the relief of impact
Things to Note
-this game contains descriptions of violence, use caution.
-this game contains flashing images and patterns, please be careful if you are sensitive to this.
-much of the game is based on my own experience with sleep paralysis.
-tested browsers: chrome, safari
-best played with headphones in a dark room
- fullscreen is best
- all of the artwork was drawn with my laptop trackpad
About Ghoulnoise
My name is Priscilla and I'm a sound designer for Bravemule (The Domovoi, Beneath Floes, Southern Monsters). I love all things spooky and I recently had the idea to try and make a a spooky game or two leading up to Halloween.
Since I am primarily a sound designer, I thought this would be a great way to start learning about game design and some intro level programming. I hope you enjoy my very first game!
Comments
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10/10. This game while short is a perfect portral of sleep paralysis. I think the dialog says everything about the experience and visually this game is simple in design but impactful in execution.
thank you so much!
i loved it
<3
10/10 nightmare
:)
This is lovely
..If only I was scared easier, this would be perfect.
hehe
Loved it!
This = horror at its finest
dude. i couldnt move for a bit.
Really liked this! It was pretty nicely written and the atmosphere was awesome. Definitely enjoyed it, amazing first game!
thank you! i appreciate it!
something you should know is that this game was so fabulously done that it was chosen to be analyzed by my college professor (at a very good college might I add) who had us all play it and then our whole class just discussed your choices in sound design for the past hour or so. I would've wanted to know, so there you go :)
really enjoyed it myself, and related quite a lot!
thank you so much!
Oh nooo this is very relatable. Great game! You really captured the neverending dizziness of a night where sleep paralysis just won't stop going. Great use of visuals and sound too! The first sound is very evocative, I always get this high-pitched sound right before mine start.
i feel you i suffer from sleep paralysis too
so ive never had sleep paralysis and this was really full of layers like when i thought it was over it just kept going i would say this was well done so i included it in my 3 scary games
Hello Ghoulnoise - as someone who has had some crazy sleep paralysis experiences and enjoys horror I can say this is spot on and very enjoyable. Spooky !!!
thanks !
I'm glad (or not!?) that you can sympathize! Thank you!
that was actually more scary than half of the horror games i play, good job! keep it up!
Gosh, thank you!
what is sleep paralysis?
The only thing that I know is that you can’t move
(at least in my experience) It's a weird state of being between sleep and wakefulness, you feel awake but you may still be partially asleep -- because your body has not awoken/will not allow you to move this causes panicked feelings -- and the panic + being not fully awake can lead to terrible hallucinations!
hmm, i think im never ging to have that bc i move while i sleep for example i remember one night i mas theamig about playing a guitar and i hurted myself ont the bedside table
This is very very disturbing, but good game! Really captures the terror of it all! (Except I have a sleep paralysis demon)
this is so cool. i mean it. i never been able to explain the falling but here it is :)
if you don't have your own panic attacks, store bought is fine :)
box quote! haha :)
Captures the feeling of dread and anxiety in an unending moment. The sound and the varied pacing of the text+graphics really enhanced that feeling. When I went back to the computer, and realized it was still going, that moment got me.
ahhh T^T
thank you so much! i'm glad you enjoyed(?) it :)
- all of the artwork was drawn with my laptop trackpad
Oh boy I can only imagine...
haha yeah, definitely a *do not recommend* technique
I just reached the 'end' of your game and there were many times in it where I thought to myself, 'i've had a similar experience/dream', (especially as a kid) but i never knew it was sleep paralysis! also, did you create the sounds yourself? they really set the tone and im a sucker for ambient noise lol
overall, you did a fantastic job!!
hi! I'm a sound designer/composer so I really appreciate that! Thank you! I'm always so fascinated hearing about other people's experiences with sleep paralysis, too <3
Dang. That was D E E P.
I do have a question. I am pretty new to Twine, but i am curious to how you animated the computer screen?
I created a gif in Photoshop :-)
Everything about this is so good! The sounds are excellent and I think the minimal art style complements them really well.
goodness, thank you! <3
You're welcome 😊
Fantastic game i used to suffer from sleep praralysis and this is highly accurate omfg
Hello! I wrote a review of your game!
https://www.somestrangecircus.com/single-post/2017/09/09/Circus-Reviews---the-re...
Good job! :) I look forward to seeing what else you make.
Goodness, thank your for the lovely review! I look forward to seeing what else you write about in the future!
Interesting audio queues and a good atmosphere, wish there was more, either of depth, choice, or the ability for a stronger story to increase immersion! :) Hope you enjoy my playthrough.
Hello! Haha, I definitely did not expect anyone to make a playthrough video! It was very entertaining to watch! I'll be making games with more variables and stronger player agency in the future when I have a better grasp on the programming side of things, but I'm glad you enjoyed the game! And, oh yes... I have a son. His name is Grendel! (p.s. If you play Southern Monsters the big game we've been working on over the past few years, you'll get to see more of him! It comes out next year.)
Southern Monsters huh, it an indie horror of any sort? :p
Yup!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/547126543/southern-monsters
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/02/01/if-only-thaumistry-and-southern-mons...
https://killscreen.com/articles/southern-monsters-an-upcoming-game-about-living-with-disability/
http://www.pcgamer.com/southern-monsters-is-a-game-of-monster-hunting-and-ptsd-i...
This was super effective. I love the use of a cyclic structure with miniature diversions in choice to emphasize that no matter what you do it will never end and you are doomed to fall forever. The graphics, writing and sound design all played so well off each other that I even shivered a few times. This is a really exemplary example of atmosphere in a text based game.
The only thing you might want to do is add a flashing images warning for people who are sensitive to that.
Thank you! Yes, I'll add a warning in the about section, should have remembered to do that at launch!
Short but sweet! Your background in sound design was very evident here as the audio was on point. Nicely done, especially so for your first game.
Thank you so much!