This game has been a really interesting experience. I really do like the feeling of liminal spaces and exploring the worlds of a "dying" game really fills that.
I'm still confused on the events that occur on the game, but currently I've only seen one of the endings.
A really interesting game. Definitely feels like a hidden gem.
Hi, is there a way to get in touch with you in private form? I'd like to propose you something for a blog I write for. It seems like these comment sections are the only way to contact you.
i have very low horror tolerance so i didn't get very far until this became too creepy for me, but the concept itself is one of the most creative things i've seen, and i want another million games about it. maybe a non-horror sequel for the cowards in the crowd devs???? 😂
a list of creepy things and their k.o. power:
- sound. any sound. EVERY sound was very much uh, present (10/10 k.o.)
- this 2d lady who told me some creepy shit expecting me to move on with my life (11/10 k.o.)
- big beetle friend whom i thought was a reprieve from the creepiness but no, apparently in this game you kill your friends (6/10 k.o., i still felt kinship)
- if i hear the word martyr one more time (11/10 k.o. WHO IS SHE)
- SKY LOUD!!!!!!?? (9000/10 k.o., i saw this part in review video and could only be glad i wasn't experiencing it firsthand)
i guess congratulations for creating what was decidedly an experience. you probably deserve the mild cult following that seems to be going on
0 doesn't seem to fit the description on itch - there really weren't any "early MMOs" that look or feel like this
- Inability to adjust brightness may make game inaccessible, depending on monitor setup and vision needs of the player
- itch says you can just walk back to the exit, but that's sometimes quite a long way. a quit-without-saving-further option would be helpful. also the itch page is a bit inaccurate, there are many doors you can walk through that do not save the game
This is one of the most fascinating games I've ever played. I can't believe it's as obscure as it is; more people really should be talking about this. 10/10 atmosphere, the entire world post-martyr was oppressively unnerving and uncomfortable in the best way possible.
Checking in with another Scarab Lord not dropping the card issue. I fixed it with regedit, but I figured it'd be worth mentioning that he dropped it just fine on my first playthrough, I only encountered the bug on my second. Not sure if that'll help narrow down what's causing it but hope it does!
I'd love, love, love to play this game, been holding off on watching a let's play for forever, but I have the same issues as others where I get through the intro screen and then it stops responding :( and I even have 12 GB of RAM! I'm guessing my laptop's CPU is too weak or something? This is with both the 32 and 64 bit versions.
edit: worked itself out! If I wait long enough (like, 10-15 min or so) the game loads and runs smoothly. Unfortunately, now I'm dealing with a crash (despite using the 64 bit version) that seems to happen every time I approach the temple across from the marsh tavern, where the audio cues continue as normal but the screen is frozen. Everything else is enthralling! Although just to check, [spoilers] is it intentional that I retain my inventory whenever I quit and come back, even though pickups respawn?
Got this through the big bundle, finally got around to playing it and have to say how much I love this game. The atmosphere, the vibe, it's absolutely spot on. Do wish the whole 'dead, abandoned MMO' vibe was just a little stronger, but what was present was fantastic, and the rest of the game really is one of the best of the admittedly niche "lo-fi abandonware horror game" genre I've ever seen. It makes me wish I wasn't such a wuss - I played this on stream for some friends but I'm genuinely too embarrassed to share the VoD because it scared me SO badly. I ended up quitting out JUST before getting the (first?) ending, and then ashamedly sought out other ways to see the rest of the endings. But there's still this slight hook in the back of my skull telling me to go back and see what I missed, because I KNOW I missed something. several things. and with a criminally low amount of info out there on this game, it almost feels like my duty to go back and document it! maybe with the lights on.
oh and one last possible gripe that could just be me overlooking something: do you lose any speed bonuses when you reach the end-game? It felt like I was slowed down, which def made it scarier but also felt a little lame.
thank you so much for this little game. I can't wait to try out your others.
as an aside, just in case anyone's reading this later down the line and is hesitant like I was: There aren't any moments I'd consider outright jumpscares (of the 'sudden shock image with loud noise' variety) but the whole game past a point has this incredibly tense pre-jumpscare vibe where you're afraid to walk round the next corner. Someone did point out to me that me viewing it as a horror game first did probably make it scarier, but if you're easily frightened or anxious know that this will play on that massively. It'll be you making yourself scared, which IMO is the best kind of horror.
