very nice. I really like the images and consistency of the aesthetic. Also the similarity between the images really increases the challenge in a very subtle way. I think if you made a few more UX improvements and leant into the wow factor of interacting with the game this could easily go onto a mobile store or sold to a company that does phone games for the general public or for kids.
Making music with players always seems odd to me. Its often this parallel between giving them full control to make whatever they want or doing it in a way that is more the developer telling them to press x button to make sick tunes. With that said I really like the idea of mixing between different musical motifs to encourage a psuedo creation of new music for the player while not let them self discourage with the complexity that can go into a piece of music. I do think there could be more clear interaction or representation between the blobs and the sounds being created. Say for instance if you're introducing a buzzy sound the blobs start having jagged edges or a square wave that makes the motion more linear or something. Overall super cool toy you have on your hands here.
Congrats on making it to the end. I'm also quite in love with how you guys have set up the aesthetic and visuals of your game. The visual distorting as your sanity gets lower was an excellent touch. Also there is a charm that you get from everything being cardboard like cut outs. Reminds me of the bendy's ink machine game that got really popular on itch a while back.
In terms of game play I think the core interactions are solid. I think a good thing to always play with in location type games is establishing landmarks or pathways that establish a pattern of traversing the land so that players feel some reward in figuring out how to navigate. The gun and how its used feels a bit underpowered to me. I get that it stuns enemies but the enemies themselves move quite slowly and are already threatening by looking at them. Also as much as the game is about not looking I think you could experiment with different states of looking at enemies. Maybe distance and how much of the monster is in your centre view becomes a thing.
Otherwise this was really cool so well done again!
This is some visual excellence right here. For me that carried the experience of exploring and creating the atmosphere of stealth. So really well done on that. I do think the gameplay itself needs more attention. I think there is some intuitive feeling to not look at the enemies but i would have liked the flash light providing more use throughout the game. If it was my only source of seeing in the level for instance then there is more emphasis on looking to reveal the way forward but not too much or you get caught.
I think it would be helpful for the game to have a clearer way of distinguishing when you've been spotted. If you look at stealth games like Mark of the Ninja, stealth tactics or even Metal Gear solid they make it quite clear when someone is going to investigate your last known location and such. Obviously its still a jam game but I just thought I'd mention incase you werent aware.
The last thing I'd mention is the audio. I dig the audio and especially how the music climaxed towards the end of my run. I do think the bots themselves should exercise being a bit silent as well when they stop moving or just have a different idle audio state.
Heyo, I couldnt get past level 4 but I was nonetheless excited to try it a few more times which is a good sign! I especially like how the movement and attracting of enemies works. It gives you room for a lot interesting puzzle layouts and designs and furthermore there is an intuitive tutorialisation process (the actions more than the words that you present) that you're moving the player through. I do think the enemies move too quickly and things feels a bit crowded but if that's what you were going for then good job. If that is the case I think its worth thinking a bit more about what that means for your gameplay cause right now its dynamic is somewhere between being really fast and slow and methodical.
Beyond that I would also say let me retry a level from where I died and make sure your description is more accurate towards the experience you're reeling players in with. Good job!
Oof, this struck a chord with me for sure. I didnt feel comfortable playing it and it got mind racing which is usually a great sign of a serious game in my book.
Conceptualization, atmosphere and overall game loop is lovely. I especially like how the theme ties into the mechanics you chose. A few comments I'd make about the gameplay is that it feels like a trial and error type of game which I dont see much of the rest of the game leaning into. You set up the objective as find your way home but the signs or hints to do that arent quite clear. Even just a tiny bit of direction to know which way our next potential lamp post is. It would have been interesting to set up some set pieces within the level so that you could set up some sort of isolated story beats in the game. Say for instance you think you're making your way to lamp post and it turns off. You're diverted by these weird men into a corner and so on. I think there is a lot of opportunity to tell more of a message or engage in some kind of storytelling but even as it is I think its still really special. so well done.
Congratulations on finishing up guys! For me the edge comes through with the visuals and how everything is stylistically pulled together. The intro in particular was amusing, but the humour didnt quite land for me. Anyways its definitely more than I achieved with my first jam. I do think that you guys should try to focus more on getting the core idea down and working on getting that be fun for next time but otherwise stellar achievement. The audio was a bit grating for me so I would suggest even if you are using free or browser based music production that you have a deeper look at the instrument patches that are available. Some EQ and some light effects like chorus or reverb would help the sound a lot.
Really cool. I dig how your subtly playing with the narrative to hint at this other world being more than just a hallucination. Also the mechanic of hovering over the image to reveal the world was mighty fine. I think some stronger consideration for how the images are revealed would have been nice. Like drawing the player into accidental reveals and placing their cursor on specific parts of the image and leading from where they last clicked to another area of the page. Otherwise really cool. Also it could have been nice to consider breaking up the formula of reveals. lean more into the is it isnt it nature of everything.
Oof, sorry about that. Somewhere between designing the digital game and putting it together we forgot how important explaining the game is, but thank you for your patience with the whole thing.
When a print-n-play becomes available It would be lovely to have that you play it.
Super dope guys. I really liked the debris as a method of persistence for my mess up and how it drifts into other satellite paths, but at the same time the persistence of satellites destruction feels punishing and i found myself just restarting the game. Otherwise i think the musical notes is a fine touch. What could also be cool is having the satellites that have been around for longer develop their small musical motifs or patterns. As i said earlier Super Dope peeps! Well Done.
