A wonderful puzzle. I've managed to complete it, but I'm still trying to figure out "The Insane" medal. Only relevance I can find to it is the camera feeds on the laptop. The fact it says "Recording" maybe means something you do in game can affect the rooms for visible change? This will take me a while. Anyway, it was fun putting my mind to the test in this, I hope to see more like this.
Reviews for "Escape the Estate"
Ok, first off, your puzzles are brilliant. Really well-designed. The piano is a great addition, reminiscent of something you might find from other classic games like 7th guest. And the secret attached to it is well designed too. I'm surprised anyone thought of it. The visuals have been greatly tuned up, and I think the music really paints the atmosphere wonderfully. It's a great game and a solid addition to the upper-echelon of room escape games.
That being said, there are flaws. Navigation is a bit clunkier in this one than it was in the sequel. Arrows are likely an improvement, I'll warrant, but their execution was lacking compared to other games that use a similar system. Maybe have arrows exhibit an animation so they stand out more? I'm not entirely sure how it could be better, but I know it can.
The other major flaw deals with the puzzles. Like I said, they're brilliant. However, unlike others saying something is wrong with the puzzles, I'd say it's actually the clues. They narrow down the possibilities from the millions and the billions to the dozens which is good, but can still be problematic. There are so many ways you could read the unusual paper from under the table. Are they two separate clues? One for a puzzle now and one for another later? How do the lower numbers apply to the tallies? Do the L and R mean you start from the left and the right? Or do you start in the middle and go outwards? Is L and R code for something other than left or right? And the last code. There are 3 set of characters you've not used so far, all arbitrarily scattered around. Being genre savvy, it's clear they're going to be used somewhere, but the player doesn't know that door is the last one either. Then the arrangement is rather guessed at.
But actually, this is a really easy fix. Simply make a cipher. Some clue to decode the information you've been given. It can be as utterly complicated as you want, so long as the player can follow a stream of logic to arrive to a single or small handful of answers. You can even make ciphers for your ciphers. XP Go nuts.
I know you're doing these as reminders for Kane, as the player isn't really supposed to stumble on them. I mean, you don't leave your personal password on a piece of paper locked in a vault, do you? Of course not. And it's kinda fun setting up a scenario where the player plays the role of 'snooper' and tries to get past all the security someone set up, but at the end of the day, this is still a game. You can't throw players in a black room and have them get out without giving them a light switch, right? There are certain things that need to be granted for a player to feel smart about what they're doing. It doesn't have to be easy, but there has to be a level of certainty, even if it doesn't really make much sense to have it there when you think about it.
Anyways, I love Room Escapes. One of my favorite game types and you've got some good ones under your belt. Not the best, but very noteworthy. If you keep honing your skills in designing these, I can see you catching up with the likes of Crimson Room, Submachine and the Neutral games very quickly.
Really looking forward to the next one.
P.S. Your sense of atmosphere really does exceed even a great deal of the top-tier titles. Good job! Your story could use a bit of work. Kane is sinister and sadistic, right? I don't really feel that though.
Really enjoyed the game up till the piano. Went to your site to find the walkthrough and just couldn't figure it out. I tried doing the keys in the order you showed, a different order, another order. I even watched the video that showed them doing the piano part (Which also doesn't help since it's a different sequence like the walkthrough) and even that doesn't make sense. I don't understand how you figure out which L-XXX1 = 3.
Other than that piano part though, good game.
The game was quite challenging and then I got to the piano. I hate the piano, it doesn't make any sense. R for left and L for right... ok
Nice try though, don't be too vicious with the puzzles without any guidance for the player.
Zigurous responds:
How is it R for left and L for right?? L corresponds to the left side of the piano. R corresponds to the right side of the piano... You must not be doing it right.
tried but couldnt get past the piano