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Mad Father; Indie Horror-RPG

D

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
UPDATE 09/23/2016: The Game is now out on Steam.


Mad Father


---

This game came out in Japan about a month ago, and less than a week ago it has already been translated into English (by vgperson, the same guy who did the English translations for the games Ib & Witch's House, which you should also check out if you haven't). Developed by a guy who names himself Sen using WOLF RPG Editor. The game I wouldn't describe as as a shit-yourself scare-a-thon, more so creepy, but the hooks comes mainly from its interesting atmosphere puzzle and adventure gameplay matched with a pretty interesting story. It's free and should last you somewhere around 4 hours, with multiple endings and a few side-quests.

Mad Father stars a young girl, named Aya, who is the daughter of a scientist and a beautiful woman who sadly passed away. Aya tries to look at the bright side of life, and is well-cared for by her dad, and loves him so. However, she is aware her dad, a scientist, is involved in some dark experiments. One night a curse befalls their home, bringing back to life the corpses of the people Aya's father had experimented on. Realizing his life is in danger, Aya goes out to rescue him. A journey with a strange but interesting cast of characters follows.

I have fallen in love with the game, and recommend it to those who might have enjoyed similar games, such as Corpse Party, Yume Nikki, or the after-mentioned Ib & Witch's House. It's very well-made for a 2D horror game, and though the audio is not original, a lot of the artwork and spriting in the game is. If you don't mind commentary over a video (and voicing the dialogue), you can check out some gameplay of it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UM_vaiLNfM

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Of course, it's free for anyone to play, so you can try it out for yourselves. It is recent, and would love to get some of indieGAF's take on it.

You can download Mad Father here: http://vgboy.dabomstew.com/other/madfather.htm
 
I almost forgot to mention, even though the game only starting picking up steam and word-of-mouth a couple of days ago, there has been a surprisingly large amount of fan art being made in the last two days. I won't post anything spoilery, but been pretty impressed by how much fans have done just in the last two days.

ayadravis6001406829.jpg


ayadravis6001406836.jpg


ayadravis6001406837.jpg


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And there's a lot more. Oh, the internet~
(/So totally not in love with the game as well)
 
And got all of the gems and got the best ending! Had a great time with the game, hoping more will give it a whirl and would love the impressions of others.

For anyone who's curious, there's three endings and a special thing added to one of the endings (the 'true' ending) if you get all the gems, which you acquire by doing things (including side-quests) in the game.
 
Dusk Golem said:
I almost forgot to mention, even though the game only starting picking up steam and word-of-mouth a couple of days ago, there has been a surprisingly large amount of fan art being made in the last two days. I won't post anything spoilery, but been pretty impressed by how much fans have done just in the last two days.

ayadravis6001406829.jpg


ayadravis6001406836.jpg


ayadravis6001406837.jpg


tumblr_mgryp5zJZu1rjc0kjo1_500.jpg


tumblr_mgwaymD6r41qhgj2mo1_500.png


And there's a lot more. Oh, the internet~
(/So totally not in love with the game as well)
Click to expand...

That's cute.
 
Witch's House taught me to be wary of getting emotionally attached to helpful pet sidekicks.

I really hope it doesn't happen to Snowball.
 
TrickRoom said:
Witch's House taught me to be wary of getting emotionally attached to helpful pet sidekicks.

I really hope it doesn't happen to Snowball.
Click to expand...

Oh the pet in Witch's House! That was more heart-wrenching for me than I would have imagined. I guess I should of seen it coming, but it's been a while since a game made me feel that guilty and bad for doing something you have to do to progress.
 
Fleshfeast said:
This and the 4 hour length got me.

I'm not too fond of jump scares (they're usually lazily done), and low time commitment makes it so much easier to get into a game.
Click to expand...

Time management is always a good thing in my opinion too, it also is a good length for the game as it doesn't feel like it overstays its welcome.
 
