App of the Week (January 16, 2011): The Secret of Grisly Manor
Most gaming nuts reading will remember the classic game Myst. The pioneering puzzle/adventure game was notorious for being challenging — and to kids like me, it was a little too challenging and went way over our heads.
Fast-forward to the present day, and our latest App of the Week called The Secret of Grisly Manor. This time, my nearly two additional decades of mental growth has strengthened my performance in puzzle games, making them quite a bit more enjoyable!
Grisly Manor sets you inside your crazy grandpa’s mansion (we all have at least one crazy grandpa!). In the game, Grandpa is a brilliant inventor who has mysteriously vanished, leaving clues only decipherable by his loving grandchild (that would be you!) to indicate what he’s up to.
Playing the game, you must literally leave no stone unturned as you search for clues and use them to get answers and even more clues. The myriad of puzzles you encounter — everything from tiled mosaics to gear-turning combo locks — make excellent use of various in-game mechanics facilitated by Corona SDK, so it never feels monotonous or gimmicky. Of course, not to mention, the absolutely beautiful graphics and in-game ambiance (who did that soundtrack???) create a very cinematic feel that pulls you in and makes you wanna see the game to its very end.
Speaking of which, once you get to it, you’re met with a possible cliff-hanger ending that foreshadows one heckuva sequel game! I sincerely hope creators Fire Maple Games get to releasing that quick, because they could have a potential franchise on their hands.
All in all, Grisly Manor is a beautifully crafted adventure/puzzle game that you will insist on playing till the very end… Even if you have to look up a couple cheat codes along the way! 
To have your app or game considered for our App of the Week series, be sure to submit it to our Showcase page… You never know what it could lead to!
RSS feed
Congrats Joe from FireMapleGames for being our Game of the Week winner and for an outstanding game that I still can’t solve…
Carlos
Beautiful game!
Congrats! Did Joe make the switch from GS to Corona? I remember seeing the game on the GS website.
Wow, thanks everybody!
@David: yes, I originally wrote the game in GameSalad. When they announced that they were moving to a publisher/revenue share system, I came over to Corona.
Congratulations Joe!
I played through it on my DroidX right after you ported it – pleased that there was a game that didn’t suck lol. Definitely fulfilling. As a hardcore Myst lover though, I would LOVE to see you put out a game in the future of that difficulty and depth, and would gladly pay much more than .99 =)
Looking forward to The Lost city, and keep up the good work!
a.
It’s a very beautiful game, congrats Joe!
Did you develop it with Corona or Game Salad since it appears en both engines websites?
@betofantasioso: both! I originally wrote the game in GameSalad and then I rewrote it in Corona. My next game will be written in Corona from the get-go!
[...] Kauffman of Fire Maple Games just had his game The Secret of Grisly Manor chosen as our most recent App of the Week. We loved the game’s beautiful, immersive artwork and the variety of puzzles incorporated [...]
Just got a copy Joe. Very fun game.
Congratulations
Joe,
Great game. Did you have an understanding of programing before? Did building it first in GS make things easier?
[...] That is the speed of Corona SDK. . I think Fire Maple Games reported it taking 5 days to port their Secret of Grisly Manor game from GameSalad in their guest blogpost. Amazing! . To put that in perspective, I have been [...]
very fun, but it ended too early for me anyway. when will there be a sequel?
My daughter loves the game. I love the mystery of the game. I also love the music and would love it for a hallowen party. Where can I get it?