This was amazing…beyond amazing. The graphics were so detailed, which definitely could not have been an easy thing and the character arc of theirs…
Spoilers:I really loved how reading the scrolls about farm laws and such became a very important role, a connection I could never make otherwise. At one point I thought Mother Superior herself was a killer, which we know she isn't. I do wonder who killed the General though, I don't think it was ever mentioned.
In addition to that, the idea of the King placing power on people who do not believe in the religion is a fascinating thing overall. Only they are truly vigilant enough and distant enough that they see the truth of the matter but still lie in order to keep the harmony. I wonder if Flint was also killed by the end of it…
HEAVY Spoilers:
The three other leaders killed the general. They first tortured him to make him confess to killing the judge, then killed him. Tiabata says it (she doesn't literally say "you killed him", but it's heavily implied), and shows a picture of them in the act:
I must say... wow. I cannot describe how much of an 'impact' this had on me, not in behavioral sense, but... just in general. I'm not going to lie (and im sorry for my next words), I didn't have high expectations, I thought it'd be quite simple storyline. Although, I was met with amazing pixel art and quite short but really GREAT story! The more I played the more interesting it got... also extra kudos for making hint system (a very creative one in my opinion) cuz i dont belong to the smartest ppl out there. If anyone's reading this before playing the game, YOU TOTALLY OUGHT TO!!
I think that's all, without getting into too much into my little yap cuz i don't wanna spoil by accident... but let me say it once again, this game was a blessing for me and has all of the "lore" stuff i absolutely LOVE in games like this one (e.x. creating a whole new religion just for the sake of the game, mystery and much much more)
Wonderful. Solid story with excellent character development, and a mystery that you can actually solve if you're paying attention. I loved the ending *sly wink*
That sly wink implies that I know something about the ending.
Love your games!! I'm also an AGSthe rest are just bare bones developer (robotragedy1 and 2, recently 2080 wall city Lockdown and others.) I'm playing Shards and I love the interface. I'm not a coder and creating a game is always a nightmare for me and i'm never happy with the interfaces. Except the thimbellweed template the rest are just bare bones. I have an odd request for You sir. Can you make a template from your Game, removing of course many assets so I can use it as the base for any future game I might develop?
This was so much fun. I loved the characters (especially the depth of the Vigil Mother), and the endings were SO satisfying. You truly have a gift for storytelling.
Does it say something like "Shards_of_God_v1.2 is damaged and can't be opened. You should eject the disk image"? If so, then please follow the instructions in the readme file, you should be able to run the game.
I'd heard about this from a short article in the French video games magazine Canard PC. I just finished it, I have to say it's a delightful little game! The story is very tight and well written, the game feels quite polished. It's short, but in the best way: there is no padding, just the content needed for the story to work and to keep the player guessing until the end. Great job!
Yes, I took it as trolling and deleted it. The comment was bizarre, very arrogant and had earned a record number of downvotes. The fact that you also spammed the thread with 20 or 30 similarly nonsensical and/or antagonistic responses to other commenters didn't help either. More posts like this will lead to a ban.
Nice game! The animation and art were top notch. And the story was good with simple, realistic puzzles. My only complaints are lack of voice acting, which I understand since it's expensive and bad voice acting can ruin a game and some of the conversations were too long. Great game otherwise!
I got stuck right at the end by a bug. (Spoilers ahead)
When Tiabat summons the witness, the game just sits there, not going further. I've been waiting for five minutes and nothing happened... I want to see what happens next :(
Oops, sorry! I did a silent update this morning (just to correct a mistake in one line of dialogue) and it seems that this part got broken in the process. Please download again and load the latest autosave (should be labeled "[somebody] arrives"), hope it works now.
Thank you, it works perfectly, now! It was amazing, surprisingly well written and with astounding music and art. I really hope this will be just the first chapter!
Very nice.
A good two hour game, lots of fun characters, I managed to nail the killer on my second guess. The reveal at the end was lovely, and I got to put a hammer to good use. Wonderful.
fantastic story, art, and twist! took about two hours to complete while also getting lost a few times, but it's not difficult given that the game is good about giving hints. (not overbearingly so, i often tried to refrain from seeking them out to complete the puzzles myself, but it's nice that they're there regardless)
i also appreciated that the game gets interesting VERY quickly.. the whole experience goes by so fast because of how fast & smooth everything is :]
Got it for free; played it and went back here to pay for it. Great story, nice graphics and animations, balanced puzzles: everything was really well-done, congrats to the developer and artists!
Hi Honza! That was amazing. The levels were splendid and the dialog equal parts witty and deep. I enjoyed it a great deal.
Quick question: are you interested in a fan translation? I'd love to do one (I'm a professional translator), but extracting dialogue from an AGS is a hassle. Let's talk about it! (I've messaged you already on twitter.)
