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Noted, and corrected. Thank you!

BURNING OUT is an interactive story that starts out by connecting you to a newly-created and currently dying cloned soldier desperately in need of some life guidance.

Throughout the game, you’ll try (and repeatedly fail) to help them survive, talk about what it means to be a “real person,” trigger a few existential crises, and hopefully eventually get your new contact out alive… or at least help them figure out who they really are before they die.

You can play it here in your browser.

The opening/first act of the game is currently complete, with three main routes (and then some additional content) to come. There is also some beta content accessible after completing at least one ending, though much of it contains spoilers for the full game. I’m open to feedback and suggestions, so please let me know what you think about what there is so far, and what you’d like to see in the full version! If you like the beta and you want to play through the full game when it’s released, that should be sometime by the end of February. I’ll also be making a devlog update when the game hits release, so anyone following me should get a notification.

If you’ve read all that and you’re still here, your interest is appreciated, and I hope you like the game!

-BoN

General discussion regarding Burning Out. No spoilers, please, those go here.

Anything that involves spoilers for Burning Out, aside from error reports. Those go here, even if they contain spoilers.

If you’ve found a typo, error message, or something that just doesn’t work like it seems it should, please post it here to let me know so I can fix it. Any suggestions for non-technical improvements should go under another topic- this is just for stuff that’s clearly wrong and needs to be fixed.

Ah, frustrating. Well, either things work out… or you find someone who’s a better fit. Life might not always be a fairy-tale romance, but we do what we can to make it work, don’t we?

Ah, complications. Well, I do hope things turn out alright, one way or another. Here’s hoping it really is just a coincidence.

Aww, I guess it wasn’t meant to be, at least not right now. Sounds like you’ve at least learned a bit about yourself, though, and it seems like you’re taking the rejection really well- nobody’s successful at everything the first time, but being able to get back up and keep going is a crucial skill. And having someone who loves you is, well, lovely, but it’s important to be kind yourself as well- so keep it up!

I like the idea quite a lot, a puzzle based around scrounging up the energy to do things. The atmosphere is also nice, but unfortunately I found the game to be somewhat confusing- I found myself simply throwing random non-food items in random places at one point because I couldn’t work out a logical course of action, specifically, what to do with the pressure plate. I really thought you’d need to throw a moderately heavy stone on to it, but anything other than the biggest one won’t work, and I couldn’t find a verb that would let me pick the biggest one up.

I’m not against trial and error as a concept, but it can get frustrating when the trials require replaying the game from the start. This is admittedly a lot more bearable because the game is fairly short (at least what I played) once you know what to do, and dropping items from the last run could help out as well. In practice, though, it felt like items that you drop aren’t actually useful because they’re only what you have on you when you don’t have anything that can help you progress. That is to say, mostly it’s just rocks.

All that said, I really do like the idea, and treading the line between “annoyingly obvious” and “annoyingly hard to figure out” is not an easy task. I’d say things should be a little clearer, but to an extent, that’s just my personal opinion, and I know making things too obvious would kind of ruin the feel of the game. I’d love to play through the rest of the game some time; I might give it another go in the near future and see if I can get farther with a mental fresh start. Good work overall, keep it up!

Sounds like a good plan, I really like the idea of revealing different parts of the narrative by ending in different realms. I’ll have to give it a go when it’s ready!

I quite like the concept of switching between worlds and having different abilities in each, especially with the twist of needing to collect a resource to get into the realm you ultimately want to be in.

However, I found that the way the system was implemented was a little confusing- in hindsight I can see that the goal is to get into the heavens and reach the end there, but that wasn’t immediately obvious when I started playing, so I spent a while just kind of wandering around aimlessly. The underworld also seems like a punishment for dying with low karma, so I’m still not really sure where the underworld portals fit in- it seems like the only reason to take them is if you don’t know better.

To sum up, the main issues seem to be with conveying information to the player- but those should be relatively easy to fix, either in this game or a future project.

Speaking of fixes, I noticed that you mentioned changing the player physics in the update- while the new physics feel a little stiff, they’re not frustrating to work with or hard to understand, which is extremely important for a platformer.

I also like the music a fair bit. It’s relatively simple, but fitting. I especially like how creepy the underworld theme is.

