You must be 18+ to view this content

Psychic Archeology Agency may contain content you must be 18+ to view.

Are you 18 years of age or older?

or Return to itch.io

A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, and Linux

🔞 Warning! This game contains sexual content! Adults only! 🔞

⭐This is a finished game!

Find lost treasures and sexy imps with the aid of your intuition. Coin flip odds are no match for gamer luck!

Individual games can be as short as a few minutes. The more difficult endings will take hours to reach. Please explore the game's features to your satisfaction.

[Controls]

  • Left Click to controls most game functions
  • Scroll Wheel to zoom in on items or imps in your inventory
  • Escape key brings up game settings (unavailable on the title screen)

[Hints]

  • Each area has an imp associated with it. You cannot have two imps of the same type, but you can find an imp again if it's not in your current possession.
  • Search bonuses are multiplied by the base amount rather than added. So a 100% bonus means double the base chance, not 100% success.
  • Requests change as you complete more of them. New clients will appear and old clients will come with tougher and more rewarding inquiries.
  • Imps will be displeased if there are either no adjacent items that they like or at least one item that they dislike. If an imp is pleased, their passive effect is 3 times more powerful, plus an additional multiplier for every 4 levels of joy over the required amount.
  • The Puzzle curio can be solved by duplicating the color of the flame in your equipped oil font. The listed effects must be of a matching type and in the same order. The reward is scaled according to how closely the strengths of the powers match.
  • Statistics are calculated based on Binomial Distribution for individual games and Normal Distribution for totals.

[Future Plans]

Development is concluded. I may release small patches or bug fixes if anything comes up, but I have no plans to for big updates at this time.

If you wish to support my work and influence future development, please consider joining me on SubscribeStar


[Credits]

  • All music is composed by Drozerix from The Mod Archive.
  • Fonts are from https://www.1001freefonts.com/
  • Statistics math is from Math.NET Numerics
  • The "wrong path" and "right path" jingles were composed by a mysterious helper.
  • All other art, code, sound effects and other assets were made by me for this project.
StatusReleased
PlatformsWindows, macOS, Linux
Rating
Rated 3.9 out of 5 stars
(13 total ratings)
AuthorImpy
GenrePuzzle
TagsErotic, Exploration, psychic, Roguelite
Average sessionAbout a half-hour
LanguagesEnglish
InputsMouse

Download

Download
CaveGuide-Win.zip 48 MB
Download
CaveGuide-Mac.zip 51 MB
Download
CaveGuide-Linux.zip 54 MB

Development log

Comments

Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.

(+1)

how to exit

(+1)

Hit escape and choose "save and quit".

(+1)

I just had moment when Fairy would keep going despite well into -300 lmao. First try at cave

(+1)

Also what to mix if it is not secret in order to interact with the statue? I think I tried everything.

(+1)

Sphinx puzzles are about matching the color of your equipped oil font to the color it shows. Only your leading color matters. It needs to be a similar color, but more importantly it needs the same 2 powers in the same order. How close the effect needs to be is a bit of a guessing game, but there's a bonus imp tied to getting it nearly perfect. The requested effects come from a mixture of 3 real ingredient rather than complete randomness, so you have a pretty good shot at getting it exactly right.

(+1)

How to increase chances of getting encounter with it? Also sorry and thank you for answering my annoying questions.

(1 edit) (+1)

You're looking for "curio appearance chance", it's the primary effect of cyan colored oil. Secondary effect on most teal or blue oils, and some white ones. Sphinx does not appear in every area. From what I remember, she's in swamp, mushroom grove, volcano cave, beach, and desert.

(+1)

This was such a good idea, it's a shame you didn't take this further. :(

I quite like the item mechanics, and I may try something similar in one of my future projects. A few of the characters and items have also made cameo appearances in my other games. Unfortunately there hasn't been a lot of support for continued development among my subscribers beyond that, and I am planning to switch away from Unity so it's unlikely that I will update this game further.

(1 edit) (+1)

Very neat game, took me a bit to figure out the imps like different things around them but when they find something they really like they get nude, fun. 

