My Other World

local-minimum 2017-05-01 15:20

_Absolutely fantastic visuals!_ And a great game in general. I really enjoyed playing it.

Some thought in no particular order:

* Maybe have music on GameObject that doesn't get destroyed between scenes. * Some messages come really quick so I don't get to read the fully before they disappeared. This was particularly true about the instructions on how to play each mini-game. And inversely, because I had to retry first fight three times, it would have been nice to click through instructions faster. * The first two games were timed. While the last was not. And on laptop it made the first seriously really hard with touch-pad. But I did manage. So perhaps changing order on first and third game would have made a better progression. The two word-games were best since they more directly fit the theme. The middle one could have been helped by having negative words thrown at you instead of balls. * I think the star particles felt a bit off from the rest of the style and feeling of the game. The second game you can click yourself to death before the game has actually started. * Since the game had well written story, it was a bit surprising that it was the same piece over and over in the world-scene * Some words are not obviously good or bad, which is perhaps fine.

Don't mistake this long list, the game was really really great. :thumbsup: :star:

igorsgames 2017-05-01 18:17

Enjoyed graphics and narrative! The second level was too easy, and the 3rd was kind of tough for me (luckily finished it too after many tries). Good job anyway!

doppelgunner 2017-05-02 00:52

Nice graphics, audio and game mechanics. Love how it kept me playing till the end

caterein 2017-05-10 01:38

I loved this game. You have a really interesting and unique interpretation of the theme, not to mention the game itself is visually gorgeous (and freaking adorable). The levels are relatively simple but very different from each other, so kudos on that, as well. I enjoyed reading all of the messages/poems, but do wish the text had scrolled through a bit slower, so I could take my time reading them. Overall, fantastic job :)

2017-05-10 16:05

Lovely graphics, nice game! I included it in my Ludum Dare 38 compilation video series, if you’d like to take a look :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTDci7P3_cI

harry-alissavakis 2017-05-10 19:18

I got some "Child of Light" vibes from this game, and this is a very, VERY good thing! The gameplay was really interesting and innovative, although it would probably be a good idea to stick to one style of combat, otherwise it might get confusing. The art was really pretty though, and overall it was a really nice and fun game. Well done! :D

kwisarts 2017-05-15 23:21

Interesting entry! I love the atmosphere. Nice vibe! I like how there are several types of games, but I agree 100% with Local Minimum. Also, although the art is nice, the animation kind of feels... lacky.

rother-games 2017-05-16 16:37

Amazing game. I love the art stile and the music. The first game was hard, but the 2nd and 3th were pretty easy. I hope you make some other cool game for the next Ludum Dare!

slueta 2017-05-16 18:30

Very nice game, beautiful graphics and tune. Congrats! If you have the opportunity, please rate my game also: NUKEBALL - https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/nukeball

behemkot 2017-05-16 20:13

Your game looks perfect *.* Great job! If you have some time you can rate my game :)

https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/a-minor-madness

julianmh 2017-05-16 20:16

Atmospheric game. Awesome art and music.

Gameplay is a bit hard for me as a not native english speaker. I found it hard to jugde which word was the most positive. I managed to beat the game anyway, so I guess thats alright.

chrras 2017-05-16 20:17

Really nice game, especially graphics and audio!! Good job.

Please, we are also still under 20 ratings, if you have the opportunity, please rate https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/shrunk-down :)

ptsnoop 2017-05-16 20:31

Definitely the best artwork I've seen this LD!

madsj 2017-05-16 20:36

Graphics were very impressive. The gameplay was interesting, level 2 was a little less interesting than level 1 and 3. The mood of the game is nice, and it felt like a metaphorical fight against depression. Besides the graphics being nice, the design of the bosses and the world was also well done, and the bosses were bizar.

jk5000 2017-05-16 20:54

The idea is good, and both the music and graphics is amazing. Too me the difficulty level was too high. But overall a great LD game.

lolilith 2017-05-16 21:04

Nice graphics and great mood! The gameplay was quite difficult for me though. The instructions disappeared before I could read them and I couldn't get past the second level :'( I really like the poems though, I agree on the Child of Light vibe!

mathijs750 2017-05-16 21:05

The concept has a lot of potential. I love the artstyle and music. The gameplay was a bit on the difficult side, which felt a bit misplaced given the style and narrative. I'm looking forward to further developments.

takusan 2017-05-16 21:28

Very clever idea. Well made - fitting music, magical / surreal world where words carry more weight than they normally do. Great atmosphere.

