Hey this a quick plug for my upcoming game: It Sleeps Below the Haar, that builds on a lot of the ideas that I was working with on The Black Iris.
It Sleeps... will ofcourse be available on itch.io on release, but until then it would be a huge help if you could have a look at the game and wishlist on Steam if it seems like your thing
Was this game free at one point? Because I played it and commented about a year ago but I don't own it here. I'd like to purchase it if I somehow got it without paying because I loved it.
Jamie, this is a master piece. I was reminded a lot of Spectre Vision movies (specifically Mandy) but even without the references this was gorgeous, terrifying and so immersive. The colours, the designs, the story, the soundtrack - a real knockout.
In the menu it's just a black background and when I select "Play game" the screen just goes black and all the sound stops. It's both on 32bit and 64bit (I have 64bit Win7). Does the game have some additional requirements?
Hi, sorry the game's not working for you. There was an issue with this in some older versions, are you using a version you downloaded a while back by any chance?
Don't be sorry, I'm good at breaking games)) I downloaded it today and then downloaded again when the problem is appeared, to be sure that the file saved correctly. The other game from Itch that I downloaded today works fine, so it's not a download process problem
Hey guys! Lady gamer here, this one was a great game, I got a little stuck, but the spooky was undeniable! A jumpscare or two would have really pulled this together, but it's still great! Check out my let's play!
His fist closed around the The Serpent’s Eye. Slowly he withdrew it and held it before him in the fading light of the blood red suns. It glowed from within. A ghostly emerald light. Strange and Eternal.
I seriously hope to see more from you. This game creeped me the hell out, plus I absolutely love PS1 style horror. It's a bit slow paced but it's intended to be a slow burning game. Loved it 💜
DO NOT let the visuals undermine the experience. I came into this game not thinking much of it, but I left with a very very different mindset. I love the amount of information you gain as you progress, building the situations that occurred beforehand. I also loved how the eeriness remained constant and left you feeling uncomfortable without anything actually jump scaring you.
Jamie, tremendous work on the game! I am a high school teacher in Ohio (US) and I had a video game review project that my students completed, and one chose to review "The Black Iris", and I thought he did a great job showcasing how great your game is! So much that it has me and several other students in the class playing it. I wanted to share, and reach out to see if you had any interest in connecting with our class? Thanks and keep up the great work!
Hi! I really enjoyed this review, it really is an honour that one of your students chose the game to review. I would love to chat with your class, give me an email at arboretagames@gmail.com and we can chat more.
Great atmosphere (graphics, sound design and music). Very Mandy-esque. I loved how the camera went upside down in one of the corridors. It was a simple but also unsettling effect.
It was a good idea to use real footage videos during the game, it helped to bring up the atmosphere quite a lot.
The majority of the donations made from The Black Iris have now been donated. There are still some trickling in, so I will make another donation in a few weeks. I am overwhelmed by the generousity of the itch community, it has been so far beyond my expections. I tweeted some receipts etc. as evidence of the payments over here https://twitter.com/arboreta_games/status/1373699827259822084?s=20
It was cool, especially the multi camera sequence (that was particularly inspiring), the church part and all the area title cards. It just oozed style! And adding live action worked so well. but I dunno, I'm not a fan of the story being told through notes. It takes me out of the world and ruins the pacing. It's the equivalent of a silent movies having to write out the conversations. It's not optimal. And there, the best silent movies I've seen had as few text cards as possible. I also thought your voice over was great, shame it wasn't more prevalent. Lastly, this is a super small thing, but it just bothered me; in all the menus and text logs the grain animation pauses. Anyway, I look forward to any future work you release. Cheers /J
Thanks for a great game! I found the audio/video really choppy during the videos, but in-game it worked fine. I was running the 64-bit, but I had the same issue when I tried loading up the 32-bit too.
All that said I thought the atmospheric feel and music ended up creating a really immersive cosmic horror experience!
Can I just say how much I appreciate that the description of the game includes an estimate on how long the gameplay is? That is so rare on itch and it's so important.