Downloading it now. Don't generally like horror games but it's only 4 hours so it shouldn't scare me to bad.
 
I'll check this out later. Reminds me of Corpse Party.
 
Done in Wolf RPG Editor? I'll definitely check it out. After trying some other games made in Wolf, I'm a believer in the editor.
 
torta_smasher said:
Is there a way to make it full screen? I can't make it bigger ;/
Click to expand...

Go to the Config application that comes in the games folder. There's an option to launch the game in full-screen rather than windowed there.

Also you can make the window bigger in Windowed mode by pressing F4. To quit the game while in fullscreen, press Alt+F4.
 
Dusk Golem said:
Go to the Config application that comes in the games folder. There's an option to launch the game in full-screen rather than windowed there.

Also you can make the window bigger in Windowed mode by pressing F4. To quit the game while in fullscreen, press Alt+F4.
Click to expand...

thank you good sir
 
cosmicblizzard said:
Subscribed so I don't forget. Will probably check it out tomorrow if I'm not too busy with Ni No Kuni.
Click to expand...

I think that's a concern of a lot of people with today. XD Still, believe this game is worth some people taking the time to try, and it isn't very long anyway.
 
Well, I'm not playing Ni No Kuni until the weekend. But I can spare a little time for this.

I decided to keep the fraps framerate thingy on, just because it kind of lets me know when something's gonna happen. The framerate dips just a little before it does.

On a superficial layer...

game2013-01-2223-21-0mruiv.png


oh this doesn't look creepy at all

dude don't be so obvious with your shading

game2013-01-2223-23-4p7r4j.png
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I like this kind of stuff, actually. Being able to check everything I see and getting a descriptor for them. Suikoden had a lot of that, and I absolutely, sincerely, miss that sort of thing.

game2013-01-2223-24-1ftuda.png


son the doll is evil

get away from it aw shit

game2013-01-2223-25-2jlup8.png
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The bunny is going to kill me in my sleep. That's why it got cold all of a sudden.

It's colder than me freezing my butt off at the moment in -20C. And tomorrow's supposed to be even colder with windchills at -30C!

game2013-01-2223-25-0v7jri.png
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I'll be serious for a minute. Are gems that difficult to find, or not necessarily?

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Even if they're just swaps, I appreciate different character portraits.

It's interesting so far. We'll see where it goes.
 
Dark Schala said:
I'll be serious for a minute. Are gems that difficult to find, or not necessarily?
Even if they're just swaps, I appreciate different character portraits.

It's interesting so far. We'll see where it goes.
Click to expand...

They are for 100%. Some gems are gathered naturally through the story, while others are obtained by doing some side-quests. Getting all 21 unlocks the Gallery, as well as an extra epilogue in the ending (and the side-quests and looking for them is fun).

Also, trust me. The portraits are made by the developer, as well as some 'scenes' will have art to go with them that's pretty well-drawn. Surprised how many portraits he made, there's a few in particular that didn't -technically- have to be made (like used only once) but are a nice attention to detail for the setting.
 
antitrop said:
I played through Ib and was surprised at how good it was. I shall give this one a shot.
Click to expand...

There was some praise for it in the RPG Maker underlooked gems topic. I even got to get one of my friends who hate horror to played it and he liked it. To be honest, the last year has been a good year for RPG Maker horror games, with Ib, Witch's House, and now Mad Father. Out of those three, I feel Ib had the best characters and setting, Witch's House had the best scares and twist, and Mad Father had the best story and mechanics.
 
I'm stuck. I'm up to the part where
you find the code for the mother's safe and, through the memo's hints, unlock it
what do I do next?
 
unknownhero said:
I'm stuck. I'm up to the part where
you find the code for the mother's safe and, through the memo's hints, unlock it
what do I do next?
Click to expand...

You need to burn the giant fleshy thing in the basement blocking your way. To do this, you need three items: oil, a lighter, and lighter fluid. The one I am guessing you may have missed (the lighter) you obtain by going to the room with a fireplace in it, and you can push the red stool over to the high shelf, where you'll get a cutting knife, and you can use the knife in the bathroom next door to open the box that is taped-shut.

