FoonLudum Dare ExplorerLD30 → Where have you been so long?

Where have you been so long?

By satyre

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CategoryRankScoreCount
Coolness1100
Mood4562.95
Humor4682.20
Audio4862.76
Graphics5542.94
Innovation5622.72
Theme5992.57
Overall6762.73
Fun7292.18

Comments

twittle 2014-08-26 02:28

I like this game but the web runs very laggy for me :/

satyre 2014-08-26 02:35

Thanks for the feedback. I've added a download link for the flash file.

teamquadratic 2014-08-26 02:35

I'll be honest, I'm not really sure what I just played, but the mood was excellent and the music was nice. The visual effects were pretty nice as well. I think I may need the concept explained to me though, because I really don't have a clue what happened. It was almost trance like, which I assume you were going for.

hamster_mk_4 2014-08-26 02:36

The music is nice, as are the back drops. The store sign is obscured by the UI elements when you first visit it. Since it is the only part of the background that has text, it really stuck out.

mramaizng 2014-08-26 02:39

Reminds me of Lone Survivor, which I enjoyed.

finnmacd 2014-08-26 02:39

don't entirely understand the point

sprawl 2014-08-26 02:39

I almost stopped playing after going through the possible actions once, then realized you can do them multiple times. Is there still something to do once you have opened all 4 eyes ?

Great message, good game. The backgrounds were nice looking and the music was catchy (although repetitive). Good job !

By the way, how did you make the music ?

satyre 2014-08-26 03:06

@TeamQuadratic: That's the point :D. It is somehow an experience I made. Like beeing in trance for a while and then becoming clearer with every second. I was aiming for that feeling. The game is a newsgame, which offers some subliminal information about events that are not mentioned in the news. At least in my country ;). I tried to show that there are more informations hidden from the people or they don't really realize them.

@hamster_mk_4: Thanks for mentioning. The UI Icon will change once you visit the bourse. It will become smaller and the player can fully read the sign.

@mramaizng: I need to check that game, thanks for mentioning :)

@FinnMacd: I wanted to show that there are hidden informations that are not clear to most people.

@sprawl: Thanks. Unfortunately the opening of the eyes is the awakeing. Everthing beyond is not programmed. I did the music with Fruity Loops and used some Sytrus samples.

rjhelms 2014-08-26 03:44

Intense!

accidentalrebel 2014-08-26 03:48

I can see that you have a message with this game. Try to make the game enjoyable and add more gameplay elements, otherwise people won't stick around to hear what you want to say. Hope this critique helps. Goodluck!

lolshouse 2014-08-26 03:50

I caught onto the theme very quickly and good application of the theme.
The graphics are ok, nothing really stuck out about them.
To me there was nothing new about actually playing the game, the background music really annoyed the hell out of me, and the mood never really hit me.

- Bradley

pythong 2014-08-26 10:18

I have no idea what I just did. I worked to death? it became an eye and then it was black

tannernetwork 2014-08-26 10:21

Nice concept!

satyre 2014-08-26 12:49

@rjhelms: :)

@Accidental Rebel: Thanks for your opinion. I wanted to add more elements, but the time frame was to short to full fledge my ideas. I'll try to add some in the post jam version.

@Chikun Dev Team: Thanks for the honest critique. I suck somehow on graphic xD, but considering working alone I think I did a great job. I'm glad you already knew the messages, you can consider yourself awakened. Unfortunately there is still need for other people to understand. The music was created shorthanded by me, so there is only a short endless loop.

@phytong: Being confused with the game is somehow essential. The messages need to be reviewed after playing. When one eye is open, then you know the secrets of this part of the game.

@Tanner: Thanks :)

razoric 2014-08-26 15:16

Creative and engrossing. With some more polish you could have a winner here.

adventureislands 2014-08-26 15:45

Surprisingly dark game, took me a moment to realize the various things could be done multiple times.

ponywolf 2014-08-26 15:50

I like the look... reminds me of an 80s Quest game with better graphics.

voider 2014-08-26 15:56

I loved the message behind this game, and the way you can go discovering things by yourself without complex mechanics or "click and guess". Good job!

mess110 2014-08-26 15:57

gj

gametery 2014-08-26 16:18

Very serious indeed :) liked the music and gameplay is very smooth. Good work!

tschmitz 2014-08-26 16:43

Nice simple "serious game" (technical term). The imagery is pretty open to interpretation.

