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I know the point of the game is feeling overwhelmed, but it would be nice if September made a map of The Looming as he explored. Not a detailed one, but one that at the very least looked like a sketch.
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Dear September,
I'm running off because of your infatuation with this damn place.
I'll stay with October.
Love,
January
P.S.: I don't know if you got the mini-map I sent you...
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For anyone who is stuck on the endings: 1: simple, tap 'x' on the portal just below where you start. 2: similair to 1, but you must be in the map for atleast 1 minute. 3: find all the signposts, and then go south from the final signpost to find a portal. 4,5,6,7: Collect all of one artefact, and then find the location that opens when you find all of one item. 8: Find the portal, near the top of the map, in the middle. 9: First, find the four signposts in each corner of the map. Then go to the lights, and change them to the direction needed. For example, SW star shines East means you must turn the bottom left light so it shines east.
Please rate up, so other gamers can see this mini-walkthrough!
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Dear January,
Looming is a very interesting place indeed, but I'm in desperate need of your love. And a minimap, for this place is so big and I get lost surprinsingly often.
I shall give this game a 5/5 when I get home.
Yours,
September
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I loved how the game forced you to put the pieces of the puzzle together (both literally and figuratively) by yourself. You weren't spoon-fed the story like in other games, instead you received but fragments, and eventually, a whole picture. That players received outside perspectives on the various races (e.g Lorem's views on Seecha machines, Seecha's thoughts on the Lorem pantheon) in addition to traits and history about each race also added a lot to the story, giving players a glimpse of the relationship between the two races, and the Oarbor. It also fell upon the player to make the connection between two puzzles, such as the Star signposts and the lights, and the signposts themselves. My only complaint is that it is sometimes difficult to find out where to start solving the puzzles (e.g one signpost reads "East of the Second Signpost", but if the player doesn't know where the first one is, it is bound to cause some confusion)
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Maybe the Seecha and the Lorem do not really represent two different cultures, but different aspects of humanity. The Lorem are thinkers and dreamers, pursuing the Sciences and looking to the stars. The Seecha are the builders, the doers, who build machines and wonders, but without putting in the thought behind them. Civilization, culture, and humanity in general requires both. And perhaps, the Epiphany is what happens when the two sides understand each other.
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Developer, have you considered adding the Kongregate API? You could have it report the number of endings the player has unlocked, and maybe separately report each ending... I could smell badges.
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I know a lot of people have their own interpretation but this reminds me of Myst. Being thrown into an unknown world and learning about the people that used to live there through clues and exploration.
I had a lot of fun exploring, trying to create my own map and piecing the story together. My only complaint is that I did not know I was supposed to pick up those "dots" when I started so I missed a lot that made my end game much harder. But all in all a very satisfying experience.
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I accidentally clicked past the letter September wrote to January when he set out for Looming for the third time, and I can't seem to find them anywhere else. Maybe it wasn't too important, but I can't help feeling like I'm missing something now. Anyone know where I can find the letters outside the game?
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You know, as I played this, my thoughts turned to the Myst series. And then I read the notes and found it was one of the inspirations for this. I think the feel of this game is very reminiscent of the Myst games, which is an amazing task for such a simple game. You, sir, have earned a 5 from me.
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Being lost is part of the game people. Learning of this new world that you have been thrown into rather abruptly is a key piece.
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Important: the mini-walkthrough above is incorrect about Ending 7. This one is achieved by finding all of the shattered parchment, then arranging the lights so that they point in the directions noted on the parchment itself. This is the same set of lights that you have to arrange based on the four corner signposts, as described for Ending 9. For those who can't read the parchment (it's not very clear) the NW light points North, the NE light points south, the SW light points southeast, and the SE light points northwest. Please vote this up so people aren't wandering around looking for a location that doesn't show up unless you perform this sequence!
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Great game! but very confusing to wander around in, a map of places visited would be very nice, at least 4.5/5 as is, but if another of this type were to be made (not necessarily a sequel, just a similar game) then i would like to see a few things, you couldn't check your hidden signpost progress from you "inventory", it would be nice to have some kind of background art, and in general just more stuff, because the story was just so well thought out that i want MOAR!....plz? XD
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I have commented on most of your games, but I was unable to complete this one. Not due to the fact that it is difficult, but the fact that it is just so damn creepy. The (this is what I call it) Puebalo guy who I guess sings in the backround randomly scared the hell out of me. Looming is a place for the ones who are desperate for something other than natural.
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Absolute beliefs without action, or action without thought? Ingnorance of the past and future or ignorance of the present? Is insanity necessary in an insane world, or does your insanity change the world to be so?
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This game is one of the most beautiful I've ever experienced. The extremely stark contrast between the wonderful depth in the game (of September, of the tribes, of the Oarbor, the world itself) and the the fact that the game only has two colors adds to the beauty.
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Excellent game. I knew that it was inspired by Yume Nikki even before i got access to notes. Reading through comments, i found out that i'm not the only one to guess that correctly. Everyone who liked this game should try Yume Nikki too! It's freeware!
I'm now going to check if I (and everyone else) should get Myst, because it inspired this game too, according to notes. And someone guessed THAT correctly, too!
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What does the shattered diagram mean? I don't understand it, is it a map to somewhere? I would like the bug things to look less like items (because i've been fooled by them at least 4 times), and I would like the ending to be more insightful and longer than 1 paragraph. After getting 1/2 the endings i didn't really feel like exploring the entire map trying to find 5 tiny items just to get one tiny paragraph that tells me nothing new.
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To anyone having problems finding the FIRST Signpost, it is located EAST of the LARGE CROSS on a Grayish small land. For you to find the LARGE CROSS, just walk NORTH from your starting point.
