itch.io

Ah, justement, je viens de découvrir aujourd’hui qu’il y a apparemment une prise en compte imminente des touches logiques qui s’annonce. :)
https://github.com/raysan5/raylib/pull/4481
Si JeFF = JeffM2501, alors tout fait sens. ^^ En tout cas, bien content de voir que cela va être pris en compte (et étonné que cela ne figure pas dans la feuille de route de Raylib !).

Ah tiens, j’ai bien fait de mentionner Gamecodeur, alors, ça fait plaisir de tomber sur quelqu’un de là-bas dans le coin. ;) (Ça m’est aussi arrivé à GMTK 2022 !)

En effet, que 5.0 selon la liste… Selon David Mekersa, Raylib-cs est tout de même actif et tente de se tenir à jour. Après, je ne sais pas combien de temps cela leur prend ; j’imagine que faire un tour sur le dépôt Git de Raylib-cs peut te donner une idée.
Personnellement, j’utilise le Raylib d’origine en C, alors je suis tranquille. ;) (Je viens d’ailleurs de voir qu’il manque le prototype de la nouvelle fonction GetKeyName qui permet de gérer les claviers hors QWERTY, je vais suggérer de voire corriger cela. :))

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(For English speakers, because I think of you, while some of you do not think of our AZERTY keyboards. ;))
Indeed, only 5.0 according to the list… According to David Mekersa, Raylib-cs is still active and tries to keep up to date. Now, I do not know how long this takes them; I guess visiting the Raylib-cs Git repository can give you an idea.
I for one use the original Raylib in C, so I do not have to worry. ;) (I have just seen that the prototype for the new function GetKeyName, which allows you to handle non-QWERTY keyboard layouts, is missing, I am going to suggest fixing that or even do it. :))

The Raylib website gives you a hyperlink to the Raylib-cs C# binding — which, according to a French course I follow (from Gamecodeur), is both official and reliable.

Also see the hyperlink to the list of bindings at the same page, in case you are interested.

Coucou ! Je viens de trouver ton jeu The Ladle Fly dans la vidéo de David Mekersa sur le concours 10 de Gamecodeur, et comme il relevait l’hyperlien vers ton site personnel, je me demandais par curiosité comment tu as développé ce dernier (le site).

J’ai un peu regardé le site et vu que tu enseignes la programmation de jeux vidéo à ton tour ! T’es-tu lancée via Gamecodeur ? :)

Et aussi la création de sites Web justement, ça tombe bien. Je ne veux pas abuser en demande des renseignements ultra précis, simplement savoir si tu as utilisé un système gratuit ou payant, et quel outil.

(Me demandant pourquoi le pseudonyme Lythande, je viens de chercher et de découvrir qu’il est relié à la Marion Bradley Zimmer de ta description ; encore un biscuit de culture dans ma besace, merci. ^^)

Je me serais bien exercé à parler ici en italien, mais je ne le parle malheureusement pas (un jour peut-être, étant curieux des langues étrangères). Ma maman en a tâté un peu, mais pas moi.

Au fait, je me rends compte que le jeu a été mis à jour pile cette année, sacrée coïncidence ! :) (J’ai aussi plusieurs prototypes à faire évoluer, mais j’ai donné la priorité à d’autres choses pour le moment, dont un gros projet.)

Et au passage (je me trompe peut-être, si oui, désolé XD), je me demande si dans mouche louche, ce ne serait pas l’adjectif louche ; parce qu’en anglais, ladle est… le NOM louche, l’ustensile de cuisine ! Auquel cas, je pense que fishy fly collerait mieux. On perd aussi la rime (malgré le y final commun :p), mais il y a une allitération en f, et puis une espèce de jeu de mots entre les notions de mouche et de poisson (à la fois deux animaux, et l’idée que la mouche aime le poisson pourri). ;)

Voilà, simples questions et remarques incidentes. :) (Et je me note de tester le jeu incessamment ! Il n’y a que la version mise à jour, on dirait ; j’aurais été curieux de voir l’évolution des mes yeux, mais rien de grave.)

Un petit commentaire ici (on ne peut pas sur la fiche de ce jeu, apparemment ; ni de messages privés…) pour dire que je suis tombé sur ton jeu via la vidéo de David sur le concours (j’en avais vu la miniature il y a quelques années, et j’ai repensé hier au titre et soudain voulu visionner ! XD), ayant remarqué les graphismes. Je suis curieux de savoir avec quoi tu les as réalisés, comme ça. :)

Et j’aime beaucoup les graphismes des miniatures de ta page ; on sent que tu es graphiste ! Graphiste professionnel mais programmeur débutant, alors ? ;) Tu as gagné un petit suivi en tout cas. (:

Bonne continuation !

Toutes les mécaniques ont l’air de bien fonctionner et c’est bien chouette comme démonstration. :) Cependant, je n’arrive malheureusement pas jusqu’à la fin car je me suis pris un plantage à chaque partie (sauf celle où je me suis fait attraper pour tester).

Je ne sais pas ce qui cause le problème ; c’est peut-être lié au ralentissement qui survient parfois. J’ai remarqué que j’ai eu plusieurs fois un plantage pendant l’appel de l’après-midi, quand je n’ai pas beaucoup avancé (je n’avais alors en tout cas pas creusé la pièce du bibliothécaire, et déjà déplacé-remis les caisses du réfectoire). Les autres plantages sont survenus à des moments divers (le moment des douches alors que j’étais dans le tunnel du Nord, le temps libre alors que j’étais dans l’arrière-boutique du réfectoire…), mais ayant déjà déplacé au moins une caisse. Quelque chose de lié à la recherche de chemins ?? Mystère.

En tout cas, je pense que ça vaudrait le coup de réussir à déboguer la démo, comme elle sert de vitrine à la formation.

(Quelques mini-remarques : un peu difficile de distinguer visuellement entre portes franchissables à voyant vert et fermées à voyant rouge, si j’ai bien compris. Et on peut creuser au-delà de 100 %, ce qui n’est pas bien grave. ;))

Merci pour ce moment ! (Je m’étais penché sur The Escapists sans y jouer, voilà qui ravive ma curiosité…)

Hey! Thank you for notifying me. :)
You know what? I tend to often think of various things from the past, and I just had a flash of your game just yesterday (10th May), wondering about the larger story, since I remembered there was a whole context. :) A coincidence out of Providence.
I am adding your three games to my list of games to look at. To be honest, I already have several I have to check, and more generally, I have been writing a big stack to process (planning on using the GTD method!), but I am interested. You were right to tell me!
… I remember not being able to beat the current game. I shall tell you if I try and succeed some day. ;)
Thanks again.

