I'm going to feed the monster one more time and do a "final" update (which will be version 1.3), so please comment on this article with any feedback or suggestions you might have.
Here are some things which will definitely be included:
- I'll make sure you can't actually go downstairs without Boney, to help people realise his importance.
- I'll investigate and probably fix the issue of respawning in the flashback after death, if I can replicate it.
- I'll add end credits for people who might have death-hints turned off.
- I'll investigate the possibility of making Boney and piggies glow in the dark (like pick-ups do).
Here are some things I definitely won't do:
- Make the game lighter, include more tinderboxes or a lantern. It's a feature, dammit! :-)
- Reduce the insanity monologue (muttering) any further than I already have done. Burke's rambling contains important clues.
... But if anyone can suggest anything else they want to see changed / added / whatever, let me know by commenting on this article in the next couple of days. Thanks!
A shame I didn't see this sooner.
Burke is muttering the same things over and over again, like 5 or 4 lines, depending on whether or not I have that skull with me, but all right =\
I think you should add a lever on top of each elevator shaft so you can go back down. I sent myself up instead of a pig and got stuck, now I'll have to edit the save.
This custom story better have a good bloody ending..! It's already obvious that it was inspired by A Machine For Pigs, and that one while being somewhat interesting, was a complete letdown in the end, I've read Poe.
Can you still finish the story if you -don't- "feed the beast"? Sounds like you are between two fires with the beast down there and the thing upstairs. If I was the character, I'd quit, even if the situation is metaphorical.
(Oh wait, I'm such an idiot, it says "multiple endings" right there in the description. Never mind me.)
Wow, how'd you manage to get into the elevator? Lol. Rather than provide you with a way to get back down, I'll see what I can do to stop you getting up there in the first place.
Just to clarify, the monster (as in "feed the monster") *is* the Thing Upstairs.
I understand why it makes you think of A Machine For Pigs, but the basis of the story is actually very different. It's inspired by a British kids' show from the 80's, called The Trap Door (it's worth looking up). I thought it would be interesting to develop the story and let it unfold in the Amnesia universe.
To answer your question, no, you can't progress to the end of the game without feeding the Thing upstairs a certain number of times. As for the ending, that depends on what you want out of it. Whichever ending you get, I hope you enjoy getting there.