wild. The tall grass placement seemed very well-considererd (not just giant dense patches). I walked through every route to enjoy the ambience, rarely touching the run button.

The last thing I'd like to compliment is the overall maturity of the game. The style of the dialogues is calm, well-adjusted, sometimes even a bit introspective. This is not 'mature' in the sense of violence, swearing and grit. It speaks of life experience, tranquility, resilience. The execution of the game, from gameplay to music to visual design, shows care and restraint. I think this is very rare in all forms of media, let alone a Pokémon fan game.

If I had to list one area of improvement, it would be the lack of interaction for some overworld objects that usually come with interactions. For example, the sign leading south out of the first town does not appear readable; the signs outside gym buildings also seem to be non-interactive. Personally, I feel fine with the lack of interactions in general, but would suggest removing the sign objects altogether, as players tend to expect to be able to read them.

Again, thank you very much for creating this game (which I have yet to complete). Cheers :)
 
pokejun said:
Hi there! I wanted to drop by and let you know how much I enjoyed your game.

The very first thing I noticed was how nice the music and sound effects were. I downloaded the game quite a while ago and had forgotten about the original post by the time I got around to playing it, so the opinion was uncoloured by your having stated that you wrote the music. It was just so good that it jumped out as a defining feature.

The second thing I enjoyed was the amount of tiny details. I love that characters move at different speeds, and I enjoy the little overworld pokémon here and there.

The third thing I liked was the gameplay. I am not a 'hardcore' gamer (Pokémon or otherwise) but also appreciate a little challenge. For me, this game hits the perfect spot in terms of difficulty. Information is clearly presented (for example, IVs and EVs are visible), progression is very smooth -- I never felt over- or underwhelmed. I think (?) the game minimizes grinding by increasing exp gain while enforcing a level cap. That fits my (admittedly unusual) playstyle perfectly :)

Speaking of this playstyle: I use my own real-life schedule as the limiting factor -- I always save in pokécentres, and I must stop playing once I save. The lack of grinding combined with the absolutely amazing ambience made me play the game less as a traditional Pokémon adventure, but almost like a Minecraft-esque experience, and I always felt satisifed when I reached a pokécentre, as if I had just taken a very nice walk in the evening. It was lovely just to wander through the forests -- which looked and sounded and felt beautiful. The routes were vast enough to really feel like hiking in the wild. The tall grass placement seemed very well-considererd (not just giant dense patches). I walked through every route to enjoy the ambience, rarely touching the run button.

The last thing I'd like to compliment is the overall maturity of the game. The style of the dialogues is calm, well-adjusted, sometimes even a bit introspective. This is not 'mature' in the sense of violence, swearing and grit. It speaks of life experience, tranquility, resilience. The execution of the game, from gameplay to music to visual design, shows care and restraint. I think this is very rare in all forms of media, let alone a Pokémon fan game.

If I had to list one area of improvement, it would be the lack of interaction for some overworld objects that usually come with interactions. For example, the sign leading south out of the first town does not appear readable; the signs outside gym buildings also seem to be non-interactive. Personally, I feel fine with the lack of interactions in general, but would suggest removing the sign objects altogether, as players tend to expect to be able to read them.

Again, thank you very much for creating this game (which I have yet to complete). Cheers :)
Click to expand...
Hey,

Thanks a heap for the kind words.
I definitely agree on the room for improvement. It was a first attempt and I was learning on the fly, for the most part. I really did it to create music and a world of atmosphere.

I think you're one the rare ones who understand the depth of what art can be. I see games like music or visual art. They're an exploration that can reflect our own experiences and all of the unique qualities of life.

Pretty much as you said, I tried to make it a vast world which could be explored. I love the idea of exploring new things, the 'unknown'. So, that's what I based the creation on.

If you haven't checked out my latest game, Pokemon - Wild Lands, you may enjoy that too. It is quite different in play style, but continues on the theme of vast exploration, atmosphere, and maturity. I like to think I ironed out some creases in it too.

Anway, thanks again!
 
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