The Transylvania Adventure of Simon Quest News

This week, our Lead QA Tester, Christian, gives a behind-the-scenes insight into what it’s like working on TASQ!

[h3]1. As a tester moving from Prison City to TASQ, how do you think both games play differently?[/h3]

Christian: The games play very differently, I understand why people might not get that at first, but Prison City is a much more free-moving game with being able to angle the chakram and the way jumping works. In TASQ, when you jump you're committed, once you're in the air there's nothing you can really do to change what's going to happen, save for an emergency back flip. The two games were inspired by different retro games and that is reflected in how they work.


[h3]2. Have you noticed anything similar between both games? Anything different?[/h3]

Christian: I mean they are both still in the same game genre and Programancer's brand of humor is still present. Of course, the crabbin comes back in a huge way in TASQ, for those who get that haha. Again, I'll say the differences are far more present. In Prison City, you picked individual levels and went in whichever order you preferred minus the start and end, meanwhile TASQ is a world you are traveling and exploring yourself; it all connects.


[h3]3. What are some bugs you've found in TASQ so far?[/h3]

Christian: So TASQ is sort of being rebuilt by Programancer right now because the demo we've been using is a bit outdated. Those parts were pretty bug-free at this point and finding bugs in something that is about to be remade isn't exactly productive. As of right now my job has been making more suggestions, for example there is a staircase in the cave between the towns of Bram and Bela that I felt was hard to actually notice, so I asked to have it raised up so players could notice what it was easier, and boom it was done. That's a part of QA too; it's not just bugs that can make a player's time with a game worse.


[h3]4. How do you feel about working with Programancer once again on another project?[/h3]

Christian: What did I say last time? "Programancer is the man" or something like that? I'm ecstatic, he's just the best to work with. Incredibly responsive and kind.


Look forward to Part 2 of our interview with Lead QA Tester Christian!

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[h3]Bad to the BONE[/h3]
LIkely a result of dark magic permeating across Transylvania, you’ll find numerous skeletons walking around the Bram region! While they may not visibly attack you, you best eliminate these undead skeletons for a safer passage!


[h3]Don’t lose your HEAD[/h3]
Destroying skeletons doesn’t come with benefits–in fact, after you whip up one, you can time it right to whip its skull, which allows it to travel forward at a descending arc! This feature is exclusive only to skeletons and can be helpful in either dispatching foes from a distance, or destroying torches and other small objects to obtain hearts!




Stay tuned for even more!

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Ah, water. Such a simple liquid substance representing purity and cleanliness. But in this particular adventure across Transylvania…It’ll KILL you!


That’s right. There’s no swimming skill to earn and no slow descent to Drownersville. Falling into bodies of water with no solid ground to stand on WILL kill you, so you’ll wanna be cautious of where and how you jump across any gaps!


You’ll also quickly discover that any items dropped into large bodies of water will be gone forever. So be careful when chasing after any coins or hearts dropped from enemies!


Stay tuned for even more as we continue on with development!

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As you accumulate coins over your Transylvania adventure, you’ll find shops at towns that can help equip you with the right items and subweapons to face any danger!


You’ll find items like potions, or subweapons like daggers, or maybe even helpful objects like a shovel, or even an upgrade to your whip!


And you’ll notice the shopkeepers will all have different airs about them–sometimes they’ll say they’re folding clothes, or perhaps they’re kneading bread! Whatever the case, they’ll always have wares available for you to peruse…unless, of course, you clear their stock!


Look forward to even more as TASQ continues on with development!

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The Spirit Woods is an unusual location set within the region of Lugosi…


One prominent feature in this area is the day and night cycle. You’ll see foliage and other greenery change their hues from light to dark as the night approaches, and you’ll notice the sunlight disappear into ominous shades amidst the trees and bushes!


But upon reaching the hour of 09:00PM in-game, the Spirit Woods will take on a strange appearance! In this new form, you can go up the staircase-like bark running along the middle tree, where, if you go up the top staircase, you’ll end up arriving at the bottom!



And, if you look closely, you can see small eyeballs appearing throughout the level area, glancing all over the place–or maybe at you?--before disappearing!

There’s so much more to look forward to on your Transylvania adventure!

Stay tuned for even more updates!

Be sure to follow Retroware’s publisher page to stay up-to-date on all our games, news, and more!

https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/retroware