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Jack and The Dark (Jam Version)'s itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Audio | #33 | 3.891 | 3.891 |
| Authenticity (use of resolution) | #39 | 4.652 | 4.652 |
| Overall | #50 | 3.951 | 3.951 |
| Graphics | #54 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Gameplay | #102 | 3.261 | 3.261 |
Ranked from 46 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
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Comments
The level is a bit big and it's hard to find where to go. Ambiance is really well done ! Visuals and music are cool !
Thank you for the feedback! I totally understand. The map is very big. I should have put in a minimap with some objectives to help players out a little. A missed opportunity on my part for sure.
Creepy atmospheric little game… I didn’t get very far (I don’t like scary games that much) but what I saw looked good!
Thank you for the feedback! Don't worry at all! I'm actually not a fan of playing indie horror as much as I am watching other people play indie horror. I totally understand the feeling. I don't think I'm very good at storytelling, but it's easier for me to come up with a spooky story than an upbeat or heartwarming one. I promise the next game I make will not be a horror game, maybe.
Wow, I loved this game, the atmosphere, the graphics, the music, the story are all awesome!
My only problem was turning off the light after reading the note - I crawled in the dark for a few minutes until I realized I should just click, haha. Maybe a hint would be nice after a few seconds in the dark or starting with the flashlight turned off and giving a hint to turn it on.
Thank you for the feedback! Yeah, a couple other people suggested I have a little bit of guidance or direction. I don't even think the code would even be that difficult, I just totally forgot to do it! I'm definitely going to update the game with everyone's suggestions after the jam because I'm a perfectionist...
It shows on the polish of your game that you're a perfectionist, but don't feel too bad about the hints! It's a game jam so by definition the development is done in a hurry and you can only squeeze in a little playtesting and feedbacks, if any. You can always do an update, fix bugs, etc. and release it. (I personally prefer to keep the original version and add a "jam version" to its title and upload the updated one as a separate game, but I've seen several games in this jam that were updated during the voting - some game jams disqualify entries if that happens.)
Those are some good points. I definitely don't want to touch anything until the jam is over and I will time capsule the jam version of the game. These comments have been really insightful for me and everyone has had some really great feedback for me to work off of and grow. I really appreciate it!
Well done! It's definitely a good idea that the player can hide by crawling, without that I might never have finished the game... The graphics and the music were quite good. I have one question - are there multiple endings? (SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't played yet, don't read on.) When I played it, it ended by that I got imprisoned in a room that was impossible to flee (or maybe I didn't know how to do it) and The Dark caught me there. I'm not sure if the game has to end like this or if I just lost it and there is a way to win it. Thanks for your answer in advance!
Thank you for the feedback! No, you played it correctly. It ends on a downer. I really wanted to make multiple endings, but I got extremely sick the last day of the jam. I originally planned for a happy ending where the door in the asylum opens at the very last second and you are able to escape. From there the character would 'wake up' like it was all a nightmare. I'm definitely going to add all of the suggestions I got from the comments here after the jam is over though. Maybe I will add that ending in as well.
There is one easter egg that no one has mentioned. Maybe some people have found it, it's rather cheesy. I figured someone might want to try it. (Spoiler) If you stay crawling on the second level, the chase one, the monster will walk right over you and you can return back to the stairs for the easter egg.
Thanks for answering me! Now I can be calm, because I know that I'm not a noob. :-)
By the way, I use Linux and played it in the browser (I used Firefox). It worked! Nothing was glitchy, everything was OK! It's not true that it works only in the Windows browser...
Oh, thanks for the confirmation. I was having trouble getting it working on MacOS browsers. In fact, I couldn't get it to work. I was really hoping Linux users could play without any issues.
Neat game. Music and sfx were great. I liked the slow narrative reveal.
Two small critiques -
I couldn't exactly place the setting. It felt like a bar to me(probably because of the pool tables), but I assume it's actually either a mental health facility(notes + wider rooms feel like rec areas), a hotel(red carpet, also rec areas), a surreal version of his family home(bedrooms and hardwood flooring), or maybe some amalgamation of all of the above. Probably only a few tweaks to clear that up if you were so inclined, but if you were going for something unplaceable then you're good. Idk, just a thought.
I didn't have trouble finding the keys, but you could maybe add a little light source around interactables/keys to draw a bit more attention to it. Or maybe they glow a bit brighter once player light hits them. I was checking every picture frame and book case for an "E" popup just in case, which maybe took a bit of the immersion out of it.