I intended to partake with GBDK although I was too short on time, so, here is someone else. ;)
(I also intend to delve into RGBDS in the future. :) Maybe in time for GB Compo 2023? Who knows!)

I intended to partake using GBDK too. ;) (Although things got in the way and I was too late.)

The game reminds me somewhat of The Lost Vikings in concept. In case you do not know it: you control three Vikings, each having specific abilities, and must bring all three of them to the exit alive (and also with a key or something akin, in the last levels of the worlds).

Takeaway: The game feels complete as a little demo, ranging from cute characters to the music; I can easily see it extended into a bigger game by having more varied enemies (with different behavioural patterns) and mechanics (switches and so on). The concept of having to switch between several characters is a classic, actually (see the example above; also seen this concept in game jams, I am thinking of NeededTwo or Cubemunity, just to mention two of them), but maybe a specific feature of yours would be to have each level fit in a screen without scrolling, as is now the case? So that you can always watch everything easily. It could give a more ‘puzzle’-oriented feel to the game compared to others. :)

Thanks for the game; motivates me to finish my own GBDK-one! :)

Bugs / Suggestions:

1. First time in first level: both pirates were at their respective chests, but had some trouble validating.
2. Possible bug: pressing a button from the Game Over screen seems to also skip some further screen(s)? Merely had time to catch a glimpse! :o
3. A counter for the number of lives would be a nice little help!
4. I think I beat the game! Ah, brings me back to the first level; I think a little victory screen instead would have given a fuller feeling of closure. ;)

Hello; I am curious to know whether you would still add submissions after the end of the voting phase (out of fairness for others) for those that could not make it in time but still have a relevant game to show.
(… <sideways look> because I am one such person. :3 I was unlucky this week, and could have done it with one more day I think, so I would still like to show my little game off if I got the opportunity. I could do it in some game jams, and I do myself look at late submissions sometimes.)

Anyway, as this is the end of the regular time, congratulations to all that managed it (and to the other participants ;)).

(finished from 18:49 16/09/2022 as a draft and had to publish it since then!!)

Wow, 10th on ‘Innovation’! :D I was hoping people would find the idea nice, but was really unsure it would be considered worthy amongst the mass of games here. Glad that people thought the concept amusing! :)

And somehow weirded out that the game did not get a straight 1.000 on ‘Audio’, since there is none. XD Although I guess it makes some sense, since lack of sound is more troublesome in other games for gameplay and ambience, while this one still works fine without it.

Anyway, super happy because one of my two target criteria (‘Innovation’ and ‘Theme’) was well received!

This is quite a return on investment for such a shortly-made game! XD

Congratulations to everyone, I have not (yet) played as many games as I wished (family ‘went’ in the way!) nor had the time for a ‘properly’ sized entry (discovered the event too late through e-mail…), but the experience was interesting, and I saw a lot of things that I liked and could be inspiring. :)

This is one more game in my already rather long list of games to expand, as I think there is a way to make it become a nice fuller game based on this UI-fiddling player idea. Thanks for coming by, and see you somewhere else! :) (I am still in a game jam creativity frenzy! Oh, and I have a big dream project that I have yet to make happen, but is for the moment mainly a huge list in written form and in my head; the game should be called Terminal. Hopefully, one day, you will get to see it! :) Stay tuned — and patient. X))

I do not know if you still come around here and will read my comment, but taking the chance to you get notified: I played the game, liked it and agree with you. Also, in case you are not subscribed: the author has created many more games since then, if you are interested. :) Merci de m’avoir (peut-être ?) lu, cher compatriote. ;)

Some small remarks as I play through the game! :)

1. I think you are being a bit harsh with yourself about the graphics, I like the style. Then again, I am not a graphic artist either. X)
2. Wow, Bacon is a bit crude ("f*ck" and so on) (sorry for the egregious involuntary pun! XD)! (How surprising is it that a vegetarian would criticise Bacon rather than Grapes?) I think the writing in Detective Horse managed to be super funny while staying polite, which is closer to my taste. It may depend on the personality of the character, after all, but some ‘visual bipping’ (eg "f*ck") could still work. ;)
3. ‘Ceci n’est pas un T-800.’ -> Do you speak French by any chance? I am French. :) (But dislike ‘contemporary art’. XD)
4. The Terminator-Titanic scene is one of those references I like. X) By the way, the story reminds me a bit of the French comic book Une peau de banane dans le temps (from Time Is Money), where the protagonists go back in time to meet Mona Lisa and fiddle with the famous painting.
5. Music may be a bit loud sometimes? Some option to adjust it would be nice. (I understand this was certainly not a priority in the course of the game jam. X) Haha, right after writing this, stumbling upon meta-humour related to the deadline! XD I really love your sense of humour.)
6. ‘Pomme’: French yet again!
7. And French lines! XD By a stroke of luck, I can help you a lot with these.
   * ‘quelle belle raisin’ -> rather ‘quel beau raisin’ since raisin is masculine, although I guess you could argue that the gender agrees to Lily Grapes’s sex as female through syllepsis.
   * ‘Mon Dieux!’ -> ‘Mon Dieu !’, since this is singular. Also, note than in France’s French typography, there is a space before double-component punctuation marks (this is not true for all varieties of French, especially in Quebec French).
   * ‘Ceci n’est pas une raisin.’ -> same as first remark: probably ‘un raisin’, or even ‘du raisin’ considering it as partitive.
8. That ‘earth apple’ pun is nice (pomme de terre), but I am wondering how much of the non-native-French-speaking audience can get it, since I am biased in knowledge. ;)

Takeaway: I think you really have a talent for humourous stories. As a matter of interest, I have very recently taken a look at some ‘interactive fiction’ game jams (such as the — French! — ‘Concours de Fiction Interactive Francophone’, ‘SeedComp!’, or French ‘Partim 500’); I see yours is an entry to Narrative Driven Jam, so you could definitely specialize in narration (if you wish so, which I do not know!), or team up with other people for various game jams or projects and help with the narrative/story side in particular.

