Zarathustra - Cybergeddon
A downloadable game for Windows and Linux
In the aftermath of The Inflection, a momentous event that unveiled cosmic truths and alien technology, two religious factions emerge: the Church of Flesh, embracing chaos and free will, and the Church of Neon, upholding order and stability.
Amy, an FBI agent affiliated with the Church of Neon, carries with her a unique asset: a cybernetic implant housing the consciousness of a past individual—you, the player.
Together, you navigate the complexities of a case involving a book stolen from the Church of Flesh. This investigation is set against the backdrop of a world grappling with the implications of its newfound enlightenment and the delicate balance between these two divergent philosophies.
Zarathustra is a classic point and click adventure with inventory and dialog puzzles.
It's a rather casual experience with no dead-ends or overly difficult puzzles.
Most of the Art was created with Dall E 3 and the voice over comes from https://elevenlabs.io/.
Download
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Development log
- Change Log v4.0.3Feb 19, 2024
- Another Small UpdateFeb 11, 2024
- Day 4 Released - Zarathustra is now complete!Feb 05, 2024
- Small Update for ZarathustraJan 26, 2024
- Day 3 is here!Jan 10, 2024
- One more small updateDec 06, 2023
- QoL UpdateDec 03, 2023
- Zarathustra - Cybergeddon: Day 2 Release!Nov 30, 2023
Comments
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Hey, I haven't played this game yet, but I am very intrigued and interested! However I have a very low tolerance for horror, and I'm not sure if there are any horror elements. Could you give me a heads up if there is at the very least, please?
There are some horror elements in the game, not jump-scares though. There's one quite gruesome close-up of a body that's covered in veins and there is some slightly scary imagery (also still images) from a nightmare.
Hard to believe this is AI generated
wow
I have no idea if or when I talked to either you (Tim) or someone else, but I didn't forget my promise to stream your game. It's been a pain in my ass, but the complexity of the puzzles are forgivable for such a tightly woven story and an interesting tech/flesh horror cyberpunk world. I've gotten to day 3, but this might be one of those games where I gotta play through it a couple times to give a proper opinion. But it seems really freaking good so far :D
Cool, gonna have a watch. :) If you're completely stuck, there's a great walkthrough on Steam: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3152682358
I'll figure it out on my own. Defeats the point if I look everything up. That and I get to really experience the game. Im not a big streamer, and didn't get any views on my stream, but you can find me (not to advertise) at https://twitch.tv/ryanics. The first part was 3 hours of me getting through the first 2 and a half days. Now I'm in the sewers. I can't wait to see what happens in the next part of day 3, and day 4. Plus if you have any other games, Im down to play too :D Thank you for such an interesting and beautiful retro styled game to play.
I've watched the Vod, very entertaining. ^^ Looking forward to the next part. :)
It's a real head scratcher, but I am certainly enjoying myself. I'll probably stream the rest of the game in the next few days.
What engine did you use? This looks amazing.
Unity Engine and thanks. ^^
So after a few days (4 :) ) DONE !
But why is there a chalkboard with code console when you don't need to use it for ending?
A note: when you click to the travel icon 'highway' you aren't able to cancel this action and you have to travel. There should be a cancel/exit button.
There are three different endings to the game of which two need the chalkboard code. :)
Hi, I like the game! I seem to have encountered a bug? I don't have the quantum scanner in my inventory at beginning of game. Watching others on youtube, they seem to have it.
I have removed the item, because it caused a lot of confusion and you never really had to actively use it. Just right-click on any item and it will show you its superposition directly.
ah, thanks!
Paid here for the Linux version. But I have two ideas for quality of live improvements:
- The map would be easier to navigate when it could be moved by clicking and dragging the mouse instead the arrow buttons.
- I find myself opening the inventory, switching the active item, closing the inventory and using the item. Could the right mouse button or better the wheel used to switch the active item faster?
Anyway: Thanks for this game. It's interesting to see what AI can do in this field.
Hello, thanks for the feedback. I've actually already implemented the map-scrolling via dragging the mouse... it's coming with the next update. :D
I'll also think about how to maybe improve the inventory. :)
some spoilers and bug
near the end of day 2. after opening the safe in the rickety house, i clicked to look back at the photos on the wall, and i am stuck, just an empty text box pops up.
great game so far though! hoping i dont have to restart to get unstuck but it seems like i might , short video attached of the problem
https://i.imgur.com/Qd5OEjV.mp4
Oh that looks indeed like a bug. Thanks a lot for letting me know!
