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Esoterica's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Sound Design | #19 | 3.880 | 3.880 |
| Horror | #65 | 3.360 | 3.360 |
| Aesthetics | #77 | 3.920 | 3.920 |
| Story | #96 | 3.120 | 3.120 |
| Enjoyment (Best Game) | #159 | 3.000 | 3.000 |
Ranked from 25 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
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Comments
I thought the visuals and audio were really fantastic! The shader (I'm assuming) with the dithering and whatever was really really good-looking. The sound design on the voice in the beginning was really sick as well. Super imposing. The sound design in general was spot on, although all of the interactables having the same "you can't do that right now" sound was a bit funny. I tried to open the file cabinet, heard the sound and went "yeah that sounds right". Then I tried the blackboard and had a few questions as to what the blackboard was made out of lmao.
I definitely struggled a bit to really understand the gameplay loop. Maybe not enough feedback telling me I was doing the right thing by flicking through the radio channels. I did find one anomaly, recorded it, and sent it off to the server, but it seemed like it changed nothing? It's equally likely I'm just a dope and didn't really understand what was going on to be fair. You can easily tell that this is a game jam game that has a ton of potential and just needs a bit of time!
Hey Mark!
Lmfao yeahhhhh it's a temp sound I was using for the locked metal door that I just didn't manage to get replaced in time. There are specific sounds for all of the items in the game already they just aren't linked up -- didn't want to cheat and add them when I was fixing bugs. Gonna get all that fixed once the Jam is over :P Blackboard made of steel
Totally agree with you. There are two anomalies in the stage zero you were on and due to lack of feedback to the player as to what the station is or what is an anomaly it can be hard to get past that. All stuff that is going to be fixed obviously, but it is frustrating to me that I wasn't able to get to it in time. There is more to the gameplay loop but without that feedback to the player it can be hard to advance. So again, my apologies.
With all that said, I am glad that there is at least a foundation for me to go off of once I continue development. Just gonna have to fix all the spaghetti code :P
Thanks again for playing!
Really like the concept. The sound design is spot on, only critic i have is that figuring out what to do exactly was a bit hard, but very well put together first game!
P.S. As a fellow first time jamer I'm looking forward to your next works!
Hey FalseLohengrin!
Thank you so much for checking out Esoterica! Totally agree with you that it is difficult to understand what you are doing. I am absolutely going to be continuing development on this game and am sure I will join more Jams in the future and create more stuff.
Thank you so much!
It took me a while to figure out what I was supposed to do, but once I did I really liked it. The sound design was very impressive!
Thanks so much Murcurial!
Just happened to be checking other messages and yours popped up. I definitely plan on making the game more intuitive and expanding upon a lot of the features massively! I am going to open up a public Trello channel once the Jam is over so people can follow along with development and submit their own features and requests. If you are interested be sure to follow because I will be actively updating Itch along with Trello and possibly some other places. Not really sure yet -- still figuring it out since this is my first game/real project within this space.
Thanks again for checking out Esoterica!!
Nice usage of sounds an music!
Thank you so much! If you want to just check out my music feel free to do so here:
https://solo.to/jacobirvin
I hope you follow along with development of the game post-jam because there is a lot to still come!
Cheers!
If there is a discord or something I will be happy to join :)
Great idea! I'll be sure to set up something specifically for game dev/music so people can follow along :D
Thank you so much for the idea!
Looking forward to it!
Amazing Concept. Took some getting used to figuring everything out. Very good music. Will definitely follow to see what you end up doing with this.
Hey Introverted Zombie!
Thanks for checking out Esoterica! I will definitely be updating the game post-Jam and making it a million times better than it is now. There is so much work to do, but I am very excited to pick it back up and really expand upon the idea. Hoping to make this the best little experience that I can!
Hope you enjoyed and I hope you continue to enjoy as the game gets more content.
Thanks!
I love this concept so much. The atmosphere is spot on, reminded me of when I first booted up HalfLife1 for the first time. I hit a few bugs but I love the graphics sound and idea behind the game and can’t wait to play an extended version post jam!
Hey Dace!
Thanks so much for checking out my game! There is definitely a lot to iron out just in terms of bugs and then it's on to actually expanding the game. So much work to do. I am very excited to bring it closer to the vision I have and I am confident it will be a million times better than what you played.