(accidentally deleted this, so sorry for reposting)
I played this game once, now i got constant nosebleeds everytime when i take a shower and every electronic device in my house is haunted and speak to me in riddles.10/10
When I start the game I can't see more than a foot in front of the character. Everything is totally white until I get right up in front of something. At first I thought it was deliberate, but looking at stills from the game, it isn't supposed to be this foggy. Has anyone else had this problem?
Edit: Having the same problem with PAGAN: Technopolis
Huh, this is exceedingly strange — especially that it's happening in both games. If you don't mind me asking, what sort of GPU do you have? The third party lighting library I used for the PAGAN games sometimes has serious issues on lower power GPUs (which is a big part of the reason I stopped using it when I started working on HEXCRAFT).
I'm playing the games in Bootcamp on an older Macbook, so maybe the integrated graphics card is the issue. It's an Intel HD Graphics 4000 1536 MB. Thanks for responding so quickly, sorry I wasn't as prompt. Loved the little bit I got through in Pagan 3 in spite of the graphics issue, congrats on releasing HEXCRAFT :)
Why does the AppData/LocalLow/OleanderGarden/Pagan3/Unity folder include Analytics, along with a configuration file that asserts that the user has not opted out?
The user is never given any opportunity to opt out, so it ought to be assumed that the user has not in fact consented to analytics and tracking. Particularly under the EU.
Perhaps this was an oversight and it isn't actually active, but either way it should set correctly or removed.
Oops - had to look into this to figure out what it was. It's not sending any data that /I/ can see: (my end of) the unity analytics system doesn't even know the game exists. But unity (the company) seems to be collecting hardware data (for their own records, I presume) on all games by default — which I agree is sketchy as fuck. I've manually disabled everything I can find / find out about for future projects, and will do likewise with Autogeny if there's another patch.
Thanks for spotting that; I'm sorry I didn't catch it earlier.
really enjoying this!!!! I wish there was an ingame item stat thing of some sort. I mostly just can't for the life of me figure out what the star card is doing for me. never mind, I'm just unobservant. this is so cool, I am seriously in love with it. I can't tell if I feel like it needs something or if that's just me wishing for a 300 hour AAA version of what the game represents. it reminds me of virtual hydlide in terms of how it handles both visual design and lore/storytelling. I friggin love it. for anyone else reading this, this guy on reddit has done some fantastic posts about this game. and videos, but I haven't watched those yet because I wanna toy with the game more first.
I have psychosis, so I wanted to give my fellow psychotic gamers a little heads up. this game can be very discordant in sound and unnerving in image. in one bit, a dark figure emerges from a dark corner as you approach (you will have plenty of time to react). the general tone is creeping discomfort. the game attempts to seem like it is haunted by simulating having power beyond the boundaries of gameplay (closing out, referencing the nature of reality, etc). some visual glitching is used for effect. the plot vaguely centers on cults, gods, and demons. that said, I SUPER recommend this!
writing it for them! this is a fantastic game, but it can be disturbing in a way that ruins the rest of your day if you're psychotic and not aware of what sort of things might happen
The sound design on this is exceedingly well done. It almost felt custom-tailored to me as it gave me almost nauseating vibes of oppressive chills through audio alone.
I'm really surprised this game isn't talked about more. A game hasn't made me feel so unnerved in a very long time.
I just finished my playthrough. I pushed through the ending, followed a path, and found my inventory wiped... I don't know that I have it in me to play again to get back to my spot, so I guess I'm done. (I'm also one of the .1% who can't get a Sun card to drop)
I have mixed feelings. There is a mystery to this game, but I wasn't compelled to discover the mystery. The game doesn't put any sort of carrot on a string, and it is just about as user hostile as it promises on the cover. Once you are playing, have created your own investment, and get immersed, then it's a treasure. And then you get unceremoniously ejected. It's a weird, wild ride. Reminds me of Kairo.
This seems interesting, but the graphics quality... everything is so pixelated, and outdoors view is so extremely limited. The lack of any sort of menu, or much for UI in general. This game has potential, but needs improvements in a number of areas before I'd consider it playable.
