Winter MelonJam 2024 ❄️🍈($750+ cash!)

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A jam submission

HomingView game page

Attempt to navigate through a forest before it's too late.

Submitted by Tree — 15 hours, 49 minutes before the deadline

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Homing's itch.io page

Results

Criteria	Rank	Score*	Raw Score
Graphics	#23	4.000	4.000
Polish	#29	3.720	3.720
Overall	#78	3.136	3.136
Innovation	#125	2.640	2.640
Theme	#133	2.800	2.800
Gameplay	#133	2.520	2.520

Ranked from 25 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

What category are you in?

Novice

How does your game relate to the theme?
I incorporated the theme of "polarity" in making your character follow their instincts (shown as a compass to the player) to find their way home, and also of the opposition attraction of the soldiers. I was inspired by homing pigeons and magnetoreception, which explain how some animals are able to navigate so well as they are attracted to an area.

Specify any and all pre-made assets in your submission.
AUDIO:
Gunshot: https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/single-gunshot-54-40780/
Alarm: https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/warning-alarm-loop-279206/
Wood break: https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/wood-break-40011/
Animal walking: https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/animal-walking-right-to-left-192403/
Night woods: https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/night-woods-7012/
Angry crowd: https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/angry-crowd-70647/

All audio credits can also be found in the "About" menu of the game.

I used Ren'Py to code this game, but during the timeline of this challenge I heavily edited and customized my game as you can tell.

How many team members does your team have in total?
1

By submitting, you agree to all the rules listed.

I/We agree

Does your game utilize Wolfram Language?

No

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Comments

smallguillotineSubmitted54 days ago

Woah this is a completely new and different take on the theme compared to the rest of the games I've seen! Very unique and I sort of wish it was longer haha. Overall I really liked it!!

Submitted

Polar Express Delivery

TreeDeveloper52 days ago

Thank you, I'm glad you liked it!

cinnamewSubmitted57 days ago

so cool!!! how'd you do the compass?

Submitted

TreeDeveloper54 days ago(+1)

Thank you!! I'm a pretty new coder so my apologies if I'm not wording this right -- basically for the compass I just defined a different transformation for each direction I wanted it to point ("left", "right", etc), put a couple different rotations under each definition so that the arrow would never be still, and then called those defined transformations for each different scene. The circle in the back of the arrow was a separate image so that the arrow could move by itself.

Thanks for playing!

cinnamewSubmitted54 days ago(+1)

dude it's amazing!! good job good job very many good jobs

conderSubmitted59 days ago

Wow, this game was really unique and an interesting story as well. I agree with others that the gameplay is lacking, but I think the story and mood is really nice. I think if it was a bit longer and went more in depth with the storyline, as well as adding a few new gameplay mechanics, it would be even better. Overall, nice submission!

Submitted

TreeDeveloper54 days ago

Thanks! Yes I totally agree, I would've loved to go more in-depth / have more events you can make choices on but was running out of time. Will look into it more if I do another version of the game for sure though. Thanks for playing!

YuioSubmitted63 days ago

I enjoyed the fun twist at the main ending of the game! The art was very good. A suggestion for what you could add on would be to add more dynamic choices based on the compass, like picking from more directions than just left and right. Nice work!

Submitted

The Grabby Force

TreeDeveloper63 days ago

Ooooo good idea, I'll look into that! Thanks for playing!

YofiAsiSubmitted63 days ago

Great art! I like it when people make unique games :) I didn't fully understand the gameplay like i was just following the compass and made it to the finish haha maybe i'm just used to intensity and challange

Submitted

Bipolar Polar Bear

TreeDeveloper63 days ago

I see it as a story game rather than a challenge game -- but yes I'll look into making it clearer what the compass represents! Now that you say that, I think I can open the story in a different way that is more understandable. The compass was meant to represent the internal navigation system that some animals have, like homing pigeons and such.

Thanks for playing!

YofiAsiSubmitted63 days ago

that's really cood i didn't know that about animals! :)

FromZeroIncSubmitted63 days ago

Definitely a unique experience, I had a good time playing it. The alarm was a screamer though :), maybe you could make it a little quieter.

Submitted

TreeDeveloper63 days ago(+1)

I actually just pushed out a new update fixing the alarm! Available to download now if you are interested, no need to replay though.

Thanks for checking out the game, I'm glad you had a good time!

