Reviews for A Sweet Typing Thrill

[alipapapupu]

i was so hoping you would make a sequel for the previous one which i loved, and was almost losing hope, and then you came and did it! this was really fun, maybe little short and easy since only thing i got stuck was the third one with rotate and such, and of course the secret ending.

I was so sure that it had something to do with all the skills learned in the game, so i started my journey. the real surname was easy to figure out, same as in the previous one but with a little tweak, but anyway, i started hunting the secret from that. i translated the surname in the rotate 13, after that i went and translated it to morse code, and THEN i translated it to binary, and guess what i got! aaaabsoluuuutely nothing... BUT, then i took the surname, put that in the morse, and that into binary, and it translated to P@ like as in pat, which i celebrated thinking i finally got the answer!!! aaaaaand then it wasn't that... so i got frustrated and tried couple of combinations until i just gave up and just looked the answer... and let it blow my mind... and now i start to be skeptic about everything...

buuut, it was really fun game, and i'm really looking for the next one! so, any idea when its coming out or are you even planning it to come out any time soon or do we have to wait another year for it?

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Heh, I know it took a while, but I hope you're happy with the result!
Taking games takes time, especially since my main shtick is being a composer/musician. It may have been fairly easy for you, but I need to keep the games at a level where they'll be enjoyable to a larger playerbase. Naturally, I still don't want the games to be super easy ^ ^

You came up with some pretty nice stuff to try for the secret ending! I've seen a few other people come up with some really impressive things as well :)
I'm glad to hear that you don't seem to be disappointed with what it actually is in the end though :)
It's quite easy to hide information right under their noses, if people don't know that it exists, or where to look for it.
Btw, try to avoid what could be spoilers in later reviews :p

Thanks for playing the game, and for leaving a positive review! I appreciate it, alipapapupu (cool name too; has an interesting phonetic ring to it).

I'm sorry to say, I think you'll have to wait for longer than a year. As I mentioned, game developement isn't really my area of expertice, but rather a hobby I have fun with on the side. Thanks for the enthusiasm though!
I'm sure I'll get to creating it eventually though :3

[ForgottenDawn]

Played both games, I'm honestly impressed.

Where to even start. The wordplay is phenomenal on both games, especially in the first one *cough*Reverse*cough* and the amount of detail is crazy. In the first game it's actually kind of funny how that puzzle felt incredibly hard compared to the ones that followed and took me... quite some time to beat, lol

Fortunately, the somewhat uneven difficulty curve was addressed in this sequel. It's kinda tough to address the puzzles without spoiling anything to any potential player here, so I'm just gonna stick to the feedback and my overall experience with the game.

The only real criticism I can give is towards the typography. I think it's a bit of a pain at first, since I had to get used to a font that is all-caps and slanted, plus stylized in a way that makes reading more challenging at smaller sizes. I'd call it a typography crime, since while it might add to the game atmosphere (quite opinable at this point), it sacrifices some readability and honestly I don't feel like getting a new pair of glasses to read a few passages from a screen. A more readable font would have been nice, since some of the glyphs are fairly ambiguous too, as noted down below. I understand that I can't pretend everyone to have studied graphic design and therefore know the importance of visual communication, but I'm only pointing out a detail that could be useful for any future endeavor you'd want to embark on.

The audio is, that goes without saying, very fitting to the kind of setting you've established. There's the mystery, uneasiness, with a hint of tragedy too. I like puzzle games that include sound as a game mechanic, and I think that as "civilized" and "modern" as we are, we rely too much on our sight compared to our other senses. Well done on the secret ending, as well.

Honestly, if there's a word that can well sum up both games is "clever".
Very good puzzle design and flow, great audio and nice writing.

PS: Looking forward to talk about some other nitpicks in better detail on Skype. :)

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Hello, friend!

Thank you for playing both of the games, and on such a short notice too! Means a lot that you enjoyed both of them ^ ^

I think I just turned my habit of making really bad puns into these stories and puzzles haha :D I guess after all these years, it's good to get some substantial use out of them >:D

Jokes aside, I did indeed put a lot of detail into the writing. Because of the format, I had to think about pretty much every sentence, and how they all connect together.
As for the 'reverse' level in the first game, I kinda threw it in there to show that not all puzzles could be expecet to be entirely similar, or color out the hints :)
In the second game, I was less vague (to the most part), as the theme wasn't as revolved around wordgames per se.

Thank you for avoiding spoilers! At least I can be proud that the walthrough for this game, that someone recorded and uploaded, is that person's most viewed video for 4 weeks, by far >:)

Yah, I totally get what you're saying about the typography. I am honestly not happy about it, but for complicated reasons I was in a rush when making the game, and kinda had to settle for something which wasn't entirely finished. On the accidental plus side (based on studies I've read because of my studies [more horrible wordplay; a bonus just for you]), the extra concentration probably helps a few people solve some puzzles they might not otherwise, or at least do it quicker. Not intentional though, nor an excuse.
The font for the first game is something I spent slightly more time on, and also something which looks more like I intended it to (thought the Z and a few other letters probably should've been clearer). But that font wouldn't make much sense in this game, and I didn't want to use a standard one, and ended up with something in between, haha. Sorry about that!

