Hey DToiders.

Remember my last post? HERE?

As anyone who knows me is aware, I haven't been posting much because a bunch of projects are now coming to a head. Well this one has come, all over, spurting from my head like so many grand ideas. And semen.

Here is a crosspost about it from the AGS boards:

DOWNLOAD HERE

Yes, that's right, Edge of Reality, the Longest Reality-on-the-norm game (both in production and potentially in gameplay) is complete. Nine years after I started this project, I have fixed most (not all) of the bugs, piled on extra content and made a second, very cool ending.

You already might know how long the game has been in production. Why should you play it?

Good question. It may not work perfectly on your new advanced system (may need a few changes to your resolution set-up, for example), and it will occasionally crash (save early and save often). But it is a unique game, which is why I finally completed it after all these years.

If you've seen the trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpQU76sUGdY) or the original, funnier trailer (http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=aDOl_reVnH0), you should have an idea that a lot went into this game. Some of my testers thought the game was nearly over around the end of the first chapter.

Ha I say. Ha followed by Ha, and potentially Hoo.

There are, in point of fact, four fairly long chapters and 1 that splits into two.

However, the game is more than the sum of its parts.



STORY

Edge of Reality picks up from early threads in the RON universe, just after the death of Davy Jones. Reality has been hit by disaster after disaster after delicious cake, and our friend Mika is just starting to put it all together.

Our story begins, however, with never popular Scientist, Dr. Ronald Emeritus, historo-physcicist who has collected the chronicles of Reality in a secret book. However, just as he begins his first glimmers of understanding, something arrives in Reality. A mysterious, disembodied something. And it's not happy.

No. That's not right.

It's happy all right. For all the wrong reasons.

Beginning with the startling disappearance of Reality characters, Mika must make her way through the sleepy town to unravel a mystery and reach Thakbor the Great before its too late (that rhymed!). Her journey will take her right to the Edge of Reality: to the outskirts of town, the new city centre, the woods, the beach, the deep ocean, even other dimensions. What she finds is alternately ridiculous and unsettling.

Because things get weirder as you reach the edge.

Style



Think everything from Yahtzee style insult humour to Captain Mostlyesque psuedo philosophical avante-garde anti-jokes. Everything from Sierra style puns, to graphically violent Sombreros. Disembodied heads of celebrities. Iraq jokes. The goofy cavalcade of poorly drawn villains and the burning embers of despair, all in one incredibly ugly package. Once you get past the first chapter, it just gets weirder, and I think, funnier.

There's more to Edge of Reality than that though. While not exactly the best RON game ever made, it is long, and deep. You'll find lots to click on, and messages for nearly half the interactions you think of (you are actually rewarded for clicking on everything). Half the fun I had making this game was going back to screens I'd forgotten and running through the various interactions. There's a lot of text here, and while a lot of it is either drab or outdated, there's a fair share of bizarre lines and clever zingers. I enjoy playing it just for that.

But there's more. Numerous secrets, including a dramatic secret ending, hidden items that you collect to unlock alternate modes of play, and 4 optional mini-games (technically more like 5, if you know where to look). There's lots of way to "die" in the first half with no real consequences (you immediately come back to life) and then in the second, more challenging half, ways to actually be killed that bring menace back into your adventure.

Multiple characters, optional paths, and many puzzles that can be solved in any order is just part of the draw that kept me plugging away.

Just remember to save your game first. Much like a crowded slushy turnpike, there are bound to be crashes. I could not fix every bug, and some just crash the game at random. All gameplay should work without error messages though. Feel free to report anything with a clear message like "Line 20011. Wrong Side of Cube For Flotsam Test."



PLEASE though, read or at least skim the instructions first. Some important gameplay info and known bugs are included in there as well as a cavalcade of jokes and just strange ideas to get you set up for the game's odd mood.

The game is HERE:

http://www.cardboardlogic.com/Games/Edge/edgeof.zip

It may not be your blue cup of tea. It may not be your game of the year. But it is different and distinct, and I think worth playing through for a uniquely twisted take on RON, and for more puzzles than you can shake an anthropomorphic monkey wrench at.

To remind you, check out the trailers above.

Are you ready to reach the Edge?