FoonLudum Dare ExplorerLD39 → Super Helpful Man: An Old Man Super Hero Handy Man Simulator

Super Helpful Man: An Old Man Super Hero Handy Man Simulator

By rodobodolfo and poffle

View on ldjam.com

CategoryRankScoreCount
Overall414.1347
Fun1433.6647
Innovation2463.3747
Theme1753.8847
Graphics1644.1547
Audio124.3747
Humor184.2447
Mood344.2047

Comments

rulrite 2017-08-01 20:38

I really loved this game - it's worth playing just for the sense of humor it has. It's so polished, too, for a game made in such a short amount of time. I almost got stuck on the final puzzle (I didn't realise I could click on a certain item!), but I'm glad I finished it: the ending was definitely worth it.

If I had to suggest an improvement, it would be to make the transitions faster - going in and out of the van quickly became tedious, for instance. However, I do think that the slow transitions made sense in the context of the game: I could really feel Roy losing his powers, and it added to the soft, sleepy vibe that I got from the game overall.

Awesome job, both of you!

sophisticat-games 2017-08-02 12:50

Awesome game! I don't know how this has so few ratings.

There is a small bug (a leftover \n) in the house scene after the first job, but other than that, the game was amazing!

Good job, I hope to see it rise to the top.

jeremy-ryan 2017-08-02 12:50

Liked it. Voiceover was great. Clever use of the theme. Looks really good for a game jam. Well done!

mars 2017-08-02 13:09

Very nice little experience. The music and dialogue go well together to create a very cozy, slice of life atmosphere. So the mood was excellent, and I liked the story and how it interpreted the theme as well. The graphics were very consistent throughout as well, it felt very complete and not at all rushed.

The gameplay was a little lackluster, it felt less like playing a game and more like a roadblock for narrative progression. Which is fine if that's what you were aiming to make, but personally I feel like the gameplay might as well not have been there. It kinda felt like this project had no reason whatsoever to be a game instead of just an animated short film.

I also got stuck on the last puzzle because it took me ages to realize there was a tool outside of the van too. You might have intended this, to make the last puzzle harder to guess, but this way it didn't really feel satisfying to figure it out, it felt more along the lines of "Wait, really?".

So as a game, I didn't really like it that much. As an experience and story though, I absolutely loved it. I do not regret finishing it!

neathan 2017-08-02 13:12

I really enjoyed to play this game! Just like others above i got stuck on the final puzzle but i figured it out after a while.

I did however find two small things that you might want to fix, you might already have found these but here they are anyway. * On the second call there is an extra carriage return character (\n) in the beginning of on one of the lines. * When you have a full inventor and tries to grab any more items you get the following message: I can't carry on more objects [#1043].

Anyway this was a great game and I hope people take their time to play this. It's definitely worth the timed!

poffle 2017-08-02 13:30

@sophisticat-Games and @neathan Yep, caught those ones, thanks. Thank you for the nice reviews.

@mars Thank you for the detailed review. Yep, the last quest is a little vague, not be design but by lack of time to add the proper clues. :( Roy does mention one of the tools he'll need in the phone conversation but it might have been too subtle. I'm glad you still enjoyed your time. Again, thanks for the great feedback!

@rulrite Thank you for the positive feedback! I agree with the transitions, or vansitions as I like to call them.

pedro-miranda 2017-08-02 14:14

Awesome game! It has a sad tone but it is very funny overall. Loved the graphics and the music as well. Dialogues well written. Great Job!!

schizoid2k 2017-08-02 15:17

Nice interpretation of the theme... reminds me of the point and clicks of the late 80s. I like the voice overs as well, and it looks like you spent a lot of time on the story. Well done!

alexanderteah 2017-08-02 16:11

I absolutely loved it start to finish, fantastic humour, sound graphics, everything! Loved the dialogue! There are a few typos here and there, but really, it's probably one of if not the best game I've played during this Ludum Dare!

yuigoto 2017-08-03 06:10

Dude, I loved it! The graphics remember me of old point'n click games from Lucas Arts and they're quite charming in their own way! But what's outstanding about the game is its storyteling! Good job with that! Nice touch of humour, great mood, kinda sad in the end, but great job nonetheless! :D

The soundtrack and voiceover fit so well and add a LOT to the game's atmosphere, it's so freaking great! For real, great! Also, great take on the theme there. It's kinda a sensible theme to talk about getting old, but you nailed it in a sweet way!

Good job! Cheers!

liquidbrain 2017-08-03 13:40

When I found this game I thought I recognized the style... And of course it was "How To Cope With Boredom and Loneliness" that I was thinking of. Loved that game!