It was a pleasant (little) moment, thank you for it. :)

As a preamble: I am not necessarily a connoisseur of clicker games (although I have tried at least one), but I am trying my best even in genres I have a lesser grasp in. :)

[Using the Windows version (1.0.0.1); still planning to switch to Linux, by the way, which is long overdue… :S]

1. Small misspelling in the game page: "wheter" -> "whether" (two times)
2. Minor remark: the itch.io app (= launcher) allows me to launch the installer, but not to play the game directly; I am not sure whether you can configure it this way… I know there is a whole manual for this application, which I had taken a look at, but I am unfamiliar with this specific point (and must still learn more clearly…). By the way, ‘butler’ (which I must also try!!) seems to be nice to optimize uploading updates, which can be of interest to you for any game in the future.
3. Small detail, but I like the deadening effect in the settings menu. Cosy atmosphere. :) (And I love the menu music, by the way.) Same for ‘Credits’.
4. The music volume seems higher for in-game music than for the menu; I had turned the volume up a bit for the menu… Perhaps some tuning could help? Or make it also depend on the setting?
5. ‘How to play’: short and clear enough, but as a general remark, it is often a good idea to manage to have an (implicit!) interactive tutorial to make the player understand things. I know, it can be quite some work. :p I am not complaining, though! (I have very recently played through Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, and there were a lot of explicit interactive in-game tutorials that mixed text with having the player perform the actions, actually; this can also be a solution.)
6. Ah, pausing is allowed, nice! :) (I take time reviewing and sometimes have to pause.)
7. Statistics even count menu clicks! X) Overkill? Or jocular? On the other hand, it does not count pause time as playtime, funnily. :p
8. Apparently, the boot (visually and audio-wise) appears less times than your true number of clicks (if you proceed fast enough); I guess this is intended, but I wonder which way gives the better ‘juice’/feedback for the player. Did you try both?
9. The AutoKicker upgrade sounds like ‘hey, we thought of you, lazy person’! XD To each their own. ;)
10. The story/context looks funny (giving the boot to a heater, the Heatlord), although it is not made that clear; maybe you could convey it some more during the game? It could give a sense of engagement, I guess.
11. Are the multipliers combinable (eg if you have both 2x and 10x, then you get 20x)? Later: no, they are not. Maybe this should be made clear in the instructions?
12. The strategy seems straightforward at first sight: click like crazy, get the successive multipliers whenever you can, then get the AutoClicker. Maybe varying the bonuses could make one think a bit more? But hey, maybe that is not the goal. ;)
13. Typography nerd time: in the shop, are the crosses real proper ‘times’ (×), or just the letter ‘x’? (I am asking, because I changed it in my own Ludum Dare 51 game, since someone had remarked about it. XD)
14. Trying the ‘Deactivate’ button for the 2x multiplier: does not work?
15. Funny, I notice the 2x multiplier actually gets you the first point by pressing (and holding), while the second one is yielded by releasing! Is this intended?
16. Ah, discover by accident that Space also works instead of clicking (because I am using the nearby left-hand button on my laptop computer :p)! Was this said somewhere in the indications or not?
17. Oh, wait, Space only gets me one point instead of two, so it looks like it does not take the multiplier(s?) into account!
18. Visiting the ‘Boss’ room/screen: hey, even clicking there still gives me points! And one instead of two (although I guess I should really get zero).
19. The second multiplier is a lot longer than the first one to get! Maybe intended?
20. Reached the 10x multiplier; a quick calculation leads me to about 5,000 clicks to get to the third (100x) multiplier, so this will be even longer…
21. Ah, now, nine points for pressing, and one for releasing. Is there any real reason, once again?
22. For the record and funny anecdote, the time this takes and the kind of strategy to use reminds me of the Ludum Dare 51 game Far., which took me somewhere about one hour to complete, I think. X) And since you wrote in the info box that this game also needs such an amount of time, this is even more reminiscent.
23. You know, this whole ‘clicker’ concept where I get some kind of carpal tunnel syndrome reminds me of the good old International Track & Field on the PlayStation. Using some clothe’s cloth or a sock to mash those buttons. XD
24. Some of the achievements (such as visiting the shop for the first time) remind me of some cheap ‘achievements’ from Steam and so on (to be frank, I dislike how these platforms add such external pseudo-incentives to an already full game!). In the present case, some achievements are meaningful, but I am unsure you really need all. This is nothing serious, but I tend to prefer the achievements linked to the player’s actual performance. Other people may disagree with me on this!
25. Perhaps some things could happen at some ‘points’, when reaching some score. Funny things, random events, possibly a bonus to catch or a penalty to evade… I think this would break the monotony, although I am unsure if this fits the clicker concept.
26. I realize there are TWO ‘Main Menu’ buttons in the pause menu!
27. A bit after getting the 100x multiplier, trying to save and then come back (with ‘Play’); OH NO!!! I lost my progression!!… <:O (I was suspicious this would happen.) I feel like some buttons have trouble (whether multiplier/bonus deactivation or saving).
28. [Trying again the following day! X)]
29. I may have not been paying enough attention, but are the particles unchanged when using a multiplier? If not, maybe they could be correlated (quantity, for example) with the current multiplier. Same for sound, maybe?
30. The trophy icon seems to sometimes not detect well the mouse (I had to click/move several times).
31. Buying cosmetic stuff and trying to unequip: seems not to work either.
32. ‘Never gonna give you up’: would you believe I have been listening again to Together Forever (which I prefer) several times very recently? X)
33. OH NOOOO!!! Ironically, ‘Deactivate’ does work for AutoKicker, but I cannot put it back on then!!! <:O
34. By the way, the boss target (1,500,000) amounts to 15,000 hundreds, and I get a hundred points out of each click (through the multiplier) (which I make about ten per second) and each second (out of AutoKicker — when it was working…); so, I get about eleven hundreds per seconds. This gives about 1,364 seconds of time to reach the target, which is about 22.7 minutes… I get the feeling this is too much; I could do in some sessions, but as I said earlier, the save system does not seem to work properly for me. ._.
35. I think I may stop here (BUT letting the game run, in case you point out something helpful I missed!), waiting for a possible update in case you are considering one. (No pressure! ;)) I am a bit frustrated not to see the boss fight, which seems more interesting as to gameplay!

