Village People: The Videogame

Here it be.

I've posted enough about this in the Hype Up Your Game thread that I figured it might as well have a thread of its own, since I'm more likely to get feedback that way (There's a thread on my forum, but more people check here more often). Neither review posted really goes into any detail, so I'm hoping to hear some pros and cons so I can get some motivation to work on this thing. The comments in the TGC voting threads are mostly one line and not really useful for making this a better game.

So what works, what doesn't? What would you like to see? Cameos? Song requests? Did you bother with exploring and checking flavor text? Did you manage to beat the five desert bandits solo (you're not meant to, but it is doable)? How was the boss fight?

I uploaded a new file as of 5/9/09 that fixes some bugs and adds more items to find in San Francisco. The Running Man now serves a purpose too.

For anyone new to the game: In this version, you can explore the entirety of the YMCA and the desert. San Francisco is physically complete, but the only buildings you can access are the shops and the hospital. There are items to find scattered around town. You're meant to explore everything in this game. Most unique objects have flavor text associated with them.

I'm open to suggestions and changes. Things I won't change:

-The amount of text in conversations.
-The puns.

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Super Walrus Land: Mouth Words Edition

I missed the Bad Sock my first playthrough, but I think I ended up talking to everything I could find.

In the sandstormy area of the desert, I remember seeing a stone house or something and then not being able to visit it after finishing the demo.
The idea of saving hadn't once popped up in my mind as I was playing.

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♪♪♪ Du du duuuu ♪♪♪

The only doors in the sandstorm zone are the one you come from and the one that leads to the boss fight. I really don't like this area much, and am open to ways to improve it.

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Super Walrus Land: Mouth Words Edition

I managed to beat the five bandits solo. Took my two or three tries, but I done it!

I liked the boss battle at the end. The random effect was a very nice touch.

Now, it might not be the point, but I loved the fact that I could jack the clown's car. I spent a good five minutes just driving the "Kamikaze Rainbow" around town! And the junker car.. reminded me of my own.

I also plan on "barrowing" the jail Idea. Hope you don't mind :P

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—- So anyway, how are you?

Some tumbleweeds might be a nice touch, visually.

Also, when I first saw the sandstorm, I assumed there would be a simple puzzle or hint near the entrance which would tell me which way I had to go.

As it happened, I just randomly picked the right direction on my first try.

Go for it, everyone loves harassing badguys in prison.

I'm glad you enjoyed the cars, they're ultimately kind of pointless, but it seemed like the city needed SOME cars, and then I figured you might as well be able to steal them all. Besides, I needed a place to use the Cruisin' song.

The idea was for the player to randomly wander until they found one of the sets of stone markers, but I realized it doesn't work very well because the end point is too close to the entrance, so if you just happen to go the right way you bypass them entirely. The map uses Wrap type edges so that you could theoretically wander forever, but I didn't enable that feature until after I'd already drawn the map, so it's fairly poorly designed.

Tumbleweeds are a great idea that will be simple to add, thanks.

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Super Walrus Land: Mouth Words Edition

You weren't? Well, I guess I'm just really good at this game, then. I spent basically all my money all the time, and had a huge stock of Protein bars, though. The only thing that actually killed me was the boss, which took me three tries to beat, the first just because I didn't get how he worked until I'd enabled his OHK, and the second because I still wasn't paying enough attention. The third time was when I first noticed that it randomizes which copy's the real one, which was a neat touch.

I don't think I tried any of the post-demo content, 'cos I didn't figure there was any. Saw the jail cells, but didn't know I wouldn't have to wait for the next version to see the Gray Man in them
By the way, has he always had the beard? I never noticed it in Surlaw Armageddon, but it's here and in his Monsterology appearance. Looking back at his SA portrait, I guess I'd just mistaken it for his neck?

That's the way to do it, but you'll likely end up burning through enough items that the reward's barely even worth it. With two guys it's much simpler.

He doesn't appear in the jail cell yet, unfortunately.

His beard is thinner in SA, but it's definitely in his portrait. It's not in his walkabout yet, but I need to redraw a lot of the Boston stuff anyway.

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Super Walrus Land: Mouth Words Edition

I was able to beat the five bandits solo my second time around. But if its not supposed to be done...it's very easy to stumble upon. I was like "Hey, a hole!", then game over.

The boss game me trouble. Is one of the four tougher than the others, or it that just me?



Landmarks! I wrapped around once or twice by accident. It all looks the same.

All four are exactly the same except for one being nearly impossible to hit without Cowboy's 100% accuracy shot. This is the one you're supposed to target. They all get significantly stronger for each fake Gray killed.

That's the way I was hoping it would work, you should get lost. Distinct landmarks would ruin the whole "empty, hellish wasteland" aspect, and besides, the stone markers are all over the place.

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Super Walrus Land: Mouth Words Edition

What's next for our heroes?

Eatin' burgers.

Food bought from the burger stand restores less health/macho than Protein items, but offers status boosts when consumed in battle.

I'm thinking I need to include a manual of some sort telling people about things like this/urging them to explore everywhere and talk to everything, because I don't want people rushing through and missing things I spent time writing/drawing. I want to try to make it look like an old NES manual.

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Super Walrus Land: Mouth Words Edition

Macho Man was playing in the supermarket as I went shopping today, and I remembered that I needed to finish this game.

I beat the 5 bandits alone on the first try. I did watch Momoka's video beforehand, so I knew I needed to stock up on a few healing items before the fight.

I didn't find out the trick to the boss until I read your response to Momoka, presumably because I'm mildly retarded. It's nice to find boss fights that actually make you think.

I'm sure you're adding it, but the town definitely needs some life in it.

There were a few technical problems. The debug keys were still on in the version I downloaded. Also, in the first map, you can see the map for a quick second before it turns black and then fades in.

I had a bit of trouble realizing you needed to talk to the old man before going to the desert. (Even though I watched two videos of people doing that very thing.) That said, I think the exits to what I presume will be the other dungeons should be a road that extends out from the city. That would make it a bit clearer instead of just having a door at the corner of the map.

Not being able to leave to get healing supplies before the boss was a little frustrating, but the boss isn't really that tough.

I like leaving the debug keys on for whatever reason. It's probably not entirely sensible, but I don't mind if people want to break the game.

The map being visible for a second thing was because I didn't realize you needed a "wait(x)" command before "fade screen in" for visual changes to work properly. This has been fixed for the next update.

I've made the road to the desert slightly more obvious, and Police Chief now comments on where it leads when you approach it without having spoken to the old man. You still need to talk to him first to open it, though.

The next dungeons will be accessible through the subway entrances, the dock on the south side of town, and the sewer entrances scattered around the city. You'll need to talk to NPCs for clues/items needed to access them, partly because I like forcing the player to explore and talk to people. The other roads out of the city will probably lead to extra areas not necessary to the plot.

This is the best.

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Super Walrus Land: Mouth Words Edition

What lurks beneath the streets of San Francisco?

These guys.



From left to right; The Amazon, George, Frat Ghoul.

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Super Walrus Land: Mouth Words Edition

Oh man, that's incredible. It's like Earthbound meets RCR.

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