Father's Heritage — atmospheric yokai-inspired survival horror demo (BETA TESTING)

Hello everyone,
Here’s a new update with a number of improvements, fixes, and gameplay adjustments.

Changes & Improvements

  • Added interactive note objects that provide hints about locations and explain certain mechanics.

  • Reduced camera visibility distance to improve overall FPS.

  • Improved path readability using environmental objects to better guide the player.

  • Fixed an issue where the flashlight disappeared into walls when standing too close.

  • Improved collision with meshes and walls — the player should no longer get stuck.

  • Updated the ambient audio in the first stage of the game.

  • Fixed a bug where collected items were not resetting after player death.

  • Added highlighting for interactive objects when aiming at them.

  • Fixed a bug where the player’s hand was visible after death during a specific cutscene.

  • Updated interaction with the previously open house door — it is now closed and requires an additional action to open.
    (This change was made to balance the difficulty after adding more hints.)

  • Adjusted the position of the flashlight hand relative to the player mesh.

  • The beam radius and range of the flashlight have been slightly increased

I’m particularly interested in how the graphics and performance are on your computers. Isn’t the draw distance a bit too noticeable, and does it interfere with the gaming experience? Is it easier for you to find your way around the paths now? Let me know and feel free to share your other observations.

Game page: Father's Heritage by NyctogroveStudio

This Father’s Heritage secret is safe from me. This, third, time, I think I triggered all of the ‘E’ actions, and ‘T’ook both keys. From that point of view, it was a success. However, I learnt nothing from the Barn, with its echoing footsteps, nothing either from the dead dog, nor the transistor radio, TV set, flies in the bathroom, upstairs computer, various paintings and blood-stains. If progress is only to be made from finding the password, I declare myself defeated. It’s still frustrating, and not (for me, an old ‘non-gamer’…) an enjoyable moment passed. Bravo, then for having created such a universe, and Good Luck with future versions, but, for me…

I’m out.

Hello!

Thanks for your reply.

The player isn’t required to interact with every element, since in some cases they’re just there to set the mood and provide scenery. Have you tried flipping through the notes hidden throughout the level? I tried to make them as intuitive as possible, providing—if not the best, then at least an improved—understanding of what to do next.

The game is currently in beta testing and is constantly being improved, so I thank you for your time and feedback!

Yes, the mood is set nicely, and I wouldn’t expect every element to be interactive. I read every note and poster I could find, and triggered every interaction, so all that was left was the password-protected door. Having found no clue as to this password, I could do no more than to Quit, so I did. I suspect others may have a different way of sniffing out clues, or reading into hints, but I was stumped. As I said, though : I’m certainly not a typical Gamer, and not really ‘target audience’. Others can give more useful feedback, probably.
Peace.

Your feedback is very important. I want to do my best to tailor the gameplay to as many players as possible who appreciate this kind of atmosphere in the game. I’ll be making quite a few more improvements and will try to address every detail that raises questions. You’ve given me food for thought, and I really appreciate it! Thank you again for your attention and patience!

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I didn’t get any farther than before, with access to the painting room but no idea about the password. :slight_smile: Still creepy! I quite like the face images :distorted_face:
I didn’t see a lot of new guiding stuff, but I think it’s smart that you’ve cut down on the open area, at least until you need more space. How about having a light source on one or two places? I think that would be a good visual, and give the player a reason to turn the flashlight off now and then, to see the light. It’ll also naturally draw a player immediately

It’s still a little fidgety to pick up items, but it’s nice with the light effect. Since there aren’t many items in the environment, the “sphere of interaction” could be bigger?
Also, is it really necessary / useful to have separate buttons for “interact” and “pick up”? Maybe an idea to consolidate the two.

Thanks for the feedback!

Actually, you were very close to the final clue, which reveals the door code if you managed to find the key to the room with the paintings. Perhaps it isn’t as intuitive as I thought, so I’ll try to rephrase that final clue. If you decide to launch the game once again try to look closer to what is inside the bathroom in the second house with the refrigerator, the hint (password) will be right there in front of you.

That idea about the lighting is really interesting; I’ll try to come up with something along those lines.

As for combining the buttons, I’ll take care of that. I’ve kept them separate for now because each one is linked to a specific function in the code, and I haven’t been able to figure it out yet, but I have a couple of ideas and will try to merge them :slight_smile:

P.S. If you manage to open the password door, I’d highly appreciate if you could give me an additional feedback, the father’s house part is only 1/3 of the whole game.

I did, with your hint. I then tried a few things to deal with the guy inside, and eventually died. :confused:
It’s a nice visual having that guy slowly chase you, but game mechanically I didn’t know what to do… and every minute or two, he just resets to whereever I’m looking.

This is the tricky part about that stage. You might not want to pick up the phone next time. Once you do this, he will chase you forever until you find a way to open the last door leading to the next scene.