Universal A Dark Room (by Amirali Rajan)

Discussion in 'iPhone and iPad Games' started by TouchArcade Bot, Nov 22, 2013.

  1. undeadcow

    undeadcow Well-Known Member

    Dec 4, 2010
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    I totally agree with Oooooomonkey. It's sort of criminal that A Dark Room hasn't gotten more attention. At first it's deceptively simple managing resource acquisition by taping on a series of progress bars once complete to "harvest" resources but then you start to expanding population and building new elements that unlock different possibilities. The world exploration and combat is pretty grad using a simplified JRPG style tap approach with limited heal option. Since I unlocked world exploration I haven't been able to put A Dark Room down, I can't imagine this being a browser based game because there's a lot of material that takes time to unlock (it's not casual or quick play).
     
  2. amirrajan

    amirrajan Well-Known Member

    Jan 14, 2014
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    #22 amirrajan, Jan 17, 2014
    Last edited: Jan 21, 2014
    Video Review

    Here is a link to a video review. Suffice to say that it contains spoilers.

    A quote from the video: "It's difficult to describe how brilliant this game is. How powerful it is. How quickly you get absorbed."

     
  3. amirrajan

    amirrajan Well-Known Member

    Jan 14, 2014
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    I can't agree with you more undeadcow. Thank you for the kind words. It really does mean a lot. :)
     
  4. Bronxsta

    Bronxsta Well-Known Member

    #24 Bronxsta, Jan 22, 2014
    Last edited: Jan 22, 2014
    Guys, UC speaks the truth. Do not overlook this game. I went in expecting just another text adventure, but A Dark Room is so much more. Take the general framework of a text adventure, expand it with RPG and survival and management elements and random events, and add some Device 6-ism, and that's A Dark Room in a nutshell

    You start with a campfire to tend, and soon you'll be growing your village, enticing strangers to stay, keeping precious meat from spoiling, enduring attacks from wild beasts, gathering wood from the dark forest where things lurk in the shadows, and more. The simple interface hides an amazing amount of depth and the text is fluid and poetic. There's even some meta Device 6-esque elements, like your screen dimming as the fire wanes and then brightening back up when you stroke the flames.

    I definitely recommend A Dark Room
     
  5. amirrajan

    amirrajan Well-Known Member

    Jan 14, 2014
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    Thanks :)

    A lot of work was put into making sure the storyline was ... well ... hauntingly beautiful. Thanks for kind words. Made my day :)
     
  6. RichRuzz

    RichRuzz Well-Known Member

    Aug 19, 2012
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    Bought and enjoying. :D
     
  7. amirrajan

    amirrajan Well-Known Member

    Jan 14, 2014
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  8. Bronxsta

    Bronxsta Well-Known Member

    #28 Bronxsta, Jan 27, 2014
    Last edited: Jan 27, 2014
    I write short stories myself, haven't publish anything (yet) but it's a hobby. I tend to be very descriptive, maybe too wordy
    So being able to create tone and atmosphere in so few words is hard, but you absolutely nailed it. The wording and odd details really instill a sense of dread and unease.
     
  9. undeadcow

    undeadcow Well-Known Member

    Dec 4, 2010
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    #29 undeadcow, Jan 27, 2014
    Last edited: Jan 27, 2014
    With the giveaway I'm curious to hear more impressions.

    A Dark Room is a fun game with a great survival exploration feel revolutionary in many ways (minimalistic style, open world, operates at users pace, cryptic story).

    If I were to be critical it's biggest flaw is that it sometimes feels like too linear in plot. I'm considering going back to try for the alternate ending exclusive to iOS (the presence of which suggests greater options that it initial feels like).
     
  10. RichRuzz

    RichRuzz Well-Known Member

    Aug 19, 2012
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    I beat it once so far, really interested if the alternate ending explains some plot devices more.... anyone do it that way yet?
     
  11. amirrajan

    amirrajan Well-Known Member

    Jan 14, 2014
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    Bronxsta, I sent you private message. Keep writing :)
     
  12. amirrajan

    amirrajan Well-Known Member

    Jan 14, 2014
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  13. dingdongfootball

    dingdongfootball Well-Known Member

    Oct 30, 2013
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    I'm hooked. This game is seriously good. It's simple and beautiful and engaging. I've only been playing a few hours but keep thinking about coming back to see what happens next. My only minor qualm is I find the "a tiny village" area a little hard to understand with the traps and hunters and the + and - signs etc. I just got the compass and want to be sure I'm playing right haha
    Really a special game not to be missed.
     
  14. undeadcow

    undeadcow Well-Known Member

    Dec 4, 2010
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    The village is basically resource management [spoilers due to developer wishing to maintain secrecy about game best experienced first hand]
    where you build huts to increase population giving you more workers to allocate to various tasks. Generally speaking traps increase fur/meat/teeth/scales payout and you can assign more/less people to attend to traps or other buildings you acquire (i.e. mining, etc) with the default being the whole population picks up wood. As you acquire a combination of different resources you can craft weapons, tools, etc.
     
  15. oooooomonkey

    oooooomonkey Well-Known Member

    Jan 15, 2011
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    Is there any plans to make it fit the full iapd screen?
    I know it's not really a problem and certainly didn't stop me playing but I'm just wondering.
     
  16. amirrajan

    amirrajan Well-Known Member

    Jan 14, 2014
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    Not in the foreseeable future. Having an HD version of the game (and taking advantage of the extra real estate) is something I have definitely considered. And I may circle back after I'm done with porting the game to Android.

    It took 4 months to create the iOS version (and another month to make it assessable for the blind). I'm expecting a similar timeline for the Android version.
     
  17. PeteOzzy

    PeteOzzy Well-Known Member

    Oct 30, 2013
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    As expected this is gaming gold for me. It can claim to be minimalist but I have a huge bustling village in my head, even when I'm not playing I'm hoping the wolves haven't come back. It's as evocative as a game could get, I'd actually rank it up with Simogo's offerings.

    I did have the surprise of how the game evolves somewhat diminished by playing it before but it's still managing to amaze me. I can see how it has changed from the web game with slightly shorter timers and movement of the UI but it's born from necessity and does nothing to harm it in anyway.

    It was always a little daunting and overwhelming but I think that just adds to the charm - it's an easy life at the very beginning when your only responsibility is stoking the fire in front of you. As others grow to rely on you it starts to feel burdensome and every loss is your own fault even when it isn't.
    I hope it's obvious how much I love this game, all the game needs is a slight nudge towards the limelight and it will carry itself. Hopefully someone from TA sees how much we're all enjoying it and reviews it!
     
  18. DougBug

    DougBug New Member

    Aug 10, 2012
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    I was going to buy this game RIGHT NOW after trying the browser version, but it requires IOS 7. Rats...
     
  19. amirrajan

    amirrajan Well-Known Member

    Jan 14, 2014
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    Just wanted to say that A Dark Room has made it into the top 40 RPG's in the App Store. All thanks to this community. Thanks for the support :)
     
  20. colinkloecker

    colinkloecker Member

    May 8, 2012
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    Yep, this is brilliant. Thanks to the Dev for your hard work bringing A Dark Room to iOS and thanks to the folks on this thread for bringing it to my attention!
     

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