A Reason for Vengeance by Joseph Miller

[raw]
made by Joseph Miller for LD25 (COMPO)
Arrow keys to move, space to shoot a magic spell, enter to advance through dialogue/make menu choices.

There are a few unresolved bugs, due to social commitments that constrain me beyond the 48 hour time limit. You may occasionally need to hit ENTER twice in order to advance dialogue or a choice menu. Other than that there shouldn't be major issues. If there are, please let me know.

There are many ways to end the game, but for 100%ers there are 3 designer-directed endings. (As opposed to a player-directed ending, which is when you decide to stop playing of your own volition rather than because I send you back to the title screen.)

In order to see the truly villainous ending you will need to kill some innocents.

For me, this was about questioning what villainy really is. Does killing the people who killed your brother make you a villain? What about killing the people who were there to back them up? What about killing the others in their organization? What about killing a god? Where along that spectrum do you become a villain?

Thanks for playing!

Ratings

Coolness 79% 2
Overall 3.18 259
Audio 2.10 465
Fun 2.84 367
Graphics 2.98 351
Humor 2.27 446
Innovation 2.68 442
Mood 3.45 76
Theme 3.41 284

Feedback

loren
17. Dec 2012 · 06:20 UTC
pretty neat idea for a turret shooter. I like that it has a storyline.
Colapsydo
17. Dec 2012 · 20:38 UTC
Well written story, and nice use of choices.
The gameplay is maybe a bit repetitive for a full replay, just to see all the choices impact but excellent work on creating a unique world.
nolacoaster
17. Dec 2012 · 22:54 UTC
Great graphics. And lots of content for 48 hours!
ecool377
17. Dec 2012 · 23:31 UTC
awesome game better than mine.
vids
17. Dec 2012 · 23:35 UTC
Very interesting. Choice is great, especially coming from a game that's been done in under 48 hours!
joecarrot
17. Dec 2012 · 23:37 UTC
Good job. The writing was really fun.
JoeCool17
17. Dec 2012 · 23:39 UTC
I didn't think he was the villain in any part of this, but I loved the game anyway. Great storyline!
soupy
17. Dec 2012 · 23:45 UTC
@JoeCool: I've added something to the notes to justify how this fits the theme.
sharbelfs
18. Dec 2012 · 02:07 UTC
a bit challenging, nice game
haxpor
18. Dec 2012 · 19:45 UTC
Nice game. The decision really matters here.
Besides, I really feel guilty of shooting innocently unintentionally.
ahnt
19. Dec 2012 · 13:39 UTC
really nice one, I love the innocence counter, what font was that, I liked that one alot
soupy
19. Dec 2012 · 14:27 UTC
Erin Go Bragh is the game font.
Ariake81
19. Dec 2012 · 21:55 UTC
solid gameplay and a great style, like it :)
hnjslater
23. Dec 2012 · 01:53 UTC
Very good game
h.attila
25. Dec 2012 · 09:26 UTC
Interesting. Nice graphics, good writing.
Patrick64
29. Dec 2012 · 12:45 UTC
Nice storyline, cool idea asking the user if he wants to carry on.
AdventureIslands
30. Dec 2012 · 16:36 UTC
Nice story, this game really fit the theme.

Replaying the game just to see all the endings was bit repetitive, but this was really well done shooter.
JacksGamesSucks
30. Dec 2012 · 23:06 UTC
very nice game :) i like different level settings
too much text though :)
🎤 Joseph Miller
30. Dec 2012 · 23:20 UTC
Yeah, relying too much on text is definitely one of my weak points as a designer.
someone
30. Dec 2012 · 23:26 UTC
Good game.
Corné Dorrestijn
30. Dec 2012 · 23:55 UTC
I like the story line.
Maikeroppi
31. Dec 2012 · 19:30 UTC
I really liked your game, actually. A few notes.
-In general, I prefer minimal amounts of text in games, but your writing was actually well done.
-The game fits the theme really well, and I like that your character's motivations are understandable if not justifiable.
-The shooting gameplay worked pretty well. I especially liked having the villagers that you could try to avoid.
-A minor issue, it would be nice if the enemy projectiles were flushed from the screen. Once or twice, I died, revived, then immediately died again because of a leftover projectile.
-Not sure if it is because I put it in a background time or that it was my second time through, but it stopped working once after all the Guild wizards were defeated and I started my own Guild.
-The few choices were interesting, and since it was focused and compact, I actually played it a few times.

Nicely done!
🎤 Joseph Miller
31. Dec 2012 · 19:33 UTC
@ Maikeroppi: Thanks for the detailed comments, they are really helpful.
Norgg
31. Dec 2012 · 20:16 UTC
Nice, liked the storyline here, becoming as powerful as you want to be, played through killing everything, and played through again stopping as soon as I could (although kind of sad that you're forced to kill the first demon), definitely felt that just quitting as early as possible was the "right" choice.
🎤 Joseph Miller
31. Dec 2012 · 20:59 UTC
@Norgg. Part of my original plan was to create a special scenario and mission for making the choice to give up right after your brother is murdered, where you serve Artheus and spread love magic instead of having to kill anyone, but didn't have time. Maybe in a post-compo version.
Husky
04. Jan 2013 · 03:42 UTC
Good job!
I like the story and choices :)
soy_yuma
05. Jan 2013 · 12:36 UTC
I liked the storyline and my ending! Nice graphics and simple but effective gameplay. But maybe a bit too repetitive to replay and find out the other endings.
kato9
06. Jan 2013 · 21:52 UTC
Mechanics are a bit simplistic, but a decent effort nonetheless.