spacemunkee 2017-04-25 01:10
Really loved the atmosphere. Played all the way through. Nice work!
Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD38 → A Mind Is A Small Place
By juju-adams, pixelthirteen, topherlicious and blokatt
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 25 | 4.16 | 32 | |
| Fun | 346 | 3.23 | 32 | |
| Innovation | 94 | 3.80 | 32 | |
| Theme | 142 | 3.86 | 32 | |
| Graphics | 61 | 4.46 | 32 | |
| Audio | 19 | 4.30 | 32 | |
| Humor | 1 | |||
| Mood | 5 | 4.59 | 32 |
Really loved the atmosphere. Played all the way through. Nice work!
Really loved the atmosphere. Played all the way through. Nice work!
Awesome, unique graphics and ambient audio set the mood well! I liked how the phone that advances the story also acts as the main puzzle mechanic, combining two elements of a game into a single interactive entity. Really enjoyed the painting bit :)
Great work :)
Very interesting game! I included it in my Ludum Dare 38 compilation [video series](https://youtu.be/KYlBGlHp4vY), if you’d like to take a look :)
Loved how the game seemed to be rather innocent from the start, but then the events started to get darker and darker. Glitchy and surrealistic behaviour of doors and objects evoke a certain fear of in-game space itself for me, thoughts of instability and fluidity. Played it multiple times but didn't get any idea of how to reach an alternative ending. Could you post a walkthrough?
I love the atmosphere and it was really immersive! I like how we have "tasks" other than answering to the phone, making us feel more involved. :) I like the subtlety of the alternate ending! Just as subtle as the way you can reach it!
Looks great, interesting concept
Dang, this his close to home. It was a great game.
Really strong command of atmosphere and visuals, very cool. Much of the symbolism is lost on me, unfortunately, but the general mood is very strongly present.
Holy crap. I shivered. That is an incredibly powerful game, especially having been made in only 72 hours. The graphics and art and audio all come together to enhance the message of the game. Just, super nice work. Well done!
P.S. If this game was made with one of you or friends/family in mind, or from personal experience, my condolences.
An interesting, surreal experience. Here's the quick rundown of my thoughts:
PROS - Well-done atmosphere and mood setting
CONS - Heavily reliant on symbolism, may or may not be 'gotten' by players
For full criticism and breakdown of ranking, as well as candid reactions to gameplay, do check out the video~
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTU4u52qxrE
It's an arduous task to create a game about deep subjects such as depression and actually deliver, especially for 72 hours.
The art was fitting and the instability effect of the whole scenery did bring a nice touch to the mood, further enhanced by the heavy atmospheric audio. The painting bit was nice! And as aforementioned, having other tasks than just answering the phone was a nice addition that kept me feeling involved in the game.
The alternate ending was very subtle, both how to get it and the ending itself. I would say too subtle even, because it literally boils down to one little choice, choice that didn't feel to me as coherently presented as I would've liked.
All in all it's a well done entry, great job!
It's very good and also very heavy. You did a great job in setting the mood with the atmosphere and the glitchy visuals and the symbolism. I need to play again to try to get the other ending.
Wow. I haven't really played games that touch this subject as it's one I tend to avoid. I've been on both sides of the issue brought so beautiful to my screen and your splash screen had a nice little message which was nicely put.
What you've created and how you've presented it is very subjective, because it's relying on a lot of symbolism to get the message/feelings across - so here is what I got from it.
You address the subject well. It starts fairly innocently - the part where yourself/others around you are just noticing a difference.
The breathing sound effect coupled with the rooms almost breathing effect creates a rather claustrophobic and trapped feeling which becomes more apparent as I explored the later stages. These two things really helped deliver the stages.
The stage with all the phones ringing at different periods just to hang up - this stage really clicked with me. When depression rears its ugly head you may find yourself with lots of people trying to help, but often your mood or the situation means that you can push a lot of people away, or they simply give up because sometimes they're unable to help. I thought this issue was captured so well with the phones ringing, trying to get to it just for it to go dead.
When everything was turned upside down, when your world is turned upside down from either being committed to a mental institution (which was hinted at) or perhaps when you're in that depressive spiral the last thing you need is for the person to begin to give up. The phone message starts to feel like the person on the other end is your main carer (be it parent or spouse) and they're starting to give up. Followed by a stage about taking your medicine and then anger to finally the feeling of abandonment when this phone/person finally just gives up. You're alone, and the final stage brings it to a saddening end. Checkmate.
Other comments. I really liked the little click sound that proceeded moving through the splash/menu screens. I thought the way the door warped in looked awesome.
Thanks for creating and sharing this. Kudos to all the folk that worked on it, and well done.
The art style with the dithered graphics was rather interesting, and worked for such an abstract, surreal experience. The audio was well done, and the overall mood of the game is spectacular.
I managed to play through to both endings - it is a really subtle choice that makes the difference, and easily missed.
Overall, great job.
Great job! Atmosphere was very good. The graphics and sound fitted together well. At first I didn't get a lot of the symbolism behind the game but after reading some of the comments my eyes opened a little. I'm happy that you chose this difficult topic to tackle, it's something that we should pay more attention to.
I managed to get both endings and I have to say... this game blew me away. The graphics were wonderful, and the symbolism certainly wasn't lost. You nailed the atmosphere you were going for.
Thank you.
What a fascinating thing! The atmosphere is fantastic and the narrative, despite its simplicity, really hits the spot. I'm most amazed at the art style; it's so weird and impressive, and fits the game so well... kudos to all of you!
Wow, very impressive for 48 hours. I thought the general atmosphere and tension of the game was absolutely fantastic. Great work (I really loved the visual style too!)
This is lush. Great work. Deserving of lots of votes.
This game is a masterpiece. I love everything about, psychedelic visuals (that dither effect is awesome), really moody sounds, simple but effective gameplay. Story is perfectly told through symbols and metaphors. I don’t think I got the alternate ending, maybe I’ll go back and play this again. Amazing job!
juju is a beautiful and independent pug
@juju-adams This was unbelievable! Fantastic use of visuals and motifs. The sounds and visuals are fantastic! The gameplay itself, though intentionally simplistic, is so tight! Everything gels from your intro screen to the title, to the first sound of that pink exit. One of the best of the jam, in my opinion. Congratulations!
Wow, this game is very creepy! I got seriously nauseated from playing this, my stomach is all scrumbled up and I feel really bad. I guess that means maximum points in mood, right..? haha
At first I got the "good" ending. Then I played again and got the "bad" ending, but both endings were so similar I though I had failed both times, just in different ways. So I tried again a bunch more times beginning to end, finishing the puzzles differently each time, but no matter what I did, I only got what I though were two variations of the same "bad ending".
It took me a long time to understand what the skeleton was representing and to understand the meaning of the chess game, and now it does make sense, although you saying "little choices do add up" in the description has probably fooled me into overthinking the win condition and the "good ending". Having all those meaningless variations in the puzzles certainly didn't help, since the flowers are all that matters (I think).
Ok, so now I'm gonna go get some fresh air to see if I feel better. Oh, and thank you @juju-adams for rating my Little Scout. :)
You have been featured on Ludum Dare to Believe! Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YONTQdjhacc
Unfortunately, I come home tired after work, and I don't want to play games or watch TV. I started looking at fatigue remedies on the Internet, but the more popular site with medication is this https://www.neurogan.com/blog/debunking-cbn-isolate/. I do not know if it is worth ordering? It is written there very well that it does not cause evocation and will help from anything, but I do not know if this is really the case.