Amadeus: A Riddle for Thee ~ Episode 1 ~ Waltz (tuxdb.com)

MAGWest Retrospective + Upcoming Demo Update

It's been a week since Amadeus was featured at the Indie Games Expo at MAGWest, and this is intended as an update both for people who attended and found this game at the event, and people who have been following this game and are awaiting updates. For those from MAGWest: the version of the game presented at the booth isn't publicly available yet, but will be this month. The currently live demo is from February and does not include most new mechanics featured at MAGWest. More details follow. A longer version of this log can be read on itch.io here.

MAGWest Recap

The MAGWest demo build with all new mechanics was received very well. The reception at the event from people who played was overwhelmingly positive, with high praise for its music, art, sound, narrative, and atmosphere. Thank you so much for the support. Based on feedback, the following are the most highly-requested items to be addressed in the upcoming new public demo:

It's unclear that after exhausting all 3 options, selecting one again will progress the story.
Collision on a particular interactible needs to be adjusted.
Instead of reducing opacity on the non-active speaker in dialogue scenes, it would be less visually confusing to add a grey overlay.
Keyboard controls for scrolling backlog tome need to be adjusted to account for length of backlog text.
Will add an option for an "instant" text appearance speed.

New Public Demo

This will be the build showcased in-person at MAGWest but with a few more scenes so it roughly covers the content from the existing demo. It will be released later this month, and will likely have its own store page so it can be reviewed by those who give it a play. That said, the full game is set to release not too long after the demo update, so whether you feel it's a must-play or not is entirely up to you. Its most important role is to accurately represent what the full episode will be like for people considering purchasing the game. Brief overview of everything new coming in the updated demo:

Rich text & more fonts
Witch redesign
UI indicates what you are interacting with before you click
Background is highlighted along with cursor change when hovering over interactibles
Speaker name is no longer part of the spoken text itself and is displayed in its own box above
Text appearance can pause mid-scroll for pacing/dramatic effect
Menus and settings now navigable with keyboard controls. Also fixed an issue where some text scroll settings weren't working properly across scenes
Backlog redesign
"Cycle through all interactibles" mechanic
Glossary mechanic (to encourage big brain theorizing)
Save + load from 3 save slots
Opening cinematic
Narrative adjustments to reflect more thorough planning
Secret new mechanic :)

Full Game

The full game is coming very soon. A November release now feels overly optimistic, but by the end of 2024 seems possible. A realistic timeline will be confirmed after the demo update is published. In lieu of a release date, here is a status update on the game's development:

Music - all tracks are written but a few need more TLC/development.
Sound - release-ready, but more sound design assets may be added as time allows.
Art - still need to draw a few more backgrounds and portraits.
Narrative - fully written, but most scenes post-demo need revision.
Mechanics - nearly release-ready. The small number of tweaks listed from the MAGWest build need to be implemented, but otherwise it is feeling great.
Build - this is what is going to take the most time, and is why a release estimate can't be given until the new demo is public.

Thanks to MAGWest for being an important goalpost and momentum boost on the way to a full game release for Episode 1. Look forward to a big update to the public demo this month, and Episode 1 will come shortly after. Happy werewolf season!

[ 2024-10-06 04:00:28 CET ] [ Original post ]

Amadeus: A Riddle for Thee ~ Episode 1 ~ Waltz
ArcanaXIX

Developer

ArcanaXIX

Publisher

October 2024

Release

Action Indie Strategy Casual RPG Adventure Simulation F2P Sports MMO Racing Singleplayer Multiplayer Coop EA

Story

Play as Amadeus, a young werewolf struggling to understand his condition, as he navigates a tale woven by Witches. He is equal parts desperate and determined—how can one reclaim agency over themself, when afflicted by a curse that steals it from them every time the moon Aska draws full?

Amadeus: A Riddle for Thee is a narrative game heavily inspired by Umineko When They Cry thematically, and Professor Layton aesthetically. Gameplay is a blend of pure Visual Novel scenes + Point-and-Click Adventure scenes. The story is linear, and will be told in 5 sequential episodes.

Episode 1 ~ Waltz will release Fall 2024. Please check out the demo in the meantime!

Demo Features

20-40 minutes of playtime
7 detailed, hand-drawn backgrounds to explore
6 portrait expressions for Amadeus
6 original music tracks, including 1 track with 3 dynamic layers
Point-and-Click controls with unique cursor icons to indicate player interactions
Alternate Hover-and-Spacebar control scheme for players who have difficulty with mouse click
Toggle for auto-scrolling text with adjustible appearance speed and delay time between textboxes
Diegetic backlog of previously-read text
Optional splash screen to fill window beyond 4:3 gameplay (may impact performance - see system requirements)

Controls

VN Scenes

TAB Key: toggle Auto Text Progression on/off
SPACE Key: display full text/progress text
1/2/3 Key: select choice
Mouse click on the displayed buttons is supported as an alternative

Point-and-Click Scenes

HOVER with mouse, cursor will change to indicate if object is interactible
If cursor changes, MOUSE CLICK or SPACE to trigger...
-Boot: Amadeus will MOVE to location
-Eye: Amadeus will INSPECT distant objects
-Hand: Amadeus will INTERACT WITH nearby objects
-Arrow: Amadeus will MOVE to a new screen
WASD and ARROW KEYS supported as alternative to MOVE Amadeus
SPACE supported as alternative to INTERACT with nearby objects

UI

ESC Key: pause/open Settings Menu
N Key: pause/open Notebooks Menu
To adjust sliders in Settings Menu, use mouse to click and drag the pencil icon left/right
Menus can also be opened + closed by clicking on the buttons in the screen corners

Credits

Game Design, Art, Music/Sound, C# Scripting, Implementation, Narrative - Leo ArcanaXIX
Clarinet (Deal With a Witch) - Lucas Bere
Marimba (Spellbound Mischief) - Jay Lee
VO (Kain's Ghost) - Nat Ferare
Narrative Consultant - Ashlee Scheuermann*
Code Consultant - Dan Mellott
Mix Consultant (Deal With a Witch, Spellbound Mischief) - Sonia Mokhtari
Playtesting - Derek, Joanna, Luke, Aaron, Ashlee
Playtesting (original prototype) - Alex, Lucas, Skipper, Nathalie, Taylor, Dan

*Ashlee also wished to be credited as "Made Everything Worse." Thank you Ashlee. <3

MINIMAL SETUPOS: Linux MintMemory: 8 GB RAMStorage: 500 MB available spaceAdditional Notes: Currently only tested on Linux Mint but should support other distros.
Memory: 8 GB RAMStorage: 500 MB available spaceAdditional Notes: Currently only tested on Linux Mint but should support other distros.
Storage: 500 MB available spaceAdditional Notes: Currently only tested on Linux Mint but should support other distros.

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