Think the lighter fluid and the oil should be easy enough to find with a bit of searching.
 
I don't like asking for hints that much but I'm stuck where...
you have the girl following you but the area to the B2F stairs keeps looping. Do I keep going, or do I need to take her somewhere?

Edit: Never mind. As usual, I was thinking too hard.
 
Dusk Golem said:
The one I am guessing you may have missed (the lighter) you obtain by going to the room with a fireplace in it, and you can push the red stool over to the high shelf, where you'll get a cutting knife
Click to expand...

Just wanted to thank you so much for this. I knew there was something involved with that stool. I'm loving the choice bits in this so much. Just something brief, adorable, easy, and scary! :D
 
Edit: Figured it out.

Just finished it. Wow, I hope that ending
didn't defeat the purpose of the entire game, and it just referred to her love of books instead. Because if taken in the other context, it really rubs me the wrong way.
 
Dark Schala said:
Edit: Figured it out.

Just finished it. Wow, I hope that ending
didn't defeat the purpose of the entire game, and it just referred to her love of books instead. Because if taken in the other context, it really rubs me the wrong way.
Click to expand...

I played Misao after, where the author left a lot of comments about the game, and one thing I pulled is that they the person really loves to leave things open to interpretation
the ending is open enough to either read into Aya becoming a good-willed doctor, or an insane one like her father, but I am almost certain it was purposely left open to interpretation.

The Awesomest said:
I'll try this game sometime. Has anyone tried the previous game, Misao? Is that any good?
Click to expand...

Played it after, it's not bad but it also is not nearly as good. It reminds me a lot of Corpse Party, particularly the older version that was also made with RPG Maker.
 
Melhisedek said:
How long is the game?
Click to expand...

Not long at all. 4 hours max. I've beaten the game... but I'm missing 3 gems. :(

EDIT: Figured out the Pendant. Just need to figure out where the other two are...

Double EDIT: Had to youtube it.
Pushing that dang jar to the wall was completely ambiguous for me.
:(

AND THAT HIDDEN WALL PASSAGE? ARG.
 
Philia said:
Not long at all. 4 hours max. I've beaten the game... but I'm missing 3 gems. :(

EDIT: Figured out the Pendant. Just need to figure out where the other two are...

Double EDIT: Had to youtube it.
Pushing that dang jar to the wall was completely ambiguous for me.
:(

AND THAT HIDDEN WALL PASSAGE? ARG.
Click to expand...

Some of the gems were pretty well hidden. I got all but two my first time through, for me I had to go back to do
the Pendent and Dog-Bone gems.

Valygar said:
It has made its way into the free bundle, found this thread looking for opinions:

http://www.thefreebundle.com/

I will check it out.
Click to expand...

That's interesting, but not incredibly surprising as this game has gotten quite a bit of popularity in just a few days.
 
Dusk Golem said:
I played Misao after, where the author left a lot of comments about the game, and one thing I pulled is that they the person really loves to leave things open to interpretation
the ending is open enough to either read into Aya becoming a good-willed doctor, or an insane one like her father, but I am almost certain it was purposely left open to interpretation.
Click to expand...
Ah. Well in that case, I like to think of the former. It makes me feel much better about the ending and everything
that the game did to show her why her father is a sociopath (ex: putting dead animals in her drawers, not feeling remorse, showing how he treated his mother, etc.).
In that sense, the writing does a good job of showing rather than telling, thank goodness, and it's something I like seeing in games a lot. Use your medium to show me. Don't use your medium to give me reams of text or long-as-hell cutscenes to tell me your story. In this case, the writing is more than adequate. It's alright.