I REALLY enjoyed this! I feel like there was still a little bit that I missed, but unraveling the story as I progressed was great. I had a lot of SCP vibes :)
Lovely game. I've written a review for publishing on our online magazine chasingxp.com. I am just looking for a little more info to complete it and sent you an email on the 22nd. It will only take a few minutes to reply, if you could.
Fantastic work on the game, and an even more wonderful gesture to support the foodbank. Thank you! I found you via Easy Allies, maybe you could do an interview with them?
Love the use of video and more psychedelic aspects of the presentation. Not very into the finding notes form of storytelling or the default camera. Really looking forward to whatever you make next!
The Black Iris is a Cosmic Horror with explorative elements. The year is 1983, in Scotland. You are an Engineer, send into an abandoned research facility to decommissioned equipment and collected research material from scientists, as further, you go into the crypt of science. Unforeseen and unexplained events happen. Not even the man of science can't explain.
Presentation
Feature a PlayStation One era graphics gives it a grainy look, with a dominant vibrant hue of magenta, a colour not found in the spectrum or view by our eyes. The game consists of four areas, each open with a title screen of a movie prompt. Black Iris does an exceptional job of visually describing Cosmic Horror.
Notes found regular, lore dive into the backstory of Black Rock. There are even cassette tapes, much the same as the notes. The story takes inspiration from Roadside Picnic, taking place in a zone in North East of Scotland. Focus around an oil-mining operation unearthed anomalies that affect the miners—forming a religious sect, the Order of the Void worshipping the Black Iris. The rest is explained whether well by the game.
The ambience is fantastic, casting a menacing aura. The pouring rain is rebellious, compounded by the breathing like there is a sense of struggle. The credit music was superb.
The gameplay inspired by Resident Evil, inventory for items to equipped for puzzle solving. The fixed-camera angles. The whole ten yards. The game does give you a compass and a map from a terminal to guide you to each location. Up to you to figure out the directions. Thankfully, navigation isn't complicated. Game-map is cross-shaped. If you get lost, I don't know what to tell you. Your main objective is simple; decommissioned equipment in each area and collecting research material.
Black Iris is short 30-40 minutes. It does help the fact Black Iris is free.
Collapsing Cosmoses
Black Iris is a stunning game that understands what is Cosmic Horror, visually with a fantastic ambience. A captivating story to match. Black Iris gets a heavy recommendation.
Such a great game! So beautiful to look at and I really enjoy the camera angles. I think however I did break the game a couple of times, so my bad haha!
A trippy, surreal experience. I really enjoyed the art style of this, the plot and unfolding the mystery as it went on deeper and deeper into the site was fun to do so as well. Everything about this felt great! Would for sure tell you to play it and experience it yourself :)
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Nice one, enjoyed it
Played this a year ago, played it again when I saw it in the Ukraine Bundle, did a reupload cause its so good ! Thanks again
Full Playthrough No Commentary
Hey this a quick plug for my upcoming game: It Sleeps Below the Haar, that builds on a lot of the ideas that I was working with on The Black Iris.
It Sleeps... will ofcourse be available on itch.io on release, but until then it would be a huge help if you could have a look at the game and wishlist on Steam if it seems like your thing
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1864680/It_Sleeps_Below_the_Haar/
Was this game free at one point? Because I played it and commented about a year ago but I don't own it here. I'd like to purchase it if I somehow got it without paying because I loved it.
Hey, it was free, I put a minimum price just now while it is part of the Bundle for Ukraine: https://itch.io/b/1316/bundle-for-ukraine
Nice Game I enjoyed playing it.
Jamie, this is a master piece. I was reminded a lot of Spectre Vision movies (specifically Mandy) but even without the references this was gorgeous, terrifying and so immersive. The colours, the designs, the story, the soundtrack - a real knockout.
hey thanks for playing the game and leaving such a kind comment!
