Time is Solid Here
A long, yellow hallway. A floating head who talks of monster trucks and places in-between. A painting, three a plenty, each with someone in need of moving on.
Such is the horror puzzle game, Time is Solid Here, recently selected for the Goethe-Institut's Stillstand/Standstill Project Exhibition.
NOTICE: The AI art in this game does not represent my current views on the subject. Please read this blog post for more details.
FEATURES:
- Surreal paintings and puzzles ripe for exploration.
- Friend and foe alike brought to life through OpenGAN-generated pieces and custom artwork.
- A unique soundtrack produced for the game, consisting of an odd blend of industrial, psychadelic, and classical tunes. A remaster of the soundtrack, created by Nolan Alighieri of the Nephilim Novel, is available here, and can be downloaded below!
- Hidden secrets which change the way you see its world.
- A life-affirming game experience.
| Translation | Credits |
| русский Язык (Russian) | Nuruto |
| Português Brasileiro (Brazilian Portuguese) | Bruna Carvalho |
| Italiano (Italian) | Bakasara and DomLerrys |
| Türkçe (Turkish) | mavi |
| Polsku (Polish) | kxndera |
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- Time is Solid Here has been translated into Turkish and Polish!8 days ago
- Time is Solid Here has been translated into Italian!12 days ago
- Time is Solid Here has been translated into Brazilian Portuguese!Jun 10, 2023
- Time is Solid Here has been translated into Russian!May 29, 2023
- Updated Mac Version!Dec 13, 2021
- Added Mac+Windows and Soundtrack Downloads!Dec 09, 2021
Comments
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Very fun! I didn't plan on completing it on the first playthrough, but it kept me hooked
this game was just wonderful. i loved the art, the very well-writen story, it looks like you're good in everything. the end was kinda confusing but everything in this game is on a whole other level. glad to see you have another game. going to play it. its sad indie games dont get much recognition but thats what makes them "indie" or special. i loved your work so keep it up.
I just want to say that this is an artistic master piece. I hope you get the appreciation that you deserve.
are you working on a new game?
Yes! It is called Project Obelisk and the announcement can be found here. For updates (and access to any alpha/beta builds I release), please join my Discord and follow me on Twitter!
This... is such a good game.
thank you so much :)
this goes in my favourite rpgmaker games folder fr
this game, good god this game. I've never been so emotional I swear. This is so captivating and I would love to just experience it for the first time again. many props to you
your words mean so much to me, thank u!!! <3
Absolutely loved the game, the use of art, soundtrack and different reactions to trauma.
thank you!!!!!!! :)
Enjoyed this game a ton. The use of ai art for characters reminded me of how fuzzy things I see in my dreams can be recalled at wake, just like how Charon mentioned. Although the use and development of modern ais disturbs me, I am honestly in favour of the early stage ai art. Those creepy and disturbing tastes they created were something unachievable by human hand.
Thank you! Though I don't believe in the technology anymore, back in the day I felt it was an interesting way to make something unrecognizable as human
this was SO sick. similar to other commenters i'm able to forgive the usage of ai, considering it was the weird fucked up early stage ai and it was used as a base with which to make something absolutely incredible. there is so much good here. the soundtrack, the writing, the gameplay.. ughhhh. the third painting genuinely made my heart beat SO fast, especially when the monster showed up for a second time. i really deeply enjoyed this. i could talk to charon about monster trucks forever i think
Thank you so much! I hope to give more Charon content in the future.
Honestly, at first when i saw the ai imagery i almost quit the game, but decided to give it a try and im glad i did. I loved how this game used ai ''art'' to create actual art, as to add into the concept of something inhuman and surreal but didnt let that be the art itself', as the art is not the images but the concept, the story, the game, its so raw and so human. loved the story, (tho i believe it would be better if it was an actual artist making the images.)
yet, since it was early-stages ai, it was kinda cool how you dealt with it. (sorry for my english btw)
Well said and I agree with your statement.
Thank you very much, I agree with your sentiment and I plan to never use AI art again -- I want my future project to be a celebration of art instead.
lovely game!
thank you :)
I have such a genuine love for this idea and the music is out of this world, but AI art always sits bad in my mouth. I know getting the look of AI art is more difficult but that's honestly the whole point of art in general, the skill of it. It's not my place to really ask, but please consider commissioning someone to do the art for your next game, or just trying it out yourself! I want to love this and anything that comes next in its entirety so bad :)
UPDATE: You inspired me to make a blog post and post it permanently on top of the descriptions of both of my games, talking about my stance on AI art and how these games do not represent me anymore. You can find that blog post here.
I'm considering making a notice or something on the game itself because I feel like this doesn't represent my current opinions on the subject. When I made the game, the most early AI art models had just released, and had this imperfect, surreal look to them. As a computer scientist, I was fascinated by what it could do, and since this game (along with Cohabitation) was made for a school project with a development cycle of only a couple of months, I decided to use that art because I felt it complimented my surreal game quite well. Since then, it has become much more clear that these models are trained by stealing art (and the models that have came out after the one I used are much more obvious about that).