Takeaway: I like the whole presentation (sounds, UI including screens, music…), which is a nice effort that you can surely reuse in other games (the shop, achievements…); I just wish the first gameplay phase had some more variety than mashing the button. X) I understand this is more or less the standard concept for ‘clicker games’, but maybe making it more engaging (possible suggestion: sometimes avoid projectiles with the mouse??? Or click on a specific heater amongst a series of heaters, depending on the moment??? I do not know) and less time-consuming (by lowering some targets, for example) would raise interest in my personal opinion. Still curious as to what the ‘tower defence’ boss part looks like!

As I have just read Heater Kicker’s game page (and devlog) and am about to finally test the game (sorry for the little delay!!), I realize I left some questions unanswered!…

Thanks for the suggestions; there are a monstrous amount of available options for frameworks and engines, actually, especially for 2D. I will not be using Unity for several reasons (including the fact that if the game is one day really successful — who knows! —, there will be royalties for them, and I disapprove some of their behaviours, especially collaborating with military drone projects and how dependent you can become by binding yourself to this tool) ; I intend to actually mix 2D with some simple 3D (it should be one of the twists), so I do not have humongous technological 3D needs, which is why both Godot and MonoGame could do the trick. Not saying that Unity is not useful for prototypes and small projects as you did (I even have relatives that use it this way), but I tend to be extremely wary of dependence to not-always kindly people and institutions. But I digress. :p

By the way, since you seem interested, the main concept is linked to ‘games inside games’; if you know the film Inception, you should get the general idea. :) I still have to really put things together, although I tend to think I will use MonoGame, and am currently setting some things straight in my life (only positive things!); you may get news one day. :)

By Gameboy, do you mean the legendary old console or...?

Yes, good old Game Boy. :) Watch out for using the word ‘old’, I have one! XD But seriously, the Game Boy has a special vibe, both in game style and sounds, that I am fond of. Sometimes, technological constraints bring out the best creativity.

I'm glad to see you managed to finish the game.

Well, not totally finished since one level beat me… :o

Also I can't really make out what that timer/clock on that photo is, but if that's a speedrun timer then I salute you!

Actually, the timer on the screen capture is from Pomofocus, a piece of software that implements the Pomodoro method. Which I recommend, especially in case you have any procrastination problem. :) I left it on several captures as a subtle promotion of the method, since I think it can definitely help people out. ;)

Larry is love, Larry is life.

I searched a bit, and this looks like a meme, but I cannot quite make out what this is about. X)

Hey, thank you for the detailed answer about the scenario! :) I understand things better now.
I hope my humble review can help you in any way in the future or was positive to you. Godspeed!

You know what? It has been (way too) much time I have had comments I need to check, but I have just clicked to see another recent comment, and was notified of yours which you posted right in between. XD Do not be sorry for answering late, I have done (and am still doing) far worse (out of deep social anxiety, but that is another story).

Thank you very much for the answer; so, there was way more to it! :) And I do remember the game, although not the details of all paintings. ;) I have a rather good memory, at least when I am interested, and I am interested in all games I test, so I could speak of all the games I reviewed on itch.io after quickly checking which one is which. :)

By the way, your comment gives me the opportunity to tell you two things I had thought for much time (I have trouble dealing with my things-to-do stack…):
1) I have not played it, but the game Get Meowt of Here seems to be close to yours in concept while also using cats. I have no clue whether you knew about it or not!
2) I loved your small text against social media. I hold a similar opinion. (Oh, checking the website again, I realize there is a misspelling: ‘Acheivements’. Just saying to help! Oh, and is the text gone?) My intuition tells me we may have close personality types; just my two cents.

Hello! I have been busy with different things (some video-game-related and some not), but I will take a look soon. :)
(A messaging system would indeed be great… Otherwise, I guess some other account or server can help.)
Thanks for letting me know!

Je rebondis de manière semi-digressive sur le sujet de la POO pour dire en complément que la tendance à complexifier inutilement le code tend à être inévitable avec elle, même quand on est rigoureux. Je renvoie les curieux aux vidéos (en anglais… à sous-titrer ?) de Brian Will sur la programmation orientée objet, qu’il dénonce tout en défendant la programmation orientée données (séparation des données et des fonctions). Je pense qu’il a raison sur le fait que cette dernière est bien plus naturelle et claire (cerise sur le gâteau, elle est aussi plus performante !! Cf. le système entité-composant (ECS), notamment proposé par des moteurs de jeux). La conférence de Stoyan Nikolov à CppCon 2018 (en anglais aussi…) illustre cela avec un gros cas pratique (au passage, lui trouve que la POO peut quand même servir dans des cas limités, ce qui se discute). Je laisse chacun se faire son avis !

Pour un petit projet, ça se voit peut-être moins, mais rien qu’avec un simple essai un peu plus gros mais pas tant, j’avais déjà senti que le syndrome « usine à gaz même en concevant de manière logique » commençait à me tomber dessus… La séparation des fonctionnalités en bouts situés à divers emplacements résulte ironiquement en du code spaghetti, ce qui est pile un phénomène que l’on cherche à éviter.

Pour revenir au cas présent : la tendance à créer des « gestionnaires » (managers) abstraits illustre pile le coup de tenter de regrouper des choses dans des abstractions n’ayant pas de sens en elles-mêmes, pour tenter de coller à un schéma d’organisation du code. En vrai, il n’y a rien de mal à programmer en impératif (ou fonctionnel ou autre), il faut se décomplexer. ;) On peut être à la fois simple et générique, alors autant ne pas se gêner !

Thanks for the answer! So my idea of throwing enemies towards spikes was not completely off-track, after all. ;) I do not know if you plan on extending the game, but if you do, do no hesitate to notify me. :)

PS: should have read before saying. XD ‘I definitely plan on making more levels. :)’ Great news anyway!

Thanks for answering! :)

1. You do not need a heavy engine; as I said, Love2D would be totally enough. Or, if you do not want to use a programming language, you can try GDevelop for example, which is free and uses a click-based interface to design events; this may be better choice for you. (If you want to use an engine one day, there are also completely free and open-source ones such as Godot or Bevy. Unity is a big thing with shady stuff behind the scenes, including collaborating with the army… And Unreal Engine / Epic has shady connections too!)

2. I was asking if you used ‘artificial intelligence’ software that automatically generates images (such as Midjourney). Because the image has a funny look.