OR
Find/Go to the SECOND Signpost, according to the 4th Signpost located between two Metal Plates, and walk straightly through NORTH and Find a small piece of grayish land/the First Signpost
BTW http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/1065/loomingmap.jpg
It is the mini map
LOL
Peace and Free Will
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This game was interesting but I found myself losing interest after a while. With no clear mark I found my self lost and a little bit bored. The story was good as all of Weir's games are and in fact Weir is my favorite game creator of all time. However this one was not for me. I prefer a complex story that is not so stretched out. However saying this it was a well made game I just didn't enjoy it and come on. It's Weir. It's a 5 for me.
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Looming is a very beautiful game... At first I started poking at it out of curiosity and boredom. In the first 30-60 seconds I was like "wtf is this? lame..." then I found an artifact or two and became intrigued... and before I knew it I was sucked into it. Similar to the beautiful simplicity of old black & white movies where the strength was in the development of deep story lines and characters and fancy special effects couldn't be used as a crutch.
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I would love to see a badge for this game of some kind. It was amazingly done, and I loved discovering the story. It seems like the sort of game that could easily have one.
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As nearly-everyone says, a map would be helpful. Links to a map have been found, but a map in the game is what I really need, something to show where I currently am. Also, a save button, or some kind of save point. I would like to look at all of the endings without having to restart and collect all of the artifacts over and over again to get all of the endings, one by one. On another note, I liked having a lot of little details to notice: I took a while to notice that the little person actually runs, and the structures have shadows. I played most of the game muted, but when I finally turned the sound on, I was totally creeped out - not a bad thing. Although it's wind, I feel like something demonic is breathing on my neck, it was pretty thrilling. Maybe it wasn't wind, afterall. Another question: what are the crawling things? Bugs, mammals? Either way, I started feeling bad whenever I stepped on them and they ran away. Really great game, just needs a map and saving points. 4/5
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I can forgive him not taking a bicycle the first time. I'll even let him off the second time. But the third time I'd expect some pedaling to be done.
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Has a very eerie "other worldly" feeling to it, but then again I suppose it really is another world. 5+ for originality. You're a very gifted person. All of your games make me think and feel things I wouldn't have on my own.
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(Continued) (e.g mixing up the directions of where the lights are supposed to be). This led to some frustration, and the feeling of wandering aimlessly through places I had already been countless times yet finding nothing at all. It's nice to see an artistic game that isn't a sub-par platformer trying to pass itself off as an artistic game by adding a few lines of text. My thanks for reviving my faith in the genre, I expected no less from the creator of The Majesty of Colours - 4/5
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Hidden signs/Stone cylinders: 1 just NW of start spot along W side of path. Next 4: each corner of map where fences meet. 5-from SE map corner look NW for lone needle with sign. 6-NW to dome with sign. 7-W to 4 needles, then S from E-most needle (hidden sign). 8-W, go past start path til u see 2nd N/S path (hidden sign just S of it). 9-go N along path, past N end to sign between 2 metal plates. 10-NE to tall cross then due E to hidden sign. 11-N to sign at end of path. 12-NW to triangle gate with sign. 13-WSW to 2 gears,stand between them & go N to another sign. 14-Go NW to sign in center of 4 balls, then SE back to previous sign. 15-E, past N/S path to hidden sign when N/S path is on left edge. 16-near NE corner find sign between 2 needles. Now u have all signs: go due south about 2 screens to hidden sign. 1/2 way between E/W path and the 2 needles, and only visible if u found the other signs.
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I'm always a stickler when it comes to learning about a game's back-story, even more so when it's a good one. With something like this, it's hard for me to not appreciate the immense thought and creativity that went into the creation of this game. The artifact hunting was a fine way to sprinkle the carefully-made parts of this game's narrative into the gameplay, while still making the user think about where it hasn't searched yet for the next piece. For those of you commenting on the game as being boring or too long, think about this; One wouldn't read a history book for an action scene, and one wouldn't go to see the latest action movie simply to learn about the area it's set in. For what this game is meant to be, it's simply brilliant. It gets a 5/5 from my book.
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Okay, so that was an amazing game, but it sucked up an hour of me trying to find the fifth Oarbar bone and the sixth Seecha rod, so in an effort to help out, I'll post a SPOILER: The fifth bone is near the spike/spire with the hidden signpost beneath it, and the rod is by the metal plate that's near the top path, to the left of the two spike/spire things that are on either side of the path.
And here's a link to the map of the place, It's been posted, but....
http://img25.mediafire.com/83c76c3f1d83c8326b2115b3a6b479366g.jpg
Hope that helps out some! Happy hunting, and check the corners of the map!
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I just realized while claiming my BOTD points that you created Babies Dream of Dead Worlds, How to Raise A Dragon and The Day, along with Majesty of Colors. Trying out this game for first time, and know I'll be pleased with what I see!
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What are those lighter areas that appear every so often and very slowly move to the other side of the screen and then dissapear? o.o
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There is no clue which indicates that you should do this, so for the sake of helping people out of retracing their steps again and again, I offer one simple clue: Check the four corners of the map.
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I don't normally like 'artsy games' but this game gets 5 stars in my book. An actual interesting history told in a distinct manner, a whole set of goals (collect artifacts, find signposts, get endings) and great atmosphere make this a 5 star game.
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this game scares me...its like if i go to a certain spot and stand on it, a screamer pic will come up and scream out of nowhere and then ill shit my pants XD
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The notes section alone is worth the 9 endings. Actual insight into the creative process for a game like this answers quite a lot of questions (and criticisms -- there's method to the madness).