Inquisitor's Heartbeat Now Available for Mac and PC

By IV Productions, 18 June, 2014

Forum
macOS and Mac Apps

INQUISITOR’S HEARTBEAT IS OUT - NOW AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH
NEW RELEASE: Inquisitor’s Heartbeat, the new audio game from TiconBlu and RisingPixel is now available in English for PC and Mac.
We at TiconBlu are glad to announce “Inquisitor’s Heartbeat, based on the character of Nicholas Eymerich, Inquisitor, created by Valerio Evangelisti, the popular Italian writer.
This audio game is rich of contents and has great playability, ensuring fun for many hours.
As usual, we worked very hard on the game accessibility. To do that we have asked to a big fan and friend of us, Davide Cantoni, who is unsighted. Davide started testing Inquisitor’s Heartbeat since the very first version, and gave us a big deal of information and feedback, which helped us significantly improving it.
TEASER: The hazard is invisible to the eyes.
Your only allies are your ears.
Explore up to 35 audio scenarios, search, escape and don’t get caught by the sentinels… Or by something even worse than that.
Feel the Inquisitor’s heart beating! Play Inquisitor’s Heartbeat.
GAME DESCRIPTION: Inquisitor’s Heartbeat catapults the player right into the 1300s, the height of the brutal Inquisition.
Accused of heresy for being in possession of a forbidden book, Nicholas Eymerich, the game’s main character is imprisoned in the dungeon of a castle: he must escape from his cell and retrieve the precious book that has been stolen from him, before it is taken to the monastery beyond the forest, and destroyed forever.
In more than 6 hours of gameplay, the player has to find his way through 35 labyrinthine levels divided into 7 different settings, without being spotted by guards and ferocious beasts, trusting only his own ears.
There is also an ‘endless’ game mode, where the mazes are generated one after the other, always with a different map.
Developed for PC and Mac, and going to be available also for iOS, Inquisitor’s Heartbeat is the result of a joint effort by Rising Pixel and Ornitocopter, with the soundtrack by the talented Luca Rungi, and TiconBlu as publisher.
GAME INSTRUCTIONS: you can play with Inquisitor’s Heartbeat mainly using the arrow keys to move (one step at a time) in the selected direction. Use the space bar to interact with the surrounding environment (pull levers, push, etc.). The main tool to use though is your hearing and your memory, to create a mental map of the dark settings you are exploring.
Your character always moves in the selected direction at the same pace, one step at a time: just like moving on a chessboard.
It is essential that you count your steps, listening to the different noises from the ground, paying attention to the echo and the sound variations, or if you bang into a wall... you're probably going in the wrong direction!
PRICE: 19,90€
WHAT TO DO: Visit http://www.ticonblu.it/audiogame/shop/shop_inquisitors_heartbeat_final_eng.html?lang=eng to purchase your licensed copy.
Also visit http://www.ticonblu.it/audiogame/index.html?lang=eng to stay up to date with the latest news on audio games from TiconBlu.
You can join our mailing list here: http://www.ticonblu.it/audiogame/register.html?lang=eng
Follow us on Twitter @AudioGame_IT
TEASER: http://youtu.be/-6jw7qzR9d4
DESCRIPTION: http://youtu.be/Z2vEKEWhD8I
INSTRUCTIONS: http://youtu.be/PckuuGucfJw

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Comments

By sockhopsinger on Saturday, July 5, 2014 - 23:24

Hello. If you purchase a license, is it good on just one device? I mean if I buy a license would I be able to use it on a Mac or PC and an iDevice when it becomes available? Thanks.

By KE7ZUM on Saturday, July 5, 2014 - 23:24

Since the app for iOS would have to be from the app store the purchase would have to probably be separate.

Take care.

By alex wallis on Saturday, July 5, 2014 - 23:24

agree with the above comment, buying a pc copy of the game won't let you have access to the mac or ios versions.
However you might be able to use the pc game on several computers, you had better ask the developers.
Personally I will probably get the pc one as hoping navigation will be easier on the pc.
Then depending on how replayable I find the game I might get the ios version though not sure as it does seem quite a bit of money to spend just to get it for two devices.

By IV Productions on Saturday, July 5, 2014 - 23:24

Hi all,
as marrie indicated, iOS is separate from Mac and PC licensing.

Mac and PC: one license is good for 5 different activations/devices (excluding iOS)
iOS/AppleStore: one license is good for one activation.

Please let me know for any other questions!

