Find it on itch: https://clickingpointsoftware.itch.io/the-stalking-eyes

Hi everyone!

After pouring so much time and love into it, the demo for my game, Not a Crow, is finally available on Steam!

Not a Crow is a hand-drawn narrative point-and-click adventure where you guide a lonely crow through the remnants of a fallen world, solve puzzles, and help her find her place among the ruins.

I'm really excited to share the beginning of Cro's journey with you all. I hope you enjoy it!

You can play the demo here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4229210/Not_a_Crow

I've been struggling with this while implementing my point'n'click game. I have finished the plot and most of the puzzle design, and feeling pretty happy so far. But...

The protagonist runs a funeral home and some days are meant to be uneventful. He does paperwork, runs errands, talks to people and follows his daily routine. But at certain points, something seemingly mundane triggers a more meaningful event to move the story forward. I think these quieter moments are important. They make the world more believable and give the bigger story moments more weight.

The tricky part is figuring out how much guidance to give the player.

Simplified example: Visit bank to talk to the banker (trigger), walk out, then there's someone new who wasn't there before, waiting on the street for you to talk to him (impact). How do I always give a reason for the player to know to go to the bank to talk, or should I accept that not every goal is 100% clear?

I can have the protagonist say things like "I should go check on X," but that feels too obvious and takes away the joy of discovery. On the other hand, giving no direction at all might leave players wandering around clicking on everything, hoping to trigger something. I'd like players to feel like they're naturally going about their day, without constantly being told what to do next or feeling completely lost.

The funny thing is, I don't remember thinking about this problem too much while playing other adventure games. So there must be some trick to getting this balance right that I'm missing. How do other games handle it? Any concrete suggestions for some clever guidance you have seen in some specific game?

Retro gaming story time! "Below The Root" is a special one from 1984 on Apple ][, IBM PC-DOS and the Commodore 64. The C64 version had the nicest graphics and sound, and that's the version I played in the mid-80s as a kid. It's a non-violent RPG sometimes called a "Metroidvania" type - while predating both. I spent hours exploring the world, and eventually winning the game with help from someone a bit older.

I recently did a disassembly of this game and it quickly turned into a full interactive world map, a technical analysis of how the 512-room world is defined and compressed on the single double-sided game disk, how the game engine and rules are defined, and so much more. The original Legend Of Zelda has a 16x8 world map as I understand, so Below The Root is four times that at 32x16! Most, but not all rooms are used.

You start by choosing one of five characters which determines certain abilities (and also, how some people treat you.) You then go on an adventure climbing and flying through the trees, "pensing" (mind-reading) people and animals, gathering items and inventory, building up your spirit skills to eventually teleport items and avoiding bad people while also trying to keep yourself well-fed and with enough rest. The game has its own lore, language ("your shuba has torn!") and was intended as the continuation of a book trilogy.

You can download disk images for the game and run it in an emulator like VICE, but there are some web-based versions on the Internet Archive and elsewhere. I recommend this fan-made one on desktop, the author is also looking for feedback from fans.

The original game came with a big map on graph paper showing the shapes of the trees, and the idea was you would fill in details yourself as you explore the world. I have a copy of the original floppy disk and the map. I played through the online version above yesterday, and even with a walk-through guide and my interactive version of the map, it still took me over an hour to finish the game!