Flakes make the world go round. :-)

Remnants of Failure 1

Remnants of Failure 2

Most people who enjoy shooting games casually approach them with the goal of clearing the last stage and seeing the ending. However, there are quite a few people who aim for the highest possible score, not just clearing the game. 

Many shooting games blatantly encourage this high-score play. Games where players record high scores and feel proud of them often show score lines that easily exceed ten million.

However, there are situations where the score suddenly stops being tallied while you're diligently running for a high score, and sometimes the device itself freezes. This is what's called a 'counter stop' in scoring.

The definition of a counter stop is when the score no longer accumulates and stops when it reaches the maximum limit that the machine can record, but some classic games assumed a maximum value and ended the game when it was reached.

A counter stop can occur, for example, when the numbers displayed on the device are set not to exceed ten million, and when it reaches 9,999,999, there is no way to display the score, so it stops.

In this way, high scoring and counter stops are inextricably linked in that they reach the maximum value of numbers that can be displayed systematically within the game. If a counter stop occurs, the score tally ends there, so whether or not a counter stop occurs is important when a new shooting game is released. Let's take a look at some representative examples of counter stops.

The first example is Gradius. Gradius, Konami's 1986 title, was a prime example of a rollover, a type of counter stop, where the score would return to 0 instead of going to 100,000,001 when it reached 100 million points. If you were playing alone and no one was watching, it was a game where you could feel wronged because there was no way to prove that you had exceeded 100 million points.

Xevious, another similar classic shooting game, also had a counter stop. When you reached 10 million points, a counter stop occurred, and the game had a form where you could continue to enjoy it indefinitely unless you died in an infinite loop, but it was one of the early examples of a game where you had to end the game when the score reached a certain point. This counter stop at exactly ten million points in Xevious became a kind of standard in the scoring culture that followed.

In the case of Exed Exes, the tally stopped when it reached ten million points, just like Xevious, but this one showed a type of counter stop that forcibly ended the game. Because it ends with a congratulatory message and a clear judgment, it can be seen as an example of intentionally using a counter stop as a game system. 

DoDonPachi Resurrection was a game designed from the development stage to encourage players to aim for the highest possible score. However, there were situations where a counter stop occurred before reaching the final boss during the first playthrough, and the developers were criticized for whether they had properly tested the game before releasing it.

Similar to DoDonPachi Resurrection, Senjou no Ookami II (Commando 2) was also one of the games that received mixed reviews due to the counter stop occurring too quickly. Compared to the fact that the score that could be displayed was set to below 1 million, it was too easy to reach that point, so players who reached the counter stop immediately after release appeared very quickly.

In this way, counter stops have been used as a kind of goal for high scoring in a positive way, but also as a negative example arising from setting the limit too low compared to the player's level. However, it is clear that it was an element that could be used as a standard for distinguishing skill in that you had to succeed in pushing the score up to the limit of the device in some way to see it.

Nowadays, the performance of devices has improved and the system allows for flexible adjustment of the limit score, so you can hardly find games with the concept of counter stop, but in the days of classic games, counter stop was a phenomenon that could provide both pride and futility at the same time.

Mukyeong High School: Young

Bottling Company Co., Ltd.

MuKyeong High School: YoungEun Produced by 'Bottling Company Co., Ltd.' is a 2D occult mystery adventure game2D 오컬트 추리 어드벤처 게임.

The main character of this work is a high school girl named 'Na Ji-young'..

For some reason, she wakes up alone at Mukyeong High School at midnight, with the night sky dyed blood-red.밤하늘이 피처럼 붉게 물든 심야의 무경고등학교에서 홀로 눈을 뜹니다.

As Na Ji-young, players must explore every corner of the school, collect items, and gather clues and information by fulfilling the requests of various characters they encounter in the school. .

And based on the clues gathered in that way, you must find a way to escape this strange space. 실마리를 토대로, 이 기묘한 공간에서 벗어날 방도를 모색.

This work proceeds in a point-and-click manner..

When you hover the cursor over an interactable object, the finger-shaped cursor changes to a red exclamation mark icon, and objects that have been interacted with are switched to a green check mark, allowing you to intuitively determine whether they have been processed.

Some interactable objects can simply be checked for their status, while others can provide 'clues' or 'information'.

Here, 'clue' refers to a tangible item that can be held in the hand, and 'information' refers to intangible content that is grasped through words or writing..

Acquired items and information can be processed, transformed, and utilized through the 'information combination', 'clue combination', and 'concept decomposition' menus..

'Clue combination' is a function that combines two different items into one, and 'concept decomposition' is a function that decomposes a single item into two.'개념 분해'는 단일 아이템을 두 개로 분해하는 기능.