5. Funny indeed! XD Well done.

14. Well, I saw nothing happening when reaching the blue zone! ._. Was it supposed to be a Rickroll? Because I was sad not to have seen any in the game… :(

18. Three endings? You definitely need to show this!

19. Yes I did, I am quite obsessive. XD Although not all my points were questions!

20. Since I know a bit of Russian through Duolingo, I understand this is ‘Text in Russian.’; are you referring to the final dialogue? It was mainly if not totally in English, I think!

All right, but it is on my list. ;) I may prioritise lesser known games and possibly make other people happy too. :) I have a list from Brackeys 2022.2 and other game jams… The amount is massive and deafening. X) By the way, I have noticed for some time now that the special page for entries with the fewest votes is still accessible after the game jam has ended through its direct URL, although there does not seem to be a link! ._. For example and to give the string pattern, here is the one for Brackeys 2022.2:
https://itch.io/jam/brackeys-8/unrated

Godspeed! (Oh, by the way, I love the Q*bert style of the thumbnail for M.C and I also love M. C. Escher’s drawings, so I also wrote this one down. ;) And also Genesis because I sense yet another interesting twist on Snake. Oh, and I forgot to advise you to simply correct some taglines — except if you want to keep them this way for record purposes, which I would totally understand :) —: here, ‘to late’ -> ‘too late’, for Alien Infection, ‘Platfroming’ -> ‘Platforming’, for Devil's Game., ‘Agains’ -> ‘Against’, and for Genesis, ‘fliped’ -> ‘flipped’. I am somewhat obsessive, sorry for this! XD)

This is invaluable to developers!

I figured by commenting in game jams where I had a massive amount of testing to achieve that having a semi-log + semi-test was both quicker and still appreciated by the creators, so this became my standard way of reviewing. :) … Although I may have slowly turned to writing down more things, which ends up taking even more time. XD Anyway, it is worth it!

unfortunately I gave myself a week to concept and create the entire game so there are some very obvious flaws.

I knew the context, and it is obvious to me that a short game jam game does not have to hold up to the same standard as a game that was given months of development; actually, that is partly why I am always thinking ‘How could the game be extended?’ for such games. :)

Thank you again, so so so much!

Thank you for the game and thank you for your videos and the love for Game Boy. :) The whole ‘Game Boy revival’ and the concept of having even more freedom through creating physical cartridge/flashcart games really appeals to me (even though I am trying to be versatile), your contributions are a part of it, and you surely helped way more people with your extensive work than my little quibbling written down on a cosy Friday evening. ;) Criticism is easy but art is difficult. (… That is a French proverb, not sure if it also exists in English. XD)

which made me feel like i just wasted my time putting all of this effort into it,

Even without players, you still learn out of it. ;) But I understand it feels better to have someone play the game and appreciate the details, as a game lives through its players to some extent — although I tend to think the creator is the first player, so, the game will live through you anyway. :)

By the way, I did not test Hivemind (although I may! I have several games from several game jams I wish to play… ALL, in fact XD), but watching the animated screen captures, I think the concept reminds me partially of Sleepy Blocks (which I did not play either…). (Checking: it turns out this one has colour too, but uses it differently, apparently!) So, I may come by at some point. :)

Hey there, this message enticed me to try out your game; I just left a comment with my impressions on the entry’s page. :)

Ooooh, reading your comment again, I think I understand: the ‘good’ ending is the short one if you press X to leave early, and the other one is when you get the trophy! Then I did get the trophy and final dialogue (monologue?). ;) Still not sure about what the blue zones do!

Semi-on-the-fly remarks:

1. On the game page: you say you will learn C++, but you know, it all depends on which tools you want to use. For example, Love2D (which I often use) is based on the Lua language, and is rather simple to learn and use; anyway, do as you please. :) (A rather low-level framework that allows you to delve into 3D is MonoGame, and as an engine — which means a ‘heavier’ thing in case you need it —, Godot seems interesting.)
2. On the game page: was the San Francisco office photo generated by AI? I am asking because of some curves. :)
3. I like the whole fictitious back story from the game page. X) There is really some effort to give the game a The Ring vibe. (There are English mistakes, but I guess this is not your native language, and you can still make progress; and everything was understandable.)
4. On the Scratch website: the link gives an error, but just going to the site and uploading the file you gave works; you should rather give this link for example, and explain how to upload: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/editor/?tutorial=getStarted
5. The VHS snow effect and screen are great, I already noticed in your captures. :) Including the sound.
6. Controls are QWERTY-only instead of layout-independent (I have an AZERTY keyboard). I am not sure if you can program in a position-based way in Scratch, though…
7. Level 2: not sure what happens near the Sun, when I respawn! Something makes me lose?
8. Level 3: I have trouble deciphering the word after ‘Don't go to the’! The grey writing from the VHS hides it!
9. Hey, I notice ‘Sprite 1’ written in Cyrillic for field ‘Sprite’! Are you Russian by any chance? :) Or from a Russian- or Cyrillic-speaking country?
10. Was the flag from level 3 a trap?? I cannot retry! Is it the end? By the way, I like the visual aspect for the word ‘maze’.
11. Trying the game again: trying to click the flag, because the code talks about it. :p This does highlight a matching portion of the code, but not sure what this does! Reaching the flag: oh, you can actually continue playing behind the red guy! I had not noticed the first time.
12. And so, there IS a level 4!
13. Touching a wall to see what happens: weird, new level! :o There were apparently two quick updates; did this throw me to level 5?
14. New level: ‘funny zone’; does nothing?
15. There are a LOT of levels, actually! Funny immersion into the insanity of the cursed tape. XD
16. The games tells me I won, but clicking on ‘Claim’ does nothing! <:o
17. Weird, clicking ‘hide’ for the rickrolled_haha portion of the code removes the VHS snow AND allows me to click ‘Claim’! And to proceed.
18. I notice two ends in the code (ending_souls and gifr_ending), which makes me remember you mentioned on the forum and the game jam page there were two endings; I did step on blue in earlier levels, since you mention it.
19. Wow, those faces are grim! Vibes of Eyes Wide Shut (which was a denouncing of elite Freemasonry). ‘grab the final price... then you can join us..’
20. Weird, I notice I can drag and drop the scenery and my character is BEHIND it, but this may be caused by Scratch. Oh, a whole dialogue! Apparently, I can proceed in it using W, but this was not obvious. A lot of things! I think you really put effort in the scenario.
21. Weird, dragging and dropping, I can restart the dialogue! I wonder if I somehow broke the Scratch code… :s The last picture for me was a white rectangle outline open to the South, on a black background.
22. This MAY be the bad ending, but I am not sure. You know, I think I would need to see a playthrough to be sure of how things happen in the game!

