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Escape From Mars's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Enjoyment | #71 | 2.121 | 3.000 |
| Concept | #73 | 2.357 | 3.333 |
| Overall | #84 | 2.003 | 2.833 |
| Use of the Limitation | #85 | 1.886 | 2.667 |
| Presentation | #92 | 1.650 | 2.333 |
Ranked from 3 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Team members
FairyHataka
Software used
The game engine was created by me in Java. It was initially developed for my other game, Jenna's Virtual Life, and adapted for the current one. Images are AI-generated.
Use of the limitation
In case you fail to escape from Mars, you get stuck in a time loop, being forced to relieve your day indefinitely, until you manage to escape.
Cookies eaten
None. Trying to stick to a diet :)
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Comments
Semi-on-the-fly remarks:
I was expecting the infamous line from Zero Wing to follow. X)
Also, showing the upper limit for Hungry would help, as we have no way of knowing (before trying).
Another possible indication would be to show the ‘cost’ and ‘benefits’ of each action, but once again, you may find this too big of a helper.
Ah, the initial instructions say 12, but those from the rocket site say 10! Apparently, the good answer is 12. X)
Conclusion: nice concept! And the (very nice!) pictures really got my imagination working. If I wanted to be nitpicky, I would say that the loop amounts to a mere screenplay twist to talk about a game over, but after all, the way you put gathering information and a sense of what to do into the game mean that ‘losing’ is winning information — Outer Wilds style. I am conflicted about whether things should go this way or giving out more quantitative indications… Not an easy design choice!
Thank you for taking the time to write this awesome and detailed review. Indeed I was trying to make the player think. Otherwise there are not many things to do in the game. But having to think about the scenario and about the limits (maybe restarting a couple of times), I thought this could allow for a longer game play.
You also manage to discover 2 bad text descriptions (can be called bugs). Number 4), indeed the text message contains an indication to check your rover fuel, but this is not actually displayed anywhere. The stats only show "Rocket fuel in rover". I was initially planning to make something like a "gas station" for the rover and have you fuel it there. Unfortunately I was not able to generate a satisfying image for this and I forgot to delete the text regarding it. Similarly at number 5), the description associated with the rocket is showing the number 10, when it should be 12 as in the intro. Initially, I thought about allowing 10 units of fuel, but then I thought people will not visit the nearby fuel storage, so I made it 12 and forgot to update the text.
Sorry you didn't manage to beat the game :) If you are still interested, I have a cheat sheet of actions needed. Happy to share :)
Thanks for the details!
I am interested! :) Whenever I cannot see the end of a game or everything in it, I ask or plan on trying again in the future.
Just published a devlog with the actions needed: https://fairyhataka.itch.io/escape-from-mars/devlog/420527/cheat-sheet-for-finis...
Enjoy :)
From the game page:
I recently discovered Holeworm from Mini Jam 112 which also does. ;)
Thanks. It seems I haven't searched hard enough :) I've even initiated a discussion on Reddit regarding using AI images for games ( https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/wtpgqo/anyone_using_aigenerated_images_for_games/ ), but usually these images were used alongside other types of images and not as the main content. So, thanks again for finding the other game. I've also updated the description. If you know of any more such game, please let me know. I'm really curious how this technology fits into game design and where this is leading us.
I do not think I know another such game yet; try searching itch.io (or other game sites) using an appropriate tag, maybe?
I think this technology may be interesting for getting realistic scenery as in your game, but would probably result in a bland lack of originality if it became widespread for any sort of graphics.
What a cool concept! It's like a turn-based survival game. The UI could use a bit of polishing but the concept is really great :)
Thanks
If you like this, then you may be interested in Gods Will Be Watching — which also started as a game jam game, incidentally. ;)