Hi, is there a settings menu?? I can't figure out how to bring one up if it exists & my mouse sensitivity for this bad boy is wayyyyyy high. Also, I don't know how to save the game? Or leave it
I can't get it to work. It loads the start up screen, then the cursor and music changes, but nothing happens after and if i click or anything it gives me a "not responding" error. Which hums me out cuz this looks like such a lovely game :(
I tried installing the 64 bit one, and the same thing happens, but now it's a completely black screen with the new mouse cursor so I'm assuming it's me not having enough RAM or something
Was looking for games like this one on itch.io, but didn't expect a project of this scale to be so overlooked.
As a really big fan of cryptids and abandonware, I completed the entire PAGAN trilogy in one breath. This is a masterwork in game design that also serves an artistic vision. A bit demanding, but well worth it.
I totally loved it, this game is amazing and the concept is so freaking cool (like, this might be one of my favorite games ever). I got almost all the cards except the Death, the Devil and Tarot 0 (I think I know where to find this one though) but I have no clue what the ones with no description do (except for the Moon) or what the labour vouchers are for :/
Also, I'm curious to know what the Coda text is from.
The npc in front says that he is unarmored, so no piercing damage is needed. He is also not a ghost. If you check out the manual.pdf in the install folder you should be able to take it from there
the scarab lord takes time, patience and as much strength as you can get according to the stats listed in the manual pdf. a circle strafing also helped me, and backing off and focusing on dodging when you're getting low on health.
Yea so I got it from the bundle and this game is real fucking cool. And smart. And harrowing. And it's got the gender feels. I'm totally on board with this.
Only a bit sad that after finding the Coda my save game got wiped and all got reset. I wanted to go back and find Judgement (no clue where that is) and Tarot 0 (I have a decent idea where to find it after doing a lil internet research), but I don't feel like starting all over so I won't see that for now. But anyways, I was completely glued to the screen for the most of today.
In conclusion, this game is awesome! Big trans love to the developer!
I'm only an hour in, and I'm loving this <3 It merges together the creepiness of an abandoned place, well-placed music and sound effects, and retro graphics for an overall uncanny and unsettling experience. The atmosphere reminds me a lot of one of my favorite creepypastas, Jvk.esp, which is about a cursed Morrowind mod.
Also I probably shoulda read the manual. Oops. That might have made that past hour somewhat easier. Still haven't managed to beat any of the bosses...
I am enamored with this game. I'm currently zipping around with the shotgun, the ranger cloak, the chariot, and the devil and having loads of fun!
I do have a couple of questions that have been driving my crazy:
What are the labor vouchers for? I haven't found a use for them as of yet.
Will we ever get effect explanations for the tarot cards listed as [???] (Devil, Tower, etc.) I figured out that Devil adds speed and (I think) strength.
I have my answers. I will not divulge the information unless you want me to
← Return to nightmare realm
Comments
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This game has been a really interesting experience. I really do like the feeling of liminal spaces and exploring the worlds of a "dying" game really fills that.
I'm still confused on the events that occur on the game, but currently I've only seen one of the endings.
A really interesting game. Definitely feels like a hidden gem.
How do I reset my save? Where are saves stored? I seem to have uninstalled the game and still have my old save based on the equipment I start with.
Some would say an "inverted" mouse-look is the most pagan control scheme of all..,
There are games which are works of art and this one is one of them
This was a really interesting game! Having no idea what you're doing and slowly figuring out all the systems was really fun!
Hi, is there a way to get in touch with you in private form? I'd like to propose you something for a blog I write for. It seems like these comment sections are the only way to contact you.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Mattia.
Message @void_hyacinth on twitter, that'd probably be easiest; alt. email oleandergarden0@gmail.com, but I'm bad about checking that, lol. Thanks!
i have very low horror tolerance so i didn't get very far until this became too creepy for me, but the concept itself is one of the most creative things i've seen, and i want another million games about it. maybe a non-horror sequel for the cowards in the crowd devs???? 😂
a list of creepy things and their k.o. power:
- sound. any sound. EVERY sound was very much uh, present (10/10 k.o.)