Overall, I’d say you’ve got a good concept, so if you add more information for the player in-game in the future, you’ve got solid potential on your hands.

The atmosphere is fantastic, and the gameplay suits it well. It’s not by any means the most exciting game I’ve played, but it’s certainly relaxing. I’d say it meets its goal quite well- I think you’ve done a good job aligning how the game plays and how it feels. If you guys can keep that up in future projects, I think it’ll serve you well!

I had a pretty decent time with this game- it’s been a while since I’ve played a Tamagotchi-style game, but this a reasonably solid one, if fairly basic. I do like the achievements- it makes it feel like I’m accomplishing things, rather than just keeping my pet alive.

More importantly, it seems like you’re learning quite a bit from working on it, which seems very much in the spirit of this jam. Keep it up!

Thank you for answering those questions- the detailed feedback means a lot to me! And thanks for giving it a fair try in the first place even if it’s not a genre you’re usually interested in.

I’m glad you liked being able to name the protagonist; it’s easy to do, but I agree that it helps with immersion.

Regarding the options you select to continue- A bit of signage like arrows could help clarify things, as you said, so I’ll keep that in mind for the future.

Thanks again for the answers, they really do help!

I like that interpretation- It is very much about enjoying life, even if you don’t have much time left. It’s definitely intended to be a very optimistic interpretation of the end of the world.

You’re quite right about the colors- In hindsight, it is a pretty grating color scheme. I’ve actually reworked the colors completely because you pointed it out; it should be a lot less harsh on the eyes, and hopefully not too hard to read.

Thanks a lot for the feedback!

I assume you’re referring to the dialogue that cycles when you click it? That’s an effect I’ve used a few times before, to try to get across the idea that you could just keep talking forever if time wasn’t a concern. It sounds like it came across as different options, rather than a progressing conversation as I intended, but if you liked it anyway, I guess that’s alright! Art is up to interpretation, after all.

thnk you

i m aretist :)

I guess your sister's quite the animal lover...

Ooh, hope it goes well! Or did go well!

...Well, now I'm imagining the protagonist as just being Diddy Kong. It's an interesting mental image, I'll say!

I certainly didn't see that coming. I always appreciate gameplay variety, and most of the levels here played completely differently, even though the mechanics of each "character" are always more or less the same. The goal, too, is always the same, but the way you accomplish it in each stage is totally different. The game is fairly short, but I think that's appropriate, since the main point is doing things in new ways each time. Overall, I liked it quite a lot!

I love the concept here! Messing with the game's rules is a great mechanic. There's a few issues that that some others have mentioned, like Zoolouie's note that the stage-changes can be hard to understand, and re spawning with "Z" killing you, which lots of people pointed out. The controls feel a bit floaty, but that's not much of an issue since you aren't meant to beat levels using raw platforming. Beyond that, the gameplay was quite engaging, and I like the aesthetics. Also, having "X" remind you which bit is which is a nice touch- It helped me avoid some unnecessary trial-and-error, which I appreciate.

I wasn't sure where this was going, but I was expecting something atmospheric, perhaps a metaphor for something.
I was wrong, and what it actually turned out to be cracked me up! This truly is the Dark Souls of Unexpected Jam...

Certainly! Thank you for considering my notes, and I'm looking forward to seeing what you do next!

I quite like the idea, but I had difficulty understanding the rules of most of the games. With enough polish, especially regarding explanations/tutorials, I think it could be pretty impressive in the end.

There's a couple of issues I see, but this definitely has a lot of potential. Here's the stuff I think could be improved:

-The first thing the tutorial should mention is that you can rewind. This is a critical mechanic, and honestly, I almost gave up when I fell into the tutorial-pit and had a hard time getting out. If you know that you can rewind, though, it's a lot less frustrating. Honestly, I'd like to see features like this in more games.
-The rewind function is pretty buggy. It doesn't properly account for momentum or direction. This can be especially annoying when you mess up a jump and have to go back to the other side of the room to hit the wall so you can try again. However, the weirdness with the rewind does actually result in some fun scenarios sometimes- If you tried to use this intentionally and refined it, it could create some pretty cool mechanics, in this game or a sequel.
-There's not much indication of how powerful your jump is going to be. There seems to be around 3 frames of animation that play out at the start of the jump, but it keeps charging long after that. I'd suggesting either adding more frames as it charges more, or for a simple solution, simply "stretching out" the existing animation for the duration of the jump's charging period.
-The penguin looks really good, but most of the other graphics are pretty simple. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and doing a lot of graphics can be really time-consuming, but I would suggest at least adding a background, even if it's just a gradient or something. As it is, the levels feel kind of empty.