This had me laughing just as the other game. The implementation of the theme was great and the humor on point (as usual)! There is nothing I dislike about this game. Really looking forward to seeing your next entry.

Have a great one!

// Rasmus (one half of [LiquidBrain](https://ldjam.com/users/liquidbrain/))

simonhutchinson 2017-08-03 14:05

Looks like fun! Any chance for a web/Mac build?

poffle 2017-08-03 14:11

Hi Simon. Sorry we can't do a Mac version and we couldn't get the web build to play nice so we are Windows and download only for now I'm afraid.

poffle 2017-08-03 14:29

@yuigoto Aw. Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback. It validates what we're doing when we read comments like that so thank you, really glad you liked it.

@liquidbrain Brilliant. That's awesome that you recognised us haha. I recognise your name too so will be checking your game out right now. Thank you for the lovely feedback. I'm glad you liked this game too!

baski 2017-08-03 19:05

Cool game. Humor was really good. I liked the graphics and gameplay overall. Keep it up :)

landberglife 2017-08-03 19:19

Great game, unlike some other narrative driven games I have played during these last few days I did not get bored and played it all the way through. The art style felt cozy and so did the dialogue and the music. An absolutely delightful experience, but I agree with @Mars the gameplay is more of a roadblock than a story enhancer. I'm also not sure why you decided to use different buttons to go back, sometimes there was an arrow and something a button with the text "back". All in all solid entry, great work :)

designernap 2017-08-03 19:58

Nice style and great use of audio. Feels like a complete title which is a huge achievement in such short time. LOVE the zoom in when dialogue is spoken. Really smooth. Great work.

gamepopper 2017-08-03 22:07

"How can I ever repay you?" "By PAYING ME!"

This game is charming and very hilarious! The writing is top notch! The last puzzle took me a while because I didn't inspect the van hard enough, and there are a few bugs with the audio and sprites, but this had a really good story with lots of funny and clever dialogue. Great job!

solah 2017-08-04 08:16

Ok, there is humor in this one, but I really found it so sad, I almost cried :'). The characters actually felt true, I got attached to this poor Shman and his wife Meryl. The graphics and gameplay are solid, I absolutely love the cat sprite. Well done!

lerpish 2017-08-05 12:04

what can i say about this game it is so perfect a really good slice of life that let me sad but kinda happy the music was beatifull and it gave that feeling the game has i can only say that i gave perfect ratings amazing experience i only wish to know if it is really based on a real story cuz it doesnt seems like it actually happened but yeah great game i look forward to see your future games

markwolf 2017-08-05 12:18

Oh yeah, must have been fun to record all these dialogs. It is a refreshing point and click. I was a real fan of this genre during my young days. Staging (if I can use this word) is good. I feel like watching a TV show. Music is excellent. I would just say that the link to the LD39 theme is a it superficial, but never mind provided we get a funny game ;-)

cenullum 2017-08-05 12:24

WOOOW This music and audio stories awesome and I liked humor I thought 80mb is unnecessary before playing but absolutely not.The game is excellent 5/5 you should add to the steam

pavelsovushkin 2017-08-05 15:30

Nice men!

geckoo1337 2017-08-05 22:48

Very good entry with an amazing pixel art. Simple mechanic and interesting gameplay. It works well. You have done a great work in less than 48 hours. The aesthetic is beautiful. I had fun playing. A pleasant experience. Well done ++

saramartins 2017-08-06 13:02

Hey, I just played your game. Here are some problems I found. - When I try to carry objects with the bag full, it tells me that and shows a number, 1043. Couldn't understand what that meant. - In spite of having put the subtitles in spanish, the speech subtitles were still in english, the tools when mouse over were still in english, and the text for combining tools was still in english. - I couldn't click on the Exit to Menu button, nothing happened. - I also dragged all of the music, sound and speech buttons, but all the sounds remained with the same volume. - The game appeared to me with red vertical bars on the side when on full screen. I think that might be your Camera's Solid Color Background, but maybe black wouldn't draw so much attention.

As for the game, the story has a cute premise but it's really slow paced... Also, are hints an option you're thinking to add? Spent a really long time figuring out the electrical box one. All in all, it was a really cute game with funny art ;)

poffle 2017-08-06 14:27

Hi @saramartins. Thanks for your insight. Allow me to explain some of those problems if I may.

When your inventory is full, Roy says that it's full. That number is simply an audio tag that should play a sound file rather than show that number. The programmer will be punished for that later.

