Captain Midnight
A downloadable game
THIS LIL GUY UNDERGOING SOME RENOVATIONS. CHECK BACK LATER
You're Captain Midnight. Who's Captain Midnight? You're not sure. He's you but he didn't used to be. A mysterious illness is consuming the memories of those afflicted - and spreading like wildfire. You're just trying to save as many as you can before it consumes you with it.
An epidemiological horror mystery game.
CONTROLS:
WASD for movement.
E to interact/end interaction
F to interact with the object youre interacting with. ( i know...its confusing)
Q to open the menu
I to open your inventory
The first thing you should do when you exit the elevator is interact with the red flashing light box.
{almost] Everything in the game by Tim Oxton
Development log
- BIG UPDATEJan 31, 2023
- Update 3Jan 17, 2023
- Update 2 - 1/16Jan 17, 2023
- Update 1 - 1/16Jan 16, 2023
Comments
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hey I just saw domplays play this game and I’m super interested in playing it!!!! Are you still renovating??? It looks so awesome
Hey bro, I do believe you said you aren't working on this one anymore. But is it possible for you to make a video on what to do in the game? I want to watch it so i can make a full video for my channel! This game looks so crazy!! Love your stuff bro!
Im just seeing this. IM SO SORRY. Im 'renovating' it so it actually makes sense. Ill let ya know when theres something concrete!
Perfect! I will keep an eye out, this game still intrigues me and i do hope it can be finished!
I will be keeping an eye out for this one too!
I cant seem to find the download button
haha jesus...fixed! sorry about that
The game's pretty ok. But I had a hard time trying to progress though the game. Mainly with the machine once you got into the room. The screen was a bit too blurry and I think I only managed to get past that screen by luck. But for what it is, the game's pretty decent. It just needs to be a bit more focused. (FYI, apparently I got into the guy's apartment through 2 ways. Though the power method could use a bit more explaining.)
Here's my channel for other games I have played. https://www.youtube.com/@Levont
This was not bad for being really early access. I am in the same boat as cory I couldn't figure out how to progress so I just played until I have discovered everything I could. Overall, though graphics are really good, and it ran great at all ultra-settings on my RX 6600 which gives you an idea how how it runs on mid-range hardware. Made a video on it.
Ha! I love how you went for all the super fast endings. Watching you explore through all that was wonderful, my dude. Thank ya for taking all the time to make that - and just for playing it. Super frickin cool.
In terms of what to do next - based on all the confusion from pretty much errrrybody, I clearly need to explain the entire game better. But! There are two ways into the locked apartment at the end of the hall. There's a door with a dead dude hanging over it that will give you a key and if you solve the power puzzle thing, the dude who can't hear you will give you a key.
The power puzzle - which Im realizing is *very* poorly explained in hindsight - is basically just the board game operation and some math. Each circuit breaker has a number and if its powered, it adds to the total power consumption of the floor. the power thing can only go as high as 38 or as low as 28. So you have to move around the pieces so you can successfully remove the circuit breaker to the dudes apt who cant hear you without going above or below those thresholds. I realize thats far too complicated and far too hidden in game to be of any use - but thats how it theoretically works.
And while Im here, I'll explain the rest too: when you get into the apt, the dude isnt there and you need to find the address to where he went. There are lots of post cards on the fridge. One of those has the address. There is a weird machine in the middle of the room. It allows you to check out one of his memories. That memory has clues to help narrow it down so *which* of the postcards becomes clear. Again - this is all poorly explained in game. I thought it was being *clever*. It was not.
But when you find the address, you send a message (compose message button in the main menu by pressing "q") to twilight (message address for twilight can be found in other message but for the purpose of cutting out any confusion...it's k.twilight) that contains the correct address.
I will keep this all-in mind in-case I decide to revisit this game whenever it's further updated/or not in early access mode. Still a good game so far, looks super promising. If I were to suggest something I would add a objectives thing that is always in the top corner or can be opened/closed via a key bind, that would help the player a ton. I didn't know about a dead body hanging over a door and if I did see it, I assumed it was just a scenery placement.
Man, I'm a game dev myself and I know how hard it is to make games. You did a great job for this demo and it looks fantastic. The effects, the environments, the sound, the atmosphere, everything is unique and awesome! Except actual gameplay.