While I like it very much, I have some suggestions, because I'd absolutely **love** to see this project go further. I want a bigger, longer game like this :D

** mechanics / gameplay** - option to skip intro text on replay - instruction text not auto-fading, but with 'continue' button (it's disappearing a bit too fast at the moment) - level 2, while the goal is clear, is extremely easy. Maybe if there was a smaller margin of error it would be more challenging? I'm also really missing the words there, maybe the spheres should have words in them?

** some thoughts on language ** It so happens that I also majored in philology, so I'd have some suggestions regarding the language and words, since it's both the theme, and the mechanic in your game.

In level 3, I actually had a hard time choosing the right word - e.g. brave / hope / cheerful vs jealous, or contentment / satisfaction / pride vs cruel. Those are complex ideas, not black/white oppositions, and it took me 7 minutes to go through on successful play (I failed twice). This level, while the mechanic is clear, needs some careful work, and - ideally - not random word choices. In my opinion, that is :) It's actually very subjective in some pairings, and I found that in many cases my word associations were completely different. It's a great mechanic nevertheless, and worth developing.

Also, in level 1, I think the instructions could be worded differently. Not 'don't let the words reach you'. But that's a tough one to crack, because you're trying to simply convey that once the 'bad' words reach your part of screen you lose health. Though in my mind it's simultaneously a message 'if you don't hear the words, you can't get hurt' wich equals 'safe bubble'. A better message would be 'don't let the words hurt you', byt then the mechanic isn't conveyed clearly. I hope my wording isn't confusing, and maybe I'm reading too deep into it, but you see what I'm getting at.

**So...** those suggestions are up there only because I simply love this project. Very clever, quite brave to take on this kind of mechanic in a jam. Great mood and creatively crafted enemies, it plays well and it kept me interested. Consistent delivery overall :) I hope I've been helpful with all my babbling, if something's unclear or if you'd want to discuss it further - hit me up.

Cheers, and stay awesome! Fight for those ratings, this game is well worth it! I see it's at 19, I hope I tip the scales.

random-storykeeper 2017-05-16 21:30

I love the choice of mini games; playing with words is often hard, but it works for this narrative. By the way, great poetry, which really tied in with the music and worked to set a good mood. I like the designs of the bosses, the map and the background a lot, but the only design I had issues with was the main character. It might just be me, but the cute chibi design didn't tie in with the unsettling look of the bosses.

And while I like the idea of the mini games, the best one really was just the first game. Part of this is because the game's tutorial only briefly flashes on screen. If it was like the poetry text that allowed you to continue, this would have improved the gaming experience a lot, imo. For most of them, I didn't even finish reading the tutorial text before it flashed right to the game, and I had to die several times before I could read the remaining bits. This was especially an issue in the third stage, where I actually had no idea what I was supposed to do, and losing health was too slow. I eventually took it to be that "ohh you have to match words that are the opposite of the negative words?" but even as I beat it, I wasn't entirely sure if this was the case. So yeah, a more static tutorial text would have made this all the more better.

Aside from that and the main character's design, I thought this was a pretty unique overall put together game.

finlal 2017-05-16 22:40

Really solid entry, great art and atmosthere, great enty!

richard-michael-smith 2017-05-16 22:59

I'll be honest - I didn't quite get what I was meant to be doing in the 3rd part. I ended up having to pick words at random until I won. However, in contrast to that - the first puzzle worked really well - just clicking on the most positive words - I liked that. It's actually a shame then that part 2 was so "simple" in comparison - just clicking to return the balls.

The graphics are excellent and the music is good (although it's a shame there are no sound effects). Great work!

fiery-squirrel 2017-05-16 23:41

I think that the general idea of the game is very nice. For some reason I coouldn't beat the second monster, even though I clicked, the ball hit me all the time, I just managed to attack back only twice and I played many times. I also think that much more graphical feedback would improve the game, making the player feel that interactions have effect. The last thing, I think the explanation text should last there untl the player clicks somewhere, the first two times I played I didn't read it all. These comments are only meant to help improve the game, it's a very nice game already, good graphics and mood, good job!

daisy 2017-05-17 21:05

Lovely unique entry, there's a lot more content in here than I expected! I really liked that you tried to tackle/convey the subject in a few different ways.

Few thoughts to chuck your way. The instructions could do with lingering a bit longer, or having a 'ready' button at the bottom when you're ready to continue.

I think maybe levels one and two could be swapped around to have a steadier ramp in difficulty. I floundered a bit with the last level, the 'most positive word' felt subjective more than definitive. I really like the concept though, I dig me some word games.

The atmosphere is great. Of course the visuals are wonderful and I'm proper into the enemy design. The music is also very fitting and sets the mood very well.

Lovely game, great job. :D