All around solid, though. Good work!
Thank you for the feedback. I was definitely going for something unplaceable and dreamlike — pulled from different places of the main character’s memories. Actually, I had no idea what to put in the pool table room. I was thinking the place already had enough bookshelves and pictures. I decided to make the pool table because it seemed like a challenging sprite to make.
The light source around the intractable and items is a really good idea. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that… I will definitely add that in after the jam!
Wonderfully atmospheric!
The audio is great throughout, really adding to the tension that never lets up, and the theme song during the title screen is fantastic. Loved that low, growling John Carpenter-esque bass!
Loved the cryptic placement of the keys, definitely reminiscent of early Silent Hill and Resident Evil titles with the almost surreal methods used to find them :)
The transition to the second level is a brilliant change of pace, I hadn't looked at the screenshots before playing so was not ready for that! All leads into a really strong ending that works perfectly with the hints dropped via the notes.
Had a great time playing :)
Thank you so much for the kind feedback. Sometimes I feel like my story, art and code are all held together by duct tape and I put a bow on it and presented it to the world. Everyone is so kind to each other in their comments; I love how positive it is. Maybe we all understand each other's pain through developing our games.
I used Garageband to make the intro song and there's an instrument preset called 'Dark Bass Drive' with a transform called 'Slow Filter'. At really low tempo it starts to sound like that. It added so much tension to the arrangement.
Silent hill, Fatal Frame and Resident Evil are huge inspirations for me. I love how one second, there's absolutely no action and then suddenly you're running for your life. I figured the first level might get boring or people might be really good at it. So, I wanted to completely pivot the gameplay on the second level.
The progress of this is almost ready for sale, I love this style
Thank you for the kind words! There are still many problems with this game, but I'm glad with what I accomplished in a short amount of time. I'm also thankfully for the feedback to help me grow as a Godot developer.
I discovered Godot as a good tool after learning unity first
The graphics are good, took me a while to find the keys and doors walking around the map, I wish dying at the monster level didn't take you back to very start of the game, but I like effort you've put in so far, I enjoyed the 'metaphorical' ending.
Thank you for the feedback! I agree with you, dying at the second floor and getting sent back to the beginning is a little unfair. I probably will change it after the jam is over. The ending was my favorite part, simply because it allowed me to wrap everything up very quickly.
Genuinely creepy. Would prefer it to be entirely controlled by keyboard but very good game overall
Thank you for the feedback! I totally understand about the keyboard only input. I tried a couple different control schemes and in the end the mouse buttons caused the least amount of problems. It still has its own issues though. Like, clicking outside the window when you play on the web causes you lose focus/control of the game.
Good horror game ! I think will be here together now ^^ jack !
Thank you for the feedback!
First run: Didn't knew I had picked up a camera lol Even though I read it on the controls section, thought it was to move the camera to where you clicked and somehow it didn't work T_T Also spent about 10 minutes crawling in circles. Reached second level, forgot about running xD Disaster
Second run: Know about the camera, strut all over the place with the lights on. Evaporate every ghost in my way. Reached second level, Forest Gump mode activated, didn't even saw the monster show up till I woke up in a mental hospital O.O
Nice! A solid set of mechanics. I would add some communication to the player, say, when you pick up the camera the character says "A camera!" or a message on a corner "Camera picked up". Love the wiggling fingers in the ghosts xD
I had a lot of fun making the second level. The first level is kind of laid back after a while because you know what's chasing you. So, I decided to switch up the second level and increase the tension with real stakes (going back to the start) if you lose. I'm glad to hear it didn't make you ragequit. As an apology though, there's a little easter egg if you crawl back to the beginning on the second level. I don't think many people have noticed you can crawl and the monster can't get you.
I will update the game later with sparkles and visual cues to let people know there are items there. I originally intended to have a voice over to let people know what was happening, but I ran out of time.
Thank you for your feedback! Messages like this make my day.
Cool game, great atmosphere :)
Thank you!
Good job
Thank you!
[before reading the guide] couldnt find the blue door key after running around for about 10 minutes .
at this time i didnt know about the camera flash thing and ran into the ghost guy after collecting the key in the piano room and then game crashed.
After i replayed, i came to give feedback and then i read your guide on it in the comment section and Im pretty sure i tried to interact with the piano but nothing happened.(no prompt or any indication i had done something).
Maybe after you pick up the key the piano makes a sound so it would give the player a reason to think about interacting/inspecting the piano?