- this 2d lady who told me some creepy shit expecting me to move on with my life (11/10 k.o.)
- big beetle friend whom i thought was a reprieve from the creepiness but no, apparently in this game you kill your friends (6/10 k.o., i still felt kinship)
- if i hear the word martyr one more time (11/10 k.o. WHO IS SHE)
- SKY LOUD!!!!!!?? (9000/10 k.o., i saw this part in review video and could only be glad i wasn't experiencing it firsthand)
i guess congratulations for creating what was decidedly an experience. you probably deserve the mild cult following that seems to be going on
Here are my comments:
+ great use of ambient sound, top tier
+ levels are great, right size, feel great
+ the sloppy mouselook is terrific
0 doesn't seem to fit the description on itch - there really weren't any "early MMOs" that look or feel like this
- Inability to adjust brightness may make game inaccessible, depending on monitor setup and vision needs of the player
- itch says you can just walk back to the exit, but that's sometimes quite a long way. a quit-without-saving-further option would be helpful. also the itch page is a bit inaccurate, there are many doors you can walk through that do not save the game
Best wishes, this game is really cool.
This is one of the most fascinating games I've ever played. I can't believe it's as obscure as it is; more people really should be talking about this. 10/10 atmosphere, the entire world post-martyr was oppressively unnerving and uncomfortable in the best way possible.
Checking in with another Scarab Lord not dropping the card issue. I fixed it with regedit, but I figured it'd be worth mentioning that he dropped it just fine on my first playthrough, I only encountered the bug on my second. Not sure if that'll help narrow down what's causing it but hope it does!
I'd love, love, love to play this game, been holding off on watching a let's play for forever, but I have the same issues as others where I get through the intro screen and then it stops responding :( and I even have 12 GB of RAM! I'm guessing my laptop's CPU is too weak or something? This is with both the 32 and 64 bit versions.
edit: worked itself out! If I wait long enough (like, 10-15 min or so) the game loads and runs smoothly. Unfortunately, now I'm dealing with a crash (despite using the 64 bit version) that seems to happen every time I approach the temple across from the marsh tavern, where the audio cues continue as normal but the screen is frozen. Everything else is enthralling! Although just to check, [spoilers] is it intentional that I retain my inventory whenever I quit and come back, even though pickups respawn?
Got this through the big bundle, finally got around to playing it and have to say how much I love this game. The atmosphere, the vibe, it's absolutely spot on. Do wish the whole 'dead, abandoned MMO' vibe was just a little stronger, but what was present was fantastic, and the rest of the game really is one of the best of the admittedly niche "lo-fi abandonware horror game" genre I've ever seen. It makes me wish I wasn't such a wuss - I played this on stream for some friends but I'm genuinely too embarrassed to share the VoD because it scared me SO badly. I ended up quitting out JUST before getting the (first?) ending, and then ashamedly sought out other ways to see the rest of the endings. But there's still this slight hook in the back of my skull telling me to go back and see what I missed, because I KNOW I missed something. several things. and with a criminally low amount of info out there on this game, it almost feels like my duty to go back and document it! maybe with the lights on.
oh and one last possible gripe that could just be me overlooking something: do you lose any speed bonuses when you reach the end-game? It felt like I was slowed down, which def made it scarier but also felt a little lame.
thank you so much for this little game. I can't wait to try out your others.
as an aside, just in case anyone's reading this later down the line and is hesitant like I was: There aren't any moments I'd consider outright jumpscares (of the 'sudden shock image with loud noise' variety) but the whole game past a point has this incredibly tense pre-jumpscare vibe where you're afraid to walk round the next corner. Someone did point out to me that me viewing it as a horror game first did probably make it scarier, but if you're easily frightened or anxious know that this will play on that massively. It'll be you making yourself scared, which IMO is the best kind of horror.
(accidentally deleted this, so sorry for reposting)
I'm a fan. Gendermagic is my favorite spec.
I played this game once, now i got constant nosebleeds everytime when i take a shower and every electronic device in my house is haunted and speak to me in riddles.10/10
When I start the game I can't see more than a foot in front of the character. Everything is totally white until I get right up in front of something. At first I thought it was deliberate, but looking at stills from the game, it isn't supposed to be this foggy. Has anyone else had this problem?