Thank you! I also had some loose plans to add small events with the imps when you give them to certain clients, but I've got really caught up in developing my newer games.

(+1)

It would be really cool if certain imps being near each other and being happy would have them play with each other.   I suppose time will tell if you decide to come back to this one, I have played a few of your other games and am enjoying them also.

(1 edit)

This project wasn't associated with any game jams and was made before I opened my SubscribeStar account, so I didn't really have a set start and end date to it. Because of this I had all sorts of stuff that I tried and failed to do. Check my Devlogs for a short illustrated story of how this all came about and the many ideas that I just never really ended up pursuing.

I don't really see myself adding more to this game anytime soon, but I've still got all the project files backed up, so it's not impossible.

(+1)

The terrain effects of the oil does not seem to work, I'm in a snow biom and the oil that should last while cold doesnt.

(+1)

The terrain effects for oil only come into play when you refuel the delivery buggy. Less oil is consumed to finish the errand you assign.

(1 edit) (+1)

I loooooove this game already, if you update it a bit more I'll deffinitely buy it. Please add so we can upgrade and change the guide (fairy) , and allow us to perhaps interact with her a bit. Perhaps feeding her things you find and stuff will have an effect, and different oils can affect her mood. I'd also enjoy it if you could improve your odds somehow at picking the correct path, and the ability to find more exotic things, perhaps a cut-scene or some event.

(+1)

Thank you, I'm really happy that you like it! Unlockable costumes for the guide are already in the works. I do eventually want to make her more interactive as well.

The game will always be free, so no need to worry about buying it. My SubscribeStar supporters have one month early access to releases, but everyone will be able to download the same version of the game in the end.

(+1)

mac version doesnt work :/

Unfortunately I don't have a way to test the Mac and Linux builds. Could you be more specific? Does it not launch at all or are there feature that don't work correctly?

(+1)

All it says is 

"The application “Psychic Archeology Agency” can’t be opened."

Hmm, well a quick search seems to indicate that this has to do with how Macs handle application security. This is something you should be able to fix on your end by temporarily enabling all apps to run:

System Preferences -> Security & Privacy -> Allow apps downloaded from "Anywhere".

 Another suggestion I found online is to use the terminal window:

  1. Open a terminal window (CMD + Space -> terminal);
  2. Using the cd command, navigate to the place where the application is stored: cd <path_to_application>
  3. Run chmod +x <application_file> to make it executable. If it doesn't let you, sudo it: sudo chmod +x <application>.

Hopefully one of these works for you.

(+1)

I've been having fun with this, I like shuffling imps and items around to get as much joy as possible. Experimenting with ingredients is fun too, especially when you get an effect far stronger or way different that expected. The unfortunate thing about the oil mixing is that it's very unpredictable. It's hard to tell which square is going to end up being dominant, as well as pinpointing what colors have what effects, and what colors will show up with most combinations. Still fun, I think I'll be playing it assuming I'll never understand how the mixing works, which is an adventure in it's own right.

(+2)

Oil mixing is a bit of an awkward art in this game, sorry about that. I've considered trying to explain the intricacies of oil alchemy in the "hints" section of the game page, but I feel like I would end up writing an essay if I did that.

Here are some pointers that may help:

  • Only the dominant square matters for determining the effects of an oil. The others determine how the color shifts after mixing.
  • The easiest approach is to remember what pairs well together and using exclusively those two ingredients for the mixture.
  • For best results try combining ingredients that have different dominant squares, but similar colors in the squares opposite of the other's dominant color.
  • The amount of oil already in the font makes a big difference. Mixing only two different ingredients forms a strong color shift with an exact average of the two. Adding a new ingredient to a 5/6 full font will only contribute 1/6 of its effect to the overall mixture.

I hope this helps you out some.

(+2)

Thanks for the tips :) It's relieving to know that 2 ingredients will usually be most effective, the sheer number of possible combinations is a bit daunting. I'd also like to mention that rockhopper imp is my favorite.

(+2)

Rockhopper was actually the very first imp added to the game. Her design changed the most over time as I tried to get the art style for all imps to be a bit more consistent.

