Quick Look: Dropsy

Sunday fix is in, yo

n i g h t m a r e f u e l

Well, this is trippy.

This game is clearly made by a first-timer, but there's so much heart and love in it that I can't help but absolutely love it despite its flaws.

Dropsy didn't steal that pendant, the costume store owner's wife worked at the circus and was one of the people who died in the fire. The blue haired woman is Dropsy's mother, the broken clown his father.

That's certainly a thumbnail

This game looks like my personal nightmare.

The history of this game is pretty great, I can't think of many projects which managed to get this far. It isn't the same as the Slender games which grew up from within a fan base.

The Indie Love Coalition strikes again!

I kept seeing bits of info about Dropsy and it looked all wacky premise, no substance. Not unlike Butt-Sniffin' Pugs.

But only a few minutes in and I'm thinking it may be from the family of Bad Mojo.

This is terrifying

The clown paint egg registry is real.

http://www.allaboutclowns.com/egg_registry.html

This game is giving me some real great flashbacks to adventure games of old like DreamWeb or Sanitarium or Gobliiins - kinda 'you don't quite know whats up' sort of vibe. Looks super charming and the animations looks great.

I didn't really have too much trouble with this game's puzzles, got through it in 4-5 hours with most of the people hugged. It's a charming little game and it does go a few places you might not expect. Definitely worth your time.

I'm pleased by how incredibly faithful to the original concept (A Something Awful Forums choose your own adventure thread) this has managed to be - right down to the "inventory in your pants" - but at the same time, it's also added a bunch.

Incidentally, the "original" adventure the game refers to is actually 7 years ago, at this point. Games take a long time to make.

I am so happy there are indie devs out there who miss the look of old 90's adventure games as much as I do (or at least seem to). I absolutely love the art in this game.

Oh shit that is just the police robot from ROTOR

I second that. This game is nightmare fuel.

@ateatree: This was derived from a an SA COYA? Huh, neat.

Now, if only the Zybourne Clock could have been seen through beyond the concept phase...

I GOT THIS GAME AND UNDERTALE MIXED UP IN MY HEAD. Like, I was reading Austin's review of Undertale thinking "wasn't there a clown in this game?"

thats a twerking clown

I really like the atmosphere - it seems creepy and mysterious. Art style is good.

However I can't imagine myself playing an adventure game. Somehow it's something I can't bring myself to do. The last time I tried it was one of the Wadjet eye games, and I couldn't even finish it.

Yeah, this isn't that Marilyn Manson-esque "DOES THIS UNNERVE YOU, NORMIE CHILD?!?!" wierd, just...wierd.

I usually steer away from this sort of thing (mainly due to the art style [not my thing]), so thanks for doing a quick-look for this. It looks great and looks like it has A LOT of heart.

I love flippant Vinny in this quick look.

A while hour for Dropsy?

kk

While I dont dispute this is made by a first timer, it seems amazingly well done, and I dont see alot of flaws in it. Seems par for the course for a point and click game, even above imo.

@zagzagovich: There is no way its not! Also ROTOR!

Are people just calling this creepy and such because there's a clown? I don't see it.

I really like what they are going for here. I kinda hope it doesn't end with the obvious twist ending of Dropsy actually being a evil clown. A game where you go around making everyone happy sounds pretty good to me.

the trailers for this on steam are really somethin. game looks fantastic.

I remember the old Something Awful threads about this. But I don't remember if it was ever confirmed that Dropsy had Down's Syndrome or not.

This game might not be fantastic, but it certainly stands out from the crowd. I dig the presentation. Very colourful, psychadelic and mysterious.

Would be nice if the game came up with a reason (or explain it better?) for what the hugs actually do for you. Maybe giving hugs would let characters get over their depression and do the thing that you made possible. Like you give the religious lady a nice song and she digs it , but only when you hug her she gets the confidence to sing her heart out.

McMouse?

phhhht

Do I just associate clowns with John Wayne Gacy, or is that the John Wayne Gacy face paint?

I thought this game was fantastic. The visual language is really interesting, the puzzles are well designed, and the music and art are awesome. Do yourself a favor and look in the bathroom mirror a few times at the beginning.

Dropsy is an old medical term, which seems like it fits with the design of the clown:

The dropsy is a preternatural swelling of the whole body, or some part of it, occasioned by a collection of watery humour. It is distinguished by different names, according to the part affected, as the anasarca, or a collection of water under the skin; the ascites, or a collection of water in the belly; the hydrops pectoris, or dropsy of the breast; the hydrocephalus, or dropsy of the brain, &c. [Buchan1785].

A collection of a serous fluid in the cellular membrane; in the viscera and the circumscribed cavities of the body. [Hooper1829].

Hydrops. [Dunglison1868]

Morbid serous effusion into any of the cavities; a sequel of many chronic diseases, particularly those of the kidneys. [Cleaveland1871]

Hydropsy. [Hoblyn1900]

Archaic word for Edema.

"dropsy" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1321. [Webster]

Where did you get this from? Does the game communicate this to you at all ever?

Is this Frog Fractions 2?

Legit laughed when Dropsy started twerking

Lee Scratch Perry vibes from the old man with the vinyl towards the end

Is that Vampires Vs Vikings area some type of commentary on Swedish Death Metal?

I don't get this style of quick look: why would you play the game before you record and then just play that section again? I understand you need to see if a game is worth making a video of, but it's borderline boring to see Vinny just go and have solutions for everything. You should just pick it up where you left off or at least show just the start and then jump ahead - sorrry if you actually did, I stopped watching after 20mins sadly. Just my two cents.

@quipido: This is the "style" of quicklook they've always done, they get these games well ahead of release for review and play them to find out what parts if any are suited to the video format (e.g. the Until Dawn quicklook starts a few hours into the game because a lot of the beginning is narrative padding).

Point and click games are more apparent because of the nature of how you play them. For your interest, Vinny does skip ahead to a later save where he hasn't played yet but it doesn't change the pace of him working things out at all so maybe you just find Vinny playing point and clicks boring?

The game looks very good.

But it's so sad and charming

#HotClownFacts

I didn't even want to start this QL, the screen pic put me off. halfway through I like it better than Vinny. I like the art, music at 35:00 I like, and I have gotten used to Dropsy the clown, the hardest part.

@zagzagovich said:

Oh shit that is just the police robot from ROTOR

Holy crap that is a obscure pull for that developer. Only reason I know that 'film' is due to RLM.

As mentioned Dropsy originated from the thread on SA, it was also successfully Kickstarted. The trailer is very charming.