I've found the bug. The fix will arrive together with Day4. :)
awesome. i have the game on the epic game store. should i continue on that platform or download from here? and should i restart the game at this point and avoid initiating this bug or will day 4 come soon?
and thank you for the reply!
It doesn't really matter where you download the game. I'm keeping the same version on all platforms and the save games work across those. Day 4 will probably take another week or two. Unfortunately there's no workaround for the bug so you would have to load an older savegame.
First of all, I still can't believe that AI is behind the creation of this! Secondly, I'm still trying to figure out where the code is in Day 2.
*spoiler-warning*
The numbers for the code can be found on the pictures on the wall. You just have to get them in the right order.
Oh ! I feel silly that I didn't figure that out but thank you :-)
I like it a lot
Glad to hear that. :)
I just began playing half an hour ago. But I really have to congratulate you. This game has unpeccable style, the aesthetics are perfect, both graphically and soundwise. The story is unique and fascinating, dripping of potential and originality.
Thank you very much. Glad you like it. :)
Finally completed day 2, I would love to offer my services in getting different aspect ratios working in your code if you don't mind as i have a 32:9 and 21:9 monitor. I would also love to offer my musical services for free :)
Loving this game.
Here some example links of music:
https://soundcloud.com/grahfmusic/into-the-dimension-of-the-wave?si=f42f9c096475...
https://soundcloud.com/grahfmusic/arbiter?si=8ecc7d7cf04f4130b0daf724d89bfdbe&ut...
https://soundcloud.com/grahfmusic/musical-ideas-lost-to-time?si=d6523d7949ec4da0...
Uhhh, those sound really nice! I am taking a break from the game right now, but when I get back at creating Day3 I will come back to you. :)
About the aspect ratios: I generally know how to implement them... the issue is that I made a stupid mistake when I setup the whole project at the beginning. And fixing that would mean a ton of work. 😅 But I might still do it anyway... we'll see.
Awesome - look forward to when you come back to the project - you've inspired me to do a similar kind of project :)
Hello! The game is very nice and has very interesting and promising start. As far as I understand, images and voice were genrated by neural networks. They are quite good, but voices are somewhat lacking in intonations. Those just seem a bit wrong sometimes.
Amy is very cute and sweet. At the same time, it might be good to put a message in game, telling about possibility of speaking to Amy with active item (like DataPad) once, so it is not completely unpredictable action.
Also, the riddle with photos isn't eDon't know, whethter it is intentional though.
Overall, Very good work, hope to seee more of it!
Thanks for the feedback. :) Yes the voice over is not a 100% there... we will see what the future brings. ^^
First and foremost: I like this game, its art and its idea about the two religions which balance each other out. This already resulted in very nice screens and situations so far.
However, one major thing got me interested: Amy, our main character, incorperates an "us" (the player) as an artificial intelligence based on past memories before the "inflection" event into her mind. So, she has her own persona but carries you ("us") around and interacts with it. The game starts with how she explains the current state of events to you and jumps with you right into the developing story as her new partner somehow.
What made me really curious: Why bother doing so (having an artificial intelligence of the past in her mind) in the first place?
I hope this gets explained later in game.
Yes, I'm planning to go into that a bit later, but it's not a big revelation or plot-point. The Spirit Guides are trained on people with exceptional skills... like us, the player... and that's just really helpful to have when solving cases. ** Mild Spoiler ** BUT that's just the general explanation for why the FBI uses Spirit Guides... Amy's spirit guide is special for some other reason that will be revealed later.
A bug, after opening the safe following the photo puzzle I went back to look at the photos and soft locked my save. Trying to hit "exit" from the photo window just has a blank text bubble appear and it refuses to allow you to progress.
Otherwise VERY much enjoying the story and visuals
Oh, thanks for the feedback, I'll fix that with the next update.
Is Amy's artificial eye interchangeable? It appears being on her right and on her left side throughout the story.
Erm, when? It used to be the case but I thought I had fixed it. (Screenshots here still show the old version though 😅) Should always be the left eye... Only the cover art is the other way around.
Yeah, could be I was a bit confused due to the screenshots. However, the scene on the highway is still on the right. Like in the day 2 teaser.
I'm getting old.... XD Thank you, will fix that in the next update.
Day 2 is great so far, but I'm stumped with what to do after I got the first page translated and I have the notes but need iodine. Not sure where to go or what to do now? I feel like I've exhausted all locations.. Any hints?
