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That Abysmal Place's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Audio | #7 | 4.222 | 4.222 |
| Overall | #8 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Polish | #9 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Progress | #9 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Graphics | #11 | 4.222 | 4.222 |
| Fun | #13 | 3.778 | 3.778 |
| Innovation | #13 | 3.778 | 3.778 |
Ranked from 9 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
(Optional) Changes made to your project since the start of the jam
Please play the demo before reading the devlog, as it contains spoilers :)
(Optional) Devlog
https://blackvoidmedia.itch.io/that-abysmal-place/devlog/277207/marathon-jam-july-2021
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Comments
Unfortunately the update is missing Linux builds...
I will provide Linux builds for this demo at some point in the future (the last demo has Linux builds as they were specifically requested by a play-tester). Unfortunately at the moment any Linux build would be released completely untested, though I'm hoping that will change as the project progresses.
Damn, this is really good. I think this might be the most polished game in this game jam.
I really like the dark and broody graphics, really sets the mood and atmosphere. I especially like the 2.5D shadow effect you got there. Movements are ok, although you can't really control yourself mid-jump, making some precise jumps a little difficult. Music is great. The story/plot is really intriguing and teases the audience well.
Some complaints: I can't tell if I am being hit or I'm the one hitting, as the animation/particle effect is really hard to see (maybe I'm blind lol), a human "hurt sound effect" would do nicely. I can't exit out of "item drop" mode, meaning I have to drop something if I want to look at an item. Also, being able to look down would be nice, as I can't figure out if a ledge drop is safe or not (is that what the rope is for?)
But all in all, real fine work you got there.
Thank you so much for playing, I'm glad you enjoyed it! You're not the first person to mention about the damage so I'm definitely going to have a look at ways of improving that yeah.
Regarding dropping down ledges, in the full game all long "vertical" sections will have ropes yeah (or something similar) - the idea is you will be descending into the unknown, but you won't be forced to jump/fall and potentially take damage. In that demo level the last "ledge" is a blind drop yeah - which is a bit of a mean thing for me to put in, but I wanted to make sure the player couldn't get back up :D
Thanks again for playing and for the feedback, it's all very useful!
Really cool and atmospheric demo, the audio design is a really awesome. It seems like it could lead to a really interesting game. The art is awesome and assists the atmosphere a lot.
I really loved the underwater section because it's setup so that you really believe that you're not going to make and raises the tension a lot. Also the fact that the time you have left is represented by the screen tinting blue is a very clever way of doing it instead of using a progress bar. All around great demo.
I initially thought the spikes would harm me and wasn't clear on how to make it past one point. Maybe changing the color to something less dark would make it clear that they are part of the background and not a game mechanic. Also I had some bugs with the rope but that was about it!
Really awesome job!
Thanks again for playing it! Yes I'm going for as little UI in-game as possible - hopefully the inventory bar will be the only interface.
Interesting, you're not the first person to mention about the "spikes" - as they are technically foreground elements I wanted to keep them the same colour as the level geometry. I'm wondering if I can have a short "automatic" sequence at the start of the demo where the player walks passed one of them to show they are harmless. I'll have a little think about that though.
I don't like horror games... and it's because games as this... LOL. Pretty well done, the atmosphere and the graphics, sounds fit incredible and made me want to quit from the second scene.
I think you can polish a little the hero mechanics and animations, but they are already great.
I noticed a lot of symbolism in this game that gives me the creeps.
Well done!
Thank you so much for trying it, I appreciate the feedback! I'm glad someone commented on the symbolism too :D
I really liked your game and played it till the end of the demo, I have much to say about it so I`ll talk about all the aspects that stood out to me:
Sound:
The sound in this game is absolutely brilliant, it made me feel very anxious and really sold the scary atmosphere you were probably going for.
Movement:
This is really the only thing that may need a bit of work, because even though I can't exactly say why the jumping/falling mechanic kinda doesn't feel right.
Graphics:
The monster design and some environment look great, only the some passages may need a bit of extra detailing work, but thats nitpicking at that point
Animations:
The animation of all things, especially the enemys look great, but when it comes to the player I think the could need a bit of work before a final release.
Other:
Maybe think of somekind of other indication that the player is drowning since the screen going blue looks nice but isn't enough in my opinion. Maybe you hear the characters try catching for air more and more as tehy get closer too drowning or something.
