Test
of Normality is a game that really showcases one of the main
problems with Indie game development, and that is the sad fact that
very few people, if anyone, can be good at everything. What we
have here is the demo of a game with some solid ideas for both the plot
and the gameplay, but with several presentation issues, and technical
issues, that keep the game from being enjoyable from start to finish.
The graphical elements of this game are a mixed bag. On the one hand, we see that time was taken to construct backgrounds for certain areas to relieve from the standard overhead perspective, and a lot of this is well done, if a little amateurish.
Not a bad treehouse to live in, all things considered
Battle backgrounds are also passable, and nothing about the graphics is jarring or painful on the eyes (although the backdrop portrait of the female protagonist really looked bizarre to me). Foreground details are worse however, with strangely blocky people and furniture. It is clear that the author has some trouble with such small scale pixel-work, and it wouldn't bother me too much if it weren't for the fact that there were a few moments when I honestly did not recognize what the graphics on the screen were trying to tell me. The most frustrating such moment was in a cave where I was stuck in what I thought was a clever puzzle, when in fact the way forward was just poorly drawn:
Knowing that you cannot step from dark to light gray anywhere else, does that really look like you can walk that way?
The music was pleasant and seemed original. Most of it was short and while not particularly memorable, none of it was annoying at all, but for the lack of looping functionality. On the other hand, I found the sound effects to be too loud in comparison, and wished I could turn them down in relation to the music numerous times throughout the game.
All in all I would say the aesthetic experience was amateurish yet solid if not for the functional problems with some of the graphics as mentioned above.
The plot in this game is solid as well, and even though the writing/dialogue is jagged and cluttered with grammatical errors ("as well" is not one word, as it turns out), I found myself drawn in to the story. From what we can see of the demo, there is a test done soon after birth to see if people are "normal" or "unowned", and if they fail this test, they are killed. Some unowneds manage to avoid this test and live in hiding, and the player controls various Normals interested in helping these unowneds. Most of the story is told fairly directly, and cutscenes are kept respectably short while saying what they need to say, although mixed with the poor writing this makes a lot of the dialog sound stiff and forced. Better so than long and drawn out however, and there were no moments that made me wince. Most importantly, I found myself sympathetic to the unowneds and intent on seeing the protagonists' goals accomplished, which tells me that the concept works despite problems in the presentation.
I would like to discuss the gameplay in battle and out of battle separately, but first I should give an overall praise here. The sheer fact that there can be such a separation means that the author really took the time to try and give the player interesting things to do in both scenarios, and even though I don't think he was successful in all areas, I have to applaud the effort and say right away that it is really noticeable throughout the game.
The battle balance was, to me, the most impressive aspect of this game. Early random battles are easy and fairly trivial, but thankfully pretty quick as well. The main 'dungeon' with randoms (late in the demo), however, showcases enemies that are dangerous and can certainly put a strain on resources. Special attacks (utilizing simple, intuitive elements like fire and ice) are needed and MP is limited. Three heroes are used, each good at a different thing (MP-limited healer, physical attacker, and MP-limited elemental attacker). Single battles were rarely dangerous, but I began to fear that I might run out of supplies. However, and this is the truly impressive thing, I found that treasure and item drops came at a near perfect rate to allow for survivability without ever feeling invincible.
This balance was impressively maintained in boss battles as well. There were several in the demo, and though I rarely felt prepared going in (they were often triggered by surprise, even if I knew one had to be coming soon), I never died despite some close calls. I truly commend the author on the balancing of these battles. I should mention here as well that there were a few interesting quirks to some of the battles, showing a decent variety of ideas for such a short demo.
As regards the gameplay out of battle, it is unfortunate that the demo has been released as is, because there are a few good ideas in here but problems as well. Sometimes the problems come from the presentation, whether amateurishly sloppy (a cannonball falls through a floor at one point, but no hole is left so it looks like it just disappeared) or frustratingly indecipherable (the cave example shown above). Worst of all, there is a cool idea where the player needs to escape water rising in a sinking ship, but without the debugging keys it is currently impossible (clearly a bug, as it does not make sense for the water to start coming in from the door the player is trying to reach).
Hm, looks like I'm screwed now.
Another example involves a minigame similar to Magic the Gathering, or so I believe (I've never played Magic, but I've seen it played). There's an impressive tutorial put together for playing the game, but there is also a bug where the player's "health" displays incorrectly if he cures himself, and this led to some serious frustration when it cost me the game.
Overall, I must admit that I enjoyed the game and I think it has a lot of potential, but it also reeks of amateurism at present. The character and furniture graphics are poor, as well as the writing. Occasionally the poor graphics even hinder gameplay. The game-breaking bug is a real killer, but the plot and especially the battle balance are real winners, and I'd be interested in seeing this game completed.