(+1)

Extremely good game!! 

very cute drawings and very fun management system imo

enjoying the inclusion of diverse genitals (im trans, i like trans bodies)

if i had anything to note is that due to the rng nature of the game its possible and has happened to me that i spent like 3 runs getting 100% bad rolls

i didnt finish the game yet but im excited to play more

also since i saw you ask around the comments, i like the sleepy imp most i think uvu

(+3)

Thank you, I'm glad I could make it fun for you!

I'm happy that I decided to expand the variety of sexes for this game too. Judging from the replies so far,  it turns out that they're actually some of the more popular characters in this game! This makes me feel better about my development plans for my Split Screen Adventures game, since I'm planning on including male/male and male/futa scenes in the finished version.

(+1)(-8)

hey so, i wasnt gonna mention this but i feel like i wanna have some faith that youd listen so basically

futa is extremely a slur for trans people on the same level as f@g

and i simply dont think i or most other trans people will be able to enjoy anything you make if you label it as such

(1 edit) (+5)

It's used as an art tag rather colloquially on adult websites that host such content. It's a Japanese word for individuals with multiple types of genitalia. I haven't really seen it used as a slur, it's a search term for finding something many people enjoy seeing.

We can't let the haters steal word meanings away, especially when there's plenty of perfectly decent people using them to describe something they appreciate. I'm guessing that's exactly the sort of thing that those who would use futa as an insult would aim to accomplish.

(+1)(-3)

im not trying to win a culture war

im telling you what every trans person ive talked to including me find extremely uncomfortable and insulting

and i feel in a conversation about girls with dicks, actual girls with dicks' opinions should weigh a bit more heavily on it then standards set by 4chan that trans people have been complaining about for years now

otherwise its just a bunch of horny people talking about a sex object and i guess i just dont think thats very sexy

im just telling you who youre alienating with your word choice, cause i like wanna keep enjoying your content

and i like to see positivity on these issues

if your worry is searchability, trans is just as useful a search term and it acknowledges the people portrayed in these kinds of pictures

im really not trying to come off as defensive but i guess i kinda am

its important

(1 edit) (+4)

No it didn't really come off as defensive, I think I got the tone of it. In the context of adult art however we absolutely are talking about sex objects. That's the reason why I said that I have never heard it used to belittle a trans person. Every time I've seen it used was exclusively to describe a piece of erotic art that someone drew, not a real individual. Our experiences may differ on this and I acknowledge that.

What I'm trying to get across here is that yielding ownership of a word to a group that wants to use it to get at you is not helpful. It's usually best to either reclaim it or ignore it, otherwise it will get used against you regardless of how many people you get to agree not to use it. The people who are trying to offend you don't care what sorts of words do or don't get used in polite society.

I absolutely do understand and sympathize with your position, but the only remedy against trolls is not to participate in their games. If you make "trans" the replacement word then the trolls will just use that against you instead. I've already seen it used for just that exact purpose. It's not the words, it's the context and the people saying them.

(+2)

dumbass doesnt even know what futa is

(-1)

hahaha! this redneck is offended by an organism developed by two other rednecks with very open imaginations

Shut the fuck up keyboard warrior. That post is over year old.

(+1)

Oh yeah, this was a really addicting game. I liked the inventory management and the imp  happiness system. Also your art style is really cute. The game was bit confusing at first but I learned it eventually.

(+1)

Thank you for playing, I'm really glad you enjoyed it Nekolag!

Do you have a favorite imp design?

Sorry about the confusing gameplay. I did intend the game to be trial and error based to an extent. I've tried to explain some of the more obtuse mechanics in the "hints" section on this game page. If a lot of people find the basics confusing I might include a brief tutorial in the future.

Were there any other parts of the game you thought could use some work?

(+3)

Toxinfarmer was my favourite. She had a surprise in her pants.

One think I would change is to make the walking speed in the corridors a bit faster. Or maybe have a quick skip feature. Overall this game is well polished.

(+1)

Toxinfarmer's probably my favorite too.

The walking speed has been something I've been steadily increasing ever since I first started development. It starts looking silly if it goes too much higher, but I'll see what I can do.