It would've helped to have an indicator letting you know when you can walk off the side of a screen, and letting you know that this is a completely different action than pressing [up].

badlydrawnrod 2014-08-26 18:19

Intriguing.

jpmit 2014-08-26 19:52

I liked it. Had me playing till the end. Great graphics and music.

vandriver 2014-08-26 20:05

i usually don't like message games like this, but the music and art was so great. totally love pixel line art. i also like single pixel eyes opening up, probably from playing the first zelda. you got me. i don't even care about the message. had fun.

druid 2014-08-26 21:03

I really love games with deep subtext. Good work!

pjimmy 2014-08-26 22:21

interesting ode to the wastefulness of life

jomomomo 2014-08-27 01:55

Neat, Interesting concept for sure...

ceosol 2014-08-27 02:53

I was just playing along, went to work and saw the stock market crashed. I was like, ok bad day at work... moving along. Come home and eat some food... mercury poisoning?!?! Oh ok, I say to myself, this is a game showing all of the bad things that can be happening under normal circumstances. Chilling at time with everyone being a puppet or hiding behind a mask on tv. Very nice entry :)

zolmeister 2014-08-27 07:34

Fun game! Wish there was more to do though, finished it pretty quick :)

havana24 2014-08-27 09:11

I loved graphic art and the concept itself!
I think you should work more on the side-walk animation of the character, it's a bit slim! :)
Congrats!

01101101 2014-08-27 10:03

I like the mood , despite the music loop very short.
A game with a serious message !

43iscoding 2014-08-27 10:09

Game is really detailed, and I loved the graphics! And the message is strong

satyre 2014-08-27 13:09

@everyone: Thanks for your reviews (I'll add the changes you all mentioned in future updates). I'm glad you got the messages right, and the game is not as unfunny as I thought :)

raphy 2014-08-27 14:44

I like intriguing games like that!
I'm sure there is more depth to it but in my opinion the message is not very original though (bank's bad, pollution is wrong etc), but still managing to throw serious questions like that in a Jam game is something great! Thank you for this experience.

reverend-speed 2014-08-28 00:53

As a carnivorous capitalist automobile journalist, I give this game two thumbs up, way up! I like how you interpreted the theme, I dig the graphics and even the looping music (though the looping grated after a bit). While I don't think it's an especially convincing game, it's a great result for three days work and I'd love to see another, with more refinement!

donaldducky 2014-08-28 02:30

lol don't understand.

vaelzan 2014-08-28 04:38

I think part of the message you were trying to convey was lost on me, but it did get me thinking. I think the music fit quite nicely. I played until I got all eyes and 'woke up'.

snoother 2014-08-28 12:33

I have some political disagreements with it, but I like how it evolved from a mundane slice-of-life game a politically-centred game.

The ending felt kind of superfluous though -- (I paraphrase) the "now I can see!" quote -- kind of spelling out what had preceded. And also I felt it to be a bit arrogant (sorry): that he has suddenly became this enlightened, insightful person because of a few contentious viewpoints.

I think it would have been more effective had you argued and not asserted. Try to show the player why these things are bad and not just instruct them to think that these things are bad, if that makes sense. Otherwise it's just preaching to the converted and fails to influence people like me.

Still, it's really nice that you tried something different and I was certainly intrigued while playing it. The graphics and music also work very well.

satyre 2014-08-28 13:37

This will be a long answer post. Wow, thanks for all your reviews.

@Razoric: Thanks, I'll try to polish the up with clearer messages.

@AdventureIslands: Indeed, it is dark :). I haven't time to make the gameplay more clearer, but I'll add this later.

@ponywolf: Thanks!

@psychonull: Thanks! I wanted to play more with pictures instead of text with the instructions.

@mess110: Thanks!

@Gametery: Yes it is :) I guess my next games will only be for fun, cause my last projects were all too serious somehow.

@tschmitz: Yes I wanted to be as neutral as possible, to let the imagination space for interpretation. Adding an indicator for the possible walkable areas is a great idea. I'll try to add some in the post jam version.

@badlydrawnrod: That's what I was also aiming for :)

@jpmit: Thanks!

@vandriver: Thanks! I'm still glad that you finished the game :). The pixel eyes were the most easier part of drawing, but also the funniest.

@Druid: Thanks!

@pjimmy: Nice desciption of the game :)

@jomomomo: Thanks!

@ceosol: Thanks for sharing your experience :). Yes you got it right, these things can happen. We just have to be aware of them.

@Zolmeister: I wanted to add a street with homeless persons and some super expensive shops to have a bigger contrast. I also planned that the player can use the most furniture, but I ran out of time too fast. Maybe I add these feature in future updates.