You might have been standing outside the collision for the piano. When you stand above it, nothing happens. You have to walk around and play it from the other side. Once you play it, you hear a piano note and the key drops to the floor and plays a sound. In retrospect, this seems dumb and I'll probably change the collision in the future so the piano has a wider area collision. Thanks for the feedback!
Really cool game. Very polished and well presented all round, I really liked the mood you created with the subdued graphics and especially the music--very important for a horror game. A hint in-game to right click when you get the camera would *really* help. I didn't even realise I'd picked up a camera--the sprite looked more like a key or candlestick holder or something--and only noticed it in the game's description after getting stuck. Yeah once I figured that out, things got a lot better :)
Thank you for the kind words! I definitely have had a lot of "oh, yeah. I should have made that..." moments after the jam ended. Popups, sparkles and infographics to teach players about the objectives and mechanics is a missed opportunity on my part. I probably will end up adding those in after the jam because I'm a perfectionist. I've also decided to remake this game in 3D, so your feedback will be super helpful in reminding me about this in the future. Thank you so much!
This was a fun experience, very moody and spooky, I liked the camera flash item, reminded me of fatal frame. The story was pretty great too! and the sound design was fantastic! Great Job!!
I just realized I probably
stolegot the idea for the camera from Fatal Frame. I've been playing them a lot on switch and didn't even realize the connection, nice catch. Thanks for the feedback!Wow, this game is really unique and special!
I liked the concept of the spooky ghost that chases you through the story, excellent work!
Thank you so much! I really enjoyed Nestbound as well!
I really enjoyed this!
Does the ghost come towards you while you read notes? Because every time I closed a note I was reading, I found the ghost to be very close to me BUT I was also crouched when the note closed so it made for a few nice micro jump-scares. I really liked that.
The map design works really well: Having to backtrack after getting keys gave me a nice bit of unease due to knowing that something was following me. Running in 1 direction felt safe, but turning around always felt immediately dangerous which I thought was really cool.
I love the sound effects that the ghost makes in “phase 2” of the game when it chases you down the long hallway. Very very nicely done. The title music is also great.
I held down the sprint button the whole game and gave myself a few jolts running into the ghost and needing to quickly flash the camera. It felt like the ‘ghost spawning / navigating’ mechanism was really well-tuned. It always felt like the ghost came from an angle that surprised me.
Anyway, I really liked this game, nice job! Also very impressive for picking up godot for the first time.
Thank you for the feedback! I really enjoyed using GDScript and I'm hoping to use Godot more in the future for other projects. These two things made motivating myself to finish much easier. I also tape down the shift key and sprint everywhere in the game. I rarely use the camera. I think it's the peak experience.
1. The ghost stops whenever you read a note because I felt it would pressure people into not reading them. However, the ghost does have some fun code that spawns him just out of view and he waits until you do certain things to hunt you sometimes. The crouching simply stops the ghost from moving, but I decided to keep it because I would definitely hide and read something if it was me in that situation.
2. I made a couple maps that were a little bigger, but I didn't want people playing the game for an hour and getting lost in the dark. So, I made it a bit smaller. I originally called it a mansion, but after the changes, it felt more like a house. The ghost actually spawns anywhere 360 degrees around you, but tends to always choose to spawn on the left side of you. Seriously, it's a bit creepy sometimes when you were just somewhere and it was safe and then when you backtrack, it's right there.
3. Thank you. The sound design was probably my favorite part of making the game. I made the theme song first and it helped me keep the 'feel' I was going for while I created the 'look' while developing. If that makes sense.
Really neat and spooky stealth game! Presentation and story are on point, you can tell this submission was lovingly crafted. Played & rated, well done :)
I was definitely trying to craft something. My main goal was to create an experience and instill a sense of dread while playing. I hope I accomplished that. Thank you for the kind words!
Good and spooky!
I wish there was some sort of ambient sounds, and that intro theme could get louder if The Dark gets close.
Unfortunately, it incentivized crawling, which forced me to play a more boring game. Perhaps a limit on how long you can crawl? (bad knee, etc) Or make it a super powerful flashlight that repels The Dark but has limited batteries
I am on the team that submitted Bass Invaders - Give it a try!
Thank you for the feedback! I just sprint through the whole thing for the extra thrill. I was working on a film consumable for the in-game camera that banishes the monster and a sprint/crawl stamina bar, but I ran out of time. I will definitely add those in the future. I will check out and rate your game, right now!