Thanks again for playing!
I found the act of getting abnormal frequencies to register with the computer unclear.
That said, I think the visuals and sound design are excellent, as is the oppressive computerized voice at the start.
There's a bizarre warping effect that happens when you get close to some object textures, but whether or not it's a bug I think it actually adds to the atmosphere.
I spent a minute headbobbing in the dark to the boyband channel (I turned all the lights in the room off)
Hey Fitzy,
Sorry about that. The lack of visual feedback definitely detracts from the gameloop of finding and recording abnormal frequencies. Something that will be fixed later on after the Jam. You do have to interact with the computer though to trigger recording on the stations which actually have anomalies (there are two in the first stage and about 25 more after that broken up into stages)
Yep! That's an intentional effect. It's meant to mimic the texture perspective warping of the PS1. I only applied it to some objects because it definitely got distracting on everything
Definitely come back after the Jam once some updates are made :)
I really dig the low-res style on this one! And the single location, locked room adventure reminds me of some old text adventure games. I tried interacting with everything in the room, but didn't seem to make any progress. Keep working on it, and I'd love to check back in after you have done some more work on it!
Hey HonigBee!
Apologies for there not being any sort of indication as to what you are supposed to do. This was mainly just me running out of time. There is a game loop in there, just gotta interact with the computer and radio like the Overseer says :)
I will continue to update the game after the jam, so be sure to follow if you want to keep up with the progress.
Cheers!
I really loved the atmoshpere, tried everything I could but didn't get anything done. I can see your vision and really loved what you tried to do there. Don't worry, we all have buggy games in the end because of the limited time. I would love to get your feedback for my game also. Have a great day.
Hi EndlessGates!
Thanks for trying Esoterica! Also, I totally understand.
At the moment, the game is mildly frustrating to interact with in my opinion. There is no real tutorial or way to know what to do once you turn on the computer and radio or even what to do when you get an event. I am going to continue development after the Jam to try and bring it closer to the vision I have for the game, so be sure to follow along if you are interested.
Also, 100% will be sure to check out your game!
Thanks :D
This was really good especially for your first game jam ever! The mechanic of tuning the radio is very unique but it did take me a while to figure out (I spent about 5-10 minutes just clicking it to tune until I realised I was supposed to hold it down). The audio was also really good, the noises when something happened were really good at stressing me out, even after playing for about 20 mins and knowing that nothing was actually gonna happen the audio by itself still stressed me out. I do have to say though I'm not sure if the game worked as intended as my sanity never went down from 100 and like I said there was no consequence for me not interacting when monster noises started and the lights went off. Also i wasn't sure how long i was supposed to keep playing for which meant i had to give up after a while since it seemed to just become repetitive. But don't get my criticism wrong, the time frame for a game jam doesn't allow a lot of time for play-testing, but this was a phenomenal first game and has some serious potential, hope it goes well!
Hi Graugen!
Thanks for playing Esoterica! Totally understand your feedback. There is a ton of information and tips and tutorials and all kinds of stuff that is missing from the game simply because I ran out of time -- like you said. I'll be sure to go through everything one by one and make sure I clarify any unclear mechanics.
Also, that's a real bummer! I could have swore the sanity was working just before I exported the project, but it's possible I broke something last second. It is supposed to drop down as events happen and then slowly regenerate. It's okay though... I need to revise that mechanic anyway to make it more in-depth and match the rest of the game's aesthetic/styling.
Thank you so much for the thorough feedback! I hope you follow along after the Jam to see how development progresses!
Okay, just went and tested. Seems like whatever version I pushed is actually outdated. I had fixed the issues with the sanity meter but looks like the build I uploaded is still broken.
All good though, the entire mechanic is going to be reworked after the Jam. Thanks for bringing this issue up!
I really really like the graphics and the setting, Big fan of the art-style and the sound was done well, This game could be made into something really amazing, I hope you keep working on it, Looking forward to it.
Hi SeeOne!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. I am definitely going to continue developmnent and get all the issues ironed out, then I will start expanding the scope of the game to actually tell the story that I intended to.
Thank you again for playing!
