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A jam submission

New MessageView game page

Horror game made for the TV Game Jam 2019
Submitted by canovi, Sir Allsen (@Sir_Allsen) โ€” 7 minutes, 13 seconds before the deadline
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New Message's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Overall#34.2414.241
Audio#34.4144.414
Fun#44.1384.138
Interpretation#54.3104.310
Visuals#64.3794.379
Gameplay Innovation#103.7593.759

Ranked from 29 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

Spoiler Level

No Spoilers

TV Show Name/Season/Episode
Black Mirror, Season 3, Episode 3

IMDb link to episode
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5709230/

Episode description
The game was mostly inspired by the unique way the main character receives his "assignments" and the mysterious nature of the perpetrators. We've applied this theme to our own story.

Please list any pre-made art/music/other assets that you used.
SFX/Music from packs, freesound.org and FreeMusicArchive
Some character models and animations from Mixamo
Textures from texturelib.com and texture.ninja
Pictures from Pexels

How many members in your team?

Team of 2

List your team's social media / website links!
https://canovi.itch.io/
https://sirallsen.itch.io/

Anything you want to say to players before they play?
RMB - Interact
C - Phone on/off
Have fun!

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Comments

Loved this game and found it pretty scary. Between the sound, graphics, and low light, the atmosphere was great. I liked the way you have the player look at the phone so it isn't in the way when you don't need it, and can easily be accessed without breaking immersion. One thing I found strange was holding right click to interact. I feel like simply clicking could've been better, especially when it wasn't always clear what I could and couldn't interact with (mostly in the beginning). The end was great, though the screen affects (assuming they were intentional) kind of broke my immersion. I'm also not sure if the "eFb" showing up at the bottom of the screen was on purpose, either, but again, broke immersion.

Such a good game! Well thought out and exactly like black mirror, probably the best episode to create a short game on too, great work! I liked the blurry visuals to the game, it gave it a different vibe, almost made it scarier if anything! Oh my, the vibrations of the phone in my ear made me jump every time!! I thoroughly enjoyed playing it, you can check out my playthrough below :-)

Submitted

very effective game.  the atmosphere totally worked and the overall story was very intriguing (and the red eyes were a classic horror trope, really nailed it :)).
havent seen that episode so not too sure if im missing anything - is going through the door how it's supposed to end?

Submitted

So apparently I'm the only one who didn't even find the package :D Regardless, I liked the atmosphere a lot, and the creepiness it brings, and overall it resonates well with the BM episode โ€“ maybe it was just too dark for me to spot what I needed to find.

Submitted(+1)

Super creepy game and that's awesome! I loved playing through this. A few times I got a bit lost, but was always able to figure out where I was supposed to go. Great interpretation of the episode! I really enjoyed the atmosphere it created.

Excellent entry, great work!

Developer

If there's anyone here worthy of praise, that would definitely be you!! We really appreciate the work you've put in playing every single entry. You're amazing and I'm sure what you're doing means a lot to everyone who participated.

Thank you for the kind words regarding our game, we're really glad you enjoyed it!!!

Submitted(+1)

Aw thanks! I'm just trying to do my part to ensure everyone gets at least some feedback!  :D

(+1)

Great game! Really happy it's getting so much attention for you guys, you deserve it. Lot of work to do in 15 days! 

I made a Lumps Play for ya. They're visual with pop-up bubbles instead of reaction videos like normal let's plays. I hope you enjoy it like I enjoyed your game! 

Developer(+1)

Thank you so much for covering our game! We're thankful and really happy you liked it.

Your video is awesome and the pop-up commentary is an amazing idea. Your comments are great as well, we weren't expecting to laugh during a horror game playthrough! Good luck to you and your channel!

Submitted(+1)

This game made my hair stand on end! Great mysterious atmosphere, the pixelated graphics and camera tilt added to the uneasiness. I haven't watch this episode of Black Mirror, so I don't think I got the meaning behind both endings. However, the journey was an amazing experience! Well done! :)

Developer(+1)

We're really happy we managed to convey those feelings!

The game only borrowed the "obey the messages on you phone, or else" concept from the Black Mirror episode. The storyline is something we thought of. We're thinking of exploring it better on a future release, getting the players to figure out what is happening in this city and what that package really meant.

Thank you a lot for the kind words!!

Submitted(+1)

Really creepy and a chilling take on one of the most disturbing Black Mirror episode. Bravo on making it scary without any jump scares. Superb audio design and great attention to detail in the location design.

I feel a little confused and hazy about the storyline/message though. I think I got the free will ending? Technically there's no compelling reason to comply with the messages given. The hobo that disappeared also seemed a little creepy (was he the one that got punished? Or the one dropping the phone)

I'm not a fan of the pixelated shader as it makes the text really hard to make out but I can see why that's intended (f**k was that something climbing the wall??) 

Developer

Thank you for playing!! We understand how you feel about the story and the character motives, and while we think vagueness is great for games like these, we agree that we should've expanded more on the storyline and made it a bit clearer.

The punished character was the one who left his phone behind. The hobo just happened to be in the wrong place, at the wrong time!

Thank you again for the kind words!!

Submitted(+1)

loved the atmosphere AND the graphic choice. I will play it again (because I wasn't able to find the warehouse - and now I've read about it in comments). Congratulations

Developer(+1)

Thank you Marco, we're really glad you liked it!

Please, do give it a try again if you enjoyed the overall vibe. There's still quite a lot to see! Hope you have fun!!

Submitted(+2)

Great atmosphere and great aesthetics, I found it a bit strange to interact holding down the mouse button but overall great work!

Developer(+1)

Thank you for playing! The interact system is a tribute to the same system in Silent Hill - P.T. , which was  a huge inspiration for us.

Hope you had a great time playing it!

Submitted(+4)

Awesome!

Developer

Thank you!

(+3)

Ok, I have to admit I didn't finish it (I delivered the package, but couldn't find the warehouse and got bored after awhile... maybe it's because I haven't had the time to watch BM yet). Anyways, haunting setting and great atmosphere, I genuinely liked it

Developer (1 edit) (+1)

Thanks for the feedback! You may enter the warehouse by finding a key on a tree, located near the bench where you delivered the package, and opening a door near the trash cans (where you found the Brown Package). 

Hope you give it another try, there's still a lot more!

(+1)

Thank you! Hell, the finale reminded me of P.T./Silent Hills... Guess who has two thumbs and won't sleep tonight? ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿป๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿป

Developer

We're really happy you decided to give it another try! Our ending was heavily inspired by P.T. and it's legacy in horror gaming is something we love to explore! Your comment made our day.

(+1)

My sleep schedule won't be that happy though ๐Ÿ˜‚. Great entry

Submitted(+4)

THIS IS AWESOME GAME.

The pixelated graphic is perfect for horror game, because you can not distinguish living being from object(In this game done perfectly. I was wondering what wast that red light behind the fence :o).  And the phone humm Scared the sh*** out of me :D I didn't expected that.

Developer

Thank you for your kind words! We're happy you enjoyed it!