itch.io

It is indeed lighthearted. Very relaxing, though I wish I had more time to formulate words!

I love the voice acting, very cute. Any chance for a Windows build? The game looks like it could be funner if it was buttery smooth.

White text on a striped background was a little difficult (though maybe it was the font). Fun little game. Lovely atmosphere from the music.

Dying with a key is devastating! Cute little platformer :)

I mostly agree with Theuntextured's opinions. However, I found the controls pretty snappy (good)! Seems like it could definitely be fun with more time in the oven.

Oohhhh is that what it is? I also had mouse drift on my last Unity3D project and couldn't for the life of me figure it out. Thanks for the comment and playing the game!

I'd like to leave a comment about why and how our game relates to the theme:

At its core, "Unintended Effect" is made up of 2 parts: The "intent" of the player to execute something with an "anticipated effect". So we decided to subvert that way of thinking in the frame of an FPS game (a medium in which all our team members shared familiarity).

e.g. Red Barrels in video games are typically used to explode and destroy your enemies. You shoot one with the intent of blowing your enemies to pieces. In our game, you are instead met with the unanticipated effect of getting vacuum-pulled into it. In this sense, we are subverting the player's expectations of a typical FPS shooter.

Note that while this may be "unintended" the first time, it becomes intended in future instances and turns into a basic game mechanic. This is because when the player understands the true nature of the game's mechanics, it stops being unintended. This nature of no-longer-unintended-after-the-first-instance seems to be unavoidable due to the nature of intent.

e.g. This can also be briefly seen in the final part of the game, when it is revealed that: while you initially intended on saving the world, you were actually helping a darker evil force called the rebels to fulfill their path to power and eventual tyranny over the galaxy. This story-beat sort of came out of left field, and is somewhat unearned. But, we wanted to pack in as many instances of the theme as we could!

We then tried to frame the "Unintended Effect" from the perspective of the enemies. The game's story goes: you are infiltrating an enemy supply base. It is primarily used for storage of weapons, robots, sentries, etc. So to save on space, the enemy would grow/shrink their equipment as necessary.

e.g. In this instance, the intent of the enemy is to use these grow/shrink devices to facilitate easier storage. But the player uses it to their advantage and utilizes it to get farther into the enemy base. In this case, the intent comes not from the player, but rather from the enemy. The unintended effect was that the protagonist used it in a way that the antagonists didn't intend.

Then is the final case of "Unintended Effect" from the perspective of the developer. There is a design philosophy called "Emergent Design", where as you introduce more and more simple mechanics, these mechanics can interact in a way not initially intended. Producing more complex gameplay elements.

e.g. Although it may not be easy to tell from the gameplay, the idea that: bullets bounce, bullets knockback, and bullets can hit yourself; are 3 independent ideas that were born out of game-feel and simple design. But when implemented together, we realized that this can be used and exploited to the players advantage. Usually allowing the players to skip parts of the game rapidly. In this sense, the player exploiting the game's physics is the final implementation of an "Unintended Effect" from the perspective of the developer.

You might notice that one of the simpler low-hanging-fruit of "Unintended Effect" was not used in this project: Randomness. Randomness is the ultimate Unintended Effect. Because you as the player do not know what the outcome of your actions will be at any moment, there is a significant chance that the effects of your actions will be unintended. But randomness takes power away from the hands of the player. It is important to keep the game fair, balanced, and in control of the player. There is no easier way to cause the player frustration than placing the player in a situation where they have played to the absolute best of their ability and still fail.

Some of these ideas may not be immediately evident in gameplay, especially when you're busy dodging bullets and trying to get a good time in the final stat page. That said, I hope you had fun playing our game and wish everyone the best of luck with their submissions! I'll be playing through the other games soon was a little occupied with a 12 hour road-trip yesterday!

Thanks for playing our game! I always appreciate feedback and will definitely keep these ideas in mind when working on my next FPS/TPS!