Wow, amazing stuff, especially for the first project on your profile! The atmosphere you created was absolutely terrifingly amazing! I got so immersed and was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I really hope you continue working on this project, because I will be back for more! The sound was really well engineered and worked perfectly with the graphics you crafted. The gameplay was really interesting and the puzzles had me stumped for a few minutes... but really paid off! Great stuff! :)
Hey Box Dude!
Thank you so much for your kind words! I am really glad that you enjoyed the game in its current state :D I am 1000% going to continue actively developing this project because I have so many ideas for how to expand the mechanics, the story and everything else about the game. At the moment, it definitely feels more like a rough proof of concept but I know that the idea can be expanded upon more, so I won't stop until I run that well dry B)
If you want to follow along with the development I will be posting a Trello page soon with the roadmap for development after the Jam and will also be sure to keep everything on Itch up to date :)
Thanks again for playing!
Damn, this is your first game ever! this is a really good one!
The atmosphere is really good, sound is great (Especially the robot intercom voice). I also really like how there are song inbetween the scary sounds on the radio, It makes for a nice time to take a break from the action. (I'm also pretty sure there is no end since I played this for like 30 minutes). Also this game is really goddamn scary. It was so stressfull everytime the lights went out, I almost got a heart attack. this is probably since I didn't know what to do at first and just ran around the room pushing every button.
And that brings me to my only feedback. I think a tutorial can help really wel. I know that everything is explained on the game page, but an in game tutorial is always better. And I know that a tutorial is a lot to ask for in a game jam, but this is more feedback for the future update of this game. And I'll be looking forward to that, if it ever happens.
Overall I really enjoyed this!
Great game, Keep it up♥
Hey Bullfrog!
Your comment made me kinda tear up :') Yes, this is actually my first game (even though it's totally unfinished) ever and I do really appreciate the sentiment and feedback! I am glad you took some time to listen to the music stations! Both stations I think are like 20-30 minute long loops of my own music (aside from one track on the like instrumental music channel which was just something really cool that I found on freesounds.org which is one of those early AI generated compositions).
I am glad you got to experience the events and that they actually did what they were supposed to -- STRESS... YOU... OUT!!!!
You are 100% correct though! I plan to continue this game after the Jam and really flesh it out so it can become an actual game. I really just ran out of time before I was able to incorporate the feedback system of the radio, computer, puzzles for the items, and the story elements I have all planned out -- got a little too ambitious so I had to drastically cut back and just get the game working. As it gets fleshed out, I definitely want to channel the anxiety of the unknown a la Iron Lung and Voices of the Void.
Definitely be sure to follow if you are interested because there is a lot more to come for Esoterica and future projects. This game jam really lit the fire under my butt to actually follow my passions!
Thanks again for your kind words and great feedback :D
Hey, I really liked your game! Got stumped for a while after the light in the bathroom went dark. Reading the comments helped in that case. An indicator about which frequency gets checked would be nice. But there was only so much time, I get that :)
The atmosphere was tense and the game loop felt alright. Some indication about how I am progressing would be nice. There is a bed, so maybe split it into different days (just a suggestion).
I didn't manage to finish the game, but am willing to do so once I have enough time or after some of the updates you spoke about.
I really did like it, well done!
Hey Itsmawal!
Thank you so much for playing! Yeah, I totally hear you on that. I am gonna continue working on the game after the Jam (like I keep saying) and get it all polished up with all the things that I wish I had time to add but didn't.
You are absolutely correct! Originally the bed was going to be a way to split up the days (sort of similar to Voices of the Void) but I ran out of time and decided to just make it something that had to be checked when the even happened near the computer area. Another thing that was scrapped just prior to delivery was a mechanic where recordings would get corrupted if the events went on for too long. Might add that back in later.
Also, because of the limitations of time, the game doesn't have an end. It will just endlessly get more difficult as events start to overlap and interrupt recording/drain sanity. Feel free to keep playing though!
Thanks for your feedback!!
Really well put together setup, I really liked the audio and that ps1 shader was good :)
The only thing is that its unclear how to scan frequencies (a visual help would have been great), and how scans makes you progress or not (if its the case, I've scanned at least 5 times but couldnt check kitchens items)
Hey anoqmous!