As for the audio, I think both of use realize how important this aspect of games can be :)
What you said about our senses, is actually something I had in mind when making the level. I definitely wanted to make sure to break the user's habit of relying on the text alone :p
The secret ending is the first thing I came up with for the game. It's a shame that it too was included in the walkthrough, but I suppose that is just how things go!

Clever is a good a word as any compliment for the games, so thank you once more. For that, and for leaving a long and helpful review :3

P.S. I guess the Skype chat kinda happened already... But that's fine, innit? ;)

[DigitalStomp]

I'm very impressed by the solution to the secret ending. So simple yet so elegant and I had such a hard time figuring it out. All of the research I did to solve it was for nothing.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I'm glad that you liked it! I put a bit of thought into it, after all :p
It's nice that you spent some time trying to figure it out on your own! Even if you didn't reach the right solution in this case, I'm sure it wasn't for nothing. Thanks for playing :)

[Catalyste]

Both games are brilliant!

I love puzzle games, they really make you use your knowledge and understanding of things to pass to the next level. While playing this game, I found myself going to your first game hoping to probably find a hint towards this. And there was none...which I'm actually glad for! As I solved the last puzzles, it brought on the satisfaction of knowing that both games are self-contained and that people don't really have to play the first to understand the second. It's simply there as a courtesy to enjoy the full story.

I found the puzzles in the first one easier to grasp than the second, as well it should be. You don't want the second to be easier than the first. The one puzzle that had me stumped was the Rotate puzzle from this game. It got me pretty good, but then again you do leave hints in all of your puzzles. My issue was that I wasn't exactly picking up on it until I read a comment about what your actually Googling. After seeing that, I hung my head in shame because I HAVE HEARD OF IT! However I know it under another common name. It's not like your hint took away from the name, as it is an abbreviated version you end up seeing. But after finding that out, the other puzzles were a breeze.

Yes, there are instances where all players will have to look something up, but only because it involves different "languages" we either aren't familiar with or have not memorized.

My one issue with both games is that entering the answer sometimes takes multiple tries before it's finally accepted. It has gotten pretty annoying. I would figure out an answer to a puzzle, enter the answer (no spelling errors), and it would not let me advance. And so I would check my answer again and again just to make sure I got it right. It's only till I mash my Enter button on the 4th or 6th try does it register.

I have no idea why this happens. There's nothing wrong with my computer. The Enter key doesn't stick and the answer is always spelled properly. I end up shaking my head when the answer finally takes in the form I've originally submitted it as in the beginning.

As for the secret endings...well I've gotten the one for the first game, but not this one. I know you gave a hint on your page, but I can no longer wrack my brain around it. I'll try it another time when I have an epiphany on it's method.

I honestly can't wait for you to make another one. This is really fun!

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Thank you, Catalyste!

Aside from one similar level, I indeed did not really leave any direct hints in the first game. I suppose that there is a vague kind of correlation between a few things though, which I'll probably remain silent about ;)
Of course, I still suggested that people play the original first, both for the sake of the story, and because the first game is probably slightly easier for most people, meaning it's a good way to warm up for the second one :)

You mention that fact in your review as well, and I think you're right :D
The rotate puzzle is a bit of an odd one. I was thinking if I should've given one more hint within the level, but I ended up leaving it as it is now, which may or may not have been the right decision. I intentionally mention google in that puzzle, to set people on the right track!
I also intentionally gave the hint in another form, or I think the puzzle would've been far too easy for people with prior experiene. Good job working your way through the other puzzles at a nice tempo!

Yeah, looking things up is kind of one of the points of this game. Aside from the main theme, which is "codes", the second theme is "learning", so I figured it's kind of funny to more or less force the player to do some research >:D
Thank you for avoiding spoilers, btw. I really appreciate it ^ ^

It's really weird that the answer takes multiple times for you though! There have been a few people earlier mentioning different minor bugs, but this is one I haven't heard about before!
I know you said you double-checked, but is it possible that you for some reason added a space at the beginning without realizing, as that will disrupt the answer (a space at the end shouldn't matter though)? Other than that, only some small spelling error, or pressing backspace instead of enter should lead to that result.
The thing is, what happens with the text is more or less set in stone, based on how I created that part. Of course, maybe there could be some weird problem that only affects certain people, or something wrong with flash or something. Only other thing I can think of is that there is something odd going on with your "enter" key.
Sorry about the inconvenience, either way!

Personally, I'd say that the secret ending for this game is easier to get in this game than in the first one. I see that at this point, you have already gotten it though :p

Thank you for the really long and positive review :DDD

[temp35]

I played the first one, and remember REALLY enjoying it and this one is the same. Currently I am grinning like an idiot because I managed to solve the last puzzle first time. As to my favourite level, I think it has to be the surname level, for the aforementioned reason. Definitely looking forward to the next one, if there is a next one.

Of course, why wouldn't there be? :)

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LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Hello!
Awesome that you played the first one back in the day :)
I'm pleased to hear you seem to have fond memories of it too :D
Great job managing to get the last puzzle during your first play! It's one of my personal favorites as well, even though I think my very favorite is the voices one.

There will indeed eventually be a third instalment. But as I've told a few people earlier, it'll probably be a while until the time is right ^ ^

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Thank you for playing and reviewing!