The Anders Cyclopaedia
A downloadable game for Windows
Summary
Anders, a wild parallel universe, has become explorable once more. No one sees value in exploring this hostile, strange environment, except you.
Explore the wilderness, commune with its denizens, learn its esoteric rules, and compile your knowledge in the notoriously incomplete and error-ridden Anders Cyclopaedia.
As this is a work in progress, please bear with me, and let me know about any oddness or issues you come across during your playthrough!
Feedback is more than welcome, it is actively desired!
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Development log
- Version 0.6 - A Peek Beyond The VoidJan 19, 2024
- 0.5.1 post-playtest hotfixDec 22, 2023
- Version 0.5 - UPD Paper VersionDec 19, 2023
- Version 0.3 - Movement UpdateNov 10, 2023
- Playtest 0.2Nov 01, 2023
Comments
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Played through, and it was definitely a delightfully-curious experience. Nice to see some Disco Eylsium-style RPG mechanics.
While it is nice to have a physical version of the Anders Cyclopaedia, I'd much rather have it available in-game. Typical, I know, but not everyone's going to want to print it out when so many other games provide what would've been print-outs in the past in-game - and include notes sections which the player can freely write in.
It would be nice to eventually get gear Ash could use to better analyse the world for when their senses are insufficient, if not outright dangerous or lethal.
Also, I will echo a previous statement of the [REDACTED] getting me when fleeing into the cabin. Given its capabilities per the in-game observations of Ash's fellow lexocologists, it would seem like it'd simply materialize behind Ash again once they fled the cabin - or, perhaps, in front of Ash given the limited lines of sight in the cabin itself - and immediately using its surprise.
Absolutely loved the transmedia approach!
When the glowing meanana showed up i walked back into the cabin, and still got me through the wall, perhaps something to close it or different event could work if the player does that?
i loved this game and am waiting for there to be more content
the only thing of criticysm i have is that the music sometimes gets a bit stale but for the rest a amazing game'
(sorry for my bad spelling english is not my first language)
Really a beautifull game, loved the dialogs and all the ambient. I would love to been added a dialogue log for cheaking important things, for example the meanana name wich i forgot and had to look up . But definitely gona to pay close attention to the development
Fun game, when is the next update?
Thanks for playing! I've had to shift focus on life stuff for a while but development has resumed now that things died down, it's become a passion project besides uni and work so progress is slow and I work on it when I have the time to.
When I do roll out an update I'll do so with an announcement, to get notified for that you could follow me!
Already am, keep up the good work!
This is brilliant. I loved the profound sense of atmosphere and the intelligent dialogue system that makes you dig into the game's companion guide. It respects the player and is confident in what it is. Definitely a game I will pay for if it is completed. Thank you for making this!
Wow, it was very short, but I'm very hopefull I can someday play a full game of this. The Concept, the athmosphere, the visual style and story immediatly clicked with me. I love the pdf part, this is very creative and imersive.
Can I keep the printed out PDF for future, updated playthroughs or do you plan to change something in the print out?
Heya, thanks for playing! Portions of the print out will definitely change, in the sense that things will be added to it. You wont have to replace your baby in its entirety!
God this is amazing. From the atmosphere, to the sound design, to the dialogue and the writing, it's gorgeous. Hope this game gets more attention.
I love the soundtrack, keep it up and I can't wait for the full release!
This game is super cool!!!
I love the idea to make the different personality traits talk. I also think it would be cool if the player found a person living in a cave or some other safe area, and you needed to convince them to help you in order to progress.
this was absolutely delightful! similar to what others have said, I was really surprised by and thrilled with the story., and just mega delighted with the disco elysium style dialog. really really compelling. very excited for future updates!
This is amazing
damn this is cool. (i cant think of anything to say but i want to show that im invested in this somehow lol)
love where this is going i will definitely be keeping tabs on it!
noticed some sketchy hitboxes in the bog- some of the tendrils near the central tree seem to be misplaced, with no collision and invisible walls positioned nearby
Thanks for playing! Yeah the bog area is a very early version, it might even turn out quite different from its current demo version. Thanks for the pointers though!
I was immediately fascinated by this game from the moment I booted it up. I cannot wait for more. Please keep going!
Thank you so much, it's been very motivating to see the occasional positive comment on here <3
Love it, really really hope this continues development.
Thanks for playing, and still chipping away at it!
Love. And I need more. Love the Pastel Defender Heliotrope vibes. Super cool, please continue.
