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Nothing Is Real's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Audio | #109 | 3.455 | 3.455 |
| Graphics | #201 | 3.091 | 3.091 |
| Gameplay | #229 | 2.727 | 2.727 |
| Overall | #232 | 3.023 | 3.023 |
| Authenticity (Use of resolution restriction) | #319 | 2.818 | 2.818 |
Ranked from 11 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Did you work in a team?
I worked solo, but had a few friends test the game a few times.
All the assets were produced by me, with the exception of one Public Domain audio-track.
I think I spent 7+ nights on this project in total.
Was the resolution a challenge?
Yes, and no.
It wasn't a problem for me to implement stuff in such a small space, and the limit drove me to come up with material I wouldn't have produced otherwise.
But there were some really annoying technical issues I had to tackle, especially regarding the text/fonts.
Because of this and some poor decision-making early on, I had to do a LOT of unnecessary work and tinkering.
What did you learn?
A) That you should not underestimate the workload that waits you later on if you try to take shortcuts.
B) Don't leave important things to the last minute.
...
Uhh... Let me take that back. These are things that I will never learn!
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Comments
Not sure what I just played, all I know is that it is twisted and makes one question reality. I like!
One of the more unique entries for the jam I've seen. Getting to the end of the forest was pretty difficult, and some polishing up could definitely be in order, but I appreciate the direction overall
Yeah, there’s quite a few rough edges here and there I didn’t have the time to fix.
I also had to leave out a few story-elements and a planned achievement-system.
Adding some polish and implementing the cut content to a v1.1 wouldn’t require that much work, but I always find resuming development post-Jam really difficult for some reason.
This game is one of the strangest of this gamejam, the creativity of the authors is seldom valued when creating this type of work, well, I come to highlight this game because it is very original and very rare, nothing is expected, nothing is real. unfortunately I couldn't get to the end of it because of the difficulty at the end of the forest. but everything I've seen has been unexpected in a good way, great work.
Thanks, I really appreciate it !
The first iteration of the forest was way too easy, so after running a few tests I made it a lot more punishing. I guess finding a good balance is the challenge.
I considered implementing two difficulties to choose from, but didn’t really have the time for that in the end.
This is a very strange game in a "noughties flash video trip" kind of way, fun and visceral. Good music too!
The rendering isn't 64x64 but that doesn't detract from the style.
Glad you enjoyed the game!
As for the music, the track you hear in the beginning I recorded specifically for the game using this mobile-Looper, and did some after-edit on Ubuntu-Studio.
The forest-track is an older “test-song” I had lying around, and decided to use in the game.
I made it with this old toy-keyboard (no kidding!) and some of these effect-plugins.
The song that plays when you knock on the door I obviously didn’t produce myself.
It is a part of an oratorio by Georg Friedrich Händel from the 1700’s.
Spoilers Ahead?
This game was great. One of the better one's I've played. I unfortunately got stuck in the forest when the red thing started chasing me. In fact, that very thing caused a very visceral, tingly fear in me. I don't know why, but that's the kind of subtle unannounced danger that really gets my skin crawling. In a good way. You didn't quite stick to the 64x64 pixel grid, but your art was great regardless. At first I thought it was a little ugly, but one I used the bathroom in that man's house, and the choir started to sing I feel like I "got it" in an artistic sense. It reminded me a lot of a particular scene in Don Herdzfeldt's "It's Such a Beautiful Day" which is a movie I personally really enjoy. I didn't complete the game, because I've got a lot more to rate, but let me say this: I love the tone, atmosphere and existential horror this made me feel. Great work.
Thanks, man! It makes me happy to hear you enjoyed it.
Wow, I love how you brought up Don Hertzfeldt, since I’m a fan of his work myself. Actually, not that many days ago I was just thinking I should revisit that particular movie after a few years. The same film has made an impact on me as well, since I often find myself reminiscing some of the scenes and dialogue.
So I wouldn’t be that surprised even if there would be some subconscious influences manifesting in my own artistic output.
I watch it all the time. Anyway, just stopped by to say that I played again and completed it this time. I also noticed your note about the web version having smooth scrolling issues, but the desktop version not having those issues, to which I've adjusted the authenticity review accordingly. :)