The gameplay feels like a chore. There are indeed great ideas in it but they are buried under tons of text(that I'm not sure does anyting to affect the gameplay) and confusing gameplay loop. The "story" or "goals" are not clear, the quests are unbeatable(the machine with numbers and paths for example and I'm not even sure if that's the quest that affects smth) and confusing. I was constantly unsure whether smth exists for the sake of it existing or will move me further in progress. And what is the progress in this game?
You said "for like 2 years. I’ve never seen anyone other than myself play through it". I beg you, please give your game to people and watch them play and take notes of what irritates them, what they can't figure out, what they find fun while playing, etc. Then iterate, iterate, iterate.
Please take this as a fair feedback. I do like what you are doing and want you to succeed. Your game has potential like a raw diamond but it needs a lot of cutting :)
Hell ya- thank you for the in depth feedback. Critical feedback can be tough to give so I appreciate ya for doing it.
I agree but Im also unsure of how to fix it. Clearly the atmosphere/etc is what I adore...and the gameplay part is absolutely not my strength. Ha which is problematic for...a game. Since you clearly have a solid grasp of these concepts, let me know if you'd be down to talk more at length about your experience. No worries if not - and either way, again, I appreciate you writing all that out.
(oh! and the number puzzle *is* beatable - i just made how it works far too unclear. youre supposed to cut the power to the music dudes apartment so he can hear you and give you the key to the main apt. haha i started writing out how it works but writing it out, and realizing how complicated it is, made me realize it's both not worth it and that it's prrrrrrobably too complicated)
Glad you are open to feedback. I'd be down to talk but probably not in the next month cuz I have pretty much of my own stuff rn.
It's important to remember that no one knows how to make YOUR game. Not even the best gamedesigners in the world. They sure know some stuff that makes their life easier but that's it.
Again what you need to do asap is to give your game to people and watch them play. Do this in batches of 5-10 people, take notes, ask them questions afterwards, fix/redo the problematic parts and strengthen the parts that brings joy and repeat the cycle.
After like 10-20 iterations you will get your game that is loved by players, that still gives players the fellings you wanted it to give initially(maybe even X5 times more) + community that await its release. That's gonna be a hard journey and you will have to make lots of tough decisions but I'm sure you can do it!
I don't think I was able to beat it, but I played it for about an hour trying to continue and couldn't figure out what to do next. I enjoy the comedy, atmosphere, and uniqueness the game brings, but one thing that started to be a turn-off for me at least was all of the memo logs. It was a lot of reading in a short amount of time loll, but I can't wait to play this after it has been updated and made into a complete experience! Keep up the hard work!
dude! I’ve been working on this game (well, also the many iterations that came before it as well) for like 2 years. I’ve never seen anyone other than myself play through it. Watching you play it was maybe the coolest thing I’ve ever experienced. Thank you thank you for taking the time to record, edit, and post it. Seriously. And I appreciate the feedback as well - I agree! I tried to fit a little too much back story into a small time frame. there’s still more to do in the demo (you can find the address and send it to twilight) but it’s on me for obscuring that slightly too much. Ha lots more work to do. Either way - you’re an awesome dude. Thanks for playing.
I’m glad I was able to give helpful feedback! Keep working on the game & I can’t wait to see what this game ends up becoming! Hopefully more people will come & play your game & give you more feedback as well, because it is definitely worth the time!
Tried playing the game, but whenever you open the door to go inside the apartment the note stays in the doorway so you can't pass
Hmmmm. First off - seriously appreciate ya playing and letting me know! Second - have you tried interacting with the letter and pressing “f”? It should pick it up. Either way, I’ll upload a fix that automatically picks up the letter when ya have the key.
Thanks for responding! I pressed every button except for “F” probly 🤣 I will try that again later! Can’t wait to finish it!
Hey! Not sure if you get notified about the other replies - but the issue was totally on my end. A collision box that overstayed its welcome. Uploading the fix now - apologies! Should be up in like 30 mins (slow internet is slow). I have no idea how to do patches so unfortunately, you'll have to snag the whole game again. When the file name is CaptainMidnight_1_16.zip, it should be good to go!
I had the same issue as above. The letter stays in the door but is invisible and you can keep picking it up but can't get past the door :o
Damn! I’ll upload a fix in a few. And again - thanks for letting me know! Really appreciate it.
Fixed version uploading now! Ha I added something to the letter to make it's hitbox slightly larger *right* before packaging the final build...and I thought, it's so insignificant, what could go wrong? Valuable lesson learned....
Fix uploaded! :)
This looks AWESOME. I'll try to make a video on it asap
hell ya! Thanks man. Definitely shoot me a link when ya do, I’d love to watch.