@havana24: Thanks! Yes the character is slim sideways :D. This was my first human sprite and I've got to practice a little more.

@01101101: Thanks!

@43iscoding: Thanks!

@Raphy: Oh I see how the game can be interpreted. I didn't wanted to wage, just to clear, that there are other informations that should be stayed in our mind as well as the presented in the news. I'll think about better ways to show such images and try to be as neutral as possible :)

@Revenend Speed: I'll try to be more convincing next time ;). The next projects of this kind or the post jam version will be more refined.

@donaldducky: That's ok if it seems encrypted. See it as some kind of message, that there are unknown facts that has been revealed, besides the ones we already know.

@Evil Cult: I understand how the game can be seen. I'll try to polish the way up that the messages are presented.

@Snoother: I wanted to be as political correct as possible, so there are no real clues which I'm pointing my finger at. In fact I can't, because we all have something to do with the world affairs :). The "I can see know" is meant to be related to the news aspect (hidden news vs. the ones shown publically), not that the player is enlighted. Seeing is the first step. Thanks for the honest review.

seagaia 2014-08-28 14:02

nice use of the theme - i would say it errs more on the negative side, but it is good to bring up these systematic problems through a game. next time, don't be afraid to use words where possible, it will help make your points more clear/better articulated (seeing some of the commenters confused).

a different song might help - the current one is this sort of goofy disco preset beat.

are you on twitter? i'm twitter.com/seagaia2

satyre 2014-08-28 14:14

@Sean Hogan: Yeah, thanks for the suggestions. I wanted to use text at some parts, but the time was to short to full fledge the system and I only added the pictures.
I've added you on twitter. My name in twitter is satyre_stencyl

snoother 2014-08-28 19:14

@Satyre Ah, I misinterpreted the ending then. Thank you for taking the time to respond to my review, it certainly made me understand the game better. I'd love to read a post-mortem of the game too, as it's one of the more thematically interesting games this LD.

Oh, and thank you for your review of my game :)

honcho 2014-08-28 19:34

This guy lives a very interesting life lol. Funky!

mechanicmoon 2014-08-28 20:07

The graphics remind me of a series of animation called kevin spencer. I find it nice, I love that show. good job for a jam

tsamisaherb 2014-08-28 21:23

This is great, really connects mood and theme to make a really neat experience. Great job! I love the way the images fade in and out with changing alphas too.

tsamisaherb 2014-08-28 21:27

After reading some of the other comments I want to say that I think the piece is stronger because it doesn't words, it makes it feel universal and forces the player to do some work to decipher the message, which can trigger a stronger reaction/impact. Really great job!

mechabit 2014-08-28 22:42

I understand that there's a hidden message but I don't really get it. Maybe if there were more interactions and plot then I would have stuck with it longer.

grooveman 2014-08-29 08:42

It took a little meandering to get what the aim was, but it's a cool game concept. Some of the news items you discover are a bit vague in what they're trying to convey, though.

lorniebear 2014-08-29 14:36

I think I found the hidden message! Nice graphics by the way...

jukimv1986 2014-08-30 09:52

Nice short graphic adventure, great music! Is there an ending available? Keep working on it!

natrium729 2014-08-31 15:36

Kinda liked it. Not really a game, more an "experience". I really liked the way the messages zoom and fade when you do an action, and I find that the music goes well with rest. Needs more polish though.

raphy 2014-09-02 10:05

Yay, you recognized the BoF music! Sorry to spam your wall again but I was wondering if someone was gonna recognize it :)

ninjascript 2014-09-03 23:44

That music got a bit repetitive after a while but I like where you are going with the game. Some of the imagery was not too obvious but it all made sense in the end. Are you going to continue developing this?

h1s2 2014-09-05 14:06

not shure what its about. the sound loop could be a bit longer and more seamless

vividhelix 2014-09-06 16:44

Not sure I got the entire message, but interesting take on the theme!

lokarunith 2014-09-14 23:38

Ooh, very very nice way to convey in game format such a strong message. Excellent!

I hope people really understand what this game is about, because it's a dead serious topic. "Living is easy with eyes closed", because that's the only way to live comfortably, when we are awake, we see everything that's wrong, how our lazy and luxurious life stile was achieved trough destruction and someone else's misery.

I don't say people should be totaly aware, they would never be happy that way.. But sacrificing a bit of that happiness that comes with ignorance, we achieve responsability, an unrresponsable happines and life style, costs the happines of the environment and other people, specially the future generations.

snapdragon 2014-09-15 02:35

good game

satyre 2014-12-06 00:28

Thanks everyone for your awesome feedback :)