Spirited Heart

Life simulation game in a fantasy world: http://www.winterwolves.com/spiritedheart.htm
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gino
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Spirited Heart

Post by gino »

I've been following the development of that new title on your blog and, judging from the screenshots, it looks good 8) I loved princess maker series, so this one is definitely a game I'll be following closely.

A pity if you wont' be able to add also the combat itself on the game, that would rock...
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jack1974
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Re: Spirited Heart

Post by jack1974 »

Yeah well, I'm still doing the relationship part of the game, and the events. It's quite time-consuming. I don't think will put any combat inside the game, but could always release an add-on :lol: or maybe better, do that "gladiator management simulation" I talked about some time ago with other people in this forums.
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jack1974
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Re: Spirited Heart

Post by jack1974 »

Well all I can say is that will be different from PM series (at least the 2, I didn't play all the other episodes!).
It will be more focused on the personal relationships and events that will happen in the normal life-cycle.
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Dennia
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Re: Spirited Heart

Post by Dennia »

Looks like it's been a while since anyone commented on this game. I'm a newcomer to the game and your games in general and I have a few things to say.

I really enjoyed SH. I just wish it went a lot more deep with more encounters, more possible partners more life situations, maybe life after marriage...umm babies? Another thing, I like to really feel like I'm the girl in the story, not just me controlling a character. For instance, instead of, at the beginning, being told to choose your character, I would rather it ask, Who will you be in this game? and that all comments in the story are clearly directed to me the player (follow me? :? ). A little point maybe but one that makes a difference to me. A suggestion along this line: Sometimes the dialog is clearly from the character, other times it's what she's thinking, and sometimes it's text that describes what's happening. I think to avoid confusion that different typefaces or different colored text should be used for each point of view. This should apply to all your games, btw.

Now a question: So far I've "married" two of the guys--the captain and the musician. But is it possible to marry all the guys (not all in the same game of course.)? :P I've tried to date the others but find that there aren't enough encounters and that I have to work at my "jobs" a long time only to find I'm not interacting with anyone; sometimes I just don't care what the goddess wants me to do cause it sometimes seems to take out the dating options.

Also...Please, please...fix errors in spelling and grammar. I've noticed mistakes in every game I've looked at from you (even the new Planet Stronghold one). Sometimes a word is left out and sometimes the sentence is awkward. It's not only your games, just about every game I've played has inexcusable English errors in it...even one from National Geographic.:o Heck, I'd be willing to proofread for you if you would like me to. Oh, but I also meant to compliment you on the dialog which is "snappy" well-written and often funny.

Well enough rambling. I think it's clear I really like your dating/life-sim games and I really like "getting into" the stories.
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jack1974
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Re: Spirited Heart

Post by jack1974 »

Dennia wrote: Now a question: So far I've "married" two of the guys--the captain and the musician. But is it possible to marry all the guys (not all in the same game of course.)? :P I've tried to date the others but find that there aren't enough encounters and that I have to work at my "jobs" a long time only to find I'm not interacting with anyone; sometimes I just don't care what the goddess wants me to do cause it sometimes seems to take out the dating options.
Yes you can marry all of the guys :) I wrote a guide here in forums, and also gamertell wrote a very good one: http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment ... s-secrets/
Dennia wrote: Also...Please, please...fix errors in spelling and grammar. I've noticed mistakes in every game I've looked at from you (even the new Planet Stronghold one). Sometimes a word is left out and sometimes the sentence is awkward. It's not only your games, just about every game I've played has inexcusable English errors in it...even one from National Geographic.:o Heck, I'd be willing to proofread for you if you would like me to. Oh, but I also meant to compliment you on the dialog which is "snappy" well-written and often funny.

Well enough rambling. I think it's clear I really like your dating/life-sim games and I really like "getting into" the stories.
Hah well Planet Stronghold alpha is not-proofreaded yet, so for sure there are mistakes. I first write the game texts myself and then ask people I know to proofread them, but in the promo video/screenshots I mostly use my original texts (so this is why you see mistakes).
Anyway will remember your offer - I have so many games going on, and with so many texts (some games have 50k words!) that is hard for the proofreaders to check everything :lol:
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Dennia
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Re: Spirited Heart

Post by Dennia »

OK. Thanks. I totally overlooked the"Places" clues in the Relationship Panel. Now I know where to look for the guys!

New Question: I went broke before taxes twice in one month and though I was warned I'd go to jail if I didn't pay up the next time, nothing happened--just the same old warning. Dang, I wanted to go to jail! :P I guess there's no jail screen?
,
There probably won't be any more updates to this game, correct? I am looking forward to the next version but you said that it will have more jobs and less encounters? The jobs are boring to me but I LOVE the encounters. It is called Spirited HEART, you know. :wink: Am I in the minority here? An idea related to jobs: Having only one way, one game, to make money gets kind of old. How about more varied games to earn the cash?

I know it would take more art labor, but it seems there should be 4 seasons (4 backgrounds, not 2) when the girl goes to relax in the park. As it is, there's winter, then...boom...everything's green!

I hope there are more girls and more guys in the next version. I must say the personalities of the guys really comes through; they're all distinct types and very well crafted. I like the music too.
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jack1974
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Re: Spirited Heart

Post by jack1974 »

Lol no, you can't go to jail :lol: I thought about doing that, but then probably would have been a bit too cruel!
I am still unsure about the relationships on the Spirited Heart spin-off. I might put some, problem is that they take long time to write (the SH game has over 40k words of dialogues!) and yes, not everyone likes them (that's why I put a button romance on/off in the latest update). But even if there won't be in this game, I'll probably release another, or an add-on (I want to make several for this new game, each one adding some aspects to the game).

Anyway, if you like romance/dialogues I reccommend you also take a look at my other games VNs (Heileen 1-2, The Flower Shop and if you like sci-fi, Bionic Heart).
babymini
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Re: Spirited Heart

Post by babymini »

:( ....the forum is not very busy...
Disintegration
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Re: Spirited Heart

Post by Disintegration »

First time poster here. Yeah ... this message board seems sparsely trafficked. I have been surfing the net looking for message boards and blogs relevant to Spirited Heart, but not much luck so far.

At a glance, SH reminds me of better-known Princess Maker series. Similar game mechanics, as both games center on raising character stats with open-ended objectives. Unlike PM, cash management is easier in SH (as long as you pay attention to when tax collector knocks on your door and not have too much cash sitting around when they come!). Another thing that makes SH easier is its game duration: The game goes on until she turns 30, a plenty of time for her to settle down on a career and get married.

Perhaps the first half of the game is the pain in the rear-end, as it involves quite a bit of stat grinding and frequent game saves. However, the girl will not build up adequate amount of attributes if she has an easy life! Things open up quite a bit once she starts taking advanced jobs as this improves her cash flow situation considerably. Once she reaches that point, she can build up her romance in a leisurely manner.

The choice of her race and family background matters, as they determines her starting stats (both) as well as starting cash (family background only). A player should pick a background in such a way that it meshes with the girl's future career. For example, being raised by a general boosts her concentration attribute, which should be handy if she were to be groomed to become an armorer.

Overall, SH is a decent game for those who like stat building and can set his/her own game pace. It is, however, not recommended for those who like a lot of action and complicated plays.
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jack1974
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Re: Spirited Heart

Post by jack1974 »

That was a good review, thanks :)
(game programmer)
I'm probably going to make the sequel next year with more complex stuff like trading, dungeon fight, etc.
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