SUB MORTIS

Thanks for playing, and the detailed feedback!

Yeah so far I don't believe anyone has completed the demo without dying at least once, so I think it's safe to say its my fault rather than players lol. You did make it about 95% of the way through the demo though.

I'm happy to hear you enjoyed it! I was hoping some level of atmosphere would come across, since development was kind of rushed I worried it might get buried in a lack of polish haha. The first room I still think is the best puzzle, which makes sense since I worked on it for months rather than days like the others. It's the only area that requires the player to use a good variety of mechanics rather than just one at a time, and even allows a small amount of player choice in how they escape.

The phone was a risky idea I've had for years, so it's good you found it interesting. I wanted the game to be immersive as possible, and a smartphone interface seemed the most believable way to implement typical game menus. I think it was underused in this demo, one player even pointed out it didn't seem like it added that much, so I definitely plan to explore further usage of the phone. And I will look into making the photos save to the players drive!

I think the more direct physics manipulation helps to make the world more interactive and believable compared to button presses, and it can help add tension. Though admittedly in this demo it probably didn't come across, since arguably the most tense moment of the demo wasn't seen by most players. But yes I love being able to sift through game levels to look for hidden objects and other stuff, so I wanted to add that feeling into one of my games. The broom was just one method of getting the keys, but its my personal favourite. After my friends pointed out that most people probably wouldn't even think its possible to get the broom under the fence, I figured I should make it a bit more apparent.

And with the notes I wanted to avoid it sounding like "stereotypical indie horror" notes, like I didn't want there to be notes logging someone's descent into madness, or mentioning some horrifying folk tale or scientific experiment. I wanted them to be rather mundane, and are more inspired by notes found in games like Prey 2017 or Deus Ex than direct horror games. And I especially wanted to make it clear the people involved in the notes didn't know what was going on either (no creepy supernatural cults controlling the world in my game!).

In hindsight the physics interaction mechanics were definitely not polished enough to have a crate stacking puzzle in a confined space. Basically my plan was the player can get up to the second grate in any way they can. My personal method is stacking the three crates next to each other, climb onto the first grate, then crouch down to pick up the first box, stack it on top of the other two and jump across to the upper grate. Though I've also seen people just glitch up to the second grate by standing on a box while holding it and jumping. This part was probably the most inspired by the more immersive sim design of providing the player with a problem and allowing them to solve it however they see fit with the tools available. Admittedly it was incredibly hampered by the small space and clunky interaction mechanics.

The monster was meant to scare the player, so I'm happy that part of the plan succeeded lol. The rest of the plan was for the player to clearly hear something move up in the vents, stop to think "oh god what is it now?", see the monster drop out of the vent, and immediately crouch in the shadows in fear. And yes there is stealth mechanics in the game, but a lot of players didn't find it (yourself included), because the game doesn't ever truly educate the player on the mechanics or require their use before this section. You can sneak by the monster without being seen in this room, and since the monster reacts to sounds (another mechanic not explained) you can throw objects to distract it.

There is another minute or so of the game after where you died, involving sneaking/running past the monster, and being chased by the monster while trying to open a door and escape into the elevator seen at the start.

I'm happy the demo didn't disappoint though, and your feedback will absolutely be taken into account in the next update! You'll be happy to know that a working save system is the top priority for the next release. Thanks again for playing!