Thanks again for this great game, looking forward to the next one!
AMAZING GAME, Cinema Quality. This was an amazing experience. Deeply thought provoking. (also I heard that there is a secret 3rd ending could you plz tell me how to find it) The Only word to describe this is masterpiece.
Thank you very much! Here are some SPOILERS of how to get the secret ending (not 100% spelled out solution, but a strong hint).
.
.
.
.
.
There is something you can do at the very end, just *before* you enter the secret chamber to vote. There are not that many interactive things at that point, I'm sure you'll find it :).
Oh, great! I feel like the more emotional/character driven aspects of the ending get a bit lost in all the other stuff that goes on there, really happy it worked this way for you - a bit of chills was the intention! :)
I played through it. A masterpiece indeed. Someone buy the script and make this a movie, please! :D
It was simply the best game I have played for some time now ... Nothing less.
<3 P.S.: It´s not short, it plays for 2 hours of high quality enjoyment and that is more than what I get from most cinematic-moments. Also it is the best whodunnit in my humble opinion ever conceived.
Can I throw money at you guys?
EDIT:
I remember back then 1993 having played through BENEATH A STEEL SKY and it had the absolute same length. I have no clue how you perceive this game as "short", It´s not! /.-)
Thank you so much for the kind words! And I'm happy that the game doesn't feel *that* short. Feel free to throw any money you see fit, we'll do our best to catch it! ;)
E v e r y t h i n g is gorgeously and perfectly crafted. What a gem of a game!
BUT: Please reconsider the annoying library-thing. If you can´t solve it with deductive skills, then WHAt is ist? A dice trapped in a slow-motion-esque universe?
I am the most patient person from here (where I stand) to Wyoming - and beyond. But, I could not get through the annoying library-"puzzle". Is this an extended red hering-joke?
Otherwise, I think your game is sooo beautiful, I would like to include you in my heritage. <3
Thank you, glad you like the game overall! I'm not sure what exactly you mean by the library thing, but if you're talking about the lamps/levers - from feedback I've got I'm not aware of people getting stuck there particularly often. Here's the idea:
- you quickly figure out the lamps are actually levers and they trigger some hidden mechanism.
- [HEAVY SPOILERS] since the passage is meant to be opened by four people, the lamps need to be pulled all at once. This may seem a bit random at first but is explained later - so yeah, in this regard it kinda is an extended joke :).
- The rest relies on trial and error, but keeping the levers down is proving to be a relatively intuitive thing people try, because it's just the kind of thing you do in point and clicks (which plays into the joke/reveal later).
Anyway, thanks for the feedback! I think in the next version I'll have Ava comment on her reason for pulling the lamps a bit more (currently she says she's "heard things of ancient libraries" and "it's worth a try", implying there could be a secret passage, but it's probably not too clear). I can also signpost the solution (something like "it won't stay down!" when you pull the lever). Hopefully this will make it feel a bit less random without revealing too much. The challenge here is to not give away the [SPOILERS] four people thing, that's supposed to be a surprise.
And: I seem to have completely lost my track here.... But I really have no idea how I *SPOLIER* should be able to leave the library (resets the levers) to get a small crowd of characters involved with my brandnew lever-pulling-hobby... Alas!*SPOILER*
Oh wait, sorry! You're still stuck there?! My apologies then, I assumed you got through it/looked up a walkthrough, finished the game and are only talking about it in retrospect.
Forget everything I said then, sorry for the spoilers :(. You can keep the levers down using items you collect - maybe you just don't have the stuff you need yet. If you want the whole solution, let me know what you have in your inventory.
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Absolutely brilliant!
This was amazing…beyond amazing. The graphics were so detailed, which definitely could not have been an easy thing and the character arc of theirs…
Spoilers:
I really loved how reading the scrolls about farm laws and such became a very important role, a connection I could never make otherwise. At one point I thought Mother Superior herself was a killer, which we know she isn't. I do wonder who killed the General though, I don't think it was ever mentioned.In addition to that, the idea of the King placing power on people who do not believe in the religion is a fascinating thing overall. Only they are truly vigilant enough and distant enough that they see the truth of the matter but still lie in order to keep the harmony. I wonder if Flint was also killed by the end of it…
Thank you very much, happy you enjoyed the game!
HEAVY Spoilers:
The three other leaders killed the general. They first tortured him to make him confess to killing the judge, then killed him. Tiabata says it (she doesn't literally say "you killed him", but it's heavily implied), and shows a picture of them in the act:The character development is so well done. I found myself really caring about them.