Your next 3 problems relate to the options menu that is part of our adventure game framework that we haven't quite finished. Actually, I believe it was fixed last night but the options menu should have been disabled for this game. Would you have preferred Spanish subtitles? We might do a patch to include them before the jam is over.

I am not aware of the red vertical bars issue. Not come across that myself. Did you start in windowed mode and then go full screen?

Yep, it is slow paced, and the intro is far too long haha. But that's what we go for, we like slow paced narrative driven games, though they definitely aren't for everybody. :) Thank you for playing and your feedback!

easy82 2017-08-06 20:38

What a peaceful, charming, entertaining game! Great voice acting, I love the idea of an eldery super hero, who is losing his powers. Also the humor was very nice in this one. I've cought myself smiling all the time while playing this... okay, except for the ending... why??? Why did you have to do this to Shman? Great game overall, makke moar plz, makke moar. :)

lereveur 2017-08-06 20:46

There's poetry and melancholia in this entry. I love point'n click since a long time, and when the story make the whole game mood, it's necessarily a good one. I had fun playing it, so, well done!

theonethatneverwas 2017-08-07 17:28

Wow, this game was very nice. I must say that I was not expecting that and it was a really great experience. The humor, the narrative and the mood are incredible. Congratulations to the team.

martyxgames 2017-08-09 15:19

this reminds of some game, job wel done, its polished also

automatonvx 2017-08-09 17:21

Ah always a pleasure to play another of your entries. Really enjoyed it, laugh out loud funny and an interesting take on the theme. Only improvements I could mention, as already said, the intro is maybe a bit long, its good to have the narrative, but maybe a bit of interaction to break it up would be better and the blurred tips while funny to be in the hero's shoes was a bit annoying, but those are really tiny things. Love the tragic humour.

josehzz 2017-08-14 19:16

Great puzzle game, I loved the voice acting, background music and the pixel graphic style, great submission! got me playing for a while

gonutz 2017-08-16 16:13

The "Play" button is still in your info screen but you cannot press it from there.

The "wrong tool" voice is not audible after the first time it is said.

What is [#1043]? When I cannot carry any more items. Also "The %selected doesn't work here :-)

I do not find these jokes funny at all I have to say. The toilet jokes in various forms, the one with the wife. They are just not funny. You try really hard but it fails to tickle my funny bone.

Why can I not use the the pliers when standing in the yard, it says wrong tool. Only when I click on the wires so that it zooms in, I get the option to use the tools.

When Roy tells me that the tool does not work, the screen and foreground objects move to the right a little, after talking they snap back.

Well, that ladder was really hidden well. Found it just by coincidence, this reminds me of pixel hunting in point and click adventures.

I really like the graphics and animations and of course the voice overs. Really great job in the art department here! The transitions, the camera zooming in and out of a scene and cutting to people while talking, these are the details that really give this game a great atmosphere and make the characters come to life.

I know that you had plans to animate the fall from the tree and the cat attacking and what not, 72 hours is not a long time and I am deeply impressed by what you managed to get done graphics and sound wise in such a short amount of time!

The music was nice as well, really fits the overall mood.

The game play was intuitive, the interface clear and I love that you put the story in a cut scene at the beginning, as a lot of entries just present a wall of text to the user which is really not what you want to do. Nicely done!

Overall a great job, I look forward to playing your games in the next events, hope you will be back!

poffle 2017-08-17 08:15

@gonutz

Hey. Thanks for the detailed review! Yep, all the issues you had were things we simply ran out of time to fix, we've since fixed all those problems for a post jam release at a later date. For example, now when you use the pliers on the wire it will automatically zoom in for you. You're stuck with the jokes though I'm afraid!

Thanks for the other positive feedback. Glad you enjoyed it!

franklins-ghost 2017-08-19 16:39

The voice acting in this is great, really enjoyed the dialogue and listening to it. Although did feel like the intro might have been a little bit to long before getting into the gameplay. The story was nice and interesting and made me keep playing through the game to see what would happen to our hero.

ijona 2017-08-20 02:51

Like your other game I played during the "one room" Ludum Dare jam, it's just great! I immediately recognized the style :)

I especially liked the voiceover, though other components of the game are equally awesome. The entry definitely deserves the best ratings.

In the very beginning, though I was enjoying listening to the story, it would be great to have some interactivity options (like, I don't know, running or turning your head or something).

2017-10-04 21:37

Super lovely game. I included it in my Ludum Dare 39 compilation video series, if you’d like to take a look :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zttkWtUJU-8