Completed All Things It Devours V1.1 - The Decomposition Update

All Things It Devours
A short - for you - Pokemon puzzle horror romhack.

A collaboration by cbt and Unfolding. Made for Eevee Expo Game Jam 10, with pokeemerald and Porymap.

Update V1.1 - Watch them decompose in real time! Also plenty of bugfixes and balancing that the game needed.
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Trapped in a cursed realm.
No whips, no chains, no demons.
Only tomorrow.​

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Features:

A complex narrative, told from five different perspectives. A grim exploration of immortality. And a dash of body horror.
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Screenshots:

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Download V1.1​

Download (Old version, for Game Jame 10 judging purposes only)​

Credits (Tools and Resources):
pokeemerald, by Pret
Porymap, by huderlem
Pokémon Emerald Textbox Simulator, by meejle
Character Customization Resources, by Coffee Cup

Special Thanks:
Nintendo, GameFreak, The Pokemon Company, Creatures Inc., etc, for all things Pokemon
Nolla Games, for Noita
Increpare, for Stephen's Sausage Roll​

 

[Unfolding]

The download provided is V1.0, what we got out the door for the contest. There are a few bugs (nothing gamebreaking that we found, but bugs nonetheless) that will hopefully be squashed in a day or two.

 

[1ckle]

this game was so interesting I loved the puzzle elements but I'd to get some info about the final fight was there an easier way to beat it? cuz the way I managed to win was by complete RNG the whole way through

 

[Altarax]

I love how this game incorporates the theme.
I think I am missing something about the puzzle though. I would appreciate to know the solution if someone found it.

Spoiler: help

I have never been able to train my Pokémon at the water spot inside the cave.
I believe I need to have the three berries outside in order to be able to do so, but whatever I do, I always end up with only the Lum Berry tree surviving when I unlock the interaction with the water spot.

 

[Unfolding]

This game is now completed! Lots of bugs squashed, and a lot of new lore / dialog / special interactions added.

only the Lum Berry tree surviving

Thanks for playing! That was a visual bug (entity limits...), but it should have still been possible to solve the puzzle. In any case, the bug's gone in the most recent update.

RNG the whole way through

Thanks for playing! The final boss was pretty hard (really just unbalanced - that's fixed now), but you shouldn't need RNG. There's a way to make it... a fair fight.

 

[ranko]

HEY I LITERALLY SOLVED THE PUZZLE BUT THE FINAL BOSS GOT 2 OMNI BOOSTS AND A CRIT IM SO UPSET I WANTED TO KNOW THE ENDING AHHHHH

Hey! I completed your game! It was actually really awesome! I really loved the puzzle itself and I felt like a genius when I figured what each character was meant to do and meant to be, literally and symbolically. The atmosphere especially at the beginning with the occult paintings and atmosphere as everyone started getting involved in the big point of the game, as well as reading as much dialogue and lore to understand who and what was happening. While this definitely falls under horror, it is not that bad in terms of scaring you, and there aren't any jumpscares or anything like that. It's mostly in atmosphere in worldbuilding, so please do not let that deter you.

Understanding what I was meant to do in the desert and how each character build up to the final one...It really gave me chills when I figured out how to beat the game. It's a great game, and I recommend people to trudge through and try it yourself! A few things I had issue with:

- The Puzzle could be interrupted pretty hard by accidentally running into a bad battle or, god forbid, getting haxed out, wiping and losing the ability to get to the solution. A lot of the Pokemon can end your run by using Status. I couldn't remember what each trainer had Pokemon wise sometimes, and I ran into a bad battle that ended my runs.

- Not being able to save makes sense, but it also contributed to the above problem a lot. I ended up using Save States at key moments so I can get my bearings, but I only realized after losing to the final boss once lol. A disclaimer for Save States would've been great!

Spoiler: FINAL BOSS SPOILER

- I really wanted know what happens after the final boss! I noticed a certain legendary being involved, but I also wanted to find out what was up with the rescuer prior to the final boss room and such. I also wanted to know what's up with the whole area!! Maybe it shouldn't be fully explained, but man, I really wanted to know more about everyone and the room. Where there other phrases I could've used?? And if you're reading this spoiler without beating the game, why haven't you played it yet?!

 

[TheMentalOrder]

This was definitely an interesting game. Like Ranko said adove me, this is more of a puzzle game rather than a horror game, mainly because the body horror and the overall atmosphere is described rather than shown, which isn't bad, but it would have been interesting to see all the situations the MCs have gone through visually. The puzzle itself was really cool however, and figuring out how it works is part of the charm of this game.
Pretty cool game, that has a perfect length and a very interesting concept.

 

[M.T.Pockets]

Hey, I wanted to try this one before I vote, but I can't seem to figure out how to install it. Usually fan games are in zip folders that you unzip and then you're good to go. How do I play this one?

 

[Unfolding]

Hey there! This is a romhack, not a fangame - it needs to be patched onto an emerald ROM, and played with an emulator or real hardware. Patches make it so we're not distributing any copyrighted material. Here's a list of instructions on how to play All Things It Devours (or any romhack) that cbt typed up upon seeing your message:

1. Obtain a ROM file of the base game. For All Things It Devours, the base game is Pokémon Emerald 1.0. The ROM file should be a .gba file.
2. Download the patch file. These are usually .bps, .ips, .ups, etc. For All Things It Devours, the patch file should be a .ups file.
3. Visit https://www.marcrobledo.com/RomPatcher.js/, select the ROM file and patch file in the appropriate fields, click Apply Patch, and your game file will be downloaded!
4. You may play the game either on real hardware (the handheld GBA console), or on an emulator. For GBA emulators, we recommend mGBA (https://mgba.io/).