Thanks for checking out Esoterica -- I am glad you enjoyed it! Totally agree with you. An indicator was in the works, but just didn't make it in time for the final build. Going to be one of the first things that is added once the Jam concludes and I start updating the game. I will also be sure to include some sort of progress system so there is a bit better player feedback. At the moment this is just the voice line that power levels on the radio amplifier are increasing, which in turn is supposed to be what's causing these anomalies to leak through and effect the room/cause events to happen (... or is the player just going slowly insane being confined to a room listening to weird stuff all day... O.o).
Thanks again for playing!
Very intense atmosphere, and the claustrophobic room definitely give it a vibe.
Submitted the report but nothing happened afterwards, still, pretty cool.
Hey SteelFever! Glad you enjoyed the atmosphere of the game. Definitely trying to make the game as claustrophobic as possible, but obviously there is a lot more work to do to get it to the vision I have for the game.
I didn't have any time to create a feedback system for how many anomalies there are per "level". The first level has two actual anomalies and then there are two stations which are just playing music (made by me, aside from one thing that I like on freesounds.org which was actually made by AI). Once you get past the first level of two reports then things start getting a bit more hectic -- you will actually need the flashlight and will hopefully start to get a bit stressed out.
Definitely give it another try if you get a chance because there is a bit more to the game than what you may have seen, but not necessary at all :) These things will all be addressed after the Jam and progress will be made public on Trello.
Thanks again for playing!
spooky! I liked the setting alot
Glad you enjoyed the game! I will be sure to keep updating the game and bring it closer to the vision I have.
The game is very well made, I didn't run into any bugs (I think) I'd say that the main problem is that the basket is hard to interact with, and, the screen suddenly went black and closed after I sent one report, Is that the end of the game?
Hey Fernando!
Thank you so much for playing! Apologies about the basket -- eeeeee! It's definitely a little too short even when crouching. Once the jam is over I am going to do a complete overhaul of the tasks/items to make them more interactive and not just simple press 'E' to interact sort of things.
It's entirely possible that you ran into a bug! There were some issues that I was ironing out with errant timers causing havoc in the background that would EVENTUALLY cause a hard crash. It's possible that I missed one (whoopsie!) If you have any more info on when exactly the bug occurred I would greatly appreciate it so I can go back and fix it once the Jam is over.
Thanks again for playing!
From what I recall, I have reported more than 10 signals. I don't remember if there was any flickering happening with the lights. After a report was sent to server (I think) the screen faded to black and crashed. (I played the web version)
Hmmmmm interesting! I will be sure to check it out. I know there was a bit more wonkiness with the web version, but that's definitely no excuse for there to be hard crashes like that. I will take a look and see if I can replicate it and get it fixed up!
Very well done for a first attempt. I liked listening for radio anomalies, the sounds to make it sound like tuning through the frequencies were well made. I possibly got a bug. I had turned off all the lights and was doing the scanning in the dark with the flashlight,, when the first event occurred (in the bathroom?). This made all the lights turn on, and the one in the bathroom to flicker. Then there was this loud noise that kept repeating indefinitely. First I thought it was intended, as it stressed me out having a much more difficult time listening to frequencies, which was great. But then as it continued on and on, I started to think it was not intended to continue like that? I think I found two more frequencies, got the voice to instruct me to continue and then tried to find more frequencies and gave up.
Hey Spelmakare,
Thanks for checking out Esoterica! That is definitely a bug and I know exactly where it is in the code -- haha. It happens because I hardcoded each event to dim the other lights gradually and sort of indicate better that something is happening. I will take a look at it once the Jam is over because turning the lights off was a late addition and I didn't consider what would happen if they were off and an event started (whoopsie!)
Also, sorry about that! When the event starts you are meant to do "tasks" which at the moment is basically just pressing 'E' on a couple objects and then flipping the lights back on. This will end the event and the sound/lights will go back to normal. I didn't have a chance to implement any sort of task hint system before the deadline (probably would have been some sort of glowing particle effect or just a task list). I'll make sure to put some more info on the game page so people are aware!
Thanks again!!
Show post...
I couldn't find the windows or web version to play. Could you please link me to it? I really dug into the aesthetics and wanted to play, even went to the devlog
Hey! Sorry about that. I was ironing out some game breaking bugs and then was struggling to get the files in the correct format for web.
Should be all fixed now, but let me know if you run into any issues.
EDIT: I also just realized the devlog did not have the correct files attached. It is now updated with the latest, working game files.