Hey, Thanks for playing our game! Appreciate the kind words. The basic (easy) enemies and shooting was more to on-board the player to the expectations that this game is a typical shooter. This would allow us to add mechanics later on which the player would assume to be standard, but be surprised by their true effects. Which would make the player's intention and their resulting effect be different. 

As for the getting stuck bit, I've just uploaded a walkthrough video if you want to see the rest of the game, or perhaps play through it again yourself!

Hey guys, sorry for not saying earlier, but I've filled the team and am not looking for any other members!

Hello, fellow Game Off Jammers!

I'm William (Will) and I'm looking to start a team for this jam. I am a programmer first and foremost, but I have made a couple small games (that you can see in my itch profile) and am looking to make my next game with a bigger scope. I have managed a team for a Jam in the past, so I'm no stranger to teamwork.

With that said, I would be looking for the following roles:

• 2x Artists (2D or 3D, but both artists must work in the same D)
• 1x Writer (I prefer games with a story)
• 1x Composer
• 1x Sound Designer
• 1x Unity/C# Programmer (if you're somewhat familiar with Graphics Programming/VFX that'd be great)

I plan on this project being a collaborative effort between the team members, so we will go through the usual Game Development design process, complete with thorough planning and brainstorming sessions. Everyone will have a chance to bring their ideas to the table. Because of this, I feel it would be ideal if team members are in similar time zones (around GMT+7), as that would make communication and collaboration more efficient. In the spirit of the jam, let's keep things fresh and exciting by refraining from any game planning until the jam officially begins.

I understand that everyone will have different levels of commitment when it comes to jams, and I'm not looking to take all your free time away! After all, we make games because we like playing games ;). But I would prefer it if you would only put yourself forward if you are sure that you will see this project through to the end.

If you'd like to be a part of the team, feel free to reply to this topic (leave your discord handle in your reply please!) or add me on discord (williscool).

Hey guys!

I'm happy to announce I've finished my second game called Duck Hunt Nightmare where you play as an unsuspecting person roaming the wild desert (what are you even doing out there?!). You stumble across a little amusement park game stand, which is odd, what is it doing all the way out here all alone?
You then play what is a twist on the classic amusement park game of shooting ducks with an airsoft gun. Though the ducks don't seem to shar the same enthusiasm at being murdered! Watch as the ducks become more and more deranged, almost threatening even. Eventually you draw the ire of the big bad evil duck, and have to defeat them to escape this nightmare!

Game Link Here: https://williscool13.itch.io/duck-shot-nightmare

Nice game! Solid art-style though anti-aliasing would've been nice on the diagonal outline

Thanks for the comment! It was important in that it was symbolic (not actually gameplay related): The story goes that the realm  had "forgotten music" (hence why you start with no music), but as you help more creatures, the music becomes more rich and has more depth (number of instruments). Helping these creatures was actually a "failure" on your part, because you weren't forwarding your own goal of "finding your own voice" (but it was still progress, as you got stronger and gained more power). So we sort of tried to incorporate the jam theme into the game's story. It was a little subtle and I had some difficulties trying to convey that to the player effectively, will try to plan better in future jams!

I appreciate the feedback. My other game designer also did bring up how he thought the jumping/movement is a little floaty, but I didn't really think about it too much, though I will definitely look into tighter controls for my future platforming games.
As for the second part of your comment, if you mean the second animal where you unlock dash (it's supposed to be a dog), you're supposed to traverse back through the same area earlier and complete a jump that was previously impossible. An idea that I admit, was lacking in execution and ease of understanding. I tried to communicate this by making zone transitions that are no longer relevant disappear, but it was quite subtle and I'll definitely look into communicating this better in future games

Hi, thanks for playing our game! Which jump (or jumps) in particular did you find difficult/clunky?

Fun concept, I like the display that the player is "holding" a bullet, very clear!

I now have a deep hatred for the color purple

The room divided into 3 was the hardest one by far

Interesting concept, it was fun trying to keep the balance!

I think my slime is drunk

I too, greatly enjoy bubble tea

I got mad organization skillz

Zombies only attack me when I step out of my house. Jokes on them, I never go outside!

I have ruined the lives of many people, I am a terrible person