Takeaway: I really like the originality of having a The Ring-type of video game, and the fact that you have written ‘evil’ indications that you can choose to follow or not and then have two possible endings; nice immersion into the scenario. On the downside, I think there is a big problem of clarity to help the player understand what is going on! Respawn seemed sometimes not expected, and I had trouble navigating the ending — although this may be due in part to Scratch and how I clicked once in the code, sorry for that ! :S So, I think a video showing how the game plays out (for both ends) would really help me (and others?) to be sure I did not miss something. Also, some more riddles or possibly dynamic/moving elements in the labyrinths could be interesting, but I understand this may have been complicated to program in Scratch (I am unsure of its limitations!).

Thanks for the cursed experience! :)

Hello! For the record, I had stumbled upon your account during Brackeys 2022.2, and noticed this game; I was intrigued and thought I would play, which I am finally doing. :) I also noticed you were happy someone commented on the game jam page, so, here is a second playtester! :)

Semi-on-the-fly remarks:

1. Staying in the menu for the complete music: wow, it is at the same time soothing, majestic, and orchestral! And quite long!
2. small misspellings: ‘recived’ -> ‘received’, ‘goverment’ -> ‘government’, ‘they’ -> ‘They’… (I know this is a detail, but neat language can make a good impression!)
3. I really like the whole cinematic introduction, the dramatisation is great, with the little animations and the fades, and once again, the music adds a lot.
4. Starting the propre game: wow, nice other music!!
5. Wow, reading time! ;)
6. I like that the scene is presented through interactive objects.
7. Nice that the manual stays on the page you left it at!
8. In-game music is a bit loud (especially since focus is needed!); I think a volume option would be nice.
9. Checking the game over screen: nice choice of music too.
10. A thought: the concept of having a comprehensive manual is interesting, but I almost feel like having it printed and at your disposal physically would help (I see VincentFoulon thought about it too!). There is so much to read!
11. Checking the planets screen: nice names, did you invent them or use some name generator? :)
12. Computer clock: purely decorative? You could have the handles move as time passes by, for even more immersion. :) (later: spoiler: understood, but my advice still stands XD Although it could be misleading?)
13. I wonder if you could do away with the timer; there is already quite a lot to do, and I think the game would still be interesting and challenging without it. Or maybe have the timer for hard mode only?
14. I realize the music comes to the end of its loop right at the end of the timer! On purpose? Nice detail. :)
15. Size: I do not get how to perform the name->number translation step… :o
16. Air and water: got it by trying, but things are not that simple upon merely reading the manual beforehand! X) I also like how you inserted ‘useless’ details for the telescope report, and the latency for the results from top to bottom. :)
17. Cable(s): after getting the blue cable, I get no cable in my next run, and I think the ‘no-cable’ situation is misleading to players if you did not get where cables would be and what they would look like; I would suggest not having this situation. (Also: not found the lamp yet. X) Later: found it, but I was stupidly trying to click on it way before!! XD Silly me.)
18. Not obvious to distinguish light blue and light purple? May be just me.
19. Oh, the laptop code changes! :) I had the same one two other times, and so I thought it would not change.
20. Weird, only three numbers to enter instead of four, this time!
21. I notice the lamp changes too! I was unlucky before, it was always red, which is why I thought it was only a cosmetic detail. X)
22. Not so obvious on the planets screen to distinguish between some medium- and small-sized planets, I think.
23. Won! :D But on my successful run, I did not need the water and air property; maybe you could make it so that the player has to achieve the three sub-riddles?
24. Victory music is sweet, but less majestic compared to the other ones, especially the introduction. Still, I like that rocket!

Takeaway: agreed with VincentFoulon, the whole ‘figure-it-out-yourself’ spirit is great, although SOME explanations are unclear. And I also thought like him that converting the planets to numbers was a tricky one. I think the water and air part is the most straightforward, although some may think the lamp and cables one is (it depends on whether you notice the right thing, and if you do not get the ‘no cables’ situation!). Music was excellent and immersive! And I also loved the whole narration and setting with interactive objects, it makes the player engaged in what he is doing. Thinking about the timer, I think it IS useful in the end, because it makes sure through randomisation that the player has figured out each riddle for himself and can then solve everything (or enough :p) in a single run. (I expect almost no one would make it in the first run, I was puzzled then! X)) I forgot to say the graphics are cute, especially the planets (and starry background); they have a ‘flat 2D’ appearance that somehow reminds me of some mobiles hung to the ceiling. :) As a last piece of advice, I think putting sounds would add to the experience and immersive atmosphere.

Thanks for the brain-teaser, at first, I was like a deer in the headlights, but it ended up being manageable! :)

Hello fellow stranger

Semi-stranger, since we met during GMTK 2022. ;)

Thank you for being the only reason that I am starting again with this game.

Oh!! No pressure, I had promised to come by and test it out, you are not forced to deliver anything if you do not feel like it. :) (Now, I see you already added things! :o)

I will also add you to the credits of the game

Thanks for the offer, but do as you wish, there really is no commitment here. :)

you were literally the only person to ever even play the game in the past 3 months.

Oh, I had noticed in this devlog that you had other people taking a look; too bad you could not get them to help you again…

Also, what would you like in the game?

I think the real question is what you would like in it. ;) The best thing is to come up with an idea that you are thrilled about and try to realize it. If you want to merely train (in order to enhance your skills), then you can clone something (infinite runners seem close enough to the current state of the game), and then move to something more personal.

Thank you for noticing! do you like it? :)

Yes, the columns do an effective job as showing these are ruins.

if any update appears, just know it was because of you :)

Please draw motivation and inspiration from your inner self; passion and determination are good driving forces. Some people need external pressure, but I think this should only come second. ;)

The shame is rather on me for taking so long to check many comments and test games, I have been delaying it for too long! :s

PS: I have just tested 1.0.1; just some quick remarks:

1. ‘Coagulaton’ -> ‘Coagulation’ (unless I am mistaken; double-check with a dictionary!)
2. For the introduction, maybe offer the player to press some specific key to continue (indicating which one). And do not say the story is bad! XD Just keep it simple and clear. ;)
3. You can still play during ‘game over’; I managed to reach level 2. XD

I am not sure about what happened with Alice, but she definitely did say something about an ‘error’ or ‘mistake’. I think it was very close to ‘that must be an error’, and then something happened; if you look for the string in the code, you should be able to find out what this belongs to.