Aside from those things, I had quite a bit of fun with the game, the mechanics are simple but enjoyable, and as I mentioned, the rewind function means I didn't get frustrated when I had trouble getting past part of a level. Losing progress is one of my least favorite things in games, and this game completely avoids it. I'd love to play an updated version or a sequel. You mentioned that you might add more levels, and I'd be happy to play them, especially if you can improve some of the stuff I listed above.
Also, the twist at the end got me pretty good- It certainly fits the "Unexpected" theme!

I certainly didn't see that coming- I was expecting to get a jump upgrade at some point, but that was way better. "Rocket-jumping duck" is not a protagonist I thought I'd like nearly as much as I did in the end!

Very nice! I've only noticed a couple of issues- The spikes' hitboxes seem to be a tiny bit bigger than the sprites, which can be frustrating at times. I also managed to get myself stuck on the ledge near the start somehow, and had to restart. Though fortunately, that's very early into the game and I didn't lose much progress

Aside from that, I loved it- The interactions between the duck and the narrator are quite funny, and the gameplay was satisfying. Also, I appreciate that the quack button is "Q."

Pretty fun, if a little cliché. ;P
Seriously though, it was fun- I don't think I've seen a boss with an attack pattern like this before, especially not one you fight in melee.  I didn't have much trouble on easy or normal, but the difference between the first two levels and the last certainly took me by surprise.

I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes in the future- There's a lot of potential here!

Oh my- I feel bad now. I only realized that the spiders won't hit you first near the end of the game. I quite like the premise, and the art was good. My main complaint would be the same as megarontv, that is, that it can be hard to see what's interactive. I mostly had trouble noticing the small "floating" platforms, since they look very similar to the background. It didn't cause me too much trouble, though, and overall I'm quite glad I played!

Thank you very much! "Quiet British village" was pretty much exactly the feel I was going for, so it's great to hear that came across like it was supposed to.

The egg-collecting was meant to be the most uncomfortable part, so I'm happy to hear that worked out! You're right about the background colors, and the only reason I didn't use more variance was technical limitations. Though as I mentioned to Patrice, I actually did find a way to get around that, so if you give it another go you'll find that a few things have changed!

Glad you liked it! I actually wanted to use differing colors, but I'm afraid that's not really possible in the engine I'm using.

...Or so I thought. I've actually done some research, and it turns out it is possible. I've made some changes using this new knowledge- So thanks for inspiring me to improve!

• Personally, I don't see much reason to vote on the theme. If I'm not happy with it, there's always next month.
• I don't think additional restrictions would be particularly helpful. I'm fine with just "make it small."
• I wouldn't be actively opposed to dropping the theme if that's what people wanted, but I think it can be good for inspiration.
• Nothing else to mention, partially 'cause this is my first time participating.

Mood. Funny and charming, short but sweet. My only possible complaint is that finding the last few ingredients can be a bit frustrating- But then again, that is part of quarantine cooking, so I'm not sure I can really call realism a bad thing. The transitions between rooms can be awkward (going to the side sends you back to the last room), but as far as I'm aware that's an issue with Bitsy itself.

I found myself wishing that the world could be saved, but accepting that the only good option was to wash it away and start again.

I've also never seen multiple dialogue options in a Bitsy game before, so that's pretty neat!

Hits the "Serene Contemplation" theme of the jam perfectly. I want to save the world, but... it really is better to start again, isn't it?
I wonder what the new world will be like?

Life can certainly be a struggle under quarantine- Though some of the ways that manifest aren't what you might think!

I like the idea of the main character having a far-reaching effect as the months go by. It may not be the most realistic thing, but it gets the point across effectively. As Pancak3 said, it could use some significant work on grammar and spelling (in the English version, at least), but beyond that it's pretty good.