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Ryans Drive's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Theme interpretation | #4 | 4.500 | 4.500 |
| Innovation | #4 | 4.167 | 4.167 |
| Gameplay | #15 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Overall | #28 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Graphics | #195 | 3.250 | 3.250 |
| Audio | #289 | 2.333 | 2.333 |
Ranked from 12 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
GitHub repository URL
https://github.com/TidaliCreatives/Ryans-Drive
Game description
Someone has lost their hard drive. Some of the files on it seem very interesting...
Theme interpretation
It is the core, the root, the mainframe.
Wildcards used (optional)
Small Palette
Limit your colors to 4
Cheat Mode
Let players break the rules with things like infinite lives or invincibility
Speed Run
Make time the enemy
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Comments
Really cool premise!! I've seen a couple hard drive password hunt style games but I really loved you take on it with the different minigames that you made as a younger dev. The writing is solid and invokes emotion, and I liked the "raw" feel of the desktop screensaver. Unfortunately, I ran into a bug on the web build (I seem to be the only one who did after reading the other comments) where all the stickman labyrinth games were already unlocked. I downloaded the walkthrough and its instructions don't line up with my gameplay, as stickman 2 was already unlocked, there were no torches in the game just a blank maze in the same style as stickman 1, and there was no race to freedom second stage for me. Maybe I messed something up but I followed the walkthrough as is. I thought you did a great job building the feel of the game and the premise is super interesting and tugs at the heartstrings a bit. I think some more sfx or background music would have taken it to the next level. Nice work!!
Thanks a lot!
Issue with already unlocked stuff is weird, have you tried resetting the game with the icon in the taskbar? Also there is background music, you might need to turn up the volume a bit, as it's initially too quiet (just set the ingame volume to max), as I've heard from multiple people already. Next thing I would add is surely more SFX for a more round feeling!
Just tried resetting and same issue, Stickman Labyrinth 1-5 are already unlocked at game start
This was incredible! So much more extensive and moving than I was expecting beforehand. I loved seeing Ryan's relatable evolution from a simple maze game without collision to a 3D game. And I loved finding the third level in Stick Labyrinth 2 by looking at its UI folder (didn't have the password yet). Thank you for including a walkthrough; I couldn't find the password for the Christmas game and I felt like I checked all of Isolation for a second ending... turns out there's a different hallway right at the start hahahaha.
Wow. With the 'SECRETS' theme, there are quite a few "desktop-simulator" games in this jam (I would know, I kind of made one as well lmao), but I really do think that this one is the cream of the crop for that genre. You've managed to capture a real sense of wonder and created a digital world within this hard-drive that genuinely feels real. I think a big part of what sells this is that it's a game about making games (among other things), and a game-jam is the perfect audience for people who would find that relatable ;)
-- SPOILERS BELOW --
As for the story, I thought it was very well paced, intreguing, and I found it genuinely moving. I found myself getting emotional at the end getting to the secret room and then reading the letter. Creation does often feel like need rather than a want, and having someone take the time to experience your creation can feel like you're making a true connection, even though you'll likely never meet that person. I think you conveyed that concept in a beautiful way.
Thank you for making this game, it really resonated with me ❤️
The idea of exploring a hard drive to discover secrets is great!
A background music will be a relevant addition
Thanks! There is music, you may have not heard it, because the default volume for the sound is not at max ;)
Cool and fun game! The concept reminds me of "The Beginner's Guide" which was an excellent game that I thoroughly enjoyed. I didn't make it through all of the secrets and to the end, but I likely will return to complete this in the future. Solid submission!
The core concept was definitely TBG inspired! Especially the quote "A key in one game opens the door in a completely different game" came up while brainstorming! I hope you come back to this, so you can disover all the secrets within Ryans Drive. (Feel free to take a look at the Walkthrough, if you get stuck on a puzzle ;) )
I love games like this! Feels like something I'd have been happy to pay money for. Great work!!
Thank you for your kind words and time, we are VERY glad you could enjoy this at that level!
Wow, very novel game and very relatable. Feels almost sickening going through someone else's drive like this. Story is great and simple yet complex. The gameplay is just the right amount of complicated. Very innovative you guys, well done!
Also wanted to add that this type of game is what I really like to experience with game-jams. Others have already pointed out that this could be a fully fletched game and I couldn't agree more.
Thank you for sharing your feelings and feedback! We are so glad that we were able to make this entry for everyone to enjoy and share something personal, hopefully provoking thoughts alongside some fun!
This game was clearly made with love. I enjoyed playing it! It takes me back to when I made my first game. I love the storytelling. Good job!
Thanks a lot! We really had a hard time thinking about what would make sense, but also be fun or interesting to look at! We're glad you could enjoy our demo and feel the love poured into it :D
This was really incredible! I feel like with jam games it's easy to play for a bit and then move on to the next one, but this really sucked me in, and I felt compelled to finish it. I'm so glad I did! Really great narrative device with the hard drive, and I really loved the fake Unity intro when going into each of the games. There was also a great progression with the quality of the games in a very authentic way. Excellent job to the team, the writing was top notch, and it's going to be really tough to find another game in the jam that tops this one.
Honestly, I would consider fleshing this out to a full release, it feels like it's basically there already. A great love letter to game development as an art form and hobby that can be used for human expression. Really fantastic work!
Yeah it really is, we're glad you were able to enjoy it so much!
We werent planning on releasing this, but we might add some content (or readd content which we didnt include as it would only work partly, aswell as another working game, which we didnt include in the demo, because it didnt fit in the story). I can image a version of this with playthroughs taking multiple hours tho, so thanks for the suggestion and feedback :D
Absolutely fantastic. Reminds me of The Beginners Guide. Deep personal game with a lot of fun and meta-references. Enjoyed every minute of it. Having multiple games within a game was amazing, This one really felt like it could be fleshed out into a full game it really spoke to me. Full playthrough took me about an hour. The only complaint I could think of is the sound was slightly underused. A couple of the puzzles were a little abstract to me so I needed to guide a small amount but overall the puzzle difficulty felt fair and well thought out. I genuinely loved this a lot. The little details like the fake Unity Splash or how the cultist animation didn't rotate brought a real smile to me. You guys knocked it out of the park this is an insane amount of polish and story for a one month game! (Also is there a second ending? The game kept hinting at it but I could not figure out if there was one)
Thank you a lot for your kind words! The Beginners Guide was a big inspiration with quotes like "A key in one game opens a door in a completely different game". Also it's kind of what the trailer promised it to be, but we enjoyed that narrative a lot aswell! While Stead made the art and dialogue and I made everything work, aswell as UI and audio, latter sadly didn't receive the amount of time that we needed in order to polish the other parts. :( We're still pretty proud, as this is our first project being this polished and not have bugs (atleast we dont know of any in the demo).
The game itself does not have a second ending as of now, but it would make sense to include at least some kind of secret. (You could theoretically open the C: Files, but the password is not seen anywhere in the game, that could count :D)
This is not just a simple game about secrets, but your task is easy to understand. You dig into the files of a lost hard drive, trying to understand what you've found, with a simple message conveying all the secrets lying within.