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The Game of Theseus's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Presentation | #10 | 3.737 | 3.737 |
| Concept | #10 | 3.632 | 3.632 |
| Overall | #13 | 3.408 | 3.408 |
| Use of the Limitation | #19 | 3.211 | 3.211 |
| Enjoyment | #23 | 3.053 | 3.053 |
Ranked from 19 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Team members
Hatim B (@hatimb00)
Software used
Pico-8
Use of the limitation
The game is based on the myth of Theseus where the hero traverses Daedalus's maze to kill the Minotaur, but in my game you never reach the monster, so there's no one to fight or harm. You just keep going until your candle runs out. Theseus doesn't spend time in hell in the myths, but I thought of this game as his own version of hell: the maze is endless and there's no Minotaur at the end. Ariadne's thread is there, but it doesn't lead you back anywhere. Once the light goes out, you can technically keep going with just the sound effects as a guide and your score can keep going up, but it's a meaningless process.
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Comments
Really enjoyed playing this game man, the sound reminded of the old days of pokemon caves and i loved the concept with the time limit. Love the idea of the maze being shown at the start too so you can try to quickly remember :)
you are a genius. this game is amazing. the gameplay of reading the maze from above and then having to walk through is very clever and fun. the ending is so scary. just the fact that slowly starts to being hard to see where to go is already scary but then at the very end when you can only hear theseus hitting the wall as you try to move 🤯🤯🤯 very very very good game congrats
Thanks! I really appreciate it haha
pixel art looks really good and light efect adds a lot to it and gameplay is minimal and simple which isnt a bad thing in game jams.
Dude, some of these other games are like theme parks, they all just wear the theme of hell, but this is the first game I've played here that is actually just hell.
haha. assuming this is a compliment, thanks :)
Cool little maze game :) I think the gameplay loop could be expanded on, but maybe you just wanna keep it simple, I dig that. Also, you got me with the 1 bit sprites, I'm a sucker for em. Good work!
thanks! any ideas for potential expansions? i might continue working on this after the jam
Maybe some form of hazard you have to watch out for? A simple pit fall or something would be nice. Thanks for responding :)
Love the atmosphere, the music and the torch dimming really works!
If there was a goal after a couple of mazes I guess it would enhance the experience, perhaps fuel for the torch or some Minotaur hints?
thanks for the suggestions! glad you liked it
I really liked the idea of using a myth as a main inspiration!
First time it got dark I got that sense of dread, so it kinda is like a personal hell in a sense. I wish there was more to do (not necessarily killing, but maybe jumping through holes or something?). Overall solid game!
thank you! i was also thinking of adding traps, but more like spikes than holes.
Great art, Nice music and sound effects,
I like how the light slowly dims to black as if it were your timer, but the game didn't reset when the screen turned black, which was confusing. (maybe an animation where the candle blows out and the character falls to his knees?)
I feel like if you have directional movement in any game you should have support for wasd, because a lot of keyboards like 60%, don't have the arrow keys.
and I barely had enough time to see the map of the maze before I was left on my own.
I also don't see the connection to the theme or limitation in any meaningful way, unless thesues is in hell in greek lore.
tldr: Strong Art style, and pleasant music. 7.5/10
Thanks for the feedback!
Not having a reset was intentional. Theseus doesn't spend time in hell in the myths, but I thought of this game as his own version of hell: the maze is endless and there's no Minotaur at the end. Ariadne's thread is there, but it doesn't lead you back anywhere. Once the light goes out, you can technically keep going with just the sound effects as a guide and your score can keep going up, but it's a meaningless process.
Good point about WASD, but I'm not sure if I can remap the controls in Pico-8 x__x
Your Welcome!
I kept waiting for the jumpscare. Good atmosphere.
Interesting idea! Feels like it could potentially become a horror game as well.
Thanks! I've actually wanted to do a horror game for a while now so that's good to hear :)