Hint: Iodine is not only used to make ink visible but also fingerprints.
Yeah I just figured it out right after I posted it. Truly impressed with the writing in your little game. Truly getting Snatcher vibes from this game. What Unity framework did you use to make it?
Also a resolution setting would be nice. I have to change my desktop resoultion to play it in 16:9. I know, I know frustrating.
Also I found a bug in day 1, where if you click quick enough in the tunnels the main character will start talking mid cutscene where the shoot out is.
And another small thing, you should make it even if you click on the exit signs with an inventory item selected it should override it. A little annoying ui bug - but lovin' the game.
Thanks for the feedback. ^^
No Framework, created it from scratch.
Also the aging puzzle, I'm stumped - I'm little stumped with the multiple number puzzles. I'm terrible at riddles. Help somehow - argh - killer puzzle.
Hint: Try to bring the numbers from the photos inn the correct order.
I concur on the aging puzzle. I don't get it either. What confuses me most are the multiple numbers on some of the photos. Likely meant for each person seen on the photos? However there are more numbers here than the safe needs.
Each number corresponds to one person. Some persons are shown on multiple pictures. In ascending order (which is not the right combination) the numbers are: 034679 which is the correct length of the combination. :) If you had trouble reading the numbers please let me know and I will try to make them more clear.
Just some more feedback - would love an auto advance text option. Clicking after each block of text kind of ruins the immersion for me. I love to sit and listen to the dialogue with the appropriate pauses, etc. :)
Ok, that should be doable. Thanks for the feedback. :)
No problems,
Look forward to the nexne. I've seen people dismiss your game as terrible cause of AI. But you've used it so creatively and also well implemented that I enjoy it. It is a tool to enhance ones already pre-concieved ideas and help create something. What annoys me is these naysayers think your game is commercial. Didn't even look at the page.
Check it out gamingonlinux.com
Thank you and yes I've read the comments. And I understand where they are coming from. I would love to see artists being compensated for their input into commercial AI models like DallE that I'm using here... some companies try to do something like that but unfortunately the results are just so much worse than anything trained on the huge scale copyrighted datasets right now.
Automation is a great tool but it's sad that not the "workers" benefit most from it but the higher ups. I think the solution for that lies in politics and not in banning the technology though. But those politics would have to work on a global level and right now different nations would severely hinder their economic future if they restricted the tech and others did not. It's complicated...
And I don't want to get into the whole artistry/culture thing, because that's its own can of worms.😅
Just wanted to let you know, that the game now has an option in the settings to auto advance the text. :)
Thanks checking it out again now :)
Absolutely gorgeous game!!!
But I have to say, I got the robot, the newspaper, and the bible, and have ZERO clue how to progress. There doesn't seem to be anything I can connect the robot to, and the Forensics lady won't inspect anything.
Thank you for the kind feedback.
I'll give you a hint: you already have an item that can play the recording. After you've transferred it over you can show it to other characters in the game.
Is there a walkthrough anywhere?
None that I'm aware of, but there's a German youtube video of someone playing through the whole game:
I can't leave the armory. No exit button. I am on a 21:9 monitor, though...
Oh, thanks for the notice. Seems the image gets cropped on wider resolutions. I'll see if I can fix that.
Loving it so far, though could you add a resolution or windowed option. I have a 32:9 monitor and it just stretches out the screen. I have to manually change the resolution of my monitor to get it to render correctly.
Yes, I will look into that. I tried a window mode but had scaling issues, but I will give it another try when I continue the work. :)
Thank you so much. I would love to chat to you how you go about your prompting and creating pixel art. What is the best way to get in contact with you? I'm curious about your approach.
Email: Contact.trgames@gmail.com
Look so amazing , can't wait to see more.
Thank you, this definitely motivates me to continue. :D
The pixel art is alien and strange and gorgeous, and I'm definitely intrigued by the world and story. Hope to see more of this.
Thanks, glad you liked it. :)
Good job Dev :-D I really love the pixel art in this game. Beautiful. It is kind of confusing to hear Amy tells the background story at the beginning, but I like her voice. She sounds mature and calm. Hmm... But it is kind of weird to hear voice acting of Goodman as Police Trainee... She sounds very cheerful as an Officer... Here is my gameplay~ Enjoy~
I agree that Goodman sounds way too cheerful for a Police Trainee regarding how serious the case is lol.
nice
Glad you liked it. :)