Ascension - Stage 4

In addition to releasing the next stage, since my testers have been having a little trouble beating Stage 2, I've made some adjustments in this release to hopefully make the playing experience a little less frustrating. There are a couple of hints as to how to beat the challenge in Stage 2, including a friendly spirit guide I've placed in the catacombs.

I've also come to the decision that the whole "one slip game over" thing is too unforgiving - especially given that progress can be saved only between stages, and you currently have to skip through all the text to play the stage again. I originally wanted to avoid giving the player "spare lives", due to the unique nature of my story (the protagonist is already dead) - and have already gone out of my way to make the game over situations not those in which you "die", but that your soul suffers some eternal fate that prevents you from journeying further through the narrative.

But, I figure this is probably one of those cases where the player would be willing to "suspend disbelief" for the sake of improving the gameplay, and making the game more of a challenge and less of a frustration. To that end, I've also added in difficulty levels, for better or worse. The gameplay challenge is ramped up in Hard Mode, and eased down in Easy Mode, and you get more lives (I'm going to call them "spirits") in Easy Mode. I want the game to be a challenge for seasoned players, but I don't want it to be impossible for novices, either, and I think having difficulty levels is the best way to handle that. I'll probably include some kind of reward or something for playing it on the harder difficulties, but I haven't decided on what that will be yet.

As for Stage 4, it's a bit different than the previous stages, with more of an emphasis on discovery, than dodging obstacles. But I'm still very excited about it - in this stage you'll be introduced to the first of Hell's 13 Generals! So I hope you'll be able to actually experience it. As an incentive, I'll tell you about a neat secret I added into the game, but only after you've beaten Stage 2! Go on then, give it a try. And I'll get started working on Stage 5, which is going to be an intense one.

14/06/25 Ascension - Stage 4 (3.61 MB) [edit: new release available, check sidebar for info]