For reference, there is no need to use 'information combination' in the demo version.

The demo version progresses by moving between various locations such as the classroom, hallway, library, gym storage, and restroom.

The demo ends the moment you wisely solve the given problems, open the locked faculty office door, and enter.

Reminiscent of the movie 'Whispering Corridors series',  하는 '무경 고등학교: 영'은, 'Mukyeong High School: Young' is a work that effectively blends the mysteriously rising sense of horror by twisting the everyday and familiar space of a school into an unreal place..

Why is Na Ji-young trapped in the school on a red night?

And why don't the other children remaining in this school show any particular agitation, unlike Ji-young?

What on earth is happening here right now?

Will Ji-young be able to safely escape from this school on a red night?

'Mukyeong High School: Young' is a mystery horror adventure game that is highly anticipated for its official release.

Mystery Shelter Cherry Blanc

STUDIO WILLS

Mistery Shelter Cherry Blancis under development by 'Studio Wills'.in

The protagonist of this work is Seol, an ordinary high school girl who wakes up in a dark room with amnesia..

Unable to know why she came here, why she is in this situation, or even where this place is, Seol explores the dark building and searches for clues. .

And in the process, Seol discovers a meaningful phrase.

"Welcome to the shelter."

Shelter?

Does this mean that this place is a shelter created to protect someone?

If so, what is this place made to avoid, and what danger?

Lost in the dark While wandering alone in the 'Shelter', Seol meets a sleeping girl and a boy named 'Roy'. .

At first, Roy, who was wary of Seol, realizes that his situation is not much different from Seol's, and decides to work together to find a way out of this place. .

According to Roy,

the girl sleeping next to them said that she 'came down the stairs from the ground'..

Does that mean that this place exists 'underground'?

With only questions growing in a state where nothing is known,

Seol succeeds in opening the 'locked door' with Roy's cooperation..

But while Roy goes to pick up the sleeping girl, 

Seol faces an unexpected danger. .

And at that moment, a helping hand is extended to Seol.

The owner of that hand was a man wearing a rabbit mask, reminiscent of a clown.was standing.

Who is this man?

And why does he say that Roy will not return?

'Discussion' is the core system of 'Mystery Shelter Cherry Blanc'..

Through discussion, players can exchange information with other characters, distinguish between truth and falsehood, and decide on the direction to move forward..

'Discussion' consists of three menus: conversation, presentation, and adoption., and the functions of each menu are as follows.

Conversation: Share information and current situation that each person knowscan.

Jesse: In this situation, select an appropriate item and use it in the discussion.You can.

Adoption: If opinions conflict or judgments differ, decide on a direction.

Besides this, Various logic puzzle elements that add to the fun and tension of the game are included.This further enhances the charm of 'Mystery Shelter Cherry Blanc'.

In the demo version, you can only play a short amount corresponding to the prologue, 

But that alone was an interesting experience that sufficiently raised expectations for the full version to be released.

What is happening in this mysterious shelter where everything is a question mark?

'Mystery Shelter Cherry Blanc' is another highly anticipated work that makes you look forward to the release of the main story.

Stepper Retro: Psychic Reasoning Quest

Team TetraPod

STepper Retro: Psychic Reasoning Questis Under development at 'Team TetraPod'in 2D reasoning adventure gameis.It is.

Team TetraPod is a capable indie game developer that has been showcasing 'Stepper Case', 'Stepper Ribbon', and 'Dice Eater', and has been steadily building their own color around the mystery genre.It is.

This work The main character of 'Stepper Retro: Psychic Reasoning Quest' (hereinafter shortened to 'Stepper Retro') is 'Verita Retro', a young girl living in Sicily who will soon be fourteen years old.It is.

Without anything she desperately wants to do or any dreams she desperately wants to achieve, 

Verita was spending her days a little boring and, on the other hand, comfortably.

Then One day, 

After her father, who ran a retro shop that bought and sold antiques, suddenly disappeared, Verita was left with a huge gambling debt in place of her father. becomes.

Having to pay off the debt of a father who abandoned his young child and ran away!

I was so upset and dumbfounded that I was about to give up everything and even think of giving up everything, but then,

Verita meets a woman, 'Jad Bering', who seems to be about to throw herself off the bridge one step ahead of her. becomes.

'Jad Bering' is

Through this chance encounter, Veritas helps Jad Bering to uncover the skills and triggers of Steph as her assistant. It becomes.

And in the process,

I will learn that there can be completely different truths like the front and back of the moon even in one incident. It becomes.

Will Veritas be able to liquidate all debts through this journey, 

and face a more grown-up self?

Or... 

Will you collapse endlessly in the face of a truth that you might have been better off not knowing?