Edit: Having the same problem with PAGAN: Technopolis
Huh, this is exceedingly strange — especially that it's happening in both games. If you don't mind me asking, what sort of GPU do you have? The third party lighting library I used for the PAGAN games sometimes has serious issues on lower power GPUs (which is a big part of the reason I stopped using it when I started working on HEXCRAFT).
I'm playing the games in Bootcamp on an older Macbook, so maybe the integrated graphics card is the issue. It's an Intel HD Graphics 4000 1536 MB. Thanks for responding so quickly, sorry I wasn't as prompt. Loved the little bit I got through in Pagan 3 in spite of the graphics issue, congrats on releasing HEXCRAFT :)
hm every time i launch it it stalls out and uses alot of my cpu while logging in. anyone know how to fix it? i tried both versions
Why does the AppData/LocalLow/OleanderGarden/Pagan3/Unity folder include Analytics, along with a configuration file that asserts that the user has not opted out?
The user is never given any opportunity to opt out, so it ought to be assumed that the user has not in fact consented to analytics and tracking. Particularly under the EU.
Perhaps this was an oversight and it isn't actually active, but either way it should set correctly or removed.
Oops - had to look into this to figure out what it was. It's not sending any data that /I/ can see: (my end of) the unity analytics system doesn't even know the game exists. But unity (the company) seems to be collecting hardware data (for their own records, I presume) on all games by default — which I agree is sketchy as fuck. I've manually disabled everything I can find / find out about for future projects, and will do likewise with Autogeny if there's another patch.
Thanks for spotting that; I'm sorry I didn't catch it earlier.
[SCROLL DOWN FOR PSYCHOSIS TW]
really enjoying this!!!!
I wish there was an ingame item stat thing of some sort. I mostly just can't for the life of me figure out what the star card is doing for me.never mind, I'm just unobservant. this is so cool, I am seriously in love with it. I can't tell if I feel like it needs something or if that's just me wishing for a 300 hour AAA version of what the game represents. it reminds me of virtual hydlide in terms of how it handles both visual design and lore/storytelling. I friggin love it. for anyone else reading this, this guy on reddit has done some fantastic posts about this game. and videos, but I haven't watched those yet because I wanna toy with the game more first.I have psychosis, so I wanted to give my fellow psychotic gamers a little heads up. this game can be very discordant in sound and unnerving in image. in one bit, a dark figure emerges from a dark corner as you approach (you will have plenty of time to react). the general tone is creeping discomfort. the game attempts to seem like it is haunted by simulating having power beyond the boundaries of gameplay (closing out, referencing the nature of reality, etc). some visual glitching is used for effect. the plot vaguely centers on cults, gods, and demons. that said, I SUPER recommend this!
Which is it, are you warning psychotics away from your comment or writing it for them?
writing it for them! this is a fantastic game, but it can be disturbing in a way that ruins the rest of your day if you're psychotic and not aware of what sort of things might happen
The sound design on this is exceedingly well done. It almost felt custom-tailored to me as it gave me almost nauseating vibes of oppressive chills through audio alone.
I'm really surprised this game isn't talked about more. A game hasn't made me feel so unnerved in a very long time.
I just finished my playthrough. I pushed through the ending, followed a path, and found my inventory wiped... I don't know that I have it in me to play again to get back to my spot, so I guess I'm done. (I'm also one of the .1% who can't get a Sun card to drop)
I have mixed feelings. There is a mystery to this game, but I wasn't compelled to discover the mystery. The game doesn't put any sort of carrot on a string, and it is just about as user hostile as it promises on the cover. Once you are playing, have created your own investment, and get immersed, then it's a treasure. And then you get unceremoniously ejected. It's a weird, wild ride. Reminds me of Kairo.
I went back. It was itching at me. I got what I thought I wanted, but I think I've found something sinister instead.
Please add a settings menu...
This seems interesting, but the graphics quality... everything is so pixelated, and outdoors view is so extremely limited. The lack of any sort of menu, or much for UI in general. This game has potential, but needs improvements in a number of areas before I'd consider it playable.
I have the feeling that the bad graphics quality was an artistic decision and is bad on purpose. To me it absolutely adds to the mood of the game.