By the way, small tip: I noticed the spaces before the double-component signs (such as ‘!’ and ‘?’); English does not use them (and actually, several languages do not either!). This is another possible indication of Frenchness apart from the pseudonym. ;)

Godspeed!

This is a nice concept! (By the way, found your game out of interest for Bevy. ;))

Funnily enough, I lost against Alice (who cheated once too?? Not sure what happened, she said something about an ‘error’ at some point), then stupidly lost in just some moves to Carl, then did beat Carl (who cheated once) at my next (and first real :p) attempt.

The variation on chess as ‘semi-chess’ is interesting too; I noticed the two players have non-coincidental bishops! :)

The whole pseudo-Cockney(?) renaming thing also got a laugh from me, especially when Alice snapped a nasty ‘chockmate’ at me . XD (Which is ironic since I suspect you are French, which does not give this accent at all. J’en sais quelque chose, des compatriotes ont fait saigner mes chastes oreilles. :p)

Thanks for the clever game!

Hey there! I found out about your game through one of your videos (on Game Boy Showdown, since I have a recent interest in Game Boy development) and decided to give it a try. :)

Semi on-the-fly remarks:

1. This may sound silly, but I got stuck for some seconds trying to leave the house. X) Either I am clumsy (which may well be) or the corridor is a bit tight?
2. Outside: oh, you can move diagonally! I was conditioned by several games to think this would not be possible here. (later: Now, I wonder why these games prevented you from it. Perhaps to avoid collision problems?)
3. I had read in the comments that the map was somewhat huge, and indeed… getting kind of lost right from the start! XD Then again, I may have poor sense of direction. An often used (dirty?) trick is to block some unused ways, and then only allow passing once you have gained some power/key, or accomplished some action; a less constrained technique would be to use subtle environmental guidance. (later: oh, you are blocked if you try to leave East! Maybe it is better to let the player roam a bit as you did, after all; it was a reasonable amount. :))
4. Found out now that you can run with the other key.
5. Side note: the mayor tells me I was quick, but I actually took the time to explore the whose local map. X)
6. Ah, moving pieces is achieved through punctual press, as opposed to the continuous moving of the character; this caught me off-guard, I took some seconds to realize it. I guess this is for precision purposes, but I think continuous movement would still be manageable for this first puzzle, at least.
7. Once eastwards, you cannot go back westwards, and once northwards (of the East… :p), you cannot go back southwards: so, apparently, what happens is the contrary of my first impression: to make up for the possibility of the player’s losing his bearings, backtracking is strictly forbidden. This is entirely reasonable for practical reasons, but makes the experience feel more one-track.
8. A suggestion that crosses my mind: you can inject more gameplay even with simple walking, by having little(?) labyrinths, or Zelda-esque ‘Lost Woods’ sequences. I do not mean to copy the concept, but there is surely some inspiration to draw from it. :)
9. Second piece puzzle: still rather straightforward, but I already see that the upper piece can block you from moving the long rightward piece; this means there is definitely potential for more intricate such puzzles. Maybe some are already waiting for me?
10. Taking more time to listen to the success music, this time: I like how this is a sped-up version of the solving music, this reminds me nebulously of various games that apply this technique. :) It does add to the Game-Boyness!
11. Small detail: I notice that if you are walking while reading a panel, the character keeps on walking; is it expected?
12. Trying to visit just a bit eastwards of the clock master’s house: oh, I am taken back automatically to go to the house! :o I definitely think some of these constraints may be too visible. Not saying that the compromise between freedom of exploration and not getting the player lost is an easy one, but such a game can surely benefit from a reflection around this point.
13. Third piece puzzle: I think a way of making the puzzles less straightforward would be to imagine some rules governing the cogs and how one is to join them together, and not have the ‘blueprints’ telling the player where to put the missing pieces. This way, you can have proper (progressive) riddles. :) Or, the places where you can put pieces/cogs are shown, but not which type, and you have to figure out if you should put one that turns leftwards or rightwards so that the mechanism activates something properly, for example. Well, you get the idea!
14. Ah, I like how the purple plants apparently take over the land! It makes the world feel subtly alive (less static). :) (On a side note, at the beginning of the game, I thought these were giant aubergines rather than a mark of evil. XD)
15. 4th puzzle: maybe expected, but I notice that the puzzle is considered solved while the final piece (the lower-right cog) is just to the right of its final position; I guess it was moving towards the right place. I am taking it down because I think the pieces were are their final positions in the previous puzzles. (Nothing serious at all, but sometimes, getting such little details help you prevent future huge bugs elsewhere. ;))
16. Getting the bell: another Zelda-inspired suggestion would be to give specific usefulness to each of the objects you collect. :) I know, easily said once again…
17. Getting out with the bell: the success music continues; just saying, to be sure this is expected. (Which I guess can be, since this was the last part from the main clock.)
18. Oh, the South-West lake is unused! I thought crossing it would give you something; for example, it could act as a shortcut. This would make purifying the water more meaningful.
19. Back to the first zone: clever use of the purple plants; I think they could definitely be used for labyrinth-oriented riddles. Or for example, oriented some wheel to some direction changes where the purple plants are.
20. 5th riddle: once again, solved while one piece appears just a bit off (the pendulum is a tiny bit downward). Maybe all puzzle were like this, in this case, disregard this. X) Ah, passing some dialogue, it does move a bit more upward!

Takeaway: to me, the whole narration and map is great as a basis for an adventure game; I also think both ideas of repairing clocks and having plants pop up as obstacles have the potential for riddles, and the clock one especially as being distinctly different from what Zelda does. My suggestions of having each object have a specific use may be too close to Zelda, but maybe you can have a twist on this by having each object behave specifically in the clockwork riddles?