Great job on this weird vibe, old style game. Had a lot of fun with it, even if I don't remember this from history class 😂
Looking forward to more of your stuff!!
thanks a lot, glad you enjoyed it
This is a great game. Thank you so much for making it!
very glad you enjoyed it! Means a lot to hear that people are still having fun with the game months after release
In the menu it's just a black background and when I select "Play game" the screen just goes black and all the sound stops. It's both on 32bit and 64bit (I have 64bit Win7). Does the game have some additional requirements?
Hi, sorry the game's not working for you. There was an issue with this in some older versions, are you using a version you downloaded a while back by any chance?
Don't be sorry, I'm good at breaking games)) I downloaded it today and then downloaded again when the problem is appeared, to be sure that the file saved correctly. The other game from Itch that I downloaded today works fine, so it's not a download process problem
hey, did you ever get this resolved? i'm also running windows 7, just got this from the ukraine bundle and it's freezing and going black screen.
Win10 and having the same issue, have tried both versions, re-installs nothing.
Hey guys! Lady gamer here, this one was a great game, I got a little stuck, but the spooky was undeniable! A jumpscare or two would have really pulled this together, but it's still great! Check out my let's play!
amazing game but I totally missed the "H*numberfornotspoiling* thing. what was I supposed to do ? Btw, is there a second ending ?
<3<3<3
Wow. This is absolutely phenomenal. I got some serious Panos Cosmatos vibes, too.
His fist closed around the The Serpent’s Eye. Slowly he withdrew it and held it before him in the fading light of the blood red suns. It glowed from within. A ghostly emerald light. Strange and Eternal.
Hell yeah, Mandy.
I seriously hope to see more from you. This game creeped me the hell out, plus I absolutely love PS1 style horror. It's a bit slow paced but it's intended to be a slow burning game. Loved it 💜
monke
...and?
very cool ! i loved it.
Great work!
Jamie, tremendous work on the game! I am a high school teacher in Ohio (US) and I had a video game review project that my students completed, and one chose to review "The Black Iris", and I thought he did a great job showcasing how great your game is! So much that it has me and several other students in the class playing it. I wanted to share, and reach out to see if you had any interest in connecting with our class? Thanks and keep up the great work!
Hi! I really enjoyed this review, it really is an honour that one of your students chose the game to review. I would love to chat with your class, give me an email at arboretagames@gmail.com and we can chat more.
Great atmosphere (graphics, sound design and music). Very Mandy-esque. I loved how the camera went upside down in one of the corridors. It was a simple but also unsettling effect.
It was a good idea to use real footage videos during the game, it helped to bring up the atmosphere quite a lot.
Great game! I enjoyed playing it.
thanks very much! i'm glad you enjoyed it
Hey i really enjoy this, beautiful/unnerving aesthetics, congrats !
Thanks!
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it
thanks!
The majority of the donations made from The Black Iris have now been donated. There are still some trickling in, so I will make another donation in a few weeks. I am overwhelmed by the generousity of the itch community, it has been so far beyond my expections. I tweeted some receipts etc. as evidence of the payments over here https://twitter.com/arboreta_games/status/1373699827259822084?s=20
Thanks again,
Jamie
It was cool, especially the multi camera sequence (that was particularly inspiring), the church part and all the area title cards. It just oozed style! And adding live action worked so well. but I dunno, I'm not a fan of the story being told through notes. It takes me out of the world and ruins the pacing. It's the equivalent of a silent movies having to write out the conversations. It's not optimal. And there, the best silent movies I've seen had as few text cards as possible. I also thought your voice over was great, shame it wasn't more prevalent. Lastly, this is a super small thing, but it just bothered me; in all the menus and text logs the grain animation pauses. Anyway, I look forward to any future work you release. Cheers /J
thanks, I appreciate the comments
Thanks for a great game! I found the audio/video really choppy during the videos, but in-game it worked fine. I was running the 64-bit, but I had the same issue when I tried loading up the 32-bit too.
All that said I thought the atmospheric feel and music ended up creating a really immersive cosmic horror experience!
hey im sorry it was choppy for you, I'm glad you got something out of it anyway however. Thanks for the comment
Can I just say how much I appreciate that the description of the game includes an estimate on how long the gameplay is? That is so rare on itch and it's so important.