I must say... wow. I cannot describe how much of an 'impact' this had on me, not in behavioral sense, but... just in general. I'm not going to lie (and im sorry for my next words), I didn't have high expectations, I thought it'd be quite simple storyline. Although, I was met with amazing pixel art and quite short but really GREAT story! The more I played the more interesting it got... also extra kudos for making hint system (a very creative one in my opinion) cuz i dont belong to the smartest ppl out there. If anyone's reading this before playing the game, YOU TOTALLY OUGHT TO!!
I think that's all, without getting into too much into my little yap cuz i don't wanna spoil by accident... but let me say it once again, this game was a blessing for me and has all of the "lore" stuff i absolutely LOVE in games like this one (e.x. creating a whole new religion just for the sake of the game, mystery and much much more)
This is the dream game for me...
¿Por qué ésto no está en Steam? ¿Estás loco?
Maybe :). But it should end up there eventually.
One of the best games I've played recently!
Very beautiful and a big inspiration.
Wonderful. Solid story with excellent character development, and a mystery that you can actually solve if you're paying attention. I loved the ending *sly wink*
That sly wink implies that I know something about the ending.
Love your games!! I'm also an AGSthe rest are just bare bones developer (robotragedy1 and 2, recently 2080 wall city Lockdown and others.) I'm playing Shards and I love the interface. I'm not a coder and creating a game is always a nightmare for me and i'm never happy with the interfaces. Except the thimbellweed template the rest are just bare bones. I have an odd request for You sir. Can you make a template from your Game, removing of course many assets so I can use it as the base for any future game I might develop?
My email is pijin73@gmail.com
Thanks for your games and talent!!
Thank you, fellow AGSer! I sent you an email :).
This was so much fun. I loved the characters (especially the depth of the Vigil Mother), and the endings were SO satisfying. You truly have a gift for storytelling.
Played this a while ago, real nice look and great mood. Liked the sound of it a lot. Good job!
Было бы классно увидеть на русском языке :)
the game is very very well written and has a great sense of humor! congrats!
Thank you for this game, it was an absolute masterpiece! It reminded me a lot of the games Dune (from 1992) and Beneath a Steel Sky.
Just a little piece of art. Simple but beautifully crafted. If there is a release on steam, I will definitely buy this thing.
MacOS Ventura tells me the disc image is damaged. Any chance of a reupload?
Does it say something like "Shards_of_God_v1.2 is damaged and can't be opened. You should eject the disk image"? If so, then please follow the instructions in the readme file, you should be able to run the game.
That worked. Fantastic game.
Happy to hear that, and thank you!
What an incredible game! I absolutely loved every moment of this compact and gripping story. Thank you!
Very interesting.
Would you be interested in having the game available in brazilian portuguese?
is the game complete or is it a wip?
It's complete.
Brisk and gorgeously rendered pastiche with plenty of characterful dialogue and an unerring focus. Looking forward to exploring your other works!
I'd heard about this from a short article in the French video games magazine Canard PC. I just finished it, I have to say it's a delightful little game! The story is very tight and well written, the game feels quite polished. It's short, but in the best way: there is no padding, just the content needed for the story to work and to keep the player guessing until the end. Great job!
Mine comment is missing.
Yes, I took it as trolling and deleted it. The comment was bizarre, very arrogant and had earned a record number of downvotes. The fact that you also spammed the thread with 20 or 30 similarly nonsensical and/or antagonistic responses to other commenters didn't help either. More posts like this will lead to a ban.
Nice game! The animation and art were top notch. And the story was good with simple, realistic puzzles. My only complaints are lack of voice acting, which I understand since it's expensive and bad voice acting can ruin a game and some of the conversations were too long. Great game otherwise!
ahh my mac (m1) still cant open the game... says the item is damaged
Did you follow the instructions in the readme file?
I got stuck right at the end by a bug. (Spoilers ahead)
When Tiabat summons the witness, the game just sits there, not going further. I've been waiting for five minutes and nothing happened... I want to see what happens next :(
Oops, sorry! I did a silent update this morning (just to correct a mistake in one line of dialogue) and it seems that this part got broken in the process. Please download again and load the latest autosave (should be labeled "[somebody] arrives"), hope it works now.
Thank you, it works perfectly, now! It was amazing, surprisingly well written and with astounding music and art. I really hope this will be just the first chapter!
Very nice. A good two hour game, lots of fun characters, I managed to nail the killer on my second guess. The reveal at the end was lovely, and I got to put a hammer to good use. Wonderful.
You got to make a sequel where a murder happens in the Order!
fantastic story, art, and twist! took about two hours to complete while also getting lost a few times, but it's not difficult given that the game is good about giving hints. (not overbearingly so, i often tried to refrain from seeking them out to complete the puzzles myself, but it's nice that they're there regardless)
i also appreciated that the game gets interesting VERY quickly.. the whole experience goes by so fast because of how fast & smooth everything is :]
Whaow ! 😃👍👍👍
Got it for free; played it and went back here to pay for it. Great story, nice graphics and animations, balanced puzzles: everything was really well-done, congrats to the developer and artists!