So now I am left with some options. I could delete the game, since I feel like it doesn't represent me anymore, but from some of the comments and private reviews I know it means a lot to people, so I don't want to do that. I think my current decision is to never use AI art again, a decision I made clear whenever this discourse has come up before. I am an artist (my second side hobby is making webcomics) and my next game will be worked on in conjunction with many of my artist friends. Because I am an artist the concerns about stealing art matter a lot to me, and I understand the worries of you and everyone else who has commented here. Between these ethics concerns, which were not made clear to me back in the day, and the complete lack of anything interesting from new AI models, I don't think it has anything to offer to my work anymore.
Thank you for your feedback, I agree with you that oftentimes the point of a piece of art is the skill that goes into it. I hope to bring that point across in my next game :)
This is an excellent response. I second that you shouldn't delete the game, but it's good to acknowledge what happened and how you'll change that going forward.
I can see this truly means a lot to you and the response is very appreciated. I definitely think that you should leave this game up as well, I look forward to what's to come!
I generally dislike the idea of AI art. and was not impressed by the game at all, up until the 3rd painting which hit a deep personal chord (growing up in iraq I knew exactly was the soldier was talking about, the "pyramid of flesh" picture is something ingrained into deep primal parts of my brain, which totally saved the game for me). also was disappointed the 4th painting wasnt really a painting :) but generally nice idea. 3/5
That was indeed the inspiration, its incredibly striking and haunting imagery that should never be forgotten. Additionally, I completely understand your concerns about the AI art, I feel like these games do not represent me or my opinions on that subject anymore, and have attached a blog post about that subject. Thank you for your criticism as it helps me grow as a creator, and such growth wouldn't be possible without people like you.
I love love love this game so much, the worldbuilding and concept are so interesting to me! There's so much rich storytelling in such a brief experience, I wish it could've been longer but honestly? I think stretching out the game would have almost been a disservice to its messages. Beautiful work and I can't wait for more content from this creator!!
I posted my playthrough on my YouTube channel!! It's two videos :)
Yet another ass pretentious art game but this time its AI
the pathfinding doesn't even work and no one talks normally, people say they cried well I fell asleep if your gonna make a story or social game don't add a maze zone where you read notes.
If you focus only on AI art (…which was in the early stage, which no one would have found that it was stealing from actual artists), obviously it’s a chore for you. If you decide to sit down, look past it and understand the story itself, it would be much more emotional as the story itself is not thrown into AI garbage anyway.
The artist also doesn’t really plan to engage with it so there’s that too.
This game really got to me...it was a complete work of art. It even made me tear up a little. Incredible artists.
Bro really cried to AI art
not the ai images, but the story itself. the second one really got me.
Bro cried to AI story
the story wasn't ai! just the images. but honestly, i liked the ai images in the game. it added a level of surrealism which i enjoyed and thought fit the theme well! it was just the sadness of the second story that made me a bit emotional. it may not be your kinda game, but it's definitely many other people's kind of game!!! nobody is forcing you to play it :)
I loved its vibe, the music keeps you on the edge and if this was just a demo i would definitely look forward to an extended full version
This game was wonderful
This Game is so good it actually made me cry
Is it not working for anyone else?? says it won't load... I'm on browser btw
Hm, what error message shows up on your screen when it says that?
I feel weird after finishing it, i loved the vibes and the use of ai to make you feel like you are in a dream, thanks for the expirience, keep making more!
thank you! Stay tuned for my next game in development now, Project Obelisk!
https://itch.io/blog/708576/announcing-my-newest-game-project-obelisk
absolutley beautiful
thanks :)
Powerful and delightfully crafted. Thank you for this. Please make more game.
I'm working on a new, full-length game right now! Details are here: https://itch.io/blog/708576/announcing-my-newest-game-project-obelisk
this is just.. beautiful honestly..
that first story was so UGHHH like how could he do that to her???
im glad he's stuck there forever without her
im glad too :)
BRO WHAT HAPPENED TO US I'M HELLA CURIOUS
up to your interpretation :)
damn
Damn dude I cried from this. I felt fulfilled.
Thank you! It's incredibly touching that it had that effect.
I really really liked this game, but the ending was slightly underwhelming for me. I don't know why? I guess the rest of it felt so deep and thoughtful but, by the nature of this being a game and not really knowing about me, the generic guesses about me (clearly based only on the information I chose to play this game) and the implication that I had to move on didn't quite sit right with me. I'm honestly not sure what would've made the ending better... Maybe some semblance of choice (leaving the hotel (limbo) vs going into the painting vs leaving in a boat with Charon etc.) at the end? Maybe an ending scene? The ending scene might involve the saved characters from the other paintings? I'm honestly not 100% sure. But other than that this game was very hard hitting and deeply meaningful, props.
Real.