In its current state, the game feels as essentially narratively driven (and thus a tale, as the title forebodes), but I feel you already have nice elements to build up upon and get an engaging adventure game that makes you think, while departing from Zelda (because I think originality is paramount, but this is a personal quirk and obsession :p). I do not dare advising linking the clocks to passage of time because of Oracle of Ages and even more Majora’s Mask XD, but hey, maybe you can think of some clever time-related twist(s) to connect even better with the time theme. And finally, getting the map smaller (or scaled to whatever gameplay content you decide) but more packed with riddles/challenges could solve the navigation problem (by having a more autonomous player still figure his way out). I may be wrong, but I tend to think that in general, designing things as just enough to contain the main focus gives an interesting result for the player.

The amount of work for designing the map and all the details must have been something, this game could surely go somewhere if you extend it! Do not be too harsh on yourself, I see such experiments as useful to enhance them and possibly enhance yourself in the process. :)

Glad(! XD) to see you also do not equate votes with quality. I have played about 40 too. I think on ‘Overall’ criterion would be nice, because I realize some games are great but do not benefit enough from specific criteria; for example, PLAT Inc. has an impressive amount of content (I could not reach the end because it becomes so hard, so, this one is on my to-finish list XD). It would be on my recommendation list if I was tasked with drawing one up. (I realize you played the game too!)

I appreciate people like you a lot, since such a detailed review and feedback helps MASSIVELY.

Thanks! :) I figured people enjoyed detailed accounts, including the semi-log part (which is like the substance of filmed playtests, but easier to look up).

I'm quite not in the "jamming mood" anymore and I'm busy working on other projects. […] I am currently working on another game. Not decided yet if I'm going to release it or not, but the development is going really well so far!

After a streak of game jams (my first one was this year too, actually!!), I am also going on a pause (I mean, from contests!) and working on my own on some games. I think I will develop several of the prototypes that came out from them (especially Cursed Ghosts and Breathe Heart). :) And I have a ginormously ambitious reflection/puzzle game project, called Terminal, whose idea I have been floating since 2019 and compiled a gigantic list of ideas. What stopped me was that I wanted to use the right tools (especially framework/engine), but after expanding my knowledge of what is available, I am still wavering between MonoGame (whose OOP I realized is not a good thing — thank you, Brian Will — but where I guess I can use some ECS around here), Godot (which I am currently diving in), and Bevy (which looks interesting but is still under development, at version 0.8, and the Rust language is interesting but not that easy to get a handle on; so, less chances for this one). Since your own first game jam attempt ended so well, there is no reason my first big project attempt does not work well. ;p So, not putting all my eggs in one basket, but I really have high hopes for this one! Tell me if yours (or even a demonstration) gets available somewhere one day. :) (Mine is for the more distant future.)

I hope to see you on another jam some day.

I may still partake in some; I think one with a longer time span would be a good idea. (The seven days for Brackeys is nice, for example, but I came in at the very last moment… XD) I have been diversifying and now dabbling in Game Boy development (which is super interesting, but I tend to find everything interesting :p), so if I find an interesting Game Boy game jam once I feel comfortable enough, I may try it. (GBJam 10 was too close!)

By the way… JUST BEAT LEVEL 3!!! (Spoiler: I had somehow managed to miss the right path from the very first leftward door, and was convinced I had to start from the rightward one, which explains why I was getting crazy not finding the exit. XD I liked the detail of the angel at the end!)

‘short’… LIES!!

From the previous screen: but who is Larry? X)

On a roll of coming back to former comments and games (I have been SO busy I have missed out on a lot of things… :O):

    the game shows an ending screen after you beat level 3 with some high quality written lore

So, I will definitely try beating level 3, since you said it is not as crazy as number 2. X) But I will pass on said number 2, I think!

To pick up on your other answer:

    I also regret not rating and playing many games on this jam, I only played about 40.

I ALWAYS end up playing so much less than I wished (I would play everything if I could!!). In my case, this is because I am so pernickety, testing so many details and writing them down… I must have some kind of problem. XD I still plan on playing games from passed game jams that I did not have time for and leave a review! :) By the way, you can too. ;)

    It's just so strange to me how the game could win the theme category, I just can't believe what I'm seeing.

I already thought that when there is such a massive amount of various games, it is not always obvious nor even reasonable to think you can compare everything linearly, and I have come to the conclusion that when a game clicks with people, they tend to give it higher marks all round. For instance, I want to go home had a pretty similar interpretation of the theme as your game, but made less of an impression, and I noticed it had a lesser mark for Theme, which I think is unfair (checking my own personal notes, I am glad I did assign it a 5 for Theme too; I am very little suggestible and try to analyse every aspect of the games fairly). Your game has a playable and crazy vibe that makes it work, as well as coherent aesthetics.

I am saying that while my own tiny prototype still worked as being seen as innovative! X) I was merry about it, but you never know. On the contrary, I was very happy with my recent endeavour for Ludum Dare 51 with respect to innovation, and it did not receive such votes, despite what some detailed comments said; and a game that is admittedly based on Minit / Outer Wilds rocked the Innovation criterion — which is super weird (nothing against the creator and his work, but I think some voters behave erratically, and it also depends on which type of players come to your game, which in turn depends on a variety of factors, such as having a navigator version and other technicalities): this is why you should really beware raw marks, sincere thoughtful feedback is the core wiser part.

    I really owe you for that last vote, I'll get you like an 8-bit beer or something haha

Ironically, I discovered only shortly after the end of the event that the videos were discontinued before, so, you only get written credit on the main page. X) But as I said, the quality of the game (and it is real! Sometimes, votes are unfair, but I think your game really has something) is the real takeaway. As for beer: I do not drink it. XD But thanks!

I do not know if you have plans for your game, but maybe you can make it even ‘fuller’ and reach out. Anyway, all the best.

Maybe see you for another game someday! :)

Hey there! :) (On a roll of coming back to some ‘older’ comments and games I have to process in some way or another!) I had intended to take a look at what was fishy (! XD) with the navigator version since I had not tried it; maybe you can upload a corrected version some day? Just saying. :)

Godspeed!

Thanks for the answer; it turns out I already knew about BeepBox (and also use sfxr). :) I have been looking around for music tools, I have put my hands on some (such as Linux MultiMedia Studio (LMMS) and GXSCC) and still have to see if I can manage to get something out of them!

Please do tell me if this bigger project sees the light of day sometime, even a simple demonstration. This made me curious! :)

Your game is one of those I have to come back to, to try to complete it… Maybe trying today, I am on a roll of processing former comments and games lying in my (mental and written) stack! X)