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Roots in the dark's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Theme | #233 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Playability | #258 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Cleverness | #282 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Artistic Style | #401 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
Ranked from 2 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Judge feedback
Judge feedback is anonymous and shown in a random order.
- I found this to be a quirky game that was pretty funny while playing. The concept is clever in regards to the beard extending in a rather uncontrollable manner and having to collect items in order to salvage that, but in the form of a puzzle (like snake, I saw the GDD), was a nice touch as well. The art and music were done quite well, too--very catchy music. Overall, I believe you did a good job, so keep up the good work!
- This game is simple in concept and really well done. The theme was well incorporated into a unique game. No one else had this idea, hahaha. I love the basis on a real historical person as well as the snake aspect of the gameplay. It was well done in controls explanation as well. You did a really excellent job on this and I'm so glad you were motivated by the positive peer pressure. GG!
Did you include your Game Design Document as a Google Drive link?
Yes
Seriously... did you include your Game Design Document?
Yes
Is your game set to Public so we can see it?
Yes
Tell us about your game!
Its a twist on classic snake and inspired mostly by the historical alchemist Hannig Brand who accidently discovered phosphorous while trying to find the philosophers stone. This burst of light in the dark is the thematic interpretation behind the games style. The rest is simplified as far as possible to make the experience enjoyable and more importantly, doable within time.
The player is an alchemist who, when going to bed drinks the wrong potion resulting in their beard growing endlessly. The player must now rush through the dimly lit spaces to bring each ingredient to the cauldron before being overwhelmed by their ever lengthening beard. The player must also actively avoid their beard trail as they track around the play area, hence the inspiration from snake.
Extra Notes
This was incredibly fun. It was my first time doing a game jam and I feel like I've stepped into a whole different world. For years I've thought about game development and never really pushed to give it a try. I was a few weeks into Godot and thought why not join a jam. The amazing positive peer pressure is excellent to motivate oneself to create and challenge yourself further. Like wow. I can't believe I'm about to press submit hahah.
Thanks
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Comments
Super fun game! Really inspiring to see a unique twist on snake. I love how you incorporated the shadows theme to obscure player information.
(The tripping sound effects were hilarious!)
Yeah fitting the theme with the beard was a little tough at first, but it grew on me.
Very fun game, I love the twist on snake by adding a jump. The maze was fun to try and explore while not allowed to back-track!
So glad you found it fun. That's the aim :)
made me remember I suck at snake 10/10
Same XD hahah. Took me some tries to avoid that game-over screen.
Really good game! I like the creative take on the theme and found it very fun to play. As others have mentioned before, there were times I would try to pick up an item but it would immedietly get dropped. But other than that, it was really good!
Really glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the feedback! I'll be sure to check those issues :)
Hah! That's funny theme implementation, I like it! But sometimes the challenge was given by E button, not by alchemist's beard. :)
Lol haha. I'll have a look at this E button and sort it out. Like you say, perhaps the real challenge was the E button I made along the way.
I mean that E button sometimes spoiled me the try, because I ran back and realised that I didn't grab the item even after I pressed it. Anyway, good concept and challenge, I like it!
Great idea, was definitely having fun, but it was very difficult. Two things that got in my way were that sometimes I thought I had picked something up but it was still on the ground. And by the time I realized, it was too late and my beard had overgrown the area and I wasted too many moves. The other thing is that tapping a move direction moves you further than you might want to go. There were times I needed to go just the tiniest bit forward to follow alongside my beard trail, but I died because I couldn't go a tiny bit forward. I would have kept playing until I won if it wasn't for those issues because I really liked it.
Awesome feedback! The difficulty can definitely be dropped a bit. I even found myself sweating to complete it haha, not ideal. I also wasn't aware of the pick-up issue, thanks for noting that :) . I'm super glad you liked it despite those issues. I'll have a look at them post-jam and clean it up!
Haha! This is a fun concept. It took me a minute to release I was dying because I was stepping on my own beard! I love games with a sense of humor and this gave me a good chuckle.
haha thats great to hear wow. I was hoping someone would find the humor in it. Glad you enjoyed it!
Amazing game. Before I played this game, my life was constantly going downhill. My wife left me for her pilates instructor she told me not to worry about. My best friend in the world (Fluffy the dog) ran away to Mozambique, taking my kids with him. Then I played this game. Experiencing life through the eyes of Hanning Brand changed my life forever. I understand now that the eternally growing beard is a symbol of the struggles of everyday life. This game taught me that the only solution to life's problems is to find random things in your apartment and cook them all in a pot. With this new perspective, I now married my ex-wife's pilates instructor. We moved to Mozambique, only to find that Fluffy had started a lucrative hotel chain, which he used to pay for my children to all attend college. This is not simply a game, this is a life-changing experience. Without this game, my life would have been meaningless.
Really chuffed haha. Glad you enjoyed it.