It was truly amazing!!!
I loved playing this!
Hi Honza! That was amazing. The levels were splendid and the dialog equal parts witty and deep. I enjoyed it a great deal.
Quick question: are you interested in a fan translation? I'd love to do one (I'm a professional translator), but extracting dialogue from an AGS is a hassle. Let's talk about it! (I've messaged you already on twitter.)
Thanks again for this great game, looking forward to the next one!
Amazing Game ! too much chit-chat but beautiful animated . The graphics/music are just fabulous ... thank :)
This isn't a game. This is AN EXPERIENCE.
I had a crazy theory in the first minutes of the story, about a potential end twist. I was wrong, and the actual twist surprised me.
[SPOILERS AHEAD]
At first I thought Mother Tiabata was the culprit, and only asked us to recreate the murder to frame us.
The reveal that the victim wasn't who I thought he was took me off guard.
AMAZING GAME, Cinema Quality. This was an amazing experience. Deeply thought provoking. (also I heard that there is a secret 3rd ending could you plz tell me how to find it) The Only word to describe this is masterpiece.
Thank you very much! Here are some SPOILERS of how to get the secret ending (not 100% spelled out solution, but a strong hint).
.
.
.
.
.
There is something you can do at the very end, just *before* you enter the secret chamber to vote. There are not that many interactive things at that point, I'm sure you'll find it :).
WHY ARE ALLLL THE ENDINGS DEPRESSSING!!!!!!!
Beautiful, polished, well-written, and just a joy to play. Thank you for making this wonderful adventure game!
Thank *you*!
The ending sent chills down my spine
Oh, great! I feel like the more emotional/character driven aspects of the ending get a bit lost in all the other stuff that goes on there, really happy it worked this way for you - a bit of chills was the intention! :)
I played through it. A masterpiece indeed. Someone buy the script and make this a movie, please! :D
It was simply the best game I have played for some time now ... Nothing less.
<3
P.S.: It´s not short, it plays for 2 hours of high quality enjoyment and that is more than what I get from most cinematic-moments.
Also it is the best whodunnit in my humble opinion ever conceived.
Can I throw money at you guys?
EDIT:
I remember back then 1993 having played through BENEATH A STEEL SKY and it had the absolute same length. I have no clue how you perceive this game as "short", It´s not! /.-)
Thank you so much for the kind words! And I'm happy that the game doesn't feel *that* short. Feel free to throw any money you see fit, we'll do our best to catch it! ;)
very good
Thanks!
E v e r y t h i n g is gorgeously and perfectly crafted. What a gem of a game!
BUT: Please reconsider the annoying library-thing. If you can´t solve it with deductive skills, then WHAt is ist? A dice trapped in a slow-motion-esque universe?
I am the most patient person from here (where I stand) to Wyoming - and beyond. But, I could not get through the annoying library-"puzzle". Is this an extended red hering-joke?
Otherwise, I think your game is sooo beautiful, I would like to include you in my heritage. <3
Thank you, glad you like the game overall! I'm not sure what exactly you mean by the library thing, but if you're talking about the lamps/levers - from feedback I've got I'm not aware of people getting stuck there particularly often. Here's the idea:
- you quickly figure out the lamps are actually levers and they trigger some hidden mechanism.
- [HEAVY SPOILERS] since the passage is meant to be opened by four people, the lamps need to be pulled all at once. This may seem a bit random at first but is explained later - so yeah, in this regard it kinda is an extended joke :).
- The rest relies on trial and error, but keeping the levers down is proving to be a relatively intuitive thing people try, because it's just the kind of thing you do in point and clicks (which plays into the joke/reveal later).
Anyway, thanks for the feedback! I think in the next version I'll have Ava comment on her reason for pulling the lamps a bit more (currently she says she's "heard things of ancient libraries" and "it's worth a try", implying there could be a secret passage, but it's probably not too clear). I can also signpost the solution (something like "it won't stay down!" when you pull the lever). Hopefully this will make it feel a bit less random without revealing too much. The challenge here is to not give away the [SPOILERS] four people thing, that's supposed to be a surprise.
Thanx for the quick answer! :D
And: I seem to have completely lost my track here.... But I really have no idea how I *SPOLIER* should be able to leave the library (resets the levers) to get a small crowd of characters involved with my brandnew lever-pulling-hobby... Alas!*SPOILER*
Oh wait, sorry! You're still stuck there?! My apologies then, I assumed you got through it/looked up a walkthrough, finished the game and are only talking about it in retrospect.
Forget everything I said then, sorry for the spoilers :(. You can keep the levers down using items you collect - maybe you just don't have the stuff you need yet. If you want the whole solution, let me know what you have in your inventory.