True, I think the ending part is the part I was the most disappointed with when it comes to the story, though I'm not sure how else I would end it. By the time we were making the ending, the game was due within an hour (this was for a class project lol) so maybe we got lazy haha
This is a truly stellar game with a lot of excellent themes and stories. Each painting has something for someone, gameplay-wise, and each of the characters' tales of their lives are amazing, albeit very tragic. The first painting had me a little miffed at how annoying it was to traverse, but I'm sure that was intended. The second painting was easily my favorite, with interesting thought-provoking puzzles to solve. And the third painting had my heart practically beating out of my chest due to the sheer terror I felt (Excellent use of sound design btw!). And all of this is tied together with a unique AI artstyle to really sell the strangeness of this new dimension. I highly recommend this game to anyone looking for a taste of a few spectacular flavors!
Thank you so much!!! :)
This is a beautiful game. Right after I had finished it on Wednesday night, I had gotten a call from my best friend's husband telling me that she had been in a car accident. She did not survive the incident, but throughout this game I kept thinking about how much she would've enjoyed it.
My mind keeps going back to it in times of grief, and I think the irony of it all would've made her laugh too.
Thank you for making something so touching.
I am incredibly sorry for your loss. It's incredibly touching that the game had that affect on you, it's exactly what I was going for when I made it. May she rest in peace.
Amazing experience!
thanks!! :)
If you get the question wrong on the second paintings second question it kicks you out but when it gives you a new riddle the keyboard still has the answer from your old guess and you cant delete it. Is this normal?
That is normal, in the background, the variable used for your guess is the name of an actor, and I use the same actor for the same round of questions. I should probably have fixed that, my b
I absolutely love the eerie atmosphere of this game. I was a bit skeptical because the paintings were AI generated but I think this game is how you can use AI art right! It really hones in on that uncanny feeling for this game. Keep up the good work!
(Also, I really enjoyed the symbolism for the second painting and its riddles. It's like you already get a feeling for what happened before the person reveals it.)
Thank you so much! :)
(!SPOILERS, DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED THE GAME!) I don't even know where to start besides saying this is possibly the most impactful game I've ever played on Itch. Really loved the use of AI to make surreal art that set the ambiance, the soundtrack also does a beautiful job.
The thought of an afterlife that is not heaven or hell but rather a place where you are left with nothing but your own thoughts is such an interesting concept.
All these paintings were sad but realistic: Convincing a woman with Alzheimer's that her husband was just an abuser, telling a child he was murdered by his dad and likely won't see his mom again, and deciding wether to end the misery of a previous cold-blooded soldier or to leave him there.
When I found out the second painting was a child I almost bawled my eyes out after remembering he said "Please...come rescue me".
Seriously, loved your game and I'm glad to see people in the comments also appreciate your awesome work.
I'm touched by your thoughtful comment :) it's words like this that inspire me to keep making games!
i reeally love this game!! hoping that its gonna be more popular later. i want to make a video about it in rus with eng subtitles. hope that creator is ok with it.
Yeah I am totally okay with that! You should send me the video when you are done :)
Very very cool game. I really liked the first painting, abusive relationships between spouses with a chronic/terminal/neurodegenerative illness doesn't really get touched on a lot in video games as far as I know (I mean beyond Silent Hill 2 I guess) so this was a really interesting topic to see in a free itch.io game! The use of AI art is very cool and interesting, I wish it had stayed this way instead of evolving into whatever it is today.
Thank you! And yeah I agree, it was at its most interesting when it was uncanny and very obviously its own thing rather than attempting to perfectly mimic human art. That, combined with ethical concerns, means I won't be using it on future projects
i definitely wasn't expecting a game like this browsing free itch.io games lmao. the most impactful part for me was the maze - i can't explain why, but everything about it just felt some kind of way. it's also strange how just a few lines of dialogue can make you feel so much for some ai-generated pixels, jeez. really enjoyed the atmosphere of this game too - it's just so right. the tone of all the text to the player is spot on as well - omniscient, encouraging, but just distant enough. and i have to give credits to the soundtrack because it's brilliant.
i will say: during the third painting, i didn't encounter a monster whilst looking for key cards. i was definitely terrified waiting for a monster to pop up during that whole segment but nothing happened, so i assumed it was a thing the game hyped up on purpose as some kind of metaphor deal, but looking at the comments apparently there's meant to be a monster? so i'm unsure why that happened :( i played in browser fwiw.
overall though i loved this! and i'll definitely be thinking about it for a while.
Thank you so much! Your words mean a lot to me, and I hope you are looking forward to what I'm making next! As for the monster, it is possible to avoid seeing it if you walk a specific route at the right time, it looks like you were just lucky haha.
This was a real goodie. Excellent use of RPGMaker and got a lot more intense than I was expecting.
Thank you for playing! I love your setup, is that the title of the game on the chalkboard behind you?
Indeed it is. Glad you liked it.
I actually think this is one of my fav games on here and I play A LOT of games so well done this is amazing!!!!!! I love this so much!!!!!!!!!
I'm flattered! Thank you :)
Absolute gold! This game really got to me, it is awesome!!
thank you so much!
It was a really good experience, loved the game!
thank you :D