Bugs:
There were a few, nothing too big, but I wanted to add them.
1.) Sometimes the ropes that the player would slide down would spawn too late and you could see it (don't know if thats a bug or intentional)
2.) When the player on the rope swings against a wall a it causes the player to be just holding air, with the rope a bit offset for a short bit
3.) When the player does the dodge into a sliding down rope thingy, the dodge either stays on while the player is on the rope or the player falls down, looking like they hold the rope and the game is softlocked (added picture below)
Overall the game looks great, keep working on it, because it has the potential to become a great 2d horror platformer :)
Thanks so much for playing and for the detailed feedback! The player animations are indeed somewhat WIP, particularly that falling animation, I need to rethink that entirely :) I love your suggestion of the player gasping for air as they start to drown, I definitely want to add that in!
Thank you for a thorough description of the bugs too, the ropes are still very much "pre-alpha", they may be reworked entirely at some point since they're obviously quite buggy still :)
Thanks again!
This is probably going to be one of my favorite horror games when it's complete. Even at its current state, I love everything about the game's mechanics, aesthetics, and feel. My only complaint is that I wish there was more.
I would also like to know what are your plans for the next step in your game's journey. I know this is still a work in progress but I would love to see more intricacy in the fighting mechanics.
Thanks a bunch for playing it! There will be more to come for sure :D
I'm not sure if they combat mechanics themselves will evolve much passed this point, but I'll have a think about it. There will be a lot of other options related to combat - not only different weapons with different effects, but also various spells/items that you'll be able to use against enemies.
In terms of next steps... well the next immediate step is going to be a whole bunch of refactoring, bug-fixing, and adjusting based on people's feedback :D After that I will probably go back and look at my level generation - now that I have finished this demo level and have a good idea of how I want levels to "feel", I can tweak and fix my level generator functionality based on that. So I guess the next "big" demo will be playing in a "semi" procedurally generated level :)
So good to finally play this game! Great graphics and the controls have a very good feel to them. The atmosphere is incredible, you really are a master of the horror genre. Love the creepy language the tutorial narrator uses!
Besides the stuff we've discussed earlier, I've come up with some other points:
- I've got an issue with combos. Sometimes, when I see the enemy's attack coming, I want to cancel a combo.
- I need the redefinable controls. Space for jump doesn't go well with arrow movement, when I also have to attack with mouse.
- I remember at the early stages of development there was some panic event when the terror reached some threshold. There is a hint of it in the tutorial, about "moments of serenity", but I didn't notice anything out of ordinary happening. Is the feature still present?
Just read on the itch page, that there's also jumping with RMB. That works for me.
I've also noticed the following:
- I can crouch in the beginning, before moving is enabled
- Falling from the height causes the main character to clip through the ground a bit, during death animation
Hey, thank you so much for playing, I'm glad you enjoyed it! :D Regarding your feedback:
Thanks again! :D
Really enjoyed the art and sound you came up with the game. It's all very strange and unnerving. The way this is presented made me think it was more of an adventure game platformer like Another World or Limbo. The combat hits that feel of the player swinging something heavy without being too frustrating to act. Movement on the other hand feels like you're moving around like Mario with it allowing enemies to be easily avoided because of it. It feels contrary to what you're going for with the combat.
Thank you, this is excellent feedback and glad you enjoyed the experience! Quick question, when you say "allowing enemies to be easily avoided", do you mean it's too easy to avoid their attacks? Or it's too easy to avoid the encounters altogether?
I mean the encounter altogether. I was able to jump past them with very little problem at some point where there were several enemies. I just thought it would be easier to jump past and succeeded with that. How to stop something like that I think having recovery frames for landing and not able to quickly change direction in air. I'm not 100% on what you want for the game however. Roguelites tend to be on the quicker side of things for less frustrating runs.
Ah I see, yes that makes a lot of sense, thanks for clarifying! I did wonder if I should "force" some combat encounters in the demo (e.g. not letting the player proceed until they defeat the zombies), but I didn't really have time to implement it and it probably doesn't reflect what the final gameplay will be like. I definitely agree with your point though - recovery frames sound like a potentially good solution, and I also want to add some "incentives" for players to get into combat instead of just bypassing it.
Thanks again for the feedback!
No problem and I hope the best for you with the game!