Thanks! Yeah I always appreciate it in games too.
FYI I think you meant to write "Foodbank" not "Foodback."
thanks, fixed the typo
By the way, thanks for donating like this! I added your game to my "buy later" list.
You review has been up a few days on the website. We also tweeted it for you. Nice job. Feel free to use as you wish, I hope it helps.
The Black Iris - Review - Chasing XP
part two our our play through. Such a great game!
Thanks!
I REALLY enjoyed this! I feel like there was still a little bit that I missed, but unraveling the story as I progressed was great. I had a lot of SCP vibes :)
This game is Art. I love everything you did here, thank you for the experience, and hope more to come!
No Commentary
Thanks!
Enjoyed the game! Reminded me a bit of Under the Skin tonally, and I loved the Roadside Picnic drop. And all for a good cause!
Thanks! I'm very glad that you enjoyed it
we loved this game it was a lot of fun!! The visuals were amazing!
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it
Lovely game. I've written a review for publishing on our online magazine chasingxp.com. I am just looking for a little more info to complete it and sent you an email on the 22nd. It will only take a few minutes to reply, if you could.
Hi, thanks for getting in touch, I've sent you a reply
Fantastic work on the game, and an even more wonderful gesture to support the foodbank. Thank you! I found you via Easy Allies, maybe you could do an interview with them?
thanks!
I was able to figure it out and beat the game! So wonderful! Well done!
Thanks! Glad you liked it
Of course! It was so much fun!
Love the use of video and more psychedelic aspects of the presentation. Not very into the finding notes form of storytelling or the default camera. Really looking forward to whatever you make next!
thanks!
My review of the Black Iris:
Introduction
The Black Iris is a Cosmic Horror with explorative elements. The year is 1983, in Scotland. You are an Engineer, send into an abandoned research facility to decommissioned equipment and collected research material from scientists, as further, you go into the crypt of science. Unforeseen and unexplained events happen. Not even the man of science can't explain.
Presentation
Feature a PlayStation One era graphics gives it a grainy look, with a dominant vibrant hue of magenta, a colour not found in the spectrum or view by our eyes. The game consists of four areas, each open with a title screen of a movie prompt. Black Iris does an exceptional job of visually describing Cosmic Horror.
Notes found regular, lore dive into the backstory of Black Rock. There are even cassette tapes, much the same as the notes. The story takes inspiration from Roadside Picnic, taking place in a zone in North East of Scotland. Focus around an oil-mining operation unearthed anomalies that affect the miners—forming a religious sect, the Order of the Void worshipping the Black Iris. The rest is explained whether well by the game.
The ambience is fantastic, casting a menacing aura. The pouring rain is rebellious, compounded by the breathing like there is a sense of struggle. The credit music was superb.
The gameplay inspired by Resident Evil, inventory for items to equipped for puzzle solving. The fixed-camera angles. The whole ten yards. The game does give you a compass and a map from a terminal to guide you to each location. Up to you to figure out the directions. Thankfully, navigation isn't complicated. Game-map is cross-shaped. If you get lost, I don't know what to tell you. Your main objective is simple; decommissioned equipment in each area and collecting research material.
Black Iris is short 30-40 minutes. It does help the fact Black Iris is free.
Collapsing Cosmoses
Black Iris is a stunning game that understands what is Cosmic Horror, visually with a fantastic ambience. A captivating story to match. Black Iris gets a heavy recommendation.
Thanks for the in-depth review!
Such a great game! So beautiful to look at and I really enjoy the camera angles. I think however I did break the game a couple of times, so my bad haha!
Thanks for playing!
No problem! It was a wonderful game!
A trippy, surreal experience. I really enjoyed the art style of this, the plot and unfolding the mystery as it went on deeper and deeper into the site was fun to do so as well. Everything about this felt great! Would for sure tell you to play it and experience it yourself :)
Thanks very much!
No problem! It was a pleasure playing the game :)