I am intrigued I've never heard of this web comic before, def looking into it thanks!
far more story driven than i expected thus far, but color me hooked!
i'm so excited to see what comes next! (and add it to the Cyclopaedia!!)
Thank you for playing it means a lot! Things are in the works slowly but surely, planning to update the demo one more time with some additional content and tweaks before working towards a 1.0 release (which will hopefully also go up on steam)
This game rules! Really natural use of the Disco Elysium style dialogue and skills system, especially for such a different style of game. I hope that system catches on in a big way in other rpgs. Having a pdf open in another tab while playing was way more engaging than I expected it to be, though my mouse drawings could definitely use some work ^^' The intrigue is really strong, and so is the character dynamic between the player and the exp. I can't wait to see where this goes next!
tytytyty! I loved Disco's system and wanted to experiment with it really badly, this project was the perfect excuse. Very curious how other people might apply it in their own projects as well!
I'm also glad the PDF-on-the-side gameplay was an enjoyable part of it; personally love games that require you to take notes or sketch maps to progress, those were a big inspiration for me :3
Cool game reminds me of anodyne 2 ->
Definitely an inspiration, thanks for playing!
This game really digs into my indulgent desire to read the entire game book before playing the video game. I really enjoyed what exits so far and look forward to any updates!
Rly glad to hear that, and thank you for playing!
Going in, I thought this was going to be much more focused on the exploration and cataloging critters, and I was surprised by the story/RPG elements (pleasantly so). It seems like there's a ton of potential here for what direction the game could go- do you see this becoming a more story/character driven game, or a more atmospheric/exploratory game about cataloging the wildlife? Or a balance of the two?
I will admit that I only played through once, and I was too afraid to lick the [REDACTED]
Thanks for playing and sharing your thoughts!
Ideally I'll strike a balance yeah. I don't think they're mutually exclusive, as learning about the wildlife enables you to not only progress, but learn more about your own relationship to Anders.
Current version of the game doesn't showcase much of that though, hoping to push out an update to the demo which does add that more overtly. After that will be the long haul to a 1.0 release!
I love this, the world is so engaging ♥ I can't wait for the full game
Absolutely love the atmosphere conveyed by the artstyle and music. The writing makes this world feel strange and darkly capricious, I want to explore every nook of it.
Sorry I didn’t get around to playtesting the latest version of this when the survey was still open, but I’m so glad I came back to it!
The atmosphere and the tension are so THICK and the writing highly evocative. I love the combination of Disco Elysium’s inner voices, and the thinking, feeling exoskeletal companion à la In Other Waters. And since this game’s narrative seems set up for some psychological horror, I can imagine a scene where these interact with each other directly, bypassing the physical voice entirely.
You seem to have such a strong vision for this game that I rarely see, and I’d love to play the full version if/when it comes out!
Hey, gave this one a try and absolutely fell in love with it. Is there anyway you could make the survey available digitally? Would love to fill it out.
tysm for playing! The survey was for a research project but that's closed now, currently working the data into a paper that i need to turn in oncoming Monday lol. Game is still in development tho, and left the link to the survey in your video's comment section!!
No problem lol. Oh, i see. Godspeed on the paper, hopefully it goes well. Don't see the link, youtube might have smited it, but i appreciate the effort nonetheless!
Here you go in that case: scrubb'd
Filled it out, ty.
So...this is grilling.
It's almost amazing at what it does, unnerve you of what you don't know, of what you've never seen, but it feels like it shows you its horror too early for your introspection into its world to be flipped to fear.
I'm unsure if the game is supposed to be short, but for me it got to the blackhole section and then told me to fill out a survey (which never really showed anything that I'd write down) with the button to continue playing being impossible to reach since the mouse was still locked.
If the above issue is fixed (if it even is an issue), please notify me as I'd love to continue playing.
I will say that while I'm surprised by the quality of the game considering other games on itch, I'm sorta disappointed even in the little bit that I played by what the game was setting itself up to be, I'll say again that I felt the terror would be brewed over a long period of time, where the game will let you get cozy and snuggle up with it until it snaps your neck in your sleep.
4.7/5 out of the segment that I played, but since I missed a lot of it because of the last survey, it's possible that I misinterpreted and mistreated the entire game, maybe that the game isn't even supposed to be scary.
I'll happily delete and re-review if the issue gets fixed.
Thanks for playing and the feedback! The game is going to be a decent chunk longer, The current build is about 1/4th of the envisioned experience. I'll be putting out a devlog with the next big update so hopefully that'll notify you!
I LOVE the idea with the physical cyclopedia. You did a great job of making this world feel strange and alien, I'm looking forward to updates!