RobSubmitted63 days ago

Cool game!
Nice art. Good Job
Keep it up

Submitted

TreeDeveloper63 days ago(+1)

Thanks, I appreciate it!

astrSubmitted64 days ago(+1)

Awesome game! I really liked the artstyle, but I gotta add that I've gotten a couple bugs related to getting stuck in a loop, and as previously mentioned in the comments, the alarm sound was a bit offputting. Other than that, the game is a very solid entry!

Submitted

TreeDeveloper63 days ago

Darn! I'll look into the loop issue, do you remember if/if not the alarm was playing at the time and if the forest background was getting darker or lighter (how I coded it was basically a level system with if-else statements, so I'm trying to locate on which level(s) it messed up)?

Thanks for playing!

astrSubmitted63 days ago(+1)

I muted the alarm sound😭

It happened when the first "RUN!" text appeared after I killed the soldier

TreeDeveloper63 days ago

Gotcha! That lowers it down a bit -- do you recall if the forest background was on the darker or lighter side at the time? And what did the game do when you were looping?

(The "Soldier with Alarm" / first "Run!" text could appear on most forest levels because the alarm encounter is timed to happen after 7 turns of choosing a direction, which is why I ask about the brightness of the background as that would help me narrow down what "level" you were on)

Thanks for helping me out on this!

OliverLSubmitted64 days ago(+1)

The art is really nice! I think it would be cool if there were more complex gameplay elements and endings, but this is a cool start. I also thought the little reveal at the end was clever

Submitted

Yoyo to the Core

TreeDeveloper63 days ago

I agree completely! Thanks for playing, I'm glad you liked the reveal.

Slider GamesSubmitted64 days ago (1 edit)

I'm sorry, I could not play. The alarm sound was too loud and too sudden it made me kinda sick, idk, triggered me in a really bad way. Closed instantly and came here to give this feedback ><. Maybe a sound warning text could help

Submitted

TreeDeveloper64 days ago

OOF I'm so sorry about that! Yes, someone else was commenting about the sliders not working either for the alarm. I looked into it and realized it's probably because I created a new audio channel for the alarm specifically and Ren'Py didn't like that (eye-roll moment), so it doesn't correspond to any sliders. You can still press "Mute All" in the game menu or turn your computer volume down as low as it goes in this version -- next version I'm definitely lowering the alarm volume generally and also figuring out the slider issue!

ADJacentSubmitted65 days ago

pretty cute game! I liked the reveal at the end. Very nice art as well.

Submitted

TreeDeveloper64 days ago

Thank you, I'm glad you liked the reveal!

CrownedDuckSubmitted65 days ago

A strong opponent appeared on the Novice category... Now seriously, I liked the neat art style and the sounds that were implemented where possible. I haven't seen many games made with Ren'Ry, but your game made it look less like a Visual Novele and more like and adventure type game! A promising submission. Good luck in the voting period!

Submitted

Space AND Magnets

TreeDeveloper64 days ago(+1)

Thank you so much, I appreciate it!

MerulonSubmitted65 days ago

The game did not startin Edge but in Chrome. I played through two times. A nice game with a simple but motivating goal. Art is nice and it's an interesting concept. Nice entry! :D

Submitted

MAGNET BOY BOSS RUSH

TreeDeveloper65 days ago

Thanks for letting me know, I'll look into that! I'm glad you enjoyed the game, thanks for playing!

porkoSubmitted65 days ago

very cool game!

Submitted

Power Of Magnets

TreeDeveloper65 days ago

Thank you!

calzarkSubmitted65 days ago(+1)

very nice artwork.

I think there may be a some sound bug, the SFX slider didnt turn down the alarm for me

Submitted

TreeDeveloper65 days ago

Oh no, thanks for letting me know! I'll definitely see about fixing that if I do another iteration.

eclerSubmitted65 days ago

very cool artwork!

if you don't read the description, the gameplay can seem a bit boring, and honestly, I didn't initially understand what the polarity mechanics were in this game.

Submitted

Fluffy's Adventure

JaumaXxXSubmitted65 days ago

I love the art of the game, It is very polished

Submitted

TreeDeveloper65 days ago

Thank you, I'm glad you liked it!

WoodenMonkeySubmitted66 days ago (1 edit)

Looks smooth)

Submitted

TreeDeveloper65 days ago

Thanks!