The graphical elements of this game are a mixed bag. On the one hand, we see that time was taken to construct backgrounds for certain areas to relieve from the standard overhead perspective, and a lot of this is well done, if a little amateurish.
Not a bad treehouse to live in, all things considered
Battle backgrounds are also passable, and nothing about the graphics is jarring or painful on the eyes (although the backdrop portrait of the female protagonist really looked bizarre to me). Foreground details are worse however, with strangely blocky people and furniture. It is clear that the author has some trouble with such small scale pixel-work, and it wouldn't bother me too much if it weren't for the fact that there were a few moments when I honestly did not recognize what the graphics on the screen were trying to tell me. The most frustrating such moment was in a cave where I was stuck in what I thought was a clever puzzle, when in fact the way forward was just poorly drawn:
Knowing that you cannot step from dark to light gray anywhere else, does that really look like you can walk that way?
The music was pleasant and seemed original. Most of it was short and while not particularly memorable, none of it was annoying at all, but for the lack of looping functionality. On the other hand, I found the sound effects to be too loud in comparison, and wished I could turn them down in relation to the music numerous times throughout the game.
All in all I would say the aesthetic experience was amateurish yet solid if not for the functional problems with some of the graphics as mentioned above.
The plot in this game is solid as well, and even though the writing/dialogue is jagged and cluttered with grammatical errors ("as well" is not one word, as it turns out), I found myself drawn in to the story. From what we can see of the demo, there is a test done soon after birth to see if people are "normal" or "unowned", and if they fail this test, they are killed. Some unowneds manage to avoid this test and live in hiding, and the player controls various Normals interested in helping these unowneds. Most of the story is told fairly directly, and cutscenes are kept respectably short while saying what they need to say, although mixed with the poor writing this makes a lot of the dialog sound stiff and forced. Better so than long and drawn out however, and there were no moments that made me wince. Most importantly, I found myself sympathetic to the unowneds and intent on seeing the protagonists' goals accomplished, which tells me that the concept works despite problems in the presentation.
This
impressed me - no dramatic lead-up or follow-through filled with
cliches or banality; instead, he just yells this, rushes up, and
kills.
What more would need to be said?
What more would need to be said?
I would like to discuss the gameplay in battle and out of battle separately, but first I should give an overall praise here. The sheer fact that there can be such a separation means that the author really took the time to try and give the player interesting things to do in both scenarios, and even though I don't think he was successful in all areas, I have to applaud the effort and say right away that it is really noticeable throughout the game.
The battle balance was, to me, the most impressive aspect of this game. Early random battles are easy and fairly trivial, but thankfully pretty quick as well. The main 'dungeon' with randoms (late in the demo), however, showcases enemies that are dangerous and can certainly put a strain on resources. Special attacks (utilizing simple, intuitive elements like fire and ice) are needed and MP is limited. Three heroes are used, each good at a different thing (MP-limited healer, physical attacker, and MP-limited elemental attacker). Single battles were rarely dangerous, but I began to fear that I might run out of supplies. However, and this is the truly impressive thing, I found that treasure and item drops came at a near perfect rate to allow for survivability without ever feeling invincible.
This balance was impressively maintained in boss battles as well. There were several in the demo, and though I rarely felt prepared going in (they were often triggered by surprise, even if I knew one had to be coming soon), I never died despite some close calls. I truly commend the author on the balancing of these battles. I should mention here as well that there were a few interesting quirks to some of the battles, showing a decent variety of ideas for such a short demo.
Fire
will kill them quickly, but would it be more cost effective than using
physical attacks and healing as needed?
The fact that I can wonder this means that the random battles in this area were BALANCED!
The fact that I can wonder this means that the random battles in this area were BALANCED!
As regards the gameplay out of battle, it is unfortunate that the demo has been released as is, because there are a few good ideas in here but problems as well. Sometimes the problems come from the presentation, whether amateurishly sloppy (a cannonball falls through a floor at one point, but no hole is left so it looks like it just disappeared) or frustratingly indecipherable (the cave example shown above). Worst of all, there is a cool idea where the player needs to escape water rising in a sinking ship, but without the debugging keys it is currently impossible (clearly a bug, as it does not make sense for the water to start coming in from the door the player is trying to reach).
Hm, looks like I'm screwed now.
Another example involves a minigame similar to Magic the Gathering, or so I believe (I've never played Magic, but I've seen it played). There's an impressive tutorial put together for playing the game, but there is also a bug where the player's "health" displays incorrectly if he cures himself, and this led to some serious frustration when it cost me the game.
Overall, I must admit that I enjoyed the game and I think it has a lot of potential, but it also reeks of amateurism at present. The character and furniture graphics are poor, as well as the writing. Occasionally the poor graphics even hinder gameplay. The game-breaking bug is a real killer, but the plot and especially the battle balance are real winners, and I'd be interested in seeing this game completed.