Noyb Posted March 24, 2008 Download (524 kb, Windows) I was really bored last week, so I made an entry for The Independent Gaming Source's Video game Name Generator competition, where participants had to make a freeware game with a name randomly created by this site. The title I chose: Shameful Pachinko Romance. After about a week of work, it ended up being a game about forbidden love in a decaying pachinko parlour. If you find the goals are too vague, there's a full spoiler breakdown in the game's readme file, but I wanted to experiment with semi-symbolic feedback mechanisms. Anyway, hope you enjoy, or at the very least break out of your ennui. I'm interested in seeing what you think of the game and your interpretation of the meaning. Story: You never thought to find love in that old pachinko parlour. But that alluring stranger has been there every time. You haven't spoken of anything meaningful, but the sideways glances tell more than words. Friday night: the parlour is nearly empty. Your beloved takes a machine next to yours. Is tonight the night you work up the courage? Do you have the balls to announce your shameful love? Features: Hot pachinko action Shame-based difficulty levels Four characters 13 different endings - one unique good ending for each character combination, and one shared bad ending Balls Controls: Mouse-controlled. More details within game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brkl Posted March 24, 2008 You depressed me Noyb. Maybe I'll try it again. Took me a long time to realize you can drop more than one ball at a time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brkl Posted March 24, 2008 I played through a bunch of the different endings. The shame thing is a nice way to bring that name into the game. The pachinko gameplay is a bit of a chore, but the writing is amusing enough to offset that. Some of the endings are hilarious Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Noyb Posted March 24, 2008 I'm glad you liked the writing. I had way too much fun with some of the endings. Can I ask what your favorite ending was? (in a spoiler tag, of course) I agree that the actual gameplay gets old rather quickly, and oh god, playing one ball at a time must have been painful. I probably started the player off with too many pachinko balls, but I also wanted it to take long enough for a first time player to experiment and figure out the goals by the end of the first session. Good to hear that the endings were worth replaying the game for despite all that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toblix Posted March 24, 2008 I tell ya, if you changed it so that you dropped a ball with each click of the mouse instead of "dragging" them it would get a 10x excellent multiplier. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Noyb Posted March 24, 2008 I tell ya, if you changed it so that you dropped a ball with each click of the mouse instead of "dragging" them it would get a 10x excellent multiplier. I tried it like that at first, but since the physics engine is deterministic, that means that you could have just found the one exact pixel that gives you 100s for the entire round if you monotonously click in rhythm without moving the mouse. Granted, it's still possible to find a sweet spot like that in this version, but forcing the player to go back to the center makes it more possible for the player to have interesting variety in his drops. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toblix Posted March 24, 2008 I tried it like that at first, but since the physics engine is deterministic, that means that you could have just found the one exact pixel that gives you 100s for the entire round if you monotonously click in rhythm without moving the mouse. Granted, it's still possible to find a sweet spot like that in this version, but forcing the player to go back to the center makes it more possible for the player to have interesting variety in his drops. Okay, and introducing some random offset or direction would take away from the skill factor, right? How about a golf-esque bar going left and right, determining the direction of the drop, so you'd never hit the same spot twice? I'm the next Warren fucking Spector, I tell you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
miffy495 Posted March 29, 2008 Been playing it over the past week whenever I got bored. Good fun as a time waster. Well done. Also, (and the reason I'm posting now) I just noticed you got a mention on Kotaku. Grats! Yay for recognition! The contest garnered 48 playable entries, including such scintillating titles as "Time Shark II: Medieval Shark Strike Force," "Shameful Pachinko Romance," "Post-Apocalyptic Unicorn Uprising," "Emo Harvest on The Oregon Trail" and my favorite, "Super Mario vs. Programming in China." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Noyb Posted March 30, 2008 Been playing it over the past week whenever I got bored. Good fun as a time waster. Well done.Also, (and the reason I'm posting now) I just noticed you got a mention on Kotaku. Grats! Yay for recognition! Glad you like it, and thanks for letting me know about the coverage. I don't read Kotaku that often, but... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LOPcagney Posted March 31, 2008 Played it and there are indeed some great moments. The conversations with the priest trying to seduce the married woman is funny, and the priest/nun romance was hilarious. Congrats on getting mentioned in Kotaku. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brkl Posted March 31, 2008 Oh, yeah, uh, those ones in particular. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Noyb Posted April 6, 2008 Played it and there are indeed some great moments. The conversations with the priest trying to seduce the married woman is funny, and the priest/nun romance was hilarious. Congrats on getting mentioned in Kotaku. Thanks! i hearts it. By the way, there's a cheat for when you get tired of the gameplay proper and just want to see the other endings. Press "P" when ingame to see the good ending for the currently chosen pair. Doesn't save your score when you do this, not like it matters. You can also press "O" to see a bad ending, but it's essentially the same for each pair. Oh, and did anyone find the epilogue? Quit by dropping the ball in the bottom hole in the main menu instead of any other means. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