Hi, is there a settings menu?? I can't figure out how to bring one up if it exists & my mouse sensitivity for this bad boy is wayyyyyy high. Also, I don't know how to save the game? Or leave it
You save by going through doors or returning to the spawn point. You can exit by interacting with the spawn point or just closing the game manually.
I can't get it to work. It loads the start up screen, then the cursor and music changes, but nothing happens after and if i click or anything it gives me a "not responding" error. Which hums me out cuz this looks like such a lovely game :(
I tried installing the 64 bit one, and the same thing happens, but now it's a completely black screen with the new mouse cursor so I'm assuming it's me not having enough RAM or something
Was looking for games like this one on itch.io, but didn't expect a project of this scale to be so overlooked.
As a really big fan of cryptids and abandonware, I completed the entire PAGAN trilogy in one breath. This is a masterwork in game design that also serves an artistic vision. A bit demanding, but well worth it.
I really enjoy this game! It's very creepy and esoteric, and that's a great big part of the charm of this game.
Having played it to its end, I can say that I think it's worth its weight.
Tried both 32 bit and 64 bit, crashes on startup every time
Is this a scary game? I'm not very good with those.
most likely. seems like there aren't any jumpscares though. just ambience.
Scary, no. Creepy? Could be.
It's scary through the enviroment, but no jumpscares in it, just some nice mood.
I found at least one jump scare.
I totally loved it, this game is amazing and the concept is so freaking cool (like, this might be one of my favorite games ever). I got almost all the cards except the Death, the Devil and Tarot 0 (I think I know where to find this one though) but I have no clue what the ones with no description do (except for the Moon) or what the labour vouchers are for :/
Also, I'm curious to know what the Coda text is from.
Thanks! I wrote the coda text, lol
Wow, it really gave me some obscure Victorian poem vibes.
good great atmosphere.
for dev: is there a soundtrack that can be downloaded, or would you be considering it?
uhhh... i need help beating the scarab lord
edit: i beat it guys, but i won't tell you more than this: stack stats
The npc in front says that he is unarmored, so no piercing damage is needed. He is also not a ghost. If you check out the manual.pdf in the install folder you should be able to take it from there
the scarab lord takes time, patience and as much strength as you can get according to the stats listed in the manual pdf. a circle strafing also helped me, and backing off and focusing on dodging when you're getting low on health.
Hi! Is there a way to control mouse sensitivity? The default is super duper extra high with my machine.
Yea so I got it from the bundle and this game is real fucking cool. And smart. And harrowing. And it's got the gender feels. I'm totally on board with this.
Only a bit sad that after finding the Coda my save game got wiped and all got reset. I wanted to go back and find Judgement (no clue where that is) and Tarot 0 (I have a decent idea where to find it after doing a lil internet research), but I don't feel like starting all over so I won't see that for now. But anyways, I was completely glued to the screen for the most of today.
In conclusion, this game is awesome! Big trans love to the developer!
(Oh but read the manual.pdf everyone ^^)
I'm only an hour in, and I'm loving this <3 It merges together the creepiness of an abandoned place, well-placed music and sound effects, and retro graphics for an overall uncanny and unsettling experience. The atmosphere reminds me a lot of one of my favorite creepypastas, Jvk.esp, which is about a cursed Morrowind mod.
Also I probably shoulda read the manual. Oops. That might have made that past hour somewhat easier. Still haven't managed to beat any of the bosses...
"LGBT" yeah this is def a game made by someone who isn't straight
wat this is means?
Like, the acronym? LGBT stands for lesbian/gay/bi/trans, and the comment was referring to the blatant queer energy the game posesses ;)
it o o z e s gay
ah yess mucc queer energy i feal its nd lobe its:)
I am enamored with this game. I'm currently zipping around with the shotgun, the ranger cloak, the chariot, and the devil and having loads of fun!
I do have a couple of questions that have been driving my crazy:What are the labor vouchers for? I haven't found a use for them as of yet.Will we ever get effect explanations for the tarot cards listed as [???] (Devil, Tower, etc.) I figured out that Devil adds speed and (I think) strength.I have my answers. I will not divulge the information unless you want me to
I want you to, I legit can only find one ending and it seems like theres so much depth to this story