The Room

[Gilberreke]

This has been a long time fan favorite on the IRC. It's a puzzle game that's very tactile. It only takes a few hours to finish, but the content that's there is brilliant. Everything goes kerchunk and click-clacks in all the ride places. I figured I'd share here, to share some stories about the game and the company.

I haven't played the third game because it's mobile-only (so far, we're all hoping it'll hit Steam at some point in the future, but it's not looking good), but the second game is exquisite too, though not as iconic as the first.

Right now there's a steam sale going on that makes it dirt cheap (less than a dollar). I highly recommend you guys pick this one up, you won't be disappointed. The second one is on sale too, so you might as well pick them both up for less than a coffee.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/288160/The_Room/
http://store.steampowered.com/app/425580/The_Room_Two/

[Daisjun]

Thanks for the heads up. I'll give it a crack and let you know how I go.

[FlowerChild]

Wow, thanks for turning me onto this. I'm a few chapters in and loving it!

What's extra weird for me though is that it's almost identical to a game idea I pitched maybe 20 years ago that never got green lit, so I have this weird deja vu sensation like I'm playing something I worked on, but with the added bonus that I don't already know how the puzzles work :)

[jorgebonafe]

I loved these games too, although I wish they were longer. I was a nice scratch to my itching for games like "Myst", but not quite... They are rare these days. I'd also recommend Haven Moon to anyone interested on that type of game. It's very pretty, and heavily inspired by Myst.

[Gilberreke]

Glad you guys are enjoying it :)

I picked up like 14 keys already as gifts for people on my Steam list. Kaito streamed it with his wife, which was fun too. I do hope these guys will eventually release 3 and Old Sins for PC, but it doesn't seem likely :(

https://twitter.com/Fireproof_Games/sta ... 6952252416

[Niyu]

Just bought and played them.

Thanks for the interesting recomendation. This is the kind of game I would ussually glance over without paying to much attention.

[Gilberreke]

Thanks for the interesting recomendation. This is the kind of game I would ussually glance over without paying to much attention.

Yeah, I was thinking of just posting it to the Steam thread, but this is the kind of game I feel like I need to hit people over the head with a little bit, because it's hard to understand just why it is so good. It's a tactile puzzle game, since the advent of touch controls, we've seen a million of these, but for some odd reason, this one just seems to get it so perfectly right.

[Daisjun]

I just finished the first game. I wasn't blown away by it, but it's a nice little puzzle game that's lovingly crafted. I didn't get to a point in it like I did with the Witness where I was like 'oh fucking come on, who's gonna work that out?'

I'd suggest disabling the hints as they probably give a bit too much away.

[Gilberreke]

I'd suggest disabling the hints as they probably give a bit too much away.

Yeah, this, you probably want to turn them off

[FlowerChild]

Finished the first two games yesterday. Really enjoyed them.

The hints are easy enough to just not click on. Most of the puzzles are easy enough that you really don't need them, where it's easier to just click on the next piece of the puzzle rather than going to the hint button. The few times I did click for a hint it turned out to be something that was tucked away in a hard to spot place or what have you that I just hadn't seen, so I didn't feel I really lost anything for it.

IMO, it's really about the experience rather than the problem solving. The puzzles are just difficult enough to feel satisfying while never really being taxing.

[Gilberreke]

IMO, it's really about the experience rather than the problem solving. The puzzles are just difficult enough to feel satisfying while never really being taxing.

Yeah, it's odd, the whole tactile feel of it and the experience (even the story and the way it's presented) is what really makes the game. For some reason I prefer this game over Myst, but I can't quite put my finger on why. I think I was always underwhelmed with the atmosphere of Myst?

These games seem to trigger a part of my brain that games usually don't touch, where the game experience just keeps you going and the details take the center stage. I have a similar experience with just getting lost without purpose around the map in open world games. I think the trick to the design is to create very intricate props and then use the game rules to give the player a reason to explore these details. The games seem to do best when they nicely manage to balance your tempo to where you are slowly panning around things, just taking in details and slowly letting your brain connect the dots (as opposed to the times where you're frantically panning around things looking for details you missed or just staring at the same puzzle for a longer period because you can't figure it out).

A puzzle game where pace is important?

[MisterFister]

IMO, it's really about the experience rather than the problem solving. The puzzles are just difficult enough to feel satisfying while never really being taxing.

Yeah, it's odd, the whole tactile feel of it and the experience (even the story and the way it's presented) is what really makes the game. For some reason I prefer this game over Myst, but I can't quite put my finger on why. I think I was always underwhelmed with the atmosphere of Myst?

I have to say that going back to play Myst again for the first time after having read through the backstory novels is a wonderful experience.

[Gilberreke]

The Room Three came out on Steam a few weeks ago. Just picked it up. Hype!