Mirko Venturi
Product manager, Audio Games
TiconBlu, Italy

Alex: problem is licensing under iOS goes through AppleStore, and we can't do anything about it, it's outside our control. Where we do have control, i.e. for Mac and PC, when you purchase a game we issue a license that is good for 5 activations. That's the best we can do, hope you appreciate *smile*

Mirko

By alex wallis on Saturday, July 5, 2014 - 23:24

So how does navigation work in the ios app? and when will it be released?

Navigation in the iOS app: move around by touching the 4 edges of the screen to move, and touch the central area for the actions (pulling levers, gathering objects, etc.).
Your character always moves in the selected direction at the same pace, one step at a time: just like moving on a chessboard.
It is essential that you count your steps, listening to the different noises from the ground, paying attention to the echo and the sound variations, or if you bang into a wall... you're probably going in the wrong direction!

About the release date: end of July (while the Italian version will be release around beginning of July), AppleStore permitting :-)

Mirko

By Orinks on Saturday, July 5, 2014 - 23:24

Hi all,
Just to let you know that these instructions are slightly wrong or there's a bug. at no point in time, in keep in mind I'm on world 5, have I ever had to use the actions button. On PC/Mac, this is the space bar. all keys and everything is picked up automatically. So, either the space bar actions button was removed at the last minute or you only use it for one or two puzzles that I have yet to get to. From what a friend was saying who've already completed the game this is not the case.
HTH.

By sockhopsinger on Saturday, July 5, 2014 - 23:24

So, other than the main character, is this game in any way related to The original Inquisitor audio game? I'm under the impression that this is a completely different game. Is that right?

By Orinks on Saturday, July 5, 2014 - 23:24

Hi,
This game is completely different from the Inquisitor, though it does have a connection to Emerach himself as you are a victim in his dungeons and you'll encounter him in the story where he reveals something, then tries to burn the place down, and that fire map is pretty tough if you actually try to figure it out, some can breeze through it I guess, but I enjoyed dying a few times on there. It's one of the few maps where you feel like you gotta run for your life, and I think there needs to be more senarrios like this.
Also, a note to the game debs: Can we have a save and load system for more than one game? The thought struck me to do a applevis podcast review of this game, however the only option I have now is Endless mode because I don't want to start a new game just to do a little demo of the first map. I'm definitely not doing a demo of world 5 because there is a spoiler in there from the beginning of the game if I were to demo it to it's completion.
So, maybe I might do a demo of Endless mode and give people tips on how to solve these maps. Lol, it was kind of funny how me and a friend thought that there was a bug on the first map because he couldn't figure out a way out of the beginning area. I'll just give one crucial tip here: Remember those shorelining lessons in O&M. It helps a huge deal on these maps.

By IV Productions on Saturday, July 5, 2014 - 23:24

@Orinks Several users of the First Open Edition (Italian only) complained about the interaction with objects/doors/etc., they found it difficult to open/pick/etc. so we decided to make it simpler and start the interaction just running against things. The space bar is also used to skip the current dialog line.

Hope it explains!

Mirko

By alex wallis on Saturday, July 5, 2014 - 23:24

Hi, I am having real trouble with the first map, I am at world 5, ad I found the hidden passage and have smashed down about 3 or 4 walls.
I a in a bit with I think 3 or 4 locked doors, at least I hear a rattling sound when I knock against them.
One issue I have its certainly not easy to keep track of where you have and haven't been, and I suspect I have been wondering around in circles a bit.
I think three features would be useful, firstly a key to say if you have been to a location before,
secondly some kind of coordinates system, and thirdly a way to place a marker at a position for a reference point.
I really didn't get the hint for finding the exit to the map as that's what I am struggling to do.

By Orinks on Saturday, July 5, 2014 - 23:24

@TiconBlu Yes, I know it's not possible to save multiple game sessions, though in the future I would like it to be possible with an update.

By alex wallis on Saturday, July 5, 2014 - 23:24

Hi, one thing I noticed, is in the English version there is a prisoner I think on maybe the second or third map of world 1 who speaks Italian rather than English,
I have only ever found him once.
Also can I please have some help how to escape world 1 map 5? I am surprised nobody has started a spoilers page on audiogames.net.
I think this game really does need a coordinates system and a way to mark locations.

By IV Productions on Saturday, July 5, 2014 - 23:24

@Alex Wallis several points raised
- prisoner speaking italian: it's an easter egg for a special edition we prepared for the Italian market, not supposed to be left also in the English version, we'll remove it;
- navigation system: we believe to implement it as you are suggesting would make the game too easy, we prefer to keep it more challenging;
- sounds: we just discovered a bug causing all sounds help to orient yourself, we'll fix it ASAP.
- location markers: good idea, we are thinking at something like dropping a stone, we'll consider it for future updates.

Thanks!