itch.io

Hey thanks for playing and the feedback!

Yeah the movement is definitely something I'm looking into post-jam. I think it works quite well when the player is progressing and facing enemies, but is annoying when backtracking or walking through the second level. Initially it was even slower because the player was going to be in like an armoured diving suit, since the game was pretty heavily inspired by the Space Hulk: Vengeance of The Blood Angels PS1 game. I left it a bit slower partly because, as you said, it's underwater and also it wouldn't be as scary if the player could move like Doomguy. That being said, I could probably speed it up at least a little.

I'm glad you liked the crunchiness! As I was working on it I kept thinking, well this sounds and looks like a creepy PS1 game to me but will players like it or just find it annoying? Because I had never done a PS1 style game before, and I wanted it to look and feel like something that could've existed on PS1. The field of body bags is probably the area I found the eeriest too, like even when making the level it gave off the feeling that one of them is going to move. I love them as they serve as storytelling, a creepy visual, and fill in an otherwise empty area. Regarding the enemies I actually didn't really intend for there to be any big jumpscares in the game. I actually intended it to be more of an eerie shooter in the vein of the Metro series, or Space Hulk. I actually wanted to do more with the environmental storytelling and have the Children carry around the goggles of dead divers as trophies, which was partly alluded to with the goggle on a spear in the hallway leading into the first encounter.

You're totally right about the combat feedback. I only added a particle effect for like a puff of blood coming off the enemies when hit, which is hard to see since it's blue (except for the shark), and since enemies keep moving otward the player it can be obscured by the enemy model. There's also a stabbing sound effect that plays when a hit lands, but it turned out to be too subtle. I'll be addressing that post-jam with hit animations, more obvious particle effects and actual pain sounds. I knew the feedback was an issue days before I submitted, but I decided to spend the time building the atmosphere and the levels rather than the combat. Because I figured this game would either be spooky and immersive with mediocre combat, or bland with decent combat. And last year I focused too much on player and NPC mechanics to the point I never got beyond finishing a single small tutorial level, so I definitely wanted to avoid that!

Thanks again so much for playing adn taking the time to leave feedback, I'm glad you enjoyed it!