'Stepper Retro's The game system is largely divided into three parts: reasoning, conversation, and exploration..

In the case of the reasoning part, 

While inheriting the basic structure of the previous work, which fills in the blanks by finding the correct answer among the information you have, the UI has been refined into a cleaner and more sophisticated style..

Previous work 'Stepper Case' was a particularly impressive work with tongue-in-cheek twists..

Even in this work, the 'Retro' element of tracking down the hidden truth behind one incident is quite attractive.

 It came to me..

The moment you think you've solved the case,

It points out the loopholes in the reasoning and makes the player realize that the reasoning was not the correct answer. It becomes.

And ask the question, 'What is the real truth of this case?'

Then, Players can go back to the case one more time with the feeling of playing 'Part 2' and finally face the hidden truth. It becomes.

The setting for 'Vero' was also very interesting.

From the fact that Vero and Veritas' hair and headband colors are reversed, 

To the lines and atmosphere in the scenes where Vero appears.

Several foreshadowing elements related to Vero reminded me of 'Soo-yeon,' played by actress Moon Geun-young in the movie 'A Tale of Two Sisters.'

Because of this, the secret about Vero's existence revealed in the latter part of the demo was accepted naturally rather than surprisingly.

The story of how Vero came to be with Veritas through some event or opportunity will likely be revealed in the main game.

The previous work, 'Stepper Case,' was a work that received great love and attention for its beautiful art and excellent plot twists.It was.

This work 'Stepper Retro' shares the same worldview as the previous work, but at the same time showcases more advanced artwork and a fresh story different from the previous work, making you feel the power of 'Team TetraPod' once again.It gives.

In the demo, you could play the entire Act 1 story of 'Stepper Retro,'

True to its name, as a work by 'Team TetraPod' that you can trust and play, it showed high quality and solid fun.It showed.

I look forward to another story in the Stepper World universe that will unfold through the main game with a happy and joyful heart.

Project O.D

H5DEV Games

Project O.Dis a shortened version of 'Project Occult Detective,' 'Project Occult Detective'의 줄임말로, and is a 2D occult investigation adventure game being developed by 'H5DEV Games.'in 2D occult investigation adventure game.

As a sequel to 'Novena Diabolos,' this work deals with investigating urban legends in the same world,and you can enjoy it without any prior experience with the previous work.전작 경험이 없어도 문제없이 즐길 수 있습니다.

The main character of this work is a boy who has seen, heard, and encountered spiritual beings since childhood..

However, from a certain point on, he repeatedly loses his memory whenever he comes into contact with or gets involved with spiritual beings, so he is a person who has thoroughly cut off all connections with the occult..

However, when contact with his close friend, Sua, is suddenly cut off, the protagonist begins to track down the 'Slit-Mouthed Woman' urban legend, which has recently been at the center of the issue, even at the risk of losing his memory again..

An urban legend,

a story that ordinary people would laugh off as nonsense.

But he knows that souls, ghosts, and monsters actually exist in every corner of the human world.

And in the process, he really meets them.

A person presumed to be the 'Slit-Mouthed Woman...'

How will this story unfold from here?

The game is largely divided into 'daily life part' and 'investigation part', and proceeds on a daily basis..

For reference, in the trial version, you can play from Thursday, June 27th to Sunday, June 30th. You can.

In the daily life part, from 4 PM to 10 PM is part-time job time, so you can freely use the time from waking up to 4 PM.You can.

In your free time, you can spend time at home or go out.You can.

At home, you can improve your eloquence or mental strength through studying, build up your physical strength through exercise, or use a PC.You can.

You can shop, chat, and surf the web with your PC, but these features are limited in the trial version.It has been.

If you choose to go out, you can meet different people in different places depending on the time of day. You can.

If there is a person you can meet, the person's portrait is displayed on the map.Therefore, refer to this and choose a place to move.

You can increase your intimacy with people you meet through outings by using 'Talk' or 'Give a gift'. You can.

According to the introduction of the work, you can check hidden episodes related to the person as intimacy increases, which can also help the main character's investigation later on.It is said that it can be.

In the investigation part, you will move around the map based on clues and testimonies from people around you, and gradually approach the reality of the case. It becomes.

In the investigation part, three stats are displayed: 'Action Point', 'Stamina', and 'Mentality'.and Stamina or action points are consumed each time you move or perform various actions.It becomes.

Mentality decreases each time the main character encounters occult phenomena.do.

'Project O.D', which I encountered through the trial version, was a work in which the three elements of beautiful art, attractive story, and interesting game system were evenly harmonized.It was.

It is also exciting to see what aspects the characters who did not appear in the trial version will show in the main story.It is.

'Project O.D' is a work that I am eagerly awaiting for its official release.