I think this is more of an adventure title rather than an RPG (mostly because the stat you can pay attention to is HP, but that only comes up at certain times). Regardless, it's nicely-paced and put-together. I like the colours used a lot, I like the maps a lot (even with the hidden passages). I like the sounds (outside of the eating SFX because that one was kinda weird), the sound cues (the cue coming up when you inspect a dead body), and the atmospheric music, especially as you descend into the basements.

Some of the scares are more audio-focused, though. Whenever I played the game without audio on, I think the likelihood of me getting scared was near-zero. Some of them had to do with not having a lot of light at your disposal, and some of the death kills can make you jump a little. In general, the horror comes from the atmosphere and it making the player uneasy. I think I like this a little better than Corpse Party in the sense that it doesn't play to tropes or it doesn't include a bunch of fanservice or whatnot. Even if it doesn't use binaural audio like Corpse Party does, Mad Father still ends up being really creepy and it's rather short.

I'm a little eager to play Misao now.
 
Beat it. That ending sure was... something.

Neat little time waster. I should check out more games like this and finally start Corpse Party: Book of Shadows.

Dusk Golem said:
I played Misao after, where the author left a lot of comments about the game, and one thing I pulled is that they the person really loves to leave things open to interpretation
the ending is open enough to either read into Aya becoming a good-willed doctor, or an insane one like her father, but I am almost certain it was purposely left open to interpretation.
Click to expand...


Dark Schala said:
Ah. Well in that case, I like to think of the former. It makes me feel much better about the ending and everything
that the game did to show her why her father is a sociopath (ex: putting dead animals in her drawers, not feeling remorse, showing how he treated his mother, etc.).
In that sense, the writing does a good job of showing rather than telling, thank goodness, and it's something I like seeing in games a lot. Use your medium to show me. Don't use your medium to give me reams of text or long-as-hell cutscenes to tell me your story. In this case, the writing is more than adequate. It's alright.
Click to expand...

I don't know, I thought it was pretty damn clear
she became a sociopath just like her father. I mean, there were hints throughout the whole game she wasn't exactly right in the head. She was playing around with a friggin chainsaw and likely hurting/killing animals.

Apparently you can find more hints to this in the 2nd playthrough according to the wikia.
 
cosmicblizzard said:
I don't know, I thought it was pretty damn clear
she became a sociopath just like her father. I mean, there were hints throughout the whole game she wasn't exactly right in the head. She was playing around with a friggin chainsaw and likely hurting/killing animals.

Apparently you can find more hints to this in the 2nd playthrough according to the wikia.
Click to expand...
This game has an NG+? Huh. Guess I'll try it when I have time.

Still...
After all the effort the corpses went through to show her that her father's obnoxious but all of them weren't out for her blood, the ending interpreted in that fashion really rubs me the wrong way. I figured the chainsaw thing was an accident at first because kids are curious and get into things they shouldn't. Blah. I thought the animals in her drawers weren't hers but paralleled the puzzle towards the end that ended up telling her father's narrative.

Well, if the hints were that subtle... Well, shit, that's certainly some way to reveal to the player how twisted she was. :|

Je n'aime pas!
 
cosmicblizzard said:
Beat it. That ending sure was... something.

Neat little time waster. I should check out more games like this and finally start Corpse Party: Book of Shadows.






I don't know, I thought it was pretty damn clear
she became a sociopath just like her father. I mean, there were hints throughout the whole game she wasn't exactly right in the head. She was playing around with a friggin chainsaw and likely hurting/killing animals.

Apparently you can find more hints to this in the 2nd playthrough according to the wikia.
Click to expand...

It was my conclusion too
that Aya grew up to be just like her father. All of the hints were too shifty, with her clinic being hidden away from society, taking in patients that no one else would care about, having Maria drive the patients in without telling their relationship, and "anesthetic"... for a checkup. It aptly filled my expectations for a twisted japanese horror game.
 
Welp that was much better than I anticipated, I was pretty content playing through seeing how the story was unfolding but towards the end it definitely picked up and was really enthralling.

Thanks for sharing this gem.
 
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